Tag: usa

politics

Closing Out The War Tab

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Last week the war in Iraq, a long hard slog, something that I’ve commented a lot about over the past decade, finally ended (at least officially). This war has cost us more than we will ever know, but the easiest and hopefully-not-but-who-knows-it-very-well-might-happen way of tabulating the cost is saying that it’s all down hill from here. One should know that Afghanistan is where empires go to die. First the British, then the Soviet Union. Now us? Hmmm….
One thing that is certain through the fog of war is that we took our eye off the Tora Bora ball to concentrate on Mesopotamia and while we took the hanging gardens, and the barbarian dictator of a gardener who looked after them, we didn’t exit nearly as fast as we thought we would going into the event and it didn’t turn out the way that the rose colored projections said it would.
So, in that vein, let’s bring up once again my main topic, the one that I’ve commented on in the past which is the costs associated with the war. Now that its “over,” forces more experienced and much more well researched than me, namely the Center for American Progress’ Matt Duss and Peter Juul, have added up the costs of the second Iraq War lead by the second Commander in Chief named George Bush, and by costs I mean the human, financial, and strategic costs. The results are not pretty:
Human costs

  • Total deaths: Between 110,663 and 119,380
  • Coalition deaths: 4,803
  • U.S. deaths: 4,484
  • U.S. wounded: 32,200
  • U.S. deaths as a percentage of coalition deaths: 93.37 percent
  • Iraqi Security Force, or ISF, deaths: At least 10,125
  • Total coalition and ISF deaths: At least 14,926
  • Iraqi civilian deaths: Between 103,674 and 113,265
  • Non-Iraqi contractor deaths: At least 463
  • Internally displaced persons: 1.24 million
  • Refugees: More than 1.6 million

Financial costs

  • Cost of Operation Iraqi Freedom: $806 billion
  • Projected total cost of veterans’ health care and disability: $422 billion to $717 billion

More detailed costs:
Veterans

  • Total U.S. service members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan: More than 2 million
  • Total Iraq/Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA health care: 1,250,663
  • Total Iraq/Afghanistan veterans who have used VA health care since FY 2002: 625,384 (50 percent of eligible veterans)
  • Total Iraq/Afghanistan veterans with PTSD: At least 168,854 (27 percent of those veterans who have used VA health care; does not include Vet Center or non-VA health care data)
  • Suicide rate of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans using VA health care in FY 2008: 38 suicides per 100,000 veterans – PLEASE NOTE: National suicide rate, 2007: 11.26 per 100,000 Americans

Iraq reconstruction (as of September 30, 2011)

  • Total funding: $182.27 billion
  • Iraqi government funds (including Coalition Provisional Authority spending): $107.41 billion
  • International funds: $13.03 billion
  • U.S. funds (2003-2011): $61.83 billion
  • Total U.S. unexpended obligations: $1.66 billion

Strategic costs
The foregoing costs could conceivably be justified if the Iraq intervention had improved the United States’ strategic position in the Middle East. But this is clearly not the case. The Iraq war has strengthened anti-U.S. elements and made the position of the United States and its allies more precarious.

  • Empowered Iran in Iraq and region.
  • Created terrorist training ground.
  • Loss of international standing.
  • Diverted resources and attention from Afghanistan.
  • Stifled democracy reform.
  • Fueled sectarianism in region.


I wish this was better news but transparency is important. I read today that “When everything is changing, be consistent. When everyone is confused, be transparent. And when the world seems bleak, be good.” When thinking through the “What did we get our of this war?” question, everyone is definitely confused.
All info was obtained for the Center for American Progress

humor

European Maps Accoring to Stereotype

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I love maps. I have a map of NYC that was made for runners (it lists all of the bathroom available in Manhattan based on availability and cleanliness). I have maps of the NYC and London underground systems. And so on, and so forth…
Today I was sent a link to some maps that Yanko Tsvetkov, a Bulgarian living in Great Britain, created. the first was done in 2009 in the midst of the energy dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Russia was labeled “Paranoid Oil Empire”, the Ukraine “Gas Stealers”, and the E.U. as “Union of Subsidized Farmers”. Switzerland was simply “Bank”.
Click on the thumbnails below to check them out and if you like, check out Yanko’s site. Enjoy!

Via Ann

politics

Existentialist Firefighter Delays 3 Deaths

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There is plenty of bad news to go around these days and even when there is good news, like say when a firefighter saves someone’s life from a burning building, you can easily put a negative spin on it. Okay, the firefighter article is just an incredibly funny Onion article that I’ve been meaning to post about for a while now but if you’ve been paying attention to current events, its overall negative and despairing tone just fits.
If you have not heard by now, the busted Gulf well has been capped but it took BP over three months to do so and who knows if / when my kids will be eating fresh Bayou seafood in the future. The Gray Lady features an article today titled A Spill Into the Psyche, and a Respite which talks about how

more than [it being] an environmental catastrophe, the disaster playing out in the gulf has become a festering reminder of the disarray afflicting so many areas of national life, from the cancerous political culture to the crisis of unemployment to an intractable war in Afghanistan, seemingly impervious to whatever plans are dreamed up in Washington.

Fun stuff that definitely touches a nerve, and it doesn’t even include immigration, the environment, the nascent green sector, etc. Great.
Now let’s talk about the crisis of unemployment that was mentioned in that quote above. The Gray Lady featured about two weeks ago an article about the life and times of Scott Nicholson, a semi-recent grad who is having a tough go at landing a “decent” full-time job. This hyper qualified and brow beaten yet still hopeful millennial (which means he is somewhere between the ages of 18 and 29) faces a 14% unemployment rate which approaches the levels for his age group that was present during the Great Depression. Even more fun than the oil spill is a generation imperiled.
So, what is fun that we can talk about? How about that “Inception” took in over $60 million this weekend which once again proves that Nolan just nails it, time and time again. The one thing this sad world needs right now is a nice distraction and this piece of work should do the trick. The last time I had a new born around, I was able to find time to fit in a midnight IMAX “The Dark Knight” showing and somehow I have a feeling that I’ll be finding time to see another late night Nolan flick this time around as well.

sports

Looking Forward to a Forward

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The United States lost to Ghana over a week ago at this point and the loss had me so gutted that I haven’t been able to post about it until now. Long story short: we should have won the game.
If you watched the match, it was obvious that we were the better team and we should have won, but that also we did not deserve to win. We had about twelve good scoring chances and scored on one – Ghana had about three good scoring chances and scored on two. The fact is, the Americans have never had, aside from maybe Brian McBride and even then he’s no Ronaldo, a great forward who reliably can put the ball in the back of the net. It’s that simple. I’m hopeful, but not that hopeful, that somehow this will change over the next four years and that a real striker appears (this means you have to up your game Mr. Jozy Altidore). Only time will tell.
In other footie news, the story of the tournament is how Europe has rebounded from their initial dismal showing to put three teams in the final four. While South America was looking incredibly strong, Brazil and Argentina shockingly just fell apart against the Dutch and the Germans and now the semis are featuring three European teams with only one non-Euro team, Uruguay, appearing and arguably Uruguay shouldn’t even be there (cue the “soccer should have some sort of basketball’s goal tending rule” debate because of the way that an intentional hand ball saved a goal towards the end of overtime).
The three teams that I support are the Ameriks, the English and the Dutch so I’m hopeful that this is the year that the Dutch finally get their brand of “total football” to the top of the global footie heap. Considering that m y second child – another daughter – was nice enough to be born this past Saturday, I’ll be working from home over the next two weeks which means I get to watch both semi matches from home in HD glory. Lovely.

sports

And in the 91st Minute…

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…Landon Donovan saves US Soccer by scoring against Algeria giving the Americans a 1-0 victory, their 7th overall in the World Cup all-time. In the process, the US wins Group C with 5 points, which is only the second time that they’ve won a group in World Cup history, the first being at the initial World Cup in 1930. What an amazing morning.
Out of these 7 wins, I distinctly remember all four that have happened in my lifetime:
In 1994, we defeated Columbia 2-1 our home soil helped in part by the Colombians scoring an own goal and made it through to the second round (where we lost to eventual champion Brazil).
In 2002, we gloriously upset Portugal 3-1 during group play and then surprised (though it was not a surprise to us) Mexico with a solid 2-0 victory in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals (where we gave a valiant effort and lost to Germany).
Today’s victory, which came in the most miraculous of circumstances, by a player I said in 2002 would be the future of US Soccer, is the best I’ve seen yet (though the thrilling super late night Portugal upset was ridiculously fun). My entire office was watching (and enjoying the free breakfast we won from the US/England 1-1 draw) by streaming the game through ESPN3 on a laptop and then hooking said laptop into a huge plasma TV. This is the second significant and emotional patriotic event that I’ve watched at work with colleagues – the other being Obama’s inauguration – and I’ve enjoyed both immensely. There was a large crowd today hanging on every near miss and while the first half was promising, the second half was desperate and as the near misses mounted, more and more dread crept into the room. I thought that the better chance of advancing laid at the feet of the Slovenians who in tying England would allow the US to go through but luckily that didn’t need to happen. In injury time, at the plus one of four mark, everyone just erupted when Donovan put a ricochet in the back of the net. I was unable at first to enjoy, too paranoid that this too would be improbably called back but no, there was no goal stealing by the refs this time, this was a real goal, and a real cathartic release as the US lived up to its potential and I ran around giving high fives to the true footie fanatics there, the ones who knew like me how much this meant.
It’s more than just going through to the second round. When I say that Donovan saved the sport in this country, I’m not kidding. The US had to win this match today or else soccer would have been looked down upon for not only another four years but possibly decades if not even longer. It would have lost its legitimacy.
A good friend of mine who loves all domestic sports (i.e. baseball, football and basketball), loves the Olympics (so he doesn’t dislike global competition) and most importantly loves hockey (soccer’s second cousin) couldn’t believe that the US didn’t beat Slovenia and couldn’t believe that the go-ahead goal was disallowed. Between that call and the endless flopping and diving that he saw during the US’s and other team’s matches, he was telling me how he just didn’t get soccer, that it was more theatre than sport and how while he would like to care more, the nonsense annoys him and thus he is a true once every four years fan. This Landon Donovan goal, and the never say die attitude of the US squad that allowed it to happen (cue Tim Howard’s amazing throw that started the 4 on 2 counterattack), is the greatest example of what our national style looks like and how soccer will win over people like my friend. We like winners in America and the US Team winning when it can and should is a welcome change to the previous 20 years worth of WC history.
As an aside, I’ve been reading tons of articles and watching the goal over and over again. I can’t wait to replicate Landon’s superman dive on a slip and slide soon. Out of all the things I’ve read so far, nothing was as much fun as this ESPN “Off the Ball” blog’s tremendously good post on how it’s time to start believing.
As another aside, a sign that we are becoming a real soccer nation is that we finally have an good yet slightly cheesy unofficial World Cup anthem of our own, like say England’s Vindaloo. Weezer’s “Represent” is a fantastic footie anthem and a welcome surprise – it turns out River Como is a huge footie fanatic and he made sure he caught the US / England match while at Bonnaroo. The song is immediately going on my running mix. It’s also below – crank up the speakers and get ready for Saturday when we play Ghana. They beat us 2-1 in 2006 but if we beat them this time around, which is entirely possible, then we play either Uruguay or South Korea in the quarterfinals. To dream of greatness, yet another sign of becoming a real footie nation. Enjoy the song.

humor

World Cup at the White House

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Our government’s reaction to English keeper Robert Green’s error during this past Saturday’s Group C opening match, which allowed the American squad to tie the England in their match this past Saturday, is below:
WorldCup_WhiteHouse_Viewing
‘ Nuff said.
Via Anthony

politics

Our New President

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The Guardian has a photoset of 11 pictures of America’s new President on its website which are flat out amazing.
As a father who has a little girl, I just love the one of Malia Obama taking a picture of her father in his dinner suit as her sister Sasha looks on:

Feel free to click through and check out the rest of their photos – you will not be disappointed. For instance, the tenth picture just makes you say “awwww.” I just love the love that exists between Michelle and Barack – it’s exactly what this country needs right now – something to rally around and feel good about.
Via Jessie

music

Flashback: State Song Lyrics

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I was going through a folder I have on my work PC which contains all sorts of random docs, such as a spreadsheet used to plan my bachelor party, a letter to my pediatrician requesting my immunization history, a list of places to eat around my office and a video, shot from the doomed Columbia Space Shuttle, of Israel from space (email me if you want this – I don’t want to post it and get hit with the bandwidth overages). I also found the lyrics to a song I learned in 5th grade which I sang in some concert: The 50 States in Rhyme Song. For all those who are nostalgic, especially for a time when we thought of states as just states, not red states or blue states, here is the song:

Alabama and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Connecticut and more.

Delaware, Florida, Georgia and Hawaii, Idaho. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, still 35 to go.

Kansas and Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine. Maryland, Massachusetts, and good ole Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana, Nebraska’s 27, number 28’s Nevada.

Next, New Hampshire and New Jersey, And way down, New Mexico.

Then New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, O – Hi – O.

Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, now let’s see.

Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee.

Texas, then there’s Utah. Vermont, I’m almost through. Virginia, then there’s Washington and West Virginia, too.

Could Wisconsin be the last one in the 49?

No, Wyoming is the last state in the 50 states that rhyme.

I for one can sing from memory the song up till the “#28’s Nevada” part.

politics

New Map of America post-2004 Election

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While this map might not make it into the Rand McNally atlas, it maybe should. I’m sort of surprised today about how I’m not as angry as I thought I’d be. I’ve almost, dare I say it, moved to the acceptance stage of grief. I think the answer to my lack of anger today is religion, namely my religion.


I’m Jewish, therefore I’m used to ALWAYS being in the minority. I asked my father at 12:37 AM on Wednesday morning, “Why do I always have to be in the minority? I mean, i know I’m Jewish so being a minority is sort of baked into my existence but look at that map [red state/blue state] – there is almost no blue on it! It is seriously depressing. Its like the entire U.S. is against us.” His response was, “Smart people will always be in the minority. It’s a fact of life that you need to deal with.”

Unfortunately, as this election was one between those who chose illusion over reality, I think he’s right….

Thanks to Kevin Moeller [via Erik Neu] for providing the map