Help The Small Farmer

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by melpol

Giant subsidized farms have destroyed the small farm. These giant farms operate at a loss and only survive by the billions given to them as welfare payments. That is the reason they can sell a head of lettuce for one dollar when it costs them to two to produce. This unfair farming practice has closed down over five hundred thousand small farms that can't compete against government handouts.

The five acre farm is self contained it does not need government assistance to survive. It understands what it has to grow in order to survive and does it in a way that is profitable. The small farm is labor intensive which means a five acre farm can employ as much as fifty hands. This is great for the economy because it lowers the rate of unemployment and eliminates the need for public welfare.

There are billions of people in Asia that owe their lives to the small farm. They could never have survived without it. The governments in those countries never heard of welfare nor did they need it. If a person was hungry or homeless, there was always work and housing available on a farm. If you did not want to work you would not eat. There is nothing fairer than that. The governments in those countries would never think of driving the small farm out of business because if they did millions would starve.

The answer to the social problems in this country is to bring back the small farm. Thousands of five acre farms run by talented owners would empty the cities of permanently unemployed welfare recipients and close down homeless shelters. There would be no feelings of uselessness when hundreds of thousands of good jobs are available on small farms.

There are problems that will occur when we give this country a new agricultural base. But they will be solved in a humane and intelligent way. In the long run it will be better for us all. We must not let the billionaire farmers who run the gigantic farms for government handouts stand in the way of the small farmer. Our country will continue to suffer social unrest and high unemployment if we do.

Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, on Monday said he agreed with President Bush's decision to cut the $300 billion dollar farm bill because it did not cut subsidies to wealthy farmers enough.
"I would veto that bill," McCain said, calling the farm bill an unwarranted handout to corporate farmers and an obstacle to freer agricultural trade worldwide.
Melpol

http://www.associatedcontent.com/melpol

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

First Defeat Of The Axis Powers On Land

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by Victor Epand

My vote for the first Axis defeat would be the Italian attack into southern France. Some very outnumbered, and demoralized, second line troops managed to stop Mussolini's legions cold. In the vast scheme of things, it did not matter, but it showed what could be done.

The battle of Britain was an ongoing battle even after the Greeks beat the Italians. It was also not a land battle, I should have mentioned first land battle.

The successful defense of France against the Italians is very admirable and I have read about it. But there was no incursion and occupation of Italian possessions by the French. I would also like to add that the French actually had ceded territory to the Italians after that battle as well. So, in my book, that is in no way, shape or form a defeat inflicted on the axis. A 'victor' doesn't give up territory to a "beaten" force right after a battle.

The Greeks not only expelled the Italians from Greece proper, but initiated an invasion into southern Albania (at that time, Italian territory) and managed to expel the Italian army from one third of the portion of Albania, occupying it themselves and had inflicted tens of thousands of casualties/dead in addition to taking in thousands of prisoners. In essence, it is the first offensive victory over the axis powers.

Italy attacked Greece on October 28 1940 and suffered the first Axis defeat. Though Hitler had no plans for Greece at that time, he was forced to send troops to occupy Greece (since Greece's neutrality was broken) on April of 1941. This resulted in the delay of Operation Barbarossa and the loss of precious troops. I understand, human nature being what it is, that we all want to put our ancestors and heritage in the best possible light, but I think the best heading you can accurately put on this thread is "Early defeat of AN Axis Power".

I wasn't trying to denigrate either you or the Greek Army. I don't have "considerable heartburn", although I might be getting there. All I said was that your original thread title was inaccurate. You responded by changing the ground rules. My second post (with a "sigh") explained exactly why it was inaccurate. You then changed the thread title to include "(on land)". That's fine - one complaint down (although I tend to agree with Belisarius) - but it doesn't address my other complaint, which was that the Greeks defeated Italy, not "the Axis powers".

Well since you put it that way, and want to get technical, I can get technical as well. If you really want to split hairs, this war which was the first axis defeat on land probably cost them (yeah both of them)the whole war (The Russians and the Germans admitted as much anyway)since the Germans and Italians had to delay their plans for the invasion of Russia for a couple of months with this diversion ( time to invade Greece and time to prepare the invasion of Russia ). This caused the Axis to invade in the Russian winter. The Battle of Stalingrad ( a pivotal battle no?) would probably not happened as well.

I know it's not a widely held belief because of some odd reasons or another, that the Greeks could have "conceivably" been directly or indirectly responsible for this but the statements of the German generals alone is enough proof for me. If you have any doubts I can post links to them, they are statements which were made at the Nuremburg trials. However, the measure of resistance was paid considerable homage to by German officals.

Hitler's Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel stated "The unbelievably strong resistance of the Greeks delayed by two or more vital months the German attack against Russia; if we did not have this long delay, the outcome of the war would have been different in the eastern front and in the war in general."

A speech Hitler made at the Reichstag in 1941 said of the campaign: "It must be said, for the sake of historical truth, that amongst all our opponents, only the Greeks fought with such endless courage and defiance of death." The diary of Joseph Goebbels 9 April 1941: "I forbid the Press to underestimate the Greeks, to defame them... The Fuehrer admires the bravery of Greeks."

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.CombatCloth.info/. CombatCloth.info carries the best selection of combat clothing, gear, and accessories on the market.

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

The Mongolia's History

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by Michael Usman

Early Chinese manuscripts refer to Turkic-speaking-people living in now what called Mongolians as early as the 4th or 5th century BC. The Chinese- who had numerous military clashes with these nomadic people- referred them as the Hunnu /the huns/.

Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, became the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty in China in 1279. Mongol control of China lasted until 1367; from 1380 its possessions to the West were gradually reconquered and, by the end of the 14th century, the empire had disintegrated. Despite brief periods of resurgence under some of the great Khans (Altan, Dayan, Galdan) who forged temporary unity, the Mongol tribes generally reverted to their traditional fractiousness. Mongolia then became a regional pawn squeezed between the two rising superpowers on the Asian continent: Russia and China.

At the end of the 17th century, during which the Russians were preoccupied with developments in Europe, the Manchu dynasty in China took control of the whole of the historic Mongol territory, comprising what became known as Inner and Outer Mongolia. The former is now an autonomous region within the People's Republic of China; the latter became the independent state of Mongolia. Mongolian independence was achieved, with Russian support, in 1911 under the leadership of the so-called 'Living Buddha' Jebsten Damba Khutukhtu. China attempted to reassert its rule following the Russian Revolution of 1917 but was beaten back in 1921, this time with Soviet help. A short-lived restoration of the traditional feudal Buddhist monarchy was followed in 1924 by the declaration of a People's Republic, under the Mongol Ardyn Khuvsgatt Nam (MAKN, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party).

China finally recognized Mongolian independence in 1946. During the Cold War, Mongolia was essentially a buffer state between the two great antagonists of the communist world. Though allied to Russia, the Mongolians were careful to maintain good relations with the Chinese. Early in 1990, following developments in the USSR, the MAKN ceded its monopoly of political power and promised multi-party elections within months. The MAKN has held power continuously ever since, with the exception of a brief hiatus in 1996-97 when an alliance of opposition parties took power under the banner of the Democratic Alliance. Infighting brought its tenure to a swift end. At the most recent polls in 2001, the MAKN's Natsigiyn Bagabandi comfortably won the presidency while the party took all but four seats in the Great Hural. Nambaryn Enkhbayar was appointed Prime Minister.

Irrespective of the individual premier or party in power, domestic policy remains fixed on a course of gradual reform: this covers social policy as well as economic matters. Mongolia is undergoing dramatic change with the demise of a traditional nomadic lifestyle that, a generation ago, was lived by a third of the population. Animal herding was always a marginal occupation given the rough terrain and unforgiving climate; recent natural disasters and low agricultural prices have made it less viable than ever. Mongolia's cities are growing rapidly as people leave the land. Another important change has been the resurgence of Buddhism, which was largely suppressed under Communism; Mongolians are adherents of the Dalai Lama, although this is handled with great caution by the country's leadership for fear of upsetting the Chinese.

Mongolia's foreign relations are necessarily dominated by its giant neighbors, China and Russia, and based on bilateral friendship treaties. However, the Mongolians have also quietly developed closer links with the West; in September 2003, a small but symbolically significant contingent of Mongolian troops was dispatched to support the US-led military operation in Iraq.

Government
Under the new constitution, which took effect in February 1992, Mongolia has a unicameral legislature, the 76-member Great Hural, which is elected for a four-year term and appoints ministers who hold executive power. The President, who is also elected for a four-year term, is head of state. Since May 1994, Mongolia has been divided into 21 provinces and one municipality (Ulaan Baatar), with appointed Governors and elected local assemblies.

Economy
The vast bulk of Mongolia's working population is engaged in animal herding. Otherwise, large farms (formerly state owned) produce crops for domestic consumption, principally cereals, potatoes and vegetables. Industrial activity is dominated by production of food, hides and wool, especially high-quality cashmere (much of which is consigned for export) and mining.

There are large deposits of coal which meet most of Mongolia's energy requirements, as well as copper, fluorspar, tungsten, tin, gold, lead and molybdenum, a rare metal of which Mongolia is one of the world's largest producers. The output of the copper-molybdenum mine at Erdenet accounts for around half of Mongolia's export earnings. It is likely that there are other large deposits as yet undiscovered. Limited oil production began in 1997, but Mongolia still relies on Russia to meet most of its domestic needs. Textiles and light engineering complete Mongolia's main economic activities.

The country suffered badly from the collapse of the former Soviet Union: while Mongolia was not a constituent part of the Soviet Union, its economy was especially dependent on the USSR, with which it conducted 80% of its trade; most of the rest was with its fellow members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON).

After some initial resistance by the MPRP (Mongolia's historic ruling party), most of the economy has been steadily transferred to the private sector. Russia and China are now Mongolia's principal trade partners and Korea (Rep) is a major investor.

In 1991, Mongolia joined the IMF and World Bank; in 2000, it became a shareholder (but not a 'country of operation') in the European Reconstruction and Development Bank. The EBRD provides support through the Mongolian Co-operation Fund. It is also a member of the Asian Development Bank and receives aid from the EU's technical assistance program.

Mongolia today

Today Mongolia is sparsely populated. The population confesses to Buddhism in the lamaistic form. Only 2.5 million people live on a surface of almost the size of the whole of Western Europe. The distance from the west to the east of the country measures 5'500 kilometres (3420 miles approx.).

The different tribes living in Mongolia have their own costumes, musical instruments, singing traditions and speak different dialects.

The largest group, the Khalkha, lives in Central and Eastern Mongolia; the Bayad, the Dorbet, the Khotan, the Altai-Uryankhai, the Torgut, the Olöt, the Dzakhchin and the Mingat live in the West; in Eastern Mongolia live the Dariganga, the Barga, the Üzemchin, the Buryat and the Chamnigan, and in the North the Chotgoid, the Darchat, the Chöwsögöl-Uryankhai, the Tsaatan and the Khakhar. Also the Kazakhs, who are Muslims, live in the Altai.

The artwork of the people, their great poetic talents, their epic works and the lyric poetry are outstanding. Singers and poets used to walk from camp to camp, singing their songs and epics of heralds to the accompaniment of the lute "tovshuur" or the "horse-violin" "morin khuur".

The songs talk about love, everyday life or animals, especially about horses. They reflect the expression of freedom and the immensity of the Mongolian steppes. Special songs are sung at ceremonies, at festivals, on special seasonal occasions and to accompany rituals.

Find Mongolia society culture and more useful information about history events on Mongolia directory.

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

The Future of The United States Military – The Robot Army

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by blueboy

How many of you have watched the film Iron Man? In the film we saw what I would describe as Iron Man in the form of a type of robot, big powerful and virtually indestructible. Well people this could well be the future of our western armies, a fighting force where our soldiers are not men but are instead machines controlled by humans.

Many Americans as well as men and women from other countries have died in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years. This disgusts and saddens the people from the countries involved and also frustrates their governments. The nation can then soon become angry at the powers at be who can then start to lose control. The way forward has to be a robot army with the back up of a small civilian army.

On the news tonight another two American robots are destroyed in a roadside bomb in Iraq! OK, whatever, who cares? Let's face it there would be no more roadside bombs, would an opposing army also want to ambush a set of robots? I do not think so.

Computer war gaming is extremely popular in the western world and this is exactly what it would be like. Robots masterly controlled by these expert war gamers would go into dangerous war zones to smoke out the enemy. Once the initial danger is over human soldiers would then go and clean up etc.

A robot that is shot in the head or stomach can keep moving forward, unlike a human soldier. A robot can stand heat, the cold, water without discomfort. A robot does not require a back pack full of essentials and does not need expensive protective clothing.

Western countries can afford the cost, the cost of war is vast in any case and there should be no expense spared in an effort to save the lives of our men and women.

The future is bright, the future is robots.

Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham, he has interests in a number of websites including: stuttering information stuttering treatment DVD authoring

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

History of Uzbekistan

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by Nikolaos Charlie

Located in the heart of Central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya River, Uzbekistan has a long and interesting heritage. The leading cities of the Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva - are located in Uzbekistan. As Russia extended its empire into Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century, Uzbekistan became part of Tsarist Russia and later of the Soviet Union. It declared its independence from Soviet rule in 1991.

Mawarannahr was one of the most advanced caliphate regions playing a significant role in social and cultural life. The Great Silk Road linked the West with the Orient and people from southern and northern countries passed through this land. The Mawarannahr towns of Bukhara, Samarkand and Kunya-Urgench were the crossroads of caravan routes from India, China, Egypt, Byzantium, Slavic countries and Arabia.

The House of Wisdom called "Bite ul-Khikma" founded by an order of the caliphate ruler Makhmud engaged in the great task to translate the books of Aristotle, Plato, Archimedes and other ancient Greek scientists and philosophers from classical Greek into Arabic. The Mawarannahr's brilliant young scientists, Musa Al-Khorezmi, Akhmad Al-Fergani, Al-Marvazi, Javkhari, Marvarudi and others, performed with distinction. Baghdad became one of the world's scientific and cultural centers.

The struggle for independence and freedom from oppression by the caliphate of the Central Asian region increased during this time and by the end of 9th century the first Samanid government with Bukhara as the capital was established. This government lasted until the end of the 10th century. During the 10th-12th century period different Karakhanids, Gaz-navids, Seldjukids and Khoresm-shakhs independent states appeared in Mawarannahr and Kho-rasan. In spite of continual wars to expand spheres of influence, this period appeared to be extremely important for the cultural and scientific activity of the region. The establishment of politically independent and autonomous states gave a good start, opening up great opportunities for regional economic and cultural growth. This time in history is known as the Oriental Renaissance and is noted for the unprecedented rise of ethical regulations.

It was the right time to bring in the ripe harvest of such bright philosophers as Abu Nasr Farabi, Imam Al-Bukhari, Narshaki, Makhmud Kashghari, Marginani, Nadjimmiddin Kubro, Abu Raikhan Beruni, Abu Ali Ibn Sino, az-Zamakhshari, and outstanding poets like Rudaki, Yusuf khas Khadjib, Akhmad Yassavi and Abu Bakr al-Khorezmi.

At the same time new Islamic religious movements appeared known for their free thinking, known as Mutaziliya, Ismailiya and Sufism. The towns of Bukhara, Samarkand, Merv, Urgench and Khiva became widely popular in Muslim countries. Crafts, architecture and construction progressed rapidly. At the beginning of the 11th century under the direction of Mamun Khorezm-Shakh, a new research center was founded in Khorezm, where leading oriental scientists worked. It was later dedicated to Khorezm-Shakh and became the first academy in Central Asia.

It was the time for Mawarannahr culture and science to acquire its worldwide fame. However, this rapid growth was rudely halted at the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongols invasion of the country by Genghis Khan completely destroyed all the cities, irrigation infrastructure and sources of culture over a 2-3 period. The struggle for independence to get rid of foreign conquerors occurred during the second half of the 14th century. One of the decisive elements of the struggle was the tireless activity of Amir Timur. Step by step he cleared the area of Mawarannahr and Khorasan from Mongol rulers and at the end of 14th century and a powerful state covering a large territory was established. Timur mainly stressed the strengthening of political power and economic and cultural growth. His main principles of state management were described in the document known as "The Code of Timur". After Timur's death, the Timurids paid great attention to the promotion of art, science, and culture.

Especially during the reign of Ulugbek, Shakhrukh and Khusain Baikaro, the culture reached its peak for the period of history and the towns of Mawarannahr and Khorasan were acknowledged worldwide, not only in the Muslim Orient but also in Europe. This was at the end of the second half of Central Asian Renaissance. Those great philosophers such as Ulugbek, Kozizada Rumi, Ali Kushchi, Mirsharif Djurjani, Djami, Khoja Akhrar, Luhtfiy, Khondamihr, Bekzod, Babur and many others were recognized by the world. Alisher Navoi lived during the 15th century and created his immortal masterpieces. One of the Timurids, Ulugbek was responsible for the construction of a scientific center in Samarkand, known as The Ulugbek Academy in different literary sources.

This was a time for building monuments and cultural facilities, for rapid growth of Uzbek poetry, miniature painting, manuscript art, and the development of numerous scientific directions within astronomy, mathematics, history and medicine.

But the internecine wars became more frequent at the end of 15th century and caused the breakdown of Timurid's state by the beginning of 16th century. Conquering Turkic nomads come from the north. But at the beginning of 17th century, a great-great-great-grandson of Timur and the ruler of Fergana, Babur invaded India and established a new state known as "The Great Mogul Empire". The Timurids ruled it until the intrusion of Britain into India.

From the 17th century onwards Mawarannahr experienced deep social and economic decay. However, during this time people like Makhmudi Azim, Karabaghi, Abdulgizkhan, Turdi, Mashrab, Nodira, Uvaisiy, Gulkhani, Makhmudkuli, Berdakh and others acquired personal fame for their treatises and literary work.

During the first half of the 19th century Muhammad Rakhimkhan paid a great deal of attention to history and literature in Khorezm, this was the time of Munis, Komil Khorezmi, Agakhi, Bayani and others.

During the second half of the 19th century the life of Turkestan was filled with great social, economic and political events. In the 1860's tzarist Russia began its conquest of Turkestan.

During this period there were anti-colonial reform-minded enlightened movements that influenced the cultural and social life of Turkestan. Based on the culture of local people the enlightened movements were headed by the scientists and poets, Akhmad Donish, Furkhat, Avaz Otar and Mukimiy to name just a few. Great changes are a feature of Turkestan culture of this period.

Uzbekistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991. However, it is opposed to reintegration and withdrew from the CIS collective security arrangement in 1999. Since that time, Uzbekistan has participated in the CIS peacekeeping force in Tajikistan and in UN-organized groups to help resolve the Tajik and Afghan conflicts, both of which it sees as posing threats to its own stability. Uzbekistan is an active supporter of U.S. efforts against worldwide terrorism and joined the coalitions that have dealt with both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Find Uzbekistan society culture and more useful information about tradition history on Uzbekistan store.

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

227th Assault Helicopter Battalion's Great Helicopter Race During The Vietnam War

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by JLP

Anyone who has been to Vietnam, or any war for that matter, does not need to be told that war and combat is a serious business that wears and grinds on both the body and the mind. However, I suppose like everything else, it has its moments of humor, relief and counterpoint which can be sorely needed moments.

One of those such moments was The Great Helicopter Race, held while Lieutenant Colonel Jack Cranford, a master Army aviator, was commanding the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion. The race happened in mid-March of 1966.

During the pre-Cobra days of combat assault in the Vietnam War, the UH-1 Huey filled the role of gunship escort, fitted with rocket pods and front-firing 7.62 mm machineguns. As an escort gunship the Huey had only one drawback; it could not fly any faster than the Huey slicks it was escorting and could therefore make only one or two gun passes on the LZ as the troop-carrying Hueys went in for the dust off.

To boost the Huey gunships' speed, the Army had the ships fitted with new, extra-width rotor blades designed to take a bigger bite out of the air and add speed without changing the engine power. The change worked well and the gunship Hueys were significantly faster than before.

It was said that LTC Cranford was so pleased with his high-speed Hueys, that he offered a challenge to Lieutenant Colonel Max Clark, who was the commander of the 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, the Cav's fleet of CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The Chinooks (known then as Max's Mobile Homes), were big ungainly looking aircraft, that gave the unfair appearance of burly buses in the sky. LTC Clark, proud of his ships and his pilots, accepted the gauntlet from Cranford.

The race was set over a 10-mile course, a straight flight between Mang Yang Pass in the mountains west of An Khe and the flight control tower at the An Khe airstrip. It would be a race against the stop watch with on of LTC Cranford's modified, speedy Hueys getting first crack at the course. Men were stationed at the mountain pass, including an Army radio reporter who gave play by play coverage through the radio station at An Khe.

As with any bet, there was a lot more at stake than a just a contest between aircraft. Unit pride was on the line, and rumor had it that the two commanders had also made a side wager; the loser was to buy a round of beer for the winner's battalion. Yes sir, there was a lot of beer to be had by the winning battalion.

Both colonels were at the An Khe tower, and each monitored a stopwatch. A third clock was kept by Colonel Al Burdett, 11th Group commander. As the Huey lifted off from the pass and nosed over into a high-speed profile toward An Khe, the clocks were started by word from an RTO atop the pass. The unseen Huey became a speck in the distance, grew quickly and then flashed by the tower. The three colonels hit the stopwatches and marked the time. It ended up being a good time, a very fast time, and a classified time. You know how the military works, everything is classified, even if it involves a wager.
At Mang Yang Pass it was time for the Chinook to crank up and take off. The Huey hare had run and now it was the tortoise's turn. The pilot pointed the Chinook's nose for An Khe and opened up with everything the Chinook had. As he barreled down on what he thought was An Khe, the Chinook pilot knew his time would be good, might even be just good enough. The colonels sat immobile, watching the approaching Chinook speck grow larger. At first, no one noticed it, but it was soon apparent that the distant dot of the Chinook was not getting any bigger at all. It was, in fact getting smaller. It turns out, the pilot was lost, he was not headed anywhere near An Khe.

After a few long seconds, most likely spent frantically checking his map against terrain features, the pilot quickly discovered his navigational error and swung the Chinook back toward An Khe and the awaiting colonels. The Chinook lumbered on, got closer and finally thundered past the tower. When the stopwatches where check it had been found that the Chinook had bettered the Huey's time by "a significant number of seconds," even though the pilot had lost time in wandering off course. And with that the Great Helicopter Race was over and the beer began to flow.

For discount vintage Vietnam War collectibles Vietnam War Collectibles For discount new and used Model Trains Discount Model Trains

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

A Campaign Of Government Change Should Include Compstat

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by James William Smith

I have watched the same question posed to Barrack Obama in several debates now. It is not a question based on the "change" sign that appears everywhere as the platform slogan of his campaign. No, this dubious debate question concerns why he does not wear a flag pin on the lapel of his suit.

Of course, these types of questions do not offer any insight on how a Barack Obama Administration would "change" the agencies of the federal government . In fact, what the voters would like to hear from the Presidential candidates is an understanding that true federal government reform requires performance standards and the tools necessary for government managers to measure performance. The reality of federal government "change" is that management without the necessary measurement tools will not lead to improved operating efficiency.

The truth is that the private sector has had performance management and measurement tools in place for decades. In fact, widely used programs such as Six Sigma and others have been invaluable in efforts to systematically improve business processes resulting in the reduction and elimination of errors and defects in many companies across different industries.

However, in the public sector, the practice of managing business process has been quite different. If more money is needed, State, Federal, payroll, property, water, sewer, trash, registry, gas, alcohol, excise, sales, and tobacco, taxes, tolls, and fees could always be raised to generate additional government revenue. Of course, this method of revenue generation does not promote government efficiency. Unfortunately, government process management simply does not exist as it does in the private sector. Often, that is what leads to critical reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the wasteful spending practices in various government agencies.

Therefore, what local, state, and federal government needs is a public sector Six Sigma program to promote the efficient spending of taxpayer money. A program that uses analysis and measurement to reduce inefficiency. A program that provides the necessary management tools and sponsors increased management communication to provide a more efficient return on each taxpayer dollar.

So, it is very encouraging that such a program already exists and is working in several places today. The program is called Compstat and it was originally developed by New York police commissioner, William Bratton, in 1993. Today, more than a decade later, as a result of the program, serious crime has been reduced in New York by 65 percent. In general, the program has been very successful in the reduction of all crime across the 76 city precincts. The program uses computer statistics, timely input of data, and a geographical basis of tracking "hot spots" to place resources in the proper place at the proper time. The success of the program has led to its adoption by over one hundred police departments nationwide. The program has even received the "Innovation in American Government Award" from Harvard's Kennedy School and the Ford Foundation.

So how did the Compstat program produce such success? Initially, it established four principles that governed the New York Police Department as follows: timely and accurate intelligence; rapid deployment; effective tactics; and relentless follow-up and assessment. All of the information gathered by the fifteen member Compstat task force was analyzed and used to facilitate those four guiding principles.

At first, the program focused on seven major crime categories. Data was captured from the most serious crimes and plotted electronically on a computer screen to determine patterns and trends. A cluster of dots in a particular location alerted officers to a string of murders, rapes, or robberies. The statistics were also used to generate a profile of commanding officers and assess their management performance.

Eventually, the Compstat program in New York was expanded to include information on more than seven hundred different performance indicators. In total, these indicators measured the performance of the entire agency and identified areas where improvement was needed. In addition to tracking crime, the program now includes keeping track of police overtime, allegations by citizens of police abuse, even things like how quickly it takes to get a police vehicle back from repair, and the maintenance of police buildings.

The principles of the Compstat program have easily be applied outside of the law enforcement field. In fact, Compstat has been the guiding force behind a program called Trafficstat which is designed to improve conditions on the highway, and T.E.A.M.S which has increased safety and efficiency in prisons. The Department of Education and the Department of Transportation also have started initiatives using the Compstat program. Compstat programs are also now being used in many smaller American cities and towns.

However, it is in Baltimore, Maryland that the positive impact of the program can best be seen. A program modeled after Compstat called Citistat tracks the city government as a whole. City agencies provide regular data about their work to a central office that analyzes the data and creates reports for the mayor. The statistics tell a story of performance and city managers are held accountable. Since the program was implemented, Baltimore has experienced a forty percent reduction in payroll overtime, saving the city $15 million over two years. The success in Baltimore has led to the development of similar programs in other American cities.

A candidate who campaigns on a platform of change in 2008, needs to be very specific about what that change means in the next Presidential Administration. Therefore, it may be helpful in the next Democratic debate if a television moderator would ask Barack Obama about the potential use of Compstat to improve the efficiency of the various agencies of the Federal Government.

Indeed, his answer will be far more important to an American voter interested in federal government reform than yet another question concerning the absence of a flag pin on his suit lapel.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events. Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Questions of Political Correctness

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by tiandioracle

Why does everything have to be held up to a standard of political correctness nowadays? Lately, it has pretty much become obvious that people are very careful about what they say to certain people, because they will be slapped with accusations of being politically incorrect – which, of course, includes words like "discrimination". It's fascinating to note that linguistically, we had evolved in such a way that things that were either once admired or thought of as something that one isn't exactly a person's fault are now thought of as negative or something to be held against someone – just because we are, as a world, deathly afraid of offending what is perceived to be a minority that has become aware of its powers to claim certain rights.

Like what was previously mentioned, words like "discrimination" have been waved around by people as things to be shunned. In the past, "discrimination" meant discernment, a particular skill or ability to recognize the subtle differences or distinctions between two or more things. To have discrimination, in some senses, is to have a refined taste. But now, "to discriminate" is almost exclusively used to define anything that involves treating a person or a group of persons as if they were less than equal to one's self or one's peers.

Another favorite example would be the term "homophobia". A comedian had once commented that "phobia" is a crippling fear of something, and as such, homophobic individuals (or homophobes, as they are colloquially known) really should have more sympathy for their plight. Other individuals with phobias were given the necessary support for their condition, while homophobic people are shunned, called "sick" and often berated by others by their so-called insensitivity. The entire spiel was funny, but what made it better is the fact that it made people think about the words used to describe how people react to each other, and about what words we use to identify prejudice.

It seems that in a world that is hell-bent on becoming politically correct, we had ended up with a language that is politically incorrect – or at the very least, a language that is sorely misused. Homophobia especially, is an obvious misnomer in that it is more like a hatred of homosexual individuals than a fear of them.

Another fascinating effect of this global culture of political correctness would be the fact that in our quest to expand the reach of rights to include everybody, other rights, such as the rights to expression, have been curtailed. Granted, certain expressions such as violence and the like could hardly be beneficial to an increasingly interconnected global society. Still, the fear of offending apparent minority groups have made us believe that tiptoeing around certain issues would be better than confronting it. It seems that rather than dealing with potential conflict, we simply fold to the apparent whims of these people. Furthermore, in an attempt to elevate the status of the minority, the double standards have been switched around.

An example of this pretty much relates to things like religion and race. Not too long ago, in London, a sixteen-year-old student had protested the fact that her expression of her Christian faith – a purity ring that symbolized her commitment to chastity before marriage – was deemed "against school policy" by her local school. The fact that Muslim students in that same educational establishment and area were supposedly allowed to wear their full-faced veils just made things worse – it seems that the majority is now expected to bend over backwards to make the minority uncomfortable. Why is it, one has to ask, that the Muslims are allowed to openly display their faith to the world while the Christians are not?

And it seems that any frustration that the majority has expressed over this obvious double-standard is currently viewed as a kind of bigotry. Why is no one allowed to be angry about this? Is this not also a kind of injustice? In the end, we are going back to a time of closed lips and silence, fostering inequality while at the same time claiming we are working for equality. It is truly, horribly, frustrating that the concept of political correctness has come to the fore, when at the end of the day all that really matters is honest and genuine kindness.

The problem may very well be that people are expected to be like everybody else, that people are expected to bow down to the norm. These days, the norm would be acceptance or, at the very least, tolerance. But one cannot expect everyone to feel the same way about women, men, homosexuals, different races, and different faiths. This is not to say that hatred should be fostered, but it begs the question of why discomfort with ideologies and lifestyles should not be understood and expressed. If we are indeed living in a world of tolerance, dislike of certain things should be tolerated as well as the acceptance of certain things.

We need not develop a new vocabulary to describe this state of affairs, for in the end, shouldn't this be a matter of the heart and soul?

Elea Almazora, contributor to Riling.Com Elea Almazora currently works as a contributor to many information-based websites, writing about many subjects ranging from culture to sciences. For more information related to this article, please visit Riling.Com

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

A Congestion Tax Will Not Save The Planet

Subscribe in a Reader

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

by James William Smith

It's an election year in the United States. The politicians of both major political parties continue to outline their initiatives for their first Presidential term in office. Democratic candidate Barrack Obama outlines a long list of new spending promises under the slogan "Yes we can". Meanwhile, Republican John McCain wants to continue spending on the Iraq war well into the future. In the Congress, there is no desire to cut federal spending and the dubious practice of spending "earmarks" continues without any real reform.

Meanwhile, the United States federal debt is currently approaching 9.5 trillion dollars and it is about to get worse since the national unemployment rate is now rising. The federal debt burden already amounts to about $79,000 for each United States taxpayer. Therefore, the current federal debt, economic recession, Iraq war, and new election year campaign promises are a formula that amount to one thing for the average American taxpayer: higher income taxes.

However, it is not as though taxes are not high enough already. In 2008, Americans will work every day from New Year's Day through April 23, just to pay their taxes. It will take 74 working days to pay federal taxes and 39 additional working days to pay state and local taxes. Americans will spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on their food, clothing, and housing expenses combined.

As both political parties in Washington D.C. contemplate raising income taxes in the next few years, there is a new and unique tax that is already under consideration in several large American cities. It is a tax already generating revenue in international cities like London, Milan, Stockholm, and Singapore. It is called the "Congestion Tax" and its implementation is feared by automotive commuters in major United States cities. The tax is based upon a vehicle entering a city or a designated area of the city. The tax is levied upon an automobile's entry into the designated zone.

London could be a model for the administration of the congestion tax in major United States cities. The congestion tax in London started with a commuter tax of eight dollars a car. That daily tax has recently doubled for small gas powered cars and large vehicles now pay a $50 Congestion Tax each day. London does not have tollbooths or barriers around the Congestion Charging Zone and no physical tickets or passes are required. Monitoring is done through a network of camera sites at every entrance and exit in the tax zone and within the zone. Each camera site consists of at least one color camera plus a monochrome camera for each lane of traffic being monitored. The camera's capture automobile license plate numbers and people are required to pay the tax based on the pictures.

The stated purpose of the congestion tax is to clean up the environment by reducing C02 emissions from automobiles stalled in traffic in heavily traveled, congested areas in large cities. The tax acts as an incentive for automobile users to utilize public transportation. The benefits of an increase in the use of public transportation would be to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and improve public health by reducing air pollution.

New York City is one of at least five United States cities considering the implementation of a congestion tax. The initial tax for automobile drivers entering the New York congestion zone would be over eight dollars each day. In addition, there is an additional incentive for New York City because of the promise of $354 million in grants from the Federal Government for creating a congestion zone.

Consider the implications of these federal grants for a moment if you will. A taxpayer pays federal income taxes and the government uses that tax money as an incentive for local city governments to initiate an additional tax burden on automobile drivers in order to solve local traffic bottlenecks. It certainly becomes problematic for a taxpayer when federal income taxes are used as a financial incentive for cities to create new local fee based taxes.

In fact, a congestion tax may have dubious ramifications to local business and city employment. What the congestion tax will do is drive local business away from the inner cities into the suburbs where commuting workers and business customers do not have to pay a traffic tax . In addition, cab fares in large cities will have to increase in order for a passenger cab to enter a congestion zone.

Indeed, it is not been scientifically proven that long term global warming is man-made and the result of increased CO2 in the atmosphere. Consider that the planet's recent warming is likely a result of the long term solar cycle of the Sun. In reality, the Congestion Tax is really a tax wolf in environmental sheep's clothing. The truth is that it's just another unnecessary tax burden on the worker and retail consumer that will not save the planet from global warming.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events. Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com

Don't forget to download Indocquent's free social bookmark utility at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.