Interesting Email

From an American friend whom I've known for 3 years. Here're some things you DON'T read about in the news.

"At the Nuremburg War Crimes Trial following World War II, Albert Speere spoke in his own defense regarding his role in the Holocaust. Speere was the man that designed the final solution for Hilter and the boys, and did the organization elements of the trains that
dropped off their loads at the camps. Speere's defense was, "I was just following orders." Speere was hung.

Now, regarding Abu Ghraib, the military announced the investigation into the abuse in January 2003. The army uncovered these abuses, and was actively conducting an investigation. The New York Times printed a 970 word story. An update (370 words) on the abuse investigation was printed in the New York Times in March 2003 when the military issued a press release stating at what stage the investigation was in. Neither of these two stories got any attention because they were without photos. Then in May, the photos were leaked.

The seven soldiers involved stated that "We were following orders." Now to begin with, the female soldier in those photos holding the leash and pointing and smiling was not
assigned to Abu Ghraib prison. She was there visiting her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was a higher-ranking soldier assigned to the prison. She is now pregnant with his baby. Now am I to believe that she was ordered to go to a duty station that she was not assigned to during her time off, and participate in those photos for someone who was not her commanding officer? Was she also ordered to have a boyfriend of superior rank (forbidden in the army), and to have relations with him (forbidden in the army), and to get pregnant (forbidden)? Probably not.

Now let's focus on the so-called general-in-charge at Abu Ghraib. She is a reservist who claims that she is not responsible because military intelligence was responsible for that phase of the operation. Horse-s**t! She had a reputation for allowing for a complete breakdown in military discipline, including not requiring her officers and enlisted ranks to salute each other, soldiers referring to each other by their first names, and no properly overseeing her operation. She should be tried, and convicted of dereliction of duty, among other charges. Her junior officers should take the fall as well.

Now, it should be stated that I have not seen much of anything that violates the Geneva Convention, with the exception of the barking dog photo, and the fact that
photos were taken. You are allowed to deprive prisoners of sleep, and to break them down mentally so long as they are fed, their health is not in jeopardy, they are not humiliated (ambiguous, but usually refers to public humiliation), etc. I did not see Americans chopping anyone's head off on TV, or interviewing prisoners on CNN, or burning anyone to death and dragging their bodies through the street and hanging them from a bridge. Did you happen to notice the number of days those events were on the news compared
to the number of days the Abu Ghraid scandal was on the front pages? Chop off a head, burn humans alive and hang them from a bridge and you get 12 hours of coverage, and then it disappears forver. If you are the US, and some idiots stack some naked guys, 16 straight days of page one coverage.

To explain this, you have to look back to 1968, in Vietnam. I know you have seen the photo of the South Vietnamese soldier holding a gun to the head of a Viet Cong, and shooting him in the head. It is a famous photo in the US, and it made Americans feel bad about the war. What the photo does not communicate is that the man being executed had, moments before, killed a South Vietnamese General, his wife, and his four children, ages 12, 10, 6, and 2. The photos at Abu Ghraib are meant to demoralize the American public,
make them turn against the war, and elect John Kerry in November, because Kerry is a liberal just like the news organizations. You will not hear, for example, that breast cancer surgeries have resumed after a 30 year absence in Iraq. You will not hear much about the fact that this is currently the only Muslim country out of 54 that is a demoncracy. You will not hear about the soldiers collecting clothes and school
supplies from the middle of the US, where they are from, and donating those supplies to Iraqi neighborhoods...you will only hear about the failures and tragedies. In the coming months, you will hear a lot of nonsense about the "fairness" of Saddam's trial as well, as if the 400,000 in the mass graves had had that consideration.

So I avoided the Army and joined the Marines...we are
a bit different :)"


Thursday morning. Is my 29th birthday just round the corner already? I've got everything planned ( not much, but it's better than sitting at home -- thank goodness my flu's gone ): Harry Potter 3 tomorrow, then for the day after -- hanging out at SUNTEC to catch the Singapore Idol auditions action, a trip to Raffles City to see Urban Dream Capsule (4 Australian blokes living in a glass case for 2 weeks ), ending off with a sumptuous dinner at a nice restaurant ( will keep that secret for obvious reasons :)). No hot date. Just me and my parents. No gifts -- I find them cheesy, and most of the time, people don't know what it is I want exactly ( except for one good friend who never fails to buy me something I like -- you know who you are :)). I don't feel any different. "Feeling old" hit me at age 25, when a certain individual caused me great pain. The process of spiritual senescence has stagnated since then, which is a good thing. But last night, flipping through photo albums, I notice how 10 years ago, I smiled so much more, but now, the occasional twitch of the corner of my mouth is so hard to come by.
Of course, that's only during picture-taking. Think people who've actually met me have described me as a laughing hyena at one point. The better I know you, the crazier I get, heh heh. :)

Not much to update on today. Azarael, here're 2 movie quotes just for you.

From "Good Will Hunting":

Sean ( Robin Williams ): Do you have a soul mate?
Will ( Matt Damon ): Define that.
Sean: Someone you can relate to, someone who opens things up for you.
Will: Sure, I got plenty.
Sean: Well, name them.
Will: Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O'Connor...
Sean: Well that's great. They're all dead.
Will: Not to me, they're not.
Sean: You can't have a lot of dialogue with them.
Will: Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts.

Which reminds me, you should rent "The Rainmaker". This was just shown on Vesak Day ( Channel i ), and even though I've seen it before eons ago, it still had me riveted for 2 1/2 hours. Matt Damon was in his early 20s when he got his first big break in the lead role, starring with Jon Voight, Danny DeVito and Mickey Rourke, and directed by none other than the legendary Francis Ford Coppola ( The Godfather trilogy, Bram Stoker's Dracula ). John Grisham novels aren't exactly the most cerebral, but the script ( also adapted by Coppola ) does the story great justice, and the entire cast ( Damon in particular ) give stellar performances. It's basically a David and Goliath tale, but surpasses the more famous / profitable "Erin Brockovich" because of its understated yet far more poignant delivery.

And for "The Royal Tenenbaums"

[Royal ( Gene Hackman ) motions to Pagoda ( his Indian servant )]
Royal: He saved my life, you know. Thirty years ago. I was knifed at a bazaar in Calcutta, and he carried me to the hospital on his back.
Ari: Who stabbed you?
[Royal motions to Pagoda again]
Royal: He did. There was a price on my head, and he was a hired assassin. Stuck me in the gut with a shiv.

Gotta love it. :)