LIONESS is a brilliant, small and simple documentary about US women fighting in the Iraq war - I'd never knew the extant of women fighters in Iraq - this film is a moving corrective.LIONESS is a brilliant, small and simple documentary about US women fighting in the... more
According to a new study, the number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year.According to a new study, the number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they... more
A new law signed by President Obama last month now allows the US Defense Secretary to block the release of photos depicting the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody overseas. This past week, Robert Gates put this new power to work for the first time.A new law signed by President Obama last month now allows the US Defense Secretary to... more
The New York Times reports that top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007.The New York Times reports that top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized... more
Three soldiers captured insurgents who were trying to kill troops, and out of frustration for the insane rules placed on the war by politicians who care less for protecting our troops than being popular in the war zone, they knew the insurgents would be released and would kill again. So they shot the insurgents.
I'd love to hear opinions on this story.
Personally I think they violated laws and Geneva conention rulees, but I also think those rules are failing the troops. If the war were being executed as a war, we wouldn't be releasing enemy combatants to just pick up arms again.
Given that fact, I would have killed the insurgents also. I just would have found a better way to do it.Three soldiers captured insurgents who were trying to kill troops, and out of... more
Actor Ben Foster, (X-Men 3 / 3:10 to Yuma / 6 Feet Under) is interviewed in this podcast about his experience of making the extraordinary new film 'The Messenger’ why he wants listeners to write a romantic comedy for him, and the quality of Woody Harrelson’s grass.
Click the link above to listen.http://www.thefilmtalk.com/2009/11/15/ben-foster-interview-podcast-the-box-the-messenge... more
Disturbing graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers are among 33 new torture cases being investigated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The fresh claims include allegations that female and male soldiers sexually abused and humiliated detainees in camps in southern Iraq, prompting comparisons with the torture practices employed by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre that came to light in 2004.
“Yellow Cake” is a short animated film by the award-winning Canadian animator Nick Cross. Cross explains that he got the idea for the film in 2003, in light of speculation during the Bush administration that Iraq was buying uranium powder called “Yellow Cake.” Yellow Cake Uranium was one of the Weapons of Mass Destruction that Iraq allegedly possessed. Cross’s fantastic animated epic becomes a modern parable of terrorism and catastrophic war, a lamentable tragedy featuring geopolitical bullying, social unrest and worker revolt. In the end, as with most revolutions, the revolt is both crushed by foreign intervention and corrupted from the inside until it becomes as evil as the regime the workers had originally fought.
“Yellow Cake” initially lures the viewer into a tale of pleasant mirth, filled with adorable blue creatures who spend all day baking and then eating their own exquisitely delicious yellow cakes. But soon the tide turns, and the small town of happy little bakers is driven to terrorism by the greed of their leader and cake-hungry fat cats, resulting in the town’s ultimate catastrophic destruction. It seems that no matter what they do, the oppressed have no hope left.
This piece presents a number of colorful illustrations from the film, as well as the remarkable animated short, “Yellow Cake.”
Please visit my website and view the colorful illustrations and this fantastic short animated film:
As national elections draw closer, Iraqis are fearing more government repression of dissent, with several journalists reporting to have been beaten by security forces while government officials are issuing warnings about media coverage.As national elections draw closer, Iraqis are fearing more government repression of... more
Wow, this is the cutest thing you have ever seen. Videos of dogs when they first see their Soldier buddies returning home from war.Wow, this is the cutest thing you have ever seen. Videos of dogs when they first see... more
To stifle criticism of civilian killings, the American mercenary group formerly known as Blackwater approved payoffs of up to $1 million for Iraqi politicians, according to former company officials who spoke to The New York Times.
In August, a former Marine and former Blackwater employee filed sworn affidavits linking company founder Erik Prince to murders and prostitution.
The statements also say that Prince and Blackwater executives were involved in illegal weapons smuggling and had, on numerous occasions, ordered incriminating documents, e-mails, photos and video destroyed. Prince has since resigned -- however, he did not dispute the bribery allegations when confronted by Blackwater's vice chairman at the time, according to one of the whistleblowers quoted by the Times.
The Iraqi government ultimately revoked the mercenary group's operating license after the Nisour Square massacre, which left 17 civilians dead. Five Blackwater guards were charged for the killings. In spite of this, Blackwater's security apparatus continued to operate in the country for two years after it was banned.To stifle criticism of civilian killings, the American mercenary group formerly known... more
Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Four former executives described the plan under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said.
Iraqis had long complained about ground operations by the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe Corp. Then the shooting by Blackwater guards in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17 civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led U.S. prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater contractors involved.
The State Department has since turned to DynCorp and another private security firm, Triple Canopy, to handle diplomatic protective services in the country. But Xe continues to provide security for diplomats in other nations, most notably in Afghanistan.
The former executives told the Times that the payments were approved by the company's then-president, Gary Jackson. They did not know if he came up with the idea.
American’s are deeply saddened by the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood, an attack by Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan on Thursday that killed 13 people and wounded 30 others on the Texas base. Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military facility in the world and a major center for soldiers being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It also also houses the Army’s Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which helps soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress when they return. In both cases, upon deployment and return home, soldiers attempt to deal with serious emotional issues and many seek tattooing as a way to express them or even see the process as therapy.
“Tattooed Under Fire” is a documentary that follows the young men and women at Fort Hood who seek solace at the tattoo studio, confessing fears, expressing anger, sharing secrets and relaying personal stories about the war. Watching clips from the film now, seeing young, buzz-headed men and women describe their motivations for getting inked with caskets and corpses, one can’t help but to begin getting a feel for the intense experiences that become material for their body art.
The film was created long before Thursday’s mass shooting; isn’t a retroactive explanation for the shootings on Thursday. But the film may nevertheless offer some insight into the tragedy in its depiction of the stress and anguish of military duty, of the horrors of war even in the relative comforts of home. As one soldier explains, “The more times I go over, the more of Iraq’s going to come back with me.”
This piece includes a number of color photographs from the film, as well as two videos from the documentary, “Tattooed Under Fire.”
To view the photographs and watch the two very powerful videos from the documentary, please visit my website:
Getting caught up on this story from yesterday in the NY Times: Apparently security forces in Iraq are using bomb detecting "wands" that the Pentagon thinks are useless. All those checkpoints that are supposed to keep Iraq's cities safe from car bombs might not be having much of an effect at all.
From the NY Times:
"The Iraqis, however, believe passionately in them. “Whether it’s magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs,” said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head of the Ministry of the Interior’s General Directorate for Combating Explosives. Dale Murray, head of the National Explosive Engineering Sciences Security Center at Sandia Labs, which does testing for the Department of Defense, said the center had “tested several devices in this category, and none have ever performed better than random chance.”
Iraq is in the middle of a delicate transition period. Things have begun to seem more stable, less violent. US troops have pulled back to their bases, out of the cities. And blast walls in the capital have even come down. But with recent bombings in Baghdad - bomb detection is a really critical part of maintaining security. The New York Times described the wands as working on the "same principle as a Ouija board" - by the power of user suggestion.
From the NY Times:
"On Tuesday, a guard and a driver for The New York Times, both licensed to carry firearms, drove through nine police checkpoints that were using the device. None of the checkpoint guards detected the two AK-47 rifles and ammunition inside the vehicle. During an interview on Tuesday, General Jabiri challenged a Times reporter to test the ADE 651, placing a grenade and a machine pistol in plain view in his office. Despite two attempts, the wand did not detect the weapons when used by the reporter but did so each time it was used by a policeman. “You need more training,” the general said."
The NYT reports that as Iraqi officials work to assign blame for the deadly attacks on the heart of the government, concern is rising that a greater security threat may come from within the system in the form of corruption, from the top leadership of ministries down to soldiers who man checkpoints.The NYT reports that as Iraqi officials work to assign blame for the deadly attacks on... more
Outgoing UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the United States this week for using what he called a "false pretext" to invade Iraq. He said this false pretext has cost “the lives of possibly hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.”Outgoing UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the United States this... more
Gregg and Jannett Keesling are the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a US soldier who took his own life on June 19th of this year. Chancellor was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first deployment, he suffered mental health issues so severe he was placed on suicide watch. After getting back to the United States, Chancellor had turned down a bonus offer to return to Iraq in the hopes he wouldn’t be redeployed. But he was called back in May. One month later, he took his own life. Since Chancellor’s death, Gregg and Jannett Keesling have yet to receive a letter of condolence from President Obama. After making inquiries, they discovered that this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding US policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who take their own livesGregg and Jannett Keesling are the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a US soldier who... more
The explosions were a grim reminder of deadly blasts which shook the ministries of foreign affairs and finance on August 19, in which around 100 people were killed.The explosions were a grim reminder of deadly blasts which shook the ministries of... more
![BMX Bandits Hit U.S Troops in Iraq [PICS]](http://i2.crtcdn.net/images/asset/901/017/94/Z31528_60x45.jpg)
