Month: November 2015

One of the most devastating mining disasters ever occurred on August 5, 2010 in the San Jose gold and copper mine located in the Atacama Desert, which is about 30 miles north of Copiapo in northern Chile.  As the result of a substantial cave-in 33 miners were trapped.

The cave-in should not have been a surprise.  The mine was 121 years old at the time and had had a history of safety violations.  These violations had been responsible for several accidents, including eight deaths.   The owners of the mine had been fined and required to effect various repairs and safety upgrades.  But, due to carelessness, corruption, bribery of officials, and/or lack of follow-up by mining inspectors these had either been completed inadequately or not at all.  Nevertheless, mining operations had continued.

In view of the foregoing, little hope was held out for the miners.  Most people thought that they had not survived the cave-in.  When it was discovered that they had, indeed, survived the cave-in, rescue attempts began in earnest.  It became a race to rescue them before their air, food and water ran out.

What followed was truly compelling.  People all over the world agonized with the miners’ families and loved ones.  At first, few people thought they could survive until they could be rescued.   But, the group pulled together.  Later, we learned that they had followed a strict system of rationing, which enabled their meager supplies to last.  In addition, everything was decided by democratic vote, so that all of them had a stake in the situation.

Many of us followed the story closely for the entire 69 days until they were finally rescued.  Most dramatic of all was the manner in which the miners returned to the surface.  The rescuers had only been able to dig a narrow shaft.  Then, they lowered down a capsule in which only one person could fit at a time.  Over 1 billion people worldwide watched on live tv as they came up one by one.  The last one up was the shift foreman, Luis Urzua (played by Lou Diamond Phillips in the movie).  They all made it!

Everyone rejoiced in the rescue.

1. Doctors marveled at how well the miners had coped physically.
2. Clergy arranged a multi-denominational mass for the miners and their families.  Tragedy almost struck when a swarm of reporters and cameramen accidentally pushed and frightened Omar Reygadas’ two-year old great-granddaughter.  He told the reporters that he had had many nightmares since the ordeal, “but the worst nightmare is all of you.”
3. They  were treated to various gifts, including cash, a trip to Disneyland, a cruise of the Greek Islands and an eight-day tour of the Holy Land.
4. One of them, Daniel Herrera, even met his wife as a direct result of the ordeal.  While watching the saga on tv a German woman saw Mr. Herrera and fell in love.  She contacted him on line and eventually, they got married.
5. Even President Pinera got into the act.  He saw an opportunity to capitalize on the miners’ notoriety and, like any good politician, he took it.   He hosted a reception for them at the Presidential Palace and invited them to play an exhibition soccer match against a government team.

CONCLUSION

Unfortunately, the aftermath has not been so rosy.  Once the cameras and worldwide attention went elsewhere, problems began to surface.  Many of them remain unresolved to this day.

1.  In 2013 the Chilean government announced that it was terminating its investigation into the cave-in with no criminal charges being filed against the owners.  Obviously, this was met with disbelief and widely criticized.  One of the most vociferous critics was Laurence Golborne, the former mining minister (played by Rodrigo Santoro in the movie).  At the very least, it does not speak well for the integrity of the Chilean justice system.  A civil suit, however, is still pending.
2. The miners have been “blacklisted” from working in mines.  Mr Reygadas feels that their notoriety has been working against them.  “If there’s ever a problem everyone will immediately find out about it since we get a lot of press.”  Some of them, like Mr. Urzua, who secured a better mining job, and Mr. Sepulveda, who runs a construction business and a charitable foundation, have landed on their feet, but most have not, which has led to severe depression and other emotional problems for them.
3. Mario Sepulveda (played by Antonio Banderas in the movie) has been outspoken as to the miners’ treatment.  “The majority of us are very bad in terms of emotional health.  [P]sychiatrically and psychologically we were badly treated.”
4.  Several of the miners have filed a civil suit claiming they were tricked into signing away their royalties pertaining to the collapse and subsequent rescue.  Apparently, some signed the controversial document, which was in English, and others didn’t, so the suit has pitted the two groups against each other.

One can’t help but contrast the fate of the miners with what it would have been had the collapse occurred in the US.  But, that is another subject for, perhaps, another blog.

The enforced relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is a stain on our history.  When viewed in retrospect from the perspective of the 21st century it is appalling to realize that the government did this to a segment of Americans regardless of the circumstances and, moreover, that it was supported by the general populace.  Yet, we did.  As Casey Stengel was fond of saying: “You could look it up.”

The time was early 1942.  On the previous December 7 Japan had launched a surprise attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor, devastating our Pacific Fleet and plunging the US headlong into WWII.   In one of the most famous speeches in Presidential history President Franklyn Roosevelt had characterized December 7, 1941 as “a date that will live in infamy.”  Americans were shocked, furious and vengeful.  There was a strong anti-Japanese sentiment in the country.  It was focused not only on Japan, but also on the Americans of Japanese descent living in the US.

As a result of Japanese imperialism the US government was very wary of Americans of Japanese descent.  It had been secretly monitoring Japanese-Americans since the 1930’s in order to identify potential subversives.  In early 1942 it seemed to many that Japan was about to launch a follow-up attack on our West Coast, which was essentially defenseless.  The climate was right for the government to take drastic action against Japanese-American nationals.

In February 1942 FDR signed the first of a series of Executive Orders by which authority the government began the forced relocation and incarceration (“R & I”) of between 110,000 and 120,000 Japanese nationals.  This was effected without any due process.  The legality of this so-called “exclusion order” was subsequently validated by the Supreme Court (but not the incarceration without due process).   About 112,000 of the 127,000 Japanese Americans living in the US at the time were domiciled on the West Coast.  Anyone with as little as 1/16 Japanese blood was subject to enforced R &I.  Curiously, in Hawaii where the 150,000 Japanese-Americans comprised approximately 1/3 of the total population only about 1,500 were interned.  I’ll explain the reasons later.

It is important to distinguish among the three groups of Japanese involved.

1.  About 2/3 of the aforementioned total were  “Nisei,” literally “second generation.”  They were native born children of Japanese immigrants and, as such, were American citizens.
2. “Sansei,” or “third generation” were children of “Nisei,” also American citizens by birth.  Both of these groups should have been entitled to the full protections of the Constitution, just like any other US citizen.
3. “Issei” were “first generation” immigrants who had been born in Japan and, based on specific legislation, were ineligible for citizenship.

Life in the internment facilities was extremely degrading with one hardship after another.  Most detainees survived by following the principle of “gaman,” which means “endurance with dignity.”  The facilities were operated by various groups, including the Wartime Civil Control Administration, the War Relocation Authority,  the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Justice.  There were three types:

1.  Civilian Assembly Centers were temporary facilities.  These were where families were sent initially.  Typically, they were located in race tracks or fairgrounds.
2. Relocation Centers, aka internment camps, were the next stop for most people.
3. Detention camps were for perceived trouble makers.  Really hard cases were sent to Citizen Isolation Centers or Federal Prisons.

As the late philosopher, Yogi Berra, would have said, “It’s ‘deja vu’ all over again.”  Yesterday, various well coordinated Islamic terrorist attacks were carried out in Paris.  The targets were various “soft” targets, such as a restaurant, a concert, a sports stadium and a couple of bars.  What did these targets have in common? Two things: (1) they were not protected or secured by law enforcement or military personnel; and (2) they were packed with tourists and residents whose only crime was a desire for an enjoyable evening’s entertainment.  Instead, hundreds of them, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, were murdered or injured, many of them critically.

In addition, the manner of attack was particularly vexing.  Witnesses have stated that, after the initial attacks, the terrorists coldly, calmly and methodically searched out survivors and executed them one by one.  Some of the survivors managed to escape; others survived by playing dead by laying among dead people.  Think of the horror.  We’re not talking about trained soldiers or policemen.  These are ordinary people like you and me who one minute were enjoying a concert, a soccer game or a meal and the next were dead, injured or forced to lie among dead people in order to survive.

As I write this, no group has claimed responsibility for these acts of terror, but the evidence points strongly towards ISIS.  Indeed, French President Hollande has identified ISIS as the culprits.  To me, it makes no difference whether it was ISIS or another Islamic terrorist group. They are all interrelated anyway.

Mr. Hollande, declaring the attacks as “an act of war,” has taken other decisive actions, such as declaring a state of emergency, placing Army troops in Paris and closing the border.  None of these actions addresses the underlying issues that led to the attacks, but that is a subject for another blog on another day.

It does not take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that there were more than eight terrorists involved.  The eight that we know about had to have an extensive support system to carry out this kind of coordinated attack.  Likely, there are many more still at large in France and other countries.  Also, it is obvious that these were well planned attacks coordinated and financed from international sources.

CONCLUSION

Once again, the Islamic terror group that the current administration has derided as a “JV” has struck a massive blow against the West.  ISIS and its partners in crime have perpetrated many, many such attacks in the last several years – the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in 2008, Mumbai also in 2008, Oslo in 2011, Toulouse in 2012, Nairobi in 2013, Brussels in 2014 and Nigeria, Paris (Charlie Hebdo), and Ankara this year, to name a few.  By comparison, can anybody name the last time a NON-ISLAMIC group carried out a terrorist attack?  Probably not.  And yet, President Obama still refuses to identify these Islamic groups as terrorists!

Most of you are familiar with the opinion voiced by some Americans that we need to fight the terrorists in the Middle East or else we will be fighting them here eventually.  Others have derided that argument as war mongering or sticking our nose in other people’s business.  No one, except, perhaps, a few extremists, is advocating sacrificing American lives unnecessarily, however, as time goes on and more terrorist attacks are perpetrated in the West the former philosophy is gaining more and more credence and the latter seems more and more misguided.  How long before a similarly well-coordinated attack occurs on US soil?  We have countless “soft” targets – malls, schools, restaurants, etc. – from which to choose.

As I have blogged before, words, negotiations, posturing and saber-rattling haven’t and won’t work.  Terrorists only understand and respect force.  Due to the Administration’s indecisive approach what was a small problem a few years ago has now become a big problem.

I say to the leaders of the West, we need to send ISIS and its ilk a strong message.  Appeasement did not work in 1938. Throughout history, It never has and likely never will.   Let’s learn from our history and not repeat it.  We have the ability to deal with this.  Do we have the will?