A Review of Legacy of Ashes – The History of the CIA
The subject of this book review is Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, authored by New York Times writer Tim Weiner and published in 2007. The book is based on more than 50,000 documents, many from the CIA’s own archives, as well as interviews with former director of central intelligence and employees of the agency. It charts the course of the Central Intelligence Agency from its previous incarnation as the Office of Strategic Services in World War II through its inception in 1947 up until the present day.
Unlike most histories of the CIA or accounts dealing with the agency’s activities, Legacy of Ashes presents the case that the CIA was never very effective, suffering one humiliating setback after another. This is a quite different look at the activities of the agency, as numerous other accounts examine more conspiratorial aspects of various operations. These books often grant the CIA abilities which Weiner argues it never had; namely, a clear understanding of the world, the ability to infiltrate communist movements in the Soviet Union and third-world countries, and reasonable planning as a result of good leadership.
In fact, in reading the book, it almost seems to appear that Weiner is presenting the “Homer Simpson” view of the CIA: blundering headlong into situations it never understood, putting untold numbers of people in harm’s way that often led to their torture and death due to the agency’s own incompetence, and further compounded with laziness and alcoholism. Throughout the CIA’s history, there are numerous accounts of various operations where agents were dropped into communist countries with instructions to begin resistance movements and infiltrate the Soviet System, only to be promptly identified, captured, tortured for information, and exterminated. Failure after failure did not deter these types of operations, or cause more than a momentary frustration on the part of the CIA in not knowing how the Soviets knew so quickly and so clearly everything that the US was doing to undermine it.
With each unsuccessful covert operation, the main objective of the agency was to cover up the incompetence — not learn from previous mistakes. The agency, especially under director Allen Dulles, utilized access to the media to prevent any leaks of these mistakes. As long as the people of America did not hear about the failures, and the documents could be destroyed or classified until long after the fact, they simply did not exist.
Weiner’s book also examines the very precarious relationship that each president of the United States had with the Central Intelligence Agency. From President Truman, who wanted a daily newspaper on what was happening in the world, to Nixon, who blamed the CIA for his failure to win the presidency in 1960 and used it for his own illegal purposes as president, to Clinton, who displayed less interest in foreign affairs than any president before him, the agency was pulled from one extreme to another throughout its existence. Presidents used the CIA for illegal acts against American citizens and to overthrow unfriendly governments, putting the agency in jeopardy of being caught and the bright light of public scrutiny shined upon it. Others dismissed or totally ignored the CIA, causing it to languish and its work to become less and less relevant. Weiner mentions George W. Bush’s 2004 remark that the CIA was “just guessing” about the Iraq War as a “political death sentence.”
An important distinction that Weiner raises in this book is the difference between the intelligence-gathering aspect of the CIA and the “cloak and dagger” operations. One seeks to understand the world; the other seeks to change the world. The agency, though, attempted to do both and was unable to perform either action effectively. A far greater share of the CIA’s budget was devoted towards covert operations involving propaganda, assassinating heads of state, and overthrowing democratically-elected governments. Many of these operations failed, and the most successful of them resulted in the infamous “blowback:” unintended consequences like a hatred of the USA in Iran, hundreds of thousands of dead civilians in Guatemala under an oppressive regime, and the Islamic holy war that was directed at America as soon as the Soviets had left Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War.
These failed attempts to mold the world in the CIA’s eyes, along with the lack of interest and resources available for intelligence gathering and analysis, have resulted in an agency that missed one important event after another, while predicting things that never existed. The CIA underestimated the Soviet’s and India’s ability to build a nuclear weapon, the testing of which came as complete surprises to the agency. They also predicted that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the US invasion in 2003, among other predictions and suggestions, nearly all of which turned out to be wrong.
The agency, under nineteen directors of central intelligence, had never achieved its role of providing the US with a clear understanding of the world. It seemed to be at its most effective during covert operations, overthrowing governments, creating its own image of itself in American media, trading weapons for hostages, or conducting extraordinary rendition programs in secret prisons around the world. None of these covert actions, though, ever resulted in one continuously positive consequence for the agency or the United States. Weiner argues that the same problems that faced the agency in its beginnings are the same ones facing it now: an inability to gather intelligence and effectively analyze it, a willingness to take on illegal covert operations without a thought to potential consequences, and a lack of qualified personnel to carry out any of its activities.
Obviously, the CIA is an easy target to take shots at when it is down, possibly at its lowest point in public opinion of its existence. However, Legacy of Ashes’ central point is to argue that the agency was never really up to begin with, and its few shining success stories are overshadowed by a long history of failed missions and an unhealthy but potentially justifiable resentment against America. Weiner’s book misses issues (such as the CIA’s role in the international drug trade), but his unique perspective on the history of the agency presents one of the most intriguing looks at the CIA ever published.
For anyone who wants to understand the role of this agency in the world in general and its relationship to each of the holders of the office of the President of the United States, Legacy of Ashes answers the most important questions that can be asked, and refreshingly presents all of its answers on the record, with no use of confidential sources or classified documents. It is an unparalleled, timely, and significant history of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sex, Drugs and Rock-N-Roll in Ancient Egypt
While we may view the Egyptian culture through a shroud of mystery, in many ways the daily life of the Egyptians and particularly their leisure time was spent pursuing many of the same activities that we enjoy today. Music played an essential role in the lives of ancient Egyptians. Banquets and festivities were a common way to pass idle time. These gatherings tended to focus on sensual activity. Consumption of wine, beer and narcotics was not uncommon.
Music was an integral part of both Egyptian culture and religion. It was believed that music pleased the gods and mortals alike and nearly any festival or banquet included musicians. The three female musicians wall relief found at the Tomb of Nakht dated Dynasty XVIII 1450 B.C. is just one depiction that strengthens our notion of the importance of music in the Egyptian culture. There are numerous others and even a few instruments have been preserved, but because there is no musical annotation we do not know how the instruments might have sounded when they were played.
Archaeological findings demonstrate that the majority of musicians in the new Kingdom were women. These female groups would frequently perform at banquets and festivities often accompanied by dancers. The instruments of the time included flutes, drums, lyres, harps and lutes. Egyptian statues usually depict the goddess of music, Hathor, holding a sistrum, a ritual instrument similar to a maraca. Worship at the temple of Hathor was frequently accompanied by the performance of female musicians.
Those who enjoyed music in ancient Egypt usually did so at a festival or banquet. Along with the music wine was plentiful. The Egyptians also enjoyed beer which was often flavored with regional fruits. These banquets emphasized the exotic and erotic with special emphasis on pleasing the senses of taste and smell. To enhance the experience partygoers often combined narcotic flowers and in particular “the blue Lotus,” actually a lily which was believed to have narcotic properties when combined with alcohol.
To add to the enjoyment of the banquets, attendees were usually given a flower bud or blossom to smell during the entertainment. Servants would place a sweet smelling ointment on the wigs of partygoers believed to have delivered a pleasant fragrance.
The center of attraction at an Egyptian banquet was sure to be the performance of the dancers. In ancient Egyptian culture men generally danced with men and women with women. The dances could range from slow, fluid movements to more vigorous performances that border on the acrobatic.
American Racing Ventura Rims – Leave a Legacy of Racing
Turning heads and giving a visual representation of urban style, American Racing Ventura Rims are the premiere Rims for a person looking to be a street icon. Serving up the perfect combo of personality and power these Rims can make your ride into the baddest vehicle burning up the streets and put eyes on your car.
A truck lover understands that incomparable strength and personalized feel of a top-quality set of Rims glittering proudly on a classy vehicle. Projecting an essence of both effortless style and intimidating strength, tricking your ride with Rims shows that You care about both the quality of your vehicle and the way it looks.
Leaving your mark in the streets is the aspiration of most car owners and the only way to accomplish that goal is defining yourself apart from the rest. A stunning set of Rims brandished on a classy automobile is the unchallenged mark of luxury and class. Scoring yourself some immediate fame and street cred these Rims will help establish the presence any driver wants.
Designed from the ground up to offer a ferocious tier of performance and capability, these rims are designed to ride. Perceiving that while nothing is quite as awesome as a freshly polished set of slick looking rims on a car, performance is the objective of many drivers, American Racing Ventura Custom Wheels built their rims to meet every desire and surpass the competition.
Continuity is the name of the game when it comes to customized Rims. Promising that your Rims last for mile after mile and forever bring utmost performance is just one of the many reputations American Racing Ventura Rims has scored in the contemporary city roads and long highways alike. The Longevity and prestige of these Rims is undisputed and well known.
Sporting an outreaching catalog of compatible rims and styles to fit the wants and desires of any driver for any car these rims are ready to work with you. Engineered with a original and slick design that works well with any automobile, it’s easy to see why adding the potent touch of rims is easy and easy for anyone.
Setting yourself apart from the wallows is paramount in defining yourself. Wheels and rims offer a wide variety of customizing and unique tweaks and variations to help give your ride that refined and original look you’re after to ensure that no other automobile on the road is the same as yours.
Mexican Drug Wars and US Exposure to Violence Discussed
As you know the Mexican Drug Gangs and Cartels are busy taking out their rivals and anyone that stands in their way, including Mexican Government Military Troops and local & state police. Why does this affect us in the US? Well, for a number of reasons.
For instance, all those drugs are sold here, and there is a spill-over affect into the US and it is serious, it’s been predicted, and keeps flaring up. In Phoenix, there have been over 300 kidnapping, yes in Phoenix a major US City. You’d expect this sort of thing at a border city, but Phoenix is not near the border.
This is really tough on Mexico, especially right now during their hard economic times. You see, with the remittance back to Mexico at a severe slow down due to the current business cycle slow down in the US, and the oil prices down, Mexico is in a big pickle.
Nearly, 50% of Mexico’s inflows were remittance; that is down to a trickle now. Mexico’s oil sales account for the second largest chunk of the government’s revenue. Can you see the problems? Worse, that drug money actually was quite a bit of the money coming into Mexico, albeit illegal and untraceable.
Some citizens are now asking why not legalize pot, and weaken the drug cartels? Sound crazy? Well yes it does, but many are using this disruption in Mexico to move their agenda for legalizing drugs. You’d be surprised how many agree with this assessment, and yet others would point to other issues with drugs.
If we legalize all of them, we have a real problem with our society, competence, productivity, health care costs, etc. It’s truly amazing how everything is inter-related to our economic strength here in the US? Some say that Mexico is on the verge of collapse, although Calderon the President says he has it under control. Gee, if that is under control, I am sure glad to live in the United States.
Anti-Aging Hoax
For decades, thousands of people looking for “the fountain of youth” flocked to the spa-like clinic of Dr. Ana Aslan in Bucharest, Romania. They came to the spa not only to rest and relax but to get their supply of Gerovital H3 (GH3), a drug popularized by Aslan in the 1950s.
Although Aslan left this world in 1988, her legacy remains. Gerovital is still the main attraction of several spas in Romania and the promises are plenty. Regular shots of the drug will supposedly reverse aging and prevent a wide range of diseases. For elderly tourists in search of a cure-all, Gerovital guarantees smooth skin, improved memory, increased vitality, freedom from depression and heart disease, and a pain-free life.
These claims have been swallowed by the rich and famous. Among Aslan’s many clients were John F. Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich, Kirk Douglas, and Salvador Dali. Sylvester Stallone also reportedly takes GH3 shots to remain sexy. Some doctors prescribe Gerovital for impotence. Others use it to make hair grow and treat mental disorders.
But it’s unlikely that Gerovital will deliver what it promises. The reason is simple: Gerovital’s active ingredient is procaine or novocaine, a numbing agent similar to cocaine. Procaine is an excellent anesthetic widely used by dentists but it has no anti-aging effect.
The reason some people swear by Gerovital is because oral procaine dilates the superficial blood vessels of the face and scalp, causing a “flush”. This strange feeling creates the impression that the drug works. That plus the program of exercise and much personal attention one gets from Gerovital spas can easily make one feel better. However, studies show that Gerovital is nothing more than an anesthetic.
“GH3 is a two percent procaine hydrochloride solution to which minute amounts of the following have been added as ‘stabilizers’ or ‘buffers’: Benzoic acid, potassium metabisulfite and disodium phosphate. The procaine (which is the same novocaine anesthetic that you get when you go to the dentist) is supposed to be the active ingredient. Procaine, however, is rapidly hydrolized (decomposed) once it enters the bloodstream, even after buffering or stabilizing agents are added, and there is no evidence – or even any good reason to suspect – that these additives can sustain the activity of procaine long enough to produce the claimed benefits,” according to Dr. Sheldon Saul Hendler in “The Doctors’ Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia.”
To this day, Gerovital remains in the US food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) list of unapproved drugs. The agency automatically confiscates commercial shipments of oral and injectable forms of Gerovital and its sister products – KH3, Zell H3, GH3 Cream, etc. Still, many products continue to enter the United States from various areas under the guise of “free medical samples”.
“Over the past two decades the US FDA has taken several actions against companies marketing Gerovital but the drug always resurfaces. Despite lavish health claims, its main ingredient has been shown only to have mild antidepressant effects. In some brands tested by the FDA, even that ingredient was missing,” said the editors of Consumer Reports.
For this reason, it’s best to avoid the drug rather than take chances. While nothing can stop the aging process, there are many ways of staying young. One of them is Dermaxin, a safe and natural cream that nourishes and hydrates the skin to eliminate the signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. Visit http://www.dermaxin.com for more information.
Parenting Journey – The Balance, Necessity and Legacy of Wisdom
Would there be any task harder than parenting? For sheer enormity of investment it is easily the biggest venture you’ll enter into. There are a plethora of reasons why it is so demanding.
Here’s but a few things to consider: it’s a lifetime project-it’s a labour of love, a job you can’t quit; the brief changes every day, and morphs every month and each year, so you have no chance of really adjusting; you probably have a certificate, diploma or degree that qualifies you to do your secular work, but you need no ‘quals,’ and get no training, to parent; and, no matter how good a person you are, parenting is bound to ‘bring you down to size’ every now and then… Overall, it’s a pretty thankless job wouldn’t you say?
Yet, for all this there are those parents who seem to be born for the role. They love kids and never see challenges as problems, only opportunities; you see them dealing with their kids this way and you think, ‘how do they do it… remaining so patient, so consistent?’ They seem to have model children, and even if they don’t, they have miraculous powers of patience or an overabundance of serenity to deal with the rebellion in their kids.
So, what could be some of the keys to overcoming negative thinking regarding parenting, and what is the essence and purpose of “the job” in reality? How do we become better, more capable parents?
I believe that many parents get into trouble because they fail to plan. In other words, they don’t envisage problems. They also don’t see these problems as opportunities. They don’t counter the problems (a.k.a. opportunities) with goals and milestones designed to mitigate the effect of the problem in the first place. They don’t set some plans to “get there.” It’s parenting by the “on-a-wing-and-a-prayer” method. It’s a recipe for disaster.
There is a “tender balance of restraint and freedom” involved in parenting.[1] It’s a juggling act of judgment, concern, empathy, discipline, and finally, grace. All underpinned by love. It’s a calling to Wisdom, and for the parent to call on Wisdom, as if she were a person, a friend, an ally. What would Wisdom say? What would she advise?
Here are some thoughts:
As parents we need to learn not to say “no”-we must give reasons and resources to allow children to say no (to the bad things) for themselves. We also need to teach them how to say “yes” to those things that lead toward life. “Wisdom education” emanates from both the home and the school; it’s not just the school’s responsibility. Wisdom is not a gift or at least not a gift in the traditional sense of the word. “Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby, it is the daily discipline of a lifetime.”[2] It requires hard work (diligence), and it requires practise-it must be “practiced.” As a parent, we can do a lot worse than read about it, observe it in others, meditate on it, emulate role models of wisdom, and spend time investing in relationships with wise, loving people etc. There awaits a rich reward as we pour this learning of faith, hope and love into our children. It leads us to truth-anywhere we find truth, we find God. The God who wants to be known and “found” by us. Is he the “hide ‘n seek” God? He does seem hard to find doesn’t he? But, when we look hard enough he’s there alright. Doing things in ordinary lives all the time; all we need do is look for goodness, splendour, and love. There, he’s found! Wisdom is a lecture. It’s a talk (or series of talks) passed down from generation to generation. Like the Olympic torch relay, it must be carried to each succeeding generation. Every single one of us, in turn, has a role to play in passing it on. We must “store up” these commands of faith within us even if they appear irrelevant at the time. We need to be empowering our children to decide for themselves in wisdom. There’s a ‘wisdom process’ at play in life learning. The goal is to receive it firstly, then respond, and finally to assimilate it and integrate it with the rest of our wisdom experience, into one’s life to enable “independent moral and spiritual judgment” to guide us.[3] It is implied that if God controls things in wisdom, “the most important value for the educational process is wisdom… Other values, such as willingness to learn, righteousness, and life, form the foundations for education. These values translate into commitment to wisdom, character, competence, protection, prosperity, and knowledge of God.”[4] According to Estes (in Daniel, E.A., cited herein) there are three primary sources of parental wisdom education content (curricula). These are via observation, tradition, and revelation, or spiritual insight. It is argued that observation is the most powerful antecedent to wisdom learning.[5] Again, the same author writes of Estes’ work: “The role of the teacher [read 'parent' as well] is seen as that of an authority and guide who moves to facilitator as the learner grows in maturity. The teacher must avoid forming passive learners who fail to think through the instruction they receive.”[6] Parenting is the process of gradually letting go. The ancients parented in ways that we, as parents, must duplicate: We need to “learn to let go in trust and confidence that inspires us to the same” ideals as they strove for and achieved.[7] We must see the correct recipe is all so well laid out for us in the teaching of Proverbs 1-9. The wisdom of Proverbs 1-9 says basically, Son [or daughter], if you accept instruction, turn your ear, cry aloud, and call out for wisdom; look for it, search for it, apply your heart to it… wisdom… “You will understand what is right and just and fair-every good path.”[8]