Back Home and Checking Headlines

Who would have thought that a volcano would have shut down air travel in Europe? What intrigues me is that it seems to be that there is more seismic activity lately than ever before, or maybe it is just that the news of this activity is more readily available. For instance, 9 earthquakes of 4.0 or higher have occurred today (so far) as I am writing this. However the USGS says we are not having more earthquakes than normal. They say that the fact that we have so many monitoring stations now is why we see so many earthquakes reported. OK, I did start with a volcano, so I figure I will chase that a bit more.

Did you know that in 1991 one volcanic eruption (Mount Pinatubo) cooled the earth for an average of 2 degrees for an entire year? Of course, this goes back to the whole global warming/climate change discussion. Of course it is not a discussion once someone discussing uses the term “denier” which means they would rather make personal attacks rather than intelligent discussions.

I just think it is interesting that one volcano can effect so much and millions and millions of people could not make such an effect if they tried with all of their might.

Maybe I am wandering, don’t really care – I am at home re-cooping and not a lot else. Whatever you do – stay safe!

Health Care Passes and is Signed

Well, I saw Obama sign the Health Care bill on CNN…sort-of. CNN was carrying the story live, when they had breaking news of how some lawmaker in the UK proposed that Israeli Ambassador get out of the UK because of the assassination in Dubai. (Interesting as there is no evidence Israel had anything to do with it besides Dubai Police saying so. An amateurish assassination with what now …20 plus agents involved to kill one guy? Gun-running is deadly business and it is more likely the guy tried to short change his suppliers or had in the past)

Anyhow – back to the signing of the bill. Before CNN cut away – Joe Biden was doing his marathon how much can he kiss Obama’s a$$ speech before he drops the f-bomb. After CNN flashes back to the signing – Obama had already signed the bill and he was grinning ear to ear.

I do not know if the Health Care Reform Bill is more good than bad. It does appear to be constitutionally questionable, but likely cannot be challenged in the courts for some time to come as there has to be some sort of “damages” before the case can be handled in court.

I hope it ends up being a good thing – but all I can say is only time will tell. What I do know is that it for sure welfare for insurance companies. Right now, health insurance is the only legalized pyramid scheme in the US. I know, I am a licensed Insurance Agent. Chances are if you pay $500 for insurance, only about $150-200 of it is actually for health insurance. It seems AIG is Obama’s favorite recipient of our tax dollars - first, with bailouts and now with this. Maybe deeper looking finds a different financial institution as all insurance companies are pretty much run by banks.

Whatever happens – Stay Safe!

Time is Running Out on Liberia

I will be leaving Liberia less than a month from now. I guess over-all more good than bad. Some of my friends know of the hell I went through with a superior - which will likely not be resolved.

What I have learned is that the reporting of misconduct of superiors in the UN system seems to be little more than smoke and mirrors. The Ethics division which is supposed to protect whistle blowers say they do not want any misconduct reported to them. Other units seem to just drop the ball whenever Superiors are reported.

I find it interesting that the United Nations has the weakest of all protections for people who work there.

The plight of the whistle-blowers in North Korea is well known that nothing was there to protect them from their superiors and their own firings.

This is how the UN supports whistle-blowers in Somalia.

The only way UN employees can get justice is to go to court:

To report cases of corruption, malfeasance, waste, harassment and/or retaliation
please contact United States Mission at the UN (USUN)at their whistleblower hotline: USUN-UNTAI@state.gov. USUN assists UN whistleblowers and will protect your identity. If you are aware of problems at the UN, including crime, corruption, fraud, or retaliation against whistleblowers, please contact USUN-UNTAI@state.gov. Your confidentiality will be ensured.

Anyways – be safe!

Ronald Reagan and the Nobel Peace Prize

I don't know why I was thinking this - but it popped into my head. Why didn't Reagan win the Nobel Peace Prize?

He was President from 1981-1989. Here are the winners during that period with my comments in italics:

1989 THE 14TH DALAI LAMA (TENZIN GYATSO) , Tibet. Religious and political leader of the Tibetan people. O,k probably well deserved
1988 THE UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING FORCES New York, NY, U.S.A. This one is a cop-out when you do not want to choose.
1987 OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ , Costa Rica, President of Costa Rica, initiator of peace negotiations in Central America. Well deserving of such an award with his peace efforts in Central America.
1986 ELIE WIESEL , U.S.A., Chairman of 'The President's Commission on the Holocaust'. Author, humanitarian. Guess who was President while he was on the commission.
1985 INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR Boston, MA, U.S.A. These guys possibly deserved it. – However, I believe Reagan actually did more to prevent nuclear war than these guys did.
1984 DESMOND MPILO TUTU , South Africa, Bishop of Johannesburg, former Secretary General South African Council of Churches (S.A.C.C.). for his work against apartheid. He was a deserved recipient.
1983 LECH WALESA , Poland. Founder of Solidarity, campaigner for human rights. He probably could not have even held the marches and protests without the support of the US externally and the build up of American military power under Reagan.
1982 The prize was awarded jointly to: ALVA MYRDAL , former Cabinet Minister, diplomat, delegate to United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament, writer.
ALFONSO GARCÍA ROBLES , diplomat, delegate to the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament, former Secretary for Foreign Affairs . I believe once again a cop-out when Un gets any of the prizes
1981 OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES Geneva, Switzerland see abaove – same stuff

Another interesting point is that Gorbechev gets the Nobel Peace prize in 1990 for “helping end the cold war.” Now that is a real hoot, since there is no way it would have happened without Reagan. Carter, his predecessor, won the prize mostly for his mid-east peace initiatives (he won it in 2002). As Reagan was giving his inaugural address, 52 U.S. hostages, held by Iran for 444 days were set free. There were no Major conflicts during Reagan’s term that the US was involved in. The most major conflict in the world was the Iran/Iraq war.

Ronald Reagan encouraged Gorbachev to pursue major arms agreements. Gorbachev and Reagan held four meetings between 1985 and 1988: Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, it would lead to reform and the end of Communism. Speaking at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev: saying, "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Note: The Berlin Wall was torn down beginning in 1989 and then two years later the Soviet Union collapsed.)





Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the White House in 1987 which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons. Gorbachev was offering major concessions to the U.S. on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.

Compare that with Barack Obama...

Stay Safe!

The "Open Minded" Liberals

I was reading the huffington Post, as I get a lot of news from there. I saw this front page and was amazed at one thing. There was no article at the Huffingtonpost that you could comment on. I think it is because all of the bad guys pictured were Democrats - and what can you say besides there is no real ethics in Congress?

Of course, I believe there is no article to be able to comment on, because it would be flooded with negative comments about the Dems pictured.

On a side note: Squeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that these guys were vindicated because "they were found to not have broken any rules."

What did they allegedly do?

"The House ethics committee ruled Friday that seven lawmakers who steered hundreds of millions of dollars in largely no-bid contracts to clients of a lobbying firm had not violated any rules or laws by also collecting large campaign donations from those contractors. "

You can actually read the story here.

Rehman Malik to resign if Blackwater Presence Proved

My post title is a headline from 21 November 2009.

In his statement to the senate standing committee on interior, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Blackwater was not operating in Pakistan and if proven wrong he would tender his resignation.

See the Story here.

So what does US Defense Secretary Gates say when in Pakistan?

“Fake” Story by Pak Tribune says:

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has admitted that US security companies Black Water and DynCorp are operating in Pakistan in private capacities: but will comply with the Pakistani law if its parliament bars foreign security companies in the country.

Real Story says:

Mr. Gates himself may have inadvertently helped fuel a new rumor. In his Thursday television interview, Ms. Hosain asked the defense chief if rules had been put in place to govern the behavior of any U.S. contractors working inside Pakistan, specifically citing DynCorp and Blackwater (now known as Xe Services.) Mr. Gates told her that "very stringent rules" had been put into place.

Of course then this transpires:

Defense officials tried to clarify the comment Thursday night, telling reporters that Mr. Gates had been speaking about contractor oversight more generally and that the Pentagon didn't employ Xe in Pakistan.

Soooo? Does he resign or not?

Stay Safe!

Bloggers Unite for Haiti

Today I am a part of bloggers Unite for Haiti.



We are as bloggers trying to help with aid to Haiti in our own way. I am sure that you are well aware of the over-all situation in Haiti.

First, I would like to point out that though I am currently in the Eastern Hemisphere, there are people in Haiti that I know and have known for quite some time. When you work with the UN as much as I have, this is something that happens.

The "Little Miracle" story of Tarmo Joveer is an example of what I am talking about. I have known Tarmo since around 2000. He was a part of the Eastonian Police Contingent that was deployed to the UN Mission in Kososvo. I remember their first official day and I met all 5 contingent members. Later on I joined with them in Eastonian Contingent meetings and felt a close camaraderie to them.

I remember when Tarmo left Kosovo he said he was getting a security job in Haiti. That was really the last real contact with him.



When I saw him on TV I knew it was him immediately.

I am glad Tarmo is a part of the good things that are happening in Haiti.

The road is long and hard to any kind of “recovery” for the people of Haiti. They hardly had anything before, and now what was there is all but destroyed.

So please donate if you can to relief efforts. There are some good sites that have various lists of ways that you can donate. One is Its Just Light which has a mirror page on Facebook .

If you have doubts as to where to send donations – send to an organization that you already know and trust. This will take a long time for Haiti, but for now just getting essentials to people can be a real issue.

God Bless the people in Haiti – and be Safe!

Note: this is a mirror post of my other blog Be Your Own Detective.

Disaster Strikes Haiti

It is a devastating earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday. Many people still cannot find loved ones and communication within Haiti is very poor.










Early Images of the quake show the dust in the air from cumbling concrete. Many of the buildings that still "stand" are all but destroyed.

Workers Search through Rubble. ......... Streets became impassable.

No offense to some of these up and coming newscasters, but I heard the dumbest statement - the guy said, "Haiti may not recover for months - maybe even a year." You have go to be kidding me! 5 years or more is a more likely scenario. Nearly every building in Port-au-Prince is destroyed or unusable.

Bodies were just lying in the streets.

The Presedential Palace lays in ruins.

Roads were destroyed.

As of the writing of this blog - the UN Headquarters there has collapsed and at least 150 of UN workers are still missing. The Head of the UN Mission in Haiti is feared to be dead.

The Whitehouse has a blog post about ways that you can assist.

You can find Facebook Pages about it here and here.

Or you can go to Red Cross and donate there.

If you can - please help.

Be Safe!

Political Correctness - or Not

Why is it that we have become so politically correct – yet incorrect?

Before I go on - can I use the term black in reference to some people? I thought the politically correct term was African American (even though the person is not from Africa). My view is there is only one race - and that is the human race. Do people get treated differently because of how they look? Of course they do. "Pretty people" generally get more breaks in life than the rest of us. People are treated different because of skin color, weight, age (or appearance of age). Such is life - and life is not fair.

I saw an article today on Yahoo News that made me think of this.

“APNewsBreak: Smiley ends State of the Black Union”

OK, before I even start to look at the article, I ponder the headline. First of all, why is it OK for a guy to have a State of the African American Black Union conference? I mean, if you had a state of the pigmentationally challenged white union conference – you would only expect white supremacists or the KKK. This leads me to the only logical conclusion:

Tavis Smiley is a racist. That is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this. It is simple. If a non special sub-group of the human race that is light skinned and likely has European ancestors white guy hosted the state of the pigmentationally challenged white union conference, he or she would immediately be labeled a racist by all. Therefore – Smiley is a Racist.

Oh but it is ok, because he is a militant “an activist” and a PBS host. – It is OK to be such a racist because my tax dollars are paying his salary!

“Smiley, who hosts a nightly half-hour talk show on PBS, said he was inspired to start the conference because black issues were rarely addressed in the president's State of the Union speech or the national media.” – Excuse me? Why would any President be obligated to address “black issues” in a State of the Union address? It is about the nation – not some or any sub-group of the people.

…The 2005 conference generated the idea for the book "Covenant with Black America," about issues facing the black community. One of Smiley's fondest State of the Black Union memories is holding the book aloft at the 2006 event and watching thousands of people in the audience do the same — "just the fact that we did what we said we were going to do." Cha-ching! (I bet he loved seeing all those sold copies of his book) Yep the truth comes out. He sold his racism and apparently people have bought it. It is all about Smiley and him making money.

“That led to Smiley's critical stance toward Obama because of the presidential candidate's insistence that the best way to help blacks was improving the entire economy, rather than specific policies targeting black problems.” - Oh please! African American Blacks need special targeting? So I guess what he means is the world owes them special treatment?

So I am calling Smiley out - I believe he is a racist - and now he needs to dis-prove that "fact." I am not saying that there are not any black issues, as there are plenty. People like Smiley do not help anyone overcome any of these issues - he simply exploits the issues and the people with his whole book series. But hey - that is the American way - exploit the people because there is a crisis! (even if the crisis is made up).

Be safe!

Obama Demands Explanation About Airline Security

You have got to be kidding - right?

I mean - White House party crashers at his place - and he says/does nothing. Underwear bomber on plane at Christmas and he demands an explanation. Maybe it has to do with the fact that his admisnistration shows no leadership in security concerns - pretty much all around. Hey, but he is a great armchair quarterback! After the game is over he can complain.