This Week: In Memoriam
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Download | play (h/t Heather)
this Week with George Stephanopoulos notes the passings of director-actor-producer Sidney Pollack, french fry magnate J.R. Simplot, actor Harvey Korman as well as 9 troop members in Iraq and Afghanistan, which, according to icasualties.org, brings the casualty count for Iraq to 4,397. IBC reports 191 Iraqi civilian casualties this week.
Also, reported today, Gen. William E. Odom passed away:
William E. Odom, 75, a retired Army lieutenant general who was a senior military and intelligence official in the Carter and Reagan administrations and who, in recent years, became a forceful critic of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, died May 30 at his vacation home in Lincoln, Vt. [..]
He had a reputation as a military hard-liner who opposed any compromise with the Soviet Union, which made his vocal opposition to the current involvement in Iraq all the more cogent and surprising.
"Among senior military people, he was probably the first to consider the war in Iraq a misbegotten adventure," Brzezinski said yesterday. "He believed that we're just stoking hostility to the United States in that region and developing an opposition that cannot be defeated by military means. He was very outspoken."
may the good kahuna take a likeing to them
Anyone not familiar with Odom's criticism of the invasion and occupation of Iraq (it was never a WAR) would spend time well reading what he had to say.
Odom's words remind us that there were very outspoken and well-placed opponents of the invasion, and they never got the media space they deserved.
But you probably knew that already.
Wow...things are certainly peaceful in the Middle East now. At this rate, we'll just be shredding up another measley 468 US military lives and families and a scant 1000 Iraqis and their families in a years time. Man, that's "winning" ....I think.
Let's see....how many repugs want to send over their kids and grand kids to make up that "468" we sacrifice for this "great cause of democracy in the Middle East"?? I'm sure they'll jump at the chance.
As for the 1000 Iraqi lives that will be destroyed, they don't really matter anyway, cause their Muslims and they don't have that American blood in their veins.
We're #1.....idiots!
Another death to note:
Guitarist Jerry Cole (Jerry Cole and his Spacemen) passed away Wednesday. Played on TV show :Shindig" and a lot of studio work. Bright twangy, reverby Stratocaster licks.
General Odom died of natural causes....or did he?
Check the bruises on his neck. I'm sure you'll find the finger prints match Karl Rove!
(Hey, if the right could do it Vince Foster, I can do it to General Odom) RIP General. i sure wouldn't want the sight of pudgy ole Karl to be the last thing I see. I'll bet his brath is bad too...
I'm sorry to hear about General Odom. He was an eloquent voice against the Iraq war that Bush started. My conservative friends were always troubled to hear Odom's criticism. He was hard for them to ignore.
When I saw the name J.R. Simplot, I wondered who the hell was J.R. Simplot. I clicked the link and wow! The honest to goodness, real 100%, all American story of rags to riches. A very interesting read.
Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.
Rest in peace, Harvey.
And thank you, Gen. Odom, a voice of sanity in insane, very unfunny times.
I served briefly with General Odom when we were junior officers and being a foreign area specialist like him, followed his career until he became head of NSA. He was hands down the smartest officer With whom I served in my 22 years of service. He was devoted to our country and served her very well. May he rest in peace.
Don't worry..George and Dick will bring that casualty list up when they invade Iran...WAKEUP PEOPLE!!!!..is anyone keeping an eye on these two murderers?..they are up to something...meanwhile everyone thinks there is going to be an election..HA...WAKEUP PEOPLE!!!
how many repugs want to send over their kids and grand kids to make up that “468″ we sacrifice for this “great cause of democracy in the Middle East”?? I’m sure they’ll jump at the chance.
You mean Miitt's boys?
I heard General Odom's wise comments on the Iraq boondoggle many times. He often stated the longer we stay, the worse it will get. He was and is 100% right. RIP general, you were a true American Patriot.
Further down the linked WaPo article is this quote fro Gen Odom:
"The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq, it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place."
This is the major foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. Cleaning up chimpy's litter box.
Please, please I beg you -- do not ever cite Iraq Body Count. The project is a fraud. The majority of Iraqis who are killed by political violence are not counted there. The site exists only to minimize the toll of Iraqi dead. George W. Bush cites its ridiculously low numbers. The only explanation I can come up with for their existence is that the whole thing is a CIA front.
Do not give them legitimacy. Do not. Ever.
Another death of note: The same day that Sydney Pollack died, so did Earle Hagen. Hagen was a composer of note, especially in the field of television. In the 1960s, when scoring for television was still an art, Hagen was the best. "The Andy Griffith Show" (that's him whistling his own theme), "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "I Spy," "That Girl," "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Mod Squad," and many more. He composed "Harlem Nocturne" and played in Tommy Dorsey's band. He was the best, and he left us with a great musical legacy.
No!
Not Odom!
If a second member of the Generals revolt dies within the year we may have to asume they're being killed.
Mr Grey @ 7:
Yeah, sure...Jack Simplot was a Peach. Sold rotten spuds to the G.I.s in WW2, defrauded the farmers of Maine in a futures fraud, evaded a Million or more in income taxes...yep, a real All-American success story...The greedy pr*ck could be labeled as Rude3, Crude and Socially Un-Acceptable...Red China was the scene of one of his "goodwill trips" or as he said to the Graduates of College of Idaho(commencment was held in Simplot Stadium) "Them Chinese don't have anything you want..they all look the same, dress the same...Hell, they all eat the same grub!" BTW, he was the Father-in-Law of Gem State Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.
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