A Poloroid Every Day

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

060297_std1Jamie Livingston took a poloroid picture every day from from March 31st, 1979 through October 5th, 1997, his 41st birthday.

He stopped on October 5, 1997, because… well, because he died.

Although some photos have gone missing from the collection, 6,697 Polaroids remain. The collection, dated in sequence, has been organized by his friends Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid into an exhibit at Bard College called "JAMIE LIVINGSTON. PHOTO OF THE DAY: 1979-1997".

They are also visible on a website (which goes down a lot due to heavy traffic).  Feel free to go there, but get out your hankies…

Soldiers Can F*** In Afghanistan

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family Values, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Progress is being made:

A new order signed by Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-101, has lifted a ban on sexual relations between unmarried men and women in the combat zone.

General Order No. 1 outlines a number of prohibited activities and standards of conduct for U.S. troops and civilians working for the military in Afghanistan. Previously, under the regulation, sexual relations and "intimate behavior" between men and women not married to each other were a strict no-no. The regulation also barred members of the opposite sex from going into each other’s living quarters unless they were married to each other.

But the latest version of General Order No. 1 for Afghanistan, which Schloesser signed April 19, eases those restrictions.

The new regulation warns that sex in a combat zone "can have an adverse impact on unit cohesion, morale, good order and discipline."

Not too mention, it’s kind of a distraction when you’re getting shot at.

But sexual relations and physical intimacy between men and women not married to each other are no longer banned outright. They’re only "highly discouraged," and that’s as long as they’re "not otherwise prohibited" by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to the new order.

Single men and women can now also visit each other’s living quarters, as long as everyone else who lives there agrees, and as long as visitors of the opposite sex remain in the open "and not behind closed doors, partitions or other isolated or segregated areas," according to the new regulation.

Oh, I knew there was a catch.  You have to have sexual relations in public.

A cursory reading of the order would seem to suggest that unmarried men and women could have sex in their living quarters, as long as all other persons who live there agree, or if they left the door open, if they were otherwise alone. But that’s not the case, said Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokeswoman for Regional Command East and Combined Joint Task Force-101.

"Sex in both scenarios … would be a chargeable offense under the UCMJ," Nielson-Green said, referring to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.

So….. U.S. soldiers can’t have sex in Afghanistan???  This is a bit confusing….

Talk about SNAFU!

Fiscal Malfeasance In Iraq

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Can you imagine if you ran your household finances this way?

In one case, according to documents displayed by Pentagon auditors at the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, a cash payment of $320.8 million in Iraqi money was authorized on the basis of a single signature and the words “Iraqi Salary Payment” on an invoice. In another, $11.1 million of taxpayer money was paid to IAP, an American contractor, on the basis of a voucher with no indication of what was delivered…

The disclosure that $1.8 billion in Iraqi assets was mishandled comes on top of an earlier finding by an independent federal oversight agency, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, that United States occupation authorities early in the conflict could not account for the disbursement of $8.8 billion in Iraqi oil money and seized assets.

And then check this out:

The mysterious payments, whose amounts had not been publicly disclosed, included $68.2 million to the United Kingdom, $45.3 million to Poland and $21.3 million to South Korea. Despite repeated requests, Pentagon auditors said they were unable to determine why the payments were made.

“It sounds like the coalition of the willing is the coalition of the paid — they’re willing to be paid,” said Mr. Waxman

And some more details:

In one instance, a United States Treasury check for $5,674,075.00 was written to pay a company called Al Kasid Specialized Vehicles Trading Company in Baghdad for items that a voucher does not even describe.

In another case, $6,268,320.07 went to the contractor Combat Support Associates with even less explanation. And a scrawl on another piece of paper says only that $8 million had been paid out as “Funds for the Benefit of the Iraqi People.”

But perhaps the masterpiece of elliptic paperwork is the document identified at the top as a “Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal.” It indicates that $320.8 million went for “Iraqi Salary Payment,” with no explanation of what the Iraqis were paid to do.

Whatever it was, the document suggests, each of those Iraqis was handsomely compensated. Under the “quantity” column is the number 1,000, presumably indicating the number of people who were to be paid — to the tune of $320,800 apiece — if the paperwork is to be trusted.

Your tax dollars at work.

Women Are, Apparently, Really Stupid

Ken AshfordWomen's IssuesLeave a Comment

We know this because women’s magazines are instructing women on how to do the simplest things:

Allure_2The spine of Allure reads "The Beauty Expert." That’s the mag’s claim to fame. Nowhere does it say that the publication is for the mentally handicapped, three year olds, those recovering from spinal cord injuries or Neanderthals. (Or Cro-Mags, heh.) So it is impossible to comprehend why the glossy felt the need to publish a step-by-step charticle on how to take a shower. And yeah: It’s illustrated. We suspect that they have just. Run. Out. Of. Ideas.

From the Allure magazine in question:

Shower

iLaugh

Ken AshfordScience & TechnologyLeave a Comment

Strange world we live in:

Though Gawker’s bloggers often worked from home, I went to the office every day at first. I was used to communicating with most people I knew via instant messenger, but it seemed important to see Alex, my co-editor, in person. I figured that we’d be able to express ourselves more easily by actually turning to each other and speaking words and making facial expressions rather than typing instant messages. But because we were so busy, we continued to I.M. most of the time, even when we were sitting right next to each other. Soon it stopped seeming weird to me when one of us would type a joke and the other one would type “Hahahahaha” in lieu of actually laughing.

Here’s my question…

When you type "Hahahaha" or "LOL" in an IM, are you really laughing — you know, physically laughing?

An Open Letter To Lieberman…

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

…who writes in the WSJ…

How did the Democratic Party get here? How did the party of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy drift so far from the foreign policy and national security principles and policies that were at the core of its identity and its purpose?

***

Instead a debate soon began within the Democratic Party about how to respond to Mr. Bush. I felt strongly that Democrats should embrace the basic framework the president had advanced for the war on terror as our own, because it was our own. But that was not the choice most Democratic leaders made. When total victory did not come quickly in Iraq, the old voices of partisanship and peace at any price saw an opportunity to reassert themselves. By considering centrism to be collaboration with the enemy – not bin Laden, but Mr. Bush – activists have successfully pulled the Democratic Party further to the left than it has been at any point in the last 20 years.

Far too many Democratic leaders have kowtowed to these opinions rather than challenging them. That unfortunately includes Barack Obama, who, contrary to his rhetorical invocations of bipartisan change, has not been willing to stand up to his party’s left wing on a single significant national security or international economic issue in this campaign.

In this, Sen. Obama stands in stark contrast to John McCain, who has shown the political courage throughout his career to do what he thinks is right – regardless of its popularity in his party or outside it.

John also understands something else that too many Democrats seem to have become confused about lately – the difference between America’s friends and America’s enemies.

I say this…

GO AWAY!

[cc to Al Gore:  Seriously, dude — what were you thinking???]

Cleanup on I-80

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

My kind of traffic jam:

14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic
MORRIS, Ill. (AP) — Got milk? Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway.

Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck’s driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.

"The boxes came out of the trailer and boxes were ripped open," he said.

The crash about 50 miles southwest of Chicago remains under investigation.

Mahoney says no charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies.

Read More

Hillary as VP

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Lot of buzz about this in the news today:

CNN is reporting this morning that the Obama and Clinton campaigns are in formal talks about ending her quest for the Democratic nomination and possibly giving her the VP slot.

These apparent talks are described by CNN as being in a “very preliminary” stage and as "difficult."

It’s really unclear what this means or what’s really going on here. CNN doesn’t have anyone on the record. Just anonymous sourcing. We’ll have video of their report up shortly.

On first blush I’m skeptical that there really are "formal talks" in the usual sense of that phrase. The report appears to lean heavily on sourcing from within the Clinton camp, which is notable. The significance here may not be that there are formal talks underway or that the vice presidency is under discussion. The real significance may be that this is the opening salvo from the Clinton camp ahead of the negotiations that would likely accompany her withdrawal from the race.

Like everyone else, we’re trying to track this down now. But this may be the beginning of the beginning of the end.

Video:

My thoughts?

I think, on the whole, it is probably a good idea.  There are a lot of people who really really don’t like Hillary, and they will be initially turned off.  But as the race for White House moves into the general election, focus will be on Obama, and people will get used to the idea of Hillary as his #2.  She certainly is qualifed, and certainly blunts the "inexperience" tag that people place on Obama.  Personally, I like Edwards more.  Or even Richardson.  And I think Hillary would be a great Supreme Court justice.  But as VP?  Why not?

How About Those Red Sox?

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

Six game winning streak (and ahead in the 6th inning for their seventh straight win as I type this), and first in their division by two games.  And Dice-K, who is 7-0 this season, is on the mound.

Gotta like it…

BONUS:  Yankees are in last place in the division — 7.5 games behind the Bosox.

Alice

Ken AshfordYoutubeLeave a Comment

An electronica song and video made by a 19 year old Australian kid, comprised of sounds from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.  Hypnotic and catchy:

Google Health

Ken AshfordHealth Care1 Comment

An interesting idea: have all your medical information on the Internet — accessible by hospitals and doctors.

Google Health allows you to store and manage all of your health information in one central place. And it’s completely free. All you need to get started is a Google username and password.

Google believes that you own your medical records and should have easy access to them. The way we see it, it’s your information; why shouldn’t you control it?

  • Keep your doctors up-to-date
  • Stop filling out the same paperwork every time you see a new doctor
  • Avoid getting the same lab tests done over and over again because your doctor cannot get copies of your latest results
  • Don’t lose your medical records because of a move, change in jobs or health insurance

With Google Health, you manage your health information — not your health insurance plan or your employer. You can access your information anywhere, at any time.

I foresee some privacy/security issues, but Google seems to be aware of that.

Anyway, feel free to explore Google Health, now in beta.

UPDATE:  Some are skeptical —

Here’s the problem: My health records are in a manila envelope, in a wall-sized file cabinet, somewhere on K and 21st Street (and we’re not even getting into the thick document stored in some basement in California). Paper is not interoperable with Google. Now, I could begin inputting my health records by hand, and because I’m a nerd, I might do that. But most won’t. So until the provider community decides to step up and commit to one (or even a couple) standard electronic health record platforms, G-Health won’t be much more than a curiosity.

But down the road, when electronic health records are either required by the government or demanded by the market, G-Health will be a fascinating system. For one thing, it’s completely portable and user-controlled. Aetna’s CEO is bragging about his superior system, but given that that system is controlled by Aetna and I’m not, it’s of little use to me. G-Health, by contrast, can be used by anyone, and thus has much more potential to become the standard than do proprietary systems.

There are, of course, questions of privacy. And those questions need to be balanced by the utility of actually having and analyzing good data that could improve care quality. If Google gets all this information, then squirrels it away, it’s robbed of its potential to improve care. But if they have some system for coding it anonymously in ways that researchers can nevertheless use, they risk bad press (here, incidentally, is the privacy policy). Which is why G-Health is probably a stopgap solution that will help individuals better control their records. The actual health system won’t move into the electronic age till the government sets standards and creates funding to help it do so.