Full Metal Lunchbox

 
I seem to remember from my college studies of Chinese philosophy the Daoist belief in the intellectual benefit of comparing the seemingly uncomparable.  In this time of upheaval and confusion I will attempt to gain insight though such a comparison.

Here goes...

Name:	Haditha		ACH-30
What is it?	city in Al Anbar Province, Iraq		industrial fan
Relevance:	site of alleged massacre by U.S. marines of 24 unarmed civilians		recently installed in the office where I work
What happened?	Many details are conflicted and or uncorroborated, and neither the U.S. military nor the Iraqi government have issued a final report of the incident.  But based on details leaked from U.S. government sources, media reports, and eyewittness accounts it appears likely that somwhere between 3 and 12+ members of the U.S. Marines murdered at least 24 civilians, including women and children.  Most of them were killed in their homes and shot execution-style.  Survivors include a little girl who pretended to be dead while her parents and siblings were executed nearby.		The air conditioning at the remittance processing facility where I work has been on the fritz for several weeks, either taking in noxious fumes from the outside or failing at random intervals.  A little more than a week ago the A/C finaly conked out on my half the production floor and a new part had to be ordered.  Management installed industrial fans (such as the ACH-30) in every area of the affected part of the production floor *except* the area where I work.  It has been suggested that we were overlooked because we are the only department on site that does not directly report to the same management.  However, last night management finaly took pity on us and bought us a fan of our very own.
Specifications:	Located on the Euphrates River, Haditha is probably one of the oldest farming towns in human history, with an agricultural tradition predating written records.  The current population is estimated at 90,000.		The ACH-30 has a fan blade diameter of 30".  It's self-lubricating two-speed motor can spin up to 9200 CPM.
Costs to you and me:	In the days following the alleged massacre, and while still denying that any civilian killings even took place, the U.S. government quietly paid US$2500 to the families of each victim.  The actual cost of each human life is unknown.		The ACH-30 has a list price of $420 and a street price of $228.  This is paid, at least indirectly, by our customer: the United States government.
Unfair Comparisons:	Some in the media are already comparing the alleged massacre in Haditha to the My Lai Massacre.  This is an unfair comparison.  The Haditha massacre allegedly took place in Iraq late last year and the My Lai Massacre took place in Vietnam, decades ago and thousands of miles away.  Different story, right?		Air conditioning is designed to blow, whereas even a really good fan like the ACH-30 still sucks.