May 2010 archive

What has been called the “signature wound” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- the mild brain damage troops suffer from a roadside bomb – might be so unique in its destruction that it could be a newly discovered disease, scientists say.

Army field studies have shown that more than 10% of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered at least one concussion or brain injury, the vast majority of those from exposure to a homemade bomb or improvised explosive device. Five percent to 15% of mild TBI patients develop lasting problems with concentration, short-term memory, fatigue and chronic headaches.

One of those is former Army Spec. Michael Cain, who lost his right leg below the knee in a roadside explosion in Iraq in 2003. Today, he is still plagued with short-term memory loss, difficulty concentrating and irritability.

“If they tell me some important stuff, like appointments, if I don’t write it down or put it in my BlackBerry right away, I’m not going to remember,” Cain says.

Unemployed and living on a medical retirement income, Cain says he is uncertain about his future.

“I really wish that they’d go away,” he says of symptoms such as short-term memory loss and his tendency to startle easily. “I didn’t want them to tell me I had a brain problem, because I was a pretty smart person before. I had straight A’s. … It really frustrates me.”

edit update(See Thursday morning update at bottom of diary)

Rr. Admiral Landry granted approval for BP to begin plugging the well. (Wednesday am)

5/26/10  11:53 am CST

http://www.deepwaterhorizonres…

Federal On-Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Mary Landry, acting on the validation of government scientists and in consultation with the National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, has granted approval for BP to begin proceeding with their attempt to cap the well using the technique known as the “top kill.”

This expedited step provides the final authorization necessary to begin the procedure.

Per the Joint Information Center Unified Command,  http://twitter.com/Oil_Spill_2…   “TOP KILL” is a Go at the blown out BP Oil rig a mile under the Gulf of Mexico, and the oil company will attempt to block the well with drill mud pumped in thru new lines connected to the Blow Out Preventer on the well head, which run up to the ships above.

I will be updating this diary during the day as news progress.

I just turned off the television idiots who could not tell me whether or not this was happening.  If there is a delay, it is because BP feels like they are not ready or have hit a technical problem, but the Govt says “go.”  

President Obama is scheduled to make a visit to the Gulf on Friday.  First things first though:

Scoop du jour: Forget politics. What inquiring, food-centric minds really want to know is, exactly what did President Barack Obama dine upon Tuesday night at the home of philanthropists Ann and Gordon Getty, where Sen. Barbara Boxer held a $17,600-a-plate dinner in support of her re-election campaign?

Who is Gordon Getty? Oh, nobody in particular:

[T]he fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty…. When his father died in 1976, Gordon assumed control of Getty’s US$2 billion trust. According to the Forbes 400, as of September 2008 his net worth is $2.5 billion, making him number 163 on the list of the richest Americans.

Of course, I’m sure there’s absolutely no connection whatsoever with the crisis in the Gulf and the timing of Obama’s fundraising dinner with a rich oil magnate.

Besides, the meal sounds positively scrumptious!

With gourmet Getty chef Jennifer Johnson at the stoves, you can be sure the 100 or so supporters who were expected got their money’s worth.

So Tuesday night, the plan was passed hors d’oeuvres, including quail egg with caviar and salmon ceviche with jicama and avocado on a tortilla chip.

Johnson’s first course featured a spring onion-asparagus tartlet with Meyer lemon vinaigrette-dressed frisee salad.

A main course of braised Kobe beef short ribs with potato puree and a salsa verde-topped spring vegetable ragout was followed by buckwheat crepes with roasted cherries and almond ice cream.

Rumor has it the quail eggs appetizer was a last minute substitute, because good Gulf shrimp is just too hard to find nowadays.  

(credit)

From the New York Times “Bill Puts Scrutiny on Detainees’ Lawyers:”

WASHINGTON – A provision tucked into a defense bill before Congress would direct the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate any suspected misconduct by lawyers for Guantánamo Bay detainees, opening a new chapter in a recurrent political controversy over legal ethics and the representation of terrorism suspects.

(snip)

Lawyers for Guantánamo detainees have reacted with outrage to the proposal, saying it would have a chilling effect on their efforts to help detainees get habeas corpus hearings or to defend them in military commission trials. They are organizing to try to persuade Congress to strip the language before enacting the final bill, which must also still pass the Senate.

“No lawyers could possibly predict what conduct might fall within the law,” said David Remes, who represents several detainees. “It would therefore be impossible for Guantánamo lawyers to represent their clients effectively and zealously.”

We’ve already seen journalists banned from Guantanamo for reporting the name of an interrogator that had already been made public.

First the Pentagon came for the journalists.  Now lawmakers are targeting the defense lawyers.  Not just Republicans, though it was a Republican who introduced the legislation – Congressional Democrats in the House Armed Services Committee unanimously allowed this provision to be added to a defense bill “that the full House of Representatives is expected to begin debating this week.”

Anyone see a pattern here?

Accountability for those who ordered torture?  Nope.

Accountability for those who lied us into war?  Nope.

Accountability for Cheney’s top secret energy meetings that have resulted in the mess we now see in the Gulf, the mess that was once our Department of the Interior?  Nope.

Unfair power mongering towards those who defend the rights of human beings we tortured?  Yep.

Unfair power mongering towards those journalists who allow us to be an informed citizenry?  You betcha!

OPEN THREAD

So said BP CEO Tony Hayward yesterday when he was discussing the chances of a successful end to the worst manmade disaster in history.

BP’s top officer downplayed the likelihood that the desperate effort will succeed in actually sealing the pipe, which is spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude into the Gulf each day.

“If it was on land we would have a very high confidence of success, but… we need to be realistic about the issues around operating in a mile of water,” BP CEO Tony Hayward told reporters on Monday.

Ahh, yes, NOW we need to be realistic about those issues.  Were you being realistic about the issues around operating in a mile of water when you applied for the rights to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico Mr. Hayward?

Was the government being realistic in April?