Iraq Wins The Asian Cup

A funny thing happened in Jakarta yesterday ... Iraq won the 2007 Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. I don't mean funny "ha ha", I mean funny "strange". What was so strange about this victory, and this team is that it was made up of Shia, Sunnis, and Kurds. These three sects are unable to work together to govern their own country, yet were able to work together in what is a "team" sport ... and work well enough together to win .

From what I understand, when the team was first put together, there was a bit of conflict along sectarian lines ... but this team, under the leadership of their coach, Brazilian Jorvan Vieira.

So, what do we need to make the Iraqi government gel into a cohesive unit that can get something accomplished. Maybe the problem is at the top with Prime Minister al-Maliki? Should we bring in a Brazilian to run Iraq?

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An Expanded Peace Corps

Since it was established in 1961 by John F Kennedy, the Peace Corps has sent 182,000 volunteers to 138 different countries to carry out its' mission. The mission of the Peace Corps is:

1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2) Helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served.
3) Helping promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.

Currently their are 7,810 Peace Corps volunteers and their FY 2007 budget is $318.8 million. In my previous post, I expressed in the comment section that I would like to see the Peace Corps expanded ... going out and spreading aid, understanding and good will among the world. I have crunched the numbers and this how it could work.

If we extrapolate the numbers out from 7,810 volunteers to 1,000,000, we would have to grow the annual budget to $40.8 billion dollars. This is a daunting amount. However, in 2006 US Government foreign aid amounted to $27.5 billion. Much of this aid can be done by the new Peace Corps rather than the Military or USAID, which currently handles this, thereby saving costs in these two agencies. We could in fact eliminate the bureaucracy of USAID, saving $12 billion a year. This brings the net increase down to $1.3 billion a year, less the $0.3 billion we are already spending ... brings the increase to a little less than $1 billion a year. The savings on the use of military aircraft and naval ships to deliver and administer aid (not the most economical way to do this) would save more than that.

We would need an initial outlay of at least $50 billion for infrastructure (Buildings, distribution centers, aircraft and cargo ships). Some of this can be off-set with the liquidation of $24 billion in USAID's infrastructural assets, as well as utilizing Military Posts that have been closed due to BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure). Utilizing the closed military posts would help breathe life into communities that have been devastated by the loss of the military in their communities. The need for aircraft and ships will help communities with ship building and aircraft assembly plants. as well as all the suppliers around the country. This will increase the tax base and bring more revenue into the government coffers. Now if this plan is implemented, and a million Peace Corp volunteers march out and start teaching and helping in the communities of the world, what will our return on investment be?

Why would someone hate the people that educated their kids and helped them to properly irrigate their fields? When some despotic little mullah starts spouting off about the Great Satan (America), won't these people believe more in what they have seen and experienced than in what this mullah says? Of course there will always be those people that hate us ... but they should be totally outnumbered by the ones that like us.

We will also get better citizens out of this. We will have a collection of people who have seen for themselves what it is like in third world countries, and now truly appreciate what they have been blessed with.

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Citizenship ... The Heinlein Way

Immigration is a huge problem in many parts of the world. Here in the US, we question why we allow children born of illegal immigrants to have automatic US citizenship just because they are born in this country. Well there was a science fiction writer last century that questioned why citizenship was ever given to anyone, rather than earned.

In 1959, Robert A. Heinlein wrote a science fiction novel entitled Starship Troopers. This book was later made into a major motion picture. While this was basically a spaghetti western set in space, there was a social message incorporated into both the book and movie.

It seems on 22nd Century Earth, no one is born into citizenship, it must be earned. The major way that citizenship is earned in Heinlein's world is by military service. Is this really such a bad idea?

Now, the only rights a citizen has over a legal resident in the United States are, the right to a Federal Job and the right to run for political office. The only two obligations that a citizen has are the duty to vote and the duty to serve on a jury.

So, would it be so terrible to embrace Heinlein's idea? I'm thinking many would think it was a terrible idea (the book was called fascist when it came out), what do you think?

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Ethanol and Other Myths

If you listen to the environmentalists, you would think that E85 ethanol was the panacea that was going to save the planet. Only here at the Blogway Boys will you hear the real story of ethanol.

E85 ethanol is a bio-fuel incorporating 85% ethanol (a fuel distilled from corn in the USA) and 15% gasoline. This concoction is supposed to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and make the USA energy independent. One thing we have here in the USA is lots of corn. Here are the facts:

• It currently takes 1 gallon of oil to grow and produce 1.35 gallons of ethanol
• Ethanol must then be trucked to the filling stations (seems that putting it in a pipeline degrades the ethanol)
• The end result is that by the time you pump it into your tank, it takes a little over a gallon of oil to produce and ship each gallon of ethanol.

O-kay, so we aren't saving the planet with ethanol, but here comes myth number two. Ethanol is cheaper than gasoline. Not so fast:

• The Federal Government subsidizes the ethanol industry to the tune of $6 to $8 billion dollars a year ... that is the only reason that ethanol is a little cheaper than gasoline.
• Your car gets lower gas mileage with ethanol than with gasoline (about 6 miles per gallon less).
• Ethanol production is pushing the price of corn up (from about $2.50 a bushel to $3.15 and will go higher as more ethanol plants open up)
• The price of corn also effects the price of milk, eggs and meat as farmers and ranchers must pay more for feed for their stock.
• As more farm acreage is turned over to corn, the price of other grains and vegetables is going up (because supply is going down).

Well if you put it that way ... I guess it isn't cheaper than gasoline. But what about it being a renewable resource? Fact:

• Each acre of corn produces 500 gallons of ethanol a year.
• The US consumes 19.6 million gallons of oil per day
• Do the math ... If every acre of the US were converted to corn production we would still fall about 2 months short of our yearly usage

So what do we do? First thing is we need to start building nuclear power plants again. We would probably need about 150 new plants to cover our electricity needs. We also need to put the $8 billion of ethanol subsidies into the development of hydrogen fuel cells. A car can run hundreds of miles on just pennies worth of hydrogen and emit only a little water out of its' tailpipe.

We need to stop living in dreamland and start making the real world a better place for us and our kids to live in.

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The Dream Act

Very seldom does a piece of legislation come before Congress that I would consider a slam-dunk, sure-fire approval. I think that the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is one of these. This Act affects the minor children of illegal aliens that came to this country before they were 16 years of age. Once these children finish High School, they are usually stuck. They don't qualify for student aid for college, can't join the military, can't work legally and are pretty much doomed to a life of poverty.

What this piece of legislation does is give these kids a chance. The student, who has grown up in this country, has to be a High School graduate, of good moral character (no criminal record) to qualify. The conditional status would last 6 years. At the end of the 6 years, the conditional resident would have to have completed 2 years of college or technical school or 2 years of military service or complete 910 hours of voluntary community service. After completing any of these pre-requisites, and having stayed out of legal trouble and avoided lengthy trips overseas (exceptions of course being made for deployments while in military service), the individual would then be eligible for permanent residency.

This is a win-win situation however you look at it. The military would get some much needed new recruits, these children would be able to get a college education (increasing the taxes received ... because college educated people make more taxable income), and these kids would be able to break the cycle of poverty that entraps illegal aliens.

And before everyone starts getting on me about supporting amnesty ... These kids have not committed any crimes. Remember this act states that they had to come over here before the age of 16. Their parents committed the crime ... not them. Some of these kids speak only English, some of them weren't even aware that they were here illegally until it came time to apply for financial aid for college, and their parents or guardians told them why they couldn't continue their education.

It's time for Congress to put aside their petty political bickering and enact this DREAM legislation ... because it's the right thing to do.

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We Can Stop Looking For al-Baghdadi

Seems that terrorist Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Internet-based movement "Islamic State of Iraq" is a fictional character. I always thought that the name had to be made up, or an alias ... but a totally fictional character? They got me ... along with the many world intelligence agencies and some Iraqis that actually died in his service.

US military forces captured Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid in Mosul on July 4th. Abu Shahid is the senior Iraqi leader in al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), and this guy has been talking his head off. Seems that Abu Ayyub al-Masri made up this fictional character to put an Iraqi face on AQI since the majority of the organization were foreign fighters (al-Masri himself is Egyptian). An actor was hired to do the voice of al-Baghdadi on the website. When al-Masri replaced Ayman al-Zawahiri after he was killed by coalition forces in 2005, al-Masri swore allegience to al-Baghdadi.

Lost in all this is that a senior AQI leader was captured. Abu Shahid acted as a go-between for Osama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahri and al Masri. The surge is working.

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Japan Dodges A Bullet

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Japan early this morning. Besides opening cracks up to 3 feet in width in the streets, this earthquake also caused a fire and radioactive water leak at the worlds largest nuclear power plant. It took 2 hours to extinguish the fire in the Kashiwazaki plant and 315 gallons of slightly radioactive water leaked out into the Sea of Japan.

Things could have been much worse. This plant was cutting edge as far as safety and design, but what if this had happened to a power plant without the great design and construction that this plant had? What if this plant had been in North Korea or Iran ... not exactly countries at the top of nuclear engineering? We could have had another Chernobyl or worse. With so many countries seeing nuclear power as the answer to their growing energy needs, we need to make sure our nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not only guarding against substandard design, this watchdog needs to have teeth. They need to be able to shut down substandard plants and have the world behind them in confrontations with Nations that refuse their orders to shut down or upgrade these plants.

With international politics at play, and not knowing what the UN Security Council will vote on any given issue, maybe it would be better to allow the IAEA to put in place and enforce sanctions on any nation that does not play ball, without first having to go to the Security Council. Nuclear energy can be clean and safe (and is for most of the power plants out there), but for the substandard plants ... nuclear power can be a very scary thing.

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A Rush To Punishment?

Now, I am the biggest supporter of Capital Punishment you will probably ever meet. In fact, I wish it could be expanded to include the crimes of Rape, Sexual Molestation of a Child, Conspiracy to Commit Terrorism and Aiding a Terrorist. So, when you see me writing about an execution that should be stopped ... you can take it to the bank that something fishy may be going on.

Troy Anthony Davis is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on July 17th, for the shooting death of a Savannah police officer. Davis, 38 is a former coach in the Savannah Police Athletic League and had signed up to join the Marines, when in 1989, off-duty Savannah police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail was shot dead in a parking lot while responding to an assault. Davis was at the crime scene with a friend that accused him of the shooting. No physical evidence was found to link Davis with this crime.

Since his conviction and sentencing in 1991, seven of the nine witnesses that testified against him have re-canted their testimony. Two of the jurors that found him guilty have sworn out affidavits that stated, based on the recanted testimony, he should not be executed. They are afraid they may have sentenced an innocent man to die. Remember ... there was never any physical evidence linking this man to the crime.

Still, prosecutors in Georgia are trying to push the execution through. Maybe with the Mike Nifong thing, I don't place as much faith in prosecutors, but this execution must be stopped. An execution is not a thing you can correct later if you've made a mistake. While I believe that Capital Punishment is a good thing ... the standard of law should be higher than with any other sentence. Instead of "beyond a reasonable doubt", if the State is going to execute someone, the standard should be "beyond a shadow of a doubt". That means I want physical evidence (DNA, fingerprints, photos, video etc), eyewitnesses are too unreliable.

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Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Now what the heck does that title mean? Well, paraskevi is Greek for Friday and dekatria is Greek for thirteen. Most people know that a phobia is an unreasonable fear. Soooo ... paraskevidekatriaphobia is the egghead way of saying fear of Friday the 13th.

If you go out and ask people if anything bad has happened to them on Friday the 13th, you will probably get a considerable amount of them saying yes. Of course, the same number of people probably had bad things happen to them on Tuesday the 23rd ... but since that isn't an "unlucky day", they probably don't remember the date. But why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? Come step into the Blogway Boys basement and learn something.

On Friday, October 13th, 1307 Jaques de Molay, the head of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights were arrested by King Phillip IV of France. They were subsequently tortured, "confessed" and were executed. Now while this was extremely unlucky for these knights ... no ... I checked, it doesn't affect me at all.

Or ...

12 Gods were having a feast in the hallowed halls of Asgard when Loki (god of mischief) crashed the party as the 13th guest and tricked Hod (the blind god of darkness) into shooting Baldur (the god of joy and gladness) with a mistle-toe tipped arrow and killing him. This plunged the world into despair ... but no ... still doesn't affect me.

Or ...

Judas was the 13th person to the last supper ... he betrayed Jesus ... and Christ was crucified on Good Friday. Once again, bad luck for the Christ ... but since he died for our sins, I guess good luck for the rest of the world.

It is estimated that $800 to $900 million dollars is lost to the economy because of this silly superstition. Some people don't go to work, they refuse to fly and they don't make major purchases on the 13th. So maybe it isn't lucky for business at all. It has become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

So, what bad things have happened to you on Friday the 13th?

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Benchmarks

The "Initial Benchmark Assessment Report" has just been released by the White House and shows mixed results on the 18 benchmarks (goals) that were set forth when "The New Way Forward" strategy was put into effect. Here is the breakdown on where we are right now, the final report is due in September.

1) The Iraqi government must form a Constitutional Review Committee and then complete a constitutional review.

Grade ... satisfactory - The committee was formed on 11/15/2006 and the review is currently underway.

2) Enacting and implementing legislation allowing former Ba'ath party members to return to government service.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - re-integration of former Ba'athists that have not committed a crime has already begun, though a sweeping, government led policy over time would send a positive signal in favor of reconciliation. This is one of the most divisive of the benchmarks. I can see where the Iraqi people may be uneasy about allowing their former tormentors back into government service, but these are the guys that ran the power, water, sewage and almost all the services and are needed.

3) Enacting and Implementing legislation to fairly divide Iraq's oil profits so that all segments of the population get their fair share.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - but this is an all or nothing benchmark. This legislation has been hammered in the legislature almost constantly. There is a framework for the revenue sharing law, but approval has been delayed by a Sunni party boycott. This is the most important legislation that the Iraqi government has in front of it ... and important legislation takes time.

4) Enacting and implementing legislation on the procedure to form regions.

Grade ... satisfactory - The law was passed in October of 2006. Under the Iraqi constitution, regions have powers that provinces don't like control over regional security forces. I liken these regions to states in the US.

5) Enacting and implementing legislation:
a) establishing an Independent High Electoral Commission
b) provisional election law
c) provisional council authorities
d) provisional elections

Grade a) satisfactory - the commission has been established b) unsatisfactory - drafting of the law has just begun c) unsatisfactory - the law is in it's third revision when the law will come to a final vote on passage. d) unsatisfactory - legislation for setting a date for elections has not been enacted.

6) Enacting and implementing legislation addressing amnesty

Grade ... unsatisfactory - There is little progress toward an amnesty law for people who have fought against the government since 2003 ... This might come at some point, but no one is pressing for it at this time and the US government has re-thought it's position on amnesty ... feeling that conditions are not yet right for a general amnesty in Iraq.

7) Enacting and implementing legislation disarming militias

Grade ... unsatisfactory - the pre-requisites for disarming the militias are not yet present. In fact, international experts, including the UN have expressed reservations to advancing this proposal at this time.

8) Establishing political, media, economic and services committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.

Grade ... satisfactory - these committees have been established and will continue to be monitored to provide a satisfactory effect over the next 60 days.

9) Providing (3) trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.

Grade ... satisfactory - the Iraqi government has provided the three brigades ... they are a combination of additional troops and troops pulled from existing units. Though manning levels are a concern, the Iraqi government has provided the three brigades to Baghdad and has made provisions to sustain this level of effort and to address manning issues.

10) Provide Iraqi commanders with the authority to execute the Baghdad Operation and make tactical and operational decisions in consultation with US Commanders without political intervention, including the authority to pursue all extremists including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - Iraqi commanders have been given authority to go after insurgents and militias but there remains a negative political influence in regards to sectarian behavior (though it does seem a bit hypocritical to tell the Iraqis to keep politics out of the military when the US hasn't been able to do it). So, while there has been definite progress, it has been too uneven to warrant a satisfactory grade at this time.

11) Ensure that the Iraqi Security Forces are providing even-handed enforcement of the law.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - Iraqi Security Force performance has generally been adequate, but because we are holding them to a high standard, the overall judgement at this time is unsatisfactory.

12) Ensuring that the Baghdad Security Plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of their sectarian or political affiliation.

Grade ... satisfactory - Commanders on the ground report that there is no place in Baghdad that coalition and Iraqi forces are prohibited from going ... though there is one individual that is "off-limits", by order of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki (though the individual is not named in the report, we can assume it is radical Shite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr).

13) Reducing the level of Sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local security.

Grade ... satisfactory and unsatisfactory - while the level of sectarian violence has been reduced throughout Iraq, militias still control some local security.

14) Establishing all of the planned joint security stations (JSS) in neighborhoods across Baghdad.

Grade ... satisfactory - So far, 68 of these JSS's have been established with been established with 22 more to go. This benchmark is on track to be completed within the required time.

15) Increasing the number of Iraqi security forces capable of operating independently.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - There are 9 Iraqi Army divisions, 31 Brigades, and 95 Battalions in the operational lead for their area of responsibility. Earlier this year the Iraqi government invested $7.3 billion for the training and equipping of its own security forces. This is an impressive investment that will need time to have an impact on the ground. There has actually been a slight decrease in units rated as capable of independent operations since January of 2007. This is due to an increase of 20% in the size of the Iraqi army. When you increase the size of the army, you dilute the pool of fully trained Officers and NCOs as they are transferred to other units to make them combat ready. Just like when a baseball league has expansion teams, the league is diluted till more minor leaguers come up and gain some experience.

16) Ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.

Grade ... satisfactory - Minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature function in a manner consistent with minority parties in other parliamentary democracies.

17) Allocating and spending $10 billion in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including the delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.

Grade ... satisfactory - In 2006, the Iraqi government was only able to execute 22% of the allocated budget for these projects ... this year that percentage will be much higher, and it is extremely important for the Iraqi people to see their government working on improving roads, schools and being able to keep the lights on. This benchmark is being hampered by security concerns but great progress is being made.

18) Ensuring that Iraq's political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the Iraqi Security Forces.

Grade ... unsatisfactory - some members of the Iraqi Parliament and council of ministers have made baseless accusations against ISF leaders for sectarian and political gain (sounds like they have been learning a little too much from Washington DC).

So the final tally is 8 satisfactory, 8 unsatisfactory and 2 mixed. I have condensed the 25 pages of the report (a report that is full of acronyms and very hard to follow) so that it is easier to read ... you can make your own decisions on how we are doing and not have to rely on television news reporters (who probably haven't read the report and only read what's on the teleprompter). By the way, the smart-ass remarks in parenthesis are my own comments and should not be taken as part of the report.

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Bad Days For Terrorists ... Yipee!

Terrorists have been having a string of set-backs lately ...

• Pakistani commando forces have stormed and cleared out the Red Mosque in Islamabad, killing pro-Taliban cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and 50 of his fighters.
• The Jordanian army is preparing for the final assault on members of Fatah-al-Islam, holed up in a refugee camp in Northern Lebanon ... there will be no terrorist survivors of this assault either.
• The Filipino Air Force has been pounding positions held by the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and has killed at least 67 of them this week. This is in addition to taking out 7 Abu Sayyaf terrorists (including 2 top commanders) on Saturday.
• Operation Phantom Thunder continues to clear insurgents out of Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper (who comes up with these names?) is having even more success in Baqubah, with coalition forces distributing aid to the residents as the terrorists are driven out of the town or killed.
• Money is pouring into the Fatah controlled West Bank, while the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip is having to make do with considerably less.
• In London, the (4) 2005 failed transit bombers were sentenced to life in prison and their 2007 counterparts succeeded in injuring only themselves.

All in all it's been a good week, and a trend that I hope continues.

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Big Brother May Be Watching ... So What?

New York City is going to take a page out of London's anti-terror play book and start installing thousands of cameras in the down-town financial district. These security cameras will be monitoring the streets and outsides of buildings and can be accessed to look at a situation that happened or monitored in real time if there is fore-knowledge of something that may happen.

Of course the ACLU is already calling it an invasion of privacy and would like nothing better than to get the project scrapped.

Maybe I'm stupid, but I don't see where the privacy issue comes into play. When I go into a public street ... I don't expect my actions to be private. When I am sitting at home, then sure, I expect ... no, demand my privacy, but out on the street ... of course not. Isn't that why it is called going out in "public"?

The only people I can see that would be opposed to the cameras are criminals and terrorists that do not want people seeing what they are doing. I'm sorry to all the people who would feel uncomfortable buying their drugs and soliciting prostitutes while the cameras are watching, but the safety of the public trumps your unease.

If I am missing something, please let me know.

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Defend Yourself

Saturday, the Iraqi Government told its' citizens to defend themselves against terrorists. There has been plenty said in the media that this is an admission by the Iraqis that the government can't defend them from attacks. I have a different take on it (don't I always).

The 2nd amendment of the US Constitution states, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Seems like the founding fathers of the United States believed that the citizenry of the new country might have to defend themselves "or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger" they even made allowances in the 5th amendment for times of public danger. I can't think of a place with more public danger than Iraq.

So, instead of seeing this as a failure of the government ... I see it as a move by the government to emulate the United States in its' infancy. We seem to forget that Iraq is now a new nation and will be experiencing growing pains. They need to figure out what will work for them. While the United States had over 50 years to establish itself before the War of 1812, the Iraqi government has been under siege since it's inception.

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Packistani Standoff

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is learning that you can't play neutral when it comes to Muslim extremists. In a showdown between the government and the militant followers of Islamic cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Musharraf has threatened to kill them all unless they surrender. The extremists, mostly students, have been holed up in a mosque in the capital city of Islamabad. They have said that martyrdom is favorable to surrender. The extremists want a change in Pakistan to Islamic rule similar to that of the Taliban. They have women and children in the mosque with them.

For too long, Musharraf has been straddling the fence on the war on terror, striking deals with the tribesmen in the north and pretty much making the north a safe haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. He is now discovering (like the Saudis) that deals with terrorists only last as long as the terrorists want them to. Musharraf needs to buckle down and get serious with these terrorists, just like the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines have. Both of these governments have made great strides in ridding their populations of these vermin and are truly players in the Global War On Terror.

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Depraved Indifference

The news very seldom pisses me off to the extent that this little incident did. On June 23rd, as a stabbing victim lay bleeding to death on the floor of a Wichita, Kansas convenience store ... 5 shoppers stepped over her body and just kept shopping. To make matters worse, one of these fine citizens stopped to take a picture of the dying woman with his cell phone.

You would think this scene would have played out in New York, LA or DC, but not in Kansas. Isn't this supposed to be the Heartland of the United States where the people are the "salt of the earth"? Then why did it take over 2 minutes for someone to call 911 after the discovery of the body (all this was documented on the store's security camera)?

Local statutes only require people to stop and render aid in the case of a traffic accident so law enforcement feels that they can not do anything.

I beg to differ. All states have laws in effect against "depraved indifference". Depraved Indifference is where a person's conduct, "is so wanton, so deficient in a moral sense of concern, so lacking in the lack of regard for the life or lives of others, and so blameworthy as to warrant the same criminal liability as that which the law imposes on a person who intentionally causes a crime". Seems like the definition fits.

The victim, LaShanda Calloway, died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Would the 2 extra minutes have made a difference? What a shame that we even have to ask the question.

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I'm Back ... But Only On Occasion

Hi Everyone, sorry I've been away for a while but the forces of evil at work have installed the firewall from hell and Blogger is not one of the approved sites. Since I spend anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day at work, I like to spend time with my family when I get home (translation ... the wife wants me to spend time with her when I'm at home). I have to be careful so that she doesn't sell my computer at a yard sale like she did a couple of years ago.

Enough of this ... now for my usual rant:

Terrorist attacks were foiled in London this weekend, and one was bungled in Scotland. This was a chilling welcome to the new Prime Minister (2nd day on the job), but it seems he has passed the initial test in the global war on terror. 10 suspects have been rounded up and it seems the British Intelligence services are doing splendidly. In a new twist, 3 of the suspects are medical doctors.

The problem now is, with such a great number of people in the medical profession being from Islamic countries (both in the US and UK), will we be able to trust these doctors with our health and the health of our families?

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