James L. Paris's Blog, page 124

State Department: U.S. Citizens Should Be Extra-Vigilant When Traveling Abroad Right Now

Will it be safe to visit Europe again in our lifetime?

Or ever?

Hard to say, at the rate things are going.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued an alert to citizens regarding the prospect of traveling in Europe, presently, saying that they should be very much on guard if they plan to venture overseas for any reason.

The advisory reads, in part:

���Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL the U.S. gov't acronym for ISIS or Da'esh), al-Qaeda, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events.���

���U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when attending large holiday events, visiting tourist sites, using public transportation, and frequenting places of worship, restaurants, hotels, etc.,��� the statement also says.

It is tough to imagine anyone being particularly eager about traveling overseas at the present time, and, further, difficult to ascertain if the results of the recent U.S. presidential election may heighten the risk to Americans traveling abroad, at least in the short term.

An increasing number of citizens are overtly expressing their safety concerns about traveling overseas, and warnings like that issued Monday by the State Department only serve to validate their misgivings about leaving U.S. soil.

This latest travel alert is due to expire on Feb. 20, 2017.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr.

Gun Sales at All-Time Highs���Thanks to Women

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is going crazy these days running background checks on people seeking to become gun owners. As a matter of fact, according to KPLR11.com, it���s expected that by the time 2016 comes to an end, the NICS will have run roughly 25 million background checks.

It is not just men, however, who are buying all of those firearms. Not even close. A lot of the purchasers are now women, and it is the enthusiastic participation of women in gun buying that is the reason for the astronomical level of background checks, presently.

Steve King runs Metro Shooting Supplies in Bridgeton, Mo., a northwest suburb of St. Louis. According to King, his store is regularly packed with women. Indeed, says King, if he was to open a new store, it would be geared specifically to women.
According to King, his store conducts firearms classes every day of the week, and not only are the classes full, but roughly 80 percent of each class is comprised of women.

King suggests that the significant uptick in women interested in owning guns has to do with their ever-increasing role as heads of their families.

���The more single household families we have where women are the head of the household, you have them realizing that not only are they only the provider financially and emotionally for children, but also the physical provider as well,��� says King.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr Editor At Large

Retired Marine General Nicknamed ���Mad Dog��� May Be the Real Unifier in New Trump Administration

While many of President-elect Donald Trump���s cabinet selections, and considered cabinet selections, have been the subject of some hand-wringing on the part of key Democrats, there is one likely pick that seems to be inspiring relatively uniform agreement across party lines���and is doing so on behalf of a retired marine general with the decidedly unprogressive nickname of ���Mad Dog.���

Bloomberg is reporting that Gen. James N. ���Mad Dog��� Mattis met with Trump about the possibility of becoming Secretary of Defense, and while Mattis clearly has an enthusiastic champion in the incoming president, the career warrior���s reputation has also seen him make a bevy of fans out of many on the other side of the political dividing line.

As a matter of fact, the news that Mattis appears to be the leading candidate for the slot was reportedly met with ���bipartisan relief,��� as Bloomberg put it, at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia. Forum attendee Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic senator from New Hampshire, responded to the prospect of Mattis becoming Defense Secretary by saying, ���Given the range of people who have been suggested, I think he will be a good choice.���

For his part, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said, ���I have not met General Mattis. But by his reputation he is seasoned and capable military officer. Obviously he deserves a full and fair hearing.���

In addition to Trump���s vigorous support, Mattis is the recipient of a lot of political affection throughout the Republican Party. For example, new U.S. Congressman Mike Gallagher, a Marine veteran himself, says of Mattis, ���I know of no better patriot, warrior, or servant-leader than General Mattis,��� while syndicated conservative radio host Laura Ingraham responded to the consideration of Mattis by tweeting that ���Mattis is the best candidate for SecDef.���

Mattis is a professional warrior comprised of two sides that come together in a way that creates a leader who is politically transcendent. On the one hand, he is capable of expressing sentiments that convey great ruthlessness, like ���I���m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.���

On the other hand, he is the kind of American general who made sure to regularly visit the battlefield in Iraq in order to share stories of Marines who managed to show great compassion and cultural sensitivity in the heat of battle.

A fierce warrior, but one with a strong capacity for reasonableness in the employment of ���violence of action.��� What���s not to like?

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

As Risk of ���High-Value Street Crime��� Increases in Paris, the Super-Wealthy Upgrade Their Protection

Random street crime is something few see as affecting the best-heeled among us.

That, however, is changing, and, particularly, in Europe, where some believe the significant shift in key demographic profiles due to immigration is the reason for the troubles.

France, in general, and Paris, in particular, is currently plagued by a level of criminal assaults that few remember as being evident previously, and the very wealthiest among us are no longer spared the risk of becoming a victim.

The Daily Beast reports that just before the recent, high-profile Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian in her hotel room, a Qatari man was relieved of his $112,000 watch on a busy street near the Champs-Elysees. Additionally, says Daily Beast, Paris visitors the likes of Saudi princesses and rich Chinese tourists have found themselves the victims of street crimes in the French capital.

Just last week, an Indian movie star, Mallika Sherawat, was attacked in the city by three masked men who sprayed her with tear gas. Although she did not have anything taken from her, it is believed that robbery was indeed the motivation for the assault.

In an email exchange with The Daily Beast, Laurent Dequatremard, head of International Protection Services Bodyguard, a French security company, declared Paris to be ���less safe than big cities like London, Manhattan, Hong Kong, or Dubai.��� Dequatremard, whose company specializes in providing security details for celebrities, corporate elites, and others, says that, in his opinion, there are three principal reasons why Paris city streets are now so unsafe: high unemployment, toothless law enforcement, and a marked rise in illegal immigration.

���At the moment it is very dangerous not just in Paris but in other big cities such as St Tropez. There are many refugees, come from Africa and they rob people and houses and do bad things to French people,��� Dequatremard told Daily Beast. When challenged by the news outlet as to his claim that illegal immigrants were largely to blame for the troubles, the security chief did not back down, saying that ���refugees increase the danger. This is what I see.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Report: Even Many Who Have Saved are Facing Financial Distress in Retirement

When it comes to getting by successfully in retirement, turns out it���s not enough to save.
You have to save enough.

According to an article over at Fox Business, a report by the Federal Reserve reveals that many American workers who are going to the trouble of setting aside money toward the day when they eventually cease work altogether���are simply not saving enough to ensure a financially secure retirement.

In fact, it���s not even close.

As the Fed���s survey details, those households able to access retirement accounts have an average of just $110,000 accumulated for retirement. That figure, according to analysts, is only about one-third of the total funds needed to maintain their standard of living, and that includes the money expected to be received from Social Security.

The current, average, monthly benefit derived from Social Security is $1,348, which comes to $16,176 per year.

Moreover, the Federal Reserve���s data indicates that just under one-third of all working Americans have no retirement savings whatsoever, outside of whatever Social Security monies they will see.

At the rate things are going ��� including the rate at which Americans are not saving for retirement ��� the United States is on pace to see 25 million of its citizens become poverty stricken when they retire in or around year 2050.

While this space has previously said that the oft-suggested minimum goal of $1 million in savings may not be necessary to help finance a secure retirement, $100,000 won���t cut it, either. As the Fed���s analysis bears out, an absolute minimum target goal should be $300,000 by retirement, and that assumes the retiree will see additional sources of income, like Social Security, as well as, perhaps, modest earnings from an easy-to-manage part-time business or job.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

All-Female Kurdish Militia Takes Fight to ISIS to Avenge Sex Slaves

 ���Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned��� appears to be going ���next level��� in northwestern Iraq.

Christian Post reports that the Shingal Women���s Units (YJS), which are associated with the Kurdistan Workers��� Party (PKK) and the Shingal Resistance Units (YBJ), are going to be engaging the Islamic State in the town of Tal Afar, according to a recent, formal statement made by the group.

The express purpose of the military campaign, according to the declaration, is to ���avenge Yazidi women,��� as well as to help rescue any Yazidi females who are still alive but remain in captivity. Islamic State has made it a point to variously rape, assault, and kill Yazidi women in the Sinjar region of Northern Iraq.

The statement issued by YJS leadership reads, in part, ���We have not forgotten those Yazidi women sold in [the slave] markets of Mosul or burned alive. We know that the people ISIS holds [...] are waiting for us to rescue them. We will not stop until we liberate our women and take revenge.���

The Kurds are known to use all-female battalions to fight the Islamic State, as it is believed the militants live in mortal fear of being killed by women.

���I think [they] were more afraid of us than of the men," said a female Kurdish fighter named Tekoshin to news organ Agence France-Presse. ���They believe they'll go to Hell if they die at a woman's hands.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Following a Contentious Election, Many Say It���s Time for a Break from Facebook

In the wake of this most polarizing election, a lot of folks have decided they need to take a ���time out.��� From Facebook, that is.

The social media giant that now serves as the daily connective tissue for so many personal relationships outside of immediate family���found itself as the platform on which many of those relationships fell into disrepair as a result of the espousals on both sides of the political dividing line.

As USA Today reports, many people are now just plain worn out from all the digital shouting that took place for so many months, and they���ve simply decided to get off the Facebook train for a while.

Lydia Fielder, who identifies as a supporter of Donald Trump, has unfollowed nearly all of her 2,000-plus Facebook friends for the time being. Echoing the sentiments of so many others, Fielder says about the politically-based Facebook exchanges, ���None of it is positive. It���s exhausting, and the election seemed to last forever.���

Another user who has decided to take a break, Google executive Ben Galbraith, says, ���I'm seeing lots of posts that fill me with anger and require several moments of conscious relaxation to prevent me from writing something that I���ll regret. I���m tired of expending so much mental and emotional energy.��� Galbraith says he���s done with Facebook until 2017.

Clinton supporter Colleen Wickwire has an interesting take on the matter of diversity of thought, or, rather, the lack thereof, as it pertains to what she was regularly seeing on her feed from friends who share her political values:

���I���m realizing now that I was in a bubble ��� it was an utter shock to realize that so many people don���t share the ideals that were so prevalent in my Facebook feed and my real life social circle, of course. It felt like my entire worldview collapsed, and Facebook really contributed to that.���

In that way, I���m fortunate that my collection of Facebook friends represents a wide variety of viewpoints. While I once considered unloading those who did not see the world as I do, I had a change of heart, and although I won���t tolerate people who clearly think I���m scum for harboring a set of political values different from their own, I concluded that I was well-served by hanging with those who have a different perspective. I have been possessed by moments of vitriol, as well, but have resolved to be more philosophical, going forward, in the interest of harmony, as well as my own personal sanity.

If that fails, I can always ditch Facebook for a while.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Want to REALLY Succeed in Business? Become More of a Psychopath

An article over at CNBC.com is detailing something that many of you have likely suspected for a while now.

Namely, that super-successful person in your circle of friends���may well be a little psycho.

Like, really a psycho.

As the CNBC piece points out, psychopathy is a mental disorder that is inherited. While there are numerous characteristics of a psychopath, some of the better known include an elaborate perception of one���s self-worth; the constant craving for stimulation; impulsiveness; the masterful ability to manipulate; the ability to exude great charm; and an acute lack of any remorse.

Dr. Igor Galynker, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, says of psychopaths, ���We promote them, we elect them, and sometimes, a lot of people feel comfortable when people like that are in charge of our lives.���

Indeed.

According to Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, roughly 1 percent of the population are psychopaths, whereas about 4 percent of business leaders and CEOs are psychopaths.

Galynker says that those who are more empathetic in the workplace are at a distinct competitive disadvantage, because their tendency to care about others can negatively impact their ability to make decisions that may be best for the business���but not for the individuals. As he puts it, ���Empathy can interfere with you doing your job quite a bit. And in the competitive workplace, empathy is discouraged because it may interfere with what you need to do for work.���

So, is there anything a ���regular person��� can do to professionally achieve in at least somewhat the same way as their psychopathic counterparts?

���You want to be able to understand what character traits make people successful, whether psychopathic or not, and then you want to use them hopefully in a moral or ethical fashion, so you don't step on people in the process," says Galynker.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

President Obama & Angela Merkel Criticize Internet, Social Media in Wake of Trump Election

President Obama���s last visit to Europe as President of the United States appears to be a curious mix of victory lap���as well as apology for the way things turned out in America���s general election.

In and among his efforts at reassuring the rest of the world, in a somewhat tepid way, that things will be fine under a President Trump, Obama, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, made an extra effort to chastise digital media for the role it has come to play in the realm of political communication.

More specifically, both leaders expressed a deep concern that this entity to which many refer as ���new media��� risks damaging the efforts that countries like the U.S. and Germany have made for decades toward enhancing a globalist reality.

For his part, President Obama took issue, in a Berlin press conference held jointly with Merkel, with digital communications, in two ways ��� for its ready ability to allow those from different nations and cultures to feel less secure about their own national identity, and then for compounding the resulting troubles by permitting the exchange of ideas to occur quickly and without the requirement to be more thoughtful, considered, and/or researched.

���Because of the internet and communications, the clash of cultures is much more direct,��� said President Obama at the press conference. ���People feel, I think, less certain about their identity. Less certain about economic security.���

Later, the president said that while democracy is built on facts, the lightning-fast rise of social media has permitted everyone to now receive information in the form of ���sound bites.���

���Part of ways changed in politics is social media and how people are receiving information,��� said Obama. ���It���s easier to make negative attacks and simplistic slogans than it is to communicate complex policies.���

Reinforcing the president���s thoughts, Merkel said, ���Digitization is a disruptive force, a disruptive technological force that brings about deep-seated change, transformation of a society.���

Of course, not everyone views ���digitization,��� as Merkel puts it, as the ���disruptive force��� both she and President Obama clearly see it to be. For those with a decidedly less globalist agenda, the omnipresence of the Internet has afforded those folks a voice where one was previously much harder to realize.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Famed Physicist Stephen Hawking Says We May Have Only 1,000 Years Left on Earth

While things might still look pretty good for those of us here, presently, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking says none of us should be too cocky about Earth���s chances over the long term.

According to USA Today, Hawking delivered a speech at Oxford University on Tuesday during which he said, in part, ���We must also continue to go into space for the future of humanity. I don���t think we will survive another 1000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.���

As it happens, Hawking���s declaration this week about the pending demise of Earth is not the first time he has suggested such a thing. Back in January, at a lecture hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Hawking said that we are headed to our doom, and by our own hand. At that lecture, Hawking cited such ���probabilities��� as global warming, nuclear war, and genetically-engineered viruses as the sorts of things that will ensure Earth becomes uninhabitable at some point over the next several hundred years.

Hawking���s suggested solution then, as it is now, is to colonize space.

���By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race,��� said the physicist during the BBC lecture.

As an aside, it is worth noting that Hawking���s views on Earth being on borrowed time, as well as his answer to the problem, are basically in lockstep with those of failed Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson. Johnson said before the election that the long-term solution to the problem of global warming is for citizens of Earth to move to space.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large