Tag: Afghanistan

Jul 29 2009

Live from Sen. Durbin’s front porch re Afghan

Note from the essayist:  Cross-posted at Daily Kos.  YELL LOUDER!  and  Stand. The. F. Up!  at your Congress Critters’ offices this August!

The live on-porch blogging was done from approximately 1:30 pm to 4 pm CDT.

As I wrote in a diary last week, Sen. Dick Durbin has an office in Springfield, Illinois, in the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  It’s a beautiful little park full of historic Lincoln-era homes, owned by the Dept. of the Interior, and managed by the National Park Service.  Sen. Durbin has rented office space in the George Shutt House since Sen. Durbin was a member of the House of Representatives.  As is shown on the bottom of his Senate web site home page, the address is 525 S. 8th St, Springfield IL 62703.

I’m blogging away, right now, on the right side of the porch as you face it.

Jul 28 2009

Casualties of War

Last week the Colorado Springs ‘The Gazette’ had another very disturbing report, in two parts, following up previous reports of soldiers of OIF and OEF who committed murders. These, from all I can find out, were just regular teens, no trouble out of the ordinary prior to their military service. But once sent to these occupations, sometimes more then once, they returned like many of our brother ‘Nam Vets, very troubled and not getting the help needed or not seeking because of the nature of military service, added to their situations of multiple tours, longer tours then we served and little down time between, their nightmares caught up to them by abusing drugs and alcohol, by acting out in rage, by loosing control.

Jul 23 2009

Live re: Afghan from Sen. Durbin’s porch

Note from the essayist:  Please forgive me if I’ve deviated too much from protocol, but I’m posting only the lead-in of this essay/diary here.  The complete diary is at dkos.  Buhdy, I’m not yet up to speed with your dazzling blog creation skills, though I’m getting better.  ; – )   Doing a complete cross-post is beyond me today, and I apologize for any inconvenience.  

Bottom line:  this diary at dkos is how I go about Standing. The. F. Up.  and Yelling Louder!!!

Thanks, good people!

Hound Dog

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S-a-a-a-y WHAT?

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Yep, it’s true.  Sen. Dick Durbin has an office in Springfield, Illinois, right in the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  It’s a beautiful, peaceful little park, with historic Lincoln-era homes.  Durbin’s office is in the George W. Shutt House, and Mr. Shutt was a neighbor of the Lincolns. The house is owned by the National Park Service, and Sen. Durbin has rented office space here since he was a member of the House of Representatives.

I’m blogging away, right now, on the far right side of the porch.

And, it’s no secret he has an office here.  Take a look at his Senate home page. At the bottom of the page, you’ll see the address: 525 South 8th St, Springfield IL 62703.

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Why here?

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Well, here’s one reason which is totally enough, all by itself —– because I can.

Jul 23 2009

Families Send Basics To Marines In Afghanistan

For Marines serving in Afghanistan, mail call can be a little bit like Christmas in July. A package from home can supply everything from basic needs to small luxuries.

snip

At a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in North Carolina, customers have been donating goods for Marines deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment out of nearby Camp Lejeune.

Assistant Manager Rosa Hamilton says some of the items catch shoppers off guard. “They were like, ‘Clothes pins, huh? I never would have thought about that.’ And we’re like, ‘Well, they don’t have anywhere to hang their clothes,’ ” she says………..Rest Here

Or bring up the NPR Player with this link amd listen to the report

Jul 23 2009

The Friends We Keep Tell Much About Us

The New Your Times reports:

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – “You know what this is for,” Emilbek Kaptagaev recalled being told by the police officers who snatched him off the street. No other words, just blows to the head, then all went black. Mr. Kaptagaev, an opponent of Kyrgyzstan’s president, who is a vital American ally in the war in nearby Afghanistan, was found later in a field with a concussion, broken ribs and a face swollen into a mosaic of bruises.

The United States has remained largely silent in response to this wave of violence, apparently wary of jeopardizing the status of its sprawling air base, on the outskirts of this capital, which supports the mission in Afghanistan. Indeed, the Obama administration has sought to woo the Kyrgyz president since he said in February that he would close the Manas base.

In June, President Obama sent a letter to Mr. Bakiyev praising his role in Afghanistan and the campaign against terrorism. Mr. Bakiyev allowed the base to stay, after the United States agreed to pay higher rent and other minor changes.

And:

Syrgak Abdyldaev says he barely escaped that fate. In March, Mr. Abdyldaev, 47, a well-known journalist who has scrutinized the president’s political activities, was lured to a meeting by an anonymous caller who promised confidential information, and was attacked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07…

Okay, Okay, you say.

But it’s worth being nice to despotic regimes such as Kyrgyzstan, because we can save the women of Afghanistan from the Taliban, right?

Lesbian and bisexual women and transgender men face violent abuse, including rape, in Kyrgyzstan, both in family settings and from strangers on the street, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. The report calls on the Kyrgyz government to acknowledge the problem and protect the victims, and on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other European institutions to step up their response to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

http://www.hrw.org/europecentr…

That’s OK, right? Obama sure has this one covered:

So why is Afghanistan worth fighting over when Kyrgyzstanis are being tossed away like last months milk ?

Um, well…

Here’s a picture from the north of Afghanistan:

Yea, that’s change alright.

Deja Vue, All Over Again

Jul 22 2009

Total Solar Eclipse 2009



The sun is covered by the moon during a total solar eclipse in the Indian city of Varanasi on July 22. (AFP/Pedro Ugarte)

Jul 21 2009

Recruitment!!

This is going to be short, but should get the notice it needs and the corrections in a system that is broken, in a military breaking, in many ways, because of the failed policies of the previous administration and those beating the drums of war but unwilling to serve!

Joshua Fry Was Recruited Out of Group Home for Mentally Disabled

Jul 20 2009

Children tortured before parents, raped, all covered up by Bush/Cheney and our media

Simulposted at Daily Kos

    Perhaps the worst incident at Abu Ghraib involved a girl aged 12 or 13 who screamed for help to her brother in an upper cell while stripped naked and beaten. Iraqi journalist Suhaib Badr-Addin al-Baz, who heard the girl’s screams, also witnessed an ill 15-year-old who was forced to run up and down with two heavy cans of water and beaten whenever he stopped. When he finally collapsed, guards stripped and poured cold water on him. Finally, a hooded man was brought in. When unhooded, the boy realized that the man was his father, who doubtless was being intimidated into confessing something upon sight of his brutalized son.

uswarcrimes.com

   

    Empathy is what keeps men from becoming MONSTERS.

Jul 19 2009

“Camp Hell” Afghanistan

“Camp Hell”!! Pay attention ‘kombat keyboard chickenhawk rambo’ cheerleaders, as well as the greater majority of this population that have forgotten our Two Occupations and the Veterans of, this is what Service in and War, Wars of Choice, Occupations, Look and Sound like!!

Despite 100 Attacks, Unit Leaves Afghan War With No Casualties

‘Camp Hell’ Attacked More Than Any Other Outpost in Afghanistan

Jul 16 2009

Meanwhile in Afghanistan…

 

A large U.S. military offensive is underway. Here is one example of what our troops face. The Guardian has what the newspaper is calling the First ever image of IED roadside explosion in Afghanistan.

The photo by Manpreet Romana shows a U.S. Marine running for safety moments after an IED blast. The roadside bomb explosion was photographed in the Garmsir district of Helmand province.

“The huge cloud of smoke and dirt in the picture, taken yesterday in the southern Helmand province, obscures the bodies of two other U.S. marines killed by the improvised explosive device (IED).”

Jul 15 2009

Lethal Warriors

Not a good report, but with the stress levels of multiple tours and possibly in two theaters, longer tours for much of the time our soldiers have been in both theaters, stress of conflict, family, experiences and much more, this does not surprise! Nor will it when it doesn’t get the coverage it should among our talking heads and politicians, let alone a country that has pretty much forgotten both occupations.

Jul 15 2009

If you can’t Find the “Terrorists” — you can always Buy them!

How Guantanamo’s prisoners were sold

The president of Pakistan’s [Pervez Musharraf] attempts to publicise his memoirs throw light on the flawed and dishonest processes that the US uses in bringing “terrorists” to justice

by Clive Stafford Smith – NewStatesman – 09 October 2006

The payments help us see why so many innocent prisoners ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Musharraf writes that “millions” were paid for 369 prisoners – the minimum rate was apparently $5,000, enough to tempt a poor Pakistani to shop an unwanted Arab to the Americans, gift-wrapped with a story that he was up to no good in Afghanistan.

(emphasis added)

http://www.newstatesman.com/20…

I guess this is the True Meaning of Capitalism — if you can’t find the “bad guys” —  Buy Them!

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