I'm about to go to bed but I wanted to post a link to a website I heard about on Colbert Report tonight.
http://supportyourvet.org/
More on this after I've had time to view the site.
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Another Reason to Love Soap Operas
Not that you needed more reasons to love soap operas -- they're Gods gift to taxed minds who need some indulgent brain candy ever-once-in-a-while -- here's a very interesting story about my second fav (first fav being General Hospital, of course), All My Children.
http://spotlight.news.yahoo.com/v/10571345
Apparently they have Iraq War veterans in their cast now. It's a cool story.
http://spotlight.news.yahoo.com/v/10571345
Apparently they have Iraq War veterans in their cast now. It's a cool story.
Follow Up to Fiasco Review
One thing I remembered clearly from my first reading of the book were the employees who were fired because of their knowledge and position on what do in post-invasion Iraq being at odds with what the top officials were saying could/should be done.
This woman, Meghan O'Sullivan, was on one of them. I googled her just now and found this interview from Charlie Rose. Click here to see the episode. (FYI, see page 102 & 3 of the soft cover version for the firing incident.)
I don't doubt that she is a smart person, but watch how much her hands move frantically while she spins her answers to justification of the invasion of Iraq...
Anyway, after letting her go, the top officials quickly brought her back because they realized that she was far too much an asset with thorough knowledge of the area. She is now the former deputy national security adviser and currently at the Kennedy school in Harvard.
(un)happy viewing.
(PS Something I did really like about her is how she wouldn't let Charlie Rose f*cking interrupt her too much like he always always does with other guests...)
This woman, Meghan O'Sullivan, was on one of them. I googled her just now and found this interview from Charlie Rose. Click here to see the episode. (FYI, see page 102 & 3 of the soft cover version for the firing incident.)
I don't doubt that she is a smart person, but watch how much her hands move frantically while she spins her answers to justification of the invasion of Iraq...
Anyway, after letting her go, the top officials quickly brought her back because they realized that she was far too much an asset with thorough knowledge of the area. She is now the former deputy national security adviser and currently at the Kennedy school in Harvard.
(un)happy viewing.
(PS Something I did really like about her is how she wouldn't let Charlie Rose f*cking interrupt her too much like he always always does with other guests...)
More About the War: Part 2
New Film: Standard Operating Procedure
There is a new documentary from film maker Errol Morris (Fog of War is the most recent film of his). It covers the Abu Grhaib prison scandal and exposes, as any good skeptic already knew, that it wasn't "a few bad apples" as Donald Rumsfeld had put it, but, in fact, the standard operating procedure for the place.
I-e-i-e-i-e. If I don't quit witht he exposes, I'll have the folks at the CIA, FBI and NSA getting my blog as an RSS feed...(They might already, even if I do sometime divert my attneiton to the Red Sox, my shoes and General Hospital...)
See the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8vk3v1BJBE&feature=related
Listen to the movie review I heard that made me want to see it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89818507&ft=1&f=1045
Here's a deleted scene I found on YouTube. The last 15 seconds are...something else. Her anger and indignation. I need to see this movie:
There is a new documentary from film maker Errol Morris (Fog of War is the most recent film of his). It covers the Abu Grhaib prison scandal and exposes, as any good skeptic already knew, that it wasn't "a few bad apples" as Donald Rumsfeld had put it, but, in fact, the standard operating procedure for the place.
I-e-i-e-i-e. If I don't quit witht he exposes, I'll have the folks at the CIA, FBI and NSA getting my blog as an RSS feed...(They might already, even if I do sometime divert my attneiton to the Red Sox, my shoes and General Hospital...)
See the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8vk3v1BJBE&feature=related
Listen to the movie review I heard that made me want to see it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89818507&ft=1&f=1045
Here's a deleted scene I found on YouTube. The last 15 seconds are...something else. Her anger and indignation. I need to see this movie:
More About the War, part 1
I have two stories that were in the news this week that I want to do my part to bring more exposure to. (Also, I have to make up for that blog about my shoes. So so so indulgent. But really, I do love my shoes. Utterly and dearly.)
Story one: I Don't Believe This Sh1t
Leading up to the Iraq War, the Pentagon began a PSYOPS program (psychologoical operation) with former military personnel, mainly generals, of wining and dining & feeding misleading or flat out false information about the danger America faced from Iraq. Even more sinister, it promised some former generals that, should the war be waged, they stood to gain financially because their companies--defense contractors, mainly--would be used in the operation. So, these targets of the PSYOPs went out into the media, spreading the word of the Pentagon as if it were the Gospel and did so on all the major television networks: CNN, NBC, even my beloved NPR fell victim to it. Meanwhile, dissenters of the war, in the coverage leading up to it, were often from far out marginal groups, and never anyone from a mainstream organization. (Granted, there weren't that many dissenters from mainstream organization--certainly not as many as there are now.)
And I really want to stress the utter sickening disgust over those retired military personnel who agreed to represent themselves as knowledgable and unbiased commentators and contributors on the national news for why we should have entered this, now so very obviously complete and utter disaster of a bullsh1t, war knowing that they stood to gain hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars should it be waged. Can you think of this? Can you picture this reverberation? Every man and woman who died fighting in this war, in part died for the greed of those people. Every innocent Iraqi child, grandmother, father, sisiter, brother, mother, teacher, doctor, librarian (yes, there are Iraqi librarians) who suffered or died, experienced that, in part, because of the the GREED of those people. Can you imagine? Every grieving wife, mother, friend, father, sister, son, brother, daughter who lost someone --physically or mentally--because of this waged war can, in part, blame the greed of those people.
This story has not been covered by the mainstream broadcast media, either. To cover it would be expose their grave & terrible mistake. How do they acknowledge that their analysts and consultants, who they so faithfully traipsed out onto the "war desk" for fair and balanced coverage and analysis were merely the puppets, while the Pentagon were the marionettests, pulling the strings behind the scene? How do they admit that they had so royally fucked us over? (And you know I'm not one to drop and f-bomb on the blog, but all's fair in coverage of the highly biased coverage of the war.)
No, no, it is much easier to continue coverage of the things like the endless Democratic campaign and all its manufactured controversies and the cult in Texas with the ladies and their stupid hair and pioneer dresses. Because how could they possibly admit that they too were duped? Were part of the problem? Contributed to this gigantic breach in the last shreds of democracy and freedom of the press?
They don't. They won't. But, at least we have blogs...
Story one: I Don't Believe This Sh1t
Leading up to the Iraq War, the Pentagon began a PSYOPS program (psychologoical operation) with former military personnel, mainly generals, of wining and dining & feeding misleading or flat out false information about the danger America faced from Iraq. Even more sinister, it promised some former generals that, should the war be waged, they stood to gain financially because their companies--defense contractors, mainly--would be used in the operation. So, these targets of the PSYOPs went out into the media, spreading the word of the Pentagon as if it were the Gospel and did so on all the major television networks: CNN, NBC, even my beloved NPR fell victim to it. Meanwhile, dissenters of the war, in the coverage leading up to it, were often from far out marginal groups, and never anyone from a mainstream organization. (Granted, there weren't that many dissenters from mainstream organization--certainly not as many as there are now.)
And I really want to stress the utter sickening disgust over those retired military personnel who agreed to represent themselves as knowledgable and unbiased commentators and contributors on the national news for why we should have entered this, now so very obviously complete and utter disaster of a bullsh1t, war knowing that they stood to gain hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars should it be waged. Can you think of this? Can you picture this reverberation? Every man and woman who died fighting in this war, in part died for the greed of those people. Every innocent Iraqi child, grandmother, father, sisiter, brother, mother, teacher, doctor, librarian (yes, there are Iraqi librarians) who suffered or died, experienced that, in part, because of the the GREED of those people. Can you imagine? Every grieving wife, mother, friend, father, sister, son, brother, daughter who lost someone --physically or mentally--because of this waged war can, in part, blame the greed of those people.
This story has not been covered by the mainstream broadcast media, either. To cover it would be expose their grave & terrible mistake. How do they acknowledge that their analysts and consultants, who they so faithfully traipsed out onto the "war desk" for fair and balanced coverage and analysis were merely the puppets, while the Pentagon were the marionettests, pulling the strings behind the scene? How do they admit that they had so royally fucked us over? (And you know I'm not one to drop and f-bomb on the blog, but all's fair in coverage of the highly biased coverage of the war.)
No, no, it is much easier to continue coverage of the things like the endless Democratic campaign and all its manufactured controversies and the cult in Texas with the ladies and their stupid hair and pioneer dresses. Because how could they possibly admit that they too were duped? Were part of the problem? Contributed to this gigantic breach in the last shreds of democracy and freedom of the press?
They don't. They won't. But, at least we have blogs...
Happy 5th
Happy 5th
Well, folks, here it is again: time for the annual playing of The Most Irreverent Song to Play on This Day:
Well, folks, here it is again: time for the annual playing of The Most Irreverent Song to Play on This Day:
Happy G*ddamn Motherf#cking 5th Anniversary
Protesters mark 5th anniversary of Iraq war
WLOS, NC -4 hours ago
... dead: protesters dressed in black and wearing skull-like masks will stop at war memorials to read the names of the dead to mark the fifth anniversary. ...
Google News Results from search of "5th anniversary" (super duper effed up result centered, bolded and in lime green - the color of delusion):
The Associated Press | Protests on 5th Anniversary of Iraq War The Associated Press - Despite his aches, Barron planned to risk arrest Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, which has claimed the lives of nearly 4000 US ... |
 The Southern Ledger | Protests planned across US on 5th anniversary of Iraq war Xinhua, China - WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Anti-war activists will carry out a series of protests across the United States on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary ... Congressman Hare statement on 5th Anniversary of War in Iraq Newspapers Offer 5th Year Anniversary Coverage of Iraq Invasion World Writers Slam Iraqi Holocaust |
Protesters mark 5th anniversary of Iraq war
WLOS, NC -
... dead: protesters dressed in black and wearing skull-like masks will stop at war memorials to read the names of the dead to mark the fifth anniversary. ...
Bush to mark Iraq war 5th anniversary with speech WVLT, TN - WHITE HOUSE (AP) -- Five years he gave the fateful orders, President Bush will tell an audience of military chiefs and other officials he's confident ... |
Protests Mark Iraq War's 5th Anniversary MyFox Washington DC, DC - WASHINGTON (AP) -- Antiwar protesters have kicked off a series of demonstrations in Washington to mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq . ... |
Acknowledging the Fifth Anniversary of Iraq Invasion
Hawaii Reporter, HI -10 hours ago
On this 5th anniversary of President Bush’s invasion of Iraq, we are reminded of the sacrifices of the brave members of our Armed Forces and their families. ...
Hawaii Reporter, HI -
On this 5th anniversary of President Bush’s invasion of Iraq, we are reminded of the sacrifices of the brave members of our Armed Forces and their families. ...
Link to VA & PTSD Blog Entry
Sometimes I write an entry and don't finish it right away. What with the Christmas season and all that other stuff, I forgot to finish this one up and publish until today.
View the old post that was finally published tonight:
Rage Rage Against the Failing VA System
By the way, while researching for this blog post (yes, I do some researching for blog posts!) I also found this blog:
PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within
View the old post that was finally published tonight:
Rage Rage Against the Failing VA System
By the way, while researching for this blog post (yes, I do some researching for blog posts!) I also found this blog:
PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within
29 Year Old Soldiers and the facts
Two people from Massachusetts died in Iraq, and both were reported today. It took me all day to realize that that's the same age as me. And also that I'm from Massachusetts.
One was from Mashpee. She was a mother of three and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Her name is Staff Sergeant Alicia A. Birchett. She was crushed by a truck after changing its tire.
The other was from Franklin. His name was Staff Sgt. Robert Ryan Pirelli, and he was killed in action. There aren't further details about how, yet.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon reports that:
Also, the Daily Show yesterday featured a fascinating clip from 1994:
Link to clip about how Dick Cheney didn't think that having a war in Iraq would not be a successful endeavor because, "It's a very volatile situation over there and if you take down the central government in Iraq, you could see pieces of Iraq fly off."
Just the facts.
One was from Mashpee. She was a mother of three and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Her name is Staff Sergeant Alicia A. Birchett. She was crushed by a truck after changing its tire.
The other was from Franklin. His name was Staff Sgt. Robert Ryan Pirelli, and he was killed in action. There aren't further details about how, yet.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon reports that:
All Things Considered, August 16, 2007 · A new report from the Defense Department says 99 active duty soldiers committed suicide last year — more than a quarter of them while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also, the Daily Show yesterday featured a fascinating clip from 1994:
Link to clip about how Dick Cheney didn't think that having a war in Iraq would not be a successful endeavor because, "It's a very volatile situation over there and if you take down the central government in Iraq, you could see pieces of Iraq fly off."
Just the facts.
New Feature
Hey, look at that. Over there------->
It's a new feature for the blog that I found today.
Today I'm using a laptop finally. I have been typing everything that I've written in longhand. I've written a lot in longhand for this assignment, due to the absent personal laptop.
Anyway, after typing something, I then take a little breaky break to peruse the internet. I found the astonishingly frightening statistic widget. This stat, by the way, is just as terrifying for our future as, well, terrorists.
I'm still interested in having children, even if I will stymie them with this debt. I mean, I won't by the stymi-er. Someone else does that. His name begins with a B and ends with a sh.
Anyway, enjoy watching our tax dollars get sucked across to the Middle East.
It's a new feature for the blog that I found today.
Today I'm using a laptop finally. I have been typing everything that I've written in longhand. I've written a lot in longhand for this assignment, due to the absent personal laptop.
Anyway, after typing something, I then take a little breaky break to peruse the internet. I found the astonishingly frightening statistic widget. This stat, by the way, is just as terrifying for our future as, well, terrorists.
I'm still interested in having children, even if I will stymie them with this debt. I mean, I won't by the stymi-er. Someone else does that. His name begins with a B and ends with a sh.
Anyway, enjoy watching our tax dollars get sucked across to the Middle East.
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