text:
Single Payer Health Insurance: My Japanese Experience
Owe My Soul to the Company Store
Obama Reduced To Demonizing His Critics
By Edger in Barack Obama
Crossposted from Antemedius
The other day, after Barack Obama's speech at the National Archives Building in Washington, the New York Times printed a "news analysis" piece that was one of the most offensive pieces of manipulation I think I've ever read, in it's oh so reasonable sounding efforts (probably successful with the vast majority who read it) to marginalize and equate with neanderthals and the far right wing anyone who is not interested in becoming terrorists to fight invented terrorism, with it's interpretation of Obama's statements in his speech:
He must convince the country that it is in safe hands despite warnings to the contrary from the right, and at the same time persuade the skeptical left that it is enough to amend his predecessor's approach rather than abandon it.
In the reductionist debate in Washington, either any sacrifice must be made to win a pitiless war against radicals, or terrorism does not justify any compromise with cherished American values.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama seems to be in complete agreement with the NYT's manipulations of public opinion:
"Both sides may be sincere in their views, but neither side is right," Mr. Obama said. "The American people are not absolutist, and they don't elect us to impose a rigid ideology on our problems. They know that we need not sacrifice our security for our values, nor sacrifice our values for our security, so long as we approach difficult questions with honesty and care and a dose of common sense."
Today, Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, talks with Real News Network CEO Paul Jay with his own analysis of Obama's speech and his determination to "legalize" the Military Commissions set up under George Bush with the 2006 Military Commissions Act (MCA).
Real News Network – May 23, 2009
"Absolutist" to defend the law?
Michael Ratner: It's outrageous to equate people who demand the rule of law with those who break it
This "align with the standard of law we use in the US" rhetoric Obama's been using to try to justify and make acceptable NOT aligning with the standard of law really bothers me coming from a Constitutional Lawyer. It's political rhetoric and smokescreen he's using to say one thing but do another, imo.
If he wanted seriously to "align with the standard of law" there is no need for an MCA or the commissions and they should by his own reasoning be tried in "regular" courts with the same rights to confront accusers and challenge evidence – only evidence allowed by law – accorded any other criminally charged defendants, so it is as obvious as the nose on my face that he has no intention of doing anything but circumvent the standard of law with these prisoners, and sell bullshit to the American public and anyone else he can find who will buy it and not see through it.
Two quotes from his own words on the floor of the Senate on September 28, 2006 – his own reaction to passage of S. 3930, Military Commissions Act of 2006 – which approved U.S. torture of detainees and strips Constitutional rights away from detainees, that make it clear the he has always intended to continue the so-called WOT, the dismantling of rights, and avoidance of the law:
All of us – Democrats and Republicans – want to do whatever it takes to track down terrorists and bring them to justice as swiftly as possible. All of us want to give our President every tool necessary to do this. And all of us were willing to do that in this bill. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to the American people.
I've heard, for example, the argument that it should be military courts, and not federal judges, who should make decisions on these detainees. I actually agree with that.
Dick Cheney, Eric Holder, George W. Bush, Military Commissions, msm, Political Rhetoric, Torture, war crimes
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Edger on May 23, 2009 at 5:50 pm
but I'm feeling pretty Bushed, and I don't much like attempts to manipulate or demonize me.
Night Owl on May 23, 2009 at 8:17 pm
a President has ever given.
No President, not even Bush, has ever claimed the legal right to preemptively and permanently hold anyone he believes might commit a crime in the future, let alone formally institute a permanent, extra-Constitutional tribunal beholden only to him to decide the legal rights of people he arbitrarily and capriciously detains.
Yet there he stands, so pompous and superior, callously denigrating and dismissing as 'absolutist' the fundamental principles of the document he claims to hold so dear.
I hope they mopped the floors of Independence Hall with extra strength bleach after that speech, because the stain Obama left in those hallowed halls won't be easy to remove.
dharmasyd on May 23, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Obama's forked tongue grows and grows!
dkmich on May 23, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Too bad there's nothing in there.
Activist Guy on May 23, 2009 at 9:24 pm
For many of those being detained which falls between criminal and prisoner of war, and entitles the captive to the basic protections required of either of the above two categories. This then gets justified by describing all tossed into that hole as "terrorists". As anyone who actually pays attention well knows, only a (very small) minority of those being held could fairly be described as "terrorists", active dedicated al-Qaida members. Some were nothing but the personal enemies of Afghan warlords, who took the Americans money and got rid of a nuisance in one two-fer. However, the largest group is in many ways the saddest: ordinary Afghans, not members of a uniformed military unit, who dared to take up guns and shoot at a foreign invading/occupying army. Some were low-level fighters affiliated with the Taliban, some had no political association at all, but in either case, none of them represent any sort of "terrorist threat" to the US or anyone else, they are simply Afghan patriots who did nothing that millions of Americans wouldn't do if our nation were invaded and occupied by a foreign power. (Note; don't invade a foreign country and expect nobody there to oppose your conquest.) To put it simply, the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord would be categorized as "illegal combatants" by the standards put forward by both the Bush and Obama administrations, and any captured would be consigned to indefinite, perhaps permanent, detention with no rights or recourses.
MinistryOfTruth on May 23, 2009 at 11:23 pm
day by day, until Bush/Cheney stand trial.
Wom Bat on May 24, 2009 at 12:09 am
I see it. But I can scarcely believe it.
Somebody's given Obama some hellacious Come To Jesus lecture. Wouldn't you love to see a transcript?
taoskier on May 24, 2009 at 12:25 am
This might be Obama's low point, and it's only May.
Obama said some of these detainess that might be held indefinitely had training in explosives from Al Qaeda, what he didn't say was we (US) did not have evidence of them committing any crime.
And how was it determined a particular indidvidual had trained with explosives?
Was it "info" gained by torture?
Was it hearsay? Was the detainee allowed to contest the evidence against him?
So these individuals could be detained forever and in effect they are innocent, per any reasonable system of jusctice.
Obama has embraced the methodology of the totalitarian regime.
MediaFreeze on May 24, 2009 at 1:54 am
This diary has got me thinking about why Obama seems to jetisoning the US Constitution rather than defending it. He is a Harvard educated constitutional scholar. He campaigned eloquently for the change and restoration of the rule of law.
Was that all just lip service? Is he really a power mad wolf in sheeps clothing? I really don't think so. Then, why are we headed in this direction right now?
One of the things that I have found uncomfortable about Obama since the Goolsbee NAFTA imbroglio during the campaign, is his pension for saying one thing to one group of people and another to a different group. This, I think was the genius of Axelrod. The game has been for Obama to appear to everyone as whatever they imagine they want him to be. He has been groomed to simultaneously occupy contradictory frames. Now, it is one thing to skate around issues during a campaign and quite another once you begin to establish a record for governing. That is why he is running into so much trouble with almost every issue right now.
It is not that he has cravenly (like Bush…) embarked on a program of misinforming (aka lying), but rather (and maybe more troubling) that he honestly believes that he can chart an course that resolves the concerns of both sides of a given issue. The problem is that some issues are not reconcilable. For instance, in this case, you can't implement a program that is a little bit unconstitutional. That just means that it is illegal–period. Never-the-less, he stood up in front of the US Constitution and declared his new "prolonged detention" regime will be lawful. The scary thing is that he actually believes that it can be.
So, we need to wonder why. He's not stupid, and he doesn't seem to be an evil monster dissembling like Bush. But, how then can he be moving down a path that seems intent upon codifying the destruction of the most basic human rights principles of this nation?
Is it an unwillingness to take on his politic enemies? Is it fear of political consequences? I think it is something like that.
David Axelrod is in the White House now. Perhaps he is the person closest to Obama. I can imagine Obama trapped in that fishbowl getting political updates everyday right after his national security briefing. The world is moving fast. Everything is a blur and the game that got you elected was to give eloquent soulful speeches that left open enough room for different factions to conclude that he was on their side. That's the game he knows how to play.
Is it delusional? Sort of…
I'm sure he is very frustrated right now by the "absolutist" opinions of Maddow, Turley and this guy Ratner. I'm sure he knows they are right, but I suspect that he also wants to believe that they are wrong, and that he can somehow magically create the new illegal unconstitutional prolonged detention program in a legal constitutional manner. He wants it so badly, because it solves his problem, and he desperately wants to solve the problem because he wants to be a successful president. It's like he's wandering around in a house of mirrors.
The real problem is that he–in his own way–is conflating politics and governance. Unlike during the campaign, he is trying to address real world problems now. His solutions however, as during the campaign, still require occupying contradictory policies at the same time.
This is not going to go well, unless he stops pandering and starts to make some tough choices, and stick to them.
curmudgeon on May 24, 2009 at 8:56 pm
In 1948, Harry Truman, in an election year, no less, raised much ire when he went forward with adding a portico to the southern face of the White House. By doing so, he was able to remove unsightly awnings that were difficult and expensive to maintain. Nevertheless, his opponents seized upon this as a rallying cry in support of his upcoming opponent, Thomas Dewey-R, New York.
We will know that a turning point has been reached when Obama adds parapets to the White House and adds a neo-con filled moat (perhaps a genetically modified creature derived from a piranha, Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity) around the perimeter, complete with a drawbridge.
Although he has made a few encouraging changes, much of what Obama has done (and not done) so far, is hugely disappointing.
When I hear Obama's smooth, polished delivery I seem to suffer flashbacks from childhood trauma incurred from visits to the dentist's office. You know the drill…You are lying helpless in the chair; surrounded in a tangle of wires, tubes and other Rube Goldberg-like contraptions; soothing elevator music wafting in the background; and finally, the dentist leans over you…brandishing tools that you last saw either in a blacksmith shop or was it a B-movie about the Spanish Inquisition), cooing to you in his most soothing voice, "Now relax…this won't hurt a bit."
All of which reminds me, I haven't seen "Marathon Man" yet.
Lasthorseman on May 25, 2009 at 2:09 am
In a very fine four days I have greatly improved my Apocalyptic horse riding skills. The US government of, by and for the people, is/has been long dead and buried.
If, as a nation, we are retarded enough to put any high priority on beating the living shit out of people merely for occupying that living space above "our" oil and at the same time have such audacity to claim high human rights high ground while financing the industrial gold rush that is Red China.
I just can't fathom the galactic stupidity of a statement like that. I have to consider that vast propaganda machine that is media, daily dumbing down the populace by excluding all references to how the capitalistic world really functions.
How "the right" feels about national security is about as relevant to people's lives right now as the current rate of ammunition sales. The ministry of Illuminati propaganda has left the building so to speak. All we are left with is a dysfunctional puppet show while the globalists decide how best to de-populate 80% of the world.


"…ten men who were lepers…" (Luke 17:12).
Lepers were outcasts in society. Unable to participate in normal daily activities, unable to go to the temple to worship God, even unable to be with their family. These ten lepers encountered Jesus and did two positive things. But 9-of-10 lepers also did two sad things.
(-) Only one cleansed leper came back to praise God for his healing.
(-) Only one was pronounced "well" by Jesus. All ten lepers were "cleansed," which simply meant they were ceremonially clean and could once again participate in daily life and temple worship. But only one was made completely "well." The Greek word is sozo, which means saved from eternal destruction. The same word is used to describe what Jesus came to do for us: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save [sozo] His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Probably all of us experience daily blessings from our good God, yet many of us never acknowledge Him as the Source of those blessings. We just accept the blessing and then keep on walking.
Let's be quick to recognize God's blessings. Let's always remember that He does more than give us strength for today, but He saves [sozo] us entirely from eternal destruction. Let's be the ones who always return—day after day after day—to give glory to God!
Unbelief can shut down the "Shalom Cycle" that God intends for our lives. Even worse, unbelief can put us on a slippery slope that could be disastrous for our future! So it is vital that we understand what unbelief is, how we can recognize it in our own lives, and the steps we can take to recover from unbelief.
Quite simply, when we are grateful for what God has already done for us it fuels our trust in God's future grace to meet our needs.
But when we forget to be grateful and gratitude turns to grumbling, unbelief displaces trust.
Or we know of a promise but don't think it applies to our circumstance.
Hebrews 3 shows us that left unchecked and uncorrected, unbelief can turn into disbelief. You can remember this word by defining it as a complete disintegration of faith. Notice in Hebrews 3 how quickly the word unbelieving becomes turns away from God, and how closely associated are the words unbelief and disobeyed (Hebrews 3:12, 19-20).
An inward focus on self-preservation—we no longer encourage others but think only of ourselves (Hebrews 3:13).
If you detect any of these warning signs, quickly repent (Revelation 3:2-3) and then run to Jesus for help. One of the most honest prayers you can pray—and one of the prayers Jesus answers the quickest—is "Lord, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:22-24).
Join me next Sunday for the final message in our 4-part series on God's Shalom.
I love reading C.S. Lewis' books, and I loved learning more about Lewis himself through his personal correspondence. Here are a few more quotes from Yours, Jack.
You can read my review of Yours, Jack by clicking here. And be sure to check out the first set of quotes I shared from this book by clicking here.


I always value your opinions....People who answer "yes and no", please feel free to explain in comments......your answer.
...includes Diary of A Young Girl, Anne Frank.
And, you think we are not losing our freedoms?
I have been looking for a picture of Virgo Potens to have and carry around with me. I have not found one. I do not have access to a printer at this time.
Does anyone have one or know where to get one?
There is one on the side of this blog.
How right this young man is--only in the privacy of our minds and hearts do we find God with us. Immanuel, who comes to us daily in Holy Communion, must be heard in the private moments we can glean.
Will our relationship with Christ be damaged by this invasion of privacy, or rather the destruction of privacy?
Yes. Those of us who have learned or are learning to hear God in the silence of privacy will be saved.
Others may not be. Future generations may not know the privacy needed to be with God.
But, I could not resist putting this on the blog. Video of the meeting is on this link.
One of my dear friends raised money in the annual Boxing Day Dip into the English Channel at Folkestone this morning.
She is a strong lady! Congratulations!
17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
...people would be thinking of leaving the Church because of me. Why?
Here is a short list of criticisms against Pope Supertradmum.
STM has sins in her past and she still sins.
STM really is far from being a saint.
STM is not a scholar like Benedict.
STM is too clerical and has not criticized clericalism.
STM does not go to confession weekly any more.
STM at one time hung around Marxists and has read Gramsci.
STM wears hats, not mantillas to Mass.
STM does not talk about subsidiarity.
STM has her favorite priests, bishops and cardinals-favoritism.
STM does not wear red shoes, and sometimes prefers the company of the poor.
STM writes too much, and talks too much. She is from the New World, therefore, she lacks credibility.
I always like Benedict better...."
It occurred to me today that those who are thinking of leaving the Church because of Pope Francis should just look in the mirror.
Cardinals voted for Pope Francis, not the Holy Spirit.
Get over it....stay in the Church and help make it stronger. Be the Church Militant.
We got together after the Tridentine Mass at St. Alphonsus, which was beautifully sung by the schola.
These are TLM people who I have known for a long time My son use to hang around with their kids when those kidsand he were teens.
As my son and I are separated by thousands of miles, being with his old chums and the parents of his old chums brought great cheer to me, as it was like being with a real Catholic family.
One of the young women in the family who is married, her mother and I talked about God and the things of God for hours. The early Christian community must have been like this house-full of hospitality and many children and grandchildren focused on God.
Five of us said the rosary together.
I pray that all Catholic families would be like this-open, prayerful, orthodox, lovers of the Latin Mass.
Has anyone any reviews or opinions of this movie coming out in March?
Part of the idea of making cannelloni on the day after Christmas is that one could use leftover meat.
Make the pasta: Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to aerate. In a measuring cup, mix together the eggs, oil and 3 tablespoons water in a separate bowl, and pour through the feed tube into the food processor while running. Process until the dough forms a ball and sticks to the blade, about 30 seconds. Add more water or flour as necessary to achieve the right consistency – a smooth, homogenized, compact dough. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead a few times, just to bring it together. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for an hour. In the meantime, make the filling and the besciamella sauce.
Make the filling: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the onion, and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ground pork, and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine, and cook until the wine and meat juices have cooked away and the meat is sizzling, about 10 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, salt and rosemary. Push the vegetables and meat to the side to clear a "hot spot" in the pan to plop in the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste toast a minute or two, then stir it into the meat and vegetables. Pour in the hot chicken stock, and simmer until thickened and the flavors come together, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape filling into a bowl to cool. When cooled, stir in the mortadella, grated cheese, parsley, and lemon zest.
Make the sauce: Warm the milk with the bay leaves in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until roux smells toasty but has not darkened in color, about 4 minutes. Pour in the hot milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from heat, and whisk in the grated cheese.
When an hour has passed, roll out the dough: Cut it into 4 equal pieces. Flatten a piece of dough into a rectangle, 2 by 2 inches, and roll through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold this rectangle of dough like a letter, and roll through again. Repeat the rolling and folding a few more times, to knead and smooth the dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Switch to the next-narrowest setting on the machine. Roll a dough strip through, short end first. Repeat with remaining dough strips. Continue this process with narrower settings, now rolling only once through each setting, until you've gotten to the next-to-last setting and the dough strips are about as wide as the machine (6 inches).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. To assemble the cannelloni: Spread 1 cup besciamella in the bottom of a 3 quart 9-by-13 Pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Top with ½ cup of the marinara sauce and spread. Fill the dough rectangles with about 1/2 cup of the filling, then roll up the long way like a cigar and fit them snugly together in the baking dish. Spread the remaining bseciamella on top, then drizzle the remaining 1 cup marinara sauce over the besciamella. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Tent the baking dish with foil, and bake until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes more.


The patience and hard work involved in carefully looking after your potted plants – pruning, trimming, ensuring that they are watered, and generally tending to their all-around health, makes these living and breathing creatures quite the investment.
You have spent months or even years caring and nurturing them that they have become a part of your family. The thought of leaving them behind when moving to a different location is a hard pill to swallow. After all, you have gone to great lengths to arrange for the transfer of your furniture and personal stuff. Why not exert the same efforts for your precious flora?
Complete Removals has seen many beautiful and fascinating pot plants in our years of moving homes around Adelaide. We think that this is a good opportunity to share the safest and most effective ways to make sure that your 'mobile garden' arrives in tip-top shape.
It is natural to have a lot of concerns when it comes to moving your treasured plants. Here are the most Frequently Asked Questions and their corresponding answers to help you out.
How much space in the truck will the plants take up?
A lot of people don't realise that potted plants actually take up a lot more space in a truck than the rest of the furniture. Because the furniture items can be wrapped up and protected, they can then be stacked on top of each other. However, you can't place anything on top of a pot plant!
Due to the fact that pot plants tend to take up so much space at the end of a load, it is best to be prepared for this in advance.
If you have more than five to six pot plants, then the space required in the truck can start having quite an impact on being able to fit everything easily. To reduce the costs of moving the plants, we advise where possible, to put smaller pots inside a box and tape the top closed. This allows our removalists to stack them as they would any other heavy box.
What happens if we have lots of pot plants to move?
We have had some very well-prepared clients in the past, who have advised us in advance that there will be over fifty pot plants to be moved and a 12-noon settlement time on their property.
With prior warning, we were able to ensure that we took two trucks for that job. One truck was filled completely with pot plants and the second one was loaded with all the household items.
As long as we know in advance that there is a large number of pot plants to be moved, then you can rest easy. We will always come up with a plan that will suit your unique needs.
Can we move Wine Barrel pot plants?
The answer is yes. We certainly can. There are, however, a few considerations that need to be made.
If the wine barrel has been sitting in the back garden for years on end, then there is a good chance that some or all of the wood has started to rot. As the wood rots, it can make the metal hoops that hold the whole barrel together start to loosen and come apart.
There is nothing more upsetting than having your wine barrel tilted in order to be moved, and then have the wood separate and the entire contents of the barrel come rolling out.
Before moving day comes up, have a quick look at the quality of your barrels. You may need to consider getting a new half barrel or half cask and re-potting your plant, instead.
Can you move pot plants with cracks in them?
Prior to moving day, quickly inspect all of your ceramic and concrete pots for any visible cracks that are forming down the sides.
Keep in mind that as the pot is tilted and then transported, the existing cracks can worsen. If there are some large cracks visible, you should consider re-potting the plant into a plastic pot for ease of transport.
We can then wrap up the ceramic or concrete pot and move it safely to your new house. You will then have the option of transferring the plant back into its original pot.
Whilst it is not great for a plant to be transferred so many times, this is still the best option especially if the ceramic or concrete pot holds a sentimental value.
Should I water my pot plants before moving day?
We understand that transporting a very dry plant is not ideal. The stress of moving can negatively affect its health. You might be tempted to heavily water your plants on moving day. But, trust us, you definitely don't want to relocate pot plants that have just been watered!
The problem with watering them before being moved is two-fold. The drain run-off will end up moving throughout the truck and potentially come into contact with your furniture and other items. You certainly don't want muddy water going anywhere near your lounge.
We suggest that you give them a really good water five or six days before your move, which will allow water to percolate into the soil and roots. If they start to seem a little wilted or dried out, then give them a gentle misting with a water sprayer. Never water them completely!
Complete Removals is a premier removalist company with a proven track record for executing perfect stress-free moves. We have the experience and expertise in transporting your precious plants and we would absolutely love it if you let us help you move them.
Do you need help in moving your plants to your new location? Contact us for assistance!


If I Were A Poodle Book by Jellycat. This busy board book sparks flights of fancy, as little ones imagine being a bouncy, happy puppy! With a different texture on each page and a cheeky pink tail popping out from the top of the book, it's a wonderful world of poodle pondering!


Your vacation time is valuable so all our villas are handpicked and professionally inspected ensuring we meet our 5 star quality and luxury commitment.
We live and work directly on Samui all reservations are handled by staff with first hand knowledge of all our villas and we provide 24/7 guest support to ensure you get the most from your holiday.
No guest service fees and our rates are fully transparent showing all charges and taxes making our rates easy to compare ensuring you won't get a better rate elsewhere.


MedEx answers any queries you might have regarding Penegra-50 purchase, shipping and payment terms.
The Indian company "Zydus Fortiza" has brought on the market Penegra 50, based on Sildenafil. Its action is aimed at the restoration of male potency and allows the men with erectile dysfunction to return their health. It "works" only on the condition of natural sexual arousal, which plays a great role in the sexual life.
The active substance of Penegra 50 (Sildenafil) stimulates the active blood flow to the pelvic organs, which provides stable erection and pleasure from the full sexual life. It help solves the problem of weak potency, regardless of the reasons that caused it. The action of Penegra 50 lasts for 4-5 hours. The use of this drug is restricted (you can take it only once a day).
The pill of Penegra 50 should be taken one hour before the supposed sexual contact with a clean water. You shouldn't combine alcoholic drinks and fat food with this drug.
The drug is issued in pills (50 mg of Sildenafil), packed in blisters (4 pills in each). Maximum daily dosage is 100 mg.
You should consult the doctor before starting the treatment with Penegra 50 and tell him/her about your health state, diseases and drugs you're taking now. The doctor can choose the optimal dosage of this drug and (if there are contraindications) explain the risk of its use.


text:
Tales of Love and Despair
Men in Love in Revolutionary Iran
Mahnaz Kousha
CreateSpace (Apr 19, 2017)
Softcover $9.99 (254pp)
Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5
These stories transcend culture to speak to wider human experiences.
In Tales of Love and Despair: Men in Love in Revolutionary Iran, sociologist Mahnaz Kousha draws from extensive interviews to craft eight short stories that capture the spirit of an era. Set between the 1970s and 1990s, these clear accounts from seldom-heard voices explore relationships at different stages. From teenage devotion to courtship, from midlife resignation to the pain experienced by couples with conflicting ideals, marriages illuminate the strengths and flaws in every heart.
Distilled details reveal Tehran as a cosmopolitan city at a crossroads. The often-lonely routes desire can take lead to intriguing glimpses of freedoms that existed before the revolution. Women in particular—as viewed by their partners—command respect, reveal unknown talents, puzzle and frustrate, find solace in homemaking, or bristle under the constraints of societal rules. The varied depictions of women allow life behind the veil to unfold with natural variety. The men, too, expose tenderness and bullheadedness, dutiful natures and other complexities.
Among the strongest stories is "Where Are We? We Are Here." Ali, the narrator, is jailed in a roundup of student protesters. He falls in love with Mariam, a fellow prisoner's visitor. Decades later he revisits their struggles. The crisp narration skillfully details the breakdown of their relationship through a series of household changes. When Mariam is engrossed in leftist politics, tasks are left to Ali. When she begins to embrace extravagance, new purchases suggest a temporary, tentative peace. Objects begin to speak volumes. What's left unspoken builds subtle tension.
Other stories expand the theme of intellectuals who find themselves troubled by the growing chasm between hope and reality. In "The Paris of the Middle East," a new father has a shockingly abrasive response to the birth of his daughter. Fearing that fatherhood has derailed his plans for an untraditional life, he distances himself from his new family only to later discover his wrongs.
In "Piano Lessons," an engineer is baffled by his ambitious wife's need for a wider social circle. Brief exile in Canada and a return to Tehran effectively highlight the tension of the times, as well as the rapid changes couples endure. An especially well-written interlude features piano lessons, which provide the narrator with an emotional oasis.
Aside from stray proofreading errors, the work remains honed. Frequently uncomplicated plots emphasize the contrast between past and present. The range of the stories is narrow—perhaps in deference to the overall project, and out of a desire to neither embellish nor diminish facts drawn from real interviews—but the majority succeed as intimate accounts of a generation.
On occasion, faithfulness to the truth prevents the full leap into fiction. One such example is "Second Marriage," which features a pivotal earthquake in the narrator's life that soon becomes a passing, dramatic plot point; secondary characters are also loosely drawn. "Father," the final story, depicts the power of filial bonds in a fleeting snowstorm, yet remains a grainy snapshot in a book of otherwise richer panoramas.
Tales of Love and Despair offers moving examples of personal struggles. With its multifaceted approach to love, the book transcends culture to speak to wider human experiences.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the author will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
St. Christopher on Pluto
Adults and Other Children

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I have been reading a couple of books this week, but I have not been able to put down The Vintage Modern Home by Katherine Sorrell. What a fantastic book! This book is one of my favorite Christmas gifts. I love the mixture of vintage and modern, and I have read many books on the subject. The reason I appreciate The Vintage Modern Home is because it is realistic for how we live today. One example (of many) would be from the Essentials section: There is a chapter entitled Technology. We are living in the 21st Century; technology is here to stay. Not only are there more than 310 stunning photos, the text is also helpful and well written.
The book's premise is that most of us cannot afford to decorate a home totally from scratch. We have inherited and collected pieces we love, and we do not want to part with them anyway. This book gives great tips for combining disparate decorative elements into a cohesive whole. The sections and chapters are very well organized, and the last section contains real rooms from real homes in a variety of different styles, from Classic Elegance, to Retro Colour and French Polish.
What a lovely place to dine! This photo is from the French Polish section.
I would love to have a reading nook like this one!
You have to love a book that includes a chapter on pink accents!
There are lovely antiques in the book, and there are some great pointers for living with antiques.
This photo is from the section on scale, and I think this room is stunning.
At times I am torn as to what style my decorating really is. This seems to be the best fit that I have seen so far. I have so many older pieces I need to work into a design that I want to look modern and fun. I think I'm heading over to amazon.com!
I'll have to put that on my must-read list. One of my favorite things to do is also the hardest - mixing my old antiques with my new decor. If you're not careful, you can wind up with a room that looks like grandmom's. It is a great look though, once it's achieved.
Thanks RJ and have an awesome weekend.
Excited to read this book someday. I pinned it!
I think I need to find this book!
Great book RJ. I need it! I'm looking for ideas for something fresh and I don't have a clue!
I'll definitely have to look for this, as I am such an eclectic kind of girl.
I would love to have shelves like the ones you show from the book. Long ago we removed shelves that the previous owner built with the intention of replacing them and never did. One side of our attic is full of my husband's (mostly war) books that really should be displayed. Now I've got shelves on my mind!
Loving that blue velvet chaise in the reading nook.
That lucious shade of navy royal is so yummy!
Got some books for Christmas and have yet to crack them open!
Oh, I love those bookshelves! As you know, I am working on that right now! More inspiration, love it! Oh, and the armoire in the other image is gorgeous. Looks like a lovely book.
So stinkin' sweet it hurts.


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The 2018 National League 2, also known as the 2018 MPT Myanmar National League 2, is the 6th season of the MNL-2, the second division league for association football clubs since its founding in 2012. At the end of the 2017 MNL-2, City Yangon F.C. won the MNL-2 title. And then, City Yangon F.C. and  Sagaing United promoted to 2018 Myanmar National League. But City Yangon F.C. quit from Myanmar National League. So, Myawady FC auto promoted to 2018 Myanmar National League. City Yangon F.C. and Chin United F.C. abandoned their clubs. In 2018 National League 2, there is only seven will play for MNL-2 winner.

MPT and MNL signed a sponsor for the Myanmar National League, MNL-2 and Youth league. MPT signed 3 years sponsor start from 2018 to 2020.

Name Changed for 2018 National League 2
 Finance and Revenue FC changed to Mountain Lion.
 City Stars F.C. changed to Royal Thanlyin.
 Pong Gan FC changed to Kachin United.

Result

League table

Matches

Fixtures and results of the 2018 National League 2 season.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Top scorers

Awards

Monthly awards

References

External links
 Myanmar National League Official Website
 Myanmar National League Facebook Official Page

MNL-2 seasons
1
Myanmar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Gundersen Health System in La Crosse will host a welcoming event for 27 cyclists on an annual cancer fundraising ride from Texas to Anchorage, Alaska, at 7 p.m. today.
The event, with the time subject to change, will take place in the lower lobby of the Gundersen Legacy Building.
It will include comments from the cyclists, Mayor Tim Kabat and Gundersen representatives.
Its mission is to raise money, educate and bring hope to those with cancer. For more information, go to www.texas4000.org.


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Q: Turning an IBM lto6 sas HH drive from library to standalone, how? new here.
I have been using a stand alone lto6 hh drive (ibm ts2260/3580 h6s) for two years. Just recently I bumped into an almost new ibm ts2900 autoloader with an hh lto6 drive in it and bought it.
Since I dont need a library or autoloader, I want to convert the drive to a stand alone unit. I have read on the dell forums that it is posible, and that you need to use the serial port. I understand this would have to be done with the drive connected to the library, as the ts2260 case does not have serial, only ethernet.
The question still remains how to do it. I have a pc with a lsi sas hba, ITDT software, the 2900 autoloader, the ts2260...Windows 10. Can also use linux or mac, but am no programer.
Thanks a lot in advance.

A: Thank you Kevin. I will try that in the near future. I have found a stop gap solution that I find usable. The drive I have came with an autoloader, wich is very loud and unpractical for my needs. I have found that disconnecting the robot, the library does not block the drive from working. The only thing the drive needs to work, is to see the small lib logic board attached to it. So I took the robot out, the magazine out, cut the autoloader by half the deep (this thing is 85cm deep) and placed the drive at the front, where the magazine used to slide in. Its now a neat 1u rack lto 6 unit that is ready to take a newer library drive (be it 7 or 8) and work right away without the need to hack it. The only problem is that you need to use itdt or the lib´s web interface to load or unload a tape. Not a big deal. An autoloader with a broken robot is as cheap as a sas case for a standalone drive, so if anyone is handy with a saw but not so with a command line, this may be your ticket. Will share pictures when finished. Would like to try your method but I am not sure if I should, being that I have a perfectly fine drive now...

A: Try this at your own risk.
What You Need

*

*RS-422-USB cable with screw terminal

*JST-SH (1.0mm) Plug and Cable - 10 PINS

*Power Supply to the Drive

Step.1
There is a 10-PIN connector behind the drive. Two of them are Data Transmitter (TXD+-), other two are Data Receiver (RXD+-) and one is a ground for RS-422. Connect RS-422 to this connector with JST-SH plug. You may need to figure out pin assignments by reverse engineering.
Step.2
Setup PC and RS422. The default value of baud rate and stop bit should be okay. Now boot up drive.
Step.3
Send the following commands (Hex) from PC to the drive:
02 00 36 AC 01 00 00 00 01 FF F2 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 80 66 03
This is a "Set_Config" command that allows the drive to go online to SCSI or Fibre Channel automatically without needing Set_Config. Reboot the drive to see if it can be detected via SAS.
Reference

*

*LDI Specification

*Pioneer found in Reddit

A: I got it working and did set up an github account for an easier documentation.
https://github.com/AC7RNsphnHVbyT4/ibm-tape-drive-automatic-standalone
SUMMARY

*

*Set all DIP Switches on the drive to off.

*Connect the RS-422-USB Adapter as follows:
-        TxD+ → Red
-      TxD- → Brown
-      RxD+ → Yellow
-    RxD- → Orange
-    GND → Black

*Send the Package to the drive: \x02\x00\x36\xAC\x01\x00\x00\x00\x01\xFF\xF2\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xE6\x03

*Drive restarts and goes online to SCSI or Fibre Channel automatically.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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It's a numbers game really...
Thursday, August 21, 2014 @ 2:26 PM
Teddy James Writer, AFA Journal MORE
Since 1973, there have been over 50,000,000 abortions in the U.S. But let's be honest, that number is too big to wrap our heads around. So let's break that down into who those children could have become:
There are 2.1 doctors for every 1,000 Americans (691,400 in 2012). Therefore, over 105,000 doctors were killed before their first patient was served.
There are .3 writers for every 1,000 Americans (129,100 in 2012). Therefore, over 4,500 writers were killed before their first work was crafted.
There are 5.1 musicians for every 1,000 Americans (167,400 in 2012). Therefore, over 255,000 musicians were killed before they heard their first note.
There are 2.3 police officers and detectives for every 1,000 Americans (780,000 in 2012). Therefore, over 115,000 police officers and detectives were killed before their graduation from the academy.
There are 2.8 teachers for every 1,000 Americans (955,800 in 2012). Therefore, over 140,000 teachers were killed before their first class.
There are 1.04 computer programmers for every 1,000 Americans (343,700 in 2012). Therefore, over 52,000 computer programmers were killed before they learned to type.
There are .04 professional athletes for every 1,000 Americans (14,900 in 2012). Therefore, over 2,000 athletes were killed before they ever touched a ball.
These stats are not exact; they are estimations by a guy who knows very little about math. But I do know these numbers are easier to grasp, and to me, grasping the numbers makes it much more traumatic.
*Stats were calculated by taking the number of jobs in each designated field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (hyperlinks), divided by total population (rounded to 330,000,000). That gave us the percentage we used to find the "per 1,000" and number killed by abortion.
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Snow leopard twins debut at SF zoo
Daniel Montes
Two baby snow leopards, born at the San Francisco Zoo and Gardens in June, made their official debut Thursday.
The male and female cubs, born on June 7, appeared for the first time in front of guests at the zoo's outdoor enclosure.
Because of their age, the infant felines do not have a set public schedule and won't be on permanent display until a later date, zoo officials said.
The 9-week old cubs do not yet have a name, according to zoo spokesman Eric Maul.
Regarding today's debut, Maul said:
"They were a little shy at first… You could see their confidence in the outside world is growing with every minute. They're doing quite well."
The cubs were born to mother "Dawa" and father "Jimmy G." This was Dawa's first pregnancy and zoo officials are closely monitoring her and the cubs.
Maul said:
"They're amazingly large. From what I understand that's normal for their age."
Snow leopards, native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia, are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to zoo officials, there are only between 7,463 and 7,989 snow leopards left in the wild. They're typically hunted for their fur and bones, which are used in traditional medicines.
Zoo CEO and Director Tanya Peterson said in a statement:
"As a mother of twins myself, I am overjoyed that we are able to contribute to the survival of this majestic species."
The zoo's snow leopard breeding program has been active since 1958, zoo officials said.
Asia baby CEO conservation nature pregnancy San Francisco San Francisco Zoo
Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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Discover The Different Sides Of Sydney's Opera House
Transformers 3, Sydney Opera House Austr from Interior_Photos
The Sydney Opera House has been existing since 1973 as an impressive architectural work of the 20th century. It is where a fusion of creativity and innovation clash as is expressed through its magnificent structural design. Located at the tip of a peninsula in Sydney Harbour, this building had been through various influences on architecture. It composes of three groups of overlapping vaulted shells which are the roofs of two main performance halls and a restaurant.
Surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses, this establishment, primary used for the purposes of orchestra and many performances of the arts, also has other parts to it that will entertain and satisfy every tourist that comes by. Apart from that, because of the genius architecture of the building, the Opera House was included as a part of the National Heritage List last 2005 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and likewise on the State Heritage Register of New South Wales during 2003 under the Heritage Act 1977. Here are some of the other parts of the building where you will get to dine or party the night away.
Opera Bars
Two Champagnes Please from NickiMM
The Opera Bar is one of the highlights in the Opera House. Spending time here is most definitely the best you could ever get anywhere around the city. Whether you would like to enjoy a cocktail or two by the water's edge, eat at the gorgeous far and enjoy the magnificent views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, you will definitely be amazed and feel like you're on top of the world.
It attends to all the needs of its visitors with a hint of class, sophistication and style. Whether you're up for dinner or want some fancy drink, the Opera Bar is the ideal place to be. You would also be serenaded by daily live music while enjoying your time here.
The Opera Bar is located on the Lower Concourse of the Sydney Opera House and is open seven days a week from mid eleven in the morning yet on nine in the morning during the weekends.
The House Eatery by George
Lunch at Kitchen By Mike from sachman75
If you want to grab a meal before witnessing a theatre show at the Sydney Opera House or just want to eat to your heart's desire on a three-course dinner, The House Eatery by George is just the perfect place for you. It is the newest pop-up restaurant, café and bar that would give you magnificent views of the harbor while you enjoy your meal.
Their dishes are inspired with local flare and are served fresh. Their dishes also conform to the seasons and extend throughout the all-day dining menu. The menu is divided into plates for sweetness, substance, sharing or side and you can eat them any way you like.
The House Eatery by George is located under the Colonnade at the Western Broadwalk. It is open seven days a week from eleven in the morning.
Biztro Mozart
Vivid – Opera House from lamww
The Biztro Mozart offer quality meals at bistro prices. It has been a favorite among the locals and have gained regulars over the years. It has an appetizing dinner menu that offers plenty of variety. It is the perfect venue to chill out before experiencing a little opera. It is located at the first level next to the Box Office and is open two hours prior to Joan Southerland Theatre or concert Hall performances. However, it is close on Sundays and public holidays and does not take bookings.
Theatre Bars
The Jacksons from Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer
Known as Sydney's best kept secrets, the Theatre Bars is the place for people to meet and mingle with their friends before the shows. You can enjoy a glass of wine, bubbles or cocktails here and likewise have a breathtaking view of the Sydney harbor. You may also avail of pre-orders on your interval drinks upon arrival or simply purchase a pre-paid drink voucher to present at the bar to avoid queues.
Sydney Opera House Shop
314/365 from anokarina
The Sydney Opera House Shop is where you can purchase merchandise including gifts and souvenirs, and all other performance related products and innovative design items sourced from around the globe. It is where you can take a part of your memorable experience at the Sydney Opera House and bring it home with you to reminisce on your great times while visiting this magnificent city. It is located at the Box office foyer and is open daily from nine in the morning until six in the evening.
For hotel bookings and reservations near the Opera House, click here.
For cruises to Australia, click here.
For flights to Australia, click here.
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seventeen − fourteen =


A young girl has had the €125,000 settlement of her claim for an injury due to a faulty footpath approved at the High Court.
Nine-year-old Charlotte Clapperton (now 16 years of age) was riding her electric scooter on May31st 2007 when it hit an uneven section of the footpath on Tyrconnell Road in Inchicore, Dublin, and Charlotte fell from the scooter – severely injuring her left elbow.
The damage to her elbow meant that Charlotte had to undergo two operations, and she still has a 10cm scar on her forearm. Her elbow still troubles her, and Charlotte is unable to participate in her former pastimes of gymnastics and Irish dancing.
Charlotte made a claim for an injury due to a faulty footpath through her mother – Collette Clapperton of Bluebell in Dublin – on the basis that the footpath was in a poor state due to the roots of nearby trees pushing the flagstones up, and that the footpath was in such a condition to make it a safety hazard.
Dublin City Council – who had responsibility for the maintenance of the tress and the footpath – admitted liability for Charlotte´s injuries and a settlement of injury compensation for an injury due to a faulty footpath amounting to €125,000 was agreed.
However, before Charlotte´s injury claim could be completely resolved, the settlement first had to be approved by a judge as the claim had been brought on behalf of a minor. Consequently, at the High Court in Dublin, the circumstances of Charlotte´s accident and injury were retold to Ms Justice Mary Irvine.
Judge Irvine approved the settlement, after inspecting Charlotte´s injury and stating that it did not look as bad as she had anticipated. She told Charlotte that she hoped the injury was not going to affect her in the future.


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Kubla Khan Ception
Kubla Khan Ception (Kubla Khan 7) was a convention held May 18-20, 1979 at the Quality Inn in Nashville, TN. The GoH was Frank M. Robinson, the Artist GoH was Michael Whelan, and the Fan GoH was Wilson 'Bob' Tucker.
Maurine Dorris came to the con and got dragged into being a gopher. She ended up running the gopher staff, known as the Space Cadets, for the rest of the decade. Andrew J. Offutt was MC.
Convention reports:
File 770 14, p. 11
Kubla Khan Sex Kubla Khan Kubla Khan Ate
Retrieved from "https://fancyclopedia.org/index.php?title=Kubla_Khan_Ception&oldid=172016"


After offering a brief overview of my decade-plus journey into the subject of American war crimes in Vietnam, I would open the floor to questions, and that generally lasted as long as the powers that be allowed. Once, it went on for almost two hours. People would ask about my discovery of long-secret U.S. investigations into atrocities in Vietnam, or what it was like tracking down survivors there, or what Vietnamese thought of Americans all these years later, or how American boys could do such horrendous things. I'd often answer that last one by talking about command policies – free-fire zones, lax rules of engagement, the body count – that made it inevitable that large numbers of innocent Vietnamese would be killed.
There is, in fact, no easy answer to any of those questions. The best I could do was offer a few insights about an environment that made such acts possible. Sometimes, I mentioned the racism that suffused the military from a soldier's first days of basic training through his 12 months in Vietnam. Sometimes, I might have talked about the bloodthirsty ethos – the chants of "kill, kill, kill" – in which they were immersed during boot camp. In the end, I would often offer a caveat: that those troops were often little more than boys, that they were naïve and politically unsophisticated, that they were thrown into a dangerous environment in which they expected bullets to start flying at any moment, that they were sent out to act as bait for enemy forces. Then someone would almost invariably ask: Haven't things changed since the Vietnam era? It's not the same for today's troops, right? And I'd stand there and try to figure out how, exactly, to answer that one.
All of this came back to me as I read the latest piece by TomDispatch regular Rory Fanning, author of Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger's Journey Out of the Military and Across America. It's a letter from a Ranger of the first post-9/11 war to a Ranger from the next one, a deeply personal note in which he mentions the racism that suffused his training, the bloodthirsty ethos in which he was immersed, his youth and naïveté. You get the picture.
Once you get to a certain age, you can't help thinking about the decisions you made (or that, in a sense, were made for you) when you were younger. I do that and someday you will, too. Reflecting on my own years in the 75th Ranger regiment, at a moment when the war you'll find yourself immersed in was just beginning, I've tried to jot down a few of the things they don't tell you at the recruiting office or in the pro-military Hollywood movies that may have influenced your decision to join. Maybe my experience will give you a perspective you haven't considered.
In its basics, our global war is less complicated to understand than you might think, despite the difficult-to-keep-track-of enemies you will be sent after – whether al-Qaeda ("central," al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in the Magreb, etc.), or the Taliban, or al-Shabab in Somalia, or ISIS (aka ISIL, or the Islamic State), or Iran, or the al-Nusra Front, or Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Admittedly, it's a little hard to keep a reasonable scorecard. Are the Shia or the Sunnis our allies? Is it Islam we're at war with? Are we against ISIS or the Assad regime or both of them?
In such circumstances, it's difficult – I know that well – but not impossible to keep in mind that your actions in the military involve far more than whatever's in front of you or in your gun sights at any given moment. Our military operations around the world – and soon that will mean you – have produced all kinds of blowback. Thought about a certain way, I was being sent out in 2002 to respond to the blowback created by the first Afghan War and you're about to be sent out to deal with the blowback created by my version of the second one.
Let me start with my first day "on the job." I remember dropping my canvas duffle bag at the foot of my bunk in Charlie Company, and almost immediately being called into my platoon sergeant's office. I sprinted down a well-buffed hallway, shadowed by the platoon's "mascot": a Grim-Reaper-style figure with the battalion's red and black scroll beneath it. It hovered like something you'd see in a haunted house on the cinder block wall adjoining the sergeant's office. It seemed to be watching me as I snapped to attention in his doorway, beads of sweat on my forehead. "At ease… Why are you here, Fanning? Why do you think you should be a Ranger?" All this he said with an air of suspicion.
When we returned a few hours later, that woman was still digging and gathering firewood, undoubtedly to cook her family's dinner that night. We had our grenade launchers, our M242 machine guns that fired 200 rounds a minute, our night-vision goggles, and plenty of food – all vacuum-sealed and all of it tasting the same. We were so much better equipped to deal with the mountains of Afghanistan than that woman – or so it seemed to us then. But it was, of course, her country, not ours, and its poverty, like that of so many places you may find yourself in, will, I assure you, be unlike anything you have ever seen. You will be part of the most technologically advanced military on Earth and you will be greeted by the poorest of the poor. Your weaponry in such an impoverished society will feel obscene on many levels. Personally, I felt like a bully much of my time in Afghanistan.
Now, it's the moment to unpack "the enemy": Most of my time in Afghanistan was quiet and calm. Yes, rockets occasionally landed in our bases, but most of the Taliban had surrendered by the time I entered the country. I didn't know it then, but as Anand Gopal has reported in his groundbreaking book, No Good Men Among the Living, our war on terror warriors weren't satisfied with reports of the unconditional surrender of the Taliban. So units like mine were sent out looking for "the enemy." Our job was to draw the Taliban – or anyone really – back into the fight.
Finally, there's freedom and democracy to unpack, if we're really going to empty that duffel bag: Here's an interesting fact that you might consider, if spreading freedom and democracy around the world was on your mind. Though records are incomplete on the subject, the police have killed something like 5,000 people in this country since 9/11 – more, in other words, than the number of American soldiers killed by "insurgents" in the same period. In those same years, outfits like the Rangers and the rest of the U.S. military have killed countless numbers of people worldwide, targeting the poorest people on the planet. And are there fewer terrorists around? Does all this really make a lot of sense to you?
When I signed up for the military, I was hoping to make a better world. Instead I helped make it more dangerous. I had recently graduated from college. I was also hoping that, in volunteering, I would get some of my student loans paid for. Like you, I was looking for practical help, but also for meaning. I wanted to do right by my family and my country. Looking back, it's clear enough to me that my lack of knowledge about the actual mission we were undertaking betrayed me – and you and us.