Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has died of complications from a stroke. He was 75.
Shalikashvili passed away Saturday at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and their son, Brant.
Born in Poland in 1936, Shalikashvili became the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993. He held the post until his retirement in 1997, serving under former President Bill Clinton. Peculiar biographical information from his Wiki:
John Shalikashvili is a scion of the medieval Georgian noble house of Shalikashvili. His father, Prince Dimitri Shalikashvili (1896--1978), served in the army of Imperial Russia.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, he became a lieutenant-colonel in the army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. When the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Georgia in 1921, he was on diplomatic service in Turkey.
Dimitri then joined other Georgian exiles in Poland, where he met and married John's mother, Marie Antoinette, daughter of Count Rudiger-Bielajew, a former Tsarist general. They had three children: Othar, John, and Gale. Dimitri served in the Polish Army (along with other Georgian exiles) as a contract officer. In 1939, he fought against the German invasion of Poland.
The unit was later incorporated into the SS-Waffengruppe Georgien and transferred to Normandy. Dimitri surrendered to British forces and was a prisoner of war until after the war.
Meanwhile, Maria, John, and his two brothers lived through the destruction of Warsaw. As the Red Army approached Warsaw in 1944, the family fled to Pappenheim, Germany where they were reunited with Dimitri. They stayed with relatives there for eight years.
In 1952, when John was 16, the family immigrated to Peoria, Illinois.
Shalikashvili went to Peoria High School, where he was a long distance runner. He attended Bradley University in Peoria, and received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1958. He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. He later received a master's degree in International Affairs.
In May 1958, Shalikashvili and his family became American citizens. It was the first citizenship he ever held. He had previously been classified as "stateless", since he had been born to parents who had been refugees.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/23/2011 17:34 Comments ||
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Seems to have Progressive leanings. From AP:
Clinton pointed out that "Gen. Shali" made the recommendations that sent U.S. troops into harm's way in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf and a host of other world hotspots that had proliferated since the end of the Cold War....Shalikashvili said American military and civilian authorities need to cooperate more when they decide to get involved in such trouble spots, because so much of what the military is asked to do involves humanitarian or peacekeeping operations. For example, he said, the military might need assistance from the Justice Department to help set up police forces, or advice from the State Department on economic aid. "We know the agencies, but who is responsible for coordinating it, bringing it all in at the right time?" he said. "Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, even Somalia, showed us these things go forward from the first day, and there is no coordinator."...Shalikashvili was head of the Joint Chiefs when the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military was adopted. He had argued that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would hurt troop morale and undermine the cohesion of combat units. Years later, though, he said that he changed his mind on the issue after meeting with gay servicemen...Earlier in his career, under the first President George Bush, Shalikashvili served as NATO's supreme allied commander and also commander in chief of all U.S. armed forces in Europe. At the end of the first Gulf War, he was in charge of the Kurdish relief operation in Iraq. In recent months Shalikashvili served on a senior military advisory group to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, as did another former NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark...Shortly after Shalikashvili was tabbed by Clinton, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said documents it found indicated the general's late father, Dimitri Shalikashvili, collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. The center said it found the elder Shalikashvili's unpublished writings in the archives of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
"If I am backed up against the wall, I'll kick the sh*t out of it," she said. "If you can't sort something out for yourself, no one can help you."
It's really a shame she went down that path. She was an exceptionally gifted musician, who understood and used idioms and influences dating to the early 20th century. Buy her albums and enjoy.
She's only 24 with six Grammy nods, crashing headfirst into success and despair, with a codependent husband in jail, exhibitionist parents with questionable judgement, and the paparazzi documenting her emotional and physical distress.
She was hospitalized in 2007 for a reported overdose of a cocktail of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, whiskey and vodka.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/23/2011 17:37 Comments ||
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Amateur! When you're doing a long night of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, whiskey and vodka, you've gotta mellow it out with Mescal and a glass of ice water. Everybody knows that
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/23/2011 17:44 Comments ||
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Someone needed to explain to her Keith Richards spent his whole life working up to that look...
#12
From another perspective, I have always been a big fan of exploring how "artists make art"... and my Ipod library is pretty eclectic but listenable.
From sculptors to painters to architects, I get just as much enjoyment hearing them explain "What comes first- music or lyrics, chunk of marble or "El Gigante" (the David)...
With this artist, I never saw the artistry, even though I talked to a number of fans, mostly 20 somethings who thought she was great, I never "got" AW's music, but think I recognized the role drugs/whatever played in her creative process... Hard to imagine her being much more than a bar tendress/ bad hairdresser had she not been artistically "organized" by her vices.
RIP
Apparently some enterprising photographers beat security to take photos of the "mothball fleet" north of San Francisco. Photo No. 3 -- the Iowa rusting away-- is especially sad.
Posted by: Matt ||
07/23/2011 13:17 ||
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cool pics
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/23/2011 13:35 Comments ||
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I wonder why the photographer thinks these ships are a 'great risk to the marine environment?' Sink them offshore and they will become home for thousands of happy fish.
Maybe people just say that to sound weepy/lefty or something.
Many of these ships were never properly prepared for decommissioning, and most of them are packed with asbestos. An accidental sinking - and as the USN's budgets have tightened, less and less money has gone for care and maintenance on the mothball fleet, so it's not out of the question - would be an environmental mess of the first order.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/23/2011 16:53 Comments ||
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..Almost forgot - don't count on Iowa ever becoming a museum. No matter who comes up with what kind of plan, it'll be nixed and she will probably end up sink-ex'd. Too many embarrassments associated with that brave ship.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/23/2011 16:55 Comments ||
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Meh- OK... I would assume that petroleum and oils have been pumped out, but I guess there is a lot of PCBs in the older ships as part of the wiring.
They ended up doing a good job with the Oriskany reefing project in FL, so I hope they can do something constructive with some of these.
Asbestos is generally only a health issue when it is inhaled as fine dust - its dust is very pointy and causes fine cuts and irritations to lung tissue, with scarring (and cancer, though I don't know why - Dr. Steve?) Sinking it in mud would seem a reasonable disposal solution, whether still in a ship or not.
#7
Mike, I hope you're wrong about the Iowa. I really do. At the least I bet someone IN Iowa would be able to take it in along the Mississippi River.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/23/2011 19:58 Comments ||
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That the US produced so many Tanks, Planes, + Ships, etc. during WW2 was a big part of how the war-damaged nations of Europe + Asia, Allied or Axis, were able to maintain post-war stability + econ recover.
[Al Jazeera] At least 38 soldiers have been placed in durance vile over an liquidation attempt on president Alpha Conde of Guinea, who was nearly killed on Tuesday when his home was bombarded with rockets. Anybody going to Soodi Arabia for emergency medical treatment of 'minor' wounds?
An official of the Guinean government told the AP news agency on Thursday that many of the men placed in durance vile have ties to Guinea's previous military rulers.
Conde, 73, beat feet unhurt from the incident, but a member of his presidential guard was killed and two others injured as they fought off the attack for over two hours.
Two days after the attack, the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... said it is more determined than ever to support military reforms in Guinea.
Speaking during a visit to Conakry, the capital, Said Djinnit, the UN special representative to West Africa, said the assault on Conde's base showed "weaknesses remain in Guinea's defence and security systems" and "reinforces the UN's determination to support the country" in its military reforms.
"I saw the damage," Djinnit told the AFP news agency after a visit to Conde's home, adding that it showed the attackers "clearly intended to kill the president".
Anti-corruption measures
In an interview with French radio, Conde, the African nation's first democratically elected leader, suggested the attack may have been criminal masterminded by rogue army officers displeased at recent anti-corruption measures.
Conde is tasked with overhauling a security apparatus which has often come under fire from rights groups for brutality, and has been at the vanguard of countless coups and attempted coups since independence from La Belle France in 1958.
Military engineer Captain Mamadou Oury Diallo, was placed in durance vile on Thursday, bringing to 38 the number of officers being held over the attack.
Another officer reported as placed in durance vile, Colonel Tidiane Camara, a friend of General Sekouba Konate, who led a transition government in 2010, said he had refused to surrender to gendarmes without an arrest warrant.
Most of those placed in durance vile are close allies of Konate and Moussa Dadis Camara, who led a military government in Guinea between 2008 and 2009.
Former army chief Nouhou Thiam, who was placed in durance vile on Tuesday, is still in jug and considered a suspect.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2011 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika refused Thursday to step down after two days of riots left 18 dead, with soldiers deployed in the two main cities to quell protests that turned into looting.
The violence triggered international condemnation ranging from UN chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... , the United States and popstar Madonna, while Amnesia Amnesty International accused security forces of shooting dead at least eight people.
Soldiers were deployed in townships around the capital Lilongwe and the commercial hub Blantyre, dispersing some 2,000 protesters who had taken to the streets accusing Mutharika of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic rights.
The 77-year-old president, who won a second term in office in May 2009, issued a defiant message.
"I will continue to govern the country," Mutharika said on national radio. "As mandated by the constitution, the authority to run government is in my hands and not any other person."
"I am ready to meet the opposition and civil society," he said, but then added the protests were "not led by God, but by Satan who will be defeated".
Amnesia Amnesty International urged Malawi's authorities to "immediately launch an independent investigation into the deaths of at least eight people shot by security forces" in the northern city of Mzuzu.
At least 44 people, including six children, were being treated for gunshot wounds at Mzuzu Central Hospital, the rights watchdog added.
"Among the injured children are three 13-year-olds, two girls and a boy."
Mzuzu was the scene of the deadliest violence, where health ministry front man Henry Chimbali put the corpse count at nine.
Six people were killed in Lilongwe, two in Blantyre and one in the town of Karonga on the border with Tanzania, he said.
"The bodies had fractured bones, deep cuts, broken ribs and lost a lot of blood," he said, adding that 22 people had been treated for injuries around the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2011 00:00 ||
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Mutharika took away freedom of speech in Malawi. May he die swiftly and let democracy return. Which it will do better without the "help" of the UN or aid agencies who can all rack off.
[An Nahar] Soddy Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed his son deputy foreign minister with the rank of minister, the official SPA news agency said on Friday. And who could possibly be better qualified for the job that Prince Abdul Aziz?
"The king appoints Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as deputy foreign minister with the rank of minister," SPA quoted a royal decree as saying. Jeez! Thanks, dad!
Veteran Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, like other decrepit aging senile senior members of the royal family, especially including the fat old fart king, has faced dementia health problems, in his case with his neck and back. Must be from all the heavy lifting he does... A brick of gold is a brick of gold...
Prince Abdul Aziz has served as his father's special envoy for important regional issues, especially relations with Syria.
See? He is qualified to speak to foreigners. It may be that he is being groomed to replace the old man, who has been there pretty close to forever.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2011 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Friday welcomed the EU leaders approval of a new financial aid package to Greece to help it overcome its deteriorating debt crisis.
Juppe said the move shows the European Union's ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... keenness on the stability of Eurozone.
The French minister said the decision was taken upon an initiative from French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... Eurozone leaders and private creditors agreed on Thursday to give Greece a new 159-billion-euro bailout, risking a potential default to prevent the debt crisis from spreading worldwide.
The Greek deal was cheered in Asian and European stock markets in early trade on Friday and gave the euro a boost after weeks of turbulence that sucked Italia and Spain into the debt spiral.
They also vowed to keep supporting the two other eurozone nations that have received bailouts, Portugal and Ireland, until they are stable enough to borrow on the private markets again.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2011 00:00 ||
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H/T The Politico. Money graf:
Here's how the two-term, bilingual governor of the crucial Sunshine State described a possible candidacy (On a recent Sean Hannity show appearance - RbR):
I don't anticipate that. You never say never. This is a standard answer that I've kind of learned how to give which is -- you never say never, but I never rule out being on Dancing with the Stars either ... there are a lot of ways you can make a difference.
Oh, good grief...if the Republican party's capable of the self-immolating stupidity it would take to anoint YET ANOTHER BUSH as its Presidential nominee in '12, the country is well and truly screwed. The second Jeb! makes his acceptance speech, the independent vote goes buh-bye. The Trunks would be lucky to recreate Mondale's stunning 1984 one-state finish.
To preserve future posting privileges, please watch under which category postings are... posted. Moved to Non-WoT...
Saw the interview: Sean Hannity must have asked him 4-5 times and Jeb said "No." Finally he made the "never say never" quote. Then he went into all the ways he's making a difference without being a candidate. I left with the feeling he's more likely to appear on "America's Got Talent" than run for POTUS in 2012.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/23/2011 17:27 Comments ||
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Humble apologies for the posting foulup, Badanov...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/23/2011 21:49 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Thursday signed a Rs32 million agreement with a company for installing a software to control traffic in the city.
According to the contract, the company, Tollink, will control traffic on 19 busy intersections in Rawalpindi city through a software -- Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (Scats) -- which will automatically turn the signals green and red according to the volume of traffic.
The software, which will be imported from Australia, has been distributed to 154 cities in 25 countries worldwide controlling 34,357 intersections. Its makers say it is designed to coordinate traffic signals for networks or for arterial roads and "each regional computer can manage up to 250 intersections."
After operating the system for initial two years, Tollink will hand it over to RDA. Initially, the traffic control system will be installed on Benazir Bhutto Road, Liaquat Road, Saidpur Road and Stadium Road.
The ceremony to sign the contract was attended by Chairman Development Committee Rawalpindi and PML-N leader Sardar Nasim, Director General RDA Makeen Shahbaz and representative of Tollink Riffat Nazar.
"We are happy to sign a Urban Traffic Control (UTC) contract for the first time in Pakistain," Makeen Shahbaz said. "The new traffic system can handle traffic far and wide as the software can coordinate traffic on 250 intersections," he added.
According to Tollink representative, the system would end "manual management of traffic". He said the new traffic control system measures volume of vehicles at intersections through installed censors, turning green or red according to the size of traffic.
The project, according to Sardar Nasim, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2011 00:00 ||
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The ceremony to sign the contract was attended by Chairman Development Committee Rawalpindi and PML-N leader Sardar Nasim, Director General RDA Makeen Shahbaz and representative of Tollink Riffat Nazar.
Did the ceremony include the passing of the secret bank account numbers?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Al Jazeera] At least 38 soldiers have been 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
(KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Friday welcomed the EU leaders approval of a new financial aid package to Greece to help it overcome its deteriorating debt crisis.
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Thursday signed a Rs32 million agreement with a company for installing a software to control traffic in the city.
