NOT Charlie Wilson’s War…et memorial

I had just finished watching ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’… and though I found it informative… re: funding and the ’somewhat way’ DC goes… I found myself thinking about a man I hadn’t thought about in awhile. A man that was left out of the ‘movie story’ along with a few other notorious etc names. But instead of yacking about Wilson– I want to reflect on a man due reflecting upon !!!

A genius of guerrilla warfare, Ahmad Shah Massoud drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Then —even as he dreamed of peace—the “Lion of Panjshir” was his beleaguered country’s last defense against the Taliban onslaught.

Loyal, tattered, remaining Afghans were fighting for Ahmad Shah Massoud—genius guerrilla leader, last hope of the shattered Afghan government—and all along the laid-waste hills were trenches filled with Taliban soldiers. The Taliban had grown out of the madrasahs, or religious schools, that had sprung up in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion, and they had emerged in 1994 as Afghanistan sank into anarchy following the Soviet withdrawal. Armed and trained by Pakistan and driven by moral principles so extreme that many Muslims feel they can only be described as a perversion of Islam, the Taliban quickly overran most of the country and imposed their iron-fisted version of koranic law. Adulterers faced stoning; women’s rights became nonexistent. Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates recognize their government as legitimate, [ and the USA STILL supports these countries, or should I say they support us$], but it is generally thought that the rest of the world will have to follow suit if the Taliban complete their takeover of the country. The only thing that stood in their way were the last-ditch defenses of Ahmad Shah Massoud….once out of the way .. It was on with their plans… supported by the very same countries stated above and that we keeping making deals with for $$$. [ don’t get me started!!!!!] lest I digress–

It really was on September 9th, 2001 that 9/11 started.

That was the day Osama Bin Lauden assassinated Massoud. …. Then the World trade Center on 9/11.

My personal recollection abut Massoud was because I had watched a totally in depth documentary about him a few years before his assassination. I was enthralled with this man. I loved his caring for his countrymen… and his personal protection for the young people… and the women. He was to rise to lead his country and be their “president”; so to speak. That’s what I felt. And I do recall that it was very very clear that the USA had let that country down terribly and had not kept it’s promise to them. Thus– they were abandoned. Thus the rise of the Taliban and also Bin Lauden’s influence.

I really really admired this man in the ‘awesome hat ‘– [that’s what I called him then]. Geeece. So when the news broke on Sept 9th that he was assassinated… I cried. And I knew worst things were ahead… he himself had even stated so. http://www.skyreporter.com/blog/page/1/20070418_01/

I hope you take the time to browse through this link of photos and stories. It is a wonderful memorial to this man. http://hometown.aol.com/mbeve10258/Massoud.html

 

Later,
lrose
“…Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply,
Speak Kindly and Leave the Rest to God. …”

Amy Goodman Addresses Single Payer Health Care

The Single-Payer Solution

By Amy Goodman

As the media coverage of the Democratic presidential race continues to focus on lapel pins and pastors, America is ailing. As I travel around the country, I find people are angry and motivated. Like Dr. Rocky White, a physician from a conservative, evangelical background who practices in rural Alamosa, Colo. A tall, gray-haired Westerner in black jeans, a crisp white shirt and a bolo tie, Dr. White is a leading advocate for single-payer health care. He wasn’t always.

He told me in a recent interview: “Here I am, a Republican, thinking about nationalizing health care. It just went against the grain of everything that I stood for. But you have to remember: I didn’t come to those conclusions with lofty ideals of social justice.”

In the early 1990s, his medical group started falling apart. White, a keen student of economics and the business of medicine, determined that it wasn’t just his practice but the system that was broken.

“You’re seeing an ever-increasing number of people starting to support a national health program. In fact, 59 percent of practicing physicians today believe that we need to have a national health program. I mean, that’s unheard of, even 10 years ago. It’s amazing to see a new generation of physicians coming up who are disgusted with our current health-care system. You know, we’re trained to be advocates of patients, we’re trained to save lives, we’re trained to practice medicine. And instead, what we’re doing is we’re practicing Wall Street economics.”

Single-payer is not to be confused with universal coverage, which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support. In fact, in a recent debate, when Clinton raised the issue of single-payer, the audience interrupted with applause. She immediately countered, “I know a lot of people favor [it], but for many reasons [it] is difficult to achieve.”

Why? One of the most powerful industries in the country opposes it—the insurance industry. Under universal coverage, insurance profits are preserved. Under single-payer, they are not. Dr. Rocky White, who now sits on the board of the nonprofit Health Care for All Colorado, has switched his political affiliation. He also has updated and reissued Dr. Robert LeBow’s book on single-payer called “Health Care Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and Fixing Our Failing System.”

He described possible solutions: “There are a lot of different types of single-payer systems—you could have purely socialized medicine. That’s kind of like what England has. The government owns the hospitals, the government owns the clinics, the government finances all the health care, and all the doctors work for the government. That is truly socialized medicine, as opposed to the Canadian system, where the financing comes through their Medicare program, but all the doctors are in private practice.”

The economics are complex, but this plain-spoken country doctor explains it clearly:

“You know, this industry is a $2-trillion industry, and the profits in the for-profit insurance industry are so huge and it’s so deeply entrenched into Wall Street … but until we move to a single-payer system and get rid of the profit motive in financing of health care, we will not be able to fix the problems that we have.”

What would it take? Dr. White has spent his life dealing with the high winds on the high plains, from Nebraska to Colorado, and describes the challenge the country faces in familiar terms:

“I think that our current presidential candidates understand that ideally single-payer would be the best, but they don’t have the political will to move that forward. Their job is to feel which way the wind is blowing. Our job is to turn that wind.”

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 650 stations in North America.

 

Posted on Apr 23, 2008

Jen’s Update… Latest MRI

THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008 04:12 PM, EDT   Subscribe to journal update notification News From UAB: Encouraging, More to Come Entry by TRH from Ohio     Greetings Jen Nation! Sis and Matt are on their way back home. Sis had her MRI at 12:30p today and met with doctors. Good thing they had a Walgreens One-Hour Photo around the corner — KIDDING! MRI showed some “enhancement”, or bright contrast in the tumor area. Matt thought most of the mass from the January surgery was still gone, which would be great. Medical team meeting next Tuesday to debate cause of enhancement. Sometimes it can mean new growth, but in this case, it could also be lingering effects of the intense radio-venom that may subside over time. So as this often goes, we’re still winning the battle, but no knock out punch. Depending on outcome Tuesday, they may want her to come back for a biopsy to compare tumor composition to that extracted in January. That would tell a lot. Otherwise, your prayers, God’s grace and my sister’s will are carrying the day. Your support means everything to us! Keep you posted in the coming days! – TRH

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