09 Apr 08 Iraq War, cost breakdown
In the wake of testimony by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to both the Senate and the House regarding the state and future strategy of the Iraq War, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi posted an Iraq War cost breakdown on her blog (yes, she has a blog):
The Cost of Iraq War Broken Down
Second: $3,919
Minute: $235,160
Hour: $14.1 million
Day: $338.6 million
Week: $2.4 billion
Month: $10.3 billion
Year: $123.6 billion
There’s a little perspective for you.
Related LinksTags: commentary, Iraq War, politics
24 Mar 08 Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey makes some predictions
Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey made these predictions in a brief to the military:
Oof, those are pretty heavy. McCaffrey seems like quite the hawk for war and plays up to the fears of terrorist attacks and nuclear Iran.
McCaffrey has been a continuously pro-war, even writing an optimistic report in June 2005. He’s was also accused of misconduct and war crimes during the Gulf War, so you still have to take that into consideration when reading these predictions.
Still, it’s interesting to see how different brains and perspectives see the war and envision the future.
Related LinksTags: commentary, politics
19 Mar 08 Questions the press should have asked about Iraq
On the anniversary of the war, Greg Mitchell over at Editor & Publisher has a fantastic list of questions the press should have asked in the lead up to the War in Iraq.
– Why is the U.S. threatening an optional war if 59% of Americans do not support a U.S. invasion without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, according to a Feb. 24-26 USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll?– If our allies have the same information on WMD — and the Iraqi threat is so real — why do some of our friends refuse to take part in your coalition?
– You praise the Iraqi people, say we have no quarrel with them, pledge to save them from the dictator and give them democracy. Would you tell us how many of them are likely to die in this war?
– You say one major reason for taking this action is to protect Americans from terrorism. How do you respond to the warnings of CIA Director George Tenet and others that invading Iraq would in fact likely increase terrorism?
– Rather than make us wait for a supplemental budget request — after the war has been launched — to tell us what it (and its aftermath) will cost, don’t you think the American people, who will pay the bill, deserve to know the latest long-term estimates before the fact?
– You say Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and is evil enough to use them. If not during an American invasion of his country, then when? How many deaths on our side do you expect?
Yes, hindsight is always 20-20, but these are still important things to look at. As the war goes on, journalists need to learn from the mistakes of the past, protect themselves from being a propaganda arm of the administration and to ask the questions that aren’t always obvious.
I say all of this as if I am some hardened journalist or something. I’m still as green as a Granny Smith, but analysis is part of the learning process too .
Related LinksTags: commentary, Iraq War, journalism
19 Mar 08 5 years of war in Iraq, what is it good for?
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, as you have no doubt heard on every news station so far today. The NY Times has some good stuff up, as does WaPo and even my own paper The Orlando Sentinel.
No doubt today you will see countless time lines, hundreds of pictures and hear pundits from both sides screech about how the war is or is not working. It will be a day of endless speculation and 20-20 hindsight.
The thing to remember though is that during all of this time there have been men and women over there. Not just soldiers but workers, contractors and those in the media trying to help this war make sense to those of back here in the safety of the U.S. Don’t forget about those people when you have your debates about the Iraq War.
Through all of this, despite the war being more about money, power and politics, none of that can happen without the people on the ground.
War sucks, and this one especially. In five years, has anything really been accomplished? Proponents of the war will point to the overthrow of Saddam and the voting in Iraq, but has that really made things safer for the people living there? It seems not.
There is no perfect solution right now, and anyone pretending to propose one is a liar. No matter who wins, someone is still a big loser, about 50,000 in fact (and counting).
What now? What comes next?
War sucks.
Related LinksTags: commentary, Iraq War, journalism, news
04 Mar 08 Hucka-beeotch!
Just a quick thought on Mike Huckabee and his refusal to gracefully (*snicker*) bow out.
Huckabee has stated that, despite it being mathematically impossible for him to become the Republican candidate, he will remain in the race until God tells him to drop out. He also says that he, “believes in miracles,” and that is what he is counting on to win.
Seeing that a miracle is a divine act of God making the impossible possible, and that the only thing that would make Huckabee the front runner would be if McCain suddenly drops out or dies. One has to surmise that Huckabee, in a roundabout kind of way, is hoping that God comes down and kills John McCain.
That’s mighty Christian of you partner.
Related LinksTags: Campaign 2008, commentary
25 Feb 08 The other blog
I normally don’t do this, but I wanted to post a link to a post I did on the UCF blog on do for the Orlando Sentinel.
This group just really grossed me out and I thought what they were doing was just inappropriate.
Related LinksTags: blogs, commentary
24 Feb 08 ‘Wolverine’ movie turning into a bloated monster
Remember when you saw the first X-Men movie and were thrilled to see those characters come to life? Then, a few years later we were treated to X2: X-Men United and once again, we were all thoroughly impressed.
When it was announced that Bryan Singer would not be a part of X-Men: The Last Stand we all knew that it would not be as great as the first two, that was a given. However, nothing could have prepared us comic-book nerds for the crap-fest that was to be unleashed upon us.
Complicated characters with equally complicated histories, like Beast, Juggernaught, the Morlocks and Multiple Man, were reduced to one-shot gimmicks to be used and tossed aside. Coupled with that, hack director Brett Ratner and writers Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn turned one of the greatest comic book story arcs in history into a convoluted, plotless and pointless affair. Too many characters, too many plot holes and not enough character development.
I fear the Wolverine movie, dubbed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is headed down the same road.
First of all, Wolverine’s origin and the ‘Weapon X’ story is one of the most complicated in comic book history. To effectively tell the story on the big screen will be a feat unto itself. However, the movie is already bloated with too many characters that will no doubt be used for background filler and one-shot “ooh” moments.
On the list already:
Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed / Sabretooth
Lynn Collins as Kayla Silver Fox
Danny Huston as William Stryker
Daniel Henney as David North / Agent Zero
Will.i.am as John Wraith
Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau / Gambit
Dominic Monaghan as Barnell
Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool
Then it has just been announced that Kevin Durand will appear in the movie as ‘The Blob.‘ While many of these characters I like, having them all in one movie is going to be a mess.
If the team behind this movie pulls this bloated mess off well I will be pleasantly surprised. And why Harry Connick Jr. was not tapped to play Gambit I have no idea.
Related LinksTags: commentary, movies, rants
25 Nov 07 Reading is fundamental
Tom Scarritt (no, not that Tom Skerritt) talks about Creating lifelong readers:
If you are reading this column, chances are you are more successful than the average person, more involved in your community and less likely to be in prison.That is not because of anything I have written. It is because you have chosen to read.
A new study by the National Endowment for the Arts suggests that reading transforms lives. “Regular reading not only boosts the likelihood of an individual’s academic and economic success — facts that are not especially surprising — but it also seems to awaken a person’s social and civic sense,” wrote Dana Gioia, chairman of the NEA.
While correlation is not the same as cause and effect, it is clear from the new report, “To Read or Not To Read,” that all kinds of positive measures go along with voluntary reading. Those who cannot read, or choose not to read, do not fare so well.
| MORE |
It still amazes me that some people don’t read at least something each day. I would think it obvious that reading more stimulates the mind and creates a greater sense of civic responsibility. Even so, Americans are spending less time reading and more time staring at the tube. Damn you Reality TV!
Nothing more to say really, I just liked Scarritt’s commentary.
Related LinksTags: commentary, journalism
20 Sep 07 The Riches.
So Forbes released its list of the 400 richest Americans and no surprise Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and the Google kids are at the top. Now I could give a rat’s ass about the 400, but what is more interesting is the few that have fallen from the list in recent years. However, as USA Today points out, they weren’t dropped because their businesses tanked but because they gave too much of their money away.
Forbes calls these the “Selfless” who fell off the list of the USA’s 400 richest, not because their businesses went bust, but because they gave too much away.Thomas Monaghan of Domino’s Pizza. Fell off in 1999. His current net worth is $600 million after giving away $600 million.
Richard Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir. Fell off in 2001. Has given away $650 million. Current wealth: $350 million.
James Stowers Jr. of American Century mutual funds. Fell off in 2003. Has given away $1.2 billion. Current wealth: $800 million.
Herbert Sandler of Golden West Financial has a net worth of $500 million; his wife and former co-CEO Marion Sandler, $650 million. Both fell off the list in 2005, each having given $650 million. Bernard Osher, Marion’s brother, has a net worth of $200 million and has given away $830 million.
Now I know that Buffet and Gates have been serious philanthropists lately, but to give away so much money it drops you from the list, now that’s giving. Then again, Gates could give a $5 billion away and still be the top dog. Still, it is comforting to know that some of the richest Americans aren’t just hoarding it all and swimming in their treasure like Scrooge McDuck.
I’d like to think that if I were a billionaire I’d give a lot away too. I mean come on, who really needs more than $100 million? Then again, I might just blow it all on hookers and booze.
Related LinksTags: commentary, news, random
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