Monday, August 27, 2007
Gone-Zales
And a fond farewell to Alberto, who is resigning so he can spend more time torturing his family. Thanks for helping to fuck up the country, asshole!
Friday, August 24, 2007
There is no cineplex in Stinson Beach
I have decided that the best use of my new spare time would be to read books and watch DVDs – not for any personal pleasure but so my readers (of which I have none) will not have to suffer as I have.
Children of Men – Cliché and predictable, the casting is so good it was a lot of fun to watch. A satire made of this movie would do well to keep the same cast. No, really, I did like it.
Huey Long****: I adore Sean Penn. He’s a genius. (Steve says “He’s a God.) But I couldn’t watch this movie which had a pervasive ugliness and no pitch range. Sorry honey.
Pan’s Labyrinth: I don’t think I got up and puttered once during this movie, which is the highest praise I can give to a DVD .
The Constant Gardener: Heavy foreshadowing, a trifle long (3 putters) but well done with a good cast. Thumbs up as they say…
Children of Men – Cliché and predictable, the casting is so good it was a lot of fun to watch. A satire made of this movie would do well to keep the same cast. No, really, I did like it.
Huey Long****: I adore Sean Penn. He’s a genius. (Steve says “He’s a God.) But I couldn’t watch this movie which had a pervasive ugliness and no pitch range. Sorry honey.
Pan’s Labyrinth: I don’t think I got up and puttered once during this movie, which is the highest praise I can give to a DVD .
The Constant Gardener: Heavy foreshadowing, a trifle long (3 putters) but well done with a good cast. Thumbs up as they say…
Sunday, August 19, 2007
August
Spent 8 great days in Happy Camp - walking, reading, of course eating up a storm. (Caprese Salad, step one: Go to garden, pick tomatoes, pick basil...) and consuming my fair share of Beer and Wine. Came back to work and was promptly fired by The Heir. Am now punching a time card and hostessing which will last until he finds a 20 year old to do the job. Living in Reduced Circumstances offset by no longer having to worry about the restaurant (the worrying alone was a full time job) and actually having time to -- whatever! Which doesn't mean I'll get any better at updating this blog (which no one reads anyway)....
Monday, July 16, 2007
Where is Riverbend?
Words I google just about every day. Since her 4/26/07 post stating that she is planning on leaving Iraq (not an easy task -- and dangerous) she has not posted and I cannot find any references to her on any other sites.
Her publishers have on their web page the following message:
Note: To all of Riverbend's fans, thank you for your concern about her periodic absences from her blog. She has stated that she would be leaving Baghdad, but the Feminist Press does not know where she intends to go or if she intends to keep writing. When we know more, we will post it here.
http://www.feministpress.org/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=55861100869560
Her publishers have on their web page the following message:
Note: To all of Riverbend's fans, thank you for your concern about her periodic absences from her blog. She has stated that she would be leaving Baghdad, but the Feminist Press does not know where she intends to go or if she intends to keep writing. When we know more, we will post it here.
http://www.feministpress.org/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=55861100869560
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Martin Amis
Martin Amis Experience 2000 Hyperion
Don't know what took me so long to find this guy. Started with House of Meetings, which led to Koba the Dread. Now, from Experience (pg 237):
...Princess Diana used to claim that her favourite poem was 'Ye Wearie Wayfarer' by Adam Lindsay Gordon, four lines of harmonial Victorian rubbish that go as follows:
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another's trouble,
C0urage in your own.
For fun, Kingsley had recently rewritten 'Ye Wearie Wayfarer', imbueing it with something of the spirit of the times:
Life is mainly grief and labour.
Two things get you through.
Chortling when it hits your neighbour
Whingeing when it's you.
Don't know what took me so long to find this guy. Started with House of Meetings, which led to Koba the Dread. Now, from Experience (pg 237):
...Princess Diana used to claim that her favourite poem was 'Ye Wearie Wayfarer' by Adam Lindsay Gordon, four lines of harmonial Victorian rubbish that go as follows:
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another's trouble,
C0urage in your own.
For fun, Kingsley had recently rewritten 'Ye Wearie Wayfarer', imbueing it with something of the spirit of the times:
Life is mainly grief and labour.
Two things get you through.
Chortling when it hits your neighbour
Whingeing when it's you.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Needs to be re-posted in Washington...
The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen ColoniesIn CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I think I'll just buy bigger trousers.....
(From Salon.com)
Lose weight! Feel great! Well, maybe not
Here's a question: Would you take a medicine whose possible side effects included making you poop in your pants? I'd guess that it'd have to be a pretty important pill to make it worth the risk (treating a mild headache wouldn't cut it). And I'd also think that such a med wouldn't fly off the drugstore shelves.
But I'd be wrong. Last Thursday, the first over-the-counter diet drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration hit drugstores -- and customers (mostly women) couldn't get enough of it. According to the Los Angeles Times, even a price of nearly $60 (for a one-month supply) didn't keep the drug, known as alli, on the shelves. "I've never seen anything like this," one store manager was quoted as saying.
How does this magic pill work? A lower-potency version of the prescription drug Xenical, it blocks your body from absorbing about 25 percent of the fat that you eat. (In a diet of 3,000 calories and 100 grams of fat, this would knock out about 225 calories.)
If that sounds too easy, it's because it is. First of all, it does nothing to calories that come from carbohydrates and protein. Second, if you check out alli's Web site, you'll find an entire section devoted to potential "bowel changes," which the site euphemistically calls "treatment effects," and it's quite clear that the human body is not designed to expel a quarter of the fat it eats.
What sort of treatment effects? Well, you may get "gas with oily spotting," "loose stools" or "more frequent stools that may be hard to control," the page says, before likening the undigested fat -- which will show up in the toilet -- to "the oil on top of a pizza." How do you prevent these side effects? Simple. Just limit yourself to no more than 15 grams of fat per meal. Yes, you heard that right -- in order to get the benefit of alli, you're supposed to eat a low-fat diet. Correct me if I'm missing something, but if you're already eating a low-fat diet, why would you need alli?
Putting it a different way, if alli prevents you from absorbing a quarter of the fat you eat, that means that for a meal with 15 grams of fat in it (at nine calories per gram), it'd be saving you approximately 36 calories. Not to get all philosophical, but if someone were to ask me how many calories it would take to get me to risk shitting myself in public, it'd be a hell of a lot more than 36.
Before I get even more worked up, let me point out that I understand that in cases of extreme obesity (or conditions where, for whatever reason, medication is necessary to reduce weight), alli might be a reasonable choice. But according to the pharmacists interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, most of the women (and yes, they were women) who grabbed alli weren't obese or overweight. They bought it because, as anyone in tune with pop culture knows, the "perfect" body is still -- for most people -- an unnaturally thin one.
None of this is surprising, but I still find it depressing that we live in a society where women are so obsessed with thinness that they are willing to sacrifice control of their bowels to avoid a handful of calories a day. Here's another quote from the "treatment effects" page of the Web site: "Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work." Sure, most people wouldn't mind losing five pounds, but in such a case, is it really worth it?
-- Catherine Price
Lose weight! Feel great! Well, maybe not
Here's a question: Would you take a medicine whose possible side effects included making you poop in your pants? I'd guess that it'd have to be a pretty important pill to make it worth the risk (treating a mild headache wouldn't cut it). And I'd also think that such a med wouldn't fly off the drugstore shelves.
But I'd be wrong. Last Thursday, the first over-the-counter diet drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration hit drugstores -- and customers (mostly women) couldn't get enough of it. According to the Los Angeles Times, even a price of nearly $60 (for a one-month supply) didn't keep the drug, known as alli, on the shelves. "I've never seen anything like this," one store manager was quoted as saying.
How does this magic pill work? A lower-potency version of the prescription drug Xenical, it blocks your body from absorbing about 25 percent of the fat that you eat. (In a diet of 3,000 calories and 100 grams of fat, this would knock out about 225 calories.)
If that sounds too easy, it's because it is. First of all, it does nothing to calories that come from carbohydrates and protein. Second, if you check out alli's Web site, you'll find an entire section devoted to potential "bowel changes," which the site euphemistically calls "treatment effects," and it's quite clear that the human body is not designed to expel a quarter of the fat it eats.
What sort of treatment effects? Well, you may get "gas with oily spotting," "loose stools" or "more frequent stools that may be hard to control," the page says, before likening the undigested fat -- which will show up in the toilet -- to "the oil on top of a pizza." How do you prevent these side effects? Simple. Just limit yourself to no more than 15 grams of fat per meal. Yes, you heard that right -- in order to get the benefit of alli, you're supposed to eat a low-fat diet. Correct me if I'm missing something, but if you're already eating a low-fat diet, why would you need alli?
Putting it a different way, if alli prevents you from absorbing a quarter of the fat you eat, that means that for a meal with 15 grams of fat in it (at nine calories per gram), it'd be saving you approximately 36 calories. Not to get all philosophical, but if someone were to ask me how many calories it would take to get me to risk shitting myself in public, it'd be a hell of a lot more than 36.
Before I get even more worked up, let me point out that I understand that in cases of extreme obesity (or conditions where, for whatever reason, medication is necessary to reduce weight), alli might be a reasonable choice. But according to the pharmacists interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, most of the women (and yes, they were women) who grabbed alli weren't obese or overweight. They bought it because, as anyone in tune with pop culture knows, the "perfect" body is still -- for most people -- an unnaturally thin one.
None of this is surprising, but I still find it depressing that we live in a society where women are so obsessed with thinness that they are willing to sacrifice control of their bowels to avoid a handful of calories a day. Here's another quote from the "treatment effects" page of the Web site: "Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work." Sure, most people wouldn't mind losing five pounds, but in such a case, is it really worth it?
-- Catherine Price
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Torture Monologues
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confesses planning the events of 9/11, the attack on the USS Cole, the Anthrax Letters, the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, Anna Nicole Smith, Laci Peterson and Sal Mineo. He denied any responsibility for the lyrics of MacArthur Park.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Wimpy Dems
I emailed Pelosi yesterday re pulling the sentences declaring that Bush has no authority to go into Iran (translate- bomb the shit out of them) without congressional approval. I told her that it seems it was a waste of my time to go vote at all.
Since the Democratic Majority has turned out to be as spineless as the Democratic Minority, the only feel good moments now rest in the ability of the Repubs to self destruct. Fortunately they are doing their fair share of this. The torture guy (now, he is a soprano why?) is whining his way out. And as for Peter Pace --with a name like that he's gotta be gay. Cheney will probably stay in office, telecommunicating from his bunker in Dubai.
I'm still not optimistic. But I am entertained.
Since the Democratic Majority has turned out to be as spineless as the Democratic Minority, the only feel good moments now rest in the ability of the Repubs to self destruct. Fortunately they are doing their fair share of this. The torture guy (now, he is a soprano why?) is whining his way out. And as for Peter Pace --with a name like that he's gotta be gay. Cheney will probably stay in office, telecommunicating from his bunker in Dubai.
I'm still not optimistic. But I am entertained.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Uniter
It occurs to me that W finally has brought this country together.
Thanks George!
You can go now.
Thanks George!
You can go now.
Friday, December 29, 2006
After (another) long pause, Riverbend posts....
Baghdad Burning
... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...
Friday, December 29, 2006
End of Another Year...
You know your country is in trouble when:
The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.
Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.
The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.
The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.
An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country's 'Golden Years'.
Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.
Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is 'sectarian bloodshed' or 'civil war'.
People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks.
A day in the life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been detained, which ones have been exiled and which ones have been abducted.
2006 has been, decidedly, the worst year yet. No- really. The magnitude of this war and occupation is only now hitting the country full force. It's like having a big piece of hard, dry earth you are determined to break apart. You drive in the first stake in the form of an infrastructure damaged with missiles and the newest in arms technology, the first cracks begin to form. Several smaller stakes come in the form of politicians like Chalabi, Al Hakim, Talbani, Pachachi, Allawi and Maliki. The cracks slowly begin to multiply and stretch across the once solid piece of earth, reaching out towards its edges like so many skeletal hands. And you apply pressure. You surround it from all sides and push and pull. Slowly, but surely, it begins coming apart- a chip here, a chunk there.
That is Iraq right now. The Americans have done a fine job of working to break it apart. This last year has nearly everyone convinced that that was the plan right from the start. There were too many blunders for them to actually have been, simply, blunders. The 'mistakes' were too catastrophic. The people the Bush administration chose to support and promote were openly and publicly terrible- from the conman and embezzler Chalabi, to the terrorist Jaffari, to the militia man Maliki. The decisions, like disbanding the Iraqi army, abolishing the original constitution, and allowing militias to take over Iraqi security were too damaging to be anything but intentional.
The question now is, but why? I really have been asking myself that these last few days. What does America possibly gain by damaging Iraq to this extent? I'm certain only raving idiots still believe this war and occupation were about WMD or an actual fear of Saddam.
Al Qaeda? That's laughable. Bush has effectively created more terrorists in Iraq these last 4 years than Osama could have created in 10 different terrorist camps in the distant hills of Afghanistan. Our children now play games of 'sniper' and 'jihadi', pretending that one hit an American soldier between the eyes and this one overturned a Humvee.
This last year especially has been a turning point. Nearly every Iraqi has lost so much. So much. There's no way to describe the loss we've experienced with this war and occupation. There are no words to relay the feelings that come with the knowledge that daily almost 40 corpses are found in different states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so out of ones hands, it borders on the ridiculous- like whether your name is 'too Sunni' or 'too Shia'. Fear of the larger things- like the Americans in the tank, the police patrolling your area in black bandanas and green banners, and the Iraqi soldiers wearing black masks at the checkpoint.
Again, I can't help but ask myself why this was all done? What was the point of breaking Iraq so that it was beyond repair? Iran seems to be the only gainer. Their presence in Iraq is so well-established, publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Has the situation gone so beyond America that it is now irretrievable? Or was this a part of the plan all along? My head aches just posing the questions.
What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.
Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.
This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).
That is, of course, why Talbani doesn't want to sign his death penalty- not because the mob man suddenly grew a conscience, but because he doesn't want to be the one who does the hanging- he won't be able to travel far away enough if he does that.
Maliki's government couldn't contain their glee. They announced the ratification of the execution order before the actual court did. A few nights ago, some American news program interviewed Maliki's bureau chief, Basim Al-Hassani who was speaking in accented American English about the upcoming execution like it was a carnival he'd be attending. He sat, looking sleazy and not a little bit ridiculous, his dialogue interspersed with 'gonna', 'gotta' and 'wanna'... Which happens, I suppose, when the only people you mix with are American soldiers.
My only conclusion is that the Americans want to withdraw from Iraq, but would like to leave behind a full-fledged civil war because it wouldn't look good if they withdraw and things actually begin to improve, would it?
Here we come to the end of 2006 and I am sad. Not simply sad for the state of the country, but for the state of our humanity, as Iraqis. We've all lost some of the compassion and civility that I felt made us special four years ago. I take myself as an example. Nearly four years ago, I cringed every time I heard about the death of an American soldier. They were occupiers, but they were humans also and the knowledge that they were being killed in my country gave me sleepless nights. Never mind they crossed oceans to attack the country, I actually felt for them.
Had I not chronicled those feelings of agitation in this very blog, I wouldn't believe them now. Today, they simply represent numbers. 3000 Americans dead over nearly four years? Really? That's the number of dead Iraqis in less than a month. The Americans had families? Too bad. So do we. So do the corpses in the streets and the ones waiting for identification in the morgue.
Is the American soldier that died today in Anbar more important than a cousin I have who was shot last month on the night of his engagement to a woman he's wanted to marry for the last six years? I don't think so.
Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn't make them more significant, does it?
... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...
Friday, December 29, 2006
End of Another Year...
You know your country is in trouble when:
The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.
Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.
The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.
The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.
An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country's 'Golden Years'.
Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.
Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is 'sectarian bloodshed' or 'civil war'.
People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks.
A day in the life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been detained, which ones have been exiled and which ones have been abducted.
2006 has been, decidedly, the worst year yet. No- really. The magnitude of this war and occupation is only now hitting the country full force. It's like having a big piece of hard, dry earth you are determined to break apart. You drive in the first stake in the form of an infrastructure damaged with missiles and the newest in arms technology, the first cracks begin to form. Several smaller stakes come in the form of politicians like Chalabi, Al Hakim, Talbani, Pachachi, Allawi and Maliki. The cracks slowly begin to multiply and stretch across the once solid piece of earth, reaching out towards its edges like so many skeletal hands. And you apply pressure. You surround it from all sides and push and pull. Slowly, but surely, it begins coming apart- a chip here, a chunk there.
That is Iraq right now. The Americans have done a fine job of working to break it apart. This last year has nearly everyone convinced that that was the plan right from the start. There were too many blunders for them to actually have been, simply, blunders. The 'mistakes' were too catastrophic. The people the Bush administration chose to support and promote were openly and publicly terrible- from the conman and embezzler Chalabi, to the terrorist Jaffari, to the militia man Maliki. The decisions, like disbanding the Iraqi army, abolishing the original constitution, and allowing militias to take over Iraqi security were too damaging to be anything but intentional.
The question now is, but why? I really have been asking myself that these last few days. What does America possibly gain by damaging Iraq to this extent? I'm certain only raving idiots still believe this war and occupation were about WMD or an actual fear of Saddam.
Al Qaeda? That's laughable. Bush has effectively created more terrorists in Iraq these last 4 years than Osama could have created in 10 different terrorist camps in the distant hills of Afghanistan. Our children now play games of 'sniper' and 'jihadi', pretending that one hit an American soldier between the eyes and this one overturned a Humvee.
This last year especially has been a turning point. Nearly every Iraqi has lost so much. So much. There's no way to describe the loss we've experienced with this war and occupation. There are no words to relay the feelings that come with the knowledge that daily almost 40 corpses are found in different states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so out of ones hands, it borders on the ridiculous- like whether your name is 'too Sunni' or 'too Shia'. Fear of the larger things- like the Americans in the tank, the police patrolling your area in black bandanas and green banners, and the Iraqi soldiers wearing black masks at the checkpoint.
Again, I can't help but ask myself why this was all done? What was the point of breaking Iraq so that it was beyond repair? Iran seems to be the only gainer. Their presence in Iraq is so well-established, publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Has the situation gone so beyond America that it is now irretrievable? Or was this a part of the plan all along? My head aches just posing the questions.
What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.
Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.
This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).
That is, of course, why Talbani doesn't want to sign his death penalty- not because the mob man suddenly grew a conscience, but because he doesn't want to be the one who does the hanging- he won't be able to travel far away enough if he does that.
Maliki's government couldn't contain their glee. They announced the ratification of the execution order before the actual court did. A few nights ago, some American news program interviewed Maliki's bureau chief, Basim Al-Hassani who was speaking in accented American English about the upcoming execution like it was a carnival he'd be attending. He sat, looking sleazy and not a little bit ridiculous, his dialogue interspersed with 'gonna', 'gotta' and 'wanna'... Which happens, I suppose, when the only people you mix with are American soldiers.
My only conclusion is that the Americans want to withdraw from Iraq, but would like to leave behind a full-fledged civil war because it wouldn't look good if they withdraw and things actually begin to improve, would it?
Here we come to the end of 2006 and I am sad. Not simply sad for the state of the country, but for the state of our humanity, as Iraqis. We've all lost some of the compassion and civility that I felt made us special four years ago. I take myself as an example. Nearly four years ago, I cringed every time I heard about the death of an American soldier. They were occupiers, but they were humans also and the knowledge that they were being killed in my country gave me sleepless nights. Never mind they crossed oceans to attack the country, I actually felt for them.
Had I not chronicled those feelings of agitation in this very blog, I wouldn't believe them now. Today, they simply represent numbers. 3000 Americans dead over nearly four years? Really? That's the number of dead Iraqis in less than a month. The Americans had families? Too bad. So do we. So do the corpses in the streets and the ones waiting for identification in the morgue.
Is the American soldier that died today in Anbar more important than a cousin I have who was shot last month on the night of his engagement to a woman he's wanted to marry for the last six years? I don't think so.
Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn't make them more significant, does it?
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Desperate Republicans, Thursday Edition
Everything Old is New Again
Whipper of Minorities
Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover
Direct Method (Gingrich): Tell your wife at her hospital bed you are divorcing her so you can marry your mistress
Indirect Method (Giuliani): Announce at a press conference you are divorcing your wife so you can marry your mistress. Hope the wife is watching.
Backdoor Method (Pastor Ted): Check into a five year spiritual rehab program to cure your lust for the guy what outed you.
If the Glove Doesn't Fit, You Gotta Acquit Method (OJ): Ok, I'm just assuming he's a Republican
Winter Reading List
Lynn Cheney, "Sisters" - Hot Lesbos go West in Search of....Something
Scooter Libby: "The Apprentice" - Man on Yellow Dog Hair Coat
Bill O'Reilly: "Those Who Trespass" - Return of the Loofah with Vengeance
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Hump No More
It may be Wednesday -- but forgetaboutit. The Ministry of love now sez
NO WHORING AROUND UNTIL YOU'RE 30!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Att: Bill O'Reilly
Falafel
Loofah
Warning: Confusing the two may lead to indigestion
and bad phone sex.
Monday, October 02, 2006
These People Give Sex a Bad Name
Foley meets Malkin. Immediately turns gay. Not ready for man on dog, tries man on page. Vows to keep trying 'til he gets it right.
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