Matador - war

If You Steal My Sunshine

WestCoastWanderlust — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 19:06:18 -0500

Read full post @ http://westcoastwanderlust.blogspot.com/2008/10/if-you-steal-my-sunshine.html War and Waves. A SoCal oxymoron. ...

Winning in Anbar - a footnote to Iraq

Olivebeard — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 08:44:58 -0500

"Everyone made fun of Captain Patriquin's moustache," my brother tells me over a few beers. The Army Officer Corps, despite regulations that say they can maintain a moustache that reaches the corner of the lips, has historically frowned upon such "low-level" facial hair. Captain Patriquin--a fluent speaker...

Little Green Army Men

Dane — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 03:36:28 -0500

I’m reading Steve Almond’s book “Not that You Asked,” which has a long ode to Kurt Vonnegut in it. I’m a huge and gushing Vonnegut fan myself, and this article had me once again pondering the issue that dominated his writing: man’s inhumanity toward man. So I’m...

I (Heart) Sarajevo

Valerie — Sat, 3 May 2008 06:25:08 -0500

Our tour leader said that Sarajevo would be the highlight of the tour, and for me it truly is. I've never been to a city quite like this before. It's got a bit of Istanbul, a bit of Vienna. I haven't been to Turkey but I have a feeling that the Turkish quarter is pretty close to what I would find...

Stuck in Traffic

Olivebeard — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:58:16 -0500

The Bodega Brew Pub in La Crosse Wisconsin has the greatest slection of beers and ales in, dare I say, the entire midwest. Normally, the flow of good conversation is evenly paced with the flow of good beer and tonight is no exception. It is in this setting that we're talking about life, death...

Anderson Cooper's Dispatches From the Edge

Valerie — Fri, 7 Dec 2007 01:11:53 -0600

I recently listened to the audiobook of CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper's memoirs of his life as a war correspondent. It's an eye-opening and provocative read (or in my case, listen) for those of us interested in world affairs. If you don't feel like sitting down to read it, I would highly recommend...

Washington D.C. and the burden of Surviving

Olivebeard — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:37:46 -0600

Washington
D.C., August 21st, 2007

I guess we simply can't escape who we are. Here we are in
our great nation's capital, sitting on a bench outside of the Vietnam
memorial, drinking beer. While dozens of signs around...

A new found respect for mayhem

Olivebeard — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:06:50 -0500

I read a lot of things on different travel websites that make tongue-in-cheek references to the United States' spotty foreign policy. Lord knows, I couldn't agree more; it has been pretty bad for the past 8 years (I miss Madeline Albricht) and...

I Support A Draft

Tim Patterson — Sun, 7 Oct 2007 10:54:00 -0500

Because it's impossible to understand war (or the Middle East!) without experience of war;

And people who understand war are less likely to support politicians with soft spots for military action;

And
people who understand the Middle East are less likely to support
politicians like Rudy Giuliani -...

McNamara's Legacy

Tim Patterson — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:50:40 -0500

A few years ago I met Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense and World Bank President, an architect of both the firebombing of Japan and the Vietnam War. McNamara is a very old man now, and has devoted the last years of his life to explaining his actions.

A few months ago, in Cambodia, I...

Vietnam, After the War

railroamer — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:51:49 -0500

We arrived in Hue, near the middle of Vietnam, just after 8:00 in the morning, following a 19-hour ride on the "Reunification Express" train from Ho Chi Minh City (average speed 30 mph). I had called ahead and reserved rooms for us at a small hotel in the tourist district, and they had agreed to meet...

Looking for Needles in a Haystack

Lauren Lim — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:32:14 -0500

"I might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack or a Jew in Poland." The History of Love, Nicole Krauss

When I read this sentence to my students, their faces immediately became somber. Needless to say, after the atrocities of World War II, few Jews remain in Poland. To break it down, quite...