Month: May 2011

Tony Dokoupil has details:

Those who endure the full six months swim more than 150 miles, and run some 1,300 more. Then it’s time for more advanced material: high-altitude parachute training, combat tactics, and finally, at least a year of platoon training. By the time a SEAL is combat-ready, the transformation from deck hand to Sea-Air-Land commando costs $350,000 to $500,000, according to estimates—more than the price of two armored Humvees.

(Photo: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) students participate in Log PT (physical training) during Hell Week June 22, 2003 in Coronado, California.

Log PT is a demonstration not only of physical strength and endurance, but the importance of teamwork. The intense physical and mental conditioning it takes to become a SEAL begins at BUD/S training. During this six-month mind and body obstacle course, recruits are pushed to their physical and mental limits. Further development of the core values, Honor, Courage, Commitment and Integrity, is an essential component of SEAL training and one that is woven throughout a SEAL's career. First phase is the basic conditioning phase and is eight weeks in length. Physical training involves running, swimming, and calisthenics, all of which become increasingly difficult as the weeks progress. The fourth week of training, 'Hell Week,' is five-and-a-half days of continuous training with very little sleep. This week is designed to push students to their maximum capability both physically and mentally. The remaining weeks are spent in hydrographic reconnaissance and basic maritime training. By Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Eric S. Logsdon/U.S. Navy via Getty Images.)

Garth Johnston demands to see pictures of the pup involved in the SEAL operation:

Dogs have a long history in warfare but we didn't realize they were now being trained to jump from helicopters! Apparently modern war dogs are decked out in ballistic body armor that can take single and double-edged knives. They also are given further protective gear to shield them from shrapnel and gunfire. Further, they are given oxygen masks for helicopter jumps and helmets with videocameras for remote monitoring. Awesome, right?

With the governor's active support, and strong backing in the polls, the second third most populous state in the country may be poised to make history. The range of support is impressive:

More than 700 religious leaders, both lay and clerical, signed a petition in support of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York State. The signers come from a variety of religious traditions, although the list appears to be dominated by mainline Protestants, The Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union reported.

The polling last month shows heavy public support (pdf) of 56 – 38 percent in favor of legalizing marriage for gay couples, with even Republicans now evenly split, 45 – 48, and Catholics, as usual, the most supportive of all religious groupings (followed closely by Jewish New Yorkers) by a margin of 59 – 35. 74 percent of the under-30s back legalization. Now we have the old enemy of marriage equality, Bill Clinton, endorsing the measure. Money quote:

For more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality.

The president who not only signed DOMA but kicked marriage advocates in the balls on the day of the Congressional hearings back in 1996, by declaring his view that DOMA was constitutional. (His constitutional advice on this came, presumably, from Dick Morris.) Anyway, better late than never and his support could help build momentum.

Remember the days when Republicans only defended torture in the case of a ticking time bomb? Funny how now the debate on the right has moved – so quickly and without any evidence – to defending torture as a permanent policy to find small nuggets of information that could help in developing leads in anti-terrorism work. Those of us who warned of such slippery slopes are vindicated. And that the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden should immediately prompt unfounded Republican celebrations of torture reveals how morally degraded the discourse has become after the despicable policies of Bush and Cheney. 

Kijabe, Kenya, 12pm

After listening to the hateful voices in the audience at a talk given by Peter Beinart at UCLA, Mark Kleiman abandons Zionism:

Peter Beinart gave a very good talk – at once eloquent and morally and intellectually serious – at UCLA Hillel last night … The response from part of the audience left me sick to my stomach. The basic theme – stated in so many words by one participant – was “they brought it on themselves.” To hear Jews talking about collective ethnic guilt in tones worthy of Der Sturmer was really more than I could handle.  I left after being personally accused of indifference to the Shoah because I refused to profess indifference to the suffering of Arabs.

I am not inclined to defend the gesammelte Schriften of Tony Kushner, but I am perfectly happy to defend his right not to adhere to the neocon party-line on Israel. To offer him and then withdraw an honorary CUNY degree solely because of his views on Israel, and to give him no chance to defend himself, is an ugly but unsurprising thing. Goldblog has the right response:

Kushner strikes me, from a distance, as one of those sons-of-the-people who wakes up worrying about the Jews, and goes to sleep worrying about the Jews. I think his discomfort with Jewish power is mainly misplaced, but turning him into a free-speech martyr? Is that what a handful of Jews want to do with their political power?

Yes it is. The policing of discourse on this matter is repellent.

Hertzberg lunched with Mitch Daniels and came away impressed:

To all appearances, his temperament is undoctrinaire even if some of his economic views aren’t. When it comes to red meat he seems to be a vegetarian.

"[E]ven if [bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But, in fact, the damage that he has done … is done. And even to capture him now I don't think makes us any safer," – Nancy Pelosi, September 7, 2006.

"The death of Osama bin Laden marks the most significant development in our fight against al-Qaida. … I salute President Obama, his national security team, Director Panetta, our men and women in the intelligence community and military, and other nations who supported this effort for their leadership in achieving this major accomplishment. … [T]he death of Osama bin Laden is historic," – Nancy Pelosi, yesterday.

Daniel J. Weiss and Valeri Vasquez gulp:

Americans spent 28 percent more for gasoline during the first three months of 2011 than the same period in 2010. Meanwhile, the big five oil companies—BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell—made 38 percent more profit. The companies then used a major portion of these additional profits to enrich their board of directors, senior managers, and shareholders by purchasing shares of their stock.

Ambinder reports on the Obama administration's decision-making process:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton consulted with allies in the Middle East and reported back that none thought the release of the photos would be in their interests. She and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also worried that the images would provoke anti-American violence at embassies, consulates, and military bases overseas. … Accounting for the morbid curiosity of human beings, there is little appetite, outside the media and some political elites, for the photos.

Really? Let's say that that doesn't jibe with my view of human nature. A reader writes:

Weren't the SEALS wearing audio visual equipment on their helmets? Would it be possible for the administration to release a still photo from this set showing an alive bin Laden? I don't think that anyone really doubts that whoever was there was killed, so seeing that he was actually there would be enough.

Another writes:

There has to be a middle ground between trotting out the photo as a trophy, and demonstrating that there is nothing to hide, because the deathers and other conspiracy theorists need to be put to rest. Why not make the photo publicly available for a short period in a secure location – in the archives, in the DOJ, at the Pentagon – somewhere where media and policymakers can see it but not release it to the public?

Another:

In the era of Wikileaks, the photos are bound to leak eventually.