Humanity

Sometimes you read things that let you know that humanity hasn't totally lost its collective mind.

This is one of those times.

The story is from July 4, 2008 and is written by a commercial airline pilot as a firsthand account. Not a viral email, no need to verify on Snopes. This is the real thing and it's just beyond beautiful.

There is no way to quote anything in this space. Please just go to Captain's Log and read it. Read all of it. Tissue warning.

h/t to Ace of Spades

Persepolis Reborn

Since at least 2000 Iran has rattled its nuclear saber at the world while the U.N. tried in vain to talk to the theocracy about its actual nuclear plans.  Since President Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, the rattling has only grown louder and more defiant.

Of course we know that Iran insists it's an energy platform and nothing more. Threats of sanctions and freezing assets have brought nothing but more rhetoric.  In fact, international concerns about Iran's nuclear motives have caused a larger ripple effect in financial markets worldwide.

So far, Iran has remained steadfast in it's insistence that their nuclear aims are peaceful. Until now.

In its August issue, National Geographic has a cover story on "Ancient Iran: Inside a Nation's Persian Soul".  The overall article is interesting, talking about the Persian history of Iran, it's contributions, before the Greeks, to science and medicine. From an historical viewpoint it was fascinating reading.

From a current events viewpoint? Even moreso when framed in the context of their own perceived legacy as the world's first superpower.

The concepts of freedom and human rights may not have originated with the classical Greeks but in Iran, as early as the sixth century b.c. under the Achaemenid emperor Cyrus the Great, who established the first Persian Empire, which would become the largest, most powerful kingdom on Earth. Among other things, Cyrus, reputedly a brave and humble good guy, freed the enslaved Jews of Babylon in 539 b.c., sending them back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple with money he gave them, and established what has been called the world's first religiously and culturally tolerant empire. Ultimately it comprised more than 23 different peoples who coexisted peacefully under a central government, originally based in Pasargadae—a kingdom that at its height, under Cyrus's successor, Darius, extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River.

That Persian Empire? Built on the backs of conquered peoples for over 700 years.  It was the defeat of the Persians at the hands of the Muslims that caused the Persian Empire to collapse. Present-day Iranians view their Muslim conquerors as little more than a nomadic tribe of tent-dwellers, gleaning their culture from the Persians. Even at modern-day events, Iranians continue to complain about their Muslm conquerors:

"Everything went down after they came, and we have never been the same!" she said, wringing someone's neck in the air. And a friend I made here, an English teacher named Ali, spoke of how the loss of the empire still weighed on the national consciousness. "Before they came, we were a great and civilized power," he said, as we drove to his home on the outskirts of Shiraz, dodging motorcycles and tailgaters. Echoing commonly stated (though disputed) lore, he added: "They burned our books and raped our women, and we couldn't speak Farsi in public for 300 years, or they took out our tongues."

Yet for all their insistence that they are Persian and not Arab, the converted to Islam shortly after the Arabs gained control. And while they may bemoan their lost culture, present-day Iranians identify themselves as Muslim, even if they whisper "Persian" inside their heads. They are more concerned about being seen as Persian rather than Arab.

They clearly desire to be that once-great superpower again. They see their nuclear capabilities at the heart of those desires:

"We have a nostalgia to be a superpower again," said Saeed Laylaz, an economic and political analyst in Tehran, "and the country's nuclear ambitions are directly related to this desire."

How does having a peaceful nuclear program feed that desire?

Success in Iraq - It's What's for Dinner

Progress in Iraq. It's what the American media doesn't want you to know.

American and Iraqi forces are driving Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.

After being forced from its strongholds in the west and centre of Iraq in the past two years, Al-Qaeda’s dwindling band of fighters has made a defiant “last stand” in the northern city of Mosul.

A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10.

Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects.

Yes, violence is still a tragic and weekly occurrence in Iraq. But with Al-Qaeda down to its last 10%, the various tribal leaders will no doubt very happily rid the country of anything that remains after Lion's Roar.

All this is as reported by the TimesOnline, in the UK. That's right - it's being reported in England, but nowhere here at home, except in the blogosphere. 

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister, who has also led a crackdown on the Shi’ite Mahdi Army in Basra and Baghdad in recent months, claimed yesterday that his government had “defeated” terrorism.

“They were intending to besiege Baghdad and control it,” Maliki said. “But thanks to the will of the tribes, security forces, army and all Iraqis, we defeated them.”

Even our American commander in the north of Iraq says:

Major-General Mark Hertling ... said: “I think we’re at the irreversible point.”

Thanks to the surge policy in 2007 and the fact that President Bush has insisted that we stay the course - Al-Qaeda will be out of Iraq very soon. This will hopefully be a critical blow to Al-Qaeda as a whole. They haven't carried out a successful, large scale attack on the US since 9/11. The last one in the world occurred three years ago today with the London bombings.

And what do we hear from the American media?

...crickets...

h/t Hot Air 

Cool!

The non-profit organization DRAFT - Disability Rights Advocates for Technology - have been quietly donating Segways to veterans who have lost limbs or suffered other injuries that make mobility a challenge, if not an impossibility.  As of today, the total is 150.

Imagine how much energy, core strength and stamina it takes to walk on one artificial limb, let alone 2. The Segways are customized, giving our wounded warriors a sense of freedom of motion that most amputees don't get to experience. 

Leonard Timm, who founded DRAFT in 2005, calls the mission "Segs-4-Vets." 

"[The Segways] provide them with another mobility option that will increase their distance, and will give them a way to communicate with the world standing up," Timm said.

It is worth noting that Mr. Timm himself is a double amputee who uses a Segway designed with a seat for him. 

Indeed. If you've ever been in the company of someone in a wheelchair, it's a humbling experience as they see everything at waist level - eye contact is impossible.  So many people treat them as if they are invisible or worse - impaired in some way other than physically.  Frustration must exist in every effort they make to be seen and heard.

For the 150 vets who have received these specially outfitted Segways, it's a liberating experience:

U.S. Army Sgt. Jacque Keeslar lost both legs in Iraq nearly two years ago. To get around, he relies on a wheelchair and a pair of artificial legs, which help him walk in short bursts. 

"If I have to do a half mile or mile of walking, it just exhausts me," Keeslar said.

Now, thanks to a specially designed Segway, the battery-powered transporter, Keeslar says he can ditch his wheelchair and get around without people looking down on him.

There is an informal "Segway Support Group" that meets weekly at Walter Reed - to learn how to use them, to share tips and experiences - and to live life standing up.

Segway distributors are responsible for donating the $6,000 machines to DRAFT. As the machines are not approved for medical use, the company has stayed in the background of the project.

By the way, here's how the Segway works:

Lean forward. Start slowly.

Lean further. Go faster.

And then go almost anywhere.

That's what Army Specialist Josh Stein found out as he tried out his Segway. Spec. Stein lost both legs in Iraq - and believed that a life confined to a wheelchair was not in his future:

"Watch me do that. I will prove you wrong. I never give up on anything I do. It's one thing to know my limits," said Josh, 23. "It's another thing to say I don't want to do something because it's too hard."

Thanks to DRAFT and Segway - many more wounded warriors will "go almost anywhere".

Willing to Serve - Where Do We Get Them?

This is what courage, honor and duty look like:

The agony is in the loss of all the “small” things, which really aren’t small at all, like going to bed and waking up together, watching him sit on the floor and play with the dogs, day-to-day conversations about the grocery list and the news. Living with your best friend and love of your life is a beautiful thing and is made up of all those mundane details, and I will miss it all profoundly.

But you can’t feel sorrow like this without truly loving someone, and I figure, it’s worth it. I know it is, and I feel incredibly lucky to adore someone so much that his absence feels like a hole in my soul.

If you've never read Rachel Lucas, now would be a good time to start.  The love of her life - Rupert (not his real name) - has been called up as part of the Guard Service and is currently going thru re-orientation training on an Army base somewhere.  Re-orientation?

Long story short, Rupert was in the 82nd Airborne right out of high school, was deployed in Panama and the first Gulf War, and after discharge got his engineering degree. Then he went back into the Army as a commissioned officer, and left a few years later as a Captain. That was in 1997 and he’s been in the Inactive Ready Reserves ever since.

He never resigned his commission because he had rather liked his job in the Army, and he figured that if they ever called him back, it would be because they really needed him, and he had no problem with that. He was willing to serve if necessary. [emphasis mine]

That's right - over 10 years since he went inactive, Rupert was called back to serve - and he went even though it would interfere tremendously with the next stage of his education and career.  He will go thru in-processing and several weeks of training, then he will return to Rachel for 5 days of leave. Then she has to say good-bye to him again for his one year tour of duty somewhere in Iraq. This brings to mind the question we all ask so often lately - where do we get such men and how can we ever deserve their commitment and sacrifices and those of their families, friends and loved ones?

SUNNY - Rachel's DogRachel has been stoic, strong and her usual funny self all thru the waiting game for his departure.  She wasn't so strong this past Saturday, but she's determined to make her Rupert proud.  I think it's both Rachel and Rupert we should all be proud of:

He told me something the other day that hit me right where I needed it to. He said that he left the small town he grew up in because he wanted to make a mark on the world, wanted to accomplish something great with his life, and knew he wouldn’t be able to do that by staying home. And the same force is in play now; he’s been given an opportunity to do something that can have a real impact and has real meaning, and it is something that he can be proud to tell of when he’s old.

Dedication and commitment - this is what it looks like people.  Rachel and Rupert. Keep them both in your thoughts and prayers. And read Rachel's blog - paying close attention to humiliating photos of her dogs in clothing - the humor of the photos will take your breath away; Rachel's writing will certainly leave you needing medical intervention.

Easter Conversations from within the Wasteland

Drug rehab for criminals.  Lewd activities in public. What do these things have in common? They were conversations that took place at Easter dinner yesterday, in the company of The Hubby's family - who all grew up and still live in Massachusetts. These in addition to the general conversation about the Iraq War and how we should never have gone in there in the first place, that President Bush is stupid and blah, blah, blah.

#1 - Drug Rehab for Criminals

It was posited that drug addicts have an illness similar to alcohol addiction and that placing a drug addict in jail for any kind of drug-related offense (possession, possession with intent to distribute, pure selling - number of offenses did not matter) without giving him/her access to rehab is perpetuating their illness.  The three strikes law? Horribly detrimental to the drug user.  Drug users should be given the opportunity to check into a rehab facility before they are carted off to jail. If they successfully complete the rehab - no jail time.  Doesn't matter if they were going to be arrested for a violent crime in addition to a drug offense - they all deserve a chance, don't you see that. The details about how to deal with repeat offenders were, um, fuzzy. 

#2 - Lewd Activities in Public

Apparently there is some kind of earmark legislation about to be passed in the great state of Massachusetts that would no longer allow the police to arrest homosexuals who engage in lewd activities in public, as that would be discrimination. (It was unknown by the family members if it was OK for the police to arrest heterosexuals engaged in lewd activities in public and if that is the case, then the earmark really is unbalanced.)  Those in the conversation all agreed that it was not right that the police would no longer be allowed to arrest gays making whoopie in public places...this spun out into a conversation about gay marriage and how wrong that is.  One person even said "the problem is we've become too liberal". 

That last part is the contradiction that nearly made me laugh out loud. On one hand, they want tax payers to provide drug rehab to drug addicts because jail is just so unfair to them - probably one of the most liberal suggestions I've heard in a long time.  But on the other hand, they think a change in laws that favor homosexuals - including civil unions or gay marriage - is just too darn liberal.

I know - these are really lovely conversations to have on a very holy day, especially considering that the entire family (aside from The Hubby and myself) are Catholic.   I guess it's the nature of the times.

I made a promise to The Hubby before we left our house yesterday morning that I would not initiate any political discussions but that I would respond if dragged into one.  As we drove home last night, I asked The Hubby to let the record show that I did, in fact, pointedly stay out of the Iraq War conversation despite the fact I was itching to chime in - it's really never a good idea to be the only dissenting opinion in a room, especially one filled with your in-laws.  The Hubby did give me credit for remaining silent on the subject. I did voice a few opinions about the conversations above - all of which were greeted with stoic suffering...

I tried to focus on books - yeah, I figured books would be a safe subject.  I'm currently reading the new Ken Follett - World Without End - at the heart of the book is a monastery and nunnery. I figured that would be safe in a room full of Catholics, and it was, if only for a moment. Then the conversation shifted to a book one of the Aunts had just finished on...The Kennedy's. Her eyes positively glowed at the mere mention of "the name".  I swiftly found something else to occupy myself - like clearing off the dishes.

God, I really do feel like the only sane voice in a liberal wasteland...

Sinking to New Lows

The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, claimed the female bombers had Down syndrome and that the explosives were detonated by remote control, indicating they may not having been willing attackers in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert stepped up security measures.  (source)

Just when you think you can't be shocked by what terrorists will do, you read about something like this.  My God.

In fact, the Koran - that holiest of holy books (ahck pbft) says this about the mentally disabled:

...The pangs of hell are not unending, the Koran teaches, except for those who die as impenitent idolaters; a realm of limbo exists, moreover, for infants, the mentally retarded and the insane... (source)

So, the Koran grants automatic entrance into paradise for martyrs terrorists, yet puts infants and the mentally disabled into limbo.  Nice.  Religion of peace my ass.

h/t to Ace of Spades

And So It Began...

I remember it vividly and am shocked that it was 27 years ago.  The 52 American hostages seized by radical Iranian students on November 4, 1979 and held for 444 days were freed on January 20, 1981.  The hostages were used as pawns during their long captivity: 

Throughout their captivity, the hostages were paraded in front of television cameras, often blindfolded or hooded. Though the hostage-takers were not members of the Iranian government or military, their obvious, publicly-stated loyalty to Khomeini and the Islamic government created an international crisis. (source)

Indeed - that "international crisis" is arguably the start of the global war on terror. The seeds of dissent that were sown back in 1979 have grown to bear some horrific, toxic fruit today.  One could argue that the strength the Ayatollah Khomeini gained as a result of the hostage crisis gave birth to Islamic fundamentalism, the current Iranian Theocracy and al Qaeda.  This region of the world became emboldened at the perceived failure of the United States at protecting its citizens.

And eight brave American warriors gave their lives - and 4 others were seriously wounded - trying to rescue the hostages - Operation Eagle Claw was launched on April 24, 1980 - and failed. Some said the rescue mission was doomed from the start - so complex it couldn't be done in one night. 700 miles of desert and mountains surround Tehran - making it a virtual fortress for the over 4 million people who lived there at the time.  Given the closed nature of their culture, intelligence data was sketchy at best.  And yet - our brave men went in there knowing the risks and taking them anyway.  The bodies of some of those lost were also used for propaganda in the Iranian media:

Several of the burned American bodies were later part of grisly street demonstrations protesting the abortive U.S. "invasion of Iran. (source)

As a result of the failed rescue, the hostages were separated and scattered throughout Tehran, making another rescue attempt impossible.

"They tried, and that was important," said Col. Thomas Schaefer, the U.S. Embassy defense attache' and one of the hostages. "It's tragic eight men died, but it's important America had the courage to attempt the rescue."

I remember reading about the failed rescue. I was a junior in high school and it was all we talked about in our History class.  As time passed and I became a senior in high school while the hostages remained captive, my Current Events class focused solely on the crisis and its impact - sometimes from week to week. Those details are fuzzy now, but I remember vividly how we all felt. Similar to the feelings we all had in the weeks and months after 9/11/01 - there was a strong sense of unity and common purpose.  I do remember one specific anecdote, if only for its macabre humor. The seniors in my high school made a big deal of getting dressed up for Halloween.  One of my closest friends at that time draped herself in a white sheet - including a headdress. She painted her face very thickly to mimic a full, dark beard. She wore dark sunglasses and sandals.  And a big sign hanging down from around her neck that read:

The Ayatollah is an Assahola

It spoke quite succinctly to how we all felt.  And she got away with it - no one questioned her about the language; the teachers and the principal all enjoyed it as much as the students.  It was an adolescent form of release that worked - for all of us.

As time wore on and the crisis continued, a frustrated President Carter severed diplomatic relations with Iran and imposed a complete economic embargo with Iran in April 1980.  It took the release of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets and the cessation of trade sanctions to free our people.

66 hostages were taken in the initial raid; 13 were released within 2 weeks, another released 8 months later. The remaining 52 endured untold abuses, 444 days in captivity and a lifetime of recapturing what they lost. A total of 10 former hostages have died since their release. Many have gone on to live normal, productive and happy lives.  Some have written books.

And the drumbeats of unrest that were started that day in 1979 continue today.  We all say we can't ever forget 9/11/01.  I submit that we can't afford to forget 11/04/79.

Lost Hope? - Bhutto Assassinated

She was a courageous woman who loved her country so much she was willing to return, knowing it might mean her death.

RIP - Benazir Bhutto

Standing for Our Lives

This has been circulating thru e-mail in the past few weeks. I posted it last year for Christmas - it bears a repeat for sure.  For all our soldiers and friends in harm's way - we do love you and we will never forget:

A Soldier's Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"

"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

A note from the author - Michael Marks - on his inspiration for writing this poem in 2000:

I felt it unconscionable that at the onset of the Christmas season, those serving to defend our nation would hear anything but our love and support. It is our challenge to stand for their rights at home while they stand for our lives and safety overseas.

Right on the money Mr. Marks.