Tearing up -13 Oct 10

I’m setting here watching the miners come outta the ground from that Chile mine disaster and its hard to not tear up when an event like this takes place – real hard. I don’t care what kind of tough guy you might think you are – emotions are emotions.

Over the years I have been involved in many search and rescue missions, the great majority while I was in the Army. Most of my experience was gained during my Army career while in Alaska. Every spring, we were constantly on some kind of rescue mission especially with the spring run-offs of the rivers and the native villages along them.

I also recall the Baby Jessica rescue from that backyard well that took place out in West Texas not so long ago. Do you remember the elation you felt when she was finally out of the well and seemed to be perfectly OK? Its like that today.

I guess my best memory of all came on 25 January of 1981. That’s the day the 52 Hostages that Iran took when they stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held the hostages for 444 days. Now I didn’t have the slightest thing to do with the rescue of the Hostages. But I was one of the few who saw them first set foot on American soil after their release.

At the time I was stationed at the United States Military Academy (USMA) and living at Stewart Army Sub-Post where their plane actually landed upon return to the U.S. We were not allowed to get anywhere close to the Hostages but we could make them out as we squinted to see inside the busses that transported them to the Thayer Hotel at West Point. There was some cheering that day – just as there is in Chile every time a new arrive is seen atop the shaft and freedom is once more gained by the miners.

Try to keep a tear outta your eyes.



1st Look at the Busses after Hostage arrival









Busses rolling out.







As close as we got to the Hostages










Bus headed to West Point - Everybody HAPPY

Iranian protestor still at it!

The war of words keeps going back and forth at the very top of both governments: the US and Iran’s. Neither can give in at this point; but it seems that the US is getting the best of the Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami and President Ahmadinejad. The Iran guys have definitely not done well in the eyes of the world leadership, the world press, and don’t even give the populous the opportunity to comment.

With Senior Iranian Cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami threatening that some protestors should be dealt with “harshly” and some even “worthy of execution”, there is little wonder that Iran is fighting a PR battle that they can not win; but in their minds, they probably don’t even care. They are trying to become the spiritual and ideological leaders in the Middle East by promoting their tangent Islamic form of religion and justice. They only have to survive as a government to win the battle in their minds.

President Obama, backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has only to continue to take the “High Ground” by responding to jabs from a government that has taken the position it has against its own citizens. The Iranians in power have made a mess out of the entire situation with the entire world watching them do so. Do they understand this? Who knows?

On the other hand, President Obama has stated that “Mousavi had captured the spirit and imagination of the Iranian people who want a more free society.” While this may be true; we have only the media’s word for this. Our leadership, in an effort to stay neutral, has not released any statements on what intelligence they actually have on the situation. I don’t know about you guys, but I am extremely uncomfortable taking the word of the visual media in almost any occurrence. The size of the spirit and imagination is really hard to measure from this distance; especially in thirty second sound and video bytes. Of course, there may be a better observation point at the level that President Obama sits; I certainly hope so.

Keep in mind that one on the ruling council opposes and has spoken out many times against the leadership and their actions, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He even saw his daughter detained for a short period earlier; more than likely in an attempt to send a message to him. Rafsanjani chairs the Assembly of Experts and has the power to remove Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami from his position; a real “outta the box step” for Iran.

Watch Rafsanjani. He’s the dark horse in the Big Gamble.

Where is Iran headed?

Pay attention to what happens at the end of this Iranian hoop-de-do. Everything just might work out completely different from where we all are being lead by the media. You just never know.

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson.

While Thomas Jefferson had reason to utter the foregoing; it might be a little too far fetched for this day and time. Newspapers admittedly have some agenda; but they are much more adept at the real news than the “short-byte” visual media. Thirty seconds just isn’t long enough to get to the bottom of anything.

The major problem we have with the Iran situation is that it is becoming more difficult to get the news out of Iran as each day passes. This might lead the visual journalist, under the gun for a sound byte, to “report” what they are spoon fed regardless of their integrity.

Republicans in the US are assailing the President for his lack of toughness on the Iranian protests. This is their best challenge to the Islamic Republic since the bad guys took over from the Shah back in 1979 – you remember that, don’t you.

Don’t be surprised if there is more behind the protests than election results; camouflage is not exactly transparent as it might seem. Look for Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to come out of this with more power than he went into it with; even with his daughter’s involvement – more here also than meets the eye.

Mir Hossein Mousavi may not become President, but some other big change just might take place.