12.06.08
More Net Surfing
Knowing me a bit, my son thought I would find this picture amusing.
I’m not sure where this picture originated or who is responsible for this or what, but the above pic came from this link http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=37974. Apparently different people upload pictures on the link. Some were really quite good, too, ranging from all sorts of stuff like artworks, scenic shots from various parts of the world, to some very touching photographs such as the one below.
I don’t know when these pictures above were taken, but comments were made below the pictures in this link around January of 2008. I found some of the comments interesting, but also sad. I reminds me of a book I recently checked out from the library called, What Every Person Should Know About WAR by Chris Hedges. I had just finished reading Waltzing with a Dictator by Raymond Bonner and decided to see what other books others bought along those same lines. Bonner’s book was very good, BTW, but I will give it my review in another post later. However, Hedges’ book on war caught my eye because of the comments it received on Amazon. The first comment appears to have been by a vet who claimed that he found the book very straight forward and unbiased. He wrote, “This book is about the truth, the truth of warfare. It makes no commentary, but it also pulls no punches.” Yet he felt that there were others who claimed that Hedges’ book is anti-American. Well, as far as I’m concerned the truth is the truth even if it is anti-American, so I had to check out the book myself to see what it said. So far I find the book pretty straight forward and formatted in a question and answer style. While the book is separated in to chapters, it is formatted like this:
Has the world ever been at peace?
Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.
The chapters are separated into topics dealing with things like enlistment, life in war, weapons and wounds, weapons of mass destruction, etc. I’m actually finding it a very practical book with information that is both interesting and useful for anyone enlisted or contemplating enlistment. Here’s an example from the chapter on Weapons and Wounds:
If I can walk away from an explosion, does it mean I am OK?
No. Even if an explosion does not kill you with heat or shrapnel, the pressure wave itself may damage your body. These are “silent injuries.” You may be free of symptoms for up to 48 hours after the blast. The pressure can enter your lungs and rupture air sacs. It can cause severe respiratory distress that can be fatal. You can be injured due to the “spalling effect” of a pressure wave. This is the same effect that causes rusty flakes on the inside of a pipe to come off when it is struck by a hammer. Your organs may be ruptured even if your skin is not broken. Your eardrum may also be ruptured, causing deafness. Without infection, a ruptured eardrum will heal. A ruptured eardrum may indicate internal injuries.
There are many more questions and answers such as those, which to me are pretty much stating how things are. I think even civilians should read this book because oftentimes there are more civilian casualties in war than soldiers especially since civilians are generally not trained to know what to do during war time and how weapons work. For instance I remember reading once that many civilians get injured because they don’t know to lay on the floor during some bombings. Standing up makes them better targets for all the shrapnel and debris that goes flying around. Or what is safe or not safe during nuclear or chemical warfare, so they expose themselves to unsafe conditions. War isn’t a pretty or fun thing. To call this book anti-American sounds like a person who is anti-knowledge and kinda reminds me of some doctors who don’t want to tell you the side effects of drugs because you might not take the drugs. Anyway, so far I’m finding What Every Person Should Know About War a good read. I hope never to have to experience war, but I think reading this should also help me to understand a tad more of those who have experienced war.
Well, it’s about din din time, so better leave it off here.
Marlakins
