Word: conscripts
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...almost unbearable. When they return home at night, many are threatened with death; some battalion members believe their comrades leak information. On a patrol with the Americans through Sadr City's teeming thoroughfares, the hostility the Iraqis face from their neighbors is inescapable. "People keep insulting me," an Iraqi conscript named Abdullah tells a U.S. sergeant. "Can I shoot them?" The sergeant tries to calm him, explaining that the rules of engagement do not permit the use of deadly force against hecklers. At this point, Adnan, 37, former explosives specialist in the Iraqi army who is one of the platoon...
...worth remembering that our pilots and sailors and soldiers are, for starters, all volunteers, in contrast to most nations, which conscript those who serve in their armed forces. Ours are serving in 146 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The 1.4 million men and women on active duty make up the most diverse military in our history, and yet it is not exactly a mirror of the country it defends. It is better educated than the general population and overweighted with working-class kids and minorities. About 40% of the troops are Southern, 60% are white, 22% are black...
...Sacco gives us the history of these morally ambiguous warlords who he describes as "military pop idols." While defending the city they confiscate storehouses, evict Muslims from their homes, conscript citizens by gunpoint and are eventually implicated in massacres and "ethnic cleansing." Neven adds his own story to these, like the time he shot an enemy through his gun holster while falling backwards. Or did he? Sacco parallels his increasing doubts about the authenticity of Neven's tales while getting deeper into the warlord's atrocities. By the end, "The Fixer" becomes as much about the haziness and relative importance...
...others face criminal charges for posing as police and shaking down prostitutes. President Václav Klaus ordered the offenders punished, but critics say that's not enough. The Castle Guard has a long history of controversy and criminal misconduct. In 2000, police charged 10 soldiers with hazing new conscripts and in February, the unit's former psychologist received a one-year suspended sentence for raping a conscript. Klaus' office said it will push ahead with plans to professionalize the unit, which is still largely made up of conscripts. Petr Necas, a prominent opposition M.P., has a more radical solution...
...Song dynasty encouraged self-diagnosis among citizens. This contrasts with the evolution of Western medical ethics, which stemmed from the pragmatic realization among 18th century European powers that strong armies and workforces depended on good public health, necessitating standard qualifications for doctors, regular hospital inspections and vaccinated conscript pools. But "Chinese physicians developed no group identity of safeguarding the entire population or, if the government goes in the wrong direction, of voicing criticism," says Paul Unschuld, an expert on Chinese medical history at the University of Munich...