Iraq War Grief Daily Witness (photo) Day 371

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people – without exception, or precondition, or judgement.

image and poem below the fold

This undated photo released by the family shows Josh Omvig of Grundy, Iowa, sitting on a bunk in Iraq. The purposed Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act of 2006 is bill named for Omvig, 22, a soldier in the Army Reserves who killed himself in December 2005 after returning home from an 11-month deployment to Iraq. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to create a national program to screen and monitor veterans for risk factors for suicide. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, who served as an Army helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, introduced the bill in the House in July 2006. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, co-sponsored a Senate version, which was introduced Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006.
(AP Photo/Family photo)

from Achilles’ Song
by Robert Duncan

Time, time. It’s time.
The business of Troy has long been done.
Achilles in Ireuke has come home.
And soon you too will be alone.
– – –
read the complete poem

7 Comments

RubDMC on August 5, 2006 at 3:05 pm

The candle that DianeL first lit many months ago, and which has become such an important part of these diaries since, is still available here.

You can copy that image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), craft your own image, and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment – as a sign that you know, but do not approve, and are not resigned.

“It is like trying to ignite – to pass on the responsibilities as much as possible to everyone else.” – Ravi Shankar

BrendaStewart on August 5, 2006 at 3:09 pm

Sad to say this, but for all the good it will do, with this crowd we have In our government nowadays….but, I hope they make some headway with it. Anyhow, `bout time, wouldn’t you say??!!

Again, Rub thanks for your dedication and endurance for all that you do here for us and everywhere you post your diaries. hugs

Damnit Janet on August 5, 2006 at 3:12 pm

olivia on August 5, 2006 at 4:06 pm

peace

jimstaro on August 5, 2006 at 5:42 pm

Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost,
And Future We May Have Given Them!

Navy Petty officer held in secret for 4 months
Tim McGlone

Aug 04, 2006

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA — A petty officer has been in the Norfolk Naval Station brig for more than four months facing espionage, desertion and other charges, but the Navy has refused to release details of the case.
The case against Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann is indicative of the secrecy surrounding the Navy military court here, where public affairs and trial court officials have denied access to basic information including the court docket – a listing of cases to be heard.
After months of requests, the Navy this week provided The Virginian-Pilot with Weinmann’s name, rank and the charges he faces.
In an e-mail, Theodore Brown, a spokesman for Fleet Forces Command, said, “It is sometimes a challenge to balance the desires of the media, the public’s right to know, and the rights of an individual accused of a crime.”
“In this case,” he concluded, the command “is attempting to provide as much unclassified information as is reasonable, while maintaining an appropriate concern for the privacy of the individual involved. ”
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment Thursday.

July 05, 2006

Thousands of troops say they won’t fight
By Ana Radelat
Gannett News Service

Swept up by a wave of patriotism after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Chris Magaoay joined the Marine Corps in November 2004.
The newly married Magaoay thought a military career would allow him to continue his college education, help his country and set his life on the right path.

Less than two years later, Magaoay became one of thousands of military deserters who have chosen a lifetime of exile or possible court-martial rather than fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.
“It wasn’t something I did on the spur of the moment,” said Magaoay, a native of Maui, Hawaii. “It took me a long time to realize what was going on. The war is illegal.”
Magaoay said his disillusionment with the military began in boot camp in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where a superior officer joked about killing and mistreating Iraqis. When his unit was deployed to Iraq in March, Magaoay and his wife drove to Canada, joining a small group of deserters who are trying to win permission from the Canadian government to stay.
“We’re like a tight-knit family,” Magaoay said.
The Pentagon says deserters like Magaoay represent a tiny fraction of the nation’s fighting forces.

GI SPECIAL 4H5: ‘GAME OVER’.pdf

GI SPECIAL 4H4: ‘One Million POIs March In Baghdad’.pdf

jimstaro on August 5, 2006 at 6:40 pm

An Eloquent Voice for Peace & Justice: A Jewish Voice

Why doesn’t Israel work for peace?
Holocaust victims would decry the slaughter of innocent children during attacks on Hezbollah

BY SILVIA TENNENBAUM
Silvia Tennenbaum, a writer in East Hampton, is author of the novels “Yesterday’s Streets” and “Rachel, the Rabbi’s Wife.”

August 4, 2006

As a Jew who escaped the Holocaust by moving with my family to America in 1938, I turn on the BBC at night. And what I see are clouds of black smoke, explosions; the dead and the dying – children crying bitterly, cities in ruins. Only yesterday, these piles of rubble in Lebanon were home to thousands. Now, the cars roll out onto the highways, white flags attached to the windshields and doors. More than half a million are homeless.

The Israelis told them to leave, but then strafed one convoy from a helicopter. The military people exert their force without pity. They win their wars proudly. They are the masters of force.

Using the most modern weapons the United States can supply to search out the Hezbollah guerrillas, the Israeli soldiers destroy Lebanon. They wreck all of Gaza, seeking to murder the leaders of Hamas.

Visit and Read the Whole Article

dada on August 6, 2006 at 3:30 am

RubDMC on August 5, 2006 at 3:05 pm

The candle that DianeL first lit many months ago, and which has become such an important part of these diaries since, is still available here.

You can copy that image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), craft your own image, and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment – as a sign that you know, but do not approve, and are not resigned.

“It is like trying to ignite – to pass on the responsibilities as much as possible to everyone else.” – Ravi Shankar
BrendaStewart on August 5, 2006 at 3:09 pm

Sad to say this, but for all the good it will do, with this crowd we have In our government nowadays….but, I hope they make some headway with it. Anyhow, `bout time, wouldn’t you say??!!

Again, Rub thanks for your dedication and endurance for all that you do here for us and everywhere you post your diaries. hugs
Damnit Janet on August 5, 2006 at 3:12 pm
olivia on August 5, 2006 at 4:06 pm

peace
jimstaro on August 5, 2006 at 5:42 pm

Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost,
And Future We May Have Given Them!

Navy Petty officer held in secret for 4 months
Tim McGlone

Aug 04, 2006

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA — A petty officer has been in the Norfolk Naval Station brig for more than four months facing espionage, desertion and other charges, but the Navy has refused to release details of the case.
The case against Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann is indicative of the secrecy surrounding the Navy military court here, where public affairs and trial court officials have denied access to basic information including the court docket – a listing of cases to be heard.
After months of requests, the Navy this week provided The Virginian-Pilot with Weinmann’s name, rank and the charges he faces.
In an e-mail, Theodore Brown, a spokesman for Fleet Forces Command, said, “It is sometimes a challenge to balance the desires of the media, the public’s right to know, and the rights of an individual accused of a crime.”
“In this case,” he concluded, the command “is attempting to provide as much unclassified information as is reasonable, while maintaining an appropriate concern for the privacy of the individual involved. ”
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment Thursday.

July 05, 2006

Thousands of troops say they won’t fight
By Ana Radelat
Gannett News Service

Swept up by a wave of patriotism after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Chris Magaoay joined the Marine Corps in November 2004.
The newly married Magaoay thought a military career would allow him to continue his college education, help his country and set his life on the right path.

Less than two years later, Magaoay became one of thousands of military deserters who have chosen a lifetime of exile or possible court-martial rather than fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.
“It wasn’t something I did on the spur of the moment,” said Magaoay, a native of Maui, Hawaii. “It took me a long time to realize what was going on. The war is illegal.”
Magaoay said his disillusionment with the military began in boot camp in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where a superior officer joked about killing and mistreating Iraqis. When his unit was deployed to Iraq in March, Magaoay and his wife drove to Canada, joining a small group of deserters who are trying to win permission from the Canadian government to stay.
“We’re like a tight-knit family,” Magaoay said.
The Pentagon says deserters like Magaoay represent a tiny fraction of the nation’s fighting forces.

GI SPECIAL 4H5: ‘GAME OVER’.pdf

GI SPECIAL 4H4: ‘One Million POIs March In Baghdad’.pdf
jimstaro on August 5, 2006 at 6:40 pm

An Eloquent Voice for Peace & Justice: A Jewish Voice

Why doesn’t Israel work for peace?
Holocaust victims would decry the slaughter of innocent children during attacks on Hezbollah

BY SILVIA TENNENBAUM
Silvia Tennenbaum, a writer in East Hampton, is author of the novels “Yesterday’s Streets” and “Rachel, the Rabbi’s Wife.”

August 4, 2006

As a Jew who escaped the Holocaust by moving with my family to America in 1938, I turn on the BBC at night. And what I see are clouds of black smoke, explosions; the dead and the dying – children crying bitterly, cities in ruins. Only yesterday, these piles of rubble in Lebanon were home to thousands. Now, the cars roll out onto the highways, white flags attached to the windshields and doors. More than half a million are homeless.

The Israelis told them to leave, but then strafed one convoy from a helicopter. The military people exert their force without pity. They win their wars proudly. They are the masters of force.

Using the most modern weapons the United States can supply to search out the Hezbollah guerrillas, the Israeli soldiers destroy Lebanon. They wreck all of Gaza, seeking to murder the leaders of Hamas.

Visit and Read the Whole Article
dada on August 6, 2006 at 3:30 am

Iraq War Grief Daily Witness (photo) Day 371

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RubDMC

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