This was on page A1 of the Toronto Globe and Mail in 2001, when the war was only a few months old. .
Published on Thursday, January 3, 2001 in the Toronto Globe & Mail
Thousands of Afghans Likely Killed in Bombings
by Murray Campbell
The Afghan village of Qalaye Niazi vanished in a rain of bombs, with only craters, remnants of mud walls and scraps of flesh and hair to show that it once existed.
The people who used to live there say as many as 107 civilians died when U.S. warplanes, including a B-52 bomber, swooped down early Sunday.
The Pentagon says the village in eastern Afghanistan was a haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban loyalists and that, in any event, the estimate of casualties is "unfounded."
Such conflicting information has been a staple of the three-month-old Afghan war and, critics say, has served to obscure the toll exacted from civilians.
There is no agreement yet about how many ordinary Afghans have died from the U.S.-led bombardment, but one American academic estimates that the toll stands at 4,050 -- surpassing the number of people killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
The Pentagon has played down the number of civilian dead, dismissing many early reports as Taliban exaggerations.
The bombing campaign is controversial in Afghanistan, with some members of the interim government suggesting it be stopped. Washington has refuses, and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai said this week the bombing must continue, to "finish terrorists completely."
The bombing campaign remains largely uncontroversial in the United States, where President George W. Bush's war on terrorism enjoys strong support.
Marc Herold, a University of New Hampshire economics professor who has monitored the campaign, said yesterday that U.S. officials again have demonstrated their ability to manage the news and mainstream U.S. media have shown their willingness to be managed.
"It's been a concerted effort to keep this kind of news off the front pages," he said. "The record of the Bush administration is pretty clear: This is a non-topic."
Prof. Herold has gathered media reports (many of them unverified) from around the world for his estimate that 4,050 Afghan civilians have been killed in the bombing. Other organizations, whose monitoring has been less rigorous, offer lower figures.
Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based organization, offers an estimate of at least 1,000 civilian deaths, while the Reuters news agency said that perhaps 982 people have died in 14 incidents.
Prof. Herold's estimate, updated to include Qalaye Niazi and four other recent incidents, follows his initial calculation three weeks ago that 3,767 Afghan civilians had died since the first bombs fell on Oct. 7.
He said he decided to study the effects of the bombing because he suspects that modern weaponry is not as precise as advertised, and because he found hardly any mention of civilian casualties in the U.S. media.
He noted there have been news reports that Washington was spending millions of dollars to buy exclusive rights to accurate satellite images of the areas under bombardment. "Preventing the images of human suffering caused by the U.S. bombing from reaching U.S. audiences creates precisely what the Pentagon and Bush seek -- a war without witnesses."
Sidney Jones, Human Rights Watch's Asia director, suggests there are several reasons for the muted reaction to the Afghan civilian toll.
She said other Afghan topics -- the rebuilding of the country and the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- crowd the news agenda.
© 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc
Friday, December 10, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
In Japan, many of the sweets are simply colourless or very pale colours. I don't know what exactly they use, but works for me.
After years of insisting that the artificial food dyes in those technicolor treats are perfectly safe, the FDA has changed course: Maybe Yellow 5, Red 40 and Blue 1 really do cause kids to bounce off the walls.
The agency has announced that it will hold a public hearing in March to discuss the link between food colorings and hyperactivity in kids, the diagnosis of which has been on the upswing for at least the last 13 years.
For food companies, dye removal recommendations or — heaven forbid — warning labels would be a huge headache. In March, FDA Week quoted an attorney saying that the industry’s response to any labeling changes would be to “go ballistic.” That’s because food companies now use some 15 million pounds of synthetic dyes in products ranging from breakfast cereal, mac & cheese, fruit roll ups, fruit drinks and baked goods. They’re much cheaper and easier to work with than natural alternatives.
But the good news is that replacement is eminently doable: with the British government and European Union zeroing in on artificial colors, many companies already sell chemical dye-free version of their products overseas. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has petitioned the FDA to ban artificial food dyes, reports that McDonald’s (MCD) Strawberry Sundaes are colored with Red 40 in the US, but strawberry extract in the UK, and that the British version of Coke’s (KO) Fanta orange soda gets its bright color from pumpkin and carrot extract.
And there’s a bigger picture: The FDA’s change of heart and public hearing, while preliminary, may mark a regulatory and scientific tipping point. The British government has asked food manufacturers to remove artificial colors and in the European Union food products containing dyes now come with a warning label that the food “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Here in the US, companies like Pepsi’s (PEP) Frito-Lay unit have already started working to swap out synthetic colors for natural ones. Other manufacturers would be wise to follow suit.
The problem with artificial food dyes is that not only do they turn your food — and your child’s mouth — the color of anti-freeze, but they may also be contributing to your son’s inability to sit in a chair for more than 10 seconds and his trouble doing basic math problems. Colorings have been suspected of triggering behavioral problems since the 70’s, but recent research has given the theory more weight. A study done at the University of Southampton in England in 2007 showed that food dyes (and the preservative sodium benzoate) can have a manic effect in as little as an hour.
Some food dyes have also been linked to cancer in lab rats, and one in particular — red 3 — was acknowledged by the FDA back in 1985 to be a carcinogen, but the agency was blocked from taking action by the USDA.
Food manufacturers love using artificial colors. In an article in the industry journal Prepared Foods, Rohit Tibrewala, an executive at Roha USA, one of the leading makers of food colorings, explains why they’re better than the natural, fruit and vegetable-derived alternatives:
Providing intense uniform color, [synthetic colors] typically retain color longer than naturally derived versions, while allowing for a variety of blues and greens not easily available naturally. They are easier to source and less expensive. In order to stabilize natural colors, often additives are needed; even then, they are not as stable. Since natural colors are crop-based, availability can be uncertain. For example, this year (2010), due to a shortage of carmine and turmeric, both costs increased almost 4-5 times over last year. Typically, naturally derived colors are 8-20 times more expensive than synthetic.
After years of insisting that the artificial food dyes in those technicolor treats are perfectly safe, the FDA has changed course: Maybe Yellow 5, Red 40 and Blue 1 really do cause kids to bounce off the walls.
The agency has announced that it will hold a public hearing in March to discuss the link between food colorings and hyperactivity in kids, the diagnosis of which has been on the upswing for at least the last 13 years.
For food companies, dye removal recommendations or — heaven forbid — warning labels would be a huge headache. In March, FDA Week quoted an attorney saying that the industry’s response to any labeling changes would be to “go ballistic.” That’s because food companies now use some 15 million pounds of synthetic dyes in products ranging from breakfast cereal, mac & cheese, fruit roll ups, fruit drinks and baked goods. They’re much cheaper and easier to work with than natural alternatives.
But the good news is that replacement is eminently doable: with the British government and European Union zeroing in on artificial colors, many companies already sell chemical dye-free version of their products overseas. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has petitioned the FDA to ban artificial food dyes, reports that McDonald’s (MCD) Strawberry Sundaes are colored with Red 40 in the US, but strawberry extract in the UK, and that the British version of Coke’s (KO) Fanta orange soda gets its bright color from pumpkin and carrot extract.
And there’s a bigger picture: The FDA’s change of heart and public hearing, while preliminary, may mark a regulatory and scientific tipping point. The British government has asked food manufacturers to remove artificial colors and in the European Union food products containing dyes now come with a warning label that the food “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Here in the US, companies like Pepsi’s (PEP) Frito-Lay unit have already started working to swap out synthetic colors for natural ones. Other manufacturers would be wise to follow suit.
The problem with artificial food dyes is that not only do they turn your food — and your child’s mouth — the color of anti-freeze, but they may also be contributing to your son’s inability to sit in a chair for more than 10 seconds and his trouble doing basic math problems. Colorings have been suspected of triggering behavioral problems since the 70’s, but recent research has given the theory more weight. A study done at the University of Southampton in England in 2007 showed that food dyes (and the preservative sodium benzoate) can have a manic effect in as little as an hour.
Some food dyes have also been linked to cancer in lab rats, and one in particular — red 3 — was acknowledged by the FDA back in 1985 to be a carcinogen, but the agency was blocked from taking action by the USDA.
Food manufacturers love using artificial colors. In an article in the industry journal Prepared Foods, Rohit Tibrewala, an executive at Roha USA, one of the leading makers of food colorings, explains why they’re better than the natural, fruit and vegetable-derived alternatives:
Providing intense uniform color, [synthetic colors] typically retain color longer than naturally derived versions, while allowing for a variety of blues and greens not easily available naturally. They are easier to source and less expensive. In order to stabilize natural colors, often additives are needed; even then, they are not as stable. Since natural colors are crop-based, availability can be uncertain. For example, this year (2010), due to a shortage of carmine and turmeric, both costs increased almost 4-5 times over last year. Typically, naturally derived colors are 8-20 times more expensive than synthetic.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wisconsin's Fallen
By The Associated Press lacrossetribune.com | Posted: Thursday, December 2, 2010 9:23 pm
MILWAUKEE — Nineteen Wisconsin residents have died as a result of service in Afghanistan. They are:
—Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis., died Nov. 29, 2010
—Army Spc. Scott T. Nagorski, 27, of Greenfield, Wis., died Nov. 14, 2010.
—Marine Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, died Oct. 13, 2010.
—Senior Airman Daniel Johnson, 23, who went to high school in Monona, Wis., died Oct. 5, 2010.
—Army Staff Sgt.Matthew West, 36, Conover, died Aug. 30, 2010
—Army Pfc. Adam Novak, 20, Prairie du Sac, died Aug. 27, 2010
—Army Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Waterloo, died May 18, 2010.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, 20, Fort Atkinson, died Jan. 10, 2010.
—Army Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller, 26, Little Chute, died Oct. 26, 2009.
—Army Sgt. Ryan C. Adams, 26, Rhinelander, died Oct. 2, 2009.
—Army Pvt. Steven T. Drees, 19, Peshtigo, died June 28, 2009.
—Army Sgt. Daniel James Thompson, 24, of Madison, died Feb. 24, 2009.
—Army 1st Lt. Nick A. Dewhirst, 25, of Onalaska, died July 20, 2008.
—Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard, 52, of Waukesha, died Sept. 8, 2006.
—Senior Airman Adam Servais, 23, of Onalaska, died Aug. 19, 2006.
—Army Staff Sgt. Patrick L. Lybert, 28, of Ladysmith, died June 21, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, died March 13, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Nass, 21, of Franklin, died Sept. 3, 2005.
—Army Spc. Robert Cook, 24, of Sun Prairie, died Jan. 29, 2004.
—————
Ninety-two members of the military from Wisconsin have died as a result of service in Iraq or associated with duties in Iraq. They are:
—Army Spc. Robert Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, died March 18, 2010.
—Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, of Mondovi, died Aug. 28, 2009.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Naseman, 36, of Racine, died May 22, 2009.
—Army Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, died April 21, 2008.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Dean Opicka, 29, of Waukesha, died April 14, 2008.
—Marine Cpl. Richard Nelson, 23, of Kenosha, died April 14, 2008.
—Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher S. Frost, 24, of Waukesha, died March 3, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Keith E. Lloyd, 26, of Milwaukee, died Jan. 12, 2008.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Pionk, 30, of Superior, died Jan. 9, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Timothy R. Hanson, 23, of Kenosha, died Jan. 7, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Jason F. Lemke, 30, of West Allis, died Jan. 5, 2008.
—Army 2nd Lt. Tracy Alger, 30, of New Auburn, died Nov. 1, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Louis A. Griese, 30, of Sturgeon Bay, died Oct. 31, 2007.
—Army Reserve Spc. Rachael L. Hugo, 24, of Madison, died Oct. 5, 2007.
—Army Capt. Derek Dobogai, 26, of Fond du Lac, died Aug. 22, 2007.
—Marine Cpl. Matthew Zindars, 21, Watertown, died July 24, 2007.
—Navy Chief Petty Officer Pat Wade, 38, Manawa, died July 17, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Tyler Kritz, 21, Eagle River, died June 3, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Jesse Albrecht, 31, Hager City, died May 18, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Scott Brown, 33, Brookfield, died May 18, 2007.
—Army Pfc. Nicholas E. Riehl, 21, Shiocton, died April 27, 2007.
—Army Staff Sgt. Robert Basham, 22, Kenosha, died April 14, 2007.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Harry H. Timberman, 20, Minong, died March 17, 2007.
—Army Pfc. Jon B. St. John II, 25, town of Vinland, killed Jan. 27, 2007.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Matus, 19, of Weyerhaeuser, killed Jan. 21, 2007.
—Army Spc. Matthew Tyler Grimm, 21, Wisconsin Rapids, killed Jan. 15, 2007.
—Marine Cpl. Josh Schmitz, 22, of Loyal, died Dec. 26, 2006.
—Army Private Evan A. Bixler, 21, of Racine, died Dec. 24, 2006.
—Marine Capt. Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, died Dec. 18, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Jesse D. Tillery, 19, of Vesper, died Dec. 2, 2006.
—Army Capt. Rhett W. Schiller, 26, of Waterford, died Nov. 16, 2006.
—Marine Sgt. Luke Zimmerman, 24, of Green Bay, died Oct. 27, 2006.
—Army Cpl. Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, died Aug. 27, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Shaun Novak, 21, of Two Rivers, died Aug. 27, 2006.
—Army Spc. Ryan Jopek, 20, of Merrill, died Aug. 1, 2006.
—Army Spc. 4 Steve Castner, 27, of Cedarburg, died July 24, 2006.
—Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime S. Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, died June 5, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Grant Allen Dampier, 25, of Merrill, died May 15, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Eric D. Clark, 22, of Pleasant Prairie, died May 11, 2006.
—Army Sgt. Nathan J. Vacho, 29, of Janesville, died May 5, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Eric A. Palmisano, 27, of Florence, died April 2, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Adam J. VanAlstine, 21, of Superior, died Feb. 25, 2006.
—Marine Sgt. Andy A. Stevens, 29, of Tomah, died Dec. 1, 2005
—Army Pfc. Anthony Alex Gaunky, 19, of Sparta, died Nov. 18, 2005.
—Army Spc. Benjamin A. Smith, 21, of Hudson, died Nov. 2, 2005.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew R. Kading, 32, of Madison, died Nov. 1, 2005.
—Army Spc. Michael Wendling, 20, of Mayville, died Sept. 26, 2005.
—Army Sgt. Andy Wallace, 25, of Oshkosh, died Sept. 26, 2005.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Trevor J. Diesing, 30, of Plum City, died Aug. 25, 2005.
—Marine Staff Sgt. Chad J. Simon, 32, of Monona, died Aug. 4, 2005.
—Army Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky, 28, of Oshkosh, died July 27, 2005.
—Army Spc. John O. Tollefson, 22, of Fond du Lac, died July 27, 2005.
—Army Spc. Charles A. Kaufman, 20, of Fairchild, died June 26, 2005.
—Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr., 24, of Stevens Point, died June 13, 2005.
—Army Spc. Eric Poelman, 21, of Racine, died June 5, 2005.
—Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Scott, 28, of Sun Prairie, died May 27, 2005.
—Sgt. Mark Maida, 22, of Madison, died May 26, 2005.
—Sgt. Andrew Bossert, 24, of Fountain City, died March 7, 2005.
—Sgt. 1st Class Donald W. Eacho, 38, of Black Creek, died March 4, 2005.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz, 22, of West Bend, died Feb. 5, 2005.
—Staff Sgt. Todd Olson, 36, of Loyal, of the Wisconsin National Guard, died Dec. 26, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Brent Vroman, 21, of Omro, died Dec. 13, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Richard D. Warner, 22, of Waukesha, died Dec. 13, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan Cantafio, 22, of Beaver Dam, died Nov. 25, 2004.
—Marine Sgt. Benjamin Edinger, 24, of Green Bay, died Nov. 23, 2004.
—Army Pfc. Isaiah Hunt 20, of Suamico, died Nov. 14, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Brian P. Prening, 24, of Sheboygan County, died Nov. 12, 2004.
—Army Reserves Staff Sgt. Todd R. Cornell, 38, of West Bend, died Nov. 9, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Bobby Warns, 23, of Waukesha, died Nov. 8, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Shane K. O’Donnell, 24, of DeForest, died Nov. 8, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Wyatt, 22, of Racine, died Oct. 12, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Andrew Halverson, 19, of Muscoda, died Oct. 9, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Adrian V. Soltau, 21, of Milwaukee, died Sept. 13, 2004.
—Army Staff Sgt. Stephen G. Martin, 39, of Rhinelander, died July 2, 2004.
—Army Sgt. Charles Kiser, 37, of Cleveland, died June 24, 2004.
—Army Spc. Michael McGlothin, 21, of Milwaukee, died April 17, 2004.
—Army Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, of New Berlin, died April 9, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Ryan Jerabek, 18, of Hobart, died April 6, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Jesse Thiry, 23, of Casco, died April 5, 2004.
—Army Pfc. Sean Schneider, 22, of Janesville, died March 29, 2004.
—Army Capt. John F. Kurth, 31, of Columbus, died March 13, 2004.
—Spc. Bert E. Hoyer, 23, an Army reservist from Ellsworth, died March 10, 2004.
—Spc. Nichole M. Frye, 19, an Army reservist from Lena, died Feb. 16, 2004.
—Maj. Christopher J. Splinter, 43, of Platteville, died Dec. 24, 2003.
—Army Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, 19, of Waupun, died Oct. 26, 2003.
—Army 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27, of Menomonie, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, of Amherst, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36, of Clintonville, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Spc. Paul J. Sturino, 21, of Rice Lake, died Sept. 22, 2003.
—Army Reservist Dan Gabrielson, 40, of Frederic, died July 9, 2003.
—Army Maj. Mathew Schram, 36, of Brookfield, died May 26, 2003.
—Marine Sgt. Kirk Straseskie, 23, of Beaver Dam, died May 19, 2003.
MILWAUKEE — Nineteen Wisconsin residents have died as a result of service in Afghanistan. They are:
—Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis., died Nov. 29, 2010
—Army Spc. Scott T. Nagorski, 27, of Greenfield, Wis., died Nov. 14, 2010.
—Marine Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, died Oct. 13, 2010.
—Senior Airman Daniel Johnson, 23, who went to high school in Monona, Wis., died Oct. 5, 2010.
—Army Staff Sgt.Matthew West, 36, Conover, died Aug. 30, 2010
—Army Pfc. Adam Novak, 20, Prairie du Sac, died Aug. 27, 2010
—Army Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Waterloo, died May 18, 2010.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, 20, Fort Atkinson, died Jan. 10, 2010.
—Army Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller, 26, Little Chute, died Oct. 26, 2009.
—Army Sgt. Ryan C. Adams, 26, Rhinelander, died Oct. 2, 2009.
—Army Pvt. Steven T. Drees, 19, Peshtigo, died June 28, 2009.
—Army Sgt. Daniel James Thompson, 24, of Madison, died Feb. 24, 2009.
—Army 1st Lt. Nick A. Dewhirst, 25, of Onalaska, died July 20, 2008.
—Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard, 52, of Waukesha, died Sept. 8, 2006.
—Senior Airman Adam Servais, 23, of Onalaska, died Aug. 19, 2006.
—Army Staff Sgt. Patrick L. Lybert, 28, of Ladysmith, died June 21, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, died March 13, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Nass, 21, of Franklin, died Sept. 3, 2005.
—Army Spc. Robert Cook, 24, of Sun Prairie, died Jan. 29, 2004.
—————
Ninety-two members of the military from Wisconsin have died as a result of service in Iraq or associated with duties in Iraq. They are:
—Army Spc. Robert Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, died March 18, 2010.
—Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, of Mondovi, died Aug. 28, 2009.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Naseman, 36, of Racine, died May 22, 2009.
—Army Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, died April 21, 2008.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Dean Opicka, 29, of Waukesha, died April 14, 2008.
—Marine Cpl. Richard Nelson, 23, of Kenosha, died April 14, 2008.
—Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher S. Frost, 24, of Waukesha, died March 3, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Keith E. Lloyd, 26, of Milwaukee, died Jan. 12, 2008.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Pionk, 30, of Superior, died Jan. 9, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Timothy R. Hanson, 23, of Kenosha, died Jan. 7, 2008.
—Army Pfc. Jason F. Lemke, 30, of West Allis, died Jan. 5, 2008.
—Army 2nd Lt. Tracy Alger, 30, of New Auburn, died Nov. 1, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Louis A. Griese, 30, of Sturgeon Bay, died Oct. 31, 2007.
—Army Reserve Spc. Rachael L. Hugo, 24, of Madison, died Oct. 5, 2007.
—Army Capt. Derek Dobogai, 26, of Fond du Lac, died Aug. 22, 2007.
—Marine Cpl. Matthew Zindars, 21, Watertown, died July 24, 2007.
—Navy Chief Petty Officer Pat Wade, 38, Manawa, died July 17, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Tyler Kritz, 21, Eagle River, died June 3, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Jesse Albrecht, 31, Hager City, died May 18, 2007.
—Army Sgt. Scott Brown, 33, Brookfield, died May 18, 2007.
—Army Pfc. Nicholas E. Riehl, 21, Shiocton, died April 27, 2007.
—Army Staff Sgt. Robert Basham, 22, Kenosha, died April 14, 2007.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Harry H. Timberman, 20, Minong, died March 17, 2007.
—Army Pfc. Jon B. St. John II, 25, town of Vinland, killed Jan. 27, 2007.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Matus, 19, of Weyerhaeuser, killed Jan. 21, 2007.
—Army Spc. Matthew Tyler Grimm, 21, Wisconsin Rapids, killed Jan. 15, 2007.
—Marine Cpl. Josh Schmitz, 22, of Loyal, died Dec. 26, 2006.
—Army Private Evan A. Bixler, 21, of Racine, died Dec. 24, 2006.
—Marine Capt. Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, died Dec. 18, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Jesse D. Tillery, 19, of Vesper, died Dec. 2, 2006.
—Army Capt. Rhett W. Schiller, 26, of Waterford, died Nov. 16, 2006.
—Marine Sgt. Luke Zimmerman, 24, of Green Bay, died Oct. 27, 2006.
—Army Cpl. Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, died Aug. 27, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Shaun Novak, 21, of Two Rivers, died Aug. 27, 2006.
—Army Spc. Ryan Jopek, 20, of Merrill, died Aug. 1, 2006.
—Army Spc. 4 Steve Castner, 27, of Cedarburg, died July 24, 2006.
—Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime S. Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, died June 5, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Grant Allen Dampier, 25, of Merrill, died May 15, 2006.
—Army Pfc. Eric D. Clark, 22, of Pleasant Prairie, died May 11, 2006.
—Army Sgt. Nathan J. Vacho, 29, of Janesville, died May 5, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Eric A. Palmisano, 27, of Florence, died April 2, 2006.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Adam J. VanAlstine, 21, of Superior, died Feb. 25, 2006.
—Marine Sgt. Andy A. Stevens, 29, of Tomah, died Dec. 1, 2005
—Army Pfc. Anthony Alex Gaunky, 19, of Sparta, died Nov. 18, 2005.
—Army Spc. Benjamin A. Smith, 21, of Hudson, died Nov. 2, 2005.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew R. Kading, 32, of Madison, died Nov. 1, 2005.
—Army Spc. Michael Wendling, 20, of Mayville, died Sept. 26, 2005.
—Army Sgt. Andy Wallace, 25, of Oshkosh, died Sept. 26, 2005.
—Army Sgt. 1st Class Trevor J. Diesing, 30, of Plum City, died Aug. 25, 2005.
—Marine Staff Sgt. Chad J. Simon, 32, of Monona, died Aug. 4, 2005.
—Army Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky, 28, of Oshkosh, died July 27, 2005.
—Army Spc. John O. Tollefson, 22, of Fond du Lac, died July 27, 2005.
—Army Spc. Charles A. Kaufman, 20, of Fairchild, died June 26, 2005.
—Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr., 24, of Stevens Point, died June 13, 2005.
—Army Spc. Eric Poelman, 21, of Racine, died June 5, 2005.
—Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Scott, 28, of Sun Prairie, died May 27, 2005.
—Sgt. Mark Maida, 22, of Madison, died May 26, 2005.
—Sgt. Andrew Bossert, 24, of Fountain City, died March 7, 2005.
—Sgt. 1st Class Donald W. Eacho, 38, of Black Creek, died March 4, 2005.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz, 22, of West Bend, died Feb. 5, 2005.
—Staff Sgt. Todd Olson, 36, of Loyal, of the Wisconsin National Guard, died Dec. 26, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Brent Vroman, 21, of Omro, died Dec. 13, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Richard D. Warner, 22, of Waukesha, died Dec. 13, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan Cantafio, 22, of Beaver Dam, died Nov. 25, 2004.
—Marine Sgt. Benjamin Edinger, 24, of Green Bay, died Nov. 23, 2004.
—Army Pfc. Isaiah Hunt 20, of Suamico, died Nov. 14, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Brian P. Prening, 24, of Sheboygan County, died Nov. 12, 2004.
—Army Reserves Staff Sgt. Todd R. Cornell, 38, of West Bend, died Nov. 9, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Bobby Warns, 23, of Waukesha, died Nov. 8, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Shane K. O’Donnell, 24, of DeForest, died Nov. 8, 2004.
—Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Wyatt, 22, of Racine, died Oct. 12, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Andrew Halverson, 19, of Muscoda, died Oct. 9, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Adrian V. Soltau, 21, of Milwaukee, died Sept. 13, 2004.
—Army Staff Sgt. Stephen G. Martin, 39, of Rhinelander, died July 2, 2004.
—Army Sgt. Charles Kiser, 37, of Cleveland, died June 24, 2004.
—Army Spc. Michael McGlothin, 21, of Milwaukee, died April 17, 2004.
—Army Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, of New Berlin, died April 9, 2004.
—Marine Pfc. Ryan Jerabek, 18, of Hobart, died April 6, 2004.
—Marine Cpl. Jesse Thiry, 23, of Casco, died April 5, 2004.
—Army Pfc. Sean Schneider, 22, of Janesville, died March 29, 2004.
—Army Capt. John F. Kurth, 31, of Columbus, died March 13, 2004.
—Spc. Bert E. Hoyer, 23, an Army reservist from Ellsworth, died March 10, 2004.
—Spc. Nichole M. Frye, 19, an Army reservist from Lena, died Feb. 16, 2004.
—Maj. Christopher J. Splinter, 43, of Platteville, died Dec. 24, 2003.
—Army Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, 19, of Waupun, died Oct. 26, 2003.
—Army 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27, of Menomonie, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, of Amherst, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36, of Clintonville, died Nov. 15, 2003.
—Army Spc. Paul J. Sturino, 21, of Rice Lake, died Sept. 22, 2003.
—Army Reservist Dan Gabrielson, 40, of Frederic, died July 9, 2003.
—Army Maj. Mathew Schram, 36, of Brookfield, died May 26, 2003.
—Marine Sgt. Kirk Straseskie, 23, of Beaver Dam, died May 19, 2003.
If you want to learn more about Afghanistan, please try and get Sonali's book for your local library, home or school. :)
The Other Quagmire: An interview with Sonali Kolhatkar
Sonali Kolhatkar remembers Afghanistan, even if the rest of us don’t
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO in the OC Weekly
Thursday, May 17, 2007 – 3:00 pm
http://www.ocweekly.com/culture/
books/that-other-quagmire/27160/
Remember Afghanistan? The Taliban? Hamid Karzai? That weird game Afghans play involving a goat carcass? Of course not. If the Iraq War is our latest Vietnam, then Dubya’s Afghanistan adventure is our Philippine-American War: a major incursion that became a quagmire no one talks about.
One of the few media figures who bother to pay attention is Sonali Kolhatkar, host of KPFK-FM 90.7’s popular Uprising morning show. She’s involved with various Afghan charities and is the author, along with her husband, of Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence. Kolhatkar will talk about the book and show slides from her visits this Saturday at the Centro Cultural de México. But first, she talked to the Weekly.
* * *
Give us a summary of your book in 25 words without using the word “imperialism.â€
The book traces the history of U.S. policy in Afghanistan from the 1970s to today, its effects on ordinary people, particularly women, and their resistance and resilience to war and fundamentalism.
You went to Afghanistan in 2005. How was the situation then, and has it changed for better or worse?
When I went in 2005, Afghans had just finished voting in the presidential elections and there was a lot of optimism. However, there was still overwhelming poverty and unemployment, and most people admitted that “liberation†was a Bush fantasy. While Afghans were surprisingly candid about what they saw as American double standards in defeating one set of terrorist fundamentalists by bringing back another set of terrorist fundamentalists, they were still hopeful the world community would pay some attention to them. Since then, that optimism has evaporated as the Taliban are stronger, warlords dominate the government and the U.S./NATO forces continue to kill civilians. It’s a much more dangerous country now.
Are you optimistic about Afghanistan’s future?
Not really. Firstly, the U.S. doesn’t seem to want to change its trajectory of sponsoring fundamentalism and war in Afghanistan; secondly, American people just don’t give enough of a damn about Afghanistan to pressure the U.S. government to change. Ordinary Afghans are, as usual, caught between the twin forces of fundamentalism (U.S.-sponsored and otherwise) and war. Still, what’s hopeful is how incredible the nonviolent resistance on the ground is. Ordinary people are doing their best to survive and be defiant. They have organized peaceful demonstrations burning effigies of Bush and started schools for girls despite the dangers. If their efforts are supported internationally, perhaps there is a small measure of hope.
Your show Uprising covers an array of topics, yet it seems Afghanistan is the cause closest to your heart. Why?
I was actually involved in Afghanistan solidarity work about two years before I began my work at Pacifica Radio. It all started when I got a chain e-mail about the Taliban oppression of Afghan women. I did a Web search and found RAWA—the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. Despite their sectarian sounding name, they are an incredible group of women whose ideals are based on democracy and human rights. I wrote to them and asked if I could help. Myself and a couple of friends started a nonprofit, the Afghan Women’s Mission, to fund RAWA’s social and political projects in 2000. Six years later, my partner Jim Ingalls and I published the book. We’re still deeply involved with supporting RAWA as volunteers.
Do you think the United States had the right to invade Afghanistan in 2001?
Not at all. It had just about as much right in 2001 as the Soviet Union had to invade Afghanistan in 1979. If the U.S. was really interested in defeating the Taliban before the tragedy of 9/11, Clinton and Bush would’ve pressured their allies and weapons buyers—Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE [United Arab Emirates]—to stop supporting the Taliban.
Earlier this year, Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya said the United States “pushed us from the frying pan into the fire.†Do you agree with that statement?
Yes, I do. The Taliban is stronger today than it was in 2001, even if they don’t control as much territory. The Northern Alliance warlords and druglords have government power and legitimacy, which they didn’t have in 2001. It took barely a month for the U.S. to defeat the Taliban in 2001. Yet today, the Taliban are carrying out suicide attacks—an unheard-of phenomenon before 2005—and are gaining popularity because they don’t kill as many civilians as the U.S.
At this point, what’s the United States’ responsibility to the Afghan people?
The U.S. needs to disarm its warlord allies—these men should be considered proxy U.S. soldiers on the ground who are terrorizing the population. The U.S. should divert far more funds into Afghan-led reconstruction projects than the military effort. And I’m talking about grants to local groups here, not corporate subsidies or paying foreign aid workers. The U.S should then pressure its allies in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop tacitly supporting the Taliban.
And then, the U.S. should get the hell out of Afghanistan. The U.S. should also support Afghan-led efforts to criminally prosecute the warlords and Taliban for past crimes in the interest of healing and reconciliation. If these things are done, there will theoretically be some space for Afghan civil society to grow, exercise their democratic rights, and reject the armed fundamentalists.
Why do you think the media and American public pays so little attention to Afghanistan?
They’re too busy thinking about Iraq, which is understandable. There are more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and only about 20,000 in Afghanistan. We’ve killed far more Iraqis than Afghans. Also, I think that, sadly, most Americans subconsciously think of Afghanistan as “the good warâ€â€”a myth that Jim and I try to dispel in our book. So there is a tendency among most Americans that we need to get our troops out of Iraq so we can focus them on Afghanistan. But this is very shortsighted—the same military blunders in Iraq have been committed in Afghanistan, and the Afghan war is as unjust as the Iraq war.
What should the United States do about Al-Qaeda?
What hasn’t the U.S. done about Al-Qaeda?! Our actions have only strengthened the group and helped get them more recruits. We’ve made this organization far more important than it ever was. If the U.S. were to improve its policies in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, and other Muslim and Arab countries, Al-Qaeda would have no reason to scream bloody jihad. That’s the only long-term permanent solution. Any other solution involves brute force, and that will only lead to more anger, more recruits, more terrorism.
* * *
SONALI KOLHATKAR WILL READ FROM HER BOOK AT THE CENTRO CULTURAL DE MEXICO, 310 W. FIFTH ST., SANTA ANA. SAT., 6 P.M. FREE. LISTEN TO KOLHATKAR ON KPFK-FM 90.7. MON.-FRI., 8 A.M.
The Other Quagmire: An interview with Sonali Kolhatkar
Sonali Kolhatkar remembers Afghanistan, even if the rest of us don’t
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO in the OC Weekly
Thursday, May 17, 2007 – 3:00 pm
http://www.ocweekly.com/culture/
books/that-other-quagmire/27160/
Remember Afghanistan? The Taliban? Hamid Karzai? That weird game Afghans play involving a goat carcass? Of course not. If the Iraq War is our latest Vietnam, then Dubya’s Afghanistan adventure is our Philippine-American War: a major incursion that became a quagmire no one talks about.
One of the few media figures who bother to pay attention is Sonali Kolhatkar, host of KPFK-FM 90.7’s popular Uprising morning show. She’s involved with various Afghan charities and is the author, along with her husband, of Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence. Kolhatkar will talk about the book and show slides from her visits this Saturday at the Centro Cultural de México. But first, she talked to the Weekly.
* * *
Give us a summary of your book in 25 words without using the word “imperialism.â€
The book traces the history of U.S. policy in Afghanistan from the 1970s to today, its effects on ordinary people, particularly women, and their resistance and resilience to war and fundamentalism.
You went to Afghanistan in 2005. How was the situation then, and has it changed for better or worse?
When I went in 2005, Afghans had just finished voting in the presidential elections and there was a lot of optimism. However, there was still overwhelming poverty and unemployment, and most people admitted that “liberation†was a Bush fantasy. While Afghans were surprisingly candid about what they saw as American double standards in defeating one set of terrorist fundamentalists by bringing back another set of terrorist fundamentalists, they were still hopeful the world community would pay some attention to them. Since then, that optimism has evaporated as the Taliban are stronger, warlords dominate the government and the U.S./NATO forces continue to kill civilians. It’s a much more dangerous country now.
Are you optimistic about Afghanistan’s future?
Not really. Firstly, the U.S. doesn’t seem to want to change its trajectory of sponsoring fundamentalism and war in Afghanistan; secondly, American people just don’t give enough of a damn about Afghanistan to pressure the U.S. government to change. Ordinary Afghans are, as usual, caught between the twin forces of fundamentalism (U.S.-sponsored and otherwise) and war. Still, what’s hopeful is how incredible the nonviolent resistance on the ground is. Ordinary people are doing their best to survive and be defiant. They have organized peaceful demonstrations burning effigies of Bush and started schools for girls despite the dangers. If their efforts are supported internationally, perhaps there is a small measure of hope.
Your show Uprising covers an array of topics, yet it seems Afghanistan is the cause closest to your heart. Why?
I was actually involved in Afghanistan solidarity work about two years before I began my work at Pacifica Radio. It all started when I got a chain e-mail about the Taliban oppression of Afghan women. I did a Web search and found RAWA—the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. Despite their sectarian sounding name, they are an incredible group of women whose ideals are based on democracy and human rights. I wrote to them and asked if I could help. Myself and a couple of friends started a nonprofit, the Afghan Women’s Mission, to fund RAWA’s social and political projects in 2000. Six years later, my partner Jim Ingalls and I published the book. We’re still deeply involved with supporting RAWA as volunteers.
Do you think the United States had the right to invade Afghanistan in 2001?
Not at all. It had just about as much right in 2001 as the Soviet Union had to invade Afghanistan in 1979. If the U.S. was really interested in defeating the Taliban before the tragedy of 9/11, Clinton and Bush would’ve pressured their allies and weapons buyers—Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE [United Arab Emirates]—to stop supporting the Taliban.
Earlier this year, Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya said the United States “pushed us from the frying pan into the fire.†Do you agree with that statement?
Yes, I do. The Taliban is stronger today than it was in 2001, even if they don’t control as much territory. The Northern Alliance warlords and druglords have government power and legitimacy, which they didn’t have in 2001. It took barely a month for the U.S. to defeat the Taliban in 2001. Yet today, the Taliban are carrying out suicide attacks—an unheard-of phenomenon before 2005—and are gaining popularity because they don’t kill as many civilians as the U.S.
At this point, what’s the United States’ responsibility to the Afghan people?
The U.S. needs to disarm its warlord allies—these men should be considered proxy U.S. soldiers on the ground who are terrorizing the population. The U.S. should divert far more funds into Afghan-led reconstruction projects than the military effort. And I’m talking about grants to local groups here, not corporate subsidies or paying foreign aid workers. The U.S should then pressure its allies in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop tacitly supporting the Taliban.
And then, the U.S. should get the hell out of Afghanistan. The U.S. should also support Afghan-led efforts to criminally prosecute the warlords and Taliban for past crimes in the interest of healing and reconciliation. If these things are done, there will theoretically be some space for Afghan civil society to grow, exercise their democratic rights, and reject the armed fundamentalists.
Why do you think the media and American public pays so little attention to Afghanistan?
They’re too busy thinking about Iraq, which is understandable. There are more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and only about 20,000 in Afghanistan. We’ve killed far more Iraqis than Afghans. Also, I think that, sadly, most Americans subconsciously think of Afghanistan as “the good warâ€â€”a myth that Jim and I try to dispel in our book. So there is a tendency among most Americans that we need to get our troops out of Iraq so we can focus them on Afghanistan. But this is very shortsighted—the same military blunders in Iraq have been committed in Afghanistan, and the Afghan war is as unjust as the Iraq war.
What should the United States do about Al-Qaeda?
What hasn’t the U.S. done about Al-Qaeda?! Our actions have only strengthened the group and helped get them more recruits. We’ve made this organization far more important than it ever was. If the U.S. were to improve its policies in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, and other Muslim and Arab countries, Al-Qaeda would have no reason to scream bloody jihad. That’s the only long-term permanent solution. Any other solution involves brute force, and that will only lead to more anger, more recruits, more terrorism.
* * *
SONALI KOLHATKAR WILL READ FROM HER BOOK AT THE CENTRO CULTURAL DE MEXICO, 310 W. FIFTH ST., SANTA ANA. SAT., 6 P.M. FREE. LISTEN TO KOLHATKAR ON KPFK-FM 90.7. MON.-FRI., 8 A.M.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
From Australia..
..ng Saharan wind is tempered by the ocean breeze, the remnants of the Saxo Bank team (plus whatever boss Bjarne Riis could muster in the transfer season) gather in the Spanish Canary Island of Fuerteventura.
And for the first time since Riis took ownership of the team a decade ago, there will be no training camp led by B.S. Christiansen, the former soldier from the Danish Ranger Corps who spent 28 years as a top-notch commando.
“It’s all about teaching people that they can achieve their goals by cooperating. They have to perform their very best under the worst possible circumstances, where every action has a consequence,” Christiansen said at their winter 2004 camp, where Australian Scott Sunderland began his career as a sport director.
Denmark’s version of Bear Grylls, B.S. Christiansen’s oddball training camps soon became stuff of legend, where Riis’ men donned army fatigues and went into the wild – sometimes desert, other times jungle, always inhospitable – often without food or water and sometimes for two or three days, all in the name of team building. When they finished the camps looking like malnourished cats, they must’ve wondered exactly whose interests Riis had at heart. The only individual who seemed to revel in these fight-or-flight conditions was Jens Voigt, the irrepressible hard-man who probably throws a few nails in with his Weet-Bix at breakfast time.
“We didn't have any clue of time nor place,” said Sunderland after his first boot camp in 2004.
“We didn’t know where they took us and we had to hand over our mobile and watch. They split us up in groups of 13 people and we were on the go for 48 hours. We got the whole military kit, huge backpack and all. Over the last two days, we didn't get to sleep much more than a couple of hours. [We were] under the open sky and on an island, and that wind cuts through you; it was horrible, really. Our feet are all blistered and we were absolutely knackered after the two day ordeal.”
But when the cammo’s came off and the lycra came on, come race time, the team was formidable. Terrifying, even.
When they gathered their troops up front in an early season race like Paris-Nice, it sent shivers of fear down the peloton’s spine, because their rivals knew there would soon be carnage and by the day’s end, just a handful would be left standing. “If they are this strong, this organised, and this deadly now, what would happen in the Classics or Tour de France?” many riders must’ve been thinking.
Many times, they won well before they crossed the line.
“When a rider is under a lot of pressure,” said Christiansen, “he reacts very selfishly, and that’s where I have to work with them.” Former Riis rider turned sport director (who is now at Team Sky), Bobby Julich, said that, “those days in the bush bonded us much closer and gave us the strategies to work as a team in any racing situation”.
Fuerteventura, which has the epithet “island of the eternal spring” for its near-perfect year-round climate, sounds a far cry from Man vs. Wild.
“Will you miss the survival camp?” I asked Richie Porte, who endured his first and last in the European winter of 2009 before Christiansen took a job at FC Midtjylland, one of the top soccer teams in Denmark’s Super League.
“No, not at all. It wasn’t nice... No, it was bloody horrible, spending a night out in the desert,” he told me. “I guess Bjarne’s always going to do something to put us out of our comfort zone, but me personally, I’m not going to miss that. But it really did bring the team together; it was an incredible idea.”
But then Richie owns up to the real reason why it was so bad: “It was harder on most of the young guys because they had to have a couple of days’ off Facebook, to be honest. You can quote me saying that!”
As funny as it was – and I did laugh out loud – I can’t help thinking whether these Facebook-addicted teens and 20-somethings might be missing out on vital social skills that Christiansen was so determined to instill, which, if one thinks about it, are the essence for survival in the real world.
A recent article in the New York Times, ‘Generation wired to distraction’, said the lure of new technologies is particularly potent on younger people and “the constant stream of stimuli they offer pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning”. The risk, researchers say, is that the brains of our wired youth become so used to switching tasks, over time, they may render themselves unable to see a task to its completion.
“Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but jumping to the next thing,” Michael Rich told the NYT, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the executive director of the Centre on Media and Child Health in Boston. “The worry is we’re raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently.”
In this year’s Giro d’Italia, Porte showed he not only has the physical ability to ride consistently over three weeks, but the mental capability to handle the stress of such an event (though he did admit to me to being extremely highly strung throughout). However in 2011 as possibly the sole Grand Tour leader on the squad, he’ll also need to demonstrate he has the social skills to gather and motivate the troops at Saxo Bank, if he’s to lead them to victory.
And as B.S. Christiansen would have said, that’s something you can’t do on Facebook.
..ng Saharan wind is tempered by the ocean breeze, the remnants of the Saxo Bank team (plus whatever boss Bjarne Riis could muster in the transfer season) gather in the Spanish Canary Island of Fuerteventura.
And for the first time since Riis took ownership of the team a decade ago, there will be no training camp led by B.S. Christiansen, the former soldier from the Danish Ranger Corps who spent 28 years as a top-notch commando.
“It’s all about teaching people that they can achieve their goals by cooperating. They have to perform their very best under the worst possible circumstances, where every action has a consequence,” Christiansen said at their winter 2004 camp, where Australian Scott Sunderland began his career as a sport director.
Denmark’s version of Bear Grylls, B.S. Christiansen’s oddball training camps soon became stuff of legend, where Riis’ men donned army fatigues and went into the wild – sometimes desert, other times jungle, always inhospitable – often without food or water and sometimes for two or three days, all in the name of team building. When they finished the camps looking like malnourished cats, they must’ve wondered exactly whose interests Riis had at heart. The only individual who seemed to revel in these fight-or-flight conditions was Jens Voigt, the irrepressible hard-man who probably throws a few nails in with his Weet-Bix at breakfast time.
“We didn't have any clue of time nor place,” said Sunderland after his first boot camp in 2004.
“We didn’t know where they took us and we had to hand over our mobile and watch. They split us up in groups of 13 people and we were on the go for 48 hours. We got the whole military kit, huge backpack and all. Over the last two days, we didn't get to sleep much more than a couple of hours. [We were] under the open sky and on an island, and that wind cuts through you; it was horrible, really. Our feet are all blistered and we were absolutely knackered after the two day ordeal.”
But when the cammo’s came off and the lycra came on, come race time, the team was formidable. Terrifying, even.
When they gathered their troops up front in an early season race like Paris-Nice, it sent shivers of fear down the peloton’s spine, because their rivals knew there would soon be carnage and by the day’s end, just a handful would be left standing. “If they are this strong, this organised, and this deadly now, what would happen in the Classics or Tour de France?” many riders must’ve been thinking.
Many times, they won well before they crossed the line.
“When a rider is under a lot of pressure,” said Christiansen, “he reacts very selfishly, and that’s where I have to work with them.” Former Riis rider turned sport director (who is now at Team Sky), Bobby Julich, said that, “those days in the bush bonded us much closer and gave us the strategies to work as a team in any racing situation”.
Fuerteventura, which has the epithet “island of the eternal spring” for its near-perfect year-round climate, sounds a far cry from Man vs. Wild.
“Will you miss the survival camp?” I asked Richie Porte, who endured his first and last in the European winter of 2009 before Christiansen took a job at FC Midtjylland, one of the top soccer teams in Denmark’s Super League.
“No, not at all. It wasn’t nice... No, it was bloody horrible, spending a night out in the desert,” he told me. “I guess Bjarne’s always going to do something to put us out of our comfort zone, but me personally, I’m not going to miss that. But it really did bring the team together; it was an incredible idea.”
But then Richie owns up to the real reason why it was so bad: “It was harder on most of the young guys because they had to have a couple of days’ off Facebook, to be honest. You can quote me saying that!”
As funny as it was – and I did laugh out loud – I can’t help thinking whether these Facebook-addicted teens and 20-somethings might be missing out on vital social skills that Christiansen was so determined to instill, which, if one thinks about it, are the essence for survival in the real world.
A recent article in the New York Times, ‘Generation wired to distraction’, said the lure of new technologies is particularly potent on younger people and “the constant stream of stimuli they offer pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning”. The risk, researchers say, is that the brains of our wired youth become so used to switching tasks, over time, they may render themselves unable to see a task to its completion.
“Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but jumping to the next thing,” Michael Rich told the NYT, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the executive director of the Centre on Media and Child Health in Boston. “The worry is we’re raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently.”
In this year’s Giro d’Italia, Porte showed he not only has the physical ability to ride consistently over three weeks, but the mental capability to handle the stress of such an event (though he did admit to me to being extremely highly strung throughout). However in 2011 as possibly the sole Grand Tour leader on the squad, he’ll also need to demonstrate he has the social skills to gather and motivate the troops at Saxo Bank, if he’s to lead them to victory.
And as B.S. Christiansen would have said, that’s something you can’t do on Facebook.
WINNIPEG — She's watched her 13-year-old daughter terrorized online by tactics that allegedly included plastering personal information on an adult website. But now, Karry Boti said she's at her wits end after her daughter, Kyra Lynn, was targeted in an extreme case of cyber-bullying that started about seven weeks ago.
Boti and Kyra Lynn's father, Mike Jubenville, who lives in London, Ont., said they've contacted police agencies, technology companies and a local anti-child abuse organization, but they've hit roadblocks in their effort to learn who is publicly maligning their teen daughter.
"How much damage has it done already?" said Boti. "What a smack in the face."
She said the trouble began after someone stole her daughter's Facebook password and hacked into her account this summer.
Problems continued to mount after Boti received an online message in October from a stranger — reportedly a man — saying her daughter's information had been posted on an explicit adult website, along with information how to access the girl's Facebook account.
In the weeks following, the cyber-bullying escalated after classmates of Kyra Lynn told her they'd received hateful messages from her Facebook account, messages the girl hadn't written. The kicker came after the family found out websites had been created saying Kyra Lynn, a Grade 8 student, was a "little skank."
"All of her friends hate her and she wonders why . . . she talks behind people's backs and makes out with their crushes," said one of the websites. Another site, which doesn't identify an author of the content, posted photos of Kyra Lynn taken from her Facebook account.
The family went to police in Winnipeg last month to complain about the harassment. Boti said police told her "there's no laws" against the online harassment.
"It can happen to any kid, and there's nobody out there to help them. Nobody," she said. "It's sad, but in all of the people that we've called, everybody keeps saying 'I don't know what to tell you, I don't know where to turn.'
"They'll give me resources, but the resources are web pages on how to avoid bullies. Well, you can't avoid them."
Jubenville, a computer technician, said he went to police in London, Ont., with his laptop telling them about the problem, but the trip was futile.
"It's been really, really trying through the whole thing . . . I've sat a lot of hours on the computer trying to sort this out, and find out where everything is coming from," said Jubenville. "She's a 13-year-old kid. I find it just horrifying, actually."
Police said Monday general patrol officers were gathering information on a case that will be forwarded to Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit detectives.
"We're certainly aware of it," said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen, who said there was a volume of information for police to "sift through."
"These types of investigations are . . . a little bit more complex because obviously we're dealing with the Internet, and we're dealing with social networking, and it's not as cut and dry," he said. "We take (complaints) seriously, bottom line."
The family believes that, based on their own investigation, the creator of the content is a teenage girl in Ontario who sees Kyra Lynn as a rival for a teenage boy's affections.
Boti said the two girls have never actually met.
Boti said police in Winnipeg contacted the family of the girl who is believed to be the tormentor after Boti complained to police for a second time about the harassment last week.
The websites about Kyra Lynn have been shut down, but the family said the web company told them they needed a police subpoena to release information about who was behind the sites.
Paul Gillespie, a former Toronto Police Service officer who is now head of Kids Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA), said cyber-bullying is growing increasingly sophisticated.
"(Bullies) have realized with a little smarts about the technology, they can make life very miserable for their intended victims," he said. "And then there's not much, you know, one can do."
© Copyright (c) Winnipeg Free Press
Read more: http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/world/Parents+case+daughter+cyber+bullying/3870620/story.html#ixzz16vq2vXjZ
Boti and Kyra Lynn's father, Mike Jubenville, who lives in London, Ont., said they've contacted police agencies, technology companies and a local anti-child abuse organization, but they've hit roadblocks in their effort to learn who is publicly maligning their teen daughter.
"How much damage has it done already?" said Boti. "What a smack in the face."
She said the trouble began after someone stole her daughter's Facebook password and hacked into her account this summer.
Problems continued to mount after Boti received an online message in October from a stranger — reportedly a man — saying her daughter's information had been posted on an explicit adult website, along with information how to access the girl's Facebook account.
In the weeks following, the cyber-bullying escalated after classmates of Kyra Lynn told her they'd received hateful messages from her Facebook account, messages the girl hadn't written. The kicker came after the family found out websites had been created saying Kyra Lynn, a Grade 8 student, was a "little skank."
"All of her friends hate her and she wonders why . . . she talks behind people's backs and makes out with their crushes," said one of the websites. Another site, which doesn't identify an author of the content, posted photos of Kyra Lynn taken from her Facebook account.
The family went to police in Winnipeg last month to complain about the harassment. Boti said police told her "there's no laws" against the online harassment.
"It can happen to any kid, and there's nobody out there to help them. Nobody," she said. "It's sad, but in all of the people that we've called, everybody keeps saying 'I don't know what to tell you, I don't know where to turn.'
"They'll give me resources, but the resources are web pages on how to avoid bullies. Well, you can't avoid them."
Jubenville, a computer technician, said he went to police in London, Ont., with his laptop telling them about the problem, but the trip was futile.
"It's been really, really trying through the whole thing . . . I've sat a lot of hours on the computer trying to sort this out, and find out where everything is coming from," said Jubenville. "She's a 13-year-old kid. I find it just horrifying, actually."
Police said Monday general patrol officers were gathering information on a case that will be forwarded to Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit detectives.
"We're certainly aware of it," said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen, who said there was a volume of information for police to "sift through."
"These types of investigations are . . . a little bit more complex because obviously we're dealing with the Internet, and we're dealing with social networking, and it's not as cut and dry," he said. "We take (complaints) seriously, bottom line."
The family believes that, based on their own investigation, the creator of the content is a teenage girl in Ontario who sees Kyra Lynn as a rival for a teenage boy's affections.
Boti said the two girls have never actually met.
Boti said police in Winnipeg contacted the family of the girl who is believed to be the tormentor after Boti complained to police for a second time about the harassment last week.
The websites about Kyra Lynn have been shut down, but the family said the web company told them they needed a police subpoena to release information about who was behind the sites.
Paul Gillespie, a former Toronto Police Service officer who is now head of Kids Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA), said cyber-bullying is growing increasingly sophisticated.
"(Bullies) have realized with a little smarts about the technology, they can make life very miserable for their intended victims," he said. "And then there's not much, you know, one can do."
© Copyright (c) Winnipeg Free Press
Read more: http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/world/Parents+case+daughter+cyber+bullying/3870620/story.html#ixzz16vq2vXjZ
Stressheads! Eek! :P
AAP
Social media is causing people to become increasingly anxious as users feel pressured to be constantly connected, a new survey says.
According to the Cenovis Chill Pill Survey, 63 per cent of respondents feel social media is contributing to stress levels.
About a third (37 per cent) of these people feel under pressure to be in constant contact, and 35 per cent say there is an expectation to respond quickly to messages.
Thirteen per cent of stressed users say they feel pressure to be witty in writing status updates on Facebook.
La Trobe University law student Nikkita Venville says she can relate to the survey's findings.
"There's a bit of pressure to have a unique status that people will laugh at and press the `like' button," the 24-year-old from Melbourne told AAP on Monday.
Ms Venville said she felt "out of loop" if she did not check or respond to messages on Facebook regularly.
"You always have to know what's going on," she said.
"Even when you're out you think, `I wonder what's on Facebook', and it's the first thing I have to check."
The survey also found that women feel more stressed than men, with 69 per cent saying they felt pressure to be interesting in their status updates, as opposed to only 39 per cent of men.
Ms Venville said that she was spending so much time on Facebook that she asked her sister to change her password so she could study for her exams.
"I did feel like a bit of my social life had (gone) because I couldn't keep in contact with the people I usually kept in contact with - and I didn't know what was going on," she said.
"People were saying haven't you got my Facebook message instead of calling me up to invite me (to parties).
Ms Venville finally broke her Facebook sabbatical by hacking into her profile through her mum's account.
"It was my birthday, and I wanted to know what people wrote on my wall," she explained.
The survey was conducted by Galaxy research on behalf of sanofi-aventis Consumer Healthcare, interviewing 420 Australians over 18 years of age.
Social media is causing people to become increasingly anxious as users feel pressured to be constantly connected, a new survey says.
According to the Cenovis Chill Pill Survey, 63 per cent of respondents feel social media is contributing to stress levels.
About a third (37 per cent) of these people feel under pressure to be in constant contact, and 35 per cent say there is an expectation to respond quickly to messages.
Thirteen per cent of stressed users say they feel pressure to be witty in writing status updates on Facebook.
La Trobe University law student Nikkita Venville says she can relate to the survey's findings.
"There's a bit of pressure to have a unique status that people will laugh at and press the `like' button," the 24-year-old from Melbourne told AAP on Monday.
Ms Venville said she felt "out of loop" if she did not check or respond to messages on Facebook regularly.
"You always have to know what's going on," she said.
"Even when you're out you think, `I wonder what's on Facebook', and it's the first thing I have to check."
The survey also found that women feel more stressed than men, with 69 per cent saying they felt pressure to be interesting in their status updates, as opposed to only 39 per cent of men.
Ms Venville said that she was spending so much time on Facebook that she asked her sister to change her password so she could study for her exams.
"I did feel like a bit of my social life had (gone) because I couldn't keep in contact with the people I usually kept in contact with - and I didn't know what was going on," she said.
"People were saying haven't you got my Facebook message instead of calling me up to invite me (to parties).
Ms Venville finally broke her Facebook sabbatical by hacking into her profile through her mum's account.
"It was my birthday, and I wanted to know what people wrote on my wall," she explained.
The survey was conducted by Galaxy research on behalf of sanofi-aventis Consumer Healthcare, interviewing 420 Australians over 18 years of age.
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