Now granted, over the past few weeks, things at Chez Clammy have been far from “normal”. Tax season, wife about to give birth, new baby, lack of sleep, frequent trips to the store for stuff I didn’t even know existed a few days ago and a number of other things turned upside down make me think about what “approaching normal” would be here. Maybe not ordering take out as much, maybe having the baby sleep through the night, maybe a regular work schedule….
But maybe for someone that wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years, and someone who obviously thinks it is normal to call his wife (and financier) “the ‘c’ word” thinks it is normal to be surrounded by bombings, attacks, IEDs, civil war, thousands of dead, tens of thousands wounded, a country that has gotten progressively worse in all respects and more humanitarian crises than one can count is “approaching normal”.
Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it. If unaddressed, this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the all-volunteer force and degrades the Army’s ability to make a timely response to other contingencies.
Is a country where there are now an estimated 1 million – 1.3 million orphans and widows “approaching normal”? Especially when this is a result of the “liberation and greeting with flowers” that McCain and the republican Congress enabled? Or maybe the more normal part of this is the fact that they are basically being ignored – just like this administration has done with orphans, widows and displaced Americans after Katrina or whose spouses have been killed or maimed in Iraq?
‘the U.S. risks getting bogged down in Iraq for a long time to come, with serious consequences for its interests in other parts of the world,” according to a new assessment by the same group of experts who advised the bipartisan blue-ribbon Iraq Study Group (ISG) in 2006.
The assessment, which was released on the eve of a critical Congressional testimony this week by Washington’s ambassador and chief military officer in Iraq, concludes that the decline in violence has resulted in very little progress toward achieving national reconciliation and that gains in security remain ”fragile and dependent on the presence of U.S. forces.”
”Political progress is so slow, halting and superficial, and social and political fragmentation so pronounced that the U.S. is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago,” according to the report released by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and entitled ‘Iraq After the Surge: Options and Questions’.
”Lasting political development could take five to ten years of full, unconditional U.S. commitment to Iraq,” it concluded, noting that such a commitment already ”carries a massive cost, both human and financial, in addition to the global interests the U.S. is sacrificing to its commitment in Iraq. Even if progress in Iraq continues, the results may not be worth the cost,” it warned.
Throughout the country by 21:30 the GZG authorities admitted to 25 dead and 57 wounded. There is very heavy fighting going on in Sadr city. The Americans have it under siege and are refusing all access to the city. American helicopters have bombed the city repeatedly. American snipers are being deployed on the roof tops. Imam Ali spokesmen say they are now desperately short of medical supplies. The Red Crescent attempts to get emergency medical supplies to the city which we reported yesterday have failed because the Americans will not let them through.
There are reports that the fires caused by the American bombing of the Jameela market are spreading and that there is no water being pumped to the city.
Again, it is not a competitor thing, and if I ever get done dinking with the code & such, and WRITE anything of value, I will continue to Cross-post here, as I always have.
I made it primarily to get people to cross-post to a place where my less politically inclined Michigan friends can read and learn without fear of flaming. (Like this place where I also send people I find… Gentilly Girl being one of them! 🙂 I like to share, man. I like your flame-free environment too.
I have resigned at MLW, and will have more time now for writing.
Any cross-posts will be appreciated. Or just pop in to say Hi.
This was one San Fransican’s reaction to yesterday’s breath-taking protest by proponents of a free Tibet who scaled the Golden Gate Bridge:
The protesters had this to say when contacted by the media:
The climbers, who included Laurel Mac Sutherlin, 30, and Duane Martinez, 27, of Sausalito, made their way 150 feet above the roadway, some 370 feet over the water, to hang Tibetan flags and 40-foot-long banners that read “One World One Dream,” “Free Tibet” and “Free Tibet 08.”
Reached by cell phone as he dangled from the bridge, Sutherlin said he was worried that the torch’s planned route through Tibet would lead to more arrests and that Chinese officials would use force to stifle any visible dissent.
“The leaders of China have said they’ll maintain order at all costs, and we know what that means – bloodshed and violent oppression,” he told the Associated Press. “If the IOC allows the torch to proceed into Tibet, they’ll have blood on their hands.”
Martinez said he and Sutherlin, who are partners, have been involved in the Tibet issue before – both were arrested by Chinese authorities last year. In April 2007, Sutherlin and three other Americans were taken away after holding up a banner at a base camp on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest that read, “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008.”
Meanwhile, a “re-education campaign” is already under way in Tibet:
Buddhist monks, civil servants and public school students have been instructed to attend special classes in the virtues of Chinese rule and the evils of their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama. In these classes, the Tibetans read and recite from texts that denounce the Dalai Lama as a “political reactionary” and a “betrayer of the motherland.”
snip
Clashes that erupted last week in Sichuan province’s Ganzi prefecture (known as Kardze to Tibetans) were reportedly triggered when the head of the Tongkor Monastery objected to Communist Party teaching materials that criticize the Dalai Lama. Tibetan activists say eight people were killed in the April 3 incident.
Nevertheless, Communist officials insist that the program be expanded.
Touring a monastery last week, the deputy Communist Party chief for Tibet, Hao Peng, called for strengthening “patriotic education so as to guide the masses of monks to continuously display the patriotic tradition.”
In the midst of the latest protests the Dalai Lama has issued a statement to the Tibetan people:
The English translation to this statement is as follows:
While extending my warm greetings to all the Tibetans in Tibet, I would like to share some of my thoughts.
1. Since March 10 this year, we have witnessed protests and demonstrations in almost all parts of Tibet, even in a few cities in Mainland China by students, which are the outburst of long pent-up physical and mental anguish of the Tibetans and the feeling of deep resentment against the suppression of the rights of Tibetan people, lack of religious freedom and for trying to distort the truth at every occasion, such as saying that Tibetans look towards the Chinese Communist Party as the “Living Buddha”, is an ultra leftist statement and smacks of Han chauvinism. I am very much saddened and concerned by the use of arms to suppress the peaceful demonstrations of Tibetan people’s aspirations that have resulted in unrest in Tibet, causing many deaths, and much more causalities, detention, and injury. Such suppression and suffering are very unfortunate and tragic which will reduce any compassionate person to tears. I, however, feel helpless in the face of these tragic incidents.
2. I pray for all the Tibetans as well as Chinese who have lost their lives during the current crisis.
3. The recent protests all over Tibet have not only contradicted but also shattered the People Republic of China’s propaganda that except for a few “reactionaries”, the majority of Tibetans enjoy a prosperous and contented life. These protests have made it very clear that Tibetans in the three provinces of Tibet, U-tsang, Kham and Amdo, harbor the same aspirations and hopes. These protests have also conveyed to the world that the Tibet issue can no longer be neglected. These protests highlight the need to find a way to resolve the issue through “finding truth from facts”. The courage and determination of those Tibetans who have, for the greater interests of Tibetan people, demonstrated their deep anguish and hopes by risking everything is very commendable as the world community has acknowledged and supported the spirit of these Tibetans.
4. I deeply appreciate the acts of many Tibetan government employees and Communist Party cadres who have, without losing their Tibetan identity, shown grit and sense of what is right during the present crisis. In future, I would appeal to the Tibetan Party cadres and government employees not to look always for their personal benefit, but to work for safeguarding the larger interests of Tibet by reporting the real sentiments of the Tibetan people to their superiors in the Party and try to give unbiased guidance to the Tibetan people.
5. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers, Nobel Laureates, Parliamentarians, and concerned citizens from every part of the world have been sending clear and strong messages to the Chinese leadership to stop the present ongoing harsh crackdown against the Tibetan people. They have all been encouraging the Chinese government to follow a path where a mutually beneficial solution could be reached. We should create an opportunity for their efforts to bring out positive results. I know you are being provoked at every level but it is important to stick to our non-violent practice.
6. The Chinese authorities have been making false allegations against myself and the Central Tibetan Administration for instigating and orchestrating the recent events in Tibet. These allegations are totally untrue. I have made repeated appeals for an independent and respected international body to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. I am sure this independent body will uncover the truth. If the People’s Republic of China has any basis and proof of evidence to back their allegations, they need to disclose these to the world. Just making allegations is not enough.
7. For the future of Tibet, I have decided to find a solution within the framework of the People’s Republic of China. Since 1974, I have sincerely remained steadfast to the mutually beneficial Middle-Way Approach. The whole world knows this. The Middle-Way Approach means that all Tibetans must be governed by similar administration that enjoys meaningful National Regional Autonomy and all the provisions in it, self-rule and full decision-making, except for matters concerning foreign relations and national defense. However, I have said it from the beginning that the Tibetans in Tibet have the right to make the final decision for the future of Tibet.
8. The hosting of the Olympic games this year is a matter of great pride to the 1.2 billion Chinese people. I have from the very beginning supported the holding of these Games in Beijing. My position on this remains unchanged. I feel the Tibetans should not cause any hindrance to the Games. It is the legitimate right of every Tibetan to struggle for their freedoms and rights. On the other hand, it will be futile and not helpful to anyone if we do something that will create hatred in the minds of the Chinese people. On the contrary, we need to foster trust and respect in our hearts in order to create a harmonious society, as this cannot be built on the basis of force and intimidation.
9. Our struggle is with a few in the leadership of the People’s Republic of China and not with the Chinese people. Therefore we should never cause misunderstanding or do something that will hurt the Chinese people. Even during this difficult situation, many Chinese intellectuals, writers and lawyers in Mainland China and other parts of the world have sympathized and shown us their solidarity by issuing statements, writing articles and offering pledges of support that is overwhelming. I have recently issued an appeal to the Chinese people all over the world on 28th March, which I hope you will hear and read.
10. If the present situation in Tibet continues, I am very much concerned that the Chinese government will unleash more force and increase the suppression of Tibetan people. Because of my moral obligation and responsibility to the Tibetan people, I have repeatedly asked the concerned leadership of the PRC to immediately stop their suppression in all parts of Tibet and withdraw its armed police and troops. If this brings result, I would also advise the Tibetans to stop all the current protests.
11. I want to urge my fellow Tibetans who live in freedom outside Tibet to be extra vigilant as they voice their feelings on the developments in Tibet. We should not engage in any action that could be even remotely interpreted as violent. Even under the most provocative of situations we must not allow our most precious and deeply held values to be compromised. I firmly believe that we will achieve success through our non-violent path. We must be wise to understand where the unprecedented affection and support for our cause stems from.
12. As Tibet is currently virtually closed and no international media is allowed there, I doubt my message will reach the Tibetans in Tibet. But I hope through media and by word of mouth, it will be passed on to the majority of you.
13. Finally, I want to reiterate and appeal once again to Tibetans to practice non-violence and not waver from this path, however serious the situation might be.
Please keep all sides of this conflict in your thoughts, prayers and meditations.
UPDATE There will be a protest vigil in San Francisco tonight featuring speeches by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Richard Gere:
Today, Tibetans and their supporters will hold a rally at the United Nations Plaza, at Market and Hyde near the Civic Center BART station, to protest China’s recent crackdown on protesting Tibetans in Lhasa. Actor Richard Gere and Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu are guest speakers at the UN Plaza rally. The rally begins at 6 p.m.
UPDATE (2) The Times UK is running a story about the blue-jogging-suit clad crowd surrounding the torch on these relays.
They are from the Chinese paramilitary:
China’s blue-clad flame attendants, whose aggressive methods of safeguarding the Olympic torch have provoked international outcry, are paramilitary police from a force spun off from the country’s army.
A squad of 30 young men from the police academy that turns out the cream of the paramilitary security force, their job at home is to ensure riot control, domestic stability and the protection of diplomats.
snip
The Olympic medallist and organiser of the 2012 Games was overheard saying that the officials had pushed him around as the torch made its way through the capital on Sunday, adding that other countries on the route should “get rid of those guys”.
“They tried to puch me out of the way three times. They are horrible. They did not speak English . . . I think they were thugs.”
His comments came after Konnie Huq, the former Blue Peter presenter who was one of the torchbearers on Sunday, described how she had seen the officials in “skirmishes” with the police. Ms Huq, who was carrying the torch when a pro-Tibet activist tried to snatch the flame, said of the guards: “They were very robotic, full-on…They were barking orders like “run” and “stop” and I was like: Who are these people”.
Scotland Yard is quoted as saying that these individuals came as “part of the package”, and they were told that they “had no executive power in the UK”.
The BBC is also reporting on this:
UPDATE (3) The issue of Chinese paramilitary escorting the Olympic torch is heating up. Per the AP:
At least one torchbearer said she clashed with the squad, and others have criticized their heavy-handed tactics.
Yolaine De La Bigne, a French environmental journalist who was a torchbearer in Paris, told The Associated Press she tried to wear a headband with a Tibetan flag, but the Chinese agents ripped it away from her.
“It was seen and then, after four seconds, all the Chinese security pounced on me. There were at least five or six (of them). They started to get angry” and shouted “No! No! No!” in English, she said.
De La Bigne tried to push several agents away as they grabbed her arm. She said two French athletes who are martial arts experts tried to help her and clashed briefly with the security detail.
The chairman of the London 2012 Games, Sebastian Coe, was even more blunt.
“They tried to push me out of the way three times. They are horrible. They did not speak English. They were thugs,” Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was quoted as saying in British media. A spokeswoman for the London 2012 Olympics committee confirmed that Coe was quoted accurately, but added that he thought he was making private comments.
Document outlines powers but sets no time limit on troop presence
A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq, passed to the Guardian, shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country.
The draft strategic framework agreement between the US and Iraqi governments, dated March 7 and marked “secret” and “sensitive”, is intended to replace the existing UN mandate and authorises the US to “conduct military operations in Iraq and to detain individuals when necessary for imperative reasons of security” without time limit.
The authorisation is described as “temporary” and the agreement says the US “does not desire permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq”. But the absence of a time limit or restrictions on the US and other coalition forces – including the British – in the country means it is likely to be strongly opposed in Iraq and the US.
USA
Asian Inflation Begins to Sting U.S. Shoppers
BAT TRANG, Vietnam – The free ride for American consumers is ending. For two generations, Americans have imported goods produced ever more cheaply from a succession of low-wage countries – first Japan and Korea, then China, and now increasingly places like Vietnam and India.
But mounting inflation in the developing world, especially Asia, is threatening that arrangement, and not just in China, where rising energy and labor costs have already made exports to the United States more expensive, but in the lower-cost alternatives to China, too.
Congress To Hear Of Gains In Iraq
Petraeus, Crocker To Face Impatient Lawmakers
In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken steps toward political reconciliation and economic stability.
But unlike in September, when that news was fresh and the administration said a corner had been turned, even some of the war’s strongest supporters in Congress have grown impatient and frustrated. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Crocker will face many lawmakers who had expected more by now and who are wondering whether any real change will occur before the clock runs out on the Bush administration.
Asia
China vows to keep torch on track
Beijing has said “no force” can stop the Olympic flame relay, as it faces protests on the US leg of its journey.
Seven pro-Tibet demonstrators have already been arrested in San Francisco after tying anti-Chinese banners to the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The flame is due to arrive in the city on Tuesday, following anti-Chinese protests in Paris and London.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) members meeting in Beijing say they are to review future Olympic torch relays.
Kashmir Says Come On In, the Tee Times Are Safe
SRINAGAR, Kashmir – Naeem Akhtar has an improbable task in the Indian government’s drive to revitalize Kashmir after 18 years of militant violence: rebranding this heavily militarized Himalayan region as a global golfing destination.
Mr. Akhtar, who is permanent secretary to the government tourism department, the most senior official in charge of tourism in Kashmir, readily admits he has a difficult challenge. “We face a lot of uncomfortable questions,” he said last month, staring out at the empty fairways of the Royal Spring Golf Course here. “Tourists travel to relax. A tourist doesn’t want to come to a place that creates apprehension in his mind.”
Middle East
Hizbollah turns to Iran for new weapons to wage war on Israel
By Robert Fisk in Teir Dibba, south Lebanon
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
The Shia “martyrs” of this hill village are normally killed in the dangerous, stony landscape of southern Lebanon, in Israeli air raids or invasions or attacks from the sea. The Hizbollah duly honours them. But the body of the latest Shia fighter to be buried here – from the local Hashem family – was flown back to Lebanon last month from Iran.
He was hailed as a martyr in the village Husseiniya mosque but the Hizbollah would say no more. For when a Lebanese is killed in live firing exercises in the Islamic Republic, his death brings almost as many questions as mourners.
Sadr will disband his militia if religious leaders ask
The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will have talks with senior religious leaders and will disband his powerful Mehdi Army militia if they ask him to do so, one of his aides said yesterday.
Mr Sadr’s surprise move is aimed at preventing an all-out assault on his militiamen by the Iraqi government, backed by US military forces in Iraq, as the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, criticised the Mehdi Army by name.
He also said that parties which continued to maintain militias would not be allowed to take part in the provincial elections this year.
Africa
Zimbabwe:
desperate Mugabe begins new assault on white-owned farms
The sound of hands beating on drums grows louder, chanting voices chiming in, more insistent, wilder with every minute. At the entrance to the driveway, young men stand scowling, inhaling on fat joints. A lone policeman, trembling with fear, hangs back, glancing up and down the road.
At the corner of the driveway a farm invasion is in full swing. A hundred-strong mob bays against a flimsy wire fence and drunken men with cold, glazed eyes, surround our car with menace. Inside, a besieged, frightened family is weighing its options.
“Mr Westheim is not coming out,” a bearded man in a Mugabe T-shirt tell us in a mocking voice as others parade around, whipping up the mob. Perhaps we could persuade him to leave, the still shaking policeman tells us. “We don’t want violence,” he says.
Egyptian police arrest over 200 in strike crackdown
CAIRO: What began as a widespread call for a general strike ended as the police cracked down across the nation, dispatching thousands of riot troops, arresting more than 200 demonstrators and fighting with protesters in the north.
While two schools were burned and more than 150 people were reported injured in the northern town of Mahalla al-Kobra on Sunday, it was the eerie emptiness of the normally teeming streets of Cairo that signaled the depth of discontent with President Hosni Mubarak’s government.
Europe
Anti-abortion campaigner sparks violent clashes in Italy
By Peter Popham in Rome
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Italian women’s abortion rights are facing a head-on challenge from one of the nation’s most famous political pundits, a man who calls himself a “devout atheist” and whose countrywide election campaign on a pro-life platform has provoked violent protests.
Giuliano Ferrara, 56, a communist activist turned socialist turned conservative, was a minister in Silvio Berlusconi’s short-lived first government, chairs a nightly political chat show and edits a thin but influential daily paper, Il Foglio.
Eurotunnel turns corner into first profit after years of crisis
PARIS (AFP) – Eurotunnel turned the corner on Tuesday into its first annual, if modest, net profit since opening for rail traffic through the Channel tunnel between France and Britain in 1994.
The company, which came close to drowning under its debt and was restructured and refinanced, said that last year it had made a net profit of one million euros (1.5 million dollars).
Company chairman Jacques Gounon said that this year net profit would be “more than” one million euros and that he intended to pay a first dividend in 2009 in respect of the results in 2008.
Latin America
Healthcare in Venezuela takes turn for worse
Many public hospitals have fallen on hard times in a nation awash in oil wealth. The childbirth death rate and cases of dengue and malaria are up, and doctors are in short supply.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Grimacing from contractions, expectant mother Castuca Marino had more on her mind than birth pangs. She was nervous about whether she and her newborn child would make it out of the hospital alive.
Interviewed as she stood in the emergency room of Concepcion Palacios Maternity Hospital here last week, Marino had heard news reports of six infant deaths there over a 24-hour period late last month. She knew that since the beginning of February, six mothers had died in the hospital during or after childbirth.
“What are poor people going to do?” said Marino, 20, as she was being admitted to this sprawling complex where, on average, 60 babies are born a day. “I’m just hoping that there are no complications and that everything goes well.”
