The Lighter Side...

les aaron

"What's this squad for?"

"You asked for volunteers for Iran and that's
all we could muster, sir..." 

The Other Side of the News...

Can America’s leadership face up to being throttled
In what it considers to be its own domain?

Hey, we all read the Greening of America. Get rid of manufacturing.
It was dirty stuff and we were too good to get our hands dirty. It was time to move up, so sayeth the gurus of the day—gurus who probably made a big killing by giving business the excuse it needed to screw American labor and move business off-shore (one of the first uses of that euphemism…)
Excuse me for talking frank here but it’s demanded that we lay it on the line…
After all, we were the technology pro’s. We could master the information age and become its new prophets.

Only, it didn’t work out that way.

Sure, we obliged all of those business owners who couldn’t see beyond the profits that would come from cutting costs; who didn’t give a rat’s nose about all of the workers that would be displaced or the families that were dependent upon their incomes…

And we moved to corner the Information Age…
Or at least we thought we did!

In the beginning, it seemed that we could do no wrong.

Silicone Valley was where it was happening and everywhere you looked, there was a new start-up, a new vision, a new technology company that would become an overnight success predicated on the fast growth of the Internet.

And then the bubble broke!

What were we left with? Yes, we still had our information and communications business but now they were selling to brick and mortar institutions. And overnight businesses disappeared never to be seen again.

Out of this disaster, we learned a few valuable lessons:

One, that America was not alone in some technology vacuum; but that the other guys could play the game, too.

Secondly, you don’t toss out what you have without considering all the variables. One that was glossed over was education.

Not everyone, it seemed, was capable of moving up. It was the same lie bandied about by computer marketers: “No, computers were not going to replace people, they were just going to free them up to perform other, more important tasks.” We learned that in our computer marketing classes. Sure!

So, here’s the small print.

Despite what the president says tonight, this is what you need to think about:

America has lost 200,000 plus jobs since 2,000 in Silicone Alley in Information technology and communications alone. And guess what? These same jobs are being filled elsewhere!

And if you don’t think that Microsoft like all the others don’t have big staffs there, you are whistling Dixie, my friend.

Also, that we don’t hold an exclusive on this business. What the government doesn’t want you to know is that our indebtedness to China alone in the areas of information and technology jobs has grown from $14 billion in 2000 to $49 billion in 2005. Said another way, our debt in what we had thought was our exclusive area of specialization has tripled in less than five years!...

Where, ladies and gentlemen, do we go from here?

Les Aaron
The Other Side of the News…
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com

Take it seriously!

Thanks to RecipeforDisaster.org for this one...

A RECIPE FOR DISASTER


Katrina a la Bush

Ingredients

1 - Great American City1 - Category-4 Hurricane1 - President on vacation1 - Grover Norquist bathtub


Preparation

Take one great American city.
Place in Grover Norquist's bathtub.
Slowly stir in 2 1/2 centuries of racism and inequality, while de-funding basic infrastructure.
Ignore repeated calls to reinforce protective levees.
Let it sit until conditions ripen.

Separate out 35% of the Louisiana National Guard and 1/2 the high-water Humvees.
Box up in C-130 military transport and send to Iraq.
They will not be used.

With a large blunt knife, cut FEMA by 500 personnel
Grease cookie jar with political appointments
Replace the FEMA director with the ex-Commissioner of the International Arabian Horses Association.

In a separate bowl ........

relax regulation of nearby waste dumps

Tenderize levee system by cutting funding for the US Army Corp of Engineers.

Whip up a category-4 Hurricane
Add unusual ferocity by neglecting Global Warming and combine with
remaining ingredients into a toxic stew.

Let it soak until hundreds are dead.

This may take several days

While standing around ......
Play guitar, sleep, cut birthday cake, clear brush on vacation estate

During this time keep everyone else away.

Serving

Salt to taste with excuses and cavalier comments
Serve to leery public, as poll numbers sink

Clean-up

If clean-up proves difficult and expensive........
Consider using products from Halliburton and other well known brands.

Sweep leftovers under rug.

http://recipefordisaster.org

 

On the Light Side...

"It's billed as the Bush
Plan to get people back to work...."

 

The Lighter Side...

les aaron
"Rumsfeld said, 'It worked for Rome.' " 

On the Lighter Side...

les aaron
"Don't you think they're a little young to meet
with a recruiter?" 

"State of Disunity Speech"

Rose has gone out to buy my “accessories” that will enable me to sit still for tonight’s State of the Union speech. The first of these is a Universal remote with an oversize Mute button that I can reach from anywhere... even with my nose.
I also have put in my order for some webbing and a Boy Scout Manual so that Rose will understand how to wrap me so that I can’t jump off my favorite chair and deliver a drop kick to the TV. It’s too expensive and it scares the dog!
The third element of my State of the Union Speech “attire” is my new, comfort-designed gag that allows me to either foam at the mouth as I usually do or emit a torrent of expletives without driving the neighbors to circulate petitions!...

That and a bottle of gin with a long straw should allow me to make it through the speech.
And that will be a first!

This will be a test of endurance for me since I have never managed to make it more than two minutes into anything bubble boy has had to say. My wife, usually the archetypal nice and neutral detached citizen, informed me that she hates me since 2000 when “the thing” got into office. I keep telling her it’s not my fault; I don’t intentionally go out of my way to act like this… Let me explain: I would rather be fishing in my case is no exaggeration! But what the Hell can you do. The month I moved down to this laid back area, I attended a Howard Dean meeting… What a mistake that was! I got sucked in and haven’t stopped since. Now, I am obsessed with stupid stuff, like returning America to the rule of law, reinstituting freedoms, maintaining privacy and superficial stuff like that.

I do have one real concern: I might be able to break out! I might break free of the heavy-duty webbing and rip off my gag and then all bets are off. I told Rose if that should happen, quick hand me the meds and dump the pail of water over my head. If that doesn’t work, pull the plug out of the wall and run for cover.

Aside from that, everything’s fine!

Les Aaron

les aaron
"Interest any of you boys in becoming
An Army of One?" 

Breaking News...

The National savings rate dipped into negative territory last year.

The last time that we had bottomed to such rates was 1933, in the depths of the Depression.

What does this say about the future?

Contrast this statistic and compare it to what is happening in housing equity and bank card credit.

Americans have exhausted most of their equity in their homes and with slowing demand, it looks like Americans will have to find other sources for equity. The other avenue has always been the credit card. However, lenders are tightening up! and most lenders are over their limits. Together, tightening credit combined with a negative savings rate is not encouraging and not a positive indicator of the health of the American economy..

Clearly, American wage-earners seem to be running out of possible options
as the base costs for energy, food and health care costs continue to soar...

Expect to see a rash of home sales in the coming twelve months and further dislocations if these prognostications are correct ..

Les Aaron
Breaking News...

The Internet Scanner: Army Faces Extended Duty!

Army forces 50,000 soldiers into extended duty
By Will DunhamSun Jan 29, 10:54 AM ET
The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called "stop-loss," but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have fallen flat.
The policy applies to soldiers in units due to deploy for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Army said stop-loss is vital to maintain units that are cohesive and ready to fight. But some experts said it shows how badly the Army is stretched and could further complicate efforts to attract new recruits.
"As the war in Iraq drags on, the Army is accumulating a collection of problems that cumulatively could call into question the viability of an all-volunteer force," said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute think tank.
"When a service has to repeatedly resort to compelling the retention of people who want to leave, you're edging away from the whole notion of volunteerism."
When soldiers enlist, they sign a contract to serve for a certain number of years, and know precisely when their service obligation ends so they can return to civilian life. But stop-loss allows the Army, mindful of having fully manned units, to keep soldiers on the verge of leaving the military.
Under the policy, soldiers who normally would leave when their commitments expire must remain in the Army, starting 90 days before their unit is scheduled to depart, through the end of their deployment and up to another 90 days after returning to their home base.
With yearlong tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, some soldiers can be forced to stay in the Army an extra 18 months.
HARDSHIP FOR SOME SOLDIERS
Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman, said that "there is no plan to discontinue stop-loss."
"We understand that this is causing hardship for some individual soldiers, and we take individual situations into consideration," Hilferty said.
Hilferty said there are about 12,500 soldiers in the regular Army, as well as the part-time National Guard and Reserve, currently serving involuntarily under the policy, and that about 50,000 have had their service extended since the program began in 2002. An initial limited use of stop-loss was expanded in subsequent years to affect many more.
"While the policies relative to the stop-loss seem harsh, in terms of suspending scheduled separation dates (for leaving the Army), they are not absolute," Hilferty said. "And we take individual situations into consideration for compelling and compassionate reasons."
Hilferty noted the Army has given "exceptions" to 210 enlisted soldiers "due to personal hardship reasons" since October 2004, allowing them to leave as scheduled.
"The nation is at war and we are stop-lossing units deploying to a combat theater to ensure they mobilize, train, deploy, fight, redeploy and demobilize as a team," he said.
NO LUCK IN COURT
A few soldiers have gone to court to challenge stop-loss.
One such case fizzled last week, when U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington dismissed a suit filed in 2004 by two Army National Guard soldiers. The suit claimed the Army fraudulently induced soldiers to enlist without specifying that their service might be involuntarily extended.
Courts also have backed the policy's legality in Oregon and California cases.
Jules Lobel, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who represented the National Guard soldiers, said a successful challenge to stop-loss was still possible.
"I think the whole stop-loss program is a misrepresentation to people of how long they're going to actually serve. I think it's caused tremendous morale problems, tremendous psychological damage to people," Lobel said.
"When you sign up for the military, you're saying, 'I'll give you, say, six years and then after six years I get my life back.' And they're saying, 'No, really, we can extend you indefinitely."'
Congressional critics have assailed stop-loss, and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry called it "a back-door draft." The United States abolished the draft in 1973, but the all-volunteer military never before has been tested by a protracted war.
A report commissioned by the Pentagon called stop-loss a "short-term fix" enabling the Army to meet ongoing troop deployment requirements, but said such policies "risk breaking the force as recruitment and retention problems mount." It was written by Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer.
Thompson added, "The persistent use of stop-loss underscores the fact that the war-fighting burden is being carried by a handful of soldiers while the vast majority of citizens incur no sacrifice at all."

Middle East Update

Between Iraq and a Hard Place…

Day by day, it seems as if the situation between Iran and the rest of the Western World is deteriorating. And while most of us tend to look at the building crisis in kind of an objective isolation, a more enlightened outlook that takes into account history and geopolitics might be more instructive.

Right now, the newly elected president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
someone who is regularly accused of being a hick and a buffoon, is doing a pretty good job of stirring the pot. Moreover, he keeps the focus on Israel as the real or imagined threat.

Whether his paranoia is justified is quite another thing.

Certainly, Israel is not about to forget that Iran has been a supporter of terrorism in the middle east. In their camp, the Western powers for reasons of their own have been in pretty solid agreement about not wanting Iran to go ahead and start processing enriched materials which could be a prelude to building the bomb.

Most experts seem to think that Iran may be less than a year away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon. Others feel that it will take them four or five years!

Either way, the West is in agreement that Iran cannot proceed and will, if necessary, bring up the methods at its disposal to discourage Iran from pursuing this course ranging from restricting trade to strategies that will impact their financial negotiations with the west. . To further complicate matters, Israel, despite its low profile, will not tolerate Iran developing nuclear weaponry that could be used against them…

Just today the London Observer reported that the Iranian president said that if they are attacked, they will attack back from ships positioned within 1,300 miles of Israel, the maximum range of the Iranian missiles.

Therefore, the threat level ratchets up a notch.

In some respects, this is beginning to look like a middle eastern game of ‘chicken’ but with grave overtones for all sides.

It pays to consider the playing field here. Iran is said to be buying from both China and North Korea. This would tend to position them against India and towards Pakistan.
Pakistan has its own nuclear capability and it has been accused in the past of working with dissident countries seeking their own nuclear weaponry.

Russia, in the meantime, is trying to work with Iran suggesting that they would help them with peaceful nuclear fission to produce energy as the Iranians claim to be interested in.
However, if China steps up its involvement which could see all of South Asia going on an emergency War footing. Beyond geographical considerations, there is the religious perspective pitting the Islamic nation of Iran against Israel and the Christian west.
Islamic in this case focuses on the majority party of Shiites who are it is said already maneuvering to influence the future course of Iraq.

Either way, the impact could easily extend beyond the subject country and change the balance of power in the region. Clearly, the outcome as of now is far from clear.

The mystery card here is Israel who has said very little and mostly keeps a low profile in the conflict between East and West. Iran, mistrustful of the West, knows that the West in the past has spoken out of both sides of its mouth and triggered the changes that led to the Shah and the ouster of Moussadegh. They have not forgotten how their country figured in those oil negotiations in the 1950’s that have led to today’s polarization.

Iran, three times the size of Iraq with three times the population represents a real challenge to peace in the world at this time. Unfortunately, England and the US do not have much good will left with the Iranians to negotiate a peaceful solution that will satisfy all parties. And in the end, it may be that despite the West’s saber rattling Iran may choose to ignore it all and go ahead counting on its oil wealth to defuse and separate its enemies…

Les Aaron
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com

Come to the News....

On the Light Side...

les aaron

"Welcome back from Iraq, soldier. Here's
your new issue of improved body armor..." 

Thinking Out Loud!

Planning vs. Passion!...

...I was sitting around thinking why I was in such a blue funk. What really ticks me off is that we are always accused of attacking from the left; as if we are already guilty before being proven innocent. Even the mention of the word "left," is enough for most people who have their mind closed to any new ideas and believe all the rhetoric they've been fed since youngsters to batten down the hatches and lock their minds shut. My God, if a new idea squeaked through today, they would have to erect a statue to it. There are so many canned ideas making the rounds that it boggles the imagination!...

. It is a tough time for anybody like me to find something to be optimistic about. And after all of the thought I've given as to why we are kind of pigeon-holed for doing our own thing I realize why. We respond to things viscerally; we do not believe in long term plans and we have a lot of trouble with commitment to an effort that involves more than one person. Most of the time, we are fighting among ourselves while they go merrily on their way screwing us at each turn . Do we respond? Maybe, but with an email or a letter or a phone call but nothing usually consistent. That's part of the dimension of the problem.

Why are we so out of the main stream? Why do they prefer all of these slogans and half baked truths? Why have we failed to ignite at least some questions about how this cabal is running us into the ground?

Consider this: The Republicans believe in making up a plan and sticking to it. If they decide that they want a conservative to be in the Supreme Court, they will start twenty years before to lay the groundwork. They will organize the necessary committees. They will line up the Think Tanks; start the process going and figure out all of the necessary steps in advance, assign people to the project each step of the way, groom appropriate candidates, raise money and put the wheels into motion.

Could we do that?

Hell no, we have dem candidates trying to rip out each other's throats days before the vote. There is no getting together; no commonality of effort to line things up to win. That this is a serious problem should not escape anyone... Consider that Alioto's bid tracks back to 82 when the then president Reagan started to lay the groundwork for the appointment of conservative judges...
That's more than twenty years ago!

I've always maintained in geopolitical policy you have to look in twenty year increments; it is the same thing in politics!... Right now, the Republicans are hard at work laying the plans for they expect to happen in 2025 which is probably to write off all of the coastal flooded blue cities like New York, Boston, LA and concentrate on those areas that are too dumb to see the perils of lining up with the party of self-interest. Of course, by that time, we will probably be speaking a half dozen languages dominated by Chinese since the Chinese will own everything… We will be awash in dark clouds from burning the new coal and half of us will be coughing as we complain about our lack of medical coverage.

Nevertheless, even then I predict that we will not be able to line up two democrats to agree on anything.

Imagine trying to get a democratic group together long enough to accomplish anything before they all imploded!...Something to think about as we lefties ponder our next movement in the here and now...

Les Aaron

les aaron

"This is what I get for my $18 billion
Reconstruction budget?" 

les aaron

"It wasn't my fault.
It was all those employees
expecting a pay check
and those share-holders
demanding profits..." 

Party Backbone Available Cheap!

The book about the book.

A few years back, I had the bright idea of writing a book about taking back the White House. At that point, it was only a fantasy in my own mind. But it just lay there waiting for something to happen like a touch of agita. . I was sure that the Dems would definitely take the White House back in the mid-terms; no need to do anything! . Then I was sure we would prevent a second term for this cabal. But that didn’t happen either. So I fell into a deep bit of despair…

I had to get back to my idea. I had to get back to work because no one else seemed to be doing it.
Make no mistake about it. I still believe that the Dem Party definitely needed help then; and it needs help now! . I was sure of that from my own experience; never have I seen the Party so hide-bound; so cautious about stepping forward with alternative programs of their own; never attacking the lies and the shadings that this government seems to excel in.

I guess I should know. I had been working on and off for various candidates over the years. I had been groomed by Nixon’s nefarious schemes. I never wanted to see his likes in government again. I saw how things could be changed; how the truth could be inverted and how people could be made to believe anything if told enough lies often enough.

The 2000 election was a watershed for me. At that point, I couldn’t take the status quo any longer. Two years before, I had moved to the seashore to fish and laze about. I have been here now five years and I haven’t been to the beach once.

Why? I can’t stand what’s happening to my country under the rubric of conservative politics.
And if I can’t live by ignoring it, then I had to get involved. And therein lies the tale.

It’s about me and the ultimate book of the Democratic Party; maybe the last book!

I thought it would be easy. After all, I had so much of the background information in my head and I basically knew what I wanted to say. And I have had plenty of experience in writing non-fiction; almost forty five years!...Plus, I had some fourteen fiction books that I had written since leaving the service at the beginning of the age of Nixon… So, it seemed it would be clear sailing.

Well, I was partially right. The first draft went swimmingly. Then I started the edit. I guess it’s true you should never edit your own work. I would look at one thing here and figured, “wow, that could use a little fleshing out…” or that point over there I want to make clearer or that argument is a little weak and needs a little embellishing. When I got into that aspect of the wrap-up, I couldn’t put it down. I kept thinking I wanted to add something on subject after subject.

I thought this would turn out to be a fast read primer. Instead what’s it turned out to be is a guide to the way democratic politics should be practiced from the git-go.

I, hopefully, have shed some new ideas on strategies and tactics. I have talked about new approaches. I have focused on marketing and communications, my specific field of expertise. And I have adapted new strategies from management that could be applied to the new Democratic Party that I envision rising like a Phoenix out of the ashes.
I have talked about legislation and issues with essays on each of the burning issues that we face. And I have talked in depth about solutions, about a new view of the world that is badly needed. I have covered jobs, the economy, the War, the environment, global warming, health care, education and everything that I thought was relevant including the crisis in New Orleans and what it portends for the rest of America!

Nor have I been necessarily kind to our existing representatives. Where needed, I have called a spade a spade. I take issue with the candidates, the DNC, Congress and individuals who I consider fair play since they represented our hopes and aspirations. And lastly I have treated the idea of the process of voting per se so that we can have a clean sweap. I am not seeking friendships; just victory for our side.

I talk about framing as well and where it fits into the new mix. In short, I have prepared what I hope will be viewed as a bible that activist Democrats will refer to regularly as they move forward with their programs and platforms to take government back.

It has been a long task. I’ve spent most of my waking time when not otherwise engaged, polishing, adding, refining the text. And I have finally gotten to the point, where I am happy with the way it has developed almost taking on a life of its own…

Now, what do I do with it. I have no interest of making a fortune with this book; in fact, most of the proceeds except for my personal expenses will be used to zap other right candidates who play fast and loose with the truth, who believe that they speak personally with God and that only they know the way to salvation.

In short, I am at War with this view and those who think that the rest of us don’t have the brains to see through their motivations…

I hope to be able to get word to you shortly that I have the book in publication.

If anyone’s interested, they may contact me directly for more information.
hubmaster@aol.com. Or contact me anyway since I’ve got a bunch of other projects in the works where I need some committed dems to help out.

In the meantime, keep up the good fight!

Best wishes,

Les Aaron
The Hubmaster

The Lighter Side...

les aaron

"Why should we worry about the
Chinese. They only have one model.
"Yeah, except they're selling theirs for
under $10,000 and they have
25 million of them!..." 

The Lighter Side...

les Aaron

"There's good news and bad news, ma. As near
as we can tell you didn't catch anything from a
human..." 

There He Goes Again!...

Oh boy, another speech, another TV. This is getting expensive.

At the rate I'm going I figure that each year it's costing me a couple of hundred bucks.

On the other hand, that's not a bad price considering how much I am saving in shrink bills.

Imagine if I didn't have a TV to kick in with stunning regularity.

Talk about dumb dogs.

My dog knows enough to hightail it when Bush comes on because he might get in the way of a well-aimed kick or a lot of flying objects.

I usually try to start off with a batch of well matched socks...

And I start off with them figuring that's better than nothing...

but by the time, he's insulted my intelligence a dozen times, remedial actions call for something a good deal stronger! a la the well aimed drop kick!

What the Hell! It's probably good for business if everyone were to do that...

Although it would probably be better for China because we don't make TV's any longer.
In fact, we don't make much of anything any longer...

Too bad, Bush doesn't spend a little more time explaining why that is....

I for one would like to know...

Anyway, I got to run now and check out replacements!...

I think this time i will get one with a pan so the damn glass doesn't get all over the place...

Keep warm!

Les Aaron

Solving The World's Problems With Salmon Cakes

Hey, Chef Joe, now I know who to go to when I have a cooking idea..."

Yesterday, I made my own version of salmon cakes they are inexpensive and absolutely delicious... I couldn't wait til my wife left to be with the kids!
It's the only time I get to have salmon cakes for dinner. I usually serve them with pea soup for a simple dinner that is quick (once you've made up the cakes, you only need to heat them again in the microwave) and it is delicious. Plus, the ingredients--salmon has those oils that are good for you!...

There are variations to this so feel free to improvise...

First of, you can use a relatively inexpensive can of whole salmon. Shouldn't cost more than two bucks.

Drain the water out; put it in big bowl.

Boil half a dozen red potatoes...

Cut up three medium sized yellow onions... Cut them up reasonably small but don't dice.

Season to taste. I like pepper, salt, parsley, and other seasonings...
Suit yourself here.

Toss into the mix a couple of eggs....

Add about a cup of breadcrumbs...

Toss in the cooked potatoes after you've made them reasonably soft...

Add chives or leaks if you like...

Then get ready to mix the whole batch together.

Don't be afraid of getting your fingers dirty... You got to dig in.

Then make sure the whole mixture is mixed so that it is of a uniform density and maleable like a dough...

Flatten into little pancakes...

In the meantime, heat up some cooking oil about 3/4 of an inch in a large frying pan...

Get the oil real hot!
Don't worry about the mess! Your wife will clean it! (Sure, sure!)...

Put the individual fritters or cakes into the hot oil and cook until a nice crust forms on each side--you will have to flip. Be careful here; you don't want to burn yourself.

Let cool....
And then eat.

I usually get about 9 nice size fritters out of each can...

That's enough for a week's dinners for way less than a dollar per fritter....

Can't beat that!

You know, Joe, after I wrote this up, I thought I would send it to a couple of our friendly lists in case we have some people who like to fool around with cooking...

I am going to eat one tonight for dinner after I go out and get my pea soup ingredients.

Enjoy!!!

Les AAron

"No, I don't think this qualifies under Homeland
Security, officer..." 

"It's a newly designed cab to accommodate
our Immigrant drivers..." 

The Lighter Side...

"We've carved out a compromise truce.
Israel will continue to put up the Wall...And
Hamas will install the doors!" 

NEWS & VIEWS:

News&Views:
Through Feb 1, 06

Published irregularly and contentiously by
THE UBIQUITOUS FLYING BLUE BLOG:

Bush’s Impossible Legacy:
You really need a sardonic sense of humor to listen to Bush talk about Tocqueville as a guide in thinking about his legacy, especially when Tocqueville in his book about America and democracy warned us about how such a person could transform a democracy, as fragile as it is, into a tyranny!

As an aside, Tocqueville wrote about America from his own uniquely French perspective where the forces of revolution-- spurred on by support for America’s own revolution!--caused them to overthrow their own monarchy. Ironically, Tocqueville’s own family faced the executioner. A lesson here indeed!

America’s Environmental Grades Slip Again!
Davos conference begins this week. A newly formed environmental group assembled by Yale and Columbia University will report that based on 16 separate parameters, America will rank down at the bottom of the rankings of the industrialized nations. In the survey, New Zealand ranked first followed by 6 Northern European nations… Ranking ahead of the US was most of industrialized Northern Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Chile. The yardsticks ranged from clean water to the state of the country’s hatcheries and air quality standards based on emissions… Countries were grouped according to those having similar conditions and unlike earlier studies, this one was based on the results of policy and less on trends.


Bremmer’s “Tell-All” Does Not Dispel Misgivings of Many…
Paul Bremmer published his explanation as to why he didn’t resolve the challenges he faced in Iraq. Most think, the effort was to dispel the charges of his critics and place the blame where he felt it belonged; others see it as attempting to absolve himself of anything that went wrong. Some are less inclined to let Bremmer off the hook. Insiders claim that some of the set-backs in Fallujah could have been avoided if Bremer had his act together. Case in point, Bremmer had called out the Army to eliminate the incipient terrorist movement there, only to change his mind when presented with new data indicating that it might be harmful to his future plans. Switching gears provoked a reaction from the then commander who thought it would not only be bad for morale, it could encourage further intransigence later on from such insurgent movements. Invariably, it became a clash between Bremmer and the Pentagon with Bremmer prevailing. Today, many are inclined to believe that the existing problems have their origin in Bremmer’s earlier decision.



Whether We Leave Iraq Now or Ten Years From Now,
What is the Real Question?
How long we should stay in Iraq seems to the question that rankles most politicians and others; but it may turn out to be the wrong question.

The real question is what is the trade off if we stay longer vs. leaving expeditiously.
Based upon the inevitable tensions between the three major factions, Shiite, Kurd, Sunni, some realistic prognosticators see no equitable outcome that will satisfy each party. The outcome is clearly the kind of Civil War that could involve neighbors and dissolve borders. If that is true, if we are going to sustain a Civil War no matter what we do in the country, then we need to ask ourselves whether the additional cost in human lives is worth it? Is even the death of one additional person worth prolonging what is going to happen anyway? This seems a fair corollary. However, the entire argument has become so bogged down in politics, it seems that the people will never peel away enough of the subtext to get to the heart of the problem… Democrats have to get away from time prognostications and switch to the real issues here: Will anything we do now make a difference? And if that’s the case, why prolong the agony?

Eighteen Billion Dollars In Aid Vanishes in Puff of Smoke…
It was reported in the past week in several government journals that 18 billion dollars, earmarked for Iraqi restoration, has been used up. That seems for all intents and purposes rather incredulous given that we haven’t fixed anything. If anything, things have gotten worse since US forces have taken over. So, it is a very fair question to ask what happened to such a large sum of money earmarked for such a specific purpose?—especially tax payer monies that were to be used to prove that Democracy works!...

Government overseers claim that most of it was used for security reasons. Say again? Think about it; that seems like an awful large amount of money to go down the black hole, when compared to the huge sums already pumped into the country to cover security…

Are we talking about security for the no-bid contract holders, Cheney’s old employees? Or something else?

We already know that Kellogg and Brown and Root have already inflated prices and submitted invoices for services not delivered and in some cases just lost paperwork on another one billion plus of tax payer monies unaccounted for…

We also know that the man responsible for making consulting and other contract assignments in Iraq is the former campaign manager for Bush and that most of his work was executed sub rosa without public scrutiny or government oversight.…

So, what does that all have to do with the 18 billion for reconstruction that seems to have disappeared into some kind of black hole?

Something seems dreadfully wrong here… And where is the outrage? We are talking about taxpayer monies used to fund projects that more than anything would demonstrate our commitment to the people of Iraq. But these monies have not found their ways to the projects where they are needed. If for no other reason, the GAO has to step in here and make these invisible agencies and others who share responsibility come forward to explain their actions and provide an explanation for what happened to $18 billion.


IRAQ…Most of the Projects Scheduled
for Reconstruction Face Severe Cut-Backs!
Of the 136 projects scheduled to improve infrastructure and provide essential services, only 49 of them will be completed according to the latest reports.

Blame on it poor planning, as the government is wont to do, planning that failed to recognize that such projects require financing beyond the start-up to assure their viability over the long term. In any event, most Iraqi projects are doomed to failure or serious cut-backs!

For example, only 300 of the 425 projects to produce electricity are slated for completion. And most other projects reflect the same kind of ratios.

What emerges is what is being referred to as the reconstruction gap that contrasts ambitious plans and what can realistically be accomplished given the available resources. Stuart Bowen, Jr, the Inspector General, places a good of the blame on security regulations which changed when John Negroponte, then Ambassador to Iraq, shifted $3.46 billion from reconstruction to training of the Iraqi security forces. Prior to that, $400 million was shifted to cover administrative costs. $2.12 billion in additional funding shifts were tracked through Oct 2005. What emerges is another boondoggle that warrants the appointment of Federal investigators to probe what went wrong and why, a task for those charged with Congressional oversight.

At present, most of Iraq gets only between two and five hours of electricity a day; water and other services have also been cut back to the bare minimums making life for the average Iraqi especially hard—even harder than it was under Saddam.. Streets, too, are so unsafe that parents are afraid to send their children to school. If America cannot provide basic services and a safe environment, it seems that we have failed in our loftier intentions of bringing democracy to Iraq.

Les Aaron, Hubmaster
Avenging Rabbit
Moondogger
Owlgrabber

Register for MINDthinktankers-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com
In order to participate in 08Committee for Positive Change

And come to www.lesaaron.blogspot.com for news, views, humor, essays, cartoons, poems, photos, illustrations—all with indelible political bite…

"I never saw this man before in my life!"

"George, George, calm down. It's your dad." 

AN OPEN LETTER

Dear Nancy Pelosi;
Dear Howard Dean


Cautionary Note:

This is the year when the world turned upside down on its Axis, when up was down and down up, and Constitutional law didn’t add up to a hill of beans…

It was the year that Disney was taken seriously and Government became the worst kind of joke. It was the year that the gang sent to clean up Washington needed to be cleaned up themselves. It was the year of leaks, squeaks and geeks!

It was the year Speakers became liars; and lobbyists morphed into self-aggrandizing pipsqueaks who screwed their clients…

It was a year of absurdities when the president of the United States said he saw no need for a law to approve eavesdropping.

Why should he?

He’s already above the law.

He’s already given his let them eat cake sneer to the poor who can’t afford both food and their meds…

And forget it if you need medical care. You might as well hire a lawyer and petition Canada to let you in where you can at least die in dignity under clean sheets!

It is the year, California put passive smoke on the toxic list; and it is the year the president said it was okay to go back to coal rubber-stamping the death of another 20,000 people annually.

It is a time when we encourage American businesses to go to China to build shoddy products to be sold back to Americans. But it is also a time when Americans, having seen their jobs disappear, cannot afford to buy even those shoddy products…

Meanwhile, china takes our scrap and makes TVs and for the privilege, we have signed over the US to them to do with as they like.

In the meantime, the Saudis take our gas money and give it back to the terrorists so that they can help Iran build a nuclear bomb to take us out!

In the most absurd turn-around of all, Bush sees his legacy as upholding the views of Tocqueville who specifically warned us of the rise of such people who might transform our democracy into tyranny…

And nary a word from us….
Something to think about in the World of Alice...
Les Aaron
Hubmaster

On the Light Side...

"A bin Laden look alike convention?"

"No, applicants for a New York Taxi permit..." 

What's New...

From the Hubmaster:

" I'm involved with some wonderful mailing lists with some of the best people ever to grace the Internet but I am guessing that some folks who get my mail may secretly harbor the feeling that I'm some escaped left wing radical from the French and Indian Wars... For them and those purists who really kind of like staying plugged in to my brand of news and views, I am starting my own micromanaged mailing list...at least me and the guys. And I intend to keep it small and on a human scale but we will cover the planet; no subjects will be safe.

To tell you the truth, I got the idea from my efforts to pull together a grass-roots platform and going through the motions of preparing petititions. Hey, remember last time. There was no platform from what I could gather. And we badly need one but getting two dems to agree on one thing is like pulling teeth. Nevertheless, that's one of our missions. We are going to work on that grass-roots platform right up to the election but, of course, by then the politicians will be on their own. We want to get to them before and get them to thinking. To add to their grief I'm making available through Lulu my book that spells out what people of good spirit really need to do to take back the White House. This is a Herculean effort that has occupied me days and nights and I think it is damn good! So if you want an autographed copy, let me know before I place my personal order for 500 books. Therefore, among other things, this site will be involved in preparing our own wish list, which I will ask a vote on, and then preparing a petition which will be filed with the DNC. This is not going to be any small potatoes either because it will be broadsided to many of the groups I am affiliated with, Radio Left and others....

This is a national platform of course and I would like your best thinking on it. We are compiling ideas and opinions now and we will be accepting ideas for the next 90 days!

Also, I will use this site to promote the Blog that seems to be doing very well on its own, thank you. We try to keep this as updated as possible with current info that you might not get to see elsewhere or to try a different spin in the spirit of positive change.

Among the things we are doing is toying with a new organization called the 08 committee for positive change. And that has kept me busy on the local scene, too.

In toto, some of our stuff is pretty incisive but where possible we try to inject some humor, a little satire or whatever to keep our remarks fresh and on-target. We are also influenced by what you say and think. And we will also continue with our outlandish poems, our home-spun political cartoons, photos and nostalgia and as a vehicle for your remarks and thoughts that will help to keep the site lively, informative and targeted on the job ahead!"

Hey, if you'd like to be considered for mailing list hari-kari, drop me a note at hubmaster@aol.com... and tell me about yourself and why you want to get on the list.

Take care...

Les A

SNIPPETS: Gates Locked to Free Expression

Snippets:

FREE EXPRESSION CHALLENGED IN CHINA.
WHO COMES TO THE RESCUE?

Here’s a little blurb that simply slipped in under the radar this week.
For those of you who don’t know, Microsoft discovered China awhile back and without much fanfare, invested in their engineering talent at a brand new facility in one of those overnight cities dotted with skyscrapers. I don’t know it for fact, but I guess at about the same time, 1,000 or so Microsoft engineers got their walking papers…

Here’s one little story that may color your view of what happens when the archetypal model of democracy buddies up with one of the world’s biggest oppressors: It doesn’t take a wizard to know that the Internet has been one of the greatest innovations to hit China in ages. Mostly, it has become a break-through vehicle for expressing one’s ideas in a land that discourages that sort of thing. Therefore, it is doubly prized. Well, in this particular incident, the Internet’s capacity for free expression was severely tested.

It seems that one group was using the power of the Internet to communicate a message of freedom to the ordinary Chinese. This wasn’t viewed to kindly in a country that believes in the benefits of regimentation and control.

But what to do about it?

China didn’t have a clue. Thusly, the guilty party (or parties) would have gotten away with it had it not been for the fact that Microsoft was anxious to endear itself to the regime.

Microsoft, putting its need to curry favor ahead of its moral obligation to hold up democracy, did the unthinkable; they agreed to help China locate and identify the culprit. Clearly, the idea that because this individual was seeking freedom in a way that emulated our Founding Fathers made no impression on Bill Gates, who continued to be mesmerized into accommodating its Maoist patron. As luck would have it, this freedom loving party, operating completely anonymously up until Gates agreed to turn them in, will undoubtedly not get a second chance. You see, Gates and his computer geeks were successful. Thanks
To Bill Gates, China’s ability to oppress its people is now reassured….And one more little light of free expression will blink off for good!

Apparently, freedom is a great concept as long as it doesn’t interfere with this company’s ability to make profits. Of course, the story was hushed up but it needs to be orally repeated so that those of us on the ground who think free speech and liberty are not such bad concepts, never forget what happens when self interest gets in the way of doing what’s right. When push comes to shove, we know where this company stands.

Les Aaron
The Hubmaster

Come see www.lesaaron.blogspot.com

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend

toward more freedom and democracy.

But that could change."--Dan Quayle

"Last month, it cost me 27000 dinars to
heat just one of my palaces...
What does my wife think that I am
made of money?" 

Media Control: How the government controls what we see and hear...

HOW THE FCC CONTROLS THE INFORMATION FLOW:

Excerpted from the new book:
"Unseating America's First Monarch"
By Les Aaron

The government extends the central reach of government through three instruments of power that it wields . In conjunction with government, the media is controlled, per se, through control of ‘access’—this is one of the subtlest forces that can spell the success or failure of a communications medium; secondly, the government exercises through its other powers control of funding for the media—many stations, especially in the public area—cannot survive without government funding and that is predicated to a great extent on the cooperation of government officials seen as less than friendly to the needs of the broadest segment of the population which is not conservative or liberal; and, thirdly, mostly under the aegis of the FCC, the government has the ability to decide what happens within a market area; in effect, it can assert its authority to exercise control of a market area—i.e. How many and kinds of new stations can a media empire acquire? Such decisions are instrumental in the growth plans of media empires.

In recent years, what had been the formulae has been changed to allow certain companies to expand their media empires so that they control all the facets of communication—something zealously guarded against by previous administrations who were concerned that such media concentration would not be in the public good.

To date, the Democrats have failed to understand the power that the Republicans wield in this important area, an area that shapes thinking and public opinion.

(See Unseating The First American Monarch for "solutions...")

How To Ferret Out The Real News...

Want to really find out what’s going on,
Don’t listen to what the media tells you…

Ever go into a cafeteria? Want to find out what’s good to eat?
You ignore everything up front. Why? Because they tempt you in by serving up all their “goodies” where you will see them first. No, what you do is go to the hot tray and start there. The same is true with the newspapers.

I learned that a long time ago from the Paper of Record, the Gray Lady.

If you really want to get to the truth, you start reading the newspaper from the back forward.
With the New York Times, I start on page 28.
Why? That’s where I read that they first printed news of the Holocaust with a two column story buried in the second half with no photos; no screaming headlines…
And if you really want to find out what’s edgy, you read the Saturday or Friday newspapers, because those are the least read and the least studied editions all week…

I don’t recall if if the Holocaust was truly buried on page 28, in that infamous 1943 edition but I remember it was buried in the second section where nobody would see it and nobody would react to it. On the same day, on the front page was the big news: The governor’s charity tennis match where he donated his sneakers to the war effort. I kid you not. It still sticks in my craw!

In the meantime, because nobody saw the real news, nobody did anything about it including the rest of the national media. It seems as if the Times has the responsibility as paper of record for leading the pack.

In one of the many revealing books I have read about the Times since, they excuse their actions as not wanting to further complicate FDR’s life by loading more on his plate since there was so much support for the German cause among the wealthy influence-peddlers like the Cabbots, the Lodges, the Kennedy’s (remember he was promoting Wendel Wilkie to head up the Republicans!) and the Bush’s.

Things do not seem to have changed much!

Take this year, for example. Despite what the NYTimes gave as an excuse for not publishing news of the president’s approval for NSA to snoop on Americans without a court order, I cannot help but believe it was an accommodation to the Republican Party until after the election. Therefore, the NYTimes cannot be absolved from preventing the truth from getting to the people in time for them to change their votes. I am inclined to believe that the newspaper under its present management has sold its soul for the sake of expediency and that does not auger well for the future of free speech. And it is rather sad to contemplate that no matter what the NYTimes does to curry favor, they will always be viewed as part of the liberal establishment. That will not go away!
And as a liberal or progressive or independent as I have been classified, I am offended by being identified with an establishment known for its expediency and cowardice.
I still read the Times but I do with extreme prejudice.

Les Aaron

My Definition of Chutzpah:

Remember those two kids who murdered their parents in cold blood?

Well, imagine that they would appear before the judge and plead for the mercy

of the Courts because they were orphans.

That would be a fitting definition of chutzpah!

les Aaron

"Maybe They Should Make Hari-Kari Swords..."

Remember what I said, "It's the little things that you have to keep an eye out for..."

Well, here's a story that talks about the end of an era....

The Gun That Won the West...may now be made in the East. I mean Far-East.
Here's the story:

When it comes to firearms, there is perhaps no better known American weapon than the one made famous by John Wayne in Stagecoach, the Winchester. Well, Winchester, one of those names that is uniquely American, now manufactured by US Repeating Firearms Company, is getting set to close down at the end of the month. No big deal as big deals go. Whereas at one time Winchester was a big employer, now there are only 200 left on the payroll in the New Haven plant. What does this mean? Not much aside from the fact that another 200 skilled workers will be joining the legions of the unemployed enough perhaps to fill another Hooverville.

Why is Winchester closing down? According to a corporate spokesman, only 80,000 Winchesters and other models were turned out this year whereas the plant has the capacity to manufacture over 300,000 such arms annually.

Paul D. Mennato, a spokesman for the company, says that this contrasts with the 19,000 people on payroll during the forties when Winchester had its own police department and hospital.

The original Winchester repeating rifle earned its fame in the 1860's when the company first introduced the idea of a repeating rifle and it became popular with settlers looking to move west.

In the intervening years, the company was sold to a company based in Belgium, called Herstal Group, which now intends to make some of the arms in plants in Japan.

It seems nobody's worrying about the 200 workers, many in their fifties, who will have no place to go. Ironically, as the workers discuss their limited prospects in a world that seems mostly unconcerned, we pass by a sign that reads: "Through these gates pass the greatest craftsmen who make the world-famous Winchester firearms." It's just another little reminder that many things have changed about America including it seems our ability to lead in things other than war...and even there it seems incompetents run the show...

Les Aaron