Charlie WIlson's War

I do not want to make this a movie review, but I watched the 2007 movie Charlie Wilson's War. It is a true story about the CIA's covert involvement leading to Afghanistan repealing the Soviet Union's long standing war to take over the that country. The defeat ultimately led to collapse of the Soviet Empire. Even though the Soviet Union was our bitter cold war enemy, the Regan Administration had shown little interest in defending a non-Christian nation for fear of upsetting Israel. At some point, a liberal Congressman, Charlie Wilson, from East Texas and known for his immoral behavior became involved in the cause of the Afghanistan people. He was drawn after visiting a refugee camp and hearing horrible stories of the Soviets near genocidal attacks on civilians. Wilson, through his Congressional Committee positions, was able to covertly fund weapon supplies to Afghanistan and we all know the rest of the story. What is not widely known is something I believe significant to our recent history. Following the end of the Soviet/Afghanistan war, Charlie Wilson warned his fellow Congressmen that we needed to fund the rebuilding of Afghanistan or it stood to be taken over by Islamic fundamentalists. Congress turned down this request because they had little interest in assisting a non-Christian country and could care less about Islamic fundamentalists - what a mistake that turned out to be. Afghanistan was left to fend for itself. Because everything was covert, the Afghans believed that America did nothing for them in their fight with the Soviets. Many of the men armed by the CIA went on to become the Taliban's enforcers and Osama bin Laden's protectors.

I am all about keeping our money home, but I have to think we missed the boat on this one. Had we provided more assistance to Afghanistan following the soviet war, we might have prevented the 9/11 attacks. Think of the money spent and human lives lost since 9/11 and our war on terror. A little money spent in foreign aid might have saved us that expense. We need to think about this next time we criticize money being allocated for foreign aid.

In the movie, the CIA agent who worked with Wilson told him a parable of the Zen master.

In a village, a boy got a pony, and all the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” A couple of years later, the boy fell off the pony and broke his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s too bad.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” Then a war came and all the other young men went to war, but the boy couldn’t because of his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.”

So it is with Afghanistan. As we look back, we see that the victory over the Soviets was not the end of the story.

The movie credits began with this quote:

“These things really happened. We changed the world, then we [blew] the end game.”

Yes we did.

Ask Old Wise One

Back on August 10th, I suggested an "Ask Me" article and asked for questions. Several readers responded.

James in Hot Springs asked: "How do I determine who is the best person to vote for?"

OWO: That's an important question James. My short answer would be to look at all the issues and choose the candidate whom you agree with the most. Never let a single issue determine your vote. As it gets closer to the fall election date I am going to do an article on this topic, so stay tuned. Thanks for asking.

Jacob in New Orleans asked: "I am a Tulane student. All my friends have student loans. Should I borrow money for my education."
OWO: I don't think it is a good idea to start out your independent life in the hole, especially when you have no idea what your future annual income will be. It is easy to run up a ton of money in loans which payment is deferred until you leave school. Let's say your borrowed money brings a monthly payment of $750 when you get out of school. You will have to earn $750 before have a single dollar for yourself. That could smart on most beginning salaries and cause you to drive a clunker, live in a dump and have nothing left over to charm your little lady or support a family. Work your way through school as much as possible. Thanks for asking.

Married Girl in Ms asked: "Is is OK to fake orgasms?"
OWO: Two thoughts. 1) I hope this isn't my wife concealing her identity and 2) I really didn't want this blog to go in this direction. However, in the interest of a readers sanity I will take a stab at this one. I would say no. While your husband is bragging to his golf buddies about being a real Casanova, you are going to live a life disappointment and frustration. I say force him to perform to your needs. You might find some better advice by tuning to the Sex Talk show on the Oxygen Channel on Sunday nights. That little old lady offers some great advice. She even has gadgets to demonstrate her answers. At least that is what I hear from others. Thanks for asking.

That's all I have for now. I hope these answers have helped. Keep the questions coming.

Antivirus XP 2008, Not Your Friend

Well I guess Tropical Storm Fay saved me from having a REALLY lousy day. I suppose it could have been worse had it been a pretty day. While Fay was dumping buckets of water on us, someone figured I had nothing better to do to than spend the day ridding my computer of a vicious Malware. I did manage to make it to Mass and Walmart. At Mass I learned that the average person commits 7 confessional sins a day. Between my computer problem and the trip to Walmart, I am sure I am way over the average.

It seems that while I was doing "research" a rogue program loaded itself onto my computer. Once it did its thing, it sent me a message that spyware was on my computer and I should click to let Antivirus XP 2008 repair my system - for a fee of course. It also didn't give me any options to decline or close the window. It then hijacked my control panel, hid access to my C drive, bombarded me with popups, and changed my wallpaper to constantly remind me Antivirus XP 2008 could repair my spyware problem. It also removed the tabs that allow the screens wallpaper and background to be changed. If that was not enough my computer slowed to a crawl or nothing at all.

I did a little research. Antivirus XP 2008 is a malware, a bogus antivirus application that mimics Microsoft Windows and other legitimate alerts. It is downloaded automatically by redirecting users internet browser to its predefined website to purchase its licensed software to clean up the mess it just dumped on your computer. If that is not bad enough, it never actually fixes its mess and has a history of repeated billing your credit card. Sounds like extortion to me.

Lets put what just happened in perspective. A rogue pest control company breaks into your house and releases roaches, termites, and rats. He sits back and waits for you to return home. As you arrive home and become stunned by the utter chaos, the pest control villain knocks at your door and announces he just happened to be in area looking for new customers. Just sign a contract and your pest will go away, only they never do really go away despite the money you paid him.

The assholes operating Antivirus XP 2008 have been traced to Singapore and Russia. Complaints have been filed with government agencies, but no action has been taken. (I guess they are too busy reading all of our email.) While billions have been spent converting our society into a police state to prevent another unpreventable attack by a handful of neo-medieval wackos, the problem of spam, spyware, malware and serious computer viruses has gone unchecked. Granted these problems are nothing compared to the mass death caused by terrorist, but I would wager the losses causes by attacks on computers is in the billions. The present administration probably considers those billions as money pumped back into the economy.

I'd like to thank precisesecurity.com for posting some great free advice on fixing this problem. They recommended this free malware remover which did the trick - I hope.

Russia, Our Friend?

A decade or two ago Americans witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union. Our number one enemy collapsed and was broken up into Russia and number of smaller countries it had gobbled up during it's rise. The world could rest easy. Russia was now militarily inept and was forced to become our friend, a democracy, and develop free enterprise. President Bush pronounced, then president and now Prime Minister, President Vladimir Putin "a good man."

Out of sight out of mind, right? Russia has taken advantage of America's war on terror and the Bush Administrations failed foreign policy to quietly rearm themselves. A year or so ago, Russia resumed flying their Bear Bomber missions which tease US defenses and force us to scramble our Air Force fighters to intercept and shoo them away from our boundaries.

While the world was visiting our "other friend," China, to focus on the 2008 Olympics, Russia boldly invaded Georgia. When the world leaders threw their arms up and cried foul, Russia said they stopped their attack. However, it soon became apparent this was a lie as news reports showed Russian troops advancing further into Georgia. Two days ago after another agreed upon cease fire, Russia blew up a key railroad bridge. This not only cut off Georgia's ability to supply themselves, but it was also a vital link for supplies and commerce to several other breakaway Soviet states. In the coming months we will see if this was a slapping of one state or an all out offensive to a return of world leadership by force.

How did we figure Putin would let his country become a lap dog? Putin is too proud of a man to settle for ineptness. The timing makes sense. The rise comes at the gap between the end of a US presidency of lousy foreign policy and the beginning of an uncertain new president. America's military is bogged down in two conflicts, flirting with a third (Iran), and therefore unable to respond to Russian aggressions. After invading Iraq against the will of the rest of the world, it is kind of difficult for us to tell Russia to stop their aggressions. It is the perfect time for Russia to use its weaker military. How did we miss this?

Here's a word from a couple GOP experts on the subject. (Their CD can be purchased from Itunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and various retail outlets)

China, Our Friend. Wink! Wink!

For the last two weeks, the world has been watching a Chinese fairy tale. China is a country with a horrible reputation of civil rights, environmental issues, stymieing free speech and censoring communications. It beats the hell out of me how the International Olympic Committee would choose China other than the fact it owns the world.

Because of their use of slave labor and 1960 environmental technology, China has been able give the Western World what it wants. Cheap products. This has allowed China to become one the wealthiest nations in the world. They are more than happy to loan their money to the Western World.

When China was chosen to host the 2008 Olympics, it assured the world it would relax it's tough visa restrictions to ensure that all Olympic fans could attend. However, just weeks before the games began many found their visa request was denied by Chinese officials for unexplained reasons. Press members were promised unrestricted internet access, then at the last minute they were informed all internet use would be censored. Then there is the issue of the Chinese gymnasts teams questionable ages. I am starting to think if a Chinese officials lips are moving, he is lying. But, then what is new?

A few weeks ago I received this warning for international travelers. It is fairly obvious it is aimed at American's going to China for the Olympics.

The U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) issued a strongly-worded advisory for travelers warning them to take special precautions when traveling overseas with portable electronic devices. The warning appears to be aimed specifically toward those travelling to China for the Summer Olympics. Security services in China are capable of tracking an individual’s location through mobile phones and PDAs, and activating microphones in devices without a user’s knowledge. Therefore, to limit these activities from happening, users are urged to remove batteries from their devices when they are not being used.

Travelers should not take electronic devices with them unless they are absolutely necessary. They should assume that if the devices are examined by foreign officials or their hotel rooms are searched, the contents of the devices have been copied. Travelers should also change all passwords frequently during their travels and again as soon as they return home. All information sent electronically while in foreign countries can be intercepted.

We as American's should not have to put up with this foolishness. The problem is that China holds a tremendous amount of our debt. If they were to call our debt, our country would collapse overnight. China knows this, our leaders know this, and the world knows this. America is becoming China's whore.

Girls Gone Wild!

Wow! Did you catch the USA Women's Beach Volleyball match last night? I forgot who they were playing, but the May - Walsh team was awsome. 104 wins in a row. What can you say about that? I think they may be the greatest athletes ever! I looked forward all day to this matchup. I heard that yesterday, the USA Women's Gymnast Team watched The Miracle prior to their performance to help them get motivated. Well I figured if it works for them it can work for me - so tonight I watched Girls Gone Wild - Spring Break 2008 prior the Beach Volleyball match. It really worked, the USA won big time! Here is the part I don't understand. Following the Men's Synchronized Diving event (is that really a sport?), NBC showed the athletes showering. How come we didn't get to see May and Walsh showering after their match?

Katrina and Politics

In months preceding Hurricane Katrina divisive politics between the GOP's President Bush and Senator Vitter and Democrats Governor Blanco and Senator Landrieu set the stage for America's largest natural disaster. In addition to numerous partisanship press releases from both sides, Blanco had publicly defied President Bush by 1) refusing to greet the President upon his arrival in Baton Rouge to deliver a commencement address at LSU and 2) traveling to Cuba and meeting with Cuban officials concerning trade talks despite President Bush specifically asked Governor Blanco to cancel this trip. A last minute schedule change to dine with Fidel Castro was seen as a kick in the groin message to Bush. It was apparent that Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu were setting the groundwork to give ammo to the Hillary Clinton campaign. This could have worked well for the democrats assuming, Gov. Blanco was re-elected, Clinton received the Democratic nomination and more importantly for all, Katrina did not destroy New Orleans. Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu also miscalculated the ruthlessness of the GOP's Karl Rove. It is uncertain what gave Gov. Blanco such a euphoric sense of political power, but she later found herself way out of her league. Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu were betting they could make the GOP look bad and would not need any federal assistance during President Bush's tenure.

As news reports began covering the worst natural disaster in US history, President Bush was on one of his extended "working vacations" at his Texas ranch. As Louisiana officials were begging for federal assistance, President Bush left his Texas ranch to deliver a speech in one of the western states. One might wonder why he did not immediately involve himself in the disaster relief. Upon reviewing press conferences something interesting has been found. Sen. Vitter announced in his first press conference that he had been speaking with Karl Rove. Say what? New Orleans is drowning. Why the hell are you talking to the GOP political advisor? Shouldn't you be talking to the President or generals? Days later a press conference was held at the site of the levee break. In the background, hordes of workers and heavy machinery was busily working to patch the levee break. The next day, Senator Landrieu was flying with reporter George Stephanopoulos recording for his weekly TV show. As they flew over the previously mentioned site, Landrieu looked down and saw nothing, but a single piece of machinery working to patch the levee. At that point she broke down crying. She realized the coverage the previous day was a set up. Karl Rove had put one over on the Democrats, there would be no serious aid for New Orleans.

Georgia Conflict

Last weekend, while visiting China, President Bush was briefed about the conflict between Russia and Georgia. As the advisers were briefing Bush about the fight around the town of Gori, the President interrupted them and asked, "just how far is Gori from Atlanta?" As the advisers sat dumbfounded, Dick "Wild Shot" Cheney, who was was listening in via teleconference came the President's aid. Cheney suggested the President allow him to monitor the situation so Bush could continue to coach the American athletes during the Olympics. Bush replied that was a good idea because he felt his support was very important to the athletes. Bush asked Cheney to let him know if it appeared the fighting would spread into neighboring Florida because he would need to warn his brother.

Seriously - someone let me know how we can expect Russia to listen to our request that they not invade another country when we invaded Iraq?

Manresa on the Mississippi

I recently had the good fortune of attending my annual silent retreat at Manresa on the Mississippi. For those of you who don't know it is run by the Catholic Jesuits. Participants are relegated to silence from Thursday evening to just after noon on Sunday. The only talking aloud by a participant is through private visitations with the retreat master or one of the staff Jesuit priest. Through a series of eleven instruction sessions and accompanying prayers , the retreat master takes the retreatants through four phases known as the Spiritual Exercises.

Above is view of the main building. As you can tell it is colonial style and built in the 1700's as Jefferson College.

Participants are encouraged to wonder around the vast campus and reflect on the exercises. As you can see from the above pictures, Manresa's beauty makes a perfect setting for silence.

How do 114 men eat without talking? Well you quickly learn to point to what you need on the table. Meals are placed on each table in platters. Each man serves himself and passes the plater on to the next. Lunch is served with beer and supper is served with wine. The above picture is known as the dining hall which in on the first floor. The second floor is where the Jesuits live.

Ask Old Wise One

I have been snooping around other blogs for ideas to keep my blog interesting. Several bloggers did "ask me" type post. I thought that might be neat idea, so ask away.

You can either email your questions at old_wise_one@cox.net (you can link directly through my profile or through the comment box) or simply post your question in the comment section. For those of you who don't have blogs the bottom two choices in the comment box work best. Ask your question anonymously, screen name or your real name.

F*&^ing Crotch Rockets

I started writing a blog entry about my peaceful retreat at Manresa, but time prevented me from completing the blog. Today I was minding my own business traveling home on I-12 after a hectic day at the office and doing a couple miles of cardio exercise at the YMCA. I was tuned into Pink Floyd. All of the sudden out of nowhere two idiots on crotch rockets blew past me. From my years of running radar, I am certain they were doing excess of 100 MPH. I never saw them in my rear view, so they really startled me as they blew paste me. The car in front of me of was attempting to change into their lane. By some stroke of luck he saw them and corrected to avoid entering their lane. I am certain if he had not taken evasive action they would have collided and the bikers would probably still by airborne as I type this.

This same thing happened to me a few months ago. About a year ago two of these scofflaws passed me on I-10 doing wheelies in excess of 80 MPH. For the life of me, I can not imagine the need for motorcycle manufacturers to make street legal bikes capable of doing speeds 170 MPH. Someone help me understand this! Especially those who want to ban the ownership of assault rifles. Tell me the difference!

Law Enforcement officers are pretty much helpless in apprehended these bikes. I have proposed an idea. These bikes have on board computers. Why not program them to when the bike exceeds a speed of 80 MPH the fuel pump shuts down for 20 minutes. Call it a time out. The bastard can sit on the side of the road and watch all those law abiding citizens pass by him. On the third time instead of the fuel pump, the oil pump shuts down and the bike is ruined. Call it OWO's version of three strikes and you are out.