CONGRATUFUCKINGLATIONS, GEORGE!

Actually, the injured statistic is more important, because of the new warfare technology being used in Iraq. There are fewer deaths, than in previous wars, but way more injuries, more serious than ever seen before. These troops will be maimed for life. Head injuries, especially.

Their "liberty" has a very peculiar stench to it.

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

Not to mention, Teresa, the troops who return only to contract cancer from exposure to depleted uranium. Or their contaminated wives. Or their babies with birth defects. Or hundreds of square miles of contaminated land and water in Iraq that continue to be a health disaster fourteen years after the first American invasion.

Oh, we have saved the day for the Middle East, we have.

Nana - I can imagine it. I wish everyone thought it was worth their whiles to try it too.

George W. Bush and his gang are disgusting CATASTROPHIC FAILURES!

Yeah, imagine.

Article in antiwar.com "Protect Your Children: By Teresa Whitehurst":

The Pentagon is administering ASVAB "aptitude" testing in America's high schools without the knowledge and permission of parents. The purpose of the testing is potential recruitment/drafting of young people into the military. The military is attempting to influence suggestible young people, teenage minors, on the "glory" of war and the miliary. Parents, contact your children's schools. Get on top of this problem - PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. Bush and the gang need more cannon fodder for their eternal wars for profit.

Peggy #6

I read that this morning and plan on calling my son's school tomorrow to let them know that he won't be taking the test. My son turns 18 next month and we will go and register him with selective service as a concientious objector. I've read a lot about the best ways to do this and the Quaker's (true pacifists) believe it is less risky to register than to not. That makes me nervous to put it mildly, but it's the way were going. I believe my son would go to jail before going to Iraq or any other of asshole's wars.

Stuff of nightmares.

Peggy #6 - There is also a part of the "No Child Left Behind" act that says schools will provide recruiters with students' home phone numbers and addresses. From what I've heard, parents are usually not told they can "opt out", and I'm not even sure all the schools allow that option.

I've always told my son we'd continue to homeschool only as long as he wants to (this is our 4th year). He has been flirting with the idea of entering public school next year (9th grade), if we can get an IEP drawn up and if they will allow him credit for high school classes he's already taken.

However, stuff like this makes me want to keep him out of the system as much as possible!

BTW, those of you with children who want them to have a chance of claiming c.o. status when the time comes need to start their files ASAP. Document in writing and by photograph every peace rally, every political event, every charity and/or church event, all community service, and any artwork, poetry, etc regarding their committment to peace.

The military is an option, but should never be a requirement.

Oh, bless you folks. I'm so fortunate that my children are grown and that my grandchildren are still in kindergarten. Supersoling and KestrelBE, I cannot imagine what you must be imagining. Or rather, I can. My love and hope to all of you and you children and our world.

Super and Kes,
Send your kids to me. I'm serious. They will be safe here from all the insanity.

Thanks, Nana for your beautiful #2 comment.

I can well imagine it. I see us tending our crops in fertile fields, seeking shade under trees left alone to age. Watching our children grow, learn and blossom, and come to the elders for stories of the horrible days of old, of war upon war, when people murdered each other for some odd reason.

I will keep my eye on the prize.

What I don't understand is why we have the capacity in our minds to conceptualize paradise. Is it some ancient memory, a vision of the future, or complete wishful thinking?

Or is it the neverending duality of the dimension we live in, that includes both war and peace?

Can we create peace at any time within the larger framework?

Hi all.

I am currently reading The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (and for someone of my limited intellect, it's hard going, I can tell you).

He makes the point time and again that war is a means of exacting taxes from the poor to further enrich the already wealthy. It is a means of a ruling elite to maintain control over the masses and to extort monies from them.

How many children of wealthy parents are dying in Iraq? Very, very, very few if any at all would be my guess. How many of George's offspring will be sent to die? How will Rumsfelds children fare in the deserts of Iraq? We all know the answers to these questions.

War is not in human nature, for the majority on each side of a conflict never prosper by it. Almost without exception, war is the nemesis of ordinary peoples the world over.

I believe that to discern the source of wars we must as the old adage goes, "Follow the money."

1. Governments (usually under the control of some small special interest group) goes to war.

2. Funds for said war are extracted from the populace by means of increased taxation.

3. These taxes are paid to those who supply the munitions and equipment to the warrior governments.

4. Thus, the coffers of the Industrial/Military complex swell in the same proportion as the purses of the population shrink.

The money goes from you, to Dubya, then to Cheney and Rumsfeld's buddies. It really is that simple. If they can source additional oil to feed the addiction of the US and keep it dependent like the mindless junkie it has become, so much the better.

That the constitution is much, much easier to suspend and subvert during wartime makes it all the more pressing to declare a war without end.

One of the things that makes our species so successful is that we can and do work towards a common good. This instinct is hijacked by those who would have us work towards THEIR good at the detriment of the common good, merely by convincing us so to do.

The core evil (IMO) is a lack of sceptical thinking by the majority - that must be remedied if a world run for the common good is to be realised. How that is to be acheived must be for wiser men and women than I, however much I wish it were otherwise.

Until then, we can only continue to shine a light in the dark places, expose the lies and hope that our brothers and sisters awaken to the danger and join the fight for the freedom of our species from those who would hold us in bondage.

Ours is not the path of lies and darkness, but of truth and light. We can but stand fast and speak truth to power - the more uncomfortable the truth then the greater the need to give it a voice.

So, my fellow torch bearers, keep the faith.

Hi all.

I am currently reading The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (and for someone of my limited intellect, it's hard going, I can tell you).

He makes the point time and again that war is a means of exacting taxes from the poor to further enrich the already wealthy. It is a means of a ruling elite to maintain control over the masses and to extort monies from them.

How many children of wealthy parents are dying in Iraq? Very, very, very few if any at all would be my guess. How many of George's offspring will be sent to die? How will Rumsfelds children fare in the deserts of Iraq? We all know the answers to these questions.

War is not in human nature, for the majority on each side of a conflict never prosper by it. Almost without exception, war is the nemesis of ordinary peoples the world over.

I believe that to discern the source of wars we must as the old adage goes, "Follow the money."

1. Governments (usually under the control of some small special interest group) goes to war.

2. Funds for said war are extracted from the populace by means of increased taxation.

3. These taxes are paid to those who supply the munitions and equipment to the warrior governments.

4. Thus, the coffers of the Industrial/Military complex swell in the same proportion as the purses of the population shrink.

The money goes from you, to Dubya, then to Cheney and Rumsfeld's buddies. It really is that simple. If they can source additional oil to feed the addiction of the US and keep it dependent like the mindless junkie it has become, so much the better.

That the constitution is much, much easier to suspend and subvert during wartime makes it all the more pressing to declare a war without end.

One of the things that makes our species so successful is that we can and do work towards a common good. This instinct is hijacked by those who would have us work towards THEIR good at the detriment of the common good, merely by convincing us so to do.

The core evil (IMO) is a lack of sceptical thinking by the majority - that must be remedied if a world run for the common good is to be realised. How that is to be acheived must be for wiser men and women than I, however much I wish it were otherwise.

Until then, we can only continue to shine a light in the dark places, expose the lies and hope that our brothers and sisters awaken to the danger and join the fight for the freedom of our species from those who would hold us in bondage.

Ours is not the path of lies and darkness, but of truth and light. We can but stand fast and speak truth to power - the more uncomfortable the truth then the greater the need to give it a voice.

So, my fellow torch bearers, keep the faith.

We can only create Peace by Abandoning War.
The Depleted Uranium issue needs to be discussed as widely as possible. It's shocking that so few people even seem to be aware of it; of course on the "news" it went by as a blip on the radar screen that was quickly forgotten... but when we ask ourselves WHY would they ever use such an evil substance, it chills the heart: Remember when they (80's Repugs, of course!) came out with the idea of a "Neutron Bomb'' that would just kill every LIVING thing and leave the real estate intact? ... it was roundly shouted down then, so most probably THIS is what they came up with instead: something that could administered in small pieces, under the Radar screen of public scrutiny, in with the rest of the "conventional" bombs... they have to wait a little longer, but their effect is nevertheless eventually achieved! (Sound enough like Neocon thinking to YOU?) This is what EVERY Serviceman and Woman in Iraq and Afghanistan has to deal with while they're there, and the after-effects when they come home. The Indiginous People, who Live there and exist on this radioactively-polluted land -THEIR LAND- face EXTINCTION, pure and simple. Can Americans handle the TRUTH about what has happened here? (How very CONVENIENT for them, to have control of the oil wells and pipeline, without any Iraquis or Afghanis to get in the way!) Is this not, without the Bang, a NUCLEAR WAR? Whose Weapons of Mass Destruction do people of the Earth have to fear the most here? ( hint: when Americans were asked this question on CNN, over HALF the people wrote in USA!) Bia Winter

Sorry for double post, proxy problems at my end.

Please feel free to delete the duplicate.

Teresa #11

John Lennon (The Beatles) and one my favorites.
I think he wrote it just for us.

Regarding Wookie's point #2 - this time around the funds for the war aren't coming from taxation, though, are they? At least not yet... the administration is borrowing the money, so that your grandchildren will pay for it instead.

A friend told me yesterday that much of the money they're borrowing is coming from China - can anyone here verify that? That could have significant consequences.... for 56 years the US has been standing in the way of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, but will it continue to stand in the way if it becomes dependent on Chinese financial support? There were already some comments this week regarding the one-China policy - could that be foreshadowing? I'd fear for the future of Nepalese independence as well.

What a complicated world we live in, eh?

Only catastrophic political ideology can produce such catastrophy and in bipolar mental fashion call it "catastrophic success".

DaWookie #14,#15

Nice post - thanks.

You mentioned "The core evil (IMO) is a lack of sceptical thinking by the majority".

Well, yes, but in one sense it is attached to the core evil, which is breach of trust. That is, we must trust someone in the complicated world we live in. In this sense we must trust those in government to do the right thing - at least until the next election.

Trust is natural from the days we were freshly born to those days where our parents mentored us.

The natural tendency is to transfer parental trust, once we become adults, into trust of the government, trust in the MSM, and trust in our employers.

Our forefathers in the US counseled us to abandon trust when it comes to government. But that is not the case in all the world, and it is getting less and less the case as you mentioned.

Yes, as you said when it comes to the duty of the patriot to not trust the government as our forefathers counseled, we are in trouble.

One of the primary sources of blind political faith in our country today is fundamentalist religion. That is not intended as a slam on religion, but is intended as a slam on the leadership within that realm (which I call churchianity). It applies to christian, islamic, jewish, and the rest.

The notion that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely applies quite nicely to the realm of churchianity where despotism all too often reigns.

That leadership in general is like the government in general in that they have betrayed their trust and as a result have betrayed the people.

They, like the administration today, preach a blind trust and are paranoid of dissent.

One of the things Paine is reported to have said is:

"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government".

Thanks again for your good post about some of the writings of Paine.

For those interested here is one link to some info about Thomas Paine.

Hi Brad,

Sorry for getting off topic for a minute.

But, is it just me or does everyone else see a major reversal in the neo cons power? The wepbage address below seems to me to just be one more sign of our success and of pushing back the Bush Administration and neo con's power.

What does everyone think?

- MrBlueSky
link

Cuthbert #19 -

Yes, China and Japan are our principle "lenders," holding more and more American "paper" and having less and less faith in it as the dollar plunges. What would happen to our "economy" if they decided to call us and dump the bonds and notes is too gruesome to contemplate.

Teresa #13 -

The Hindu god Shiva comes to mind.

Sorry - "principal"

Mr Blue Sky #22 -

That is very hopeful indeed. Late...but hopeful all the same. At least some GOPers have retained the capacity for thought!

I firmly believe that new "fodder" is indeed needed for the cannon as our country prepares for our next great adventure in Iran. We are indeed being fed the same WMD type of lies and hype is staring to roll concerning the Iranian nuclear facilities in Teheran. I have a 20 year old son that will be entering college next year and I will never live to see the day that he kills people for the sake of their own "democracy". As we are in the process of applying for financial aid I see that the Perkins loans for low income students is being cut out of the budget for next year and PELL grants are being capped at a really low amount. More cannon "fodder". More commericals on tv glorifying the military and the national guard benefits are now at an all time high, especially to join! I don't want to be paranoid but I feel the next step is the draft....and I cannot allow that to happen. I lived for a period of time in Teheran and have a lot of friends and family there...they are beautiful people with kind hearts.

As our dear Einstein said once; "I don't know how World War III will be fought, but I am certain, that World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones!"

Your vision of a peaceful future Teresa, sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie... unfortunately, I think, there will always be war, or war-like situations... it's just human nature.

Why doesn't anybody write songs like this anymore?

Thanks for listening and caring

R.

Mr. Bullsh, Have you no shame???

"Catastrophic Success"

Ironic. How stupid, yet, at the same time, how accurate.

He has, indeed, succeeded in creating a catastrophy, plus.....Usama is free, and no WMD.

Brad, I believe you are quite correct when you mention the dead soldiers who are

"rumored not to count at all in their tallies because they were only wounded in Iraq, but were kind enough to wait to die hospital or airspace outside of Iraq."

This number (the uncounted dead) may actually be several times higher than the number who are counted. [I've read a few very convincing pieces on this issue but unfortunately I don't have any links handy.] We are always told about the number of soldiers who have "died in Iraq" but we are never told the number who have died "because of the war in Iraq". That number, rather than fifteen hundred, may be more like ten or twelve thousand. If I can dig up anything more about this I will post it, and I hope other readers who know more about this will post comments here as well.

Caragorn #26 -

"Shame?" Heck no! Shame is for girlie men.

Cuthbert #19: I am not sure of the rankings, but I know that China, Japan, and Korea are all huge dollar holders. Note that a week or so ago Korea inadvertently let out that they were diversifying out of dollars and almost created a disaster. They came out the next day denying what they said the day before (yea right --- they just don't want anyone to know they are selling).

On the one hand these countries are stuck because they cannot sell their dollars without making them worthless. On the other hand, (and this is the big other hand), they can threaten to sell their dollars (or even stop buying them) and our economy is toast. My guess is that if China really wanted to invade Tiwan and they threatened us with selling dollars we would simply stand aside and let them invade.

This is the real security risk. If China Japan or South Korea says dance the US HAS to dance. So far they have been very gentlemanly about it. I wonder how long that can last.

Here is a very short article on the subject:

http://www.tdn.com/artic...005/02/28/biz/news02.txt

WP #28 - here's one of the links for ya.

Here's another

Remember the CNN dude who quit under pressure for saying journalists are targeted sometimes?

Well the agent who got an italian journalist freed was killed by said troops and the journalist was injured (story here and here).

It was just another catastrophic success.

Charles #30 I believe the rankings go:

Japan
China
Korea

Everybody, you gotta read this:

war, catastrophe, and one after effect

Yay Canada! Lloyd I'm so proud of you. Well done!

Teresa #35 - Wow!

Cheryl #36.... I read that Lloyd Axworthy (love that name!) piece yesterday and went wild! You Canadians, man. What class. Lloyd's restraint and eloquence are far more humiliating to her than all the hate and rage. He definitely holds the power. It taught me something. Great statement. Great style.

Thanks to Cheryl for the links in #31, #32 and #36 ... to Teresa for #35 and to Dredd for the links in #33.

All of a sudden, there's quite a bit of interesting reading on this thread. I'd better get busy.

Cheryl #36 -

Absolutely fantastic! He could have roofed a mansion with all the nails he hit squarely on their heads!

Teresa #35 -

Over at VR, I mention Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, which should interest you and others because of the issues raised, which parallel those in that DailyKos diary.

I'd better get satellite service SOON. I can't keep up with all the linking going on around here!

Wp #28,
Here's another link for ya. This general says over 4,000 dead and 10,000 wounded.

Thanks, Cheryl. You rock!

*sigh*

I'd be quicker on the draw if 1) wireless service was available here 2) broadband was available here 3) dish installations were't so --- expensive. Do you know, we cannot use cell phones because the nearest tower is over a range of rather high hills? BUT - would I trade wild hills for communications towers? Not on your life!

Cheryl -

I envy and admire you. Not only are you Canadian, but you are a CONNECTED Canadian! Thanks.

Cheryl, thanks for that link. As terrible as this all is, this article by Maj. General Harry Upman (retired) really brings it to light.

"How low have we sunk?", he asks. Pretty damned low.

Is there anything this "born-again Christian" (what an ironic joke that is!), and his administration, won't lie about?

We need to add an eleventh commandment for him: "Thou Shalt Not Bushit"...

Hi Bob -

I agree wholeheartedly!

I hope you will forgive me if I interject something more mundane here, following on my #43 post.

As BradBlog becomes fancier, the lo-o-o-nger it takes to download - for me, now, seven to ten minutes at a good hour. Thus, when visiting links and hitting the "Back" button to return, I spend a good fifteen to twenty minutes in blank space.

If links could be made to secondary windows, MUCH of this empty time could be eliminated. As Torqued showed us, this posting modification is easy. To link to a secondary window, just add:
target="_blank" after the URL and before >your words.

Now to get the word out to Raw Story!

Love you all...

The Upman link is interesting, but ultimately irrelevant. The four thousand dead figure is hearsay and until someone is prepared to "argue with his old friends at the officers club" then nobody is being challenged.

If he felt as strongly as he claims to, then he'd put his real name down and fight his corner. If you're gonna talk the talk, you better be prepared to walk the walk.

Sorry, just don't like hypocrites of any colour, even if I agree with what they are saying.

Peg C, I checked out your Plot Against America post and have to say you are a brave one for reading that now. There have been a lot of these comparisons going on lately, and I do admit I don't like to face it. It does stand to reason, though, as these neocons are doing a cookbook spinoff of Nazi tactics. Mixed with a bit of Stalin and KGB. It still seems artificial to me, and not a natural outgrowth of this society. But the state of this society, now, is anyone's guess.

Hey Peg: It sounds to me like you should change the way you click on links. Don't click with the left mouse button anymore. Click with the right mouse button instead. That brings up a menu. Select "open link in a new window" and then you won't lose your place on the page you're reading, while waiting for the next page to open.

Thanks, Winter Patriot!

I'll try that. Learn something new every day...

Happy to help, Peg. Let us know how it works.

Like a dream, Winter Patriot!

Here's a bit of feedback for Da Wookie regarding comment #46.

The Upman link is interesting, but ultimately irrelevant. The four thousand dead figure is hearsay and until someone is prepared to "argue with his old friends at the officers club" then nobody is being challenged.

Au contraire, mon ami. [Oops! That's "Freedom Fries" for "on the contrary, my friend".] The "1500 dead" figure is hearsay too. I read one article from a doctor who said he had done some work on victims from Iraq and that the number who are dying outside Iraq was 6 or 8 times as many as the number who are dying in the country. So, whether it's 4000 or 8000 or 12000, we may never know. But that doesn't make any of this irrelevant.

If he felt as strongly as he claims to, then he'd put his real name down and fight his corner. If you're gonna talk the talk, you better be prepared to walk the walk.

Some people [for many different reasons] are not in a position to put their real names out in public. Some of us fear for our jobs, or our lives, or our families.

May the ghost of Paul Wellstone will have mercy on us all. [Do you remember him? He was a Senator from Minnesota who opposed the war in Iraq until he was killed in an airplane crash that does not appear to have been accidental. His wife and daughters were killed too. Sometimes it pays to be careful.]

Sorry, just don't like hypocrites of any colour, even if I agree with what they are saying.

I don't see anything hypocritical about "Upman" using a nom de plume [oops! more Freedom Fries: this one means "pen name"]. He clearly is a lot more dangerous to the Bush regime than you or I could be, and however he feels comfortable getting his message to the public is fine by me.

Remember that a truth-teller, no matter how courageous, is of no use when he's dead. And remember also that there's a fine line between courage and stupidity.

Personally, I hope "Upman" doesn't do anything stupid. He's one of the few "insiders" who seems to be on the side of the truth, and he must protect himself as best he can.

All this is my own opinion of course but you are entirely welcome to share it. [Even if you put an extraneous "u" in words like "color". LOL, mon ami!]

Yeah, Da Wookie -

Let's get our real names out there, Da! (Just kidding)

Oh yes, Wellstone. I remember saying when I heard THAT bit of news, that his plane had crashed, "I'm sure it wasn't an accident." Hard on the heels of that other Democratic politician's crash (my mind isn't grabbing names at the moment). When are we going to reach the mouth of this particularly inky tunnel, into the sunlight?

:angry:Scrolled down and read almost every one--
Same thing: our future is in the hands of Japan and China-
No Child Left Behind simply ment No Child Left Out of the Military.

What amazes me, everyday, is the thousands of people driving around seemingly oblivious to the war, and the fact that we are on a course of no return. I was in classrooms-several years ago when students needed so much remedial help. Never mind if they can read, the question now is how to keep them from signing up?

The TOTALLY, truly amazing thing is that while we are careening down this course, the news media presents NOTHING of real truth.
Of course, there are other sources of news than NBC, CBS and ABC. There is BBC (just as bad)...and the L.A. Times and the S.F. Examiner....ALL lying.

How long will they continue to lie for the criminals in power?

As long as we let them!

March 19th, you have a chance to show the mainstream media just how many of us can see what is happening. Do you think one million people will turn out on March 19th, the second anniversary of the "War"?
Thats only 1/50th of the people who voted for "anything but"!

HERE'S A CHANCE TO VOTE AGAIN!!

Will everyone who felt so strongly, ...motivated to put something on this site--will everyone be out in their town or city on March 19th protesting the Catastrophic Success of our war in Iraq?

I know everyone has heard it, but: "80% of Life is just showing up!"

Its so hard to do, sometimes.

Maybe I am being unrealistic and too optimistic,
given our apathy and preference for shopping at corporate owned and operated malls filled with junk from China..and the chance there might be a "game on".

I have put the DATE and pictures for a little inspiration (for myself anyway) on my site, fromheretoiraq....and I plan to do the "usual" which is run out and print several hundred flyers which can be downloaded from unitedfor peace.org. and drive around to nearby colleges trying to find someone to give them to!

I know, its just a "Focus Group"!

If anyone reading this has a more effective way:
a list from work, your email list--whatever you do
spread the word! March 19th.

I don't think we will reach the end of "this inky tunnel".......until a majority of Americans say it is time!

It is certainly a blessing to the Bush Administration, that we are living in a period in history where people just can't agree to fight with unity.

The "polarization" of American has been very successfully accomplished. Add our numskull media and recruiting in the schools--and isn't it just a nightmare?

I also seem to be seeing military jeeps, and very large things...some covered in canvas..being transported down I-5 and even Hiway 99!

Now, I have to find out where this stuff is going?
In Northern California!??

Maybe we should "be very afraid".
And perhaps we should ALL be doing something.
Anything!

best wishes...

Cecilia

Thanks, Cecilia. Best wishes to you too! Let us know what you find out about the materielle.

...Peg C said on 3/5/2005 @ 12:56pm PT...
"...Hard on the heels of that other Democratic politician's crash (my mind isn't grabbing names at the moment)...."
:::::::::::::::::::

Mel Carnahan was his name. Governor of Missouri.

As far as I can see, "No Child Left Behind" will end up being a reference to fighting their wars.