Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Repeating mistakes


NEWS ABUSE

         Serious people can take comfort in how viewers, critics and other media summarily criticized CNN for their abandonment of principal and their failure of sound judgement in giving a free platform to the anti democracy, impeached ex president. 

        CNN CEO Chris Licht has acknowledged there were mistakes in the so called town hall meeting. There was such a clamor he had to back peddle from his original crowing about the broadcast. The idea was bone headed and Licht was made to take some medicine.

        As the ex-president is the leading republican presidential candidate the legitimate media has an obligation to cover his campaign, but does not include free and unchecked use of a network to, predictably, lie, demean, bully and to do his grift of fundraising. The appearances are his primary means of financial endeavor, bilking true believers to fund his legal defense needs and to bankroll his tortured campaign.

        It was CNN under the deposed and tarnished Jeff Zucker who gave the reality television actor free airtime that propelled him into the lead of the republican field in 2016. You would think CNN has some institutional memory and at least a residual sense of shame and guilt for their role in foisting the ill prepared man onto the American public and into the White House.

    It seems journalists are wrestling with how to cover the as yet un-indicted ring leader of the January 6 insurrection. Viewers and advertisers can and should leverage influence as well. There is an odious and ignominious cloud over CNN now.  Licht needs to heed the overwhelming public revulsion.


TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

       California Senator Dianne Feinstein is exercising faulty judgement and so is the exclusive club to which she is clinging, the US Senate.
        Feinstein has been an exemplary public servant most of her life, but it is obvious her health is no longer robust enough to meet the obligations of representing California. 
        Long time members of the Senate do not go easily but Feinstein and her staff are ignoring public good for the vestiges of power. At 89 it is best for her to attend to her health and it is best for California and the Senate Democrat caucus that she step aside. 
        It is time for the "Senate Club" to address the issue of absence, illness, incapacity, and the ability to fulfill the obligations of Senate work. 


MICKEY 1  SWAMP CREATURE 0

        The other blunder of judgement getting our attention is Governor DeSantis' decision to go to war with Disney. Presently DeSantis is getting his head handed to him by Mickey Mouse. DeSantis is being cast as a dud, early in his challenge of another cartoon character for the Republican nomination. 
        The fact Disney is threatening to pull back billions of commitment to future building and work in Florida is evidence enough the bully Governor's self righteous moral crusade was not only overstepping and wrong it was also bad for Florida business. 
        Somebody please suit up the governor, it would be fitting to make his campaign appearances in a Goofy costume. 


ARAB MENDACITY
SYRIAN SLAUGHTER & SAUDI SUCCOR

        Syria's readmission to the Arab League is an offense to civility and the idea of diplomacy. Syria's Assad is guilty of slaughter and brutality that could be the worst in recorded history. He is a war criminal and butcher and deserves the strongest dose of discipline the world can apply. Instead the bazaar prince MSB, who issues kill orders and slimes his way to power in the "Kingdom," has embraced Assad and welcomed him back to the league. There is no honor among thieves and the next 1001 Arab nights deserve close scrutiny. 

     Stay vigilant. See you down the trail.   

Friday, April 7, 2017

CHANGES and GUESSES

tomorrow is here
    So, how would you like this? A Stockholm work space, Epicenter, is offering to implant workers with free RFID microchips. 
     The Hustle reports the chips are the size of a grain of rice to be implanted between the thumb and index finger. Why? To allow access to doors and photocopiers with the wave of a hand. Epicenter figures keys and wallets could quickly become a thing of the past as a wave of the hand could pay for cafeteria items, open doors and etc. 150 out of their 2000 workers have said yes.
    Downsides? The Hustle says in theory the chips "can collect data on your health, your whereabouts, how often you are working, when you take toilet breaks and things like that." 

finally!
     Something to cheer about, progress being made.
      US Soccer has agreed to give the US Women's National team better pay and benefits. The US Women's team filed suit last year because of the huge disparity between them and the US Men's team. 
       Adding power to their request is the undeniable truth, the Women's team are the defending international champions. What they wanted was something closer to parity in pay, benefits and travel arrangements. It seems only fair, but then you know how that goes on the rights front. 
      There's still a distance to go but base pay is being increased by 30% and the bonus clauses are improved though there's still a distance to go before there is pay equity with the men. What if US Soccer simply reversed the pay scale until the men do what the women have achieved, World Champion Status?

  for whatever reason
     Steve Bannon's dismissal from the National Security Principal's group is progress, regardless of reason.
       Experienced observers say this is a sign of his diminishing influence and if so that too bodes well. Trump's paucity of experience and knowledge and Bannon's simplistic right wing, bar room ideology were a dangerous combination.
       It's become obvious to all but "true believers" the President is in way over his orange head and that he had been manipulated by the reich minister.  
       We can only imagine what three star Army general H.R. McMaster thought and said when he faced Bannon as a national security principal. He's out like the trash.
commander?
        The Syrian gassing of civilians is another act of evil in what has been a hellish barbarism. The world community must hold Assad accountable. However.....
        Did you find it unnerving to see our ill-equipped and unqualified minority President speaking about his order to bomb Syrian sites? My concern has nothing to do with the separate discussion about policy, proper military response or operations. Seeing that man in the role is just wrong. It doesn't look or feel right. How can we have confidence in such a lout and fool? I wouldn't be surprised if 2 years ago the con man couldn't even find Syria on a map.  
        In the meantime military posters and veterans are merciless in their treatment of Jared Kushner's trip to Iraq. It's not his fault his father in law asked him to go but the designer sun glasses with vest over a sport coat look made him a perfect target. As a retired navy man wrote, "When you elect a clown, expect a circus!"


so what was it?
      Thanks to those of you who answered the quiz either here or in an e-mail. Some of you are very good!
      Here's another image, that once you have seen the answer, will become more clear.
     The frame below is the object. The image is of yours truly taking a photo. It is a mirror fountain, water running over the surface of the glass.
     Bruce The Catalyst was the first to answer and he was right, but others were close.  Now that you see the riddle revealed you will probably more "clearly" see this posters shape holding a camera.

     See you down the trail.
        

Thursday, November 5, 2015

CONTEMPLATIONS

FROM OUT OF THE BLUE
     Vladimir Putin is tough and he may be dangerous, but he's right about Syria. Rebel elements, especially ISIS need to be destroyed before Assad goes. The US policy blunders in Iraq and Libya have led to chaos. Assad is a brutal mass killer and needs to face justice, but unless the world wants yet another destroyed state, without a structure of leadership, Assad needs to remain in power until ISIS can be degraded and the world can then tend to a power transfer. This view is basically "Anti American" in some quarters and it plays against the official mouthings in Washington. 
     George W. Bush created what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in American history when he let Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld push him into invading Iraq.  Barrack Obama created his own blunder when he let the Pentagon push him into Afghanistan. Cooler heads and better minds than Obama were dissed when they argued against it.
     The President's ego, he's invested in saying Assad must go, and the Washington whiners, those who try to make us think the US looks weak in the middle east compared to Russia's "strength," and the military industrial bandits, those who make money from war, and all of their various minions are in a big palaver about what to do and how to do it. The simple truth is, they don't know.
      Putin has skin in the game. Russia will suffer and pay as they prosecute a war of support for Assad. The US can and should remain focused on making sure justice comes to Assad for his heinous butchery, but some semblance of a government and sense of order needs to be protected. Unless the world is careful about who succeeds Assad a bad situation could be disastrously worse. 
      Americans don't like to hear it, especially from Putin, but regime change is not our job. Mobilizing support to try tyrants on a stage of international justice could be. For now we should be content to stay out it. We've proven we can't fix it. What happens there is not worth American lives. If someone else wants to take on ISIS, we should support them, stay out of their way and let them get the job done. We are already stretched and committed in the region because two administrations have demonstrated they are incapable of a clear, concise and successful strategy. More lives, more money, more American dignity should not be wasted. This is more profoundly true given that defense contractors and their congressional pimps and ideological idiots choose war as the preferred response. 
      In this case the politicians from the White House to Capitol Hill should butt out and permit the professionals at State, Pentagon and the intelligence community to build options for power transfer, a structure for change and an understanding of who could and should succeed Assad. An international consensus will be needed. (BTW, the pros in those corridors are not the political appointees. The politicians are the problem)
      Despite what the more fervent of "true believers" say or the vain and vacuous posturing of a media that approaches war as though it were a Super Bowl, or the zero sum game of politicians, we should shut up and let Putin take the lead. What's the worst that can happen, he inherits Syria?  That would do him about as much good and would be about as successful as our inheriting Iraq? Hows that working for us?
       If western diplomats, led by the US work on the mechanics of leadership change in a stable way, we can assure that at worst Syria will be a shared welfare case. Putin will not get out of Syria without cost. 

WHO IS IT WORKING FOR
       Iraq, Afghanistan and maybe Syria has been wonderful for those who profit from war. If you get bored research some of these names and see how many billions of dollars have come from the US Treasury to these companies.
       KBR, Dyn Corp (Veritas Capital), Washington Group International, IAP World Wide Services (Cerberus Capital Management), Environmental Chemical Corp., L-3 Communication Holdings, Fluor Corp., Orascom Construction Industries, Parson Corp., Lockheed Martin, Tetra Tech, Triple Canopy, GS4 Risk Management, Jorge Scientific, Raytheon and there are scores more. You can get more from the Federal Procurement Data System and the GSA. Note that some of these companies are held by money managers. War is big, very big business.
PRICKLY POLITICS
      Politics and government in the US have become mega business. It's all about money. We lose when war profiteers push congress, the Pentagon or the President into more military adventurism. When you see a red faced member of the house or senate going on about patriotism, "standing our ground," "showing leadership," or a television analyst blathering on as though they have an expertise, remember they are doing the bidding of the lobbyists, executives and board members of those companies listed above and many more. Those folks who have built the mansions in the Washington suburbs are saying, to paraphrase "Patriotism has been very, very good to me.  War has been very, very good to me."

ENOUGH ALREADY!

FLASH BACK
   1968, Muncie Indiana.  In those days radio stations put up basketball teams to barnstorm games to raise money for charities and schools.  Basketball is and was serious business, even when it was a fundraiser-the WERK station playing local all stars or teachers and coaches.
    Your's truly is on the left.  Coming out of the door with a broom to clown around a bit was Mike Shumaker an Indiana All Star player. On the right is Terry Stillabower now a member of the Hall of Fame. At the time he had been a college stand out and was an Indiana High School State Champion. Ironically Terry's Lafayette Jeff defeated Mike's Huntington squad in the vaunted state championship 4 years earlier. Behind Mike is Big Joe London, a fellow radio staffer.
Joe was 7 foot.
    We played in many great old community gyms and field houses and most nights they were packed. Over the years our stations would field teams that featured "ringers" like Shu and Terry, or former pros and college stars.  
     One night I was struck by the fact that I was on the court with 3 Mr. Basketballs and a former NCAA national champion. All I had to do was stay out of the way.  

    See you down the trail.

Monday, September 9, 2013

THE SYRIAN SOLUTION AND THE HALL

HANDLING THE SYRIAN MATTER
     There is a time tested way to respond to Syria's unforgivable and barbaric use of sarin gas that avoids the pitfalls and absurdity of American political theater.
     Assad, his high command and his field officers who planned, approved, executed and evaluated the use of the gas should be indicted and charged as international war criminals. This would signify to the world  they acted outside the bounds of the civilized world and international law.
     There is an International Criminal Court and there is certainly a history of pursuing, trying and convicting war criminals.  The Nuremberg Trial and the successful prosecution of Nazis at the end of World War II is the most notable but there have been similar prosecutions since.
    It would require time to arrest and try those responsible but in the interim they will be known and vilified and will live with both ignominy and the lurking fear of when the hand of justice will reach them.  In that sense they will be pariahs in the civilized world and marked with their alleged crimes, not forgotten and pursued until prosecuted.
    Nations do not commit war crimes, people do. A lesson of  the Nuremberg prosecutions is that ultimately individuals are held accountable for their actions, even if they are ordered to do so under a military command. This places the responsibility squarely where it belongs, the conscience and judgement of individual human beings.
     To pursue Assad and his minions through a court of law allows the world to revile them and expresses contempt while bringing justice. And importantly it frees the US, or any nation, the need to unilaterally engage in questionable, risky and even philosophically controversial actions. 
     Two quick points here; the US likes the sovereignty of being able to act unilaterally, though we do not favor such an option to any other nation. Maybe you can understand that bias, but it is a flawed philosophical/moral concept. The other point-you cannot engage in a limited action, bombing or other wise, without changing the dynamic of the conflict. Any tinkering in the complexity of a civil war threatens to draw us in more deeply. Look at history, it shouts loudly about this.  
      Furthermore I do not trust the wisdom of this President nor his advisers, nor do I have faith in the judgement and requisite reasoning of our current legislative branch of government. The senior chamber possesses a modicum of wisdom. The House however might be the assemblage of the least qualified, least intelligent and most dysfunctional buffoons, idiots, grafters, poltroons and clowns in the history of Congress!
      Finally following this course of action is the use of diplomacy and reason above the use of lethal force and power. That should always be our first and best option.  
THE HALL


See you down the trail.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

STRANGE ECHOES, FLASH BACKS AND COASTAL SCENES

STRANGE ECHOES
   I wonder if you were struck by the time shifted irony of John Kerry appearing before the Senate Foreign relations committee, again.  
    A generation ago Viet Nam veteran Kerry appeared to speak against military action.  Now in a kind of through the looking glass coincidence Secretary of State Kerry appears to rally for a military action.
     The circumstances are not at all the same, but here we go watching as Hawks and Doves carve out their positions on a military strike against Syria.
     Noted here previously is my criticism of President Obama's handling of the terrible situation by "drawing a line," and thus forcing his hand and limiting his options. It was a bad move.  That is not to say the world should not be outraged by Assad's use of gas on his own citizens.  And it is the world that should be outraged.
     Sadly the UN can not and is incapable of responding as the civilized world's rebuke of that barbarism. So now Americans will once again watch the flurry of position taking and speechifying as our pitiful excuse for a legislative branch stumbles to approve or reject the President's call for a military action.  Maybe the old saw is right---everything is a repeat of what's gone before, but with new people doing it.
COASTAL SCENES






   See you down the trail.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

AVOIDING THE WAR PATH

CAUTION
     Being engaged in another intractable war is madness, thus the United States and our disparate political factions need to think deeply, expansively and move very slowly.
     The latest threat of course is the civil war in Syria. Hawkish voices, many of them from the American right, are foolishly looking to force the Obama administration into an action of some sort.  That is not a step we want to take.
John Kerry's attempt to counsel with Russia's Putin is the right action for now.  
     The Bush invasion of Iraq, and the Obama escalation of Afghanistan validate the lessons of history.  It does not go well for a western power to step into the insane slipstream of middle eastern ancient hatreds.  Iraq is worse off post American invasion.  The US will retreat from Afghanistan as the Russians did before us, confounded by the dark age reality of tribalism, war lords, and a nation that is stuck in a world of ignorance, superstition and a religion of death.
     I have never understood the penchant of politicians who want to rush to war.  Just look at our own history.  How many times have we leaped into the fire, based on emotion, hot air and rhetoric? 
     All of the options for Syria are bad.  Assad is probably worthy of a daily flogging for the rest of his miserable and evil life, but the post Assad Syria is absolutely problematic for the world.  The further disintegration of a civil society is an almost certain outcome.  Just look at Iraq post Saddam.
Any American move into that hellish stew will hurt and cost us in ways we can not afford.  My concern is that we are seeing the early signs of what could be a catastrophic regional war fare between Shias and Sunnis.  
     Thus far Israel has shown it can and will protect its interests.  In the meantime we should not be goaded or talked into an engagement in Syria. If indeed the regime has ordered the use of chemical weapons on civilians, the United Nations must respond.  We can not let American windbag politicians talk us into something we should not do.  The president can find more appropriate language than the discussion of "red lines" and the ankle biters in the House and Senate need to realize the world is more serious than all their blather and political gamesmanship.  
      There is suffering, ignorance, disease, and hurting in this world where we could or should be.  Syria seems bound for a war amongst themselves, and I can't see that this nation has a player in that game.  Post Assad Syria could be the next step to a Muslim war.  Let them fight it. In the meantime we can be part of a team to deal with humanitarian relief and aid.
GLIMPSES OF SPRING




   See you down the trail.

Monday, April 22, 2013

POST BOSTON

POST BOSTON SKETCHES AND THOUGHTS
  --The issue of Miranda Rights is important.  It is one of those lines in the sand.  The ruling must be abided by, even in special circumstances.  Violation of rights for one can be a dangerous slope endangering all of us.
  --The eldest of the bombers grew up in Chechnya and Kyrgyzstan, where violence and bombings were a daily reality. Some of us believe that social reality at specific times in a youth's life are formative and foundational.  Case in point.  Emigres, relatively isolated and estranged and with grudges are "high profile" prone to such acting out.
  --It is worrisome to consider how many Arab youth grow up in similar environments that have a destructive impact on attitude and value formation.
  --In 5 decades of journalism and analysis you develop a "gut" or sense of trend.  It is not hard to see a coming regional battle in the middle east between Sunni and Shia Muslims.  Syria, and the resolution there, could be a huge factor in what could  become a kind of regional conflict between the two.
     Enough of that.  Now a celebration of beauty on this day dedicated to our blue marble world.
 IMAGINATION
IN LIGHT AND DARK


NIGHT LIGHTS


AN EVENING CROWN
     Happy Earth Day.  Now there is a concept huh, a happy earth?
     See you down the trail.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

KILLED SO THAT YOU CAN KNOW

MEMORIES OF A FALLEN COLLEAGUE
Photo Courtesy of Dave Benett/Getty Images
     Marie Colvin was one of the best.  She was killed this week while reporting on the insanity in Syria. Colvin, from the U.S, covered the world's trouble spots for Britain's Sunday Times for 25 years. Here is their coverage.
     The eyepatch was a result of an earlier injury caused by shrapnel. As journalists we are frequently in areas of danger or potential violence, but veteran war correspondents who endure a full career of violent strife are a special breed. They take the risks so the rest of the world has a record.
     A couple of years ago Marie Colvin was given a special award for her coverage.  More about the tribute and others who put themselves in danger can be found here.
            I was a student when Welles Hangen an NBC war correspondent went missing, presumed killed in action in Southeast Asia.  By linking on his name you can learn more but Hangen was buried with Honors at Arlington National Cemetery over 20 years later.  I mention him now because Hangen had been a correspondent I admired and his disappearance shook my young world. 
       I note also that Remi Ochlik, an awarding winning 28 year old French photographer was also killed in Syria this week. 
       I was lucky. I survived beatings, being shot at, a home robbery at gun point, two car fire bombings, close calls in small air craft and a sabre incident at the Somali border.  Getting home to my family was a blessing I enjoyed that too many in the pursuit of journalism have not.  When one of our colleagues falls, especially one of the best, it shakes me again, like the day I learned that Welles Hangen was gone. And it leaves an ache.
       They have died, so you can be informed.  
       Rest in Peace.

FOR CAT LOVERS ONLY
DAY BOOK 
CAT TIMES
You may recall an earlier post, in fact one of the
most popular, where you see Luke on top of a car.
Caught this one of him in a camo style pose.
Those six toes on each paw help Hemingway navigate a fence 
And old Nesta, at 18 she is in her twilight.
She made the move with us across country
and seems to enjoy California retirement.
See you down the trail.