Feb 17 2008

Unlearning to not speak

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Have you ever felt like a “prisoner of words?”

It took me over 30 years to learn to speak with my own voice. Before that time, I did what others thought I should do and said what others thought I should say. My life belonged to them, not me. This poem by Marge Piercy captures what that feels like.

(follow me below)

Unlearning to not speak

Blizzards of paper

in slow motion

sift through her.

In nightmares she suddenly recalls

a class she signed up for

but forgot to attend.

Now its too late.

Now it is time for finals;

losers will be shot.

Phrases of men who lectured her

drift and rustle in piles:

Why don’t you speak up?

Why are you shouting?

You have the wrong answer,

wrong line, wrong face.

They tell her she is womb-man,

babymachine, mirror image, toy,

earth mother and penis-poor,

a dish of synthetic icecream

rapidly melting.

She grunts to a halt.

She must learn again to speak

starting with I

staring with We

starting as the infant does

with her own true hunger

and pleasure

and rage.

By learning to trust myself, I finally began to speak my own truth, however fumbling it may be at times. And I learned what a fierce and wonderful thing my own life can be. Now I’ve made a pact with myself that no one will ever shut me up again. This causes its own challenges at times, but I’ll take it over silence any day.

The Opening of Eyes

by David Whyte

That day I saw beneath dark clouds

The passing light over the water

And I heard the voice of the world speak out.

I knew then as I have before

Life is no passing memory of what has been

Nor the remaining pages of a great book

Waiting to be read.

It is the opening of eyes long closed.

It is the vision of far off things

Seen for the silence they hold.

It is the heart after years of secret conversing

Speaking out loud in the clear air.

Feb 17 2008

More Lies About Torture In Guantanamo

cross posted from The Dream Antilles

Photobucket

This Is What Torture Looks Like

How gullible are we?  How much nonsense will we consider truthful?  How many lies and contradictions and just plain nonsense about torture do we need to be told before we say, “Basta ya!  Enough already!”  The photo clearly depicts the torture of detainees prisoners at Guantanamo: stress positions and sensory deprivation.  But today the WaPo reports that Bushco says its activities don’t really cross the line and aren’t quite torture.

Join me behind the razor wire.

The Bush administration allowed CIA interrogators to use tactics that were “quite distressing, uncomfortable, even frightening,” as long as they did not cause enough severe and lasting pain to constitute illegal torture, a senior Justice Department official said last week.

In testimony before a House subcommittee, Steven G. Bradbury, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, spelled out how the administration regulated the CIA’s use of rough tactics and offered new details of how simulated drowning was used to compel disclosures by prisoners suspected of being al-Qaeda members.

The method was not, he said, like the “water torture” used during the Spanish Inquisition and by autocratic governments into the 20th century, but was subject to “strict time limits, safeguards, restrictions.” He added, “The only thing in common is, I think, the use of water.”

Bradbury indicated that no water entered the lungs of the three prisoners who were subjected to the practice, lending credence to previous accounts that the noses and mouths of CIA captives were covered in cloth or cellophane. Cellophane could pose a serious asphyxiation risk, torture experts said.

So here we go again.  It’s “simulated” drowning, rather than asphyxiation. It’s regulated.  It’s limited. Right.  Naturally, these assertions called for a harsh response:

Martin S. Lederman, a former Office of Legal Counsel official who teaches law at Georgetown University, called Bradbury’s testimony “chilling.” In an online posting, Lederman said that “to say that this is not severe physical suffering — is not torture — is absurd. And to invoke the defense that what the Spanish Inquisition did was worse and that we use a more benign, non-torture form of waterboarding . . . is obscene.”

Bradbury is arguing that there is some magical, bright line between “quite distressing, uncomfortable, even frightening” conduct and torture, and that Bushco in its infinite wisdom and sensitivity knows just where that line is and that it always manages to stop before it crosses the line and actually tortures.  This is, of course, arrant nonsense.  If this were even close to being true, we’d be watching the videotapes of the 24,000 interrogations conducted at Gitmo and nodding our heads in agreement at how benign they were.

And, of course, Bradbury’s, and the WaPo’s attention to “waterboarding”, continues to make that activity the focus of inquiry when, in fact, that is just one of the many forms of torture the administration uses at Guantanamo and in “black sites” in other countries that are completely unacceptable in a civilized world.

But enough of the imprecision.  Slate has compiled a list of the techniques the US uses on detainees prisoners in Guantanamo as well as the documents that discuss the “authority” for doing these things.  Which brings us back to the photo above.

“Stress positions”, like the ones in the photo, kneeling on the ground for long periods of time in awkward positions, were approved by Donald Rumsfeld in a 2002 Memorandum.  Wrote the ever compassionate Donald R on the first page of the memo, “However, I stand for 8-10 hours a day.  Why is standing limited to 4 hours?”  This technique was also discussed in the CIA’s KUBARK manual.  And FM 34-52 recognizes that it is physical torture to force “an individual to stand, sit, or kneel in abnormal positions for prolonged periods of time.”  So what’s going on in the photo?  Are we being told that this is ok because it didn’t go on for long?  The person in orange is just sitting down for a second or two?

And what’s that on the person in orange’s head and hands and eyes?  The photo also documents the use of “sensory deprivation.”  Salon writes:

…sensory deprivation. The benign-sounding form of psychological coercion has been considered effective for most of the life of the (CIA) /snip

The technique has already been employed during the “war on terror,” and, Salon has learned, was apparently used on 14 high-value detainees now held at Guantánamo Bay.

A former top CIA official predicted to Salon that sensory deprivation would remain available to the agency as an interrogation tool in the future. “I’d be surprised if [sensory deprivation] came out of the toolbox,” said A.B. Krongard, who was the No. 3 official at the CIA until late 2004. Alfred McCoy, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has written extensively about the history of CIA interrogation, agrees with Krongard that the CIA will continue to employ sensory deprivation. “Of course they will,” predicted McCoy. “It is embedded in the doctrine.” For the CIA to stop using sensory deprivation, McCoy says, “The leopard would have to change his spots.” And he warned that a practice that may sound innocuous to some was sharpened by the agency over the years into a horrifying torture technique.

Sensory deprivation, as CIA research and other agency interrogation materials demonstrate, is a remarkably simple concept. It can be inflicted by immobilizing individuals in small, soundproof rooms and fitting them with blacked-out goggles and earmuffs. “The first thing that happens is extraordinary hallucinations akin to mescaline,” explained McCoy. “I mean extreme hallucinations” of sight and sound. It is followed, in some cases within just two days, by what McCoy called a “breakdown akin to psychosis.” /snip

Just like waterboarding, Massimino said, extreme sensory deprivation techniques “push people beyond the brink of what they can bear, physically and mentally. Once you understand that, the veneer of acceptability — the myth that ‘it’s not torture, it’s just harsh’ — completely falls apart.” But compared to the outcry over physical torture, she described a “deafening silence” about techniques like sensory deprivation.

Severe sensory deprivation clearly violates the Geneva Conventions and would be illegal under the Military Commissions Act’s ban on “severe or serious mental pain and suffering.”  In fact, some subjects never fully recover.  Put another way, sensory deprivation is torture.

How, you might wonder, can Bradbury speak before a House Subcommittee and make the statements he made and miraculously not be confronted with the widely available photos of stress positions and sensory deprivation?  Why, you might wonder, does Bushco’s defense of torture go on and on and on, and it’s dutifully reported by the Traditional Media, and yet nothing happens to stop the torture?  And how, given what it is doing in Guantanamo and in the “black sites,” can the US not be considered a pariah, a rogue among civilized nations?

Are we ever going to stop the torture and prosecute those who perpetrated it?

Feb 17 2008

Sparking Real Religious Dialog?

This ought to really raise the ire of condemnation within the Fundamentalist Christian Community,

especially as practiced in the U.S..

Dialog already started

at site of this report, Story of Jesus Through Iranian Eyes

New Movie By Iranian Filmmaker Tells Story of Christianity From Muslim Perspective

You can also view their video report here.

A new movie in Iran depicts the life of Jesus from an Islamic perspective. “The Messiah,” which some consider as Iran’s answer to Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” won an award at Rome’s Religion Today Film Festival, for generating interfaith dialogue. The movie will be adapted into a television series, shown on Iranian TV later this year. Filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh spoke to ABC’s Lara Setrakian in Tehran.

The fundamentalist christians I’m speaking of are the ones who have all the answers about what others practice

but don’t bother reading about, and especially studying, other religious ideologies.

They’ll pick and choose little

snippets, of those ideologies, to fit their desired rethoric.

They do the same within their own personal religious

rethoric, picking the teachings and sins they want to follow in their self constructed lifestyles, throwing out those that clash

with their personal wants and desires, than when guilt finally hits, much more often caught in their own hypocrisy,

they say they are “Born Again, Thus Saved!”, simple as that.

“We are talking about the same beautiful man, the same beautiful prophet, the same divine person sent from heaven.

In the Koran, it emphasizes maybe three main points: about the birth, about the fact that he was not the son of God, and then, that he was not crucified.

The rest is [the same] Jesus … the sermons, and the miracles, and the political situation.”

The ones who don’t except ‘choice’ as a womens right,  as to what she does if confronted with making that choice and as to her own

religious beliefs, but many wanting their own right to ‘choice’ as to the number of weapons they might own,

and the full range of the manufactured small arms, no questions asked.

And readily except a societies right to sentence to death those covicted of major crimes.

“The virgin birth was the same. The difference in the Koran, God says Jesus was saved.

Instead of having him hung and crucified, the person who betrayed Jesus was crucified.

This is how the Koran sees it, through the Gospel of Barnabas.”

The ones who readily start the drums of Wars of Choice beating, louder and louder, as they raise the rethoric level with

the religious tones of exceptance by ‘God’ that this is what he/she wants, the choice of! Destroying people and their countries to bring them ‘Freedom’,

‘Democracy’, and the ‘Righteous View of Their Religion’!

“Yes, two endings. I thought, the Christians, when they see it, it’ll be important for them.

{In the Koran} God says, emphatically, he was not crucified. Somebody was crucified in his stead.

In the Gospel of Barnabas, there are explications of this. The majority of {Muslims} say the one who betrayed Jesus {was crucified}.”

Also the ones who speak ‘Tolerance’ but practice ‘Intolerance’ with a vengence!

“Well, those are not Muslims. They’re murderers. First and foremost, they’re murderers, and they dress as Muslims.

Today, we have that problem. There is an evil strain in those people. They’re, first, evil, and then they find a religion to address that evil,

or to explain it, or as an excuse. But that’s a minority that is aggrandized, and it’s elaborated – it’s constant.

So, when you hear the word “Islam,” you get a shock. Every time you hear “Islam,” you get a little shock. What we lack is communication.”

We were almost finished filming when Mel Gibson started shooting.

I saw the film, and it’s the first time the Gospel of John has ever been depicted. It was nice. But it was the wrong story.

In my film, I respect that common belief with all the good intentions the Christians have … according to what Islam says.

Yet, Jesus, at the night of the last supper, ascends to heaven [without being crucified]. A beautiful man, a beautiful prophet.

Why should he be bloodied that way?

“Many thought this film is a good step for serious inter-religious dialogue.

Many of them liked it – seeing the Koran-based ending. And I was very happy that the practicing Christians were very happy with the film.

I have never found one case among practicing Christians who are offended [by the movie].

American Christians, I respect them very much. I think these Christians, the born-again Christians, especially,

are a very interesting group that Iran is not aware of, because a whole generation of Iranians haven’t been able to travel to America.

And those who do move to America, stay in America. So, how to create serious communication, not at the political, but at the religious level?

I thought this would be a shortcut.”

If you haven’t studied others religious beliefs, especially as to Islam,

go over and read the rest, it’s an interesting interview.

And who knows, maybe it might prompt many to

study more about the main religious beliefs of the people in which we waged Wars on and occupy their land,

you might also want to learn more about their, religions, history and beliefs outside of the religious window thats always open.

Remember though, the bible and koran, were written by men about the facts of the prophets, or son of god as is the new testiment, and not

by those worshipped.

You see, anyone following an Extreme Religious Fundamentalists Ideology, are no differant than those of the other Extreme Fundamentalist Religious Ideologies, be they christian, muslim, jewish, {why don’t we ever hear about buddhist invading others under an umbrella of ‘God’ or ‘Budda’?}or any other extreme religious ideology!

Feb 17 2008

Normalization of Satanic Memes

This sounds wonderful!  I’m going to tell you why it’s not.

http://www.freefrommortgagedeb…

Pay down you mortage quicker.  Have full control over your financial resources.

Sounds great?  Not.

A corporation exists for the sole purpose of making money.  There is no nobility in there, no egalitarian higher purpose to serve mankind or even the benficiaries of the mahvelous “service”.  This leads to the question of why does it exist.  

DATA!  INFORMATION!  Your entire financial life,demographically indexed by tastes, habits even dates of items purchased.  Information is a highly marketable commodity.  It’s used to form public policies to be used against you.  Your financial decisions are not yours but those of “experts” combing through data.  They have the capacity to now determine your financial breaking point better yet they can determine the amount available for extraction!

Remember the selling point of this scam is that you remain “in control”.

Here is an example of “your financial” “freedom” in elder law.

http://www.elderlawcenter.org/…

The assholianism in law now states Ma and Pa have to prove non-gifting to their kids five years before nursing home entrance.  Now that’s financial freedom.  There appears to be an escape clause though if you have shitloads of money to give the lawyers.

http://www.pr.com/press-releas…

Unrelated to aging parents I like this one too.  I just shows the stellar ethics of government.

http://www.kickthemallout.com/

Anyway now that you know you could pay down your mortage by sending extra principle payments you don’t need uFirst to do it for you.  You might also plan on staying in your home longer than the prescribed four to six years to gain that long term benefit of property appreciation.  Maybe, but then again with all of this globalization an American “career” lasts only four to six years.  Staying in one place might present a problem.

I don’t have to worry about gifting my kids money, they are going to live here until I die anyway.

Oh, and if you can refuse to e-file you 1040 this year.  That too IMHO is endorsing the technology of Satan.

Feb 17 2008

Kristof on McCain: Whaaaa?

Cross-posted on kos

Nicholas Kristof may be the most maddening of all the New York Times columnists.  His last two columns illustrate this perfectly. Last Thursday, he wrote a great column on the torture and incarceration of Sami al-Hajj  It was a rare traditional media expose and attack on this underreported story.  I wrote a comment to the piece suggesting that he do a follow-up column noting that Congress had just passed an anti-torture bill, but candidate McCain had voted no.

Today, his column is an inexplicable Valentine to McCain that excuses all of his pandering on numerous issues, and mentions merely in passing that he just voted for torture!

You would think that someone who wrote:

Suppose the Iranian government arrested and beat Katie Couric, held her virtually incommunicado for six years and promised to release her only if she would spy for Iran. In such circumstances, Iranian investments in public diplomacy toward the United States wouldn’t get very far, either.

After Mr. Hajj was arrested in Afghanistan in December 2001, he was beaten, starved, frozen and subjected to anal searches in public to humiliate him, his lawyers say. The U.S. government initially seems to have confused him with another cameraman, and then offered vague accusations that he had been a financial courier and otherwise assisted extremist groups.

would be incensed that McCain cravenly enabled more of it through his vote.  But no, Nick says that’s just ole, “lousy panderer” John.  In fact, Kristof misleadingly writes that McCain “led the battle against Dick Cheney on torture,” without acknowledging his cave on the military commissions act, and his failure to say a word about the signing statements that eviscerated the torture bill.

According to Kristof, it’s OK that McCain breaks his principles, because he does so “with distaste.”

I don’t think I’ve ever read a more idiotic statement in a major newspaper.

Feb 17 2008

Pony Party: Sunday music retrospective

Carole King



Chicken Soup with Rice



Alligators All Around



Pierre



One was Johnny

Please do not recommend a Pony Party when you see one.  There will be another along in a few hours.

Feb 17 2008

Congressional races round 2: Alabama

I stopped re-posting my old series here, because….

I’m gonna start this again, updating it and changing the format.  

First of all, this time, I’m going alphabetically.  

Second, I’ll spend a little bit more time on the Democratic districts, particularly the ones that are even a little vulnerable.

Third, I’ll be more consistent in reporting

Fourth, I’ll cover more demographics

So, here we go

Alabama has 7 CDs, 5 are Republican, 2 are Democratic

District: AL-01

Location : the southwest part of AL, bordering MS, FL, and the Gulf of Mexico.  It has a weird finger taken out of it, that is part of AL-07.

Representative Jo Bonner (R)

First elected  2002

2006 margin 68-32

2004 margin 63-37

 Bush margin 2004 64-35

 Notes on opponents The 2006 opponent had no money; in 2004, though, Judy Belk spent $400K.

Current opponents Ben Lodmell who is a moderate

Demographics A low-income ($34K, rank = 345), rural (36%, rank = 100), conservative district

Assessment This is a longshot

District: AL-02

Location The southeast quarter of AL, bordering FL and GA, and including Montgomery

Representative Terry Everitt (R) retiring

First elected  1992

2006 margin 69-30

2004 margin 71-28

 Bush margin 2004 67-33

 Notes on opponents His opponents have had no money (less than $10,000 each)

Current opponents  No confirmed opponents, filing deadline is April 4.  For potential opponents, see the WIKI

Demographics Similar to the 1st, but poorer (med income = $32K, rank = 378) and more rural (50%, rank = 48th). One of the highest percentages of Blacks of any Republican represented district (only 7 had more Blacks

Assessment We need a candidate! It’s an OPEN seat! One possibility is Bobby Bright, the mayor of Montgomery

District: AL-03

Location Most of the eastern part of AL, bordering GA, including Talladega and Tuskegee

Representative Mike Rogers

First elected 2002

2006 margin 59-38

2004 margin 61-39

 Bush margin 2004 58-41

 Notes on opponents Fuller, the 2004 opponent, spent $240K, Pierce, the 2006 opponent, spent almost nothing

Current opponents Greg Pierce

Demographics Like the 1st and 2nd, but even more so.  Median income is $31K (rank = 400); 32.2% Black (rank = 41st).  

Assessment A long shot

District:   AL-04

Location Northern AL, but south of AL-05, runs from MS to GA.

Representative Robert Aderholt (R)

First elected  1996

2006 margin 70-30

2004 margin 75-25

 Bush margin 2004 71-28

 Notes on opponents Neither recent opp. had any money.

Current opponents Greg Warren

Demographics The second most rural district in the country (73.5%) (only KY-05 is more rural).

Assessment Another long shot (sigh… AL is not friendly to Democrats)

District: AL-05

Location The northernmost part of AL, running from MS to GA, and borders TN.  Includes Huntsville and Decautur

Representative Bud Cramer (D)

First elected  1990

2006 margin unopposed

2004 margin 73-27

 Bush margin 2004 60-39

 Notes on opponents Last close election was in 1996

Current opponents Ray McKee

Demographics Not quite as poor as other AL districts.

Assessment  Cramer is one of the most conservative Dems in the House.  But there are only 13 districts that have Democratic representatives and are this Republican at the national level.  A safe Democratic seat in a red district is something/

District: AL-06

Location More or less the middle of the state, but shaped like a V to allow AL-07 to include as many Blacks as possible

Representative Spencer Bacchus (R)

First elected  1992

2006 margin unopposed

2004 margin unopposed

 Bush margin 2004 78-22

 Notes on opponents none

Current opponents  none

Demographics One of the most Republican district per Cook PVI, only UT-03 is more so, and only TX-11, TX-13 and TX-19 are equally so

Assessment If we have to skip a race, this is probably the one

District: AL-07

Location Mostly in western AL, bordering MS, this district has two ‘fingers’ to include more Blacks.

Representative Artur Davis

First elected  2002

2006 margin unopposed

2004 margin 75-25

 Bush margin 2004 35-64

 Notes on opponents None close

Current opponents none

Demographics The majority Black district in AL, it’s got the 5th highest percentage of Blacks of any district in the USA (61.7%) (more so are IL-01, IL-02, LA-02 and MS-02) and the 5th lowest median income ($27K) (lower are CA-31, KY-05, NY-16 and WV-03)

Assessment Davis ought to be primaried. If there is going to be one Democratic district in AL, it ought to have a progressive.

Feb 17 2008

Docudharma Times Sunday February 17

This is an Open Thread:

Look at us- but don’t look at us in disgust

Because you know the reality and it’s time to adjust

Sunday’s Headlines: CIA’s ambitious post-9/11 spy plan crumbles: ’80s rules reform skews Democrats’ nominee process: Europe :Kosovo gears up for independence: Trafficked children ‘sent back to gangs’: Asia: An extraordinary encounter with Musharraf: China repents and seeks to woo Pope: Middle East: Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb: Army intervenes in Beirut clashes: Africa: South Africa battles national identity crisis: Bush defends his decision to skirt Africa’s hot spots: Latin America: ‘Suitcase-gate’ gives cop her 15 minutes


Justice Official Defends Rough CIA Interrogations

Severe, Lasting Pain Is Torture, He Says

The Bush administration allowed CIA interrogators to use tactics that were “quite distressing, uncomfortable, even frightening,” as long as they did not cause enough severe and lasting pain to constitute illegal torture, a senior Justice Department official said last week.

In testimony before a House subcommittee, Steven G. Bradbury, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, spelled out how the administration regulated the CIA’s use of rough tactics and offered new details of how simulated drowning was used to compel disclosures by prisoners suspected of being al-Qaeda members.

USA

CIA’s ambitious post-9/11 spy plan crumbles

The agency spent millions setting up front companies overseas to snag terrorists. Officials now say the bogus firms were ill-conceived and not close enough to Muslim enclaves.

WASHINGTON — The CIA set up a network of front companies in Europe and elsewhere after the Sept. 11 attacks as part of a constellation of “black stations” for a new generation of spies, according to current and former agency officials.

But after spending hundreds of millions of dollars setting up as many as 12 of the companies, the agency shut down all but two after concluding they were ill-conceived and poorly positioned for gathering intelligence on the CIA’s principal targets: terrorist groups and unconventional weapons proliferation networks.

The closures were a blow to two of the CIA’s most pressing priorities after the 2001 terrorist attacks: expanding its overseas presence and changing the way it deploys spies.

The companies were the centerpiece of an ambitious plan to increase the number of case officers sent overseas under what is known as “nonofficial cover,” meaning they would pose as employees of investment banks, consulting firms or other fictitious enterprises with no apparent ties to the U.S. government.

’80s rules reform skews Democrats’ nominee process

Changes have left uncertainty

WASHINGTON – At 5 a.m. on June 25, 1988, after five days of tense negotiations, officials from the presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson emerged from the library of a Washington law firm with an agreement.

The team had reworked the rules for picking a Democratic Party nominee, creating an elaborate framework for selecting delegates based on proportion of votes in states and congressional districts, with an additional role played by party elders.

The guidelines hammered out by the two campaigns assured peace between the Jackson and Dukakis camps at that summer’s convention in Atlanta. But now, as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight down to the last delegate, changes that were meant to make the nomination process more inclusive and ultimately more conclusive may be accomplishing neither goal.

Europe

Kosovo gears up for independence

Celebrations have begun in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, ahead of an expected declaration of independence.

Tens of thousands of Kosovans have been dancing in the streets, setting off fireworks and waving Albanian flags.

The US and a number of EU countries support the move, which is opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia.

Speaking in Tanzania on Sunday, President George W Bush said he was in favour of a UN plan that envisages a supervised independence for Kosovo.

Trafficked children ‘sent back to gangs’

Charity’s alarm as youngsters slip through Britain’s protection system

Trafficked children rescued in the UK face being recycled into a life of further financial and sexual exploitation because of alarming gaps in the child protection system, according to one of Britain’s leading charities.

The NSPCC has said that it fears some victims are ‘disappearing’ back into the black economy or are being returned overseas where they risk falling into the hands of criminal gangs.

The charity has also expressed alarm that government agencies often don’t believe trafficked children are minors and instead treat them as adults – which means they can be ejected from the UK more easily. ‘We have concrete concerns that children are being dealt with inappropriately and are at risk of going missing or being returned without proper risk assessments,’ said Zoe Hilton, policy adviser with the NSPCC.

‘Within the system there seems to be a culture of disbelief,’ Hilton said. ‘Often there is a presumption that separated children are over 18. It’s hard to say whether there’s a conspiracy, but it feels like the odds are stacked against them.’

Asia

An extraordinary encounter with Musharraf

As Pakistan votes tomorrow in its postponed elections, Jemima Khan is granted a rare interview with Pervez Musharraf, the country’s beleaguered leader

‘Since you were so kind as to greet us in London at Downing Street last month, the President would like to return the favour,” announces Major-General Rashid Qureshi, President Pervez Musharraf’s PR man over the phone. Only in Pakistan could the government’s head of spin be a retired major-general. He is referring to my last encounter with the President on 28 January – when, along with a 2,000-strong, placard-waving, slogan-jeering mob, I protested on the main road outside 10 Downing Street while Musharraf discussed democracy with Gordon Brown over lunch inside. On the way in he waved at us. Clearly he’s a man who is not afraid of confrontation. Much to the justifiable fury of every journalist in Islamabad, he has now granted me an exclusive half-hour interview despite or perhaps because of the fact that I have recently described him as one of the most repressive dictators Pakistan has ever known.

China repents and seeks to woo Pope

TEMPTED by the prize of a historic visit to China by Pope Benedict XVI, the nation’s leaders have authorised a renewed effort in confidential discussions with the Vatican to heal their rift and inaugurate diplomatic ties.

The talks have intensified over recent months, leading some diplomatic observers in Beijing to believe the Chinese may be seeking to announce a deal before the Olympic Games in August.

Liu Bainian, the de facto head of Beijing’s official Patriotic Church, has said on several occasions that he would like to welcome the Pope to China once an agreement has been reached.

While the Vatican says it has received no formal invitation, observers say Liu’s words would have been uttered only with approval from the highest levels.

Middle East

Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb

NOTHING seemed very remarkable about the short, bearded man who mingled with other guests on Tuesday evening at a reception in Damascus, the Syrian capital, to mark the 29th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iranian revolution.

Yet before the night was over he was dead in the twisted wreckage of his car and the inevitable assumption was that Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, had killed him with an ingeniously planted bomb.

The news spread rapidly that the dead man was Imad Mughniyeh, an elusive figure known as “the Fox” who had been one of the world’s most feared terrorist masterminds.

Army intervenes in Beirut clashes

The Lebanese army has intervened to break up clashes between rival political factions in Beirut, firing in the air to disperse crowds.

Several people were injured in the violence, which took place in three mixed Sunni and Shia neighbourhoods.

Loyalties are split in such areas between the government and the Hezbollah-led opposition.

Africa

South Africa battles national identity crisis

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A draft loyalty pledge has plunged South Africa into a new identity crisis as it mulls its common values 14 years after discarding apartheid to forge a united society under a single flag.

As the motley “Rainbow Nation” quibbles over a government proposal to introduce a pledge of allegiance in schools, some ideological battle lines are being redrawn.

The oath has been described alternatively as an attempt at fostering social cohesion and as ideological abuse.

One newspaper columnist said it would do little but remind children that “the little white ones among them are evil seed”.

Bush defends his decision to skirt Africa’s hot spots

His five-nation trip is meant to laud U.S. programs that fight diseases and corruption, he says.

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA — President Bush on Saturday defended his decision to avoid Africa’s most troubled quarters on his trip across the continent’s midsection, saying the United States was ready to help countries that make the “right choices.”

For Bush, the trip underscores an effort over seven years to shift the way the United States does business with the developing world, tying government aid to anti-corruption campaigns and commercial ventures to free- trade commitments.

He said he wanted to say to future U.S. presidents and members of Congress that it was in America’s national interest to provide foreign aid, but that instead of “making ourselves feel better . . . our money ought to make the people of a particular country feel better about their government.”

Bush stopped in Benin, in West Africa, on his way across the continent to Tanzania, on the Indian Ocean.

Latin America

‘Suitcase-gate’ gives cop her 15 minutes

Last August, the Argentine opened some luggage for a routine inspection. She found $800,000 — and then fame for her role in an international scandal.

BUENOS AIRES — She went from night-shift airport cop to pinup girl. From chilly anonymity to red-hot notoriety. Next up: The “suitcase girl” is in line for a TV ice-skating gig.

“I never imagined anything like this would happen,” Maria del Lujan Telpuk told the Argentine edition of Playboy in an interview that accompanies her appearance on the cover this month. “And all for a suitcase that somehow put me into the middle of a rivalry of nations.”

Dubbed “Suitcase-gate,” one of Latin America’s most celebrated political scandals is the best thing that has happened to Telpuk. Her police vigilance was the catalyst for the explosive episode, which has chilled U.S.-Argentine relations and embarrassed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Feb 17 2008

“We Don’t Need No Stinking Corporate Sponsors”

(they keep trying to pave paradise … promoted at 1:30 PM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

This past Mardi Gras season found us with some city mooks that were actually trying to get sponsors to pony-up monies in order to hold the parades of Carnival. Here is my answer to these poops, my diatribe, my damned rant.

Crossposted from GentillyGirl.com

It seems that our “wonderful” invisible Mayor was trying to sell out OUR traditions to the Corporate Pigs.

Mr. Nagin, OUR city’s gov’ment ain’t no freakin’ company: it belongs to the citizens. You are not a fucking CEO, you are OUR servant. Same holds true for anyone who works for OUR city gov’ment. You work for US.

The Social Contract states that we help each other, that we care for each other, and that we arrive at a common scheme of governance. Those who are part of that governance structure obey US. Get that one you jerks?

Not one of you fuckers have the right to sell our culture, our souls, our lives to the highest bidder. We will not allow any company’s “Brand” on us. We are not serfs.  And you and those misfits you have placed in City Hall are not overlords. (Remember the term “Civil Servants”?)

There will be no “Muses, sponsored by Monsanto” or “Proteus by Phillips”. Or “Comus provided by Chevrolet”.

We are the people of this city. This is our culture, our way of living… it is our heart. It is alive, just as it’s been for three centuries. This city is ours, you corporate whack-job.  We are New Orleans, and without us all that will exist is a freak-show Disney version of the real thing. New Orleans, the city and the soul, belongs to US, not you and your corporate B/S.

In other words you SOB, we ain’t for sale.

My ancestors helped found this city, carving a place to live out of the swamps. Some of my family were “Free People of Color”. A few others were Haitians that drove the French from their island. Some of my forebearers were pirates, others fished the seas. Many are my elders that died fighting for our country and the reason for it’s existence. They lived their lives, just as I do.

“This Land is My Land, this Land is Your Land…”. Get the fucking picture you fucking corporate slaves?

Why don’t you, Mr. Nagin and gang, stop trying to brand and sell us, and instead actually do your damn jobs as OUR servants? Otherwise we will storm the Bastille, and you fucks will be toast. (Remember last year?)

New Orleans is OURS. We ain’t for sale. OUR culture belongs only to US, not your corporate masters. We will not be “Branded”.

Sinn Fein!

Feb 17 2008

Iglesia ……………………………………… Episode 33

(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

“You don’t know what I value. And I promise you, anything you have to offer me I will do my godammdest best not to want. You can’t bribe me Slim.” But she didn’t mean it and they both knew it.

It was his turn to stare at her.

“How” she said.

“Pardon me? I am not quite sure I comprehend your meaning.”

“How, how will you do……it?”

She had stopped being quite so suddenly scared….at the prospect of getting what she wanted most….and her anger was starting to build heat out of that cold place she had gone to when she realized…very much against her will, that he did have the goods, that he did have what she wanted, that it was she who was going to have to deal. Yeah, the heat of the anger was replacing the coldness real well now, thank you. She loved her anger. This wasn’t the first time it had been the only source of warmth in her life.

And being with Paul……. the time they spent together, had been the only part of her life where she hadn’t needed that warmth.

Not that she hadn’t um…shared…. that warmth with Paul, occasionally.

“I am afraid you will just have to trust us, Iglesia. We have put considerable time and effort into all of this you know. Quite a bit of planning, we like to think that we have, as they say, covered all the bases.”

“Well I am going to need some details Slim. And something in writing. Ad there are  still some things I want on top of the basic package too, you jokers aren’t going to get off that…….what?”

He had cocked his head to one side suddenly, like a dog. Well like a dog if they made dogs that funny looking.

“WHAT?”

“I am afraid that we must be going. If you will please follow me, I am afraid we must hasten by foot, as you are not yet fit for any other means of locomocution” His accent had become even sharper and he was enunciating syllables like a machine stamping out St Christopher medals, back when there had been machines that had stamped out St Christopher medals. He was spitting out syllables like bad oysters….

He was scared!

Her moment of psychological triumph was short though, as she immediately wondered what would make a guy that she couldn’t lay a glove on scared.

He walked to one of the eight walls…and opened a door, where there wasn’t one. That is to say he pulled on the wall and part of it opened, an oblong oval doors sort of like a hatch on a ship from an old movie on the inside, but still the wall of the room on the outside. She followed him into a largish corridor, painted industrial puke green and lined with ducts and pipes and one long glaring fluorescent light fixture, hanging down the center….of a corridor that appeared to have no end.

“There are service corridors in Heaven?” she asked

“Janitors and engineers have to die too, you know” he replied, as he shut the door behind them.

Feb 17 2008

My banner entry!

Well, here goes. I slapped this together in a few minutes.

The text and eyes are very tough because I just stole them from the current banner and didn’t have time to do a good crop job on them. If OPOL would send me the PSD then I’d fix it up. Any idea’s? Comments?

Figured I should at least try.

And to spice up the essay. Here are two good songs.

What can I say. It’s a classic.

I love RENT. I love this song. Too inspirational.

Feb 17 2008

Fitness For Revolutionaries

I thought the title sounded way cooler than Fitness For Middle Aged Folks. Disclaimer: I am not a revolutionary, I am not a fitness or nutrition expert. Therefore, everything I say is open to dispute. Pretty much everything I say is open to dispute regardless of the topic.

We spend quite a bit of time dissecting and pruning and processing the elements that make up our spiritual/intellectual selves in order to determine where we fit and how we can make our small contributions here but not much on our physical selves.

Verbal and physical agitation takes some stamina, flexibility, and strength.

Too often talking about exercise or attempting it feels a bit like this….

Some of us have gotten on an off the exercise wagon so often it feels like a merry go round of gloom. A recent minor health scare sent me scurrying to the doctor for a “well woman” check up to find out an old chronic and relatively but very manageable problem had popped up again. Of course, I have insurance, something that is becoming regrettably a bit like a status symbol instead of a human right.

Many middle aged people have fantastic excuses for not exercising. I am certain I have used every single one of them. I don’t have time. I am not good at anything. I will look silly exercising. I am never going to be a size 2 anyway. All the people in my family are bigger. Can’t fight genetics. Where do I start?

Aerobic exercise. Yeah. The thing that raises your heart rate, makes you sweat, gives you tomato face, ruins your hair. Your fantastic sex life does not count toward this either, although please do not read this as a dismissal of your fantastic sex life. Glad you have it, keep on keeping on.

The Mayo Clinic seems to think you should exercise 30 minutes every day. I find them rather credible about health issues, but search for yourself about what a variety of experts recommend. It varies somewhat, but what you won’t find is any experts saying you shouldn’t get any aerobic exercise. If you have not engaged in any regular exercise for some time, get clearance from your doctor.

The benefits of exercise are rather overwhelming. But it can be an intimidating commitment. Gym class for many brings back memories of bullies, teasing, and torment. If you happened to be gay, artsy, weird, invisible, or just plain uncoordinated in middle and high school, jocks are usually recalled as being sadistic idols who got away with treachery and who were worshiped slavishly the way reality TV stars are today. In other words, why would I/you want to be like them. Simple. You and I aren’t. I was a semi-jock, but too weird to really be accepted. Nobody harassed me, but I wasn’t invited to their parties either. No big loss was my opinion, even then. Cast aside whatever negative perceptions you have of sports, athletes, your own failings in those arenas and find an activity you like. Doing something you like will increase the likelihood you will stick with it. Don’t run if you don’t like running. If finding 30 minutes all in a row is too difficult, the American Diabetes Association thinks it is perfectly acceptable to try it out in ten minute chunks. Actually, it might be easier for a newbie to do that. Thirty minutes might sound daunting right now, but three 10 minutes sessions, heck you can do that!

Wait. There is something else you can do for yourself. Lift weights. Yup. It doesn’t matter how old you are there are still benefits. Lifting weights can assist even those in their 80’s by helping to maintain lean muscle mass. In a practical sense, lean muscle mass helps you engage in your activities of daily living without becoming too worn out. If you’re keen on building muscle mass, why not visit steelsupplements.com to learn about how supplements may help you in your fitness journey. Even if you’re not using supplements, you should still get a great result if you’re working hard in the gym. Weightlifting has functional applications: it will be easier to tote that pitchfork, march endlessly, lug the kids, grandkids, dogs, and groceries. You increase bone density,joint flexibility, and manage weight by lifting.

There are some helpful hints about weight lifting offered up by the mayo clinic. I enjoy it. When I am deeply embedded in a physical activity my mind flows all over the place. It has a serenity, a spiritual essence that reminds me that I am in a body. A body that is mine, and quite frankly I’m proud of my body. And these feelings are doing wonders for my motivation levels. I just want to push on and make more of a difference. As my friend also told me, it’s the perfect excuse to look for some men’s workout pants because if I going to start exercising again, I want to look good doing it. Who wouldn’t? So, I guess this activity does have its perks after all. But I already know even once I am re-committed to exercise, I am never going to be the perfect size 2 or 4, I will still have some flab and I still won’t be any taller than I am right now. I like the idea that my body when in good condition can support me during mental and emotional trials and propel me into the world.

Given the dramatic rise in obesity rates here in the United States and the shocking reality that about two thirds of Americans are over weight and one third are obese I can’t help but wonder if our physical passivity and our consciousness passivity toward being able to impact our political and social worlds are connected. None of us are going to look like super models or those weird puffy steroid muscle behemoths that win body building competitions if we strive for better fitness (though we may get some help from buypeptidesusa products if that’s what we want) but we just might have the physical stamina to match our idealistic ambitions of shaking the foundations.

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