TROUBLING…..YET ENHANCED!

TROUBLING…..YET ENHANCED!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

President Barack Obama said it best, “troubling, but enhanced interrogations instead of torture,” talking about a report just out which took some five years to complete by a Senate Select intelligence Committee with regards to how information was gleaned from detainees. Let’s see, if you hit me in the head with a 2x4, no matter what kind of uniform or what your intensions are…..it’s still gonna hurt. Hitting somebody with a piece of board is going to do one thing, and one thing only…..hurt, all of the information that a person might give after that initial whack will be tainted by pain.

 

My reason for the blog, my old friend Rush Limbaugh and his idiotic rants during his radio broadcast (12-9-14). Limbaugh has an agenda, I have an agenda, anybody that get’s up on a soap box has an agenda…..but at least I try and keep an open mind to what people like Limbaugh have to say. Today’s rant was about the select Senate’s report on the CIA’s flawed, brutal and ineffective interrogation practices during the initial days after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

 

I don’t have a staff, I don’t have a radio show, and I’ve only appeared on television four or five times, but I’ve heard from all kinds of military officials talking about the efficiency of enhanced interrogation. With almost no exception top U.S. military brass discards much of the information that is realized by waterboarding, sleep deprivation or some other kinds of disgusting practices that have been employed.

 

Limbaugh talked about the “far left, and Democrats” happily bashing the United States because of the report, and “wanting the demise of the country, and that they jump at any opportunity to do so.” Gee I know scads of liberals, or the far left, come to think of it, I also know a whole host of Democrats…..and I’ve never heard even one say that they “wanted the demise of the United States.”

 

 U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

Yup, it’s kind of like a city, the different branches of governmental spooks that have been created to safeguard our cities, shores, boarders, and moreover protect us from them. There are 17 departments (that are officially recognized by the U.S) or elements that make up the U.S. security division of the federal government. There is the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), United States Department of Energy, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (OICI), Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Coast Guard Intelligence (CGI) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), United States Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), United States Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Agency (NSA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISRA), National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA,) Office of Naval Intelligence Activity (ONI), United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Branch (FBI/NSB), Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Security Intelligence (DEA/ONSI).

 

Can you wrap your lips around all of those listed departments that are used to keep our country safe for us to live in, work in, and play in…..if you can you’re a better person then I am. It took me over an hour to research all of these offices, agencies, and bureaus, and there is still more out there.

 

LET’S TALK A LITTLE REDACTION

One of the strongest practices in U.S. government, or private contractors in the United States intelligence community can be summed up in one simple word…..redaction, a form of editing, of altering slightly a document that will be released to the media, or to the general public. What a redactor, yup that’s right there are actually people who go to redactor’s school to learn their trade of little more than deception.

 

How many times have you read or heard the phrase, “it’s in the best interest of national security to not allow these documents to be read.” Or the best one, “release of this material will endanger loyal Americans who serve in the intelligence community.”

 

I have a simple one word answer to any omissions by the federal government or any agencies that operate with American taxpayer’s money…..balderdash. Thank God kids don’t know about redaction, cause if they did, they’d never be held responsible for the silly, stupid things that they do.

 

When you allow government to redact, you get a scandal like enhanced interrogation, or Abu Ghraib torture, or the Kandahar massacre, or the rapes during the liberation of France in 1944, or the No Gun Ri massacre, or the Dasht-i-Leili massacre in 2001, or My Lai massacre in 1968.

 

Talk about redactions, initially the redactors must have a field day running the above scandals up the old flag pole. It seems that the minute that governmental officials are kind of left to their own devices they go off the reservation, and become totally uncontrollable.

 

The United States employs approximately 900,000 people in its intelligence community while the private intelligence contractors employ roughly 1,200,000. Wow I feel safer already; I never guessed that my freedom was being guarded by more than 2,000,000 people.

 

AND THE COST IS

Surly you’re kidding right, cause if you’re not, you’ll need to set aside a pretty big block of your time to search for the figures. Experts actually have term for how much money is spent on intelligence every year in the United States. Black budgeting covers a multitude of sins…..and I do mean sins, there are what is called intelligence gaps.

 

A governmental report in 2013 estimated that U.S. intelligence agencies budget was $52.6 billion dollars in its secret budget for fiscal year, 2013. It was termed secret because there were so many blind spots that it was impossible for the General Accounting Office, (GAO) to ascertain what the funds were being used for, because of the obscuring intentions and motives of U.S. friends and foes alike.

 

Today there are approximately 1,271 governmental agencies responsible for intelligence gathering and protecting the homeland through the deciphering of that Intel. There are, in addition, 1,931 private companies in 10,000 locations throughout the United States. According to a 2008 study by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, private contractors make up 29% of the workforce of the U.S. intelligence force, but cost the equivalent of 49% of that $52.6 billion dollar budget. And they represent me and my fellow countrymen and women…..get right outta town.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!

SOMETHING IS REALLY BEING MISSED HERE

SOMETHING IS REALLY BEING MISSED HERE

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

Including the July 17, 2014 strangling death of Eric Garner by New York City policeman, there have been two other high profile deaths attributed to police departments. The August 9^th shooting death of unarmed Michael Brown and the death by gunfire of Tamir Rice, a 12 year old armed with a BB gun. All three were black, while all three of the police officers were white.

 

Surprisingly there has been little protests with regards to the Rice shooting, but of course the same can’t be said about Garner and Brown. There are similarities for each of the shooting incidents; both were black, and a correlation between all three, the cops in attendance feared for their lives

 

Both Garner and Brown were either walking in the street or on the sidewalk while the Rice kid was playing in a public park. I think in all three incidents there wasn’t any adverse activity going on, you can kind of make a case of threatening, the Rice boy looking dangerous because he had what appeared to be a firearm…..but the 911 call told the dispatcher that the gun look like a toy.

 

I watched the video of the Rice shooting several different times and the cop on the passenger’s side of the squad car opened his door and fired his service revolver at Rice…..all in less than 5 seconds. There seemed to be little chance for the Rice kid to capitulate to whatever the cops commands might have been, personally I couldn’t believe what I was watching, that’s how quickly the sequence took.

 

The Eric Garner death took longer, but the results were the same, a United States citizen lost his life at the hands of an American authority figure. There was a video of the Garner incident which was, to me, graphic, you can call what the cop did as a take-down hold, or a chokehold, I can tell you this, the hold looked suspiciously like the chokehold I learned in the military about a hundred years ago.

 

I DEAL IN FACTS

There is little that goes on in our world that is complicated, not when people decide to get down to the bare facts of an issue. I do not think that the United States is in danger of becoming a police state, say like Germany, anyways not at this time. What we have today is a whole bunch of authoritative people that want to keep their positions; for them, in many cases, their perceived power is like a drug, an elixir of life for them.

 

Politicians are much the same as these power mongering individuals that are housed at the top of policing agencies, the military, fire departments, and actually anyone who figures that he/she is irreplaceable. My friends…..everybody is replaceable, even if you have created your own position. There’s always somebody out there who can do your job as good or better.

 

Policing agencies use the crony, or good old boy system to elevate, recruit, and protect their brethren, didn’t you ever wonder why the cops have the same ranking system as the U.S. military, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and so forth. Right away you get into that attitude that rank has its privilege. I hate to break these jokers bubbles, but politicians, fire fighters, policemen and the military actually are paid by us…..the taxpayers. We appoint, our appointees hire, and are supposed to oversee who is hired, and periodically grade their job performance…..or did you forget that?

 

I can tell you one thing, in New York City, during 2013; the taxpayers incurred $732,000,000 in legal fees for all sorts of police missteps, overreaching their authority, racial profiling, police brutality, and just plain stupid crap. And do you want to know what; the city of New York does not have a corner market when it comes to stupid policing practices.

 

With regards to the size of country’s policing forces, local, regional, state, and federal, the overall legal costs to protect some of these good old boys exceeds a billion dollars a year…..and baby that billion dollars is paid out by who else, the friendly taxpayer. Let’s see, we elect representatives, we pay these representatives, their hire or appoint underlings to do all sorts of fire protection, policing duties, and a thousand other things…..and then our tax dollars pay these underlings, and then, whenever the system breaks, and somebody does a stupid act…..we gotta pay for that too…..wow…..what a scam.

 

The United States is the land of the free, and the home of the brave, right,  we are also the world leader in keeping the peace, and protecting people from despots or dictators…..so why do we need more than 780,000 police in the United States? China has 1,600,000 cops, and Russia has a bit more than 782,000 for the only two countries that seem to need policing protection more than the U.S.

 

I read with interest an account of the police in New York City that appeared in the New York Times which stated that the cops felt betrayed, put upon, and that the reason that Garner lost his life was because he was overweight, out of shape, had numerous health issues, and that if he would have simply capitulated to the officers orders…..he’d still be alive today.

 

EVERYBODY IS MISSING THE REAL POINT HERE

Really the Garner, Brown or Rice killings aren’t the real issue here, each of these people had their lives taken away from them before their time, especially Rice, he was a 12 year old boy. Nobody has the right to take another’s life unless they feel that theirs is in danger of being taken from them. That my friends is the common sense thing here.

 

Both Garner and Brown were big men, over 6’ and in excess of 300#, but the Rice boy was, well 12, and even though one of the cops at the scene of the shooting (in Cleveland) radioed that a 20 year old black man was down, there was a stretch there, unless the 20 year old was a midget.

 

The real rub here is the fact that cops, whether one, six or twenty decided to act with deadly force, “and let’s get over this takedown or chokehold issue, no matter whether Garner was resisting, was out of shape and was a blimp, the actions of the officers did contribute to a death, a death over possibly selling untaxed cigarettes. Come on, get real.

 

The issue here isn’t really a racial issue; anyone with an ounce of gray matter has to admit that cops all over America profile people. Young people, old people, black, whites, Hispanic, Asian, and Muslims, it simply depends on which part of the country that you live in as to whom the cops profile. It may not be right, the fact makes those being profiled uneasy at the very least, and scared at the most.

 

The issue here, the one that most people simply overlook is the fact that peace officers aren’t supposed to be running around with itchy trigger fingers, or bad ass attitudes. Cops only have the authority that we, as citizens of this country allow them to have.

 

Police organizations aren’t supposed to set rules, regulations, and criteria for how they deal with the public…..and guess what; all people aren’t guilty until they prove themselves innocent. But mostly that’s how Mr. John Q Public feels when he is confronted by the cop on the street, or the squad car stops.

 

Tell me, how many of you readers get antsy whenever a cop car is behind you, or is at an intersection, or stops at a business, or building that you are visiting, or work at. Be honest, most everybody would rather never see a cop until you need one.

 

That’s the issue, that’s the tragedy, no matter what anybody says, or feels, cops are usually their own worst enemy. When people get the crap kicked out of them, get wounded or killed, people take notice, and there’s just a little voice in the back of our minds that sets of an alarm wondering if maybe the same could happen to me.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!

RUSSIA IS A THREAT…..AGAIN

RUSSIA IS A THREAT…..AGAIN

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

I read with interest an article in the Los Angeles Times by Ralph Vartabedian and W.J. Hennigan entitled “Experts call for updated H-bombs”, and frankly the reasons given were hauled out of world history archives…..”Threats from Russia add pressure to develop, test new warheads”.

 

It’s the communist scare all over again, I can remember in grade school when we’d have air attack drills, hiding under our desks, like that little bit of flimsy wood and metal was going to protect a kid from an atomic blast…..even then, in the late 1940s there was gross misunderstanding about an atomic bomb blast.

 

The cold war lasted from sometime in 1947 until it was officially canceled on December 26, 1991 with the primary advocate…..Russia. The Soviet Union had been teetering on the brink of collapse for several years, but finally went over the edge the day after Christmas, 1991. The world rejoiced heroes were applauded; the doves had finally won one for the good old gripper!

 

However over the past 23 years the United States has emerged as the biggest and the baddest of countries in a seeming unending quest for peace through military strength. And now there might be a movement afoot to reignite another confrontation with a splintered Soviet Union…..wow, how little has changed during the bit more than two decades from December, 1991.

 

LET’S UPDATE OUR HYDROGEN BOMBS

So there are new threats from Russia, and the Middle East is a cauldron of mistrust, allegations counter allegations and complete misunderstandings. And like the little kid said, “it’s not my fault” what is a country based on peace, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (the U.S.) supposed to do? Well, the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, John Hamre, figures that we should get rid of the countries existing arsenal of nuclear warheads, develop new warheads for tests, and regain our rightful place as the world’s preeminent nuclear power.

 

According to Hamre who is now the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies…..(where do they come up with these organizations?) “We have the worst of all worlds: older weapons and large inventories that we are retaining because we are worried about their reliability.” Representative Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says, “Not to mention, we’re spending more and more to keep these things going.”

 

Since 1945 the United States has tested 1,132 nuclear devises, 1032 of which have fired, Russia has an even worse record than that of the United States, the Ruskies have tested 981 devises with only 727 successes. France 217-217, the United Kingdom 88-88, China 47-48, India 3-6, Pakistan 2-6, and North Korea 3-3 round out those countries who have tried and succeeded in the testing of nuclear bombs

 

Interestingly the only two nuclear devises that have been used militarily were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945…..of course the perpetrator of this act was the United States. The result was that the two Japanese cities were almost totally leveled, and between 129,000 and 246,000 people died during and after the two blasts.

 

The reason given for the bombing of Hiroshima was the fact that there was a large military garrison that was located in the city; however reports show that most of the people that died were civilians. Nagasaki was a port city, but had only minor military importance, yet was bombed by the United States, costing between 39,000 and 80,000 deaths.

 

I think that it’s important to point out that the number of deaths reported, between 129,000, and 246,000, didn’t all happen during the initial bomb blast. Of course the carnage was horrible at the point that the bombs were detonated, ground zero was littered with vaporized Japanese, and nobody will ever know the exact number who died there.

 

The experts and researchers of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki carnage have painstakingly recounted the bomb sites, and went through millions of records to estimate the numbers who died. However the numbers connected with the two bombings take into account those people who lived for as long as a year after the August 1945 blasts…..its where the numbers come from.

 

THE COSTS…..ASTRONOMICAL

The cost to retrofit or to completely replace the missile and bomb system would be, to the taxpayer astronomical, try $400 billion. At the present time, the Obama administration has earmarked $60 billion for modernization of the country’s Energy Department complex, and to create new warheads, using old components from older weapons.

 

The world has more than enough nuclear weapons to make a wasteland of the planet, give us all a permanent orange tinge, and completely change the way that we, as a people live, love, and endeavor to conduct our daily lives.

 

And rest assured that that $400 billion is only for starters, the U.S. Congress has never seen a dollar that they didn’t want to tax. They remind me of churches and their tithing practices…..you know, 10% for this, 10% of that…..and 10% left for you.

 

Nope my friends, we definitely don’t need proliferation of our nuclear arsenal, we need to get rid of what we’ve got…..the masses of people in the world are basically followers, but 90% of them understand that there aren’t any winners in a nuclear confrontation…..only fried and discolored losers.

 

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

 

HOLY SMOKES COWBOY

HOLY SMOKES COWBOY

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

Hold on just a minute there partner, let’s take a quick look-see at what’s been happening out there on the range, not where the buffalo roam, but where us citizens live our lives every day of the week. Zigging and zagging bullets on a daily basis isn’t quite what we-all had in mind when we left the safety of our folks hacienda…..at least I didn’t.

 

But since the August, 9^th shooting of that monster kid (Michael Brown, 6’-5”, 295 pounds) in Ferguson, Missouri, of this year there has been approximately 2,712 hours, if 3 people die by gunfire for any reason in the United States, gun battles, cop shootings, suicide, gang-banging wars, or by accident, that would mean that 8,136 people have died since the killing of Michael Brown.

 

If 7 people are shot, but don’t die, (wounded by gunfire) either accidentally or intentionally every hour, since the August 9^th incident in Ferguson, Missouri,18,984 people will probably be seeking medical assistance for the wound. Are you sober yet…..pard? It kind of makes that phrase “guns don’t kill people…..people kill people”, a bit hollow. Or to put it another way…..”A person with a stick won’t usually hurt another person unless he sharpens the point.”

 

And now I read about some local hair brained idiot in Austin, Texas letting off with more than 100 rounds of ammo in the downtown area, and tried to set the Mexican Consulate ablaze early Friday morning has died during an altercation with city police. Luckily the gunman, 49 year old Larry McQuilliams targeted buildings instead of people, kind of a novel approach to a shooter that was out of control.

 

CLEVELAND, OHIO…..IT DOESEN’T TAKE LONG TO BECOME CASUALITY

Sometimes the media stretches an incident to fit whatever criteria they figure will sell the most newspapers, or for people to listen, or watch violence on the streets of America. In the case of the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice there was no exaggeration, the little boy lasted less than four seconds in his altercation with two of Cleveland’s finest…..and I’m being kind with regards to how long it took for the one cop on the passenger’s side to open his door and drop the pint sized perpetrator.

 

Talk about a judge, jury and executioner, this cop really saved the taxpayers a load of money…..initially, there’s no doubt in my mind that there’ll be a lawsuit that’ll cost five or ten times the amount it would have cost to prosecute the pint sized perp for brandishing a pellet or BB gun.

 

The whole thing started out as a young cowboy, or in Cleveland, probably a street punk, was playing around with his pistol in a way that an innocent bystander thought was a bit over the top, because the bystander didn’t know for sure whether the gun was real or a fake. So he did the intelligent thing, he called 911 and reported “a kid playing around with a gun…..that didn’t look like a firearm, rather it looked fake…..but.

 

Now I got to tell you, “I watched the video of the shooting, and although there’s no sound, the officer on the passenger’s side say’s that “he told the kid three times to “show his hands”. I watched the video four different times, and I’ll be damned if I can figure out how the cop could have said anything three times before the squad car rolled to a stop, the cop stepped out and shot the kid…..there just isn’t enough time.

 

The cop that shot the pint sized gunman is Timothy Loehmann, with less than a year’s active service with the Cleveland City cops. During his training at the Police Academy his pay was $10.50 an hour, and on March 3^rd, his 1^st day on the job, his pay shot up to $45,904.64 per year. Of course everybody knows that what is nice about working in the public sector is the benefits that come along with the increase in pay.

 

Right now Loehmann and the squad car driver, Frank Garmback, are on administrative fully paid leave, and probably sweating little bitty bullets…..especially Loehmann, there can be criminal charges for Loehmann and Garmback, or just Loehmann, only time will tell. But the incident can end both men’s careers in law enforcement, the pensions, health insurance, dental care, vacation time, sick days, and whatever other benefits are accorded city of Cleveland employees.

 

SO WHAT IS THE OBSESSION WITH GUNS…..REAL AND FAKE

I played cowboys and Indians, I played war, we had fake guns, usually hand crafted out of wood (my dad was a carpenter) and I can tell you we never gave a thought to being shot at by the police, and we weren’t menacing looking to anybody in our neighborhood, we were just a bunch of kids playing kids games.

 

I got to say that the Rice kid did look a bit menacing, pointing his fake pistol at people (walkers), buildings, and generally looking kind of aggressive. But after watching him for two or three minutes I figured out that Tamir Rice was exactly what he looked like, a young kid fiddling around with what appeared to be a gun.

 

I feel that I know exactly how those two cops, Garmback and Loehmann, were thinking as they drove up to the scene, “Oh hell, what is this kid about, damn what’ll we do, the report (911 call) says he was dangerous looking, we won’t be taking any chances. Any suspicious moves and he’ll get shot.”

 

And yes, a 12 year old boy got shot to death, and as far as I know he wasn’t breaking any laws of any kind, he was just being an adolescent who died before he had his first date, had an opportunity to excel at school work, play varsity sports…..and dream whatever dream he wanted to dream…..in was an innocent with a stupid fake gun.

 

So how can gun owners, everyday people, people with a job, a wife or husband, 2.5 kids, a cat, dog and a mortgage put up such a fuss when these shootings happen? I’ll tell you, for some it’s a phallic symbol, the big dog syndrome, for others it’s the thrill of a hunt because they never amounted to anything in the real world, and for others, they actually have the misguided opinion that they have a right to keep and bear arms. I hope that those people that I consider friends who have guns only have misguided opinions.

 

Our society, any society who kills more than 30,000 of its own citizens through suicide, accident or intentionally, and wounds another 59,000 can’t control itself. I do not like government telling me what to do, no matter the issue, but I got to tell you, we’re killing way too many of us.

 

In the final analysis, I could really care less how my friends feel about their precious gun rights, nor do I care about whether they like blacks, or figure that every white man should own one. Black people are targeted by law enforcement of that there is no doubt.

 

We need to corral guns, gun advocates, and those organizations and lobbing groups who stand to profit from gun ownership. Call it what it actually is, corporate greed, gun and ammo makers make gazillions every year and they’re leading us American citizens around by our short hairs which are connected to our purse strings. We need to use some common sense to police our police, and also our gun laws.

 

And don’t give me that crap about only criminals will own guns, and how tough a cop’s job is, only criminals having guns is a huge load, and if a cops job was so damned tough…..would somebody please tell me why it’s so hard to get into a policeman’s job…..come on people, wise up already.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

IN GOD WE TRUST…..ALL OTHERS PAY CASH!

IN GOD WE TRUST…..ALL OTHERS PAY CASH!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

I was never a fan of trusting in banks, sure I’ve got a checking account, and a piddly savings account, but I have never thought that a bank, where you kept your money or where you borrowed money, was an honorable or trustworthy institution. Hell like me, it’s just their jobs, and they got paid for their work the same as me.

 

Of course they knew about what happens to the money that I deposit, whether automatically in the old way, through the drive-through. Since I’ve been blogging…..for the past several years, I’ve kind of kept track of how banks operate. I’ve become more aware, but am still little more than a casual observer of my bank and the banking industry.

 

Hell, just for this blog I had to spend several hours going over research information just so that I’d sound kinda informed. To begin with I looked up the dictionary of banking terms and phrases, and boy was I surprised…..there were thirteen pages of simple terms that meant something to the bank industry. In the U.S. Department of Treasury there were 300 different words, grouping of words, or phrases that were used on a daily basis within the banking business.

 

No wonder people like me, probably around 75% or so of the adult population in the US, have a hard time with understanding a bankers jargon. I mean what working stiff…..a guy like me, has the time to prep themselves with the avalanche of verbiage that the banking industry uses? Oh I understand why bankers use all of these words, symbols, and phrases…..it’s called a smokescreen created by the usage of the English language to befuddle the average John Q Public.

 

You think that I’m kidding you, or that I don’t know what I’m talking about…..well my friend, read on, and you’ll discover that “by golly, the guy does know a little”. For instance, did you know that so far in 2014 that there has been 17 different banks in the United States that have failed, and been bought out by bigger banks that got bigger with the acquisition…..becoming more of a monopoly…..which ain’t good.

 

BANKS FAIL EVERY YEAR

Over the last seven years 518 banks have failed throughout the United States, 140 in 2009, and 157 in 2010. I was appalled by the number…..what in hell are we talking about here, gas stations or convenient store. Sure with little exception the failed banks were acquired by other banks or investment companies. The reasons that these banks failed numbered into the thousands, and I don’t even understand some of the reasoning that was given.

 

I’ll tell you this, those people that we either elect, or those public officials that appoint banking officials and watch-dog departments need to be scrutinized, and a shorter leash attached to them. When somebody tells me that more than 500 United States banks have failed and changed hands, something is really wrong with the system that’s in use today.

 

I read with only passing interest this morning an article in the USA Today entitled Banks Facing Billions in Fines by Kevin McCoy. It was about banking regulators from countries around the world that had kind of banded together in an investigation that has taken more than a year into how domestic and foreign banks had manipulated the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange currency trading market.

 

It was just the latest banking scandal in an industry that has a dark, dark history of manipulation into all sorts of financial issues. Since the beginning of the current decade there has been a continuous series of scandals surrounding the banks that make up the core of the global financial system.

 

Violations and even crimes committed by banks at different times are being uncovered as bank regulators are carrying out official investigations. For me, I wonder exactly how investigative some of these regulators really are…..I hope it’s not like a fox investigating whether a fox has broken into the hen house.

 

THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE STAGGERING

Just say the word million, it rolls of the tongue so nicely, I’d have no problem running through several million dollars. I buy a Powerball ticket whenever the amount gets to a hundred million. But these banking people are dealing in trillions…..and I can hardly comprehend that type of green-backs. Just for my own information I wondered what came after a trillion, and my wife said it was a quadrillion, a term for an amount of money that I’d heard just several times in my life.

 

Obviously when somebody talks about fines of one billion, or two, or three, the average person say’s “WOW,” that’s a ton of bread. And no doubt it is, but that amount is dwarfed by the money that these “core” banks are dealing with.

 

So what’s to be done, how do we, as…..I guess, citizens of the world combat these greedy dinks, what possibly can we do as a people to regulate the banking systems of the world. Well jail terms would be a deterrent; nobody likes to get their freedom taken away.  Lining up the guilty parties…...in front of a firing squad and…..well, you get the picture.

 

What these jokers are doing is making the entire world a worse place to live in, to trade in, and to have cash available on a regular basis…..for a decent percentage of interest. Corrupt banking practices tear at the very fabric of our societal evolution…..it’s how dastardly the act of manipulating financial rates are…..and I’m not even very smart on the subject.

 

We need some stringent regulations, and some really tough penalties for the perpetrators that cause so much misery. A spanking simply won’t get it anymore.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

THE DEMOGRAPHIES OF WAR

THE DEMOGRAPHIES OF WAR

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

Did you ever wonder about the makeup of the United States military, I mean those young men and women who risk their lives on a daily basis in foreign lands that, until they signed up, probably thought little about? “Thanks for your service” doesn’t really count for much anymore, the “mushroom clouds over Washington D.C.” rings pretty hollow…..and “protecting our freedom” is really a misnomer…..isn’t it?

 

Our young military personnel have really been sold a bill of goods, haven’t they, I know many people who abhor war, and want to avoid it like a plague. Still the federal government, the military, the Pentagon and some media outlets continue to sell the patriotic meaning of armed conflict, and the romance involved. As wars continue, Afghanistan, Iraq…..again, Syria, and in general the Middle East, the average age of our military personnel continues to drop.

 

It’s the way of any military armed conflict, the longer a war lasts, the older soldiers retire, and younger people need to pick up the slack. It is true that, in retrospect older, veteran soldiers die, pretty much because their luck runs out.

 

According to Defense Manpower Research, dated 11-23-13, the strength of the United States military is 1,196,897 active soldiers. There are 452,064 Army, 275,296 Naval personnel, 258,095 Air Force, 178,213 Marines, and 33,228 Coast Guardsmen.

 

The age demographics of the Army is 66.3% 30 and under, 64.6% Naval members under 30, a whopping 82.9% of Marine personnel 30 and under, the Air Force is made up of 60% 30 and under, and the Coast Guard has a 60.2% under the age of 31.

 

Ignorance can’t be used as an excuse for why young people join the U.S. military, 92.5 percent of soldiers have completed their high school education, while 89.3% of officers have completed a Bachelor of Science degree or above. 52.3% of all soldiers are married while on the officer’s side; seven out of every ten are married.

 

SEE THE WORLD FROM THE BACK OF A DEUCE AND A HALF

That used to be the military joke when I was in the service; it meant that all of the glossy crap that the military people told you at the induction center was…..well, just that, crap. A deuce and a half was/is a five ton Army vehicle that hauled troops and equipment all over creation…..and actually is a lousy way to see the world.

 

I can give you some top reasons why a young person does possibly the dumbest thing in the history of his/her life…..so far. I think number one would be stability, a course of action for some young people that gives them purpose. Of course there’s the pay, $1,531.50 per month, $18,378.00 a year to start, which is not so much, right…..actually you’d be wrong. You don’t pay for medical treatment, food, utilities, or housing, and like I said, you get all of the rides you’d ever care about in a deuce and a half truck.

 

Of course as you go up in rank, the pay scale goes up accordingly, and if you make the military a career, and ascend through the ranks in a normal fashion to let’s say an E8 sergeant, you’re talking about a nice piece of change, like $4,896,30 a month, or $58,755.60 for a veteran with 20 years of service. When you figure in all the “perks” of the position, you’re easily making $100,000 per year.

 

There are a myriad of reasons as to why people join the U.S. military, financial stability listed above, to test one’s courage, a good citizen, to fight Al Qaeda and terrorists, a career move, family tradition, pride. Like I said, “there’s a myriad of reasons.”

 

HOWEVER…..MAKE NO MISTAKE

With little exception, in the world of the 21^st century, the United States military is not fighting for my freedom and safety. If that’s the argument for today’s armed conflicts…..well, as far as I’m concerned, put down your weapons and catch the next flight, or boat back to the homeland.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that people really talk about the United States military presence in foreign lands, or justifies past armed military confrontation with the simple phrase of “well if we hadn’t have fought those wars, we’d have lost freedom.” And the worst part of this equation is the fact absolutely nobody objects to this mentality. Are you really telling me that the U.S. invasions of Korea, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern nations was necessary for the freedom that we enjoy today here in the United States?

 

What we do as a nation, on a day like Veterans Day is to eulogize those who have lost their lives trying to…..well I’m not really sure. Since I don’t buy into the bull---- that the Bush administration fed everybody about Iraq and Sadem Hussein and his ties to Ben laden. Of course after several years of fighting in Afghanistan, like a majority of citizens, I wondered what the point was.

 

And now we’ve came to the brink of another conflict in the Middle East, this time with Syria…..”oh boy I can hardly wait.” You fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, friends, and just casual acquaintance’s had better be ready for some more mournful memorial services…..cause when you have war, mournful memorials are what you get.

BEFORE I GO

I can tell you this without any trepidation; the powers that are operating the country make money derived from these armed conflicts. Armed conflicts generally create jobs, if not in the military, than connected business that services, or equips the military effort.

 

However, for the average U.S. citizen with a son or daughter in the military, the war is a real situation, one that is filled with danger. To lose a son or daughter, a brother a sister, or a mate, in a strange way, isn’t as bad as a damaged person returning from a war zone. These physically or emotionally impaired people will require a lifetime of care…..that probably is the worst that a war delivers. Let’s all make love…..not war.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

I’M BAFFLED!

I’M BAFFLED!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

It never ceases to amaze me, the love affair that that we, as a species, seem to have with armed military conflict, it’s almost like our Achilles Heel. There never has been a time in recorded history when the drums of war did not beat. I’m not like most of my constituents (bloggers), I don’t particularly point a finger at one political party or another, in my opinion all political parties are to blame in varying degrees for the stinking mess that the countries in.

 

No matter what hot button issue might be dominating your thinking process, almost without exception, the war on terror and the possibility of an Ebola virus outbreak has to be right up there. All of the media outlets, print, radio, and television shoulder its way into our thoughts, crying about ISIS and the Ebola virus. There are however bigger issues going on in the world besides ISIS or Ebola.

 

Whether your candidate won or lost is of little consequence, like I said, “to me, both political parties are pretty much the same.” And here we are, three days after the close of the midterm election cycle and I guess the Republican Party can count the results a win. I’m not sure that one party or any other can ever count an election in a democratic society a win. I’m under the probably naïve thinking process that politicians are elected into an office to serve those people that put them there.

 

The pundits have gone wild with all sorts of allegations as to why the Republicans were so strongly supported in this midterm election cycle. I, of course, have my own opinion as to why things “went south” for the Democrats. I suppose my opinion will differ a lot from the mainstream thinking…..it usually does, but in this case, I feel strongly that my opinion is spot on.

 

MID-TERM

What exactly are the mid-term elections anyways, and how do they differ from the presidential elections, what demographics are at play in the mid-term elections that don’t seem to be around during the elections for the president? Interesting questions…..at least to me, and since this is my blog, I can ask them.

 

Let’s begin with the United States House of Representatives, the Democrats lost twelve seats, giving the Republicans a commanding 242 to 179 advantage. Over in the Senate, there will be a 52 to 43 advantage for the Republicans over the Dems with two independents.

 

So now the Republican Party controls everything with regards to how the U.S. will be governed for the next couple of years except the presidency. Exactly what does this mean to the American people and how will we deal with this political imbalance.

 

I have come to understand that every election is important, local, state and national, it’s how our system of government operates, a democracy (where all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally, either directly, or indirectly through elected representatives)…..in the proposal, development and establishment of the laws by which society is run.

 

There are three branches of government in the United States, and the constitution provides a separation of powers, the legislative or Congress which makes the laws. The membership of Congress is made up of 100 elected state Senators, and 435 Representatives. Both Senators and Representatives, besides their duties at the legislative branch of government also are responsible to the states that elected them.

 

Of course there’s the executive branch which carries out laws, and is made up of the president, vice president, and the cabinet which is nominated by the president, and must be approved by the senate. It is here that things in government become a bit sticky…..or gridlocked. Republicans and Democrats for the past several decades haven’t gotten along very well together.

 

The third branch of the federal government is the Judicial Branch, made up of the Supreme Court, nine members, and other federal courts. It is here where partisanship can really weld a long, sharp and deadly weapon. Supreme Court members are nominated by the sitting president, and must be approved by the Senate…..and these people, once confirmed, are done so…..for life.

 

WHAT ONE POLITICAL PARTY IN POWER MEANS

In probably the biggest understatement of the week, President Obama lamented “that he’ll need to work more closely with Republicans if he wants to achieve anything legislatively for the rest of his presidency.” “I’ll not be running for office again, I don’t have any further political aspirations, my number one goal is deliver as much as I can to the American people as I can during the last two years of my administration.”

 

However that said, what Republicans can do: is to pass legislation because they now have a majority in both chambers of Congress. The Senate also has more than just the ability to pass laws, unlike the House, it also holds power to approve or reject the judges, cabinet members, political staff, and diplomats that the White House appoints.

 

One glimmer of light is the fact that the Republican majority can’t pass bills without the President’s signature, because they didn’t get the two-thirds congressional majority they’d need to override a presidential veto, or even enough to avoid certain types of filibusters.

 

The political wrangling will continue the partisan atmosphere, gridlock, separatism or whatever you’d like to call how our elected officials act, and react to situations will be more graphic…..of that you can rest assured. This system that we use to govern has its flaws, voter turnout being probably the biggest breakdown. People want a strong minimum wage debate, and well over 50% favor the establishment of some sort of living wage. But even with those sentiments, voters voted Republicans into office that’ll fight screaming and kicking to avert any such action. People also want common sense gun control, and laws, but continue to elect proponents of the NRA and their agenda.

 

FOREIGN POLICY

Here is the part that really scares the hell outta me, I understand that the president and his advisors handle much of the country’s foreign policies, but with the Republican Party now firmly in control of so much, what will happen with the old war dogs that still hold their political seats?

 

Will neo-conservatism now hold sway, will the behind the scenes shenanigans of people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Richard Perle, and William Kristol come home to roost? Will politicians like John McCain have their way and create another war on terror?

 

As a unit, it seems as if the Republican Party would rather fight than switch, and in the 21^st century that is just unacceptable to me. Cooler heads need to come into play before the country writes a check with our mouth that our collective butts simply can’t cash!

 

It is never a good thing to have one political party in power; our form of government has been designed to have a checks and balances type of system…..no matter whether it’s the Republicans, the Democrats, or the Green Party or whatever. It’s worked pretty much for the 238 year history of our country…..why change now?

HAVE A NICE DAY!