Wednesday, April 13, 2005
My first thought on reading about this study was "More of our tax dollars at work!"
But then when I started reading about it, I got intrigued. Especially with the map at right (click for a larger view). Of course I was immediately curious about what the "other" responses were. They're all listed; my favorite was "bellywasher"
Read the whole study (it's very short) to learn more than you ever wanted to know on the topic...
Chrenkoff, as usual, has an interesting and thought-provoking post on the younger generation of Russians yearning for the days when Russia was a super-power:
For over seven decades - most of the twentieth century - the Soviet Union was variously respected, feared, hated and admired around the world. She was an integral part of the international system; what Moscow thought and did really mattered. Contrast it with the sorry state today: Russia is still beset by a myriad of problems like she was under communism but without any grandiose consolations: instead she's either ridiculed or ignored by the outside world. No one looks to Russia for inspiration and hardly anyone fears her. It doesn't matter anymore what Kremlin thinks about the liberation of Iraq or some other issue of international importance; the former satellites, meanwhile, peel away one by one, choosing a different, Westernized future.
The young generation, of course, has no personal memories of the "good old days", but they know that it did not used to be like it is today. It's humiliating, because no one likes to be a part of the losing team.
As many of you know, I work with engineering teams in Tallinn, Estonia and in St. Petersburg, Russia. Almost all of the folks I work with are ethnic Russians. Some are old enough to remember Soviet times personally, but many are not. Of those who will talk to me freely about such things, the St. Petersburg Russians overwhelmingly have opinions and mindsets much as Chrenkoff describes: they are patriotic, a bit in denial about the current state of Russia (which, to be fair to them, may simply be a reflection of the fact that in general they haven't had much exposure to the world outside Russia)), they support Putin, and they are bitter about the imbalance of power between Russia and the world, most especially the U.S.
For some reason this is a less predominant attitude amongst the ethnic Russians I know in Estonia. Some of the Russians I know there, especially the younger ones, have much different mindsets. Even more especially, the Russian Jews I know who are from Estonia have much more pro-Western, pro-U.S. positions. I'm not at all sure why this is so; it may just be more and longer exposure to the West has 'corrupted' them (as some of my Russian friends would have it)...
Stumbled across this page just this morning, and what a pleasant surprise. Tastier even, for some reason, for the fact that it came from a local paper. Can't get much different than the San Diego Union-Tribute! Hat's off to these fine reporters and photographers.
Whatever you do, don't miss the audio slideshow on the page above. Simply outstanding!
A taste of the article:
It was their day.
At the polling stations — mostly schools that the Marines had rebuilt and painted bright green and blue against the city's dingy beige — volunteer Iraqi election workers guided voters through paces most had only dreamed about.
"This is a new birth for Iraqis," said Najaf resident Kasim Kadum Saagban, 45, after workers helped him and his wife vote in the bullet-ridden Medina section of the Old City.
Just a few blocks away stood the revered Imam Ali Mosque, which was the epicenter of a fierce battle between Marines and local militia just six months before. In the interlude, the Marines and locals had joined hands to start rebuilding damaged quarters of the city, paid thousands of residents injured in the fighting, and were holding together a fragile working peace that allowed the elections to happen without bloodshed.
With his forearm taut and sure, Saaban proudly held up his finger, stained with purple ink, in a pose that has become synonymous with the election.
"Iraq is changed forever," he said, eyes wide and voice shaking with intensity.
But despite such euphoria and confidence, Najaf's rise from a city mired in violence to an emerging beacon of peace could still be as fragile as a house of cards.
"If we're not careful," warned Col. Anthony Haslam, the Marines' top commander, "it can all go away, just like that."
'America doesn't get to see this side'
In Najaf, where the Marines seemed to have more friends than enemies, the calm on election day and stability in the days that followed signaled a victory of sorts. The 2,200 Camp Pendleton Marines stationed in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf could say they were leaving Najaf better than they found it.
After two other assignments covering the Marines in Iraq — first during the 2003 invasion two years ago and then again during the first siege of Fallujah last spring — no experience was as surprising as our third and most recent trip to Najaf and its surrounding region, where the American effort seemed to be working.
Arriving in Najaf in mid-January, North County Times photographer Hayne Palmour and I found a city marked more by peace, cooperation and bustling reconstruction than by war.
While a bloody, pivotal battle in August left parts of the city in ruins and many residents maimed or killed, the Marines' legacy in Najaf also included dozens of new schools, a functioning local government, and enough local police that the governor generally asked the American troops to stay out of sight.
"It's funny that America doesn't get to see this side," said one young Marine lieutenant when a group of Iraqi men waved and cheered at his patrol of Marine Humvees passing a cafe along the banks of the jade-colored Euphrates River.
The progress in Najaf could be an anomaly, one that will be difficult or impossible to duplicate in other regions of the country. Or it could be a good example of what could happen in Iraq when the enemy fades, and when peace presents a new set of challenges and opportunities.
As the power base for the Shiite coalition that will dominate the new government and write Iraq's next constitution and as a relative success story for the U.S. occupation, all eyes are on Najaf to see if the peaceful gains the Marines and local residents made there will hold.
"That's key terrain down there," Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. general in Baghdad, told the Army commanders who replaced the Marines there in February.
"Don't lose it," he said.
The question isn't actually about cannibalism, it's about moral absolutes vs. the notion that any behavior that causes no harm to others is ok. This moral issue was raised by the recent case in Germany of a man who advertised on the Internet for someone who wanted to be eaten, and had a victim volunteer.
Moral question: is cannibalism wrong if it is the desire of both the eater and the eaten?
Roger Kimball of Armavirumque answers:
So, was Herr Meiwes within his rights when he made a meal of his new friend? If Mill was right that "the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection," then I think we have to pass Herr Meiwes the salt and pepper and wish him bon appetit.
But was Mill right? In this latitudinarian age it is tantamount to heresy to suggest otherwise, but I believe that the sorry spectacle of Meiwes sautéing bits of Herr Brandes shows that, yes, Mill's "one very simple principle" was not merely simplistic but wrong, indeed preposterous.
It is not without irony that Mill's libertarian doctrine, which demands that we free ourselves from prejudice and convention, should have become enshrined as the dominant moral prejudice of the age. It is simply taken for granted these days that one "has a right" to do whatever one wants so long as one doesn't harm others.
Read the whole thing; it's a bit of a long slog for a blog post, but worth it for the thought-provoking questions. I don't have any certainty myself on this question. The problem I keep bumping into this that if you concede there are moral absolutes ("moral facts", as Mr. Kimball puts them), then someone has to decide what those moral absolutes are. And every attempt I know of to set moral absolutes has resulted in disaster of one kind or another. And yet, as Mr. Kimball illustrates, there are many reasons to be uncomfortable about a world without moral absolutes. Tough one...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
...and we are mightily puzzled, as according to all the best information we have available, there are no faults anywhere near us!
The map at right (click on it for a larger view) shows the location of the epicenter (the large red square). This is about 2 miles, as the crow flies, from our home. Kinda close!
I was away from home on a business trip, so I didn't get to experience this myself. Debi said it woke her right up, and she knew what it was immediately — there was more sound than shaking, as often is the case. Our animals reacted in various ways; the most surprising was Halala, our most serene and unflappable cat — he was terrified into hiding out somewhere that Debi couldn't find him. She thought he must have escaped, and was calling him from outside. At some point he just sauntered in, apparently calmed down...
When we bought our home out here in the chapparal, some seven years ago, we did our homework with respect to faults and probable earthquakes. We've lived in San Diego County for over thirty years, and not had a really bad earthquake in all that time — but we thought it would be a good idea to play it safe and NOT locate on top of a fault. The fault maps I found then, and the updated ones that I located this morning, all show NO FAULTS for a 15 mile radius around us. So...we wonder...what the heck caused this earthquake? Some new fault that nobody knew about?
Now they tell us!
Monday, April 11, 2005
From today's WSJ, this commentary from the recently appointed President Jalal Talabani. Remember, as you read this, that this man is a Kurd whose people was stomped on by Saddam. Remember that his political ascendancy was opposed by our CIA (who didn't consider him the "right kind" of opposition to Saddam). Remember that he's been widely dismissed by the liberal press as the illiterate, unqualified lackey of G. W. Bush and Karl Rove. Then remember that his party was freely elected to about 1/3 of the parlimentary seats, and that the Iraqis in negotiations purely amongst themselves chose Talabani as their president. I think this commentary demonstrates some of the reasons they did that:
Through their democratically elected representatives, the people of Iraq have entrusted me with the office of the presidency of the republic. After 50 years of political struggle against discrimination and dictatorship, this is a grand honor and a humbling moment. As we look ahead to a new Iraq based on tolerance and equality, federalism and unity, democracy and freedom, we remember those whose sacrifice made this possible -- Iraqis, Americans, Britons, Poles, Italians, Czechs and so many others from around the world.
As president of Iraq, I shall strive to represent the diversity of a country that has too often in the past denied difference. I shall stand for freedom of thought and expression in a place where it has been trampled and penalized. I will work with the prime minister to ensure that our government's finances are transparent and that our citizens have access to government records; above all, I shall pursue the politics of reconciliation in opposition to the politics of hatred and incitement.
My door will always be open to those who genuinely renounce violence and seek peaceful accommodation into our nascent democracy. That is why I proposed, in my first speech as head of state, an amnesty for those who have been led astray by terrorism.
But while the new Iraq is open to all, there must be no underestimating our determination to vanquish terrorism. Conciliation is not capitulation, nor is compromise to be deemed equivalent to imbalanced concession. Rather, it is through conciliation and compromise that we are building a fair Iraq, a just state for all its peoples. Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight. And fight we shall.
The choice of peace or war lies not with the Iraqis who ignored terrorism and intimidation to vote in their millions, the Iraqis to whom I am accountable. No, that decision lies with the terrorist minority that despises freedom and spurns every offered opportunity to enter the political process. The attacks on election officials, the suicide bombings of voters, and the cowardly attacks on brave Iraqis waiting in line to join our fledgling security forces are not the tactics of "resistance" or "freedom fighters" but of murderers and criminals.
Nor are the terrorists by any stretch of the imagination the repressed or the disadvantaged. They chose violence despite consistent exhortations to contribute to the new Iraq. They are, for the most part, representatives of the old regime, Baathists who gorged themselves on their compatriots' riches. They are not the dispossessed of the earth but those who have been deprived of their palaces.
Slaying terrorism, and the extremist nationalism and perversion of religion that breeds it, will require our greatest effort, both as Iraqis and as new members of the alliance of democracies. We will again and again ask and work with our neighbors to assist us by controlling their borders, intercepting the transmission of funds to the terrorists and by handing over Baathist fugitives. We, in turn, will work with our neighbors to ensure that Iraq is never again a haven for terrorists. All such foreign-armed groups in Iraq must be neutralized and rendered harmless in a manner that is just and legal. Iraqis, the victims of the vilest stratagems and subterfuges, will not fight a "dirty war."
Our commitment to human rights, primarily of the individual, but also of our diverse ethnic and religious heritage for which we suffered, must be absolute. The justice of our cause must be reflected in the manner in which we rectify the crimes of the past.
The rehabilitation of Basra, the refloating of the ancient marshes of southern Iraq, the return of the ethnically cleansed to Kirkuk, the renaissance of the holy cities as centers of learning and piety, all these are acts of justice. They must be accompanied by the trials of the major Baathist criminals. Justice for the major perpetrators cannot be separated from the vindication of the rights of the individual victim.
Nor is justice independent of constitutionalism. Here the progress in Iraq has been remarkable, in place of the provisional Baathist constitution of 1970 we now have the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), a progressive liberal interim constitution. The TAL represents the highest achievement of the new Iraq. The result of intense argument between the legitimate representatives of all of Iraq's communities, the TAL embodies the virtues of compromise. By sensibly sharing power under the TAL we all acquire more rights and security than if we were to each selfishly pursue our maximal objectives.
The TAL governs all politics in Iraq until the adoption of a final constitution. There can be no government, no elections, and no politics of any kind outside of the framework of the TAL. Any attempt to circumvent the TAL would not only be illegal, and an affront to the rule of the law, but an implicit rejection of the justice of the liberation of Iraq from the outlaw Baathist regime.
For all the talk of Iraq as a "model" for the Middle East, we know that there are unique factors at play in building our federal, multi-ethnic democracy. Indeed, we do not seek to export our political ideas or experiences, a practice that has too often led to instability in the Middle East. Rather, we ask that the uniqueness of the Iraqi experience be recognized and our newly restored sovereignty respected. We will not allow the naysayers (who predict disaster awaiting us around every corner) and their companions in despondency, the apologists for despotism, to distract us with their uninformed comment from our vision of a democratic and equitable society: The rectification of past crimes and the binding up of the many wounds inflicted upon us by the Baathist regime -- these are matters for Iraqis alone.
We seek foreign assistance to help us develop our security forces and to partner with us as we try to further sustainable economic growth in our shattered country. We hope that the United Nations will live up to its ideals. The assistance provided by the U.N. during the recent elections was invaluable and an important step toward the return of this organization to Iraq. A continued and consistent U.N. engagement, which bolsters the new Iraq, will convince Iraqis to put aside their qualms about an organization that many of them identify with the previous Baathist regime.
A greater international role is important to lift some of the burden from the shoulders of the United States. Our gratitude to the American people is immense and we should never be embarrassed to express it. Time and again the U.S. has given the world its most precious resource in the cause of freedom, the lives of its most talented and courageous young men and women.
Now, the time has come for the rest of the world to recognize that a federal, democratic Iraq that can defend itself against terrorism is a goal worthy of broad international support. The victory of the new Iraq will be the triumph of freedom over hate, of decency over intolerance. Who would not want to share in such a worthy campaign?
The London News-Telegraph reports:
Saddam Hussein could avoid the gallows under a secret proposal by insurgent leaders that Iraq's new administration is "seriously considering", a senior government source said yesterday.
A reprieve is understood to be among the central demands of Sunni nationalists and former members of Saddam's Ba'ath party who have reportedly begun negotiations with the government amid the backdrop of a bloody insurgency which claimed 30 lives during the weekend.
Officials say they are looking for a way of joining the political process after January's election, which was boycotted by most of the once-powerful Sunni minority.
"We are trying to reach out to the insurgents," the source said. "We don't expect them to stop fighting unconditionally. Sending Saddam to prison for the rest of his life is not a huge price for us to pay, but it will save them a lot of face."
I do not support the death penalty, but like President Talabani, I could make an exception for evil of Saddam's magnitude. But this sort of a deal, if it's genuine (that is, if the "insurgency" would actually lay down arms), seems like a major win-win proposition. Hundreds or thousands of needless murders would be avoided; without the Iraqi participants, the "insurgency" would nearly disappear. Sparing Saddam's life isn't necessarily a bad thing in the absolute — but if the sparing of the monster's life could bring about peace, that's a very tasty outcome...
A tip 'o the hat to Captain's Quarters for the pointer...
Arthur Chrenkoff is one of the blogosphere's gems. From his perch in Australia, he manages to round up scads of those "good news" stories that the MSM somehow manages to miss (that was sarcasm, in case you didn't catch it). Though it's long, this 25th roundup is a must read, and don't forget to follow at least some of the multitude of links he provides. Here's just a tiny taste:
And helping doesn't stop when the troops go home:
"When Joseph Yorski was serving a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq, he noticed Iraqi police had little protection compared to his peers in the New Britain Police Department. Upon his return, the officer decided to help fellow law enforcement officials by spearheading a movement to outfit Iraqi police with old, surplus equipment instead of following regular procedure, which calls to destroy it.
"Yorski, a member of the 143rd Military Police Company and an 11-year veteran of the Police Department, oversees property. He said he took matters into his own hands when asked by acting Chief William Gagliardi to destroy surplus police equipment, which ranges from riot gear to reflective vests.
"Teaming up with America Supporting Americans -- a nonprofit organization that encourages law enforcement agencies and individuals to donate used police equipment -- Yorski collected an extensive amount of gear that will be shipped to Baghdad."
The allies are also doing their bit. Here's the contribution from the 400-strong Slovak contingent: "According to a Defence Ministry spokesperson during the 19 months it has been operating in Iraq, Slovakia's sapper unit has deactivated, by hand, mines over an area of 140,000 square metres, this equates to about 28 football fields. Plus, a much larger area has been demined using the help of specially-designed equipment. They have found and deactivated some tens of thousands of munitions and grenades."
A company of soldiers from Azerbeijan, together with US Marines, is providing constant protection for Haditha Dam, one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in Iraq, which provides electricity for a third of the country. And here's the story of the El Salvadorean contingent, representing the only Latin American country with troops in Iraq.
Thanks, Arthur — you've no idea how much we appreciate this...
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.
Carl Sagan
Sunday, April 10, 2005
The London News-Telegraph has an excellent story on an interview with Lieutenant Randall, who is still alive and kicking. Here's an excerpt:
After 30 minutes alone in Belsen, Randall and his driver were joined by another SAS Jeep carrying the squadron commander, Major John Tonkin, and his squadron Sergeant-Major, Reg Seekings, an SAS veteran of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France. ''Seekings was a very tough man,'' Randall says. ''He had been with the regiment almost since it was formed and had been an army boxing champion when in the Guards.''
As the four SAS men stood looking at this pitiful and horrifying sight, they were approached by Josef Kramer, the camp commandant, and a woman in a dark blue uniform. "Kramer introduced himself and the woman, Irma Grese, responsible for the female prisoners, and to our astonishment offered us a guided tour of the camp,'' says Randall. ''We followed them. We pushed open the door of one of the huts and were overpowered by the stench. Emaciated figures peered out at us, in fear and surprise, from the rows of bunks. Lying among them, on the same bunks, were dead bodies.''
As they came out of one of the huts, the four men saw a camp guard using the butt of his rifle to beat up a prisoner. "Reg Seekings turned to John Tonkin, and asked permission to intervene and teach the guard a lesson.'' This was granted without hesitation. ''So Reg went over and hit the guard in the face. He got up and was then knocked out by another punch to the head. Then Tonkin ordered Kramer and Grese into the guardroom, and said, "We are now in charge, not you, and any guard who attempts to treat a prisoner with brutality will be punished."
It's infuriating enough for me, but it must be particularly horrible for men like this when modern "liberals" compare our soldiers in Iraq to the Nazis...
I ran across the Sandmonkey blog while doing some Googling, and right from its slogan it caught my attention:
Rantings of a Sandmonkey
Be forewarned: The writer of this blog is an extremely cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled sandmonkey. If this is your cup of tea, please enjoy your stay here. If not, please sod off.
I was researching what the Michael Moore crowd were thinking now about the "Bush invaded Iraq to get the oil" theory. Sandmonkey has an interesting post on the matter; an exerpt:
Ok, here is the flaw in the "It was all done for oil" argument: The math doesn't add up. This war has cost the US over 175 Billion dollars and is projected to end up costing more then 500 Billion dollars over the next 2 years . No matter how big the Iraqi oil reserves are, there isn’t an economical way to sell enough of it for the next 10 years to just cover this cost and breakeven right now. Even if they increased the production to make up more money, the increased supply to a constant demand would bring the price of oil down, which brings you back to slot 1. If this was for oil, and to make money off of it for the "imperialist good of America", then it is the dumbest economical plan in existence. It would’ve been cheaper and less controversial to get the Oil through the UN Oil for Food program, which in case you didn’t know, had US companies as the #1 purchaser of Iraqi Oil. So let’s say this again and see if you get it: The US didn’t have to invade Iraq to get its Oil, cause they already were getting it cheap and hell of a lot cheaper then it costs right now. Not to mention, the Iraq oil money, will be needed for the reconstruction of Iraq. You think the Iraqis would let you just steal their oil and be ok with it? Right! Cause they are such docile toothless puppies.
As for the re-election, let's be honest, the Iraq war was Bush's weakest point up to the election. It was his most vulnerable side at the time, cause let's face it, back then it wasn't going very well. There was no Iraqi election or democratically elected Iraqi government. Just a US death toll. Yeah, Bush went to a highly expensive war that caused daily US death toll and divided a nation cause it would secure his re-election. Right! That makes perfect sense!
Not to mention, another War? With what Troops? The majority of the infantry is in Iraq and they are the ones who you need for ground control( that's why Iran and Syria support the insurgency with financing and agents; cause as long as the Americans are in Iraq, they are not in Iran or Syria). Not to mention, who would approve of another war while this one is still going on? You think the American people can take another War right now? You think anyone on both the left or the right would be for it? And with what money? How would they finance such a war anyway? Grr, I hate stupid people who say stupid illogical shit like that without thinking first.
Who'd have suspected more commonsense from a sandmonkey than from Michael Moore?
Yesterday I told you how we discovered this nesting Great Horned Owl. This morning, I returned with the great morning light in a completely clear sky, and the "big gun": my 1280mm stabilized telephoto lens and tripod. The picture at right is one of the resulting pictures; I'm quite pleased with it.
Click on the picture for a very large view.
Follow-up on the baby that was kicked out: the raptor rescue folks arrived (a little grumpy, 'cause they took a wrong turn and ended up 25 miles or so in the wrong direction!) and picked up our little lost owl. This morning they called us up to let us know that the little guy is doing fine — especially after eating five mice! Once he's fledged and has learned to hunt and eat on his own, they're planning to release him right where they picked him up, on our friends place...
Mark Steyn's latest column is dripping with contempt — in Mark's inimitable style, of course — for the CIA and its attempts to manipulate the politics of post-war Iraq. Here's a taste to whet your appetite:
Meanwhile, back in the real world, the glass in Iraq is three-quarters full, which is why stories on the subject are buried so deep in the paper they might as well be in Sandy's gusset. Saddam's old prison state is now the first Arab country with a non-Arab head of state: a Kurd, Jalal Talabani. When you're trying to make sense of the bewildering array of Iraqi politicians who prospered in the January elections, a good rule of thumb is: Chances are they're guys who've been stiffed by the CIA. President-to-be Talabani fell out with them a decade ago, when they pulled the plug on a U.S.-backed insurrection at 48 hours' notice and failed to pay the late cancellation fee. Talabani was part of the Kurdish delegation that had a ''secret'' meeting with CIA honchos in April 2002, in which the drollest exchange came when the Kurds expressed skepticism as to whether the officials present really represented the U.S. government.
And who can blame them for wondering? The CIA, as I wrote a couple of years back, now functions in the same relation to President Bush as Pakistan's ISI does to General Musharraf. In both cases, before the chief executive makes a routine request of his intelligence agency, he has to figure out whether they're going to use it as an opportunity to set him up, and if so how. For Musharraf, the problem is the significant faction in the ISI that would like to kill him. Fortunately for Bush, if anyone at the CIA launched a plot to kill him, they'd probably take out G. W. Bish, who runs a feed store in Idaho.
I wonder if anyone has warned Mr. Bish of the danger he's in? At the very least, he ought to change his middle initial...
Big Al's girl lets you know. A taste:
#41 When I got sad when I thought of all the times that I was able to just pick up the phone and call him when he was stateside.
#42 When I got used to things always being up in the air - and when I could fully appreciate that oxymoron known as "military planning".
#43 When I started watching the Army movies that he has me order him off of Netflix just so I could marinate in the military way of doing things.
#44 When I started re-reading his old letters just because.
#45 When I started memorizing the names of the guys that he is with in Iraq and referring to them by rank.
#46 When I made this blog.
#47 When someone "dissing" the military will make every hair on my head stand up on end!
#48 When the word "Hooah" became part of my daily vocabulary.
#49 When I realized that I have come up with almost 50 ways of how deployment has taken over my life!!
Big Al is a lucky guy...
This very moving post ends with this:
Some shortsighted people doubt the outcome of this day and think that it's not suitable to announce it a success but we say to them:You're free to think whatever you like, we got on the train, but you’re standing still.
I will save the effort of explaining to them what they missed because several years from now when Iraq becomes a beacon of civilization in the region you will find out the truth solid and clear but unfortunately I'm positive that they won't admit it and they will try to find another funeral to practice the only hobby they're good at; whining and weeping.So today we're offering a last chance to choose between joining the real world and joining Muqtada and Harith Al-Dhari.
Go and chant with them, condemn democracy and march against freedom if you like but don't forget that those thugs represent no one but themselves. They rejected democracy from the beginning and missed the chance of joining the greatest election of our time.And don't forget that millions of Iraqis had also rejected those fanatics when the people marched to the boxes ignoring the threats and "fatwas"
Those who really represent me and my people are the men and women we voted for and put our trust in; men like Ibrahim Al-Jafari and Jalal Talbani who are grateful for the nations that helped Iraq in the darkest times and freed its people when our "brothers" ignored us and silently watched the Ba'ath murder and torture our people and more worse, gave the Ba'ath a hand more than once.
These are the people who represent us now; they promise us freedom and prosperity and I intend to trust them and believe them as long as they prove to be honest to us but I will never listen to those who want to bring back the rule of the dark ages.
Finally, I would like to say it again and say it loud:Thank you our liberators.
Thanks, Mohammed...
An American soldier was in St. Peter's square when he spotted something most unexpected: an Iraqi flag. The American (Seeba) made his way over to the flag and discovered a lone Iraqi:
He extended an arm to hug Bashar Behnam, 26, an Iraqi Syriac Catholic from the northern city of Mosul, who claimed to be Iraq's only representative at Friday's funeral of Pope John Paul II.
Seeba's final assignment during a year-long deployment in Iraq was to protect voters in Mosul during national elections in January. Five of his close friends were killed during his unit's deployment in Tikrit and Bajee. But Seeba described it as America's sacrifice for Iraqis to be free.
"When you see this," he said of Behnam's flag, "it makes it definitely worth it." Displaying the Iraqi flag in Vatican City "just lets them know they are getting their freedom, that they don't have to be afraid anymore."
He turned to Behnam and added, "I just hope you're happy with your country and how it's progressed."
"I feel so good, being the only Iraqi here today," Behnam replied, seeming a bit embarrassed by all the attention.
He said he visited the Iraqi Embassy on Thursday and asked if there was a flag that did not have "Allahu akbar" inscribed amid the banner's three green stars. He felt the Arabic inscription would carry too much of an Islamic connotation for such a Christian setting, but it was the only flag available.
He said embassy officials were proud that he was willing to wave it at the pope's funeral. "They were very cooperative," he said.
As he spoke, three Italians approached him to confirm that, indeed, he carried the flag of Iraq. Then they burst into applause.
Read the whole story here. A tip 'o the hat to Chrenkoff for the pointer.
—Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humour to console him for what he is.
Francis Bacon
Saturday, April 9, 2005
Our friend was mowing her yard (on a tractor — we have big yards out here!) when she spotted a little ball of bloody white fluff in front of her. The blood made her think she'd injured or killed the little thing, but actually it was just a rat that (apparently) momma bird had left for it to eat. The little guy was just fine. Our friend called my wife (the rescuer of all things in distress — especially if they're cute), and she got a towel around it and put it in an animal carrier. The local raptor rescue folks are on the way out here to get it; they'll take good care of it and reintroduce it when it's ready.
That incident led to a search for the nest, which they found in short order. A not very happy momma owl can be seen at right, along with the backside of at least one more fledgling owl (and we saw it move a bit, so it's alive). Debi had our trusty Sibley's Guide to Birds, and she identified it as a Great Horned Owl, southwestern variant. We were a little surprised at how white the fledgling is — but Sibley says there is some variation. The sighting of the nest resulted in a call for me and my telephoto!
Click on the photo for a bigger view.
With very little fanfare and almost no public recognition, the two Mars Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) recently got funding for 18 more months of Martian exploration. These amazing little robots have been scuttling around on the Martian surface for 15 months already, even though their "design lifetime" was a mere 3 months. Nobody knows if they'll last another 18 months — it would be pretty amazing if they did — but now they've got funding to keep collecting science information as long as they do last.
Click on the photo to get a bigger image...
This is the first I'd heard that beards were an issue in Afghanistan. Read the whole column; it's quite interesting. Here's the lead-in:
One of the interesting quirks of Muslim culture generally, and Afghan culture specifically, and Pashtun culture even more specifically, is the emphasis on facial hair. A beard is a sign of manhood, and to be clean-shaven is considered effeminate, unmanly, and is more or less tantamount to an open admission of homosexuality (and not the older man-teenage boy kind, which is tacitly tolerated among the Pashtuns.) The Hazara, an ethnic group in Afghanistan who are descendants of the Mongols who came there with Genghis Khan, had a terrible time under the Taliban partly because many of them couldn't grow beards. They were, by the way, excellent, fiercely loyal soldiers who didn't mind playing a little catch-up now that they were on the side that was on top.
All US soldiers are expected to be clean-shaven, according to AR 670-1, the army regulation covering uniforms and appearance. That created a bit of a problem, since working with the Pashtuns while clean-shaven was a lot like being an undercover cop trying to infiltrate a biker gang while wearing a pink tutu and a lacy top. The powers that be had therefore, reluctantly, grudgingly, and sorrowfully, authorized SF teams working with the Afghans to grow beards. Of course, it being the Army and all, no way was there going to be a clean implementation of a policy that radical. AR 670-1 is the regulation most beloved of a certain kind of Sergeant Major and those who aspire to be a certain kind of Sergeant Major, and for them, allowing SF operators to grow beards was the biggest blow to their perception of what the Army should be since Clinton instituted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Also, while the senior leadership of the special operations task force endorsed the policy, they were ambivalent about the results, as were many of their subordinates.
