Deja vu?

The U.N. has passed a resolution for no-fly zone for Libya.   Notice who has veto power and which countries obviously did not join the party.  Is this a positive step to end the current conflict or is it just one more step closer to all out war in another Arab country?   What are your thoughts?

Indypendent

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42124388/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Brendan Marrocco

“I cried because I had no shoes; until I met a man who had no legs”.

Brendan Marrocco has no legs. He has no arms, either.

He left them in Iraq.

A little over a year ago, Specialist Brendan Marrocco, then PFC, was driving an armored Hum Vee in a convoy near Baiji in northern Iraq, when a IED blew up, ripping the vehicle apart, killing his best friend and seriously wounding another soldier. A fourth soldier walked away, unharmed.

When Brendan was taken to the hospital, he also had a severed carotid artery. Doctors didn’t notice it at first, because it wasn’t bleeding. It wasn’t bleeding because Specialist Marrocco had no blood left to speak of, having lost 80% of his blood supply in the field.

Brendan Marrocco now lives at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center complex. His older brother quit his high paying job to serve as a caretaker for Brendan. They share a small apartment near where Specialist Marrocco receives physical therapy.

Amazingly, he did not suffer any brain damage from the bomb blast or the subsequent loss of blood. He was the first soldier to survive the loss of all four limbs in the Wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the attack on Specialist Marrocco, a second soldier has suffered a similar fate, and he too lives at Walter Reed.

The amazing and inspiring part of this story is not that Brendan Marrocco survived. It is that rather than lose himself to his war wounds, Specialist Marrocco has become an inspiration to all those around him, maintaining a positive attitude and even a sense of humor about his situation. At the Walter Reed complex, he is seen as a hero to other amputees, including the Marine that also lost all four limbs.

Where does someone faced with such adversity summon the courage to not only deal with the loss, but to become a role model for others dealing with severe war wounds?

This is the face of war. It is not the caskets lined up in the cargo bay of a transport. It is not pictures of presidents and generals. It is not the cold statistics on the page of the newspaper. It is not Senators and Congressmen debating the funding and strategies of the Wars.

The face of war is a 23 year old Army Specialist that is broken, but not defeated.

Specialist Brendan Marrocco is the face of war.

(The thread photo is of Specialist Brendan Marrocco outside Walter Reed.)

William Stephenson Clark

What to do about………………. Israel?

“Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone, young girls picked them ev’ry one.

Oh, when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?”

Pete Seeger, 1955.

Interestingly enough, there is a Hebrew version of “Where have all the flowers gone?” called “איפה הפרחים כולם” or Eifo Haprachim Kulam.

Of late, not much seems to get folks worked up more than the situation with Israel. Nominally, they are our primary ally in the middle East, but like a wayward child, she has a way of testing our patience.

The recent tragedy on the Rachel Corrie, enroute to Gaza, highlights the divide between Washington an Tel Aviv. Perhaps Israel had a right to stop the ship from Turkey and inspect the cargo. Perhaps they had a right to board the ship for that purpose.

But most definitely, nine people did not need to die.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a drop more than a quarter ethnic Jew. My first (known) European ancestor left England about 1620 because he was married to a Jewish woman. My paternal grandfather was an ethnic  German Jew that had converted to Christianity and changed his name to hide his Jewishness.

The history of Israel is long and complicated and much of it depends on who is telling the story.  In very simple terms, the U.N., led by the British, partitioned Palestine in July 1947 and in May, 1948, the State of Israel was formally born.

And then the fight that began in 1020 BCE resumed and a 3,000 year old battle between  Arabs and Jews was rejoined once more, a battle that continues to this day.

Arabs and Jews are ethnic cousins, both being Semites, although the term “anti-Semite” is used to reflect an anti-Jewish bigotry. Some would make the conflict in Palestine to be religious Jew v Muslim, but Islam wasn’t born until 610 CE and the conflict arose more 1,500 years earlier.

In my view, there will always be conflict in the middle East, but it can be mitigated by the establishment of a Palestinian homeland. Until there are two equal states in the Holy Land, this three thousand year old conflict will continue.

William Stephenson Clark

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the traditional kick off for Summertime, even though the official first day of summer is not until later in June. For many, Memorial Day means picnics, trips to the lake,  baseball games, horseshoes, pool parties, kids out of school, barbecues and the Indy 500.

And, yes, it means all those things, but there is a greater meaning.

The loss of a loved one in war must be a horrible burden to bear, one that I have not personally felt, but one that I can empathize with completely.

Our great nation, however imperfect she may be, has stood the test of time and our brightest and best have stood up for her and defended her throughout history, some with the forfeiture of their lives.

The shot heard ’round the world. The Battle of New Orleans. Gettysburg. The Hundred Day Offensive. Pearl Harbor, Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge and Iwo Jima.  The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. The Tet Offensive.  The Mother of All Battles. Kabul. Baghdad.

No matter your thoughts on these wars, you have to respect those that fought them for us, and those that made the ultimate sacrifice. They deserve no less.

Today, when you sit down with your family, friends or even alone, take a moment to reflect on those that stood tall to protect our freedom and liberty.

But I would also suggest that you remember those that lost their lives, but not in uniform, but for a cause greater than themselves.

Medgar Evers. Dr. King. Rachel Corrie. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. Matthew Shepard. Harvey Milk. Rachel Corrie. Tom Hurndall. The Kennedy’s. And many, many more.

Today is the day we set aside to honor those that have come before us, blazing a trail so we all may have a better life. As you celebrate the day, stop to remember and honor those that have made this day possible.

It’s the least we can do.

William Stephenson Clark

U.S. on Pace to End Iraq War

More than seven years after it began, the end may be near for the Iraq war. According to Vice President Joe Biden, who is managing the withdrawal, the administration’s goal of removing all combat forces by August is proceeding as planned. But Iraqi leaders have yet to form a government close to three months after a contentious election and violence is still simmering, raising the possibility that the situation could deteriorate. “It’s going to be painful; there’s going to be ups and downs,” Biden told the Washington Post. “But I do think the end result is going to be that we’re going to be able to keep our commitment.” Experts say that the drawdown is especially crucial given the escalating conflict in Afghanistan, which is seeing a surge in U.S. troops.

Could Israel Attack Iran?

The Wall Street Journal says, “The Israeli security establishment is divided over whether it needs Washington’s blessing if Israel decides to attack Iran, Israeli officials say, as the U.S. campaign for sanctions drags on and Tehran steadily develops greater nuclear capability.”

The Threat of Bioterrorism

Bioterrorism – the next phase of the War on Terror?  Where will the billions for this war come from?    We’ve been at risk for a long time but we are still too busy debating the merits of the wars we have already spent billions on (and currently spending) trying to kill all radical Muslims – and that has not done much good, has it?

Will Bioterrorism be the next political football that gets kicked down the road for someone else to promise to fix?

Lilac

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/26/us-unprepared-for-bioterr_n_436785.html

New Zealand has spoken….

I wonder how long will it take before the uproar from Social Conservative Christian Republicans to raise a ruckus about New Zealand’s decision to remove these Bible inscriptions from the gun sights?  How long will it be before we hear how anti-Christian and anti-American they are ? 

Lilac

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/21/new-zealand-army-to-remov_n_431054.html

U. S. military weapons inscribed with Bible passages

What would Jesus shoot?

Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found.  The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.

At the end of the serial number on Trijicon’s ACOG gun sight, you can read “JN8:12”, a reference to the New Testament book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12, which reads: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

fnord

AVATAR – JUST A MOVIE OR PROPAGANDA?

How The World Works Conservative backlash against “Avatar”
A right-wing nightmare: The free market has spoken — anti-American lefty green propaganda sells!
By Andrew Leonard

A still from “Avatar”A movie as big as “Avatar” deserves more than one blog post, and I’m afraid I just can’t resist poking at the hilarious spectacle of conservative movie critics launching into thermonuclear hissy fits at the anti-American, greenie pagan leftist propaganda embedded in the politics of James Cameron’s epic. The Los Angeles Times has a great story by Patrick Goldstein rounding up the outrage.

To say that the film has evoked a storm of ire on the right would be an understatement. Big Hollywood’s John Nolte, one of my favorite outspoken right-wing film essayists, blasted the film, calling it “a sanctimonious thud of a movie so infested with one-dimensional characters and PC cliches that not a single plot turn, large or small, surprises. . . . Think of ‘Avatar’ as ‘Death Wish’ for leftists, a simplistic, revisionist revenge fantasy where if you … hate the bad guys (America) you’re able to forgive the by-the-numbers predictability of it all.”

John Podhoretz, the Weekly Standard’s film critic, called the film “blitheringly stupid; indeed, it’s among the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen.” He goes on to say: “You’re going to hear a lot over the next couple of weeks about the movie’s politics — about how it’s a Green epic about despoiling the environment, and an attack on the war in Iraq… The conclusion does ask the audience to root for the defeat of American soldiers at the hands of an insurgency. So it is a deep expression of anti-Americanism — kind of. The thing is, one would be giving Jim Cameron too much credit to take ‘Avatar’ — with its … hatred of the military and American institutions and the notion that to be human is just way uncool — at all seriously as a political document. It’s more interesting as an example of how deeply rooted these standard issue counterculture cliches in Hollywood have become by now.”

Lilacluvr

Rhonda Holman’s “Tear down that berm”

I am re-printing Rhonda Holman’s pretty fine post Tear down that berm which appeared at TBTSNBN.  The editorial deals with the controversy of seperating the “Vietnamese-American community’s memorial” from the “Veterans Memorial Park” by an earthen berm.  The story caught the attention of the New York Times.  It is always nice when Wichita gets on the national radar in these ways.

Totally unrelated:  I have often wondered if Rhonda is a Mennonite and a pacifist.  Given that her hometown is Halstead, KS, that is not a huge leap; and the content of her opinion pieces have also made me wonder about Rhonda’s possible Anabaptist roots. 

Any way, the post:

Tear down that berm?

In the end last month, the Wichita City Council voted 7-0 to place the Vietnamese-American community’s memorial near but not in Veterans Memorial Park, separated by an earthen berm and the lack of a sidewalk between them. The issue caught the attention of the New York Times, which published an article about the memorial dispute. Among the Times’ quotes:
“How could people now separate us with a wall? Why the need?” asked Nga Vu, whose brother died in Vietnam War.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with being Vietnamese,” said John Wilson, a U.S. Army veteran. “This is about serving in the American military. That’s it.”
“This has divided us, our American community, and we don’t want to make this a thing that will divide us,” said the Rev. Kenny Khanh Nguyen. “But I hope that it will look silly to our children and grandchildren. I hope that the next generation will take down that berm. And I hope that the relationship can heal later on.”

This was just a thought experiment for me, how would our posters differ from those folk over there.  Please “no-cheating”: post first, and look over there second.

* * * * *

Thank you, all.  iggy donnelly

Rewarding Kim Jong Il’s behavior?

By meeting with Kim Jong Il, and negoiating the release of American journalists, did former president, Bill Clinton,  reward Kim Jong Il’s misbehavior?  If you think “yes”, tell us why;  same request to those of you who think “no”.  Shades of grey will be tolerated and read as well.

Thanks, all

iggy donnelly

Cheney’s Secret Al Qaeda Plans

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal the mysterious program Cheney kept hidden from Congress involved an executive order to capture or kill Al Qaeda leaders.  It appears that the CIA recognized that parts of the plan, which involved targeted assassinations, were not feasible.

So far, the controversy surrounding the ultra-secret plan is focused on the decision to not inform Congress, but as details unfold it seems more serious investigations will be warranted.

The Journal cites an unnamed source who described the plan’s ambition: “It was straight out of the movies. It was like: Let’s kill them all.”

fnord

Mohammed Jawad: A Huge Injustice

Mohammed Jawad was taken into U.S. custody during our war in Afghanistan. He confessed to throwing a hand grenade that injured U.S. soldiers. It was later revealed that this confession was obtained with torture. He is from a poor Afghan family where exact dates of birth are not known. It is probable that he was born in 1991 based upon his mother’s recollection of significant events – this in turn means that in 2003 when Jawad was captured that he was 12 years old. The official U.S. documents contend that he was age 18 when he was transferred to the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay – this is unlikely.

The U.S. Army officer assigned to conduct Jawad’s military tribunal removed himself from the case due to his inability to “in good conscience” complete this assignment.

Read the accounts here and here of this shameful case. It is way past time to free Jawad.

The photo above was taken three months before Jawad was captured.

Iraq is closer to owning their own country again! Hallelujah!

Today is the day the Iraqi people take back their towns and cities. The American presence is now out of them. This is a day to be celebrated. Obama promised it, and it’s being done.

“The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security,” said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “We are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty.”

“All of us are happy — Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day,” Waleed al-Bahadili said as he celebrated at the park. “The Americans harmed and insulted us too much.”

Whether this is the universal belief in Iraq makes no difference to me: we had no business there in the first place. I wish nothing but the best for the people of Iraq, and hope no more American lives are lost over there.

jammer5