Last summer, in the run-up to General Petraeus’ September testimony to Congress, there were a number of stories in the U.S. press about fighters from Saudi Arabia entering Iraq to cause violence. Indeed, back in summer of 2007, it was possible to read in a mainstream newspaper, every now and then, that a plurality of foreign fighters in Iraq were Saudis.
April 2008 archive
Apr 13 2008
Iglesia ……………………………………… Episode 47
(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
Another hatch and Abe and Rogers are walking through an evergreen forest. If Abe had noticed, he would have seen that it was just as beautiful, just as perfect, as all of the other worlds that they had passed through. Just the varieties of shades of green, and the way they meld and mesh together alone is hypnotically beautiful, for anyone paying attention. He isn’t. His head is down and he is walking. And walking, and walking. In silence. Using every mental technique he knows to avoid thought, and concentrating on the physical act of walking. Stretching his legs and closing his mind to all thoughts of….her. Rogers has to hurry to keep ahead of him. They walk all day without stopping. Abe never even thinks of rest, or food or water. There is no need for them from his body, so it never occurs to him to desire them.
Apr 13 2008
Saturday Night YouTube: Last Waltz Edition!
So, I was trying to decide what to listen to while I did my exercise bike time and I looked around to see what there was I hadn’t listened to in a while. Usually, I listen to either Gackt Red or Gackt Blue (highly reccomended), sometimes I listen to Elton John from the Garden (Greatest Hits Live), somtimes Freddy’s Tribute Concert, and sometimes the Statler Brothers Farewell show (all just fabulous). Then I looked, and I saw the Last Waltz! Bingo!
Apr 13 2008
Gates Pushes, Sadr Slams Back
Is Iraq about to Blow Wide Open, 19 U.S. Killed so far this week, and it might be just the beginning.
I’m hoping some Sense comes into play here, or it’s back to what it was or Worse!
Apr 13 2008
Seattle Says Hello Dalai!
The Dalai Lama addressed thousands today. I narrowly missed getting a free ticket but did manage to run into an old friend I hadn’t seen in a decade as I left Qwest Field. The area was ultra-high security but there was a steady rush to get inside to hear him. I did manage to get a free poster (like in the photo above) from the public library.
He said:
“Many problem essentially are own creation; therefore logically, we must have the ability to eliminate this problem. It is our own interest and responsibility to make this century should be century of dialogue.”
He said the 20th century has become like “century of bloodshed,” and suggested the elimination all nuclear weapons.
“So firstly, on action level, whenever we face problem, different interest, disagreement, the realistic method is nonviolent dialogue. That’s the only way. If you use force in order to solve one problem, it often create lots of unexpected side effect … Nonviolence not just mere absence of violence, nonviolence means facing problem with real determination, vision, wider perspective.”
Apr 13 2008
Pony Party… Boston
Boston. I think it’s in Massachusetts. It is famous for a tea party.
It is also where undercovercalico is…you know the one who usually does the Saturday Pony Parties….who brings us Saturday Morning Art! and many other Interesting Ponies at noon and six…?
It is also where many of the DD girls & I believe maybe a couple of the DD guys(?) are today.
Don’t rec this pony cause it’s really lame. Go to the Front Page and find one of the many excellent essays there to recommend. They deserve it, this doesn’t.
And if by chance another Pony Party shows up at 6pm….go there and leave this one hangin in the wind.
Apr 12 2008
Weekend News Digest
Weekend News Digest is an Open Thread
| From Yahoo News Top Stories |
1 Clashes kill 13 in Baghdad’s Sadr City
By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 20 minutes ago
| BAGHDAD – Shiite militants fought U.S. and Iraqi forces around Baghdad’s Shiite district of Sadr City early Saturday despite a call for calm by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr following the assassination of one of his top aides.
At least 13 Shiite militants died in the clashes, which erupted Friday night and tapered off early Saturday, the U.S. military said. Iraqi police reported seven civilians were killed as a result of the fighting between U.S and government troops and al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia. Al-Sadr blamed the Americans and their Iraqi allies for the assassination Friday of one of his top aides, Riyadh al-Nouri, director of his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Gunmen ambushed al-Nouri as he was returning home from Friday prayers. |
Apr 12 2008
Depends On What The Definition Of Torture…………..Is
Good Morning America! In the news today….President Bush admits/brags of authorizing torture. Here is the front page of the New York Times. And CNN? Why are they not reporting that the President has committed War Crimes, you ask? Because the entire Bush administration defense of their conspiracy to torture rests on their definition of what torture…..is. Sound familiar?
From ABC
The CIA has confirmed Zubaydah was one of three al Qaeda suspects subjected to waterboarding. After he was waterboarded, officials say Zubaydah gave up valuable information that led to the capture of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and fellow 9/11 plotter Ramzi bin al-Shibh.
Mohammad, who is known as KSM, was also subjected to waterboarding by the CIA.
In the interview with ABC News Friday, Bush defended the waterboarding technique used against KSM.
“We had legal opinions that enabled us to do it,” Bush said. “And no, I didn’t have any problem at all trying to find out what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed knew.”
In interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson last year, Tenet said: “It was authorized. It was legal, according to the Attorney General of the United States.”
“Why are we talking about this in the White House?” the network quoted Ashcroft as saying during one meeting. “History will not judge this kindly.”
From Raw Story
In one, (memo) dated Aug. 1, 2002, then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee defined torture as covering “only extreme acts” causing pain similar in intensity to that caused by death or organ failure. A second, dated March 14, 2003, justified using harsh tactics on detainees held overseas so long as military interrogators did not specifically intend to torture their captives.
Both legal opinions since have been withdrawn.
From Wikipedias article on the Clinton impeachment:
Clinton denied having a “sexual affair” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. At the deposition, the judge ordered a precise legal definition of the term “sexual relations” that Clinton claims to have construed to mean only vaginal intercourse. A much-quoted statement from Clinton’s grand jury testimony showed him questioning the precise use of the word “is.” Clinton said, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the-if he-if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not-that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement”
If a co-conspirator gets to define what torture….is. It isn’t torture. Can we please have “the judge order(ed) a precise legal definition of the term “sexual relations” torture.
Apr 12 2008
Organs…Not Just For Church Music
During my growing up years, I attended church at least 3 times a week. Always associated with church for me was the music. And organs have always been a big part of that. But somewhere in the mid-60’s rock-n-roll bands discovered organs and added them to the traditional instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums. Oftentimes, this combination provided some of the most powerful music of the 60’s. So today, I’d like to take you on a trip down memory lane with the organ.
Throughout I’ll provide wiki links to the songs because each of them was such a breakthrough in music that they are surrounded by intrigue and mythology.
The first is from The Animals and was recorded in 1964. Here’s House of the Rising Sun.
Apr 12 2008
Big business switches sides w/poll
LANCE SELFA explains that Corporate America is nonpartisan when it comes to protecting its interests. Original article via Socialistworker.org.
For some strange reason, I’m not sure this is a good thing.
Apr 12 2008
photos from Iraq
I got a notice a couple of days ago about the shortlist for a photography competition. One of the photographers shortlisted has taken some pretty gripping photos of soldiers in the Middle East.
Given the recent Petraeus hearings I thought these were very topical, and deserved wider viewing.
The photographer is Peter van Agtmael. Click here to see his work.
His work can also be found at the Photolucida web-based photo competition called Critical Mass.
Note I want you to visit his site and so have not copied any images etc.
This was posted earlier at DailyKos and I was encouraged to also post it here by TexasDem.
Hope you find these image illuminating….