A Closer Look at US Military Statistics in Iraq War

By MONIKA MATHUR

Associated Press Writer

 

A closer look at US military deaths in Iraq:

Percentages by service branch: Army: 72 percent; Marines: 24 percent; Navy: 2 percent; Air Force: 1 percent (Coast Guard had one death.)

Percentages by service force: Active duty: 83 percent; National Guard: 10 percent; Reserve: 6 percent.

Percent who died since President George W. Bush declared major combat ended: 97 percent

Months with the most deaths since the start of the war: November 2004: 137; April 2004: 135; May 2007: 126; December 2006: 112; January 2005: 107

Iraq provinces with most deaths since the start of war: Baghdad: 1,113; Anbar: 1,099; Salaheddin: 513; Nineveh: 220; Diyala: 136

Percentage killed by an improvised explosive device: 44 percent in 2007; 56 percent to date in 2008

Percent of deaths that were non-hostile: 18 percent

Number who died of illness: 66

Percent who were officers: 9 percent

Number older than 45 years: 83

Number who were age 18: 33

Number of women: 98

Percent of the dead who were women: 2 percent

Percentages by ethnic group: White: 75 percent; Hispanic or Latino: 11 percent;

Black or African American: 9 percent; Asian: 2 percent; multiple races, pending, or unknown: 1 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native: 1 percent; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 1 percent

 

Note On Numbers: The numbers are based on counts by the Department of Defense and Associated Press. Most items are based on information obtained by the DoD for 4,000 deaths, as of March 23. The AP’s count, which includes deaths reported by news staff in Iraq, has been consistently somewhat ahead of the DOD’s. The percentages for minorities and officers and number of non-hostile illnesses were last updated as of March 1, 2008. Total deaths in AP’s calculations include eight civilians working for the military.

New Study on Hip Hop Music and Drugs Released

A new study suggests that hip hop music has increasingly glamorized the use of illegal drugs, portraying marijuana, crack and cocaine as symbols of wealth and status, according to a new study by the journal Addiction Research & Theory.

::crickets::

The study found that rappers had moved away from lyrics that warn against drug use, an approach that was more common in hip hop during the early days of the genre, reports Reuters.   

After sampling 341 lyrics from rap music’s most popular hits between 1979 and 1997, the researchers found references to drugs had increased six-fold over that period.

Of the 38 most popular songs between 1979 and 1984, only four contained drug references. But by the late 1980s the incidence had increased to 19 percent, and after 1993 nearly 70 percent of rap songs mentioned drug use.

Lyrics describing drug use have not only become more frequent but the context changed from concern about the devastation of drugs to a more positive portrayal. For example, Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines,” recorded in 1983, warns cocaine does nothing except “killin’ your brain,” but more recent tunes by popular rappers such as 50 Cent’s “As the World Turns” refers to cocaine and heroin as positive things.

Remy Ma, Papoose to Wed Despite Imprisonment

 From what we hear Remy Ma and Papoose have generally been denying that they’re engaged but we have also been hearing that the pair are still getting married despite the fact that Remy Ma is currently hemmed up in New York’s Rikers Island jail.

Remy’s lawyer Ivan Fisher told the Associated Press: “They’re much in love. They’re very committed to each other, and they had intended to marry one way or another.”

      The 26-year-old performer is being held without bail until her sentencing, set for April 23. She faces the possibility of up to 25 years in prison.

      About 200 weddings are performed each year at Rikers Island, which offers chaplains and chapels, said city Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello. Only two guests will be permitted, and the couple won’t be allowed to wear rings with protruding gems.

Spike Lee Endorses Obama, Calls Clinton Liar

    Film director Spike Lee, recently announced that he’s endorsing Sen. Barack Obama over Hilary Clinton because as he states “The Clinton’s, man, they would lie on a stack of Bibles.”

Apparently Lee was upset over Clinton’s gross exaggeration in her accounts of her experiences overseas while serving as first lady. “Snipers? That’s not misspeaking; that’s some pure bullshit. I voted for Clinton twice, but that’s over with.”

By the way, Obama told Lee that on his first date with Michelle the couple went to see Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”

Obama Campaign Continues in Culver City

Caption: Councilmember Parks poses with guests at an Obama Fundraiser in Culver City.

 

Culver City, CA- As the nation maintains its political focus on Presidential Primaries from Pennsylvania on April 22 to Montana on June 3, the fundraising focus shifted to the relatively smaller, recently “hipper” and “trendier” area of Culver City over the weekend. There, Illinois Senator Barack Obama’s campaign reached into the home of one Culver City resident and into the pockets of others to expand on a fundraising lead aided by the doubling of his opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton’s, money intake for the month of March.

To carry the message of the campaign, Obama staffers enlisted the help of former Los Angeles Police Chief, current Councilman and fellow campaign trail member Bernard C. Parks. The thinly-veiled hope was that Parks, who is in the middle of his own race for the Second District Seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and has been masterful at raising more than $700,000 for that effort, would have similar success at loosening up the purse strings for Obama. The fact that the fundraiser was held in a home in Culver City, located in the Second District was an extra-added bonus because Parks may very well have approached or be approaching the same potential donors for his campaign.

During the fundraiser, Parks played his role and attempted to separate Obama from his opponents. “Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a coherent plan for the United States of America,” Parks said. “He’s the only candidate who doesn’t need a briefing memo to talk about things that affect much of this country, like: poverty, discrimination or coming from a single-parent home. And, he will make the appropriate changes in healthcare.”

Parks has been a very active supporter of Obama’s and was one of those in attendance at Friday’s “Obamathon” rally at the L.A. Sentinel Newspaper’s Offices. The ability to reach out to a variety of funding sources, gives the Obama Campaign the ability to wage an aggressive campaign for his party’s nomination in Pennsylvania and other states with upcoming contests.

The Illinois senator raised more than $40 million last month and broadened his pool of donors to nearly 1.3 million people, his campaign said Thursday. Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $20 million in March, aides told the Associated Press. She had raised more than $35 million in February. Obama’s March total lags the record $55.4 million he collected in February. His overall fundraising — more than $237 million to date — has shattered the record $185.6 million haul of President Bush at this stage in the 2004 presidential contest.

Obama has spent about $3 million on television ads in Pennsylvania in advance of the state’s primary April 22, compared with about $830,000 by Clinton, according to Evan Tracey, who tracks political advertising at the Campaign Media Analysis Group.

Obama runs roughly 530 spots daily in the Keystone State; Clinton, about 165. Obama also has an advertising edge in Indiana and North Carolina, where he has run TV ads for nearly a week. Clinton launches her first ad in the Tar Heel state today. She is not yet advertising in Indiana, Tracey said.

Both states will hold primaries May 6.

David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, said the March haul demonstrates the “American people’s extraordinary desire to change Washington.” He noted that the campaign attracted 218,000 new donors last month. The average donation was $96.Obama did not disclose how much he has stockpiled for the general election.

About 4 percent of Obama’s money raised through the end of February was for the general election, compared with 13 percent of Clinton’s cash, according to the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute. Neither Democrat said how much cash they have on hand or disclosed their debts. Candidates are required to report those details in reports due to the Federal Election Commission on April 20.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson played down Obama’s fundraising total, saying, “We knew that he was going to outraise us.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, would not release his March fundraising numbers — a month in which he significantly stepped up his fundraising events. He has lagged far behind the Democrats in the money contest. McCain held 25 fundraisers last month, even though he spent a week on an overseas trip.

Source: USA Today