Lot's of different pics of this sign.

Lot's of different pics of this sign.
"I don't make hell for nobody. I'm only the instrument of a laughing providence. Sometimes I don't like it myself, but I couldn't help it if I was born smart."

1st Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden.
"From here to Eternity"

Paul Valery

"You are in love with intelligence, until it frightens you. For your ideas are terrifying and your hearts are faint. Your acts of pity and cruelty are absurd, committed with no calm, as if they were irresistible. Finally, you fear blood more and more. Blood and time."

The Wisdom of the Ages

"When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed',"

Mikhail Kalashnikov
"Here lies the bravest soldier I've seen since my mirror got grease on it."

Zapp Brannigan

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A Correction


I've got some loose ends to tie up at present.
I'm a bit surprised that the vise-grip and the amputation posts drew so much comment (for me).
The VG thing, I can understand. We've had these brain-dead capitalists around for a long time.
Now, the amputation thing was just as I presented it. I'd found out something interesting and referred to it.
I never thought that there might be someone who's "pro-amputation".
Well, I guess that's not so bad - as opposed to death.
What the issue seems to be is more of a matter of; "Amputations that happened after 9/11 are judged by a different standard - anything that happened before is irrelevant."
In any case, it turns out - I was wrong.

I wrote; "the casualty lists for the "Bushwars" (my new term - subscribe - collect them all!) contain a higher percentage of amputations than those of any other American conflict since the civil war..."
After being taken to task by Greg for not proving my thesis to his satisfaction - over the course of the 23 words above that are germane to the issue I was compelled to go back to the source.


Turns out we could have avoided that little exchange entirely because, when I went back and revisited the article, I found that the actual quote differs from my first interpretation on a few key points.
The actual quote is from an article referring to a recent book by Dr. Ronald J. Glasser (365 Days).
Glasser had been an Army surgeon in Japan from 1968 on. The whole concept of "war injury" sort of caught him up.
The quote:

"Glasser's life was utterly changed. He is today, more than 40 years on, still wedded to those wounded in war: he recently wrote another book, Wounded: Vietnam To Iraq. Wherein we learn that there have been more amputations in Iraq than in any American conflict since the Civil War."

Okay, to you especially, Greg, so sorry to have gotten wrong; A. that the statement only included Iraq - not Afghanistan and... B. that it was the total numbers of amputations, not a proportion.
More amputations have come about from Little George's Big Adventure in Iraq than from... Desert Storm, Viet Nam, Korea, World War Two or World War One.
Now that's a pretty impressive thing, mostly because all those folks would likely have been dead otherwise.
Or - in a different scenario - they never would have left the country and would now be living in boxes wondering why their jobs went to China but - wait for it - with four functioning limbs.
That'd be pretty cool too and the country would have a shitpot more money right now.
Also Greg, don't forget, this is a budget issue as well.
Here's another factoid - it's got a poorly thought-out conclusion too:
In the state budget of Mississippi for 1866, 20% was set aside to buy artificial limbs.
But that stuff from back then doesn't matter.
It's different now.


I threw in the illustrations of the prosperous post-war life of one Alfred Stratton, who we first saw in the earlier post.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You see the story last Sunday on 60 minutes? The one about the bomb squads in Afganistan. Gutsy guys doing insane missions every day.

Narrator cited that WW1&2 were mostly artillary caused wounds, VN-- small arms wounds, and the Iraq and Afghanistan from roadside bombs. The muslim terrorist learned from the vietcong on employing these tactits while the pentagon didn't seem to learn the
lessons they should have-- sadly.

A great 1st hand account is in the book A Hundred Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Calvaryman in Vietnam, 1967-68

The History Channel has been running a series this week on WW2,
something like only 4% of the wounded that made it into the field hospitals alive, died, gruesome color photos, but interesting stories.

Anonymous said...

Thus Said Clueless Brock

"More amputations have come about from Little George's Big Adventure in Iraq than from... Desert Storm, Viet Nam, Korea, World War Two or World War One.
Now that's a pretty impressive thing, mostly because all those folks would likely have been dead otherwise."

Take a look at this---> start at page 12 on this report from the Congressional Research Service

American War and Military Operations
Casualties: Lists and Statistics

Anne Leland
Information Research Specialist

Mari-Jana "M-J" Oboroceanu
Information Research Specialist
September 15, 2009



http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf

Factoid indeed---gimme a break

Dan brock said...

You got a break when I read your shit.
Now that is interesting and, taking your input at face value, the statement of Dr. Glasser - who has a reputation as a physician and an author to maintain - might be a better recipient for your keen-eyed criticism.
I don't pretend to provide any "source material". Anyone who puts me in a bibliography does so at their own risk.
So, I'm obviously, and by my own admission, a dilletante.
I'm only out to flog knives - and occasionally provoke the "intelligent response".
So given your pious regard for the facts, I suggest that you write to Glasser (his publisher will forward it but a brilliant researcher like you has got to know that). I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you.
Or, write yourself a book. It'd be stupid to waste such insights sniping at clueless, little me - ya big intellectual bully.
In closing, comments signed "anonymous" drive me nuts - they can't be told apart.
I'm very close to not printing them and I don't want to do that.
Really show some imagination - call yourself "brockhater" I don't give a shit.
Oh, and your favorite president really did fuck up the world.
Sorry

Anonymous said...

I see you're taking criticism
well, just pointing out that your posting an obvious obsession with hating a has been leader is based on falsehood. Kinda like going to war under false pretense. Both political groups in the US are waging a campaign of misinformation, gotta verify everything these days--really-
not being "pious" just the facts.

I just see an Ad hominem argument as a logical fallacy. I suppose so much for "intelligent response".

You want origional--try this-
While in europe during the middle of the "Bush War", as you
call it, the overwhelming conclusion that I heard time and again was that we, the US got
suckered into invading Iraq by the Israel's feeding us tainted intel.
Theres much more but with out verifing I won't go further..history might tell the truth in time. And the US media has yet to even explore that story but it was everywhere else in the world..

If true it was pretty smart at least in the short term on their part. I would bet they wanted for us to hit Iran
while we were at it. Sign me the "sparrow" or just "S"

Do something on switchblades...they seem kinda neat, but never had one.

Oh yea your source was pretty close, the real evilness of this war is in the detail that somethin like nearly 1 in 4 wounds ends in an amputation.. S

Dan brock said...

Yeah, I definitely have my moments.
Sorry to have come off as such a dick.
I just am sick of reading conservative commentary regarding the shallowness of my patriotism, my lily-livered views on whatever and so on - all without knowing anything about me.
Lashed out. Sorry again.
In retrospect I beleive I accurately quoted an article which accurately quoted a book reviewer who misquoted the author.
Which means; my first interpretation was correct and I should have left it at that.
I will admit to a, far too brief, search for just the figures you linked to.
Should've gone farther.
Switchblades are cool. I have one that my son gave me that I fondle from time to time.
The mechanism seems ridiculously simple compared to all the cute "folders" out now.
So, Mr. Sparrow, all the best.

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