Former Mayor of Washington D.C., Marion Barry has once again been arrested - this time for stalking a woman.
It would appear that the former Mayor is intent on proving the old adage right - leopards don't change their spots.
From smoking crack cocaine to frequenting prostitutes, from not paying his taxes to stalking women...there does not appear to be any depth of deparavity to which Mr. Barry is not willing to sink.
Yet the citizens of D.C. keep re-electing him into office. Can anyone give a half-intelligent reason why this public and political misfit keeps getting re-elected to public office?
It can't even be said that it is time for D.C. residents to refuse to be the laughing stock of the country...that time has long since passed. You got what you voted for D.C.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Former Crack Cocaine Smoking Mayor Arrested Again in D.C.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Metro Crash Victims Laid to Rest
The funerals of the Metro crash victims took place this week in the Washington D.C. metro area.
What makes it all the more tragic, is the fact that these poor people died needlessly.
Metro Trasit should never have allowed the aging train cars to be used after being warned three years ago that they were unsafe. Being a security advisor, I have become used to clients disregarding the very advice for which they asked in the first place.
Most times it is due to cost. I have no doubt that is what happened with Metro. They probably did what they thought was a "risk assessment" of their defective equipment. They probably weighed the cost of replacing the older cars against the possibility of an accident and decided there was little chance of an accident.
Anybody who disregards professional advice like this and is subsequently responsible for people being killed and injured should be sued to the hilt. While no amount of money can ever bring back loved ones, Metro should have to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars as a punitive measure.
They have showed that they care more about saving money than saving peoples' lives. I say they should be hit where it hurts - in their miserly pockets.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Robberies "Spike" on Metro
We have been writing about it here and other security consultants have been talking about it....crime rises as the economy worsens
In Tuesday's "Washington Post", Lena H. Sun writes that robberies in the Metro Transit system are set to jump 24% by the end of the year.
That is the bad news. The good news is that people can do some thing about it. Apparently, opportunistic thieves are preying on people who are not paying attention to their surroundings.
Moral of the story - if you walk around with your head burried in your Blackberry or if you are moving like a robot from texting as you walk, you are going to be an easy target. Like we have said in the past - HARDEN THE TARGET.
Know where you are headed and be determined to get there without being robbed. There are wolves out there always ready to pounce on poor, unsuspecting sheep. Don't become a victim.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Going to Pakistan on Business? Better Bring Security with You
It would be difficult to think of any industry or profession with greater growth potential - especially in difficult times as this downward economy, than Private Security.
No matter what country you think of; Saudi Arabia, India, China, United Arab Emirates...I have visited all of these countries over the past two years and an overwhelming need for security is the one common denominator that they all share.
That is why I find it amusing everytime our training academy announces a training course such as; Executive Protection Agent and people ask; "after I am trained, can I get work as a bodyguard, or private investigator?".
This story written by Hasan Mansoor for Asiaone News, speaks about the exploding need for private security in Pakistan - a country with a population of more than 170 million, but a Police force of less than 400,000.
Many of the people who graduate from our academy ask us about working overseas. Overseas pays very well. If we had a client wishing to take some E.P. agents on a busness trip to Pakistan (we would STRONGLY advise on bringing your own professionally trained security to a violent country such as Pakistan if it was absolutely necessary to make the trip), we would pay those agents anywhere from $500 - $800 a day with all expenses included.
Now I ask, where else can you make that kind of money during a recession where layoffs and downsizng are the order of the day? Not even lawyers can be guaranteed to earn that kind of money when many of them being laid off from Law Firms all over the country.
The tougher times get, the more need there is for security. Train today for that high paying assignment tomorrow and count yourself lucky that you are in a field that is as about recession-proof as can be found.
Friday, June 19, 2009
PETA Wouldn't Hurt a Fly
I think that very few of us can ever hope to attain the lofty heights of humanity that PETA people seem to have reached.
Afterall, who amongst us would be in favor of catching pesky, dirty, germ spreading flies and then releasing them so that they could come back to annoy us all over again?
I would really like to know where PETA followers go to train to learn that kind of discipline. Do they have a PETA special forces type of training camp in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia?
Have they signed a contract with a Blackwater boot camp to turn them into super-humans, capable of ignoring "bug and people-eating animals" - even when those same bugs and animals are chowing down on them?
Scoff not, for it does take an unimaginable discipline to be eaten by mosquitos and to hold back from swatting or squashing them with a reflexive slap. I lived and worked in Africa in the early 90's and I did not possess that kind of discipline.
Just while living in Africa, I must have killed hundreds of mosquitos (this probably makes puts me into "war criminal" class by PETA standards)and yet, those pesky little blood-suckers still managed to give me malaria.
It will be interesting to see if President Obama puts his "catch and release" fly machine that PETA gave him to good use. Apparently, there are all kinds of bugs in the Whitehouse.
Strange, I would have thought they would have all been caught after Nixon left office.
"Death to America" chants in Tehran today
Anyone who has a need to travel to Iran, especially Tehran, should seriously reconsider doing so after today's statement by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Ayatollah endorsed the recent election results, which many feel are false and have been seriously manipulated. It was after that statement that loyal followers of the Government were heard to chant; "Death to America".
Surprisingly, Ayatollah Montazeri, the most senior and probably the most respected of all the Ayatollahs, has rejected the results of the elections and came out against the Government in favor of the young protestors.
It will be very interesting to monitor the events in Tehran over the coming days and weeks. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's public stance will no doubt strike fear in many hearts. It is likely that the police and other enforcers will crack down in a more brutal manner.
Khamenei's statement might very well kill off protesting in the streets. For those brave souls who dare to defy him, they will be facing great danger.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Why a Security Job is the Ultimate "Job Security".
I can't help but find it amusing everytime a potential student for one of our security courses asks the question; "Will I be able to get a job after graduating from your training?"
I find it hard to believe that there could be people out there who are not aware of the growth in private security or the fact that positions formerly held by Police or Military are now being filled by private security companies.
The tens of thousands of private security contractors assisting the military in places like Iraq and Afghanistan are one example, but every time you look around, you can see more and more evidence that private secuity is growing in leaps and bounds.
I remember when I first went to play golf in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, several years ago. The gates were all manned and controlled by soldiers. These days access is totally enforced by a private security company.
As long as there are hate groups and hate filled individulas, whether they call themselves; White Supremists, Al-Qaeda, Arian Nation, Black Panthers, Anti-Government separatists, or a host of other names, there will always be work for personnel with a good knowledge of security.
The more knowledge and experience you possess, the more you can seek to charge for your services. A client recently told me that they hired an out-of-work lawyer about a year ago for their company. Apparently, a few thousand got laid off in Washington D.C. the same week, so the market was flooded with job seekers with law degrees.
The next time you hear of someone losing their job in a law firm, or an auto plant, or a financial institution - tell them about the security profession. It might not be the world's oldest profession, but it is certainly one of the most stable - in good times and in bad.
