Day: February 5, 2016

Professor’s Class Diary: Update

Did ya miss me?

First I would like to thank all my readers that shown an interest in the class I taught…..I appreciate the interests…..chuq

Friday……grades turn-in day…….

I graded the tests and was happily surprised…..I had 6 A’s, 3 B’s, 2 C’s……I have to admit that one test was not good but the young man was excellent in class participation so I upgraded him to a C…….I had told the students that class participation would be part of their final grade…..

Plus I got glowing evals from the students…..even though they were told they did not have to put their names on the form….they all did…..

When I turned in my grades I was told that I had a meeting with the Dean at 1000 hrs……as it was 0830 I decided to hang out on campus to wait…..I went where I always go….the Library…..there is just something calming about books….

1000 hrs and time to face the music…….

The meeting was short and sweet…..the Dean said that the consensus was that with everything going on in the world that a introductory class on terrorism might be a good choice…..he said that he would like to see an outline/syllabus in a week and he would see if it could be fit into the Summer session…..

I asked if it would be a 6 week course…..I told the dean that with a subject like terrorism anything less than the 6 weeks would be worthless…..

He thought for a moment and then said…..I will see what I can do…….. if there is only enough for a 4 week course which would be a wise choice?  I thought then said National Security:  An Overview.  I feel that an adequate understanding of Nat Sec could be taught in a 4 week course…..

The Dean nodded….made a few notes…..and then dismissed me….

As I left the office he said to me…..”Your last class……well done”……without looking up from the papers on his desk…..I responded with…..”I try”.

Knowing the budget constraints my guess would be the course on Nat Sec……just a guess I have no insider info…..

Now I have to put my butt in gear and come up with a class outline that will inform and educate……more research the thing I enjoy the most…..see there is a bright side to all this……might as well work up one for the Nat Sec just in case they choose that way to go……

Damn!  This is going to be a bitch……just the sort of thing that I live for…..as long as there is enough coffee I can do it!

Let The Oil Flow!

Remember when the last Iraq War began some were saying that it was all about oil……sorry but I agree with that assessment…..why?  During the invasion a guard was dispatched to the oil ministry to be sire all was okay and yet the priceless artifacts in the Baghdad museum were not worth a thought……pretty much illustrates where the priorities fell……

When I heard about the deals that were being discussed for the Iraqi oil industry I said then that the people would suffer…..but instead of trying to outline my thinking here I will post the articles I wrote back in 2007 and 2008……

Source: Who Gets Iraq’s Oil? – In Saner Thought

Source: Big Oil To Return To Iraq – In Saner Thought

After reading those I will try to explain why I referenced them……you see I read a disturbing article about the Iraqi oil revenues…….

This article was originally published by Niqash.  Where Are The Petrodollars? Kirkuk Oil Flowing Fast, But Locals Never See Any Money The province of Kirkuk exports millions of barrels of oil per month. But nobody knows where […]

Source: Kirkuk Oil Flowing, but Locals Never See Any Money | Iraq Business News

Okay we all agree that Saddam was a wanker and pretty much deserved what he got…..but after he nationalized the oil industry the revenues were used for all sorts of projects for the country……..

So where are the revenues going?  Who is lining their pockets this time?  This is why I am a supporter of the nationalization of the oil industry and the revenue used for the benefit of the country not for the pockets of the people that control the industry……. this country needs so much to repair the damage that politicians and constant warfare have done….if you want this country to “bounce” back then a new thought process is much needed….someone is taking the “cream” off the top of the revenue flow……who would be your guess?

As long as we are talking about oil……I read a good piece on how oil fuels authoritarianism in the world…..

Source: How the structure of global oil markets fuels authoritarianism and war – Vox

Maybe we need a new mantra…..”Oil is the root of all evil”……will it catch on?

Amazing how much damage oil can create…….but if it is not oil we will only find something else that will do the job, right?

Dems: A Little One On One

Last night with only two Dem candidates left in the race there will be throw down in Durham….

I am usually critical of these debates but I think this one will be a doozy…..after all there are only 2 left and we will get to hear about their issues and possibly their solutions…..

There will be a few issues that will be inescapable……

Source: The 7 big issues in Democrats’ New Hampshire debate – The Washington Post

Let’s move on to the political knife fight…..the New Hampshire Debate…..

(Newser) – Martin O’Malley may have been a more calming influence than he knew: Thursday night’s Democratic debate was the first with just Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the stage, and analysts agree that it was the fiercest debate yet, with heated exchanges over issues like the meaning of “progressive.” There’s no clear consensus on who won, but here’s what the analysts have to say:

  • Clinton started off aggressively and “won on points,” Chris Cillizza writes at the Washington Post. When it came to foreign policy, she “effectively made the case that now isn’t the time to put someone in the Oval Office who needs to learn on the job,” he writes, and while Sanders was “forceful and effective” on issues like economic inequality, Clinton may now be able to portray him “as a single or double issue candidate.”
  • Bernie Sanders was the winner, according to Dylan Matthews at Vox, who says the senator’s relentless focus on “inequality, the political power of banks, and the corrosive effect of corporate money on politics” made him an incredible debater when those subjects came up. But Matthews says Clinton was also the winner, thanks to “her strongest performance to date on foreign policy.”
  • Clinton was “high energy” and “artfully shot down Sanders’ attacks on her progressivism,” but Sanders “hit the subject of money in politics so hard and so convincingly that even this conservative viewer was punching the air with a clenched fist,” writes Timothy Stanley at CNN, concluding that Clinton “probably won the debate on style—but Sanders won on substance.”
  • Many commentators decided that each candidate had won on their own strength, with Clinton prevailing on foreign policy and Sanders ahead on issues like Wall Street reform, the New York Times notes. “Now if they could just split the gig—Bernie would cover domestic, Hillary on foreign policy,” tweeted Mia Farrow.

Click for some of the debate’s biggest lines.

It got a bit testy and political….but all in all it was heads above anything the GOP has done so far…..at least with this one the viewer learned about the candidates from their answers and not some silly insults and games……

Bernie had the most accurate statement of the night…at least for me……”the Dem candidates are 100 times better than any of the GOP”…..but that is my personal opinion…….

I admit it….it was an enjoyable experience for once.

NOTE:  I am off to school to turn in the final grades….I will return a little bit later……wait for it!

The Racial Subtext To The GOP’s Immigration Policies

One of the burning issues in the 2016 election is immigration…..Trump is touched on it, although few have any idea what he would do……Rubio has been nailed for his waffling……Cruz has spoken on the issue and has spoken on the issue and NO one has any idea what he said…..

To some Americans it is the primary issue of the day….well for now….these people change their priorities like you change underwear…..

Since it is an important issue….what are the policies and is there more to it than the lip service given in the primary season?

Well there is at  least one point of view……

The practical effect of Republicans’ proposed immigration policies? Reducing the number of people of color in America.

Source: The Racial Subtext To The GOP’s Immigration Policies | ThinkProgress

I am not saying that I endorse this belief……I offer it up as an alternative to the lip service we get every day on the tube….

The Pentagon:  The Golden Age Of Spending

I have written many times about the wasteful spending of the Pentagon on all the crooks on the take with their defense contracts……projects like the F-35, a gas station in Afghanistan, roads not built even while they have been paid for in advance…..the list goes on and on……this country have been wasting money with all the defense contracts since the 1960’s…..and Congress it is favor for favor….the taxpayer is being screwed and yet no one in Washington wants to change a thing…….

I read a good report about the spending history of the Pentagon in  US News and World Report…..(check it out….)

Ridiculous Pentagon spending may be reaching historic levels.

Source: The Pentagon Could Reach a Historic Level of Wasteful Spending – US News