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AUGUST 16, 2010 -- AUGUST 29, 2010

MINING HOPE: THIRTY-THREE BRAVE MEN BEGIN THE LONGEST VIGIL

CNN VIDEO

Having watched the video and referred to other news organizations it seems the men are 2300 feet underground in what they call a shelter. In most mines of the world when down that deep there will be a fresh air base or shelter with water, power, air and the the ability to pressurize the shelter in case of a fire. They also include first aid boxes as seen in the video and other crude amenities (toilets).

These men are safe from harm right now but is imperative that they get them out as fast as possible because if they get sick there is no way to help them. These men will hang in there but the cost to them in the future will be incalculable and most of these men will need a lot of help when they get out.

The mining company seems to out of the picture. The world is watching for now.

Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Chile mine video gives tour of trapped miners' refuge

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I remember talking to a man who was a Prisoner of War of the Japanese, who - even after all that - said that nothing he experienced then was ever as hard or as terrifying as going down the pit for the first time (pre-war, obviously) totally untrained and unprepared at the age of 14

Read the article GUARDIAN/Say a prayer for Chile's trapped miners

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My granddad was a coal miner, a ripper to be specific. He went down the pit at 14, but had a three year rest from the pit so he could get a bit of sunlight on the Western Front between the ages of 26 and 29, lucky blighter wasn't he?. No sooner was that little flap over than it was back to the pit for him until he was 65

The plight of the Chilean miners not only reminds us of the hazards that face working people around the globe but also the debt owed to generations of miners here in the UK. King Coal they called it, it powered the Industrial Revolution, or rather a lot of poorly paid men coughed their lungs out in order to make some other men exceedingly rich.

When people discuss what to put on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, how about a coal miner sat exhausted, holding the hand of his ragged and shoeless kids?

Read the article GUARDIAN/Say a prayer for Chile's trapped miners

A TREE FALLS IN AMSTERDAM

ANNE FRANK TREE

The tree was our last living link to the young author who reveled in its existence. We cannot imagine what a common tree could mean to a girl whose confinement, meager sustenance, imposed silence and perpetual fear of capture comprised the extent of her daily agenda. To her, it meant hope, permanence, beauty, strength and rebirth through the seasons. We know only of this tree because of its role in giving meaning to a young life that was taken too soon.

To those who feel it was just a municipal nuisance, or its demise an impediment to more important news coverage, I recommend you read her book.

Read the article CBC NEWS/Anne Frank tree topples in Amsterdam

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She would have been delighted about the long life of her tree. May her memory be eternal.

Read the article CBC NEWS/Anne Frank tree topples in Amsterdam

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'Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.'  - Anne Frank

Read the article CBC NEWS/Anne Frank tree topples in Amsterdam

That tree provided comfort to arguably one of the most important figure in the holocaust. Anne Frank's diaries provided an in-depth and personal look into the mind of a girl who was struggling to retain some sense of individuality in a situation that was anything but normal, in a time in history that was unspeakable. That tree was an icon and a symbol for normalcy to her.

How different would her view of the world around her had been, had that tree not been there. How has the view if the world from that window changed now?

Read the article MSNBC/Anne Frank tree falls over in heavy wind, rain

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Sic transit, alas. One more reminder gone. As each Holocaust survivor dies, as each soldier in that conflict dies, as each person who was alive at that time passes, monuments begin to lose their meaning and the closer we are to forgetting, the closer we are to repeating the sins of omission and commission made during that era. In fact, it seems that we're on our way now -- racism, xenophobia and willful ignorance are very much alive and thriving in our good ol' US of A and abroad.

For those who are squawking about a TREE making the news, this news story drove home to me the poignancy of Anne Frank's story like her diary never did. My heart breaks for her, her family, and the greater human family, because her story is our story. Like Anne, let's derive what hope we can from the little things, like raindrops on tree branches -- or whatever makes any one of us happy and induces us to be kind to each other..

Read the article MSNBC/Anne Frank tree falls over in heavy wind, rain

Only a person who goes through life with their eyes closed and try to make up their own lies could not see the significance of this tree. Spend a chunk of your childhood in a confined area with only one living beautiful living sight to comfort you. To be persecuted for just being a Jew. Live that life and see what you think after wards.

This tree is a symbol not only of freedom but of a struggle mankind had with prejudice and persecution at its worse and what ignorance can do to a person or race. I have seen images from that time from a soldier, I took care of, that was there and seen it first hand.

History always seems to repeat itself do to people turning a blind eye and ignoring and disbelieving what history is trying to tell us about ourselves.

This tree was not only a symbol of this young girls freedom it is also a look into our ability to follow blindly without searching the truth.

Read the article MSNBC/Anne Frank tree falls over in heavy wind, rain

LAST U.S. COMBAT BRIGADE OUT OF IRAQ

 

For just a moment can we all rejoice that these men and women who chose to defend our country are at last coming home safely after serving long, hot, and difficult tours overseas? These soldiers did not choose where to serve, nor did they have anything to do with the politics or motivating factors of it all. Whatever our collective feelings about the rightness or wrongness of this military action, who profits, and whether or not it was effective - can we at least take a moment and agree that these people served our country well and in difficult circumstances and in some cases made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our safety and our freedoms? Not to mention the spouses and children who have been waiting with baited breath - and near minimum wage incomes - for news of their love ones for these long years?

I, for one, am willing to set politics aside for the moment. I may not agree with this war nor the president who greenlit our presence there, but I honor these troops for doing what I cannot: stepping up to serve our country, in ways right or wrong, and to defend each and every one of us. Bless them all. Welcome home, Stryker Brigade. Read the article NPR/Last U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq through Kuwait

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The invasion of Iraq was controversial from the start. When we invaded Iraq after 9/11, it was supposed to find “weapons of mass destruction”; then the story changed to their supposed “links to Al Qaeda”; and finally the spin changed to helping “promote democracy in the Middle East”. George W. Bush gave our country the gift that keeps on giving—a war that has no real end or conclusion. Billions of dollars and thousands of lives later, the future of the Iraqi people is still uncertain.

Despite the brave actions of our troops, all we may have done is open a Pandora’s Box of tribal and religious tensions that won’t be fixed by just holding elections or granting more foreign aid. The Bush Administration did not understand (or arrogantly dismissed) the complexities of invading and re-making a society that is filled with tribal and religious tensions. The former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld neatly stepped away and covered his tracks, but the mismanagement he and others left behind have been so costly in lives and resources.

No one can deny the previous regime was nothing more than a brutal and corrupt dictatorship. But after billions of dollars and thousands of American and Iraqi lives, we should have more to show than leaving a country in continued turmoil. Even basic services, such as reliable electricity and clean water, cannot be delivered with reliability. Indeed, we cannot account for billions of dollars supposedly spent for reconstruction. Perhaps this was one of the most expensive gambits our country has ever played for access to oil reserves.

We now make speeches, declare time tables to withdraw, and save face by declaring the Iraqi forces and government are in the lead. There is a fundamental reason for Congress to be consulted for a declaration of war—full debate and discussion of all the issues. Yet in the atmosphere after 9/11, that legal requirement and common sense were thrown out the window. A bugler rightfully plays taps to remember our fallen, but it should also be played when we have lost honest leadership.

Read the article YAHOO NEWS/Goodbye Iraq: Last US combat brigade heads home

THE GREAT FLOOD OF PAKISTAN

 

Flooding on this scale would overwhelm a developed country. Pakistan is not able to cope with such a disaster. The only resource available to Pakistan is the armed forces but they are just able to distribute aid and rescue stranded people.

With up to 15-20 million made homeless you have to feed them, provide shelter and sanitation. With crops devastated there is going to be even bigger problem for the rest of the country. The UN has mercifully realized this and has asked for donations.

Whether they will get it is another matter because of bad press Pakistan receives in the countries that are able to help, although this should not be be seen as a political but a humanitarian issue. Read the article AL JAZEERA/ Pakistan Floods

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My heart is deeply saddened for the people who are affected by this disaster. No matter what political party you belong to, what religion or race you are - if you are unaffected by the tragedy that is unfolding in Pakistan - Shame on you!

I am horrified by some of the insensitive comments by some people. For those who made the comments - try and picture yourself sitting on the side of the road, totally devastated by these floods and having to share a small packet of food amongst 15 people, some who may be your family members, neighbors and friends. I wonder what your views would be then? Would you care what others said about your situation? If they chose to help? Would you be hurt if your family member dies of starvation or disease and anyone that could have helped chose not to because of their prejudices, religion or political views?

I pity you and hope you never experience the devastation of losing your livelihood, family or friends.

Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/ U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon: Pakistan floods are worst disaster I've ever seen

So, I have this rule about traveling: no matter what city I'm in, I make it point to have a conversation with any taxi driver I happen to share a car with. Odds are they will be among the most interesting people I'll have met in a given day.

And today was no exception. My driver this evening was from Lahore, and while our conversation with riveting, it was also very sad. He hasn't been able to reach his family back home, and doesn't know if they're safe or not. Calling the Pakistani consulate hasn't helped. He was at his wits end, and said that he needed to work to keep his mind from dark thoughts.

But he did say one thing to me that warmed my heart - and that's the everyone of his fares that he shared his story with was very sympathetic, and he teared up describing it to me.

We all bleed red at the end of the day. But in our "us versus them" world, it's sometimes easy to forget that.

It's just a shame it takes a tragedy to remind us of that.

Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/ U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon: Pakistan floods are worst disaster I've ever seen

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The situation in Pakistan is unbelievable but what is more unbelievable is the fact that the leader/President of the Country is off gallivanting while the Country is going through the worst storm in it's history.

How can you expect Canada, or any other Country to care, when the President of the Country doesn't care.

I think a good look at where all the money is going in times of disaster and who is controlling the purse strings, should be be looked at closely.
I think it might also be a better idea if Canada provided food and water as opposed to handing over cash at least we know it won't be used to purchase military equipment to kill our soldiers or to support the Taliban.

Pakistan appears to have a very close relationship with the Taliban, maybe this is who should be helping them.

Maybe Pakistan will think twice about supporting the Taliban against Canadian Soldiers.

There is an old saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/Pakistan president makes first visit to flood zone

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Canadian Born muslim wrote "What ignorant remarks. Virtually everyone affected in the floods are innocent people who have no ties with terrorism. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are well equipped and operated organizations; they are not affected by these floods.

Anyways, if you do not want to wish the Pakistani people well and your prayers, you do not have to. But how dare you people say "we would have felt sympathy if you just fought against the terrorists right after September 11th. These are innocent people that we are dealing with, not terrorists.

And F.Y.I, Pakistan has lost thousands of soldiers in the War On Terror. A large number compared to the 150 or so Canadians who perished. Do research before you people spew garbage. Uneducated rednecks. "

Your little sanctimonious rant is appreciated but all for naught. You can't blame people for not really caring about people who collude with terrorists etc and generally hate us. BTW what countries do you suppose will donate the most money to relief efforts? *Hint it wont be countries inhabited by your co religionists*

Once again it will be North American and European countries that donate the most, like they did during the Tsunami. Oddly enough Muslims didn't donate very much during that tragedy and when they did they were encouraged to only help the Ummah and not the infidels. So pardon us if we don't really care all that much. Hey maybe chants of "death to America" cant get them through.

Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/Scale of Pakistani floods worse than 2004 tsunami, Haiti and Kashmir combined

 

AUGUST 2 , 2010 -- AUGUST 15, 2010

BLACKBERRY BLACKOUT SET FOR GULF STATES

I don't think they will actually go through with the ban - I spend vast amounts of my time travelling in the GCC states, and everybody in business tends to use Blackberry, iphones are nowhere near as widespread, and there is a lot of concern with the way iphone attaches and detaches to the network - it generates a lot more overhead on the 2G/3G RAN (radio access network), and has caused at least one major outage in the UK.

Blackberry's are far more efficient, and friendly to the network. If everyone suddenly had to switch over to iphone style technology, the likes of Etisalat, Du, Qtel, STC and Mobily to name a few would have to make significant investments in their RAN to avoid the issues seen in the UK and US.

Those 500,000 blackberry uses in the UAE happen to predominantly be the business community, and that includes a lot of royals, so I doubt in the end they will ban blackberry. Unless of course RIM is daft enough not to offer a compromise.

This is a negotiating ploy, anyone who knows arabic culture, knows this is an opening bid to get RIM, who haven't complied to any of the overtures from the GCC states for even selected access to the encryption keys, to budge and give at the least the kind of access it gives to the UK and US. Why do you think they are citing US/UK regulations.

I hope this is the case, otherwise this will be a major retrograde step for business in these countries, and for business travellers like me who spend a lot of time there.

Read the article GUARDIAN/UAE Blackberry ban set to spread through Gulf states

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It's easy to think that such states wish to spy on expats and their westernised ways. However more likely is that such states want to keep an eye on their own nationals and prevent them from getting ideas from nominally democratic islamic states just across the water.

The press in the Gulf, much of it in Arabic, is light on content and is primarily concerned with keeping in favour with the ruling classes. The Gulf states are struggling with how to control the internet and it must be fresh in their minds how the internet was used by students in Iran in the demonstrations that took place 18 months or so ago...

Read the article GUARDIAN/UAE Blackberry ban set to spread through Gulf states

Kudos to RIM for not bending to their demands. Companies that deploy email to mobile devices, laptops, etc, encrypt them every step of the way so that prying eyes cannot get at corporate information. Most countries have laws that you DO need to protect and encrypt, not the other way around.

There are other ways around this for the bad guys, so if they think they are going to stop bad guys from communicating in secret, they are not. These countries want the money and perks that come with being an advanced society, but they don't want to comply with the social requirements. My email is hosted on a server outside the UAE and is encrypted...and there's no way I would even use it if their prying eyes could get in. There's no big secret, it is the principle of the thing.

Might as well not stop over in Dubai, one will be out of touch.

Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/UAE'S Blackberry threat clouds RIM's future

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All telcos have a legal obligation to perform legal intercept on their subscribers. It is part of their licence to operate. There isn't an issue with voice communications (even on Blackberries); however the problem comes with data.

The telcos are increasingly becoming transparent bit-pipes with less and less traffic routing through their content or email providers. SSL to hotmail, GMail or secured web traffic is not easily sniffable. Where Blackberry runs afoul is that their encryption is stronger, and connects to a server in a foreign country. Banning it doesn't remove the problem.

Forcing RIM to install a server within the UAE borders which the authorities can monitor is the solution that Etisalat is after. I guess the sticking point is that they want it for free.

Read the article BOINGBOING/UAE to block Blackberry messaging

WIKILEAKS PLANTS A DATA MINE ON THE AFGHAN BATTLEFIELD

AFGHAN WAR DIARY

The Afghan War Diary an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military... We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source.

WIKILEAKS

Oh dear oh dear. Well, to start -- it does appear to me that the Times made the right call in printing these materials. The Pentagon Papers is the obvious parallel. Steps were taken to protect individual identities and to shield genuinely top secret documents. But providing this fuller picture of the Afghan conflict -- that is the job of journalists.

I've always supported our activities in Afghanistan -- first, because the US was responding to an act of war (9/11) and then because we had made a commitment to the Afghan people to support them in security, democracy and development. But perhaps the time is coming when we cut our losses and come home.

It's possible that General Petraeus and his team do have a renewed strategy, which makes use of the additional troops we have sent in the past year. If so, I wish them every success.

But if the conditions remain as they are described in these documents, we have to consider how long we will stay and provide a clear adversary for Taliban recruiters to point to.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/The War Logs: Reactions to disclosure of military documents on Afghan War

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Little novel. However the fact that such documents are released while the struggle against the 9/11 perpetrators is ongoing appears to me very sad.

The analogy to the Pentagon Papers appears inappropriate as Vietnam never attacked the US. Such analogy belittles the present struggle against terrorism.

War is never clean and expecting it to be carried out without casualties civilian and military is unrealistic.

The release of these classified documents will be interpreted as another sign of US weakness. If the ensuing responses in media and public detract from support of this struggle than clearly the interpretation by enemies and friends of the US will be an additional sign of weakness.

Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/The War Logs: Reactions to disclosure of military documents on Afghan War

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I remember 1969 like it was yesterday. I was in Vietnam as an infantryman.

When we had a firefight (almost every day) we were sent out afterwards to get a body count. We counted accurately, told the CO (commanding officer) the number . Then added the people he thought were taken away by the enemy.(His guess)

Later in the military newspaper ( The Stars and Stripes ) I would read the story about the firefight and the number of NVA or VC we killed was inflated by 2 or 3 hundred %.

Back then the War was reported on all the time. Every night on the news there was a number of the enemy killed and a number of US troops killed reported. My bet is the number of enemy was way over what was actually done.

The news is one reason the war was ended. Folks at home grew tired of seeing Flag draped coffins being taken off planes at Dover Del.

If we had that kind of coverage today there might be more uproar over these WARS!

Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/WikiLeaks "Afghan War Diary" provides ground-level account of Afghan war

Documents don't put our troops in danger, fighting a war with no end in sight puts our troops in danger. Part of me feels angry that these classified documents were leaked. But I think it's really because deep down, the truth hurts and I don't really want to know the dirty details of what's going on.

On the other hand, I think our country owes it to the Afghan people to at least be well informed of the consequences of our actions.

Read the article CNN/Afghanistan says it's shocked by leaked U.S. documents

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I have seen with my own eyes Taliban fighters set off IED's by the roadside with children well within the blast radius. For each innocent child we have killed on accident, the Taliban have killed 10 through their callousness.

So when is the last time you looked at a news headline condemning Taliban atrocities? Most likely never. And that is why Afghanistan will descend into hellish chaos the minute we leave.

Because we entered in to this conflict for all of the wrong reasons and we lack the collective political will as a people to allow our military to win. We Americans are the most dreadful of hypocrites. If we are going to send our troops in to harm’s way we should not shackle them to rules of engagement that are doomed to fail. If it’s not worth our country's full declaration of war, then it’s not worth our while to be there period. Either fight the war and lay waste to this area or get out and stop offering our kids up in sacrifice in 2's and 3's.

Read the article YAHOO NEWS/More U.S. documents coming on Afghan war

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No troop movements were disclosed, and the newest document in the collection is almost a year old. Whose lives are in danger? Or is this "danger" in a more general sense, like the argument that leaking abuses in Abu Ghraib prison aided the insurgency by making coalition forces "look bad?"

If Bernstein, Woodward, et al. had broken the Watergate story in the 21st century, bloggers and commentators would've attacked them for being fame-seeking "persons of the lowest sort" airing President Nixon's dirty laundry. In reply, I can only quote Justice Brandeis, who wrote in 1914 that "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman," i.e. when government employees screw up, we shouldn't be letting them keep their laundry in the closet. We deserve to know that drone attacks don't always work particularly well, and that "surgical" assassination strikes against Taliban leaders sometimes kill children instead.

Our media picture of this war has been so sanitized and managed that leaks are the only tiny flavor of the truth we ever get ouf of it. The Defense Department has immense resources to try and keep information secret, so I'll take what info I can get when I can get it.

Read the article NPR/Leaked reports paint an 'unvarnished and grim picture of Afghan war

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How fortunate that the attitude of revealing all did not appertain during the Second World War! Hitler would have won easily if he had had access to all the British and allied reports.

There is a case for not having any British troops in Afghaninistan, but there is no case for sending troops there, supported by all three of the main parties, and then stabbing them in the back.

This is good news for those who are opposed to feminism: more little girls shot on their way to school; the imposition of the burka; female circumcision; the killing of daughters who have the temerity to have sex with anyone not approved by their male relations; no women in jobs. This is good news for the pseudo-liberals but bad news for the increasing numbers of real liberals.

A close relation of mine has fought out in Afghanistan. Naturally being honourable, he did not reveal what went on. However, I did get the impression that it was tougher than sitting behind a computer in Britain.

Read the article GUARDIAN/Afghanistan war logs: live blog

TUNNEL OF DEATH

 

I think it's the fault of the organizers and the people as well. They shouldn't have used a tunnel for letting thousands of people through it, and people do not know when to stop pushing when they are moving forward in large groups. People get trapped in a closed space, start panicking, and thus, the result. Wacken is much better organized because it's at an open space, if something happens people can simply jump over the fences, and they're off. Unlike a tunnel where they are trapped.

Read the article DEUTSCHE WELLE/Readers decry loss of lfe at Love Parade

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In 1979, I was there when 12 people were crushed at the Who concert in Cincinnati.  The media blamed kids "stampeding" to get the best seats, which bore no resemblance to the truth.  It was a slow crush built up in a physically confined space with no escape.  Those on the perimeter had no idea their gentle pressure toward the venue would sum up to deadly pressure up front.  No one opened the doors.

 
In other words, the Love Parade scenario had played out before.  No event organizer should ever be allowed a license without first passing an exam about what happened in 1979 and how it could have been averted. Or will we just learn in the short term and in a few years forget again?

Read the article TIME/Atter stampede, concert organizers nix future love parades

 

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