The VonFrederick 

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October 2007  Volume 4 Issue 10

  Feature Article:

Crime And Violence On Campus: Part III

Dr. Lionel C.M. von Frederick Rawlins, President & CEO, The VonFrederick Group

In part two of the subject matter, we discussed one theory/factor associated with crime and violence on school campuses (ADHD/ODD); in this issue, we will continue to answer the conundrum in search for an understanding to this phenomenon.

A second risk factor is underdeveloped mental abilities. This factor is related to low verbal I.Q., which ultimately leads to poor school achievement. This risk factor differs from the previous risk factor in that many children with ADHD have above average intelligence. Yet, children who do poorly in school, who cannot keep pace with their peers, are more likely to be truant or to stop attending all together (Cairns & Neckerman, 2002). When they are not attending school, these youth are usually hanging out with others who are truant or who have dropped out of school. These deviant groups provide a setting where the opportunity for joining gangs, and engaging in delinquent and violent behavior is significantly greater than it would be if a youngster enjoyed school and were doing well. 

A fourth risk factor is family relationships and influences. Children are socialized from a very young 
age about how to handle frustration, how to react to limits and consequences, and how to solve problems effectively and resolve disputes. Most of this socialization first occurs at home and in the family. The evidence is clear: parents of aggressive children punish more frequently, but inconsistently and ineffectively. They also tend to negatively reinforce coercive and manipulative child behavior and fail to adequately reinforce positive, pro-social behavior. 

Psychologists argue that raising boys to be strong and silent is promoting the outbreak of school shootings and violence, subsequently causing the smoldering climate of despair among male teenagers. In other words, boys are reared largely in keeping with the traditional code of male toughness, which encourages boys to take action while inhibiting expressions of feeling and gestures of physical affection.

Related to this concept is the coercive style of parent-child interaction. This occurs when parents reinforce coercive child behavior and are inadvertently negatively reinforced themselves – by giving in to their coercive child. In other words, children learn that aggressive behavior often leads to parents’ giving them what they want. By reacting to a parental request with an aggressive response that is modeled on parental problem solving, “the child escapes punishment, controls the social 
exchange, and continues desired behaviors” (Patterson, 2002). 

One risk is that this learned style of interaction may be generalized by the child from home to school, where it becomes part of a child’s social repertoire with peers and teachers. If a child learns from parents to respond to authority with aggression and manipulation (as in the case of bullies), he or she will have difficulty interacting successfully in a school environment where other adults and authority figures make daily requests of the child. Obviously, parental harshness can increase the risk of 
delinquency, possibly by increasing child resentment and defiance, which is then expressed through truancy, poor school performance, antisocial behavior, and gang membership. And it is well researched that parental abuse and neglect cause delinquency and anti-social behavior. The case of Rod Ferrell, referred to as the “Vampire Killer”, illustrates a violent youth who was exposed to a poor family environment. He was sentenced to death for the brutal killing of the parents of one of his 
followers.

To be continued in Part IV…

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A Little About Islam

Elka Svensson Bjork, M.D., Ph.D, surgeon and researcher, The VonFrederick Group

In one of his letters, Thomas Jefferson remarked that in matters of religion “the maxim of civil 
government” should be reversed and we should rather say, “Divided we stand, united we fall.” In his 
remark, Jefferson was setting forth with classic terseness an idea that has come to be regarded as 
essentially American: the separation of Church and State. This idea was not entirely new; it had 
some precedents in the writings of Spinoza, Locke, and the philosophers of the European 
Enlightenment. It was in the United States, however, that the principle was given the force of law 
and gradually, in the course of two centuries, became a reality.

If the idea that religion and politics should be separated is relatively new, dating back a mere three 
hundred years, the idea that they are distinct dates almost to the beginnings of Christianity. Christians 
are enjoined in their Scriptures to “render…unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto 
God, the things which are God’s.” While opinions have differed as to the real meaning of this phrase, it has generally been interpreted as legitimizing a situation in which two institutions exist side by side, each with its own laws and chain of authority – with politics, called the State. And since they are two, they may be joined or separated, subordinate or independent, and conflicts may arise between them over questions of demarcation and jurisdiction.

This formulation of the problems posed by the relations between religion and politics, and the possible solutions to those problems, arise from Christian, not universal, principles and experience. There are other religious traditions in which religion and politics are differently perceived, and in which, therefore the problems and the possible solutions are radically different from those we know in the West. Most of these traditions, despite their often very high level of sophistication and 
achievement, remained or became local – limited to one region or one culture or one people. There is one however, that in its worldwide distribution, its continuing vitality, its universalist aspirations, can be compared to Christianity, and that is Islam.

Islam is one of the world’s great religions. Let me be explicit about what I, who is not Muslim, mean by that. Islam has brought comfort and peace of mind to countless millions of men and women. It has given dignity and meaning to drab and impoverished lives. It has taught people of different races to live in brother hood and inspired a great civilization in which others besides Muslims lived creative and useful lives and which, by its achievement, enriched the whole world. But Islam, like other religions, has also known periods when it inspired in some of its followers a mood of hatred and violence. It is our misfortune that part, though by no means all or even most, of the Muslim world is now going through such a period, and that much, though again not at all, of that hatred is directed against us.

We should not exaggerate the dimensions of the problem. The Muslim world is far from unanimous in its rejection of the West, nor have the Muslim regions of the Third World been the most passionate and the most extreme in their hostility. There are still significant numbers, in some quarters perhaps a majority, of Muslims with whom we share certain basic cultural and moral, social and political, beliefs and aspirations; there is still an imposing Western presence – cultural, economic, diplomatic – in Muslim lands, some of which are Western allies. Certainly nowhere in the Muslim world, in the Middle East or elsewhere, has American policy suffered disasters or encountered problems comparable to those in Southeast Asia or Central America. There is no Cuba, no Vietnam, in the Muslim world…But there is a Iran, and a Lebanon, and a surge of hatred that distresses, alarms, and above all baffles Americans.

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The corporate scandals of the 21st century have led individuals to speculate as to how so many disturbing financial crises could occur in the past decade. One perspective taken is the “perfect storm” theory that examines the unique historical circumstances of the 1990’s, in which no cyclical explanation could have ever determined the outcome. Could there be an explanation as to how “we” enabled rogue managers and companies to take financial matters literally in their own hands enabling them to commit fraud on the most grandeur of scales? 

Some of the factors that assisted in the creation of the “perfect storm” theory are the adoption of new financial strategies and instruments, a booming technology sector, baby boomers change in lifestyle in the process of saving for retirement, auditor/client relationships, and a stock market that was driven by Greenspan’s “irrational exuberance” statement. The U.S. economy was placed with an unusual group of situations that led to fraudulent activities beyond normal circumstances. Fraud has a tendency to rise when stock market prices increase, however one would question if the blunders could have been avoided with all the intricacies involved.

Under normal circumstances we can determine accountability by tracking events by finding a person/company or cause that created the effect. Under the perfect “storm theory” this becomes a less predictable and far more difficult task. Accusations have been imposed on Congress, lackadaisical oversight on the securities exchanges, accounting firms, auditors, and varying reporting standards. If the series of events that allowed the downfall of many top publicly traded companies arose from the “perfect storm” theory, which was caused by a series of unique irrelevant events, one could conclude that the new restraints implemented recently should prevent acts of fraudulent activity in normal circumstances. However, others believe corporate fraud is cyclical in nature, and will arise once the stock market climbs, and arguably can be seen through historical models for hundreds of years past. If the cyclical theory is correct, Acts of Congress will do little in the reduction of fraudulent activity and the dynamics that appeared before will appear ounce again.

Only time will tell. 

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“It is one thing to tell the truth even when it damages your friends. It's another to tell untruths in order 
not to offend your enemies. It's one thing to give the devil his due. It's another to do the devil's public 
relations.” Clifford D. May

Do Liberals understand the realities of war? I think not. For instance, while we are at war with 
Islamic Fascist for the survival of our civilization, liberals ally with the enemy instead of uniting against 
the enemy.

A simple definition of war is one group taking by force, or deception, something that the other group 
has and it wants. The item of desire could be anything from power, land, resources, or name your value. History notes not one generation has been without war, including the current generation of Americans. Deception in war has not changed only the technology and manner in which war is waged. Just as the senators of Rome fought among themselves for power while Roman Legions fought foreign enemies, democrats wage war against republicans while American Legions defend our country against foreign enemies. 

This is as dangerous to our survival as it was to Rome’s. War is fluid and victory is more often achieved overcoming a series of mistakes than executing a well conceived plan. Allies may change sides to “cut” their losses and join the winning side. Yesterdays enemies are today’s friends and visa versa. Prosecuting a war is a messy business and this could not be truer than with the current war against terrorism and Fundamental Islamist being fought in the Middle East.

Since Fundamental Islamist initiated the war with America and the West in the 1970’s they probably won more battles than lost. However, after America engaged the enemy militarily, they’ve lost more than won. The American Coalition’s invasion of Iraq resulted in it becoming the central battlefield in this war. Terrorist and al-Qaida are losing militarily but with help of liberal democrats and media made gains in the battle for public opinion. Despite liberal help, the tide of war seems to be turning 
against al-Qaida.

Experts are reporting the “Surge” is working and al-Qaid is now facing a dilemma. As Cliff May noted, al-Qaida lost about 30 of it senior leaders in Iraq. An increasing number of Iraqi people are joining American forces in combating al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Thus, Osama bin Laden must decide to send reinforcements to try to regain the initiative, risking more losses which could seriously diminish his global organization. Or, accept defeat on the battlefield he has defined as “central to the struggle against America and its allies”. I believe he has too much at stake to surrender and must be totally defeated.

One can not lose sight that this war is a regional as well as global. Iraq is the “central” not only front and al-Qeada is not the only enemy. The enemy alliance includes the nations of Iran and Syria, and terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al-Fatah to name a few. These enemies have demonstrated a will to win and must be defeated. The status of this war is tenuous and far from over. 

Syria provides operational support to al-Qaida and terrorist groups. Iran provides funds, munitions and combatants while trying to secure its northern provinces against rebellious Kurds. In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been fighting for a Kurdish state in eastern Anatolia since the 1970s. For years Iran has given Turkish Kurds and the PKK shelter and support against Turkey. Today, Iran sees "the Kurdish threat" as one of its key security concerns. Recently, Iran has been seeking an alliance with Turkey to combat the Kurds. An alliance with Turkey would serve two purposes. It would improve its ability to fight the Kurds and improve its chances to defeat the U.S. led coalition by removing the Turks as allies and destabilizing Northern Iraq.

Turkey is already massing troops near the Iraqi border and threatening a campaign against the Kurds. Recent intelligence reports indicate that Turkey is providing military assistance and training to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Northern Iran. If Iran is able to consummate an alliance with Turkey it would significantly hamper America’s ability to execute the war against terrorist and Fundamental Islamist. The tenuousness and fluidity in war is demonstrated once again.

While the U.S. is prosecuting a difficult war with an enemy dedicated to our destruction and trying to maintain delicate political alliances in the Middle East, liberals continue to interfere. Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) met with the Syrian President Assad. Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) goes on Syrian TV and bashes the US. Then Pelosi tried to force a Resolution criticizing Turkey for a massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during WWI. Liberals repeat the fraudulent claims that the battle raging in Iraq is a “civil war” and CNN aired “Meeting Resistance,” an erroneous documentary about what it called “ordinary Iraqis taking up arms and fighting the Americans.” Proving once again that liberals are extremely ignorant or self-serving traitors or both!

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Iran is slowly but surely accessing a military nuclear power status and is bragging about it in the name of an obsolete, but universally recognized, self-determination right. Defying the Western calls for more openness of its nuclear plans and processing plants, and laughing at the Western (legitimate?) concerns caused by the radical speeches of its newly democratically elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (as democracy in a dictatorship of a radical religion), Iran is now filling the vacuum left by Saddam and making the news with threats and crazy speeches which defy diplomacy, reason and common sense. 

After denying the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad has pledged many times to destroy Israel and recently announced its willingness to transfer its nuclear technology and knowledge to other Islamic countries. Sudan, mind you, has been given first choice during the visit of its president Omar el-Bechir in Teheran, the same Islamic Sudanese president that supports the genocidal Arab militias known as Janjaweed. The Janjaweed are responsible for the well documented rapes, killings and other abuses which have left 1.2 million Catholic and Muslim black Africans homeless in Darfur and Chad. Actually, it is the same Islamic government that the rat-hole confined former leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, just supported in a now rare occurrence of video speech. Threatened by an imminent UN military intervention, el-Bechir just got the unexpected help from his former protégé, the Jihad-master Bin Laden, calling for the stockpiling of landmines and the gathering of freedom fighters in the Arab land of Sudan to prepare for the violent and bloody repelling of the soon to be invading UN crusaders. 

Call me paranoid, but I kind of worry about the crazy, hateful kid of the block preparing to purchase a couple of big guns for himself and his other crazy buddies. Diplomacy is obviously failing with the little mad man of Teheran and the US, the European Union and the UN have failed to even reach a semblance of a reasonable agreement with the uranium-stoned high religious and political leaders of Iran- where the moderate are keeping a very low profile (and I would not blame them, they could march against America in America and Teheran, but certainly not criticize Teheran in Teheran!). Call me paranoid, but I wonder about our future when I hear professional politicians stating officially that our standing firm on stupid principles such as non-proliferation or non-military, use are just plain mean and reinforce the Iranian anger toward us. Call me paranoid, but the prospect of Iran blowing up Israel, or sharing its technology with such a backward and genocidal country like Sudan does not ring too safe with me. Call me selfish, but not letting them gain access to military grade uranium might not be fair in the fuzzy-woozy scale of bleeding-heart things, but looks pretty reasonable to me. 

So what is it going to be for you? Do you believe that tomorrow, the crazy guy and his bearded radical mentors are going to play nice with military nukes and that the mutual assured destruction (M.A.D.) that was the core of the Cold War era nuclear deterrence is going to work? Do you believe that somebody should go there militarily and take the nukes out, one way or another, at the risk of starting a second Iraq-like war with its roadside bombs, insurgents, inter-ethnic and inter-Muslim bloodbaths? Do you pray for Israel to move its behind and go deal with the Iranian plants like they did with Saddam’s? After all, they already dedicated a spy satellite to the issue! Or do you just believe in peace, love, promiscuity, metrosexuality, medical marijuana, Ritalin, fairness, equal rights, American Idols, the power of prayer and forgiveness, equality, blah, blah, blah, the see-no-evil head-in-the-sand-ostrich thing? 

Have a good life, and as I tell my kids, make good choices!

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Tempus Virtuous

(good), adj., morally excellent, kind, beneficent, honorable or worthy

How do you negotiate the world following a path of kindness and moral excellence? How do you deal with your neighbor when God is on all sides?

This is the dilemma of the U.S. American Christian soldier, currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. soldier by the very fact of being deployed in the Middle East appears to be supporting killing. Those of us who do not support the killing or being at war, it sounds as if we support terrorism. Moreover, the reality of this war on terrorism is not linear and it will last many years. 

The Middle East is a geo-political, culturally diverse spot on our planet too complex for easy answers. So we must ask ourselves, without falling into the trap of scriptural righteousness or having a political agenda, can any war be moral?

Some American Christian groups prophesy this war as God’s plan to prepare for the end of the world, the Apocalypse. But how can any war be without death and destruction. Yet who are we to dare to be The Voice of Christianity? Just as who are we to dare to be The Judge to exclaim all Muslims are extremists? 

Every Sunday, during the petitions in my worship setting, my congregation prays that the leaders of the world make moral decisions bringing us closer to peace. To some, “Peace” can be very subjective, but the essence of peace is a proactive condition. It is not a state of utopia, nor an adverb of passivity. The first time in the Western hemisphere the word peace, “pais,” (Proto-Germanic) is written down is in a 10th century tome. It is used as a noun referring to a pact, a treaty. In the Christian bible, the New Testament, peace is written in the Hebrew language as ”shalom”: wholeness.

How do we continue to be whole, at peace, a pact with ourselves and our neighbors?

We have always been at war, within ourselves, outside ourselves, the state our being: good versus evil. It is our human condition?

Hitler was an evil being. Osama bin Laden is an evil being. Both are clearly misanthropists, megalomaniacs, and large scale murderers. 

Whether we question the wisdom of being in a war with no end, it is a personal conflict for every Christian soldier, and every good person. During WWII, the king of Denmark, a proclaimed Christian wore the star of David on his military sleeve, and kept the flag of Denmark flying (a symbol of Christianity—a white cross on a red field) in Copenhagen, until during the Nazi occupations pulled it down and raised the Swastika banner (ironically the symbol is a Indo-European word in Sanskrit for “good”). The Danish king then took down the banner, and raised the Danish flag. The Nazis, again, lowered the Danish flag, and raised the Third Reich banner. The Danish king, lowered the Nazi banner, and then cut the rope. From there on no flag, nor banner, flew in the capital of Denmark until Germany accepted surrender, April 1945. ( Erik Jorgensen, 2007).

Amen…to agree and to affirm – truly, verily, surely – before 1000 B.C./B.C.E.

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Did You Know? Michelle Glisan Blevins         

• That the Se Cathedral in Goa Velha, India, began in 1562 and took around 80 years to complete and is the largest Christian church in Asia

• That India’s constitution recognizes 22 different languages and the country has 14 official languages, Hindi being primary

• That the exquisitely beautiful national bird of India, the Indian Blue Peacock, actually belongs to the pheasant family

• That Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India is the one of the world’s most populous cities with an estimated population of 12.8 million residents

• That that about 48% of the adult female population of India can read and write compared to just over 70% of the male population (2003 estimates)

The Indian flag is divided into three equal horizontal bands. The top is saffron (a light orange), white with a blue chakra, or Ashoka Wheel, centered in the white band and the bottom panel is green. There is no universally agreed upon significance to the colors.

Sir James Dewar 

James Dewar

1842 - 1923

Born in Scotland, James Dewar was the youngest of six boys and was orphaned at the age of 15. A chemist and physicist educated at the University of Edinburgh he became, among other things, a professor at Cambridge University. Dewar developed a process for producing large quantities of liquid oxygen, was co-inventor of cordite- a smokeless explosive which proved very valuable in WWI, and he discovered a new processes for creating vacuums which was useful in atomic physics. Dewar also developed the Dewar vacuum flask which is the basis for the common Thermos bottles we use today.

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How To Escape A Forest Fire

	Monitor the horizons. If you see smoke rising above the trees in the distance, watch to see if it increases in size or strength. If so, move upwind and down-slope, away from the fire
	Watch for burning embers The wind my blow embers more than half a mile from their origin; remain alert to avoid getting burned, and be ready to change course in case a stray ember ignites another area of the forest.
	Find a firebreak Move to a pond, river, road, rocky area, open field, or another area lacking in burnable fuel. Avoid areas thick with brush and dried grasses, as these materials burn fast and hot. Do not climb uphill, as the fire and superheated air will updraft even on the slightest slope, concentrating the flames and heat most intensely in these chimneys
	Seek a gap in the fire line. A forest fire may advance across a front several miles wide, but it does not always travel at a uniform rate. If you are trapped by a wall of fire, look for a spot where the flames are thin and low to the ground. If possible cloak your body in natural fibers (synthetic materials may melt and burn your skin) and soak yourself with water. Wrap a wet cloth around your mouth and nose. Cover your face and head with your arms and run through a thin line of fire as fast as possible. If the moisture in the cloth around your mouth turns into steam, take it off to protect your lungs..
	If you are trapped on a hillside, move to an outward curve in the trail.  The contour of the land can concentrate intensely hot air currents in protected pockets and indentations on the hillside. The outward rounding bends on the outside of a hill provide a safer location; the heat is more diffuse and travels more slowly. Position yourself as far away from the trail’s outer edge as possible to avoid rising heat. Once the fire has burned up the chimneys, you may be able to move to a burnt area before the fire reaches the outside curve.
	Crawl in a ditch.  If the fire is near and you cannot find another means to escape, lie down in a ditch with your feet facing the direction of the fire. Cover your feet legs and body with as much dirt and noncombustible material as possible. Wait for the fire to pass completely before getting back up.
	Signal passing aircraft to seek their attention. Wave white or brightly colored clothing or shine a reflective mirror toward the airplane. If the plane contains fire personnel, they will likely provide you with instructions over their loudspeaker.

Be Aware

	A field of grass can produce a fire more than 10 feet tall that moves at a rate of 20 mph. Deciduous trees burn more slowly than grass but can elevate temperatures to preheat the nearby trees, causing them to ignite more quickly. The needles and resin in pine trees are highly combustible and will rapidly spread a very hot fire.
	Dangerous wild animals, such as rattlesnakes, bears, and mountain lions, will also be anxious to escape the fire and may cross your path as you seek safety
	If you are surrounded by a forest fire while you’re in your vehicle, remain inside the vehicle rather than attempting escape on foot—the protection offered outweighs the relatively low risk that your gas tank will explode in the heat. Drive to low, bare ground as free from brush and trees as possible and park facing the oncoming fire. Roll up the windows, shut all air vents, and turn on your hazards and headlights to make the car more visible to rescuers. Lie on the floor below window-level and cover your head and face with blankets to protect yourself from radiant heat. Smoke will enter the vehicle as fire surrounds the car, so take shallow breaths close to the floor, breathing through a damp cloth. Stay in the vehicle until fire passes and the radiant heat has dissipated enough that the air feels no hotter than the heat felt from a bad sunburn. The door handles and interior car parts will be extremely hot; do not touch them with bare hands.  (Piven and Borgenicht)

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The VonFrederick Group

Phone: (877) 207-1300
Fax:     (916) 488-7531
Email:

Dr. Lionel C.M. VonFrederick Rawlins
Lionel@VonFrederick.com

Dr. Melissa K. Luke
Melissa@VonFrederick.com

George A. Torres, MBA
George@VonFrederick.com

Eric Chevreuil
Eric@VonFrederick.com

Pat McLane
Pat@VonFrederick.com

Albert Globus, MD
Al@VonFrederick.com

General Clifford L. Stanely, Ph.D.
Cliff@VonFrederick.com

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