Waterlines is a new online exhibit from the excellent
Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Seattle. It tells the story of the land underlying Seattle, one of the United States' most geologically active city sites, and of the human attempts to engineer this landform. Closely related are the
archaeology of West Point and
Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound (e.g., read the
story of North Wind and Storm Wind).
posted by Rumple
on May 2, 2009 -
3 comments
I am sullied -- no more. Colonel Ted Westhusing was a soldier's soldier -- a multilingual West Point graduate, tough as nails, who was committed to the ancient Greek warrior's ideal of
ἀρετή ("arete," excellence). He volunteered to go to Iraq, where he was commanded by another
outstanding rising-star officer, counterinsurgency expert
David Petraeus. (Westhusing's widow, Michelle, recalls that her husband thought his country was doing "a great thing" there.) After working with one of the shadowy contractors the US has relied on to train Iraqi security forces,
USIS, Westhusing became increasingly despondent. In May 2005, investigators say, he put a 9mm bullet in his brain after writing a note that said, "Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and
I know it." Westhusing died, as was previously discussed
here, and his former "cdr" is now
running the war. Lots of new information in this article from the
Texas Observer.
posted by digaman
on Mar 10, 2007 -
114 comments
Sure, you could defend the country, but Houston needs a good defense even more! Say, do you want to shirk your commitment to the armed forces but flat-out desertion is
too controversial? Become a pro athlete instead! West Point is revising its rules to stipulate that student athletes who join professional sports teams can avoid active duty. The taxpayer-funded military academy will now allow student athletes to reduce their active duty time if faced with the unbearable burden of being offered multi-million dollar pro contracts.
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on May 1, 2005 -
33 comments
