Thursday, November 27, 2003

Iraq casualties. Posted here Thursday, November 27, 2003 at 12:37:15 PM     Thanks to psychohistory list. The lack of curiosity about this, much less concern, is a symptom. Especially the lack of concern about Iraqui military casualties. This is part of our armadillo culture that is causing so many of so much concern. "...How revealing, for example, to find that the number of seriously wounded soldiers brought home to America from Iraq is approaching 2,200, many of whom have lost limbs or suffered facial wounds. In all, there have been nearly 7,000 medical evacuations of soldiers from Iraq, many with psychological problems. All this was disclosed by the Pentagon to a group of French diplomats in Washington. The French press carried the story. Not so the papers of small-town America, where anyone trying to tell the truth about Iraq will be attacked." (Robert Fisk, "Attacked for telling some home truths." The Independent, 26th November 2003. Full article: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&;ItemID=4571 ) Medact, a UK based organisation of health professionals, has recently released a report on the health and environmental costs of the war. I've put a few extracts below: "The number of civilians killed since the beginning of the war and October 20, 2003 is independently estimated to be in the range of 7,757-9,565. ...One assessment using reports from the media and non-governmental organisations estimates at least 20,000 civilian injuries by July - three times the number of deaths (Iraq Body Count). Of these 8,000 were in the Baghdad area alone; there is no full countrywide picture. Deaths and injuries from unexploded ordnance continue and are likely to be under-reported, according to the Mines Advisory Group. ...The number of Iraqi military deaths is unknown, the estimates ranging between 13,500- 45,000. This is based on extrapolating from death rates of between 3-10% found in the units around Baghdad, although it is believed the overall casualty rate may lie closer to the lower figure. ...Unlike US and UK combatants, very few Iraqi combatants have access to adequate health or social care or long-term rehabilitation services. There are no reliable figures but the number of wounded is generally calculated as three times the number of deaths, which gives a range of 40,500 - 135,000 injured Iraqi combatants." (Medact, "Continuing collateral damage: the health and environmental costs of war on Iraq 2003." 11th November 2003. Report available at: http://www.medact.org/tbx/docs/Coll%20Dam%202.pdf ) ********

Bush to Iraq.. and learning? Posted here Thursday, November 27, 2003 at 11:45:14 AM     reposting.. 11/27/2003 12:33 PM By: News 9 San Antonio Staff BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Not many people knew about President Bush's trip to Iraq on Thanksgiving -- and that's just the way the White House wanted it. Word of his visit wasn't released until after Bush was already in the air heading home. On the way there, a White House spokesman told reporters that if word of the trip was leaked, Air Force One would turn around and go home. Bush left his Texas ranch Wednesday in an unmarked vehicle, and later stepped into Air Force One using the back stairs, instead of the front. The problem is, Bush is learning.. And I wrote elsewhere   Lets be sure to separate out the republican leadership from the base. The note i posted in the the interview suggests that there is much to be gained by realizing the are not the same.   The Friedman piece seems to me to advocate that Bush take this as even more serious an encounter. Friedman likes globalization and is deeply cynical about the losers who don't get it. Lie other trimumphalists (he is better than most) he thinks that globalization is working. Yet this week's UN report on world hunger should warn us. Last week I had guests from Burundi and Nigeria. The forces of exploitation are in total control.   I think Friedman was great when he was an outsider but when From Beirut to Jerusalem became a big hit he joined the establishment. The letter from Saddam is clever but fores escalation.   "Yet your Pentagon only talks about pulling troops out of Iraq, when you should be putting more in. What are you thinking? You should have brought every soldier you have in Europe and Japan right here. The whole game comes down to security. We are in a race to see who gets to the tipping point first. Iraqis will follow the strong horse. My bet is that I can generate enough insecurity among Iraqis to shun you, before you can induce them to carry out your program to build a democratic alternative to me.   I still think I can win, because I prepped my base for the Mother of All Battles, and you prepared yours for Mother Goose — a short war, with few troops, few funerals and no sacrifices for average Americans. Sorry pal, but that's no way to win The Big One. "   As I see it, this is not the big one, the big one is creating a world collaboration around a decent life. The problem there is that there are two such paths. Globalized markets being one, and some form of social democracy (Blair/Clinton and the "third way."). My view is that we can't get to the second through the military centered solution. But Friedman is content with it because he, like Fukuyama, see only two possibilities: globalization or fundamentalist regression.   ********

Future ethic Posted here Thursday, November 27, 2003 at 11:18:43 AM     I think we need a modified christian attitude. 1. each day do something for the person you know who is having the worst time. 2. each day do something for the person you know *of* who is having the worst time. 3. each day do something about the very worst situation you know about (its ok to be mypoic - just do it) in the world. 4. Network the resulting projects. 5. teach others to participate. ********

China Warns Taiwan Again On Issue of Independence Posted here Thursday, November 27, 2003 at 9:09:00 AM     Need to watch this.. Official Vows 'Strong Reaction' If Referendum Law Is Passed By Philip P. Pan Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, November 27, 2003; Page A14 BEIJING, Nov. 26 -- China warned Taiwan on Wednesday that it would deliver a "strong reaction" if the island passed a law allowing its citizens to vote on proposals that could lead to independence. But the main Taiwanese political parties immediately dismissed the threat and pushed ahead with plans to adopt the referendum legislation as early as Thursday. The Chinese warning and the swift response in Taipei appeared to set the stage for a showdown after more than a week of steadily escalating rhetoric by Chinese officials, who have threatened war if Taiwan continues taking what they describe as gradual steps toward formal independence. ********