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Dear Bert and List Colleagues,
I certainly greatly appreciate Bert's efforts. I don't know why
it appears to be taboo even on a European discussion list to ask
about the extent to which the alleged watchdogs of humanity are
so sensitive about
what they shout about,
and what they bury among
attrocities from 15 years ago with key (but embarassing to their bosses
perhaps) facts left out.
It seems not legitimate to ask why all of a sudden, it seems that what
HRW published on the basis of 75 interview and that get royal treatment
by the NYT, etc.,
while estimates of avoidable deaths of 400,000 (low est.)infants and children
under five based on data from 49,000 interviews done with excruciating
precison is considered suspect. And why guarding oil is sacred but getting
safe water to kids is a nice thing to do in an occuppied country.
This begins to feel like a replay of Jay Leno (a stupid ergo wildly popular
commedian here) annouces one day his wife and her gang of Hollwood wives are
real upset about the plight of women in Afghanistan. A couple of months
later, perhaps the most wretched place on earth, made so from previous UK,
USSR, US adventures gets bombed again.
Gosh, you'd think with all this altruistic help Afghan women would be
doing real well. But evidently humanitarian bombing is not the ideal solution
to any crime including rape... If bombs are the answer for crime, why is it
not used at home by the US UK mad bombers, Bush and Blair?
Sorry to be grouchy but the guy who called me something like the 6th most
evil and dangerous or unpatriotic or whatever prof. in the U.S. in the NY Post
is now evidently sliding like a stealth bomber into a big visibility job in
(grim joke) "The U.S. Institute for Peace".
My beef is that the job requires the advice and consent of the U.S.
Senate but, surprise, the hearing will be an executive one so it looks like
this ideal peacemaker is gonna get in with no witnesses heard, and likely no
debate and probably no recorded vote. God bless Amerika which sure needs it.
I don't know if it's taboo or bad form to ask for advice from you
government profs. on the list. But I , in desperation, am asking.
Sen. Kennedy's office
said my appearing as a witness was a misunderstanding, the biggest newspaper
in my state asked me why I want to write an op ed on a "pissing contest". So
the 4th estate, at least as embodied in the Baltimore Sun's op ed guy, views
all of this as a personal squabble without any policy issues present, I guess.
Maybe I should write on hair styles of our buffed Senators instead of the
steath anointment of Dr. Pipes.
Help!
I know that I have quoted Szilard to the effect that it is immoral to
abandon all hope, but frankly I need help. No wonder people wear out and give
up.
tom
>===== Original Message From Bert Gedin <gedinbert@hotmail.com> =====
>Dear All,
>
>I posted some info, for the List, on PDMIN, last night, following the query.
>There is, I have discovered, vast amounts on the net. E.g. several very
>informative articles, which I had trouble in forwarding. However, I'll give
>a few snippets of basic information, then you can do with it what you will
>(unless something else has become flavour of the month, by now).
>
>PDMIN, or Pacific Disaster Management Information Network, is - so it seems
>- a vastly recourced US military institution, based in Hawaii, ?50th State &
>since many years a powerful US military/naval centre ("Let's Remember Pearl
>Harbour" - but in WWII, Hawaii wasn't a US state!). Here a quote from Robin
>Hayden, (Public Relations Manager), an article written in 2000 (PDMIN, I
>understand was founded ca 1995): "PDMIN aims to foster open source
>information exchange and sharing between civilian and military
>organisations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations,
>international organizations and the like. To accomplish this goal, PDMIN's
>efforts are directed toward creating and promoting an environment that is
>conducive to the open exchange of information. The main objective is to fill
>information gaps between various organizations and agencies in these
>operations for better coordination and execution." - I believe, from the web
>information, that the Hawai centre is something like a (military)
>university, with training workshops, seminars etc. I get the impression it
>is a very well-established, well resourced (libraries, courses etc.)
>institute. It may go against the grain, at least for some in CASI, to
>cooperate with this kind of establishment, which, no doubt, has links with
>the Pentagon. One might ask,
>would such exchanges be at all useful, or would it be too much of a
>double-edged sword?
>
>If of any use, here is the address: PDMIN, Tripler Army Medical Center, 1
>Jarrett White Road (MCPA - DM), Tripler AMC, Hawaii, USA 96859 - 5000. -
>e-mail: pdmin@coe-dmha.org
>
>To establish any serious, meaningful, dialogue - if so desired - a polite,
>non-abusive approach may be the best way forward (put the fire & brimstone
>aside!). - But, I'm not advocating such a contact, I've no idea whether or
>not it might be productive. So please don't shoot the messenger! Aloha!
>
>Greetings, Bert G.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Sign-up for a FREE BT Broadband connection today!
>http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/btbroadband
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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>To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
>All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk
Tom
Thomas J. Nagy, Ph.D.
Assoc. Prof. of Expert Systems
George Washington Univeristy Sch. of Business & Public Mgt.
Washington, D.C. 20052
home.gwu.edu/~nagy
_______________________________________________
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All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk