Like, You Know, Texting For $50,000!

Not too long ago a friend was catching me up on news about a mutual friend and her family. During the conversation she informed me that this friend's son was so adept at texting, he could do it with the phone in his pants pocket, without looking. I shook my head. I thought the accomplishment dubious. Here was a young man who succumbed to lust rather than the education he once aspired to at the Air Force Academy.

I thought little more about it until I listened to the noon news today while having lunch. LG Mobile has just finished up its 2009 National Texting Championship. A 15 year old from Iowa beat a 14 year old for the title and the grand prize - $50,000!

No wonder our kids are dismal failures when it comes to their studies. They have far more important pursuits with instantaneous and lucrative payoffs! It's not dealing drugs, though it is definitely an opiate of sorts! How else would you define an average of 500 texts per day?

In reading the description, this competition would appear to be the electronic version of American Idol or Britain's Got Talent! what with the qualifying events in cities around the country and competitions around the world with a grand total of 250,000 people participating!

A world championship, if you will, is planned for fall. The "mobile world cup", pitting the winners from the U.S., Korea, Brazil, and where-ever else these competitions have been held, against one another.

Okay, fun is fun. But you know what? I have a real problem with a prize of $50,000 for a 15 year old. One who "joked" about buying Coach handbags and a pony. Was she joking? How about stashing it away for an education that might give you skills to get through life after texting?

I know, I know. I'm old. I don't get it. Watch the video and see if you do. Then educate me!



In the meantime, I'll borrow the quote from the winner, to sum up my thoughts. "I'm just, like, stunned right now!"

Animal Fare

Saturday morning I was in the bathroom splinting my finger when I glanced out the window and saw a deer staring back! Wow. Our yard is fenced and Bacchus was out there somewhere. It was really cool.

I miss seeing deer in the yard. When we lived in Rochester we had them all day every day. I never tired of seeing them. Here, we live on the prairie and while deer are plentiful they like more cover than we have. She was back yesterday morning too though I'm sure she'll move on soon if she hasn't already. Oh, yeah, Bacchus was sound asleep at the end of the deck and never moved.

When he did move he was snorting and coughing so hard I was afraid he'd have a heart attack. Hub assured me it was just allergies. It continued all day, getting worse, and I was becoming quite concerned.

By Sunday morning I was so concerned I suggested calling WSU to see if it was really allergy or a combination of that and his heart. They had us bring him in and since it was a group of new people unfamiliar with Bacchus and his problems they were at a loss as to what to think. They sent us home to follow up with our vet. 200+ miles and several hours later I'd decided having a medical emergency on Sunday does not bode well. Fortunately Hub was correct; I was the one being paranoid.

Today we had the follow up x-rays done and his heart is fine. Well, let's just say his condition is stable. The allergy issue was just that. We're trying a new medication to see if it will make him more comfortable. Other than that Benedryl will do. I did get the "I told you so" when I got home.

All this got me to thinking, the last time I posted about visiting Ollie I alluded to a goose that had come in for treatment while I was there. My blogging friend Linda wanted to know about him so this one, once again, is for Linda! Uncle Raymond, the goose, is doing just fine. They pinned his leg and it's expected he'll make a full recovery.

Back to business as usual. My finger splint is history, and the stitches removed. With that in mind I'm ready to tackle Obama's health care plans! Maybe tomorrow.

It's About The Power, Not The People

Everyone who knows about our problems with Iran knows that newly re-elected President Ahmadinejad does not rule the country. He is but the puppet of the 12 man Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One would suppose that this august group listened to Obama's speech in Cairo. One would also suppose they rejected his outreach outright! While many may still be in awe of our new President, as is the media, our adversaries are not. This weekend's election seems to me to be a resounding rejection of all things western, especially the United States.

It has forced Obama to turn the other cheek only to get it slapped by our questionable ally, Israel. He must be stinging this morning as he tries to convince the AMA his health plan is a good one. Well, he does have two cheeks left.

In an effort to spin some positive news it is reported that Netanyahu's statement that he'd support a Palestinian state is a positive step. It's spin. Netanyahu put such harsh conditions on the possibility of it happening, it is as remote as a woman getting hold of the one for the family television! For starters he will not halt the expansion of the illegal settlements, wants to forbid the Palestinians a military and control of their air space. Right.

If you wonder why the Palestinians are so bitter, study the map above to see how the Israeli's have grabbed off territory since the original Partition in 1947.

None of this has anything to do with the Holocaust, though everything is couched in that excuse. This is about power and territory. Netanyahu is betting the Obama administration will roll over and play dead or get so mired in the muck it will be as ineffectual as past administrations.

I expect he is correct. There's not much we can do about the situation in Iran other than wait and watch. There isn't much we can do in Israel but wait and watch. We don't seem to have the stomach for meaningful sanctions nor the cutting off of funds. In our case war is not an option. We'd not fight the Israelis under any circumstance and we haven't the manpower available to go full bore against Iran.

That leaves open the worst possible scenario. They'll go against one another. That would be a holocaust that would make the one the Jew's suffered pale in comparison! Something akin to Hades in the Holy Land.

Too Many Intelligence Chiefs?

Let's see. We have Leon Panetta as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, James Jones as National Security Advisor and Dennis Blair as National Intelligence Director. Do we really need three? Especially since Panetta and Blair are engaged in a turf war with Jones as the designated referee?

It seems to me when we're at war on multiple fronts with more looming, it is not the most opportune time for these boys to be at one another's throats!

The issue is whether or not Blair, whose job was created after 9/11 to better coordinate intelligence efforts, should be allowed to place people of his choosing in our embassies. This has been under the purview of the CIA for decades. With 16 intelligence operations, the oversight for purposes of cooperation makes sense. Their unwillingness to share information is thought to have been a major factor in the 9/11 attacks. Would it be prudent of Mr. Blair to work on the cooperation end of the deal rather than creating conflict?

Granted, the CIA hasn't been doing the best job possible in recent years yet with Mr. Blair's plan I foresee a conflict of loyalties among the personnel which would lead right back to protecting information which has failed us before!

This hit the news yesterday noon full bore yet has disappeared from sight today. It didn't even last one news cycle and I was beginning to think I had imagined it. But no. With some searching, I found it today on Newsmax.com.

It is too serious an issue to be under reported. If it means embarrassing those involved then so be it. If Jones can't sort it out Obama had better. We wouldn't want the world to burn because our Intelligence operations are fiddling. Would we?

With Ahmadinejad having won the Iranian election, we have a pretty good idea how his masters feel about the U.S. We're going to need all the good intelligence we can muster!

Who Are The Uighurs And Where The Heck Is Palau?

In Obama's rush to close down Gitmo, he has found himself with a problem. What to do with the detainees. Though one is already in this country for trial, Congress had said none would be allowed. So much for Congress.

A bigger problem concerns those detainees who are of questionable guilt. One such group consists of 17 Chinese Muslims who are not unlike the Tibetans in their desire for independence from China. According to NPR , they were sold to the U.S. military by Pakistani bounty hunters for $5000 per head.

It is now reported by many sources, including Refugee Settlement Watch that two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, said the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.

Wow! $200 million of our taxpayer dollars to a small group of islands encompassing approximately 178 square miles with a population of 20,303. It's religious profile is 49% f Roman Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, the Assembly of God , Liebenzell Mission, latter Day Saints and 33% Modekngei which is their indigenous religion. The missionaries have sure been busy here for their return on recruitment! This place is virtually in the middle of nowhere!

Now on to the Uighurs themselves. Their province, Xinjiang, borders Afghanistan, several of the "stans", Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan and India.

It is chock full of pipelines and is rich with oil, natural gas and mineral resources. No wonder China wants to keep them in tow! To do so they have been flooding the province with non-Muslim immigrants and are allocating to them the best jobs and housing. Gosh, why would this build resentment?

Having been a major stop on the Silk Road, the Uighur converted to Sunni Islam in the 10th century. Between 1933 and 1944 they established their own independent political state, the Islamic Eastern Turkestan Republic, which was soon quashed by the Red Army to aid the Chinese Nationalist forces.

Much like the Tibetans, it should come as no surprise there is a movement afoot to regain their independence.

Which brings us back to our seventeen. They were in neighboring Afghanistan hoping to receive training and return home to join the fight for their homeland. They have been sitting in Gitmo since 2001.

The Chinese want them so they can execute them. Bermuda has raised all sorts of diplomatic nightmares by agreeing to take two on a temporary basis and of course there is the issue of Palau.

Another fine mess! There is a lot of truth in the statement "One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter". Perhaps things would not be so complicated if some discretionary action was taken before tossing people in prison and literally throwing away the keys! There has certainly been no rush to justice here!

As a footnote, if we are in fact willing to pony up $200 million to relocate this small block of detainees, what's it going to cost us to relocate the rest of them? Just think, if the Uighurs should win their fight against China, they may not be able to lend us any more money!