Sunday, 11 November 2012

Brian David Stevens: They That Are Left

Click the caption button on the bottom right next to change quality button and select language from multi subtitles (Arabic Bulgarian Czech German Greek English Spanish Estonian Finish French Croatian Italian Bosnian Dutch Portuguese Russian Slovenian Serbian Swedish)
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Takes me back to a great night about 8 or 9 years ago watching Asian Dub Foundation soundtrack this film on a beautiful summer evening, which was also my birthday, at the Myer Music Bowl here in Melbourne.

Lost to History: Missing War Records Complicate Benefit Claims by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans

A strange thing happened when Christopher DeLara filed for disability benefits after his tour in Iraq: The U.S. Army said it had no records showing he had ever been overseas.
DeLara had searing memories of his combat experiences. A friend bled to death before his eyes. He saw an insurgent shoot his commander in the head. And, most hauntingly, he recalled firing at an Iraqi boy who had attacked his convoy.
The Army said it could find no field records documenting any of these incidents.
DeLara appealed, fighting for five years before a judge accepted the testimony of an officer in his unit. By then he had divorced, was briefly homeless and had sought solace in drugs and alcohol.
DeLara's case is part of a much larger problem that has plagued the U.S. military since the 1990 Gulf War: a failure to create and maintain the types of field records that have documented American conflicts since the Revolutionary War.
A joint investigation by ProPublica and The Seattle Times has found that the recordkeeping breakdown was especially acute in the early years of the Iraq war, when insurgents deployed improvised bombs with devastating effects on U.S. soldiers. The military has also lost or destroyed records from Afghanistan, according to officials and previously undisclosed documents.
The loss of field records — after-action write-ups, intelligence reports and other day-to-day accounts from the war zones — has far-reaching implications. It has complicated efforts by soldiers like DeLara to claim benefits. And it makes it harder for military strategists to learn the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, two of the nation's most protracted wars.
Military officers and historians say field records provide the granular details that, when woven together, tell larger stories hidden from participants in the day-to-day confusion of combat.
The Army says it has taken steps to improve handling of records — including better training and more emphasis from top commanders. But officials familiar with the problem said the missing material may never be retrieved.
"I can't even start to describe the dimensions of the problem," said Conrad C. Crane, director of the U.S. Army's Military History Institute. "I fear we're never really going to know clearly what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan because we don't have the records..."

Continue reading

HERE

Don't Get Me Started - Stewart Lee: What's So Wrong About Blasphemy?

Stewart Lee talks about blasphemy and how religions deal with criticism. Talking to various commentators, including Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti, journalist Polly Toynbee and writer Alan Moore.

Flume - Ezra

On The Table Ep. 5: Roger Waters

Lest We Forget

Hospital flag flown at Tobruk (Austin Repat Hospital)

Fairfield
(Photos: TimN)

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

In Memory of

Private ARTHUR JOHN HADDOCK

2766529, 6th Bn., Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)

who died age 20

on 24 April 1944

Son of Robert Arthur and Catherine Haddock,

of Orrell, Bootle, Lancashire.

Remembered with honour

CASSINO WAR CEMETERY

[REPOST]

George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC

In the light of the fact that the director-general is also the editor-in-chief and ultimately responsible for all content; and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the Newsnight film broadcast on Friday 2nd November, I have decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down from the post of director-general.
When appointed to the role, with 23 years' experience as a producer and leader at the BBC, I was confident the trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post, and the right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. However, the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader.

To have been the director-general of the BBC even for a short period, and in the most challenging of circumstances, has been a great honour.
While there is understandable public concern over a number of issues well covered in the media – which I'm confident will be addressed by the review process – we must not lose sight of the fact that the BBC is full of people of the greatest talent and the highest integrity. That's what will continue to make it the finest broadcaster in the world."

John Humphrey's interview with George Entwhistle
(Full transcript)

Tinariwen - Salle Pleyel Paris 02.11.2012 (Complete Concert)

Music's 15 Worst TV Cameos Ever

Back in the early '90s, punk pioneer Iggy Pop appeared on a few episodes of Nickelodeon's cult classic series, "The Adventures of Pete & Pete." In the cheesy cameo, the veteran rocker played Michelle Trachtenberg's father, the aptly-named "Pop," who jumped on stage at the school dance to sing his daughter a song. Oddly enough, Iggy's cameo wasn't the only one in that episode of "Pete & Pete" -- the band that had been playing before he jumped on stage was led by a Luscious Jackson member.

For the rest of the 'Music's 15 Worst TV Cameos Ever'
see HERE