1441, Exit Strategy and Globalization

1441, Exit Strategy and Globalization

K L Marsala

The selling points of acting against the terrorist in Iraq were presented to the world on the premise of Iraq having WMD’s. Along with the blatant evidences held over from the previous history of committing heinous acts against humanity. These proved to be the main selling points to rally the public at large to go to war against terrorism- starting with Afghanistan and then on into Iraq. Whether or not there were WMD’s or Saddam Hussein was directly tied to, 9/11 is not really even the question to ponder anymore. We know that the former administrations believed them to be so, and we began debating long before President George W. Bush appeared, on what we were going to do with this mounting crisis in the Middle East. So to point fingers of whether or not the WMD’s were true or false or Saddam was directly linked is but a moot point. President Clinton believed, President Bush Sr. believed, President Chirac believed, many in Congress and the Senate believed, the current administration believed. On top of this according to Jack Yan, a student of international law and publisher/owner of Lucire Global Fashion Magazine and author of two books (Beyond Branding and Typography and Branding), points out, “in George Shultz's analysis of resolution 1441 the Iraq was totally justified. Tony Blair used a similar argument in Parliament. Every law has a punishment, and invasion was this resolution. If the other members of the Security Council did not expect it, they should never have passed resolution 1441. Not acting makes the Council look impotent, so in effect, the US and the UK saved the possibility of the entire United Nations collapsing—I really believe that. Pity Kofi doesn't realize it.”


When one truly studies, what historians and military strategist know about this time in history- clarity becomes so obvious. Cynical as it may sound, as we move forward in time, it would seem the explanation of- why we are doing what we are doing- has been laid open right before us. Globalization has been at the forefront of politics for many years, actually for decades. It seems globalization is an inevitable entity that we really cannot stop. As economies grow, along with technology how do we keep them separate and not have them collide internationally with one another? Technology has made it easier and faster to fulfill international transactions—both through trade and financial connections. Global markets are offering greater opportunities for people to tap into. Globalization means we all can have access to capital flows, technology, cheaper imports, and larger export markets. But globalization has its downfalls and one is- not all will necessarily receive the benefits of increased efficiency. All countries must be prepared to embrace the policies needed, especially in the cases of poorer countries; they will need the support of the international community. In order to accomplish this in a timely and orderly manner, there has to be stability.

Overall most people are not global supporters nor are they supporters of a one-world government- most would prefer we stay sovereign, but is that a possibility any longer? It would seem the snowball has been steadily gaining speed and is running down the hill to become globalization. We do not appear to be an autonomous nation any longer. We have been sliding down this hill too long and the speed gained cannot be stopped.

If this is inevitable, wouldn’t we want to be at the top of the snowball? It would appear already that several nations are vying for the position. Who will finish out the outer crust? Will it be the United States along with its allies, will it be a section of socialist Europe and its followers, or will it be the terrorists? If we were moving globally, then would there be anything wrong with cheering for the United States and her allies to be at the helm of directing the paths of democracy? Quite possibly, it could prove to be our own undoing, but again ask yourself how can we stop something that is already in motion. Will we fight for king of the hill or will we be squished under the snow pack? Wouldn’t we all rather have the captain of the ship be a believer in equal rights for all men? On the other hand, would the likes of a dictator who loved to gas those who were his dissenters be more palatable to those who despise the United States and her beliefs in freedom?

These are questions we must ask ourselves and debate them with others. Does anyone have all the answers? We need to ponder what has been taking place globally in the world of politics since the days of FDR. Where have we been heading, what is our agenda, how will we reach our end goal, when will it all occur, and why did we choose this particular direction?

Strategically when you look at the Middle East with an eye of military strategy… geographically, you could not have picked a better spot. Being at the heart of the terrorist fields, Iraq was the place to begin clearing away those who still live under the love for slitting innocent throats, suicide bombings and oppressing people. If we are working towards a global community with its foundational ties to a form of a republic, then we would have to cause those who hate western beliefs to be drawn to their mecca that spawns those who breed that type of abhorrence for freedom.

When people like Wesley Clark imply that our fighting in Iraq has caused more terrorists to become terrorists then what he shows is that he truly doesn’t understand what has been occurring for many years in the Middle East. Our military presence in Iraq did not cause a person to one day wake up and say,” Hey I really hate American ideals, I am going to go to Iraq and become a terrorist.” Wesley and others that tout his beliefs forgot terrorists were terrorist filled with hatred towards anyone that thought outside of their little box long before we came to Iraq. When the influx of terrorists came into Iraq, what it showed was that Iraq was the stronghold, the seedbed, the connection spot for terrorist worldwide. Stability is imperative for our planets survival. Even if globalization is not a part of the political agenda, the world in order to continue its advancement economically, politically and technologically must put a complete halt to all terrorists’ threats and accomplishments.

You want an exit strategy? Until Iraq is stable… and able to stand on her own with support from her allies… we will not leave. That the president has made clear. Our allies and we are now, and forever permanent fixtures in Iraq and the Middle East region. Otherwise, in the future of globalization all we will have are dictators and terrorist killing men, women and children. If we are to survive- the end to terrorism and our exit strategy is clear… we will stay until the job is done, it is essential to our survival as human beings as we move forward into a future that cannot be stopped. Globalization is here, it is what this world has become… like it or not. Bin Laden knows this, he understands this is a stand between what our global future holds.

Whose side will we be on? A line has been drawn in the sand… we must choose today. The terrorists who murder and oppress? Or the advancement of freedom, freedom to choose.


President Bush has given us all the exit strategy, “Our strategy can be summed up this way, as the Iraqis stand up…we will stand down,” it is time to listen and support our military and our allies military 100%. We need secured freedom as we move into our future- globally all of us working together.

Sources:

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200.htm#II

http://www.foxnews.com

http://jackyan.com

Altering Appearances of Jackson Still Leaves Layers of Ugliness

K L Marsala

No amount of plastic surgery can alter the decaying ugly layers over the Michael Jackson case. You can try to whiten, brighten, shorten, lengthen, break, reset this sad case as many times as you want and in the end, it still looks like a distorted freak show.

The orgasmic media coverage delivered via microphone in hand parked outside the courthouse of the Jackson trial, depicted what has become so disturbing about how we deal with people like, Michael Jackson. The misguided treatment not only comes from the media but from our judicial system as well. As this molestation case of 10 counts ended and Jackson was acquitted it appeared the scalpel of torture had left untold damage not only to Jackson, but also to his family members, his friends, and the victims of thoughtless parents who let their children share a bed with a man who needs help.

Watching and following this freakish show of charges against Jackson was hard to do. This was a talented man, who was at one time a beautifully created being. His abilities to dance, sing, write, and perform were incomparable to anyone before or after him. Now, look at him, he looks like something out of a bad alien movie, thin, gaunt, disfigured. However, the destructive distortion of what was once a very handsome man is only one layer in the many face changes of Michael Jackson that can never be repaired.

For some of us who grew up to Michael Jackson’s huge accomplishments being played repeatedly across MTV’s airwaves, seeing a rarity in its final destruction because those who surround him do not care or love this man enough to have helped him a long time ago, was a tragic scene in the history of humankind. Michael’s talents were his strengths, but underlying his musical abilities to soar must have been a monster lurking. Whether this destructive fiend was his upbringing by emotionally or physically abusive parents or other family friends and members- the outcome of what Jackson is today is still what it is, pitiful and disturbing.

Pondering the history that surrounds this man, look carefully at each layer and ask yourself- have we as a society contributed to this and what can we do to prevent such from occurring again?

Michael Jackson from a young age appeared to have it all. He and his brothers were a hit musical group. Charts flowed with songs like “Ben” and ABC.” The Jackson Five sold thirteen top 20 singles for Motown. It didn’t matter where you came from or what nationality you were, the Jackson Five were hip and that Michael could groove.

A few years passed quietly from this first glimpse of Michael Jackson and then came 1979 and MJ was back. The album Off the Wall was Michael Jackson’s first solo release. Off the Wall spent eight months in the Top Ten. It became the first album in history to produce four top ten singles. Two of his singles, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," become number one hits and were certified Gold. Ultimately the album was certified 7x Platinum in the United States.

Then the hits kept coming, in December of 1982 Thriller was released. Thriller contained a record 7 Top 10 hits, including "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller." The album spent 37 weeks at number one. From the Thriller album alone, Michael mesmerized us with his dancing abilities as he performed the Moonwalk for the very first time for a live audience in March of ’83. The culmination of the Jackson frenzy was unveiled in December of ’83 when MTV debuted the almost 14-minute short movie of “Thriller.” At that point, of time Michael Jackson had done what no one else before him or perhaps after him, will ever be able to do in the timeline of rock-n-roll. For those though that had been just sideline fans of Jackson’s career it was somewhere around the point of the release of Off the Wall that Michael began to appear facially altered. Still a very good-looking man, but it didn’t take much to understand what over hyped success can do to a person. Jackson’s sad eyes and posture told the story of a man who had begun to look like he might be uncomfortable with what was happening around him and to him.

This is but one ugly layer that many entertainers face. Uncontrolled success brings with it pressures and emotions that most of us will never comprehend. If one is not well grounded- events like those who fall into Michael Jackson’s category can push the unstable into doing odd and strange things. We can rewind our video players repeatedly and view the facial changes from approximately that point of time of grandiose success to what the camera caught of a man who looked like torment as he stepped in and out of the courtroom of his trial for molestation charges. In the physical, Michael Jackson of the Jackson Five is gone and if you listen carefully so is his spirit.

Another ugly layer to this trial was, whether you think Jackson was guilty or not, his sentencing once again let him down. Jackson is a person who desperately needs help. Any grown man who spends an excessively large amount of their time locked up on a ranch called, Neverland- and shares the majority of his time and bed with young boys needs some major counseling. Once again, though, those who surround Jackson are not interested in Jackson the person, they are more interested in Jackson the dollar sign… in my opinion. This last trial over the allegations of Jackson’s sexually perverse situations with boys could have come down as not guilty on all counts, but within that framework couldn't the courts have at least required this man to obtain some major psychiatric treatment? The poor guy has some major issues that need medical help. Leaving him to continue in the same miserable state of being a “weirdo” only leaves the chances of him being accused again of the same crime. Jackson is like an open wound and it appears those that surround him are only continuing to let his wound seep and fester.

Sure you might be thinking, “Poor Michael?” however, there are others just like him out there who need help and our system isn’t very good at helping those who need mental help.

The last layer I would like us to think about is somewhat likened to the help Jackson needs as well, and that is- what parent in their right mind knowingly lets their children go to some strange behaving persons house? Either the judicial system needs to be taking these children away from their inept parents or they need to be sentencing these disillusioned parents to some mental therapy. Why a parent or guardian of a child would let their youngest go and stay unsupervised and a person’s house who they know might not be the most stable thinking person in the world is beyond comprehension. To know full well that suspicions of inappropriate behaviors with minors might have occurred, but you go ahead and let little “Johnny” go and stay the weekend with him… you are either a complete idiot or a money seeking leech.

That is ONE BIG ugly layer in this case parents who haven’t any brains or parents who use their children to coerce money from unsuspecting and unstable entertainers. Has good common sense left a majority of parents who are supposed to protect their children or have we a large population of parents who are extortionists?

From any angle you look at this, it was a sideline freak show. The media looked ridiculous vying for the first sneeze, cough, or disguise of the day from Michael in his day-to-day proceeding in and out of the courtroom. The judiciary system didn’t help Jackson, nor his accusers get the help they need. The children and young adults who were forced to be participants of this show have been scarred. Our treatment of the whole situation has left society questioning our ability to care and help bring about balance to a lifetime of bad choices. Lastly, Michael Jackson has been left once again open to continue his mutilations of himself. Not only physically, but emotionally as well. We are teaching our youth that when you become a star, the only thing people really care about from that point on… is how much money you can make them.

Michael Jackson guilty to the degree he was accused of or not… I don’t know. Nevertheless, I do know the layers that have surrounded this man for too long are nothing short of complete ugliness and revulsion. The scalpel of abuse has carved and cut up what was once a boy who had a friend like… “Ben”.

Sources:

www.clubmj.com

http://www.courttv.com/trials/jackson/

Teens Need Sound Advice Economically Speaking

K L Marsala


Its official, your sweet sixteen birthday has been celebrated. Your driver’s license is now in hand, the entrance into your sophomore or junior year of high school will be this fall, and you have been given permission to date. Money has now become the answer to funding all your desired extracurricular activities, desires, and responsibilities. It is time to venture into the working world.

Let us look into the subject of working part-time and/or full-time. Does working during the school year impede our youth’s abilities to perform to standard or even excel? Should teens work beyond summer and continue their employment on into the school year? Does working help teens learn time and money management skills? Or does it just take away from studying, participating in sports and social activities? Are there implications to working during the teen years? How to working teens contribute to the economy? Overall, does working have a negative or positive effect on our teens?

According to various studies done on teen’s working- the negatives, if there were not parameters set and guidelines given by the parents, tended to outweigh the positives of working. Studies showed students who worked more than 20-hour workweeks had a lower grade point average than the students who worked 10 hours or less a week.
Due to fatigue and lack of preparation for the days school requirements students who worked more than 20 hours a week appeared to have a higher rate of absenteeism. Their jobs many times too, left the student without time to participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports, clubs, and volunteer opportunities.
Many researchers concluded that working students had less time to devote to homework and to complete assignments, which could possibly lead to cheating, and/or copying assignments. This also would have an effect on their testing scores.
Family relationships as well showed the impact. Between keeping up with school assignments and jobs teenagers who work have less family time. Employment has an impact on family relationships, due to the reduction in family together time.
Substance abuse statistics climbed higher for student workers who worked more than 20 hours a week. The incidences of alcohol and cigarette smoking increased dramatically.
Lastly, the studies indicated that early entry into the work force or into a harsh work environment might discourage teens about their overall perceptions of work, leading teens to develop a negative view about work itself.
It would seem most of the negative effects of employment had to do with hours per week, but a study conducted by an investigator from the University of Michigan , who surveyed 70,000 high school seniors and wondered if the same students who were getting into trouble after working long hours were the same students who would have troubles anyway. The researcher, Jerald Bachman, compared the teen’s grades, their plans for college, and if they had been retained. His conclusions established that students with low GPAs, no college plans, and a record of retention were more apt to choose a job with longer hours. So, it appeared in his research that it was not automatically long work hours causing the problems, but it was the common attitude of the student preceding their taking on the job of more than 20 hours per week.
Working though can give teens a sense of independence and self worth. Research has shown that teens who work less than 20 hours a week have the benefits of understanding time management and the upper hand on learning how to manage their money.

Punctuality seemed to be another aspect learned by students who kept a time clock of hours at work, leading them to be more responsible for setting goals and accomplishing them in a timely manner.

Becoming leaders, self-starters, managers of time/money and self all seemed to play a strong role of being positive benefits for teens who work within the prevue of parental guidelines.

Bachman, and other researchers are not willing to denounce that there are not any benefits to working part-time. Studies have shown though that the most successful job experiences are those that are closely linked to official school programs. Often referred to as School-to-Work or Work-Based Learning, these partnerships between schools and local industries provide students with invaluable learning experiences, enlightening the student into a real world experience, that in turn can strengthen their academic understanding.

Unfortunately, though many schools do not have the resources to implement such programs. Even if they do, they are not quite sure how to begin them, according to Carol Clymer, a senior program officer at Public/Private Ventures in Philadelphia. One of the vital components in Work-Based Learning programs, stated Clymer, is that it offers students the opportunity to talk about their on the job experiences with those who are involved with the Work-Based Learning programs. These programs are to be designed to give the teens time to think about what they are learning at work and to help them identify the positive aspects of work. Clymer had added, that even though her organization in particular had not carried out the necessary research on this subject, she still felt her observations clearly implied that many working students are learning responsibility, the value of working as a team, and work related communication skills.

To help our teenagers utilize all that academics and the work force has to offer- parental involvement is an absolute necessity. Schools being given the means to help build Work-Based Learning programs in conjunction with the industries in their locale would be of great advantage to our youth as well. Perhaps each individual school district could look into implementing a certain required GPA before students could enter the Work-Based Learning program.

One of the biggest influences though our society has witnessed as a whole has been the buying power of teens. On the average teens that hold down a part-time job, contribute a great deal to our economy. Marketing and research on how to entice the willing cash to be spent by our teens has become big business. There is even a marketing index set up (Teen Market Opportunity Index) which measures how certain products sales may change in the coming year. The teenager’s dollar motivation is to have fun, and they spend much of their income in this pursuit. Teens’ being able to spend freely is the key difference between their current obligations and those of their parents. Teens are not burdened down with mortgage payments, credit cards, and monthly bills. Researches know this and this influence can be seen, and heard across the TV and radio waves in daily barrages of hardcore advertising.

One of the downfalls though of teens having an uncontrollable wallet or purse is that teenagers in general are not big on saving… dollar per dollar most of their earned money is spent and very little- if any is saved. Freely spending without saving perhaps will set an undesirable trend for our future working adults. Not having a saving ethics can have adverse complications- monetarily speaking. Teens need to be taught early on that saving comes first, then responsibilities and lastly spending for entertainment and desired incidentals.


Without question more supervision and devoted guiding need to be given to our teens, adult involvement will help give them find the balanced insight needed to be first successful academically and then confident enough to step out and handle working. Then they will have been given the best of both worlds so that they may go on to college and perhaps obtain a work position in a job they will really love and enjoy each day.

With a coin in hand to spur on economic growth, a few pieces of paper in the savings account to grow tomorrows future and a sound investment in a complete education our teens of the future hold brightly colored rainbows of happiness, hope and contentment.

References:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm01/FS08.html
http://inside.bard.edu/academic/specialproj/darling/transition/group27
http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/FENR/FENRv13n2/fenrv13n2p64.pdf
http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/1998-ja/working.shtml
http://www.ecrm-epps.com/Expose/V3_3/V3_3_A8.asp