Iraq War clock

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Iraq War Cost

Bring em Home

My last post [yay]. I can honestly say this was a challenge and that it was a pretty innovating assignment, definitely true to the class title. Wanna see something interesting? Look at the timestamp for my Meanwhile... post then look at the timestamp of my McClellan Tales post [I was on a roll].

[Disclaimer] The opinions and views expressed here are my own and does not reflect those of others or any organization.

Anyways, I wanted my last post to be somewhat personal and I was searching YouTube for videos. I even thought about uploading my own video but I figured that was too much work for something nobody would be willing to watch. Instead, I'm going with a picture about me. Refer to my first post to know a little bit more about me if you're curious.

My final post is about the troops in Iraq. Politics aside, I'm tired of the Iraq War, it's the Vietnam War of my generation. It was painfully obvious that the economy suffered while the national debt rose through the trillions and the obscene amount of money spent on the war. The United States has the best military in the world but it's time to bring them home. Honor them, remember them, care for them. [Please].

Educate yourself. Vote in the upcoming elections, make your voice heard.

Bring em home.

Later,
- Anh
968th QM Co.

[Center, front, holding the flag]

Going Viral

I felt like going viral for some reason and this is just as good as any. Remember Obama girl? The group behind that sensation, Barely Political, made a music video [September 2007] that is...

"A salute to U.S. Troops who serve overseas and at home...and the people who love them."

Definitely something I can dig.

Later,
- Anh

Memorial Day 2008

Sometimes we're so caught up in our own lives that we forget the lives of others.

Later,
- Anh

I <3 Jon Stewart

The vast left-right wing conspiracy!

Later,
- Anh

McClellan Tales

Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary, is releasing a book on June 2, 2008 that has some insider criticism of the Bush administration's operations. He bashes the administration for not doing more in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and that it was a defining moment in Bush's 2nd [and last] term.

Also telling in his book was how the administration used propaganda and misinformation to get the country to go to war.

There are over 2,600 news articles about McClellan's coming out [according to Google as of 10AM].

Here is a collection of the MSM articles plus a few choice articles too:

Politico

ABC
CBS
CNN
FOX
Guardian

It is really amazing how fast news travels nowadays and how much power "blogs" have. It started on Politico then onto blogs that are affiliated with bigger news sites then by the morning of the next day, all the MSM sites have articles and video of news. Notice the timestamps of each site. They are actually in order as listed here. CNN did a sneaky job of beating other MSM sites to the main political pages by uploading everything at 2:30 AM EDT. By 10:30AM, it has reached the political blog within The Guardian, a British publication.

Great job Mike Allen [Politico].

Pictured: Death of Caesar. [Et tu, Brute]

Later,
- Anh

Secret Service

All this talk about assassinations and security problems. [Holy shit]. Hillary Clinton's campaign ad about her "theme music" that was a parody on The Sopranos. It all makes sense now [sorta]. Her connection to the mob are gonna make a hit on Obama [gross speculation].

Anyways, security problems are a matter for the United States Secret Service [they do a great job] and with such talk about assassinations, I bet they're stepping up their awareness. Obama as the first African-American presidential candidate brought not just the momentum to make U.S. history but also the historic racial tension that has plagued this country.

Here's a NY Times article about Obama and the Secret Service.
Here's the accompanying slideshow [has some great pictures].
Here's the following Huffington Post article and discussion.

Later,
- Anh

Veep Seat

Both McCain and Obama are considering possible running-mates and potential Vice Presidents. McCain's looking for young conservatives to balance out his age and "maverick" ideas. He's already held gatherings that would help him decide. Among the choices are Mitt Romney [Mass. Governor], Charlie Crist [Florida Governor], and Bobby Jindal [Minnesota Governor].

Obama's prospects include Senator Jim Webb [D-Virginia] or even a female running-mate. Perhaps Hillary Clinton [I hope not] or another female Congresswoman would secure the female voters.

Here's a National Public Radio story.

That's the portrait of President Gerald Ford, who was Vice President until President Richard Nixon's resignation. So whoever is the respective candidate's running-mate, they are also potential presidents.

Later,
- Anh

Where's my money?

The tax rebate of $600 for individuals and more for families depending on size are starting to come in the mail. I'm still waiting on mine. I can't wait for it come. I'm still deciding on what to spend it on. Maybe my towards my college tuition, or my auto insurance, or gas, or my credit card bills. Go out and buy stuff you say? How can I when my dollar can't compete with the Canadian loon?

The recession hit pretty hard to home. Denny's Grand Slam price got raised. I went there about two or three months ago. Does printing more money really work? I don't think so when there's a war that the government is bleeding money and troops into.

I feel like giving my money to somebody. Probably to my parents so that they can pay their bills and help to keep our house.

Here's a webcomic to lighten/depress [depends on how you look at it] the mood.

(click here to view)

Clay Bennett Chattanooga Times Free Press May 2, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

Later,
- Anh

Let's Poll

Pick one please.

Who will win?
Obama
Clinton
McCain
Paul

Later,
- Anh

Big Elephant

John McCain recently did an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres show and their exchange about gay marriage was civil but it still seems sort of weird. Did McCain really want to be there? Probably. However, I don't think this would actually help his image among viewers of that show. I don't know. Is it so much of a reach for him to be on that show when her viewers largely support her words and upcoming ceremony? To me, it's like McCain's position is like a bump in a road that the audience couldn't wait to get over.

Here's the story, which includes the video of that interview [ThinkProgress].

Later,
- Anh

No Drama Allowed

That's the rule inside the Obama campaign. The main staff of 700 members to the campaign have helped Barack Obama push past Hillary Clinton's campaign as front-runner in the democratic primaries. Their organization and experience is drawn from Obama's work as community organizer. Perhaps that's why Obama's team is out-performing Hillary by states, donations, and votes.

Here's the Yahoo! News story.

Later,
- Anh

Please Stop

Seen the video of that Fox News pundit "jokingly" wishing for the assassination of Barack Obama? Yes? Too bad, here it is.

Here's the Huffington Post story.

There's also Hillary Clinton's reference to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968, he was the democratic hopeful until tragedy struck. Her remarks are at the 1:40 mark onward.


There is also the comment by Mike Huckabee.

Wow. Just wow. Make it stop.
Perhaps Keith Olbermann can shed some light on this.

Later,
- Anh

Warning: No Politics

The military's highest ranking officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has wrote an essay in Joint Forces Quarterly, a military officer journal, warning troops that politics does not have place during a mission, in a camp, or in a cockpit. It is the military's duty to serve its civilian authority and uphold the Constitution as he puts it. However, I think there are times when such duty cannot be fulfilled. In times of great turmoil and unrest, leaderships do not reflect the will of the people, including those that serve.

So remember, no politics while on mission [that I understand and would also suggest, "always place the mission first"] but no politics anywhere else while serving? That I do not support. Wake up.

Here's the NY Times story.

Later,
- Anh

Ron Paul Anthem!

The Ron Paul Revolution continues! I really dig their efforts and their passion. I think Ron Paul's foreign policies are just what the United States need. However, I don't agree with his domestic policies.

I do agree that the United States was built with isolationism in mind. The founding fathers did not want the United States to get involved with world conflicts or imperialism [however that has dramatically changed].

There's a story about Ron Paul supporters planning [LA Times blog] something big for the Republican National Convention and I can't wait to watch it in September.

Here's that awesome anthem.


Later,
- Anh

A Soldier's Tale

Here is a dramatic video of a soldier's interview about his actions in Iraq.

Iraq War vet Jon Michael Turner [2008]


via Digg via Huffington Post via American News Project
[Note: The embedded ANP video player didn't fit so I embedded their YouTube video instead].

Incredible. Please end the war.

Later,
- Anh

Scientology Sucks

Scientology. It's a church [cult]. It has tax-exempt status. Does it deserve it? No. Scientology is the focus of many internet memes, groups, and activists wanting the church to fess up or shut down. YTMND [You're the man now dog] is an internet site uniquely allowing users to make their own content, usually with a humorous effect. It's simple picture, text, and sound. However some take it to the limit and make something like this: The un-funny truth about Scientology. If you don't know the deadly side of Scientology, then take a minute or two and view it.

Internet sites against the Scientology came to a new plateau with the creation of Anonymous.

They organize protests around the world against the church and it became a media attention grabber. They also are planning future events that can be found by searching various message boards and internet sites such as Xenu.net .

Later,
- Anh

China's Earthquake

China opens its doors to foreign aid but not fully open. There are some restrictions and although it's meaningful, it does raise speculation as to whether or not China will be cooperative in future events, such as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Much protest against China's human rights issues occurred around the world where the historic torch relay have taken place. Some argue that the Olympics is about the sports. However, it also has had historic precedence such as during World War II with Jesse Owens showing up and kicking Hitler's superior race theory's ass as well as breaking world records.

Here is a Yahoo! News story.

Let's hope China's rescue efforts go better than Katrina's.

Later,
- Anh

Knockdown Dragout

Youtube. It's great sometimes. It can also be horrific. For John McCain, it can be a nightmare. Perhaps his age is catching up to him. Perhaps he's not getting enough sleep [like Hillary] and misspeaking. Perhaps he's a schizophrenic. Whatever the reason, it's all caught on video and those pieces got compiled and was made into a YouTube video for your viewing pleasure.

Later,
- Anh

Grand Theft Auto

Violence. Sex. Satire to the max. It's fun. There's a story and everything. I was playing it for the story, style, and missions. The violence, stealing, and killing became secondary [it was done without consideration to the actual gameplay]. However, GTA IV [and video games in general] is not without controversy. Jack Thompson [pictured via Kotaku] is a Florida lawyer that has a history of denouncing and linking video game violence to real world violence. He tried to connect the Virginia Tech shooter to video games. Turns out, the shooter [Cho] barely touched video games and was just, in fact, crazy. Political groups tried to ban the release of the newest GTA game but guess what, it sold in record numbers [Kotaku].

Does game violence lead to real violence? No, there is no actual linkage. Lawmakers usually use video games as scrape goats because they are unfamiliar with them and have heard some negative report supporting their ideas. Video games are a billion dollar business and is growing faster than the movie industry.

Game Politics is a website devoted to keeping track of video games and the politics that follow them. It has links to many supporting sites and what viewers can do to act.

Gas-tax holiday! Whoo!

John McCain set a proposal to take out the 18.4 cent-a-gallon federal gas tax for the summer. Hillary Clinton also jumped on the pandering bandwagon and propose the same thing. It won't work. The oil companies will raise the prices anyways, 18 cents or more. The national average is already over $4. The global average is actually higher according to Wikipedia.

Here's a CNN story about McCain's proposal.
Here's a Yahoo! News story about Clinton-McCain's idea.

Fort Bragg visit

President Bush recently visited Fort Bragg, North Carolina [home to the 82nd Airborne] and gave a speech on the defining end to the Iraq War. It coincides with a spending bill in Congress that will appropriate $165 billion for overseas operations.

I'm getting tired of the same speech over and over. More money for the troops is a good thing but bringing them home is better. Spending billions [even trillions] of dollars on an ill-conceived war isn't worth it [or fiscally conservative/responsible].

Here's the story.
Here's the video.

Later,
- Anh

Say It Ain't So

May 22, 2008
Oregon primary results:
----------Votes % Delegates
Obama: 360,728 59% 31
Clinton : 252,270 41% 21

Source: CNN

Kentucky primary results:

Clinton: 459,124 65% 37
Obama: 209,778 30% 14

Source: CNN

Oh no. Another win for Obama and another win for Clinton. The race goes on.

Later,
- Anh

Queerly Beloved

California lifts the ban on gay marriage. It is the 2nd state to do so. Gays around the state celebrate. Everyone else are momentarily shocked then goes back to their bitter lives.

I was @ work [a heartless retail department store] and somehow my Political Science major came up which led to current events. Gay marriage got passed that day. I gave out a half hearted/half sarcastic "yay." Personally, I don't care - more power and equality to gays and lesbians. However, I was greeted with gay marriage opposition. Bring up G.W.'s constitutional ban, which goes against the Bill of Rights of the Constitution [that he took an oath to uphold, not upholding neo-conservative values]. My co-workers supported the constitutional ban.

LA Times story.

Spring Hits

Nothing like poster defacing in the morning... especially when they have a good political twist. The newest game, Grand Theft Auto IV, has posters advertising on the streets of Los Angeles. Some Obama supporter have strategically placed his head on them along with the "Hope" message.

Here's the G4 link.

Niko Bellic 2012.

Later,
- Anh

School's Out

A lot of people are suggesting that Hillary Clinton end her campaign. It is impossible for her to win the nomination, then why continue kicking the donkey/horse while it's down? Nobody knows, not even her campaign staff. Hopefully, this bickering and stubbornness will end in June, that's the rumor apparently.

Democrats' contest will be decided in June? Here's a LA Times story.

[fingers crossed]

Later,
- Anh

Clusterfuck

No, not the Democratic primaries, I'm talking about Iraq. Hey! Where you going? Come back! You can't ignore it and hide under your failing economy. Remember School House Rock [I don't know where I'm going with this]? They did a segment on how our government works and there's actually three [count them, three not one, Mr. President] branches of government [not counting Dick Cheney]. The economy is highly influenced by the government and what the government does is reflected in the economy. So if our government spends billions of dollars in a war, then our economy suffers. That's that and there's no running away from it.

Let's forget about about all that for a minute but let's also keep American Idol off [stop it. It's the censorship and effect of the mass media á la Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury]. Let's focus on the human aspect of the war in Iraq. It's a humanitarian mess, it's horrible for the Iraqi people. I may not fully understand the real nature of war and its consequences without being there myself, but I can still be aware. This post is a mini-clusterfuck, I can't gather my thoughts coherently to make an in-depth point.

This is what I wanted to show you. The War Tapes. A documentary filmed by three National Guardsmen while on their tour of duty in Iraq 2005-2006. I also wanted to show you Carrier, the Navy's point of view from the fine men and women on the carrier USS Nimitz. PBS recently shown the documentary and all 10 parts are available online. Carrier: it's about the life of the personels aboard the USS Nimitz, a [nuclear class] carrier that can support over 5000 sailors and personels.

The War Tapes


Carrier


Remember, we're still in Iraq. Bring em home.

Later,
- Anh

Neverending Primaries

May 8, 2008

Indiana Primary results:
Votes % Delegates
Clinton - 644,594 51% 38
Obama - 630,399 49% 34

Source: CNN

North Carolina Primary results:
Obama - 875,683 56% 67
Clinton - 652,824 42% 48

Source: CNN

What does it mean? It means that Clinton is still running!

However, what's the new Obama strategy? To act as the de facto nominee, that's the story in the LA Times.

Everyone's tired, I'm tired, the pundits are tired, Jon Stewart is tired, and Senator John McCain [R] is hibernating till November.

Later,
- Anh

Meanwhile...

In his spare time, while not campaigning, Senator Barrack Obama has initiated a ceasefire in the Niger Delta. Critics of Senator Obama's foreign policy experience must be shocked to see that his standpoint of negotiations and openness to talks with enemies [rather than shutting them out and being stubborn] might actually work in some cases.

Senator Hillary Clinton's foreign policy experience [which includes visiting foreign nations under her husband's administration and dodging sniper fire] and her standpoint follows President George W. Bush's view of not negotiating with enemies of the United States.

This stubbornness creates a sense of U.S. arrogant and unwielding foreign policies which in the past two decades have made the nations of the world to view Americans as ignorant and arrogant. Also anti-United States sentiments have soared in nations that already hated us.

Representative Ron Paul [R]'s presidential bid rode on the traditional Constitution platform where isolationism should drive foreign policy, not nation building and world policing. He might be one of the few Congress member still seated that isn't corrupted and persuaded by the neo-conservative [Bush] agenda.

The link is to the article about Senator Obama's appeal for the Niger Delta ceasefire.

Foreign policy experience indeed.

Later,
- Anh

Don't Stop Me Now

Pennsylvania primary... holy shit. What the hell happened? I'm not totally surprised that Hillary Clinton won with 55% to Obama's 45%. However, I am disappointed that she did [why?]. It means, that she will continue her campaign even though the numbers [don't lie] are against her. Her chances of winning are very slim. The Democratic party may be going to a national convention, which many [a lot] of people including the leadership of the Democratic party [Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi] do not want. Rather, they want Obama to become the official nominee and use the time left before the general election to heal [unite the party against the Republicans] otherwise, the terrorists win [satire].

Here is a New York Times article about the effects of the primary results.

Later,
- Anh

Misspoken

I think that the statements about small towns in the United States by Barack Obama have been farther than they needed. There is both truth and falseness to the remarks. Citizens are bitter that their jobs are outsourced, their health insurances are gone, their gas prices are skyrocketing, and their homes are in a mortage crisis. I would definitely be bitter towards the government and the people in charge for something like that. Hell, I am bitter [and my vote will prove it]. I want health insurance [universal], I want low gas prices [under $3.00], I want job security [not working full-time yet but I still want it], I want to be able to afford a home [don't wanna live with my parents forever], and I want the United States to pull out of Iraq [phased withdrawal].

These are the issues [btw], not flag-wearing patriotism, not spiritual leaders who speak their mind, and definitely not talk about elitism coming from people who make over 10 million a year [I would love to make over 10 mil a year, they make it seem so easy... but I fundamentally can't, I'm not a WASP]. Here is a comic about Obama and the media's reaction with President Bush in the background [who definitely misspoke a lot].

(click here to view)

Adam Zyglis The Buffalo News Apr 19, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

Horrible

The election debates this year and last year seem to be numerous and uneventful. The questions seem to be about scandals and sound bites rather than what the debates are really meant for: a forum for the candidates to make clear their platforms on important issues and discussions of questions voters would like answered. The latest debate in Philadelphia on ABC was horrible, with the first 45 minutes covering non-issues that have been getting media coverage such as Obama's pastor, Hillary's snipers, and lapel pins.

Debates should be about the issues, not whatever is getting time in the news. The audience was frustrated about the commercial breaks and the senseless line of questions from George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson, the ABC debate moderators.

Here is a link to the The Daily Show's Jon Stewart's piece about the debate. The debate itself can be found on youtube.com or ABC.com.

Later,
- Anh

Quick Fixes

Sometimes I wished life was a little bit more like video games. I heart video games [shut up]. Video games [especially multi-player online games] whether they be FPS, RTS, MMORPG, PC, or console can be patched. Which have led to some rushed games by overworked [maybe lazy] developers, and overbearing publishers. Anyway, patching provides changes to happen fast in the video game world. What if it was used in RL [real life]?

Apparently Real Life, a web-comic by Greg Dean, addressed the possibility of patching in the real world. There is a touch of politics in it.

The possibilities are endless.

Later,
- Anh

Different Perspective

The Iraq War seems so far away at times. The mainstream media [MSM] doesn't always cover it but rather appropriating time for the biggest story of the week: Britney, Obama's pastor, Hillary's tears, etc. Remember the Vietnam War? I can't because I wasn't born yet but it seems that the coverage of that war [from what I've read / history classes] that the MSM played a major role in helping end that war by keeping the American public aware.

The American public are no longer aware and the MSM is helping to keep it that way. So the war will continue as long as there are other news to distract the masses. What about a different kind of source for the war in Iraq? One that doesn't have an agenda but to make it through the day?

Last-Of-Iraqis is a blog created by an Iraqi dentist living in Baghdad. His posts give a glimpse into the real conflict happening over there. He posts about the fighting by militias, the US military, the political corruptions, agendas, and the struggle of civilians caught in the crossfire.

Later,
- Anh

Acceptance

Embracing the power of the internet can be an epiphany. It has grown powerful within the last decade [maybe too powerful]. The 2008 Presidential campaigns have seen new records, new ideas, and plenty of excitement as well as a plethora of opportunities to make fun. In class [week one] we watched a few clips of viral videos including Obama Girl [hot] and Senator Hillary [not so hot] Clinton's survival skills in war-torn Bosnia. I would like to share with anyone who's reading [no one], two of my favorite viral videos.

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video by Will.I.Am and the parody video John.he.is..





Yes We Can.

Later,
- Anh

Beginnings and Introductions

• Name: Anh [Vu]

• Location: Westminster, California
  

• Occupation: Full-time political science major at UCI [3rd year]. Part-time team member at Target, Westminster Mall [T2304]. United States Army Reservist [PFC].
  

• Hobbies: Girls, Army, Movies, Excitement, Sports... [games].

• Friends: Enough.
  

Welcome to my "blog," I'm going to call it "spacebook" from now on [when referring to this site only] for reasons only to amuse myself and satisfy my slight resentment for having to do work when I'm online, when I can peruse the citations needed knowledge of Wikipedia or the addicting feed of Digg.com. This is an actual assignment for Political Science 129, Spring 2008; I can't really believe it myself. I've always wonder what it would be like to maintain a blog. Never got [still refuse to] into the whole Xanga, Myspace, or Live Journal scenes. I did have a Facebook account for about 2 years but deactivated it, due to Facebook turning crappy. The reason for having it was its clean user interface and selectivity of being open to college students only at the time. Then it became Myspace's slightly better looking yet equally annoying sibling.

So you have a better chance of contacting me online through email or AIM which I'm usually on when I'm at home.

The main themes of this spacebook are suppose to be [straight from the syllabus] focused on the Interwebs [aka Series of Tubes] and Politics. Here is your warning: my writing style can be a little sporatic at times but I do try my best to keep things in order. I really enjoy typing emails to my Navy buddy, stationed on the USS Kitty Hawk and have developed this from years of corresponding so I'm keeping myself happy by adapting such style. I can't guarantee minimal spelling and grammar errors, especially when the majority of my posts will be done past midnight pacific time.

I like [web-] comics so here is a link to one: ncomment. It's culture, politics, and the internet all rolled into one neat little package. I hope to do the same with this spacebook.

Later,
- Anh