Not The Right Stuff

Ken AshfordCrimeLeave a Comment

27756215 They don’t make astronauts like they used to, I guess.

Once the very definition of "hero", we now have astronauts that are one step above trailor trash.  Yup, a mission specialist on a shuttle flight last summer is sitting in a Florida jail now, having been charged with plotting to kidnap a woman who was her rival for the heart of another astronaut.

A NASA astronaut faces her first appearance before a judge this morning after police say she attacked her rival for another astronaut’s attention at Orlando International Airport Monday.

Lisa Marie Nowak drove more than 12 hours from Texas to meet the 1 a.m. flight of a younger woman who had also been seeing the astronaut Nowak pined for, according to Orlando police. She is being held on no bond at Orange County Jail and has a court appearance at 9 a.m.

27757523_1Nowak — who was a mission specialist on a Space Shuttle Discovery flight last summer — was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, and latex gloves in her car, reports show. They also found diapers, which Nowak said she used so she wouldn’t have to stop on the 1,000-mile drive. Reports show that after U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman’s flight arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport’s Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman’s car and then doused her with pepper spray.

Nowak, 43, is charged with attempted kidnapping, battery, attempted vehicle burglary with battery and destruction of evidence. Police considered her such a danger that they requested she be held without bail in the Orange County Jail, reports show.

A married mother of three, Nowak told police that she was "involved in a relationship with," Bill Oefelein, another NASA astronaut, which she categorized as "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship," according to the charging affidavit.

Wonkette loves this story — the astronaut who wore diapers on a journey to spray her rival with pepper spray:

The story has everything! And be “everything” we mean “astronauts.” Just say “astronaut love triangle” out loud. It’s been proven by science to be the funniest phrase possible to use in an AP lede.

Save The Cheerleader, Save Iraq

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

From The Washington Post:

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, is assembling a small band of warrior-intellectuals — including a quirky Australian anthropologist, a Princeton economist who is the son of a former U.S. attorney general and a military expert on the Vietnam War sharply critical of its top commanders — in an eleventh-hour effort to reverse the downward trend in the Iraq war.

[Emphasis mine]

What?  Where’s the cop who has the power to hear other people’s thoughts?  How about the Japanese guy who can time travel?

I guess it is good that the military is — finally — getting some input from knowledgable people, some of who are actual dissidents of the Iraq War effort.  But seriously, one of these guys got on the A-Team because he won an essay contest!  I’m not kidding:

Lt. Col. Douglas A. Ollivant caught Petraeus’s eye last year by winning first prize in an Army "counterinsurgency writing" competition, sponsored by the general, with an essay that scorned the U.S. military’s reliance in Iraq on big "forward operating bases." "Having a fortress mentality simply isolates the counterinsurgent from the fight," he wrote.

Anyway, I wonder if they get to wear costumes.

Patience

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Today’s headline:

US military calls for patience in Iraq, ABC News Headline, 2/5/07

See also:

Bush urges patience with Iraq war plan – ABC News headline, 1/24/07

Rumsfeld pleads for patience in Iraq – ABC News headline, 12/9/06

Election looming, U.S. general urges Iraq patience – Reuters headline, 11/2/06

After Iraq Visit, an Upbeat Bush Urges Patience – NYT headline, 6/15/06

Rumsfeld says patience needed in Iraq – Iraq-U.S. News headline, 3/28/06

Cheney attempts to clear the air, asks for patience in Iraq – Scripps-Howard headline, 11/21/05

Rice Urges Patience as Iraq Continues Progress to Democracy – U.S. DoD press release, 5/17/05

Rice calls for patience on Iraq – Chicago Sun-Times headline, 10/9/03

Wolfowitz Calls for Patience as Violence Continues In Iraq – PBS Online Newshour headline, 7/21/03

Bush Urges Patience On Iraq, CBS News headline, 8/21/02

[H/T Dr. S]

Prince’s Super Bowl Guitar Malfunction

Ken AshfordPopular CultureLeave a Comment

Princesuperbowl

Cue the outrage of the religious right — 3,2,1….

Personally, I don’t think the performance was obscene.  Yes, at certain moments Prince’s guitar looked phallic, but only at certain very brief moments.  One clever thing about this Superbowl stunt by Prince is that it illuminates the fact that claims of "obscenity" say as much about the mind of the receiver of the message as the sender.

That said, I thought Prince’s performance (the whole part of the Super Bowl I watched) was good for two reasons:

  1. As far as I could tell, he wasn’t lip-synching
  2. He managed not to electrocute himself

Bush Administration Strongarms Scientists

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Environment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

This is, well, orwellian.

A new report presented to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project shows 435 instances in which the Bush administration interfered into the global warming work of government scientists over the past five years. Some other findings of the survey:

– 46 percent of government scientists “personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words ‘climate change,’ ‘global warming,’ or other similar terms from a variety of communications.”

– 46 percent “perceived or personally experienced new or unusual administrative requirements that impair climate-related work.”

– 38 percent “perceived or personally experienced the disappearance or unusual delay of websites, reports, or other science-based materials relating to climate.”

– 25 percent “perceived or personally experienced situations in which scientists have actively objected to, resigned from, or removed themselves from a project because of pressure to change scientific findings.”

Amanda Marcotte Joins Edwards Team

Ken AshfordBlogging, Election 2008Leave a Comment

Greenwald comments:

In an obviously growing trend of political campaigns hiring bloggers, Pandagon’s Amanda Marcotte has been hired by the John Edwards presidential campaign. That is part of a larger trend whereby the blogosphere is slowly ceasing to be its own closed, separate system and is instead seeping into, even merging with, all of the more traditional political and journalistic institutions. Whether that is something to celebrate or lament (and a case can probably be made for both), it is undoubtedly happening and will continue.

Where’s my invitation?

Obama Introduced Bill For Date Certain Troop Withdrawal

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Like him or not, the man has balls.  While Democrats (and some Republicans) debate the finer points of passing a non-binding resolution articulating opposition to the Bush escalation of troops in Iraq,  Senator Obama is doing what needs to be done.  He’s introduced a law which states, quite specifically, the goal of getting "all" — yes, all — U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by March 2008.

From his website:

Key Elements of Obama Plan

  • Stops the Escalation: Caps the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the number in Iraq on January 10, 2007. This does not affect the funding for our troops in Iraq. This cap has the force of law and could not be lifted without explicit Congressional authorization.
  • De-escalates the War with Phased Redeployment: Commences a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq not later than May 1, 2007, with the goal that all combat brigades redeploy from Iraq by March 31, 2008, a date consistent with the expectation of the Iraq Study Group. This redeployment will be both substantial and gradual, and will be planned and implemented by military commanders. Makes clear that Congress believes troops should be redeployed to the United States; to Afghanistan; and to other points in the region. A residual U.S. presence may remain in Iraq for force protection, training of Iraqi security forces, and pursuit of international terrorists.
  • Enforces Tough Benchmarks for Progress: These 13 benchmarks are based on President Bush’s own statements and Administration documents and include:
    • Security: Significant progress toward fulfilling security commitments, including eliminating restrictions on U.S. forces, reducing sectarian violence, reducing the size and influence of the militias, and strengthening the Iraqi Army and Police.
    • Political Accommodation: Significant progress toward reaching a political solution, including equitable sharing of oil revenues, revision of de-Baathification, provincial elections, even-handed provision of government services, and a fair process for a constitutional amendment to achieve national reconciliation.
    • Economic Progress: Requires Iraq to fulfill its commitment to spend not less than $10 billion for reconstruction, job creation, and economic development without regard for the ethnic or sectarian make-up of Iraqi regions.

    Should these benchmarks be met, the plan allows for the temporary suspension of this redeployment, subject to the agreement of Congress.

  • Congressional oversight: Requires the President to submit reports to Congress every 90 days describing and assessing the Iraqi government’s progress in meeting benchmarks and the redeployment goals.
  • Intensified Training: Intensifies training of Iraqi security forces to enable the country to take over security responsibility of the country.
  • Conditions on Economic Assistance: Conditions future economic assistance to the Government of Iraq on significant progress toward achievement of benchmarks. Allows exceptions for humanitarian, security, and job-creation assistance.
  • Regional Diplomacy: Launches a comprehensive regional and international diplomatic initiative – that includes key nations in the region – to help achieve a political settlement among the Iraqi people, end the civil war in Iraq, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and regional conflict. Recommends the President should appoint a Special Envoy for Iraq to carry out this diplomacy within 60 days. Mandates that the President submit a plan to prevent the war in Iraq from becoming a wider regional conflict.

Oh, Well That Explains It…

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Republican Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) on the Bush escalation plan in Iraq:

Some commentators have compared the Bush plan to a "Hail Mary" pass in football — a desperate heave deep down the field by a losing team at the end of the game. Actually, a far better analogy for the Bush plan is a draw play on third down with 20 yards to go in the first quarter. The play does have a chance of working if everything goes perfectly, but it is more likely to gain a few yards and set up a punt on the next down, after which the game can be continued under more favorable circumstances.

If I understand Lugar correctly, we’ll be "punting" soon in Iraq.  Is that what he meant to imply?

“I Won’t Be Happy Until I Lose My Legs”

Ken AshfordHealth Care1 Comment

If you’ve never heard of body identity integrity disorder, or BIID, then this first-person article will be a mind-blower.

BIID is a psychological disorder in which the sufferer, who is usually "normal" in all other respects, does not "identify" with certain parts of his or her body.  This usually manifests itself in childhood, and carries into adulthood, when the sufferer longs for amputation.  Here’s how the article begins:

I was six when I first became aware of my desire to lose my legs. I don’t remember what started it – there was no specific trigger. Most people want to change something about themselves, and the image I have of myself has always been one without legs.

To the general public, people like me are sick and strange, and that’s where it ends. I think it is a question of fearing the unknown. I have something called body identity integrity disorder (BIID), where sufferers want to remove one or more healthy limbs. Few people who haven’t experienced it themselves can understand what I am going through. It is not a sexual thing, it is certainly not a fetish, and it is nothing to do with appearances. I simply cannot relate to myself with two legs: it isn’t the "me" I want to be. I have long known that if I want to get on with my life I need to remove both legs. I have been trapped in the wrong body all this time and over the years I came to hate my physical self.

More from wikipedia:

Symptoms of BIID sufferers are often keenly felt. The sufferer feels incomplete with four limbs, but is confident that they will feel better about this post-amputation. The sufferer knows exactly what part of which limb should be amputated to relieve their suffering. This is commonly an above-the-knee amputation. The sufferer has intense feelings of jealousy toward amputees. They often pretend, both in private and in public, that they are an amputee. The sufferer recognizes the above symptoms as being strange and unnatural. They feel alone in having these thoughts, and don’t believe anyone could ever understand their urges. They may try to injure themselves to require the amputation of that limb. They generally are ashamed of their thoughts and try to hide them from others, including therapists and health care professionals.

The women in the above article eventually married, and over time, revealed her desires to her husband.  It took years for him to understand.  Eventually, after some attempts to remove one of her legs on her own, she was able to find a surgeon who was willing to amputate her left leg, just above the knee:

I already feel more complete now that one leg is off. I have always been an outgoing kind of person, but my confidence is much higher now as my body is more like I want it to be. For the first time I feel able to move on and lead the life I have always wanted. In many ways I am starting again. I know it sounds odd, but it is incredibly exciting. Running the house, doing the gardening, going shopping – these are all things I manage easily by myself, even though now I might use a wheelchair or crutches. My husband has been supportive. He thinks I look a little strange missing a leg but says that, after all he has seen me go through, he accepts it. For now, he is just happy that I am happy, and I have promised to leave the remaining leg on for as long as possible; I know that losing that will be really difficult for him.

She writes optimistically about the day her other leg will come off.

Because of the taboos associated with this psychological phenomenon, it is unknown how many people actually suffer from BIID.  And nobody is sure what causes it.

There are, of course, associations formed to deal with this problem, and a variety of therapies.  Surprisingly, one of those therapies is quite simple, albeit very controversial: giving the patient what he/she wants by surgically removing the offending body part.

Was 9/11 Really That Bad?

Ken AshfordWar on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

About time someone said it.

Without diminishing what happened that day, historian David Bell takes a look at 9/11, and makes a convincing argument that — as tragic as 9/11 was — it has resulted in a massive overreaction.  Key sentences (emphasis mine):

The people who attacked us in 2001 are indeed hate-filled fanatics who would like nothing better than to destroy this country. But desire is not the same thing as capacity, and although Islamist extremists can certainly do huge amounts of harm around the world, it is quite different to suggest that they can threaten the existence of the United States.

Yet a great many Americans, particularly on the right, have failed to make this distinction. For them, the "Islamo-fascist" enemy has inherited not just Adolf Hitler’s implacable hatreds but his capacity to destroy. The conservative author Norman Podhoretz has gone so far as to say that we are fighting World War IV (No. III being the Cold War).

But it is no disrespect to the victims of 9/11, or to the men and women of our armed forces, to say that, by the standards of past wars, the war against terrorism has so far inflicted a very small human cost on the United States. As an instance of mass murder, the attacks were unspeakable, but they still pale in comparison with any number of military assaults on civilian targets of the recent past, from Hiroshima on down.

Oldest Living Person For A Few Days

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Last week, the world’s oldest living person, 115-year-old Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, passed away.

That meant that the oldest living person in the world was an American — Emma Faust Tillman of Connecticut.  Ms. Tillman was the son of a slave, and was born in 1892 in North Carolina.

Last night, after being the "world’s oldest living person" for four days, Ms. Tillman died.

Oops

Ken AshfordEducation1 Comment

UNC messed up:

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (AP) — An admissions department e-mail sent from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill congratulated 2,700 prospective freshmen this week on their acceptance to the school.

The problem is that none of the applicants have been admitted. They won’t start finding out until March whether they’ve made the cut.

"We deeply regret this disappointment, which we know is compounded by the stress and anxiety that students experience as a result of the admissions process," Stephen Farmer, the school’s director of undergraduate admissions, said in a news release.

Farmer said two employees accidentally sent the e-mail Tuesday. It began, "Congratulations again on your admission to the University."

The e-mail was intended to request midyear grades from high school students who already have been accepted to the school.

Admissions officials have sent follow-up e-mails apologizing for the error. They have also e-mailed admissions counselors around the nation to explain the mistake.

About 20,000 people apply each year to UNC Chapel Hill, and the school enrolls about 3,800 new freshmen.