All Better

The military has taken swift action to take care of the problems at Walter Reed. The recent articles by Dana Priest in the Washington Post spurred them into action.

What sort of action? According to the Navy Times:

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media. “Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.

The Pentagon also clamped down on media coverage of any and all Defense Department medical facilities, to include suspending planned projects by CNN and the Discovery Channel, saying in an e-mail to spokespeople: “It will be in most cases not appropriate to engage the media while this review takes place,” referring to an investigation of the problems at Walter Reed.

It's all about the perception. Mission Accomplished!

Ingrates!

The Iraqi people are ingrates, or so Laura Bush intimates. She recently said:

"Many parts of Iraq are stable now. But, uh, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everyone."

Because, you know, everything is just going so swimmingly in Iraq. One measly bombing a day? Americans would just laugh it off, right?

Like this one, for instance:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb exploded Tuesday near a park popular with young soccer players, killing at least 18 boys in a city west of Baghdad known as a center of the Sunni insurgency, police said.

The bomb-rigged car blew apart in central Ramadi late Tuesday afternoon while the boys were playing, and police said those killed were ages 10 to 15. The attack was also reported on Iraqi state television.

Really, what ARE those people complaining about? Why do they keep discouraging us? Why do they inflict these images onto our "beautiful minds"?

Don't we all have days like this?

From the AP wire:

Woman Allegedly Shoots at Tailgater

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A woman who told authorities she was fed up with tailgaters pulled out a gun and shot at the tires of a pickup that got too close, police said. Officials believe the bullet missed the pickup, and no one was hurt.

Bernadette Headd, 39, was in rush-hour traffic Wednesday in suburban Detroit when the pickup pulled behind her, police said.

Headd changed lanes and fired one round from a 9 mm handgun, police said. The driver followed her and flagged down a deputy, who stopped her and found the weapon.

"She said she was tired of people tailgating her," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said.

Headd, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm from a vehicle and use of a firearm during a felony.

She was ordered held on $50,000 bond.

The proper spacing between cars!

Economics 101

Branford

I attended the DSO concert last night with my sister-in-law, Laurie. All I had told her about it in advance was that the soloist would be playing saxophone–or so she claims. My nieces and nephews all declined to come for various reasons, so Laurie came with me.

Symphony Hall, unusually for a concert on a cold night in February, was packed. Branford Marsalis was playing, his first appearance there in 13 years (when I'd seen him last). It turns out she is a huge fan of his, as he often appears on the Mitch Albom radio program, which she listens to.

It was a brilliant show. His playing was superb, and the Brazeal Dennard Chorale was great (as usual). Afterwards, I wanted to buy his most recent classical CD; the music shop directed me to the Atrium, where I could buy a CD and have it signed by the artist.

There was a time when classical artists, at least the well known ones, rarely met with the hoi polloi and signed autographs. Times have changed and, the last few years, more and more of them do. The CD market is shrinking, especially in the classical field, and they've come to appreciate the need to build popular support.

It's also a good fund-raiser for the DSO (at $22 per disc).

So I bought a disc and Laurie and I got in line, which wasn't that long. When we got to the front, I chatted with Branford, who was very sweet and friendly, an absolute non-diva. Laurie decided to get a photo of th etwo of us with her camera, and he popped out to pose with me. Only, she couldn't get the camera to work. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, we got out of the way (we were holding up the line), and Branford laughed and went back to signing CDs and programs.

One of the DSO staff and Laurie struggled with her camera, finally figuring out where the lens was, and that her kids had turned it around to take self portraits. Branford then came out from behind the table, posed with us again, and we shook hands and thanked him profusely (while apologizing).

I just wanted to note how gracious he was; not at all as I've come to expect "stars" to behave.

And, FYI, the album was brilliant. I've been listening to it in the car since Friday. Lovely melodies, and such smooth sax playing that you'd think it was a clarinet. Ravel's Pavane is very nice, and Ibert's Concertino da Camera very lush and lively.

The Support They Deserve

.....is not forthcoming. The Bush administration failed to plan adequately for this war, failed to give our troops the armor and equipment they needed to fight the war, and are now shirking their responsibility to those maimed and wounded by this war.

Dana Priest writes about it in a two part series in the Washington Post. The first part got a lot of coverage–horrible conditions at Walter Reed–but the second part deserves a look as well. Our poor veterans being denied the medical care they need, and the disability pay they deserve, by an administration trying to cut costs so they can preserve their tax cuts to the richest of the rich.

For Shame!

The Rape of Iraq

In the Muslim world rape is not something to be spoken of lightly. Women who are raped rarely speak of it, because to do so brings shame on the woman and on her family. This is not right, but this is how it is in a patriarchal society.

Sabrine, a very brave Sunni woman, decided to speak publicly about her treatment — rape — at the hands of Iraqi security forces (trained by the USA). She did so on al Jazeera. The result —

In Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Makiki moved quickly to try to defuse a potentially explosive scandal after a Sunni woman claimed she was raped by three officers of the Shiite-dominated police.

But the government's response — siding with the officers and trying to discredit the allegations — threatened to bring even more backlash.

A statement by al-Makiki's office accused "certain parties" — presumably Sunni politicians — of fabricating the claims in an attempt to undermine security forces during the ongoing Baghdad security operation, which began last week.

The 20-year-old married woman said she was assaulted after police commandos took her into custody Sunday in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Amil, accusing her of helping insurgents. She was taken to a police garrison and raped, she said.

"It has been shown after medical examinations that the woman had not been subjected to any sexual attack whatsoever and that there are three outstanding arrest warrants against her issued by security agencies," the government statement said.

It added: "The prime minister has ordered that the officers accused be rewarded."

There was no comment from Sunni officials, who expressed outrage over the alleged rape and demanded swift punishment. Sunnis blame the police for many of the death squad killings of Sunnis over the past two years.

Calling the victim a liar, and rewarding her attackers. This is what we're teaching? These are the values we're instilling?

And what will be the Iraqi response to this violation? Sabrine could have been anyone's sister, wife, daughter... There are three women scheduled to be executed by the government. Their crime? Ties to the resistance. As Riverbend notes:

Humanitarian organizations are warning that three Iraqi women are to be executed next month. The women are Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

They are being accused of 'terrorism', i.e. having ties to the Iraqi resistance. It could mean they are relatives of people suspected of being in the resistance. Or it could mean they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of them gave birth in the prison. I wonder what kind of torture they've endured. Let no one say Iraqi women didn't get at least SOME equality under the American occupation- we are now equally as likely to get executed.

And what of the situation in Iraq?

And yet, as the situation continues to deteriorate both for Iraqis inside and outside of Iraq, and for Americans inside Iraq, Americans in America are still debating on the state of the war and occupation- are they winning or losing? Is it better or worse?

Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts:

It’s worse. It’s over. You lost.

You lost the day your tanks rolled into Baghdad to the cheers of your imported, American-trained monkeys. You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated. You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi when the Abu Ghraib pictures came out and verified your atrocities behind prison walls as well as the ones we see in our streets. You lost when you brought murderers, looters, gangsters and militia heads to power and hailed them as Iraq’s first democratic government. You lost when a gruesome execution was dubbed your biggest accomplishment. You lost the respect and reputation you once had. You lost more than 3000 troops. That is what you lost America. I hope the oil, at least, made it worthwhile.

It hasn't. And it never will.

Happy Near Year!

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
–Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)


In Asia, today marks the first day of the new year, which is the Year of the Pig. According to Chinese astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal. They are also lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year.

A Difficult Choice

With huge budget deficits looming, the Bush Administration is faced with a difficult choice: preserve tax cuts for the rich, or fully fund the Veterans Administration. One can only imagine how the poor man must struggle, trying to choose between two equally deserving propositions.

On the one hand, you have our nation's veterans, many thousands now disabled due to Bush's wars, who will need rehabilitation services and continuing medical care. On the other, Bush's base, the "have-mores" need their new yachts and summer homes.

Solomon would struggle with a decision such as this.

Paris Hilton.....

..or our wounded warriors?

So which has this administration chosen to fund?

Isn't it obvious?

Obama and little Johnny

John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, is about as popular there as GWB is here. Noting that Tony Blair was on the way out, he is obviously angling for the role of Bush's bestest li'l foreign buddy. (It should be noted that Howard's son actually worked for the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.) To wit:

Only days after saying Australia's alliance with the US was about more than his personal friendship with US President George W Bush, Mr Howard warned that an Obama victory would be a boost for the terrorists.

The man who wants to be the first black US president has pledged to withdraw US troops from Iraq by March 2008, a timetable Mr Howard believes is dangerous.

"I think that would just encourage those who wanted completely to destabilise and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for (an) Obama victory," Mr Howard told the Nine Network.

Labor spokesman Robert McLellan replied:

"It's the first time that I can recall that an Australian prime minister has engaged in US politics in such a partisan way... actually telling US citizens what side of politics they should vote for," he said.

"It's most inappropriate, it demeans the Australia-US alliance to suggest its a relationship between political parties rather than an enduring relationship between two people."

"If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."

But the best response to Bush's new poodle came from Obama's camp. His spokeman, Robert Gibbs, said:

"If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home. It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifices."

Or, in Bush's case, when it's not your friends, family or social class.

Lies, Lies, Lies

Imagine....the Bush administration has been lying to us again! A few days ago, unnamed sources gave a dog and pony show to the press to demonstrate how evil Iran was and how involved they were in the mess in Iraq:

At a briefing Sunday in Baghdad, U.S. military officials said the al-Quds Force, an elite Iranian paramilitary organization, is sending arms into Iraq that include bombs that shoot molten metal jets through the armor of American tanks and Humvees.

They said these "explosively formed projectiles," or EFPs, have killed 170 U.S. troops and wounded more than 600 others and are "coming from the highest level of the Iranian government.

The right got its collective panties in a twist and helped beat the drums of war.

And then yesterday we learned that it wasn't actually so!

A day after the U.S. military charged Iran's government with shipping powerful explosive devices to Shiite Muslim fighters in Iraq to use against American troops, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that he hasn't seen any intelligence to support the claim.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace's comment could make it harder for the Bush administration, its credibility about Iran questioned because of its false pre-war claims about Saddam Hussein, to make its case that Iranian meddling in Iraq is fueling sectarian violence and causing U.S. casualties.

The American people have had enough of Bush's lies; they demonstrated this in November. And now the military has had enough of Bush's lies as well.

As a fool once said, "Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice.......won't get fooled again!"

Happy Anniversary!

Fifty one years today. All the best to my parents, who were married in 1956 on the coldest, snowiest day of the year.

Mногії літа!!!

Believing in Tinkerbell

Tom Tomorrow takes up the magical thinking meme. His entire plan for Iraq is thinking we will win because we HAVE TO win. If we believe hard enough, we'll win.

Right.

Onward to Iran!

Click on picture to enlarge

Support the Troops

The Republican view:
The troops' view:

Support our troops. Bring them home.......NOW!

Next Stop......Tehran?

From Newsweek:

At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. “They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for,” says Hillary Mann, the administration’s former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs. …

A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and NEWSWEEK has learned that a third carrier will likely follow. Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week, in a highly publicized test. With Americans and Iranians jousting on the chaotic battleground of Iraq, the chances of a small incident’s spiraling into a crisis are higher than they’ve been in years.

Afghanistan. Iraq. And soon Iran.

Why can't these Neocons at least WIN (or admit defeat in) the first war before moving on to the second? Like the spoiled boy he is, Bush makes messes and then leaves them for others to clean up.

And the lies are beginning to appear in the press - hints of Iran 's involvement in Iraq, stories about nuclear weaponry, all attributed to nameless government sources. All while the IAEA states that Iran is ten years away from developing a nuclear weapon, and the Saudis have been shown to be funding the Sunni insurgency to the tune of millions of dollars.

WMDs, terrorism, fight them over there so we won't have to fight them over there : It's deja vu all over again!

Freedom and Democracy in Iraq

From CNN (via Atrios):

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq's parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition, according to U.S. military intelligence.

Jamal Jafaar Mohammed's seat in parliament gives him immunity from prosecution. Washington says he supports Shiite insurgents and acts as an Iranian agent in Iraq.

U.S. military intelligence in Iraq has approached al-Maliki's government with the allegations against Jamal Jafaar Mohammed, whom it says assists Iranian special forces in Iraq as "a conduit for weapons and political influence."

...A Kuwaiti court sentenced Jamal Jafaar Mohammed to death in 1984 in the car bombings of the U.S. and French embassies the previous December. Five people died in the attacks and 86 were wounded.

So, let me get this straight–our servicemen and women are dying to protect anti-American terrorists?

Apparently, we are no longer fighting terrorists either here OR over there!

The Republican War

The Republicans have tried to paint the Iraq conflict as a bipartisan fiasco. They point out that many Democratic senators and congressmen voted for the resolution to give Bush the authority to potentially attack Iraq after consultation with the UN. That he lied to them about WMDs, and that he went to war despite a lack of the support from the UN does not temper their arguments.

So when the bipartisan Iraq Study Group came out with its report, and a way out of the quagmire, and Bush chose to ignore it, the war became Bush's war.

And it looked as though it would remain Bush's war. But the Senate Republicans, many of whom have been speaking against the war recently, today made the war a Republican war. How? By voting against debating the "Surge". They voted against allowing debate to proceed on the non-binding resolution, even Hagel and Collins, and all the "anti-war" republicans. Republicans are so far gone on the issue, that Warner and Hagel voted to prevent debate on their own resolution. (60 votes are needed to proceed with the debate under Senate rules on the issue.)

Not a single Democrat voted with them*.

So there. Republicans, we tried to give you an out, but you wouldn't take it. Iraq is now officially yours, it is a Republican War and a massive Republican failure.


______
* Reid, the majority leader, voted with the Republicans as a procedural matter. This will allow him to bring the matter up before the Senate again. This is why Frist foten voted with the Democrats in the previous coongresses.

Cold and Getting Colder

It is really, really cold out there, at least in part due to the wind chill (-21°F). You can freeze getting from the house to the car, and it takes forever to warm up again. At the moment, we have this:


All is not lost; it's meant to get warmer this week – we may get into positive numbers!


Brrrr! Time for a hot bath to try and melt a bit. This is why I almost never spend February in Michigan!

Support the Troops

This ad ran during the Super Bowl in several states (not, alas, in Michigan):



Support the Troops - bring them home!

The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

Iraq edition:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi Interior Ministry estimates that about 1,000 people have been killed throughout Iraq in the past week due to gunbattles, drive-by shootings and bomb attacks, a ministry official said Sunday.

The figure includes members of militia and terrorist groups, civilians and Iraqi security forces. The official said the data was gathered by Iraq's Interior, Health and Defense ministries.

The grim estimate came just a day after a bloody bomb attack on a crowded market in central Baghdad that killed 128 people and wounded 343 others Saturday, according to a Health Ministry official.


The incident, which also destroyed cars and surrounding stores, occurred in Sedriya, a mixed district of Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds.

The Health Ministry official said he expected the death toll from that attack to rise. Already, it is the deadliest attack in Iraq since November 23, when Shiites were targeted by coordinated car bomb attacks in Sadr City. At least 200 civilians were killed in those attacks.


Jihad Jabri, head of the Interior Ministry's bomb squad, said a Mercedes truck used in Saturday's blast contained a ton of explosives.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed the attack on Saddam Hussein loyalists and Sunni extremists.

And this:

BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 4, 2007 (AP)— The four U.S. helicopters that have crashed in Iraq since Jan. 20 were apparently shot down, the chief American military spokesman said Sunday the first time the U.S. command has publicly acknowledged that the aircraft were lost to enemy fire.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one private helicopters are incomplete but "it does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire that did bring those helicopters down."

Feel the SURGE! Victory is around the corner! And freedom is on the march!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I've been keeping warm by cooking today; I spent quite a few hours making a huge roaster of stuffed cabbage (in a tomato-onion sauce). Apparently there is a football game tomorrow, which we're going to watch (or not, as the case may be) at my parents' house on the new HDTV.

Their 6.5 year old Sony TV died last month, and we replaced it with a 37" Vizio. (No more Sony products for us; my brothers' unit died after only three years, and they had to argue to get any warranty coverage for it). I've learned more about HDTV that I ever wanted to, and my parents have learned to fear their remote --too many buttons that do strange things and inexplicable things (PIP, different screen widths, etc.).

Worse than Satan?

Polls don't lie:

Groundhog Day