We're back as of Sunday afternoon. Our upstairs ceiling popcorn is gone and a new ceiling in place. Everything is still shoved into spaces to allow for painting the ceiling and walls.
Saturday at Denali was Denaliesque. I recently saw a Mongolian movie and thought, wow, those huge vistas remind me of Denali National Park. The sun was out most of the time, the clouds here and there not threatening rain or snow. The (still) white vistas - humans generally just don't experience stuff like this. You see for miles and miles unpopulated land surrounded by mountains. With the late snow everywhere it was almost too much. After you enter the park, about four miles in, you're past all the park buildings - visitor center, camping and touring building, education center, housing for workers, sled dog kennels, and then there's just one road that goes for 90 miles.
Only 30 miles are open now (until buses start May 20), so what we saw is that part of the land you can see from the road in the first 30 miles. There are a few structures inside the park - at campgrounds basically and lots of restrooms at the bus stops. After May 20, you get past the first 3 miles or so only on the buses. Or if you have a camping spot at Teklanika. All the other camping spots are tent only and you get there by bus. And there's a big visitor center at about mile 60.
The picture above is the road into the park (though we were driving back to the campgrounds at the entrance when I took this.) You can tell we're still within the first 15 miles of the road because it's paved. We're looking east.
And here's a panorama view - I've photoshopped three pictures together. You see about 20-30 miles into the distance and probably 30 or so miles across from left to right. If you click on the picture you can see it bigger. (Large vertical images work great here, but horizontal ones don't.)
Just think about what a 25 by 30 mile area in your city would encompass. In LA that would be approximately from Santa Monica to East LA and from Beverly Hills to Palos Verdes. It's most of the LA basin with one road and for 85 miles of that road just a few structures and outhouses. Get a map online of your location. Seeing such vast distances with nothing but one road and just a few structures stretched out of 90 miles on the road is always mind-boggling, even after 40 years.
And here's a map of Denali National Park and Preserve to get all this into even more perspective.
Original map from National Parks Maps - This map is fairly large, but at the link it's much bigger
The entrance to the park is to the east where the little black rectangle is to the right of the red line. The first part of the road - brown on the original map here - is the 12 paved miles. It ends at the red #1 on the map. (I added the red because the yellow line is harder to see and to show you how far the road was open.) #1 is where Savage River is, where we snowshoed on Thursday. I didn't mention it in that post, but it was two years ago when we were there at the same time a young summer Park employee, Michael Purdy, had fallen and died and had not yet been found. I wrote about that here. A Park employee told me that his sister was in the park a week or two ago for the anniversary. You can also see how different the trail looked in late April 2016 compared to early May 2018.
#2 is about where I took the panorama above from.
The Black Bear Paw is Teklanika Campground - the road is closed about a mile past there for now, though beyond it you can walk or bike.
#3 is Eilson Visitor Center (above the 3) - about 60 miles into the park with good views of Denali on clear days.
#4 is Wonder Lake campground, the end of the 90 mile road into the park.
#5 is the North Peak of Denali - the tallest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet (6,140m)
So what we saw last week is only 1/3 of the road in the park. The panorama is of just one tiny part of the park. The vast majority of the park has no structures at all. And the views further in are even more expansive. Even if you don't see any animals (not likely) or the mountain itself (much more likely), the landscape itself is worth the trip.
Looking through the trees across to a small mountain off in the distance.
Here you can see the slope of the land. I took this from the road. J is walking up the road in her red coat. Since walking on the snow, even with snowshoes, is a challenge, we took turns walking along the road with the other waiting up ahead in the car. You see much more on foot than in the car.
Here's an area where the snow had an icy glaze. But if you tried to walk on it, you break right through the ice.
This is just past the gate that closes off the road at the Teklanika rest area. I'm looking down at the Teklanika River, which at this point is mostly covered with snow still, just those few squiggly pieces of open water. If you look closely you can see the bridge in the lower right corner.
And below you can see some of those squiggly spans of water from the bridge.
It was a beautiful day - I know that's relative. The sun was out and the sky was mostly blue. The temperature was in the 40's but there was a brisk wind in most places and especially on this bridge. It was also a Saturday so there were a fair number of people who driven to the Park for the weekend from Anchorage and Fairbanks.
This post has taken a direction of its own - the vastness of the park - so I'll save some of the people and critters we encountered for another post.
Here's my take on the President's speech this morning on the Parkland school shooting. I've done a reasonably close transcript (since I couldn't find any yet)[I did find one before I was done here- it's officially a 'statement'' not a speech] and I'll comment between the lines of his speech. Let me say, that much of the rhetoric and tone were appropriate for this sort of situation. But given the President's own words and behaviors, much of it seems ironic. And if we look carefully at the text, we'll see it's full of clichés but lacking any real substance. This would be an appropriate speech, perhaps after the first school shooting this year, but ABC News reports there have already been 18 school shootings in the first 45 days of 2018. (Not all were intentional, some were suicides.)
Our president and legislators can't keep using the same condolence platitudes.
But before I look at the speech in detail, I want to point out this was very much "a speech." He's using his speech voice as he reads. He is not speaking 'from the heart' or in his natural voice. That's fairly easy to test. Just listen to the last line of the speech:
"Thank you and God bless you all."
If he were actually feeling the words he was speaking, his 'thank you' would have been real. But it wasn't. He didn't even know that he'd just said 'thank you'. How do I know that? Because immediately after finishing the speech, he says in a much more natural tone of voice:
"Thank you very much."
You can hear the switch from speech voice to real voice clearly. Here's the end tape of the tape. [I have it set to begin at 6:22. It seems to do that the first time you play it, then it goes back to the beginning. Which allows you to hear the whole speech if you have nothing better to do.]
The Speech [Trump's words are in italics and indented. Mine are not.]
My fellow Americans, today I speak to a nation in grief. Yesterday, a school filled with innocent children and caring teachers became the scene of terrible violence. hatred, and evil.
Cliché alert. What does 'innocent children' actually mean? These are high school students, not elementary school kids. They may be relatively young, but I'm guessing innocent is not the best word to describe most of them. The shooter, after all, was one of the students last year.
Cliché alert: 'Evil.' While evil is used to mean unspeakably bad, Collins also defines it this way:
"Evil is a powerful force that some people believe to exist, and that causes wicked and bad things to happen."
Evil, in this religious sense, is an underlying natural force in the world. It's often used to deflect blame or suggest there are no solutions. Later in the speech Trump talks about tackling the issue of mental health. Is he demonizing mental illness? Or is evil just one of the words speechwriters always choose for this topic?
"Around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, police responded to reports of gunfire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a great and safe community."
I guess it isn't all that safe. Or if people thought it was, it means there are no safe communities.
"There, a shooter who is now in custody opened fire on defenseless students and teachers. He murdered 17 people and badly wounded at least 14 others. Our entire nation with a one heavy heart is praying for the victims and their families. To every parent, teacher, and child who is hurting so badly, we are here for you whatever we can do, whatever you need, to ease your pain."
Does that include this student from the high school who tweeted in response to Trump's condolence tweet ?
I can't confirm this really is a student at that school, though Newsweek quoted the tweet. But I'm sure there are some students at the school who feel this way. Will gun control be off the agenda when Trump visits the school, like it was in this speech?
"We are all joined together as one American family, and your suffering is our burden also. No child, no teacher should ever be in danger in an American school. No parent should ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning."
True, though I wonder how many parents actually kiss their high school students before they head off in the morning? And we've been having school and other mass shootings regularly going back before Sandy Hook. Things haven't gotten safer. What concrete action do you plan to take?
"Each person who was stolen from us yesterday, had a full life ahead of them, a life filled with wondrous beauty and unlimited potential and promise. Each one had dreams to pursue and love to give, and talents to share with the world. And each one had a family to whom they meant everything in the world."
This is really quite beautiful and insightful. And he read it well, but I have some questions. Does he feel this about the kids in ghetto Baltimore? The women who are accusing him of sexual abuse? What about the Dreamers he wants to send back to dangerous, if not life threatening, situations? These are, I'm afraid, just words that the President read, that someone else wrote for him.
"Today we mourn for all of those who lost their lives. We comfort the grieving and wounded. And we hurt for the entire community of Parkland, Florida that is now in shock and pain and searching for answers. To law enforcement, first responders and teachers who responded so bravely in the face of danger: We thank you for your courage."
Appropriate sentiments, not much substantive content.
"Soon after the shooting I spoke to Gov Scott to convey our deepest sympathies to the people of Florida and our determination to assist in any way we can. I also spoke with Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. I’m making plans to visit Parkland to meet with families and local officials and continue coordinating the Federal response."
Pam Bondi, if you recall, was deciding on whether to prosecute Trump University when her campaign got a $25,000 check from aTrump foundation. She made her decision shortly after to drop the case.
"In these moments of heartache and darkness, we hold on to God’s word in scripture, “I have heard your prayer, and seen your tears, I will heal you.” We trust in that promise and we hold fast to our fellow Americans in their time of sorrow."
I'm not a biblical scholar. But I'd note this quote comes from a story in II Kings 20:5 and also in Isaiah, Chapter 38. Hezekiah is ill. Isaiah hears from a prophet that Hezekiah will die. Isaiah tells Hezekiah, who then prays to the Lord to remember he's lived a good life. It is then, that Isaiah hears the words Trump quotes.
"Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’"
This is not a prayer for grieving parents, but for a dying King who is given reprieve.
But Trump is talking to the grieving relatives of dead children and teachers, and unlike Hezekiah, they won't be healed.
"I want to speak now directly to America’s children."
This is perhaps the scariest part of the speech for me. How many people would want Trump to give advice to their children? Especially their high school age daughters? Gives me the creeps.
"Especially to those who feel lost, alone, confused, or even scared. I want you to know that you are never alone and never will be. You have people who care about you and love you and will do anything to protect you.at all. If you need help turn to a teacher, a family member, a local police officer, or a faith leader.
In general, this is something a loving and caring president might tell children. Yet, for the most vulnerable of children, this isn't necessarily true. Think of the children of religious families who were kicked out when they said they were gay. The kids of drug addicts may not have anyone. And I know that a lot of African-American parents would not tell their kids to report things to local police officers. Kids with mental health problems feel isolated. Like the shooter. Who was helping him? Apparently there were lots of signs he needed help desperately. Are people like him included here? Or are they the evil Trump warns about?
Answer hate with love and cruelty with kindness. We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life that creates deep and meaningful human connections and that turns classmates and colleagues into friends and neighbors."
Really? Trump is telling people to answer hate with love, cruelty with kindness? Create deep and meaningful human connections? Were the speechwriters giggling at the irony as they wrote this?
"Our administration is working closely with local authorities to investigate the shooting and learn everything we can. "
"We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico."
...people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great Military. All buildings now inspected....."
Can we believe him?
"We are committed to working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools tackle the the difficult issue of mental health."
"Later this month I will be meeting with the nation’s governors and attorney generals [sic] where making our schools and children safer will be our top priority."
I can't find anything about a meeting between the president and the governors and AG's. The only official looking schedule for the president I can find is at Fact Based, but it only goes backward in time from today. Not into the future.
There is a National Governor's Association Winter meeting scheduled for February 24- in DC. Maybe that's what he's referring to. Its agenda doesn't include school shootings or mental health. How exactly does the president meet with the 50 governors and attorneys general? Almost half the state AG's have already sued the President over various issues in his first year in office. So they don't seem to have "created deep and meaningful human connections" with the president yet.
They're only meeting for two days and they already have a full agenda. I just don't see this as more than a way to look like he's going to do something. The kind of thing the next sentence of his speech warns against.
"It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference. In times of tragedy, the bonds that sustain us are those of family, faith, community, and country. These bonds are stronger than the forces of hate and evil. And these bonds grow even stronger in the hours of our greatest need."
So we're supposed to rely on our bonds of family, faith, community, and country to end school shootings? More on the forces of hate and evil.
"And so always, but especially today, let us hold our loved ones close, let us pray for healing and for peace, and let us come together as one nation and wipe away the tears and strive for a much better tomorrow. Thank you and God bless you all."
That ends the official speech, but then, finally, Trump talks in his real voice. Which, as I pointed out above, shows that he wasn't even comprehending what he was reading. Since the end of the official speech already ended with a thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'd also point out that simply talking about mentally ill people being the problem is also problem. TheNational Alliance on Mental Illness claims that18% of US adults experience mental health problems in any year. That's almost 20% of our population. The vast majority are NOT high risk to be shooters. Linking mental illness so broadly to mass shootings is likely to continue the stigma of mental health, and mean fewer people seek treatment for their mental health problems.
I saw "Pale Blue Dot" last week and it plays again
Today (Saturday, Dec. 9) at
2:30pm in the
Alaska Exp Theater.
I think I'd rank it right after "The Drawer Boy" among the best features that I've seen.
It takes place in rural India and middle aged man, happily married with a son he loves, gets distracted by the idea of death after several friends and relatives die unexpectedly. I communicated with the director Girish Mohite via Facebook before the festival. He told me it was based on a Hindu legend and was about death and the meaning of life. I was a little concerned about it being too abstract and esoteric, but it turned out to be a charming movie with interesting characters. It's also a way to take a 90 minute trip to rural India.
Girish had asked to tell him how it was received, so I asked audience members if they would talk about it as they came out of the theater. Here's what they said:
It's been a film-packed weekend. Not much time to post about everything, but here are some of the people I had a chance to meet. Meant to get this up already, but busy trying to catch up with movies, blogging, sleep, and the rest of my life.
Emily Pando (director) and Jesse Amorratanasuchad (cinematographer - I think I got that right) whose short "8 A.M." showed Saturday morning in the program Love and Pain. It shows again Friday Dec 8 at 7pm at the AK Exp Theater.
"8 A.M." plays on one well used trope - the alarm clock and groggy sleeper - and one well used premise - the audience knows that someone is going to die but the characters don't. But in this case they use an incredible set of twins who act as the Greek Chorus. A very well done film with an important message. You can see a little more - including a screenshot with the twins - on my Shorts in Competition post.
I met Jason Mott between films in a film maker meet and greet session. It turns out he's the winner of the film festival's screen writing contest. His script is called Endings LLC about a company that helps plan people's demise.
Jason's from North Carolina and is a novelist. He mentioned two books - The Returned and Wonder of All Things. I looked them up and they are available at Loussac. Actually, he was being modest. There are several more titles with his name on them.
Here's AIFF director Rebecca Pottebaum hamming it up with volunteer Pablo who sold tickets this weekend at the Alaska Experience Theater..
And here's John Zahs, the subject of the documentary Saving Brintonwhich played at the Bear Tooth Sunday evening. It was a great film festival film that looked at John's successful efforts to save and restore films of the Brinton family that were found when the estate was sold. These are films from the first decade of the 20th Century and some are the only existing copies. I've got video of his Q&A after the showing along with some of his saved movies. He said it would be ok to post them here. So when I catch up, I'll get them up. You can see more about the film and the trailer at my post on the Docs In Competition.
And, again I think I have this right, here's Dita Gruze who is the co-producer and film editor for the documentary A to B Roller Ski about a Latvian Olympic champion's trip from the Arctic to Baja on roller skis. It plays again Friday Dec 8 at 9pm at the AK Experience Theater.
Here's AIFF President Rich Curtner (right) introducing Yochi Executive Producer Craig Holden for Q&A after the Shorts program Global Village in which Yochi played.
There's more on video, but that takes me a little longer to turn around.
Shorts are fiction 10 - 55 minutes. In competition means they were selected to be eligible for a festival award. Super Shorts are under 10 minutes.
Shorts are generally shown in groups, called programs. The shorts in competition this year fall neatly into two programs. The first is "Shorts on the Edge" but it's also called "Opening Night Soirée."
The second program is called "Love and Pain." I've color coded them to make it even easier.
BUT, I've combined the shorts and super shorts on the chart below, since they are showing together in the programs. The super shorts have an * after them.
To make it easy for you to figure out when and where to see these films, I've divided the list of shorts in competition into two groups so you can see what program they're in, and when and where each program is shown.
[NOTE: I try to be completely accurate here, but there's a lot of details and I can make a mistake. To be safe, double check the times and locations before you go. If you see an error please let me know in the comments or via email - in right column above blog archive.]
The first program is:
Opening Night Soiree
Fri Dec 1 Bear Tooth 7 pm
Shorts on the Edge
Sat Dec 9 AK Exp Sm 9 pm
Shorts In Competition
Director
Country
Length
Cold Storage*
Thomas Freundlich
Finland
9 min
Game
Jeannie Donohoe
USA
15 min
Whoever Was Using This Bed
Andrew Kotatko
Australia
20 min
Iron
Gabriel Gonda
USA
17 min
Must Kill Karl
Joe Kick
Canada
12 min
The Robbery
Jim Cummings
USA
15 min
8:AM*
Emily Pando
USA
5 min
Brain Storm*
Christophe Clin
Belgium
6 min
Couples Night*
Russell & Robert
Summers
USA
4 min
Temporary
Milena Govich
USA
12 min
Remember, the blue ones are in the program called:
Love and Pain
Which shows:
Sat Dec 2 AK Exp Large 12 pm
Fri Dec 8 AK Exp Small 7pm
* means it's a Super Short.
###############################################
This first group of shorts in competition all are part of the Opening Night Soirée which repeats as the program "Shorts on the Edge." I've done it this way to help you identify which films are shown together so you can easily find when and where to see them. If they are in red, they are together in this program. Also, both Shorts and Super Shorts* are together in the same programs, but they are eligible for separate awards. The * marks the Super Shorts. These are films under 10 minutes long.
Opening Night Soirée
Fri Dec 1 Bear Tooth 7pm
Shorts on the Edge
Sat Dec 9 Ak Exp Small 9pm
**********************************************
Cold Storage* (*Super Short)
Thomas Freundlich
Finland
9 min
This one should appeal to all Alaskans, especially ice fishers, glacial archeologists, and dancers.
"Thomas Freundlich is one of the leading practitioners in Finland’s vibrantly growing independent dance film scene. Mr. Freundlich’s work ranges from dance shorts, documentary work, performance videography and 3D projects to music videos and projection design for the stage. His work has been seen at dozens of film festivals worldwide as well as broadcast TV both in Finland and internationally. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Freundlich was the co-artistic director of Finland’s Loikka dance film festival."
This story takes place during tryouts for the high school basketball team. It's a very well made film. To add a little moral crunch to all this, the Weinstein Company was involved with this film. Just yesterday (Nov 20), I read an article from the Paris Review, "What Do We Do With The Art Of Monstrous Men?" I suspect that the Weinstein Company, particularly Harvey Weinstein had little to do with the making of this film. But it's something to think about as you watch this gem of a film. I know this film is good because you can watch it online, and I did. Below is a trailer. I'd note, watching it online probably won't take anything from the experience of seeing it on the big screen opening night of the festival. There's lots I'm sure I missed the first time.
**********************************************
Whoever Was Using This Bed
Andrew Kotatko
Australia
20 min
Go to the the film's website. Scroll through the credits and connections of the cast and the director and others. This is NOT a film by new faces showing what they can do in hopes of making it. But the fact that these aren't newcomers to the film industry tells us something about the competitiveness of the world of film-making.
"Iron is a short period drama set in the Pacific NorthWest inspired by the true stories of women railroad workers during the early 1900’s.
Lily Cohen escapes the the crowded tenements of New York to take on a demanding railway job. Determined to work on a steam engine, a position not traditionally held by women, Lilly faces the hostility of her fellow railroad workers while finding her own inner strength.
While America is very familiar with the iconic image of Rosie the Riveter, the women laborers of the First World War are mostly forgotten by history. The American railroad represented freedom and adventure in a time when most women had very little opportunity for either. These opportunities disappeared when the soldiers returned home."
I haven't seen the whole movie, but the trailer . . . judge for yourself. I had it up here for a day or two as I worked on the rest of the films. I decided to take it down because I thought the thumbnail was gross and I didn't see any redeeming features that would make it worth keeping up. I'm not censoring it - you can go watch it here. Remember, the programmers thought it was worth being 'in competition'. I'm waiting to be pleasantly surprised.
**********************************************
The Robbery
Jim Cummings
USA
15 min
Cummings won the best Short Award last year at AIFF with his film "Thunder Road." It also won at Sundance which led to a slew of opportunities which are described in this IndieWire article. The article also includes a full version of of The Robbery. I don't recommend seeing it now if you plan to see it at the festival. I'm not sure how much it offers with additional viewings.
It's about a robbery that goes badly. It's well made. It spoofs our national (global?) cell phone addiction among other things.
###############################################
This second group of shorts in competition all are part of the program "Love and Pain." I've done it this way to help you identify which films are shown together so you can easily find when and where to see them.
If they are in blue, they are together in this program Also, both Shorts and Super Shorts* are together in the same programs, but they are eligible for separate awards. The * marks the Super Shorts. These are films under 10 minutes long.
In this group, all but "Temporary" are Super Shorts.
Love and Pain
Sat Dec, 2 12pm AK Exp Large
Frit Dec 8 AK Exp Small 7pm
**********************************************
8:AM*
Emily Pando
USA
5 min Can't find much on this film, though it was at the festival in August 2016, the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival's Shorts Fest this year if I'm reading the Facebook page right.
**********************************************
Brain Storm* (Remue-Meninges)
Christophe Clin
Belgium
6 min
(Also Showing at Martini Matinee - Friday December 8, 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm)
Another film that's got few internet footprints. From Augohr:
"What happens in our heads when we are about to meet someone on the street? Anguish, prejudice, expectation, surprise, disappointment … These few very brief moments are the nest of a real brainstorm!"
I had to look much harder to find Christophe's Vimeo page. (His Youtube page was blank. You really don't need a link to a blank Youtube channel.) But it was worth the effort. (Actually, if you only google his name, there's more, mostly in French.)
This is one of the most tantalizing trailers I've seen. It could be a super short all its own.
This is a four minute movie. What do you want? A ten second trailer? Christophe Clin found a way to do a trailer for a six minute movie (above) but . . . And why would you want a description? This is part of a program of other shorts. Just sit back and watch it. I can give you one hint - it's been in some horror movie festivals.
**********************************************
Temporary
Milena Govich USA 12 Min
The first few minutes of this probably tells you what you need to know about this film. It comes from her Kickstarter page and I found the embed code at Vimeo.
I'd also note there are other Shorts programs. Global Village has a series of international shorts.
There are Made In Alaska shorts. And Martini Matinee will play a mix of narrative shorts, short docs, and animation. I'm not totally caught up (and probably will never be) with all these programs but I did want to give you an alert that the narrative shorts and super shorts in competition aren't the only shorts.
On Memorial Day we honor those who died in war. On Veterans Day we honor those who survived war. More on the difference between the two holidays here. Let's take a moment to reflect on how many died and how many survived the wars the United States fought in.
"Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is the official name used by the U.S. government for the Global War on Terrorism between 2001 and 2014. On October 7, 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes targeting Al Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan.[8] Operation Enduring Freedom primarily refers to the War in Afghanistan,[9][10] but it is also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.[11][12]
After 13 years, on December 28, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the end of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.[13] Continued operations in Afghanistan by the United States' military forces, both non-combat and combat, now occur under the name Operation Freedom's Sentinel.[14]"
Hagel said, "In Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the United States will pursue two missions with the support of the Afghan government and the Afghan people."
"We will work with our allies and partners as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission to continue training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces," he added. "And we will continue our counterterrorism mission against the remnants of Al Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland."
"Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the U.S.-led coalition military operation in Iraq, was launched on March 20, 2003, with the immediate stated goal of removing Saddam Hussein’s regime and destroying its ability to use weapons of mass destruction or to make them available to terrorists. Over time, the focus of OIF shifted from regime removal to the more open-ended mission of helping the Government of Iraq (GoI) improve security, establish a system of governance, and foster economic development."
"During Operation New Dawn, the remaining 50,000 U.S. servicemembers serving in Iraq will conduct stability operations, focusing on advising, assisting and training Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Operation New Dawn also represents a shift from a predominantly military U.S. presence to one that is predominantly civilian, as the Departments of Defense and State work together with governmental and non-governmental agencies to help build Iraq's civil capacity."
On 17 October 2014, the Department of Defense formally established Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) in order to formalize ongoing military actions against the rising threat posed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Fueled by sectarian conflicts and division, ISIS ascended from relative obscurity in 2013 to propagate an extremist socio-political ideology, and claimed to have created an Islamic caliphate. Its successful acquisition of conventional weapons, establishment of armed formations, rapid territorial growth and unconscionable atrocities shocked the world and destabilized the region. By June 2014, the security situation in Iraq had deteriorated with the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit falling in rapid succession to ISIS aggressors.
The numbers of military who took part, were killed or wounded, is documented differently. You can poke around that page and get numbers for each of the Operations. Be careful to note that in most of the tables, deaths are 'per 100,000" serving. So actual deaths have to be multiplied. If there are 1 million serving, you need to multiply by ten. And they use somewhat different categories.
The following document had some particularly shocking statistics. The percentage of African-American deaths is much higher than African-American's percentage in the US population (13%).
According to the chart, in the Persian Gulf war 17% of the men who were killed were African American and 20% of the women killed were African American.
In all the wars since 1980, 17% of the men killed were African American and 26% of the women killed were African American. And these numbers only go to July 25, 2009. We don't know about the next six years.
It seems to me the Pentagon should have been studying those numbers to determine why. Are black women significantly more likely to be in the military? If so, why does that seem to be a better option for them than living with their families in the US?
If not, why are they being killed more than others? Are white women more likely to be officers (who the other statistics say are killed much less than enlisted military), are they sacrificed, do the commit suicide more? Whatever the answers, we should have documented explanations.
After I wrote that I googled and found this 2013 NYTimes article on a PEW study of African-American women in the military. Yes, African American women make up a much higher percentage of women in the military than in the US population as a whole - about one-third. But they haven't studied why, though the military says they match their recruiting target well:
"[Beth J. Asch, a senior economist and defense manpower specialist at the Rand Corporation] suggested that the military tries to attract high school graduates who are looking for job training, good benefits and help with college tuition — and that a high percentage of black women fit that bill."
The King of Thailand passed away on October 13, 2016. There has been a year mourning period and the Royal Cremation Ceremony takes place in Bangkok this week. Below is a photo of the His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang, where the cremation ceremony will take place in Bangkok, at the royal ploughing ceremony in 1969. I wrote more about this when the King died last year.
Below is from an email I got as a member of Friends of Thailand, a group made up of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Thailand.
"Royal Cremation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol AdulyadejOffering Ceremony of Sandalwood Flowers on October 26, 2017At Wat Thai Washington DC, Silver Spring, Maryland(Foreigners and Friends of Thailand are invited)
********** His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, widely regarded as Thailand's moral compass and a staunch supporter of Thailand – United States relations, ruled the country for more than seven decades until his passing on October 13, 2016. The country has been in an official year of mourning since then with many Thais choosing to wear black in remembrance of his boundless and gracious kindness.
Thai Buddhists often wait a week or more before cremating their dead but royal funerals are exceptional and over 12 million Thais have paid their respects to the late King at the Grand Palace in Bangkok since last October.
The royal cremation ceremony will last from October 25 - 29, with a series of ceremonies and processions transferring the urn and relics to and from the crematorium at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. The actual cremation day is on October 26. For many Thais this cremation ceremony will be their first experience of a royal funeral of a monarch and will allow them to pay a final tribute to His Majesty the late King.
Throughout the United States, the Royal Thai Embassy, the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations and Consulates-General, Thai communities and Thai temples will observe the cremation ceremony by offering sandalwood flowers on the cremation day of October 26. Ancient Thais believed the sandalwood fragrance will lead the soul of the deceased to heaven.
In Washington DC area including Virginia and Maryland, the Royal Thai Embassy and other Governmental Offices along with Thai Community and Wat Thai Washington DC (MD), Wat Tummaprateip Washington DC (MD), Wat Yarnna Rangsee Buddhist Monastery (VA), Wat Pa Nanachart (VA), Wat Pa Tesrangsee (VA) and Wat Pasantidhamma (VA) will observe the offering ceremony of sandalwood flowers at Wat Thai Washington DC(13440, Layhill Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906)Thursday October 26, 2017From 05:30 am – 06:00 pm
You may consider attending the ceremony at time of convenience from 5 am onwards, or preferably from 05:30 – 07:00 am. Below are details of the cremation ceremony at Wat Thai Washington DC:
05:30 am Merit-making ceremony
06:00 am Watch the cremation ceremony live from Bangkok
06:30 am Offering Sandalwood flowers begins
07:00 am Food Offering to monks (breakfast)
11:00 am Dana / Lunch
06:00 pm Offering sandalwood flowers ends
06:30 pm Cremating sandalwood flowers
Dress code: Full dress / Black or dark dress / Mourning Sandalwood flowers : Intricate cremation flowers representing the daffodil made by volunteers will be provided for you to offer at the ceremony on October 26. The daffodil or “dararat” in Thai was His Majesty King Bhumibol’s favorite flower and often presented to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit during their stay in Switzerland. Daffodil or Dararat is offered to loved ones as a symbol of honor, bravery and hope. Dara means star while Rat is a precious gem. This dararat cremation flowers also reflect the love the Thai people have towards His Majesty King Bhumibol remembering his seven-decade long reign and uncountable contributions. Food & Beverage : Provided by Team Thailand in Washington DC and the Thai community
Parking and Shuttle Service : For your convenience, two parking lots nearby Wat Thai are allocated at your own risk with shuttle car services available from 5:00 am to 01:00 pm."
I imagine one of the Buddhist temples in Anchorage will have some ceremony as well, but haven't made contact yet.
2. NRA Establish 24 Hour Massacre News Channel
As I listened to NPR (looks pretty close to NRA, doesn't it) switch to all day coverage of Las Vegas today, I realized it's only a matter of time before we need full time coverage of mass murders. They'll fill in with other more mundane murders on slower days. The more shootings, the more people will want more guns to compete for the Guinness records or to protect themselves.
The gun control people want to limit who gets guns and the kinds of guns they get.
The pro-gun people (chiefly sponsored by the gun and arms industry through the NRA) argue that people, not guns, kill people, so everyone (except Muslims probably) should have unlimited access (it seems since they seem to start lobbying if a member of Congress even thinks about gun control.)
It's clear that both people and guns together kill people. A person with a knife can kill a small crowd, but not fifty, and not from a distance. People can also use bombs and vehicles and other ways to kill more people at once. But automatic weapons seem to be the most efficient and effective way to kill many people in a short time.
Then there's the people. The president used the word 'evil' to describe the Las Vegas killer. That's a word that is bandied about whenever there is a mass killing. Evil is a word that makes the killer seem to be inherently bad through and through. An agent of Satan. (ISIS claimed credit for the Las Vegas killing, but I haven't heard about Satan's claim yet.) Not someone you might know and say hi to every day.
The stats on deaths by guns around the world, make it clear that the easy access to weapons in the United States plays a role in the carnage here. And as we learn about people involved in mass shootings, there's always some sort of long simmering resentment of people in general or some group of people. Mostly based on personal issues of some sort.
There is currently a high level of anger among people in the United States. Our current president claims that anger is what got him elected and he may be right. But my point here is that people who commit mass murders often are people with a great deal of anger about something - loss of a job, loss of a spouse. But underlying it all is loss of respect, probably most importantly self-respect.
We have a society that produces a lot of angry people with declining self-esteem. I would argue that a number of social, political, and economic factors play a part.
Capitalism, which reduces everything to money and making it as efficiently as possible, plays a role, by squeezing more work out of employees for less money and using much of the employee share to enrich officers and shareholders. That's the abstract part. More concretely technology is making workers redundant. Technology and foisting work onto the customer is now rampant. It started, in my experience, with self-service gas stations. Now travel agents are almost gone as people have to go online to book their own tickets. Receptionists are gone as we spend a minute or more listening to simulated voices giving us choices of buttons to push until we finally get to what we need - and the companies seem to hope we won't need a human. We have self service lines in the grocery. Each of these changes cuts out jobs. Businesses have been fighting unions forever. With fewer employees represented by unions, workers rights and wages and benefits erode and erode. Lots of people work long hours for less money. A smaller number of workers get good wages and benefits.
Pluralism is a political theory of governance that stems from the idea of separation of powers and the competition of interest groups to influence policy decisions. The money spent by corporations to support candidates and ideas, to lobby legislators, and to spin truth to the public has gone up significantly. So we have a majority party that wants to cut millions out of the health care programs and wants to cut taxes to the wealthy at the expense of the middle and lower economic classes.
Both capitalism and pluralism share the idea that the best outcome comes from the competition of self-interested players. And while surely different interests keeping watch on each other is helpful, the theory doesn't account for things like altruism and community spirit. Self-interest was the only thing most economists counted as 'rational' thinking for years. It's all about competition. And the balance falls apart when some groups gain much greater power to compete than others. And that's what has happened over the last 60 years as we've moved from a country where the gaps between the richest and poorest in society, and the lowest and highest paid employee in a company, were much lower, to our current (and worsening) situation where the gaps are growing greater and greater. And if the Republicans manage to pass the kind of tax reform our president is extolling, it will get worse.
I'd argue that it is this spreading sense of loss of economic and political power that plays a huge role in the anger Americans feel these days. If we don't address that, we won't affect the people who not only are angry, but are also unhinged enough to commit suicide through spectacular mass murders which give them so sort of attention. And as I mentioned in the previous post (not at all thinking about writing this post since Las Vegas hadn't yet happened), bad attention is better than no attention.
These shooter know that their lives will be the center of national, if not world, attention for at least several days if not more. They will get their 'glory' for the way society has treated them. I'm not saying their thinking is right, but I'm just trying to offer a possible explanation for behavior that seems unexplainable. Because if we don't understand why people commit such acts, we have no hope for finding ways to prevent them. Calling them 'evil' essentially puts all the blame on the shooter and doesn't allow for reflecting on how our society helps to create so many angry, bitter people with access to weapons that can kill fifty people in a few minutes.
As I listened to NPR this morning, I kept hearing the same stories over and over. They simply do not have enough information to fill the time with meaningful new news. It's as though they feel that to compete with social media, they have to report each tidbit of new information - whether confirmed or not - because otherwise people won't listen. I'd argue that people would like to hear more reasoned thoughtful stories and can wait a few hours for serious updates on the current crisis. Only people who might have a direct connection to the story - people whose friends and family might be involved - have a compelling reason to stay closely tuned in. And they'd probably do better with social media outlets where they can set up two way communication.
But we all have a responsibility to let the media know we want more thoughtful coverage. Instant news is less important than well-done news. And it may well be that people like me are in the minority. That we have become, as a nation, sensation junkies. That news, for most people, serves the functions of entertainment and confirmation of our own biases. If that's the case, democracy won't survive.
