Archive for the 'Interesting' Category

Recruiter suicides lead to Army probe

AP HENDERSON, Texas

Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Henderson, a strapping Iraq combat veteran, spent the last, miserable months of his life as an Army recruiter, cold-calling dozens of people a day from his strip-mall office and sitting in strangers’ living rooms, trying to sign up their sons and daughters for an unpopular war.

He put in 13-hour days, six days a week, often encountering abuse from young people or their parents.

When he and other recruiters would gripe about the pressure to meet their quotas, their superiors would snarl that they ought to be grateful they were not in Iraq, according to his widow.

(snip)

The all-volunteer military is under heavy pressure to sign up recruits and retain soldiers while it wages two wars.

(snip)

In all, 15 of the Army’s 8,400 recruiters have committed suicide since 2003. During that period, more than 540 of the Army’s half-million active-duty soldiers killed themselves.

Surely, somewhere in these same old, same old, sad and sorry US services’ suicide stories a sombre moral lurks.

Read the rest of this clipped & pasted quotes‘ relevant Associated Press piece — right here.

(Cross posted across from How This Old Brit Sees It)

We’ve been called cooks, conspiracy, theorists, cranks, so on & so forth, several times before. As well as worse things.

Well, we should worry, Not.

One of our most long standing virtual friends & correspondents is Pokey Anderson. She co-hosts a regular weekly radio programme in the Lone Star state of Texas. It’s called the Sunday Monitor, and transmits on Sundays.

Pokey Anderson’s about as awesomely astute and acutely aware, as they come. You’d better believe it.

Though you won’t find Pokey’s name plastered across the big name papers of the states, she could certainly show the way to many other so-called, mainstream investigative journalists - who’s names are far too many to mention. Even if we had the inclination. But we don’t, so we won’t. Since we don’t believe so many of said stenographers are worth the bother, time or effort.

So, here’s an incredibly important uber-topical piece she’s pleased to share with us. Not altogether exclusively, but nonetheless, we’re more than pleased and proud to be among some especially select associates whom our old online pal Pokey appreciates enough to share. Enough, that is, to allow to present the following:

Who was Mike Connell?

Pokey Anderson — December 20, 2008

Investigative journalists online have been digging into the story of Mike Connell for two years. Connell’s largely unknown role in elections and government technology infrastructure should be a top story of the year, yet major media have ignored it.

Last night, a small plane crashed and burned near Akron, Ohio, reportedly carrying only one person, Mike Connell.

Connell was close to Karl Rove, but Rove reportedly had threatened him of late. Connell’s testimony re the Ohio 2004 election was being compelled in an Ohio court.

Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck sent a letter to US Attorney General Mukasey, July 24, 2008:

Dear Attorney General Mukasey:
We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to “take the fall” for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations …

Who was Mike Connell? Who was he connected to? What did he have to do with the Ohio 2004 presidential election results? What about the US attorney firings? Find out in the independent media.

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Free Press.org

Are Rove’s missing e-mails the smoking guns of the stolen 2004 election?
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
April 25, 2007
Free Press.org
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2562

The GOP’s cyber election hit squad
by Steven Rosenfeld and Bob Fitrakis
April 22, 2007
Free Press.org
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2553 and also http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042407A.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ePluribus Media, a collaborative citizen journalist site, first uncovered the complex Mike Connell story.

Ken Blackwell Outsources Ohio Election Results to GOP Internet Operatives, Again
by luaptifer
Tue Nov 07, 2006
ePluribus Media
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2006/11/7/115314/922

Ohio’s election website still sent real-time results to GOP mirror server
by intranets
Thu Nov 09, 2006
ePluribus Media
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2006/11/9/61233/1283

The GOP, GeorgeWBush.com and the Line that Jumped the Congressional Firewall
Mar 27, 2007
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/3/26/22612/9031

Who is Michael L. Connell? Part I: The Atwater School of Politics
Mar 28, 2007
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/3/28/143050/889

Who is Michael L. Connell? Part II: Behind the firewall
Apr 02, 2007
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/4/2/6328/14926

Rove -ing emails: what else could go missing?
by Todd Johnston and Luaptifer
ePluribus Media
Sun Apr 22, 2007
http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/4/22/33926/1773
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BradBlog stories on Mike Connell

7/17/08: Ohio Attorney Files to Lift Stay on ‘04 Election Case, Cites Allegations, Evidence of Massive Fraud by a Number of GOP Operatives, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189

7/22/08: GOP Tech Guru Mike Connell ‘High IQ Forrest Gump…At Scene of Every Single Crime’ Say Ohio Attorneys, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6206

7/24/08: Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not ‘Take the Fall’ for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6214

7/25/08: Cliff Arnebeck, OH Attorney, Interviewed Live on Peter B. Collins Show, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6217

7/26/08: So Who Is Mike Connell? A Clip from ‘Free For All’ Gives You an Idea… , http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6220

9/29/08: STAY LIFTED IN ‘04 OHIO ELECTION FRAUD CASE, GOP ‘TECH GURU’ SUBPOENAED, http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6445

10/31/08: BREAKING: Federal Judge Compels GOP IT Guru Mike Connell To Give Deposition in Ohio ‘04 Election Case,
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6600
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6696

12/19/08: BREAKING: MIKE CONNELL, GOP ‘IT GURU’, KILLED IN SOLO PLANE CRASH,

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Velvet Revolution website, Rove Cybergate: http://www.rovecybergate.com

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Raw Story has done a number of stories on Connell, including

Republican IT consultant subpoenaed in case alleging tampering with 2004 election
Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane
Monday September 29, 2008
Raw Story
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republican_IT_consultant_subpoenaed_in_case_0929.html
‘Karl Rove’s IT guru’ Mike Connell dies in plane crash
RAW STORY
Saturday December 20, 2008
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Karl_Roves_IT_guru_Mike_Connell_1220.html

Pokey, old pal, you’re an absolute star.

For far from the first time, we salute you.

Oh, that we ourselves owned far fewer years and possessed instead, lots more strength and stamina.

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit Sees It

Don’t ask us.

What would we know?

What do you think?

US global dominance ’set to wane’

The US will face more competition at the top of a multi-polar global system US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades, according to a new US intelligence report on global trends.

The National Intelligence Council (NIC) predicts China, India and Russia will increasingly challenge US influence.

It also says the dollar may no longer be the world’s major currency, and food and water shortages will fuel conflict.

Read the rest.

Is the end in sight?

What say ye?

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit Sees It)

We love animals as much as (if not more than), anyone else does … but boy, oh boy!

What a bloody, wacky, weirdo week it’s been.

Shark kills swimmer off US coast. (USA)

Social worker bitten by rabid dog. (UK)

Man is ‘killed by bull’ in field. (UK)

Incidentally, to see some other ‘bad’ luck catching up with some more shameless, saddistic toro-tormentors when certain poor persecuted bulls succeed in striking back - big time - hit this link.

*(Cross posted at How This Old Brit Sees It)

Today it’s Saint George (of England’s) Day.

Also today, it’s time for you to tell the truth.

So, hands up those of you who already (honestly & truly), knew - and/or remembered.

Then, hands up those who also knew about the self same ….

St George the Turkish Arab

Not very many we’ll wager.

Now, take a look at this terrifically tasty teaser.

He was born in Turkey; his mother was Palestinian. He’s so multicultural we have to share him with Lithuania, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Moscow, Istanbul, Beirut - and Palestine itself.

If he ever came to England, it wasn’t for long. Welcome to the world of Saint George, patron saint of England, whom we celebrate today, April 23 - the same day, by astonishing coincidence, that we celebrate the birth of the giant of English literature, William Shakespeare.

All nations need heroes. What we know of St George makes him a fine one - though very little of his story can be a certainty. But from fairly contemporary references, it looks as though he was born a Christian in Cappadocia, now in eastern Turkey and may have been of some “Darian” - Persian - blood too.

Sez who?

Sez Jack Straw, that’s who.

So read the rest, and learn and inwardly digest.

Ain’t a decent edumacation an absolutely amazing, awesome attribute to ‘ave?

Eh? Wot?

*(Cross posted at How This Old Brit Sees It)

You never know what you’ll find when you search for ‘asdf’. Here’s a photo of a bunch of blacks marching in an anti-immigrant demonstration alongside a woman who’s wearing a Confederate flag on her t-shirt. (click to inflate)

I never thought much about ‘asdf’ until I absent-mindedly typed it into Google one day. As it turns out, there’s a website devoted to the philosophical implications of the string of letters that you type when you don’t have anything particular in mind (if you’re a touch typist, these are the letters under the fingers of your left hand).

My favorite aspect of this site is that the owners of the domain maintain a valid email address that is never checked: asdf@asdf.com. You can use this email address anytime you’re required to provide a valid address, but don’t feel like using your own.

click to inflate

Check out these national flags that serve as graphs.

.

I thought this anti-suicide bombing ad was interesting. I wonder if seeing the consequences of these acts will make people think twice before strapping on a bomb vest.

Of course, there is a more destructive form of bombing that we seem to accept as a legitimate means of warfare: carpet bombing.

Read the rest of this entry »