The Cool Blue Blog

444 Days Down

I just received in the mail the new book by Mark Bowden, author of the fabulous Blackhawk Down. The new book, Guests of the Ayatollah

Mark Bowden tells this sweeping story through the eyes of the hostages, the soldiers in a new special forces unit sent to free them, their radical, naïve captors, and the diplomats working to end the crisis. Bowden takes us inside the hostages' cells and inside the Oval Office for meetings with President Carter and his exhausted team. We travel to international capitals where shadowy figures held clandestine negotiations, and to the deserts of Iran, where a courageous, desperate attempt to rescue the hostages exploded into tragic failure. Bowden dedicated five years to this research, including numerous trips to Iran and countless interviews with those involved on both sides.

I'm looking forward to reading this.

The coin in which they must pay

In his stunning treatise on politics, religion, and ecology The Dune Chronicles, Frank Herbert wrote

Do you know what guerrillas often say? They claim that their rebellions are invulnerable to economic warfare because they have no economy, that they are parasitic on those they would overthrow. The fools merely fail to assess the coin in which they must inevitably pay. The pattern is inexorable in its degenerative failures. You see it repeated in the systems of slavery, of welfare states, of caste-ridden religions, of socializing bureaucracies—in any system which creates and maintains dependencies. Too long a parasite and you cannot exist without a host.

Today, Hamas moved from parasite to host by winning the most seats in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. But many accounts, most people voted for Hamas not because they embrace the organizations terrorist actions, but because they were fed up with the impotence and corruption of the Party of Arafat; Fatah. They want change.

Which means, they want good governance.

Which means that Hamas will either have to produce or they will have to try to put the Democracy genie back in the bottle when the time comes to be judged by the voters.

So what will they do now? How will they bring peace and prosperity to the people who are gambling on them to improve their lives?

"Now that they are in power, Hamas will have to take responsibility for the future. They will have to become more moderate. Now they are part of the democratic game and they will have to play by the democratic rules," [Hanna] Siniora said.

Siniora, a 69-year-old east Jerusalemite Christian, is publisher of The Jerusalem Times and a co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. An early proponent of negotiations with Israel, he has long been involved in pro-peace activities. He was one of seven candidates contending for one of the two seats reserved for Christians in the Jerusalem district, but is unlikely to win the seat.

"Once they are in power, the Hamas will have to pay salaries, create jobs and provide health and education services. They know that to do all of this, they need stability. In order to be in charge of the government, they will have to become responsible leaders, if they want to stay in power," he predicted.

With luck, they'll be too busy dealing with the day to day annoyance of governance to have time to attack Israel.

And they may just find that making peace will greatly ease their burden.

Change of heart

Chittenden County District Court Judge Edward Cashman, who originally sentenced a man convicted of sexually abusing a six year old girl for four years to 60 days in prison, has reconsidered his decision.

This morning, Cashman heard arguments from prosecutor Robert Simpson, who argued for more jail time, and Hulett’s attorney Mark Kaplan, who argued that the original sentence was just.

After hearing the arguments, Cashman read a prepared statement that included his order changing the minimum jail time to three years. He said he changed the minimum because the state was now going to provide the treatment in jail. He said had that prison treatment been available at the first sentencing, he would have required a three-year – not a 60-day – minimum.

Judge Cashman could have sentenced Mark Hulett to 20 years in prison, and should have, but three to ten is infinitely better than 60 days. So what changed the Judge's mind? One could point to that national public outcry which likely had an effect. However, the Vermont Department of prisons gave him some cover

The public outcry was impetus for the state to reconsider its decision about Hulett’s treatment. Recently the Corrections Department announced it would provide treatment to Hulett while in prison.

Even after he gets out, Hulett will spend the rest of his life on probation. Let's hope that by that time, Vermont will have gotten much better at tracking their sex-offender population.

But this case isn't over, because Hulett is not the only one who is being investigated for raping this girl during the same period of time. While Hulett plead guilty

[Derek] Kimball , 33 of Hinesburg, is accused of forcing himself on the girl and making her engage in oral sex in separate incidents before to April 2003. According to police, the girl referred to Kimball as "Uncle Derek."

 How nice.

Sprucing up the neighborhood for Hajj

U.S., Iraqis, Clean Up Neighborhood for Hajj

U.S., Iraqi Police joint effort restores electricity, removes trash, and establishes trust.

By U.S. Army Spc. Michael Pfaff

                                                                                         

"[Locals] were actually out there shaking hands with the Iraqi police, patting them on the back and letting them know they were happy to see them there spending time with the people."                          U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ignacio A. Betancourt

               

KIRKUK, Iraq, Jan. 25, 2006 — On many days in this city, a city marred by an ethnic divide and an infestation of insurgents, blood spilling onto the streets denotes a setback for prosperity of the people and safety of coalition forces. But, on Jan. 10, that blood wasn’t the blood of innocent citizens or coalition casualties. It was the blood of a cow being sacrificed in preparation for a feast.

Jan. 10, was the first day of Hajj, an Iraqi holiday spanning four days. The Iraqis feasted in their homes warmed by electricity, their kids played in unpolluted streets, and they do it trusted that local police would protect them. The people weren’t expecting as much during their holiday.

Three days before, soldiers from the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion mounted their armored humvees and, in a joint effort with the Iraqi police, visited this neighborhood. The neighborhood, found in a sector of Kirkuk reported as a problem area, is a place where public sentiment for coalition forces was dangerously low and attacks occurred frequently.

When they arrived, they found a derelict cityscape, grim and smothered in trash. The people were reluctant to exit their homes and businesses to interact with the soldiers. An elderly man approached and began shouting that he was upset.

Staff Sgt. Ignacio A. Betancourt, a civil affairs team sergeant with the 451st, was one of the soldiers there to hear his complaints.

“The trash, the electricity, and no police,” Betancourt explained. “The people had three complaints when we first visited the area.”

Betancourt said the Iraqi police immediately contacted the Joint Command Center, a centralized communications hub for Iraqi security forces, and within 20 minutes a truck was sent out to fix the electricity.

“[The Iraqi police] got the electricity fixed on the spot before we left,” Betancourt said. “So, the people were happy.”

Getting the electricity fixed would only be the first step in helping this community. Soldiers from the 451st and Iraqi police returned the following two days and focused on the other two complaints.

Betancourt recalled how the people’s demeanor had shifted when they arrived in the neighborhood on the second day.

“On the first visit, the Iraqi police got the electricity turned on for them,” Betancourt said. “So the people said, ‘wow, these guys are out here actually taking care of us’. So, they started feeling comfortable with them.”

The next issue that needed to be taken care of was the excessive trash in the streets that locals explained was over six months worth of build up. Coordinating with the Department of Sanitation, Betancourt said the Iraqi police enlisted five trucks, a bulldozer and ten workers to remove the trash.

The Iraqi police were involved in the first two visits, but on the third visit they would focus on interacting with the people.

“The third visit the people realized the Iraqi police really meant business,” Betancourt said.

The Iraqi police spent time talking with the locals and handing out toys and candy to the children in the neighborhood. An Iraqi police colonel was among the police that visited and talked with the people.

“The colonel started talking with the people, letting them know the police are there to help,” Betancourt said. “By today’s visit, people started coming out and thanking us. But at the same time, we told them, ‘it wasn’t us.’ It was the Iraqi police.

“[Locals] were actually out there shaking hands with the Iraqi police, patting them on the back and letting them know they were happy to see them there spending time with the people.”

Thanks to the Iraqi police and the 451st Civil Affairs Detachment, the people in this neighborhood can spend their days of Hajj visiting and relaxing with each other instead of worrying about their children being cold or waist deep in filth.

Betancourt said unlike other foreign countries, where civil affairs might be building schools or digging wells to promote a community, in Iraq there is something different that needs to be built. It’s a trust between a community and its protectors; something you can’t touch, but can definitely see.

“Coalition forces are not going to be in Iraq forever,” Betancourt said. “If a trust is not built between the Iraqi police and the local populace, we’re basically defeating ourselves. However, if we start letting the Iraqi police build a relationship with the local populace, it is helping us pull out of the country eventually and feel comfortable knowing the Iraqi police and Iraqi people are working with each other.”

The Gallows Way

George Galloway, British MP and friend to terrorists everywhere is experiencing a bit of a rough patch in his life. Not only is his involvement in a British reality TV show causing troubles with the British public, but his terrorist constituents also are unhappy.

Sadly, it is very distressing to see many Muslims in the West seeking honour, respect and dignity from the Kuffaar, despite already being granted these by Almighty Allah (SWT). Just last year, 2005, we witnessed thousands of Muslims participating in the general elections and voting for lawmakers who violate the Sanctity of Almighty Allah by legislating laws (an exclusive Right of Allah).

One would have thought, after so many years, these so-called Muslims would have taken heed from the hadeeth of the Messenger Muhammad (SAW) which states, "The believer is not bitten in the same place twice." After voting for Labour and Conservatives, believing in their false promises and lies, and being bitten in the same place every election year, these so-called Muslims have been bitten once again by voting for a new party, Respect, and its leader George Galloway. One wonders how voting for Respect is any different from voting for any other kufr (un-Islamic) democratic party, such as Labour or Conservatives, as they all have the same agenda, ultimately being a government which rules by their vain desires and evil ideology (democracy).

Uh oh. But that's not the worst of it. The Darling of America's Far Left who went before Congress last year and declared categorically that he was not corrupt will likely be eating his words (if not bread and water) in the Hoosegow

George Galloway faces the prospect of a criminal investigation into his activities by the serious fraud office, which has collected evidence relating to the oil-for-food corruption scandal in Iraq.

A four-strong SFO team returned from Washington with what a source close to US investigators calls "thousands of documents" about the scandal. The team is expected to produce, within the next four weeks, a report for the SFO director, Robert Wardle, as to whether a full criminal investigation should be mounted into UK individuals and companies involved, including Mr Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.

Double Uh Oh. And what's worse is the MP Galloway isn't even aware that he's marching towards the Gallows

Mr Galloway is unaware of the SFO's activities. He is in the Channel 4 TV show Celebrity Big Brother and cut off from outside contact.

As if that wasn't enough

He is expected to be evicted from the Big Brother house tonight.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

 

Final Inspection

Today I was forwarded a poem by my twin brother Steve (that's an inside joke; doncha hate them?). It was forwarded to him by a mutual High School buddy whom I haven't seen in, oh, 30 or 35 years?

          

           The Final Inspection

           The soldier stood and faced G-d,
           Which must always come to pass.
           He hoped his shoes were shining,
           Just as brightly as his brass.

           "Step forward now, you soldier,
           How shall I deal with you?
           Have you always turned the other cheek?
           To My Church have you been true?"

           The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
           "No, Lord, I guess I isn't.
           Because those of us who carry guns,
           Can't always be a saint.

           I've had to work most Sundays,
           And at times my talk was tough.
           And sometimes I've been violent,
           Because the world is awfully rough.

           But I never took a penny,
           That wasn't mine to keep...
           Though I worked a lot of overtime,
           When the bills got just too steep.

           And I never passed a cry for help,
           Though at times I shook with fear.
           And sometimes, G-d, forgive me,
           I've wept unmanly tears.

           I know I don't deserve a place,
           Among the people here.
           They never wanted me around,
           Except to calm their fears.

           If you've a place for me here, Lord,
           It needn't be so grand.
           I never expected or had too much,
           But if you don't, I'll understand."

           There was a silence all around the throne,
           Where the saints had often trod;
           As the soldier waited quietly,
           For the judgment of his G-d.

           "Step forward now, you soldier,
           You've borne your burdens well.
           Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
           You've done your time in Hell."

           ~Author Unknown~

 

• It's the Military, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
  
• It's the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
• It's the Military, not the politicians, that ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
• It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the Military, please pass this on, and pray for our men and women who have served and are currently serving our country, and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

Thanks Brian. Hope all's well with you and yours.

Be an Angel

Troop rotations throughout the world means that some get to come home to their families while others get deployed. As a result of the recent troops rotations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, thousands of new soldiers have been added to the rolls of the people that Soldier's Angels support. Consequently, Angels are needed to lend their support by sending cards, letters and care packages to those on the pointy end of the spear and all those who support them in the field.

So piss off Joel Stein and sign up to support a soldier, or a company or a whole battalion.

And remember, Generals need lovin' too.

Oh, and while you're at it, take a minute and participate in Operation: Love Our Troops and be among those who's message

will count as part of a Guinness Book of Records attempt to be the world's largest digital Valentine's card.

It will make Joel Stein sad.

Invasion of Hope

An interesting poll reported on by the BBC shows the feelings current among Iraqis and Afghanis: they are the most optimistic people in the world

In Afghanistan, 70% say their own circumstances are improving, and 57% believe that the country overall is on the way up.

In Iraq, 65% believe their personal life is getting better, and 56% are upbeat about the country's economy.

List this under things you won't see posted by Kos.

On the otherhand,

Italians join people in Zimbabwe and DR Congo as the most downcast about their future, according to the poll of 37,500 people in 32 nations.

Soon, they'll be begging us to invade them...

One Tough Soldier

U.S. Army Sgt. Kareena Lechner

Soldier rejoins unit after surviving suicide bomb blast.

By U.S. Army Spc. Lee Elder
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAQUABAH, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2006 — After being wounded in a suicide bomb blast, a U.S. soldier said there was never any question if she would rejoin her fellow soldiers, just when.

Sgt. Kareena Lechner, assigned military police duties with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, was among six soldiers injured Aug. 23 when an Iraqi with a fake I.D. entered the dining facility at the Provincial Joint Communication Center in Baquabah and blew himself up. Besides taking his own life and destroying the facility, two other U.S. personnel were killed.

"I remember a bright light and the noise," Lechner recalled. "I  pretty well remember all of it very vividly."

The blast destroyed both of Lechner's eardrums, left her with cuts and bruises and shrapnel wounds in both legs. She was evacuated to nearby Forward Operating Base Warhorse and later to Logistical Support Area Anaconda.

Lechner was hospitalized for two weeks. When time came for her  release, she was told she was being transferred.

"I told them I wanted to come back here," Lechner said. "I insisted on it. I talked to my battalion commander and they let me come back here."

While Lechner has recovered physically and bears no visible scars from the incident, she is reminded of it daily. She has to walk past the demolished site where the facility once stood to get to work. Now, all that remains is the outline of a building on the ground and a few piles of rubble.

"It was hard at first," Lechner said. "I just do not want to let things like that bother me."

"She fought through her injuries and came back," said Staff Sgt. Charles Warner, the unit's operations sergeant. "She's earned a lot of respect around here. She's a good NCO and has a lot of heart."

"Lechner is special to all of us," said Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Chavez, the center's noncommissioned officer in charge, "She asked her superiors to send her back here. That says a lot for her character."

And it turns out that female soldiers and Marines are exploding the myths as this report from Wired shows

Female soldiers have long fought off perceptions that their bodies just aren't equipped to handle the rigors of training and warfare. But a decade's worth of research suggests that women are hardly as fragile as critics once thought.

A new study by military researchers found that many assumptions about female bodies are "astoundingly wrong." Women are just as good as men -- in some cases, perhaps even better -- at handling intense exercise and decompression sickness.

The findings, reported in the Journal of Women's Health, don't change the fact that women -- on the whole -- are smaller and less powerful than men. Still, they suggest "that human physiology is more consistent than would be suggested by the social embellishments and exaggerations" that come about when there isn't any actual research, said Col. Karl Friedl, commander of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine and co-author of the report (.pdf).

You go girl!

Sweet Disappointment Rapture

So I decided that the best way to spend the bonus money awarded me by my employer was to buy a new guitar. After looking around some, I decided on this.

Sweet huh? It's a Yamaha RGX A2 with dual alnico humbuckers. The body is of a new design which Yamaha calls an Alternative Internal Resonance body and which by all accounts makes the axe very light and resonant.

I ordered it on January 1st from Musicians Friend. The deal was great, $499 included shipping and a Yamaha Magicstomp Stereo Effects Pedal. Cool!

But it was back ordered.

First I was told it would ship on the 6th. When that didn't happen I was told it would ship on the 16th.
When the 16th came around, the order status went from "backordered" to "being packed". Cool!

On the 17th it went from "being packed" to "shipped" and I was given a UPS tracking number. Cool!

The UPS status said it was being shipped 3 day select and was on schedule to arrive on January 20th. Cool!

I anxiously tracked its progress from Kansas City to Missouri to Kentucky to Clemsford, Mass where it arrived at 8:28 AM on Thursday the 19th. Seeing as how I live in Vermont a mere three hour drive away, it should easily be here on the 20th.

But then my guitar disappeared. No departure from Clemsford, Mass was ever recorded nor has it been recorded to date.

When it got to be a 6pm on the 20th and it still hadn't arrived, I called UPS and told them what was going on. They said drivers deliver until 7pm, it'll arrive. I was dubious, no UPS delivery had ever come to my house after 5pm. And, of course I was right.

At 9pm I called UPS again and they said I would have to call Musicians Friend and get them to put a tracer on it. I said, doesn't it have a tracer on it? The status says it arrived in Clemsford, Mass and never left. What does putting a tracer on it do, send out a posse?

So I said OK, and I called Musicians Friend and explained the situation to them. They said they'd put a tracer on it but it may take 5 to 8 days to resolve. I said so I'm out 500 bucks with no guitar for another 5 to 8 days? And then after that what? I wait another month for the guitar which is now backordered until at least the 31st?

They said yeah. They didn't lose it, UPS did.

Yeah, but I didn't order a guitar from UPS. And UPS is busy rounding up a posse because they don't trust their tracking system.

It seems to me both UPS and Musicians Friend should be able to resolve this in something less than 5 to 8 days. I mean it's either in Clemsford or its not! Simple. I mean if it got on truck to someplace else, it would have been scanned, right? It would appear on the tracking page as heading to Fairbanks, Alaska or something, right?

So either its tucked in a corner somewhere at the Clemsford, Mass depot or someone stole the thing, right?

And it shouldn't take 5 to 8 days to figure out which it is.

I'll keep you updated.

UPDATE: So I called UPS this morning and they said I would need to have Musicians Friend put a tracer on it. I said that Musicians Friend had informed me they had done that on Saturday. The UPS customer sevice agent said they had no record of it. So I called Musicians Friend and asked them. They said they had started the trace but nothing had been done yet.

What? I don't get it.

More later.

UPDATE II: Against all odds, the guitar arrived from UPS on my lunch hour. UPS tracking still says it never left Mass. Go figure.