Last time I talked about the storm and the ships grounded just below our house. Well I have an update and clarification on that blog.
First the clarification about the Jetties. One jetty sank not two as was reported. Only the Karaköy Iskele sank. Now I am not a reporter, but I did ask several times before I wrote the blog for clarification on which jetty, or was it both, sank and was assured that it was indeed both. I thought with their names being so similar that they may have been confused and that was the case.
Now the fun part, the three ships that are grounded at the bottom of the cliff here. It turns out that all three of these are fuel tankers. Interesting part of the story is that all three were under confiscation by the Turkish Government at the time of the storm and were tied up to the large shipping jetty about two kilometers south of where they are still grounded and leaking. Why were they confiscated? Well they attempted to smuggle fuel through the Bosporus without paying the fuel tax.
Now the big questions, 1. why isn't anything being done about them and 2. what will be done about the ships and the mess they are making of the coastline?
1. As far as I can find out, I am limited by language, the Government is apparently waiting for the owners to come retrieve their ships by paying the fines and taxes for the fuel they WERE carrying. Yea right. I am pretty sure there will be a lot of legal wrangling that will take forever.
2. kind of answered by 1. Who is responsible for the mess, the shipper or the government who had custody of the ships at the time they were wrecked?
I look at it this way. The government needs to take immediate action to stop the environmental impact of the ships. They need to get the ships off the rocks, and stop the leaking NOW! Then they can get the rightful owner of the ships to pay for it later.
Anyway someone needs to be responsible and stop the ecological disaster that is happening as I write. All three ships are still on the rocks rolling back and forth with each wave, two of them are still banging into each other with each and every wave. The one on its side appears to be the only one that is leaking, and most of that is probably coming out the tops of the tanks through the vents.
Come on Turkey, get off the fence and save YOUR environment. People are still fishing there every day!
Peace and Love
LeePsycho
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The Weird Storm
A storm came down upon Istanbul yesterday. This was one of those 24-hour storms, the weird kind that causes damage, but you don't really understand why. The storm did not seem too bad because of the gradual increase in its strength.
Yesterday we woke up to news that the Karaköy İskele (ferry boat station) had sunk overnight while it was closed. This seemed strange to everyone because all of the ferries were still working except the car ferries, and the sea did not seem all that rough, just choppy. Jale had no problems crossing on a ferry early in the morning and I had no problems later in the afternoon.
Then came the news in the evening that the Kadiköy İskele had also capsized and sunk, but this time there were people hurt. We also heard that all the ferryboats were stopped.
While Jale and I were eating dinner just above the Beşiktaş İskele we found that some of the boats were running but they were very limited to a specific type of boat. and we could se the boats driving sideways in order to get in to the station. We finished eating and went out, got on the boat, came across, no problems. It was a little rough but nobody got knocked over or anything. We caught a ride up to the house from our friend Tuğrul and found out that there were a couple ships in danger just below our house at the mouth of the Bosphorous Straight to the Marmara Sea.
Then the storm seemed to take on a whole new dimention. The power of the storm came more into focus at least for me. The wind was very strong and it came from the Marmara Sea. The surface current for the Bosphorous Straight was reversed (normally the current flows into the Marmara Sea) and the ships were not able to power through the current and the wind. Yea it was that hard.
Anyway the result was three ships did not make it out into the Marmara and ended up stuck in the rocky shoreline just below our house. The first one to hit the shore was absolutely pummeled into the shore lastnight. then another came into the rocks behind it and later a third much larger ship came to reso on top of the first one .
Yesterday we woke up to news that the Karaköy İskele (ferry boat station) had sunk overnight while it was closed. This seemed strange to everyone because all of the ferries were still working except the car ferries, and the sea did not seem all that rough, just choppy. Jale had no problems crossing on a ferry early in the morning and I had no problems later in the afternoon.
Then came the news in the evening that the Kadiköy İskele had also capsized and sunk, but this time there were people hurt. We also heard that all the ferryboats were stopped.
While Jale and I were eating dinner just above the Beşiktaş İskele we found that some of the boats were running but they were very limited to a specific type of boat. and we could se the boats driving sideways in order to get in to the station. We finished eating and went out, got on the boat, came across, no problems. It was a little rough but nobody got knocked over or anything. We caught a ride up to the house from our friend Tuğrul and found out that there were a couple ships in danger just below our house at the mouth of the Bosphorous Straight to the Marmara Sea.
Then the storm seemed to take on a whole new dimention. The power of the storm came more into focus at least for me. The wind was very strong and it came from the Marmara Sea. The surface current for the Bosphorous Straight was reversed (normally the current flows into the Marmara Sea) and the ships were not able to power through the current and the wind. Yea it was that hard.
Anyway the result was three ships did not make it out into the Marmara and ended up stuck in the rocky shoreline just below our house. The first one to hit the shore was absolutely pummeled into the shore lastnight. then another came into the rocks behind it and later a third much larger ship came to reso on top of the first one .
This is the scene this morning from partway up the cliff to our house.
The back of the third ship, resting on the first, and the second one behind them.
Here is the aftermath of the sandwich job. I have not heard if anyone was hurt. I truly hope not!
Peace and love
LeePsycho
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Manhood? I think not!
about a week ago I heard from an old friend. I have known her for something like 30 years I think. That is not the point, the point is that she was beaten up by her husband of 7 months. The only thing I can say, and did say to her was I love her and because of this "man's" behavior I feel sorry to be a man. Actually, he punched her one time.
That one punch caused significant damage physically. I spoke to her on Skype and was able to see for myself the damage that one punch caused: she sees double because one of her eyes looks up now, her two black eyes are nearly healed but not quite, her broken nose is healing but she still cant blow it because it all comes out her tear ducts. She cannot cry because when she does her nose plugs up again. She has depth perception problems so she cannot work, and will not be able to work until she can see properly again.
Emotionally she is strong and weak at the same time. Unfortunately her children were home and witnessed this, so they have their own damage that she feels too. She looked afraid but brave, I think she moved the curtain four times to look out, but the look on her face was caution and conviction, and her voice sounded confident but not cool yet. Charges, hell yes, and because of the significant physical injuries, and the presence of the children, he will be charged with Felonies!
Is this manhood? Hell no! This guy is a disparagement of everything that is manly. Unfortunately there are too many like him out there. This product of a broken society was even brazen enough to say that he never hit her, and that he was intoxicated. He made the claim that he put up his hand and she smashed her face into his palm, all the while crying like a baby to the court where she was petitioning for a protective order against him. Seems the judge, commissioners, lawyers, police, doctors, and court reporters all said the same thing I said: "EXCUSE ME, you call yourself a man?"
Turns out the idiot has a history of crimes against women of all ages, and an equal history of being extremely convincing.
Sister, you are my sister, you do whatever you have to do to put this menace away for as long as possible. Take strength in the love of your friends, all of whom are in a line along with me to watch your back while you take care of business.
Take heed in this; girl, you don't need a man in your life. You can buy a vibrator, the batteries last longer anyway!
Peace and love, especially to you my sister - my friend
LeePsycho
That one punch caused significant damage physically. I spoke to her on Skype and was able to see for myself the damage that one punch caused: she sees double because one of her eyes looks up now, her two black eyes are nearly healed but not quite, her broken nose is healing but she still cant blow it because it all comes out her tear ducts. She cannot cry because when she does her nose plugs up again. She has depth perception problems so she cannot work, and will not be able to work until she can see properly again.
Emotionally she is strong and weak at the same time. Unfortunately her children were home and witnessed this, so they have their own damage that she feels too. She looked afraid but brave, I think she moved the curtain four times to look out, but the look on her face was caution and conviction, and her voice sounded confident but not cool yet. Charges, hell yes, and because of the significant physical injuries, and the presence of the children, he will be charged with Felonies!
Is this manhood? Hell no! This guy is a disparagement of everything that is manly. Unfortunately there are too many like him out there. This product of a broken society was even brazen enough to say that he never hit her, and that he was intoxicated. He made the claim that he put up his hand and she smashed her face into his palm, all the while crying like a baby to the court where she was petitioning for a protective order against him. Seems the judge, commissioners, lawyers, police, doctors, and court reporters all said the same thing I said: "EXCUSE ME, you call yourself a man?"
Turns out the idiot has a history of crimes against women of all ages, and an equal history of being extremely convincing.
Sister, you are my sister, you do whatever you have to do to put this menace away for as long as possible. Take strength in the love of your friends, all of whom are in a line along with me to watch your back while you take care of business.
Take heed in this; girl, you don't need a man in your life. You can buy a vibrator, the batteries last longer anyway!
Peace and love, especially to you my sister - my friend
LeePsycho
Friday, November 14, 2008
Neglectful Friends
I got a message from a friend this morning, just like every morning, but today I realized I was doing something I really don't like. The message was really short, went something like this...
Hey Lee I'm working on that, have you heard from so and so lately?
That was pretty much it. The important part is not that they are working on that thing, more so that neither of us have heard from 'so and so.' Even more important is that I have not tried to contact 'so and so' in a long time.
What am I doing? This is a friend, I consider this person to be a very good friend! Good enough friend that during traumatic times I have let this friend cry on my chest when the were overwrought with emotional pain. I am a guy, a pretty normal one, and we don't let just anyone cry on our chest. When I was getting a divorce this was the person who did not judge me, who understood my pain!
I have allowed myself to get all wound up in what I am doing, and forgotten the integrity of Friendship. True friends are kind of hard to come by, so we need to not abuse or neglect the one's we have!
I have sent this friend a letter of apology, I hope she accepts it!
I love you Les and I am sorry
LeePsycho
Hey Lee I'm working on that, have you heard from so and so lately?
That was pretty much it. The important part is not that they are working on that thing, more so that neither of us have heard from 'so and so.' Even more important is that I have not tried to contact 'so and so' in a long time.
What am I doing? This is a friend, I consider this person to be a very good friend! Good enough friend that during traumatic times I have let this friend cry on my chest when the were overwrought with emotional pain. I am a guy, a pretty normal one, and we don't let just anyone cry on our chest. When I was getting a divorce this was the person who did not judge me, who understood my pain!
I have allowed myself to get all wound up in what I am doing, and forgotten the integrity of Friendship. True friends are kind of hard to come by, so we need to not abuse or neglect the one's we have!
I have sent this friend a letter of apology, I hope she accepts it!
I love you Les and I am sorry
LeePsycho
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Promises?
You know what? I think it would be interesting to look at the difference between saying you will do something and a promise. First let me admit straight up that I personally, see no difference at all! It seems that others do not share my opinion.
Recently, it seems, I have a lot of people telling me that they will do things within a certain time frame, and cannot seem to manage the doing or the time frame. To me that is the same as breaking a promise.
I find it extremely frustrating to have someone tell me "I can take care of that in a week" to have them come back in two weeks to simply repeat the qualifiers of the question I asked them two weeks ago, that they said they could answer in one! See how that leads to frustration?
Now, when it comes to the qualification of it being a "promise," I don't know maybe not. They did not say "I promise" so should it feel like a broken promise? Technically I guess not, but still it feels like it to me.
Pretty nonspecific in the situation I know that, I did this on purpose. It is the idea of the mentality here. I do not expect perfection, but I think if you can't do what you said you would that you would at least say, "you know what, I cannot fulfill the time frame", "how about we clarify the need". You know something. Otherwise I have no choice than to call you repeatedly and say "hey where is that answer" "where do we stand on that issue we talked about" "EXCUSE ME, we talked about this issue last week and you said next week ..... well, it is past next week!"
I do not think my expectations are too high on this one. I know they have been in the past, but not this time.
Peace and Love (even if you can't keep a promise)
LeePsycho
Recently, it seems, I have a lot of people telling me that they will do things within a certain time frame, and cannot seem to manage the doing or the time frame. To me that is the same as breaking a promise.
I find it extremely frustrating to have someone tell me "I can take care of that in a week" to have them come back in two weeks to simply repeat the qualifiers of the question I asked them two weeks ago, that they said they could answer in one! See how that leads to frustration?
Now, when it comes to the qualification of it being a "promise," I don't know maybe not. They did not say "I promise" so should it feel like a broken promise? Technically I guess not, but still it feels like it to me.
Pretty nonspecific in the situation I know that, I did this on purpose. It is the idea of the mentality here. I do not expect perfection, but I think if you can't do what you said you would that you would at least say, "you know what, I cannot fulfill the time frame", "how about we clarify the need". You know something. Otherwise I have no choice than to call you repeatedly and say "hey where is that answer" "where do we stand on that issue we talked about" "EXCUSE ME, we talked about this issue last week and you said next week ..... well, it is past next week!"
I do not think my expectations are too high on this one. I know they have been in the past, but not this time.
Peace and Love (even if you can't keep a promise)
LeePsycho
Will That Post Haunt You?
How long will you continue to think the same way you do now? Will you change someday, maybe? Think about this, what if you could not erase what you posted on Facebook, MySpace .....
Interesting information from CNN's Data Doctor:
Just think about it.
LeePsycho
Interesting information from CNN's Data Doctor:
Just think about it.
LeePsycho
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Positivity
OK, so the last entry was simply a link to another blog, and before that it was depressing events in humanity over the last 20 or so years. So I decided I would talk about something different, something Quantum Physics!
Now you might think, "Damn Lee, that's deep!" and you would be right and wrong at the same time. It would be deep if I went into the quantum particles and how they behave in a nonscientific manner, like sometimes acting like solid particles and other times acting like wave particles or the enormous amount of energy stored in each particle. Or even if I was talking about how a single quantum particle can be in two places at the same time, but I am not going to do that. Instead I am going to talk about how understanding how our mind functions in relation to the Quantum Universe can help us live more positive lives.
People have been talking about this stuff since um.... before Jesus really, but we still don't get it a lot of the time. You see the mind especially memory works by association. The associations are kind of like networking for business. You can a lot more done quicker by using existing associations, activating networks. When you are sitting with old friends one memory leads to another and so on. So if you stimulate something that gets you feeling down you are probably going to remember other things that make you feel down, and you begin to perceive things that will continue that feeling.
You wake up in a bad mood and seem to be hit by bad things all day long, or on the converse of that you wake up in a good mood and seem to have good experiences all day.
Another thing about the mind is that the vast majority of the data your brain processes happens subconsciously. You uptake the information to the subconscious mind and only consciously perceive a tiny portion. So you in effect filter to continue the same feeling. You do that enough and you have created a normal feeling filter.
In Quantum they talk about the laws of attraction where you can actually attract certain "vibes." You have seen this I am sure, some people just have all the luck, they seem to be able to find just the right person, or "that thing" at just the right time to get where they want to be. I believe this is the filter in action. I believe if we live a positive life and believe that we are going to achieve our goals, then we will. Mostly because we remain focused in the direction we need to go in, but partially because we attract what we need to achieve it.
Love and Peace
LeePsycho
Now you might think, "Damn Lee, that's deep!" and you would be right and wrong at the same time. It would be deep if I went into the quantum particles and how they behave in a nonscientific manner, like sometimes acting like solid particles and other times acting like wave particles or the enormous amount of energy stored in each particle. Or even if I was talking about how a single quantum particle can be in two places at the same time, but I am not going to do that. Instead I am going to talk about how understanding how our mind functions in relation to the Quantum Universe can help us live more positive lives.
People have been talking about this stuff since um.... before Jesus really, but we still don't get it a lot of the time. You see the mind especially memory works by association. The associations are kind of like networking for business. You can a lot more done quicker by using existing associations, activating networks. When you are sitting with old friends one memory leads to another and so on. So if you stimulate something that gets you feeling down you are probably going to remember other things that make you feel down, and you begin to perceive things that will continue that feeling.
You wake up in a bad mood and seem to be hit by bad things all day long, or on the converse of that you wake up in a good mood and seem to have good experiences all day.
Another thing about the mind is that the vast majority of the data your brain processes happens subconsciously. You uptake the information to the subconscious mind and only consciously perceive a tiny portion. So you in effect filter to continue the same feeling. You do that enough and you have created a normal feeling filter.
In Quantum they talk about the laws of attraction where you can actually attract certain "vibes." You have seen this I am sure, some people just have all the luck, they seem to be able to find just the right person, or "that thing" at just the right time to get where they want to be. I believe this is the filter in action. I believe if we live a positive life and believe that we are going to achieve our goals, then we will. Mostly because we remain focused in the direction we need to go in, but partially because we attract what we need to achieve it.
Love and Peace
LeePsycho
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Culture -vs- Personality
Here's a good topic for discussion, how much of your personality is driven by your culture? How much of YOU is wrapped up in your culture, and how much of your culture is wrapped up in you?
I challenge you all to believe that you are actually entirely a product of your perception of your culture. That is the only place we can begin developing our actual personality.
I believe we have a certain amount of innate personality before we are born, like general right and wrong, but other than rote personality we are heavily affected by our surroundings.
We learn how to make decisions, we learn how to perceive things. That perception drives personality and the perception comes from our home culture which is driven by societal norms, which is the culture!
There you have it, the answer is both, culture and personality chicken and egg......
Love to you all
LeePsycho
I challenge you all to believe that you are actually entirely a product of your perception of your culture. That is the only place we can begin developing our actual personality.
I believe we have a certain amount of innate personality before we are born, like general right and wrong, but other than rote personality we are heavily affected by our surroundings.
We learn how to make decisions, we learn how to perceive things. That perception drives personality and the perception comes from our home culture which is driven by societal norms, which is the culture!
There you have it, the answer is both, culture and personality chicken and egg......
Love to you all
LeePsycho
Friday, November 7, 2008
Why Not?
Early estimates are that between 126.5 million and 128.5 million Americans cast ballots this election. Now that is a record, the previous record was 122.2 million in the 2004 election.
But, while the voter turnout percentage was also expected to shatter the modern record of 67% set in 1960 when Kennedy beat the pants off Nixon; the current estimates are between 60.7 and 61.7%.
When are Americans going to get it? When are we going to learn that WE are ultimately responsible for both the successes and mistakes of one of the most powerful people in the world, because WE vote to put them there.
By my calculations, and they could be and generally are incorrect, 50.5 million registered voters did not cast ballots. WHY?
Are you counting on your neighbor to vote the way you wanted to? Are you so busy that you can't take the time? Are you just ignorant and don't realize that one vote in many can make a difference? Just ask Al Gore the importance of a single vote! Don't get me wrong I am extremely happy with the outcome of this election everyone I voted for was elected that I know of, except myself who I wrote in on two lines of my local election ballot as a local representative. I only did that because there was no one to vote for printed on the ballot and I pretty much know everyone back in Hoxie, Kansas.
I just don't understand why we have such low voter turnout in the most important elections in the world.
Maybe someone can explain it to me someday, I don't know!
Peace and Love
Lee
But, while the voter turnout percentage was also expected to shatter the modern record of 67% set in 1960 when Kennedy beat the pants off Nixon; the current estimates are between 60.7 and 61.7%.
When are Americans going to get it? When are we going to learn that WE are ultimately responsible for both the successes and mistakes of one of the most powerful people in the world, because WE vote to put them there.
By my calculations, and they could be and generally are incorrect, 50.5 million registered voters did not cast ballots. WHY?
Are you counting on your neighbor to vote the way you wanted to? Are you so busy that you can't take the time? Are you just ignorant and don't realize that one vote in many can make a difference? Just ask Al Gore the importance of a single vote! Don't get me wrong I am extremely happy with the outcome of this election everyone I voted for was elected that I know of, except myself who I wrote in on two lines of my local election ballot as a local representative. I only did that because there was no one to vote for printed on the ballot and I pretty much know everyone back in Hoxie, Kansas.
I just don't understand why we have such low voter turnout in the most important elections in the world.
Maybe someone can explain it to me someday, I don't know!
Peace and Love
Lee
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Dear Red States
Ok, I have to admit that while sometimes I do some fairly heavy quoting I generally come up with my own stuff. BUT I got this is Email and copied and pasted cause this is good!
We've decided we're leaving.
We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.
In case you aren't aware,that includes California, Hawaii Oregon, Washington, Minnesota,Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast.
We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of Nuevo California.
To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share. Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once.
If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.
They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy League and Seven Sister schools, plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent ofthe hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, plus Rush Limbaugh and Bob Jones University.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite.
As if all that weren't enough to drive us to this action, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent say that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you believe that you are people with higher morals than we citizens of the blue states.
We're actually not sure why we've put up with you for so long.
Peace out,
Blue States
We've decided we're leaving.
We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.
In case you aren't aware,that includes California, Hawaii Oregon, Washington, Minnesota,Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast.
We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of Nuevo California.
To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share. Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once.
If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.
They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy League and Seven Sister schools, plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent ofthe hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, plus Rush Limbaugh and Bob Jones University.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite.
As if all that weren't enough to drive us to this action, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent say that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you believe that you are people with higher morals than we citizens of the blue states.
We're actually not sure why we've put up with you for so long.
Peace out,
Blue States
Lets Sue Humanity
We could write about why we should sue the entirity of humanity forever, but lets just look at a few reasons. Humanity has sat on the sidelines and watched while so many suffered, while humans were preaching about humanity. We are going to leave what humans have done to the environment alone, just take a moment to look at some of what we have done to ourselves.
Rwanda - between April and July 1994, at least 800,000 people were killed when the Hutu regime and Tutsi rebels kicked off the Rwandan Civil War. Some, including Francophone African Nations, believed arming people with machettés was cheaper than AK-47s. Because the UNs mandate forbiding intervention in the internal politics of any country unless the crime of genocide is being committed, and The United States government's did not recognize the estimnates of 800,000 - 1,000,000 butcherings, mass rape and mutilation as genocide. Although the governments of Belgium, the People's Republic of China, and France in particular still receive negative attention for their perceived complacency towards the Hutu regime's activities, they still do not recognize it.
A friend of mine, a battle hardened warrior, was there in the aftermath as an aid worker. He said he stopped driving because the dirt road was so bumpy. When the morning mist began to clear it revealed he had been driving over dead bodies for miles, not bumps.
Liberia - Liberians have known little but warfare over the last 20 or more years. Conflict and civil war have devastated the country and taken an enormous toll on the lives of its citizens, especially children. United Nations (U.N.) agencies estimate that approximately 15,000 children were involved in the fighting. Thousands of children have been victims of killings, rape and sexual assault, abduction, torture, forced labor and displacement at the hands of the warring factions. Children who fought with the warring parties are among the most affected by the war. Not only did they witness numerous human rights violations, they were additionally forced to commit abuses themselves. Boy and girl fighters typically received limited training in operating automatic weapons, mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Taught to maneuver in combat, to march, and to take cover, children were often the first sent out to the front lines where they faced heavy combat. In addition to their military duties, girls with the armed groups were raped and sexually enslaved by the fighters. Girl fighters were collectively known as ‘wives’, whether attached to a particular soldier or not. Some older girls were able to avoid sexual abuse, sometimes by capturing other girls for sexual servitude.
Children described beatings, torture and other punishments inflicted on them by commanders for alleged infractions of rules. Nevertheless, child soldiers were complicit in abuses against civilians—including murder, rape and widespread looting—often committed with the involvement of their adult superiors. Boy soldiers were often drugged prior to facing combat by commanders handing out pills. Boys described these drugs as making them feel fearless during fighting.
Mianmar - Leaving the forced labor of all age groups out of the discussion, you still have a lot to consider. Between 1996 and 2000: "the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State. The report illustrates there is a strong case that war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the form of sexual violence, have occurred and continue to occur in Shan State. The report gives clear evidence that rape is officially condoned as a 'weapon of war' against the civilian populations in Shan State." Furthermore, the report states that "25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months." AND, According to Human Rights Watch, recruiting and kidnapping of children to the military is commonplace. An estimated 70,000 of the country’s 350,000-400,000 soldiers are children.
Can you Imagine a nation in fear of Butterflies? The seperation of Yugoslavia - Aided by Serbian guerrillas in Croatia, a Serbian named Slobodan Milosevic's forces invaded in July 1991 to 'protect' the Serbian minority. In the city of Vukovar, they bombarded the outgunned Croats for 86 consecutive days and reduced it to rubble. After Vukovar fell, the Serbs began the first mass executions of the conflict, killing hundreds of Croat men and burying them in mass graves.
The response of the international community was limited. The U.S. under President George Bush chose not to get involved militarily, but instead recognized the independence of both Slovenia and Croatia. An arms embargo was imposed for all of the former Yugoslavia by the United Nations. However, the Serbs under Milosevic were already the best armed force and thus maintained a big military advantage.
The end of 1991 brokered a U.S.-sponsored cease-fire agreement between the Serbs and Croats fighting in Croatia.
In April 1992, the U.S. and European Community chose to recognize the independence of Bosnia, a mostly Muslim country where the Serb minority made up 32 percent of the population. Milosevic responded to Bosnia's declaration of independence by attacking Sarajevo.
Later in In Srebrenica, a Safe Haven, Published reports say "U.N. peacekeepers stood by helplessly as the Serbs under the command of General Ratko Mladic systematically selected and then slaughtered nearly 8,000 men and boys between the ages of twelve and sixty - the worst mass murder in Europe since World War II. In addition, the Serbs continued to engage in mass rapes of Muslim females." However what really happened is the UN peacekeepers traded 40 captured Dutch UN Peacekeepers, for the not attacking Mladic.
40 UN Peacekeepers = 8000 Bosnian boys and men?
There is a certain wildflower, that atttracts a certain Butterfly. Easiest way to find a mass grave, and why the nation fears the Butterfly.
Ethiopia - http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=231
Darfur- http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=Darfur
Human trafiking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking
Rwanda - between April and July 1994, at least 800,000 people were killed when the Hutu regime and Tutsi rebels kicked off the Rwandan Civil War. Some, including Francophone African Nations, believed arming people with machettés was cheaper than AK-47s. Because the UNs mandate forbiding intervention in the internal politics of any country unless the crime of genocide is being committed, and The United States government's did not recognize the estimnates of 800,000 - 1,000,000 butcherings, mass rape and mutilation as genocide. Although the governments of Belgium, the People's Republic of China, and France in particular still receive negative attention for their perceived complacency towards the Hutu regime's activities, they still do not recognize it.
A friend of mine, a battle hardened warrior, was there in the aftermath as an aid worker. He said he stopped driving because the dirt road was so bumpy. When the morning mist began to clear it revealed he had been driving over dead bodies for miles, not bumps.
Liberia - Liberians have known little but warfare over the last 20 or more years. Conflict and civil war have devastated the country and taken an enormous toll on the lives of its citizens, especially children. United Nations (U.N.) agencies estimate that approximately 15,000 children were involved in the fighting. Thousands of children have been victims of killings, rape and sexual assault, abduction, torture, forced labor and displacement at the hands of the warring factions. Children who fought with the warring parties are among the most affected by the war. Not only did they witness numerous human rights violations, they were additionally forced to commit abuses themselves. Boy and girl fighters typically received limited training in operating automatic weapons, mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Taught to maneuver in combat, to march, and to take cover, children were often the first sent out to the front lines where they faced heavy combat. In addition to their military duties, girls with the armed groups were raped and sexually enslaved by the fighters. Girl fighters were collectively known as ‘wives’, whether attached to a particular soldier or not. Some older girls were able to avoid sexual abuse, sometimes by capturing other girls for sexual servitude.
Children described beatings, torture and other punishments inflicted on them by commanders for alleged infractions of rules. Nevertheless, child soldiers were complicit in abuses against civilians—including murder, rape and widespread looting—often committed with the involvement of their adult superiors. Boy soldiers were often drugged prior to facing combat by commanders handing out pills. Boys described these drugs as making them feel fearless during fighting.
Mianmar - Leaving the forced labor of all age groups out of the discussion, you still have a lot to consider. Between 1996 and 2000: "the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State. The report illustrates there is a strong case that war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the form of sexual violence, have occurred and continue to occur in Shan State. The report gives clear evidence that rape is officially condoned as a 'weapon of war' against the civilian populations in Shan State." Furthermore, the report states that "25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months." AND, According to Human Rights Watch, recruiting and kidnapping of children to the military is commonplace. An estimated 70,000 of the country’s 350,000-400,000 soldiers are children.
Can you Imagine a nation in fear of Butterflies? The seperation of Yugoslavia - Aided by Serbian guerrillas in Croatia, a Serbian named Slobodan Milosevic's forces invaded in July 1991 to 'protect' the Serbian minority. In the city of Vukovar, they bombarded the outgunned Croats for 86 consecutive days and reduced it to rubble. After Vukovar fell, the Serbs began the first mass executions of the conflict, killing hundreds of Croat men and burying them in mass graves.
The response of the international community was limited. The U.S. under President George Bush chose not to get involved militarily, but instead recognized the independence of both Slovenia and Croatia. An arms embargo was imposed for all of the former Yugoslavia by the United Nations. However, the Serbs under Milosevic were already the best armed force and thus maintained a big military advantage.
The end of 1991 brokered a U.S.-sponsored cease-fire agreement between the Serbs and Croats fighting in Croatia.
In April 1992, the U.S. and European Community chose to recognize the independence of Bosnia, a mostly Muslim country where the Serb minority made up 32 percent of the population. Milosevic responded to Bosnia's declaration of independence by attacking Sarajevo.
Later in In Srebrenica, a Safe Haven, Published reports say "U.N. peacekeepers stood by helplessly as the Serbs under the command of General Ratko Mladic systematically selected and then slaughtered nearly 8,000 men and boys between the ages of twelve and sixty - the worst mass murder in Europe since World War II. In addition, the Serbs continued to engage in mass rapes of Muslim females." However what really happened is the UN peacekeepers traded 40 captured Dutch UN Peacekeepers, for the not attacking Mladic.
40 UN Peacekeepers = 8000 Bosnian boys and men?
There is a certain wildflower, that atttracts a certain Butterfly. Easiest way to find a mass grave, and why the nation fears the Butterfly.
Ethiopia - http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=231
Darfur- http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=Darfur
Human trafiking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking
I guess you can say I just could not write it anymore, I had to stop crying!
Peace and Love to all
LeePsycho
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Anger is setting in now
Well here we go! Silly season has started and people are finally stating how they have felt over the last four years or more in America! Things like "the last four years were torture..." and so on.
Well if the last four years were such torture why the hell didn't you say so four years ago? If you hated John Kerry so much but thought Bush was just a known quantity, you could have written in your own name! Or you could have just shown up!
That failed, you could have written to your congressmen in droves asking for indictment on propagation of an illegal war and constitutional rights violations so numerous no one person can count them now. Indict, Impeach, and convict the entirety of the executive branch.
PLEASE Mr Obama, do not hand out the cursory presidential pardon!!!! Please for the love of country, and the respect of the world do not give anyone from the current executive branch of the American Government that Presidential Pardon. Let the United States take care of it in house and show the rest of the world that we CAN hold ourselves accountable.
You were a candidate and now a President Elect who won on change, WE AGREE!
I can see it now, if we don't formulate and prefer charges against them that it will happen in a world court. The damage caused, and the lives lost or ruined in all sectors of the world population have been too great for them not to be held accountable for their deeds.
Just because there is a tradition that the new president gives the past president a pardon, does not make it right. I can't think of any president who has lied like Bush, and those lies have cost so many lives directly and indirectly.
I am begging you for the good of of all that is human in this existence, hold him and his advisers accountable!
LeePsycho
Well if the last four years were such torture why the hell didn't you say so four years ago? If you hated John Kerry so much but thought Bush was just a known quantity, you could have written in your own name! Or you could have just shown up!
That failed, you could have written to your congressmen in droves asking for indictment on propagation of an illegal war and constitutional rights violations so numerous no one person can count them now. Indict, Impeach, and convict the entirety of the executive branch.
PLEASE Mr Obama, do not hand out the cursory presidential pardon!!!! Please for the love of country, and the respect of the world do not give anyone from the current executive branch of the American Government that Presidential Pardon. Let the United States take care of it in house and show the rest of the world that we CAN hold ourselves accountable.
You were a candidate and now a President Elect who won on change, WE AGREE!
I can see it now, if we don't formulate and prefer charges against them that it will happen in a world court. The damage caused, and the lives lost or ruined in all sectors of the world population have been too great for them not to be held accountable for their deeds.
Just because there is a tradition that the new president gives the past president a pardon, does not make it right. I can't think of any president who has lied like Bush, and those lies have cost so many lives directly and indirectly.
I am begging you for the good of of all that is human in this existence, hold him and his advisers accountable!
LeePsycho
A message to Barack Obama
I want everyone who reads me to know that I have sent the following message to President Elect Barack Obama:
I support you and am happy I voted for you to be our next President. Thank you for working so hard to open the disenfranchised minds of many Americans.
I understand you plan on supporting the motion to acknowledge an Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire. This, I think is the only area where we differ significantly, my question to you is why is the United States spending so much time and energy to do this? We have much bigger problems to worry about than to recognize something that simply did not happen the way it is being characterized for the world today.
I believe if you look at what historians who have researched the issue from an objective perspective have to say on the matter, you may change your mind as I have changed mine. Caroline Finkel's book "Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire", and Andrew Mango's book "Ataturk" both address the time frame in question, and both do so quite objectively. Both characterize the period and the events as sad, where many people both Ottoman and Armenian died. They both acknowledge that atrocities happened on both sides, and that the Russians had more to do with what happened than anyone especially the Armenians have ever admitted. Look at how the Ottoman Empire survived by accepting difference and learning from it. Yes non-Islamic citizens were taxed and treated differently, but at the time it was a standard governmental practice to have different classes of citizens.
Please, look closely and objectively at this issue before you support or denounce it. I know, no matter the decision you make on the matter you are going to feel the response. The Armenian Lobby is strong and rich in the US, but Turkey is a staunch ally of the US. Please consider this before we, the USA, opens this issue again.
Is this worth it? Is the issue even one to address? If we do address it, will we also backdate the definition of Genocide a further 50 years and condemn ourselves for the openly genocidal program of clearing the western United States for white Americans. Our own history filled with documented case after documented case of murder and reprisal for murder. Look at the 1864 massacre at Sand Creek Colorado for instance. This event is not a lone incident; it was preceded and followed by others bigger and smaller.
Can we as Americans call ourselves to task as easily as we call others? These are truly sad events; there is no doubt about it. What will be sadder is the alienation of a country as rich and loyal as Turkey, who has been a beacon of democracy and secularism in the world of Islam.
Thank you for your integrity and vision to join rather than separate.
Gary Lee Johnson, Jr., MSgt USAF (Ret),
Citizen of the United States of American
Legal Resident of Turkey
I would hope everyone would send a similar message to their representatives also.
LeePsycho
I support you and am happy I voted for you to be our next President. Thank you for working so hard to open the disenfranchised minds of many Americans.
I understand you plan on supporting the motion to acknowledge an Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire. This, I think is the only area where we differ significantly, my question to you is why is the United States spending so much time and energy to do this? We have much bigger problems to worry about than to recognize something that simply did not happen the way it is being characterized for the world today.
I believe if you look at what historians who have researched the issue from an objective perspective have to say on the matter, you may change your mind as I have changed mine. Caroline Finkel's book "Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire", and Andrew Mango's book "Ataturk" both address the time frame in question, and both do so quite objectively. Both characterize the period and the events as sad, where many people both Ottoman and Armenian died. They both acknowledge that atrocities happened on both sides, and that the Russians had more to do with what happened than anyone especially the Armenians have ever admitted. Look at how the Ottoman Empire survived by accepting difference and learning from it. Yes non-Islamic citizens were taxed and treated differently, but at the time it was a standard governmental practice to have different classes of citizens.
Please, look closely and objectively at this issue before you support or denounce it. I know, no matter the decision you make on the matter you are going to feel the response. The Armenian Lobby is strong and rich in the US, but Turkey is a staunch ally of the US. Please consider this before we, the USA, opens this issue again.
Is this worth it? Is the issue even one to address? If we do address it, will we also backdate the definition of Genocide a further 50 years and condemn ourselves for the openly genocidal program of clearing the western United States for white Americans. Our own history filled with documented case after documented case of murder and reprisal for murder. Look at the 1864 massacre at Sand Creek Colorado for instance. This event is not a lone incident; it was preceded and followed by others bigger and smaller.
Can we as Americans call ourselves to task as easily as we call others? These are truly sad events; there is no doubt about it. What will be sadder is the alienation of a country as rich and loyal as Turkey, who has been a beacon of democracy and secularism in the world of Islam.
Thank you for your integrity and vision to join rather than separate.
Gary Lee Johnson, Jr., MSgt USAF (Ret),
Citizen of the United States of American
Legal Resident of Turkey
I would hope everyone would send a similar message to their representatives also.
LeePsycho
Barack Obama - President Elect
I have been conspicuously quiet for some time especially about Politics. Now I open my fingers to write in the praise and differences with our next President. That I have been able to gather I only differ with Mr Obama on one issue, he plans on supporting the US Government acknowledging the Armenian genocide in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, I think that is a mistake simply because it wasn't Genocide, not to mention we need to move on and encourage other to do so as well.
The United States of America has been so divided for so long because we citizens have chosen to allow political parties to rule no matter how much we disagree with what they are doing. We have allowed them to divide us to suit their own selfish deeds. The republicans doing what they do best, making rich people richer and making the common man feel they had something to do with it. The democratic party has spent the last 4 years planning on taking control both houses of Congress and the White House; when what they should have been doing is helping the citizens take back a mistake of epic proportions.
We the people have finally spoken. We have said not only do we want to change, we want someone who can listen, to unite us! John McCain is a great man and a real life hero that we should look to as an example. If he had been the nominee in 2000 or 2004 I am certain he would have won those elections, I would have voted for him in either or both. We will never know how the USA or the World would be different had he been the one acting in the role of "the decider" rather than a weakling like "W" the man who coined the phrase!
Now we have a chance. We the people have a chance to become great again. We can keep ourselves involved in what our countries leadership is doing. We can actively hold them accountable for their actions. We need to pay attention to what they are doing and make sure they do not begin to tread on our rights, or the rights of people who live outside our borders.
Change is coming. We wanted it, we voted for it, we got it. This is going to take some time, we will have failures along the way, but we need to focus our attention on the future and the successes of the present and future. Hopefully we have learned enough from our mistakes that we will not revisit them simply because we are used to it.
See the light, and move toward it. The power of it is amazing.
Peace and love to all, especially my kids
LeePsycho
The United States of America has been so divided for so long because we citizens have chosen to allow political parties to rule no matter how much we disagree with what they are doing. We have allowed them to divide us to suit their own selfish deeds. The republicans doing what they do best, making rich people richer and making the common man feel they had something to do with it. The democratic party has spent the last 4 years planning on taking control both houses of Congress and the White House; when what they should have been doing is helping the citizens take back a mistake of epic proportions.
We the people have finally spoken. We have said not only do we want to change, we want someone who can listen, to unite us! John McCain is a great man and a real life hero that we should look to as an example. If he had been the nominee in 2000 or 2004 I am certain he would have won those elections, I would have voted for him in either or both. We will never know how the USA or the World would be different had he been the one acting in the role of "the decider" rather than a weakling like "W" the man who coined the phrase!
Now we have a chance. We the people have a chance to become great again. We can keep ourselves involved in what our countries leadership is doing. We can actively hold them accountable for their actions. We need to pay attention to what they are doing and make sure they do not begin to tread on our rights, or the rights of people who live outside our borders.
Change is coming. We wanted it, we voted for it, we got it. This is going to take some time, we will have failures along the way, but we need to focus our attention on the future and the successes of the present and future. Hopefully we have learned enough from our mistakes that we will not revisit them simply because we are used to it.
See the light, and move toward it. The power of it is amazing.
Peace and love to all, especially my kids
LeePsycho
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