Volume 2 Issue 35
March 21, 2003
Shock and Awe
The war heats up, away messages come into their own, and Greg's NCAA Pool drowns
Very busy day at work for me, so I'm sorry that the article section is shorter than usual. I'll be pulling things all weekend, so you can be sure Monday will be jam packed. If circumstances and time warrant, I'll post special updates on-line at http://www.fromtheswamp.com, check it out periodically over the weekend!
Last night, while watching TV, I was amazed at the reporters live from the battlefields, reporting as they moved with the units they have been embedded with. It seems that as long as they aren't giving away secrets, the military isn't blacking them out much, and we're getting reporting live from the front that we've never had before. Compared to the censorship the military imposed in 1991, I think everyone can now agree that this new system is working much better. We'll see though as the American forces face more resistance, whether this freedom continues.
I was also fascinated by a discussion on ABC last night about the military supply lines, such as getting fuel to the invading forces. Interestingly, all the equipment in a given unit, from tanks to choppers, take the same kind of fuel to make things easier. To help ensure that troops don't out run their supply lines, the US is actually building a pipeline from Kuwait up into Iraq, and as they take more territory, they just plan to keep building the pipeline. As a last resort, battalion commanders and small forces have even been issued cash to go to a gas station and buy gas if necessary! Can you imagine the attendant when a tank pulls in? Talk about shock and awe...
Speaking of "shock and awe", looks like that stage is underway, which should increase the anti-war protests not only in the US but across the world. Fortunately, I'm happy to hear many Democrats, including a few of the Presidential candidates, continue to question the President's governance, while supporting the troops. I agree that now we have to finish the job and take the place over, but I still also agree that this war could in the long run be very damaging to the US, and that there are many questions about the way the President has managed the situation up until the outbreak of war.
As someone who was against the war, I had an interesting observation in a conversation with another person against the war, as we talked about enjoying watching the bombing runs on TV and figuring out the equipment and units, etc...I guess maybe it's just a guy thing, or perhaps the video game generation sees it on TV and follows it. It's worth remembering that real people are putting themselves on the line to do this, and that real Innocent people on the ground may be dying because of it.
Finally, I must say I was impressed with the intelligence that apparently allowed us to directly attack Saddam Hussein on Wednesday Night/Thursday morning. It looks more and more like he was there, he may have been injured, and that the command structure in Iraq is falling apart. What a great strike if we took care of most of this on the first day! But more importantly, it's quite amazing that we were able to find out not only where Saddam was, but where he would be for a few hours. Despite our problems with intelligence lately, this would be a big breakthrough for them. And even if he survived (which looks likely now), Saddam must be really spooked that someone near him has become a traitor...
WAR NEWS:
The First Raid...who was killed? Sources say that Saddam Hussein was in the bunker when it was attack on Thursday Morning -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A682-2003Mar20.html
And witnesses say they saw Saddam being taken out of the bunker on a stretcher afterwords -
http://a.abcnews.com/sections/world/World/iraq_saddam_030321 .html
Other sources say that Hussein's son Uday was killed in the attack -
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030321-31280052.htm
Saddam was in that video on Iraqi TV yesterday, but who knows when it was made -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/21/international/worldspecial /22CND-SADD.html
The Battle: The US has seized the southern ports, as well as two important air bases in the west -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/21/sprj.irq.airfields /index.html
The Protests: San Francisco has been crippled by protests -
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/21/MN277582.DTL
A Bay Area man fell to his death from the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday, apparently accidentally falling during a protest. And here's the twist...the same man had survived a fall from the bridge in similar situations in the 1980's! -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/technology/circuits/20away .html?8hpib
In Washington: The town remains nervous...though the rain was a bigger problem - http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/21/international/worldspecial /21CND-MOOD.html
Have we been here before? An excellent article in the San Francisco Chronicle on the 1991 ground war, which was the largest US military engagement since D-Day. A great success, but now many are asking, for what?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/20/MN36687.DTL
The other insanity...sorry so little, such a busy day today that I didn't get too much time to do reading!
The Chinese Flu: Doctors may have found a way to treat the mystery disease -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2871655.stm
More than just away: The culture of "away" messages on Internet Message programs like AOL IM have spurned a new subculture of language and personal communication. Seriously, professors are studying it and all -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/technology/circuits/20away .html?8hpib
And finally...beaten, but not destroyed...Greg's March Madness Picks!
OK, so things didn't go too well yesterday...today better see some improvements or my pool entry is screwed...here we go, sorry I didn't get them up before game time:
Early Games:
#3 Syracuse OVER #14 Manhattan: Syracuse should make the Sweet 16
#1 Texas OVER #16 UNC Asheville: A losing record does not the first 16 over 1 upset make...
#7 St. Joe's OVER #10 Auburn: Damn it...another Sweet 16 team of mine goes down. Guess it's just the "Unlucky 13" now...
#1 Kentucky OVER #16 IUPUI: Kentucky wins it all on my bracket
And this afternoon's games:
Midwest Region
2:50pm ET - #8 Oregon OVER #9 Utah: The Ducks live to get slaughtered by Kentucky
7:10pm ET - #2 Pittsburgh (26-4) OVER #15 Wagner (21-10): Pittsburgh should be in the Midwest regional final.
9:30pm ET - #7 Indiana (20-12) OVER #10 Alabama (17-11)
East Region
2:35pm ET - #11 Penn (22-5) OVER #6 Oklahoma State (21-9): The quakers are better than many think, but won't be able to overcome Syracuse in the 2nd round
2:45pm ET - #15 East Tennessee St (20-10) OVER #2 Wake Forest (24-5): Don't ask...it sounded like a good idea at the time.
7:20pm ET - #4 Louisville (24-6)OVER #13 Austin Peay (23-7): Of course a whole city will beat just one guy!
9:40pm ET - #12 Butler (25-5) OVER #5 Mississippi State (21-9): Of course, every time I predict an upset it doesn't happen, and everytime I go with the seeds...they lose!
9:45pm ET - #6 Maryland (19-9) OVER #11 UNC Wilmington (24-6): Boy, wouldn't it suck for UNC-Chapel Hill? I mean, NC State, UNC-Ashville, UNC-Wilmington, all got in, and they didn't!
South Region
2:50pm ET - #8 LSU (21-10) OVER #9 Purdue (18-10): LSU loses to Texas in 2nd round
7:10pm ET - #10 Colorado (20-11) OVER #7 Michigan State (19-12): Is 10 over 7 really an upset?
7:25pm ET - #3 Xaiver (25-5) OVER #14 Troy State (26-4): OK, Xaiver is a final 4 team for me...they better the hell win
9:30pm ET - #2 Florida (24-7) OVER #15 Sam Houston St (23-6)
Record as of Noon Today: 10-6 (.625) OK, not great...but it gets worse when you realize I can't win some 2nd round matches now...I go down to 24.9%. Ugh.
Have a great weekend!
