Gabby Giffords Must Be Made Of Titanium

She’s slated to leave intensive care this Friday and start an aggressive course of therapy, less than two weeks after a bullet went through her brain:

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was able to stand with assistance on Wednesday, an aide said, with her doctor adding that the congresswoman has the strength to stand on her own.

“Today we were getting her out of bed again and we were able to stand with assistance,” said Dr. Peter Rhee, Tucson’s University Medical Center’s trauma chief. “She’s got the strength to stand on her own, lift her head up and these … I see improvements every single day.”

[…]

In addition to standing on Wednesday, Giffords’ doctor said she was put in a chair and was able to look out a window.

“We went to a window and so she could see the mountains of Tucson,” Rhee said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that lifted up her spirits.”

The congresswoman, who will be moved to a rehabilitation center in Texas later this week, had worries about her safety long before she was critically wounded by a gunman at a public event this month, her husband said on Tuesday.

“We’ve discussed it a number of times,” Mark Kelly told KVOA. “She felt that that was a possibility, pretty much exactly what had happened … there have been threats against her and other members of Congress.”

[…]

In an e-mail sent to friends and family members Tuesday and obtained by CNN, Giffords’ mother, Gloria, writes that she will be moved from Tucson’s University Medical Center to rehabilitation facilities in Houston on Friday.

“There is a team of medical specialists involved … including military surgeons who specialize in bullet wounds to the head,” the e-mail says. “They want to start aggressive rehab immediately.”

Giffords’ office confirmed the move and said that while the move is expected to be Friday, “the exact day of the move will depend on the congresswoman’s health.” Her family chose TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital in Houston, part of the Texas Medical Center, because of its reputation, one of her doctors said.

“The congresswoman’s family wants to ensure she receives the best rehabilitative care possible for her type of serious penetrating brain injury,” said Dr. Michael Lemole.

Kelly said that Memorial Hermann’s proximity to Tucson was another factor in the decision.

“I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting,” he said. “The team of doctors and nurses at UMC has stabilized her to the point of being ready to move to the rehabilitation phase. Their goal — and our goal — has been to provide Gabby with the best care possible.”

[…]

Gloria Giffords writes that her daughter shows improvement every day “and shows higher levels of comprehension and complex actions.

“Yesterday, when Mark came back from speaking at her aide’s memorial service, she reached up and untied his tie and undid the top button to his shirt,” according to the e-mail.

“Last night, she took his iPod and scrolled through all the pictures. Early this morning she began to read cards made for her by some 4th graders! Her unbandaged eye tracked the lines, she opened the cards and turned them over reading the back. Mark’s gotten pages of large print of Harry Potter’s 1st book for her to hold and read.”

The e-mail also says that Giffords gave her husband “a 20-minute neck and back rub.”

Keep it up, Congresswoman Giffords.

Haiti agonistes. Did US assassinate Brazilian general?

Amy Goodman had a fascinating interview with Kim Ives over events in Haiti, especially the arrival of the notorious mass murderer, the dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Ives says that:

The Organization of American States is ordering Préval to change the results of the election held on November 28th, which was a completely ridiculous election marred by terrible irregularities. …

Préval is resisting this and has not responded to the OAS report and seems to question its methodology. So, we think that Duvalier’s arrival there is really an effort to pressure Préval and show him—in a way, rally the Duvalierist base, because he really is the symbol of that old guard that left power 25 years ago.

The occupying powers are willing to be ruthless in order to set up a compliant regime:

There apparently was even a meeting that the former OAS ambassador to Haiti, a fellow called Seitenfus, who has since been dismissed because of his frankness, made a—was in a meeting where they were actually discussing how to get a plane to ship Préval out [i.e., to kidnap him, as was done to former President Aristide].
…
Haiti remains the only militarily occupied nation in the Western hemisphere. It is suffering under the results of the earthquake, 1.3 million people still living under tents and tarps. Cholera has killed closing on 4,000 people, and no end in sight. You have a tremendous level of poverty and misery in the country. So, the U.S.’s main concern is not all of this, but simply how to put a façade on this occupation of the country, how to basically put their people in. And for the first time in 20 years, since Aristide’s election—first election in 1990, they have two neo-Duvalierist candidates who are positioned to take power through this completely bogus election.

And then this bombshell:

AMY GOODMAN: And the newest WikiLeaks documents showing the U.S. pressuring Brazil to also prevent Aristide from returning home?

KIM IVES: Exactly. They’ve been pressuring Brazil. And there’s another interesting WikiLeak that came out today, that the Brazilian general in 2006 who supposedly committed suicide in his hotel room—

AMY GOODMAN: Under MINUSTAH, the U.N. forces.

KIM IVES: Of the U.N. forces, MINUSTAH—was that he may in fact have been assassinated.

The cable was just released by Aftenposten. It has Dominican President Leonel Fernandez speculating that this might have been an assassination. The only person he could think of who might have done such a thing is alleged CIA asset Guy Philippe (sorry, can’t find a better link. But more on the company he keeps here).

This is truly remarkable. If it is confirmed, it’s going to end US influence over Brazil. Even the military types won’t like the idea that one of their own can just be snuffed out.