After a month of being away and with so much happening on all the fronts of interest I am finding it hard to pick a starting point. First, I wanted to do a piece on Libya and the Manchurian Candidate of our government’s choice over there. After all, he fits right in with several others we have covered here at BFP. Then, I decided there were already so many sound bites, so many competing sexy-cutesy headlines, a major surplus of blogo-diarrhea, and tons of crisscross debates on this topic out there, and decided it would not be a good starting point. Next, I thought about doing a weekly round up for the latest noteworthy developments and articles. When I looked at my list of noteworthy items I saw that many went back further than a week, more like a monthly round up, and considering the length of the list I decided against a painfully long monthly round up. Then, I felt like sharing with you some of my relocation adventures and blissful trip, but quickly I reminded myself of my pledge to not cover much personal information at this site; I sure don’t want to be a hypocrite! Okay, now you see what I mean by finding it ‘hard’ to pick a starting point; right?
Finally, I remembered some friends asking me ‘why are you always so hard on yourself, Sibel,’ and… I see their point 
Therefore, instead of making things more complicated than they should be, instead of wasting time coming up with a subjective best and most appropriate topic, I am going to begin our operation with a brief potpourri of topics, and see how it goes.
Boiling Frogs Post Countdown & Status
As always I am going to start by thanking our supporters who have kindly contributed: Thank You. Even though we haven’t reached our objective, at least not yet, seeing your support in action keeps us on our toes and encourages us to hold on and keep trying. Based on what we have received (so far) we are in the position of continuing this website for five or six months; until October. After thinking, thinking very hard, about where we are, what our main objectives are, and ways to achieve these objectives, I am leaning towards turning this site into a subscription-based model. Why?
I am still wary of even considering advertisements. I hate it when I go to some sites, and while I am in the middle of reading, I am forced to constantly close this pop up ad window and that pop up ad box-like swatting flies. I simply hate it. I don’t want to turn around and give my readers and listeners what I seriously despise. So, ads are out.
I am not a marketing pro or a saleswoman, and I am not going to go through a round of fundraising with everything that has to go with that every three or four months. That’s too much, and no, I won’t do it.
On the other hand, I want to be able to offer you regular, even better, weekly podcast interviews. I want to be able to provide more frequent, ideally daily or nightly, noteworthy news and articles round ups. I certainly want to be able to write and publish in-depth analyses, and bring in other A-class experts and analysts work by being able to compensate them. All that and more! So, considering the level of volunteer donations we’ve been getting, excluding company ads, foundation briberies, and frequent ‘calls for support,’ how do we get there? Well, I am still thinking about it and discussing it with our team members, but the idea of a subscription-based model, at least for our podcast show and select articles, seems right. Of course, I welcome your suggestions-input, so please chime in.
My Relocation Study Journey & Status
I want to first thank all of you who have been sending me good-wishes in my relocation preparation and journey. Some of you have rightfully pointed out the difficulties of starting in a new place. Let me assure you: as far as the emotional aspects of it go, I will have none. Here is why:
I live less than two miles from the Pentagon. Just think about how I feel each time (very frequently, that is!) I pass that monstrosity. I get to hear (very loudly, that is!) helicopters making their ‘national security check’ rounds every day; not once, not twice, not three times…you get the point, right? It takes us a minimum of 30 minutes to commute a distance of less than 5 miles; not only during morning or evening rush hour, but around the clock. The majority of my neighbors are either defense contractors, national security related government contractors, lobbyists, or active members of shady organizations like AEI, AIPAC …Add to that a very sad state of public schools, astronomical housing prices, horrendous shape of hospitals-emergency rooms, crime rate, and the Red Light District across the river called the Capitol ….well, you get it, right?
I have been thinking about, planning, and working on this relocation for several years; to be exact, since 2007. So, this is not some spur of the moment, whimsical or hasty life-changing decision. Most importantly, this is a decision to provide my daughter with the best within my ability, and the most that I can. Speaking of my daughter, here are a few select pictures of her during our trip:
Literally reaching out for the olive branch
Greeting the sheep in the morning
Searching for Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Her new friend Toby
Savoring Farmers Market’s handmade ice cream
As you can see it will be a world far away from wars, pat-downs & groping, lobbyists, traffic, congested schools, glitzy people & shiny cars …hmmmm, does it sound like heaven?
The Growing List of Untouchable- Notorious-Infamous US War Profiteers…Still Operating!
Please raise your hand if you’ve never heard of the criminal-notorious yet still happily in operation Blackwater Inc.aka Xe Services LLC? No hands? Please raise your hand if you are fairly familiar with the scandalous-infamous yet untouchable Mina Corp? Okay, now get ready to add another one to your list: ladies and gentleman meet please meet Harry Sargeant III . You see, there are many chapters involved when it comes to Harry Sergeant; the latest being this one. So the moral of the story here is not as much Harry Sergeant per se, but the fact that his chapters, like the rest of the criminal operators in the long-list of our nation’s war profiteers, never seem to come to an end. These companies, the criminal-notorious-infamous war profiteers, keep operating, and their profits keep skyrocketing; with 100% immunity and impunity. Read more
Once upon a time there was an Afghani general named Abdul Rahim Wardak. He had studied in both US and Egyptian military schools before joining the army in Afghanistan. In the 1980s, a few years after he joined the army, he decided to defect and joined the 
Once Upon a time there was a woman named Jeane Kirkpatrick, who didn’t really look like a woman but it never mattered, in fact it may have helped her. Jeane was a Democrat, and then, later, she became a Republican. She was on President Reagan’s National Security Council, on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and of course the Defense Policy Review Board. She became the US Ambassador to the United Nations; appointed by President Reagan. Ms. Kirkpatrick was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). She was a hard-core anti-communist, and she was a hawk. But most importantly, she was the woman whom people considered and labeled the Godmother of Neocons.
Once upon a time there was man named Milton Bearden, commonly referred to as Milt. He spent his early years in the state of Washington where his father worked on the Manhattan Project. After a few years with the US Air Force he joined the CIA in 1964.
Don Ritter, former Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania from 1979 until 1992, is known to have received positions and benefits due to his consistent and heavy involvement in Afghanistan related operations and activities, starting when Brzezinski’s vision was put in practice in 1979. He authored the “Material Assistance” to Afghanistan legislation in the Congress, created the Congressional Task Force on Afghanistan to promote such material assistance of all kinds to the Afghan resistance (including the Bin Laden Group), and held numerous meetings on Afghanistan with representatives of the State Department, CIA, and DIA to enhance U.S. assistance to the Mujahideen (which included now-evil Osama Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistani ISI). These are only the ‘known’ activities of Mr. Ritter during his years in Congress. Now let’s look at what he’s been busy with since he left the Congress in 1992.
The foundation has recently changed its name to 
Next, let’s quickly look at the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC). Don Ritter and Mahmood Karzai are the founding members. They say they are the leading organization facilitating U.S.-Afghan business, investment, and trade ties through their Matchmaking Conferences and related activities. That’s interesting to me because last time I checked we were sending Afghanistan arms and defense contracts, and the only major export they had, which happens to be pretty major, was their poppies. Maybe they are recruiting and sending tourists over there for some R & R! Their board members and trustees include another Karzai brother, Mahmood Karzai, a dear friend of the Karzais and major Afghan Carpetbagger Mr. Aziz Azimi, and Dyn Corporation’s John A. Gastright, along with other US and Afghan war profiteers. For some reason I couldn’t find the son of Abdul Rahim Wardak, current Defense Minister in Afghanistan who promotes himself as one of the 
