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Front Page: Phelps Breaks Gold Record, Russian Convoy Violates Truce, Contractors Cost US $85 Billion
- Phelps Breaks Gold Record: US swimmer Michael Phelps has broken the record for most Olympic gold won by scoring his 10th and 11th in a double victory in races today. A win in the 200m butterfly gave him his 4th gold for these Olympics, keeping him on track to take home eight golds for these games. The most golds ever won prior to Phelps was nine.
- Russian Convoy Violates Truce: A Russian military convoy has moved deep into Georgia today in violation of a new truce agreement.
Shocking: Bad Electrical Work Killing Troops in Iraq
The death of a Green Beret in Iraq, electrocuted while showering this past January, finally attracted the attention of the Pentagon and US lawmakers to the issue of shoddy and dangerous electrical work on US bases in Iraq. At one building complex, soldiers have complained of electrical shocks in their living quarters daily.
For millions of dollars, private contractors have upgraded Iraqi buildings, including the electrical systems, that house American troops.
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Private Security Contractors Gone Wild in Afghanistan
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got a letter on Tuesday from Project on Government Oversight (POGO), and I’m sure she didn’t like what she saw. It was reported that private security contractors ArmorGroup North America guarding the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, have been behaving not like professionals responsible for keeping American government workers safe, but like crazed frat boys on a particularly debaucherous Spring break.
What have they been up to?
Iraqi Women Escape With Modern Underground Railroad
Yesterday I came across an article about an untold consequence of the war in Iraq — the instability is causing harm to unprotected women. The Huffington Post piece explains that until the US invasion, rape was relatively rare in Iraq. Now women are the targets of violence, including rape, perpetrated by members of armed Islamist groups, Iraqi government forces, foreign soldiers, and private military security contractors.
Front Page: Death Toll Rises After Italian Earthquake
- Italy's prime minister announced that 207 people have been confirmed dead and 15 are still missing, after a 6.3 earthquake hit the city of L'Aquila yesterday. About 100,000 have been left homeless. — Wall Street Journal
- The University of North Carolina defeated Michigan State last night to win the national college basketball title.
Front Page: A Chance For Peace in Gaza
- A three-hour cease-fire in Gaza left hope that peace between Hamas and Israel can be reached, but there is no guarantee. — CBS on YouTube
- The Red Cross reports it found at least 15 bodies and several children, who were emaciated but alive, in a row of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip. Officials accused the Israeli military of preventing ambulances from reaching the bombed-out site for four days.
$23 Billion Could Be the Cost of War Profiteering in Iraq
$23 billion has been lost, stolen, or not properly accounted for in Iraq, according to a BBC News investigation. BBC claims that private contractors have exploited the conflict and reconstruction in a potentially criminal manner. There are 70 pending cases against private US companies for war profiteering, but the details of these cases are being kept mum under a gag order.
Everyone Has Contact or a Contract With US Military
This is a book I will be picking up — The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, by historian Nick Turse. Apparently it's impossible to own an i-Pod and be a true pacifist.
The Pentagon has significant contracts with companies ranging from Starbucks, to PepsiCo, to Nestle, to Apple, and Google.
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