World War Three -- Already Begun?

Certain pundits are saying World War Three has begun.

Some claim it began on 9/11. Others believe is actually started in the early nineteen eighties. That’s when 241 Marines lost their lives in the truck bombing of their barracks in Beruit. And some say it goes even further back to the taking of hostages at the American embassy in Iran back in 1979.

Whatever date future historians finally settle on, we are at war with radical Islamic fundamentalists.

It’s the extremists and radicals who usually cause the world’s problems. It was the Nazis and Japanese militarists who instigated World War Two.

Now we’ve got these crazies using religious fanaticism to promote their own ends. Many practitioners of Islam have felt humiliated by western powers. That comes from economic and colonial domination by Western powers for several hundred years. With that emotion so deep set in the Islamic psyche it doesn’t take much prodding by manipulative leaders to turn those feelings into hate. Mix in religious fervor and intolerance of nonbelievers (like Christians and Jews) and you’ve got a potent brew.

Then there is Israel, long a festering sore in the Islamic craw. Since Israel’s founding, every time the Arabs tried to defeat the Jewish nation by conventional means the Israelis kicked their ass. That’s added to radical Islam’s hatred of Israel and America. Radical Islamists have resorted to guerilla and terror tactics. That’s what’s been happening to us since we took over Iraq. Now it’s happening to the Israelis, too. Strong as our armies are, we have a tough time combating insurgencies and terror.

Funding these terror operations is Middle Eastern oil. The radical government of Iran supports Hezbollah to the tune of $100 million a year. Elements of the Saudi Royal family allegedly finance the operations of Al Queda.

What everyone in the West fears is the Islamist’s access to nuclear weapons. Pakistan has had nuclear capability for years. Iran is trying to develop it. Some feel that Al Queda may have obtained a small nuke through the Russian mob.

The fanatics are in place. All that’s now needed is a nuclear event. That could touch off worldwide hostilities.

If you’d like to contribute to the foregoing, you can comment on this site by becoming a ‘blogger’ or you can e-mail me at WGDavis46@aol.com.

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God Bless The Whistleblower

Our movies, books and news media often cover the subject of the whistleblower. That’s the person who sees an injustice or an illegality and has the courage to challenge or expose it.

That’s the operative word. Courage.

The injustice or illegality normally occurs in the whistleblower’s company, organization or specific workplace.

Most of us, when confronted by a situation like that, simply look the other way. Concerned for our job, our family, our reputation among our superiors or coworkers, we just let that illegality or injustice continue. Even though we know it is wrong, we pretend we are blind. We are afraid. We are cowards.

Movies have made much of those who were willing to stand alone against injustice, the most recent examples being Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts and North Country with Charlese Theron. If you’re old enough, you might remember Silkwood with Meryl Streep or Norma Rae with Sally Field.

All based on true stories, the women in each of these movies went up against the system. They challenged powerful entrenched interests. In doing so they experienced harassment from their superiors. Coworkers rejected them for fear of their own jobs.

In the movies we cheer for the whistleblower, the underdog. In real life we watch it happen. We say nothing. We don’t want to be involved. Material security becomes more important than right and wrong.

And why have I chosen the whistleblower as the subject of this blog?

I know a whistleblower. Harassed through no fault if her own, she had the courage to write a letter to the president of the company, citing what had happened to her. That letter initiated a thorough investigation by senior management. Finding that her allegations were valid, the company is initiating changes. Things aren’t perfect yet, but they are getting better.

And yet many of her coworkers continue to reject her. Maybe its because they have no knowledge of the basis of her claims. Rumor and innuendo run rampant within the organization. That’s because middle management has a history of running the place through harassment, fear and intimidation.

Thanks to the whistleblower, I hope that now it’s all over. I hope that her coworkers will understand that she was not only fighting for her own rights as an employee and a human being, but that she was fighting for their rights too.