Blankness
It isn’t often that I sit and stare at my computer screen and marvel over how utterly and undeniably blank I am. I have nothing to say, nothing to add, nothing to take a picture of, no links to share. March still has a long way to go…
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m7msd
March 16, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
yea, been a while you didnt post ! your post rate was like 1.5 a day !, its been 3 days with zero posts .. you dont go slash/dot or digg anymore ? :P jk
Moose
March 16, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
You should have posted about the 40th anniversary of the My Lai massacre:
Location: Republic of Vietnam
Date: March 16th, 1969
Casualties: 347-504 civilians slain with cold blood, most of them women and children.
Criminal: 4th battalion, 3rd infantry regiment of the American Army. Charlie’s Company
Memorable Quotes:
“He fired at [the baby] with a .45. He missed. We all laughed. He got up three or four feet closer and missed again. We laughed. Then he got up right on top and plugged him”
“Soldiers went berserk, gunning down unarmed men, women, children and babies. . Those who emerged with hands held high were murdered. …. Women were gang raped; Vietnamese who had bowed to greet the Americans were beaten with fists and tortured, clubbed with rifle butts and stabbed with bayonets.
“Some victims were mutilated with the signature “C Company” carved into the chest.”
“I killed about eight people that day. I shot a couple of old men who were running away. I also shot some women and children. I would shoot them as they ran out of huts or tried to hide”
Memorable events
The first reports claimed that “128 Vietcong and 22 civilians” were killed in the village during a “fierce fire fight”. General William C. Westmoreland, MACV commander, congratulated the unit on the “outstanding job”.
Six months later, Tom Glen, a 21-year-old soldier wrote a letter to the overall commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, accusing the American Division and other units of routine and pervasive brutality against Vietnamese civilians. Colin Powell,was charged with investigating the letter. In his report Powell wrote: “In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent.”
Ron Ridenhour, a former member of Charlie Company, sent a letter detailing the events at My Lai to President Richard M. Nixon, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and numerous members of Congress.[ The copies of this letter were sent in March 1969, a full year after the event. Most recipients of Ridenhour’s letter ignored it, with the notable exception of Congressman Morris Udall.
Seymour Hersh, after extensive conversations, broke the My Lai story on 12 November 1969. The Cleveland Plain Dealer published explicit photographs of dead villagers killed at My Lai.
The Court Martial
William Calley who lead the platoon was the only one convicted of premeditated murder for ordering the shootings. He was initially sentenced to life in prison. Two days later, however, President Nixon made the controversial decision to have Calley released from prison, pending appeal of his sentence. Calley’s sentence was later adjusted, so that he would eventually serve four and one-half months in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
War crime…cover up…photos reveal massacre…one man gets four months of jail time.
Question:
How many war crimes like My Lai and Hadithah were committed but never had the videos, the photos or the one decent witness that unveil it.
Boycott the United States.
Moose
March 16, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai
Hani Obaid
March 16, 2008 @ 8:52 pm
That pink muppet is gonna give me nightmares!
mo
March 16, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
heyyyy i have that same toy .. well i used to anyway lol ..
that little string on top of his head can be pulled and the head vibrates as the string returns to place ..
mo
March 16, 2008 @ 10:18 pm
in addition to what moose has said heres a few more memorials that are taking place in march ..
march 16 – death of rachel corrie anniversary
march 19 – iraq invasion anniversary
march 22 – sheikh ahmad yaseens assassination anniversary
dreamessence
March 17, 2008 @ 2:39 am
I think that everyone goes through that sometimes–I myself experience it often times. I hope you soon figure out what to write about, for I always look forward to reading your stuff :)
khalid jarrar
March 17, 2008 @ 10:28 am
we definately need more moose-es around here, no question about it. why dont you start a blog man?
Kuwaiti dude in Jordan
March 17, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
i cant believe u guys missed out st. patrick’s day!!….I WANT SOME GREEN BEER!!