We've been in the Iraq war for 6 yrs now. I think a lot of people have forgotten that we are still at war in Iraq. The major news networks focus solely on scarring us all into believing we'll be standing in a bread line before the years end. That there's no jobs and the situation is getting more and more grim as the days go by. More outrage over AIG, and Citi group(and rightfully so) but people for some reason have forgotten about the quagmire that is Iraq. Here are the factual numbers about Iraq after the jump. Who if you recall was sold to us like this, on this very night, 6 years ago...
So 6 years later what has been accomplished? And how come nobody seems to care that thousands of people have died, billions of dollars wasted, lives DESTROYED over...
a lie. WHERE WERE THE WMDs?
To this day I still get emails to bring the people responsible for the Iraq war to justice. And I'll keep signing the petitions that send and passing them on to those who are like minded. Iraq is a crime against humanity. All I wanna know is was this war and all the pain and suffering it has caused, was it worth the dividends that are in pieces now in Wall-Street? Greedy white men will be the death of us all.
Here's the info from the AP:
MILITARY AND PRIVATE CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT
U.S. TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ
_March 31, 2003: 90,000.
_Current troop level, on March 13, 2009: 138,000.
_Month with highest level of troops in Iraq: October 2007, at 166,000.
COALITION TROOP LEVELS
_Total number of countries who participated in "Coalition for the Immediate Disarmament of Iraq" at start of war: 31, including the United States.
_Current number in coalition: 4 — United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Romania.
PRIVATE CONTRACTORS
_Number of U.S. private contractors in Iraq : 190,000, August 2008.
_Number of deaths of U.S. private contractors in Iraq: 1,306, as of Dec. 31, 2008.
IRAQI SECURITY FORCES
_Total trained and equipped, July 2005: approximately 171,300.
_Total trained to date, regardless of active status, October 2008: 561,159.
U.S., COALITION AND IRAQI CASUALTIES
U.S. TROOPS
_Total number of U.S. troops who have died as of March 17, 2009: at least 4,259.
_States with the highest number of U.S. troop deaths as of March 17, 2009: California, 457; Texas, 402; Pennsylvania, 192; Florida, 188; New York, 182; Ohio, 174; Michigan, 156; Illinois, 151.
_Total number of U.S. troops wounded in action as of Feb. 28, 2009: at least 31,102.
_Total number of U.S. troops wounded, injured or sickened (non-hostile, using medical air transport) as of Feb. 28, 2009: at least 36,106.
COALITION TROOPS
_Total number of coalition troops (non-U.S.) who have died as of March 17, 2009: at least 307.
IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES:
_More than 91,121 killed since the 2003 invasion, according to the Iraq Body Count database.
COST OF THE WAR
OVERALL COST:
_Over $605 billion, according to the National Priorities Project. According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress has approved more than $657 billion so far for the Iraq war.
_In August 2008, the Congressional Budget Office projected that additional war costs for the next 10 years could range from $440 billion to $865 billion.
_Total tab for Iraq war, accounting for continued military operations, growing debt and interest payments and continuing health care and counseling costs for veterans: At least $3 trillion, according to economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz.
COST PER MONTH:
_In April 2003, Andrew Natsios of the U.S. Agency for International Development said the cost of rebuilding Iraq could be $1.7 billion.
_As of July 2008, the Department of Defense's monthly obligations for contracts and pay averaged about $9.9 billion for Iraq.
INDICTMENTS AND CONVICTIONS
_As of Jan. 30, 2009, the work of Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction investigators has resulted in 20 arrests, 19 indictments, 14 convictions, and more than $17 million in fines, forfeitures, recoveries and restitutions.
QUALITY OF LIFE
NATIONWIDE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:
_January 2004: 30-45 percent
_January 2009: 23-38 percent
COST OF A BARREL OF OIL:
_March 28, 2003: $21.50
_March 6, 2009: $43.84
OIL PRODUCTION:
_Prewar: 2.58 million barrels per day.
_Feb. 28, 2009: 2.32 million barrels per day.
WATER:
_Prewar: 12.9 million people had potable water.
_Jan. 15, 2009: 21.2 million people have potable water.
SEWERAGE:
_Prewar: 6.2 million people served.
_Dec. 31, 2008: 11.3 million people served.
TELEPHONES:
_Prewar land lines: 833,000.
_Jan. 5, 2009: 1,300,000.
_Prewar cell phones: 80,000.
_Jan. 5, 2009: An estimated 14.7 million.
INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS:
_September 2003: 4,900.
_Jan. 5, 2009: 688,410.
ELECTRICITY:
_Prewar nationwide: 3,958 megawatts. Hours per day (estimated): 4-8.
_March 10, 2009 nationwide: 5,410 megawatts. Hours per day: 15.6.
_Prewar Baghdad: 2,500 megawatts. Hours per day (estimated): 16-24.
_March 10, 2009 Baghdad: Megawatts not available. Hours per day: 16.8.
Note: Current Baghdad megawatt figures are no longer reported by the U.S. State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report.
REFUGEES AND EMIGRANTS
INTERNAL REFUGEES:
_2008: Some 195,000 internally displaced Iraqis were able to return home. However, as of November 2008, there were at least 2.8 million people still displaced inside Iraq.
EMIGRANTS:
_Prewar: 500,000 Iraqis living abroad.
_January 2009: Close to 2 million, mainly in Syria and Jordan.
_2008: Some 25,000 refugees were able to return home.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ron Paul for the Win.... again
SO I watch CSPAN from time to time. Why? Well why not? You can watch other news stations if you want, hell I do too. But if you really want to get an unfiltered look at what the government is doing you should watch CSPAN. It's quite entertaining. But anyway, while I was watching Barney Frank make the republicans look like idiots(I tried to find the video of him explaining the rules of the House to his constituents but failed... sorry. It was funny tho... trust me.) But amidst the buffoonery, or "debate" as they put it over the proposed bill(HR 1586 is proposing a 90 % tax on certain bonuses made by CEOs) there was one man who actually made a good point. Here it is in it's entirety:
And here's a link the bill.
http://www.businessinsider.com/full-text-of-the-90-bonus-tax-bill-2009-3
I haven't read it yet but trust me I will read it. You should too!
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And here's a link the bill.
http://www.businessinsider.com/full-text-of-the-90-bonus-tax-bill-2009-3
I haven't read it yet but trust me I will read it. You should too!
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
Arsenal Fans Attacked on way to Roma Game
http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/03/12/1151417/arsenal-fan-stabbed-after-roma-fans-ambush-bus-report
I like Roma.... well I like Totti so this is unfortunate for them. Just goes to show how serious futbol fans are around the world. When's the last time you read or heard a story of Boston fans attacking NY fans. I've never heard of such events. It seems people only riot when their team wins over here. Odd... don't ya think?
Here's the finish. Arsenal til I die!
I like Roma.... well I like Totti so this is unfortunate for them. Just goes to show how serious futbol fans are around the world. When's the last time you read or heard a story of Boston fans attacking NY fans. I've never heard of such events. It seems people only riot when their team wins over here. Odd... don't ya think?
Here's the finish. Arsenal til I die!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Have a Buck? Buy a House!
Check out this story I just ran across....
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Housing/story?id=7034770&page=1
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Housing/story?id=7034770&page=1
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Bad Brains for those who missed it...
I saw this shit live but thought I'd share for those of you who were not in attendance. HR is quiet the eccentric character. He came out a handful of times before Brains even playd just for shits and giggles I guess. After the first band played he came out and handed a guy in the front row a case of water to pass out to all of us. I've NEVER seen a front man for a band hand out a case of water to the folks in the crowd. I've seen them spray us with water but never just hand it out like that.
It was easily one of the best shows I've EVER seen. The crowd was awesome. There's nothing better than a crowd of such diversity. I mean there were punk rockers, metal kids, hardcore goons, stoned rastas, and just regular dudes at this show of all colors and creeds. I go to a fair amount of shows and I gotta tell you it's rare(and i mean RARE) there's more than a handful of minorities there. Not that that's ever mattered to me, but it was a cool to be surrounded by asians, caucasians, blacks, latinos, etc all to see the same show. I had a great time and I think it's about time for me to pick up a bass or guiter soon and start writing. Somebody needs to pick up the Bad Brains torch and it might as well be me.
L8rs
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