OK- I just have to talk about this one because it is driving me crazy and it's getting worse by the week.
I cannot figure out why people these days can't seem to get the possessives and contractions correct. There is a huge difference between your and you're, between it's and its, between there and their and between numerous other homonyms. I think that's what they're called. Hey! there's another one!
I see a lot of stuff written by a lot of smart people that gets this wrong all the time. And I see my daughter do it on Facebook and emails (her typing is atrocious and she doesn't care, but typos are a different story. These things are not typos.) My husband does it on emails. he says it's a typo, but it's not. "Adn" is a typo. I make it all the the time. "To" instead of "too" is not usually a typo. I see it on documents at work as well. Another common one I see at work is the possessive apostrophe in the wrong place- "patient's" when it's plural and "patients' " is correct.
Are the schools not teaching this properly anymore? Do people just not care? When I see these kind of mistakes, I think it makes people look ignorant. If you know what it's supposed to be, then do it right. What is the world coming to? Am I doomed to see this carelessness more and more and be driven even more crazy as the years pass? Should I just let it go? What?!?!
What is your pet grammar peeve? I have WAY more than this one, but this is the one that has been driving me crazy lately.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Hope and Forgiveness
Yesterday I was told that there are no words in the Pashto and Dari languages (the most common ones in Afghanistan) for Hope and Forgiveness. That would explain a lot.
Sometimes I sit around and fantasize what this country could look like in 30 years. There are lush farmlands and forests, I have read. I can see beautiful mountains every day that could hold ski slopes and resorts. I'm quite sure that people would pay to hike up these mountains, just like they do in Nepal. \
But that stuff will never happen because they have no concept of making life better for themselves. They cannot move on from the blood feuds that have gone on between tribes and families for hundreds or thousands of years. They cannot accept someone in control unless that person takes it by force. They respect strength and strong words, but they are easily insulted. They do not forgive. How can they expect to find peace without forgiveness at some point? How can they build a better life and a better country if they do not have a word for hope? The word they do have is Inshallah. It means God Willing. It means they go about their lives and if God wants them to live or die, that's what will happen. I suppose when you live in such a harsh place, it's inevitable that you might look towards a higher power for the answers. But to not have hope? I cannot even fathom that.
Recently we had an issue with a department in the hospital composed of Afghan workers who speak English. Some are American citizens who have come back to be of help to their country. They do not have a leader appointed, and will not accept leadership from among themselves. The more educated ones refuse to take direction from a less educated one, the men don't want to listen to a woman, and there is general chaos. When someone did try to take charge to make it a more effective group, the others just erased the assignments off the board and went wherever they wanted. We suggested rotating leaders on a monthly basis- that was roundly rejected.
The patients steal from each other and will steal from the staff if able. They hoard things....especially food, but pretty much anything they can get their hands on. Most are grateful for the care they receive from us, but some just don't seem to care. We have seen the Inshallah attitude many times when it comes to getting well. It is difficult for our staff when they believe in doing everything possible and hoping for a good outcome. It's how we think and it's what keeps us moving forward.
I also think it's one of the things that makes us a great country. We have hope that life will be better for our kids and for ourselves. We know it's possible to be anything we want and we work hard to get it. Those of a Judeo-Christian faith have been taught forgiveness. It's how we move on. I'm not sure this country can move on.
Sometimes I sit around and fantasize what this country could look like in 30 years. There are lush farmlands and forests, I have read. I can see beautiful mountains every day that could hold ski slopes and resorts. I'm quite sure that people would pay to hike up these mountains, just like they do in Nepal. \
But that stuff will never happen because they have no concept of making life better for themselves. They cannot move on from the blood feuds that have gone on between tribes and families for hundreds or thousands of years. They cannot accept someone in control unless that person takes it by force. They respect strength and strong words, but they are easily insulted. They do not forgive. How can they expect to find peace without forgiveness at some point? How can they build a better life and a better country if they do not have a word for hope? The word they do have is Inshallah. It means God Willing. It means they go about their lives and if God wants them to live or die, that's what will happen. I suppose when you live in such a harsh place, it's inevitable that you might look towards a higher power for the answers. But to not have hope? I cannot even fathom that.
Recently we had an issue with a department in the hospital composed of Afghan workers who speak English. Some are American citizens who have come back to be of help to their country. They do not have a leader appointed, and will not accept leadership from among themselves. The more educated ones refuse to take direction from a less educated one, the men don't want to listen to a woman, and there is general chaos. When someone did try to take charge to make it a more effective group, the others just erased the assignments off the board and went wherever they wanted. We suggested rotating leaders on a monthly basis- that was roundly rejected.
The patients steal from each other and will steal from the staff if able. They hoard things....especially food, but pretty much anything they can get their hands on. Most are grateful for the care they receive from us, but some just don't seem to care. We have seen the Inshallah attitude many times when it comes to getting well. It is difficult for our staff when they believe in doing everything possible and hoping for a good outcome. It's how we think and it's what keeps us moving forward.
I also think it's one of the things that makes us a great country. We have hope that life will be better for our kids and for ourselves. We know it's possible to be anything we want and we work hard to get it. Those of a Judeo-Christian faith have been taught forgiveness. It's how we move on. I'm not sure this country can move on.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Notebook
SPOILER ALERT!!!! Don;t read this if you ever plan to watch The Notebook movie.
So I've heard about this movie for quite some time and frankly, it looked boring and uninteresting. But a couple of men at work loved it. I think they love Rachel McAdams as much as the movie plot, but that's another story! So we arranged a movie night- two men, two women, a bag of Tostitos and some salsa.
I think I liked the movie, but I didn't love it. It's a very nice story. But I thought it had a happy ending. The other lady watching the movie was crying her eyes out over the sadness at the end, but all I kept thinking was how wonderful it was that they were in love and how happy happy it was that they could die together. I was a bit surprised when they woke up dead because I was thinking maybe she'd wake up in the middle of the night and not know him again (that scene where she forgot who he was and he was crying WAS the part I almost cried at!) and then he'd have to leave crying again. Then I thought they would go into a plot of him getting the drugs together for a murder-suicide and putting them in her dinner or something and then killing himself. I might have cried at that. I watched a documentary on assisted suicide and it followed a couple and how much in love they were and how she helped him set everything up to do the deed and then sat with him through it and it was all real. That made me cry. But when they woke up dead, lying in each other's arms, all peaceful and sort of smiling....I thought that was a happy ending. That's how I want to go- in my sleep with my hubby.
So sometimes I think I'm a shallow person. I don't over analyze. Heck, most of the time I hardly analyze at all! In high school and college we had to analyze stories and poems and stuff and people always got these deeper meanings out of them. And I always was thinking- maybe the guy was just writing a story. I wonder what he would think of you all getting all this stuff out of it. Does the fact that I didn't bawl my eyes out at the movie that others think is really sad make me shallow? I don't know. I hope not, but I think it's a definite possibility. OK my friends- tell me....am I shallow?
So I've heard about this movie for quite some time and frankly, it looked boring and uninteresting. But a couple of men at work loved it. I think they love Rachel McAdams as much as the movie plot, but that's another story! So we arranged a movie night- two men, two women, a bag of Tostitos and some salsa.
I think I liked the movie, but I didn't love it. It's a very nice story. But I thought it had a happy ending. The other lady watching the movie was crying her eyes out over the sadness at the end, but all I kept thinking was how wonderful it was that they were in love and how happy happy it was that they could die together. I was a bit surprised when they woke up dead because I was thinking maybe she'd wake up in the middle of the night and not know him again (that scene where she forgot who he was and he was crying WAS the part I almost cried at!) and then he'd have to leave crying again. Then I thought they would go into a plot of him getting the drugs together for a murder-suicide and putting them in her dinner or something and then killing himself. I might have cried at that. I watched a documentary on assisted suicide and it followed a couple and how much in love they were and how she helped him set everything up to do the deed and then sat with him through it and it was all real. That made me cry. But when they woke up dead, lying in each other's arms, all peaceful and sort of smiling....I thought that was a happy ending. That's how I want to go- in my sleep with my hubby.
So sometimes I think I'm a shallow person. I don't over analyze. Heck, most of the time I hardly analyze at all! In high school and college we had to analyze stories and poems and stuff and people always got these deeper meanings out of them. And I always was thinking- maybe the guy was just writing a story. I wonder what he would think of you all getting all this stuff out of it. Does the fact that I didn't bawl my eyes out at the movie that others think is really sad make me shallow? I don't know. I hope not, but I think it's a definite possibility. OK my friends- tell me....am I shallow?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Who are the Taliban?
This is a very interesting article out of the English version of Al Jazeera. Hope you enjoy it.....
We got rocketed again last night- one hit in a mine field on base- yes I said a mine field and the other hit a non-strategic building. That's how the spokes people say it. Can't say what it hit because then the bad guys could figure out if their aim was good or not. No casualties. We keep thinking they might try another big one like they did last month. I guess only time will tell.
With Afghan president Hamid Karzai pushing a reconciliation program that would bring elements of the Afghan insurgency into the government, there is a lot of talk about "the Taliban" - its motivations and goals.
But there are actually several main groups that comprise the Afghan insurgency, only one of which calls itself "the Taliban". All three share a hostility to the US and Nato presence in Afghanistan, but they have differing leadership and goals, and exercise varying degrees of co-operation. A brief primer:
Quetta Shura Taliban
Named after the Pakistani city where it is believed to be headquartered, the Quetta Shura consists of much of the senior leadership from the Taliban movement, which ruled Afghanistan until 2001.
Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders are believed to be in Pakistan [Al Jazeera]Mullah Mohammed Omar - the Taliban's "commander of the faithful" - heads the organisation, which routinely stages attacks against Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The Quetta Shura also runs a "shadow government" in Afghanistan. High-level members of the group serve as "governors" in 33 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, according to US intelligence officials; Taliban fighters collect taxes, operate a parallel judicial system, and man checkpoints along the roads.
The Taliban has shown slight interest in dialogue with Kabul, and several high-ranking members were reportedly holding quiet talks with the Karzai government last year. But the February arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Omar's deputy, has sparked a leadership crisis within the organisation and stalled that dialogue. Kai Eide, the former head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, has said that Baradar's arrest hurt the prospect of talks with the Taliban.
Hezb-i-Islami
Hezb-i-Islami ("Islamic Party") is often called a "Taliban" group, but it actually predates the latter by more than a decade. The party was founded in 1975 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who would later serve a brief stint as prime minister of Afghanistan; it played a key role in helping to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan.
The movement eventually split in two. One branch, a non-violent political party, now controls more than a dozen seats in the Afghan parliament and claims to be independent from Hekmatyar. The other remained loyal to Hekmatyar; it's often referred to as the Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (or HiG, for short), and claims to command several thousand fighters in eastern Afghanistan.
Of the three insurgent groups, HiG is the one most willing to publicly talk about negotiations with Kabul. Representatives of Hekmatyar's movement met with Afghan officials in March and presented a 15-point "peace plan", which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces, a cease-fire and a prisoner release. General Michael Flynn, the head of US intelligence in Afghanistan, has called Hekmatyar "absolutely salvageable".
But HiG leaders have been talking for years about reconciliation with Kabul, with little to show for it. Hekmatyar publicly spurned last week's peace jirga, and members of his organisation tell Al Jazeera they won't negotiate until foreign forces leave. And any talk of rehabiliating Hekmatyar is deeply unwelcome to many Afghan citizens who suffered through decades of human rights abuses committed by Hekmatyar's militia, most notably his incessant rocketing of Kabul in 1994.
Haqqani network
Finally there is the so-called Haqqani network, the eponymous organisation named after its leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son run the network from Pakistan [GALLO/GETTY]Jalaluddin and his son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, are believed to live in Pakistan's North Waziristan province. They operate mostly in eastern Afghanistan, particularly in the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Ghazni.
The group is responsible for some of Afghanistan's highest-profile attacks, including a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul - a favorite expat haunt - and an April 2008 assassination attempt against Afghan president Hamid Karzai. US and Nato commanders have called Haqqani their greatest strategic threat in Afghanistan.
Haqqani also maintains extensive connections to Pakistan's security services, which views the Haqqani network as a strategic asset against neighbouring India.
Afghanistan's insurgents are motivated by a complicated mix of grievances, but fighters in the Haqqani network reportedly have a more ideological bent than other groups. Anand Gopal, a Kabul-based journalist, has reported that "a significantproportion of Haqqani fighters double as madrassa students".
Pakistani Taliban
Across the border, meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban's umbrella organisation - the Tehrik-i-Taliban - encompasses militias led by several commanders, including Hakimullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Maulvi Nazir and others. They are supported by a number of sympathetic groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The extent of the Pakistani Taliban's ties to its Afghan counterpart is hotly debated. Journalists and analysts have identified growing co-operation between the two groups over the last few years.
Regardless of the operational linkages, though, it's clear the groups are motivated by different grievances: The Afghan insurgency opposes the foreign presence in Afghanistan, while the Pakistani Taliban primarily fights the government in Islamabad.
With Afghan president Hamid Karzai pushing a reconciliation program that would bring elements of the Afghan insurgency into the government, there is a lot of talk about "the Taliban" - its motivations and goals.
But there are actually several main groups that comprise the Afghan insurgency, only one of which calls itself "the Taliban". All three share a hostility to the US and Nato presence in Afghanistan, but they have differing leadership and goals, and exercise varying degrees of co-operation. A brief primer:
Quetta Shura Taliban
Named after the Pakistani city where it is believed to be headquartered, the Quetta Shura consists of much of the senior leadership from the Taliban movement, which ruled Afghanistan until 2001.
Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders are believed to be in Pakistan [Al Jazeera]The Quetta Shura also runs a "shadow government" in Afghanistan. High-level members of the group serve as "governors" in 33 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, according to US intelligence officials; Taliban fighters collect taxes, operate a parallel judicial system, and man checkpoints along the roads.
The Taliban has shown slight interest in dialogue with Kabul, and several high-ranking members were reportedly holding quiet talks with the Karzai government last year. But the February arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Omar's deputy, has sparked a leadership crisis within the organisation and stalled that dialogue. Kai Eide, the former head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, has said that Baradar's arrest hurt the prospect of talks with the Taliban.
Hezb-i-Islami
Hezb-i-Islami ("Islamic Party") is often called a "Taliban" group, but it actually predates the latter by more than a decade. The party was founded in 1975 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who would later serve a brief stint as prime minister of Afghanistan; it played a key role in helping to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan.
 |
| Hekmatyar reportedly commands several thousand fighters in eastern Afghanistan [AP] |
Of the three insurgent groups, HiG is the one most willing to publicly talk about negotiations with Kabul. Representatives of Hekmatyar's movement met with Afghan officials in March and presented a 15-point "peace plan", which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces, a cease-fire and a prisoner release. General Michael Flynn, the head of US intelligence in Afghanistan, has called Hekmatyar "absolutely salvageable".
But HiG leaders have been talking for years about reconciliation with Kabul, with little to show for it. Hekmatyar publicly spurned last week's peace jirga, and members of his organisation tell Al Jazeera they won't negotiate until foreign forces leave. And any talk of rehabiliating Hekmatyar is deeply unwelcome to many Afghan citizens who suffered through decades of human rights abuses committed by Hekmatyar's militia, most notably his incessant rocketing of Kabul in 1994.
Haqqani network
Finally there is the so-called Haqqani network, the eponymous organisation named after its leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son run the network from Pakistan [GALLO/GETTY]The group is responsible for some of Afghanistan's highest-profile attacks, including a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul - a favorite expat haunt - and an April 2008 assassination attempt against Afghan president Hamid Karzai. US and Nato commanders have called Haqqani their greatest strategic threat in Afghanistan.
Haqqani also maintains extensive connections to Pakistan's security services, which views the Haqqani network as a strategic asset against neighbouring India.
Afghanistan's insurgents are motivated by a complicated mix of grievances, but fighters in the Haqqani network reportedly have a more ideological bent than other groups. Anand Gopal, a Kabul-based journalist, has reported that "a significantproportion of Haqqani fighters double as madrassa students".
Pakistani Taliban
Across the border, meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban's umbrella organisation - the Tehrik-i-Taliban - encompasses militias led by several commanders, including Hakimullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Maulvi Nazir and others. They are supported by a number of sympathetic groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The extent of the Pakistani Taliban's ties to its Afghan counterpart is hotly debated. Journalists and analysts have identified growing co-operation between the two groups over the last few years.
Regardless of the operational linkages, though, it's clear the groups are motivated by different grievances: The Afghan insurgency opposes the foreign presence in Afghanistan, while the Pakistani Taliban primarily fights the government in Islamabad.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
I just found out the other night that Burt and Ernie are gay! Am I the only one that did not know that? And Queen Latifa. And a bunch of other people..... In light of my discovery and recently being told my "gaydar" is broken since I have no idea who is and isn't (mostly because I just don;t think about it much), I've decided to share my comments I posted on a DoD forum. This website is asking for feedback from the troops about what we think of the law and the repeal of it as part of the DoD review that is going on right now. The site made it clear that comments were not anonymous, so don't tell them anything you don;t want them to know!
So...here are my thoughts regarding DADT- from me as a private citizen, not my rank or official position. My official position, of course, is that I'll obey and enforce whatever the current law and regulations are.
I am a female Christian AF officer with command experience in the medical
field. When DADT first came into effect, I thought it was a step in the
right direction. Now, I strongly believe it ought to be repealed.
Discrimination for reasons other than inability to do one's job or duty or
to serve honorably are inconsistent with AF values. It used to be OK to
discriminate against minorities and women and now it's not. This is the same
thing. I know that people are concerned that serving with gay members would
put them at risk of being hit on sexually or that they would be put in
situations similar to being in the same situation with members of the
opposite sex. Well, Gentlemen, welcome to my world! I have successfully
navigated with men shared on-call rooms where members of the opposite sex
slept in the same room in the hospital, shared the same bathroom, and the
same shower. When my daughter was born, I pumped my breast milk with men in
that call room. No one cared. We were all discreet and professional. In
field exercises, I've shared a tent with 18 men, where I slept and changed
clothes with them. We were all professional. At survival school, I
virtually spooned with two men in a tiny shelter because it was better than
freezing. They did not seem to care that they were so near to me or to each
other and I certainly did not care. And when evading the "enemy", a bit of
tall grass and a whispered "Don't look!" were all the privacy I got when it
was time to relieve myself. We were professional. My point is that I have
been in numerous situations with members of the opposite sex which might be
similar to being in situations with a gay member of the same sex.
Professionalism goes a long way.
I have known many gay service members over the years and was proud to serve
with them. Their sexual orientation is irrelevant to job performance.
I have had many patients who hid their sexual orientation from the Air Force
and have had the resultant stress that goes along with it- unnecessarily.
The Christian side of me wants to believe homosexual acts are sinful because the Bible says so- although I'm not sure I'm convinced. That's a tough one. The officer and human side of me says that's irrelevant. Can the person do the job?
Are they professional? Then make everyone else live up to that standard and
send DADT the way of segregation laws and laws barring women from service.
So...here are my thoughts regarding DADT- from me as a private citizen, not my rank or official position. My official position, of course, is that I'll obey and enforce whatever the current law and regulations are.
I am a female Christian AF officer with command experience in the medical
field. When DADT first came into effect, I thought it was a step in the
right direction. Now, I strongly believe it ought to be repealed.
Discrimination for reasons other than inability to do one's job or duty or
to serve honorably are inconsistent with AF values. It used to be OK to
discriminate against minorities and women and now it's not. This is the same
thing. I know that people are concerned that serving with gay members would
put them at risk of being hit on sexually or that they would be put in
situations similar to being in the same situation with members of the
opposite sex. Well, Gentlemen, welcome to my world! I have successfully
navigated with men shared on-call rooms where members of the opposite sex
slept in the same room in the hospital, shared the same bathroom, and the
same shower. When my daughter was born, I pumped my breast milk with men in
that call room. No one cared. We were all discreet and professional. In
field exercises, I've shared a tent with 18 men, where I slept and changed
clothes with them. We were all professional. At survival school, I
virtually spooned with two men in a tiny shelter because it was better than
freezing. They did not seem to care that they were so near to me or to each
other and I certainly did not care. And when evading the "enemy", a bit of
tall grass and a whispered "Don't look!" were all the privacy I got when it
was time to relieve myself. We were professional. My point is that I have
been in numerous situations with members of the opposite sex which might be
similar to being in situations with a gay member of the same sex.
Professionalism goes a long way.
I have known many gay service members over the years and was proud to serve
with them. Their sexual orientation is irrelevant to job performance.
I have had many patients who hid their sexual orientation from the Air Force
and have had the resultant stress that goes along with it- unnecessarily.
The Christian side of me wants to believe homosexual acts are sinful because the Bible says so- although I'm not sure I'm convinced. That's a tough one. The officer and human side of me says that's irrelevant. Can the person do the job?
Are they professional? Then make everyone else live up to that standard and
send DADT the way of segregation laws and laws barring women from service.
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