Thomas Paine's version of "you didn't build that":
"Separate an individual from society,and give him an island or a continent to possess,and he cannot acquire personal property. He cannot be rich. So inseparably are the means connected with the end,in all cases,that where the former do not exist the latter cannot be obtained. All accumulation, therefore,of personal property,beyond what a man's own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice,of gratitude,and of civilization,a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came"
Submitted by Leah
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“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.
The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.
Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry. (A year ago Mr. Bush was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” dancing and talking about his paintings.)
The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell who sold us the war still go on doing what they do.
We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!
The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army will not meet its mission to recruit 80,000 active duty soldiers this year and has officially lowered that goal. But Army leaders said the service has been able to encourage more experienced service members to stay on the job to satisfy a growing demand for troops.
Army Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey said Friday that the updated goal will be 76,500. Six months into the recruiting year, the service has brought in just 28,000 new soldiers.
Dailey said the goal is to grow the Army to 483,500, as approved by Congress, and it’s up to the Army whether to use more recruiting or re-enlistment. He said that retaining current soldiers has been more successful this year than in the past, with 86 percent staying on, compared with 81 percent in previous years.
Army Secretary Mark Esper said there is a mismatch between the number of soldiers in the Army and the demand for more troops, and acknowledged that the “strong economy does make it challenging.” He said, however, that the Army will not sacrifice quality for quantity and that standards will not be lowered to meet recruiting goals.
DUBAI — Twenty people were killed in an air strike by a Saudi-led military coalition in southwestern Yemen on Friday, residents said.
The attack hit a car transporting 20 passengers south of Taiz province, locals told Reuters. Six bodies had been identified but the rest were charred beyond recognition, they added.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said it would investigate the report, but declined to comment further. “We take this report very seriously,” he said.
The coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis who ousted the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthis now control the capital Sanaa.
Coalition air strikes have repeatedly struck civilian targets while trying to target Houthi forces during the three-year war. The coalition says it does not target civilians.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The outgoing head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen said Friday he believes that more people are dying from indirect effects of the conflict now than from bombing, shelling and ground attacks.
Alexandre Faite pointed to more than 2,000 deaths from cholera and acute watery diarrhea in a little over six months, a crumbling health system, almost no power in most towns, and the absence of key commodities or their availability only at very high prices.
He told a small group of reporters Friday that he has been traveling to capitals including Berlin, Brussels, Paris and Washington to deliver the message that “the situation in Yemen and the results of indirect effects of the hostilities are really dire.”
With the high death toll from cholera, Faite said, “I would personally think … that now more people are dying from the indirect effect of the hostilities.”
Civil war in Yemen began six months after Houthi Shiite rebels and their allies seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has been trying to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government to power, but the conflict is stalemated, with the Houthis still in control of Sanaa and much of the north.
U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told the Security Council on Tuesday that Yemen remains “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis” with three-quarters of the population — over 22 million people — urgently needing humanitarian help including 8.4 million struggling to find their next meal.
Barzeh, SyriaA soldier films the remnants of the Syrian scientific research centre which was destroyed by US, British and French airstrikes to punish president Bashar Assad for a suspected chemical attack.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian state TV said on Saturday that rebels had agreed to surrender an enclave northeast of Damascus and go to opposition areas at the border with Turkey, a withdrawal that would clinch another victory for President Bashar al-Assad.
There was no immediate comment from the rebels in the eastern Qalamoun pocket of territory northeast of Damascus.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, is seeking to recover control of the last few rebel enclaves near Damascus, building on momentum from the defeat of the insurgency in the eastern Ghouta, the last major opposition stronghold near the capital.
State TV said 3,200 militants and their families were expected to leave the area in preparation for them to be transported to Idlib and Jarablus, a rebel-held territory at the border with Turkey.
The Syrian military and its allies meanwhile pressed the bombardment of a besieged enclave south of Damascus. State TV footage showed clouds of smoke rising from the al-Hajar al-Aswad district, part of an enclave including the Palestinian Yarmouk camp that is held by Islamic State and other jihadist groups.
UNRWA, the U.N. agency that cares for Palestinian refugees, has said it is deeply concerned about the fate of thousands of civilians including Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk and the surrounding areas.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A vehicle that appeared to have a licence plate of the kind used by international organisations was in the area close to the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Douma on Friday under Russian escort, a Reuters witness said.
The arrival of the vehicle comes three days after a U.N. security team turned back while doing reconnaissance in Douma for the visit of a team of international inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Journalists were not allowed to approach the convoy that included the vehicle by Syrian security forces. The identity of the car’s occupants or which organisation they belonged to was not clear.
Iraqi PM’s office says F-16 fighter jets carried out air raids near the border in coordination with Syrian army.
Iraq says it has carried out “deadly air strikes” against fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, situated in pockets inside neighbouring Syria.
The announcement comes days after Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime minister, said his country would take action against ISIL if the fighters threatened Iraq’s security.
Iraqi F-16 fighter jets crossed into Syria on Thursday in coordination with the Syrian army, al-Abadi’s office said in a statement.
“Based on orders from the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Haider al-Abadi, our heroic air force carried out deadly air strikes against ISIL sites in Syria on Thursday near the border with Iraq,” it said.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Three police protecting voter registration centers in two Afghan provinces were killed by militants over a two-day period this week, authorities said Saturday.
Sharafuddin Majhidi, spokesman for the governor of western Badghis province, said five rockets were fired by militants on a voter registration center in the provincial capital Qalay-i-Now, killing one officer and wounding two others on Friday.
On Thursday night, two other police officers were killed by unknown gunman at a registration center in Jalalabad in eastern Nangarhar province and their weapons taken, said Abdul Ghafar, a member of parliament.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Afghanistan Parliament elections are set for October.
Also on Saturday, an Afghan official said a roadside bomb killed five people in eastern Nangarhar province. Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the explosion struck a vehicle in the Aska Mina district on Friday, killing the five and wounding 14 civilians.
Khogyani said women and children were among the victims.
At least six militants were killed in an infighting in northeastern Kapisa province of Afghanistan, the defense authorities said Saturday. The incident took place in the vicinity of Alasai district after two groups of militants exchanged fire, apparently due to an internal rift. The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Military in the East confirmed .
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, died March 30 in Manbij, Syria as a result of injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrol. The incident is under investigation. Dunbar was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of seven airmen who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. They died March 15 when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Captain Mark K. Weber, 29, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Captain Andreas B. O’Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, New York.
Captain Christopher T. Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, New York.
Master Sergeant Christopher J. Raguso, 39, of Commack, New York.
Staff Sergeant Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, New York.
Master Sergeant William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Florida.
Staff Sergeant Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Both were assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. For more information, media may contact the 920th Rescue Wing public affairs office at 321-615-0329.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.Sgt. 1st Class Maitland Deweever Wilson, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, died March 7 in Landstuhl, Germany from a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.Wilson was assigned to the 831st Transportation Battalion, 595th Transportation Brigade, Manama, Bahrain.
All VA Medical Centers provide PTSD care, as well as many VA clinics.Some VA’s have programs specializing in PTSD treatment. Use the VA PTSD ProgramLocator to find a PTSD program.If you are a war Veteran, find a Vet Center to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
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