Do you think fighting will start up again in Korea?

Duane and Sandi Donecker/Photo Sandi Donecker

I am going to start including polls on my blog about subjects I have been blogging about, please participate and come back and check the stats. Thank You for participating

WikiLeaks Cable On China's View Of North Korea

US Embassy In China/Photo Archdaily.com

In case you haven't seen the actual cable where China and US diplomats discussed the future of North Korea here is a copy of it directly from WikiLeaks, just in case you are wondering any type of document produced by the US Government officals in the line of duty are considered non copyrighted and are in the public domain.

(S) Vice Foreign Minister Chun Yung-woo told the Ambassador February 17th that China would not be able to stop North Korea’s collapse following the death of Kim Jong-il (KJI). The DPRK, Chun said, had already collapsed economically and would collapse politically two to three years after the death of Kim Jong-il. Chun dismissed ROK media reports that Chinese companies had agreed to pump 10 billion USD into the North’s economy. Beijing had “no will” to use its modest economic leverage to force a change in Pyongyang’s policies -- and the DPRK characterized as “the most incompetent official in China” -- had retained his position as chief of the PRC’s 6PT delegation. Describing a generational difference in Chinese attitudes toward North Korea, Chun claimed XXXXXXXXXXXX believed Korea should be unified under ROK control. Chun acknowledged the Ambassador’s point that a strong ROK-Japan relationship would help Tokyo accept a reunified Korean Peninsula. End summary.


VFM Chun on Sino-North Korean Relations...

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¶2. (S) During a February 17 lunch hosted by Ambassador Stephens that covered other topics (septel), ROK Vice Foreign Minister and former ROK Six-Party Talks (6PT) Head of Delegation Chun Yung-woo predicted that China would not be able to stop North Korea’s collapse following the death of Kim Jong-il (KJI). The DPRK, Chun said, had already collapsed economically; following the death of KJI, North Korea would collapse politically in “two to three years.” Chun dismissed ROK media reports that Chinese companies had agreed to pump 10 billion USD into the North’s economy; there was “no substance” to the reports, he said. The VFM also ridiculed the Chinese foreign ministry’s “briefing” to the ROK embassy in Beijing on Wang Jiarui’s visit to North Korea; the unidentified briefer had “basically read a Xinhua press release,” Chun groused, adding that the PRC interlocutor had been unwilling to answer simple questions like whether Wang had flown to Hamhung or taken a train there to meet KJI.



¶3. (S) The VFM commented that China had far less influence on North Korea “than most people believe.” Beijing had “no will” to use its economic leverage to force a change in Pyongyang’s policies and the DPRK leadership “knows it.” Chun acknowledged that the Chinese genuinely wanted a denuclearized North Korea, but the PRC was also content with the status quo. Unless China pushed North Korea to the “brink of collapse,” the DPRK would likely continue to refuse to take meaningful steps on denuclearization.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-----------------------------------------



¶4. (S) Turning to the Six Party Talks, Chun said it was “a very bad thing” that Wu Dawei had retained his position as chief of the PRC’s delegation. XXXXXXXXXXXX said it appeared that the DPRK “must have lobbied extremely hard” for the now-retired Wu to stay on as China’s 6PT chief. [NAME REMOVED] complained that Wu is the PRC’s XXXXXXXXXXXX an arrogant, Marx-spouting former Red Guard who “knows nothing about North Korea, nothing about nonproliferation and is hard to communicate with because he doesn’t speak English.” Wu was also a hardline nationalist, loudly proclaiming -- to anyone willing to listen -- that the PRC’s economic rise represented a “return to normalcy” with China as a great world power.

...China’s “New Generation” of Korea-Hands...

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¶5. (S) Sophisticated Chinese officials XXXXXXXXXXXX stood in sharp contrast to Wu, according to VFM Chun.XXXXXXXXXXXX Chun claimed XXXXXXXXXX believed Korea should be unified under ROK control.XXXXXXXXXXXX, Chun said, were ready to “face the new reality” that the DPRK now had little value to China as a buffer state -- a view that since North Korea’s 2006 nuclear test had reportedly gained traction among senior PRC leaders.

...PRC Actions In A DPRK Collapse Scenario...

---------------------------------------------



¶6. (S) Chun argued that, in the event of a North Korean collapse, China would clearly “not welcome” any U.S. military presence north of the DMZ. XXXXXXXXXXXX Chun XXXXXXXXXXXX said the PRC would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the United States in a “benign alliance” -- as long as Korea was not hostile towards China. Tremendous trade and labor-export opportunities for Chinese companies, Chun said, would also help salve PRC concerns about living with a reunified Korea. Chundismissed the prospect of a possible PRC military intervention in the event of a DPRK collapse, noting that China’s strategic economic interests now lie with the United States, Japan, and South Korea -- not North Korea. Moreover, Chun argued, bare-knuckle PRC military intervention in a DPRK internal crisis could “strengthen the centrifugal forces in China’s minority areas.”

...and Japan

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¶7. (S) Chun acknowledged the Ambassador’s point that a strong ROK-Japan relationship would help Tokyo accept a reunified Korean Peninsula under Seoul’s control. Chun asserted that, even though “Japan’s preference” was to keep Korea divided, Tokyo lacked the leverage to stop reunification in the event the DPRK collapses. STEPHENS

Wiki Leaks China and North Korea Relationship

About 3 or 4 posts ago I wrote a short note on my thoughts about the situation in the Korea's and what I thought the Chinese response would be, as I said prior to the Cablegate releases by Wiki, I thought that China was tiring of the regime in North Korea, mainly because of China's economic connections with the rest of the world and considered Kim Jong Il and his government dead weight around China's neck.

North Korean President Kim Jong Il/Photo ABC News

On the 29th of November CNN posted a story stating that one of the diplomatic cables released in this leak said almost exactly what I said, stating that North Korea was basically a spoiled child.  I myself have not read this cable as of yet but am quite interested in finding a copy of it on Wiki Leaks Cablegate page and as soon as I am done with school I plan to have a look at it and any other cables that might be out there about China, South Korea, North Korea and will update my blog from there.

However right now I do see a new problem because of the leak of these diplomatic cables regarding North Korea I am now a little bit more worried about what Kim Jong Il's and his son's reaction may be to the joint exercises by the United States and South Korea currently underway in the Yellow Sea, that some how Kim Jong Il will try some illogical method of saving face,  however I still have little doubt that if gunfire does occur China's reaction will be highly limited.

George Washington Strike Group Begins Exercise with Republic of Korea

Things get busy on flight deck of Washington/photo IBT.com

From the link on the bottom of this page you will find a version of what is going on directly from the US Navy's official web page, and they are ready for anything. Most people and I'm not saying just those outside the US but US citizens as well do not realize that US Military ships are considered US Territory so if there was an attack upon the ship (As there has been against the USS Stark and  The USS Cole bombing are actually considered as attacks on US Soil. The US Military is so serious about declaring our ships as US soil that it is law that if by chance a woman from another country was to give birth on board say the USS George Washington that child will become an immediate US Citizen no different than if that child was born to illegal immigrants in a Phoenix Arizona Hospital.

The Untied States cannot afford to just sit back and consider any such attack as just an attack against a US warship rather it must be seen in the light as the USS San Antonio is struck by a missile, to the US government is no different than that missiles actually hitting the vibrant city itself, it is considered as an attack on US soil so keep this in mind as tensions continue to rise.  Although at this present time I see no serious response coming from North Korea or China.
George Washington Strike Group Begins Exercise with Republic of Korea

Is War About To Start Again On The Korean Peninsula?

South Korean Army XK-2 Black Panther Tank/Photo army recognition.com

Early today South Korea and the United States started military exercises in the Yellow Sea early today, and so far except a statement from North Korea saying that the military exercises that have started today is "no more than an attempt to find ignite a war at any cost".  They also warned of unpredictable consequences if the Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington  arrives in the yellow sea, (which it has by the way).

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona made a statement that I agree with, I won't quote it here but basically he puts the blame on all the past administrations both republican and democrat for carrying on a policy off bribery, and for the most part just putting up with them, especially in the past 15 years. In those 15 years we have given North Korea 1 billion dollars trying to bribe them into "being good", and as we can see that doesn't work to well.

Normally the governments of the US and South Korea try and down play any incidents with the North, however even though the Obama administration is keeping a low tone on what is happening the South Korean government is currently urging all journalists to leave the Yeonpyeong Island, which they have rarely done in the past wanting to have immediate press coverage of the North's actions. That in itself is a bit unsettling because that means to me that South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak is taking this latest action quite serious.

On Yeonpyeong island 124 more people were removed from the island under a new mandatory evacuation, everyone leaving before today did so voluntarily, but requiring everyone to leave is just another sign by the South Korean government this is one of the most serious situations since the cease fire of June 27, 1953. Everyone must remember the war is not officially over and has been balanced on that fragile cease fire agreement.

I will keep watching the news today, and will do more updates as required plus I want to look at the history of the conflict and the people currently involved at this time.

Korean Excercises starting in 45 min

My fellow Americans, the US and South Korean exercises are scheduled to begin in 45 minutes, I know many of you had read my last post about the Koreans, and let me just pray I am right, however in a new development North Korea moved some artillery units closer too the coast, which means the circumstances can get worse, that is one thing I did not expect.



USS George Washington/ Photo Strategy Page.com

 As of know the USS George Washington and it's escorts are directly off the island where it all started, now let me tell you this, I have been involved in these exercises before on the USS Constellation, CV-64 and USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63 so these exercises go down every year at this time, so it is not the US trying to inflame the situation, I have been there and done that.

Let's just say for now we all have to pray that cooler heads prevail, and the North Koreans rulers love their positions so much that everything stays under control, it is up to our Lord now!!

My problem is if something happens with our current troop levels in the middle east, you might as well forget about it, although the Washington by itself could take out North Korea's military they are sophisticate enough the death toll would be more than Iraq and Afghanistan combined in about two days, we are not dealing with a backwards country here, we are dealing with a country that has been supplied by China and
the ex-Soviet Union, and all that hardware is sitting there in North Korea waiting to be put to use, God protect our men and women in the military if it comes to that!!!

Short Note On The Koreas Incident

Aircraft Carriers George Washington and Abraham Licnoln/Photos US Navy

he world is much different than it was in the 1950's, China at that time had very little connections to the outside world besides the Soviet Union, today China has a major economic stake in the United States and our allies. China will not ...publicly announce this but they are tired of North Korea and the dead weight that regime is hanging around their neck and most likely have little military reaction to a north-south conflict. As far as North Korea they know if there is a conflict between them and the south it will be political suicide for them, It would end their reign and they love the luxury and money that they deny their own people to risk loosing it, so right now I believe it is just the son demonstrating to his father he is ready to take the helm of power. Of course I have been wrong before, lets just pray I am reading the situation correctly.

I want to study the situation a bit more and see what the reaction will be once the US warships arrive in the area, however I think the north's main reaction is most likely going to be similar to their little show of force today of just firing off shell's in their own territory.

Don't Forget Our Troops This Holiday Season!!!!!

Here it is another thanksgiving and again we have soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen deployed all over the globe, from Antarctica to the deserts in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan, South Korea to South America.  Today if you can think of the continent we most likely have military personal deployed  in at least one country but most likely multiple countries on that continent.

Right now most of us know the three main deployment areas, mainly Iraq and Afghanistan where our troops are currently in the most danger and of course the troops we have in South Korea and with the recent flair up may God prevent this situation from getting any worse, what few people don't know is the far flung places we do have our military personal. 

After spending 20 years in the navy, I know this can be the hardest time for our men and women in uniform, please take some time out and say a prayer for them, and if you have a way reach out and thank a soldier, airman, sailor or marine. They deserve more thanks than we or our country are capable of showing, but let them know you appreciate their sacrifices they are making for you and your family.

During this time of year the majority of us think about our troops overseas being lonely, but believe it or not, from my own experience the troops who really need our attention are those who are here stateside serving on a military base who could not, for one reason or another make it home for the holidays and will end up eating their thanksgiving meal in the chow hall, don't get me wrong the military cooks will go all out to give them a good meal, but the thought of being so "close" to home but yet so far away brings the blues to many especially for those that this will be their first holiday season away from home.

So during this season, reach out to our troops overseas and at home, if you live near a base many commands have programs where you may be able to invite serviceman or women to your home for dinner, give gifts or just write them a letter of thanks, take some time out and investigate the different methods in your area to show your support for our military.

I

Thanksgiving 2001

Camp Rhino Afghanistan/Photo Virtualglobetrotting.com

Was sitting here tonight and thinking about all the things I am thankful for, and thinking about all the Thanksgiving's of the past.  In the 20 years I spent in the navy up to my 16th year I had always been lucky when it came to deployments and the holidays, most people in the military can usually plan on missing allot of holidays, birthdays, and anniversary's yet up to my sixteenth year the only things I was not home for was my own birthday, as unbelievable as it may seem in my 12 deployments prior to 2001 my birthday is the only thing I ever missed.

In 2001 I was stationed on board the USS Dubuque, LPD-8.  This deployment was scheduled to be from Aug 2001-Feb 2002 so we all knew I was going to miss Sandi's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and our first year wedding anniversary as well as my birthday again, however this was to be my last deployment in my navy career since I was scheduled to transfer to shore duty to Naval Air Station North Island, Ca. as an instructor, and I was expecting it to be almost a pleasure cruise as everything in the world to the most part was pretty calm.

On this deployment we had some pretty good port visits scheduled, some of the place's we were to visit was Hawaii, 3 ports in Australia, Guam, Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, East Timor, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kenya.  Then on 11 Sept 2001 that whole schedule changed and instead of coming home in February we didn't get back until April. 

So now not only did I spend the holidays away from home I ended having an adventure for thanksgiving that year, as most of you know from previous posts we where in Darwin, Australia when the United States was attacked by Al-Qaeda and from there we got our ship back to sea and by Sept 15th we where off the coast of Pakistan.  Now when I was in the navy I was a "AS" or Aviation Support Equipment Technician and on the Dubuque our mission was to support the US Marines landing force and their helicopters. In my department our main job was running the flight deck and sending the marines into combat by helicopter, however the marines did not have their version of an AS on board so I had the honor of going into Afghanistan with the marines.

So from there my last deployment that I thought was going to be a "pleasure" cruise turned out to be far from it, so to the point of my post here was that on thanksgiving 2001 I ended up deployed into Afghanistan with the marines setting up the first in country base called Camp Rhino, at that time of the year it is quite cold in that region of the world, so here we where in a cold desert setting up a camp and small airstrip for helicopters not knowing what was going to happen.  Lucky for me the worst thing that happened was we where all high strung and nervous and yes we had a few shots fired our way, which we determined was just from some locals who didn't care for us being there and one night there was allot of noise around the perimeter and then loud noises scared the heck out of me as something came flying out over the sand dunes, the marines opened fire and ended up shooting and killing 3 wild camels who I guess was coming in to get water, I felt very sorry for the camels but was thankful that day that it wasn't the Taliban or Al-Qaeda fighters coming through because some of us would have lost or life that day, two days after that I was back on the ship, so today I am thankful I made it through thanksgiving 2001.

New Zealand Miners

Entrance to mine/photo newdawn.com

A few days ago I wrote a post about mining accidents including the current search for 29 miners in New Zealand and I am so sorry to say there was another larger explosion in the mine and as of today the government of New Zealand has declared all 29 miners dead.  My prayers go out to all the families of the men who ranged in age from 17-62. Rescuers say as soon as the high levels of explosive gases dissipate to a safe level they will recover the miners so that their bodies may be returned to family members.

Another Mine Accident



A Coal Mine in Wyoming



It seems like there has been allot of mine accidents in the news lately, and your right there has been and more people have been paying attention since the accident in Chile and now there is another yesterday in New Zealand, however it just hasn't been recently like many things most have slipped the world's collective memories.

I'm sure most Americans remember back in 2006 when first there was the accident at the Sago Mine located in Tallmansville, WV that killed 12 on the second day of Jan, and then 17 days later on 19 Jan, 2 miners were killed at the Alma No. 1 in Melville, WV. and for the United States any ways finished 2006 in Holmes, Ky. at the Darby No. 1 mine which killed 5 miners on 5 May 2006. Now I want everyone to remember one thing, the US actually has one of the best mining safety records.

In 2006 73 US miners died in mine related accidents, that includes coal mines, uranium mines, gold mines, etc., then there were 67 in 2007. Since then death's in US mines have started to decline with 34 deaths in the US last year, now I don't want everyone to confuse these with death's in coal mines. The numberrs I am giving are for all types of mines in the United States. I know this seems like allot of deaths and yes even one is to many but our worst year in the history of US mining was 1907 when 3,242 men died in our mines.

Our mines need to and the Mine Safety and Health Administration need to keep working on methods to reduce our fatalities down close to zero as possible, and someday that goal will  be met. Today many countries who have mining operations still operate like the United States did back in 1907, for example it seems a month doesn't go by without hearing about mine accidents in China, deaths from mining in China is so common place, most miners there will tell you they expect to die underground in some kind of accident, allot of US miners may say that as well but the chance of it happening in the US is relatively low, in China the odds are that most likely the miners are right.

In New Zealand there are currently rescue operations going on to try and rescue 29 men trapped in a coal mine after an explosion but as of yet they say methane gas levels are to high to attempt to rescue the men who have not been heard from since yesterday. Lets pray for these miners to be alive and rescued safely but at the same time, say a word for all miners because they are the soldiers of the mining world, just like combat troops going into battle, when a  miner leaves home for work in the morning he and his family don't know if the miner will be coming back home for sure.

Mine safety in the United States has improved greatly but can still get much better, and as for the rest of the world they need to get serious about mine safety, China looses enough miners every year to populate my home town of Scott City, Ks. and I know some nations don't want our help, but we need to help those who do before the accident instead of after.

Sacramento Burger King An Example Of American Professionalism

The Offending Reciept/ pic FOX NEWS

It seems yesterday a man stopped at a Burger King in Sacramento on Arden Way, near Exposition Boulevard just before 2 a.m. and ordered a double whopper and some funnel cake sticks with the burger cut-in half. The employee at the drive up window handed him his meal and he started to check his order to make sure it was right, when he glanced at his receipt and was shocked to see the "F-Bomb" typed out twice on the receipt. Yes that is F**k You typed out twice where the order numbers usually go.

First thing I thought was, could have the employee just been upset just because he was asked to cut the burger in half? The shocked customer immediately parked his car and went in to complain and said he didn't get a apology from anyone who was working at that time. Later a news team went to this Burger King to ask them some questions and of course everyone working at the time looked very uncomfortable being on the news. I saw the video and still did not hear an apology from anyone at the Burger King, although Burger King's Customer Relations later released an apology and announced the employee responsible and the manger where both terminated.

Now I noticed a long time ago how to me American professionalism and quality of work has been declining drastically in the past 20 years or so.  Back in the day everyone was out to buy "made in America", not just here in the United States but all over the world. When you went shopping whether it was toys for you children or a new car people knew if the product had made in America written on it some where, what you had was something of high quality that would last you many years to come. Made in China or some where else meant it was junk and wouldn't last you long. One thing I do remember coming from another country that was great quality was Matchbox Cars and Hot Wheels which at that time were made in England, today they are made in China or Taiwan and not the same quality.

US manufacturing today have become nothing but junk, now I'm not say all things that we make in this country but most of it.  What are the reasons for the lack of quality, it's very simple, professionalism in this country has gone out the door, no one cares any more because everyone is in a hurry.  It even shows in today's military, when I first enlisted in the Navy in 1984, of course boot camp was very professional however reporting to my first ship the USS Constellation, CV-64 we were very professional.  When you talked to a senior person in the military it was yes sir, no sir, yes petty officer, no petty officer I'm sure you get the point.

On my first ship you and my next command after that you didn't get caught being unprofessional;  some examples would be you didn't walk around with your hands in your pockets, you were respectful to everyone, uniforms were squared away and lastly haircuts were always in regulation. When you had someone working with you who did not care about showing professionalism than everything they did was low quality, if this person was working on a multi-million dollar aircraft in the navy you would have to make sure you check his work ever extra good because when someones attitude is they don't even care how they treat others, take care of themselves, then their work is going to be bad.

Today you go to a fast food restaurants and get customer service like the man at Burger King in Sacramento, you get poorly constructed cars coming from Detroit, an elderly caregiver who don't care, and worse yet people who don't care working in the food industry such as a factory processing chickens which can make thousands sick. It is a illness of American society that has been happening for awhile now and the only way to cure it, is to make everyone responsible for what they do, some people say it's unfair that the supervisor at the Burger King in the spotlight was fired but you know what he or she was the supervisor and they need to supervise and if they don't make them accountable. 

Haiti The Continuing Disaster

The Vibrio cholerae bacteria/photo courtesy Wikipedia

Oh, I am so mad right now, originally when I sat down this evening I was going to talk about the civilian trial of terrorist Ahmed Khalfan Ghailiani who was orginally brought to trial on 285 terrorist charges only to be found guilty of 1, OK I'm say nothing else as I'm so mad right now anything I would write wouldn't be any good.

So I am going to turn to the horrible Cholera outbreak in Haiti, in doing so first let's find out what Cholera actually is, I've heard main stream media cover somewhat lightly so let's see what the definition that doctors recognize.

Cholera:  is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacteria Vibrio Cholerae, which affects the intestinal system of the body. An infected person experiences severe vomiting, explosive diarrhea and severe dehydration, without immediate medical treatment, Cholera may result in death withing four to twelve hours after symptoms begin. Due to a large loss of body fluids, Cholera is gruesome in the way that it leaves survivors in their physical appearance, as well as in the biological toll it takes on the body.

The new Cholera numbers have come out today and shows that there has been 1,110 have died and 18,383 people have been sick in Haiti, however it has now spread with one case in Florida and one case in the Dominican Republic, I do want it to be known though that those two case originated in Haiti but officials are worried because it is contagious.  In Florida state health officials are on the alert because presently 241,000 Haiti-born residents live there.

In the Dominican Republic officials have been ready for possible cases in their country since they do share an island with Haiti and are not expecting a significant breakout of the disease.  US worries in the Dominican Republic is that it  is the second most visited country in the Caribbean by Americans  second only behind Cancun, Mexico. The State Department estimates as of August of this year approximately 900,000 US tourist's have visited the Dominican Republic so health officials in the US are keeping a close watch on people returning from either Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The last Cholera out break in the western hemisphere was back in 1991which started in Peru and spread to sixteen other countries from Argentina to Canada, from 1991 to 1997 650,000 people became sick in Peru alone during that epidemic. Analyzing how the Cholera spread in 1991 the UN is predicting up to 250,000 people sick.

There is a vaccine however as it happens in many third world countries health officials complain that that vaccine is to expensive for general use, plus it would be very problematic to mobilize the entire population to receive the vaccine, now isn't this the same excuse we hear all over the world about why people are dieing all over the world because vaccines are to expensive to vaccinate a countries population against a peculiar disease. That is how it is in this greedy world now, money is more important than lives, makes me sick.

On another issue that has risen from this outbreak is that Haiti citizens have been rioting blaming the UN for the Cholera outbreak, I guess there has been rumors that peace keepers from the nation of Nepal came to Haiti already sick and are spreading it in Haiti, and although the UN denies such a report, some UN officials and soldiers have been attacked, hospitals have reported at least 6 people coming to them with gunshot wounds to various areas of the body, but it hasn't been disclosed if the wounded were UN Peace Keepers or Haitians.  I personally don't like the UN but right now sympathy's go out to the peacekeepers trying to do their job in that type of climate.

Leaked U.S. Marshal Body Scan Images Revealed | NBC San Diego

Full body-scanners photo courtesy of nbcsandiego.com

You know it's funny this morning before school I was going to write about the individual here in San Diego and how he refused to go through the body scanner and refused a hand search, in that story I was going to stand up the use of the body scanner but before I could get started writing it my son Jesiah woke up and distracted me so the writing never got done, well thank heavens because look what we have here.

In the post I was going to do earlier today I was somewhat going to lash out at John Tyner the individual here in San Diego, first of all to say that the manufacturer of this machine and the US government has both told us that images cannot be stored in any way on these scanners, an secondly to tell John that I think that he never had any intention of getting on this flight in the first place and was hoping for something good he could post on the Internet, especially when he refused the pat down, he knew you had to go through security to get on a plane, so honestly I don't think he planned to get on the airplane in the first place.  Now look his Youtube video has gone viral and he's made front page news on almost every newspaper and news web service, he's been on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and even BBC, and other world media sites, so he got what he was after.

OK now what I want to do is address this issue of the body scanners, it seems that once again the public has been lied to, after being told that images could never be stored from body scanners we find out that is a lie.  It turns out that some US Marshall's in a court house somewhere found a way to store around 35, 000 images.  The model these US Marshall's were using was a different model than what the TSA is reacquiring airports to install, and is actually considered the "less embarrassing machine" because it show less detail of the body than the models going to the airports.

Even though these the machine the images were saved on is different than the ones going to the airport, according to the manufactures and TSA came out in early August of this year and claimed that "body-scanner images cannot be stored or recorded in any way", now we just have to wait for TSA to come out and say that did not pertain to the machines currently in use, or something like that because they will have to find a way to cover up this lie somehow.

Below is a link to the orginal story.
Leaked U.S. Marshal Body Scan Images Revealed NBC San Diego

US Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi

I Voted photo courtesy Daniel Morrison

It's funny how Americans are so pleased to claim their democratic roots and of course criticize their government about many aspects where they feel that our government is unfair, yet few Americans really get involved in politics in this country. Democracy is supposed to be rule by the people, but mostly what I hear from the people is allot of complaints, and many of the whiners don't even bother to vote. Don't vote don't whine is all I have to say. In the midterm election just completed on Nov 2, current estimate of voter turn out stands at about 40.2%.

40.2%  how disgusting, why did only 40.2% of registered voters vote in the midterm election? First just in case you didn't get it, yes I said less than half of registered voters failed to vote, if you count the population of the US who weren't even registered this means only 29% of Americans voted in the 2010 midterm elections. What does that mean? That means only 29% of us decide how this country is run.

I understand there is much apathy in this country when it comes to politics and I wish there was a quick fix on how to get more people involved in government.  One thing I know allot of Americans think the US political system is set up for the American wealthy, which for the most part is true.  If you look back in history the original Founding Fathers purposely set up our system so only the weatlhy would have a say so, after all they where some of the 52 riches men in America when they wrote up the US Constitution, the man in charge of the convention and  soon the be the first president of the United States Of America, none other than General George Washington himself was the richest man in the US at the time.  So originally our government was set up with an intent on protecting the wealthy families of America.

When the constitution was completed the only real regulation on voting the framers had included was that it was up to each of the 13 states to provide requirements for becoming a voter.  In the beginning the states gave very few Americans the right to vote, the main stumbling block was that you had to be rich in all states except Rhode Island , not necessarily in cash, for at that time wealth was often measured in how much land you owned, how many slaves you may have owned, investments as well as cold hard cash.
Now at first Americans were so busy trying to make a living to take care of their families and pay of huge debts which most people had ran up establishing farms and homes when this nation first started, however as farm work began to become more technologically advanced and the American public began having more free time and more money they began to fight for their rights to vote, the original requirements being you had to be male, white and wealthy.

Eventually after many demonstrations, mini rebellions and countless deaths class by class the American public received the right to vote and become more involved, until finally the only requirements where to be an American citizen with out a felony criminal record.

I wish people would remember these sacrifices so many people have made for the right to vote, that has been taken for granted so much only 29% of Americans vote, let take a more modern example of  Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma or Myanmar who has been in house arrest up to a couple days ago for 15 of the last 21 years.

Her fight for democracy in her country started in 1988 when the country's military ruler Ne Win stepped down from power and she began to lead demonstrations for democracy, to which the new military junta running the country agreed and elections eventually were held in 1990 where she won 59% of the vote for Prime Minister and her political party the National League For Democracy won 81% of the seats in Parliament, the elections results where disregarded by the military and she spent most of the years after that in house arrest. This was not her only sacrifice. for Burma. In 1947 her father Aung San founded the "modern" Burmese Army and negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire and sadly was assassinated that same year.  This is just an example on how seriously democracy is taken just in one part of the world, but stories like this happen every day in every corner of the world.

It is time for Americans to get involved in our governmental process, many lives where lost to give us the right to vote, and yet hardly any of us act upon that right.  Many people in the world are fighting to throw of ruthless dictators to gain democracy, yet here in America if we don't watch out we may loose this thing called democracy that so many Americans take for granted, either quickly by some kind of military action or slowly as those in charge really start to take advantage of our apathy toward government and slowly erode our rights one by one!

Are Americans Closet Racists?



Klu Klux Klan march in 1920/ photo historycoopertive.com



Every day I spend time browsing several news sights from all over the nation and the world, and though I've noticed this before, it really stuck me today.  Out in public racism may seem to be dyeing down from what it used to be years ago but as I was reading the story about the five motorcyclist who where killed in a auto/motorcycle accident today it dawned on me that in private racism may be worse than it was 20 years ago.

Everyone knows now when you go on news sites such as CNN, Fox News and even many of the local news web sights now, you can log on either anonymously or if you are someone who isn't afraid to voice your opinion and stand up for it too, you can log in using your real name and leave a comment about the particular news story that interests you.

What struck me today was how so many of the comments left are racist and of course they hide behind false names or just log in as guest, if you want a example you can look at the web page that I was looking at today regarding the accident and see the remarks I'm talking about at http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=13498402 

I just know this kind of cowardice really makes me feel sick that this day and age there are still people out there who act like the United States is stuck in the past, how for the most part publicly Americans portray themselves one way and in private can be raciest jerks. I am in no way trying to say the majority of us are like people you see posting these horrible remarks in the comments sections, but it is this small group of people who prevent our country from being what it could be, we could be a people that could shine as an example for those countries where genocide is a daily occurrence. No wonder the United States rarely if ever intervenes in places like Rwanda and The Congo.

It's time for this small minority of Americans to grow up and join the 21st century with the rest of us.

Afghanistan Requests Iran To Increase It's Presence In Their Country

Zalmay Rassoul/Photo Embassy of Afghanistan Washington Dc

Right now in 2010 the nation of Iran is considered a threat to the stability of the Middle East and other parts of the wold, and a specific threat toward Israel and yet Iran is and has been engaged in high level diplomatic talks with Afghanistan and since we all know that the United States says that Iran is supplying support to terrorists in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So we should assume that Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul must be in Iran trying to end Iran's support of these groups trying to tear down Afghanistan's fledgling government.

Oh but if that's what I was assuming than I was way off the mark, it seems that Foreign Minister Rassoul was in Iran earlier this month addressing Iran's Supreme National Security Council not about the illegal arming of insurgents in his country, but rather he was asking Saeed Jalili, the head minister of the Supreme Council to increase their presence in Afghanistan as well as requesting Iran to boost it's involvement  in peace talks to end the conflict in Afghanistan which was invaded in 2001 by United States and coalition forces after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Now first let me point out that of course Afghanistan is a sovereign nation that can hold talks and make treaties with whoever, whenever they want to and in no way am I saying that they should be acting as a puppet of the United States. They are neighbors of Iran so by all means they should be holding talks to try and assure their national security and if making good with Iran will do that, more power to them, however they are forgetting one thing, there are US troops in Afghanistan and Iran, and the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made public threats toward the United States and other coalition forces so inviting Iran to have a public up front presence in Afghanistan to me is a slap in our faces and may result in increased fighting and a longer US presence in Afghanistan.

I believe 100% that we need to be in Afghanistan hunting down and destroying the terrorist's currently trying to use Afghanistan as a safe haven and as place to carry out their Jihad against the US, and we need to make it clear to the government of Afghanistan that any Iranian Nationals found in the country without specific diplomatic missions will be taken into custody as possible security threat to US forces, if we don't Iran will take our non-response as a publicly opened door to so supply weapons or even send agents to carry out attacks themselves, I say publicly because I believe that Iran is already doing this "secretly" in Afghanistan as it was already proven they were doing in Iraq in the past, it was easier to prove in Iraq however because Iraq themselves at the time considered Iran a threat to their security.

Now I know their will be allot of readers out there who are not going to agree with on me this, but I see the main goal of our leaders should always be the safety of our troops while they carry out the mission they send them on.

Wild Animal Spotted In Alpine, California

Photo Courtesy Mike Simmons/Getty Images

Well once again the human population are shaking in their boots, and letting the news media know they are outraged that a wild animal has been spotted back in it's old habitat that they where forced out of when people began building these towns up in the mountains.  The only things that seemed to be hurt was five missing free range chickens, but the owner of the chickens actually didn't seem that upset, she actually admitted hey, it's our fault we are in their stomping grounds.

Oh what is this wild animal on the loose? A Mountain Lion or Cougar depending what part of the United States you live in, despite the name Mountain Lion back before the European explorers came to North America these beautiful animals actually roamed much of this continent. In this case CBS News San Diego (http://www.cbs8.com/) reports this particular Mountain Lion was spotted walking right down one of Alpines main streets.

At this time there seems to be no danger to pets or people, like I said above the only possible victims were the five free range chickens, however animal control, and the Forest Service said as a precaution until when and if this lion is found you shouldn't walk alone, don't let your children more than 25ft away from you if you are out, and keep your pets inside.  As of this afternoon however the only people who have actually seen the Mountain Lion are the residents of Alpine who originally reported it, rangers nor animal control have seen or located it and if they do they say they will humanely trap it and relocate it someplace farther from human habitation.  So if your up their in Alpine probably not much to worry about but ther is nothing wrong with being safe.

9/11 My Outrage

USS Dubuque, LPD-8 Courtesy US Navy

Hello everyone, if you are a regular reader of my blog you have already read my first entry on 9/11 and how I'm getting so upset at my fellow Americans and other people of the world who are bad mouthing the United States over Afghanistan. So the last I posted I was telling the story of where exactly I was on that day.

For me and all the other sailors stationed on board the Amphibious Transport Dock USS Dubuque, LPD-8 it was actually September 12th because we happened to be on a port call in Darwin, Australia.  First thing we heard was rumors going around the ship that a small plane, perhaps something like a Cessna had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. At hearing this we all stopped what we where doing and took a break to see if we could find out was happening by tuneing in one of the news stations.

We turned on the news, and basically getting from them that it could have been anything from a light aircraft to a passenger jet that had gone terribly of course but not even a whisper about a possible attach. Then as we were watching another a jet liner came into view and smacked right into the other tower. Like I said in my first post on 9/11 all hell broke loose!

Before any of us could respond the general quarters (battle stations) alarm went off, our commanding officer didn't even second guess, he knew something bad was going down.  All of us on duty assembled on the flight deck and where given weapons and ammunition, the ship installed weapons which are normally unloaded while in port where loaded up and manned.  Our first responsibility was to make sure the ship and our crew were protected, our second job was to get over three quarters of the crew who was out enjoying liberty in Darwin back on the ship so we could get underway.  Sailors and Marines are not a dumb lot, and as soon as the attacks started making the local news there in Australia it didn't take long to get just about everyone back on board.

At this point all of us on board knew that our deployment schedule had totally changed and we would be heading somewhere to strike back, to be honest most of us thought our target was Iraq, but myself I wasn't surprised to find out that it was Al Qaeda after all they by this time had already killed some of our shipmates from the USS Cole. Within probably about 12 hours we where manned and ready to get back out to sea. I remember seeing others on board, as well as myself watching planes take off and land at the Darwin airport and just wondering if we or Darwin could be an attack, but Thank God no further attack came.  I to remembered that soon we would loose communication with the outside world so I immediately emailed my wife Sandi to tell her I love her and was OK.  My Father In law Gary Vines who was also in the navy

and although permanently assigned to the USS Pellilu happened to be on board the Dubuque that day of the attacks and he to wrote Sandi's mom to do the same.  About 1 hour after the attacks our phones and email was off. You can't have people telling family what our plans of attack were.

Like I said about 12 hours later, all of us exhausted from getting ready to get to sea, and watching the news we headed back to sea.  Now this is another thing I won't forget, as we started to slowly leave port, sliding through the channel the citizens of Australia lined the banks of the bay all the way to the beach waving US Flags and holding signs declaring their support for the American people, at that time I thought we would have the majority of the world's people supporting us.  We didn't know the death toll yet but we knew it would be large and because the main target was the World Trade Center it wouldn't be all American citizens who where killed.

As the coast of Australia slipped over the horizon that day I knew the world had forever changed and that we where in for a long deployment, I was right on both counts as our normally six month deployment stretched to almost ten and here we are nine years later still fighting in Afghanistan.

US Navy To The Rescue

The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the US Navy's newest aircraft carriers was in the news the last couple of days for coming to the rescue of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor who it seems had an engine fire and became stranded off the coast of Mexico. All in a days work for the USS Ronald Regan's crew, a horror story for the passengers who paid big bucks to make what was suppose to be a pleasure cruise.

OK first let me say, most of you who may be reading my blog (if there is anyone) know from reading my profile that I spent 20 years in the navy, and no I've never had the honor of being on a naval vessel that came to the rescue of a cruise ship, although I have been on board for rescues of aircraft in the water and merchant ships but those could make for other interesting stories. What I want to assure everyone is the passengers where never in any danger, the only ones who may have been in danger where the first responders of the crew.

The media is making a big deal out of the fire and you hear passenger's like, Leticia Lewis who told CNN "I'm just thankful to be alive". CNN's not pointing out those people who said "oh I wasn't worried at all". First of all the technology used in all types of newer vessels can control and put out a fire in a ships engine room in a matter of seconds before it can get out of hand, most of that technology are inventions pioneered by the US Navy and other navy's of the world. A good example is a chemical agent called Bromochlorodifluoromethane or the trade name Halon 1211.

Back in the mid 80's about the time I was serving on the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, engine rooms and many other spaces on board US Navy ships began replacing the old CO2 fire extinguishing systems most of us may be familiar with with the new Halon 1211 systems, which while on board was put to the real test when we had a engine room fire on board, and worked pretty good considering it was a new system, the fire did end up burning 42 Spaces (rooms) on board, however that was about 25 years ago and the Halon systems of today are a million times more reliable.

Briefly to tell you how this works with out getting technical is when there is a fire, Halon 1211 is automatically actuated and it destroys all the oxygen in the room, and as we know it takes three things for a fire to start or continue burning, Fuel, Air and an Ignition source. So the way Halon works is by getting rid of the air. As a side note to that I remember a terrible tragedy back in the mid 80's when a marine stationed at Marine Corp Base Camp Pendelton, Ca was looking for a quick high and breathed in some Halon 1211, needless to say it sucked all the Oxygen out of his body and killed him instantly, I tell you this just to show you how effective it could be.

So despite all the media hype about the possible danger the passengers where in, it's just that hype, it was a small fire and was out almost instantly. Now the fact that they spent that much money to go on a seven day cruise and ended up floating helpless of the coast of Mexico is a tragedy. Someone who may not normally get sea sick can get violently ill when your ship has no power and floating around like a fishing bobber, you add the smell of rotting food and sewage it makes for a horrible four days.

Yet Carnival being in the business of taking people on cruises have stood up and said everyone is invited to come back for a free cruise on them, (of course they did, don't want to loose the business right?) so the passengers got an experience of a life time, something they can tell their grand children about, I mean how many people have actually gotten the chance to see an actual aircraft carrier in action and still get to go on a cruise when the are ready.

You hear allot lately with people wondering if cruises are safe, and they are very safe, probably one of the safest and different vacation you can take, unless their is a major explosion on board a ship which to is highly unlikely barring a terrorist attack. So sit back in your patio chair and enjoy the cruise.

One thing I do want to say is that Carnival owes the US Navy and Coast Guard a big thank you, not only did they come too their rescue, the defense department announced today that they will not send Carnival a bill for their services.

Picture Courtesy of USA Today

Amazon.Com what are you thinking?

I just wanted to say something about this, I'm not sure the whole story but what I do know about it is making me so sick at this moment. Just the title "The Pedophiles Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lovers Code of Conduct," makes me want to puke.

I am going to college right now at San Diego City College to get my degree in history, and if you are going to college or have in the past few years you know how expensive text books can be, so Amazon is often one of the book dealers I turn to when I need used text books, I like them. But now what are we to do, how can a reputable business with any type of ethics even consider carrying a book like this in their inventory?

Never have I thought that any business remotely main stream would carry a title like this. This is the type of book in my mind I could be sold in the dark reaches of the Internet, you know the same web pages that the FBI is searching for that sells child pornography, or some nasty motel room that has a sign in the front window reading "rooms for rent by the hour".

So now what should we do, should we start a group that goes through Amazon and other online books stores inventory to see what other kind of disgusting material is being sold? We could but it would take forever, the thing that needs to happen is these stores need to police themselves.

So do I think we should boycott Amazon, no I don't because I'm sure that Amazon has a system in place to ensure that objectionable material does not make on to the sales pages, and of course what is objectionable too you may not be to me. ( Although there is no doubt this is objectionable to 99.9% of Amazon shoppers) Amazon has guidelines and this case was probably just some human error, yes let them know how you feel but if you do boycott your going to hurt the hourly employee's not the CEO.

So Amazon just try a little harder, I never heard of something like this from you guys before so the likeliness of this happening again is probably pretty low, so clean up your mess, talk to your customers and let's get ready for the holidays.

Book pics courtesy of treehuggers.com

Another Bush For President??

Hello America, I have a serious question for you today. Is The United States ready for President Bush #3. I say why not? In my opinion the Bush clan so far has had a impressive run as being the President of this great nation. Even though Bush senior may have only been a one term President he accomplished many things, as far as I am concerned his only down fall, and the only reason he didn't win reelection was because he ended the Persian Gulf War to soon, actually his reelection bid looked like it would be successful until the end of the war.

Of course President Bush Jr. we all know his accomplishments although many people to this day like to drag his name through the mud, he will go down in history as one of the best and most honest presidents this country has ever had and most importantly him and his policies against terrorism is still what is protecting us this day.

So what about Mr. Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida, what did he accomplish in that job that would make him qualified to be the next President of the United States of America. In Florida right now he is most remembered as the education governor, because he made education reform a high priority. He introduced the A+ plan to achieve consistent standardized testing across all schools.

Believing that Florida schools had failed the students rather than the students failing school he implemented a system funding public schools on a comparative grading system as well as championing school vouchers and charter schools.

Jeb Bush was also the first republican governors ever reelected to a second term despite being named the number one target of the DNC , this was based on the fact that we was very accessible to the public which made him very popular. In appointing members of his administration he had a very non discriminating attitude, by appointing more women, blacks, and other minorities to high government positions than any other Florida Governor in history.

In my oppion Jeb Bush would be an excellent choice for President of the United States, he is not the only person I am eyeballing for that position and I will keep you posted on those I believe would be qualified. Although I am Republican at heart my goal for the 2012 election is to get those candidates elected who would best govern this country with no regard to their party's, it is time for the citizens of this great country to take charge and stop voting right down the line just because of their party. Its not the people in charge who has gotten this country in trouble, it is us the people who elected them!!

Photo courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel

9/11 Where I Was

Ok this is a continuation from my last entry, I am truly very frustrated with the American people right now, like I commented on my last post I can understand some people don't agree with us being in Iraq, that's not me I think us going into Iraq was a case of sooner or later and if President Bush hadn't sent us in when he did, we would have ended up there eventually and the causality list would have been much larger than it is today.

Now Afghanistan, how can a true red blooded American not believe we should be there. The Taliban allowed Al Qadea to operate within the borders of Afghanistan with impunity before and after the terrorist attacks on American soil. One thing I do agree with is that President Bush should have put the majority of the emphasis on Afghanistan during this entire period. I do however believe the people in this country who insist that this is a war the United States wanted or started and that we need to pack up and leave no matter the consequences are anti-American and have no idea what the consequences would be.

I knew marines who have paid the ultimate consequences in Afghanistan, matter of fact I was on the ship that sent the first marines into Camp Rhino, I remember that day as clear as I remember my son being born. I was stationed on board the USS Dubuque, LPD-8 which is an amphibious assault ship. We were part of the amphibous battle groups centered around the USS Pellilu, USS Dubuque and USS Comstock. On Sept 12th, 2001 we were in Darwin, Australia on a port visit, now of course because Australia is clear on the other side of the world it was Sept 11, 2001 in the United States.

I was on board the ship in a duty status, while the other 75% of the crew where on liberty in the city when suddenly other people on duty aboard the ship that day started talking about a airplane hitting one of the buildings of the World Trade Center. I remember at the time everyone just assumed it was a small Cessna or similar personal use airplane.

Me and the other guys from our division moved into the office and began watching events unfold in New York, still thinking that it was a horrible accident, when suddenly on the television screen a huge jetliner appeared and almost immediately crashed into the second tower.

Then all hell broke loose.

to be continued. Picture courtesy of craft-addict.com

Some Information

Hello everyone, I hope this early morning finds you all doing well, I was thinking since I posted earlier today about terrorism, about how little many people may know about what we discussing, sure I know just about everyone knows something about terrorism, like who Al Qaeda is, and that there central base of command is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, yet I can't help but think that the American public as well as non US Citizens needs to know much more, than we already do.

Lately I have been getting upset because I have been hearing not only protesters from other countries saying that Afghanistan is the war that we (As Americans) wanted, but now I am actually hearing Americans and US residents saying the same thing. It is as if the attacks on Sept 11, 2001 never really happened, somewhere there is a belief going around that President Bush had been spoiling for a fight and out of the blue we invaded Afghanistan.

I understand that 9/11 was nine years ago, but are our memories really that short? I also understand that many of our soldiers who are now fighting in Afghanistan and other parts of the middle east were as young as nine years old when the planes hit the World Trade Center, Pentagon and nose dived into that field in Shanks ville, Pa. so for them the actual event may be just a fleeting memory in a blur of childhood memories. What really appalls me today is how it seems many people act like it never happened and the United States has reverted to it's past and I again seeking to re-enact the Manifest Destiny orginally used as an excuse in going to war with Mexico back in the 1840's.

Well for all you Manifest Destiny conspiracy theorist's believe me the United States has absolutely no desire to make Afghanistan and Iraq the 51st and 52nd states, and another thing is I really don't understand those Americans who act like we have no business being in Afghanistan, to you I say what the hell is wrong with you. Granted Iraq may be a differnt story when it come to debating if we should have invaded or not and their are alot of valid view points, although I personaly believe we did the right thing when it came to Iraq but that's a different blog entry.

So here is the point of this blog entry is to let my "loyal" readers know that I am going to start exploring different aspects of the terrorism story that may have been forgotten in the past 9 years, so stand by because my first entry will be covering where I was on 9/11 as I was still active duty on board the USS Dubuque, LPD-8 and saw some intresting things being on of the first military units on the scene. Well God Bless All of you and I will be looking forward to exloring terrorism with you.

Time for the United States to be on the lookout!!!

Hello my friends, I hope this day finds everyone doing good, I thought I would just take this time and bring out some of my thoughts on the latest terrorist activity going on throughout the world but especially the failed attempts against the United States. Right now you are hearing allot of discussion of whether they are dry test runs or not. Come on folks do we really think that matters? Of course it doesn't matter; what does matter it seems is that the amount and frequency of the attempts are increasing.

I'm sure just about everybody was either watching the news or heard allot later about the October 29 parcel bombs that where shipped from Yemen addressed to two Chicago, Illinois synagogues. One was found on board a UPS cargo flight and the other on board an American Federal Express flight, the flights where stopped and searched in Britain and United Arab Emirates after tips came into the US government from sources within the government of Saudi Arabia.

According to White House counter terrorism chief John Brennan the devices enclosed in the parcels were constructed of computer printer cartridges, circuit cards, wiring and a powerful explosive called PETN. As of today Yemen based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP accepted responsibilty for the devices found on October 29. Also Brennan said the US government is looking into AQAP's claim of responsibility for the crash of UPS flight 6 the resulted in the deaths of the two crew members.

As a side note if you remember 80 grams of PETN was also the explosive material inside the alleged underwear bombing by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab on Christmas Day 2009, and now in the past week there have been reports of letter or parcel bombs being sent to European heads of state including the Chancellor of Germany and the Prime Minister of Italy, as well as mail bombs addressed to the European Union Law Enforcement Agency and the head of the European Court of Justice and other targets in Greece.

At this time law enforcement are not totally sure where the bombs came from, except they don't believe the bombs found in Greece where from Al Qaeda. No matter where they came from it has become quite obvious terrorists no matter who they are working from are becoming bolder, willing to take more risks to hit their intended targets.

Now to get to my point, many of you may know I retired from the US Navy on 31 Dec 2005 so I have been to many different country's and have seen how different threats play out, and now with Al Qaeda becoming bolder I can see the situation in the US becoming similar to that of Israel. In Israel terrorist attacks have been occurring on soft targets, rather than those targets which are heavily guarded. Examples would be light rail, buses, night clubs, grocery stores and other places where the general public become easy targets.

It's time us ordinary citizens to start taking these potential attacks seriously. In Israel to go shopping, or hang out with friends in a nigh clubs you have to pass through metal detectors and x-ray machines to help prevent these attacks, yet despite these actions people continue to die and I am afraid that is the next step Al Qaeda and other groups plan to take, I pray that I am wrong but I am afraid soon we will see bombings on the city buses, light rail, grocery stores and many public areas. In India it played out with gunmen taking over hotels and taking lives, recently their were alerts that the same type of attacks where being planned for Europe.

Here is my biggest fear, first of all I know there are sleeper terror cells throughout the country waiting for the word for something as simple as terrorists with guns walking down various cities at the same time and begin shooting, the thing is, it is going to happen! The main question is when. Our government is in denial and is not prepared so it is our responsibility to be on the lookout and have a plan for when it does happen.

Groups such as the ACLU complain anytime our government comes up with a plan to protect the American public and those plans are filed away, its time for people like the ACLU to get off their buns and start worrying about protecting us and themselves and stop taking the government to court anytime someone is inconvenienced when investigating possible terrorist plots, it's time for them to stop treating these cases as possible illegal immigration cases and begin eyeing them as potential life and death situations.