Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Jobs: UNOPS Protection Officer(s)–Personal Security Detail, Iraq
Lots of positions and it will be interesting to hear any other details on this. The funny part about this, like most UN security job offerings, is the total lack of any specifics when it comes to weapon stuff. Maybe they plan on giving each officer a revolver and three bullets? lol All kidding aside, I would love to hear any UN folks talk a little more about these job offerings. -Matt
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Vacancy Details
Vacancy Code UNOPS/IQOC/09/027
Post Title Protection Officer – Personal Security Detail
Post Level P3 (ICS 10)*
Duty Station Baghdad, Iraq (2 positions)
Basrah, Iraq (1 position)
Kirkuk , Iraq (1 position)
Mosul , Iraq (1 position)
Najaf , Iraq (1 position)
Duration 12 months with possibility of extension subject to fund availability
Closing Date 2 July 2009
Link to Brochure Here.
Iraq: Rumblings in Falluja Threaten to Disrupt Script for U.S. Withdrawal
Mr. French, the reconstruction team leader, said, “Everyone’s feeling squirrelly now because we’re in a transition phase, where the perception was that the release of the Bucca detainees and the withdrawal of the Marines would make things worse.”
“My inclination is to say, yes, the security is worse,” he said. “Are there really any more incidents? I don’t think so.” Although the American team has not reduced its activities in the Falluja area, he said, “we keep a low profile.”
There are three things in this story to focus on. The troop withdrawals, the release of prisoners, and the threat towards contractors that are involved with reconstruction. All of those planets are in alignment for Iraq to be an active place. The insurgency will definitely try and test the Iraqi government and it’s forces with all sorts of attacks. And given the latest suicide and IED attacks, this is already starting.
There is one more factor to keep in mind, and that is the stuff going on in Iran right now. I could see Iran upping the tempo of operations in Iraq, to try and take the attention off of what’s going on in their country. That, and attacks might be used as leverage to somehow influence US actions. The rhetoric might go like this–stay out of our business in Iran, and we won’t turn on the switch in Iraq for violence. It’s just a guess, but you never know the geopolitical underpinnings of what could be going on right now over there. Either way, it is just one more factor that could contribute to possible instability in Iraq.
So with that said, the remaining security forces, meaning security contractors and military, will definitely be working hard in a rapidly evolving environment. Keep your head on a swivel guys and gals. –Matt
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June 24, 2009
Rumblings in Falluja Threaten to Disrupt Script for U.S. Withdrawal
By ROD NORDLAND
FALLUJA, Iraq — Falluja was supposed to be a success story, not a cautionary tale.
After all, by last year the city, a former insurgent stronghold, was considered one of the safest places in the country. Local Sunni sheiks had driven out the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and held successful elections, and American engineers were hard at work on a showcase reconstruction project: a $100 million wastewater treatment plant meant to be a model for civilian advances in Iraq.
Funny Stuff: The BA-K-47
April 12, 2009(from the creator of the BA-K-47)
We had our first annual Bacon Day this past Saturday. As a huge fan of bacon, and all the great bacon blogs out there, I decided it was time for me to make my own bacon creation. I came up with the BA-K-47, a 1:1 scale AK-47 made out of bacon. It took a total of eight hours to create, a lot of bacon, and a blowtorch… oh yeah, and our good friend beer helped too.
Blog Here.
Medical: Hydration Talk–Cera Sport and SaltStick, by Doug
Hyponatremia (British: hyponatraemia) is an electrolyte disturbance (disturbance of the salts in the blood) in which the sodium (Natrium in Latin) concentration in the plasma is lower than normal (hypo in Greek; in this case, below 135 mmol/L).
Severe or rapidly progressing hyponatremia can result in swelling of the brain (cerebral edema), and the symptoms of hyponatremia are mainly neurological. Hyponatremia is most often a complication of other medical illnesses in which either fluids rich in sodium are lost (for example because of diarrhea or vomiting), or excess water accumulates in the body at a higher rate than it can be excreted (for example in polydipsia or syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone, SIADH). There may also be spurious hyponatremia (pseudohyponatremia or factitious hyponatremia) if other substances expand the serum and dilute the sodium (for example, high blood levels of fats in hypertriglyceridemia or high blood sugar in hyperglycemia).