[flv:http://www.tomslatin.com/wp-content/uploads/Near-White-Out-Conditions.flv 640 480]

The January 10th, 2010 issue of Newsweek contained an article about Umar Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian wanna-be terrorist who attempted to bomb Northwest Airlines flight 253 with a bomb sewn into his underpants, which thankfully failed ultimately earning him the nickname of, "the crotch bomber." Newsweek tried to explain how a wealthy child of a successful banker was depressed over his upbringing and decided to join the ranks of Al Qaeda. What Newsweek and the general public fail to realize is that Al Qaeda is a terrorist group whose extremist beliefs are based upon religion. Although there is sometimes...

Between birth and death is a strange and curious thing called life. Life is a never-ending prologue of unscripted events punctuated by our experiences of triumph and defeat, our choices and decisions all half-chance. life is a game of give-and-take as we strive for those experiences and goals we crave. We surround ourselves with those we love, and try our best to gracefully distance ourselves from those we hate. The wars we wage upon each other are the result of greed and disagreement fueled by our own insecurities and desires we somehow allow to ravage out of control. Likewise, the wars...