Hi, Women! You’re Going To Die!

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

WaPo:

For the first time since the Spanish influenza of 1918, life expectancy is falling for a significant number of American women.

In nearly 1,000 counties that together are home to about 12 percent of the nation’s women, life expectancy is now shorter than it was in the early 1980s, according to a study published today.

The downward trend is evident in places in the Deep South, Appalachia, the lower Midwest and in one county in Maine. It is not limited to one race or ethnicity but it is more common in rural and low-income areas.

Not to fear.  We have the best health care in the world, right?  Right?

The phenomenon appears to be not only new but distinctly American.

"If you look in Western Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, we don’t see this," Murray said.

Oh….

Trapped

Ken AshfordYoutubeLeave a Comment

Amazing time lapse footage of a man trapped in an elevator for over 40 hours:

Poor guy…

Morons In South Carolina

Ken AshfordElection 20081 Comment

Ugh:

JcogsignA sign is causing heated arguments outside of a church in Jonesville.

Pastor Roger Byrd of Jonesville Church of God put the sign up which reads "Obama Osama humm are they brothers?"

Pastor Byrd says the sign is not meant to be racial or political but rather to make people think.  "His name is so close to Osama I have a feeling he might be Islamic therefore he doesn’t recognize Christ," Pastor Byrd said.

Right.  Because his name sounds kind of like Osama’s, he must not recognize Christ.

Wheee!  Let’s all play:

Churchsign1_2

Churchsign2

A Suit That Washes In The Shower

Ken AshfordScience & TechnologyLeave a Comment

A clever idea, but who wears suits anymore?

It is billed as the first two-piece that can be washed in the shower each evening and be ready to wear again in the morning – with no ironing required. And amazingly, after a rigorous road test, it appears to fulfil that pledge.

Konaka, a Japanese menswear retailer, and Australian Wool Innovation Ltd devised the suit as a solution to the problem of long, hot, sticky summers during which salarymen have to remain fully suited and booted. The lightweight woollen suit, made using a fabric blend that includes polyester, has two special finishes that help it to maintain its shape.

Our tester, IoS reporter Andrew Johnson, said: "The suit is surprisingly light and comfortable, although probably not too warm in winter. Nor is it very waterproof. It only takes moments for it to become soaked once in the shower. It’s definitely a summer suit.

"Once hung up to dry, however, the miracle begins. The suit quickly drips to a damp state and the next day is bone dry with only one crease – where it should be, down the front of the trousers."

PTSD

Ken AshfordIraq, Mental HealthLeave a Comment

A RAND study just showed that something like 20% of all returning servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from depression or PTSD.

That’s an astounding number — almost 300,000 men and women.

But it is just a number.

What is it like?  Read this post from a vet actually suffering from this syndrome.  A sample:

So it’s like that — you’re all alone. But, hey, at least you made it home!

So you go to your barracks room, dump your stuff, then you head to the PX so you can get some civilian clothes to go out on the town.

You shower. You eat. Then, you go out.

And…and…and nothing. You head to the mall, for lack of something better to do, and you see the people milling around — and it’s like nothing ever changed. If you didn’t tell them, they wouldn’t know you’re a soldier, they wouldn’t know we’re at war, and they wouldn’t know that you just got back.

Don’t get me wrong — they’re not ungrateful. They’ll thank you, they’ll congratulate you…and then, they’ll go on their lives and you’ll go on with yours.

Except for this: the whole time you were in Ar Ramadi or Balad or Tuz Khurmatu, your platoon leader and your company commander and various VIPs were telling you that you were the only thing standing between America and the massed hordes of Osama bin Laden. We were fighting them in some godforsaken shithole in Ad Dawr because the other option was kicking their ass in Aurora or Hilliard or Prestonsburg.

Or you were helping the Iraqis win their freedom — fuck it, we’re making their livesbetter — see that kid, over there, Jalal? We hooked his family up…kid had a cleft palate, we helped rebuild his dad’s car garage so he could fix old beaters up. We did some good, we did!

But none of this matters to the folks out at Nordstrom’s or JCPenney’s or Bed, Bath & Beyond. They’re just regular folks, they just want to do their thing.

You turn on the news…nothing. The very thing that was at the center of your life for a whole year…you might see it get 90 seconds in the regular news. And when I say a whole year — I mean it: I lived my life day to day. I was grateful to see the dawn — the end of my tour snuck up on my ass like a thief in the night. There’s really no way to describe the centrality of existence to someone who hasn’t been there.

Given all that…how would you react? How would you feel? What kind of emotions would be roiling inside you?

Some guys get pissed. I’m not talking regular angry — I’m talking pissed, like Incredible Hulk you-wouldn’t-want-to-see-me-when-I’m-angry. I was one of those guys. Hell, I’m still one of those guys, though a lot less now than I was four years ago, when I got back.

You see pictures of me from back then — even my smile looks, really, frighteningly, like a snarl. A look into my eyes reveals a glimpse into a world where death walked in the afternoon, or morning, or really, any time he damn well felt like walking. A glance at the words that I wrote reveals the tension of a man trying maximally to keep the shards of his world from falling apart.

And then…and then, they did. All came undone.

My marriage fell apart. It fell apart as I unleashed the hurricane strength of my anger and indignation upon my wife. My wife, who had had the simple common decency to stand by me while I was gone and try, superhumanly, to care for me once I returned, was no match for the fury that I felt at having had to quietly withstand the dead simple savagery of war in a distant land, only to find that people back home simply didn’t give a good goddamn whether I lived or whether I died.

Read the whole thing…..

End Of The Nebula

Ken AshfordTheatreLeave a Comment

I have to say, The Nebula of Georgia experience was great.  It was by far the most successful show at Open Space — we sold out this entire week.  Lots of praise right and left.  Joe has created a terrific piece, and it was exhililarating to develop it.

Won’t miss the daily drives to G’boro, but I really will miss Kelly, whom I’ve grown to love even more, when she moves to Greenville.  It was, as always, a special gift to share the stage with her, as well as the rest of the talented cast.

Pentagon Institute Calls Iraq War “A Major Debacle”

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

So is there anyone left besides the boneheads in the White House who still thinks it was a good idea to go into Iraq?

WASHINGTON — The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon’s premier military educational institute.

The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush’s projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.

The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations.

It was published by the university’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research center.

You can read the report by the National Defense University (pdf format).  Written by a former deputy of Rumsfeld, it begins:

Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle. As of fall 2007, this conflict has cost the United States over 3,800 dead and over 28,000 wounded. Allied casualties accounted for another 300 dead. Iraqi civilian deaths–mostly at the hands of other Iraqis–may number as high as 82,000. Over 7,500 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have also been killed. Fifteen percent of the Iraqi population has become refugees or displaced persons. The Congressional Research Service estimates that the United States now spends over $10 billion per month on the war, and that the total, direct U.S. costs from March 2003 to July 2007 have exceeded $450 billion, all of which has been covered by deficit spending. No one as yet has calculated the costs of long-term veterans’ benefits or the total impact on Service personnel and materiel.

The war’s political impact also has been great. Globally, U.S. standing among friends and allies has fallen. Our status as a moral leader has been damaged by the war, the subsequent occupation of a Muslim nation, and various issues concerning the treatment of detainees. At the same time, operations in Iraq have had a negative impact on all other efforts in the war on terror, which must bow to the priority of Iraq when it comes to manpower, materiel, and the attention of decisionmakers. Our Armed Forces– especially the Army and Marine Corps–have been severely strained by the war in Iraq. Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East.

As this case study is being written, despite impressive progress in security during the surge, the outcome of the war is in doubt. Strong majorities of both Iraqis and Americans favor some sort of U.S. withdrawal. Intelligence analysts, however, remind us that the only thing worse than an Iraq with an American army may be an Iraq after the rapid withdrawal of that army…. No one has calculated the psychopolitical impact of a perceived defeat on the U.S. reputation for power or the future of the overall war on terror. For many analysts (including this one), Iraq remains a "must win," but for many others, despite the obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a "can’t win."

Says it all. (Emphases mine)

But, you know, this is unimportant stuff.  What IS important is whether or not Obama wears a flag lapel pin.

Dear Abby Hijacked: Volume Three

Ken AshfordDear Abby Hijacked1 Comment

Image002Another installment:

DEAR ABBY: For most of my life, I have parted my hair on the right. I am now being told that men should part their hair on the left. Is there a correct side for men?  — HARRY W., MORRO BAY, CALIF.

Dear Harry:

No, there is no correct side, as long as it doesnt make your hair stick up.  But, for what it’s worth, Hitler parted his on the right.  So, you know, keep that in mind.  — Dear Abby Hijacked

DEAR ABBY: I recently presented a research proposal. I did the best I could and was verbally attacked by my boss. She is often tactless and can at times be cruel.

I tried to defend my research, but perhaps I did it too emphatically and went overboard, because my team member turned off my microphone and apologized to the boss.

I understand some of the criticisms, but what bothered me was that other proposals were more flawed than ours, but were not attacked in a similar fashion. One thing led to another, and I broke down in tears at the table. Luckily, the boss did not see it, but other team members did.

Is showing emotion in public wrong? I tried to hold it in but couldn’t. I was insulted and felt terrible for my team. Was crying unprofessional? Should I have run to the powder room to sob — or would that have made it worse? — TEARY-EYED IN MALAYSIA

Dear Teary-eyed:

Showing emotion in public is not wrong.  You can go too far with it, of course, and it is wise to keep things in check.  If you find yourself frequently crying or going over overboard with anger, then you may have some issues going on entirely unrelated to work.  I think running to the powder room would have drawn more attention to yourself.  But as for that meeting — unless you think this is a chronic problem — chalk it up to a bad day. — Dear Abby Hijacked

DEAR ABBY: I am deeply patriotic and support our troops wholeheartedly. Because I am people-oriented, I try to go out of my way at my job (I am a hotel front desk clerk) to say nice things to people or do something for them. I often see government IDs on individuals (usually military) and I would like to say thanks — but I don’t know how. I don’t know who’s been overseas or not, and was wondering if you had any suggestions. I would just like to be able to say thanks without being intrusive and remain professional about it. — ELIZABETH IN ORLANDO

Dear Elizabeth:

Just say "Thank you for your service" when you see their ID.  Even people who do not serve overseas do a service to their country. — Dear Abby Hijacked

VD Ad From 1969

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

This public service ad from 1969 is about VD.  Of course, if you didn’t know what VD was, you might view this ad and think VD is something that will make you desireable, successful and happy.