Difference between Afghanistan and Iraq-3

Because Iraq is also rich and more educated, they will hopefully manage their affairs in time. But Afghanistan is a whole different ball game. It is where the attacks of 9/11 were planned and executed. It is where the terrorist organization (Al-Qaeda) has and still has its roots. And it is where the NATO forces are still committed, and the U.S. is trying to make sure that no terrorist activity exists in that country. But it is where the corruption exists on a massive scale and the drug production is another issue which despite the presence of thousands of American and NATO forces is booming. The fault maybe multiples in this regard ranging from Taliban profiting from production to low rainfall in the country which makes in ideal in regard to Poppy production ( which needs minimal rainfall to grow).

What can you say about a country whose U.S. installed President threatens to join the Taliban if the international community (read: U.S.) does not back from investigating corruption in this government. This is the same government which is trying to make the deal with the same Taliban who were defeated earlier and who will stop at nothing to oust that government. The Taliban would not have achieved this success if they would have only stayed in Afghanistan, which is the main difference between Iraq and Afghanistan.First of all they don’t recognize the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the supposedly Durand border line being no meaning to them.

Difference between Afghanistan and Iraq-2

Nobody has really gone into depth that despite all the failures of the U.S. civilian administration, Iraq violence has gone down and it seems to be succeeding (albeit very slowly) to having a successful unified government (although it will take years or maybe decades to come to that). Its three ethnic groups (although I call it two-depending on who you ask), the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds have started to play along (although with suspicions and doubts). What I mean by two groups is that Sunnis and Kurds are technically Sunnis but different ethnicities; they can get along if they focus on their sect and not on their ethnicities. But Shiites are a whole different bunch, they are Arabs but they are viewed by the majority Sunni population as not being Arab or Muslims for that matter (it is based on historical differences-too long and controversial to discuss here).And sometimes they are also accused by the Sunnis as being agents of Iran (which can also be said about the Sunnis as being agents of Saudi Arabia- but that is another controversial and long topic).

But my point here is that if push comes to shove, all the three ethnic and religious groups have a stake in preserving the nation of Iraq in whatever shape or form they want. As of now the majority of the Sunnis (I believe) have come to the conclusion that in a democracy, they are a minority and they will have to live with that (although the assorted terrorists don’t want to do that now). And all the countries surrounding Iraq have also a stake in preserving the territorial integrity of Iraq, no matter what interests or aspirations they have with regards to it.

Difference between Afghanistan and Iraq

Much has been written about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and much more will be written in years and decades to come. I think that very few have compared the history and the composition of the two countries and how much it is more difficult to see one self winning a war in Afghanistan than in Iraq. While the Iraq war which was started almost 2 years after the invasion of Afghanistan is winding down and troops will be withdrawing in a year or so, the fate of the Afghan war still hangs in the balance despite the thousands of NATO and American forces. Although the U.S. President has given a deadline to start withdrawing troops starting in the summer of next year (2011), I for one do not believe it will happen as planned. First of all no timeline should have been given despite the compulsions of the domestic audience. Since only the commanders on the ground know the true situation (and also the civilian officers who get briefings from the defense department).

We have not been able to close the Cuban prison despite the pledge of the U.S. President to closing early this year and there are no signs to close it as yet, so how can be just shut down our operations in Afghanistan at a certain time. The enemy does not go by our timeline (although they may wait till we actually do it and if we don’t then they will say that they never intended it in the first place). To be fair the war is not been won by either side and it will continue to be stalemate unless one side blinks.

Landscaping

Whenever I leave my house to do some chores, I always see in my neighborhood or on the roads, a number of landscaping trucks either parked outside the houses they will or are working on or going towards a certain place. This landscaping business seems to be huge, as I did not see that much in the city where I lived before but here in the suburbs, it is somewhat a fixture. Although I don’t know if it is an easy business or not, but this I know that if you invest a little bit, you can also start your own.

The key here is to build a business and know what you are doing. It is not that much labor intensive but it is definitely hands on owner intensive. Once you have a front yard or back yard, you have to have some landscaping guy take care of it, if you are not that into cutting grass, putting in fertilizer and seeds or generally take care of the lawns. You can spend anywhere from two hundreds to several hundreds on the maintenance of your lawns depending on the size of it. If you are lucky the initial investment (when you bought the house) will be not that much, but if you have a not so great back and front yard, then expect to pay thousands of dollars to upgrade, fix of modify it to suit your needs. This is also one of the on going expenses that people seem to forget if they are going to buy houses in the suburbs. It is not only the mortgage, but also the physical maintenance of the house that costs you a lot of money.

Confessions of a Would Be Terrorist

We saved a lot of money by the confession of the alleged would be Times Square bomber. So there will be no trial, just the sentencing. Good for us. He was going to be convicted anyway, but he did save us a lot of money. This only shows us that the terrorists are not only vicious but inherently stupid. Alternately he could have claimed innocence until he was convicted wasting our hundreds of thousands of dollars. But he was so proud of his action that he readily acknowledged his role but as usual rant his grievances against the United States.

You know there is a big confusion and problem with these terrorists, they hate America but also envy it for its advancement and knowledge. They say they hate America and the west but hypocritically they use all the tools of the west like videos, cell phones, guns etc to fight their so called enemy and then they invoke God’s name to justify their actions. No religion allows an individual to massacre or kill people. It is not the fault of the religion but the individual who can’t read between the lines. Anyway that is another topic but for now I am happy we will not have to hear the guys rants no more and he will be sent to prison for life and will never be able to see his family, his wife and kids and his kids will always be associated by their father’s terrorist activities for no fault of their own.

The Chinese currency reevaluation-2

I have been quietly emphasizing in my blogs that the world has changed and America no longer produces the stuff it needs on a daily basis. The brand names maybe American but the work is done overseas and then sold at outrageous prices in the U.S. Today there was news that even injecting 80 billion dollars, the car manufacturers are moving jobs to Mexico. This thing is not been addressed that if there are no jobs, how will the Americans afford to buy a car even if they are made cheaply elsewhere. It can be that if the U.S. dollars is depreciated while the Chinese Yuan is appreciated considerably, but even with that happening, the U.S. economy has moved to information technology and services society and we produce very little low end commodities.

Even if the Chinese labor becomes expensive, the American companies will try to find new sources of cheap labor in Asia and other unexplored places where the regulation is lax. So putting more tariffs on Chinese commodities will not solve the U.S. trade problem but it will shift the problem to several countries instead of one. The only way to remedy is to start manufacturing production here which can be done competitively (like apparel, etc) and having and developing a saving culture instead of the spending culture that is actively promoted here by the Government.

The Chinese currency reevaluation

Now that the most erstwhile demand of the United States and other western countries has been somewhat met with the announcement of a de facto devaluation of the Chinese Currency (although they will still keep a tight control of how much they do), it will still be not enough to satisfy the United States Congress. They are still trying to punish the Chinese that they have not gone far enough in their currency devaluation. But even if they do would American trade balance will reduce from roughly 200 billion to like maybe 100 billion realistically. It may initially help but the Chinese are master at adapting to business realities and I believe that they have been preparing for the day when the Chinese currency will be freely convertible.

It is not just the currency problem, but a whole lot of other problems like the low savings rate, the outsourcing of jobs, the high wages (as compared to China) and the lack of lower case industrial products that needs to be addressed before the trade imbalance with China can be tackled. Most of the stuff that China makes is no longer been made in USA and even if somebody tries to make it the cost is so prohibitive that even with the cost of transportation from China to the US, it is still cheap. Even if the currency is made one to one (highly unlikely) the balance of trade will still be in favor of China since we consume more and they save more.

Fund raising for Schools

There was an interesting news (aren’t they all) about how a mother got upset about the teacher of a school who is encouraging students to do chores in the house and raise funds for the school. The mother was upset that the chores which should be done anyway is being turned into a money raising event for the school, which are strapped for cash.

The point here is why the schools need to raise funds when they are already been funded by our property taxes. Does not the property tax reflect what the schools should anticipate their spending should be or they expect that parents would do anything in their power to help their kid’s schools?

In these economic times, when everybody is belt tightening, how come the schools want to live beyond their means. I also understand that the education budget is cutting across the country to reflect the states budgets but still the school should find some spending which is unnecessary to continue. Here in New Jersey we are already faced with the highest property taxes in the country and the education budget has been cut so the schools are struggling to cut some programs. This just shows that when it is forced upon schools (or for that matter any individual in dire financial situation), creative ways can be found out to cut spending without hurting our children education.

The Afghan Trillion Dollars Mineral Find

After almost ten years of Afghan war, the U.S. has found a potential mineral wealth of $ 1 trillion. The Afghan government is saying it is potentially $3 trillion. Whatever is the amount, the question is would it affect the result of Afghan war for the better or for the worse. Since now that the figures are in, the Taliban would want to fight harder to get rid of the NATO and U.S. forces and lay claim to the wealth. But I don’t believe that a Taliban run Afghanistan would be an ideal environment for any investor to risks large sums of investment for this kind of wealth. It is the same as the Iraqi Oil wealth that was touted as one of the biggest in the world, and it would pay for the whole Iraqi war and the infrastructure, but after seven years of war, the Iraqis are still bracing electricity shortages and wealth crunch.

The so called wealth that Afghanistan possess right now would be hard to extract and would take decades (if any) after the war and infighting to make any difference to the lives of the Afghan people. Add to that corruption and the neighboring countries interference and the situation seems to be worse than Iraq. So I think that the euphoria about this new find should not distract people from the real problems Afghanistan faces and that is war, corruption, infighting and neighboring countries interference.

On the lighter side- Sports- Soccer-World Cup

So the biggest sporting event on earth (besides Olympics) has started in South Africa. The world cup Soccer is truly a world sport which is played almost everywhere on earth. I have not been watching the games but I am following on the scores and it seems that the lowly U.S. has been gaining in popularity and strength. I don’t have any doubt that if we pay more attention to the game, we can have a world class team also.

It is also good news that all the matches are being telecast in the U.S. and newspapers have also shown interest in the game. Although it will take decades of hard work and attention by the fans in the U.S. to get the ordinary Americans to get an interest in the game but eventually it will pay off.

Although Italy is the current world champion, but as the holder of most titles, Brazil again is the clear favorite. And the United States have not done half bad by holding a draw to both England and Slovenia (although the game has since become controversial).But it is still interesting to watch all the teams battle it out on the field for every body to watch even if you are not a fan of soccer (called football the world over).

Moratorium on Deep water oil drilling

The knee jerk reaction to the Oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico was another ban on offshore deep water oil drilling. How does this help stops the leak begs the question. Tens of thousands of people are associated with their livelihood with Oil and if the moratorium last more than six months, then the jobs of these Oil people and the assortments related to it will be gone.

I believe that the Moratorium was the wrong decision since it will not have an impact on how the oil leak will be plugged and besides when we started banning things which are harmful to the environment and safety of humans. Do we ban cars or airplanes when they have accidents? They are the biggest polluters, but still they are plying our roads and air space. And we have to think about the people associated with the oil industry, how they will be able to cope with supporting their families during the moratorium. The aid that BP is offering will not be enough since it is not only the Oil people but also related and support industries like restaurants, tourists attractions, beaches and the like who are affected. So I assume that the welfare of all the affected parties were taken into consideration before this moratorium was imposed or maybe not.

BP in Hot Seat-2

The government has taken too long a time to realize that BP alone would not be able to handle the disaster. Coast after coast in Gulf States are being destroyed by the relentless spill. And also nobody knows how much of the oil is being leaked each day. Different estimates are being given out each passing day and none is being reliable. Now the anger of the people towards BP is reaching boiling point but the government is also now beginning to get blamed for not taking charge from the start.

This leak is now being said as the largest in the U.S. history and its effect is going to be felt years from now. As for BP, no amount of money will be able to save its reputation of being the main culprit of the leak. And this will also show the corporations how not to mess up the Public relations. Although it has been said time and time again that if disaster happens, the corporation should take a major offensive in terms of Public relations, but the lessons are never learned. The same has happened to BP and will continue to happen to countless companies in the future also.

BP in Hot Seat

So the top executives are not testifying in front of Congress and stating the obvious
that they are devasted and they did not know that this would happen. To be fair to all the parties involved, the magnitude of this disaster was a surprise to everyone, but that is why there are contingencies in place to prevent it. I can’t believe for a second that BP being one of the largest Oil companies in the world did not have a contingency plan of some sort in place to prevent this from happening and if the accident did happen, did not have the right equipment or manpower or whatever specialization to fix this leak in the first place.

I posted on one of my previous posts on this disaster long time ago and was confident that this I would not have to post a follow up to the Oil disaster that is now engulfing the Gulf of Mexico. But here I am again talking about the disaster. But blaming all on BP would be to absolve the Federal Government slow response to the crisis. I understand that the private sector is the best to help deal with private matters but there are some things that the private sector cannot do and that are disaster management on a large scale. This has what happened to the BP oil leak.

Driving on the road

Not too long ago there was a survey which stated that the New York Drivers are the worst in the nation when it comes to driving laws and rules, with New Jersey and Washington D.C. taking the number two and three spots. I can agree to the fact that the New York drivers whom I encounter on the road in New Jersey are clueless about the laws, but the same can be said about some New Jersey drivers too, driving like they are on a leisure cruise on the fastest lane, frustrating other drivers.

But blaming New York drivers is not completely right, since they drive in the most congested roads in the most populated city of the nation. With the same survey, it was revealed that some Midwestern state is the most knowledgeable about the laws of the road. Well the less population you have the more you can learn to drive safer. But also I have seen drivers in southern states driving like they don’t have any clue of where they are headed. So it is not fair to say that only the New York or New Jersey drivers are bad, it can happen to any driver in any state. The less populated state you are, the less laws you inadvertently break.

Human Emotions

In the daily newspapers that I read (and I do read a lot of it), I always see stupidity on display. I am talking about people doing crime over stupid things when they should be rationally thinking about what they are doing. It is not as if they are just plain dumb or mentally whacked out, but at the spur of the moment they do something stupid that becomes the basis of their crimes. I sometime watch channels on TV where they show police chases (and they are interesting too, believe me) in which people escape from police and ultimately get caught after long chases to no avail. I don’t really understand this, if you have done something wrong, running away will make your crime double, so why run in the first place. It is just that the mind is blocked from thinking about the rational.

And you see it everyday and then think about what were they thinking. There are lots of shows based on reality that shows how people make a joke out of themselves. Shows like Cops, Police chase videos, the world’s dumbest criminals. These criminals are so desperate that they act really stupid and it is not just the less educated but the highly educated also. The raw human emotions take over for a moment and then you see they just waste their lives away. It is really interesting to watch and read these stories to avoid their fates and keep your emotions in check if you are angry and desperate, otherwise the law and the society is unforgiving.

Only the Employed need apply

I don’t know if it is true or not but there having been reports recently that there is this talk of the unemployed need to apply for the jobs advertised. It is an outrage of the highest magnitude since it is a double slap on the face of the unemployed in terms of first being unemployed and second being not able to apply to a job since they are unemployed. Apparently some of the employers think that if you are unemployed so such and such time it is either your fault that you got laid off or your skills have rusted by being laid off for such a long time.

I know it is a employers market right now and they have a large pool of people both unemployed and those employed who wants to change jobs so they can dictate and pick and choose whatever people they want to, but if this is true than it is shame because this economic recession has spared no one, whether less experienced or highly experienced.

So the more there is discrimination regarding the unemployed, the more people will remain out of a job, the more economy will grow slowly and the more people will become angrier and toss out the politicians who are not helping them with their jobs.
If the economy is not growing because of the stubborn joblessness then no company will remain insulated from recession. Whether overt or hidden, discrimination of all sorts should end and the people should be given a chance to prove their worth to organization otherwise the unemployment will remain high, no matter what the policies are made.

Any Job, Really?

There was an article recently stating that as this economy really sucks in terms of job creation, people should accept whatever comes to them and take that job even it is beneath there level of experience, seniority or education. I am sure what to say to that (since I am in the same boat, meaning unemployed). But on the other hand if you do just that, it may pay your bills but your future earnings (which are dependent are on your current earnings) will suffer.

My take on this is that if the experience, seniority or education requirements in the jobs posted are not much difference, even with respect to the salary, you should take the job because you never know how you can impress your hiring boss and they may see your potential and raise it to your former status. But also each organization has different structure and style to work and you may not want to miss out on the chance of new experience. But on the other hand if it is way too below your requirements, then at least you should hold out because you never know what can come next. And even if you feel that you made a wrong decision by not accepting that position, you can still be able to add to your experience by honing your skills or adding new skills under your belt so as not be low balled by your next employer.

Belgium divided by 2

So now it is Belgium’s time to split. It is the same Belgium whose capital Brussels is host to the European Union Headquarters. The main problem is between the Dutch Speaking Flanders and the French Speaking Wallonia. The Flanders are more rich and complain that they are subsidizing the so called “poor” and “lazy’’ Wallonia and they are sick are tired of it. The recent election has confirmed this coming split. It mostly based on language. You can compare this to the complain by the northerners in Italy that they are subsidizing the poor south and thus they also want to split the country into two but they are not on linguistic basis but on the basis of economics.

Anyway, Belgium is still fighting to remain one country but the people there are not that optimistic that Belgium will remain the same. Although its split will be rather normal (as compared to the former Yugoslavia, but much like the Czechoslovakia) and peaceful but it is a huge deal since it is the United Belgium that is the home of the European Union and NATO alliance. What will become of all the international organizations based there and how will they cope with this impending split. It will be interesting to see.

The Reporters

Reporting has changed a lot since the coming of the internet. Also the job of reporting from various parts of the world has become more dangerous. But I still salute the reporters who risk their lives to report and uncover truth behind the stories. Before it was just that only the reporters working in newspaper organizations or the electronic media were reporting the stories. But with the advent of internet and technological advances, reporting has gone way forward, with amateur reporters’ sometimes breaking news which the professional reporters have themselves relied upon.

So now the reporting of news is no longer a matter of professional but anybody with a camera and computer can report on breaking news from their hometown faster than the real reporters can come in to report it. It has been a blessing and a curse at the same time, since the professional reporters have to work even harder to compete and report on news and also news which seems to be ignored sometimes by the newspapers and television stations is being reported through the internet and other electronic outlets. The coming age will see more advances in reporting news and many people with no intent to become a reporter will stumble upon the risky and adventurous world of reporting.

Wishing upon a Money Tree-2

It is just that the elected officials do not paint a true picture of the revenues that they need to support the barest minimum services. When those services are threatened, the officials instead of explaining to the constituents show outrage themselves and starting to take action to stop the closure or reduction of spending on those services. We all know that services need to be provided but if the money is not there, there should be an honest and open accountability of what is going to be cut and what is going to be spared. People need to realize also (although I know it is difficult since they have gotten used to it) that money does not grow on trees. Funds have to be generated and some painful cuts have to be done in order to provide for everyone.

There will also be fighting among the people of what is important and what is not important enough to cut from the services. But this economy has silver lining (if people can learn) that realistic goals have started to shape up people lives and tight money is bringing new ways to be frugal and stay within the budget. And it is also great consolation that most of the states budgets have be balanced constitutionally by law, so everybody’s hand is tied for the better.

Wishing upon a Money Tree

It has now been reported that if the New Jersey budget is not passed by July 1, the State government will be shut down until it is passed. Same is the situation with New York, where they are passing interim budgets on a weekly basis since the budget deadline is past more than a month. This is due to the fact that the governors and the legislatures have different ideas of how to balance the budget. The governors want to implement harsh cuts in spending, but the legislature are reluctant to that since they have to answer to their constituents who are already hard pressed due to the budget cuts and economy.Apart from this, the budgets are required to be balanced as per the states constitution. So what gives?

The legislature wants to keep the programs and want to raise taxes but they don’t have the money or the votes to fight out the governors. It is just a dilemma that during this recession, the people want more programs to remain intact but the money is just not there. Increasing taxes are being raised but if you raise them too much, people with the means will try to either evade them or they will throw out the representatives who have voted for the increase in taxes.

Giving to Charities

One day I was driving towards New York and I saw some of the firefighters standing asking for donations so that they can run their firehouses. Since they were all volunteers, I gave them some money. It really was a great feeling since they take the time out of their families to volunteer their services to fight fires and they don’t get salaries (I presume) from anywhere but the folks living in small towns.

I know that due to these hard economic times, charities have fallen to hard times since many people who use to support them are out of a job themselves (I am one of them) but still I believe that giving to charities should not be stopped since these charities are all non profit and they survive on the goodwill and gestures (and of course money) from the people so that they can run their programs for the less unfortunate segments of society.

So I urge people that giving a dollar here and there will certainly not to any harm to you but will greatly help these charities in their operations.

Debt Consolidation

Ever heard about all the ads on the radio and television about how you can reduce your credit card debt into half if you call one of the debt consolidation or debt advisory companies. I read it once that some of the companies were using deceptive advertising to lure in desperate people and then ripping them off with hundreds of dollars in fees without showing any improvement in their debt situation. Obviously you can talk to the creditors on your own but good luck on that as you would be hard pressed to find somebody of authority on the phone. But this economic situation has made people desperate to turn to these so called debt consolidation agencies.

If you are going to pay someone to consolidate your debt or reduce it then you can pay it on your own by having a little discipline in your life and paying to reduce your debt yourself instead of paying someone with an unproven record to negotiate on your behalf. Frankly although I have not been in such a situation but I highly doubt it that somebody can just reduce your debt by negotiating with only a few hundreds of fees. So my advice will be to stay away from these agencies unless you are hundred percent sure they will do what they say (which I highly doubt it) and try to reduce your debt by having some financial discipline in your life and saving some money to pay your debt.

Deficits Favoritism

There was an editorial in one of the newspaper debating a case against reducing the deficit since we and the global economy is in such bad shape that if we don’t spend, the so called economy recovery will falter. It is not the first time this is being said and I have seen many economists and newspaper advocating or cautioning the various states (namely the U.S. and some European nations) not to cut spending but keep on spending till we are on sound economic recovery. Although I am not an economist, but I will beg to differ since how much debt a nation can take and what if the recovery is not big enough to pay down the debt. It is like spending by an individual during a year and taking on more debt in the hopes that he or she will get a bigger bonus and that can be used to wipe out the increased debt.

It is simply that we don’t have the resources to spend out of this massive debt; it is classical Keynesian theory that government should step in when the private sector would not. But with ever increasing debt, who will pay for all the interest accumulated on it.

Even if we have a fantastic recovery after this massive debt and don’t cut spending, how we are going to pay for all the spending in the future, it can only be done by increased taxes (which nobody likes). So right now is the right time to cut spending lest people and politicians get used to increased debt and spending without having the means to pay it back without painful solutions.

The Invisible War

Slightly obscure news came that the Taliban militants have torched a NATO supply convoy near the capital of Islamabad, Pakistan. It was a highly sophisticated attack and shows the vulnerability of that country to the forces of Taliban. Whatever the Government of Pakistan is feeding to the world public, but it is fact that Taliban are increasing gaining in strength and sophistication despite the Pakistan Army operations in the lawless frontier province and the NATO operations in Afghanistan. Although the Drones attack in the lawless region and Army’s ongoing operations has resulted in heavy casualties to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces, but it is a fact that they have not been marginalized and further more they are increasingly been brazen about their attacks.Instead of worrying about what Iran may or may not do in the future, Pakistan already has the bombs and an increasingly hostile population which does not want the US to stay in the region.

As it is everybody’s guess, the Taliban would love to get their hands on Pakistani Nukes. And they do definitely have sympathizers everywhere in Pakistan. Some sections in Pakistan are still in a state of denial about the threats the Taliban pose for them. Until the world makes them realize about the threats, Pakistanis will be in a deep sleep about it for a long time to come.

U.S. Constitution and Terrorism

When the U.S. Constitution was written some two hundred or more years ago, there was no internet and no Terrorism, computer was not invented and the United States was a small country. But this new wave of terrorism along with increasing travel between countries and immigration has put a strain on the international laws which is trying to keep up with these new times.

The First constitution with its freedom of speech and religion and assemble peacefully and other amendments are under increasing stress to define its place in this new violent age. Although the U.S. Constitution has really stood the strains of time, but with terrorism, there is a new sort of confusion of how to apply it to terrorists’ subjects.

Some argue that since terrorists have threatened the lives of the citizens of the U.S. they should be tried in U.S. courts and dealt with according to the U.S. constitution and some say that since they are not U.S. citizens and we are at war (although a different kind) our laws and rules don’t apply to these non citizens. Nobody has clearly defined how to treat with these people, since the constitution is silent about this matter.
According to my analysis, since these people are not under any illusion that they are fighting a holy war without any laws, we should be dealing with them in the same manner, because to apply the Geneva Convention will be wrong because if some American is captured by terrorists, they will be dealt with according to the codes of the terrorists. Geneva Convention, I believe applies when both the warring parties are signatories to it. But since the terrorists don’t adhere to any laws, we should be free from using any civilized laws to deal with them.

Jobs on the internet job boards

According to new estimates, there are 3 million new jobs vacant; I assume this also includes jobs posted on internet job boards, which is the topic of my discussion. I usually send my resumes through the internet, but I rarely get a response from the actual company, just the job board that your resume has been sent. And I see so many new jobs opening but the rate of joblessness is not coming as fast as the jobs are being posted or filled. If three millions jobs are out there, then the jobless rate should go down considerably but it does not. My point here is that all these job postings require so much experience and specific skills that even if millions more jobs are posted, they will rarely be filled.

Now in this fast paced environment, no company has the time to teach new skills to their new hires, they want a ready made person, so he or she can get down to work right away, it is like a parent may want to have a ready made graduate child so they do not have to spend time to raise them. It is really ridiculous because in the unemployment lines are people who are skilled but they are not “young” or they don’t have the right skill set, so what should we do with them. Since the employers are in the drivers seat and can pick and choose, so unemployment will remain high and most of the people with experience not relevant to the requirements will remain unemployed or will try to find any job wasting their own experience and reducing the growth and productivity of the U.S.

More would be home grown Terrorists

So what is going on with these so called home grown terrorists, don’t they have nothing else to do then to wage war on their own benefactors or are they really mentally bankrupt. Do they really think that by killing innocent people, they will gain entry to heaven and enjoy whatever their twisted minds and teachers have told them that they will have. While these same masterminds’ sits comfortably in their homes grooming half baked minds to blow them selves up and end their sorry and pathetic lives.

To tell you the truth, I am really sick and tired of these so called wanna be terrorists with broken records repeating the same old complaints about how the U.S. is doing this and that to the Islamic world. And the only way to stop this is to blow them up. To be true they are just a sorry excuse for being a human being and I do appreciate the work of Law enforcement agencies of foiling these people’s evil agendas. They should be locked up for life without much trial (as it is a waste of our money, since they have already confessed to their crimes).

Now it is Britain’s turn to cry debt

As the New Prime Minister of Britain has recently acknowledged, they are in deep trouble and deep cuts will have to be made to their budgets in order for them to get out of the more than $ 1 trillion in debt. Their budget deficit is now more than $ 200 billions and all this with one fifth or one sixth of the U.S. GDP.

How did they got into so much debt, well it is the same usual story, blame it on your predecessor and say that the debt is worse than what they thought it would be. How are they going to manage this mess will be an interesting case study of how to avoid debt. Although Britain did the right thing of not entering into the Euro Zone and as such they can devalue their currency to gain a competitive export advantage, but the markets are now too smart to figure this out easily. The best way for Britain is the now to reduce their spending even if it is too painful for people otherwise with more people packed in a small area and being possibly having to offer higher rates to investors (if they do not control their spending) , Britain will see their global role diminished in the future.

The Split

(All opinion expressed here is personal and in no way meant to question individual decisions or reasons behind those decisions).

I heard the news that former Vice President Al Gore and his wife are splitting amicably after 40 years together. I was saddened and surprised at the same time. Saddened that they looked so much in love together and surprised that what happened that they had to make that kind of decision. I don’t know the inside story and will never know and I am least bit interested anyway. My point here is that 40 years is a long time. And what happened to all those love and cherish you forever till death do us apart. Are they just words now or we need to make some amendments to it?

Is it only love that can hold for you for a long time or there are some other things beside that complement this fundamental part of the relationship. Are kids not important and even if you feel that you are not happy in your relationship, is splitting up or taking a divorce without a valid reason (like infidelity, domestic disturbance etc) the real answer. I can sometimes understand that after a year or so you can have second thoughts but after being half a century together, in comprehensible.

Appreciation

When I used to work (right now I am unemployed) I used to hear people who used to come back from vacation that two weeks is not enough or the vacation was too short. When you are working, little things like vacation times seems so much precious to you and you appreciate all the time off you have or you get. But once you are unemployed you loose all the appreciation of vacation. Because every day when you are out of work is a vacation to you without pays and benefits.

This just goes to show you that if you have enough of something you start to appreciate things which you don’t have enough of.

On the lighter Side:-Movies- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Based on the Hasbro cartoon characters, starring Marlon Wayans, Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid, it is about an elite military unit combining the best soldiers of major countries and how they stop the spread of Germ warfare from the sinister organization COBRA. Great effects and actions. A must see for the action fans out there. Highly recommended.

On the lighter Side:-Movies- The Dark Knight

Great movie starring Christian Bale as the Batman and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker along with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. It is about Batman torn between a vigilante and a savior of Gotham (New York City) and how he comes to relinquish his role as the hero of the city. Heath Ledger acting really deserved an Oscar; he just played the Joker part to perfection. Highly recommended and must see for all movie fans