tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87943430792395870832011-07-08T19:55:49.431+03:00I am just a guy that travels around and tries to make a difference when I can.Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-13480621932565388182009-09-08T03:10:00.002+03:002009-09-08T03:12:03.832+03:00

Increasing government spending will require an increase in taxes. Anyone who has even the simplest understanding of math will grasp that concept. So with the Democrats’ intent to increase spending where do they plan to get the money? Obama says they will get all of this money by increasing the taxes on those who make more then $250,000 per year and by eliminating business loop-holes to hide

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-56778365916649102512009-08-20T15:14:00.000+03:002009-08-20T15:15:54.358+03:00

Can Iraq take care of itself? We all love the idea of an Iraq that can take care of itself and live in peace. Obama is talking about leaving Iraq because of the great advances the Iraqi military has made in learning how to defend themselves and said so at the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Secretary of Defense Gates mentioned that the security situation will lead to the

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-86032526720894388382009-04-21T03:38:00.001+03:002009-04-21T03:38:24.592+03:00

Well – I have been gone… again… I am sure anyone reading this is completely shocked that I would be traveling. I am such a home-body that almost never strays away from my front stoop… Ok, that may not be exactly truthworthy. I may even be a little of the opposite.Once again I have traveled to Iraq, but this time I was not gallivanting around the North chatting with locals and placing myself in

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-14756024288957772602009-01-08T19:28:00.003+03:002009-01-08T19:30:59.456+03:00

I wrote this article in the early part of 2006. It is interesting to look back sometimes...Rich Man in Kurdistanby Bertwin LordSome say there are no rich men in Kurdistan. Maybe it is because there are not many men. Or maybe it is just the definition of rich that should change.The mountains on the horizon are on fire. Children gathering on the hillside barely pay it any heed on this Thursday

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-20644540231203228962009-01-06T15:58:00.002+03:002009-01-06T16:02:55.063+03:00

I understand the concept of religion being the "biggest cause of terrorism" but I feel that this is misrepresented. I do agree that religion is the biggest excuse for terrorism, but I am not sure that it is the cause. In Encyclopedia of Wars -by Charles Phillips (Author), Alan Axelrod (Author): there are a total of 1,763 wars listed of which 123 are listed as religious wars. The State

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-85026622178954677422009-01-01T21:51:00.000+03:002009-01-01T21:52:57.759+03:00

Terrorism and Extortion are very similar in action but where they differ the most is with intended results. Extortion: Using violence or the threat of violence to create an environment where actions toward the victim lead to the victim giving the perpetrator(s) something of value.Terrorism: Using violence of the threat of violence to create an environment where actions towards the victim lead to

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-75694604799602357682008-12-30T19:49:00.003+03:002009-01-01T21:53:28.190+03:00

Turkey has a collected interest in the war in Iraq not just stemming from multiple sources not of which the least is Turkish dependence on Iraqi oil to survive, and the desire for Neo-Ottomans to take Northern Iraq for their own. Since Turkey was made a nation after WWI they have had a desire to regain their old Ottoman glory. The Turks have forced the Turkish language on people living within

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-24869172498086972402008-12-29T03:47:00.002+03:002008-12-29T04:19:07.034+03:00

Recently I had the privilege to read an article by Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis that compared the Kurdish Ashayish to al Qaeda. To me this was a very interesting article because I have always viewed them as diametrically opposed institutions. If you do not know what the Ashayish or al Qaeda is then let me start with that.According to their own website Al-Qaeda's objectives include the

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-41166913650131759002008-12-28T09:30:00.001+03:002008-12-28T09:30:34.728+03:00

Ok – I have not posted for the longest time. While I was working in Iraq I started to work in areas that I really could not post about. The many things I learned while working in those areas has enriched me in many ways … and I hope I am now a better person for it.Life now finds me living in Washington DC. I am working for a defense contractor and I am using the many things I learned while

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-24956860527005897042007-05-19T10:48:00.000+03:002007-05-19T10:50:43.089+03:00

In Muslim countries Fridays are holy days. For this reason my sister Lori, who works at the local university, has Friday off every week. Our office is Open Sunday through Thursday during the day. So we try to do something together on Fridays. Up until now that meant sitting around the house talking to each other, walking through the market or up to the dam, or getting together with friends.

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-22964972349644679402007-04-22T13:07:00.001+03:002007-04-22T13:26:40.852+03:00

This weekend I was given a nice treat, I was taken up to the Turkish border to visit some Assyrian villages. In case some of you do not know, the Assyrians were one of the groups who controlled this region in history. There are still some of their people living in the land. During the reign of Saddam Hussein most of them fled the mountains and lived in Iraq’s cities or left Iraq all-together.My

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-91652890881753209452007-03-31T15:40:00.000+03:002007-03-31T15:42:11.524+03:00

Most of my time here in Iraq is spent sitting at my desk in my office at our apartment in Dohuk, but sometimes we have to go around and see all of the people that we work with. I do not spend a lot of time talking about work, but just know that we work with a lot of different people. So we decided to spend three days driving around the country. I took my good friend James with me. It was an

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-71774546250872477532007-03-15T01:20:00.000+03:002007-03-15T01:30:27.243+03:00

For those of you who do not know, James and I are now in Amman, Jordan. It was a very interesting trip to get here. A couple of weeks ago James and I found out about the Rebuild Iraq Expo in Amman, Jordan. So we decided that this would be a great place for us to go. Both of us really wanted to visit Amman to see the many places spoke of in the bible. Lori decided to stay behind as she is now

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-37344652602784559342007-03-02T03:33:00.000+03:002007-03-02T03:34:18.974+03:00

It is never a good idea to type when you are angry. If anyone has read my blog before you will see that many things have been cut out of it lately. There were too many toes being stepped on and to many things being referred too. My emails were long and disjointed and easily taken out of context. So to ensure this does not happen again I will dissect everything I write before I put it on this

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-31048465023204148192007-02-19T13:54:00.000+03:002007-02-19T14:35:33.437+03:00

There is a group of thought that I really respect. A lot of this has been cultured by a great group of people that teach at the Wizard Academy in Buda, Texas. I owe a lot of the refining of my thoughts and theories to them. They mainly deal with business or business related items but I have found that they are very beneficial to me in just my daily living.Some of the comments that they have made

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-80980678405779860452007-02-18T11:38:00.000+03:002007-03-02T03:21:11.881+03:00

Dohuk steps out of the mountains surrounding it and settles down to rest in the cradle of a split mountain range. The east end opens to spill the edges of the city onto the flat floor reaching with man-made fingers towards the Tigris River and the southern city of Mosul. Dohuk is a pastel city with its many buildings painted an eternally fading color of light blues, pinks, oranges, greens,

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-25628157703133241212007-02-13T01:55:00.000+03:002007-03-02T03:42:45.217+03:00

I am sorry that I have not written in a while. We are now settling in and I did not think writing about fixing electrical problems, learning how to use kerosene heaters, changing our cleaning and eating habits to be in tune with the locals was much of a conversation piece. Yet maybe it is.My sister and I took a really long walk up to the cities dam and water reservoir. It is a very interesting

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-90672670549864227602007-02-13T01:52:00.000+03:002007-03-02T03:45:13.950+03:00

So now that I have spent two weeks in Iraq you would think that I would already know the language, have a full time job, know every nook and cranny in the city, and have the entire town know my name. Two out of three isn’t too bad.My bestfriend, my sister, and I are now moved into our 1,200 sqf flat above a warehouse owned by the Kurdish God-Father. The lack of hot water and furniture has now

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-38284411558200916132007-02-13T01:47:00.000+03:002007-03-02T03:47:03.516+03:00

We are doing OK here. We are now moved into our new apartment. The girls are staying with us for the moment. It is cold tonight. We are going to have to find a way to keep ourselves warmer. I am almost afraid to come out from under the blankets at night. We act like refugees hid in our rooms with our doors closed barring any of the heat that emanates from our space heaters. Sometimes I wonder if

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-73389792693851383932007-02-13T01:36:00.000+03:002007-01-18T10:28:13.123+03:00

When you fly into Iraq the best bet is still from Dubai. How you get to Dubai is dependent upon the going rates at the time. From Dubai to Erbil you will need to fly Kurdistan Airlines. When you arrive and Erbil International Airport, do not be surprised by the size. What it lacks physical stature it more then makes up for in historical and political importance. When you arrive you will be

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794343079239587083.post-63639238624812518502007-01-18T10:27:00.000+03:002007-01-18T10:28:13.166+03:00

I am not sure what time many of you will be reading this email so I figured I would cover all bases. We are here in Kurdistan now and it is very different then when we were in Dubai. We arrived at the airport and the first people we saw were Iraqi Military. They had to check us into the country. After getting through customs we went outside to meet Dr. Dawood Atrushi. He took us to Salahadin

Bert Lordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05741508907166383328noreply@blogger.com0