KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban militants stoned a young couple to death for adultery after they ran away from their families in northern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. via news.yahoo.com Continue reading

"As I understand, the rate for one vote is the equivalent of two and a half dollars. For example, if I need 10,000 votes, then I have to give them at least $25,000. Impossible! First of all, I will not buy votes because it is fraud." Continue Reading » via www.awwproject.org Continue reading

America's biggest -- and only major -- jobs program is the U.S. military. via www.alternet.org Continue reading

WASHINGTON – At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests. via news.yahoo.com Continue reading

The moral argument for the invasion and War in Afghanistan used to be that of liberal interventionism—the claim that intervening in the domestic politics of a country is justified if it delivered the people of that country from the clutches of illiberality and coercive governance. Further the claim went that if offered a chance, the people of that country would choose a liberal and free society, motivated by humane capabilities and free market trade and through their collective politics would deliver mutual advantage stability and security to the U.S. and its international allies, which would play well politically back home.... Continue reading

A comments section conversation about WikiLeaks between myself and my FPA-o-sphere colleague Patrick Frost has morphed into a conversation about the morality of American military force. Patrick wrote: via lawandsecurity.foreignpolicyblogs.com Continue reading

Dust-bowl camps. Dining in a quonset hut. Makeshift memorials for fallen comrades. Endless lines of tents, and Black Hawk helicopters parked in the dust. via news.yahoo.com Continue reading

WASHINGTON — At first, the news from Yemen on May 25 sounded like a modest victory in the campaign against terrorists: an airstrike had hit a group suspected of being operatives for Al Qaeda in the remote desert of Marib Province, birthplace of the legendary queen of Sheba. via www.nytimes.com Continue reading

I stumbled across this blog, ThruAfghanEyes and was mesmerized by the photographs.... I must have spent an hour looking through the whole blog. The photos were taken by Fardin Waezi, a photojournalist in Kabul and they amazing. You really should check it out. Afghanistan is not a land that many Westerners know that much about, except that our soldiers are there fighting. The culture, steeped in war, is a mix of tribal and modern that is really fascinating. One of the things that irks me most about the True Believers I come across daily is that "Kill the towel heads"... Continue reading

That's right - we're moving on post. I swore up and down I would never live on post. I would never be part of that whole True Believer scene, would never live in the fishbowl of post. In ten days we're moving on post. Why? We thought long and hard about it, because in reality neither one of us wants to. But in the end we decided that it's better for DS to live on post than off. On post she will have access to all the great kids programs the Army offers, she'll go to on post schools which... Continue reading

I've always been a fan of Soft Paws in theory, because I think declawing is horrifying cruel. But Nala was front declawed when I got her, so I never really used Soft Paws before. Today we put them on the Brothers Poe for the first time. There was a lot... Continue reading

Again sorry for the sporadic posts... but we're heading into the home stretch! The house on post will be ready on the 25th, and stepdaughter arrives on the 28th, so the next 2 weeks will be crazy busy while everything gets organized and packed. In the meantime the Brothers Poe... Continue reading

But Stephanie Dolgoff, the author of a new book, “My Formerly Hot Life: Dispatches From Just the Other Side of Young” (Ballantine Books), is undaunted. According to Ms. Dolgoff, women in their late 30s and early 40s fall into a “new category of person: adult ’tweens, not quite middle-aged, but no longer our reckless, restless, gravity-defying selves.” Their new moniker: Formerlies, as in formerly hot. via www.nytimes.com Continue reading

It's true! our beloved PoeBabies are 4 months old today!!!! Can you believe it's been 4 months since these little fuzzles came into our lives? They're so much a part of our life now I couldn't imagine life without them. It hasn't always been easy, in fact sometimes it's been... Continue reading

I freaking love these guys. Big, burly tattooed bikers who "educate" animal abusers and rescue abused and neglected animals. They have a show on NatGeo and they are very active and involved in animal rescue. Support Rescue Ink! From their site: You've never met a rescue group like Rescue Ink™... Continue reading

Sorry for the lack of posts PoeNation! As we get down to the wire for stepdaughter moving in and start to get to move to a new house the amount of little tasks I have to get done every day grow by leaps and bounds. I have started my very... Continue reading

leaving shortly to take DH to the doctor for yet another follow up but thought I'd post some pics of the crazy PoeBros from the last few days! Beckett snoozes on Sunday morning Then he gets a bath from Kafka Then both annoy the crap out of Nala, who likes... Continue reading

of her castle! Just look at how happy she is!! I was heartbroken when the three PoeBabies who were adopted out left us, but I can honestly say that they could not have ended up in better homes. Thank you to all the new families of our PoeBabies for giving... Continue reading

I can't believe I never posted these. Sorry PoeNation, things are 99 kinds of crazy in the PoeHouse right now. It's all official and agreed upon - stepdaughter moves in with us for good on August 28th. We move into a new house around Aug 20th, and DH is still... Continue reading

ARGHANDAB VALLEY, Afghanistan – The Afghan soldiers look like they belong. They wear beards, carry Soviet-era rifles and stride confidently through fields of wheat, melons and okra. In one village, a young girl brings them a jug of milk to drink under the shade of a tree. via news.yahoo.com Continue reading

They became instant war heroes by foiling a suicide bomber trying to sneak into US soldiers' quarters in Afghanistan, and as a reward, they're getting homes -- and lots of doggie treats. via www.nypost.com Continue reading

Beckett is helping me out by supervising my first knitting project, a shawl for the cool autumn weather, if we ever get any weather below 100! Also, I heard from Layla's person today and little Layla our rock star is doing great! I'll have some new pics of her up... Continue reading

out with his new person for an evening walk. What an amazingly handsome little guy!!! Continue reading

via blogs.denverpost.com these photos blew me away.... totally amazing Continue reading

BAGHDAD – The U.S. Defense Department is unable to properly account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the U.S. for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released Tuesday. via news.yahoo.com Continue reading