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March 31, 2003

FIGHTING BY THE RULES? YEAH, WHATEVER!

Ever since I first heard U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld complaining about Iraq's non-compliance with the Geneva Convention (where the treatment of prisoners of war has been concerned and where "fair fighting" has been concerned), I've had a hard time putting into words my reaction to his reaction. The best I could come up with is, "You got to be kidding me; now it's about who fights fair and who doesn't? Pleaaaaase... you made your bed, Rumsfeld, now sleep in it!"

As you can see, not a very articulate response. So, after hearing one of my co-worker's two cents on the subject.... well... he said it best... tell the people what you said, co-worker Phil:

"Why are these Pentagon spokespersons constantly reporting all these fake surrenders and disguised soldiers and whining about what dastardly mustache-twisters these Iraqis are? Isn't that, like, why Bush had us go to war with them? The one thing on which both pro- and anti-war camps agree is that Saddam Hussein's regime is bad, and who expects an outnumbered, outgunned, "rogue" nation to play by the rules? Plus, on the scale of 20th century war atrocities, those that we can currently pin on the Iraqis seem like small potatoes so far, and isn't the U.S. military--the mightiest armed force in human history--up to the challenge? They sound like British redcoats complaining about how the damned colonists won't come out and fight fair."

Couldn't have said it better myself. IT'S A WAR, for God's sake. What the heck did you expect, Fair Fighting. Give me a break. It has been clear to me throughout this "campaign" that it's all about being right and looking good. Make the other guy wrong so you can be right. Make the other guy look bad so you can look good. The United States of America is great at doing that, even "in" a time of war.

Posted by Mikal at 6:09 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

March 30, 2003

10 THINGS I CAN SUPPORT

Here are 10 principles that I, as a US citizen, can and will do my best to support:

1. Attack poverty and world hunger as if my life depends on it.

2. Champion the rights of every child, woman & man.

3. End my country's obstructionism to the world's treaties.

4. Reduce dependence on oil / lead the world in renewable energy.

5. Close the book on the Cold War and ease the nuclear nightmare.

6. Renounce Star Wars and the militarization of space.

7. Make globalization work for, not against, working people.

8. Ensure equal treatment under law for all.

9. Get money out of politics.

10. Close the gap between rich and poor kids at home.

To learn more about these 10 specific principles, click here (by doing so you'll be taken the TrueMajority website... TrueMajority was founded by Ben Cohen, Co-founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream... TrueMajorityís underlying philosophy is contained in the aforementioned 10 principles, which appear to reflect my own values of compassion, charity and justice ñ the same values I believe we should consider adhering to in order to build a safer, more secure home and world.

Posted by Mikal at 10:11 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Thanks to something I saw on Christina Rhode's Blog, I visited The Enneagram Institute's website and took an enneagram test. Here's how I scored:

free enneagram test

What does all this mean. Well, apparently I'm the caring, interpersonal type. I'm considered empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. I am also labeled as friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. As a "Type 2" I am also cast as being well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. I also learned that I typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging my own needs. At my best, the Enneagram Institute says I am unselfish and altruistic, and that I have unconditional love for others.

While I generally loathe tests like these (because of the gross generalizations that are often applied as a result), I happen to like this one. Click on the above image to see what the Enneagram has to say about you.

March 27, 2003

I, Mikal E. Belicove, believe that we as human beings should have evolved to the point by now where we do not take pleasure from intentionally causing harm to another living creature purely for our own recreational entertainment. With that thought in mind, how do YOU feel about catch-and-release fishing? Should fishing (non-consumption-based fishing, that is) continue to be pursued on a recreational level?

In case anyone's wondering, I felt much better today. I plan to test my SPLENDA THEORY Friday after work.

MoveOn.Org is working hard to bring ordinary people back into politics. From their website:

With a system that today revolves around big money and big media, most citizens are left out. When it becomes clear that our "representatives" don't represent the public, the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice.

I'm pretty impressed with what this organization strives to do. Click Here for more info.

March 26, 2003

For the second time this week, I didn't go into work today (Wednesday the 26th). On Monday morning my left eye was swollen shut and my bottom lip was swollen, also, so I stayed home. Yesterday (Tuesday) I was back to normal and back at work. But this morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m. rubbing my right eye, and by 8:00 a.m. the eye was completely swollen shut. Now, at 9:45 p.m. it's almost back to normal (thanks Benadryl).

While I don't know for certain if it's food allergy or environmental allergy, something in my gut (no pun intended) tells me though that it's somehow connected to something called SPLENDA.

Has anyone reading this ever experienced something similar (eyes swelling shut without being socked in the eye)? Does anyone know anything about this SPLENDA stuff? Please leave me a message in the "Comments" area below if you know something I should know. Thanks!

When I heard that the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, was making himself available to answer questions about the war in Iraq, I couldn't resist. You shouldn't either.

The news crawl or "ticker," once used solely for emergency updates such as winter weather advisories, flash flood warnings, and other impending disasters, is now a permanent fixture on all major news networks. Where once the crawl was only occasionally used to inform the public, it has now been rendered ineffective by its constant trip across the bottom of television screens, and it's annoying the heck out of me! It's time to stop the crawl, or at least make it smaller. Click Here for more information on how we can end the annoyance.

March 25, 2003

So, I get this e-mail message today from my niece, Jordan (my sisterís daughter), and among other things she writes, ìÖ and how do you feel about the war?î What kind of question is thatÖ doesnít she know that Iím avoiding serious commentary on this war thing at all costs, and that I have a hard time justifying my feelings and supporting my arguments on issues such as these? Apparently not. I sent her the following reply (slightly edited for public consumption):

So, you want to know how I feel about the war. Well, I'm conflicted by it. While I'm not too crazy about it, I do understand why we're doing it. Saddam Hussein and his regime represent a threat ñ to what degree exactly, Iím not so sure -- so I suppose it's best to deal with him before he becomes so powerful that he cause real harm to humans all over the world (including US citizens). That having been said, I'm not happy with intentionally putting our troops in harms way, and I'm also not happy with the lack of true diplomatic efforts aimed directly at Saddam Husseinís regime on the part of the current US administration.

If there's anything though that bothers me more than anything else about the whole premise which this war appears to be based on, it's the notion that Weapons of Mass Destruction are okay for the USA and other countries to have in their possession, but its not alright for some other countries to have them in theirs. You know what I mean... like, why is it okay for the USA to have this huge arsenal of nuclear weapons, but it's not okay for Iraq to have them? There within lies the difficulty for me. It just doesn't seem like a fair situation.

I'm also concerned about the net effect this war may have on you and me and our fellow US citizens living here and abroad. I fear that we will be retaliated against by factions who are opposed to how we handle our foreign relations. I think what happened on September 11th is now going to happen again and again and again. As a friend of mine recently said, we (Americans) do not need a tax break from our government; what we really need is a 'fear break'. We need to feel safe again, and I do not see this war as being a positive step in that direction..

As you can see, Jordan, I'm conflicted by all of this. On the one hand, I understand (and in a very tiny way support) why we're doing this, but I don't like what it stands for, and I truly fear the retaliatory impact.

Other thoughts about the war that weigh heavily on my mind (that I did not share with Jordan, for lack of clarity at the time) include:

How on earth can we win a ground war in a city jam-packed with millions of people? Can you say "Black Hawk Down"?

How can our government justify the death of even one innocent Iraqi life in the process of seeking out Saddam Hussein, his sons, and the regime that surrounds them?

How can anyone justify spending close to $100 billion on a war against other human beings; a war that isn't even being spent to protect our own soil?

What would the world look like in five years if we did not pursue this action here and now?

What about North Korea... are they next?

Fire Away... that's what the 'comment' link below is intended for.

March 24, 2003

A friend of mine from Reno, Nevada (John Obradovich is his name -- here's a picture of his kitchen) called today to tell me that I was nuts for launching this website. His observation was that maintaining a personal website like this one is going to be a heck of a lot of work, and that I'm crazy for even attempting it. (Actually, John's a little more direct than that... I believe his exact words were something like, "You're F-in Nuts, Belicove.")

Another friend, Franny Turner, wrote to say, "I checked out the website -- quite extensive.... I'm not much of a web surfer so I hope you'll still do old fashion email."

These two reactions, while not necessarily a negative reflection on the format or contents of the site itself, have rattled me, somewhat. Just what in the heck have I gotten myself into here. After all, there are something like 13 distinct and unique sections to this site, and even if you subtract the static sections -- Copyright and Privacy Policy -- I'm still looking at the monumental task of updating 11 sections with fresh and insightful content on a regular basis. John's right... what in the heck WAS I thinking?

One of the many Blogs I enjoy reading is Mike Sanders Keep Trying (not to be confused with the Mike Sanders who works just down the hall from me). Recently, Mike's Blog presented the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers . Essentially, Sanders' has turned the key concepts from Steven Covey's national best seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into a useful tool for bloggers such as me. In short, I plan to take Sanders' adaptation to heart. I am going to be proactive, link to good stuff, write appropriate commentary, and learn as I go.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Perhaps. But then again, how does that old saying go... "Don't worry about biting off more than you can chew. Your mouth is probably a lot bigger than you think."

March 23, 2003

If you still need proof, Click Here. With proof like this, why do people continue to insist that they do not?

It was only a matter of time before some genius came up with this one.

Today's 'shoutout' goes to my little buddy, Matt Holzmann, who worked with me at The Outdoor Network in Boulder (Colorado), and is now a Senior eSpecialist at multi-channeled customer support company, Finali.com. As you may have heard, Colorado's front range (from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins) was hit by a major blizzard last week, crippling the region to the point where schools, government offices, and businesses of all kinds were closed for days-on-end. For someone like Matt, a devastating blizzard is nothing more than a call to action. Matt's Blog tells the story best, but here are some highlights:

Knowing that I could get to work to help my team was comforting and invigorating. It was a great experience to sleep overnight under my desk. It was invigorating to see the spirits of those that made it into work and to see our Executive Team show up in truly nasty weather. I work for them, because they are so willing to work for us.

Click here to read more about how "the boy" (that's what we used to call him 'back in the day') not only survived, but how he helped others in a time of great need. Matt... I tip my hat to you, yet again. You're an amazing and inspiring person.

March 22, 2003

Did you happen to catch Dan Rather's 2:00 P.M. war update, on CBS this afternoon? The veteran newscaster, whose tone and style I've never come to appreciate, did something I never imagined seeing on a national broadcast related to casualties of war. At the end of a compressed update on the day's events in Iraq and the surrounding region, CBS, with Rather at the lead, had the gall to post a graphical 'kill count' detailing the number of US and British soldiers killed to-date. Nothing remarkable about that, right? Well, as my mother is fond of saying, "it's not what you say but how you say it" that counts.

In this case, I sat stunned as I watched the graphic, complete with national flags and a corresponding number of dead for each, all neatly wrapped around Dan Rather's stoic voice announcing the number of soldiers killed for each country engaged in the conflict, as if it he were giving an Olympic medal count update (seemingly taking joy from the fact that the US was ahead in the count by having fewer dead than the Brits). I guess nothing should surprise me anymore. SNL's Weekend Update could not have done a better job of mocking the situation (and in fact doesn't even need to, because CBS seems to be doing a good job of it all on its own).

March 21, 2003

James Neil -- a faculty member in the University of New Hampshireís Outdoor Education program, and a supporter of mine from my days at The Outdoor Network ñ has some very interesting views on the role that experiential education can play in the peace process. A prolific writer and researcher, Jamesí views are particularly noteworthy given the United States recent attack of Iraq. Click Here for James' Peace & Experiential Education page.

Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria yesterday announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as evil...in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil...we're the best."

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil. "They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake. Ours is wickedly cool, by the way."

Click Here to read the rest of this breaking news story (emphasis on ìstoryî).

March 20, 2003

And I thought I liked Yoo-Hoo.

From time to time I'll post what I'm calling a "Daily Shoutout"... a posting recognizing the good work or support of someone essential to my life. Today's shoutout goes to one of my closest and oldest friends, Jerry Chrisman, who has been instrumental in the development and launch of Belicove.com. Jerry stayed up late at night and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning helping to program the site and get everything ready for today's launch.

For more info on Jerry and his tremendous talents, visit his company website by clicking here.

Greetings. Welcome to Belicove.com, the personal website and Blog of Mikal Belicove. By posting my thoughts and observations throughout this site, and by inviting family, friends and acquaintances to visit and comment, I hope to expand my world and thus learn more about myself and the world around me. To learn more about the site, click here or click on the "About" link in the top navigation bar.

So without further delay... I declare Belicove.com "up and ready"... and just in time for war, too! (Yes, that's right, this site will contain a smattering of serious and sarcastic postings.) Onward and upward... it's going to be a fun and wild ride.

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