carly releases new album, blowhard attacks
carly simon has a new album out today, never been gone. i strongly urge you to get a copy or download a copy or grab a copy & run really fast out of a store without paying - joking on the last.the album's called never been gone and it's wonderful. carly will be on nbc's today show tomorrow morning.
i really don't care for uninformed people who try to pretend they know what they're talking about. steve leftridge attacked the album at pop matters and attacked from his gross ignorance:
While the project is billed as a re-recording of her classics, some of Carly’s best-loved tunes are missing—where is “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” or “Nobody Does It Better”? By leaving out essential Simon tunes, any newbie will be way better served by one of the best-of compilations (2004’s Reflections would do the trick, although the classic ten-song The Best of Carly Simon from 1975 contains nothing but the most indelible singles from her peak period). Otherwise, Never Been Gone (that title sounds a tad defensive) includes non-canon tracks like the awful “Boys in the Trees”, the title cut of her 1973 album, and the deeply-buried “Never Been Gone” from 1979’s Spy. Neither song deserves much of an excavation, although “It Happens Everyday” from 1983’s Hello Big Man is a hidden gem worthy of a second chance, even if the version here features a far weaker vocal delivery than the original.
okay, let's unpack the errors bit by bit.
While the project is billed as a re-recording of her classics, some of Carly’s best-loved tunes are missing—where is “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” or “Nobody Does It Better”?
carly's re-recording songs she's written. that's been established. so why would she do 'nobody does it better'? does idiot steve not know that carly didn't write that song? does he know who carole bayer sager is? she wrote the lyrics. marvin hamlisch wrote the music.
By leaving out essential Simon tunes, any newbie will be way better served by one of the best-of compilations (2004’s Reflections would do the trick, although the classic ten-song The Best of Carly Simon from 1975 contains nothing but the most indelible singles from her peak period).
reflections would be the better choice because it has more tracks (many more) and because it's the better buy economically. i'm sorry steve's such an idiot but he is.
Otherwise, Never Been Gone (that title sounds a tad defensive) includes non-canon tracks like the awful “Boys in the Trees”, the title cut of her 1973 album, and the deeply-buried “Never Been Gone” from 1979’s Spy.
boys in the trees? the album came out in 1978. no secrets came out in 1973. only an idiot who didn't know the 1st thing he was writing about would make a mistake like that.
'never been gone' is deeply buried?
uh. no.
it does appear on spy 1st. however, it also was in carly simon's hugely successful hbo concert - her 1st hbo concert and the concert aired when she was making her comeback with coming around again.
that concert?
it was turned into a multi-platinum album and 'never been gone' appears on it.
Neither song deserves much of an excavation, although “It Happens Everyday” from 1983’s Hello Big Man is a hidden gem worthy of a second chance, even if the version here features a far weaker vocal delivery than the original.
'it happens everyday'? i seriously doubt that idiot steve knows the song from hello big man. he may (or may not) know it from carly's greatest hits live. but on hello big man?
on hello big man, the entire song is in the wrong key. it adds to the mood of the song but let's not pretend it allows carly to have a strong vocal delivery. (she does it fine on the live album.)
so with 1 paragraph we've learned that yet another man thought he knew something when he didn't. we've learned that, as usual, a blowhard thought he could rip apart a woman's work and didn't even think he needed to familiarize himself with it 1st.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Tuesday,
October 27, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq wants to go
nuclear, Thomas E. Ricks repeats the lies that sold the illegal war
(connecting Iraq to you know what), if your loved one takes his or her
own life while serving in a war zone the President of the United States
sends you no letter expressing sorrow, and more.
Frank Sesno was the guest host on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show today and the first hour was devoted to Iraq and Afghanistan. Sesno spoke with McClatchy Newspapers Nancy A. Youssef, Wall St. Journal's Peter Spiegel and Crazy Ass Thomas E. Ricks.
Frank
Sesno: Tom Ricks, let's start with these incredible bombings in Iraq
and the shockwave they've sent through the military and the political
systems there. What signal were they intended -- intending to send?
Thomas
E. Ricks: I think they were intended to send the signal that [Prime
Minister Nouri al-] Maliki does not have the control over Iraq that he
asserts and that's really his sole campaign plank -- is look "You may
not like me, you may not like how we're running the government but at
least you're feeling safer" and I think was designed to undermine that.
I was struck -- I read this morning that one of the trucks used to do
the bombings was stolen in Falluja which indicates it probably came out
of Anbar Province.
Frank Sesno: Which means?
Thomas
E. Ricks: Which means a Sunni extrimist probably working with al Qaeda.
Simeloutaneous large blast is one of the al Qaeda signatures that they
like to do. We all remember that from 9-11.
Did
Thomas E. Ricks just make a total idiot of himself? Yes, he did. He
attempted to conflate al Qaeda in Mesopotomia with the al Qaeda group
thought to be responsible for 9-11. The two are not related. Thomas E.
Ricks is worse than George W. Bush because Ricks actually had a
semi-functioning brain that wasn't destroyed via drink and cocaine. But
that didn't stop him from conflating two separate things. al Qaeda in
Mespotamia is a homegrown (Iraqi) group. It did not exist prior to the
2003 invasion. It is a response to the 2003 invasion. And Thomas E.
Ricks needs to learn to choose his words a little more carefully. With
each day, he drifts further and further from journalism.
What
a moron. That anyone -- let alone a journalist -- would attempt to
conflate 9-11 and Iraq at this late date is offensive. That a
journalist would do so -- knowing full well that this conflation helped
sell the illegal war -- helped sell it because the news media refused
to call it out -- the same ones that will fact check a Saturday Night Live
skit -- is just beyond belief. But notice that on the program, they
just moved along past Crazy Ass Thomas Ricks -- not unlike they ignored
that LIE when it was sold by the Bush administration. There WAS NO and
IS NO connection between Iraq and 9-11 -- no matter what Thomas E.
Ricks jibber-jabbers.
Frank Sesno: Which means, Nancy Youseff that Iraq is what? No where near as stable as the previous lull had indicated?
Nancy
A. Youssef: Well it indicates that sectarian violence is still
continuing despite the US military assertion that it's not as
aggressive as it would be. These were Sunni attackers hitting Shia
government buildings. It's an effort to sort of revitalize the
sectarian fighting and I think it raises questions about ultimately
what Iraqis and what Americans consider acceptable levels of violence
in Iraq. Can these sort of occassional bombings -- you'll remember that
the last one was in August -- will the Iraqis accept it? Will the
Americans accept it as a condition for their leaving? That-that attacks
will continue to go on? There are fewer attacks but they're becoming
more and more spectacular.
Frank Sesno: And, Peter, at a critical critical moment.
Peter
Spiegel: It is a critical moment because you have elections coming up
in January. And just to not be overly pessimistic here 'cause, as Nancy
mentioned, there was a very similar attack in August, we did not see
the country descend into another round of sectarian violence. That's
the good news. The other good news, as Tom pointed out, they seemed to
be very political oriented. There are elections coming up. You know
Maliki is vying for position with other Shia parties, with other Sunni
parties. Is this just a domestic political issue being expressed
through violence? If that's the case, there's an argument that as long
as there's some sort of Sunni outlet through the political system, this
may eventually go away. Now the problem is there appears to be no Sunni
outlet for legitimate political expression right now because most of
the parties are still dominated by Shi'ites and a lot of the government
institutions are dominated by Shias -- they're using them to suppress
Sunnis in the country. So as long as that continues, as long as there's
no legitimate way for Sunnis to express their political outrage this
stuff could continue.
Frank Sesno: Do you expect this stuff to continue?
Thomas
E. Ricks: I do actually. The last line in the last book I've written on
Iraq, The Gamble, is a quote from [former US] Ambassador [to Iraq] Ryan
Crocker. He said to me twice in the course of 2008, "The events for
which the Iraq War will be remembered have not yet occurred." There's a
significant chance that the war will go on for another five to ten
years. I think we're going to have American troops there for many, many
years. They'll call them "trainers" and "advisors" but this war is far
from over.
Frank
Sesno: But Tom as they leave, as we have pulled out of the cities and
as we withdraw to concentrated areas around the country, what
vulnerability then does this latest string of events suggest for the
innocent public in Iraq trying desparately to put their lives back
together again because it suggest the vulnarability is extreme.
Thomas
E. Ricks: Recently, the former mayor of Tal Afar, a city up in the
northwest, wrote a very interesting essay in which he said all the
conditions for civil war in Iraq are still there. This is why I think
the civil war failed. It succeeded tactically, it improved security.
Frank Sesno: For the moment.
Thomas
E. Ricks: Yes, but it's purpose was to lead to a political breakthrough
and that didn't happen. That's not my saying what the purpose was,
that's what the president said the purpose was.
Frarnk Sesno: Nancy, I see you nodding your head.
Nancy
A. Youssef: Yeah, you know, what's interesting is that when you ask
them at the Pentagon, "Look there have been two massive attacks in the
last few months and what are you going to do?" And there's sort of a
shrugging of the shoulders. The Status Of Forces Agreement calls for us
to leave and the Pentagon's focused on Afghanistan now and yet if you
go right below the surface you can feel from soldiers who have served,
who wear braclets of fallen comrades, the frustration that potentially
the United States is leaving as sloppily as it entered, that you've got
120,000 troops still based in Iraq and yet nothing is being done
to-to-to stop this. The-the line --
Frarnk Sesno: Nothing is being done to stop this?
Nancy
A. Youssef: No, because the line at the Pentagon is "We're asking for
Maliki to ask us for help" or we're waiting for something like the
Samarra mosque bombing. But if it gets to that level, it's already too
late. I mean the Samarra mosque bombing didn't happen in a vacuum. That
was a building of sectarian violence that manifested itself in a very
violent way.
Peter
Spiegel: One other issue, there are still 120,000 troops in Iraq which
everyone seems to forget, which is about the levels they were
pre-surge, which is still a very big level. But what is happening in
sort of the granularity of that is a lot of assets that are needed to
track down these bombing networks -- the UAVs, the unmanned drones, the
intelligence assets -- all that is being sucked away to Afghanistan.
And having spent time with General [Ray] Odierno, who is the commander
there, a year ago, his-his real -- the thing he's most proud of is the
ability to track down these networks through human intelligence through
systems like unmanned drones and dismantle them. Well if you move all
those assets to Afghanistan, are you still able to dismantle all those
bombing networks that are still clearly sort of roving freely in
Baghdad and be able to do these kind of things?
Frarnk
Sesno: These bombs went off near three government buildings -- three
important government buildings. How much of a set back does this
present to the fledgling, struggling Iraqi government itself?
Nancy
A. Youssef: I don't think we know yet. I mean, you saw the government
try to respond by passing an election law which they've been debating
for several months now as a way to sort of speak up. I think you're
seeing Maliki -- it hurts Maliki the most, as Tom mentioned, because
his political platform, his election platform is "I bring security to
you." You saw rival political parties trying to exploit that.
Nancy
A. Youssef was referring to a proposal put together by the Political
Council for National Security and then passed on to Parliament. That was a proposal made (with much fanfare) yesterday. Like just about everything else on the governance front in Iraq, it fell apart. John Leland (New York Times) reports
there was no consensus today and that they are at a stalemate, "another
blockage in negotiations that have dragged on for weeks, threatening
national elections scheduled for January 16th." 'Scheduled'? I believe
the appropriate term is intended. Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) adds
that the issue of Kirkuk was the falling out point for the "proposal
submitted by a high-ranking council that included Maliki and President
Jalal Talabani." Repeating, no election law. Still.
Staying on Sunday's bombings, Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) reported
this morning that credit for the bombings is allegedly being claimed by
the Islamic State of Iraq and he noted that "rescue workers continued
to pull bodies out of the rubble Monday". Robert Dreyfuss (The Nation via CBS News website) observes:
The
perpetrators of the huge bomb attacks are unknown. Not unexpectedly,
every Iraqi faction is blaming its enemies. Maliki is blaming Al Qaeda
in Iraq and the Baathists, but at the very least the attacks have
severely hurt Maliki's main cliam to leadership, namely, that he's kept
Iraq safe. Many Sunnis are blaming Iran, charging that Iran's
intelligence service is orchestrating the Baghdad attacks in order to
force Maliki to abandon his independent electoral stance and sign on to
the Shiite bloc, the Iraqi National Alliance. And, indirectly speaking
for the Shiite bloc, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran has blamed "foreign
agents" for the attacks:
"The
bloody actions being committed in some Islamic countries, including
Iraq, Pakistan and in some parts of the country (Iran), are aimed at
creating division between the Shiites and Sunnis.... Those who carry
out these terrorist actions are directly or indirectly foreign agents."
Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but such claims have to be taken with a grain of salt.
Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but such claims have to be taken with a grain of salt.
Sunday's bombings resulted in some TV coverage for Iraq yesterday. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, click here for the video of that segment
Ann
Curry: We turn now to Iraq, still reeling from massive explosions that
wrecked three buildings in Baghdad on Sunday. The dead now number more
than 150. Hundreds more are injured. And the attacks raise the
question: can the Iraqi government keep the lid on? The latest tonight
from NBC's Tom Aspell.
Tom Aspell: Grief and shock today at some of the funerals for bombings in Baghdad. Iraqi police and hospitals now say that up to thirty children from a day care center at the Justice Ministry are among the dead. The second blast was captured on a cell phone. The blast destroyed two government buildings outside the Green Zone in central Baghdad. Iraqi officials said at least 150 people were killed, at least 500 people were wounded. A security spokesman said two buses were used to carry the explosives -- 2,000 pounds in one and 1500 pounds in the other. It was the worst attack in Baghdad for two years. This morning Iraqis were blaming the government for lax security issues. There are checkpoints every one-hundred yards How did these vehicles come here" asked this man. Iraqi troops were patrolling Baghdad streets this morning. The government is warning there could be more attacks before elections in three months time. Tom Aspell, NBC News, London.
Tom Aspell: Grief and shock today at some of the funerals for bombings in Baghdad. Iraqi police and hospitals now say that up to thirty children from a day care center at the Justice Ministry are among the dead. The second blast was captured on a cell phone. The blast destroyed two government buildings outside the Green Zone in central Baghdad. Iraqi officials said at least 150 people were killed, at least 500 people were wounded. A security spokesman said two buses were used to carry the explosives -- 2,000 pounds in one and 1500 pounds in the other. It was the worst attack in Baghdad for two years. This morning Iraqis were blaming the government for lax security issues. There are checkpoints every one-hundred yards How did these vehicles come here" asked this man. Iraqi troops were patrolling Baghdad streets this morning. The government is warning there could be more attacks before elections in three months time. Tom Aspell, NBC News, London.
Also covering the bombings was PBS' NewsHour (link has text, audio and video options) and this an excerpt:
JANE ARRAF [Christian Science Monitor]: It has. The death toll looks like it's going past about 150, Ray, and hundreds more wounded. And more than that, a lot of questions being raised as to how this actually could have happened just two months after the horrific bombing of the Finance and Foreign Ministries. Now, yesterday, at the site, there were absolute scenes of devastation, people sobbing, carrying away wounded relatives, trying to find their relatives, and pretty much chaos for the first little while. The streets were flooded. Rescue workers were trying to wade through bystanders. It really was one of the most horrific scenes that many of us have seen in quite a long time. We had kind of thought this was over with. And now it seems to have started again. And that is definitely the feeling that you feel on the streets, that things could very much get worse again.
RAY SUAREZ: You mentioned that August attack. At the time, weren't measures put in place to make this kind of operation less likely in Baghdad?
JANE ARRAF: Absolutely. That August attack, which killed at least 100 people with an eerily similar attack, a truck packed with explosives in two different places, and a suicide attack, at that, was actually a wakeup call. And it was said to have been a systemic failure -- failure of security. Now, the Iraqi government responded by firing some senior Iraqi security officials. It said it put new measures in place. I spoke with a senior American official today who said, indeed, they had put measures in place. But it has not prevented these two bombings, which, again, were eerily similar. These were trucks traveling streets where no trucks are supposed to be in daytime. They apparently went through checkpoints, where they should have been checked, but weren't. And they managed to explode in one of the busiest times of the day, in one of the most packed places in Baghdad, killing government workers, as well as passersby, including children.
JANE ARRAF [Christian Science Monitor]: It has. The death toll looks like it's going past about 150, Ray, and hundreds more wounded. And more than that, a lot of questions being raised as to how this actually could have happened just two months after the horrific bombing of the Finance and Foreign Ministries. Now, yesterday, at the site, there were absolute scenes of devastation, people sobbing, carrying away wounded relatives, trying to find their relatives, and pretty much chaos for the first little while. The streets were flooded. Rescue workers were trying to wade through bystanders. It really was one of the most horrific scenes that many of us have seen in quite a long time. We had kind of thought this was over with. And now it seems to have started again. And that is definitely the feeling that you feel on the streets, that things could very much get worse again.
RAY SUAREZ: You mentioned that August attack. At the time, weren't measures put in place to make this kind of operation less likely in Baghdad?
JANE ARRAF: Absolutely. That August attack, which killed at least 100 people with an eerily similar attack, a truck packed with explosives in two different places, and a suicide attack, at that, was actually a wakeup call. And it was said to have been a systemic failure -- failure of security. Now, the Iraqi government responded by firing some senior Iraqi security officials. It said it put new measures in place. I spoke with a senior American official today who said, indeed, they had put measures in place. But it has not prevented these two bombings, which, again, were eerily similar. These were trucks traveling streets where no trucks are supposed to be in daytime. They apparently went through checkpoints, where they should have been checked, but weren't. And they managed to explode in one of the busiest times of the day, in one of the most packed places in Baghdad, killing government workers, as well as passersby, including children.
ABC World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson covered the bombings.
Charlie Gibson: In Iraq meanwhile the funerals began today in the wake of the stunning twin bombings that tore through the heart of Baghdad yesterday. The death toll is now 155 with the grim discovery that 24 children at a day care center were among those killed. The attacks raised questions about Iraq's security. Miguel Marquez was at the scene of the blasts.
Miguel Marquez: The devastation is almost unimaginable, buildings shredded as far as the eye can see, glass, blood splattered clothing and burned rubber. When the bombs went off they shattered the relative calm here. Six months ago this street was off limits to traffic but with security improving the barriers were lifted. An investigation is now underway into how two vehicles carrying 1500 pounds of explosives each including military grade C4, got through multiple military checkpoints before reaching their targets. Despite all the security agencies the government here is helpless he says, they only cause traffic jams. Today Iraqis begin the wrenching task of burying their loved ones. Comfort was in short supply. They blame their government for failing to stop the violence. This is the hole created by the explosion. It goes down about twenty-five feet. The blast was so powerful they burst a water main, flooding this section of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who faces re-election in January has campaigned on his ability to make Iraq safer. His opponents say this bombings proves the military is infiltrated
Iraqi National Security Advisor Mouwaffak Rubaie: What we need to concentrate on is enabling our intelligence agencies. This is an intelligence led war now.
Miguel Marquez: The bombings are especially shocking because security here has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two years. Construction is everywhere and night life has made a roaring comeback. [An Iraqi woman speaks.] "We have one quiet week and then the next week things get worse," she says. "The security situation is still the same." The US military says it is assisting in the investigation but there are no plans to increase US patrols here nor slow the rate of pulling US forces out of Iraq. Miguel Marquez, ABC News, Baghdad.
Charlie Gibson: In Iraq meanwhile the funerals began today in the wake of the stunning twin bombings that tore through the heart of Baghdad yesterday. The death toll is now 155 with the grim discovery that 24 children at a day care center were among those killed. The attacks raised questions about Iraq's security. Miguel Marquez was at the scene of the blasts.
Miguel Marquez: The devastation is almost unimaginable, buildings shredded as far as the eye can see, glass, blood splattered clothing and burned rubber. When the bombs went off they shattered the relative calm here. Six months ago this street was off limits to traffic but with security improving the barriers were lifted. An investigation is now underway into how two vehicles carrying 1500 pounds of explosives each including military grade C4, got through multiple military checkpoints before reaching their targets. Despite all the security agencies the government here is helpless he says, they only cause traffic jams. Today Iraqis begin the wrenching task of burying their loved ones. Comfort was in short supply. They blame their government for failing to stop the violence. This is the hole created by the explosion. It goes down about twenty-five feet. The blast was so powerful they burst a water main, flooding this section of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who faces re-election in January has campaigned on his ability to make Iraq safer. His opponents say this bombings proves the military is infiltrated
Iraqi National Security Advisor Mouwaffak Rubaie: What we need to concentrate on is enabling our intelligence agencies. This is an intelligence led war now.
Miguel Marquez: The bombings are especially shocking because security here has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two years. Construction is everywhere and night life has made a roaring comeback. [An Iraqi woman speaks.] "We have one quiet week and then the next week things get worse," she says. "The security situation is still the same." The US military says it is assisting in the investigation but there are no plans to increase US patrols here nor slow the rate of pulling US forces out of Iraq. Miguel Marquez, ABC News, Baghdad.
Not everyone provided significant time for the news. CBS Evening News
(Harry Smith sitting in for Katie Couric) reduced it to a five-sentence
headline. Remember that when you've heard a story and are trying to
select an evening newscast in order to find out what happened. It was
just a headline to CBS Evening News. Oliver August (Times of London) quotes
a government employee stating, "Sadness is overwhelming today in the
office. It's as if we are sitting at a funeral in the office because
many of our colleagues and people we know were killed." Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) quotes
an employee injured in the bombings, Shauki Abdul Jabar, stating,
"There is no security, no hope." And he reports on three men searching
through the rubble for some sign of Youssef Musen Nouri, their
four-year-old nephew whom they now assume is dead. It wasn't just a
passing headline to any of those people.
The heartbeat went out of our house
The rhythm went out of our romance
But in life that happens and you just have to remember to breathe . . .
-- "Coming Around Again," written by Carly Simon from her new recording on Never Been Gone.
Meanwhile Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) reports,
"Baghdad governor on Tuesday said that his council voted to demand
resignation of Iraqi minister of interior and chief of Baghdad
operations command over Sunday's bloody blasts that enraged Iraqis and
shaped a setback to the Iraqi government which struggle to restore
normalcy in the country nearly three months ahead of the country's
national elections." Sammy Ketz (Mail & Guardian) adds
that Baghdad Governor Salah Abdul Razzaq said of the bombings (after
viewing video footage of it), "It's a human failure . . . It can only
be negligence or collusion."
And
while these bombings are fresh on everyone's mind, someone might want
to ask who in the world thinks nuclear power is needed in Iraq? What if
a nuclear reactor were in Iraq and had been targeted on Sunday. It's
something people better start considering. Martin Chulov (Guardian) reports:
Iraq
has started lobbying for approval to again become a nuclear player,
almost 19 years after British and American war planes destroyed Saddam
Hussein's last two reactors, the Guardian has learned.
The
Iraqi government has approached the French nuclear industry about
rebuilding at least one of the reactors that was bombed at the start of
the first Gulf war. The government has also contacted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations to seek ways around resolutions that ban Iraq's re-entry into the nuclear field.
Iraq
says it envisages that a reactor would be used initially for research
purposes. "We are co-operating with the IAEA and expanding and defining
areas of research where we can implement nuclear technology for
peaceful means," the science and technology minister, Raid Fahmi, told
the Guardian.
From future violence to some of today's reported violence, Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 shop owner was shot dead in Mosul and 1 "young man" was shot dead in Mosul.
Turning to the US, today on Democracy Now! (link has text, audio and video options), Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Amy Goodman spoke
with Chancellor Keesling's parents Jannett and Gregg Keesling. Their
son, Chancellor, was serving in Iraq, on his second deployment, when he
apparently took his own life earlier this year.
JANNETT
KEESLING: I spoke to Chancellor the night before he died for about four
minutes. And as always, he wore a really tough exterior, because even
after conversations with some of the soldiers after he died, no one saw
that he was in any type of distress or trouble. I know they say he was
sleeping. He was happy that morning. He was singing.
But
what he did tell me that night is that he was going to have a very
long, difficult day. His conversation was quite brief. Normally he
would say that he loves me, and he would say goodbye. But this time he
simply hung up. I had the feeling that something was definitely
bothering him more than the norm. And the next thing we knew, they were
at our door saying that he had --
GREGG KEESLING: He had passed.
JANNETT KEESLING: -- passed away.
AMY GOODMAN: Where was he?
JANNETT KEESLING: But nobody saw.
GREGG KEESLING: He was at Camp Stryker in Baghdad. And he --
AMY GOODMAN: And what did they explain to you? What happened?
GREGG KEESLING: That he had gone to a latrine and locked himself in the latrine and took his own life, with his M4.
[. . .]
GREGG
KEESLING: Well, I just -- we do not believe our son would have taken
his life if he had been here at home. This would not have happened.
This is directly related to his military service. Our casualty officer
-- the military has been very, very, very good to us in helping us. And
our casualty officer, though, said the same thing, that "We do not
believe your son would have taken his life if he was back home." And,
you know, every other benefit that the military provides to families
has been afforded to us. We were flown to Dover to greet the body, in a
very emotional experience. And we had a military burial and the
twenty-one-gun salute. And Jannett was presented the American flag,
which is a very moving ceremony.
But the issue of presidential condolences -- in fact, we were shocked. I began -- President Obama has set up the suicide task force, and I began to talk with Brigadier General Colleen McGuire and members of staff there, and they were very helpful and wonderful. And during those conversations, I mentioned, "By the way, you know, when do you think the letter comes from the President?" And she goes, "I don't know. I'll check it out." And we talked again a few times. And every time at the end of the conversation, you know, "How are you guys doing?" and all that. And I said, "By the way, when are we going to get the letter from the President?" And on our third conversation, one of the staff members said to me, "Oh, my god, Mr. Keesling, I've just discovered there's a longstanding policy that prevents the President from acknowledging the death of a soldier who takes his life in the war theater by his own hand." And I nearly dropped to my knees. I was shocked. And I just said to her that I think this is a policy that should change.
Our loss is no different. He was on his second tour. The investigative report shows that he was a good soldier. One of my favorite comments in the report is that his unit commander said, or unit leader says, "I wish I had fifteen Keeslings." He was a good soldier. He helped other soldiers. In fact, there's a soldier back stateside today who was at risk of suicide that Chancy intervened to help. And we got his uniform back, and when my sister was packing away the uniform, she found in the pocket and pulled out the suicide information card. He had it in his pocket of his uniform. And he helped other soldiers, but he was unable to help himself.
And so, our grief is deep. And, you know, the letter won't stop -- we'll still be hollow inside for the rest of our lives, but the acknowledgement from the President that our son gave his life in service to the causes of the United States is important to us, and I think it should be important to the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of suicide victims in this war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well. It's my understanding that the suicide rate in the military has, for the first time, surpassed the civilian suicide rate. The mental health issues are quite severe. And so, we're just simply appealing to the President to change the policy, to offer condolences to the families, like ours, that are struggling and suffering with the unique form of suffering a military suicide leaves in its wake. And it's been especially hard for us.
But the issue of presidential condolences -- in fact, we were shocked. I began -- President Obama has set up the suicide task force, and I began to talk with Brigadier General Colleen McGuire and members of staff there, and they were very helpful and wonderful. And during those conversations, I mentioned, "By the way, you know, when do you think the letter comes from the President?" And she goes, "I don't know. I'll check it out." And we talked again a few times. And every time at the end of the conversation, you know, "How are you guys doing?" and all that. And I said, "By the way, when are we going to get the letter from the President?" And on our third conversation, one of the staff members said to me, "Oh, my god, Mr. Keesling, I've just discovered there's a longstanding policy that prevents the President from acknowledging the death of a soldier who takes his life in the war theater by his own hand." And I nearly dropped to my knees. I was shocked. And I just said to her that I think this is a policy that should change.
Our loss is no different. He was on his second tour. The investigative report shows that he was a good soldier. One of my favorite comments in the report is that his unit commander said, or unit leader says, "I wish I had fifteen Keeslings." He was a good soldier. He helped other soldiers. In fact, there's a soldier back stateside today who was at risk of suicide that Chancy intervened to help. And we got his uniform back, and when my sister was packing away the uniform, she found in the pocket and pulled out the suicide information card. He had it in his pocket of his uniform. And he helped other soldiers, but he was unable to help himself.
And so, our grief is deep. And, you know, the letter won't stop -- we'll still be hollow inside for the rest of our lives, but the acknowledgement from the President that our son gave his life in service to the causes of the United States is important to us, and I think it should be important to the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of suicide victims in this war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well. It's my understanding that the suicide rate in the military has, for the first time, surpassed the civilian suicide rate. The mental health issues are quite severe. And so, we're just simply appealing to the President to change the policy, to offer condolences to the families, like ours, that are struggling and suffering with the unique form of suffering a military suicide leaves in its wake. And it's been especially hard for us.
The
suicide rate has repeatedly increased and the stories of it are usually
'this happened, then that happened' in a sort of timeline manner that
rarely connects the death to the loss those who survive feel. The
parents expressed their loss today and on July 31st, on the second hour of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, guest host Susan Paige spoke with a caller who wanted to address this topic.
Susan Paige: Let's go to Pamela. She's calling us from New Jersey. Pamela, thanks so much for calling.
Pamela:
Yes. Good morning, how are you? Thank you for taking my call. I am
responding to a comment I heard earlier and it really just like shot me
in my heart. And the comment was that the suicide rates [in the US
military] are skyrocketing and how this has to be addressed. And I
literally like I said stopped dead in my tracks. I . . . lost my
brother in service due to suicide. He was home on a leave and, uh,
about to be, pardon me, to go back and to serve and, uh, was, uh -- the
difficulty in getting the mental health services I believe that he
needed -- I mean he was married with two children -- was most, most
difficult and delayed and a long wait and this and that. And then the
unfathomable happened and, uh, when I, uh, at times decided to share
how he died rather than just say he died in the war and I would say he
died by suicide the remark I would hear unfortunately was, "Oh my
goodness, he didn't die a hero then." And-and I continually hear this
and I guess I want to make a statement that how someone dies, um,
should not be -- that -- that is not a definition of how they lived
their lives. And here was a good man who gave and did so much for the
community and yet because of how he died -- which you know is a mental
illness health related, etc. etc. -- he is now being defined as -- not
-- as a zero. And not being defined. And I think you know this-this
suicide issue is getting way out of control and for every person that
dies by suicide there are at least six to ten people that are horribly
effected as well to the point where their mental health also, uh, you
know, begins to fall apart and the whole mental health, how to get
help, starts all over again. And I should say that the support groups
for those that lose a loved one by suicide are now separated from
regular grief groups and while attending one and sharing how my loved
one died, people were going around the room, people said to me, "Oh my
God, why is she here?" I've been asked to leave meetings because --
grief support meetings -- because of how my brother died and I don't
think that's fair or correct or right and, um, so the issue goes far
beyond the pain of losing a loved one and is extremely complicated.
And, um, I wanted to share all that. And if ever anybody hears of
someone that dies of a suicide please just say "I'm sorry for your
loss" and ask about the person. And don't say anything cruel or unkind
because, again, how one lives their entire life for 38 years should not
be defined by a, you know, a irrational moment that effects -- that
became a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Changing topics, Senator Carl Levin's office released the following statement yesterday:
WASHINGTON -- Calling the plight of religious minorities in Iraq "a tragic consequence" of the war there, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., today introduced a Senate resolution calling on the U.S. government, Iraqi government and United Nations Mission in Iraq to take steps to alleviate the dangers facing these minority groups. Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined Levin in sponsoring the sense of the Senate resolution.
"While violence has declined in Iraq overall, religious minorities continue to be the targets of violence and intimidation," Levin said. "Members of many minority groups who have fled other parts of the country have settled in the north, only to find themselves living in some of the most unstable and violent regions of Iraq. We strongly urge the Iraqi government, the United Nations and the U.S. government to address this crisis without delay."
Of approximately 1.4 million Christians of various denominations living in Iraq in 2003, only 500,000 to 700,000 remain. Another minority group, the Sabean Mandeans, has seen its population decline by more than 90 percent. Iraq's Jewish community, once one of the largest in the Arab world, has almost ceased to exist.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, members of religious minorities "have experienced targeted intimidation and violence, including killings, beatings, abductions, and rapes, forced conversions, forced marriages, forced displacement from their homes and businesses, and violent attacks on their houses of worship and religious leaders." The U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees reported that in 2008, there were an estimated 2.8 million internally displaced persons living in Iraq. Of that 2.8 million, nearly two out of three reported fleeing their home because of a direct threat to their lives, and, of that number, almost nine out of ten said they were targeted because of their ethnic or religious identity.
The resolution introduced by the senators addresses the tragedy in several ways. It states the sense of the Senate that the fate of Iraqi religious minorities is a matter of grave concern and calls on the U.S. government and the United Nations to urge Iraq's government to increase security at places of worship, particularly where members of religious minorities are known to face risks. The resolution calls for the integration of regional and religious minorities into the Iraqi security forces, and for those minority members to be stationed within their own communities. The resolution calls on the Iraqi government to ensure that minority citizens can participate in upcoming elections, and to enforce its constitution, which guarantees "the administrative, political, cultural, and educational rights" of minorities. Finally, it urges a series of steps to ensure that development aid and other forms of support flow to minority communities in Iraq.
WASHINGTON -- Calling the plight of religious minorities in Iraq "a tragic consequence" of the war there, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., today introduced a Senate resolution calling on the U.S. government, Iraqi government and United Nations Mission in Iraq to take steps to alleviate the dangers facing these minority groups. Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined Levin in sponsoring the sense of the Senate resolution.
"While violence has declined in Iraq overall, religious minorities continue to be the targets of violence and intimidation," Levin said. "Members of many minority groups who have fled other parts of the country have settled in the north, only to find themselves living in some of the most unstable and violent regions of Iraq. We strongly urge the Iraqi government, the United Nations and the U.S. government to address this crisis without delay."
Of approximately 1.4 million Christians of various denominations living in Iraq in 2003, only 500,000 to 700,000 remain. Another minority group, the Sabean Mandeans, has seen its population decline by more than 90 percent. Iraq's Jewish community, once one of the largest in the Arab world, has almost ceased to exist.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, members of religious minorities "have experienced targeted intimidation and violence, including killings, beatings, abductions, and rapes, forced conversions, forced marriages, forced displacement from their homes and businesses, and violent attacks on their houses of worship and religious leaders." The U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees reported that in 2008, there were an estimated 2.8 million internally displaced persons living in Iraq. Of that 2.8 million, nearly two out of three reported fleeing their home because of a direct threat to their lives, and, of that number, almost nine out of ten said they were targeted because of their ethnic or religious identity.
The resolution introduced by the senators addresses the tragedy in several ways. It states the sense of the Senate that the fate of Iraqi religious minorities is a matter of grave concern and calls on the U.S. government and the United Nations to urge Iraq's government to increase security at places of worship, particularly where members of religious minorities are known to face risks. The resolution calls for the integration of regional and religious minorities into the Iraqi security forces, and for those minority members to be stationed within their own communities. The resolution calls on the Iraqi government to ensure that minority citizens can participate in upcoming elections, and to enforce its constitution, which guarantees "the administrative, political, cultural, and educational rights" of minorities. Finally, it urges a series of steps to ensure that development aid and other forms of support flow to minority communities in Iraq.
And lastly Carly Simon's latest album is released, Never Been Gone.
The twelve track album is Carly dipping into her songwriting canon and
providing two new songs and ten re-imaginings of earlier favorites
including "You're So Vain," "Let The River Run" (her Grammy, Academy
Award and Golden Globe winning song as Diane Sawyer pointed out yesterday on ABC's Good Morning America),
"Anticipation," "You Belong To Me," "That's The Way I've Always Heard
It Should Be" and "The Right Thing To Do." Tomorrow Carly's on NBC's The Today Show, Thursday's she's on Tavis Smiley (PBS) and also on NPR's Talk Of The Nation.