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May 27, 2005
Open Thread
Comments
@Colman – re super-inflated death tolls.
You may be right. Myself, I am sure of nothing these days. It does strike me though, that I can’t recall ever hearing of any DOD reports saying something like “Died in Germany of wounds sustained in Iraq”. Maybe I just missed these reports, but I would be genuinely interested in anyone knows of any deaths after evacuation from Iraq that have been included in the official death toll.
Posted by: DM | May 30 2005 12:09 utc | 101
There’s a long (and acrimonous) diary somewhere on Daily Kos on the topic. At the end of it, I’m not convinced that a more true death toll for US forces wouldn’t be nearer the 3,000 mark than the 1,600 mark. However icasualties does list deaths outside of Iraq.
speaking of lies and statistics, I found this Prensa Latina article. I suspect that if you did do a bit of googling you could come up with these numbers yourself. Although there may not be official announcements, there would be something in a local paper which would lead back.
Might be a project for the kossacks, seeing how well they worked together to expose Gannon.
Posted by: dan of steele | May 30 2005 12:23 utc | 103
@alabama /trivia
Have you any idea why words like ‘thou’ were deprecated from the English language. Sorely missed I think, as in Oz they have invented a new plural “youse” (pron. ‘ewes’). (thought you might be the one person who might know).
Posted by: DM | May 30 2005 12:28 utc | 104
It’s an “old story,” DM, going back to the Norman Invasion (or a century or two thereafter). “You”, in Old English, is (or was) the plural form of “thou”. Among the French (among the Normans), speakers used (and use) the plural form of “you” ( vous ) as an expression of respect and formality when addressing single individuals (rather than the familiar, informal tu ). This practice was adopted, it seems, by speakers of Middle English (half English, half Norman) in the thirteenth century (substituting “you” for “thou” as an expression of respect and formality)–a substitution that became more and more widespread over the centuries. By the 18th century, “thou” was limited to poets, Quakers, and the speakers of certain dialects (in this part of the country, we tend to use “y’all” as a way of pluralizing “you”).
Posted by: alabama | May 30 2005 13:59 utc | 105
The fact that anti-war groups/sites have made a mess of tallying the US army deaths in Iraq is in itself telling. Those who die later from wounds and not ‘in theater’ are not counted. Amongst other things.
Posted by: Noisette | May 30 2005 14:01 utc | 106
Media Disinformation and the Nature of the Iraqi Resistance by Ghali Hassan
globalresearch.ca May 2005.
“The flurry of news, hypotheses, and disinformation about the nature of the Iraqi Resistance against the Occupation continues unabated. How much of this is managed propaganda against the Iraqi Resistance? According to both the Western mainstream media and the alternative media, the U.S. is “building democracy” and fighting “terrorism” in Iraq. The distortions of reality and lack of oppositional media leave people in the West, Americans in particular, ill informed. …”
Link
Posted by: Noisette | May 30 2005 14:04 utc | 107
From the Washington Post
“Philadelphia, its suburbs and indeed much of Pennsylvania have experienced a foreclosure epidemic as low-income homeowners take on mortgage debt they cannot afford. In 2000, the Philadelphia sheriff auctioned 300 to 400 foreclosed properties a month; now he handles more than 1,000 a month. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, had record auctions of foreclosed homes, and officials speak of a “Depression-era” problem. The foreclosures fall particularly hard on black and Latino families.”
via “Foreclosures Increase in 47 States + The Long-Term Effect” – Boondad on dKos.
Iran studying Iran-Iraq-Syria oil pipeline – report
TEHRAN -(Dow Jones)- Iran has begun feasibility studies on the construction of a pipeline that would take Iranian crude oil through Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, said a senior Iranian Oil Ministry official Monday.
Hadi Nejad-Husseinian, deputy oil minister in charge of international affairs, said the construction of the pipeline would allow Iran to transfer its crude to the Mediterranean at a lower cost, the Iranian Oil Ministry’s information network reported.
“We can also transfer the Caspian Sea crude oils to the Mediterranean at a lower cost through this pipeline,” he said.
Iran has reached oil swap deals with a number of land-locked, oil-producing Caspian Sea countries. Under the deals, Iran pays for the oil received at its Caspian port of Neka with an equivalent volume of Iranian oil exported from the Persian Gulf at a specified price….
Posted by: Nugget | May 30 2005 14:56 utc | 110
Rather than worrying about what the troops are or are not doing, maybe we should oughta worry about what the peace movement is or is not doing.
Is there any sort of large-scale War Tax Resistance movement afoot? Has everybody who marched on February 15 discontinued operating a motor-car? Begun maintaining a vegan diet? Refused to purchase goods made in China?
There are a lot more anti-war civilians than there are troops — and our actions speak louder than words.
Editorial: Memorial Day/Praise bravery, seek forgiveness
In exchange for our uniformed young people’s willingness to offer the gift of their lives, civilian Americans owe them something important: It is our duty to ensure that they never are called to make that sacrifice unless it is truly necessary for the security of the country. In the case of Iraq, the American public has failed them; we did not prevent the Bush administration from spending their blood in an unnecessary war based on contrived concerns about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. President Bush and those around him lied, and the rest of us let them. Harsh? Yes. True? Also yes. Perhaps it happened because Americans, understandably, don’t expect untruths from those in power. But that works better as an explanation than as an excuse.
Most of you probably have seen this article alread, but I think it is worth linking, as it is almost miraculous.
You need to log in. Someone on dKos linked to the following site which can help you access newspapers without having to register yourself.
Posted by: Fran | May 30 2005 18:00 utc | 112
Slothrop, since you bring it up on another thread, perhaps you can tell me something. How closely does the Marxist view of the dialectic follow Hegel’s?
THE BATTLE-PIECES
IN THIS VOLUME ARE DEDICATED
TO THE MEMORY OF THE
THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND
WHO IN THE WAR
FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE UNION
FELL DEVOTEDLY
UNDER THE FLAG OF THEIR FATHERS.
Reading Melville’s dedication to his Battle-Pieces (1866), I’m faced with an awkward question: do our losses in Iraq meet an unstated (but widely endorsed) canon, or principle, of “magnitude” by which we decide (without deciding) that we can no longer afford to continue the war? There are no doubt a variety of answers to this question–friends and family-members directly affected, the population at large, and the military itself. These questions have obviously been studied with some care by the warmakers in charge, and it’s my guess that, from their point of view, the people can tolerate losses much larger than they’ve tolerated thus far. Ah, but can the military tolerate the losses to its recruiting quotas? From what I’ve learned here from Pat, I don’t think it can, and I think we should do everything to discourage anyone, anywhere, from enlisting.
Posted by: alabama | May 30 2005 19:40 utc | 114
I really believe nothing else would improve the intelligence of college students more than a draft. Man, that would make the college campus politically relevant. Would be wonderful.
Posted by: slothrop | May 30 2005 19:51 utc | 115
Slothrop thanks. I might wait ’til my eyes uncross before trying to reread that. The answer is that Marx modifies Hegel significantly, but I haven’t quite worked out how?
WaPo
“There is a growing sense of frustration with the president and the White House, quite frankly,” said an influential Republican member of Congress. “The term I hear most often is ‘tin ear,’ ” especially when it comes to pushing Social Security so aggressively at a time when the public is worried more about jobs and gasoline prices. “We could not have a worse message at a worse time.”
Yes, he has at his disposal the patronage and policing powers of the Presidency, but he’s lost the attention and respect–and even the fear–of the political pros in Washington. He’s in over his head, and so everyone’s running around him. He spends his mornings on the Social Security circuit, and his afternoons greeting the latest visitor from a foreign land, but meetings with legislators are almost unheard of. He thinks he’s being persistent and tough, but everyone else seems to think he’s being stupid and clueless. I’d say this marriage is done for.
Posted by: alabama | May 31 2005 4:32 utc | 118
“He thinks he’s being persistent and tough, but everyone else seems to think he’s being stupid and clueless.”
Ever read Antigone? It’s got a little bit to say about inflexibility and hubris. I somehow doubt the book is on the shelves of the Oval Office, though; There are probably more titillating bits in I Am Charlotte Simmons and My Pet Goat.
Posted by: Monolycus | May 31 2005 5:59 utc | 119
Back to the Future …
Military Fatalities: By Month
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
5-2005 76 2 6 84 2.71 31
4-2005 52 0 0 52 1.73 30
3-2005 36 1 3 40 1.29 31
2-2005 58 0 2 60 2.14 28
1-2005 107 10 10 127 4.1 31
12-2004 72 2 3 77 2.48 31
11-2004 137 4 0 141 4.7 30
10-2004 63 2 2 67 2.16 31
9-2004 80 3 4 87 2.9 30
8-2004 66 4 5 75 2.42 31
7-2004 54 1 3 58 1.87 31
6-2004 42 1 7 50 1.67 30
5-2004 80 0 4 84 2.71 31
Posted by: DM | May 31 2005 10:50 utc | 120
EU, U.S. duel over plane subsidies
The European Union said Tuesday it will file a counter complaint at the World Trade Organization saying Boeing (BA) receives illegal aid â a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s move against European rival Airbus the day before.
Posted by: Fran | May 31 2005 13:52 utc | 121