The VonFrederick 

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End Of Year 2007 Volume 4 Issue 11

  Feature Article:

  Mercenaries Or Civilian Soldiers?

Eric Chevreuil, Retired Captain, French Military, The VonFrederick Group

The convoy could have been seen anywhere in Washington D.C. Four to five black armored SUVs with tinted bulletproof windows zooming in and out of traffic with flashing lights on…a VIP and its secret service escort! The only visible difference from the video made from inside the third vehicle is the place. Streets are mostly dirt roads crowded with the unruly traffic of everything and anything, from donkey carts to overloaded buses, mid size cars and two-wheelers. Buildings are sun-bleached third world country looking and sidewalks are crowded. Men also wear robes. The place is Baghdad, Iraq, and today, again, like so many times, a high value target is being convoyed from A to B with armed security contractors in charge of its protection. The video –downloaded from the Internet, something you will never been shown by the major media outlets- shows a chaotic and swarming environment, and the nervous sound bites of the alert armed men in charge of the security can be heard in the background. Suddenly, the roar of an explosion covers all noises and the SUV ahead seems like it has been crushed by a side blow. It crumple and skids sideways across the street, smoldering. The windshield of the car the video is made from cracks. Gunfire can be heard and the bulletproof windows are hit. Security contractors scream…”floor it”, “pass the wreck”, “go, go, go!” The SUV speeds up, bypasses the now burning car, hitting it in the process and spinning it with their colleagues and friends most likely dead within. The car rushes through a busy cross road and catches up with the first SUV of the convoy. While taking evading actions, the security detail returns fire in the general direction where the RPG or roadside bomb attack, and small arms fire came from. 

This is an almost regular day for these civilian contractors we call mercenaries, security personnel in charge of the protection of people and facilities in the war zones the US has been involved in.

In February 2007 it was estimated that about 800 civilians contracted to the Pentagon have been killed and more than 3,300 wounded. We also remember the fate some of them endured and how their bodies have been desecrated, dragged behind pickup trucks, slashed and sliced, burnt and hung from a bridge. 

A mercenary is 1. One who serves or works merely for monetary gain, or, 2. A professional soldier hired for service in a foreign army. What is the difference between these security contractors working for private security entities, and let say, the TSA that has been contracted to secure our airports, your security guard standing in guard at the entrance of your gated community, or the armed security officer patrolling around our office at night. Are they really mercenaries? What about a H1 visa employee? Is he/she some kind of mercenary?

Again, asymmetric warfare is at work with the recent Blackwater scandal and its alleged shooting of civilians. Suddenly, “collateral damages” are new and innocent civilian casualties are newsworthy? What has happened in DC and at the headquarters of our major biased media outlets?

Since the beginning, since Somalia, we have been fighting an enemy that has commonly used civilian has a human shield, kids to pick up under fire the arms of its fallen fighters, women to push forward while firing weapons from under their arms, hospitals, Mosques, cemeteries and schools to fire weapons from, crowded places to conduct attacks from. Since the beginning, the enemy has been given a free pass by everybody, even the most vocal anti-war and anti-Blackwater groups and individuals. The enemy can hide in civvies, act among crowds, mutilate civilians and non-combatants for no other reason but religious intolerance and hatred, and get away with it, often with various “badges of honor” such as the “freedom fighter” title. And since the beginning of this politically correct war on terror, our side has been paralyzed, blamed for everything, accused tried, convicted…If the new rule out there is that you cannot shoot back in the general direction of the enemy to accomplish your mission or just save your life…you are right! Let’s get the hell out of there and save what we can of the last real man this country has. We are going to need them here to stand against this suicidal fuzzy-woozy liberal junk that is spreading out like the plague and killing us as a nation. Most of the time the civilians that end up being the so-called “collateral damages” are whether unwilling victims unaware of an imminent attack, threatened to act normal, or indifferent passer-bys that see the armed men in position, the RPGs, the ambush, and just hang around to see how it will end up, and maybe take part of some good old corpse dragging and mutilating afterwards! I am not advocating the shooting of unarmed civilians, of course, but forever, I have been advocating the fighting of these stupid wars like we meant to win them. The TV series “The War” reminded us of Dresden, Tokyo, Manila, Berlin, Nagasaki, Hiroshima…Civilians always pay the highest price in war. Should have we spared them all in the forties, and lost the wars? Would the world be a better place now with an allied defeat in WW2? Caesar took over Rome. On his way to the coffer room a Senator stopped him and in the name of the freedom of speech granted to him by the Republic, told him he was not allowed to take any money. Caesar replied that war had no need for freedom of speech. He also added “Speak again and I kill you. I need the money to fight in Spain”, and concluded with a “It is hard for me to threaten you, harder that it would be for me to actually kill you!” (Plutarch fall of the Roman Republic) Hail Caesar!

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    Crime And Violence On Campus: Part IV 

Dr. Lionel C.M. von Frederick Rawlins, President & CEO, The VonFrederick Group

In part three of the subject matter, we discussed two theories/factors associated with crime and violence on school campuses (underdeveloped mental abilities, and family relationships and influences); in this issue, we will continue to answer the conundrum in search for an understanding to this phenomenon.

A fifth theory/factor is the presence of early aggressive behaviors. There exists a great relationship between aggressive and violent behavior, and childhood impulsivity and child temperament. In other words, children who are aggressive and violent in adolescence most often exhibited the same behavior in kindergarten and first grade. Research has indicated that early conduct problems in kindergarten and first grade lead to poor school achievement in later grades, which, in turn, leads to delinquency in adolescence (Tremblay, et al., 2002). A “difficult” temperament may be the cause of this continuum. Thus, a temperament characterized by high activity levels, inflexibility, easy frustration, impulsive behavior, and distraction usually will render a child more noncompliant and out of control. This may also relate to mental conditions such as ADHD, previously discussed. Parents and teachers, how often do you see this in your children/students? What do you do?

A sixth theory/factor is the exposure to violence and victimization. Evidence is quickly mounting that exposure to violence, and particularly victimization by violence, is associated with increased risk of perpetrating violence (Thornberry, 2004). One study showed that adolescents victimized by assault were more likely to have a history of criminal activity or to develop criminal behavior subsequent to their assault (Rivara et al., 2005). Singer et al (2007) showed that even after controlling for the effects of demographic variables, parental monitoring, and watching aggressive television, recent violence exposure was the most significant predictor of self-reported violent behavior among third-to eighth-grade students, accounting for 24 percent of the overall variance. Many of our children grow up in environments where they see violence daily. This is particularly true in gang-infested urban settings, where walking to school or the store becomes an excuse in victimization avoidance. How I yearn for College/Market street of the 60s.

A seventh theory/factor is the role of the media and its impact on violence. It is estimated that by the time a child reaches the age of 18 he or she will have witnessed over 200,000 acts of television violence, including 33,000 murders (American Psychological Association, 2003). Violent acts, defines as acts intended to injure or harm others, appear approximately eight to twelve times an hour on prime time television and about 20 times an hour on children’s programming (Senge and Dietz, 2004). There appear to be three main effects of violence in the media. One effect is that children who are exposed to high levels of media violence are more accepting of aggressive attitudes and, after watching violence, behave more aggressively with peers. A second effect is that more chronic and long-term exposure to violence can lead to desensitization to violence and its consequences, as in youth exposed to the consequences of a shooting or violent beating/stabbing. Third, children who watch a lot of violence on television seem to have developed a “mean world syndrome.” In other words, viewing violence may increase a child’s fear of becoming a victim of violence because he or she comes to view the world as a mean and dangerous place. Furthermore, younger children may have particular difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality and may not be able to differentiate science fiction from their everyday experiences. In general, violence on television occurs frequently and is typically inconsequential, effective, and rewarded. It is practiced as often by the heroes as by the villains. Violence by our youth ends confrontations quickly and effectively, without the need for patience, negotiation, or compromise.
To be continued…

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In Islam the struggle for good and evil very soon acquired political and even military dimensions. Muhammad, it will be recalled, was not only a prophet and a teacher, like the founders of other religions; he was also the head of a polity and of a community, a ruler and a soldier. Hence, his struggle involved a state and its armed forces. If the fighters in the war for Islam, the holy war “in the path of God,” are fighting for God, it follows that their opponents are fighting against God. And since God is in principle the sovereign, the supreme head of the Islamic state – and the Prophet and, after the Prophet, the caliphs are his vicegerents – then God as sovereign commands the army. The duty of God’s soldiers is to dispatch God’s enemies as quickly as possible to the place where God will chastise them – that is to say, the afterlife. 

Clearly, related to this is the basic division of mankind as perceived in Islam. Most, probably all, human societies have a way of distinguishing, between themselves and others: inside and outsider, in-group and out-group, kinsman or neighbor and foreigner. These definitions not only define the outside but also and perhaps more particularly, help to define and illustrate our perception of ourselves. 

In the classical Islamic view, to which many Muslims are beginning to return, the world and all mankind are divided into two: the House of Islam, where the Muslim law and faith prevail, and the rest, known as the House of Unbelief or the house of war, which it is the duty of Muslims ultimately to bring to Islam. But the greater part of the world is still outside Islam, and even inside the Islamic lands, according to the view of the Muslim radicals, the faith of Islam has been undermined and the law of Islam has been abrogated. The obligation of holy war therefore begins at home and continues abroad, against the same infidel enemy.

Like every other civilization known to human history, the Muslim world in its heyday saw itself as the center of truth and enlightenment, surrounded by infidel barbarians whom it would in due course enlighten and civilize. But between the different groups of barbarians there was a crucial difference. The barbarians to the east and the south were polytheists and idolaters, offering no serious threat and no competition at all to Islam. In the north and west, in contrast, Muslims from an early date recognized a genuine rival – a competing world religion, a distinctive civilization inspired by that religion, and an empire that, though much smaller than theirs, was no less ambitious in its claims and aspirations. This was the entity known to itself and others as Christendom, a term that was long almost identical with Europe. 

The struggle between these rival systems has now lasted for some fourteen centuries. It began with the advent of Islam in the seventh century, and has continued virtually to the present day. It has consisted of a long series of attacks and counterattacks, jihads and crusades, conquests and reconquests. For the first thousand years Islam was advancing, Christendom was in retreat and under threat. The new faith conquered the old Christian lands of the Levant and North Africa, and invaded Europe, ruling for a while in Sicily, Spain, Portugal and even parts of France. The attempt by the Crusaders to recover the lost lands of Christendom in the east was held and thrown back, and even the Muslims’ loss of southwestern Europe to the Reconquista was amply compensated by the Islamic advance into southeastern Europe, which twice reached as far as Vienna. For the past three hundred years, since the failure of the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683 and the rise of European colonial empires in Asia and Africa, Islam has been on the defensive, and the Christian and post-Christian civilization of Europe and her daughters has brought the whole world, including Islam, within its orbit.

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Small business owners starting a company often have greater responsibilities than initially expected when operating and managing an organization. Many times, small businesses start with the owner as the key operator, and later hire employees without understanding the requirements and responsibilities for Federal, State, and Local employment taxes. As an employer, you must withhold certain taxes from your employees pay checks including the following:

• Federal income tax withholding
• Social Security and Medicare taxes
• Federal unemployment tax act (FUTA).

Federal Income Taxes/Social Security and Medicare Taxes
There are some specific areas employees are exempt, however generally an owner must withhold federal income tax from their employees wages. To determine how much to withhold from each wage payment, owners should review Publication 15, Employers Tax Guild and Publication 15-A, Employers Supplemental Tax Guild, which can be retrieved online at www.irs.gov

A common misconception made by employers is that employment taxes are due for all small businesses on the same day or period; such as a 1040 return which is required to be filed by April 15th every year. The deposit due dates are determined by when an employer pays his employees and by how much in total taxes are reported on line 8 of your Forms 941 in a four-quarter lookback period. The lookback period begins July 1 and ends June 30. 

This could include any of the following:

SEMIWEEKLY DEPOST SCHEDULE
MONTHLY DEPOSIT SCHEDULE
$100,000 NEXT DAY DEPOSI

Careful consideration needs to be taken to the payroll cycles of the company to avoid failure to file (FTF), failure to pay (FTP) and failure to deposit (FTD) penalties. Although payments may be made later, if the employer fails to meet the IRS deadline, these penalties will accrue regardless until the conditions are met.

File Forms 941, by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. 

Why is this important to know if I hire a CPA or bookkeeper?
It I important to keep abreast of the IRS guidelines for several reasons: First and foremost, your accountant or bookkeeper may not detect an increased payroll which could change reporting requirement and deadlines. 
Second, the IRS has an obligation to the Federal Government to place a Federal Tax Lien on the employer business and in some cases personal property when these taxes are not paid on time. The accountant/bookkeeper is not held responsible at this point for the wrong which has occurred. In fact, a bookkeeper does not have the legal authority to speak to the IRS about any delinquent issues without personal representation by the owner himself, or the CPA who has completed the correct documentation with the IRS as a power of attorney. 

Third, and the most important, it is the employers personal responsibility to understand and abide by the rules and regulations the IRS enforces. Ignorance of the law is not a justifiable reason to request an abatement of FTF’s and FTD’s. Furthermore, interest is never abated under any circumstance.

In essence, if a business owner is delinquent on his employment taxes, he has taken money from the employee and has utilized the funds for another reason outside the realm of its intended use (perhaps cash flow the company, pay personal loans, et. al). At this point the employer is “borrowing” money (Trust Fund Taxes) owed to the Federal Government from his employees and the IRS fines heavily for this process. In the long run it is far more inexpensive to take a line of credit out or take a loan from the next door neighbor to satisfy the debt. 

What do I do if I am delinquent in employment taxes?

If you are a small business owner who is delinquent in filing returns or paying employment taxes, but have been yet to be caught, a Federal Tax Lien is already placed upon your business/employment identification number, but the lien may not be publicly filed to date for others to recognize. The IRS has recently hired thousands of Revenue Officers to rectify this situation, and you may very well find them standing in your office sooner than later (Yes, they do stop sending letters eventually and make personal visits in front of your customers). If you are proactive with the delinquent nature and cannot pay the full amount, the IRS will work on a payment plan versus closing your company. It is far better for an employer to contact the IRS prior to their employees finding you at work. If your company is failing and you cannot possibly pay, an Offer and Compromise is your last alternative.

Additional Information:

Which form do I file to report federal Income Taxes, Social Security, and Medicare taxes?

• Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
• Form 943, Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agriculture Employees (For use by farm employers)
References/Related Topics
• Employment Taxes for Businesses
• Online Classroom, Lesson 7 - How to manage payroll so you withhold the right amount from employees
• Online Classroom, Lesson 9 - What you need to know about Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA)
• W-2 Online, Create, save, print, and submit Forms W-2 and W-2c online.
• Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and Self-Employed

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On Nov.28, 2007, Hannity & Combs aired a report by Geraldo Rivera on the progress of “the 
Surge” in Iraq. He repeated how he was overwhelmed by the progress of the U.S. military and the 
Iraqi people. Rivera even commented that he felt so safe he removed his “flack” jacket during his 
tour of the area with the troops. In reference to the al Rasheed area of Baghdad Rivera posted, 
“The predominantly Sunni area around the Doura market has been Al Queda’s last stronghold in 
Southeast Baghdad, a grim and dusty enclave where in February, 553 sectarian murders were carried out, the bodies dumped sometimes among the few remaining open air stalls or the train tracks and road that runs through it. By November, the total number of homicides for this entire community of over a million was down to 30, a lower rate per capita than say Philadelphia.” http://www.geraldo.com/v5/

Hannity commented on how the progress of the U.S. Military, the Iraqi security forces and Iraqi people is not being reported by the liberal media. Hannity asked Rivera why he thought his comrades were ignoring the success of the surge. The liberal Rivera evaded the answer.

Misrepresenting news or reporting pure propaganda to advance an agenda is nothing new. The media has always been a tool to either gain or maintain power, or control a population. However, since the onset of technology with cable TV and the Internet, liberals have lost their monopoly on the media. Events are reported in real time and no longer must the American public rely on history to learn about events that did not support the liberal agenda.

For example, consider the way the liberal media reported the Vietnam War. Daily body counts, 
inferences the U.S. military was losing when they were in fact winning, liberal activist like John Kerry disparaging the troops and lying about events in Vietnam. Any news that was anti-American was given extensive coverage. But real events like the murder and imprisonment of thousands of Vietnamese and Laotians after the U.S. pulled out of Southeast Asia in 1975 was essentially unreported. The massacre of millions in the “killing fields” of Cambodia was ignored. Why report it? The I-Hate-America Liberals had more in common with the brutal, xenophobic and Marxist Khmer Rouge regime than it did with its American political opponents.

A study by William C. Adams and Michael Joblove of George Washington University published in “The Unnewsworthy Holocaust: TV News and Terror in Cambodia" (1982) documented how from 1975 to 1978 the three broadcast networks, ABC, NBC and CBS, and news print media like the NY Times and Washington Post, virtually ignored the ongoing massacre of millions. Here are a few of the key findings. 

• The three networks devoted less than sixty minutes on weeknights to the human rights situation in Cambodia, which averaged less than thirty seconds per month per network. 
• Explicit discussion of genocide was heard on ABC for less than one minute and on CBS and NBC less than four minutes each during the four-year period.
• The TV and print media’s ignoring of the upheaval in Cambodia cannot be attributed to a dull story with poor pictures." 

An excellent summary of this study can be reviewed in “Flashback: 'Unnewsworthy Holocaust: TV News & Terror in Cambodia”. The 2,474th CyberAlert. Friday August 24, 2007 (Vol. Twelve; No. 147)

The liberal media’s consistent misreporting of events as far back as the Vietnam era illustrates that it can not be trusted to accurately and objectively report any event it deems unsupportive of its agenda. Things have changed. Despite repeating democrat anti-American talking points, a Rasmussen poll (11/29/07) found 47% of Americans now say the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Another poll found that almost 60% of Americans do not trust the news media and believe it is biased. Ratings for liberal news programs are in the toilet and liberal print media is losing money and subscribers in record numbers. Yet, they continue to act as if they speak for America, while in reality they are becoming irrelevant. 

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        Tempus Virtuous     

(good), adj., morally excellent, kind, beneficent, honorable or worthy

(good), adj., morally excellent, kind, beneficent, honorable or worthy

A Good Father & Kindred Spirit. My mother said to me one day, as I was pregnant with my daughter, “I know Michael will be a good father by how he treats animals.” 

He was an animal magnet. We had had our share of pets from Love birds, cats, and even a rat named Rocky. Neighborhood mutts would come for visits, and after a period of time it was necessary to lead them back to their homes. Michael also had a passion for rescuing and nurturing fledglings pushed or fallen out of their nests.

One Thanksgiving holiday at my sister and brother-in-law’s mountain-side home thirty or so family and friends descended upon their hospitality for a three-day celebration of food, libations, and day trips to local attractions, Michael stopped briefly by the corral to give their horses a hand-full of hay and a few encouraging words. Keep in mind, the equus was never his favorite animal; too temperamental, he would say. He then walked up to the house for turkey and stuffing, and family frivolity.

Many hours later, our bellies stuffed like the holiday bird we waddled down to our truck, parked next to the stables, to retrieve our luggage. It was pitch black. No lights save for the distant glow of far away stars. And then we heard it: a nicker. And then another. I turned to Michael and said, “It seems like you made some friends, you are being greeted from the stables.” 

Apparently as we were descending the hill from my sister’s house, we were down wind and the horses picked up Michael’s scent. And nickering to him as if to say, “Hey, good friend, glad you are back.”

“I expect to pass through this world but once, any good thing therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to my fellow creature, let me do it now, let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” –Ettiene De Grellet

Post Script: Our daughter had for 17 years of her life a good father and she has become a compassionate, kind young woman.

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Did You Know? Michelle Glisan Blevins         

• That there are no rivers or lakes in Tuvalu, they rely on rainwater stored in tanks for their water supply

• That Tuvalu sold their Internet suffix, .tv, to a California company for millions of dollars which in turn sells .tv domain names to television companies

• That the highest point in Tuvalu is only a mere 15 feet above sea level

• That Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries on the globe, its nine islands have a combined land area of about 10 square miles (26 sq km)

The Tuvaluan flag is light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands.

Claude Louis Berthollet

Claude Louis Berthollet

December 9, 1748 to November 6, 1822

Born in Talloires, Claude Louis Berthollet was an influential chemist, researcher, author and chemistry teacher. Along with Antoine Lavoisier and others, Berthollet develop a chemical nomenclature which is the basis for the system in use today. He performed research on bleaches and dying agents discovering the bleaching properties of and uses for chlorine. In 1798 he went to Egypt as a scientific advisor to Napoleon. He died in Arcueil, France in 1822.

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How To Free A Vehicle Mired In Soft Sand

1. Determine an escape route.
   Read the sand around you to establish the path on which you will be least likely to get stuck again. Look for sand with a pale yellow hue, indicating a coarse grain, and a rippled surface. Avoid tracts of golden red sand, which consists of fine particles through which traction is difficult to maintain; smooth tracts of sand, which can indicate a fresher, looser makeup; and the hallows between two dunes, which typically collect loose, powdery sand which offers little traction. 

2. Dig.
   Using a shovel, and empty cup or wide-mouthed container, or your hands, remove the soft sand from the undercarriage of your vehicle, forming a gradual downward slope toward the direction of escape. Point the front wheels straight ahead. 

3. Build a ramp. 
   Place long lengths of steel, aluminum, or wood under or against the vehicle’s wheels, leading down the slope you have created. If these materials are not available, use a canvas mat, floor mats, tenting materials, or even a pair of denim pants—anything that will increase traction. If material is limited, place it beneath whichever pair of wheels is powered by the engine. 

4. Adjust the tire pressure.
   If it is possible to let air out of the tires without lowering the undercarriage into the sand, do so to increase traction. 

5. Start moving.
   When the wheels gain traction on the metal, wooden, or canvas channels you have created, slowly accelerate to pick up speed
   

6. Maintain your speed. 
   Don’t stop. If the car or truck falters before you reach firmer ground, it will get stuck again. 

BE AWARE

• Cars and trucks moving over dunes tend to whip up the top layer of sand, making it less firm. Virgin sand usually affords better traction. If you are traveling in a convoy and there is no known danger of land mines, make your own tracks instead of following behind the other vehicles in single file. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are the preferred mode of transport in desert terrain. 

(Piven and Borgenicht)

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   Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

See you next Feb 2008 !!

The VonFrederick Group

Phone: (877) 207-1300
Fax:     (916) 488-7531
Email:

Dr. Lionel C.M. VonFrederick Rawlins
Lionel@VonFrederick.com

Dr. Melissa K. Luke
Melissa@VonFrederick.com

George A. Torres, MBA
George@VonFrederick.com

Eric Chevreuil
Eric@VonFrederick.com

Pat McLane
Pat@VonFrederick.com

Albert Globus, MD
Al@VonFrederick.com

General Clifford L. Stanely, Ph.D.
Cliff@VonFrederick.com

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reading at VonFrederick.com

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