January 2010

Sensational State of the Union Address President Obama!

President Barack Obama delivered one of his most exceptional speeches before Congress and the American People tonight!

He is truly a natural and remarkable orator!

His knack for speech writing hasn’t slipped one iota – you could tell he wrote almost all this himself.

His speech was so amazing simply because he really just spoke to every one, the way he would if he was on the street and talking to them about America and his Administration and his goals for the future on a Saturday afternoon.

He used tonality to perfect his message by making very basic, common sense statements, actually quite softly, but their strength was never lost because of  the simplicity and every day language he chose to make those very relevant points.

He spoke powerfully and with fortitude. He spoke with conviction and exceptional pride!

He confronted the shameful, pathetic, immature ways and attitudes of Washington and Wall Street (to include the media) that he always challenges in his daily repertoire and speeches, but this time he did more – he clearly stated and showed his intolerance and exhaustion of the old Washington ways, and encouraged and inspired for the new. He made demands for things that would call for more transparency from Congress.

He also did his usual great job of interweaving the history of our great nation into his message.

I forget that he does this time and again, and for some reason tonight, perhaps because of the words he chose, this stood out more for me to realize it, or shall I say,  it impacted me more – enough for it to gain mention here. It was a valuable reminder lesson myself of the beginning of America.

I think he just locked in his 2nd term with this baby!

I dare any one to say one thing negative about his speech or his deliverance of it. Anyone who does, is a fool – because it will really just make them look bad.

I would say his speech was flawless, both in words and how he delivered it!

Kudos Obama! You really shined tonight! I am so proud you are our President of the United States of America!

God Bless You and your family President Obama

The President & His Dog Are Truly One

It wasn’t until last night when I was looking through the gallery of photos the White House photographer took over President Obama’s first year in office – did I realize this small coincidence.

One of the photos was Michelle, Sasha and Malia with their dog, Bo, playing in the massive 14″ snowstorm Washington D.C. got in December 2009.

Another photo was an upclose picture of an Executive Order Obama signed while he was on Air Force One early in his presidency.

The media informed us that the girls named the dog after a character they liked – or something along those lines.

But last night, I realized when I saw Obama’s signature on the bottom of the Executive Order  - that President Barack Obama’s initials are the dog’s name

Barrack Obama  = “BO”

I wonder if the First Family has even figured this out.

To see the photos, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov

A bit of light trivia for the weekend.

Part of My Global Footprint

As my main business, BLC is focused on emerging areas, it is natural for me to be an advocate to champion these undeveloped nations at all times.

In pursuing this with gusto in 2010, I am doing this now specifically for Haiti, due to the recent 7.0 devastating earthquake they had last week.

We all know, they have a very long road ahead of them: the continued efforts for search and rescue which will turn to recovery shortly, and then the immense and extremely challenging dynamics of  rebuilding and restoring an area that was already fragile, and struggling daily for dignified survival.

But I am not just speaking of rebuilding structures. I am talking about a nationwide society undertaking – an internal infrastructure project – if you will.

Creating a new government, community & business platform. Focusing on how the interdynamics of civilians, business owners and authorities will coexist for a more civil, cohesive, peaceful, safe, vibrant and thriving society.

This solid foundation is essential in order for this country to massively transform itself from where it has been, to reach exceptional greatness in the near and distance future.

This is the kind of  21st century entrepreneurial vision and strategic planning that many developed nations want to incorporate into this island nation. Not for any country specific selfish reason, but for the common humanity & sustainability it offers both to Haiti, and for the future contributing aspects this Caribbean island can offer to the global community, that just have not been tapped into yet.

I believe Haiti’s evolvement over the next 2-5 years -just in their beginning stages alone – will be exceptional and will be a fine representation of how the global world unites, with one idea, one mission and stays with those enduring the hardships and changes throughout the duration. They will emerge better and stronger than ever, but they are human, and they can’t do it alone.

We can’t forget about them once the media returns home and we only see an occasional story about their progress or hardships in 2 months when something else is headline news.

Each one of us can make the tiniest or biggest impact not just with money, but in many more facets.

Since this earthquake, I have wanted to do more. And with my contacts and knowledge from BLC, I have been contemplating how I can be a facilitator of this in a bigger way then me just donating money as I already have.

Tonight, I realized how I can put more of my global footprint in the Caribbean.  I have just created a new Ning platform to join all people interested in starting the hard work to rebuild this nation – not just the one city, Port-au-Prince – but the entire nation in both structure, government, and community.

These Haitians have the unwavering spirit of not letting natural catastrophies keep them from moving on. We witnessed that from the 4 hurricanes that lashed them in 2008.

This earthquake is a bigger monstrosity to overcome, but with our global unwavering support, we can all help this incredible nation reach it’s fullest potential.

Please  join me in this pursuit of truly making a difference – more than just with money. Click the link below for:

A New Haiti – Better than Before

http://www.anewhaiti.ning.com

Thank you for your time to do so.

7.0 Earthquake crumbles Haiti’s Port-au-Prince

Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010 at around 5pm, Haiti got it’s first taste of catastrophic disaster for this year. An earthquake of devastating proportions. Estimated death toll is to exceed 100,000. And they still haven’t recouped from the 4 Hurricannes in 2008.

Already the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, this devastating earthquake will test their community spirit and will present challenges that no one in the world can imagine – on top of the challenges they already have daily to survive and live a decent life.

The global world’s response has been tremendous; the world rushing to save them. The Dominican Republic, it’s neighbor, was the first to send help, with every country including Iceland, and even businesses following thereafter and continually -sending enormous amounts of money or items of necessities.

I am very proud to inform that our our own Los Angeles Fire Department is one of the first Search and Rescue teams heading there with 72 men and dogs, also bringing searching equipment and medical supplies. The French have deployed their own Search and Rescue team, as well as other countries to follow suit.

Examples of donations include: The NY Yankees donating $500,000 to help, and of course the Pitt-Jolie Foundation donating $1M to Doctors Without Borders to assist with getting medical help to the Haitians.

Anderson Cooper – 360 is the first American reporter (CNN) on the ground in Haiti providing a minute by minute update account of what is going on.

With that said, many have already tweeted that he should stop reporting and just start helping. I tend to agree with the consensus on this.

He walks by people screaming for help burried in rubble, puts the microphone up to them so you can hear their screams, but doesn’t nothing to help them.

To me, that is atrocish reporting. There is a time and a day for reporting and there is a bigger time when lives are at stake you stop thinking selfishly about your ratings and your possible next new book and you just help the people you are reporting on! What is wrong with this man? Is his ego that big? We now see how much this man really cares.   I now will no longer give his blog or him the time of day.

US Congressional members are starting to form a bipartisan delegation that will be heading to Haiti quite shortly. As of yet, President Obama won’t be going, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (in Hawaii currently) has cancelled her trip to Australia, etc. and is returning to D.C. to handle this better.

But even with all the millions being donated,  they still need so much more of your help.   Please take $1 out of your pocket or more and donate throughhttp://www.clintonfoundation.org/haitirelief

to be a part of the global mass response to help this desparate country and their people who have a very tough and long battle ahead of them.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the Haitian’s and to our 45,000 American citizens that are in Haiti currently, especially those on a  UN mission.

Massive FBI Sting Operation goes Undereported

During the last quarter of 2009, a nation-wide, FBI led sting operation titled Operation Cross-Country IV netted 691 suspects who were indicted on charges related to child prostitution.

52 children, the youngest reportedly being 10 years old, were freed as a result of this operation. Enforcement actions took place in 36 cities; in Miami alone, 85 individuals were apprehended.

Despite the scope and severity of this sting operation, from the minimal amount of media attention it received, one would think the FBI had busted a pirated video game ring.

Of course, the media’s focus on more political issues such as the health care bill, breach of security at the white house, and airport security, etc.

This gross negligence of the media to address the startling results of this operation demonstrates our general obliviousness as a society towards the expansive threat of Human and Sex Trafficking.

Human Trafficking is the transportation of human beings as goods, or the illegal dealing and trading of human beings, most often for purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor.

Such unawareness, partnered with misconceptions, has enabled Human Trafficking to proliferate largely unchecked. CEO and founder of Project Meridian Foundation Nathan Wilson states, “Almost invariably, when I inform someone of my line of work, I am asked if Human Trafficking is actually that big of a deal in the United States. Well, you would never know from the scant attention which Operation Cross Country IV received, but its results clearly indicate that yes, yes it is. ”

Human and Sex Trafficking is not an isolated phenomenon; it is an enormously substantial issue. Sex Trafficking of children and young women makes up almost 80% of Human Trafficking; and labor Trafficking is a much lower percentage.

What is transpiring behind our backs is nothing less than a systemic corruption of our youth and our society. This problem goes beyond isolated incidents of sexual exploitation. Sex Trafficking has become a viable criminal enterprise which has proliferated within our borders; and most Americans are oblivious to the gravity of the situation. Human Trafficking is not merely “modern-day slavery,” as it is so frequently, and arbitrarily, termed, but it is a pivotal player in a wider, intricate web of corruption.

Human Trafficking, along with weapons and drugs, comprises the three largest sources of funding for worldwide terrorism. Likewise, organized crime and gangs rely on Sex Trafficking just as much as arms and drugs to keep their illicit operations going. Furthermore, the expansion of Human Trafficking networks, often for purposes of sexual exploitation, vastly increases the chances of spreading HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As long as we refuse to acknowledge the scope of – or stay oblivious to -the extent of Human and Sex Trafficking, we allow its criminal corollaries to spread and further threaten our national security at a time in which our safety is paramount.

Furthermore, while these 52 children have been rescued from this atrocity, their futures are still hazy. At the moment, there are no sufficient safe havens for victims of Sex Trafficking to receive the proper and secure conditions for rehabilitation. This is a vital point of concern.

Most of those involved in the sex trade, despite what Hollywood might depict, are not hard-on-their-luck women looking to make some money to raise a family. Most are young children and young women forced into this inhumane ring of degradation against their will, and remain there under the constant threat of violence.

As such, there are significant dangers in rehabilitating Trafficking victims within city limits, where they can be susceptible to the reaches of organized crime and gangs or vulnerable to running away from their new shelters.

This is a critical issue which Project Meridian Foundation (PMF) is ardently working to address. PMF is actively advocating for the establishment of safehouses far outside of city limits, where victims of Trafficking can be recuperated with the proper health and psychiatric care, education, and vocational training.

Despite PMF’s passionate efforts, we have much work to do before this vision can be realized. Because Congress has failed to appropriate money to establish safehouses for victims of Human Trafficking, PMF is looking for concerned individuals who share our goals and our passion for justice and Human Rights.

If you are interested in learning more about Project Meridian Foundation and our work, or just educating yourself about Human Trafficking, please go to our website at www.projectmeridianfoundation.org . Even acknowledging this threat is helping to combat it.

*This blog information was taken from PMF’s press release on Jan 9, 2010 and altered slightly. PMF’s January press release is to inform the public about “Domestic Human Trafficking Awareness Day” which is now observed on January 11th of every year.

So please mark your calendar for this Monday, January 11, 2010 and go on my friend Nathan’s website to see if you can do something to contribute to erradicating this atrocity or helping increase awareness about it.

And remember to transfer this important date (1/11) every year in your calendar. Remember, this isn’t something that just happens in ungovernized regions, this happens in some of the biggest cities in America: Atlanta, Miami, Richmond,VA etc.

Here’s some more information:

About Project Meridian Foundation

Project Meridian Foundation (PMF) works to assist International, Federal, State, and Local law enforcement agencies by offering education and awareness training so they may identify and recover victims of human and sex trafficking. PMF strives to bring awareness to the most vulnerable youth in the United States between the ages of 11 and 17, as well as educating University students; and provides our country’s leaders, civic groups and other organizations with factual and relevant information empowering them to take action against human and sex trafficking. Project Meridian Foundation is preparing for the launch of Operation Safe House; an initiative to provide the victims of human and sex trafficking with shelter, healthcare, education, and vocational training so they can resume a normal life. Project Meridian Foundation is a tax deductible 501(c) (3) Organization with Federal Tax identification number EIN # 20-5052942.www.projectmeridianfoundation.org

Obama’s Speech: “Buck stops with me”

I am finally happy with President Obama again.

He gave an incredible and powerful speech yesterday afternoon (1/7/10) on his assessment of the attempted Christmas 2009 airline bombing in Detroit, MI, after having read the two final reviews he requested Thursday from his national security team.

The Presidential Directives he issued to address the gaps that allowed this 23 year-old Nigeiran, Umar Abdulmatullab, to get on the Northwest aircraft with explosives were impressive as well.

The PD’s address airport security and screening, but more importantly, they address the systematic and human failures that occurred that prevented them from connecting and assessing the intelligence we already had that could have kept Umar from boarding the plane altogether (his name should have been on the no-fly list, etc.).

He also made it very clear that as long as he is President, the Al Qaeda terrorists will not be given any victory, big or small.

I believe this event was a wake up call.

I believe the folks in our government agencies will be humbled by this event and realize even with what they had been doing, the terrorists outsmarted us again.

Perhaps now they are at the point where they just won’t tolerate that (humiliation) anymore. They might even step up a bit and act as they did right after 9/11  - not slack one bit, make smarter decisions, and do things outside of what their job requires sometimes for the sake of our national security.

Ex: When a father comes in to an Embassy and turns on his son, reporting him to authorities, that the official listening does more than just enter the person’s name into the TIDE system. (This is his own father, not just a jealous friend). They pick up a phone and call everyone and anyone they can think of until someone answers and takes immediate action to find that extremist person. If at the least, all his Visas/Passports should have been immediately checked to make sure they were valid and current and with what countries. It would have been discovered his U.S. was overdue.

I think this also made the global population more viligiant again (like after 9/11) to pick up on spotty behavior and alert authorities – just as what happened at Newark, NJ airport last Wednesday, when someone reported a person not going through security and the airport shutting Terminal C down.

And for all this,  I do think we have less a chance of an attack happening on our US soil than we did before Christmas 2009.

Obama seemed a lot stronger yesterday than I have seen him in a while. Lately, he had had been buckling to the idiosyncrosies of the Republican and opposition people on many issues.

Perhaps this was a wake up call for him as well – to get back to being the strong leader he was when he first stepped into the Presidency, this month last year.

We Should Thank the Terrorists

An odd statement I know. But if you think about it, the terrorists -Al Qaeda specifically – tells us where we are weak in focus in stopping them.

In the beginning of December 2009, after a very long and intensive decision process with his National Security Team, President Obama let the American people know his final decision to tackle the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was to send 30,000 more troops by the Spring 2010.

Not one peep about Yemen.

Now, Al Qaeda isn’t as large in numbers in Yemen in comparrison to the AfPak region, however, Al Qaeda recently (2008) attacked our embassy there. How come he didn’t consider beefing up troops there as well?

I mean if he is going to ponder troop numbers and his lofty and ideological plan to ‘disrupt, dismantle, and defeat’ Al Qaeda, you would think he would cover all countries where Al Qaeda has a decent size, and more importantly has recently (within 3 years or less) attacked a US establishment.

And it’s not even just the Embassy. Al Qaeda terrorists in Yemen have attacked Western hotels and restaurants in the past as well – as we have come to learn via his 1st Weekly Address speech of 2010 on http://www.whitehouse.gov.

Three weeks after Obama’s December announcement, he is celebrating the holidays with his family in Hawaii. He learns that on Christmas, a 23 year old Nigerian attempts to blow up a plane headed from Amsterdam to the U.S. (Detroit  - Northwest flight 253). That Nigerian got the bomb materials and the instructions of how to successfully do this in Yemen.

Now, all of a sudden, all attention is on Yemen and everyone is scrambling to beef up training, security and military there. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is backing the USA 100% with the same.

So, if it wasn’t for this attempted terrorist attack, we wouldn’t be doing a thing in Yemen. It wouldn’t even be in print. I would take a shot to say that I am sure it wasn’t even a discussion during all these long and intense sessions with his National Security Team.

I am aware that those discussions were focused on the AfPak region, but remember Obama was working his team off the theory of his overarching goal – to ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda’. He wanted a plan of how to do that best.  In that case, Yemen should have been on the table.

So, we should really thank the terrorists.

I would never really, obviously…I think you get my point.

It also furthers my constant point: since 9/11 that the US is always chasing it’s tail when it comes to Al Qaeda. I laugh very hard when Obama tells the global world he is out to ‘disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda’ when they are just always very ahead of us.

They out number us by so many, and that’s the ones we know of (which are never correct statistics exactly),  let a lone all the Al Qaeda trained individuals we don’t know about yet. Al Qaeda is in virtually every country in some aspect, if not by trained killers, then by people who fund it or help orchestrate the situation for funding (organized crime, drugs, etc). This is an infinite number that is unchaseable, as it grows each day.

They dictate what we (global governments) do. They dictate how we act. They hold a constant threat over us everywhere. And they are incorporated into almost every decision being made today on a global scale in all facets of government. Even Corporate America is influenced by terrorists. Almost every business since 9/11 now has a Homeland Security department or something akin.

Their power is 10x the size of our biggest global players combined (America, Canada, UK, Europe, Mexico, etc.)

With that said, how does President Obama really believe he can make a dent in this organization? I constantly ask this.

You are dealing with individuals whose mindset is pure hatred against America and western countries, where human lives mean nothing to them (they behead and kill like we kill a mosquito) and more importantly when they themselves are willing to die to kill us. Their religious belief almost begs them too – the virgins on the ‘other side’, their families protected, etc. (reference the Koran).

There is absolutely no way we can even come close to stopping them unless we become like them. Where we put all ethics, morals, aside, and say ‘no holds bar”. Where we stop protecting civilians and we just fight and fight dirty until we can’t fight anymore.

The way we fight right now is wimpy. Not because our military is wimpy. Our militaries are incredible! It’s because our leaders have the false belief we can fight an enemy that is both visible and hidden with grace and constitutional law, empty words of trying to scare them, and without giving up our steadfast values, ethics and principles.

This is why the terrorists still succeed. They know this. This is actually our weakness when it comes to them. It’s our strength in other situations, but not with Al Qaeda and our fight against them.

When we alter our course of destruction against them because there are too many civilians in that area, we loose chances to win.  The terrorists know this and they use the civilians as their advantage.

Ex: Count the number of airstrikes, attack plans, etc. over the past 8 years that could have wiped out hundreds of thousands of terrorists that didn’t happen because civilians were in the vicinity.

So Obama can do all the troop increasing he wants. Unless he changes the rules of engagement, Al Qaeda will not only stay strong, they will get stronger.

We are no where near disrupting them, let a lone dismantling and defeating them. This was clear on Christmas 2009.

Keep in mind, just 3 weeks prior to this attempted attack, Obama bellowed out this power phrase proudly and confidently – how 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan was the strongest answer he could come up with for his strategy of ‘disrupting, dismantling, and defeating Al Qaeda’.

Yet, their attack plan still went through. Yemen didn’t flinch. It didn’t even deter them enough for them not to try to implement this attack. Because they know America doesn’t know what they are really supposed to do in this fight against Al Qaeda.  They just proved that even more. So much for Obama’s powerful statement.

The global governments, US especially, are focusing on all the wrong things. All we simply have to do is change the way we fight. And then I surmise, we will really see significant results. But we all know that will never happen – that’s just my ideological thinking I guess.

Since I would not advocate killing innocent civilians, and Obama wouldn’t engage in this either, then there just needs to come to the point of common sense of this all and realize that we  will never be able to ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda.’

Moreover, we can’t do the 3 D’s simply because we rely on the terrorists to tell us where we need to go next! It’s sad, but true.

They point out where we aren’t strong enough to have stopped them from an attack already, as in all the attacks (and failed attacks) that have taken place since before 9/11 even.

We wait until they try (or do) attack us, then we all react to the situation. We are a passive nation. Amazing a superpower is so demeaned by a bunch of men who live in the mountains and have no education.

When you are constantly reacting, and really have no clue of how to handle this (the words just sound great),  you are certainly not in the position to state we will ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat’ anyone or anything.

If we aren’t waiting for the attempted attacks to guide us, then I guess we are waiting for the day when our US President or global governments think 100 Al Qaeda members in Yemen is 100 too many and we should have taken those 100 out 2 years ago when they bombed our embassy, or just earlier overall.

I am aware we had Bush W. as a president then, who did zilcho on terrroism but create a conglomerate mishap of an organization (DHS). But that is no excuse now.

When Obama came into office he could have done more when he reviewed all Al Qaeda attacks on US establishments in the past decade (this is presuming he did this knowing we had a president for 8 years who didn’t handle anything).

Interestingly enough, when Obama first stepped into office in January 2009, he sent more troops to Afghanistan. It’s a hot topic, he acted appropriately.

He should have sent more troops to Yemen too.

Why? Because of the 2008 embassy attack and the others the President mentioned.

Why? Indeed because of the October 2000 USS Cole bombing that was devised and executed in Yemen!

This is a country that should have never left our site as much as it did. It went to the wayside simply because numbers of Al Qaeda members we larger in the AfPak region.

If they really understood Al Qaeda (which it’s obvious they don’t), they would grasp that numbers don’t matter with a terrorist group like Al Qaeda. They don’t need hundreds to be powerful.

The United States benchmark for how we assess where Al Qaeda is strong and where we should take action is based on numbers. We constantly make the same mistake with that assessment qualifier.

So, Al Qaeda taught us again. Yemen has about 100 Al Qaeda terrorists. Apparantly that wasn’t justifiable enough for us to take stronger action – until now, when an attack almost happened, parts of which originated from Yemen.

The terrorists just keep teaching us lessons, and I state that we should thank them because it reveals our weaknesses.

America has this theory that they are so smart with ‘power phrases’ that have zero substance behind them.

In the meantime, the terrorists just keep dangling our weakness in our faces, keep laughing at us, keep plotting more, and show the world we are no less prepared today than we were in September 2001 – yet we have we spent billions of dollars on each year on this.

If it wasn’t for the bomb malfunctioning, and for the passengers jumping to take action (since when are passengers responsible for US security) then we would have a tragic situation on our hands.  The US got lucky.

So why should we thank the terrorists?

It made the U.S. wake the heck up and realize that Al Qaeda doesn’t have to be large in numbers to be successful. And it made the US and UK realize that Yemen is a stronger haven for a powerful Al Qaeda than what they have currently given focus and manpower on.

This is why I laugh when Obama says we will ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda’. That would require we are ahead of them already. But we aren’t.

We can’t ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda’ without them helping us. And Al Qaeda ‘helping us’ means they are always closer to being more successful than before.

And then the cycle continues….we react, send more troops….etc etc etc.

5 Blackwater Guards go Free – Iraq Infuriated

Oh boy. Just when we thought things were steady and okay with Iraq and US relations, the recent U.S. District Judge’s ruling on New Years Eve day to allow the 5 Blackwater guards to go free  - is just asking for serious problems.

I forsee the Taliban and extremist groups trying to make their way back into Iraq and gather up all those angry Iraqi civilians and say “hey, you mad enough at America now?, come join us in our fight against America” I wouldn’t be surprised if they got new recruits from this.

Round 2 in Iraq with the Taliban…so much for troop withdraw there.

I am aware a judge does not need to make his ruling with geopolitical considerations in mind, and I would never want a judge to rule on anything but the facts and the law, but also be sensitive to our current 21st century and global community (ie: technology, terrorist situation, etc).

So, perhaps due to the delicacy of this situation, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina might have let some White House Administration members know his ruling before he issued it, so they could do some damage control before this went globally viral on the news. I am sure this ‘tip’ could have happened – this is D.C. afterall.

The biggest problem with this court ruling is that Iraq’s claim/perception (”America is above the law”) will dominate  - as the truth (prosecutors messed up) gets muddled, reduced to one line in small print, and glossed over very easily, depending on who will be reporting it.

But as a criminal justice major and a former paralegal, and from the information reported about why the judge  ruled the way he did, the judge ruled correctly.  The fact we all know these Blackwater guards committed murder freely and openly is another story, and the judge didn’t deny that. But his final ruling is based on the U.S. Constitutional Law, and on evidence.

The event: These Blackwater chaps allegedly opened fire during the day in September 2007 in Nisoor Square, in Baghdad on innocent Iraqi civilians without provocation as the roads were being cleared by Iraqi police for Blackwater’s convoy to pass through (a usual routine) as they were guarding the State Department. They killed 17  Iraqi’s and wounded dozens of others.

So these 5 Blackwater guards aren’t going free because they didn’t commit this atrocity on innocent civilians in Iraq, but on a technicality that the federal prosecutors messed up on.  So the prosecutors are at fault, not the judge, or America.

Here is why. The federal prosecutors had originally promised these guards that their information/testimony wouldn’t be used in court, but it was necessary for part of the internal inquiry.

But because the prosecutors didn’t have their own sufficient evidence to hold all 5 men accountable for this crime, they used these testimonials from which to build their case upon and gather information.

So, in essence, when they tried to use these testimonials, they were thrown out. Subsequently, anything that was related to these testimonials as evidence became null and void.

Since the prosecutor’s case was too weak to prove evidence was sufficient beyond a reasonable doubt without this, the judge ruled there was lack of evidence and dropped the charges on 12/31/09.

The judge did his job and did his job appropriately. The federal prosecutors did not, because they went back on their word. Now, most likely, America will pay dearly for this.

I restate: I doubt many will understand or accept this fine point -the validity behind this ruling – as the majority of the public globally likes to focus on the negative or on incorrect information to help justify their rage. So the rage of  ”America thinks they are above the law” will build powerfully day after day as we start off a new year.

A new hatred has just formed against America – and it’s not just by the civilians, it is by the Iraqi officials as well, and this one will be powerful.

It’s power will stem from 3 primary reasons:

1. The crime and ruling being more current (2007 & 2009),

2. The recently surfaced information of how significantly horrendous the Bush W Administration for 8 years justified and orchestrated America’s actions overall, but more specifically, in terms of the Iraq war

3. The global community – even many Americans like myself, believe these 5 Blackwater Guards should be found guilty for these senseless and brutal murders. But most likely, the bandwagon rage will surface from other countries

This is a contagious new hatred. All facets of American power (US Military, White House Administration, Congress, The Federal Reserve, Wall Street) need to pay attention to to this seriously, as the trickling effect will happen quicker than America will be prepared for it. I surmise it’s already happened.

I am sure President Obama and his team will do all they can to reassure Iraq that we should keep good relations, etc. but it was our US Government that dictated terms of allowing  immunity for Blackwater guards to not be tried in Iraq for any crime they commit, and it is our US Constitution that just dictated their freedom. If Obama puts himself in Iraq’s shoes, he might realize a lot of smooth talk won’t really work in this situation.

So now Iraqi officials are determined these Blackwater guards will be held accountable in Iraq. I don’t blame them. If the situation were reversed, you better believe America would be doing the same.

I am not sure how Iraq is going to do this without declaring war on America or something like that – unless Obama and his government counterparts do some quick inking and allow these 5 men to be tried in Iraq.

To me, this wouldn’t be such a tough a decision – logically. Make 5 men who are a member of a mercanary style organization take accountablity for their actions and face court in Iraq, or put millions of Americans (and any others on America soil) and our US troops in Iraq in serious and imminent danger relatively immediately.

Remember, the Taliban still exists in Iraq and can pull together quite quick for retaliation on Americans. Although at this point, the rage is so strong, I don’t even think you need the Taliban to do anything, there are so many Iraqi civilians right now that probably want to shoot Americans and American soldiers dead. I think the civilians would be willing to pick up a gun and do it themselves.  They might even call themselves a new insurgent group: “Blackwater Revenge”.  Boy, this is a mess.

But wait, I said logic & Obama (US Government). So most likely that means it won’t happen.

There will be all these political ties and secret threats and special requests from so many and from a million different angles that Obama will be pushed into a very tight corner.

The only saving grace Obama has is if the Justice Department appeals the ruling or goes for different indictments which is what is on the agenda it seems.  I imagine if they don’t do this, some in the Justice Department will be looking for a new job soon. Obama will almost demand it. It’s his America that is on the line, (aka: it’s his ratings).

The global world will be watching how America handles this delicate situation as we begin a new year.

*Suggestion: If you are an American or other country citizen and are unfamiliar with this event, and/or are questioning in your mind whose story you believe (Iraqi’s or 5 Blackwater guards), please read” Blackwater” by Jeremy Scahill. It was an international best seller.

*Notation: Since this event in 2007, Blackwater changed its management team and changed it’s name to Xe.