"Life in Iraq has stopped."

Ok, so now, what do we do about it?

Impeaching and arresting GEORGE W BUSH is the only way.

THE ONLY WAY. Treason OR war crimes, take your pick. Why not both?

Let him stand as example to what happens to US presidents that commit a FRAUD upon the earth.

Only the US Congress can stop the dying of our own. Only the Iraqis can stop the dying of Iraqis after that.

Impeach, arrest, try, hang.

There really no longer is any other options, unless we truly have already been destroyed as a nation. Either our law holds, or we are dead already.

And Homeland Insecurity, or NSA, if you are reading this, you may kiss my ass.

Your domestic spying will not go unanswered.

'Allow gun sales to terror suspects: NRA'

"Wal-Mart puts nuns on 'threat list'

'Pentagon Casts Report Of Increased Combat Stress Among Troops As Positive News'

The only common thread in all of this insanity, is the policies of george w bush.

How much longer do we let him stand there ruling over our demise?

He can not be trusted to fix what he boke on purpose.

Nuns? I mean... NUNNNNSSS???!!! Oh my God.

Where does it stop? WHEN does it stop?

"Life in Iraq has stopped."

So much for the vaunted "culture of life" that the President has spoke of so often.

A culture of life must begin with respect for the living.

It must begin with a respect for actual life rather than a sentimental affection for potential life.

A culture of life must be focused on the poetry of everyday moments, and on a reverence for simple truths, like those Mohammed al-Dynee shared with the Code Pink women on his visit.

Mr. Bush, come down from your ivory tower, and stop ignoring the suffering of the people of Iraq. Heed the recommendations of the Iraqi Study Group, and their call for a regional conference on Iraq.

Get beyond your pride, and your astounding arrogance, that treats every justly earned rebuke as an opportunity for even greater hubris.

Only a miracle can save the people of Iraq from the nightmare they have ahead of them. Miracles are not called down through hubris, but through the cultivation of humility.

Acknowledge the failure of the sword; heed the advice of your father's friend; call for the conference, and give those still breathing in Iraq the chance to live another day.

So Bush now refers to himself as Commander Guy.

Maybe this is how they intend to stop the Iraq war - just sell ammo. Follow the money. Whoever holds these contracts IS the government now. Commander Guy just met with a convention of contractors a few days ago. Invest in these ammo companies and never work a day in your life again. Call me a cynic. Anyway, here's the story. I've already been reading about 1) increase in mental illness in vets, 2) crackdown on military bloggers, 3) problems with ethics in military as there is a high number who would not turn in someone who killed a civilian.
Breakdown.

U.S. eyes $500 mln ammunition sale to Iraq
By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration told Congress on Friday of plans to sell Iraq about 400 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 170,000 grenades, demolition explosives and other military gear and services valued at up to $508 million.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the Iraqi government had asked for up to 100 million rounds of both M855 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition for small arms, as well as about 200 million other bullets.

"This proposed sale directly supports the Iraqi government and serves the interests of the Iraqi people and the U.S., as well as offering hope for a more stable and peaceful Middle East," said the agency that handles government-to-government arms sales.

The package would help Iraqi forces "sustain themselves in their efforts to bring stability to the country and prevent overflow of unrest into neighboring countries," a statement said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070504/pl_nm/iraq_usa_arms...

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 01:41 PM

These weapons will be used on our soldiers.

These weapons will be used on our soldiers.

Posted by: sparrow at May 5, 2007 02:53 PM

These guys never support the troops. They only support the weapons makers.

And Homeland Insecurity, or NSA, if you are reading this, you may kiss my ass.

Your domestic spying will not go unanswered.

Posted by: Christy at May 5, 2007 12:48 PM

There you go, Christy!

If anyone even has $10 to spare, consider donating to the whistleblowers.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/5/131130/1572

Here is the McDermott Plan, based on meeting with people from the middle east, including the gentleman above, and the documentary was shown to as many in WA as would watch it.
I wrote this from my notes as I watched it in the basement of the Seattle Art Museum, and was able to ask questions of Congressman McDermott, as well as at his Potato Feed later.

I submitted it here in Jan. but it was never published at that time, possibly due to length or partisanship.

Here it is (go to Jan. archives after clicking on my name, if you want to see the original photos).
______________

VOICES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

The day after the 2006 election, many celebrated, but Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington set off to the middle east on a "listening" tour. Originally, five other Legislators had agreed to go with him as a delegation, but one by one, they begged off. He went anyway, and took Progressive Government's Dal LaMagna, to meet with delegations from Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. These included members of Iraqi and Jordanian Parliament, economists, former Iraqi officials, Dalayin tribal people from Anbar, a Palestinian businesswoman, an Iraqi female civil engineer and others. Their responses were filmed and translated, they appeared in Dal's documentary, and the Iraq Reconciliation Plan was created.

This is the plan:

1. Listen to the people.
2. Work for an immediate ceasefire with the resistance.
3. Close the borders.
4. Freeze the Constitution.
5. Disband the militias.
6. Recall the Iraqi Army.
7. Return the technocratic government workers.
8. Keep Iraq as a unified state.
9. Involve all of Iraq's neighbors in the solution.
10. Turn the occupation over to UN trusteeship.

Annotated version of the plan:

1. LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE
Tribal leaders from Anbar did not feel that they would ever be listened to by the US government. It has been difficult for Iraqi Parliamentarians to visit the US in order to speak to our Congress. We are given a slanted view in the press. Al-Malaki has spoken to Congress but he is a former Iranian and a Shia. The US is pinning their hopes on a man with this background and this creates great skepticism in the middle east. More correct information would be achieved by really listening to Iraqis.

2. WORK FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE WITH THE RESISTANCE.
Those interviewed frequently felt that anyone who resists is called a "terrorist" and this is true for nationalists who feel they are fighting for their country. Tribal leaders from Anbar did not worry about Al Quaida. They expressed no interest in terrorism or Jihad. Finding out what their aspirations really are would make a ceasefire more likely and possible.

3. CLOSE THE BORDER
Under Saddam, there were 24 border checkpoints. Now there are two and many militant Shiite Iranians have come into the country, and they are well-supplied. If their supply lines were cut off, they could be dealt with. It is curious that the US is willing to send National Guards to the border between US and Mexico but not to deal with the Iran/Iraq border permeablity. It would be possible to close the border, after engaging the Iranians diplomatically and assuring them an attack was not imminent, as soldiers massed at the borders.

4. FREEZE THE CONSTITUTION
The Iraqis interviewed knew full well that the new Constitution for Iraq came from a conservative think tank in Virginia. They know that it allows for the country eventually to be split into three partitions and they consider this part of a greater plan to remake the middle east, eg. to "divide and conquer" it so as to make it easier to manage its assets. That is their fear. They feel that a "junta" makes decisions and this is not democratic. If the Constitution were frozen, some of the suspicion would dissipate and work could begin toward one that is more truly representative of what Iraqis want.

5. DISBAND THE MILITIAS
If the borders were closed and supply lines for outside agitators, such as from Iran, were closed, there would soon be less need for the militias. Many used to belong to the general military of the country, which was disbanded. If they were employed or joined the regular Army and no longer felt so under threat by death squads and outsiders, they were not be so inclined to join or form militias.

6. RECALL THE IRAQI ARMY
The Americans don't speak Arabic. They are not Iraqis. They don't really know the country, culture, history or terrain. Why not find the old Generals and have them call back their units. They were professionals. "We know who is who" - said some of the Iraqis. Such an Army would not be sectarian. It wasn't before. It was the military of the nation of iran. Reconstituting former divisions under former professional Iraqi military should improve security in Iraq and allow US withdrawal to occur sooner.

7. RETURN THE TECHNOCRATIC GOVERNMENT WORKERS
Iraq has an unemployment rate of 70%, which is both unbelievable and appalling. Lost military and civilian jobs created desperation, resistance and mass migration out of Iraq. Some people joined militias simply to feed their families. Why not bring back workers that were below a certain level? The US did it in Nazi Germany. Why not hire, for example, a teacher who formerly belonged to the Ba'ath party? Such sensible steps would help heal Iraq and aid the reconstruction.

8. KEEP IRAQ AS A UNIFIED STATE
Congressman McDermott presented the current map of the middle east and the version for the future, if the world unfolds in line with Neoconservative theory, in the form of "The New Middle East." Iraq, for example, would consist of a Shia state in the oil-rich south, a Sunni state in the middle with mostly barren land, and a huge Kurdish state in the north which has expanded to include parts of Turkey and Iran where Kurds now reside. This could require a thirty-year war, with Saudi Arabia also split. The US is already enmeshed in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with Ethiopia's inroads in Somalia seen as a blueprint. To most Iraqis, Iraq needs to be Iraq, not a new version of the Balkans. Iraq should not be partitioned into three sections.

9. INVOLVE ALL OF IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS IN THE RESOLUTION
Neighbors know that Al-Malaki has come from Iran and is affiliated with death squads. They know that soldiers are trained to knock down doors. They know that Americans frequently arrest and imprison Iraqi women. They realize that part of the "surge" is to "secure Bagdad" and to partition it into "gated communities." Creating ghettos does not bode well for the local economies. Who will go to the souk? The middle eastern people interviewed did not feel that Iran and Syria would willingly agree to a partitioned Iraq. Everyone needs to talk. "You can not wait til there's peace to have a peace conference," as Jim McDermott says. Peace talks need to start and immediately.

10. TURN THE OCCUPATION OVER TO UN TRUSTEESHIP
This idea does not necessarily go over well in the United States, but is popular in the middle east. The American Congress has not put its foot down. The US is perceived as having double standards in the middle east rather being fair. Specifically, they are often viewed in the Muslim world as being on the side of the Shia and Iranians (regardless of rhetoric to the contrary) and the israelis. The view, then, is that the US should not be always calling the shots.

There is the issue of what went wrong in Iraq, though I focus first on the plan. Yet what went wrong definitely affects what the "voices from the middle east" felt needs to be contained in the plan. This is a summary of the flaws in our tactics, as expressed by those in the discussions.

The US government did not listen to "middle eastern voices." They sent 140,000 soldiers, most of whom know no Arabic. Bremer dismantled Iraq, wiped out the Army and government, which encouraged sectarian violence. The educated class left Iraq en masse for fear of being assassinated by death squads. Bremer neglected to close the borders of Iraq. Saddam had 25 checkpoints - only two remain. The US listened to Ahmed Chalabi, wanted in Jordan for bank fraud, and gave him 40 million dollars. Former Iranians were allowed to get into high positions, following the vacuum created when the military and government were fired. This created a civil service sector replete with nepotism and corruption. The new Constitution specified 13 Shia (Iranian-leaning) positions and 10 positions for the rest. President Bush railed against Iran, yet his policies created the vacuum which encouraged Iran to take advantage of the destabilization of Iraq.

As ex-officers were humilated and punished, this also meant they had no salaries, no pensions, no way of feeding their families. Is it any wonder that they began to resist - 500,000 unemployed and frustrated, with guns? Iranians flooded in, with the borders opened and no military guarding them. Even if the Americans were to leave, these Iranians would remain. Many Iraqis feel that the US actions gave Iraq to Iran and that they now must drive out both the US and the Iranians. They feel that it is a myth that Shiites are fighting Sunnis. More correctly, Arabs are fighting Persians, as they did for a decade under Saddam, and many times over the centuries.

Now as the conflict widens, some Saudis propose helping Sunnis in Iraq, as a way of dealing with the Persians (Iranians). Then the neocons, who are not based in reality, have wanted to go to "zero base" (ie. destroy everything and start over, building democracy). During the question and answer session, several brought up the obvious question of whether the neocons would dare to attack Iran. In the middle east, the position was generally that this would be insane. Iran has a population of 70 million and a large military that the US has partially armed. Add to this the Hezbollah and Al Quaida that would opportunistically get involved and our military in Iraq would be even more tragically "sitting ducks." They pointed out that there are thousands of little smuggling harbors where small boats could deliver missiles to tankers just as surely as they can be delivered from motorcycles.

Let's do all we can to ensure that sanity prevails! The President did not listen to American voices either, as we voted in the 2006 election primarily on the war issue. Congress needs to listen to sensible plans such as this plan and that of McGovern.

As Winston Churchill said, "Americans always do the right thing - after they have done everything else."

(The local Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Community Coalition, and the Arab American Policy Forum sponsored Jim's report to the Seattle community on his fact-finding mission to the middle east.)

As McDermott pointed out recently, people laughed at George McGovern, refused to vote him in for President or to leave Vietnam. Three years later, they followed his plan, which was to only fund the government enough to bring the troops home.

NMP,
Thanks for that insightful post! It helps me to be able to verify my perceptions and to to corroborate that what I was writing down makes some kind of sense!

That is why we hear so much about surrender monkeys, appeasement and all the rest from people like John McCain and it's why Swift Boaters exist. Some felt we came home with our tails dragging between our legs, as if they had any suggestion how to not dig deeper into the quagmire, and they did not. Again, they felt any dissenters were handcuffing the hands of the generals, but the situation overseas had generated into complete chaos and anarcy. You would think we would have learned but ome things never change, such as control of the government by unscrupulous contractors and their greedy stockholders. I just today got an email comparing those who don't support the war (including any media) to Tokyo Rose. Just put it up at our website - I hope people realize it is just an ironic commentary on the warmonger's mind, but it certainly isn't humor. They are dead serious.

Here is the link to the video conference between members of the Iraqi parliament and Congress:

http://progressivegovernment.org/page.php?name=March8Transcript

This is based on Representative Gilchrist's report (D-MD) on meeting with Al-Dynee (who is Sunni).

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/NEWS01/705030380/1002

The argument is that we didn't fight all out, that we didn't attempt to "win", in Vietnam. Johnson was apparently attempting to bring the Vietnamese Communists to the negotiating table, rather than attempting to utterly destroy them and their country.

Of course, what is never calculated by those who criticise LBJ is the likely response of the Soviets and Chinese to a total war stance by the US. Would they have finally inserted troops? Would tensions have escalated to the point where a nuclear exchange became possible? We'll never know, and as far as I'm concerned, we should consider ourselves fortunate that it never came to that.

nmp, thanks for your long notes and list. And thank you for the video conference transcript. As I read your notes and their discussion I found myself nodding my head in agreement.

With an unemployment rate of 70% it's no wonder that the levels of violence and anti-Americanism rises. This is absolutely unacceptable!

And though I'm not sure a unified government is possible or if the country should be allowed to split, I do think that when people are starving and in poverty and they have no fun or safety in their daily lives, it's easier for the rage and hate to propagate.

Speaking of McGovern, I heard a great interview with him this week on an American Public radio show called "The Story." He addressed the strategy he used to draft & find sponsors for his defunding bill for Vietnam & discussed the many similarities to the war in Iraq.

You can listen to it here:

Congress v. The President
http://thestory.org/archive/

It's well worth listening to.

Karen
That's why I had a strong feeling of closure when I got your email this morning about what you had seen, because even though McDermott spends alot of time in WA, I make it a point to know when he is back here and always try to talk to him. If you know him, he will be up front and frank with any one of his constituents and he represents my district, for which I am very lucky - or we might have emigrated long ago. Of course, the right has tried to get rid of him, which is another reason we guard him like a treasure and raise money for his appeal. He has been to over 200 countries, is a psychiatrist who worked with Vietnam vets in the '70s, AIDS patients in Africa when almost no one knew what AIDS was, depleted uranium in Iraq ever since 1991, and every other progressive cause imaginable. Along with Paul Wellstone, he is courageous and dedicated and this is as close to a testimonial from me as you will probably see for awhile, including for anyone running for President. You will see Jim in Fahrenheit 9-11 and he was called "Bagdad Jim" for warning us about this quagmire - from Iraq. He went over there to check it out. People do not realize truth when they see it.

Just a reminder -- when you copy & paste URL's from other blogs or sites that have "..." at the end, they are incomplete links and will not work elsewhere. You need to be sure that you are posting the actual complete URL instead.

I did a litle searching and found the complete URL for the news story that NMP cited above, regarding the proposed half-billion-dollar arms sale to Iraq:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070504/pl_nm/iraq_usa_arms_dc_1

hope this helps,
Otter

Matthew
That argument doesn't justify 55,000 dead followed by 55,000 suicides and many more on drugs and psychotic on the streets.

What we heard at the time was the "domino theory" where Commies were used in place of terrorists. Russia and China would spread their communism to other countries and we would eventually topple.

Of course it was as ridiculous as saying Saddam did 9/11 or that if we don't fight the terrorists in the middle east they will come over here and kill us in our beds.

China and Russia did not get along, nor did they even have the same for of communism (Maoist vs Marxist Leninist). Iran and Iraq fought a decade-long war killing millions and for centuries the Persians have fought the Arabs (same diff).

It's all ideological bullshit designed to get we the people to use our limited resources (blood and hard-earned money from actual LABOR not inheritance and stocks) to bulwark the defense of the military industrial complex.

We shouldn't have fallen for it in Vietnam, and we should ot fall for it now.

There is no "winning" - it's a lose-lose scenario and a mistake that should never have been made. Anyone with common sense who was presented with a bit of the data could have told the "experts" that.

So we have the Reaper drone now which can be controlled by guys in a silo in Nevada who don't even get deployed - they go home and watch big screen tv at night. It can carry 3000 pounds of bomb, track suspected terrorists, hover and then with the push of a button - let fly and wipe them out (families and all, possibly during a wedding or funeral, just to make a point).

If these vaunted generals are allowed to make war on North Korea or Iran, they will fight a million-man army in either event. Malnourished or not, they will proceed in "waves", unafraid to die, and all of our profitable weapons systems will be made irrelevant.

All it took was a few men to knock out our major financial and military symbols. There is no war that can stop terrorism and there is no way to win one. The root causes are poverty, lack of opportunity, lack of communication - things that make Jihad or Crusade (depending on your orientation) look attractive.

That argument doesn't justify 55,000 dead followed by 55,000 suicides and many more on drugs and psychotic on the streets.

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 05:12 PM

I'm not justifying the Vietnam War, just explaining LBJ's strategy in fighting it - and explaining why he didn't choose the 'total war" approach.

As for your "root causes" argument, tell that to the victims of Mohammed Atta - who was neither poor nor lacked opportunity.

Matthew
I understand (about LBJ) since I am old enough to remember.

I am thinking of Atta and 9/11 as an incident of terrorism rather than the whole ball of wax, as terrorism has been with us on this planet for awhile. No doubt he and also bin Laden and also our leader were privileged lads, but I would still maintain that poverty is one of the root causes of fanaticism. There are many jihadists and crusaders who are ready to die who do not come from the privileged classes.

Very interesting article which discusses "root causes of terrorism"

Question: You have studied the root causes of terrorism. From your perspective, what are these root causes? How much does poverty emerge as a factor? If it is a factor, will assistance in raising communities from where terrorists are from out of poverty help? Also, if poverty is a factor, what does it mean when some recent terrorists have been from the middle class and with families?

Bill Christison: A litle introduction might help first. My strongest belief is that military action will not solve the problem of terrorism against the United States (or Israel) more than temporarily. However great the military success of the U.S., a couple of years hence new extremists just as clever as bin Laden and hating the U.S. even more will almost certainly arise somewhere else in the world. That's why I think we need to understand the root causes behind the terrorism and do something about them.

I have six root causes on my list, Four are major issues in the Middle East, and two are more global in scope. On the Middle East, I'd include the Israel-Palestine issue, the continued bomings of and sanctions on Iraq, the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, and the anger of many Arabs and Muslims with their own authoritarian and often corrupt governments. My two global issues are the U.S. drive to spread its own hegemony and its own version of unregulated, freemarket globalization worldwide, and (2) the very kind of war the U.S. now wages, On the globalization issue, poverty is THE main factor.

http://foi.missouri.edu/terrorbkgd/rootcauses.html

See, I agree with this - our power makes any warfare we engage in asymmetric by definition. We used 30 percent of the earth's resources in the last decade. Sub-Saharan Africa used less than 1 percent. Granted we do not have terrorists flying out of there. They are probably too busy scrabbling for something to eat and will be the first to die from global warming.

This is from the article I cited, from the CIA man, referring to the last few wars we've fought - Kosovo, Gulf War etc:

The U.S. has easily achieved victories by relying heavily on air power and bombing. The U.S. has taken very few casualties, but those against whom we have fought have suffered sizable casualties.

This overwhelming U.S. military invincibility intensified frustrations abroad and makes terrorist acts even more likely. Is's an issue that goes to the heart of future U.S. foreign policies. For the next ten years at least, any U.S. government will be tempted to enforce whatever foreign policies it chooses by going to war--including preemptive war that we will claim is for "self defense."

Another thing the U.S. is already doing is to militarize the United States to an unprecedented and I believe wholly unnecessary degree in comparison with other nations. An editorial of 3 March in the NYT puts it bluntly. Here's a quote. "If Congress cranks up the Pentagon's budget as much as President Bush would like, the U.S. will soon be spending more on defense than all the other countries of the world combined."

Since America's greater willingness to initiate and fight wars intensifies hatred of the U.S., it is in my opinion in the U.S. interest to show restraint and voluntarily stop employing warfare based on bombing in order to combat future acts of terrorism.

Of course, that was all written in 2002 and no one listened to the guy.

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 05:12 PM
Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at May 5, 2007 05:55 PM

On every continent, in every ethnic group, in every religious group, around the globe, there are crazy people (extremists) who commit atrocious acts and kill innocent people for whatever reasons exist in their deluded brains, and they will use any excuse to 'justify' their actions.

What Lamestream Media and politicians in this country have totally ignored (or forgotten) is that extremists (often mentally ill people) are few in number compared to the billions of people on this planet who are just plain ordinary law-abiding citizens of every nation in every ethnic or religious group who only want to provide for their families and lead ordinary lives. There are more ordinary people than there are extremists!

Perspective is totally lost by Lamestream Media and politicians in this country, and I wish they'd find it again. Promoting fear of a few extremists is a propaganda tool that the Bushistas employ to their advantage, and it is morally and ethically reprehensible.

The Bushistas call these criminal fringe elements terrorists, and while it's true their criminal acts inspire fear in some, but not all, people, the criminal acts are those of criminals and/or the criminally insane. As such, the people who commit criminal acts that kill and harm other people, which then inspires a fear of the unknown in some people, need to be arrested as criminals by proper law enforcement authorities and tried in criminal courts.

Going after people who commit criminal acts that are 'justified' only in the delusional minds of a few criminals with the military might of any country is extreme over-kill; it results in the wanton murder and harm (and torture) of many, many innocent people and/or their homes and other buildings and government infrastructures.

In sheer numbers, there are more law-abiding, ethical, moral, and honorable citizens of every country and every ethnic and every religious group around the globe. That perspective is totally lost in today's fear-mongering propaganda promoted by Bushistas (and people like them) to "justify" their wars to gain control of the oil reserves in other countries for their own financial gain (not just Iraq, but they have their eyes on other countries, too).

With the current crop of presidential candidates of both parties still referring to 'terrorists' as though criminals out-number ordinary law-abiding citizens all over the globe, which Lamestream Media sound bytes promote, I'm not sure anyone in this country will regain any perspective on the topic any time soon.

Until/Unless perspective is re-gained, illegal wars for the profit of a few will continue....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402151.html
Troops at Odds With Ethics Standards
Army Also Finds More Deployment Means More Mental Illness
More than one-third of U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed by the Army said they believe torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents, the Pentagon disclosed yesterday. Four in 10 said they approve of such illegal abuse if it would save the life of a fellow soldier.

In addition, about two-thirds of Marines and half the Army troops surveyed said they would not report a team member for mistreating a civilian or for destroying civilian property unnecessarily. "Less than half of Soldiers and Marines believed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect," the Army report stated.

{{{More of this remarkably shameful story on link. I bet they wouldn't be so quick to "approve" of torture if the situation were reversed (and everyone is forgetting that people will admit to anything under torture, just to get the torture to stop). Or.... (shuddering recoil in horror at the thought) is the Pentagon and/or White House releasing the info on the troops' alleged approval of torture and mistreatment of civilians so it "looks like" the military supports the Chickenhawk-in-Chief's illegal, immoral, and unethical approval of torture and abuse, which then makes it appear like we as ordinary citizens "should" accept the torture and abuse as a "normal" part of military life and approve of it in order to "support the troops"... all contrary to the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution and Bill of Rights and US law prohibiting war crimes...?!? These people who "approve" of torture and abuse need a crash course regarding legal standards and ethics and morals, which they're obviously not getting in their religious institutions. 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' means that if they're taken prisoner, they've implied it's okay for them to be tortured or abused because they've approved torture and abuse be done unto others.... bet they didn't think of that, did they? That Biblical quote is not a prohibitive 'thou shalt not' commandment. I like Hillel's version better (to paraphrase): "What is hateful unto you, do not do unto others."}}}

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402226.html
Bush Aide to Leave No. 2 National Security Post
Deputy national security adviser J.D. Crouch II, who helped spearhead the recent policy review that led President Bush to send more U.S. troops to Iraq, announced yesterday that he will step down early next month, becoming the latest key aide to depart the White House at a critical juncture.

Crouch, the No. 2 official at the National Security Council, has been a pivotal figure on a series of difficult issues, including Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran and the detention policy for terrorism suspects. And it was his interagency group meeting at the White House complex for many weeks last winter that resulted in the ongoing troop buildup in Iraq, which has become the defining decision of the year for Bush.

{{{More on link. He's stepping down "to spend more time with his family." Hmmmmm......}}}

Until/Unless perspective is re-gained, illegal wars for the profit of a few will continue....

Posted by: NonnyO at May 5, 2007 06:54 PM

What a good post for me to read at this time. I went to a class on autism yesterday and the speaker's husband is an expert on hypnosis and depression. She put us through an exercise that showed that we ourselves had pre-existing perspectives that would influence how much control we thought a child had over his or her behavior - without knowing much at all about the child. It was quite dramatic. School principals tended to think the child was just acting out on purpose, health people tended to think it was the fault of the disease or condition. Bias.

Truth and perspective, slantedness, framing, subjectivity, outright propaganda, all of the above - we have to be aware at all times.

NonnyO
I've been reading similar reports about ethics in our military currently and gleaned these statistics - this is supposed to REDUCE terrorism? Give me a break. This sort of behavior is going to get us whacked. Granted they are young, they are under stress, they are put in an inhuman situation. Maybe we would do the same thing even if we think we wouldn't. Still, it's just plain WRONG. We should never have gone there. We made it worse in the middle east. Propagandists point to the fact that we haven't had a large-scale terrorist attack as proof the war is working (even though it doesn't directly get at why there was a terrorist attack and causes more hate and resentment, ie recruiting goals are met). There is no way to prove this and it is a godawful expensive and horrific gamble.

From Gulf News::

- Only 47 per cent of the soldiers and 38 per cent of Marines said noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect.

- About a third of troops said they had insulted or cursed at civilians in their presence.

- About 10 per cent of soldiers and Marines reported mistreating civilians or damaging property when it was not necessary.

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10123109.html

I THOUGHT THE MILITARY WAS GOING TO START TEACHING ABOUT THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS. Is this what happens when blogging is censored, news is censored, Limbaugh is encouraged, and Joan Baez can't even sing to the injured?!

I THOUGHT THE MILITARY WAS GOING TO START TEACHING ABOUT THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS. Is this what happens when blogging is censored, news is censored, Limbaugh is encouraged, and Joan Baez can't even sing to the injured?!

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 07:56 PM

Answer: Yes.

The soldiers over in Iraq now are, for the most part, volunteers in the sense that the first group we used up over there (2003-2005 or so) were recruits to the National Guard and other Armed Services before 9/11; whereas these soldiers joined the Guard and Army etc. after 9/11. There are, of course, exceptions, but the people we heard from at Camp Democracy and through the IVAW have said that a lot of the current crop over there are gung-ho and not exactly critical thinkers.

And it's not as if we are calling them back to training and giving them the seminars they missed on humane treatment.

But with an outcry from all of us, we could, theoretically demand that they get more and better training.

Along those lines, at the movement choir yesterday (which was performed by 21 dance movement therapists--very powerful!) we talked about doing some healing work at VA hospitals. I think we may put our heads together to work towards building a more caring community for the wounded--those whose scars are obvious and those whose are not.

Wall honoring Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Runs Out of Room
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/17181415.htm

Karen, thank you for such a brutaly honest post.

That is exactly the truth of Iraq I was talking about needing to hear. 'Life has stopped in Iraq' and all of us, even the dumb busheviks need to know that.

I think we need to stop being so militaristic in the first place, which means we need less emphasis on STUFF.

55 percent of Americans voted in 2004. Recent British turnout has been low as well. 85 percent of French will vote tomorrow (the polls open soon). The country is very polarized. I wish I was there and I will make it somehow even if the dollar is only worth 60 cents.

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 06:40 PM

http://www.hpleft.com/110603.html

I THOUGHT THE MILITARY WAS GOING TO START TEACHING ABOUT THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS.
Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 07:56 PM

It's always been my understanding that the Geneva Conventions used to be taught in boot camp.... It was only last year (if memory serves?) that the Geneva Conventions standards were taken out of the military code of conduct handbooks...? Or am I mis-remembering?

The Geneva Conventions standards arose out of the Nuremberg trials after WWII when it was determined that "I was only following orders" is not a just defense for committing war crimes.

That being the case, it was determined all military personnel (in every country signed on to the Geneva Conventions) could refuse to carry out illegal or immoral orders from superior officers (which is what Lt. Ehren Watada did). Refusing to participate in war crimes is legal, it's morally and ethically correct, and they can't be tried for derelection of duty if they refuse to carry out illegal and immoral orders.

That's why I now worry about the current military personnel in Iraq (in particular). By following Bush's orders, they are accomplices to his war crimes. That bodes ill for them, especially if Georgie and Dickie get let off scot-free for their war crimes for ordering the illegal (war crime) invasion in the first place.

Quite aside from the lies (grounds for impeachment per past precedent), the war crimes are just cause for impeachment proceedings as 'high crimes and misdemeanors.'

Unless, of course, the Congress Critters are afraid they'll be charged with the same crimes for financing Georgie's and Dickie's war crimes....?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402097.html

Madam Story Keeps Mum On Clientele
'20/20' Declines to Identify Those Not Already Known

Excerpts (more on link):

During several weeks of calls to possible clients of the woman dubbed the D.C. Madam, Brian Ross of ABC confirmed that some fairly important people had used her escort service.

But when he put together last night's segment for "20/20," the network's chief investigative reporter decided against outing anyone beyond the two people who already had been identified.

"Their names won't mean anything to our audience," Ross said in an interview. "They just weren't newsworthy enough." Instead, he said, "what we really wanted to do is demonstrate the range of official Washington" involved with the escort service.

Their positions, as described by Ross, made them important, at least by the capital's standards: A federal prosecutor, who recently died. A handful of military officers, including the head of an Air Force intelligence squadron. A senior official at the World Bank and other officials at NASA and the International Monetary Fund. Corporate CEOs. And lobbyists, both Democratic and Republican.

But their relative anonymity spared them exposure as a result of the decision by Ross, "20/20" Executive Producer David Sloan and Senior Vice President Kerry Smith.
~~~~~
ABC looked into women on Palfrey's phone list as well, including a legal secretary at the prestigious law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, who has been placed on leave, and a lieutenant commander in the Navy. The network seems to have exercised some compassion, with Ross saying the commander would likely face court-martial if identified.
~~~~~
There may be another shoe yet to drop. ABC did not push to obtain Palfrey's earlier phone records, which cover a nine-year period. But Ross said she has given them to three journalists investigating the Clinton administration.

While he could be criticized for withholding the names of officials who may have hired prostitutes, Ross said he is comfortable with the decision. In the end, the story didn't quite live up to its much-ballyhooed billing.

"Like much of Washington, it turns out this is pretty dull stuff," Ross said

{{{The names may not mean anything to ABC's 20/20 (infotainment) audience, but the names may mean something to others. If sex is such a "dull" topic, why was the Clinton blow job featured as "news" multiple times daily on every Lamestream Media outlet for many years - and is still being mentioned all these years later (mentioned, it seems, by men who are jealous because they can't get blow jobs from their sexual partners)?!?!? Or is sex only "dull" when performed by sexually-repressed Republicans whom Lamestream Media is protecting at all costs? Or are Republican men as "dull" and boring and uninventive in bed as some of us suspect they are? Republicans certainly are "dull" in other areas of life, so that "dullness" must carry over to the bedroom and it "appears" that ABC is reluctant to expose the "dull" sex lives of Republicans. Or are the repressed Republicans' sex lives SO kinky they can't mention their sexual acts on TV because it involves things too delicate for consumption of children who would overhear the evening snooze when their parents listen (oral sex is not considered kinky, so that's no longer sexually titillating)? I still believe ABC's executives are COWARDS for not revealing ALL the names, regardless of the consequences (and lobbyists of both political parties need to be exposed for the rat finks they are, even sexually, since they've corrupted so many politicians of both parties, so IMHO lobbyists are fair game). To keep silent is to continue to participate in White House censorship - and ABC (like other US networks and news organizations since the 2000 SCOTUS decision) has already participated in enough propaganda and censorship without any analytical coverage by any "news" organization in this country, which has, in turn, allowed the administration to continue lying about its war crimes and other high crimes and misdemeanors without censure by anyone in Lamestream Media (although some bloggers continue to be horrified that so many war crimes continue to be committed under the aegis of bandwagon patriotism, contrary to the Geneva Conventions and our own Constitution and Bill of Rights and US law - invasion of Iraq, torture, and illegal detention of prisoners at Gitmo and elsewhere). We all know the current crop of neoCons are, at best, mediocre people with dull wits, so I don't understand the willingness of Lamestream Media "journalists" to protect them... unless they are just as dull-witted and remarkably unintelligent as those they pretend to protect.}}}

Oh, and P.S.....

We all know that if that list had been in the hands of any "journalist" prior to 2000 that it would have been released to the public with names in alphabetical order... don't we?

Matthew Carnicelli
Thank you very much for finding that piece for me.

NonnyO said
Republicans certainly are "dull" in other areas of life, so that "dullness" must carry over to the bedroom

--More out-of-town pros showed up in town for the RNC than the DNC convention. There was an article about it in the Village Voice. There was also a "madame" here in town that said business is much more booming during conservative eras. I guess it's what Freud meant by "the return of the repressed." With Foley and Haggard and the rest, I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg.

NonnyO
A senior official at the World Bank
LOL

Can't be Wolfie? He appears to have actually found a girlfriend, though he had to use a job/promotion to lure her, I think. It's surprising, with the spit on the comb and the holes in the socks & all.

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 11:42 PM

Yup....

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 11:44 PM

Sex with Wolfie?!? Eeeoowwww...! Not without sufficient bribes and/or money....

Just the thought... I need to go take a long shower and scrub off those thoughts... Ick!

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/05/maher-slams-conservatives-who-poison-the-national-debate/

Maher Slams Conservatives Who Poison the National Debate

Posted by: karen at May 5, 2007 08:19 PM

There was a very interesting article round about January 2003, when we were preparing to build up forces in Iraq but an invasion was still "a last resort" and "no date was set".

The military commanders they interviewed said that they were in the middle of a very careful and deliberate "brainwashing" (their term) of the troops so they could get them ready to kill. The commanders said that it is not normal for one person to kill another (unless the first person feels threatened in some way), in cold blood, so they had this tried-and-true method of working the troops up to it over a period of time. They said that the troops would be at "maximum readiness to kill" in mid-March and they didn't know what they'd do if the invasion was postponed or cancelled...the troops' mental state would be very precarious.

As the war has dragged on with no clear objectives and no end in sight, I think the brainwashing and dehumanizing of Iraqis has gone overboard with the combat troops in an attempt to compensate, and keep the troops on that "fighting edge". A steady IV drip of Fox News vitriol doesn't hurt either.

************
Nonny, we had a class on the Geneva conventions when I came in, it was standard. I'd assume they still do it, but I couldn't say for sure. The emphasis was on what to do if you were captured rather than on what to do if you captured someone else.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402466.html
Cloudy Germany a Powerhouse in Solar Energy
ESPENHAIN, Germany -- When it opened here in 2004 on a reclaimed mining dump, the Geosol solar plant was the biggest of its kind in the world. It is so clean and green that it produces zero emissions and so easy to operate that it has only three regular workers: plant manager Hans-Joerg Koch and his two security guards, sheepdogs Pushkin and Adi.

The plant is part of a building boom that has made gloomy-skied Germany the unlikely global leader in solar-generated electricity. Last year, about half of the world's solar electricity was produced in the country. Of the 20 biggest photovoltaic plants, 15 are in Germany, even though it has only half as many sunny days as countries such as Portugal.
~~~~~
Since the Geosol plant was built, it has been eclipsed in size by six other German solar plants, including the new world's-largest, the Solarpark Gut Erlasee in Bavaria, which has more than double the capacity. Last month, construction began on yet another monster solar plant on an old military base in Brandis, about 12 miles north of Espenhain. Once completed, it will generate 40 megawatts, or enough to power about 10,000 homes.

German officials readily acknowledged that they are embracing solar technology not just for its environmental benefits. German firms that manufacture photovoltaic panels and other components have prospered under the new energy act and now employ 40,000 people. An additional 15,000 people work for companies in the solar-thermal business, which make heating systems for homes and businesses.
~~~~~
In Espenhain, local officials have warm words for their solar plant, owned by the Berlin-based company Geosol. The facility was constructed on land that had served as a dumping ground for millions of tons of coal dust produced by nearby mines since the 1930s. The property had been rendered unusable for agriculture or other purposes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of this was covered in the Nova show I saw about solar energy and other alternative energy sources being used so effectively today. If this can be accomplished elsewhere in the world, what is taking us so long...? (Aside from the obvious greed of the oil corporations and lack of information in our conservative-controlled media, that is....?)

Posted by: V at May 6, 2007 01:17 AM

Says a lot about effective brainwashing and creating mental conditions that did not exist before the brainwashing.... Sad.

Were you not taught that you did not have to obey illegal or immoral orders...?

If faced with self-defense or being killed in a personal attack, most of us (if not knocked unconscious or killed outright) would fight back with everything possible from screaming to whatever our hands found first, from household utensils to kicking and scratching fingernails or gouging out someone's eyes if we had the opportunity and our lives or the lives of our loved ones were in danger. Self-defense or defense of someone weaker is part of the nature of a "normal' person. Aggression for no reason is not "normal."

Self-defense we all understand. Brainwashing to the point of killing someone else...? Does. not. compute....

http://www.abriefhistoryofdisbelief.org/
I saw the Bill Moyers interview with Jonathan Miller on Friday night about this series. I checked my local PBS listings through the 18th, and it's not scheduled.

I did find this, however, which is going to be on in two two-hour segments a week apart for the next two weeks:
http://www.pbs.org/inquisition/
Secret Files of the Inquisition
Root Out Heretics
From the web site; description: "Filmed in High Definition, this 4-hour series spans medieval France in Episode 1, 15th century Spain in Episode 2, Renaissance Italy in Episode 3 and mid-nineteenth century Europe in Episode 4. Historians, experts and Church authorities advise on the handling of this controversial subject matter."

In view of the rabid inquisition-torture mentality (with some religious overtones) so infusing our current culture (much to my horror), I wonder how this will resonate with people....?

Posted by: not my president at May 5, 2007 11:39 PM

You know, I actually had nerve enough to send that piece (by snail mail, no less) to Tom Friedman, after he complained in a Times column that there was no creativity being advocated by anyone associated with the "war on terror". Needless to say, I never heard back. Perhaps he didn't appreciate my pricking of his conscience?

One of my favorite musicologists is an Englishman named Deryck Cooke, who's best known as the first person to assemble the remaining fragments of Mahler's unfinished 10th Symphony into a performing version. But what remains forever etched in my mind is the title of his study of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle - "I Saw the World End". I am continually astonished that the people who seem eager to bring on the Apocalypse get better treatment by the powers that be than those of us who spend our lives trying to head it off. It makes you wonder if this culture has a death wish.

Good to know that so very much has changed now that Imus is off the air...

May 6, 2007
Shock Radio Plays Rough and Shrugs at Imus’s Fall

By JACQUES STEINBERG

Almost two weeks after CBS Radio fired Don Imus for his racially and sexually demeaning remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, Nick Di Paolo opened his talk show on another CBS station in New York by mocking a manual that, he said, one of his bosses had given him that morning.

The booklet was entitled “Words Hurt and Harm” and, as described by Mr. Di Paolo, it urged him and his brethren to avoid the sort of stereotypes that had not only upended Mr. Imus but had also just gotten two colleagues on WFNY (92.3 FM) suspended for broadcasting a six-minute prank call littered with slurs to a Chinese restaurant.

“Right away, we’re starting with a false premise,” Mr. Di Paolo told his listeners on April 25, just after noon. “Because words don’t hurt.”

He then proceeded to refer to someone in the studio who was apparently of Colombian descent as “a drug dealer,” before using an exercise in the manual as a springboard to the following observations: that “enough” Native Americans drank to make them fair game for a joke; that waiters in Chinese restaurants were “efficient” and “better than most, you know, other ethnic groups as waiters and waitresses”; and that Jewish mothers were “bad cooks and a little hairy.”

The part of the radio spectrum where Mr. Di Paolo holds forth each day — shows in which commentary and entertainment fuse, sometimes under the rubric of a morning or afternoon “zoo” — remains as arguably and insidiously untamed in the days after Mr. Imus’s collapse as it was before, based on a New York Times screening of nearly 250 hours of shock-talk radio broadcast over the last week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/business/media/06talk.html

As a follow-up to the Eastern Market thread header:

http://www.easternmarketrescue.com/

Matthew,

Thanks for that link--yesterday Richard and Larry and I went over to the Market, and saw. So many layers of feelings! First of all they are allowing people to peek inside and it's devastating. But then, all our favorite vendors (except for the meat and fish and chicken guys) were outside, selling from tables. We had breakfast at Mr. Canales tortilla shop and gave him a big hug--he is selling out of there and so There Are Chickens!!

The Asian greengrocers were out, as was the cheese guy. We saw many old friends and neighbors supporting the efforts--the street was closed off and packed.

And then we ran into the Mayor, who was out and about, as he has been daily, according to the vendors. He listened to everyone and was so reassuring; now we need to see if he can deliver the goods, beginning with refrigerator trucks so the other vendors can keep food safe.

It was a very huggy place yesterday. Today is Market Day and we'll try to get some photos to share.

You know, there is no better word, or concept, than COMMUNITY.

May 6, 2007

Forget Who’ll Win in France. Change Is a Loser.

By CRAIG S. SMITH

PARIS

IN the months leading up to today’s presidential voting in France, there was a lot of talk about breaking with the past. Don’t bet it will happen.

The French are notoriously resistant to change, and any new president would be hard-pressed to deliver any dramatic departure from the way people here live and work and get along with each other (or don’t).

It was the French, after all, who first observed, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”

“I have the impression that things will move, yes. But will France resemble Britain? No,” said Michel Winock, a French historian, referring obliquely to Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s showdown with British unions and the eventual economic boom her policies helped bring. “We have traditions, attitudes, an attachment to social welfare and, even if change is desirable, we won’t accept change overnight.”

How can that be? The candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, each promised to remake France, deploring the joblessness, the bloated bureaucracy, the lack of entrepreneurial spirit. Mr. Sarkozy has proposed something approaching the Thatcher revolution, while Ms. Royal even suggested scrapping the Fifth Republic. But all that talk ignored two realities:

First, life in France is, on the whole, plenty comfortable. The French flirt with the idea of change, but few in the mainstream want to risk losing France’s “exceptionalism” — that warm bed of traditions and entitlements that lets so many enjoy the benefits of living here.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/weekinreview/06smith.html

"May 5, 2007 - It’s hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation, or that he seems to be dragging every ’08 Republican presidential candidate down with him. But According to the new NEWSWEEK Poll, the public’s approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent, an all-time low for this president in our poll, and a point lower than Gallup recorded for his father at Bush Sr.’s nadir."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18505030/site/newsweek/

With New Clout, Antiwar Groups Push Democrats
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050607Z.shtml
Over the last four months, the Iraq deliberations in Congress have lurched from a purely symbolic resolution rebuking the president's strategy to timetables for the withdrawal of American troops. Behind the scenes, an elaborate political operation, organized by a coalition of antiwar groups and fine-tuned to wrestle members of Congress into place one by one, has helped nudge the debate forward.

...the public’s approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18505030/site/newsweek/
Posted by: Otter at May 6, 2007 10:47 AM

:-)

We were listening to Daniel Ellsberg (radio) - he said in the Vietnam war, it was a fairly cushy R&R type gig to stay in cities such as Saigon, as most of the danger was in the rural areas with the guerrilla-style warfare, whereas in Iraq, Bagdad and other cities are dangerous as are the rural areas, with guerilla-style warfare.

Disturbing thread header, Karen, and written with your usual range of understanding and circumspection. Hard to believe something as dire and out of anyone's control as Iraq (that much we know), isn't summoning everyone's best efforts equal to the urgency. A real disconnect out there. Congress can be so insulated, but about Iraq?

A fire in your nearby market? Neighborhood of my favorite papusa and sweet corn tamale? Lovely to see such coming together. We can do that for an immediate need we can see.

Posted by: karen at May 6, 2007 08:53 AM

Karen, that is huge news. (Or, as the typing/spelling challenged freepers would say. "HUGH!!!11!!") Thanks for sharing it with us.

I'm not in Washingtoon at the moment, and I wouldn't know what bars to call to support the Eastern Market Rescue fundraiser Matthew mentioned. But I *will* be in Washingtoon not too long from now, at the Take Back America conference, and you can bet your foggy bottom dollar I will insist on a field trip to the Eastern Market so I can contribute to the rebuilding vendors' economy with what little post-bush discretionary capital I still possess.

In fact... hmm, hmm, rut-roh, the otter is brainstorming all of a sudden here, you can probably hear the inner hamsters racing around in their rotating wheels all the way from Capitol Hill... what d'ya think about maybe organizing some sort of TBA-related "Support the Eastern Market" fundraising thingie, too?

I'm thinking that the kind of folks who will be coming to TBA are the kind of folks who would gladly be all over that idea (or, as my esteemed colleagues from Massa-gesundheit would say, "idear")... so ya reckon as how maybe you and/or Richard and/or Larry can grab it and growl between now & then, hey?

market down in your calendars peeps,
Otter

Matthew Carnicelli
Thanks for posting the article about the French election/system. I think it was pretty much right on because they do have a history of collectivism and strong state whereas we are turning more or less free trade/conservative-libertarian leaning, so they still have a ways to go to get to the right. That said, they have a strong right populist anti-immigrant rural bunch.

I just talked to friends in Paris & London who are voting - they said the outcome will matter mostly for the rich, and life will be hard for others under either system. I talked to a teacher and I talked to a student. They think Royal is weak and Sarko is unsatisfactory, so there isn't much choice, that it would be nice to have a woman president but she leaves much to be desired. I mentioned H Clinton and they again a woman president would be good, but she was late in terms of the Iraq war.

I must not war.
War is the mind-killer.
War is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my war.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the war has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

thank you frank herbert wherever you are,
Otter

Which brings up the subject, Otter, who from DCP will be at TBA? I wasn't going, seemed more a networking opportunity last year, but can't resist another try. When is it again?

Also, will being seeing more of your namesakes up Alaska way this summer. Finally. When we first dreamed of going years ago, we were thinking wilderness, kayaking, now a little tamer. Seems the Tongass Forests are in danger, along wth our glaciers, and we want to see them.

Well, Marjorie, I sure hope that you meant you'd be hanging out with

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/rvrotter.php

rather than with

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/marine/seaotter.php

... although the latter are better than no otters at all, and we do occasionally allow them to attend our family reunions so long as they promise not to embarrass us in front of the vicar or anything.

As for TBA, well, I didn't go there last year but I pretty much otter go there this year. Yeah, it is by and large a networking thing; but I'm ME and bottle washer of a surprisingly widely-known political bog this year, so prog-blog networking is now more a more appropriate use of resources for moi than it was previously. (Not to mention tax-deductible this time around -- although, in order to deduct against income one must have actually earned a certain of income first. Darn that pesky fine print!)

Anyway, 'Take Back America' info is here (and please note that early-bird registration rates end as of today, so order before midnight tonight and get a free set of ginsu knives):

http://home.ourfuture.org/

(P.S. -- rumor has it that someone we know and love has been nominated for a TBA award this year, too.)

Woz
It's a TRUE urban legend about the French label.
http://www.snopes.com/business/hidden/tombihn.asp

I also have a shirt that says "Help Us Chirac" (w/ a fleur de lis)
but it's a bit outdated as of 5/17 when he steps down.

I also have one that says "Your religion is not mine" in French that I got at a Goth shop but I get received as a highly antisocial and bad person if I wear it.

votre religion n'est pas à moi

su religión no es mina

ihre religion ist nicht grube

la vostra religione non è miniera

sua religião não é mina