Current Events Watch

A few years ago, political scientist Laurence Britt dissected the regimes of the most infamous of all fascists: Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Suharto.

You have no doubt read or seen this before, but brushing up on history never hurt anyone. There are lessons to be learned from mistakes of the past.

However, considering that for the last eight years Führer Bush has been given nigh on carte blanche to establish the supreme global American Reich, methinks that perhaps some boning up on history might be in order lest we repeat similar electoral faux pas in the future.

I would also wager that it would be safe to anticipate a soon forthcoming revised and newly-updated report from Dr. Larry B. in which he most likely will expand upon his previous list of textbook-case fascists.

Per Britt, the following are the fourteen commonalities shared amongst all foresaid faces of fascism. Let’s review, shall we?

_________________________________________________

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

_________________________________________________

Well, we’ve pretty much been able to successfully tick every one of those in defining the reigns of each of the aforementioned. Including, of course, our own dear Mister President.

So study up, people, and let us learn from our and other’s historical mistakes. As a certain wise man once said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Let’s hope not.

fascism, george bush, fascist regime, patriotism, politics, government

“Well, I think … if you are ever going to go destroy a country or wreak havoc on a country, it would need to be justified.”

These, the words of 28-year-old Jeremy Hinzman, ex-Army paratrooper formerly with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Carolinian no longer, he’s now hanging out in Toronto, Canada with his wife and kid after loading up the car and making the border-crossing road trip when his application for Conscientious Objector status was rejected by the U.S. military.

Joining the military in early 2001, he completed basic combat training and airborne school at Fort Benning in Georgia. It didn’t take him long to realize that he was participating in something that wasn’t quite right.

At Fort Benning, bayonet training featured this beaut of a chant:

Instructor: “What makes the grass grow?”

Trainees: “Blood, blood, blood!”

Jeremy started to think his enlistment probably wasn’t such a wise decision after all.

On to Fort Bragg, though, to complete his training. He was no slouch, by the way. Awarded the highly coveted expert infantry badge, given only to those who master dozens of tasks involving deadly military skills, he was admired by his superiors for his work ethic.

Then in January of 2002, along with his wife, he began attending meetings of the Religious Society of Friends. Quakers, whose Peace Testimony against participation in war, and against military service as combatants is a major principle.

His newly found pacifism and the birth of his son were among the reasons he cited for applying for Conscientious Objector status in August 2002. A little too late, perhaps, since his unit was deployed to Afghanistan shortly thereafter while his application was still under
consideration. And since his superior officers claimed to have no record of his application, he was ordered to go with.

So off they went, with Hinzman being assigned duty in a non-combat role there while the powers that be mulled over his request. After returning, he learned that his application had ultimately been denied and he was subsequently ordered to return to and serve again with his regular unit.

Then came the edict that it was time to pack the duffel bags once again, rack up some additional frequent flier miles, and head on over to Iraq, proliferating democracy.

Hence the family road trip, due north. A secret journey to avoid an illegal and controversial war, no doubt, since such blatant desertion is a felony punishable by death.

Really. Desertion and even disobedience carry the death penalty in a time of war. I kid you not.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 15 offenses can be punishable by death, though many of these crimes — such as desertion or disobeying a superior commissioned officer’s orders — carry the death penalty only in time of war.

So anyway, he applied for refugee status once on Canadian soil. I can’t say that I blame him. I wouldn’t be hankering to return stateside, either, all things considered!

Hinzman’s hearing was held in December of 2004.

The argument was made by him and his attorney that invading Iraq constituted a violation of international law, and that the subsequent occupation violates international human rights, as specified by the Geneva Convention.

They also argued that, in fact, his failure to refuse participation in such illegal activities would clearly be a breach of the Nuremberg Tribunal, turning Hinzman into a potential war criminal.

In March of 2005, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board determined that he was not a conscientious objector and was thus ineligible for refugee status.

Hinzman’s team challenged, but, alas, a year later in March of 2006, the Federal Court dismissed the request for a review of the previous year’s decision.

A last-ditch effort last month to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada didn’t go so well, either. They refused to even hear the case.

Read Jeremy’s and other war deserters’ commentaries from 2005, about why they opted to hightail it to Canada in lieu of further participation in George W. Bush’s illegal bloodbath that is Iraq.

Of course, thousands of other soldiers have followed suit. These are troops I can unequivocally say that I truly support. What happens to them now that Canada seems to be in cahoots with Bushdom, I don’t know. Still, I admire their bravery and courage to take a stand against the atrocities of this administration. Heroes indeed.

iraq war, soldiers, troops, deserters, jeremy hinzman, anti-war, anti-bush, army deserters, george bush

In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the midst of an ice storm here in the Midwest. Ice is cold, not to mention slippery, so I just stayed in today. All day. Since the power came back on this morning, I’ve spent pretty much most of my time right here, Googling and Stumbling until my eyes have officially glazed over. My ass is kind of numb, too, now that I think about it.

Nonetheless, as one thing led to another, like they do, I happened upon this video of a song I had not heard in quite some time. I was only six years old in 1969 when those three days of peace and music (as well as various other activities) went down at Woodstock, so at the time I was probably fretting mostly about starting the first grade. Full day class, and no more naps. I’m sure I wasn’t so much aware of, much less concerned about, worldly events or the war.

First grade is a distant memory. But as history repeats, and Vietnam on steroids is upon us, I’m certainly old enough now to appreciate this song, decades later, in light of our current (Iraq/n) situation. Outta sight song, and a groovy performance by Country Joe from that historic hippie hoe-down. Far out, man!

iraq war, vietnam war, anti-war, war protest song, anti-war video, woodstock, country joe, country joe mcdonald, country joe & the fish, feel like i’m fixin’ to die rag, iraq, vietnam, war, george bush

Today is Veterans Day, a day to pay homage to the servicemen and servicewomen who have fought and sacrificed life and limb to make this nation the shining beacon of freedom and hope that is America. God bless, and hats off to the brave and willing, both past and present, who have proven their mettle by protecting us and the rest of the world from the bad guys.

There have always been and no doubt always will be a handful of maniacal leaders in the world who certainly need to be dealt with (I’ll let that and succeeding observations go for now.) But we as a nation are always prepared, ready to step in and deal accordingly with their respective threats. History has proven that the bad-guy leaders of nations are ruthless and take no prisoners (or sometimes they do, I guess, depending on the circumstance) while attempting to achieve their ultimate malevolent goals. Our role, as global superpower, is to effectively intercede and show other power-hungry chieftains that their wicked agendas will not be tolerated! I mean, seriously, if they are killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology, they are nothing but evil.

No, wait, I can’t take credit for that last profoundly insightful sentence. I wish I could, but I wouldn’t want to plagiarize our Commander in Chief. That could possibly result in rather harsh penalties, perhaps up to and including waterboarding, and whether that qualifies as torture or not (apparently the jury is still out … Mukasey doesn’t even know), I’ll have none of it! So I’ll give credit where credit is due. Well said, Mr. Bush, well said indeed. Truer words have never been spoken. Those who condone killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology are indeed evil. For once we agree.

Yes, believe it or not, George W. Bush actually uttered those words. Apparently even the mentally ill and delusional have occasional periods of lucidity. It’s just too bad he didn’t have that epiphany pre-March 2003.

He shared these words of wisdom this past Thursday in San Antonio, at a ritzy Republican fundraiser just after having duly visited the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in recognition of Veterans Day. Curiously and somewhat morbidly enough, he had the nerve to make this statement as part of his speech in defense of the US war against and subsequent occupation of Iraq after having just personally met with his maimed, mutilated, burned, disfigured, injured, pick your adjective victims. Although, I guess technically, he did have some wiggle room, since those with whom he met hadn’t actually been killed for achievement or advancement of any political objective or ideology. They had just had their limbs and faces blown off. Still, the oxymoronic incongruity of his words was apparently lost on an audience of ardent admirers. Not surprisingly, I suppose. Sheeple seldom understand irony. I’m sure he received an enthusiastic round of bleating.

Whatever. As disgusted as I was when I read that, not to mention my infuriation when hearing AWOL-Bush’s Veterans Day radio address and reading asshole Five-Time-Dodger-Cheney’s speech at Arlington National Cemetery today praising the valor and bravery of those that serve, the thing that was most appalling was this: Dubya had just spent hours with those whom he and his band of brothers (and sister, too … don’t want to neglect Condi) had needlessly fucked up by sending them into the quagmire of Iraq, and then shortly thereafter was front and center delivering a speech in defense of the war. How does this gang sleep at night? How can George Bush in good conscience, after having just witnessed firsthand the human devastation that he has wrought, stand up and spew the same old crap rhetoric in a weak, but apparently effective, attempt to justify his unwarranted and illegal (not-quite-so-accomplished) mission in Iraq which was based on deliberate lies and intentional deception?

It was, I suppose, simply another most excellent photo op. Strike a Presidential pose and smile for the camera, job well done. Now there’s one mission accomplished! To all (or most) of the veterans, thank you. To George W. Bush, I hope you have nightmares.

veterans, veterans day, george bush, iraq war, war casualties, center for the intrepid

Prez George W. Bush and Veep Dick B. Cheney clearly need to be institutionalized. I’m not a psychiatrist, nor do I play one on TV, but it doesn’t take doc smarts to make that diagnosis. The behavioral symptoms of the two-headed monster obviously indicate clinical psychosis. As summarily defined by our friends Merriam and Webster: PSYCHOSIS - “Fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior.”

Well, there you have it. No need for a second opinion. Even I am able to call this one, sans medical credentials or framed diplomas. Forget impeachment, that’s probably a pipe dream anyway. The Democrats won’t do anything, haven’t stepped up to the plate to even bunt, much less hit a home run, and no doubt have no intention of doing so, despite their Bush-bashing rhetoric. They have disappointed, big time. Even a base hit would have been appreciated. A little less talk and a lot more action, maybe?

Instead, the war of words, Dems vs. Commander-in-Chief and cronies, has proven to be about as successful as BushCo’s own wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So because of my impotent and spineless fellow party members, the Mad Cowboy-Hatter with dick in tow still has free reign, sucking us all deeper into the cesspool of warmongering insanity. Next stop before going down the drain, Iran.

Rattle the sabers and beat the drums! Watch out, Mahmoud, here we come. Why? Um, well, because … that’s a stupid question. Madmen need no reason. They make shit up, and all subordinate lemmings of patriotic citizenry are expected to, and usually do, follow blindly.

Needless, pointless, unwarranted hundreds of billions of dollars spent (tallying continues) and hundreds of thousands of dead folks sacrificed for the worthy cause that is Iraq isn’t enough to appease these psychos. The game hasn’t gone as well as planned, and being sore losers, their dementia takes control and they decide that now might be a fine time to start a new game. Never mind that we’re already running short on game pieces.

Quiz time. Why should Iran be our next wargames-marathon opponent? Multiple choice again, kind of like in Iraq: WMDs, Hussein-Bin Laden collusion … nope and nope. Regime change, well, that happened, but now it’s even worse, if that’s possible. Iraqi Freedom? Please, give me a break. Spreading democracy? That certainly has not worked out so well, despite all of the purple fingers. Nothing really stuck there, no correct answer to the question “why”, in spite of multiple choices. Maybe they’ll have better luck with Iran. So here are your options for this round of play. Cast your vote for the best reason to shock and awe yet another oil-pumping country.

A - Last week’s Bush-babble: “If you’re interested in avoiding World War III … you ought to be interested in preventing Iran from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

(Knowledge is a threat? We not only know how to make, we do make. If anyone could start WWIII it would be, well, never mind … don’t want to give the insane any crazy ideas. It’s probably too late, anyway.)

B - Sunday’s Cheney-chatter: warning of “the Iranian regime’s efforts to destabilize the Middle East and to gain hegemonic power … we cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions.”

(I had to look up hegemonic. Apparently being delusional does not preclude one from possessing a highly-developed vocabulary.)

C - Tuesday’s Bush-blather: insisted on the need “to defend Europe against the emerging Iranian threat.”

(What? Who knew Iran is a major threat to Europe? Is Ahmadinejad mad at anyone in Europe? As far as I know, not really so much. Even if he was, what would he do … nuke’em with that missile that he doesn’t have? Come on, definite lunacy behind this one. Only crazy people would consider something like that.)

Is it unconstitutional to commit the country’s leaders to an accredited mental health facility for treatment against their will? Now there’s an amendment I would fully support, because these two psychos could apparently use some professional help. A lobotomy would be an excellent start. I’m sure the rest of the world would thank us.

iran, iraq, george bush, dick cheney, nuclear weapons, world war iii

Don’t get me wrong, I love women (just not in “that” way), but being a card-carrying member of the rainbow tribe, ladies’ undergarments do not interest me whatsoever. A beautiful babe strutting her stuff within arm’s length, clad only in a lacy Victoria’s Secret thong, would do no more for me than if she would have opted for a pair of K-Mart granny panties. I would guess that the granny panties would probably be more comfortable, actually, sans that thong strap riding up the ass all day. Seems to me that that might cause some uncomfortable chafing. Either way, after a lengthy yawn, my inclination would be to ask her to get dressed so we could go grab a cup of coffee.

Still, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that panties have ever necessarily frightened me. I have just chosen to keep my distance. It’s a personal decision. So you can imagine how fortunate I felt when I learned that, thanks to my panty-avoidance lifestyle, I have saved myself from the inevitable power-sapping side effects of a close encounter of the panty kind! With my new-found knowledge, courtesy of Burma’s Than Shwe and his fellow Burmese co-horts, I am certainly counting my blessings. Read on and learn!

Burma’s superstitious generals, particularly junta chief Than Shwe, believe that contact with any item of women’s wear deprives them of their power.

Well, now we know. Thanks to smart ladies around the world, they’ve come together to do their part in eliminating Than Shwe’s brutal military junta rule in Burma (although I’m still thankful for the lesson!) by participating in a Panties For Peace crusade!

Yep, from all over the world, women are FedExing (or MyanmarExing, I really don’t know) packages of panties to Burma and its various embassy outposts, attempting to debilitate the regime. Keep it up, ladies! Who knows which lacy undergarment might just be the final straw to break the camel’s back? Maybe, just maybe, given enough panty-power, Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to take her rightful place as leader. No more torture, no more murder, no more empty monasteries.

So keep it up. I now have even more reason to steer clear of the pantily clad, of course, but at least they might be good for something. In all seriousness, any sort of campaign or activism that keeps this Burma issue (mess) at least in the semi-spotlight, is a good thing. We quickly forget about such things, and move on, without doing anything to cause change.

Speaking of which, let’s keep an eye on this. If this power-sapping, panty-fear theory of Than Shwe’s proves to be true … well, keep some boxes and packaging tape on hand, because we’ll have some important shipping to do. Mail your panties to:

George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

burma, panties for peace, myanmar, military junta, peace campaign, george bush

Yeah, we watched for awhile. But our attention span is rather short, so, it rather seems that Burma may have kind of dropped off the map. Or is it Myanmar? Maybe I’m looking at the wrong map. In any event, let’s move it along already. We’re ready for a new Developing Story, or the latest Breaking News.

Admittedly, it was quite something to behold, though. When we cared, while we were still watching: a multitude of thousands marching, peacefully protesting against a military regime that has had the country under its murderous thumb for over forty years.

What was cool, though, and the reason we watched, is that everyone loves a parade! Who doesn’t? Marching in the streets, a throng of pretty saffron-robed monks leading the pack. It was quite impressive! Kind of like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, without the balloons. Still very colorful, and we like pretty colors!

Of course there was that military junta nuisance, raining on the parade, very clear in their orders as reported by The Independent:

“People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches. Action will be taken against those who violate this order,” the broadcasts said.

Action was indeed taken, and continues, even if we’ve already lost interest. The pretty colors are gone (wonder where they went?) and now the rest of the pack is just, well … rather bland.

Demonstrations are always newsworthy, of course. Good for ratings, and make for some most excellent video footage. Particularly when led by a group so colorfully clad! Toss into the mix some sporadic gunfire and a dead body or two and, well, you have yourself a top story.

Unfortunately, now that the pretty robes have all but disappeared, there’s really not much to hold our attention. So Burma has been relegated to D-List status. It’s still given some obligatory commentary from time to time, but its commercial appeal has apparently diminished.

Meanwhile, the action promised to be taken by the junta was indeed taken. No, it’s not quite so pretty without the saffron parades, and is, in fact, uglier than one might think.

Monasteries are empty, the monks being duly detained for proper beatings, torture and death. As is reported in the previous link, the first-hand accounts of what is currently going on is indeed harrowing. Monks crammed into a room and, between beatings, of course, living in shit. Literally.

“There were about 400 of us in one room. No toilets, no buckets, no water for washing. No beds, no blankets, no soap. Nothing,” said a 24-year-old monk who was held for 10 days at the Government Technical Institute, a leafy college in northern Rangoon which is now a prison camp for suspected dissidents … “The room was too small for everyone to lie down at once. We took it in turns to sleep. Every night at 8 o’clock we were given a small bowl of rice and a cup of water. But after a few days many of us just couldn’t eat. The smell was so bad.”

Some of the novice monks who were detained (a Buddhist monk-recruitment thing, I think … I haven’t really checked into that, but that’s not the point), were under 10 years old!

Maybe most appalling, though, is that it wasn’t only the monks and other openly dissenting demonstrators who were targeted for torture. They were willing participants, taking a stand, knowing the risks, up to and including death. Thanks to the powers-that-be’s scrupulous examination of surveillance camera footage, though, non-participants are also being dragged screaming from their homes in the middle of the night. They may have done nothing more than step out of their front door and applaud as the parade passed by (I would, I love a parade, too), or may simply have offered water to a thirsty flag-holding monk. Doesn’t matter. They, too, are being captured, no pot to piss in, no place to sleep, flogged and bloodied, along with everyone else.

At least we all paid attention for awhile. Some of us still do. Our leader George W. Bush, though, never really seemed to give a rat’s ass. I guess he does have other priorities, like his own torture agenda to attend to, so I’ll give him a break. Best to just leave it to Laura to handle. Actually, knowing Dubya, that probably was a wise decision. Even if he has other matters on his mind (mind?), and no time to ponder Burma, we can and should, even if the parade is over.

burma, myanmar, burmese monks, genocide, george bush, burma demonstrations, torture, military junta

Burma

A few days ago I commented on the situation in Burma. Quite inadequately, I’ll confess. A pathetic attempt, and barely scratching the surface. Then again, one like myself certainly can’t be expected to provide a thorough investigative report. That’s best left to the professionals. At least that’s my excuse, although I admittedly could have done a better job. Oh well, onward and upward.

The junta’s laundry list of politicidal and genocidal tendencies is quite extensive, after all, and growing longer day by day! That’s nothing new, really. Their many years of atrocities has been well-documented. It has just come to the forefront of world attention as of late, though, because the Burmese citizenry, deciding that enough is enough, has stepped it up a notch in protesting against the brutality of the murderous regime. Of course, the junta has accordingly stepped it up a notch as well.

Monks and the masses who doest protest too much are systematically being massacred by the thousands (or, for the lucky few, simply detained and tortured … for now), while George Bush continues to turn a deaf ear, a blind eye, pick your idiom. On the other hand, who can blame him? “Hi, Pot! I’m Kettle.”

So I sucked with my stream of consciousness ramblings about the Burma situation the other day. Sorry. There is, though, a plethora of truly good information out there in cyberspace for those who bother to pay attention to such things. Believe it or not, you can actually find much better coverage. Learn about dead monks floating in the river (same old, same old … at least in Burma), bonfires of the bodies who ended up on the wrong end of the junta stick (some not quite dead yet), all sorts of information is right at your fingertips. But wait, there’s more! Jungle slaughters, and random shootings, the list goes on.

Of course, you’ll have to spend some time with Google to get the whole scoop, if you’re so inclined. Though if you’re more interested in Britney than Burma (”Britney” search results, 120-million plus; “Burma”, a mere 48-million), you can save time by simply paying a visit to Burmanet.org. This site provides some of the most comprehensive, frequently updated coverage of the plight in Burma that I’ve found. Check it out. All righty, then. Back to Britney … oops, she did it again.

myanmar, burma, military junta, genocide, buddhist monks, burma crisis

Burma

Let him go. He seems a little crazy, I’ll admit, but Charles Manson is innocent. It was me! That entire Tate-LaBianca fiasco? My idea. Sorry, Charlie, for the last 30-plus years of incarceration, and for the bad press. I was only six in 1969, but very devious and maniacal for my age. Even though I was 1,629 miles away (helped to avoid suspicion), I managed to pull it off. And you were a great scapegoat, being such a psycho and all. But I confess! The whole thing was my idea.

So I’m finally coming clean … water is very cleansing! Particularly effective when strapped to a board and doused with enough H2O that death by drowning seems inevitable. If they do that to me again, I swear, I’ll confess to every past transgression, and even make up some more stuff if need be. I’ll say whatever they want to hear to make them stop with the waterworks already!

While I’m at it, I’d just as well admit now to stealing that necklace at the mall to give Mom for Christmas, 1978. I don’t want to end up back on the board again, I’m still waterlogged and can hardly catch my breath. Oh, yeah, and I may have played a small part in that Black Dahlia murder thing, too, although that would have been in my previous life. I’m not sure about that one, but why not put every possibility on the table, to cover my ass. That waterboard thing, not to mention those slaps up side the head, was torture!

Well, apparently it’s not really torture. Not according to George W. Bush, responding today to the New York Times article revealing the “secret” Justice Department’s legal opinion from 2005, that authorized the use of painful methods, such as “head slaps, freezing temperatures and simulated drownings known as waterboarding, in combination”, to elicit confessions for whatever atrocities might be suspected. This just months after the December 2004 Justice Department’s opinion that publicly declared torture “abhorrent”.

President Bush defended his administration’s methods of detaining and questioning suspects on Friday, though, saying they are both successful and lawful, and that “this government does not torture people.” Either he doesn’t know what’s going on within his own administration and the agencies that be (which wouldn’t surprise me, actually), or King George is once again assuming that spewing repetitive rhetoric and propoganda will be enough to convince his ignorant subjects that all is well. Prince Cheney certainly backs him up:

Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaeda suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called “water-boarding,” which creates a sensation of drowning.

Cheney claims that the Bush administration doesn’t regard waterboarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. “It’s a no-brainer for me,” Cheney said at one point in an interview.

Then there’s this gem:

Vice President Dick Cheney, being interviewed by a Fargo, North Dakota, talk radio show host, agreed with the host’s characterization of waterboarding as a “dunk in the water”

Typical Dick.

One especially cruel form of torture is waterboarding, which simulates drowning, the obvious objective being to force the person being tortured to give his torturers information to avoid death by drowning. The US has a long history of rejecting waterboarding as inhumane and degrading. Of course, that was before the Bush/Cheney regime.

-In 1901, an American soldier was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for waterboarding a suspected Filipino insurgent.

-After World War II, we treated as war criminals Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded American prisoners.

-We court-martialed an American soldier who had aided in the waterboarding of a prisoner in the Vietnam War.

-The Field Manual of the U.S. Army bans waterboarding.

But that was then, and this is now. We’ve changed our minds. Now, anything goes. “Just admit to (fill-in-the-blank), dammit, and we’ll stop.”

It’s really no wonder that after his CIA waterboarding experience that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to everything from masterminding a grand total of 31 terrorist attacks, the shining moment being, of course, September 11, 2001, to planning to send several former US Presidents to prematurely meet their Maker! The dead presidents plans were foiled, of course, by international anti-terrorist agencies. (Our own agencies apparently had no clue. Thank God, others around the world were keeping tabs on the welfare of our former presidents … the world loves us!) And not only did KSM mastermind 9/11, he was also behind the Richard Reid shoe bomb thing, and he personally beheaded WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl. Pretty much anything that made the news. Quite an impressive resume.

Khalid was no doubt a bad guy, and probably involved in typical day to day, routine Al-Quaeda, kill-the-Americans plotting, but I doubt very seriously if he is such a mastermind as to have orchestrated such a vast array of terrorist activity. Four years of being held captive and tortured, though … well, he probably decided to ‘fess up to just about anything and everything. Waterboarding makes you talk. He probably would have admitted to the Manson spree as well, had he been questioned about that. Thank goodness it didn’t come up! I was struggling for something horrendous to confess to, and was growing tired of the “dunks in the water.”

torture, waterboarding, water-boarding, waterboard, al quaeda, guantanamo, iraq war, detainees, terrorism, interrogation, charles manson, george bush, dick cheney

George Bush is no doubt having yet another Homer Simpson moment. D’OH, indeed! Now everyone knows about Blackwater. That whole contract killer army thing was supposed be kept secret. Really, it hasn’t been a secret, if people would have been paying attention. The devil is in the details, as they say, and most of the population really doesn’t care about the details, but the Blackwater group has been on the ground in Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan) for the last few years. They also had a brief gig in New Orleans after Katrina, ready to pop a cap at whomever or whatever they felt inclined to target. And with impunity, and immune from prosecution, everyone and everything is a potential target. Woo hoo! Ready, aim, fire.

Blackwater is a mercenary group, given a $20-million-plus no-bid contract (sound familiar?) hired to step in and help kill the bad guys (and the not so bad guys, if they have the notion), so that we don’t have to do it all by our lonesome. The beauty is, we don’t have to tally their casualties in the official count, which keeps the numbers low! Or at least lower. At some point, though, karma happens, and since September the 16th was apparently a slow news day, the massacre of 11 innocent Iraqis by the Blackwater gang made the headlines. Now everyone knows. And knows that they tried to hide it. D’OH!

Better late than never, I suppose, that people finally have no choice but to pay attention to what has been going on for quite some time. Check it out, this certainly isn’t the first incident. It’s just the first incident that brings it all to the forefront. You’ll be surprised. And Mr. Blackwater Chairman, Republican champion, Erik Prince, finally was called to a Congressional hearing to ’splain himself. Well, of course, he says that nothing was amiss. Of course not. He’s got the (again, no-bid) 20-mil contract in Iraq, is a huge Republican party donator, not to mention his board membership in the Christian Freedom International group. So he’s very rich, patriotic, and holy, without a doubt. How could his organization do wrong?

Anyway, according to their website:

“We are a professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations firm who provides turnkey solutions.”

I think some of the recruits must have misunderstood, or perhaps they need a new trainer who can enunciate clearly. Turnkey solutions does, I suppose, sound similar to turkey shoot. (Watch the video, or you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about.) And, remember, this is an oldie, from back in the day, a couple of years ago, when Blackwater was still a secret. Who knows what else has been swept under the carpet between then and now?

blackwater, iraq war, george bush, shadow army, iraqi casualties

As so eloquently spoken by young Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Whether she was actually expressing her devotion to Romeo, as Bill would have us believe, or practicing the discipline of self-affirmation could be debated. She probably had some name issues. Juliet Capulet? Come on, what were the folks thinking? We never are informed of her middle name but, knowing what we do know, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mom and Pop didn’t at least consider Antoinette as a possibility.

Maybe that’s an unfair assumption, but, nonetheless, I’m sure the other kids at Verona Middle School had a field day with that one! Particularly if she was the teacher’s pet. Create your own rhyme here. She was well-spoken, after all, and probably did receive favorable faculty attention, and fellow students can be cruel.

As can a military junta, like the ruling party currently terrorizing Myanmar. Or is it Burma? It depends on which talking head is reading the teleprompter at the time, reporting on the government’s atrocities in that Southeast Asian country. Things aren’t always rosy, or sweet, by any name, contrary to J-Cap’s affirmation.

I’ll stick with Burma, because that’s what it was called back in the day. Pre-1962, when it was a still a democratic society, before the military coup d’etat that overthrew the government. Before the subsequent decades of raping, pillaging, ethnic cleansing and enslavement policies under the current military regime. (There’s supposed to be one of those apostrophe things over the “e” in d’etat, I know that, I’m just too lazy to figure it out.) Of course the name “Burma” stuck until ‘89. But following the anti-military dictatorship demonstration known as the 8888 Uprising that began on, well, August 8, 1988 in which, by all accounts, thousands of demonstrators were killed and wounded, a name change was probably wise, and “Myanmar” had a nice ring to it. They certainly needed a fresh start and a re-branding after all of that negative “Burma” publicity! And change is good.

Unfortunately, not much has changed, except for the name. And now again the Burmese are protesting against the ruling military junta, and being massacred in the process. Thursday, during a civil protest, demonstrators were warned that they had 10 minutes to disperse or that they would be shot. The threat was duly executed, so to speak. Many were killed. One of the most noteworthy and publicized was Japanese journalist and photographer Kenji Nagai, shot and killed at point-blank range while simply attempting to document what was happening. He wasn’t even necessarily protesting, just taking a few shots here and there. (Poor choice of words on my part there, I guess. Sorry about that.) From the pictures in this article, it appears that after he was first shot, he was still trying to take some photos, no doubt hoping for the best. That obviously didn’t last for very long. Soon thereafter, shot in the chest, dead, along with so many others over the past few days.

Maybe it’s time for another name change. The Myanmar name has certainly been besmirched, given all of the recent publicity. Of course, things won’t change as long as the junta is running the show. They can call it Disneyland, for all it matters, they’ll just need new helmets. Everyone loves mouse ears. But the ethnic cleansing, the destruction of the villages, the planting of the land mines, the subsequent orders to retrieve said land mines, and all of the violence will no doubt continue, whatever name they choose.

I have to say, though, minefields and village-burning aside, the most disturbing recent development was when the SPDC (that would be the junta folks) shut down Internet access a couple of days ago … no way for the dissidents to let the rest of the world know first-hand what is going on, or to ask for help! Personally, I’d rather be raped, pillaged, or even recruited for mine hunting, than to have my Internet access shut down. Okay, not really, I suppose. It would be a close call, though.

At least George Bush is doing his part on America’s behalf. Representin’ the US of A! We don’t condone that kind of behavior, no way! But taking the matter up with the Burma/Myanmar leaders? Nah. It’s best to delegate this one to China. They’re closer, after all. And Lord knows we’ve got enough problems elsewhere. Maybe delegation is best. We’d probably just make matters worse anyway. Shock and Awe, Part Deux wouldn’t work, Burma doesn’t have any oil. Just people. And anyway, the Shock and Awe sequel is already scheduled to premier in Iran.

So what’s in a name? Maybe not so much. It’s really about the people, call them what you will. Burmese, Myanmarese (I think I invented a new word), or simply displaced, disrespected, or dead. Still, I prefer Burma. Things were better then. Hopefully, things will be better again. Yes, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But a shithole, by any name, simply stinks.

myanmar, burma, human rights, protests, government protest

Long before Betsy Ross scissor-snipped her first star, or stitched her first stripe, young America had experimented with various and sundry flags to proudly represent its new-found independence! Some of the contestants should have, without question, been voted off early in the competition.

The well-known Navy Jack, shown above, was no doubt an early elimination. DONT TREAD ON ME [sic]. An unfortunate punctuation faux pas. If they had only had spell-check back in the day, the guy may have had a chance to make it into the finals. Damn those apostrophes!

Betsy progressed in the competition, however, by wisely avoiding text, and came out on top. Stars and stripes forever! So after the drumroll, confetti, hugs, tears, and no doubt much flag-waving, they had a winner. Who knew that 231-plus years later her winning design would still be flying (albeit with a few more stars)?

A long-standing, award-winning design like that certainly deserves respect, of course, and ought not to be taken lightly. It’s a symbol, after all, of our freedom, our independence, our country, America the beautiful. Land of the free, home of the brave. Some of those idioms might be questionable, but I’ll let that go.

People still like the star-stripe theme, and the colors are pretty (adding a splash of blue was genius!). Now anything red, white and blue, based on Betsy’s winning color palette, is recognized instantly as representative of this fine nation, and often used in ceremony to convey honor to and respect for those that serve, and those who have served, this great land of ours. Ms. Ross’s most ardent fans, though, sometimes take things a bit too far!

In an Oregon dog park, a fire hydrant, painted in Old Glory fashion, was installed as a memorial to a police dog named Hondo, who was killed in a police chase of a suspect a decade ago. Hondo got caught up in the crossfire, in the line of duty. What better way to memorialize a police dog than with a fire hydrant? Dogs (at least boy dogs) and fire hydrants kind of go together, and the canines are certainly an integral part of the police force, deserving the same honor and respect as their biped partners. They, too, protect and serve. I think it’s a nice, honorable, appropriate tribute, paying homage to a servant who lost his life in the line of duty. But then again, I’m not really a flag fanatic.

Well, the memorial was removed, because critics thought other dogs would disrespectfully urinate on it! No pissing on the red, white and blue!

As quoted in the AP link above: “‘While hydrants are playfully associated with dogs as a ‘target,’ this hydrant was specifically designed and painted to serve as a very personal tribute to a service animal killed in the line of duty,’ said Hillsboro parks spokeswoman Corinne Bloomfield.”

See? It was meant to be a good thing. No disrespect intended. But, as Itchmo reports:

When some local residents saw pictures of the American flag hydrant in the dog park, they were horrified at the thought of a dog urinating on it.

One resident wrote: “That gallant dog [Hondo] must be turning in his grave at the thought of the flag being desecrated every time a dog pees on that hydrant!”

Firstly, dogs are pretty much color blind, so I doubt if Hondo really knows about the red, white and blue thing. He probably doesn’t care. In fact, who knows … maybe pissing on his memorial, in the dog world, is a sign of paying due respect? I’d bet that Cesar Millan knows. I’ll send an email. I do love that Dog Whisperer guy. In any event, I seriously doubt if Hondo is “turning over in his grave.”

I understand that the memorial hydrant has now been returned, which is only appropriate considering that it resides in a dog park named in Hondo’s honor. But they will be installing a fence to keep the pissers away. What they’re going to do to prevent a rogue, anti-American bird from taking a crap on the stars and stripes, well, I guess that’s still up in the air, so to speak. One step at a time.

By the way, speaking of fanatics, if you’re concerned about a dog pissing on a red, white and blue fire hydrant, you might want to brush up on the US government’s Flag Code, just to ensure that you’re behaving yourself and are being appropriately respectful of our national banner. Sometimes we need a refresher course.

At the post office, be sure to ask for the first-class stamps with the pretty flowers, or something from the Elvis series. As long as it’s not one of those flag stamps, you’re good to go. You should probably also burn that stars and stripes tie you wear every 4th of July. Not to mention that if you have Old Glory hanging in front of your house 24/7, you’ll need to invest in some outdoor lighting fixtures for the necessary nighttime illumination. And finally, look away when you’re watching the next sporting event when those service people are holding that jumbo flag on the field during The National Anthem … in a horizontal position!

Final thoughts. I find it funny that The American Legion, one of the biggest proponents of the US Flag Code (which, by the way, if violated could in some instances land you in jail, from what I understand), and posting the entire, lengthy code on their website to enlighten the ignorant, is in flagrant violation of the Code on their own home page. Check it out, because the Flag Code clearly says:

“The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.”

They’re certainly not practicing what they preach! Ads for lots of stuff, all with the red, white and blue. Funny, that.

Patriotism, good. Red, white and blue fanaticism, kind of creepy. And according to the government’s Flag Code, “the flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” Well, that is definitely creepy. If true, I have a crumpled living thing in the bottom of my hall closet! Not waving freely, not folded properly, and definitely touching the ground. Oh, well. Don’t report me. At least it hasn’t been trodden or pissed upon.

american flag, patriotism, dog park, hondo, police dog, flag code

“My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas.” That’s how I learned how to remember the planets in the solar system. “A red Indian thought he might eat tobacco in church.” Politically incorrect, perhaps, but that’s how I learned to spell the big word for math. “Found on road dead.” I had a Ford truck once. It had some problems, ‘nuf said.

I do like little memory tricks like that, though. They can sometimes make you seem smarter than you actually be. Are. For example, did you know that 11 x 214 is 2,354? The 11 thing is one of my favorite memory tricks, no calculator needed. If you can’t figure it out, let me know. And yes, 214 was just a random number. Pick a number, any number.

“I’m a dinner jacket”: Ahmadinejad. Okay, so you have to drop a syllable, and make a couple of adjustments in pronunciation, but it still works as an effective memory tool to remember the Iranian president’s last name. Thanks, Whoopi. She mentioned on The View that that’s how she remembered his name: “I’m a dinner jacket.” (Yes, I watch The View.) It certainly stuck with me. His name just rolls off of my tongue now. I thought it might come in handy at dinner parties and such, although, unfortunately, I’ve found that he’s not often the topic of party conversation. Dang it, there’s seldom an opportunity to show off my prowess for namedropping of international leaders. I even come prepared with a way to remember his first name: My mood. “My mood: I’m a dinner jacket.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Note to self: Alert the Whoop about that one. She no doubt attends more dinner parties than I do, maybe it would come in handy. I like to help out when I can.

So My Mood I’m A Dinner Jacket spoke today at Columbia University, amidst much controversy! Should he have been invited? Should he have been allowed to speak? Posters, demonstrations, all other things aside … my answer is “yes.” That question probably won’t come up in any future dinner party conversation, either, so I’ll just say so here, without even being asked for my opinion.

It’s that simple. Yes, he should have his chance to speak. Look, he was invited by Columbia president Lee Bollinger to speak on campus. Bollinger is a lawyer and a big First Amendment, freedom of speech proponent, so I understand and appreciate where he was coming from in inviting Ahmadinejad to speak. It isn’t like some Irianian madman, with or without requisite dinner jacket, stormed onto campus, demanded a podium, and forced the students at gunpoint to take their seats and pay attention (he’s smart enough to know that he’s not in Iran at the moment.) He had an invitation, and in a way, I admire him for RSVPing and showing up.

Bollinger made it clear from his introduction that he was no fan, however.

He said, “Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,” adding, “You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.”

Okay, that’s clear enough. And it does take balls to say something like that to your own invitee’s face. So why is everyone up Bollinger’s ass just because he’s giving this guy a forum in which to speak? Sometimes it might be a good idea to actually listen to what these people in the world have to say, how they respond to questions, without a media filter, nutcase or not. If I was a student at Columbia, I would have wanted to be there. Yeah, I think the guy is a weirdo. The Holocaust is a myth? Come on, how can anyone be so stupid? Of course, well-deserved ridicule is in order there. Okay, he’s not playing with a full deck. That’s pretty obvious.

The nuclear thing? Well, I’m not happy about that per se, but maybe they are actually just developing their nuclear program for energy, no weapon in mind whatsoever. Hey, we’ve got lots of nuclear energy plants here. No one made us stop. Of course, even if they do decide to sneak in some sort of bomb thing under the wire, well, we’ve got the nuclear bombs here, too, so we could teach them a lesson. It’s okay for us, just not for them. Not with a madman running the country. Whoops, we’ve got that, too. Never mind.

Then there’s his crazy questioning of the 9/11 attacks, and who is actually to blame. Well, I do question that, myself. Time to put on my dinner jacket. And so he’s not a big fan of Israel, neither am I. Maybe I should just move to Iran. No, wait. They have no homosexuals there, I wouldn’t fit in at all!

In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Ahmadinejad said to howls and boos among the Columbia University audience.

“In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don’t know who has told you that we have it,” he said.

Ahmadinejad was challenged during his appearance on Amnesty International figures that suggested that 200 people had been executed in Iran so far this year, among them homosexuals.

All right, I know he’s a crazy dude. I don’t like him or his politics, or the way he runs his country, but he does have the right to speak, particularly in front of a group of college kids who are smart enough to call him on some of his outrageous policies, and put him on the spot, make him accountable. And like I said, he was invited, after all. Sometimes it’s best to hear the words straight from the idiot’s mouth. I really don’t understand the controversy. Good Lord, we’re forced to listen to the idiot running this country every day, and he wasn’t even invited.

Doesn’t really matter, Ahmadinejad’s days are probably numbered anyway. George Bush no doubt has another troop surge in the works, this time swapping out the “Q” for an “N“.

mahmoud ahmadinejad, iran, iranian president, george bush, columbia university

“Sic: Intentionally so written — used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it is intended exactly as printed or to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original.” Merriam Webster.

We’ve all seen it, the “sic” between those square brackets in newspapers, magazines, transcripts, online, whenever the writer of the piece wants to make it clear that, whomever it is they may be quoting, the author knows that this word, this phrase, the grammar is wrong, incorrect, misspoken, a mistake of some sort, but they are simply reporting exactly what he/she actually has said or written, verbatim. Adding “[sic]” takes the responsibility off of the reporter, because, really, who wants to be blamed for someone else’s stupidity?

Oddly enough, you seldom see “[sic]” in the news reports quoting George W. Bush following whatever his latest and greatest speech might have been. Then again, the reporters do have limited column space. I’m sure I could be sic-ed too, if I was quote-worthy, but I’m not, so I don’t worry so much. At least I’d never say something as Bush-classic as, “Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?” Or, “You’re working hard to put food on your family.” Both definitely bracketed sic-worthy. Not to mention the thousands of times the man has said “nucular.”

So he’s had a few misspeaks [sic]. We all do from time to time, but generally not every time we open our mouths.

Today he had his press conference explaining why the economy is strong despite some economists’ opinion to the contrary. Okay, whatever fantasy world he’s living in, I want to go there, too. He did support his position, though, by saying that, “Inflation is down, markets are steady, unemployment is relatively low, exports are up and corporate profits seem to be healthy.” Hmmm, wonder which one of those five he’s considering the primary indicator?

There were the requisite “sic moments”, of course. Moments (plural) within just this one sentence, for example: “There is no question that there is some unsettling times in the housing market and credits associated with the housing market,” the president said. If you can’t answer the question “What’s wrong with this sentence?”, you ought not waste your time trying to figure it out. You no doubt have better things to do, like putting food on your family.

Even when well-spoken, there are certainly things that should require a sic tag, not for the grammatical and spelling errors. Sometimes I would think that a reporter would want to make it clear that “he said it, not me!” In his economic “all is well” speech today, when pressed about whether he thought there was a risk of recession, Bush said:

“You need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101.”

Well, considering we have a self-admitted C-student president running the show, apparently Econ 101 was actually one of his stronger subjects. Still, apparently not strong enough. The president doesn’t know if there’s a risk of recession? As I watched the speech, it seemed to me that he was in a quandary about what the word even meant. “Talk to economists.” Should the president, particularly when delivering a speech about the state of the nation’s economy, really be deferring to others when asked a simple question about, well, the economy? He didn’t even try to bluff his way out of that one. That was unusual. No wonder we’re in such a mess. This would qualify for one of those quotes warranting a bracketed disclaimer in tomorrow morning’s newspaper report. “I’m just reporting what he said, folks, don’t blame me.”

Of course, economy out of the way, the nation having been assured that everything is A-OK (except for the potential recession, which is still up in the air, since there was no economist in the house to answer that question), the focus turned to other issues, like it usually does. Another special bracket moment here, when asked about progress in Iraq, and why he thinks people there are dissatisfied with the central government. At least Bush continues to amuse. He actually said this:

“Part of the reason why there’s not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule. Sort of an interesting comment, I heard somebody say, ‘Where’s Mandela?’ Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.“

This in reference, of course, to Nelson Mandela who after spending three decades in prison in South Africa for his anti-apartheid activities, became the first democratically elected president in South Africa, and helped reconcile his country after decades of racial division. No more of that burning-tire necklace murder thing going on against the black folks that was the norm under apartheid. Mandela is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a leader known worldwide, yet I have the impression that George thinks the Mandelas are (or were, past tense, since apparently Saddam killed them all!) just another tribe or sect in the cesspool of Iraq. The Kurds, the Sunnis, the Shiites, the Mandelas!

By the way, Mandela is alive and well. In South Africa. And I doubt if he or any of the Mandela clan have at any time ventured into Iraq.

I’d suggest that reporters covering and quoting any Bush speech simply end every article with a single, bold, all caps [SIC]. That would pretty much cover it all, while saving valuable column space. In fact, [SIC AND TIRED] might be more appropriate when it comes to reporting on all things Bush. Bold, all caps.

george w bush, iraq war, economy, bush speech, nelson mandela

From time to time we all get cravings. Chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, nachos, or fill in the blank with whatever it is you’re just dying to have right now! I’m mostly a salty snack kind of guy, and will usually pass on the chocolate and the ice cream. Although, I do enjoy a bowl of vanilla with Hershey’s syrup from time to time, now that I mention it. Yum. Usually, though, I’ll go for the bag of chips or the cheesy nachos. Extra jalapenos, please, although I might regret that later.

Of pickles, I’m not a big fan. Hold the pickles for me. So it never occurred to me that there might be enough pickle fanatics out there craving a soggy cuke to warrant a demand for pickle stores. I was wrong. The Pickle Guys in NYC seem to have done quite well, and I guess there are others. I Googled it. Who knew? Talk about a niche market.

Apparently Iraqis also love their pickles. They have pickle shops there, too. One less today, though, after the latest car bomb attack in Baghdad. Quote from a witness reported by the Associated Press:

“We rushed outside the house after hearing the sound of the explosion. I could see the bakery and a nearby pickle shop on fire,” said Abu Ahmed, a 36-year-old Shiite government employee. “The wounded were screaming for help as the ambulances were arriving.”

Eleven people were killed, including two kids. The main target was the nearby bakery, as customers were lining up for bread as they ended their Ramadan fast. Unfortunate location selection for the pickle shop guys, though, and unfortunate timing for those customers who may have simply planned to dash in to satisfy an urgent pickle craving.

Of course it was “the bad guys” who did the killing, I understand that. But as far as I’m concerned, George Dubya and the Bushies have the blood on their hands. I know these things are happening every day, it becomes old news, but why? Because of the US illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, we have resolved nothing, accomplished nothing, other than creating an environment in which sectarian violence between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds can flourish. It’s called a civil war (oxymoron, that phrase), and we created it. Now we’re stuck.

What strikes me most is that whether it’s us killing them, them killing us, or them killing each other, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of deaths that are the result of this atrocity that is the war in Iraq have come in increments of, say, for example, eleven. Given enough time, like four and a half years, I guess those numbers do add up. And no end in sight. Keep that calculator handy.

Like I said, I don’t like pickles, but I do recognize one when I see it, and we’re certainly in one now when it comes to Iraq. I think I’ll stick with the nachos.

iraq war, illegal war, baghdad, car bomb, war casualties, george bush