April 2008 archive

Apr 16 2008

Iraqi Army Unit Flees Post, Despite American Pleas to Stay

‘As Iraqis Stand Up, We Will Stand Down,’ Bush Tells Nation

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2005 – On the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq to a transitional Iraqi government, President Bush tonight promised that U.S. forces would remain in Iraq until the job is complete, “but not one day longer.”

“The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists,” he said. “And that is why we are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.”

American Forces Press Service, June 28, 2005

They still are not standing up nearly three years later.  The New York Times today reports that Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions in Sadr City, “defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias.”

More after the fold

Also in orange: http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

Apr 16 2008

Updated (2x) – Ties That Bind: China, US, Torture and the Death Penalty

Amnesty International reported yesterday that China is the world’s top executioner. From ITN News in the UK:

But as with everything else in life, there are unseen ties that link China’s use of the death penalty with the United States’ use of torture in conducting the “war on terror”.

Apr 16 2008

Pony Party, A Little Good News

Sometimes, I just have to go to The Good News Network and see if anything positive is actually happening in the world.  Just one of their current stories:  

Apr 16 2008

One year ago today.



Carry on.

Apr 16 2008

I have corporate sponsorship!

Very exciting times here at the the bustling blog offices!

Last night, yours-truly opened the front door to find a phalanx of high-powered corporate executives in even HIGHER powered suits standing expectantly on my stoop.

Well, these executives wined and dined and seventy-two’d me (that’s three better then sixty-nine) and as the caviar and truffles settled in my befattened tummy… I made the morally difficult decision to accept corporate sponsorship for my ongoing efforts.

burger king

Now, I understand how you might worry that the influence of multinational conglomerates (specifically the bags of cash, the bright red porsche, and the women of extremely low morals) might change the very nature of this blog, but let me tell you… NAY, PROMISE… as sure as the delicious Whopper™ I’m eating has a third less fat than the Big Mac… I CANNOT be corrupted!

Apr 16 2008

Wanna Fix the Economy? Give Workers a Raise

The original article, by Mike Whitney, via dissidentvoice.org.

The bright new financial system, with all its talented participants, with all its rich rewards, has failed the test of the marketplace.

– Former Fed Chief, Paul Volcker

Not much more needs to be said, but will the failure in the marketplace be allowed to die a dignified death?  Yeah…right.

Apr 16 2008

The Morning News

The Morning News is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Bombings kill nearly 60 in Sunni areas of Iraq

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

4 minutes ago

BAGHDAD – Bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq tore through market areas in Baghdad and outside the capital on Tuesday, killing nearly 60 people and shattering weeks of relative calm in Sunni-dominated areas.

The bloodshed – in four cities as far north as Mosul and as far west as Ramadi – struck directly at U.S. claims that the Sunni insurgency is waning and being replaced by Shiite militia violence as a major threat.

The deadliest blasts took place in Baqouba and Ramadi, two cities where the U.S. military has claimed varying degrees of success in getting Sunnis to turn against al-Qaida.

Apr 16 2008

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

Apr 16 2008

The Weapon of Young Gods #19: Narcoleptic Blues

Peter and I returned from Ortega one Friday night at the end of March to find a message from R.J. on the machine. My roommate tossed his jacket on the bed and, with a perceptive nod, took off for Alex’s room to begin the weekend idiocy we’d anticipated for days. I slumped on my bed and dialed the number that, until I’d moved out, had been my private line all through high school, when Nadia and I would talk until 3 a.m. while R.J. was trying to sleep. He answered the phone after three rings.

previous episode

UPDATE: Revised a little bit on re-read.

Apr 16 2008

soldiers. and. a right-to-life.

• unSupporting Our Troops

Rep. John F. Tierney (D-MA): So it is a little astonishing to me, and I think to others, the planning for what is going to happen to our troops, their meals, their water, their housing, the essentials of life, their protection, all of that doesn’t even begin to happen until May 2003, after Baghdad falls, but in the meantime the administration had your company planning for Iraq’s oil infrastructure months before it had a plan how to support our troops.

Apr 16 2008

Iglesia ……………………………………… Episode 48

(Iglesia is a serialized novel, published on Tuesdays and Saturdays at midnight ET, you can read all of the episodes by clicking on the tag.)

Previous episode and previous pertinent episode (won’t be needing that again for awhile!

Rogers appeared startled by the sudden outburst after so much silence, he answered a bit louder than usual, his voice carrying in the twilight air. “I’m afraid I must impose upon your patience, and request that you wait for just a wee bit longer…”

“NO! Talk.” Abe exploded out of his seat and began to pace in circles around the fire pit. “NOW! I have put up with all of this, the endless walking,” he was getting warmed up, “all of these different places we have been through, desert and forest and…underwater…and,” gulp, “walking down that road and seeing ……and the giant cats and fucking being shot in the fucking head and waking up inside a fucking tree and…all of it. Like a good soldier I have just followed behind you and, and now I can finally think again and, and, NOW, Rogers, you insufferable ass, you….

Pause. “….you will….” A sudden revelation pops into his head with as much force as the bullet had. “Wait, wait, wait….wait! You said she was married, you bastard…..you  know  who  she  is…..”

Apr 16 2008

We can’t heal until we face our demons

The United States of America tortures people.

Get used to that.  It is no secret – it isn’t even up for debate.  There is not one person that has even the cursory knowledge of what was discussed, what was authorized, what was justified or the acts that were carried out on detainees by people representing the United States of America.

This is not a “time for healing”.  Not yet.

This is the time of reckoning for the people and future of America – an accountability moment.  The corporate media here in the US, not surprisingly, is ignoring this story but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t widely reported or known around the world.  This isn’t new, although the revelations about the entire uppermost level of the Bush administration spent hours discussing sadistic acts that they could do via proxy to others “in the name of freedom” is new.

This can not pass – this can not fall into the waste heap of all of the dozens, nay, scores of scandals, crimes or “just” unethical acts taken by these torturing, lying, thieving, murderous criminals since stealing the 2000 election.  This can not be swept under the rug.  It can not and will not be forgotten.  After all, civilized countries do not torture people, no matter what.

We can’t just move forward and put this bad period behind us.  We need to understand how we got to this point, how we allowed this to be done in our names, and why those who were supposed to be “the opposition” did not object when briefed, did not investigate in any meaningful manner and are not screaming from the rooftops at the most recent discovery.

Torture is not something that will be excused – not for any reason.  There needs to be justice.  There needs to be a recognition of how far we have sunk – how a callous disregard for law and a complete and utter lack of any humanity by those who occupy the top offices in the United States Government has resulted in a sanctioned program that was specifically designed to do nothing other than torture people.

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