Open Thread

17 Comments

1. 

   dada on April 2, 2008 at 4:09 pm

   according to this interpretation of the testimony before the senate armed services committee of army vice chief of staff gen. richard cody there’s only three things that can happen:

   Change Course, Face Draft, or Lose Army

   In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody sternly rebuked all those who’ve been blowing sunshine and spreading baseless happy talk for five years with regard to the war in Iraq…

   Today’s Army is out of balance. The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies.
   Current operational requirements for forces and insufficient time between deployments require a focus on counterinsurgency training and equipping to the detriment of preparedness for the full range of military missions.

   Given the current theater demand for Army forces, we are unable to provide a sustainable tempo of deployments for our Soldiers and Families.  Soldiers, Families, support systems, and equipment are stretched and stressed by the demands of lengthy and repeated deployments, with insufficient recovery time.  Equipment used repeatedly in harsh environments is wearing out more rapidly than programmed.  Army support systems, designed for the pre-9/11 peacetime Army, are straining under the accumulation of stress from six years at war. Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it…

   If unaddressed, this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the All-Volunteer Force and degrades the Army’s ability to make a timely response to other contingencies.

   When Cody says “this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the All-Volunteer Force,” he’s really saying we have three options:

   1. We can change course now and save everyone a lot of trouble.  
   2. We can maintain our current course in Iraq and watch the Army disintegrate as it did during and after Vietnam.
   3. We can institute the Draft.

   The adjective “All-Volunteer” is the key part of the statement.  He’s implying that if the force were not all-volunteer, then there would be no “significant risk.”  As no sane officer would accept the disintegration of the Army, Cody is saying that if we want to keep up this thing in Iraq, we’re going to have to move toward instituting a draft.  It’s that simple.

   more at: vetvoice

   and they’ve also got a poll up about st. johns mental stability…

   

   not a pretty picture.

   • 

     boran2 on April 2, 2008 at 4:38 pm

     My new nephew (by recent marriage to my niece) just shipped out to Afghanistan.  I hope he knows what he’s signed up for.

     BTW, as to the early wearing out of equipment, it’s interesting that Spirit and Opportunity are still running strong on Mars long after they were intended to cease to function, in what I would assume to be a much harsher environment.

     • 

       dada on April 2, 2008 at 4:57 pm

       l hope he comes back unscathed.

       as for nasa…those people, other than the BushCo™ appointees, know what they’re doing…and there aren’t any ied’s and people shooting at the rovers.

     • 

       eodell on April 2, 2008 at 5:11 pm

       The Mars rovers don’t actually do very much or go very far, and the only thing that’s really harsh about Mars — from the standpoint of a machine, anyway — is that it’s cold and dusty. It’s a safe bet that neither would last long on the streets of Baghdad. War is just tough on gear by nature. That’s not to say that the manufacturers couldn’t do a better job, but even under the best of circumstances, stuff will wear out quickly.

       I hope your nephew comes through his adventures in Afghanistan with minimal wear and tear.

2. 

   fabooj on April 2, 2008 at 4:42 pm

   I read an pretty interesting article this morning in the LA Times about a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that set themselves up in Second Life:

   WASHINGTON — A man with an oversized top hat sat in the front row of a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday, munching on popcorn. Next to him was a woman wearing wings that let her fly out of her seat. And she was sitting by a large bumblebee.

   It wasn’t an April Fool’s Day stunt but the first time a congressional hearing was simulcast into the popular online virtual world called Second Life. With more than 12 million accounts, including an estimated 500,000 active users, the 3-D fantasy portal that lets users anonymously create customized personalities for themselves has now drawn the attention of Congress.

   The increased popularity of virtual worlds on the Internet raises tricky public policy dilemmas about consumer protection, privacy, child safety, banking, terrorism and addiction. Though the hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee was informational, and no legislation has been proposed, congressional interest could represent the first step of what may be stepped-up government oversight in an area often likened to the Wild West.

   If they keep doing that and they spread through gov’t, I just may have to get an SL avatar going.

   • 

     fabooj on April 2, 2008 at 4:49 pm

     I just found this in my inbox.

     • 

       Cabaret Voltaire on April 2, 2008 at 5:27 pm

       in streaming and downloadable form, for those interested in the topic.

       http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti-hrg.040108.VirtualWorlds.shtml

3. 

   idredit on April 2, 2008 at 4:49 pm

   *the first Hillary fear mongering 3:00 AM Ad, has been approved by Rove as gutsy..”this was the way to do it.”

   here’s the new version – directed at McCain

   note the new Hillary look…just can’t keep up, it changes every Tuesday.

   low on cash they are… and embarrassingly they had to dub out the young Obama supporter.

   The topic – foreclosures – does not fit in with a 3:00 AM call now,  does it?

   • 

     fabooj on April 2, 2008 at 4:53 pm

     1.  That looked like a skit.
     2.  Yeah, foreclosures?  I’m with you on that one.
     3.  8 rings.  8 freakin’ rings.
     • 

       dada on April 2, 2008 at 5:03 pm

       she took 2 ambien and thinks it’s a hallucination.

4. 

   RollaMO on April 2, 2008 at 5:03 pm

   Don who?

5. 

   ask on April 2, 2008 at 5:05 pm

   What do you guys make out of this?

   Murdoch’s daughter hosts fundraiser for Obama

   The Murdoch family are used to people trying to decode their political stance and its implications from their public actions. Now Elisabeth Murdoch, Rupert’s daughter who runs a large independent production company, has thrown them a curveball by hosting a London fundraiser for Barack Obama.

   In the most high-profile example yet of glitzy fundraising bashes for the US presidential hopefuls spreading across the Atlantic, a string of notable US ex-pats with jobs in media, the arts and finance will gather at the Notting Hill home Murdoch shares with her husband, PR guru Matthew Freud.

   So-called “event chairs” at the fundraising evening include actress Gwyneth Paltrow, the wife of Coldplay singer Chris Martin, Warner Brothers UK chief Josh Berger and Julia Moffett, the director of strategy for the BBC World Service Trust.
   […]

   • 

     eodell on April 2, 2008 at 5:14 pm

     Elisabeth and Rupert are said not to get along well. Rupert ditched Elisabeth’s mother for a thirty-year-old trophy wife, and there’s a fair amount of tension regarding the inheritances of Elisabeth and her siblings.

     Sounds like Elisabeth is trying to get a rise out of Dad.

6. 

   idredit on April 2, 2008 at 5:26 pm

   Trifecta of a day for Obama

   Endorsements:

   1. former Rep. Lee Hamilton, Indiana
   2. Governor of Wyoming – super-delegate

   3. former U.S. Sen. John Melcher of Montana – super-delegate

   • 

     AP on April 2, 2008 at 6:18 pm

     Really? Now what’s that sound that I hear?

     Drip. Drip. Drip.

     What? Obama’s announcing an endorsement every other day?

     Yeah, Hill…keep on following advice from the wingnuts.

     • 

       idredit on April 2, 2008 at 6:25 pm

       he peeled off a union too.

       • 

         AP on April 3, 2008 at 11:19 am

         Really? Which one?