BandAid, meet Sucking Chest Wound

Here's an odd one - Iraq: Bill proposed to ban toy guns

Iraqi lawmakers are working on a draft bill to ban importing toy guns and fireworks, hoping to curb increasingly aggressive behavior among children who have grown up amid real war, a lawmaker said Tuesday.

So, the good news is that these people are in every country.

The not-so-good news is that as of earlier this month, the Iraqi government is still struggling terribly to meet the benchmarks for government progress set forth as the "way forward" for their country.

But as long as they're progressing toward meaningless nannyism, perhaps they'll garner some more support from folks on the left in this country.

"The culture of violence has prevailed in our society and controlled the Iraqi family and that it has affected the culture of children," said Samira al-Moussawi, head of the parliamentary committee on children and women, which is preparing the legislation.

Good lord.

The bar is OPEN

I bolted out of class like a scalded cat. I ran three miles to ward off guilt, then schlepped the laptop over here. Check this out:



Yes, folks, this appears to be the last bar in the DoD where one can drink and smoke. And there's non-restricted internet. It's wonderful.

The class I'm in is not really worth comment, but it's over next week. So that's a plus.

In other happy news, the Mister swears he launched my paperwork to the CMP today second-day air (for guaranteed Monday delivery). So I cross my fingers and hope I get drawn for one of the Saginaw variants...

Yeah - that's going to be a few extra drills I'l have to dig up if I get picked, but still...

Still out here

I'm hanging out in a parking lot at my deep south training location. The all-ranks club here provides free wi-fi that is NOT restricted by the Army. However, the ranks club appears to be open three days a week. At least they left the wi-fi on.

The class is...well...about what you'd expect out of a professional education course for an Army that needs every warm body in uniform. Not real challenging.

Here's a sign outside the building we're in. It's for another class - fortunately, we are not being forced to tote rifles around, but they are. I apologize for the poor quality - it's a camera phone shot.



I really hope you can make out the bottommost word in quotes. If not, it's "LIVE." I am forced to wonder a little bit about any education system that requires folks to practice clearing weapons in a manner that's apparently inconsistent with how they'd clear them of live ammo.

Then again, the Army seems to routinely change its mind about the best way to clear an M4/M16, so there's always room for...interpretation? Or something?

There are some Navy folks here who are being...reprogrammed. Or whatever the term is for the training they give Sailors who are coming over to do Army work in Iraq. We don't have any real contact with them, but they don't seem overwhelmingly concerned or despondent, which I think is positive.

OK. I'm off to try to hunt down a cold beer before the exchange closes. Y'all take care. I'll be back to you reasonably soon (perhaps when they open the stupid club).

Some things never change

Including this one - I'm sitting outside a southern airport with a few guys with short hair and pile of green baggage, waiting on some promised "shuttle," smoking cigarettes and wondering if the shuttle would show up if I ran inside for coffee.

Who am I kidding? Of course it would.