From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#1]
27 May 2007
To: ALL
Rules:
Have at it...
Disclaimer:
Management (I guess that is me) may not endorse anything stated here unless I say so myself. I provide this as an open public forum, and will step in only if things get too far out of hand.
Oh, one more thing:
Look both ways before crossing, brush and floss at least three times a day. Don't let yourself get elected to a public office.
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#2]
10 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#1] 11 Sep 2007
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#3]
11 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#2] 11 Sep 2007
Best I could come up with at a moment's notice.
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#4]
11 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#3] 12 Sep 2007
General betrayus
General Petraeus is a military man constantly at war with the facts. In 2004, just before the election, he said there was “tangible progress“ in Iraq and that “Iraqi leaders are stepping forward.”
Washington Post, “Battling for Iraq,” by David H. Petraeus. 9/26/04 (see below)
And last week Petraeus, the architect of the escalation of troops in Iraq , said ”We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress.”
The Australian, “Surge Working: Top US General,” by Dennis Shanahan. 8/31/07
Every independent report on the ground situation in Iraq shows that the surge strategy has failed.
GAO report, 9/4/07
NIE report, 8/23/07
Jones report, CSIS, 9/6/07
Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That’s because, according to the New York Times, the Pentagon has adopted a bizarre formula for keeping tabs on violence. For example, deaths by car bombs don’t count.
“Time to Take a Stand,” by Paul Krugman. 9/7/07
The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you're shot in the back of the head -- not the front.
“Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq,” by Karen DeYoung. 9/6/07 l
According to news reports, there have been more civilian deaths and more American soldier deaths in the past three months than in any other summer we’ve been there.
The Associated Press, “Violence Appears to Be Shifting from Baghdad.” 8/25/07
National Public Radio, “Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate,” by Guy Raz. 9/6/07
Associated Press, “Key Figures About Iraq Since the War Began in 2003.” 9/5/07
We'll hear of neighborhoods where violence has decreased. But we won't hear that those neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed.
Newsweek, “Baghdad’s New Owners,” by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Larry Kaplow, 9/10/07
Ibid from the AP, “Violence Appears to be Shifting From Baghdad”
McClatchy, “Despite Violence Drop, Officers See Bleak Future for Iraq,” by Leila Fadel. 8/15/07
The New York Times, “More Iraqis Said to Flee Since Troop Rise,” by James Glanz and Stephen Farrell. 8/24/07
Most importantly, General Petraeus will not admit what everyone knows; Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war.
We may hear of a plan to withdraw a few thousand American troops.
The New York Times, “Petraeus, Seeing Gains in Iraq as Fragile, is Wary of Cuts,” by David Sanger and David Cloud, 9/7/07
The Washington Post, “Petraeus Open to Pullout of One Brigade,” by Robin Wright and Jonathan Weisman. 9/7/07.
But we won’t hear what Americans are desperate to hear: a timetable for withdrawing all our troops. General Petraeus has actually said American troops will need to stay in Iraq for as long as ten years.
The Hill, “Rep. Schakowsky: Petraeus hints at decade-long Iraq presence,” by Patrick FitzGerald. 8/10/07
Today before Congress and before the American people, General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us.
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#5]
11 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#4] 11 Sep 2007
General Petraeus
The Washington Post, 9/26/04
Battling for Iraq
BYLINE: David H. Petraeus
SECTION: Editorial; B07
LENGTH: 1239 words
DATELINE: BAGHDAD
Helping organize, train and equip nearly a quarter-million of Iraq's security forces is a daunting task. Doing so in the middle of a tough insurgency increases the challenge enormously, making the mission akin to repairing an aircraft while in flight -- and while being shot at. Now, however, 18 months after entering Iraq, I see tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the ground up.
The institutions that oversee them are being reestablished from the top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously in the face of an enemy that has shown a willingness to do anything to disrupt the establishment of the new Iraq.
In recent months, I have observed thousands of Iraqis in training and then watched as they have conducted numerous operations. Although there have been reverses -- not to mention horrific terrorist attacks -- there has been progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to do. The future undoubtedly will be full of difficulties, especially in places such as Fallujah. We must expect setbacks and recognize that not every soldier or policeman we help train will be equal to the challenges ahead.
Read the rest at http://pol.moveon.org/petraeus.html
or the Post if you are a member
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#6]
12 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#4] 12 Sep 2007
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#7]
12 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#6] 12 Sep 2007
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#8]
12 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#7] 12 Sep 2007
Saddam's dictatorship may have been the only thing keeping civil war from happening anyway...
Baselinemag.com covered some logistics concerning pulling out. The logistics alone will take a while after any decision to pull happens.
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#9]
12 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#8] 13 Sep 2007
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#10]
13 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#9] 14 Sep 2007
Saddam did pretty well with wiping entire villages in his control of keeping civil war under the carpet. There was just no simple answer to that situation (still isn't)
As to 9/11, I think it was Carter that severed a lot of interdepartmental communications that might have put the picture together to possibly have prevented it.
I've played mental "what-if" games, and wonder if the (any president who would have been in the WH) president had ordered the downing of these aircraft would have been roasted politically for shooting down civilian aircraft. Of course, thousands of lives would have not been lost, but would people look at what was prevented no knowing what we know today about the lives lost? Hopefully this makes sense!
From: Mel (MELLOE) [#11]
14 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#10] 15 Sep 2007
Most of the time, when the jets are scrambled, and they are every time there are errant aircraft in certain areas, the pilots of the errant aircraft are told to land under the gun, and do.
If they won't, the AF pilots know something is wrong.
Aircraft that far off course and headed in 3 cases in the wrong direction would have been downed or landed.
I don't see any alternative, and neither would a real leader.
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#12]
15 Sep 2007
To: Mel (MELLOE) [#11] 15 Sep 2007
I think many were just lulled into a false sense of security, and never thought that anything like that could have happened. After the first, everybody concerned should have been wide awake...
BTW: I may play with splitting this thread and putting it in its own title, so don't be surprised when it shows up a bit of editing for title.
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#13]
15 Sep 2007
To: ALL
How about that... Split worked & I didn't even read the instructions!!
From: jewellz [#14]
15 Sep 2007
To: N3MTJ (WALT) [#13] 16 Sep 2007
pretty cool walt, wish we had the update version of Beehive at NL
From: N3MTJ (WALT) [#15]
16 Sep 2007
To: jewellz [#14] 16 Sep 2007
Talk to the Fish!! I think I know why he's holding back...there's too much to loose if things don't go correctly. Of course, John's smart enough to keep backups of the database. I guess all versions are compatible database wise.
The newest version has the ability to quote directly from the read panes in addition to the usual quote ability while writing.
BTW: I'm going to try to split this one off again and see how it does.