I stand semi corrected about White House

Ok so I have sent a fax back in 6/6/2010 regarding Immigration policy and received a response from the white house in Nov 2010 (see previous blog). In my letter I asked for a picture of the president, the idea is to find out if they read the letter or just saw the title. Well today I received the picture (see picture).
Of course the picture is generic like the letter with no mention of my name in either of the documents (hence the semi corrected) nor touching on the subject I inquired about from my fax and later an email. BUT nevertheless I got a picture signed (photo copied by the President), and this is at least some communication you get from the White House.
I shall test the same communication during a different president and report.
Thank you

In response to the World Cup Editorial published Monday, December 06, 2010 in Evansville Courier & Press.

The view of the article was that Qatar was an odd choice as to U.S. with Indianapolis losing a chance to host some of the games.

    What the Editorial failed to realize is that this is "World Cup" not USA Cup or only for the elite nations! Unlike American Football, World Cup is shared by the entire globe, and each nation is entitled to make a bid for this great sporting event without prejudice to size, ethnicity, population, etc. But can the Host nation provide the facilities, security, and newness to showcase what other parts of the world offer? Qatar can and FIFA believed it can accomplish what it promised it will do.

The editorial argued the fowling regarding Qatar:

1. A flat country with short on scenery and people. WOW what a closed minded view that is. So anything short of Indiana corn fields is considered short on scenery? Qatar white sand beaches rival those in Florida. As for the people, they are as hospitable as any small town USA, just because their dress code/language is different doesn't make them short in that regard.
   
2. The article argues the country average temperature is 106 reaching to 130F, which meant how can you play Football? But the author failed to mention what technical feat the country is taken, something I doubt Indiana or for that matter U.S. can handle at this time. Qatar has taken upon itself to revolutionize the cooling of its outdoor stadiums, utilizing Solar power to generate electricity and in return run all the air conditioning units to keep the temperature at the stadium at below 80F during the games, during none game time electricity will go back to the grid. For a country that has Oil & Gas to choose this route (Solar); one must tip their hat to them if they can pull it off. Can we do this in Indiana? I doubt it we still fighting about Roberts Stadium and downtown arena.
   

       Just imagine how this technological feat can be adopted to future stadiums we build in this nation? We talk about being none dependant for foreign oil, yet the country that has it actually has a plan for renewable energy! Go figure.
   

3. I do have to thank the author for showing the country generosity; donating the stadiums to poor countries once the event is complete, talk about recycling and moving the renewable energy of the stadiums to other cities in the world to benefit. (Maybe Evansville can ask for one of the stadiums to replace Roberts!).
   

 

    How about security one might argue, well I only have to direct each and everyone to the latest news about TSA treatments of its own citizens, how do you think TSA would treat the various fans that will enter this great nation of ours? Here is a hint, not good.     Other argument I saw online was that Qatar is a country that doesn't treat women right, Jews not allowed and other ignorant remarks. I do understand people fear of the unknown or different. Qatar was one of the first Persian countries to open ties with Israel (trade relation started in 1996), also do not be surprised to see the various US bases in Qatar.

    Qatar is a progressive nation with women allowed to work, drive, do what women do in the US; Qatari law doesn't all work/pay discrimination between men & women for same job. You are just asked to follow the law just like the US has its laws.

    This FIFA event will showcase to the world the beauty of that part of the world and different can be good sometime. We are not disconnected from the rest of the world but all connected to each other.

 

North Korea vs Iran vs USA

So let me get this straight North Korea has nuclear weapons (2002), admit to having them, tested the missiles (2206) and what did our Ex-President Bush did in 2008à took them off the Axis of Evil list/State Sponsor of Terror! Was the cowboy scared of attacking North Korea or is it because no oil in North Korea? So he decided Iraq is a better story to sell to the public?

What happens next à North sunk a South Korean ship and now attacked an island killing people! What we do now under new administration we send a ship (USS George Washington) to play a war game with South Korea. In the mean time North Korea is like a wild child not being checked and told to stop behaving foolishly with such instigation attacks (China must be wielding major power to keep the US out of the region business à this is another story). The US needs to concentrate on North Korea now and not Iran; at least Iran is all talk (for now) and has not attacked its neighbor (yet). Before people jump on and say: did you forget the Iran-Iraq war, I say check your history of who was helping Iraq at that time (USA was supplying military weapons and spying to keep the war going).

What I suggest:

1. USA have balls to stop North Korea at its tracks and stop playing with fire OR surrender to North and leave Korea
   
2. Major economic and political embargo against the North
   
3. Target (Clandestine) killing of VIP in North Korea, similar to what has been done lately in Iran (two nuclear scientist attacked in Iran by attaching magnetized bombs to their car during am commute, one killed the other injured)
   

Not doing anything about North Korea will only give the message out that obtaining nuclear weapons and being reckless is OK, since we are afraid to touch you, otherwise if you are a weak nation we will kick your butt!!!!

 

Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog: Which companies will be naughty or nice this holiday season?

Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog: Which companies will be naughty or nice this holiday season?

President Obama & Immigration

I have received this letter from The White House - Presidential Correspondence, in response to my letter that I sent. As you see its a generic letter that is sent and no mention to any issues I have posted to the President, they also could have; at least Said "Dear Shadi", unless me and Mr. Obama go way back and are good Ole Buddies!!! - Anyway, reason I sent a letter (actually two) is to see if the President actually reads 10 letters/day or this is just a PR! Also give my two cents about certain Immigration issues.
Letter below:
----------------------------------------------------

Dear Friend:

Thank you for writing me. I have heard from many Americans concerned about immigration, and I value your input as we work to address this pressing challenge.

We are all united under the principles etched onto our Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Our Nation has always prospered from this generous and hopeful spirit. Yet, today, our immigration system is broken and a large portion of our economy depends on millions of workers living in the shadows. We are a Nation of laws and a Nation of immigrants, and we must reconcile those traditions.

For too long, politicians in Washington have exploited this issue to divide us rather than searching for practical solutions that unite us. We must put politics aside and offer a comprehensive solution that secures our borders, enforces our laws, and reaffirms our rich tradition of welcoming immigrants.

There is broad consensus around building a solution that stops the flow of undocumented workers across our borders and prevents employers from hiring undocumented workers. However, we know that enforcement is only part of the solution. We must also require undocumented immigrants who are already here to step out of the shadows and onto a responsible path to earn citizenship by demonstrating sound character, a commitment to America, and a strong work ethic.

To learn more about my policies on immigration, please join me online at: www.WhiteHouse.gov/agenda/immigration. For additional information and resources, visit www.dhs.gov or call 1-800-375-5283. Again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

GM Shares

We are the people that own GM!!! NOT TOO FAST says our government, it's the investment bankers that underwrite it and will own it!

So let me get this straight à GM Default goes bankrupt wipe shareholder value à United State Government bails GM out with everyone's tax dollars à GM exit bankruptcy fast!! (you would think it would take years for huge corporation like GM) à GM with its Lean no debt loading goes for IPO à Fools like us not allowed unless you are the super doper rich or investor banker then you are allowed to own some of those shares!

OK and let me get this straight also à The investment banks are the same ones we bailed out à now they want to snub us?

So if the US government is not run by the people for the people who the hell running this government?

I say let the people that bailed out GM aka Government Motors to buy into this IPO and let us make some quick cash to be able to bail the same ***holes that will most likely need another bailout in the future!

 

USA Elections

So now the 2010 elections behind us what will we expect from the new formed GOP and Democrats?

Major reforms will be upon us and unemployment rate will plummet drastically by next presidential elections and everyone will live happily ever after …….. wait a second this politics we are talking about not cartoon.

My own predictions with republicans wining the house and taking few seats from under the democrats in the Senate, this will turn into an ugly battle between those two parties and again nothing will be accomplished. The main losers are the people of the United States who voted for them. Why because most the politicians are paid by lobbyist firms (check out the biggest spenders http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?type=A ) Do I blame them? No not really, they got family to feed, kids and their own private interest before they think of the rest, anyone of us probably will do the same, and you are selling a service to the highest bidder.

Of course I will be reminded that, this is what makes United States great country ability to vote and freedom of speech, while I do not disagree with this premise, I differ in how things are going, we are in the internet age, fast information flowing all around us, smart phones that can do things super computers only dreamed of 20 years ago. Here is where I would like to see us going in 10-15 years:

1. Let the people vote on majority of issues that goes in front of the house/Senate without inserting unwanted items in the bill to satisfy various pockets. Example how this can run in new age polling:
   
   1. A bill is introduced by gathering enough signatures to have it in the ballot. Instead of having our two major parties duel it out (that can be fun though if it was an actual duel), let the people decide.
      
   2. Bill goes on for a vote just similar how we just voted on State issues pertaining to our Taxes, Immigration in AZ, marijuana in CA, etc BUT instead of going to polling stations we vote using our computers, Phones, Tablet PC by:
      
      1. Accessing a secure website for voting
         
      2. Entering a PIN number that was mailed to each person, plus last 4 digits of SSN
         
      3. Most of the devices I spoke about have cameras built in, this is used to take a picture of voter and compare it to record. Maybe also take a picture of our driver license!
         
      4. Once all is established you vote
         
      5. Of course for some the might need to go to library or polling place if they do not have the current technology to do the above
         
   3. Elections end by midnight
      
   4. Results known immediately as soon as polls closes
      
2. No need for the people to support 435 Congressman and 100 Senators; look at the yearly savings if we drop those numbers in half. Congressman salary is $165K and Senator is at $174K total saving of around $44 Million a year in salaries not to mention all the side benefits (healthcare, pension etc). That money can be put to good use.
   
3. A more efficient and lean government can be formed here when you are cutting the red tape from house and Senate and stop having party affiliation. I want a person that can THINK on their own not follow his party. OR let us make it a kingdom have Bush era, Clinton Era, we had the Kennedy's era.
   

Maybe I can be proven wrong and D & R will work together in the next two years but I'm not willing to bet the house on it. I will wait to see if voting will happen as I predicted above.

NPR actions

        It's interesting to see how this country needs a reason to find an escape goat in certain groups (wrong color, religion, sex etc) we speak of tolerance and democracy but damn if you go against me! In the past the "White" or so called Anglo-Saxon had slavery and considered themselves none Bigots, political correction came in and changed the name referring to salves from using the N word to African-American (1920 when they got their rights to vote). We also have the Anti-Japanese sentiment; this movement treated the Japanese similar to Slavery or Hitler for that manner (minus the gas chambers) by having "War Relocation Camps".

        Reading the Testimony of John L. DeWitt, April 13, 1943, House Naval Affairs Subcommittee to Investigate Congested Areas: "I don't want any of them [persons of Japanese ancestry] here. They are a dangerous element. There is no way to determine their loyalty... It makes no difference whether he is an American citizen, he is still Japanese. American citizenship does not necessarily determine loyalty... But we must worry about the Japanese all the time until he is wiped off the map." OH my how we have changed from those days, now we drive Japanse cars and play on Playstation.

         So to me it seems a natural reaction in this country if a small member of a group does something bad then it must be by default the entire group that is bad and we HAVE to hate them no questions asked. Pearl Harbor happened and by default we can't trust those "Japs", 9/11 happened and we can't trust ANY Muslim. This is a normal reaction to something we do not know or understand. With Black we used Skin color as differentiation with Muslims it's Religion!

        Let us assume the role was reversed and NPR had an Arab-American who said this:" When I fly and see Hasidic Jew I get scared".

Do you think Fox news would say this is his free speech right or would Fox have went on the attack? Would they have offered him $2 Million contract to give Fox a different point of view? Do I agree with NPR firing John Williams for speaking his personal views? No I do not. If Juan did say this is NPR views then NPR has right to fire him (if he was speaking outside NPR views). Just like any of us bad mouthing the company you work for in public, they can terminate your employment if they deem you not following their Vision. Yes what NPR did is wrong in taking this drastic action, but as a Muslim I want to thank them for taking a stand to support the minority group that is under constant attack.

I leave you with Mr. Jesse Ventura statement:" The First Amendment was not written to protect the popular speech but the unpopular one"

Stock picking

I was told Yahoo is good because of possibility it might be acquired. I tend to disagree even though I'm yahoo user and have been for long time.

Here is what I like and own:

Citibank – C

General Electric – GE, got to love this with nice yield also

Verizon ( I own) or ATT – VZ or T, talk about 6% yield, can't find that any saving     accounts

Want to diversify more how about some Phrama Stocks, Merck (MER), Eli Lilly (LLY) or Pfizer (PFE) all paying 4% + in yield.

 

Love to hear other inputs? Don't be shy

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth

I sent this letter to our U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth, regarding immigration issues. I liked the reply I got back from him. Talk about an automated reply, but at least I have to give him this he did reply while our President didn't (sent President Obama two letters). Please see letter below and reply I received. PS. Mr. President I'm still waiting for my reply.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth

101 NW Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Room 124
Evansville, IN 47708

Ref: Immigration to the USA
To Mr. Brad Ellsworth,
    I'm puzzled and irate on how US current immigration system works, it seems to me that anyone trying to immigrate to the US in a legal way following the law, gets passed over by the illegal immigrants and their rights!
    Perfect example, when I became a US citizen over 10 years ago (that's another story), I applied for my father and he received his Green card. After that he applied for my siblings under his name. My sister gained her PhD from xxxx University in Chicago in Medical Physics (via Fulbright scholarship) and my brother is IT manager at biggest bank in UAE. After few years my father decided he has no need for the Green Card and gave up his right to it. His thinking was, I do not plan to migrate to US and use the resource that is meant for others.
    On the other hand my siblings continued the paper work and finally received this year a letter indicating need to pay $70 for AOS (Affidavit Of Support) that was paid, then another email came in to pay $400 For visa processing fee. My brother paid that fee and now we are told we need to fill form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) I was going to fill this form (since I'm the one residing in the US) but to my surprised only the person that applied for them (i.e. our father) has to fill it. Since he gave up his right for the Green Card he couldn't fill that form, therefore we inquired with an attorney about the next step? To my surprise again, I was told NOTHING we can do except start the processes AGAIN and Jordanian citizens have a wait of 9 years! In other words the time they waited and reached this approval process will not be counted! Interesting.
    How about when my brother came to visit in June got harassed by TSA (this was not his first entry) or my sister when she came to a conference and she was a presenter got also harassed by a TSA agent asking her if she is called a doctor in her country! What a sham, they come here for pleasure and spend $$ get harassed come here for a conference they get harassed!
    I travel a lot for work and as a matter of fact, at one of my trips we sat next to each other on our way to Detroit. I'm sure you can tell TSA screening needs to be overhauled; you have been to Israel and saw how it's done.
    What do you suggest? Ask them to cross the border illegally, carry with them drugs and sue the government or the state for trying to stop them at gun point? What do you think about using emotional distress from the ordeal for the case? (Similar to what an Arizona rancher faced when he got sued for $7.2 Million by illegal immigrants crossing his ranch!) Why is this country rewarding bad behavior while punishing people that follow the law?
    Do special interest groups carry better weight than the people in this country? We wonder why we have brain drain in this country, and jobs moving overseas, we do not make it feasible to hire the best. Soon India and China will surpass us and wonder why.

Sincerely yours,
Shadi Wadi-Ramahi
cc. President of the United States of America

Jesse Ventura

Here we have a person that to some can seem off the wall and way off his base. His comments can seem insulting and rude. To me the ex governor of Minnesota, Navy Seal, wrestler & actor is a person that should have ran for President, his no nonsense views and ideas is what this country needs. Too bad the media hounded his family like a fox ready to jump on hens, actually a better way to describe the media is a guy who just had Viagra and was thrown in a strip club. It's a sad state of affair when the Media stop concentrating on the good parts and attacks high profile personals family, can't they have respect to privacy?
Anyway, I wish our government took a lead from Jesse when he gave rebates to Minnesotan during their surplus years for the State. WOW what a way to return the money to the people who worked hard for it, instead we gave bailout to failed businesses. Let us think if that $700 billion bailout, what if the government issued checks to each person living in US that be almost $2300 per US citizen (300 million populations) or about $7000 per household. I think we all could have improved the country and got it out of recession by starting to buy products!
Or how about him spending only $300K on his campaign for governor versus rest of idiots out there that spends tens of millions (or in some extreme cases 100's of Millions) to sell us the idea they care! In the 21^st century utilize the internet and stop TV ads (heck we skip them using our Tivio or DVRs). Send the money to people in need, Mr. Ventura I wish you run for President, but I do understand how the Media will go after your family instead of concentrating on real issues.

Finally I would like to leave you with three quotes from the Ex Governor:

1. Government's role should be only to keep the playing field level, and to work hand in hand with business on issues such as employment. But beyond this, to as great an extent as possible, it should get the hell out of the way.
2. I also believe that government has no business telling us how we should live our lives. I think our lifestyle choices should be left up to us. What we do in our private lives is none of the government's business. That position rules out the Republican Party for me.
3. I believe in the America people's ability to govern themselves. If government would just get out of the way and allow them to lead their lives as they choose, they will succeed.

Branding Yourself

    In today's internet age and the information superhighway, where news travel across the globe while they are happening and companies no longer doing business within one region, one would need to think how to evolve around this technology.
    Let us think how companies communicate their image to us. Nike for example has the phrase "just Do It", Apple coined the phrase "Think Different", GE came up with "Imagination at Work", BMW has "The Ultimate driving machine". Even people came up with phrases we associate it with them, think President Obama "Yes We Can" campaign slogan, Dr. King "I have a dream" or how about Ronald Regan "Its Morning Again in America"
    What about individuals like you and me? The idea of coming up with catchy phrase or branding yourself seems…well…not right, or is it? Our evolution started from smaller communities (villages) where each person knew the other, to a larger city reading about our city news in newspapers, to regional/state and country where Television brought us together and now globally with 28% of population connected online and growing at an exponential rate. While online we leave traces behind be it starting a social webpage or writing a blog like this one (or publishing it in local newspaper), it is no longer limited to our small Evansville region. Once this information online it's accessible to anyone anywhere, therefore a careful thinking needs to take place on how your image is being perceived or what information you are trying to convey? At the same time, not having an online presence can be as detrimental as having a bad imagine online, of course it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
    In order to explain this let us take this as an example: We have three (3) individuals that moved to Evansville, one came from England, the other from Chicago and last one from Mexico. Those three individuals were highly respected in their community and great journalists in their small cities where they came from. They were different in the following areas:

• The Englishman while in his resume it said he interviewed royalties and wrote XYZ articles (references available upon request) but he has Zero on-line presence
• The Chicagoan has also a great resume, with on-line presence that showed the person partying , drunk with few quotes from his interviews that has few following
• The Mexican on the other hand, not only he had a great resume but a huge following not only within his region but globally on the issues he discussed online

Knowing that today's HR will search for you on-line (using various search engines) what do you think the initial reaction would be to the above candidates? Of course if we live in "fairy land" all three would be called in for an interview, references would be checked and everyone hired. But we live in high unemployment rate with intense competition. Therefore the HR person will be faced with this:

• Englishman requires more manual research to verify his stories
• Chicagoan while he has written few articles online he has small followers and has shown an imagine that doesn't go well with this Organization (party pictures)
• Mexican not only he has good writings but has a huge followers, which what this Organization needs to build its customer base and increase revenue. This person will gain an interview to investigate him further, while the other two will be eliminated.

To brand yourself and improve your image/reputation online for those who are looking for a job or might be looking for one here are few tips:

1. E-mail address, while "cute" email address can be amusing to your friends to an Organization it doesn't reflect professionalism. Your best bet is to have your first & last name as your email address (e.g. first.last@yahoo.com)
2. In the Social media front, join groups that relates to your field BUT at the same time connect with people outside your field. Let us say you are an Engineer, connect with marketing people for example to gain insight on various businesses. While you have a networked online keep this in mind:
   1. From time to time reconnect with your "networked" individuals, in other words do not treat it as Rolodex card to have when you need it, be active.
   2. Tell people about yourself and who you are.
   3. Avoid controversial images, quotes (unless you plan on making it a topic), associations with groups that will not aid your image. Let us say you want to apply for a job at Exxon but you are part of Greenpeace that protested against that company. Yes it's a free country and Exxon will also be free to toss your resume out.
   4. Leave insightful comments on related blogs using your name or the brand name you created for yourself. Hiding behind "Anonymous" name would convey the message that you are hiding something in your outside life.
   5. Stand out from the crowd. Facebook is more a social medium; create an account in LinkedIn and other professional sites to convey your professional image.
3. Find out what you are passionate about and what drives you to be your best. Maybe you are in the wrong field and would like to switch fields, but how can you relate that to a new employer and reduce the risk. Maybe you want to change from being a Pilot to a car mechanic for NASCAR. Well if you had a youtube video showing how your hobby on working on high performance cars and wrote about it, this will make future employer at ease knowing you have the proper background.
4. Make sure to stay constant to your message and even to your web name
5. Clean up your social medium by removing what can be perceived as unprofessional items
6. Check online for various branding techniques

A person must face the brutal fact of their reality and the truth of their current situation to make the right decisions. This would require you to focus on what you can do better than any other person to lead to the path of greatness.


Finally, if I have missed anything (I'm sure I did), please do include it in the comment lines to help others.
sjwadi.wordpress.com ß my other blog site

Suits over health care law heats up

From USA Today, October 6^th, 2010

First of all I would like to say I agree 100% with Matt Sissel from Iowa City about not having the government dictating his personal financial decisions. Mr. Sissel who is uninsured artist doesn't want to get health insurance and with new Obamacare he doesn't want to pay the penalty for not having one by 2014. Matt I agree with you, this is your right and right of everyone; I don't want to be penalized for something I do not want!!! I also would like to side with attorney general from Virginia to Florida who have filed law suits against this new health care coverage. This is America you can't tell me what to do about my health.

Now since this is our right to refuse (according to the arguments filed by some of the Attorney generals), then I would say it is my right and right of the other insured people out there to ask from the government to stop giving away free Medical Care (Medicaid), I will only agree to provide free health coverage to people who actually can't afford it. What I mean by that is a person that is working to provide good life for his/her family but still falling short. NOT a person that is working have extra cash but decides to spend that cash on body art, smoking, drinking (it's their right) or other none essential items (buying video games or iPhone!) and then decides when he/she gets sick ask us for free care? If they decides to go to ER for none life threatening illness they better give cash for that service, or show insurance card. Let us stop free loaders from our system and stop the abuse.

You cannot have it both ways, refuse health coverage because you know the State or government will bail you out later when you need it.

Rabbis replace Qurans in Mosque Fire

This news was in USA Today (October 6^th, 2010), the Rabbis presented 20 copies of Quran that was burnt in arson in West Bank (Jerusalem) mosque.

Sad part it was in page 16A in small blip on left.

This is the type of news Journalists needs to push to the front page, let us show there are good people who do good deeds regardless of religious beliefs. We gave the pastor in FL huge coverage for wanting to burn the Quran and he held the country hostage. But we can't give this news same treatment?

Thank you for taking care of your neighbors Rabbis, this is how peace in holy land can be accomplished by extending an olive branch.

Clean Energy Solution

Government trying to push for clean energy you says? They are looking at it upside down.

It's like asking the fox to protect the hens; do you really think Utility companies and Oil companies want to find an expensive solution for their current commodity (Oil, Gas, and Coal)? Please do not get me started on the argument about National Security and not depending on foreign oil. If people felt that strongly about it I would see less gas guzzler cars (similar to Europe) on our streets, but opposite is true SUV are back in fashion… I DON'T GET IT ß the argument that is.

You want clean energy from sun here is a solution. Instead of Shingles on the roofs of homes make it Solar wafers. If every new House being built has that part of it look at the new subdivisions that would be generating electricity when you connect all the homes together. Why can't utility companies utilize the roofs on all the industrial buildings out there similar to Edison Electric in California?

But nope as a government we would like to waste money and resources on Clean Energy that doesn't make sense. How is an incentive for electric cars at this time making sense in being Green? Think about it, to Charge your car you have to plug it to an outlet, mmmm this power is coming from "dirty" energy Coal for example and using the Batteries in those cars will let's just say they are not meant to be environmentally friendly. So no thanks I will stick with my good Ole gas engine until a true cleaner car is out in market. Hydrogen?

Elections Bonanza

I'm looking for inputs on why today's candidates spend so much money to be elected?

As my kids would say: I don't get it?

Let us take for example, Meg Whitman who is running for a CA governor position and so far has spent $120Million of her own money plus $20+ million from donations. According to Times magazine she has surpassed the candidates who spent on Presidential elections! For those of you who do not her she was the CEO of ebay and made that company to what it is now with 16000 employees and a reach all over the globe. I will take one point from Meg's website, creating Jobs for CA? The amount of money she has spent so far for this governor race, she could have started a company hired people and helped in CA unemployment. So I DON'T get it, she wants a governor job to help unemployment how?

I'm looking for everyone's input to help me out in this dilemma.

I'm reaching a point to create my own party called "mint tea party"

Social Media and why some are scared of it

You're read on-line or news print about what not to do or share in the social media sites such as Facebook. The argument goes that more "freaks" are out there that will track you down or future employers might use this against you.

While common sense needs to be used of not telling everyone your house is empty and share your address with everyone, it's no difference than telling one of your friends over the phone that info & he/she share it with others!

Killers & Molesters have existed before the internet age and will continue to be there just like cockroaches, hard to kill them but can protect yourself from their "invasion". The internet what it did is moved the info at the speed of light "latterly" since electrons move that fast. So these days we hear about bad news faster & more of it because of the shrinking factor the web produces in bringing far away cities together virtually. Just like the automobile shrank the distance between US cities.

So again the internet is just an extension of technological advancement that might scare us, this how people thought when they went from communicating via Telex or snail mail to calling someone across the US, or idea of carrying your phone with you all the time with embedded tracking device in it. Yes all new phones come with GPS enabled, so your whereabouts are known. How is this any difference from telling your friends online you are not home? Criminals have means of knowing your whereabouts if they know your cell number & we share that with people none stop! I do understand that the web is making it easier for criminal of low IQ to rub you if he/she knows your home is free, at the same token can we really protect everyone from their own foolish behaviors? You choose online posting to share it with friends and family members and you can with tools provided block others. We can't police people from themselves! Or can we?

 

Now let us tackle the employee question regarding a person social presence online. Can it really harm future employment; we have read all so called experts that the answer is yes. In my opinion it's the opposite, I see it as a reference check where it can enhance your employment outlook and employers getting insight on who might fit well within their organization.

Let me explain after those numbers below:

1) There are 80 Million gen Y in the USA alone (born between 1982-1995) that grow up with Myspace, Facebook, youtube, LinkedIn etc, with penetration rate of 90% in this media.

2) There are 100 million users on Myspace, 500+ million on Facebook, 75 Million on LinkedIn, 48 Million on youtube and 100 Million on Twitter.

 

This current Gen Y has entered the job market and will be fully ingrained in the market by year 2017, when the last person born in 1995 will be working (hopefully). This is the generation that was raised during the information age era; to them the information superhighway is part of their culture just like their parents thought of the telephone or cars. This generation uses less of Landline phones than their parents did, why? The information superhighway provided other means of communications to them, such as Skype, texting, IM, etc.

When this generation has control of the job market future hiring managers from Gen Y will utilize the social media as a resume to look for candidates. Unlike today's managers who would look at the negative signs of why not to hire that person. Social media can shed light on how future team members can fit in your organization just by comparing his/her various on-line profiles with your current employees online presence (using set of mathematical rules) to find if the person is a match in your organization or opposite (depending on your hiring preference) to me this is no difference than having an organization hire a physiologist to evaluate a candidate before an offer is made (this has happened to me years ago before joining a company) . So let us say two people apply for a journalist position, both graduated from Ohio University well known Journalism school. But one of them has simple Facebook profile, with few updates on it. The other, has active profile, used Youtube to generate his everyday news and utilized various social media for his writing skills. Who do you think should be hired? Think of this as an internship without actually having to go to work at a company.

Another example, we hear this person should not post their party life as it might affect their career. The flip side is this person career taking him to be in wedding business, or event planner!

I hope I made appoint of how you can extrapolate additional information from each person on-line presence to be useful in the hiring process, why would I discount a person that "showed his party days in college" while at the same time we have had the last three US presidents admitting to smoke weed? How is that any different from showing "party pictures".

YES we can argue its not professional but on whose eyes?

 

Mosque in NY

While in principal we cannot dictate to any group what to do with property they purchased (as long as its within zoning rights), the Muslim group in NY who have interest in building a mosque close to ground zero require some couching and good P.R.

I think we all agree that the reason we all came to America and became citizens of this great nation is for the founding fathers established in the Bill of Rights.

The First amendment talks about "Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition" for those of us who have forgotten what it says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." What a powerful statement, the founding fathers didn't put this amendment as the last one; no they put it as the first foundation of this nation. They also didn't include one religious group or another but just said religion. The NRA goes up in arm supporting the second amendment (Right to keep and bear arms), we need as a nation to fight for what has been established in the Bill of Rights.

It does bother me when I hear the argument regarding building a mosque in NY and some group saying if we allow this then Saudi Arabia should allow building a church there. What is wrong with this argument? For starter you just equated yourself with a regime that was not built around the same principals as here. Second if countries had something similar to Bill of Rights then we could argue treatment of same and the rights of each group to practice religion as they see fit, but that is not the case.

Even though we know what the constitution allow us to build such a place, one must be sensitive to the community they are from, to build a bridge between the Muslim community in NY and other religions in NY (including non religious groups) the founder of this mosque needs to listen. It seems the community has spoken… no mosque. Move the mosque and prayers to another location where you can build a beautiful mosque building and use the building close to ground zero as center similar to the YMCA where everyone is welcomed to join and interact with each other in safe friendly environment. The center then can be a true bridge for community members to see that Muslims are no different than anyone else who moved to America (legally) and help in making this nation better and stronger.

I tell Imam Feisal and his congregation please consider the outcome and the wisdom of such a decision. Starting a project where your neighbors are not comfortable with cannot be a good start. Please do hire a good P.R. firm to move you in the right directions of building the bridge that you seek.

RIM CEO: If You’re Going to Ban the BlackBerry, You Might as Well Ban the Internet Too

Research in Motion (RIMM) co-CEO Michael Lazaridis, has went on a rampage PR with his CTO regarding countries asking for same treatment in viewing the encrypted data. RIM thinking is that they know best for national security and what is the harm from having those countries data stored at RIM in Canada. WOW RIM must thing we are stupid, oh wait they did say that in the article link below!

http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100805/qotd-328/

I used to be an advocate for Blackberry devices, now after this attitude from RIM, I say adios BB, time to switch to Android phones or iPhone. If they are trying to sell us on the illusion of security then I'm not buying it. Would they guarantee me a security for my data if the USA came knocking saying Patriot Act we would like to see XYZ account?

Grow up RIM, you couldn't generate a buzz with your latest Torch device now you trying your best to lose more customers. Do not get cocky, PALM did at one point and see where they at now. Doesn't take too long for you to lose your top position, I do hope Google or Apple come up with a better solution to take more business away from you now.

Coa, Adios, Bye bye RIM

American Airlines

Here is an airline that I'm trying to figure out why they are good? It has never failed even after a long period without flying this airline delays from Chicago seems to be the norm!

The question to be asked from AA is WHO is in charge? I doubt we can keep blaming the government or FAA for lack technology, this is your business work around it, reduce the number of flight leaving Chicago to meet your on-time departure, invest in better communication system.

I know you might say we have the best communication system there is, well let me give you an example: I have tried to take an earlier flight and what did AA say for an empty flight they had? Pay $50 for "Confirmed Standby" or no seat for you! Here is the best part, my original flight ended up to be over booked and AA started given vouchers for anyone that give-up his/her seat. Again let me ask these questions to an airline that paid big $$ to be in "Up in Air" movie:

1. What in the world is "Confirmed Standby"? Either you are confirmed after you paid the $50 or you aren't? Say what you mean AA not play with words.
   
2. Investing in good communication would have allowed the agent to see my original flight is over booked and the agents will ask volunteers to take later flight and pay them (customers) $$ in the process. WOW it doesn't take a genius to see if you have a person welling to take earlier flight it will all be a win-win for everyone. Not AA, they are programmed like robots without thinking how this will affect our operations.
   

So now the question is would I fly this airline again?

Simple answer is NOPE, NILL, ZERO. I would take a Delta flight and change planes twice before I take an airline that can't think on their own and still be delayed same amount of time as if changing two flights (instead of direct).

What a shame you could have gained a customer but instead you got an irate one.

BP vs The White House

BP vs The White House

Let me get this straight, if the white house let the company responsible do what it can to plug the leak with support from Coast Guard we cry foul! If the White House took over the situation from the start we cry foul reasoning Government should not interfere with businesses! Which is it? Damn if you Do Damn if you Don't?

Who started the slogan Drill baby Drill? Did the people forget it was Ms Palin who preached this? When the president finally succumbs to the nation demands for drilling, the spill happens and we started pointing fingers at the White House!

I say look in the mirror America, why are we drilling in the first place? Let us not use more excuses such as our dependant on foreign oil. Those countries need us as much as we need some of their oil. The real reason is our hunger for consuming oil as if it has no end in sight. We all use our cars for travelling to the store that is a mile away! We enjoy our big gas guzzler trucks even if we truly have no need for it. We enjoy spending other resources from electricity and water more than any other nations. If we changed our habits, then businesses will change what they offer us to meet consumer demands. Use a bicycle to go to store and city will provide paths for that, we start using public transit ( I know Evansville isn't Chicago or NY in that area), but with more demand the city would have to expand the routes and build a better system.

Finally, BP, as any major company any of us works for, they would have an Emergency plan in case something happens. That is where the surprise is if a company decides to venture into a business such as deep oil drilling don't we all think they should have had procedures on how to tackle a leak? I have been at various industrial plants, some of which has a great safety record, that doesn't mean I can walk in the plant without my Personal Protective Equipment, that is how these sites remain safe and I stay safe. Same with BP why drill in an area that you do not seem to have expertise at and just hope for the best? We shouldn't blame the White House no more we should have blamed the White House during President Bush dealing with some of Katrina aftermath, people refused to leave their homes after warning been issued so it's the government fault they weren't saved! What a logic we have.

Again I say look in the mirror.

National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS)

A letter to the president:
--------------------------------

            June 6, 2010

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

            Please accept my late congratulations to winning the white house. As and an Arab-American I saw your leadership and charisma as a way to propel this country to the better and to change the US image back to its glory days with our partners overseas. On the other hand I do not envy you on what you have inherited after you won the presidency.

            I do understand that your plate is full these days from dealing with the fragile economy to health care to the oil spill in the gulf. This in my opinion takes a well rounded leadership like yours to tackle all the tasks on hand and I commend you for it.

            I would like to add to your list of tasks on hand an item that touched my family (I’m very positive other families are in same position too). The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), this program was “put in place after September 11, 2001, to keep track of those entering and leaving our country in order to safeguard U.S. citizens and America’s borders.” ^{from http://www.ice.gov/pi/specialregistration/index.htm}. In a way I do understand the program intentions and the need to keep our borders safe, but its implantation is a different story. To give you an example of resources wasted at our airports:

            When a person is granted a visiting US visa, who also in the past have had multiple US visas and entered the country legally, who has a residency in developed country and a job in the country’s top bank with vital responsibility is hassled by an officer at the airport regarding NSEERS registration is well mind boggling. I’m speaking here of my brother who resides in UAE and carry a Jordanian citizenship. He enjoys visiting the US to see his brother and also to be a tourist and in return help our fragile economy in small way. This latest trip for him left a source taste in his mouth regarding his treatment at the airport. As a road worrier I travel the US for my job and I see firsthand TSA security, do I feel safe when I board the plane knowing a job was well done? Not at all. Our border security as you aware needs major enhancement, some that
come to mind:

·    Have US consulate at respective countries run background checks before issuing visiting Visas. This acts as First defense.

·     NSEERS can be eliminated if we utilize the computer powers in the US, what I suggest is:

o  Visas are scanned when entering and exiting the country instead of going to “special” office to obtain boarding pass BEFORE registering your departure! The scan would then notify all proper authorities’  servers.

o  If the individual visiting has a relative who is a citizen of this country.

§ Relative information could be verified by tapping into the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicle) records to match name and address or even tapping into assessor’s office to verify home location and name.

§  Require the visitor after X amount of weeks in the US to visit a local Police department to re-register their location. For example in Jordan on your 3^rd week in country a visitor needs to do that.

o  On the other hand if a visitor indicates he/she will be at a hotel during their visit, have the hotels scan the passport visa and tie their server to TSA servers. Doing so would verify the individual location and verify that individual actually went to their intended location.
This can also be used with car rentals.

·    Train TSA and security personnel to spot out of the ordinary behavior. Israel could lend us a hand on this. Wasting security resources stopping random people or everyone coming from a certain country puts a strain on security resources. Doing so get our TSA more focused on threats rather than stopping old ladies on cane or toddlers that we assume pose a serious danger!

I have taken more than enough of your time regarding the NSEERS issue; the ADC (American Arab Antidiscrimination Committee) has a paper that was published March 2009 (http://www.adc.org/PDF/nseerspaper.pdf). I’m also sure some of my suggestions would raise a flag with ACLU.

Again thank you for taking the time to read a letter from a citizen of this great country of ours and thank you for all the work you have done so far.

Sincerely yours

Shadi Wadi-Ramahi

Russia arms sales to Syria 'don't help peace': Israel

So it has been a while since I wrote some thoughts on here, but seeing this headline just made me wonder…. “Russia arms sales to Syria 'don't help peace': Israel”
Mr. Lieberman called Russia "hypocritical" over their stance on terrorism. This is mind blowing, but one should expect from politician.
Why is anything that would make Israel neighbor stronger in protecting themselves is called hypocrite, while US supplies arms every year to Israel?
Supplying Israel with:
1) F-35 Jet fighter AND fuel for the fighters
2) Patriot missiles
3) 66mm anti-armort weapons and training rockets
4) GBU-0 small diameter bombs by Boeing
5) Combat ships by Lockheed that is equipped with 2MK 41 Vertical Launch System
What would we call this kind of a supply against peace in region Mr. Lieberman? I Know, I Know, its called Israel defending itself from its enemies that surround it. But if the so called “enemy” is asked to not have a low tech Mi-G fighters then why would Israel needs all the high tech weaponry to defend itself?

For true peace in region one must dismantle all weapons in that region (including the nuclear ones that Israel keeps a tight lid on).

Let us not use the phrase either you are with us or against us. This phrase leads to no where. A true leader and decisive is required to be able to move this region forward. Listening to special interest groups will always lead us to the path of darkness vs the path of illumination.

TEA Party

I know it has been a while since I wrote down some thoughts, but this tea party movement is getting into me.

The TEA party movement claims they do not belong or side with any party is puzzling to me.
I believe this party is wearing the vale of hard core conservative party, nothing wrong with that if you know where you stand. Where I have a problem with is the idea to claim you are independent yet the majority of their speakers are hard core right wing from Sarah Palin to Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and to getting advice from Virginia based organization that trains conservative leaders.
This party would have my respect if they do not hide behind a vale of Independent thinking, how anyone could hold an intelligent conversation when the premise of this party is that taxes are is a socialist thing and this country is not a democratic one?

First of all to all TEA party people, I do agree excessive taxes would put a hamper on this country growth and being an entrepreneur leader in this global economy. But to say taxes is a socialist agenda then how do you propose to pay for our civil servants, such as police departments who protect our community, fire departments who rush to your rescue and so on.

Second, to all the senior people joining this party shouting socialist government, I stand 100% behind you. I say cancel Medicare and Social Security for everyone and save this country. Why in the world the government needs to take care of the elderly! Are we becoming socialist, I’m an American where I do not care for my next door neighbor. The elderly who didn’t save enough for retirement I say shame on you, why you asking for asking the country to help you with your Medical needs. As for Social Security which is a sticky situation since the government is taking the money from our pay to fund this program I say END it. Why? Well if we END the Social Security the government would have to find a different way to borrow cash to fund its growth (which I truly do not support) and in the process might make our government more leaner and not waste cash.
I say if government wants to make sure we have cash to retire then put that money into an account I have access to and the government can NOT touch.

Finally, the USA needs to stop policing and giving aid to every country around the globe while we are facing a recession and a major deficit.

I say to all the TEA party give a solution to the problem at hand and not just rally for the sake of it. Propose how you can reduce deficit and move this country forward and you will see me cheering for you. Last thing I need is whinny cry people on my hand to pacify. Be productive, I’m certain among you there are intelligent accountant, leaders, finance people that can come up with a better plan to help the country rather than showing my gun is bigger than you and calling names.

President Obama Budget and Security at Airport

Reading in USA Today (2/2/2010) "Budget at a Glance" and below it "Airport-security plan calls for 500 body scanner in 2011".

First I'm glad to see we finally moving to full body scanners to get security lines moving faster (no more removing jackets and other items you have on) to go thru a metal detector. Problem though is that the government is spending $215 million to outfit nearly half the airports with those scanners (500 to be acquire combined with 450 to be bought this year), but the defense budget is set at $192.3 BILLION. Isn't defense budget is to protect us from outside threats and keep waging a war no one wants, WELL how about this for a radical idea, take the $0.3 from the $192.3billion and we have an extra $300million to outfit the rest of the airport in the country and have extra to send to international airports to protect flights heading to the US. Would the defense department really miss those $300 million, heck I would even classify it as part of defense to begin with.

Energy, will I'm glad we are seeing a push for nuclear energy now. If we have to "tax" coal fired plants (cap and trade) and make consumers pay for this tax hike, provide us with alternative ebergy such as nuclear that can be cheaper.

TSA and security!

Reading about various securities breaches in US airports makes a person wonder if current security procedures are truly implemented.
For instance since when an older guy in wheel chair or a toddler are security threats and must be patted down? While on the other hand we look the other way afraid of "profiling". Some might ask why Shadi you are from Middle East that means you will get profiled?
When I talk about profiling our TSA personal need to be trained at spotting people that would stand out and at the same time use technology to aid in that. I understand getting all technology scanners all over the nations airport can be costly but if you think about it the cost is alot cheaper the going to war and acting after the fact.
Why cant we:
1) Look for passenger that fit profile of age group that commit those unspeakable crimes.
2) Create a national registry for passengers that are welling to go thru background check and provide them with ID to enable ease of travel for them and have a specialize lane (this is being done but on small scale)
3) Create a conveyor for passenger to step on, get scanned and read their vital signs for any signs of stress or out of ordinary and flag them.
4) Create a harsher punishment for anyone that trespass security lanes, by longer prison sentence and fines that equal amount of damage caused by flight delays and extra security at airport.
4) eliminate the 3oz rule and have machines that can scan the liquids inside

Just few of my thoughts, looking forward for additional ones.
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