Day: May 6, 2011

Posted on

I just love the Duplicity of al-Qaeda

I Was reading an article about al-Qaeda threats in the wake of bin Ladens demise.

Aside from the usual blah blah blah Jihad blah blah blah Allah blah blah blah blah Allah blah blah Jihad blah …

A couple of things stuck out.

1) “Men and heroes only should be confronted in the battlefields …”

Oh yeah? Hummm let me think about that. Where the World Trade Center once stood I don’t see a battlefield and I didn’t see armed combatants there on that September morning.

2) Their statement complained about our “mistreatment” of bin Ladens body…

Again… Let me think, Oh yeah wasn’t it al-Qaeda operatives that hung dead Americans from overpasses? Decapitated Americans on TV? Left body parts of American soldiers in various places around Baghdad?

3) Their statements congratulates “Islamic Nation on the martyrdom of their devoted son Osama,”

Oh well then, I look forward to them having the opportunity to congratulate the Islamic Nation on MANY more martyrs, I suspect that at least some of those will have their blood spilled on American soil.

They’re not coming to America folks… The jihadists are already HERE.

The media is reporting that al-Qaeda is targeting other cities (Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). This should not be a surprise.

It should be expected now and into the future. Since our government has not specifically targeted and deported non-citizens from hostile Middle Eastern countries living in the US and since our ability to deport non-citizens is constantly thwarted by our fear of appearing to profile, or being racist, we will effectively live with this kind of threat from here on out.

Something to think about the next time terrorists mount an attack within the borders of the United States. Do not delude yourselves, there will be some attack that our law enforcement folks will be unable to stop despite their best efforts.

When it happens, the media will be crying why? They’ll be demanding answers from law enforcement, politicians will begin fact finding missions, spending millions of our tax dollars and running around in tight little circles refusing to accept the common sense answers for fear of being called a bad name.

We as a nation really do need to get our priorities in order.

Posted on

Musing about al-Qaeda

In writing about bin Ladens death, I realized that part of my rage at al-Qaeda is fueled by people and elements of the media that are all for appeasement.

There is no appeasing jihadis unless you’re willing to convert to Islam, have your wives and daughters cover themselves and submit to a theocracy where brutality is the norm.

If you’re willing to sacrifice everything that we as Americans are then I suppose appeasement is a choice.

For me, for a variety of reasons appeasement is completely off the table. I realized shortly after 9/11 that while I was too old to serve in the military, I still needed to make a decision about where I stood.

Admiral Yamamoto in the early days of World War II counseled against a Japanese invasion of America. He said if Japan tried to invade America there would be “a rifle behind every blade of grass”

Ghost Trees (c) 2010 David Kendal

I believe that we should make sure he was right.

I decided that if it came to a “Fifth Column” in America, or an invasion, or God help us appeasement under the threat of some nuclear or biological threat, that my only choice would be to fight.

I suppose it’s my Northern European roots. Something in me says it’s better to go out with a weapon in my hand and dine in Valhalla than to be led submissively to slaughter like a sheep.

Perhaps in that way, I’m no different from the 15th century beliefs that fundamentalist Islam preaches…

I’m still a barbarian from the North.

Posted on

What part of this don’t they understand?

In anticipation of loosing my job, I recently updated my resume on one of the big web search sites.

Within the site there is a field that says “Available Date” in that field I wrote 06/30/2011. That seems fairly straight forward don’t you think?

So WHY am I being bombarded with emails and phone calls describing “Immediate” openings? The  most annoying come from Indian (dot, not feather) headhunting agencies.

Frankly these “opportunity” emails are badly written, (Doesn’t India still have a British based education system?) and the voice mails were completely unintelligible.

I have some problems with these offshore headhunter agencies.

First, these people have no idea about the distances involved. The last “opportunity” was in San Francisco and was gasp! a 3 month gig.

So let me get this straight, these people think it’s reasonable for me to give notice, move 400 miles to San Francisco, rent an apartment, and work with no benefits for 3 months for less than a 1/4 of what I’m making now?

That is preferable to staying with my current employer taking my full pay, getting a severance package, and being eligible for unemployment if I need it HOW? I don’t have a business management degree, but common sense says hold onto what you have.

About 6 months ago out of the blue I got a call during my daily commute. This one was straight from Bangalore the young lady was very polite and explained a lovely opportunity.

She wanted me to be at the interview the next day and I was thinking ok what the heck? I knew my current job was probably going to come to an end, so I say sure whats the address? She very precisely gave me the company name and the address. The kicker was that the company in question was in Maine.

I asked her to repeat the state thinking I’d misheard. Nope! She wanted me to interview in Maine @ 8 am local time the next day. I asked if she had access to a map of the United States. She said she did, I asked her to locate Southern California she did, then I directed her to Maine. She found the state and said “Well it’s not too far is it?” I said no, only about 3000 miles… This also was a short term contract with no insurance. Needless to say I suggested she narrow her search to the North Eastern part of the United States.

I have other colleagues that have similar experiences. In general my colleagues and I are not responding to emails and phone calls from these folks.

It’s just too difficult to work with them and they seem to have an attitude that they’re doing you this great favor. Hey, we know the score… the headhunter places us, charges the company at least double for our services and pockets the difference.

When was the last time a prostitute thought her pimp was doing her a favor?
 When my colleagues and I say we’re not interested, many of these folks get really nasty. I was told, “This is why America is failing.” when I declined a 4 week contract in Chicago for $35 an hour.

Don’t take this wrong, for a real opportunity I’d relocate and I might even relocate for a sort term contract of say 6 months in another state. It would give me an opportunity to figure out if I liked the area well enough to consider moving there. But I’m not going to relocate for a 1, 2, or 3 month contract.

Perhaps I’ll reconsider when I’m actually unemployed but I don’t think so. First and foremost, I try to run my life like a business. As such I’m going to look at any opportunity from a “how does this benefit me?” position.

It’s nice to know that I’m apparently marketable, but I do wish that people would read the entire profile.