Wednesday, August 30, 2006

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/29-8/31/06

Spc. Matthew E. Schneider, 23, of Gorham, N.H., died on Aug. 28, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, from a non-combat related cause. Schneider was assigned to the 141st Signal Battalion, 1st Armored Division, Wiesbaden, Germany.
The incident is under investigation.

Two soldiers died of wounds suffered when a makeshift bomb struck their vehicle in western Baghdad and one soldier died when his vehicle was struck by a makeshift bomb south of Baghdad. In addition, four soldiers died when a makeshift bomb struck their vehicle north of Baghdad. Another soldier was killed by small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad. The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Cpl. David G. Weimortz, 28, of Irmo, S.C. died Aug. 26 from injuries suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Spc. Edgardo Zayas, 29, of Dorchester, Mass., died on Aug. 26, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during combat operations. Zayas was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.


Staff Sgt. Jeffrey J. Hansen, 31, of Cairo, Neb., died on Aug. 27, in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered on Aug. 21 from a vehicle accident in Balad, Iraq. Hansen was assigned to the Army National Guard 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment, Lincoln, Neb.

Spc. Kenneth M. Cross, 21, of Superior, Wis. & Pfc. Daniel G. Dolan, 19, of Roy, Utah were killed during combat operations Aug 27, in Baghdad, Iraq, when their M1126 Stryker Vehicle came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. Darry Benson, 46, of Winterville, N.C., died on Aug 27, in Camp Virginia, Kuwait, from a non-combat related cause. Benson was assigned the Army National Guard's 730th Quartermaster Battalion, Ahoskie, N.C. The incident is under investigation.

Lance Cpl. Donald E. Champlin, 28, of Natchitoches, La., died Aug. 28 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on Aug. 27. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Pfc. Colin J. Wolfe, 18, of Manassas , Va. , died Aug. 30 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq . He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune , N.C.

Sgt. Moises Jazmin, 25, of Providence, R.I., Spc. Qixing Lee, 20, of Minneapolis, Minn., Spc. Shaun A. Novak, 21, of Two Rivers, Wis., and Spc. Tristan C. Smith, 23, of Bryn Athyn, Pa. were killed in Taji, Iraq, on Aug 27, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their M2A3 Bradley Vehicle during combat operations. All soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Cpl. Christopher T. Warndorf, 21, of Burlington, Ky., died Aug. 29 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.


Marine Killed in Anbar Province; DoD Identifies Previous Casualties

American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2006 – A Marine serving with an Army unit in Iraq died yesterday from wounds suffered due to enemy action in Iraq's Anbar province, and Defense Department officials have identified previous casualties.
The name of the Marine, who was serving with 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

DoD officials have identified the following previous casualties:

-- Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey J. Hansen, 31, of Cairo, Neb., died Aug. 27 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries suffered Aug. 21 from a vehicle accident in Balad, Iraq. Hansen was assigned to the Army National Guard 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment, Lincoln, Neb.

-- Army Spc. Seth A. Hildreth, 26, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., died Aug. 27 in Baghdad of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. Hildreth was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

-- Marine Lance Cpl. Donald E. Champlin, 28, of Natchitoches, La., died Aug. 28 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Anbar province Aug. 27. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

-- Army Sgt. David J. Almazan, 27, of Van Nuys, Calif., died Aug. 27 in Hit, Iraq, of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee during combat operations. Almazan was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany.

-- Army Sgt. Darry Benson, 46, of Winterville, N.C., died Aug. 27 at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, from a non-combat related cause. Benson was assigned the Army National Guard's 730th Quartermaster Battalion, Ahoskie, N.C.

-- Army Spc. Joshua D. Jones, 24, of Pomeroy, Ohio, died Aug. 27 in Baghdad of injuries suffered when his Humvee came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire during combat operations. Jones was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

-- Army Spc. Kenneth M. Cross, 21, of Superior, Wis., and Army Pfc. Daniel G. Dolan, 19, of Roy, Utah, died during combat operations Aug. 27 in Baghdad when their M1126 Stryker vehicle came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

-- Army Spc. Matthew E. Schneider, 23, of Gorham, N.H., died Aug. 28 in Ramadi, Iraq, from a non-combat related cause. Schneider was assigned to the 141st Signal Battalion, 1st Armored Division, Wiesbaden, Germany.

Spc. Joshua D. Jones, 24, of Pomeroy, Ohio, died Aug 27, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when his HMMWV came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. Jones was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Monday, August 28, 2006

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/25/06

Staff Sgt. Gordon G. Solomon, 35, of Fairborn, Ohio, died Aug. 24 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Sgt. Marquees A. Quick, 28, of Hoover Ala., died on Aug 19, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered while conducting security and observation operations, when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using multiple grenades. Quick was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany.

Sgt. Jeremy E. King, 23, of Meridian, Idaho, died on Aug. 24, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained by enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. King was assigned to the 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Staff Sgt. Dwayne E. Williams, 28, of Baltimore, Md., died Aug. 24 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Cpl. Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, Conn., died Aug. 25 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Plainville, Conn.

Pfc. William E. Thorne, 26, of Hospers, Iowa, died on Aug 24, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Thorne was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Friday, August 25, 2006

update on the wolf slaughter in Alaska

from Defenders of Wildlife

Something remarkable happened earlier this week: Alaska’s anti-wolf governor lost his primary. And he lost big.In a three-candidate race for the Republican nomination, current Governor Frank Murkowski came in third well behind the winner, former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin. Palin will now face former Governor Tony Knowles in the November election to determine Alaska’s next governor.What, you may ask, does this have to do with wolves? A lot. Governor Murkowski has presided over one of the worst massacres of wolves since the 1950s. As governor, he appointed a Board of Game that has bent over backwards to maintain the state’s barbaric aerial gunning program.Since the program was reinstated a few years ago, hundreds of wolves have been killed chased and shot by marksmen using low-flying aircraft. From November 2005 to May 2006 alone, more than 150 wolves were killed.Worse, Murkowski’s hand-picked Board of Game has worked to expand the program by allowing aerial gunning of brown bears and the use of snow machines to chase, harass and kill wolves.Defenders of Wildlife and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund -- along with local groups like Alaskans for Wildlife -- have worked hard to oppose Murkowski’s anti-wolf agenda, along with the folks he charged with implementing it.Earlier today, we filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging Alaska’s aerial wolf killing program. The lawsuit calls for science-based conservation and rejects back room decision-making on wolf management.And that’s not all. Our support for Alaskans for Wildlife is bearing fruit. Local activists are incredibly close to collecting the signatures they need to put the issue of same day aerial gunning -- also known as "land and shoot" -- back on the ballot, where Alaska voters have twice before voted to ban this reprehensible practice. Murkowski’s defeat is no guarantee that the State of Alaska will adopt a more sensible approach to wolf management, but it is a hopeful sign… and that’s something that wildlife lovers of all political stripes can appreciate.

go to www.savewolves.org for more info.

stop Japan & help bring an end to whaling

from IFAW

Having failed to win any key resolutions they put before the 58th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in June, Japan and other pro-whaling nations were able to sneak through the “St. Kitts and Nevis Declaration” at the close of the meeting, a general non-binding agreement calling for the resumption of whaling.
Thankfully, the whaling ban cannot be overturned without a three-fourths majority. But this summer’s vote is the first time the pro-whaling side has won a majority on a key issue since the IWC adopted the ban twenty years ago—a grave signal for the future of the world’s whales.
Let’s make sure this is the last time whales lose a vote
At this summer’s IWC, Japan failed to end protection for dolphins and porpoises, lost an attempt to hunt Minke and Bryde whales in its territorial waters and couldn’t dismantle the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Yet no real progress was made to stop the cruel annual slaughter by Japan of thousands of whales each year in the name of “science.”The next “scientific” whaling season in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will take another 1000 whales, with 50 endangered humpback whales added to the scientific menu the following year. Which is why, now more than ever, we need strong diplomatic pressure on Japan.
Cruelty of whaling unveiled
A report containing scientific analysis of Japanese whale hunt video footage was also released at the IWC.
Co-authored by IFAW and the Australian government, the report provides clear scientific evidence that contradicts the message touted by Japan for years—that their whaling is done humanely.
You don’t need to be a scientist to figure out that firing harpoons into whales and then slowly suffocating them is unacceptable
. But according to the report, more than 80% of whales are not killed instantly once harpooned and may struggle from 10 to 35 minutes before dying. It’s got to stop.
The final alarm has been sounded
Thanks to your help and support we’ve been able to generate more press and public attention on whaling this summer than we’ve seen in decades. Around the world we made progress in all regions. Belize reversed its position and Guatemala decided not to send representation. Our work in China meant that China only voted with Japan on some of the votes: as in 2005, this is a huge success. And in the whaling country of Iceland, IFAW’s state-of-the-art education and research vessel Song of the Whale was able to secure a permit to conduct non-invasive whale research.
But even though this year’s IWC ended a few months ago, whaling has not. Japan’s efforts to compromise the IWC by buying off votes has nearly succeeded. We can not allow Japan to use its wealth to pressure poorer countries into supporting its campaign to hunt whales. In the Caribbean where this year’s IWC was held, whale watching is now a US$10-million industry. Yet many Caribbean leaders continue to support Japan’s whaling program. Strong U.S. opposition is our best weapon against the continuing slaughter. A national commitment is needed to use America’s international clout to oppose Japanese whaling with consequences that Japan can no longer afford to ignore.
Please urge President Bush to oppose Japan’s bid for permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council until the country shows respect for international laws that protect whales.
Whales today already face real and growing threats from global warming, ocean noise, entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. Please act now before Japan sets an irreversible course to destroy our planet’s largest and most magnificent animals.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/23-8/24/06

Chief Petty Officer Paul J. Darga, 34, of Lansing, Mich., died Aug. 22 when his Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team was struck by an improvised explosive device while responding to a previous strike. His unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar province, Iraq. Darga was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, serving with the 1st Marine Logistics Group.

Spc. Thomas J. Barbieri, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md., died on Aug. 23 south of Baghdad, Iraq when his patrol encountered enemy forces small arms fire during combat operations. Barbieri was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Lance Cpl. James D. Hirlston, 21, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died Aug. 23 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

some quotes for today

The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it. -- George Orwell, Polemic, May 1946, "Second Thoughts on James Burnham"

The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war. -- E. B. White

Thursday, August 24, 2006


So many of the people in the arena here were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them", the former First Lady told stunned reporters. "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality", she admitted, adding insult to injury.

some quotes for today...

I don't necessarily agree with everything I say. -- Marshall McLuhan

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated. -- Poul Anderson

Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults. -- Thomas Szasz

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -- Dr. Seuss

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/23/06

Soldier Killed in Iraq; DoD Identifies Previous Casualties
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – A Multinational Division Baghdad soldier died at about 8 a.m. today when an improvised explosive device struck the vehicle he was riding in south of Baghdad, U.S. military officials reported. The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of 12 service members who were killed recently

. -- Army Pfc. James J. Arellano, 19, of Cheyenne, Wyo., died Aug. 17 in Baghdad of injuries suffered when his patrol encountered enemy forces using IEDs and small-arms fire. Arellano was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
-- Army Pvt. Joseph R. Blake, 34, of Portland, Ore., died Aug. 17 in Turkalay, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his platoon encountered small-arms fire. Blake was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
-- Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey S. Loa, 32, of Waianae, Hawaii, died Aug. 16 in Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an IED detonated near his dismounted patrol. Loa was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
-- Navy Hospitalman Chadwick T. Kenyon, 20, of Tucson, Ariz., died Aug. 20 of injuries suffered when his vehicle was struck by an IED while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Iraq's Anbar province. Kenyon was assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
-- Marine Cpl. Adam A. Galvez, 21, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Marine Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman, 21, of Bend, Ore., died Aug. 20 while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province. They were assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
-- Army Sgt. Gabriel G. DeRoo, 25, of Paw Paw, Mich., died Aug. 20 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered when he encountered enemy forces using small-arms fire. DeRoo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
-- Army Sgt. Wakkuna A. Jackson, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Army Spc. Robert E. Drawl Jr., 21, of Alexandria, Va.; and Army Spc. Christopher F. Sitton, 21, of Montrose, Colo., died in Kunar, Afghanistan, Aug. 19 when an IED detonated near their convoy vehicle. Jackson was assigned to the 710th Combat Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; Drawl was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; and Sitton was assigned to the 710th Combat Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
-- Air Force Master Sgt. Brad A. Clemmons, 37, of Chillicothe, Ohio, died Aug. 21 when an IED struck his vehicle. The vehicle was part of a transportation convoy en route to Taji, Iraq. Clemmons was assigned to the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
-- Army Sgt 1st Class Ruben J. Villa Jr., of El Paso, Texas, died Aug. 18 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from a non-combat related cause. Villa was assigned to the Army's Area Support Group, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

and here from the D.O.D. release:
Sgt 1st Class Ruben J. Villa Jr., of El Paso, Texas, died on Aug 18, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from a non-combat related cause. Villa was assigned to the Army's Area Support Group (CFLCC) , Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The incident is under investigation.

Chief Petty Officer Paul J. Darga, 34, of Lansing, Mich., died Aug. 22 when his Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team was struck by an improvised explosive device while responding to a previous strike. His unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar province, Iraq. Darga was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, serving with the 1st Marine Logistics Group.

excerpt from The Tender Bar

for those of you who get off on free stuff - especially free good lit., go here for an excerpt from "The Tender Bar" http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=tenderbar

and here for an excerpt from the much hyped "the Memory Keeper's Daughter"
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=memorykeepersdaughter

Jeanette Walls' "the Glass Castle"
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=glasscastle

Elie Wiesel's "Night"
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=night

some good news for once...

from NARAL's newsletter:

We did it! At 9:20 a.m. today, the FDA approved over-the-counter access to the "morning-after" pill!
Thanks to the letters, petitions, and support from people like you, the FDA finally overcame the political pressure from the White House, Congress, and anti-choice lobbyists, and approved the morning-after pill for over-the-counter sales.
Medical experts and scientists at the FDA have asserted for years that the morning-after pill - which can prevent an unintended pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sex - should be available without a prescription. It's safe, it's effective, and it's a commonsense way for women to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Thank you again for helping achieve this victory for women - your action does make a difference.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

one year ago...United States of Shame

for those of you who may have forgotten, the "anniversary" of Hurricane Katrina is coming up & I thought I'd post some things to remind everyone of what happened, what didn't happen and what still hasn't happened (where's the money FEMA? Red Cross? Bush?)....if you can, check out Spike Lee's new one "When the Levees Broke" - 4 hours of brutal reminders of the devastation of lives that came about through government neglect and "the worst natural disaster in the country's history." In the meantime, here's a column M. Dowd wrote for the NY Times last year:

United States of Shame
By MAUREEN DOWD New York Times, 9/3/05
Stuff happens.And when you combine limited government with incompetent government, lethal stuff happens.America is once more plunged into a snake pit of anarchy, death, looting, raping, marauding thugs, suffering innocents, a shattered infrastructure, a gutted police force, insufficient troop levels and criminally negligent government planning. But this time it's happening in America.W. drove his budget-cutting Chevy to the levee, and it wasn't dry. Bye, bye, American lives. "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," he told Diane Sawyer.Shirt-sleeves rolled up, W. finally landed in Hell yesterday and chuckled about his wild boozing days in "the great city" of N'Awlins. He was clearly moved. "You know, I'm going to fly out of here in a minute," he said on the runway at the New Orleans International Airport, "but I want you to know that I'm not going to forget what I've seen." Out of the cameras' range, and avoided by W., was a convoy of thousands of sick and dying people, some sprawled on the floor or dumped on baggage carousels at a makeshift M*A*S*H unit inside the terminal.Why does this self-styled "can do" president always lapse into such lame "who could have known?" excuses.Who on earth could have known that Osama bin Laden wanted to attack us by flying planes into buildings? Any official who bothered to read the trellis of pre-9/11 intelligence briefs.Who on earth could have known that an American invasion of Iraq would spawn a brutal insurgency, terrorist recruiting boom and possible civil war? Any official who bothered to read the C.I.A.'s prewar reports.Who on earth could have known that New Orleans's sinking levees were at risk from a strong hurricane? Anybody who bothered to read the endless warnings over the years about the Big Easy's uneasy fishbowl.In June 2004, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, fretted to The Times-Picayune in New Orleans: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."Not only was the money depleted by the Bush folly in Iraq; 30 percent of the National Guard and about half its equipment are in Iraq.Ron Fournier of The Associated Press reported that the Army Corps of Engineers asked for $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans last year. The White House carved it to about $40 million. But President Bush and Congress agreed to a $286.4 billion pork-filled highway bill with 6,000 pet projects, including a $231 million bridge for a small, uninhabited Alaskan island.Just last year, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials practiced how they would respond to a fake hurricane that caused floods and stranded New Orleans residents. Imagine the feeble FEMA's response to Katrina if they had not prepared.Michael Brown, the blithering idiot in charge of FEMA - a job he trained for by running something called the International Arabian Horse Association - admitted he didn't know until Thursday that there were 15,000 desperate, dehydrated, hungry, angry, dying victims of Katrina in the New Orleans Convention Center.Was he sacked instantly? No, our tone-deaf president hailed him in Mobile, Ala., yesterday: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."It would be one thing if President Bush and his inner circle - Dick Cheney was vacationing in Wyoming; Condi Rice was shoe shopping at Ferragamo's on Fifth Avenue and attended "Spamalot" before bloggers chased her back to Washington; and Andy Card was off in Maine - lacked empathy but could get the job done. But it is a chilling lack of empathy combined with a stunning lack of efficiency that could make this administration implode.When the president and vice president rashly shook off our allies and our respect for international law to pursue a war built on lies, when they sanctioned torture, they shook the faith of the world in American ideals.When they were deaf for so long to the horrific misery and cries for help of the victims in New Orleans - most of them poor and black, like those stuck at the back of the evacuation line yesterday while 700 guests and employees of the Hyatt Hotel were bused out first - they shook the faith of all Americans in American ideals. And made us ashamed.Who are we if we can't take care of our own?

upcoming at Bowery Poetry Club

Saturday 8/26
1:00pm – 7:00pm Bowery Arts & Science presents Poetry Now! The East Village Scene. Expect discussions/performances by Ed Sanders, John Giorno, Sapphire, Celena Glenn and many more! Lots of audience participation! $10/7 A Seminar including panel discussions, live interviews, and performances to illuminate the roots, traditions, and culture of the historical and present Downtown Poetics. 1:00 – 1:45pm Open Mic Today! : The changing dynamics of the Lower East Side… How to keep a scene from becoming insular/insulated… Poetry vs. performance and music… Hip-hop Impact… The future: Where are the teens and 20s? With The O'Debra Twins, Faceboy, Reverend Jen, Aric Shunneson 2:00 – 2:45pm Old School and Beyond: The changing dynamics of the Lower East Side… Visual Art/Film/Theater/Poetry… Andy Warhol as Poet… Poet as Artist With Ed Sanders, John Giorno, Taylor Mead, Bob Holman 3:00- 3:45pm The Roots of Spoken Word: Nuyorican and Umbra Poets: In the Beginning was the Spoken Word… The Beats and Pre-Beats… Is there continuity in the Oral Tradition? With Miguel Algarín, Steve Cannon, David Henderson, Bob Holman 4:00- 4:45pm Poetry Now: "A Spoken Word Take" With Celena Glenn, Sapphire, Deanna Zandt, Edwin Torres 5:00pm Battle of the Bartenders: A Slam 6:00pm Audience SpeakOut

7:00pm – 10:00pm AMAZING DISGRACE: Katrina Benefit Reading. Suggested donation $15 Putting poetry into action with a Mega-Marathon Benefit Reading produced by Nicholas Bredie. W/ Ed Sanders, John Giorno, Sapphire and Prof Arturo, the Poet Laureate of the Streets of New Orleans and many many more.
Sunday8/27
2:00pm – 3:30pm LIT/Redivider Collaboration w/ readings by: Laura Cronk, Katie Degentesh, Timothy Liu, Sampson Starkweather, and Pauls Toutonghi FREE Cronk received an MFA in poetry from The New School. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Conduit, LIT, McSweeney’s, No Tell Motel and other journals. Her poems have been anthologized in The Bedside Guide to No Tell Motel and Best American Poetry 2006. Degentesh poems and writings have appeared in Shiny, Fence, The Brooklyn Rail, and numerous other venues. Her first book, The Anger Scale, is forthcoming from Combo Books. Liu is the author of six books of poems, most recently For Dust Thou Art (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). Starkweather lives in Chappaqua, New York, where he is an editor of science textbooks. He is working on a screenplay about the inner life of Alec Baldwin, involving two red blood cells whose unbridled desire leads to a short life of trouble, trouble, trouble. Toutonghi was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his MFA in poetry and his Ph.D. in English literature from Cornell University. His fiction has appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, One Story Magazine, The Boston Review, Glimmer Train, Book Magazine, and many others. Pauls received a Pushcart Prize for his short story, “Regeneration,” which appeared in The Boston Review in 2000, when he was twenty-three. Random House published his first novel, Red Weather, in May 2006. LIT, a journal based at New School University in New York City, released its first issue in 1999. Redivider is a journal of new literature and art based at Emerson College in Boston.
6:00pm - 7:30pm The Brooklyn Rail Presents: Rant Rhapsody: New Nonfiction Reading series w/ Mark Read $5 Brooklyn Rail magazine emphasizing local arts, politics and events. A brand new series w/ some of the best best new new writing writing. The Bowery is proud to represent Brooklyn Cross the Hudson.www.thebrooklynrail.org

Wednesday 8/30
7:00pm - 8:30pm Marc Arena presents: Haitian poetry Arena is the grandson of great Haitian poet Paul Laraque, and here carries forward the traditions of art and culture, creole and politics.
9:00pm – 11:45pm Erica Miriam Fabri book party for "High Heel Magazine" on The Belle Letter Press $5 Book-Release Party for "High Heel Magazine" by Erica Miriam Fabri. An ALL-GIRL FESTIVAL FEATURING Poetry by: Erica Miriam Fabri, Elaine Equi, Rachel McKibbens, Sofiya Cabalquinto, and Tahani Salah. Music by: "Bunny Rabbit" and "Bombshell". Hosted by: Michael Cirelli.

upcoming NYC event sponsored by NOW-NYC

Women’s Equality Day’
“Feminists Moving Forward -- Our Past is Our Future”

A Day Celebrating Women Who Changed the World!
Betty Friedan - Bella Abzug - Coretta Scott King

Saturday August 26th
*12pm-2pm NOW-NYC Workshop with Noreen Connell Living Your Politics: The Legacy of Betty Friedan

*More Worshops!
Human Trafficking: In Our Neighborhoods by Jane Manning, Chair of NOW-NYC

Overview of Reproductive Rights Policy Todayby Merle Hoffman, founder of Choices Women’s Medical Center.
Activism on the Frontline of the Battle for Reproductive Rights
by Marylou GreenbergIssues of Young Female Leaders in Their Own Words, by Anna MacCormack of Law Women of NYU.
2-4PM Awards and Musical Performances, Book Fair & Photo Exhibit of the Women's Movement!
Also..Barbara Ehrenreich acclaimed author of Nickel and Dimed and Kate Millet Dixie Chicks to be honored

Music by Margie Adam, Sandy Rapp, Helen Hooke, and the New Haven Women’s Liberation Rock BandSaturday, August 26th
NYU Law’s Tishman Auditorium
Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South
Subways: one block east of the West Fourth Street subway station (A, C, D, E, F, and V lines)

a little Neil Gaiman interlude

this one's been around for a while but I just stumbled across it again & thought it made an entertaining break from the usual august grind...

Crowley and Aziraphale's New Year's resolutions
Neil Gaiman and
Terry Pratchett present New Year's resolutions of the demon Crowley and the angelic Aziraphale — characters in their collaborative novel, Good Omens.
Crowley:
Resolution #1: I must accept that Super-Gluing valuable coins to the sidewalk and then watching events from a nearby café is not proper demonic activity.
Resolution #2: The same applies to rearranging the letters on wayside pulpits.
Resolution #3: Try to come up with something as good as cell phone ringtones, following one last stab at convincing Downstairs that cell phone ringtones are right up there in the whole Human Misery stakes. And iPods. Has anybody Down There even said thank you for iPods? Or "Googling yourself?" Frankly, I deserve some kind of award for "Googling yourself."
Resolution #4: I must encourage greedy people to use the term, "Low-hanging fruit," because that's just like old times.
Resolution #5: This year, I will get a desk near the window.
Resolution #6: I will try to understand why Hell is a no-smoking area. I just think it's ridiculous having to stand around outside the gates, that's all.
Resolution #7: On the orders of Head Office I will encourage the belief in Intelligent Design, because it upsets everyone.
Resolution #8: Stop Googling myself.
Aziraphale:
Resolution #1: Spread peace and love and glad tidings of great joy throughout the world. Also try to get out more.
Resolution #2: I will be charitable to people who use the term "core values," however difficult this may be.
Resolution #3: Notwithstanding Resolution #2 (above), I will redouble my efforts to have the utterance of the phrase "core values" classified as a deadly sin. I believe Himself is with me on this one.
Resolution #4: I will try to be nicer to the customers. They want to buy books; I want to sell them. It can't be that hard. (Memo to self: Regular opening hours? Mark prices on books?)
Resolution #5: I will try to be polite to Gabriel, no matter what the provocation.
Resolution #6: Find out exactly what an "Internet" is.
Resolution #7: Really must resume dancing lessons. Learn the "Galloping Major," the "Gay Gordons," the "Mashed Potatoes." Possibly even the "Twist"?
Resolution #8: Thwart Infernal Wiles (ongoing).
Resolution #9: I will try to understand why Heaven is a non-smoking area.
Resolution #10: On the orders of Head Office I will encourage the belief in Intelligent Design – despite the fact that the human airway crosses the digestive tract. Who thought that was intelligent?

Resolution #11: Feed the ducks.

some quotes for today

Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a
rainy Sunday afternoon. -- Susan Ertz, Anger in the Sky

As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man
a good man upon easier terms than I was formerly. -- Samuel Johnson

today's word for the day...

expiate \EK-spee-ayt\, transitive verb:To make amends for; to atone for.
Then his devout and long-suffering widow, a princess born, built a beautiful church on the estate to expiate his sins.-- Serge Schmemann,
Echoes of a Native Land

Expiate comes from Latin expiare, from ex-, here used intensively, + piare, to seek to appease by an offering, to make good, to atone for, from pius, dutiful.

additional US Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/22/06

The following soldiers were killed in Kunar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 19 when an improvised explosive device detonated near their convoy vehicle.
Sgt. Wakkuna A. Jackson, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla. Jackson was assigned to the 710th Combat Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Spc. Robert E. Drawl Jr., 21, of Alexandria, Va. Drawl was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Spc. Christopher F. Sitton, 21, of Montrose, Colo. Sitton was assigned to the 710th Combat Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.


Sgt. Gabriel G. DeRoo, 25, of Paw Paw, Mich., died on Aug. 20 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. DeRoo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Marines Who Served Will Be Ordered Back

The involuntary return to active duty will affect up to 2,500 reservists at a time. The Pentagon is scrambling to meet the demands of war.
By Julian E. Barnes, LA Times Staff Writer

August 23, 2006
WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling Marines back to active-duty service on an involuntary basis to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan — the latest sign that the American force is under strain and a signal that the military is having trouble persuading young veterans to return.Marine commanders will call up formerly active-duty service members now classified as reservists because the Corps failed to find enough volunteers among its emergency reserve pool to fill jobs in combat zones. The call-ups will begin in several months, summoning as many as 2,500 reservists at a time to serve for a year or more.
The Pentagon has had to scramble to meet the manpower requirements of the Iraq war, which have not abated in the face of a continuing insurgency and growing civil strife. Earlier this year, the military called forward its reserve force in Kuwait, sending one battalion to Baghdad and two to Ramadi. Last month, the yearlong deployment of the Army's Alaska-based 172nd Stryker Brigade was extended by four months to provide extra soldiers to roll back escalating sectarian violence in Baghdad.For much of the conflict, the Army also has had to use "stop-loss orders" — which keep soldiers in their units even after their active-duty commitments are complete — as well as involuntary call-ups of its reservists. Both actions have been criticized as a "back-door draft" and are unpopular with service members, many of whom say they have already done their part."You can send Marines back for a third or fourth time, but you have to understand you are destroying their lives," said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "It is not what they intended the all-volunteer military to look like."Marines typically enlist for eight years. Most serve four years on active duty and then enter the reserves, either attached to units that have monthly drills or as a part of the "individual ready reserve."The ready reserve was designed to be a pool of manpower that the Pentagon could draw on in a time of national emergency. But the Iraq war has forced the Army, and now the Marines, to rely on the ready reserve to fill holes in the combat force.Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said the Marines' ready reserve call-up was an example of the wear and tear the Iraq war had inflicted on the armed services, a stress that could hurt the military in the months and years to come."The right way to address the issue is to increase the size of the military so you do not have to rely on the call-up of the individual ready reserve," Reed said. "We should have raised the strength of the Army and Marine Corps three years ago…. It does underscore the strain that is being placed on the land forces — the Army and the Marines."Frederick W. Kagan, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who has written about what he calls a military manpower crisis, argued that the involuntary call-ups were the latest sign that a larger ground force was needed. The increasing length of combat tours, the extensive use of National Guard combat units and the stop-loss orders all show the military is scrambling to meet the demands placed on it, he said."It is one of an avalanche of symptoms that the ground forces are overstretched by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan," Kagan said. "This administration needs to understand this is not a short-term problem, and it really needs a systemic fix in the size of the ground forces."The announcement by U.S. commanders that they are seeking new sources to meet manpower needs came as British officers told reporters in London that the 7,000-member British force could be cut in half by next year. For months, U.S. commanders also have said they want to shrink the size of their force in Iraq, a move that would reduce the strain on the military and ease the need for involuntary call-ups. But most American — as well as British — promises to cut troop sizes have been derailed by the continuing violence in Iraq.Although the Marines for the most part have avoided forcing reservists to serve in Iraq against their will, volunteers have been harder to come by as the war has dragged on."We have been tracking our volunteer numbers for the last two years. If you tracked it on a timeline or a chart, you would see it going down," said Col. Guy A. Stratton, head of the Marine Corps' manpower mobilization plans section, who briefed reporters Tuesday on the reserve plans.There are 138,000 U.S. troops now serving in Iraq. There are about 24,100 active-duty Marines in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, although the bulk of that force is in Iraq's Al Anbar province.Most Marine Corps tours in Iraq are about seven months long, whereas the Army has yearlong stints. But Marines return to combat more frequently, with as little as five or six months in the United States between rotations. The grueling schedule means some Marines already have served three tours in Iraq.The Marines' last involuntary call-up of individual ready reserve members occurred before the initial invasion of Iraq. Although 2,658 involuntary orders were issued at the time, far fewer of those Marines ended up serving in Iraq.Those subject to the new call-up will be drawn from a pool of 59,000 members of the individual ready reserve. The Corps will exempt Marines who are in the first and last year of their four-year reserve obligation, meaning the first call-ups will come from a pool of about 34,000 Marines.Although it is possible that someone who had served in Iraq just a year before could be selected to return, Stratton said that when deciding whom to mobilize, the Corps would choose the reservists with fewer combat tours or those who had served overseas less recently.The Marines estimate they are about 1,200 people short of the needed manpower in Iraq and Afghanistan. With training taking six months and deployments an average of six months more, the Marines need the authority to call up 2,500 people at a time.Marines called from the reserves could serve a maximum of two years, although most tours are expected to last between a year and 18 months. Stratton said the authority to involuntarily call up the ready reserve would last for the duration of "a long war," the term used by U.S. military commanders to describe the war against Islamic extremism."What it allows us to do is tap into that part of the IRR we've not used," Stratton said, "to be able to provide that additional augmentation to our units we have out there for this rotation, the next rotation, for however long the global war on terrorism will go on."Stratton said the manpower needs were the greatest in the fields of communications, engineering, intelligence and military policing. But he also said infantry, truck drivers, aviation mechanics and other specialists would be called up. Reed said it was particularly disturbing that the Marines needed the ready reservists to fill holes in infantry units.Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Army has mobilized 5,000 soldiers from its ready reserves. The bulk of those have been part of involuntary call-ups that began in mid-2004. The Army now has about 2,200 members of the ready reserve serving on active duty; about 1,850 of those were called involuntarily.On Tuesday, the Army said it was not able to provide the number of soldiers serving under the stop-loss order. But during the second half of last year, there were an average of 13,178 soldiers in Iraq whose tours had been extended by the stop-loss order. The Marine Corps does not have a stop-loss order in place.When its involuntary call-ups began in 2004, the Army encountered problems when some mobilized ready reserve members failed to appear and others were disqualified from service for medical reasons. Stratton said Marine reservists would be given five months' notice that they were being activated. He said there would be a generous system that would allow Marines called up from the ready reserve to defer service or, in some cases, be exempted.But Rieckhoff said that yanking Marines out of their civilian lives would be disruptive to them and their families."The bottom line is: Everyone is exhausted," Rieckhoff said. "It may be legal, but it is kind of like the difference between a contract and a promise. Overall we are eroding the promise made to our military."

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

upcoming readings in NYC

until I can figure out how to add a sidebar calendar for this sort of stuff, here's a long post with a bunch of upcoming readings. I don't include anything outside Manhattan (note: Brooklyn, while a very nice place in and of itself, is not Manhattan) & I pick only the readings that interest me...

@ the Half King 23rd & 10th Ave.
9/12 Jason Starr & Maggie Estep
9/18 Lee Montgomery (go see her - she's great!!)

9/13 Edward P. Jones @ SYMPHONY SPACE
Thalia Theater 2537 Broadway (@ 95th St.)

The following are all at Barnes & Noble - for those of you who need explanations for this sort of thing, locations are listed next to the reading like this "Astor" = Astor Place (8th Street & Broadway), 6 & 22 = 6th Avenue and 22nd Street, U.Sq. = 17th Street/Union Square & Lincoln = Lincoln Center 82 & Bway = 82nd Street & Bway 86 & 2nd = 86th Street & 2nd Avenue - All B&N readings are at 7pm but get there early!

9/12 Andrew Vachss - Astor
9/14 Edward P. Jones - 6 & 22
9/18 David Lehman & Billy Collins - U.Sq.
9/26 Uzodinma Iweala (Beast of No Nation) 6 & 22
9/26 Amy Tan - U.Sq.
9/28 Cindy Sheehan ("Peace Mom") U. Sq.
10/4 Francine Prose - 82 & Bway
10/10 Annie Leibovitz U.Sq.
10/11 John Berendt - City of Falling Angels 86 & 2nd
10/19 Barack O'Bama - U.Sq. THIS READING IS AT NOON
10/23 Joyce Carol Oates - Lincoln Ctr
10/24 Ralph Steadman - 6 & 22 (think Hunter S. Thompson...duh)
11/1 Margaret Atwood - U. Sq.
11/3 Frank McCourt - U. Sq.
11/15 Rick Moody, Mark Doty, Mary Karr - 6 & 22


U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/22/06

from D.O.D. releases dated 8/22/06

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey S. Loa, 32, of Waianae, Hawaii, died on Aug. 16 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol. Loa was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

Cpl. Adam A. Galvez, 21, of Salt Lake City, Utah& Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman, 21, of Bend, Ore. Both Marines died Aug. 20 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. They were assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Master Sgt. Brad A. Clemmons, 37, of Chillicothe, Ohio, died Aug. 21 when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle. The vehicle was part of a transportation convoy enroute to Taji, Iraq. Clemmons was assigned to the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

toronto intl film festival lineup announced

352 films from 61 countries are on tap for the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, which will open on September 7th with the previously announced world premiere of Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's "The Journals of Knud Rasmussen." Organizers today unveiled the complete lineup for next month's event, starring, which will close September 16th with Michael Apted's "Amazing Grace," starring Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N'Dour, Ciaran Hinds, Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, and Albert Finney. The massive film festival, considered one of the most important in the world (second only to Cannes), will feature a roster offering 91 percent world, international or North American premieres, according to the festival. 62 features are directorial debuts.
Get the latest Toronto '06 Festival coverage in indieWIRE's special section.
The more than 350 films marks a jump from last year, when festival organizers presented 335 films. While planners have been announcing titles for the past few weeks, they rounded out the roster by adding films to all of the major sections of the large event. Sections include Canada First! for films from the home country, Canadian Open Vault with a restored Canadian film, Canadian Retrospective looking at the work of one filmmaker, Contemporary World Cinema surveying international cinema, Dialogues: Talking With Pictures including special appearances by those influenced by particular films, Discovery for work from emerging filmmakers, Gala Presentations showcasing high profile, red carpet premieres, Masters for well-established directors, Mavericks featuring in-person conversation, Midnight Madness for genre work, Mozart's Visionary Cinema: New Crowned Hope presenting films from Vienna's upcoming Mozart salute, the Real to Reel documentary program, Short Cuts Canada for short films, Special Presentations offering high-profile films with major stars and directors, Sprockets Family Zone for the whole family, Vanguard for more challenging work, Visions with innovative new films, and Wavelengths presenting avant-garde titles.

for more info: http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2006/08/toronto_06_the.html
Instead of adopting smart energy solutions that will help wean Americans off oil and save us money at the pump, this month the U.S. Senate voted to open eight million acres off the shores of Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama to destructive oil and gas drilling.
New oil and gas drilling will add to the billions in profits already being made by Big Oil - but it will do nothing to lower gas prices for American families, and will keep our nation dangerously dependent on oil. Drilling in our beautiful coastal waters also hurts coastal economies, ruins scenic views and wreaks havoc on the habitat areas of marine wildlife.
Marine wildlife like dolphins, whales, sea turtles, migratory birds, and fish like shark and tuna are all threatened by offshore drilling operations.
All five species of sea turtles found in the Gulf of Mexico are endangered or threatened – and because they are difficult to see from vessels, the risk of collisions is high.
Marine mammals like the endangered sperm whale spend large amounts of time at the surface of the ocean – putting them in danger of being struck by increased boat traffic from drilling operations.
Migratory birds are attracted to lighted drilling platforms. Confused, they will spend entire nights circling the platforms ... until they simply die of exhaustion.
Are we going to let these animals die ... and our coastlines be defiled ... and continue to be gouged at the pump ... all to fund Big Oil?
Please help the Sierra Club and its efforts to protect our coastal habitats, speak out against increased offshore drilling and promote smart energy solutions.
Instead of increasing oil drilling and putting marine wildlife at risk, Congress could be raising the fuel economy of our cars, encouraging the use of renewable energy like wind and solar power, and adopting other, existing technologies that cut pollution and curb global warming.

[go to SierraClub.org to donate]
Five Years After 9/11/01
Monday, September 11, 7:00 p.m.
The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th StreetAdmission: $5
The fifth anniversary of September 11 is the occasion for an evening of readings and conversations with New School President Bob Kerrey and New School Writing Program Director Robert Polito, who will be joined by other writers and artists to discuss The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, both nominated for 2006 National Book Awards. Sponsored by The New School in association with the National Book Foundation.
[from Broadcasting & Cable - John M. Higgins]
A cheer went up in the New Orleans media community last week over the return of something as vital as water in their business: ratings. For the first time since Hurricane Katrina blew through town, radio-audience–measurement service Arbitron issued a book for the market.
True, Arbitrons aren’t Nielsens and, hence, don’t dramatically help TV stations, which also have spent the past year without any audience measurement. But it’s a glimmer of evidence for advertising sales folk, stations and advertisers that the media market is getting back to something approaching normal.
Unfortunately, “normal” means a shrunken market. Research firm Claritas estimates that the New Orleans market’s population has shrunk by 20%, from almost 1.1 million to 864,000. In the core Orleans Parish, the depopulation is more stark: off 48%, from 384,000 to 200,000.
Before the storm, Nielsen Media ranked New Orleans as the 43rd-largest market. This week, the firm will likely drop the market to No. 54.
With thousands of people leaving town, TV stations have far fewer viewers to sell advertisers and possibly many fewer businesses to buy advertising. For a long time, New Orleans may stay out of the top 50 markets targeted by many national advertisers.
For local cable operators Cox Communications and Charter Communications, the homes of thousands of former subscribers may never be rebuilt. Cox’s New Orleans system acknowledges $115 million in system damage and lost revenues for 2005. That tab will probably pass $200 million later this year.
Lost revenues, station damage and extra operating costs probably amount to $100 million for local TV stations. Hearst-Argyle took a permanent charge against the value of its New Orleans station, writing off $29.2 million.
Still, broadcasters’ fiscal damage is limited because advertising has quickly snapped back. Broadcast-research group BIA estimates that, before Katrina, TV stations sold around $110 million in advertising per year. Today, they are very close to matching that. Station executives estimate that local ad sales are about 80% of pre-storm levels. That’s because insurance companies and FEMA are helping to replace everything that Katrina destroyed,
“I figured, if we got to 75%, we’d be happy,” says Vanessa Oubre, general manager of Emmis Communications’ Fox affiliate WVUE. “We’re definitely doing better than that.”
Look at the biggest TV-ad category: cars. National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates that around 200,000 cars were destroyed in Louisiana. That’s easily $2 billion in vehicles that need to be replaced, and New Orleans dealers are fighting for their piece. Automakers are pouring ad money into the market, while dealers that have never advertised on TV are suddenly clamoring for time.
However, a lot of other advertisers haven’t come back. The biggest is fast-food restaurants, which largely have not reopened. Unable to get workers at affordable wages, only a third of the big burger and chicken chains have reopened outlets.
A big challenge for ad buyers and sellers has been the lack of Nielsen ratings. With so many homes shattered and members of its sample scattered to other cities, the audience-research company hasn’t issued a quarterly book since July 2005 and won’t resume monitoring until February. It is in the process of recruiting viewers for a new ratings panel and expects a sample of 350 homes to be up and running by February; that should grow to 400 homes by May.
The lack of ratings has led to a different method of negotiating ad prices. “We’ve been paying based on supply and demand,” says Joann Habisreitinger, media director for local ad agency Zehnder Media. Advertisers have to bid up to get hot time periods, and news and local avails in sports programming are the hardest to get.
Federal aid and insurance money are fueling the fragile economy. “Our pricing is pretty much where it was pre-Katrina,” says Mike Zikmund, general sales manager for Belo Corp.’s WWL. “There’s been a lot of demand, and everybody’s jockeying for position.

Cox has had a much rougher time coming back. Katrina badly chewed up the wires of its system, blowing down aerial plant and flooding underground trunks. Operations were restored fairly quickly, and the system is serving 180,000 subscribers. But that’s 100,000 fewer than before Katrina.
Cox’s plant in the suburbs and much of New Orleans has been up and running for months. However, the story’s different in the hardest-hit areas: New Orleans East, the lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish. Much of that plant is underground and was badly flooded.
And there is no rest for the rebuilders. Cox VP of Government Affairs Steve Sawyer says that, as workers scoop up old drywall, plywood and other trash, they unknowingly—or uncaringly—tear the pedestals where Cox’s cable system pokes up above the ground to serve neighborhoods. “We’ve almost suffered more damage post-storm.” [from Broadcasting & Cable]

for you Tony Soprano fans

[from Broadcasting & Cable, 8/21/2006]
Sopranos lead actor James Gandolfini signed a three-year exclusive production deal with HBO. With the hit series ending next year after seven cycles, Gandolfini is launching a production company - Attaboy Films - with his producing partner, former Paramount executive Alex Ryan.
Under the agreement with HBO, Gandolfini's first producing deal, he will develop and produce original TV shows for the pay-cable network and have a first-look deal for feature films at HBO's specialty film distribution division, Picturehouse. Over the past year, Gandolfini and Ryan have been developing the biopic Hemingway, in which Gandolfini stars in the title role, and will continue developing it under the new HBO deal. The pair are also developing Occupation Iraq, a documentary with HBO Documentary Films, about soldiers in Iraq. Their deal also includes a commitment to two pilot scripts.
Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano on HBO's drama The Sopranos. As of the July Television Critics Association press tour, the network was eyeing a March, 2007 debut date for the final eight episodes of the series.

word of the day

instauration \in-stor-RAY-shun\ noun *1 : restoration after decay, lapse, or dilapidation 2 : an act of instituting or establishing something

"Once, humanity dreamed of the great instauration -- a rebirth of ancient wisdom that would compel us into a New Age...." (Knute Berger, _Seattle Weekly_, December 14, 2005)

Did you know? "Instauration" first appeared in English in the early 17th century, a product of the Latin verb "instaurare," meaning "to renew or restore." This same source gave us our verb "store," by way of Middle English and Anglo-French. Less than 20 years after "instauration" broke into English, the philosopher Francis Bacon began writing his _Instauratio Magna_, which translates to _The Great Instauration_. This uncompleted collection of works, which was written in Latin, calls for a restoration to a state of paradise on earth, but one in which mankind is enlightened by knowledge and truth. [still waiting for that one...]
Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest. -- Isaac Asimov

Monday, August 21, 2006

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 8/20-8/22/06

Five Soldiers, Airman Killed; DoD Identifies Previous Casualties
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2006 –
Three U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan's Kunar province, and a soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died from wounds suffered due to enemy action in Iraq's Anbar province yesterday, military officials reported.
Also, a Multinational Division Baghdad soldier died Aug. 17 when he was struck by a makeshift bomb while conducting a dismounted patrol south of Baghdad, officials said.
The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department has released the identities of three Marines and an airman who died recently supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Senior Airman Adam P. Servais, 23, of Onalaska, Wis., died yesterday, when his vehicle came under hostile fire in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Marine Capt. John J. McKenna IV, 30, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Marine Lance Cpl. Michael D. Glover, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died Aug. 16 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Both were assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Albany, N.Y.
Marine Sgt. John P. Phillips, 29, of St. Stephen, S.C., died Aug. 16 at Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, from wounds suffered in Anbar province March 7. He was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.


Four Servicemembers Killed in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2006 – Four U.S. servicemembers have been killed in action in Iraq over the past two days, military officials reported. A Multinational Division Baghdad servicemember died at about 1:30 p.m. today when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device north of Baghdad, military officials in Iraq reported. The individual's service affiliation was not released. Elsewhere, two Marines and a sailor assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died from wounds suffered due to enemy action in Iraq's Anbar province yesterday. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.


Pvt. Joseph R. Blake, 34, of Portland, Ore., died on Aug 17 in Turkalay, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his platoon encountered enemy forces small arms fire. Blake was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Pfc. James J. Arellano, 19, of Cheyenne, Wyo., died on Aug 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when his patrol encountered enemy forces using improvised explosive devices and small arms fire. Arellano was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey S. Loa, 32, of Waianae, Hawaii, died on Aug 16 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol. Loa was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

word for the day

vagary \VAY-guh-ree; vuh-GER-ee\, noun:An extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, action, or occurrence.

Her words are a dreadful reminder that much of life's consequences are resultant of vagary and caprice, dictated by the tragedy of the ill-considered action, the irrevocable misstep, the irrevocable moment in which a terrible wrong can seem the only right.-- Rosemary Mahoney, "Acts of Mercy?", New York Times, September 13, 1998

Vagary comes from Latin vagari, "to stroll about, to wander," from vagus, "wandering."
[from dictionary.com]

some quotes for today

The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half. -Dostoevsky

Money can't buy happiness, but neither can poverty. -- Leo Rosten

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Military Recruiting Sexual Misconduct Investigated

(AP) More than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams.
A six-month Associated Press investigation found that more than 80 military recruiters were disciplined last year for sexual misconduct with potential enlistees. The cases occurred across all branches of the military and in all regions of the country.
"This should never be allowed to happen," said one 18-year-old victim. "The recruiter had all the power. He had the uniform. He had my future. I trusted him."
At least 35 Army recruiters, 18 Marine Corps recruiters, 18 Navy recruiters and 12 Air Force recruiters were disciplined for sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behavior with potential enlistees in 2005, according to records obtained by the AP under dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests. That's significantly more than the handful of cases disclosed in the past decade.
The AP also found:
-- The Army, which accounts for almost half of the military, has had 722 recruiters accused of rape and sexual misconduct since 1996.
-- Across all services, one out of 200 frontline recruiters — the ones who deal directly with young people — was disciplined for sexual misconduct last year.
-- Some cases of improper behavior involved romantic relationships, and sometimes those relationships were initiated by the women.
-- Most recruiters found guilty of sexual misconduct are disciplined administratively, facing a reduction in rank or forfeiture of pay; military and civilian prosecutions are rare.
-- The increase in sexual misconduct incidents is consistent with overall recruiter wrongdoing, which has increased from just over 400 cases in 2004 to 630 cases in 2005, according to a General Accounting Office report released this week.
The Pentagon has committed more than $1.5 billion to recruiting efforts this year. Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke insisted that each of the services takes the issue of sexual misconduct by recruiters "very seriously and has processes in place to identify and deal with those members who act inappropriately."
In the Army, 53 recruiters were charged with misconduct last year. Recruiting spokesman S. Douglas Smith said the Army has put much energy into training its staff to avoid these problems.
"To have 53 allegations in a year, while it is 53 more than we would want, is not indicative of the entire command of 8,000 recruiters," he said. "We take this very seriously and we take appropriate action as necessary to discipline these people."

The Associated Press generally does not name victims in sexual assault cases. For this story, the AP interviewed victims in their homes and perpetrators in jail, read police and court accounts of assaults and in one case portions of a victim's journal.
A pattern emerged. The sexual misconduct almost always takes place in recruiting stations, recruiters apartments or government vehicles. The victims are typically between 16 and 18 years old, and they usually are thinking about enlisting. They usually meet the recruiters at their high schools, but sometimes at malls or recruiting offices.
"We had been drinking, yes. And we went to the recruiting station at about midnight," begins one girl's story.
Tall and slim, her long hair sweeping down her back, this 18-year-old from Ukiah, Calif., hides her face in her hands as she describes the night when Marine Corps recruiter Sgt. Brian Fukushima climbed into her sleeping bag on the floor of the station and took off her pants. Two other recruiters were having sex with two of her friends in the same room.
"I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to think about it," she says, her voice muffled and breaking. "He got into my sleeping bag, unbuttoned my pants, and he started, well ..."
Her voice trails off, and she is quiet for a moment. "I had a freak-out session and just passed out. When I woke up I was sick and ashamed. My clothes were all over the floor."
Fukushima was convicted of misconduct in a military court after other young women reported similar assaults. He left the service with a less than honorable discharge last fall.
His military attorney, Capt. James Weirick, said Fukushima is "sorry that he let his family down and the Marine Corps down. It was a lapse in judgment."
Shedrick Hamilton uses the same phrase to describe his own actions that landed him in Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate New York for 15 months for having sex with a 16-year-old high school student he met while working as a Marine Corps recruiter.
Hamilton said the victim had dropped her pants in his office as a prank a few weeks earlier, and that on this day she reached over and caressed his groin while he was driving her to a recruiting event.
"I pulled over and asked her to climb into the back seat," he said. "I should have pushed her away. I was the adult in the situation. I should have put my foot down, called her parents."
As a result, he was convicted of third-degree rape, and left the service with an other-than-honorable discharge. He wipes the collar of his prison jumpsuit across his cheek, smearing tears that won't stop.
"I literally kick myself ... every day. It hurts. It hurts a lot. As much as I pray, as much as I work on it in counseling, I still can't repair the pain that I caused a girl, her family, my family, my kids. It's very hard to deal with," he says, dropping his head. "It's very, very hard to deal with."
In Gainesville, Fla., a 20-year-old woman told this story: Walking into an Army recruiting station last summer, she was greeted by Sgt. George Kirkman, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound soldier. Kirkman is 41.
He was friendly and encouraging, but told her she might be a bit too heavy. He asked if she wanted to go to the gym with him. She agreed, and he drove her to his apartment complex.
There, he walked her to his apartment, pulled out a laptop, and suggested she take a basic recruiting aptitude test. Afterward, Kirkman said he needed to measure her. Twice. He said she had to take her pants off. And he attacked her.
Kirkman, who did not respond to repeated requests for an interview, pleaded no contest to sexual battery in January and is on probation and a registered sexual offender. He's still in the military, working now as a clerk in the Jacksonville, Fla., Army recruiting office. [?!?]
Not all of the victims are young women. Former Navy recruiter Joseph Sampy, 27, of Jeanerette, La., is serving a 12-year sentence for molesting three male recruits.
"He did something wrong, something terrible to people who were the most vulnerable," State District Judge Lori Landry said before handing down the sentence in July, 2005. "He took advantage of his authority."
One of Sampy's victims is suing him and the Navy for $1.25 million. The trial is scheduled for next spring.

Sometimes these incidents are indisputable, forcible rapes.
"He did whatever he pleased," said one victim who was 17 at the time. "... People in uniform used to make me feel safe. Now they make me feel nervous."
Other sexual misconduct is more nuanced. Recruiters insist the victims were interested in them, and sometimes the victims agree. Sometimes they even dated.
"I was persuaded into doing something that I didn't necessarily want to do, but I did it willingly," said Kelly Chase, now a Marine Corps combat photographer, whose testimony helped convict a recruiter of sexual misconduct last year.
Former Navy recruiter Paul Sistrunk, a plant supervisor in Conehatta, Miss., who had an affair with a potential recruit in 1995, says their relationship was entirely consensual.
She was 18, an adult; he was 26 and married.
"Things happen, you know?" says Sistrunk, who opted for an other-than-honorable discharge rather than face court-martial. "Morally, what I did was wrong, but legally, I don't think so."
A nine-year veteran of the Navy, Sistrunk lost his pension and health benefits. His victim, who discovered during a medical exam at boot camp that she had contracted herpes, unsuccessfully tried to sue the federal government.
"In my case," said Sistrunk, "I was flirted with, and flirting, well, that's something I hadn't seen a lot of until I became a recruiter. I had no power over her. I really didn't."
Kimberly Lonsway, an expert in sexual assault and workplace discrimination in San Luis Obispo, Calif., said "even if there isn't overt violence, the reality is that these recruiters really do hold the keys to the future for these women, and a 17-year-old girl often has a very different understanding of the situation than a 23-year-old recruiter."
"There's a power dynamic here that's obviously very sensitive," agreed Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a group that studies military policy.
"Let's face it, these guys are handsome in their uniform, they're mature, they give a lot of attention to these girls, and as recruiters they do a lot of the same things that guys do when they want to appeal to girls. There's a very fine line there, and it can be very hard to maintain a professional approach."
Weirick, the Marine Corps defense attorney who has represented several recruiters on rape and sexual misconduct charges, said it's a problem that will probably never entirely go away.
"It's difficult because of the nature of nature," he said. "It's hard to put it in another way, you know? It's usually a consensual relationship or dating type of thing." When asked if victims feel this way, he said, "It's really a victimless crime other than the institution of the Marine Corps. It's institutional integrity we're protecting, by not allowing this to happen."
Anita Sanchez, director of communications at the Miles Foundation, a national advocacy group for victims of violence in the military, bristles at the idea that the enlistees, even if they flirt or ask to date recruiters, are willingly having sex with them.
"You have a recruiter who can enable you to join the service or not join the service. That has life-changing implications for you as a high school student or college student," she said. "If she does not do this her life will be seriously impacted. Instead of getting training and an education, she might end up a dishwasher."
Ethan Walker, who spent eight years in the Marine Corps including a stint as a recruiter from 1998 to 2000, said he was warned.
"They told us at recruiter school that girls, 15, 16, are going to come up to you, they're going to flirt with you, they're going to do everything in their power to get you in bed. But if you do it you're breaking the law," he said.
Even so, he said he was initially taken aback when he set up a table at a high school and had girls telling him he looked sexy and handing him their telephone numbers.
"All that is, you have to remind yourself, is that there's jail bait, a quick way to get in trouble, a quick way to dishonor the service," he said.
All of the recruiters the AP spoke with, including Walker, said they were routinely alone in their offices and cars with girls. Walker said he heard about sleepovers at other recruiting stations, and there was no rule against it. There didn't need to be a rule, he said. The lines were clear: Recruiters do not sleep with enlistees.
"Any recruiter that would try to claim that, 'Oh, it's consensual,' they are lying, they are lying through their teeth," he said. "The recruiter has all the power in these situations."
___
Although the Uniform Code of Military Justice bars recruiters from having sex with potential recruits, it also states that age 16 is the legal age of consent. This means that if a recruiter is caught having sex with a 16-year-old, and he can prove it was consensual, he will likely only face an administrative reprimand.
But not under new rules set by the Indiana Army National Guard.
There, a much stricter policy, apparently the first of its kind in the country, was instituted last year after seven victims came forward to charge National Guard recruiter Sgt. Eric Vetesy with rape and assault.
"We didn't just sit on our hands and say, 'Well, these things happen, they're wrong, and we'll try to prevent it.' That's a bunch of bull," said Lt. Col. Ivan Denton, commander of the Indiana Guard's recruiting battalion.
Now, the 164 Army National Guard recruiters in Indiana follow a "No One Alone" policy. Male recruiters cannot be alone in offices, cars, or anywhere else with a female enlistee. If they are, they risk immediate disciplinary action. Recruiters also face discipline if they hear of another recruiter's misconduct and don't report it.
At their first meeting, National Guard applicants, their parents and school officials are given wallet-sized "Guard Cards" advising them of the rules. It includes a telephone number to call if they experience anything unsafe or improper.
Denton said the policy does more than protect enlistees.
"It's protecting our recruiters as well," he said.
The result?
"We've had a lot fewer problems," said Denton. "It's almost like we're changing the culture in our recruiting."
(© 2006 The Associated Press.)

"killer bait"

the weather was disgusting (again) today so I stayed in and watched, "Killer Classics: Byron Haskin's Killer Bait a.k.a. Too Late for Tears". A bickering married couple finds a bag of money that's been dropped in the back seat of their car. the upstadingin husband (Arthur Kennedy) wants to turn the illicit cash in to the authorities, but his money-hungry wife (Lizabeth Scott) has a different idea: She regards the loot as their personal jackpot." Really implausible and slow moving at first but if you can get through the first 30 minutes or so, watching Lizabeth Scott's descent into femme fatale killer is worth it. And there's always the plus of the great outfits.

some quotes for today

There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise. -- Gore Vidal

Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories - those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost. -- Russell Baker

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.-- Honore de Balzac

He's turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he's miserable and depressed. -- David Frost