Iraq Parliament Bombed Along with Imus, Duke DA and Missing Intelligence

The bombing in the Iraqi Parliament, the first ever, shows a huge security breakdown that puts everything in jeopardy.

Last night I heard Joe Klein speak at the Progressive Forum – he mentioned that 2 of the 3 Iraqi units in Baghdad don’t speak Arabic (only Kurdish). Obviously our forces don’t speak Arabic (we still have too few translators).

That leaves us deaf and blind in a knife fight for control in a foreign land controlled by competing forces. Having U.S. forces with Arabic speakers should have been a priority from Day 1 (had it been planned) to our decision makers avoid stumbling around clueless in the dark without a clue of what is really going on in Iraq.

Mr. Klein spoke well of Gen. Petraeus (sp?), who is excellent at what he does. In my opinion the General has been dealt a poor set of cards leftover from the previous players who made a mess that has gotten out of control like a wildfire. Finding an intelligent exit strategy is critical – and made even harder by the legions of blunders that define this war.

I think the only people who had it right was the Baker Hamilton Study Group. If they were in charge, I think Iraq would have a chance. Without them, I see a failed state that has increased our global insecurity. It could have been avoided entirely if elder Bush’s advice had been followed from the beginning…

On the Imus matter, it’s time for people like him to be GONE. His remarks were more fo the same: a total lack of respect for struggling people, and women. That is why the U.S. has fallen from an 85% approval rating after 9 11 to 22% worldwide today.

And the DA who prosecuted based on false accusations at Duke should also be GONE. And so should frat boys who think it’s cool to get drunk and hire strippers to gawk at for “fun”…they too should be GONE. Their conduct didn’t merit false claims, but again, they weren’t acting like a Christian boys choir as they downed bottles of beer and hired minority girls to strip. ..No one looks good in that case..

What do all of these events have in common? A lack of Intelligence, and a lack of respect for others...

Iraqi Insider - Tells What Went Wrong With the War

An Iraqi insider has written a book on what went wrong with the war. It is a must-read for Americans who want to learn from the mistakes that could turn Iraq into a failed state....

It is not an easy read, but it is something everyone needs to know about so that it is never-never repeated. The cost in blood and money is high enough when war is managed properly. When its not, lives that could have been saved are lost forever. Check it out...

P.S. And if you think we've got the majority of Iraqi (Shiites) on our side, check out this article.

Don't Blame The Soldiers

The British sailors and marines taken hostage are now catching heat for their activities in Iran.

This is unfair and wrong. These young people made statements required of them by their captors. Who in that situation wouldn't do the same? They were isolated from each other, alone and in a dangerous situation. The armchair critics would have probably done as much, or more, had it been them in that strange situation. The bottom line is that they came back with their heads attached.

Today I came across some American soldiers checking into a hotel - one had a purple heart from Iraq. Five or six fine young Americans getting some R&R. If it had been them instead of the British in Iran, I would have not cared if they had to sing songs and dance if that kept their heads attached. The Iranians acted far better than the Al Qaeda creeps in Iraq.

I'd like to get all our troops without losing another one to an IED or a sniper.

Brits release - Tit for tat

As I said, the release of the Iranian held in Iraq would be a sign that the British hostages would not be held for long.

I expect more Iranians held in Iraq will be also released as part of this "tit for tat" exchange. No one died and no shots were fired. Amazing what diplomacy can do when used....

The interesting thing was how skillfully Ahmadinejad (don't hold me on the spelling) played the part on the world stage - releasing them during Easter.

We need a global American President who can wow the world without firing a shot.

My puppy Paloma (photo on Feb 11 entry) ate a hole in the wall and is driving elder dog Lex nuts...she's been chewing on my elbow while I've been typing this. Her way of helping...

357 mph on the GROUND? No Thanks MAGLEV yes

A French train just hit a record 357 miles per hour running ON TRACKS (right photo), with cars full of reporters, most of whom were terrified. Bad idea to go that fast with track contact so critical - derailment could be caused by a penny on the track. Shanghai's MAGLEV makes more sense for high speed - since magnets cause the entire train to hover over the trackway. On the left is the Shanghai MAGLEV, the world's first (made with German technology).

MAGLEV would make sense for a city like Houston, which has over 5,000 square miles of area compared to the tiny footprint of places like New York. But a train going over 350 mph on steel rails that warp in the summer, etc. - NO WAY. Britian has had several derailments at much lower speeds (125 is their top speed).

Meanwhile in Houston, we have only a single, street grade rail that won't set any speed records. I still wish we had the vision to build what makes sense for Houston - a super fast link to each airport and the city center. A MAGLEV could make the airport run a 20 minute pleasure instead of today's hour(s) long pain.

It could also be a backup way to get around when the road wrecks or floods cut off our primary transport system (roads, roads, roads).

But I don't see that happening - just "more of the same" slow surface rail which will be stalled with everything else in the next flood...and even that is decades late in being built. This is one area where the Toll idea makes sense - set it up as a Toll MAGLEV private/public project, with the first link from Intercontinental to Downtown or Galleria...(or both).

We should get in the global game with a MAGLEV or equivalent rail system connecting our airports to the city...

War with Iran?

Is war with Iran next? I published an article today that there are indications of increased military focus by the U.S. on Iran - our reservists being shipped to Iraq are being told their job is to "intimidate" Iran. It wouldn't take much to turn this into a shooting war.

Yet, Iran is not Saddam. They are playing a good game of "tit for tat" --i.e., you take our people hostage we'll take some of yours hostage. Note this article that a top Iranian captured in Iraq has been released.

Want to bet that the Brits will be released soon?

If we go to war with Iran, Americans will pay a high price that will make Iraq look cheap.

The bigger threat is Al Qaeda that may well get a nuke before Iran does. Iran has a lot to lose by using one; Al Qaeda, which has no territory, missiles or cities, has nothing to lose...

Iran's Hostages

This week I made an appearance on Houston TV to talk about Iran's capture of 15 British sailors. An article has come out in Russia which claims the capture was planned. It probably was.

I was almost in Iran in 1978 when Americans ended up being hostages for 444 days - it cost Pres. Carter his job. I had been scheduled to be a contract attorney on a naval base being built for the Shah. Luckily, another job came along instead or I could have been one of the hostages.

This episode could drag on. The importance to the U.S. is evident. It could wider the Iraq war or result in a greater loss of life. My thoughts of how this could play out are on the TV clip.

The "persistence of the unforeseen" and events beyond anyone's control could sweep the U.S. into a deeper mess in the Middle East...

Attacking Iran: Another Bad Idea

A news article suggests that the U.S. should bomb Iran's nuclear facities "before the end of this year" to avoid potential fallout from something that may not happen for years. This is another bad idea - remember Iraq?

If people think that attacking Iran won't come with some "payback" then they are really mistaken. Iran could fire a supersonic missile that would sink an aircraft carrier with 5,000 Americans on board - and that's just for starters.

If our government leaders buy in to this stupid argument, then Iraq will look like a child's game compared to the body count that a conflict with Iran would generate.

Come on guys, you have to be more creative than bombing people you don't like. Russia has been providing Iran with its nuclear technical help. They need to quit - and we need to make that attractive.

We don't need another war based on wishful thinking and stupid assumptions that result in a bigger mess in the middle east. Iran is a long way from being a threat.

Despite the article urging Iran be bombed "by the end of this year" no bombing needs to happen this year. We have more time than that. People don't need to be stampeded into another foolish war. We already have our hands full in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In case no one has noticed, bombing Iraq has not fixed any problems.

China Beats NASA in the next Moon race?

China Beats NASA's return to the Moon? It could happen.

It’s important to us as a nation and here locally in Houston because this is NASA’s home. It's important because whoever owns the “high ground” --and space is the highest ground-- will have a vital advantage over all other countries. Weapons in space threaten all.

China has come from the country of bicycles that I saw on my first negotiating trip to Beijing in 1982 (I’m the long haired guy on the right in this photo taken in the original Peking Hotel during pollution control technology negotiations. The chief Chinese negotiator was Ms. Wang, the woman facing me) to only the third country on the planet that has put people in space and brought them back safely.

NASA’s funding from Congress in past years has been a roller coaster ride. It needs a steady secure flow of funds to take us to the next level. As it stands, the shuttle will retire years before its replacement is ready. Business would never tolerate letting a model become obsolete before having a replacement ready.

I just read where our primary satellite for tracking hurricanes is about at the end of its life – but NO REPLACEMENT has even been ordered -- although it will take 4 years to build one! Is anyone competent running our government? A hurricane satellite for the millions of us living near the coast is a necessity, not an optional expenditure. Many lives are at stake as we found out during Katrina.

What happened to common sense planning? The lack of it could cost us the next Moon race. The lack of a satellite could increase the loss of life during the next hurricane.

Real leadership, with some foresight, is needed…

Pakistan Lawyers Riot

Did you see the news about 3,000 LAWYERS Rioting in Pakistan? What an amazing sight. It's a protest over the firing of the country's top judge by the dictator-President Musharraf'.

Apparently the judge wasn't doing the President's bidding. In the U.S. courts are independent, not puppets to the President or Congress.

All the lawyers got out and boycotted the courts. We Americans who truly believe in justice, democracy and freedom should support them in their cause.

At last report Justice "Chaudhry has been confined to his official residence in Islamabad and journalists are barred from meeting him. The government denies reports that he is under house arrest."

President Bush should also voice his concern about this anti-democratic development in Pakistan. Remember, this is the country where Osama bin laden is reported as hiding out in the remote, autonomous regions across the border from Afghanistan.

If Pakistan's legal system becomes an unjust instrument controlled by the President instead of the people, Pakistan's leader (and key American ally regarding Al Qaida) could be replaced by a Khomeini-type extremist -- just like what happened in Iran when the U.S. supported (and corrupt) Shah fell. Or he could be ousted by another military dictator that lacks democratic ideals or public support.

It would benefit the U.S. to see justice done by supporting these Pakistan lawyers. they are fighting for an historic American tradition - justice and fairness.

Mistreatment of Vets – Putting the Incompetent back in Charge

People seem to be missing the point on the scandal enveloping the treatment of Iraq war vets at Walter Reed. It seems to be an endemic problem, as reported by soldiers and their families from around the world.

You can’t blame that on just the guy who was in charge the last six months. The solution? They put the former head of the unit in charge! How long under his command has the same thing been happening? Why put back in charge one of the people who was either incompetent or indifferent to notice rats and filth in his hospital, designed for the vets returning from hell in Iraq? Is anyone thinking?

I don’t think the answer is putting back in the same people who created and/or ignored the problem. A whole new leadership team needs to be brought in.

Congress is missing the point by focusing only on the last person who had just dropped into the driver’s seat. NONE of them bothered to go look at their own facilities, or they would have seen the rats for themselves.

We need intelligent, hands on leadership, not more blind bureaucrats…but that’s just my opinion. What’s yours?

Asia's sneeze - Wall Street's Pneumonia

This is a first.

It used to be a fall in Wall Street lead to a fall the next day in the Europe markets. Now it is the fall in Asia that caused today’s 500 point drop on Wall Street.

That alone should signal how the world has changed. The old saw was “If Wall Street sneezes, Europe catches cold.” The new version is if they sneeze in Shanghai, Wall Street catches pneumonia, from the looks of that negative 500 point plummet. And it may not be over.

Welcome to the 21^st Century of Asia’s financial dominance. With China gathering billions in reserves (and IOU’s) from America’s heavy borrowing to cover our deficits, it was bound to happen. Borrow-and-spend policies have gotten us into this dangerous state where our finances are affected by far off events like a China economic hiccup. If China has a major banking crisis, Wall Street could totally melt down.

Now that we need MORE information on the events in other countries that can impact us and our fortunes are ever more tied to events in far off lands, our our news media continues to cut their foreign news bureaus.

This will cost us valuable perspective on trends we need to be aware of to avoid future financial 9 11’s which can be as deadly to retirement funds and economic vitality as human terrorism.

Anna Nicole and the International Conflict of Courts

One thing coming out of the odd case of Anna Nicole Smith is the conflict between courts – from different states, and now, from different countries. Courts in California, Florida and the Bahamas are now involved in this case. I've seen this before as an international attorney.

It points out that we need a better Interstate and International court system. As it stands, we have courts in three places delaying both the burial of Anna Nicole and the DNA testing of the contesting parties. The DNA testing should have been a “no-brainer” that took less than a day for a judge to order. It has yet to happen.

What if there are conflicting rulings between the Bahamas and Florida/California on these issues? Does Anna Nicole become the next Mao or Lenin, lying in state for decades under glass?

Conflicts between courts in different states can be resolved by the US Supreme Court, no problem. The problem is when there are conflicts between US courts and courts of other countries in cases like this where “time is of the essence.”

The issues of money and property can take years to be resolved. THAT is normal.

But when a person can’t get buried for weeks because of the courts, something needs to be changed. The delays could open the door to international court conflicts (in this case between the Bahamas and State Courts) –where there is no Supreme Court jurisdiction.

The alternative may be that Anna joins Elvis mixed with Mao under glass.

Protecting Dogs and Kids

I discovered a new use for XO Armor - the window film that protects property from hurricanes, burglars and bullets. It also keeps little dogs from breaking glass that would hurt them. Here is a video of Paloma, testing the new XO glass. Lexie (the red dog who appears in the video) once broke this window by pawing on it.

Now, that can't happen...For more info check out my website or the Google Video link.

"Fat Tuesday" - Closing our courts to justice

I spent “Fat Tuesday” online and drinking lattes at a Border’s near where my car was being fixed – it needed a new A/C before our famous Houston heat returns. It’s supposed to be near 80 the next couple days. Quite a change after freezing the past month.

Today an American court ruled that prisoners at Guantanamo in Cuba had no right to access to U.S. courts if they weren’t American. Somehow this seems un-American and against our system of rule of law and justice. I hope Congress changes this ruling. We need to make the government prove at least some kind of case to keep people locked up. It's called American justice.

The day finished with news that “The British are Leaving” Iraq, leaving American troops on their own. Ironically, it was the British who designed Iraq to be unstable when they got it after WW I from the losing Ottoman’s. It was designed to take a strongman like Saddam to run it—combining Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds who had been independent until then. We will be paying the price for that intentional policy, alone, for some time to come.

It seems odd that we are accepting only 7,000 Iraqis when it was our invasion that has turned over 1 million Iraqis into refugees.

The worst news was that wounded veterans returning from Iraq have had to stay in some of the worst conditions - the Walter Reed outpatient facility had rats and mold --and a bureaucratic paperwork nightmare. Outrageous.

We can do better than that --on all counts.

State of the County - Serves Pork for lunch

I attended the “State of the County” event today in Houston, the one in which Judge Eckels announced his retirement. The room was packed. They introduced Mayors, Commissioners, city council members from countless small towns around Houston (and perhaps all the dogcatchers and a waiter or two).

Halfway through the meal, I finally asked my tablemates the burning question I had: “Why was the main course, PORK?” Ummmm.

It was good for a laugh. I’m sure it was an unintentional double entendre. The dessert was a winner - chocolate heaven.

On the international front, the deal cut with North Korea on its nuclear reactor shows that diplomacy can work, and at a fraction of the cost of war.

The invasion of Iraq proved one thing. It proved that the decade of the UN sanctions had worked very well – Saddam had closed his nuclear facilities and had no real weapons left. Sanctions (and the offer of oil) pushed Kim Jung Il into a deal. If diplomacy can work in a strange place like North Korea, it can work with Iran and elsewhere.

If anyone thinks provoking a war with Iran would be “a cakewalk” they are mistaken. It would make Iraq look like a picnic. Unlike Iraq, Iran has sophisticated weapons like the supersonic cruise missile that could take out a U.S. aircraft carrier, etc. An aircraft carrier has a crew of 5,000. The death toll would exceed Iraq's in no time...

Meet Paloma

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A white blur faster than a speeding bullet. Meet Paloma...the wonder dog.

There is not a safe dandelion outside when she is around. She eats them. And fuzz balls. She'll come running up with one sticking out of her nose.

Saturday night we got a an emergency medical call for a family member. It turned out OK but only after we got back at 2 a.m. Apparently the odd hours wore out the pets - Paloma fell asleep with her head on my chest when we got back in.

The air quality in Houston is so bad that I am concerned about her health --and that of all the kids growing up who spend time outside. We have a higher cancer rate in this area than the rest of the state. Houston's Mayor White has taken a much needed leadership role to clean up our air. That is vital to our future.

Next time: Meet the vacuum cleaner my wife calls: "R2D2." It's German made -- and so good it should be a candidate for President. Why? Because it's absolutely great at cleaning up messes. Isn't that what we need?

Anna Nicole Smith

The sad case of Anna Nicole Smith, another Texan with a flamboyant and troubled life, deserves mention.

I wonder why the judge had to force the parties to wait to rule on DNA on the child’s paternity. The issue of paternity of her 5 month old girl is a key question. DNA testing instantly resolves that issue, rather than subject people to years of debate in courts. This is just common sense.

I don’t see why a judge has to hold up a funeral once DNA evidence is collected from Anna. With the test we’ll know which of her lovers is the father. Case closed.

We should focus on solutions instead of how long we can litigate the paternity of a 5 month old innocent child. The biological father is the only thing she has left now that her mother is gone.

That is the part of the Lisa Nowak case that is also sad --that she left 3 children behind when she went on her trip. Who was taking care of them?

I think kids are the No. 1 priority - in all these cases...Courts should move faster to protect them.

On another note, Sen. Obama jumps in today. This is becoming a fascinating Presidential race developing...

Welcome to Texas – It’s a Whole Different Planet

You may be wondering what is in the water in Texas.

A NASA astronaut based in Houston drove 1,000 miles wearing a diaper to confront another woman, and love rival, in a parking lot -- and the conservative Texas Governor just executed the first-of-its-kind executive order that all 12 year old girls will received an HPV vaccination, alienating his own party. The Gov also wants to sell our lottery, which is putting $1 billion a year into our schools, to private business.

Welcome to Texas. It’s a whole different planet. If we have a 21^st century close encounter with aliens, it will most likely occur in Texas. How could aliens resist landing among all our eccentrics and free thinkers? The Gov might offer to sell them the lottery, since he’s already offered all our future toll roads to foreign companies. Why discriminate?

As for me, I’m relieved I’m married and not dating anyone from NASA. I really don’t want to chance a love sick astronaut landing a Shuttle in my driveway to impress me.

Don’t be afraid to visit Texas folks. Our eccentrics are just bigger (headline grabbers) than anyone else’s! If you want dull and boring, then visit another place.

Next Time: Elect a Smart President (and Team) or die

With all the talk of who’s “running” for President, all I can say is that I want someone SMART next time. It has gotten so serious that it will take someone with a SMART team to save our hides -- and half the planet-- at this point.

I once had the dubious honor of negotiating with Iraq in the 70’s—when I was with a Fortune 500 company named Brown & Root (which was owed $2 million for a rig they built for Iraq). I was just a young lawyer and a fresh hire. I saw how it all worked. They had wanted to base me in Iran for a naval base being built for the Shah – that was just before the 1979 revolution. Luckily, I was recruited by another company and missed being one of the hostages held for 444 days.

Now Iraq could be the next version of Iran –where secular equality is replaced with a mindless extreme version of religion running the government.

With Iraq spinning into a black hole, it will challenge even a SMART President and his/her team to keep it from igniting a Middle East nightmare. With nukes at center stage.

My read is that the Iranian people are moderates like Americans – they don’t feel comfortable with radical extremism in religion. Their women like to wear lipstick and met men like they do in America. They don’t want to live like women in Saudi -- who can’t drive or be seen with a male who isn’t a relative or husband.

To help them, and the ordinary Iraqis suffering in the bombings and strive, and others, let’s get smart, quick! "More of the same" will not work any better than it already has(n't)...

Iraq has dramatically increased, in my opinion, the liklihood of another 9 11 or worse. That is why I am focused on working with high tech security products such as XO Armor. The one thing people can do in these increasingly dangerous times is to protect themselves where they spend the most time - at home and office. It's being used for blast protection in airports as well - which could save many lives if a truck bomb went off.

Walking a Mile in Another’s Shoes

It has been rightly said, if you want to learn something about someone, walk a mile in their shoes.

I was reminded of this when our dryer went out -- then the washer died a couple days ago. Forget Iran, THIS is SERIOUS. When the dirty laundry is piling up, is it a world crisis at home. Action can no longer be delayed. We should try this tactic in Washington sometime.

Many Americans have had it so good for so long that they (we) have forgotten what it is like for those who don’t have such luxuries. God just reminded me that it is CRITICAL to have a working washer/dryer to be remotely civilized. One trip to the Washateria was a real eye opening experience for my wife.

We have to find solutions to make civilized things like appliances, clean water, better jobs more accessible – worldwide.

One of those civilized things is the nano-technology product I became involved with --XO Armor. It provides a tangible security for protecting people -- right here, right now. It is a major upgrade to the most vulnerable thing that surrounds us – glass. I am discovering applications worldwide.

Since becoming the accidental Counter Terrorism advisor in 1991, it is amazing how much of our world has become focused on security--necessarily.

I believe that it will remain that way in the space-global-nuclear-nano technology 21^st Century.

I will be traveling extensively this year, viewing security from a global perspective.

Tom Friedman's piece today (Jan 31 2007) on Iran should be required reading in Washington. Iran has a long history of protecting its minority Christians and Jews who live there, despite their current weird President. Our other allies don't. We can't afford further mistakes.

Leading the World We Know Nothing About

Well, this is scary. America leads the world - yet check out what these American know - or don't know - about it. Yikes.

An Hour with Congressman Lampson

I ended up spending an informative hour today with our new CD22 Congressman Nick Lampson today. It is great having a representative who is down-to-earth, focused on solutions and not arrogant.

Nick is very thoughtful and is interested in helping CD22 get the transportation and security options that were ignored or delayed by the former Congressman (who remains under indictment). As a result we are a decade behind in our commuter rail – and short over $100 million that Houston would have received, except for Mr. DeLay’s striking it from Houstons Metro -- and giving it to other cities like Dallas who are now ahead of Houston. Ft. Bend has tens of thousands of commuters to the Medical center and downtown that could have used it to cut the increasingly clogged freeways.

We briefed Nick on the International Festival for Ft. Bend County that some of us have set up as a non-profit entity. More on that later. In the meantime, I believe that we have a great representative for CD 22. Normally CD 22 would have a representative from the minority party. As it stands, we have a rep with the majority in Congress. When it comes to the good of the district (getting road/rail funds, etc.), that is very important.

Oh yes, despite her close call with the Minou’s “Paws of Death” yesterday, she escaped without a scratch.

Puppies and Presidents - Cuba and China

Puppy Paloma is learning that life can be strange. One of our cats has tried to make friends; the other has tried to kill her for getting too close. That has to be confusing for her.

But probably no more so that the latest State of the Union when the President sounded more like a Democrat and it was his own party sitting on their hands. Maybe puppies and Presidents have things in common after all.

I attended a World Affairs lunch. The speaker Joachim Bamrud, editor of the Latin Business Chronicle, gave an excellent briefing on the state of Latin America. Despite Mr. Chavez, business is moving in. He thinks Latin American countries will swing back towards the center.

He made an astute comment about Cuba. Young Cubans would love to embrace more freedoms and democracy, but currently their incomes and livelihoods are tied to Cuban government paychecks. He said if those same young people were working for U.S. or foreign companies (say, at hotels, etc.), then they would have the freedom to defy the Cuban status quo.

This confirms what I’ve thought for a long time. Our policy towards Cuba should be the same as it has been towards China – engaging in economic trade will eventually change the rest. Young Chinese love business and traveling, and not Communism.

But policies can be strange things too…

Arnie & the Women for President '08

The Chinese curse is "May you live in interesting times." It is definitely becoming interesting....

It is becoming a "Cast of Thousands" – The Prez Race of '08 is ON.

One person I wish was running for President is someone who has been coming up with innovative solutions on pressing issues from greenhouse gases to our future needs. CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a great President.

Why? Because he’s a common sense, creative Centrist with innovative ideas on addressing these major issues in a bipartisan, solution-focused manner.

But under the U.S. Constitution, Austrian-born Arnie is not eligible to run for or be President. That is a shame. He has been doing tremendous job in bringing California into a leadership role in 21^st Century issues. He also has the critical global background a President and his/her team must have if our country is to succeed in a techno-global 21^st century in which more and more countries control their own nuclear and space technology.

Should the rule be changed? Maybe.

It won’t happen before 2008 so the next best thing is the Gov’s wife running for him!? We already have our first possible woman President as an official candidate, but we need more. There are no women candidates for President on the GOP side so far. Why not?

I have come to the inconvenient conclusion that it will probably take having the women in charge to civilize this planet anyway. Raw facts are facts. The men haven’t managed it after several thousand years in command --and we seem to be further away than closer to it.

So what do we have to lose by giving the Presidency to a globally experienced woman? For that reason I’d like to see several more women candidates running for President in ’08.

On the home front Paloma, the white fur ball puppy, is going at warp speed. Lex, former beta dog has shifted to adult “mama dog” setting limits. Paloma is a blur bouncing off the walls.

So are the growing "cast of thousands" running for President of this great country in 2008.

China's Space Weapons - We need Prez with Global Strategy

China just destroyed one of its aging weather satellites with a new space weapon. If it can destroy a satellite, then all satellites including our military satellites are vulnerable as potential targets. We could be seeing the beginning of a new space race - a race to put weapons into space.

Or ban them. The militarization of space is a big issue that needs to be discussed.

I think we made a mistake by not including China in building the International Space Station. It would be better to have them part of the global team pursuing peaceful joint projects instead of pushing them away from us so they can focus on building their own space weapons systems. That could put us in a 21st Century version of the last cold war. The changes in China since my first negotiating trip there in 1982 are incredible. They have gone from bicycles to rockets in a generation.

Our next President needs a global strategy for handling these issues before entering office. The candidates need to share those plans with the public. It won't help us to pick a President with little experience beyond our border. We can't afford to have a chief executive guessing which advisor is right or making it up as we go.

It won't help us as a country if the next President and his/her team have no real world experience in cultures as diverse as Asia's and the Middle East. We need someone who knows how cultures think; we don't need someone guessing what to do with billions of dollars and lives at stake.

We need a President in 2008 (and beyond) with worldwide experience and a strategy to keep America in the global game. China is just one example of that challenge in this new global century.

When the World is a Mess, Save Somebody

If this one day of ice was our worst ice storm of the season, we will be very lucky. My wife says the one ten years ago was much worse – nearly a whole week of ice. I totally missed it so it doesn’t exist. I had just left for South Africa (which is having summer now) and had no idea. The whole thing happened while I was gone.

I say this: “When the World is a Mess, Save somebody." A few days ago my wife discovered a puppy at our vet that had been found living under a house with her mother and siblings. They may not have survived this last storm. Fortunately, a lady who cares found them. Thank god for people like her.

Since we lost Henri several months ago, our other dog Lex has seemed lonely and bored. I’ve been busy but noticed that she wasn’t eating much. So we adopted 3 month old “Paloma” – (in photo) Spanish for “Dove.” She was the last one left. She is a white fur ball mess. She was soon into Lex’s food and Lex suddenly became very interested in what was happening to it.

If you are interested in my latest article “Time for a Surge in Diplomacy” here is the link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/

People interested in getting Global American articles have to add themselves to the mail list at that location. I don't add people. So far, more sign up than drop off, so the list keeps growing.

Weird weather. What’s next?

Army Logic is Killing Our Troops

The U.S. army seems to be in another world from reality. American troops are being killed by RPG’s – rocket propelled grenades –in Iraq. Right now, there is nothing to stop one from hitting a U.S. vehicle once launched.

However, our ally Israel has developed an operational system called “Trophy” that shoots down RPG’s before they kill troops. It works. It is available TODAY.

Yet the army decision maker geniuses above them want to wait until 2011 to put a defensive system into operation to protect troops from RPG’s! Army engineers have approved Trophy but not the geniuses who want to protect a U.S. contractor more than our troops.

In the Army’s upside down logic, it’s better to spend billions and wait years for the arrival of an American system—to be build for $150 billion by Raytheon-- rather than using an available Israeli system. This is nuts. How many troops will die because of this strange “Alice in Wonderland” thinking?

How is this supporting U.S. troops?

Someone in the army hierarchy needs to face court martial for gross stupidity and indifference. Apparently the army brass thinks it is more important to give the business to Raytheon and let troops die for the next 5 years instead of protecting them NOW with currently available life-saving technology supplied by Israel.

It explains why this war is going badly and why recruitment rates are down.

Global oil power grabs, a plant accident, and big decisions needed

While America is focused on Iraq, Russia cut off oil to Germany and Poland today, showing how vulnerable Europe is.

The nutty part is that Russia did it because they are mad at – Belarus (not the Germans). But when you cut a pipeline you cut off all consumers, not just a few.

In Venezuela today, Hugo Chavez declared plans to nationalize the electric industries.

Here in Sugar Land, our day’s surprise was a strange, white cloud that filled the blue sky over a NALCO plant. The news had us wondering if we were breathing toxic fumes. The wind was from the north so it blew over highway 59 -- towards neighborhoods with lots of kids. Many elderly live on highway 90 near the plant. If the wind had been from the south it would have blown “whatever it was” over my offices in the Sugar Land Business Park. Traffic was blocked off on the highways in SW Houston.

I wondered what would happen if motorists were caught in noxious fumes from a plant in this or a future accident? I had planned a trip to Richmond, the county seat, on highway 90 but that would require going next to the plant spewing an unknown substance.

So I went another direction. (Bush may or may not be about to do the same in Iraq).

Other than global oil power grabs, a plant accident, and big decisions needed on Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Russia, etc., it was a beautiful blue, cool, Texas day…

Get all Americans on a routine health program

History was made yesterday in America. The first ever woman was made speaker of the house. Instead of being sworn into the new Congress, I was getting my first ever colonoscopy.

Both went smoothly. Both were significant.

Which was more important? Both.

Because without health, what do we have? At 57, it was past time to get checked.

It was painless. It was simple. It took only a couple hours of time. The doctor found nothing to be concerned about. Others have found dangerous polyps. Many have died because they never got checked, so I encourage everyone to make it part of ongoing health maintenance.

Rep. Nick Lampson from my district in Texas (CD22) recently felt ill at dinner and had to be rushed to a hospital. It turned out to be a clogged artery. It was easily repaired and now he’s doing great.

We should treat people like aircraft, not cars. Pilots learn that you fix things on airplanes before they break; is a routine. People often wait for the part to fail to fix their car.

Preventive medicine is essential. Waiting can be too late. Everyone should be on a schedule to get certain annual/bi-annual checks.

How else to get warnings of life threatening problems?

History was made. Now what is important is bipartisan cooperation replacing mindless partisanship. We need solutions to common ground problems, from energy to Iraq.

I propose that Congress consider a way to get all Americans on a routine health program.

The Global American Series for Youth

On New Year ’s Eve I was at a party by a member of our church when the young teen came up to me and asked: “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Bill Gates?”

“No,” I said. It was good for a laugh.

But like Gerald Ford, I think Bill Gates is a unique leader of his time – because of his global vision to help those most in need.

While talking to that young man, the grandson of another church member, I realized something. It dawned on me that the youth of our country need a worldly education to thrive in this new world.

Therefore, I will be working on taking the “Global American” series to schools. Part of it will teach what President Gerald Ford taught us – the value of honesty and integrity.

Gerald Ford was a unifier. He inherited the tough job of extracting the U.S. from Vietnam. He had no demons, no hit list. He did not develop a big ego or a personality cult. He had common sense. He could work with members of both parties. We need more like him.

Goodbye Mr. Ford. We shall miss you.

More announcements will be forthcoming.

Outlook for 2007: Potential nuclear 9 11

I think we are going to find that Saddam’s death irrelevant. Because he’s been replaced by a bigger force – Al Qaida and Islamism.

Forces larger than Saddam were unleashed when Bush & Co changed focus from Afghanistan to Iraq. Yes, our leaders finally got rid of Saddam, -- and ironically produced yet another one as a result of this war. The sad irony is that we may be getting only a new Saddam after spending hundreds of billions and over 3,000 American lives.

The name “Al Sadr” was shouted by Saddam’s death witnesses at his hanging. The sad irony is that Moquata Al Sadr is a Shiite killer and thug no different than Saddam, the Sunni killer and thug.

In Afghanistan, Osama had little to work with (land of rocks, few people, not much to blow up). When the war on Iraq began, it opened a new opportunity for Al Qaida (home of Babylon, epicenter of the Middle East and 26 million people divided into three groups who hate each other, and lots of stuff to blow up). Despite reports to the contrary about Saddam and Al Qaida, Saddam hated Osama bin laden and vice versa. Bin laden was a religious nut; Saddam was the non-religious nut. When the U.S. knocked out Saddam, it opened the door to Iraq’s wealth for Osama’s supporters that he didn’t have in Afghanistan.

So the violence in Iraq is now nothing about Saddam. His execution will do little to change things. It is about control and Sunni vs Shiite vs Kurd.

Worse, Al Sadr has Iran as a backer. Since Iran is headed by an extremist this does not bode well for 2007 and America in Iraq.

The timing of executing only Saddam --and not his two associates who were also sentenced to death -- on a Muslim religious holy day associated with Martyrs looked odd. It looked like hasty, frontier justice. Executing him and the only two after the holidays would have worked better and avoided another instance of cultural fumbling.

Iraq has now killed more Americans than 9 11. Yet it appears a greater danger has been generated as a result of the war, and from the continued silly mistakes made in running it…

We are heading for a nuclear 9 11 if our leadership doesn’t wake up and make some key changes soon. And the biggest threat isn’t even in the Middle East.

Saddam's Execution

"The Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement that said Saddam's execution was a "strong lesson" to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people."

Let's hope so. But I don't think his death will slow the killing in Iraq. I don't see Kim Jung Il shaking in his boots. Dictators are becoming extinct - even Iran and Venezuela elect their leaders. And don't forget, the U.S. actively supported Saddam in the 80's in his war against Iran.

Note Saddam's last words, shouted from the gallows: "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: 'God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab."

That reference to Palestine points out an uncomfortable truth - the issues facing Iraq are regional. Finding a solution to the Palestinian issue is vital to reduce future terrorism and war.

Saddam's departure won't change the core problem that has created instability in the Middle East. It won't reduce the violence until we actively engage in finding solutions to the Palestinian issue.

For the past six years there has been little engagement by American leadership. Unless that changes, Saddam could have the last laugh...

James Brown v. Gerald Ford funerals

It's interesting to observe the difference as James Brown is honored at the same time as President Ford. Apparently Mr. Brown will have at least three changes in attire. That is something new. What is standard is his fans doing the "second line" - the New Orleans celebration of a life with upbeat (usually jazz) music that is last part of a funeral.

Mr. Ford will lie in State after a private ceremony for his family, and probably wearing the same suit. Two giants, so different in life and their rituals after death, but both sharing a history of having had a positive impact on millions.

In southern Texas today we are getting a series of rains coming up from the Gulf. I prefer rain to the 4 feet of snow that just hit Denver. I grew up on a farm in snow, milking cows. It (snow and milking cows) is something best seen in pictures. I can drive in the rain but on ice a car is like a pair of skies with no brakes...whoa! And I prefer my milk fresh off a shelf at the grocery store...

Will Killing Saddam Make Things Better?

December 28, 2006

We are back from New Orleans. Despite this being my anniversary at dinner tonight I found myself wondering if rushing to kill Saddam really make things better in Iraq? Will an appellate ruling made before Saddam’s trial transcript arrived for review make Iraqi justice better? It almost looks like they are trying to set a speed record.

I didn’t like him or trust him. But my gut says that killing Saddam in a rush won’t solve anything, and may even make him a “martyr” and leave us open to charges of hasty justice. Why not try him for some of his other crimes before carrying out a snap execution?

I think the most interesting thing was Saddam’s letter calling for peaceful co-existence and discouraging attacks on foreign (e.g. U.S.) troops.

As it stands, Saddam will be tried, convicted and executed before former CD 22 Rep.Tom DeLay’s first appeal is even heard on one of three criminal charges. What is that going to say to the Muslim world? Our criminals sit on death row for years. I hear reports that Saddam could be executed within 48 hours. It would appear Iraq does not have the American legal system.

I’m not sure that an execution of Saddam now will even send a warning to the world’s dictators, who face no such fate for crimes no less serious.

Bottom line: It is a judgment that needs to be made by the Iraqis, not Americans, but the timing and rush to execute may make things worse.

Gerald Ford: Role Model for Future Presidents

Gerald Ford

I got the news about former President Gerald Ford’s passing while in New Orleans. After driving through the 9th ward and checking the recovery effort, we got the news that John Edwards was also in the 9th ward – and will declare his candidacy for President for 2008 tomorrow.

I remember Mr. Ford taking over from President Nixon after Watergate and the tense college campuses and protests at the time. I was a university student at UT (pursuing a BBA) then. Ford’s taking over the Presidency was an immediate improvement in the atmosphere in Washington and the country when it happened. Nixon had created a strange atmosphere that split the country. He was paranoid and closed; Ford was honest and open.

I think that whoever is elected in 2008 will produce a similar change in atmosphere. We’ve been long on fear and short on hope. We’ve been long on preaching to the choir and short on making wise decisions with our budgets and international relationships. (For example, it turns out the Saudi’s –not Saddam--are the source of radical Islam that is mass producing Osama bin ladens.

Mr. Edwards is but one of many who will enter the 2008 contest—Democrat and Republican-- with ideas for our future. People are hungry for fresh leadership. Too bad our laws prevent Arnold schwarzznegger from running for President. He’s taking a leadership position on global warming, etc.

The battle of (Presidential candidate) ideas is starting early. The next administration inherits staggering deficits, global economic challenges from China to India and a Middle East being consumed by radical Islam. Anything could happen.

With the Bush administration being so lame duck and offering nothing new to pay attention to, I expect the public will be increasingly focused on surveying the upcoming Presidential beauty contestants and their talents in 2007...one question is what they will do with New Orleans, an important oil/shipping port for the U.S.

The Secret of An Nil

I happened to catch a CBS News report last night about a neighborhood in Baghdad that has been spared the bloody violence sweeping the rest of the city. It’s called An Nil, a mixed area of Sunni, Sunni and Christian. They have lived together for decades and became friends as well as neighbors. They are protecting each other now.

That’s the secret. Only by people of different groups living next to each other – instead of segregating each group – will this insanity stop. Otherwise we more senseless killing will continue ad nauseum.

It’s not unlike the same weird thinking that had Protestant’s and Catholics shooting each other in Ireland until a few years ago. There is nothing worse than people proving the superiority of their religion by killing other people. They lived separately and isolated lives. Hate breeds in such environments.

The policy being discussed by some U.S. officials to favor only the Shiites because they are the (80%) majority will be a disaster if implemented. It will fuel the separation and the “ethnic cleansing” already going on. The minority Christians, Muslim Sunnis and Kurds will suffer. I don't think it represents the American model of diverse groups each having a voice in government.

The An Nil neighborhood is a model of what needs to be replicated on a country-wide basis if there is to be success in Iraq.

An Nil also happens to describe what makes America a success. In my neighborhood and neighborhoods across this country all ethnic groups, including Muslim and Christian, peacefully coexist as neighbors. We need to encourage MORE of it, not less. Without it, more troops won't change anything.

Riding the Stick Pony

It appears that the people of Iran have given their extremists a “thumping” and voted against Ahmadinejad’s hard-line cronies, favoring moderate conservatives instead.

This is a good sign. It shows that even Iranians are tired of extremists running the government and messing with them.

By the way, why are we negotiating with North Korea but refusing to do the same with Iran and Syria?

Last night my wife took me to “Fajita Flats” in Stafford for my birthday (a mere 57). They put on my head the largest hat I’ve ever seen – it must have been four foot across. At least they didn’t make me ride the “stick pony” around the place as they did with a friend of ours from church. LOL. You know what a stick pony is right? The pony's head is on the wooden stick.

I read that Mr. DeLay has said in his blog that he predicts the next President in 2008 will be….Hillary Clinton. Wow. It’s rare for me to agree with him, but I think he’s calling that one right. We’ll see. The sight of her as President would be shocking enough to the women-hating extremists like Ahmadinejad that he may end up riding the 'stick pony' if the Iranian people don't beat her to it...

The Chinese Underworld and U.S. Immigration – Iran and the Holocaust

I was watching a TV program on the people smuggling operation run by Chinese criminal gangs, like the Triads. The peope smugglers are called Snakeheads. Charging $40,000 to smuggle desperate Chinese into America where the worst place is still better than the best place in their village, it fosters an entire criminal enterprise exploiting these people in our own country. They don’t just dump them. They spend years in America paying off the Asian smugglers who brought them here. Imagine their market - 800 million poor Chinese.

The groups change constantly. It occurred to me that our system guarantees gangs like this business, because there are very few ways for people to come legally and work. Yet we don't want to have 800 million people move here either.

Other global smugglers promise women jobs and force them into prostitution instead. Children are forced into the global sex trade.

American agencies need to work closer with their counterparts in Asia, Europe and around the world to fix this. We need a new approach to international legal enforcement –and immigration-- to put these crooks out of business.

Without it, the global trade in human cargo will continue. Little is being done.

On Iran and the Holocaust - The sight of Iran's Ahmadinejad hosting a conference with David Duke for the absurd purpose of delaring that the WWII Holocaust is a "myth" shows the danger of letting any country be run by a religion and its extremists. It would be funny if it weren't so serious. It also proves that extremists come in all colors, and so does prejudice. None of it is good.

The Global Threat: Muslim vs. Muslim War

A new report says that a majority of Americans support the Baker Report’s recommendations on Iraq. “Fifty-seven percent believe Washington should reach out to its adversaries Iran and Syria in an effort to stabilize Iraq. And 61 percent believe Washington should launch a new and sustained effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Apparently the President is not one of them. While Al Qaeda is a tiny fraction of the trouble in Iraq, he wants to focus on them. Killings by Sunni and Shiite extremists are the bigger threat to security. However, Mr. Bush doesn’t want to talk to Syria and Iran even when the fire is getting out of control. This is not a good sign.

Neither is the fact that we have the beginnings of a medieval Muslim vs. Muslim regional conflict beginning to take shape – Sunnis versus Shiites in Lebanon, Iraq, etc. The Saudi Sunnis are adding fuel to the fire by sending money to the Iraq Sunni insurgents. Hezbollah is ready to take over Lebanon. Most of us could not tell the difference between Shiite and Sunni (frankly, they all look the same), but it’s a big deal to them. It’s the same blind ignorance that fed the Catholic vs. Protestant mindless killing in Ireland. But with 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, it could be much a bigger problem.

This could even bring in the Islamic part of Russia into this spreading war and ignite separatist moves by Kurds in Iraq, Turkey and Iran, etc.

Meanwhile, the President seems to be tossing the Baker Report into the trash cam. If so, Iraq could become the flash point for a Muslim on Muslim war that won’t give Israel, the U.S. or anyone any security.

Baker Report on Iraq

The Baker Report says that the situation in Iraq is grave and getting worse. Yesterday I got a call from a local TV station and today I went in to Fox to talk about the Baker/Hamilton findings.

They always hit you with questions you have no time to prepare for. One thing I recall saying was that we still have very few intelligence specialists. I saw a recent video where the heads of our government agencies in charge of intelligence could not tell the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, etc. How comforting to know our intelligence chiefs are clueless on the Middle East four years after 9 11. We need a Manhattan project on intelligence, since we have so little of it running our government agencies.

If the President does not follow the Baker report recommendations, then the Pandora ’s Box in Iraq that was unleashed by this administration will produce even more horror on a larger level, even globally.

Our government’s policy so far has been an airplane crash. All we can do now is to try to salvage what we can and move on…I have a suggestion. Maybe Bush should invite Iran's Ahmadinejad to a girly show to start the negotiations! If they end up at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, anything is possible!

Richest 2% Own HALF the Wealth

It's been reported that the richest 2% now control ONE-HALF of the world's wealth. If this trend continues in the U.S., the Middle Class that is the backbone of this country will be destroyed - and our economy will become like a third world country (yes, like Mexico, etc.). And check this out: While the "average wealth" in the U.S. is about $144,000 in Japan it is $181,000!

Fresh Start With Bolton Departure at UN

The President has an opportunity to make a fresh start with the resignation of John Bolton from the UN post. He was the wrong person, at the wrong time, with the wrong approach. He needed a Dale Carnegie Course. He basically told everyone else they had bad breath and big faults while not admitting our own. That’s not exactly the way to win friends and influence people.

This is a chance for the President to “move up” and appoint someone who can turn things around, like the replacement of Mr. Rumsfeld with Mr. Gates. We need someone with the skills and personality to forge a better relationship with the international community at a time when it can only go up.

In the past that person would be someone like former Sec. of State James Baker. I doubt he’d want this job, but we need someone like him as UN Ambassador – a realist who can talk to a diverse crowd. It was Baker who helped the first Pres. Bush assemble the broadest coalition ever assembled during the first Gulf War. Let’s hope the President picks someone of Mr. Baker’s caliber instead of another narrow ideologue who irritates people and does further damage to America's image.

Kidnappings in Mexico and Our Drug Policies

I just published an article on the kidnappings of Americans in Mexico - and how it is tied to our failed drug policies that generate billions for criminals. The problem is getting worse, not better. This article provides more background on the problem.

Now for something completely different. Check out this piece on a 2,000 year old computer. Wonder who the original Bill Gates was?

Immigration solutions

For a great article on immigration --and potential solutions--check out this article.

I sent out an article today on the ties to the kidnappings of Americans in Mexico by drug gangs --and how U.S. policies are generating hundreds of billions to international gangs. The link to the article is at:
www.InternationalLegalGroup.com

Mayor's Plan on the Homeless

I heard Local 2 news report tonight that Houston has 14,000 homeless and that it would take “$25 million to solve homelessness in Houston.”

The reporter said that number is “impossibly high” to reach and only $1 million will be invested. Really? Now $25 billion would be impossible. But we spend more than $25 million on pet food in this city. If we can solve homelessness for that modest investment, then private and public cooperation should make it so--now. Mayor White, to his credit, has a plan that calls for using abandoned apartments etc for this effort. It should be pursued.

If you haven’t had to sleep on a street or in your car, then maybe it doesn’t matter to you. It matters to me because I came close to homelessness in the bust of the 80’s. It matters to the families living on the street. If we are to be truly civilized, making this modest investment is a plus for our community.

Raining in Houston as President Circles the Planet el al

It’s raining in Houston and the President is in Estonia, the first U.S. President to visit. Bush is becoming an internationalist finally. Meanwhile, the Iraqi leadership is meeting the Iranian Prez. Iraq is falling apart and a regional war is very possible. In the absence of American leadership talking to the Iranians, Iraq’s leaders are doing the right thing. They are looking into the abyss of a civil war that is already happening, whether we admit it or not.

Actually, this is something the Iraqis need to be doing instead of having the U.S. trying to do it for them. But we still need to talk to these countries one on one as well. We have issues with Iran in nukes and Syria on insurgents coming across the border intent on killing American soldiers as well as their brother Muslims, so we still have a vested interest in our President’s team meeting with these countries among others. Lebanon is close to sliding back into hell, mostly due the Syrians.

While all of that is unfolding, I spent a good part of today trying to get a new desktop computer to talk to the printer at the office, while the laptop refused to connect to the wireless. Phones were acting squirrelly also and I had no umbrella handy when the skies opened up. Mondays after a holiday aren’t Iraq, but they are hell in their own way…lol.

Nov 22 - Reminder of JFK. We need another one in 08

I still remember what I was doing on this day in 1963 – the day JFK was assassinated and our world changed forever. I was a 14-year old student in class in Rockwell, Iowa. We were stunned when the news came – that the President had been shot and killed. One kid laughed, but only one. I’ve since learned that some people laugh inappropriately when nervous. All I knew then was how mad it made me to hear someone laugh. All of us were in shock. The whole country went into shock that day. I always remember all these things, and JFK, every November 22. It’s one of those special dates that is branded in your brain, like the day in April when my father was killed in an auto accident just before finals at UT.

Remembering November 22 also reminds me how pitiful our leadership has become. Politicians have replaced statesmen. Respect and intelligence have been replaced with dogma and picking loyalists over competence. I miss having a JFK in office. He represented someone vastly smarter then us – smart and witty at the same time. I no longer feel our leaders are smarter than us, or witty. JFK brought us hope and color visions of space and community. Today, it’s all about fear and refusal to talk—while the Middle Class is abandoned. Even Ronald Reagan talked to the Soviets, the axis of evil at that time. Our leadership has wrecked our budget, allowed lobbyists to double in two years after more than 200 without them, and has put too many incompetents in key positions that are costing too many innocent people their lives. One example: Mr. Bremer was sent to Iraq but no one bothered to read former Sec of State James Baker’s (Baker Institute) paper on how to run post-conflict Iraq. If he had, he would have NOT fired the Iraqi army -- and sent them home with their guns to kill our own troops. Apparently not even the President read it. If he had, why did he allow it? The President has attacked Syria over the latest assassination in Lebanon. Yet he says nothing about Russia’s Putin -- who is doing the same thing as journalists are killed along with his critics and private enterprise and American oil investments are being confiscated by the State Look into his eyes again George. He’s still ex-KGB, and he didn’t fall off a turnip truck.

I feel like our team is still sitting in the turnips. I miss JFK. In 2008, we need another leader of that caliber. We need a fresh, global Presidential team with a real strategic plan to address the burning global issues that affect our future. I want to hear McCain’s plan, Mr. Giulani’s and Mrs. Clinton’s, etc.

I want to know who would be on their team and what they can do to correct the mess we are now in, now that we are trillions in debt and trapped in Iraq…Who is the next JFK for America?

President 2008 - Only those with Global Expertise Please...

I think it has become evident from 9 11 and events in Iraq, Iran, Korea, etc. that our next President will need global experience before taking the office.

We cannot afford to have another President finding out about how the world works “on the job.” One doesn't learn much about the planet in a motorcade. One sees the world differently --realistically--when you've been across the negotiating table in venues around the world.

It was those global trips for a Fortune 500 company that introduced me to Saddam in 1979 and the evolution of China. Which brings me to the next point: The next administration needs to have a global strategy – not just a domestic one. And no more just “making it up as you go.” In other words, what will the next President do to expand trade and reduce global tensions? World events are as much of being President as dealing with tax policy and domestic issues.

What we don’t need is someone who is guessing what Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Iraqis, etc. are really like and following advisors theories. We don't need paranoids on the right nor blind optimists on the left. The NeoCons made assumptions about Iraq that any international negotiator who has made deals in the Middle East would never make. Because Mr. Bush had never been in those countries before taking office, he believed his advisors and their (flawed) theories. He has paid a high price for it.

To the contrary, his dad, Bush 41, HAD been "out there" and has a realistic view. That is what we need back in office. We, as the most powerful country in the world, cannot afford to elect a new "Captain of our ship of State" in 2008 --Democrat or Republican-- who has never sailed the global seas before taking office. As we have seen,the learning curve is too steep, too expensive and too prone to cause dramatic failures and a loss of U.S. image when our top officials are strangers to the world in which we live. The same can be said about our Congress reps.

Keep that in mind when the hordes of (Presidential) candidates emerge... It's the global, 21st Century and we'll need global, 21st Century Presidents for the rest of this century, and beyond....

Finding Nukes on a Laptop

An unemployed U.S. Citizen was arrested in Detroit after they discovered over $70,000 in cash on him – and a laptop with nuclear information. He had been in Nigeria and came back via Amsterdam, and was heading for Phoenix. How weird is that?

I’ve been to Amsterdam and Nigeria – not your normal nuclear hotspots. Very strange. It is the spread of nuclear technology that poses the greatest risk to all of us. A few years ago I did a TV program which talked about people from Columbia being discovered with nuclear material in Germany. There is a global black market that our government needs to monitor very closely.

I see where our temporary Congress rep, Dr. Sekula Gibbs, had seven aides quit today—all who had been employed with Mr. DeLay, who resigned after an indictment. They said she was “mean” – and she says they may have destroyed files. A soap opera doesn’t get any better than this. Stay tuned for more strange news from Texas...

Getting Security - From airport to Iraq

When I came back from Iowa, my “Old Spice” cologne was confiscated at the Minneapolis Airport check in. I am now watching local TV tell me how they stopped seizing liquids. UMMM. Someone didn’t tell the folks in Minnesota.

The BIG question now is what to do to “fix” Iraq. Baker’s group is about to release their report. A major course correction is a certainty. It will be a tough row to hoe since sectarian violence (Muslims killing Muslims more than Muslims killing American troops) has become the bigger problem.

Expect regional negotiations, including Syria and Saudi, to be called for – that’s my guess.

Setting a specific time to pull out is risky but the troops will have to come home at some point. The trick will be defining it.

Robert Gates is a great pick to replace Rumsfeld.

The President should also replace UN Ambassador Bolten. Again, I wish it could someone like James Baker. It wouldn’t take much to be an improvement over Bolten. Imagine you had a neighbor that told everyone how awful they are, then came around demanding respect and support. Doh! Bolton apparently missed the Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" but seems to have a degree from the Saddam Hussein School of Diplomacy...

Lessons from this Election

As a former candidate for District 22 who ran against DeLay before it was fashionable, it is my opinion that this election has the following lessons: Voters hate extremes and the sad truth is that the GOP has been dominated by extremist partisans like DeLay for too long.

The GOP has forgotten the middle class and regular people. It focused on the top 10%, the lobbies and the so-called Christians like Mr. Haggard, who condemned gays while being one, and Mr. Robertson, who called for assassinating a foreign leader and called for a bombing of our own State Department.

We are a nation of many colors and many religions - not just one. It is time for common sense Centrists to be in leadership. The Democrats were the wise ones who moved to the middle - as centrists. If they stay there, the people will prosper and we will finally address critical issues like the greenhouse gases killing our global home, prescription drug costs, etc. that were ignored by the GOP majority.

I ran as a Centrist Republican had lost, even after Mr. DeLay was indicted. What kind of denial is that? What kind of values? I ran as a Centrist independent, which dropped DeLay to 55% in 2004 and started his downhill run. Until the control of the GOP moves back to the moderates and they start selecting Centrists instead of extremists, I will put my trust in centrist Democrat candidates in this and future elections. This GOP has no tolerance for Centrists or moderates, so they might as well switch to Democratic party. We don't need one subgroup of one religion running the GOP (as it is) and our country like they do Iran. We don't need a personality cult in the White House that only listens to 'yes men' nor do we need any one religion running our government. America was founded to get away from that in England.

I supported and voted for Nick Lampson as one of those fair minded centrists that are missing in the DeLay type GOP. He was picked by voters. The GOP candidate was picked in a back room instead of the voting booth this year, thanks to Mr. DeLay.

Voters around the country felt the same. That is the lesson in this election...

Brave New World

It’s a brave new world folks.

The amazing thing about American democracy is how well grounded the public is. They automatically pull politicians back from the extreme. They are the Captains of this American ship of state. Extremes left or right are not tolerated. It is as if they are the ballast that keeps us on an even keel.

On election day I was at a lunch listening to Colonel Kim Olson at the World Affairs Council describe what happened when she was with Gen. Garner in Iraq – when Mr. Bremer came in with orders to dismantle the Iraq army, etc. That act created an instant insurgency of hundreds of thousands of angry, unemployed men who were discharged with their weapons (and they knew where all the ammo dumps were). Gen. Garner was so angry, he said: “You’ve just bought 2,000 body bags” and walked out.

He was right. We’ve lost over 2,000 so far. Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation is a step in the right direction.

I wish Mr. Gates good luck. Col Olson felt that there is still time to “save” Iraq. Let’s hope so…

The Election & Conviction of Saddam

I’m glad the political ads are about to go away. There comes a time to stop the campaigning and just VOTE to see what a majority of the people want to do. I predict BIG changes tomorrow, in many unforeseen ways as well. Change can be good -- and is often necessary to break out of a rut.

I went to my stepfather’s funeral this weekend, in Iowa. When the military honors team handed my mom the flag, I could see the emotion in that man's face. I knew that Pete had been part of their team for many years, doing this same thing for countless others. I could tell that it was not just an official statement, but a personal one that each of those men felt. They had lost a friend. They saluted his casket on his final trip. Pete was a great role model as a stepfather. He shall be greatly missed.

The trip also provided time to visit my 98 year old grandmother, Lydia, who lives in nearby Garner –everything in Iowa is 10 miles away, without traffic. I couldn’t believe how nice that was. Grandmother will be 99 in February and looked really great.

On Saddam’s death penalty: Big surprise. But if they execute him, as much as he deserves it, I believe it will further divide Iraq. It already is widening the rift between Sunnis and Shiite, guaranteeing a civil war and a failed state.

If they want to start the reconciliation process between Sunni and Shiite which will be necessary to get a stable country back, a compromise will need to be worked out --perhaps life in prison without possibility of parole.

No question that Saddam deserves a cruel death, but there is already plenty of that in Iraq. We also need to take into consideration that it was our own government that helped create this monster – we supported Saddam in his 80’s war against Iran (during the Reagan administration) and sold him weapons, some of which he turned against his own people. Mr. Cheney was visiting Saddam as late as 1998 on behalf of Halliburton. Killing him won't make our guilt less or solve the problems in Iraq. Besides, we should worry to be on the same side as the Ayatollahs of Iran, who have called for Saddam's execution, overlooking their own brutality, such as sending boys as young as 5 to walk the minefields as a way to clear the path for their tanks in that war... No one has clean hands...

But Saddam's fate is the Iraqi peoples’ call, not ours. Our role is not to be world dictator. But they need to find a way to reduce the anger. Further alienating 20% of the population by executing Saddam won’t stop the bloodshed. In fact, it could increase it even further as things spin out of control by bad decision after bad decision….Go ahead. Don't believe me. They didn't listen when I talked about terrorism coming to the U.S. in the 90's either.

Goodbye Pete

My stepfather, who was 81 and a very fine man, passed away yesterday. Pete served in WWII and married my mom after my dad was killed in a car wreck when I was a junior at UT Austin. I know he is with God and with Henri, our beloved dog.

With all the deaths in the family in the past couple months I have paid little attention to the political campaigns (when you are no longer a candidate the thrill is gone). I believe the Democrats will end up with control of the House--due to Iraq--and that both sides will have to find common ground in the middle. But the only ground I will be covering is a funeral in Iowa tomorrow for a WWII vet who was a great role model as a stepfather...

Iraq War's Impact on Jordan - & the U.S.

I just got this email from a Christian friend in Jordan I'll call "Duane" that put a chill down my neck:

“Hi Mike,The situation here in Jordan is tense. A number of Iraqis have come over to Jordan. This has had mixed results though. Some come with money and businessskills, which can lead to higher prices as demandincreases. But many of the Iraqis do not have a good income, and they are (mostly) not permitted to work orsend their children to public schools here. Imagine having children at home with you all day, not being able to continue their elementary or secondaryeducation!Jordanians are mostly negative about the impact. Rent and gas and basic food prices have all gone up in price. But my hope is that as many of them are secularly minded or Christian, the influence on Jordan will be positive in the long run.”
(End of email)
Wow, I thought when I read it. This is news we rarely get here in the U.S. It should tell us that the spill over effect of the Iraq war is trouble and could destabilize some of the surrounding countries like Jordan –because of the economic cost.

We don’t have the luxury of waiting much past Nov. 8 to hear the Baker-Hamilton commission’s recommendations on Iraq. Our troops are facing burnout – and the military is so thin it could not respond to another global crisis, say if North Korea and China get hot.

Europe Delegation -- Terrorism & Rush Limbaugh

I gave a briefing to a European delegation from 11 countries yesterday. Very fascinating people, representing countries from Macedonia to Austria. While the briefing was on terrorism and trade issues between the U.S. and Europe, they mostly wanted to talk about terrorism issues.

My view is that we have always had terrorism and will also have it – even if it is a nonreligious nut case like Tim McVeigh or a religious nut case like Osama bin laden --but with more powerful weapons in the future.

We will need to cooperate internationally to avoid future acts of terror with more deadly weapons that could include compact nuclear bombs. It affects not just the U.S. but all countries, as we saw in the bombings in London, Madrid, etc.

The numbers of terrorists may grow or decrease, depending on how things are handled.

If people like Rush Limbaugh continue to mock those with diseases like Michael J Fox, then the number of people who want to blow us up will increase-- especially if they think we are like Limbaugh. Limbaugh made fun of Michael J Fox who has Parkinson's and wobbled in an ad. Limbaugh wanted drug users to be jailed and executed until he became one (on Oxycontin). Maybe “Rush” needs a dose of a disease like Parkinson's to get a little empathy beat into him. Maybe Limbaugh needs to change his tune or spend some time in jail for drug use if we are going to apply the same rules to everyone. Or do the rules not apply to the rich or radio hosts?

Michael J Fox could go low and mimic Limbaugh on Oxycontin use, but Mr. Fox is a decent guy who doesn’t have the hypocritical meanness that has become standard in today’s leaders.

I have had enough of arrogant, stupid people and policies. They demean our values and our country’s greatness. That is why I tried to convey to the Euro delegation that America can be a leader without being arrogant or stupid.

TX Senior Senator Breaks with Bush

This is huge. Texas Senior Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is splitting off from Pres. Bush on Iraq. She says she would not have voted for the war if she had known then about the WMD situation (they didn't exist). But her idea to split the country up into separatist regions for Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis only makes it more likely to draw in Turkey and Iran to a larger regional mess. But hey, who’s listening? It’s like hearing the Captain of the Titanic say: “Stay the course!”

And now I see where there will be a GOP ad showing Osama bin laden’s face. Why?

Is this to be a reminder that Mr. Rumsfeld & Co. failed to catch bin laden when they had him cornered at Tora Bora –and sent in warlord troops instead of our own? Or that the Anthrax killer is still at large 5 years later? (I still believe the Anthrax killer was NOT a Muslim but was an American with a sick mind. We don't know because "he" is still at large...) On the political front, many conservatives I know are telling me that they are voting either independent or Democrat this year.

"Ethics and Being a Christian Attorney"

Yesterday I got a unique opportunity to speak to aspiring law students at TSU about “Ethics and Being a Christian Attorney in the U.S. and Internationally.”

Since they represent the future I thought it was a valuable investment in time. TSU has young, bright, diverse group of students from everywhere.

I told them a lawyer should “treat people the way you want to be treated, with respect” and “do not let emotions of a client cloud your own professional judgment.” Focus on solutions. Don’t file Motions for Sanctions on frivolous things – it cheapens the process and dilutes your credibility.

They asked insightful, astute questions. One asked if being a Christian made it difficult to work with Muslims. I said no, that there was a difference between ordinary Muslims and extremists. I had been to Mosques in Houston as well as churches, Jewish temples, etc. When you get to know all the religions, the sermons are all about being better, doing good, taking care of your family. People everywhere basically want the same thing –peace, opportunity, family and food. The extremists are a tiny minority – and they don’t like anybody outside their small circle.

Then we had the best part – lunch…!

On another subject, I see where the “terrorist threat” to hit 7 stadiums with dirty bombs was an idiot competing with another idiot to see who could come up with the best “story.” Don’t these clowns have a life? And these were white men, if I have the facts right. If there is a jail for morons, they are serving life terms…

Houston's Image in Turkey -

I was at an international real estate lunch today where a lady was talking about a recent visit to Turkey.

She said that people are not really fond of Americans in that area, but when they found out the lady and her group were from Houston, the Turks warmed up considerably! Apparently, what Houstonians did for the evacuees from New Orleans made a deep, positive impression even in remote parts of Turkey. The lady was told that Houstonians are viewed as kind, generous and good (vs. ugly) Americans…Imagine that!

James Baker "Hard Work, Study and Stay Out of Politics"

I went to hear former Sec. James Baker speak at the World Affairs lunch today. There must have been over a 1,000 people in the ballroom at the Hyatt downtown.

To my amazement, I went down, before the crowd arrived, to see where my table “6” was located. A young woman was putting name cards on it. When I saw “James Baker” on one of the cards I realized I’d been put at the speakers table –either it was an honor or a mistake. I decided to check. Apparently someone at the table had invited someone else at the last minute so they gave me another seat at table 9 (the flip of 6).

His new book is entitled after a saying of his father: “Hard Work, Study and Stay Out of Politics.” He gave an interesting talk. He talked of the pain of losing his first wife to cancer at 38 and how Bush 41 got him into politics right after that. Despite losing that first election still led to serving four Presidents.

He didn’t want to discuss Iraq since it had potential to be an election issue and his report "remains unwritten despite what you hear" and won’t be coming out until after the election. At the Q&A, people were sparse at the microphones at first, despite the huge room (or because of it) so I went up and said:

“Mr. Secretary, my name is Michael Fjetland. I have to say that I wish I’d read your book BEFORE deciding to run for Congress.” That got a laugh, even from the Secretary of State. Then I asked something about Iran and North Korea and sat down. People started lining up at the mike after that. Mission accomplished.

I found out from someone who read Mr. Woodward’s book (State of Denial) that Woodward thought Mr. Baker should take Rumsfeld’s job. That was the first I’d hear of it -- funny to think we both thought of the same thing independently. I suspect a LOT of other people have had the same thought lately as the news from Iraq gets more discouraging.

It was great to hear someone who really knows how to make the U.S. look good and manage global issues with the skills of a lawyer, negotiator and diplomat all rolled into one...