The Tak Team Blog

Introduction:

Although politicians and so-called “Intelligence Experts” are the ones appearing on TV, discussing and relaying the news on the War or Terror, they are far from the ones who actually have anything to do with the war on terror. As in the past so it is today, the real planning in the war on terror goes on in covert ops-rooms by the real “Spooks” from the three letter agencies: CIA, MIA, ISI, MI-5, MI-6, GRU and the FSB, just to name a few of the major players.

The sad truth is that these spook agencies are in the large, responsible for the effectiveness’ of the major Islamic terrorist groups. The tactical planning, the CQB skills and the weapon and explosive knowledge of these Islamic terrorists, are largely courtesy of the spook agencies.

I am not arguing that the spook agencies are directly responsible for the terrorist acts, carried out by these Islamic terror groups. But that with a bit of common sense and forward planning, they should have realized the future evils they where helping to create. Old wisdom say it all, “When you lie with dogs, you get fleas” translated into modern languages that even a mission-oriented spook should be able to understand, the old wisdom says “When you train terrorists, innocent civilians get killed”

Afghanistan:
Prior to and during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the US spook agencies saw in their infinite wisdom the Mujahadeen, as a means to an end. The support of the Mujahadeen forces were initiated by the Carter administration, prior to the Soviet invasion and was increased by the Reagan administration. During both administrations, intelligence agents from the CIA and MIA went to Afghanistan by way of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, to make secret contributions in forms of funds, weapons and training to the Afghani resistance fighters.

The strategic plan was to stir up a rebellion against the Afghan government, which would result in the influx of Soviet troops. After the “Soviet Invasion” the purpose was to help the Afghani resistance fighting the Soviet forces. The objective of the plan was to ensure that the occupation would be very costly, for the Soviet army in funds and life’s. This wisdom of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” was arguably not a new idea as it has been an ideology of warfare, from the dawn of time. Training and supporting your enemies enemy, was the big thing during the cold war, from Asia to Africa, from the Middle East to South America, is was the tactic favoured by the Super Powers, their allies and their foes.

However, the Intelligence agents were soon to discover that, the Afghanis where in general a untrustworthy ally, who would only follow a set plan as long as they did not have other plans on the sideline. Unfortunately, they always had plans on the side which had a tendency to become the most important plan, plans that at least most of the time came ahead of fighting the Russians. Inter-Tribal feuds where constantly flaring, this in turn led to an unstable situation where military and political alliances changed faster than a “prostitute” did sheets.

This is where the “spooks” came up with a solution which still haunts us today, they decided to direct the Pakistani ISI, to focus most of their training and supplies on the Arab Mujahadeen or jihadist’s, who had more zeal for the fight against the Russians.

The Afghan warlords continued to receive the majority of the cash flowing from the spook agencies, but it was the radical Islamic Arabs that got the real training and in return they delivered. The mighty Red Army was forced to retreat in shame and defeat. Russia had met its Afghanistan, as Napoleon had met his Waterloo and the US had met its Vietnam; the spooks of the west had won the decade.

The Spooks success caused a stir in the Soviet “Empire of Evil”, within a few years the Soviet Empire where defeated by stratagem and replaced by a “democratic” Russia. So one might say we owe the spooks congratulations on such a worthy contribution to human history. Had it not been for the minor fact, that the CIA/ISI trained Mujahadeen turned into the infamous terror groups, associated with Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda Group.

The Al Qaeda group has in its relatively short terrorist lifespan, turned into the “Olympic Champion” of terror. The Al Qaeda group has staged very few attacks compared to other known terrorist groups, however Al Qaeda has blown the scale when it comes to fatalities and injures caused by terrorist attacks. From January 1998 to December 2003, Al Qaeda only caused a measly 0,1% of all terrorist incidents, grotesquely though the 0,1% of attacks caused 29% of the fatalities and 22% of the injuries inflicted by all terrorist acts in the same time span!

Chechnya:
One would think that Russia’s experience in the Soviet-Afghan war, would have taught it that radical Islamic fighters are neither just the enemy of your enemy, but also your enemy. However the GRU (Russia’s military intelligence unit) fell prey to the same short sightedness as the CIA did, in 1994 they trained and funded mercenaries to fight in Abkhazia, among them where a number of militant Islamic Chechens. The purpose of the clandestine operation were to destabilize the Abkhazian region, in order to weaken the Government of Georgia who sought total separation from Russia. Among those militants were Shamil Basayev, a name the Russians will never again forget although they are more than willing to forget that they trained him.

Shamil Basayev started his guerrilla/terrorist campaign in 1991, when he masterminded the hijacking of a passenger plane from the town of Mineralnye Vody, the plane was flown to Turkey where the hostages where freed. An agreement ensured the Chechens free passage back to Chechnya. Bolstered by his hijacking success Basayev started his guerrilla campaign, gaining combat experience by fighting in the regions many conflicts with the Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh, against the Georgians in Abkhazia and against the Russians in Chechnya. In between the fighting,Basayev received training in terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, Basayevs real terror campaign began with the 1995, attack at the Budennovsk militia headquarters which evolved into the hospital siege. Shamil Basayev appears to be the mastermind behind all of the major Chechen terrorist attacks, carried out since 1995. His network of guerrilla/terrorist groups has several names, the Abkhaz battalion, Sword of Islam, Movsar Barayev Gang and Riyadh-as-Saliheen, the latter being the most notorious group. Since 1995, the network has carried out at least 13 successful terrorist attacks which has caused ca. 949 fatalities and injured a minimum of 1147. This is an enormously high fatality and injury rate for a single terrorist network.

The Shamil Basayev terrorist network has proven itself far more efficient and deadly, than other well-known terrorist groups, such as FARC, HAMAS and ETA. Although the Shamil Basayev network has not yet reached the horrific scale of the Al Qaeda attacks, the future may prove to be different.

Osama Bin Laden and Shamil Basayev are both Islamic militants, who not only fight with a religious zeal but also with sound tactics, learned through training provided by the CIA and GRU. These tactics combined with actual combat experience, has made a mock of the best of both US and Russia’s elite forces. It is a tragic irony that these two most infamous terrorists where in part created by the superpowers, who now find them as their fiercest enemies. Mockingly, both carry out their operations dressed in US military uniforms and using Russian assault rifles as their primary weapons.

Guantanamo:
Lately, the US has been releasing several enemy combatants from the Guantanamo prisoner camp, this has been done due to mounting international pressure, to either convict or release the prisoners, of the original 680 enemy combatants who were brought to Guantanamo, only 4 have been charged so far. However, the choice of which prisoners to release clearly remains with the CIA and MIA, who are in charge of the investigations and interrogations. As in the past so in the present, the three-letter agencies seems incapable of understanding the absolute commitment to jihad, by the Islamic militants.

Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane, a half Danish, half-Algerian enemy combatant who was caught on the Afghan Pakistani border, was recently released from the Guantanamo camp. He had no sooner arrived in Denmark before he publicly stated that the Danish government where a legitimate target of Islamic terrorism, due to the Danish involvement in the war in Iraq. Subsequently, he publicly stated that the US “can use [my promise not to engage in warfare] as toilet paper.” He next stated that he intends to continue Jihad by joining the Chechen militants in their fight against the Russian military.

Abdullah Mahsud, a Pakistani enemy combatant caught in Afghanistan, were also recently released from the Guantanamo camp. As soon as he arrived in the Waziristan region in Pakistan, he immediately reconfirmed his commitment to Jihad and met with his former Taliban allies, he planned and carried out a kidnapping of two Chinese engineers. The subsequent attempt by the Pakistani Special Forces to free the hostages, resulted in the death of one of the hostages and five of the kidnappers. Abdullah Mahsud, however managed to escape and is wanted by the Pakistani forces, obviously for more than just neglecting to keep his promise,to the US of not “to engage in warfare”, hopefully a promise to not engage in terrorism was also included in his release conditions.

Conclusions:
The real problem with making agreements with Islamic militants is that they are devout Muslims, who have dedicated their life to Jihad which brings us to a problem, that the Israelis knows only to well. A Muslim does not have to honour his word, or even his signature as Muslims are permitted to lie to non-Muslims and break agreements with them, under the Koranic law of Hudaibiya.

The four examples of Osama Bin Laden, Shamil Basayev, Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane and Abdullah Mahsud should prove beyond doubt that, the consequences of dealing and negotiating with Islamic militants committed to Jihad, is not only foolish but also outright disastrous. For decades the Official stance by western Governments regarding terrorism, has been a firm strategy of “No negotiations with terrorists”, a controversial strategy but clearly it is about time that someone explained to the Spook Agencies, that no negotiations also means no funds, weapons and training. They should also be reminded that the end does not justify the means.

When it comes to dealing with Islamic guerrillas and terrorists, the so-called counter intelligence operations undertaken during the last three decades, by the three-letter intelligence agencies have proven to be anything but intelligent, with hindsight these operations have proved to be absolutely “Counter Intelligent”.

Dan Sommer is the author of the SD Agent, a Surveillance Detection Manual, he has been part of the process of designing, implementing and training a SD team for a European Embassy. His 17 years security career started in 1986 and he has active experience from military, security, close protection, counter assault team and surveillance detection operations. Since 1994 the author has been writing training material’s for security companies and police departments. He has been instructing courses world-wide for security officers, bodyguards, police officers, counter assault teams and surveillance detection units. Dan currently acts as the International Director of the World Federation of Bodyguards and has a private business as a Security & Protection Consultant. His work can be viewed at his website http://www.DanSommer.Biz

With spring in the air & winter soon paling nowadays is the time to put away the winter apparel & take away the flip flops! It is of course the choice to revivify or possibly reanimate even if it be your self & your home. Sweet-smelling Scented Candles are a magnificent way to usher for revived season. It is time to put out those pumpkin spice and pine scented candles and embrace its essences of a season. Florals or perhaps fruity bouquets are what you will only experiencing just now. As well as a breeze coming through one’s windows the Sweet-smelling candle smell will often glide in & around the condominium. They can be found awfully delightful when having fun in the current warmer times. As one’s festivity is beginning to turns outdoor, adding swimming candles to the decoration is a definite fire method to tack on additional mood. Floating candles come in so a myriad of forms & measurements still my most popular are the new flower shaped candles. Positioning various bigger pieces within a swimming pool or pond bring back memoirs of cotillions and it’s lovely affairs of times gone by. Votivo candles will periodically be used in the place of floating candles. Make sure to operate the votivo candle from of its hardware container so that it can float properly.

By the hotter time allowing people to relax outside & reside open-air candle care will probably shift. Of course floating Scented Candles put to good use outside is outstanding however what occurs when there is dash & greater still what occurs as there is a huge wind? Your 1 blow out and out and out. It may get very annoying, and so for those breezy garden nights candle holders are ideal. candles holder happen in more patterns and measurements just even like any alternative candle. I myself enjoy the ones that include some lucent appearance as these give just off exceptional glimmer. The candles holder are creating a boundry for the candles safekeeping them afire & blissful. One word of advice on the other hand, once obtaining candle holders for utilization in the outdoors make sure that these can be found no cutouts, in another way people can be found back to square one with the candles going out faster than b-day candles at a 1 year olds birthday celebration. Those should work in the indoors or hush nights though not if these is any breeze. Another option on these nights is to use electronic candles. Here is a site you can begin your research if youre looking into exiting votive candles.

Purity12 is Easy to Use

Using Purity 12 system is a great way to flush out your bodies toxins the natural way via colon cleansing. You may feel lively and full of energy once your body starts to rid itself of the poisonous build up in your colon. Be this as it may, you don’t have to live like that for you can naturally detoxification your body to rid yourself of the poisonous waste build up in your colon. Using all natural ingredients in this colon cleaner guarantees this products safety.As it contains only all natural ingredients, this amazing colon cleansing system will not harm your body in any way whatsoever, but can only help you.

Poisons are obviously not a pretty thing, not something that we want to have in our bodies. Having a toxic colon means that there is toxic waste build up accumulating in your intestines, leaving your colon in a toxic state. This poison accumulation takes the form of maybe 15 pounds of fecal matter. Human excrement in addition has been dubbed as waste for a reason, as we are meant to rid ourselves of it.A toxic colon often leads to constipation and thorough discomfort. By employing Purity 12, poisons can be removed from the body simply.

Colon cleansing is a medical practice that has been occurring for many years, decades, centuries, and even a millennium! In fact, colon cleansing dates back to as early as 1500 B.C. in Egypt. Be this as it may, it really is not surprising that colon cleansing is still around now in today’s society. Colon cleansing flushes out the toxic waste that tends to build up in your intestines from time to time; however, that is not all that colon cleansing has been proven to do. Colon cleansing also permanently relieves bloating, detoxes your body, and has even been linked to weight loss (your toxic waste build up in your colon can weigh up to fifteen pounds!). One such method of colon cleansing would be Purity 12 Cleanse, a colon cleansing system.It is merely because colon cleansing is so important to your health, for the benefits of colon cleansing are simply too hard to ignore.

The new law “Special Protective, Antidumping and Import Compensatory Measures” differs from the old one by the fact that it fully complies with the WTO (World Trade Organization) standards. It is for the first time in the Russian practice that a law describes in detail what is necessary to do in order to protect the Russian market and how to do it. As its authors promised, the Law has turned out to be extremely concrete: it is conceived so that the officials as well as the participants of trade agreements will be able to find straight answers to their questions, and they should not search for any special “explanations” and “commentaries”.

The law provides a listing of basic concepts. Not everyone in Russia, even among lawyers, will be able to tell straight off what “dumping leverage” is, and what “dumping import” is. For the majority of people it becomes a revelation, that “dumping” is not the sale of foreign goods in Russia at lower prices than similar local products cost (that’s what for some reason most people think) but the sale of a product cheaper, than local production costs. A number of base concepts comprise such, as “the material loss of an industry” (what to understand in general under the term “damage”) and “serious damage ” (how to calculate it), and in general a lot of other things, which are clear “in general”, but very artful when officials start to build a state policy, based on the intuitive understanding of such terms.

For example, the Law provides the description of the investigation concept, which should precede the introduction of all protective measures against “bad” foreign goods.

The Law states, that the body responsible for investigation, is appointed by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, and defines concrete timeframe, both for the investigation, and for implementation of its results (the measures, taken according to investigation results should be approved by the Government not later than 14 days after they are exposed). In case of a highly critical situation such measures need to be introduced extremely rapidly, as the Government can practically instantly introduce a special tax (protective import tax) on the goods that cause damage to the economy. Should it be found out later, that this tax is excessively heavy; the foreign trade participants will have the right to be reimbursed for the actual incurred losses. Such import tax cannot be effective for more than 200 days.

The Law describes in detail how to establish the degree of damage to the Russian economy from “bad” import. Special protective measures have to be implemented in order to protect the economy, the Law clearly defines, what those are and in what case they should be used, for how long and what is the order of their review. The main idea behind this is that such protective measures should be lifted, as soon as they fulfill their purpose. It is important not to go too far with those measures, otherwise the market protection may cause more harm than good, creating with the domestic manufacturer a sensation of absence of competition, that the buyers will be the first ones to feel.

A separate chapter of the Law is dedicated to antidumping measures. Discovering the fact of goods dumping in Russia, calculating the damage and introducing protective measures - each step is exposed in every detail, because this is a new practice for this country. Here, as well as in the case of application of special protective measures may be, the lawgiver requires that the facts should be carefully investigated, as it is possible that blind measures can do more harm than good. If dumping influence does not exceed a certain allowable threshold, strict measures should not be used. Moreover, if the supplier of the goods states in writing that he followed a dishonest price policy, and signs an obligation to stop it, the investigation is then suspended, should the “inspectors” make the decision, that the supplier can be trusted. However, tight control is carried out to verify how he complies with the promise.

The Law introduces the concept of “compensatory measure” which is necessary in case when the goods, produced with the subsidies of the foreign governments are imported into Russia. In the reality however, as it has been already noticed by the experts, it is firstly the foodstuffs: the crisis of overproduction of agrarian and industrial complex, the aspiration to support quiet lifestyle of local farmers cause the foreign governments to buy from manufacturers of agrarian and industrial complex the goods at unfairly high prices, and then resell them for export at lower prices, compensating the difference from the budget. The demands of domestic manufacturers of agrarian and industrial complex “to forbid” such imports was faced with fears, that the sharp interdiction of imports will not cause the growth of own production and will result only in shortages and price increases. The Law has defined the “golden balance”: the investigation concerning the subsidized import is conducted extremely objectively, abstracting from lobbyism of domestic manufacturers.

The document is extremely transparent, as it could not be any different. The attempts to declare a “trade war” to Russia when its goods are exported to some countries, on one hand, as well as obvious practice of “bad import” to our country from which we were not protected, on another hand, have forced Russia to use protective measures (on import of fowl, beef, pork) before the adoption of this law. It caused an ambiguous and sometimes extremely strong reaction in the outside world. The reaction of Russia’s supporters during the WTO negotiations was especially painful. There was not a single country at this stage of joining the WTO who dared strengthening its protective measures. Russia has invested a great deal of efforts to prove, that it had the right to protect the market, and has spent a lot of time to explain to foreign experts, how its market was going to be protected.

Copyright 2005 OpenRussia.ru
Russian business directory

The predominant discussion in the Indianapolis media over the proposed $500 million Colts stadium is how to fund it, not over the wisdom and propriety of taxpayers going into debt to build it.

Apparently the leaders of both major political parties in Indiana have signed off on the concept, including a poor building design, and are content to confine their discussion to who’s picking up the tab.

Come hell or high water on White River, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson has vowed not to lose the Colts during his administration. His plan in part is to raise $13 million annually through higher car rental, innkeeper and admissions taxes in Marion County, as well as with annual gambling profits of $46 million from 2,500 pull-tab gambling machines in downtown Indianapolis.

Regional Republicans have their own plans to fund a new stadium. Rep. Luke Messer of Shelbyville proposes giving Indianapolis $30 million in annual revenue from 2,500 slot machines at the Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs horse tracks. Marion County GOP chairman and state Rep. Michael Murphy has a similar plan that would divide the slot machine profits differently, giving Indianapolis $48 million annually.

Here are three problems with these major party proposals, besides any issues that readers might have over funding the stadium with gambling profits.

First, they do not address the issue of stadium obsolescence. Taxpayers cannot afford to again let government build a stadium that the NFL outgrows, especially one that is three-times the real cost of the first one. Proponents should guarantee that the stadium will be valuable for 50 years, or promise to indenture the lives of their children and grandchildren at double the rate of our servitude.

Second, their proposals treat businesses unequally. They subsidize rich millionaires at the expense of smaller or more deserving businesses. Likewise, they treat businesses such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway unfairly by taxing them to underwrite their sports competitor. It’s a slap in the face to the Speedway, which funds itself.

And why should we indenture each Indianapolis citizens with more than $1,000 in debt for eight regular-season football games each year? If gambling revenue projections are not met, are residents of Indianapolis willing to be on the hook for the balance? I’m certainly not.

But here’s the real crux. The RCA Dome is perfectly good as it is, except for one basic flaw. No, the flaw is NOT the size of the Dome. Although it is the smallest in the league at 57,900 seats, the Colts barely sell the Dome out even with ticket prices just below the league’s average of $54.75.

The problem with the RCA Dome stems from how NFL teams share revenue. Owners keep their revenues from private luxury suites. At the Dome, Colts owner Jim Irsay has 104 suites. The league’s most profitable franchise, the Washington Redskins, has 280.

Irsay seeks a stadium with enough suites to give him a shot at a medium profit relative to the rest of the league. He would have already moved his franchise to Los Angeles had that city promised him a stadium with enough suites, which it could not afford to do.

So he and his franchise are leveraging Indianapolis and our state government into building him a stadium by 2008 that merely gives him more profit potential. Ironically, Irsay’s best selling point is that he will not also hold the city hostage by making it guarantee that the suites it builds him will be sold. Huh? Until then, the city expects to pay him at least $36 million to keep the Colts in town.

Compare this to the real costs of a new stadium. Its $500 million price tag can triple by the time its bond is paid. For the 400 permanent jobs that the stadium creates and the hundred or so new suites that are created, that amounts to a public investment of over $1 million per job and $3 million per luxury suite. Plus, we will build a stadium with no more capacity than the original Hoosier Dome and, from the looks of the design, one with lousy viewing for NCAA basketball.

That’s maddening. Our elected officials are about to build another obsolete stadium with limited capacity, a poor configuration and an exorbitant price tag. They will again saddle us with public debt that is tall on political horseplay and short on horse sense.

©2005 Libertarian Writers Bureau

Attorney, screen writer and former chair of the Libertarian Party of Marion County.

We were coffee shop prophets When Starbuck was a character Quoting Ibsen, Shaw, and Yeats Exact in predicting the downfall Of the country Of the society Of the arts We knew everything And voiced it in a Cacophony of catharsic certainty Individuality was our motto Toasted nightly with The same black coffee In the same white cups.

We knew everything Then

We sit now in polite conversation Stirring a low-fat latte, a cappi, expresso Recalling in exact detail (Maybe more colorfully) Clinging to a yesterday That never became a now Laughing Reciting rehearsed rhetoric Not wishing to admit We had all sold out.

Consider the presidential election system we have today: Every state has a number of electors, equal to their amount of representatives and senators, who vote for the President of the United States. In most states, every elector goes to the candidate who achieves the most popular votes, regardless of his margin of victory. This means:

1. Presidential candidates have little reason to campaign to the whole country. If partisan or personal loyalty makes victory certain in a state, a candidate can safely ignore it in favor of other states. Conversely, if a candidate will definitely lose in a state, then he won’t waste his time there. Only competitive “battleground states” see much activity.

2. We have less national turnout. If a state will assuredly support one candidate, why bother voting? Also, lack of vigorous campaigning in a state might contribute to voter apathy during an election.

3. With the winner-take-all plurality system, candidates try to attract moderate voters, so to avoid turning people off, they emphasize their personalities more than their policies. This results in bland, visionless candidates who take those traits into the White House.

I believe a new presidential electoral system is in order. We need something that rewards candidates who have bold ideas, while drawing more voters into the process as well.

Therefore, I recommend we emulate the French.

Hear me out! The French have an excellent method by which to elect their president. It is a two-stage electoral process. In the first part, candidates from all the country’s parties can run. Candidates who mobilize partisans with daring policy agendas will perform best here. Afterwards, during the second stage runoff, the first and second place finishers of the first round compete. Whoever achieves a majority vote wins. This requires the candidates to make themselves as palatable toward the center as possible.

Eliminating the Electoral College and implementing two-round direct popular vote elections here would deliver many benefits. It would reward courageous candidates with striking ideas in the first stage, but it would weed out dangerous fanatics in the second stage. It would allow smaller parties to achieve greater prominence than they could achieve in a winner-take-all elector paradigm. It would give candidates reason to campaign to every American. And it would give each voter a larger role in determining the outcome of the election.

As a German friend also pointed out to me, “I don’t quite get it that in the US, votes for the Greens i.e. are all lost, even help a candidate from the right to get into office (see 2000) — a second turn of the elections would allow Green supporters to vote for the Democrat.” This is an important point. The major parties would have to give adherents of smaller parties reasons to vote for them. This would force the Democrats and Republicans to take other parties, such as Greens and Libertarians, seriously, and perhaps heed some of their political desires. This would make more Americans feel as if they play an important role in the republican process.

To complete the reform, we also need to make going out to vote easier. Right now, we seemingly make voting as hard as we can. Elections take place on weekdays, so if Americans want to vote, they must take off work or rush to the polls before or after work. When they get there, they must wait a long time to finish the process, because the volunteer polling coordinators are old, retired people. (Young people have to work, after all.) All this makes voting seem not worth the hassle to millions of Americans.

To change that and increase turnout, Election Day should become a federal holiday. That would allow Americans to vote without worrying about missing work and forfeiting pay, or hurrying through throngs of people in the morning or evening. Younger Americans would also be able to volunteer to oversee the polls, thereby making voting a smoother and faster experience.

While we’re on the subject of changing our electoral system, let’s consider this: At the time the Constitution was drafted, one of the Anti-Federalist objections to the document was to the pluralistic election of representatives. The Anti-Federalists argued this could allow the election of representatives whom most of the community despised, but who still managed to get more votes than anyone else. Instead, according to the Anti-Federalists, districts should select their representatives by majority vote.

I believe that Anti-Federalist objection has merit. How can a representative represent a district if most of the people there hate him? Changing congressional elections to two-stage elections, similar to what I outlined above for presidential elections, would be a good idea. That way, we could ensure the majority of citizens in a district would have voted for their congressman. All the benefits of switching the national presidential election to a two-stage majority vote model would apply here.

Many conservatives would object to the national scope of my reform plan. They’d correctly point out it would erode federalism. Because population centers–cities–would yield greater power, our executive branch might also shift to the left. Given the power of the presidency, this might produce a government similarly inclined to governments in Europe. Anathema to conservatives, that would be.

To counteract the leftward effect and to placate conservatives, I suggest we repeal the 17th Amendment. Let the state legislatures elect senators again. Senators who don’t rely upon the people as an electoral base would be a lot more willing to challenge the president. Not only might the Senate be more conservative than the President, but they’d feel safer defying him since the people who put him in office wouldn’t be the same ones who put them in office. They wouldn’t have to worry as much about the President’s popularity.

In addition, with the people electing both the House of Representatives and the President under my plan, we’d need more checks against the tyranny of the majority. Election of federal senators by state legislatures would constitute such a check.

No electoral procedures could solve all problems. But this extensive reform plan would eliminate many of them:

*Campaigns focusing only on battleground states.

*Nullification of millions of votes.

*Candidates whose only goal is to win a plurality of the ballots.

*Victories by candidates whom most of the community doesn’t support.

*Apathy of the electorate toward politics.

We especially should not underestimate the importance of the last element. Only an interested and engaged citizenry can serve as the foundation of a republic. Without it, a republic cannot stand.

For anyone but the most dedicated poker player, the prospect of travelling all the way to a Las Vegas casino just for a chance to compete in the World Series of Poker can seem a bit daunting. Especially if you don’t live near the gliterring lights, travel can cut into your time and money. Nothing is more frustrating than spending half your bankroll to get somewhere, and then having to spend another sizable chunk of change of the buy in. Instead of giving up on your dream of owning your very own bracelet however, you can just turn on your television. No I am not talking about playing poker online (although that is a viable option), or watching other people play through televised coverage of big events. I’m talking about the World Series of Poker Video Games.

That’s right, video games. On your very own television courtesy of a gaming console. These give the opportunity to practice your game in a totally stress free environment ( like your living room). The great perk of WSOP video games is that graphics can really make you feel like you are the Main Event winner. If you have always dreamed of a bracelet of your own, WSOP video games are the way to achieve that dream.

Weblogs, more commonly known as blogs, are spreading feverishly across the Internet. According to Robyn Aber of Cisco Systems Inc., about four million blogs populate the Web. Though most private individuals maintain blogs, many companies are beginning to launch company blogs to communicate and interact with their clients, customers, and the public.

How can you create a company blog that outshines and outlasts every other blog? And how do you hypnotize readers to keep coming back? This article provides tips to write effective, attention-arresting blog copy and shows how you can develop reader and customer loyalty.

1. WRITE CONVERSATIONALLY.

The most engaging blogs speak to their audience in a casual and conversational tone. A big benefit of a blog is its ability to speak to readers in a way that is personal, candid and straightforward. Write your blog the same way you’d speak to your audience, face to face. The personal element is almost always what attracts people and keeps them coming back to your blog.

Amy Joyce of the Washington Post says, “Web logsor blogsstarted as a way to talk about new technologies, vent about life and interact in a no-holds-barred forum. Since blogs became the next big thing, an increasing number of companies have come to see them as the next great public relations vehiclea way for executives to show their casual, interactive side. But, of course, the executives do nothing of the sort. Their attempts at hip, guerrilla-style blogging are often painedand painful.”

To avoid this pitfall, simply be yourself. The best blogs reveal the interests, opinions, and personality of the writer. Your perspective, personal and professional, is unique in all the world. Let it shine through, and your blog will automatically be one-of-a-kind. An interesting blog will bring back customers again and again and will generate priceless interest in your company.

2. TELL STORIES.

Readers want to know things they already don’t know about your company. They want to know what the products, services, people, challenges, and innovations in your organization are really like. If you give them a glimpse of the inner workings, express your opinions boldly, and tell engaging stories, you will foster reader interest and loyalty. In a biography, both interviews and quotations usually are the most intriguing parts. Think of your company blog as a business biography. Personalize it with your unique thoughts and perspective.

3. MAKE IT PERSONAL.

Write about what you know. Draw from your expertise to inform the public about the finer points of your business. Detailing development ideas, setbacks, successes, and reactions reveals the human element and engages the reader. It’s fine to talk about new products and innovations, but blogs devoted mostly to marketing and promotion are the most boring and least popular of company blogs. Make these topics more appealing to readers by framing such announcements with personal impressions and insights. Customers want to feel a kinship with the brand. Letting them in on the details of your business will make them feel part of your company culture and increase the chances of their lifetime loyalty.

4. UPDATE FREQUENTLY.

Once you have established a good reader base, offer new insights regularly to reward surfers for coming back. Not only does this provide more information and exposure, but it also reflects that your company is active and on top of things. Link to current articles from other sources to keep readers abreast of developments in your sector. A rarely-updated blog feels stale and tired. This is not the reputation you want your company to have!

5. ADHERE TO COMPANY RULES.

You are personally responsible for whatever material you publish on your company blog. Respect the confidentiality of your organization and employees. Though you may express disagreements or concerns, do not make personal attacks or use the blog to air petty complaints. Do not reveal proprietary information; and avoid discussing revenue, share price, or other financial statistics. Observe copyright law, and quote sources as you would in any other document. Make sure what you write in the company blog reflects the company’s goals. Keep in mind the ultimate goal of most company blogs is to increase visibility and promote the exchange of information. While most companies allow and encourage blogging on company time, you should avoid letting your writing time interfere with your regular workload.

6. WRITE GRAMMATICALLY.

Finally, make sure that what you write is grammatical. Your blog entries reflect your company, and you want to give the best possible impression of the organization and its personnel. The Internet is rife with bad English. Though blogs tend to be relaxed in tone, it is no more appropriate to ignore standard English than it is to wear flip-flops and swimming trunks on casual Friday. Use a program like StyleWriter ( http://www.StyleWriter-USA.com ) or White Smoke ( http://www.WhiteSmokeSoftware.com ) to find and fix embarrassing grammar mistakes and help you write like a pro.

A company blog is an excellent tool for promotion, communication, and information. The tips outlined here will help elevate your blog and generate traffic and interest. Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of blogging!

For more articles on business writing and writing for blogs, visit http://www.ElectronicWritingCourse.com or http://www.ReadabilityFormulas.com and click on “Free Articles.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
BRIAN KONRADT is a freelance writer and founder of FreelanceWriting.com (www.freelancewriting.com), a free web site to help writers master the business and creative sides of freelance writing; he also is founder of BookCatcher.com (www.bookcatcher.com), a free website to help authors promote their books.

Today we have a new franchise report from the Federal Trade Commission to further inhibit the franchise model thru more redundant paper work and over regulation, which will only serve the lawyers and give job security to the bureaucrats. However, it serves no free man in this present period. If you look at all the comments in the FTC’s franchise report and rule making session; you see dickering from both sides over phrases, disclosure topics, wording in the UFOCs from lawyers, franchise rights groups and industry associations.

If you want children to stop fighting over a toy, take the toy away and they will not be fighting over it anymore. Then maybe the children or adolescents will get along; franchisees, franchisors, Lawyers and consumer groups. The toy in this case is of course all the rules created by the FTC to provide a point of sound a fury to each side. If you remove the rules and allow the free market to justify itself you will see very quickly that the children will learn to get along better. Yet instead now we have the FTC playing parent and each child is trying to get the parent to render a decision? Why not remove the toys and the parents and make the kids work it out.

Why is the FTC being the judge over plastic shovels in the sand box? We should be letting entrepreneurs build more sand boxes, industries and business models to accomplish and satisfy the needs and desires of the consumers, rather than forcing everyone into the same box. We also need to allow for more shovels so all players can have room to move and play in the free market sand box. If the FTC, teacher, is controlling who gets the shovel for how long and what they are allowed to do with the shovel then the kids can only use their imagination so long, before they are cut short in what could have been an excellent sand castle. A castle providing jobs, points of trade and satisfied kingdom where it pays for everyone to get along is best for all concerned and it sure makes the teacher much more appreciated and useful.

If we will back off of all the incessant rules and regulations we will have kids learning to share, get along and become better citizens, not running to the teacher every time they did not get their way and forgetting why they are all there in the first place. To learn and grow, to build and create, to innovate and experiment, to serve the common good and create a win-win situation for all concerned in that period of their endeavors.

In watching the attacks in the this rule making process sand box and clarification from the teacher as to who gets to use the shovel to hit the other kids and who gets to throw sand back at who; I see a trend from outside this sand box looking in. That observation tells me that it is unworthy of my time to join in and tells entrepreneurs not to invest time or money into the franchising model at all.

The teachers have forgotten why they are there and are making it hell on the kids. Why play? Entrepreneurs, real ones, build and create and when you force them into a box you do not get their best efforts, no one does. Not them, their sand castles, employees, the kingdom, the future of the next recess period of economic expansion. The only one who will win is the little cry baby, lawyers, who runs and tries to convince the teacher why they should be allowed to have the golden shovel and why it is not fair that Johnny is building a beautiful sand castle for all the others to play with.

The FTC is wrecking franchising and allowing crybaby attorneys to argue over words, when we need live and let live so we can all prosper again. Johnny gets the shovel unless Margaret cries or Mark hits Elizabeth and she tells the teacher. If Johnny builds a sand castle too good, it must be torn down because it will make little Billy feel insecure, even though he pushed Lisa off the slide four weeks ago who fell on David who told his Mom who mentioned it to the assistant principal.

So because there is sound an fury in this little world along with some restless natives we are not going to allow Johnny to use the shovel unless he promises not to build creative sand castles and when he does immediately destroy them or give them to the other kids as soon as he is nearly completed. What is wrong with you people at the FTC and what is wrong with this picture?

I find the world of franchise rule making similar to the Six Tour de France wins from Lance Armstrong. Now the French want to redesign the course to make it easier so some one else can win, by taking out some hills? Why? They had 20 stages times six years to win. Six years to beat the best. Now since they want everyone to be equal and the same we see they are going to change the rules so someone else can win, who? Little Billy? Is this promoting strength of character, dedication, perseverance or commitment? No it is promoting a sand box of weak, less serious, less intelligent, less opportunity, less cooperation, fewer choices, so everyone can be controlled. Others feel they should just stand and spit at Lance and other market winners as the drive by, perhaps slow him done, because the other riders or market competitors are weak and cannot compete with that level of commitment.

I can understand in a sort of cynical way why France might do this, being a socialist minded society and all that. But I cannot understand why some schools cannot keep score in soccer in lower grades anymore, why sand box controls are more important than free enterprise and why we in the United Sates of America are trying to micro manage Franchising with over regulation to appease a bunch of lawyers so they have something to squabble over. You cannot get lawyers to agree on anything, why would franchise law be any different and why are we even listening?

It is time for the FTC to step back from the sand box, allow the free markets to adjust them selves and reduce the rules and allow the sand box work it all out. We have way too many crybabies (attorneys) getting way too much attention from the teacher to get anything done in the franchising sector. Let the creative geniuses build their sand castles, let the market work this out, eliminate the rules and give back the freedoms to the entrepreneurs then you will have all the jobs you want, more kids attending the school, more playgrounds to oversee and more opportunity, prosperity and a brighter future for America. We need to make room for the next set of hard charging entrepreneurs to come along. God knows little Ray Kroc was probably building sand castles as a child, he was building and creating even at that early age. Is the FTC trying to destroy the next set of up and coming entrepreneurs? Yes, absolutely, whether they realize it or not. I call that pure evil, the kindergarten or first grade teacher from hell. There is nothing more evil in the world than destroying creativity or innovation so the forward progression of mankind can be attained. Likewise all the players in the sand box can graduate to the next grade. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/