Strategic communication recently made the news because of a column Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chief of Staff wrote for the Joint Forces Quarterly. His basic point was that by making it an organizing item, strategic communication has become a goal in itself, rather than being a process to enable the larger objectives. [...]
Posts under ‘mental cud’
Blackwater (Xe) Founder Officially Charged
The founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince was officially charged in court on Friday, Aug 29, 2009 with intent to kill .
The plaintiffs hold Erik Prince responsible for 20+ Iraqi deaths, and the defense wants the motion to be dismissed. The Judge, T.S. Ellis III has not issued a ruling yet, however as the Washington [...]
US Postal System Crisis
Did you know that the US Postal Service (USPS) is the second largest civilian employer in the country, after Wal-mart? It has also been running in the red and after cutting 25,000 jobs earlier this year it is offering to pay some 30,000 additional workers to leave.
Facing a $2.6 billion loss in the last [...]
Finally, a Check on the CIA!
The controversial CIA program for assassinating al-Qaeda leaders using Blackwater as a contractor is becoming an ever-increasing political problem for the CIA as more information gets revealed. Congress was not informed about the program’s existence when it was formed in 2004. The new CIA Director Leon Panetta (Obama’s appointee) cancelled the program this summer when [...]
ObamaCare vs MackayCare
Health care reform is on the minds of everyone today (according to Gallup polls it is increasingly considered the most important issue) but there are mixed opinions on it.
Ignoring Sarah Palin’s attention-seeking inflammatory hate-mongering (no version of the bill includes death panels for grandpa or evil directed at Down syndrome babies), there are only [...]
Irony in Politics: John Yettaw is Released
Senator Jim Webb of Virginia went to Myanmar (not officially representing the US) and secured the release of John Yettaw- the man who was sentenced to 7 years for violating Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest terms.
The irony is that Aung San Suu Kyi has not been released, but the American who swam across [...]
District 9
Directed by South African Neill Blomkamp, District 9 is unlike any sci-fi alien movie you will have seen before. The storyline and portrayal of characters in tough situations is really done well, though of course there are moments of cheesy action and shoot outs.
The film depicts life in slums, gangs, poverty, apartheid and corporate [...]
Should Liberty be the Price of Safety in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia takes national security very seriously. In 2003, after Al-Qaeda affiliates launched three successful attacks on expatriate compounds and several failed ones on Saudi government facilities, the country cracked down very hard on militants, suspected militants, political activists, dissidents, supporters and basically anyone it wanted to.
The Human Rights Watch recently issued a report [...]
Myanmar Suu Kyi Verdict Announced
The Than Shwe junta announced it’s verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi today- she has been sentenced to another 18 months of house arrest. Better than the 3 years jail sentence that was originally planned, it is still more than she deserves. The sentence will ensure that she is unable to participate in the May [...]
Irresponsible Citizen Journalism: Hamas Child Brides
Hamas is the controversial Palestinian political party with a military and social arm that legitimately won elections in 2006 (defeating Fatah) and is also considered a terrorist organization by the US, the EU, Canada, Japan and Israel.
A Hamas sponsored matchmaking agency recently sponsored a mass wedding for 450 couples living in one of the [...]
