US Soldier Commits Suicide in Front of Iraqi Kids

Tweet BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!

"A US broken down and deeply depressed US soldier has gone beyond the unthinkable and made the ultimate move shooting himself in front of a group of a primary school children near the city of Falluja.

Palestine primary school head master in the Al Karma Falluja neighborhood confirmed that a US homesick soldier has directed his personal rifle against his temple committing a suicide in public.
The headmaster added that the US nostalgic soldier was normally talking to the primary school kids got from his pocket a wallet with the photos of his children and wife smiled and then had his eyes flowing with tears and started to cry and scream: "Where are my children! Where is Michael..!" All of a sudden, said the Palestine school head master, the US soldier asked the children to move away and bullets hitting his skull were heard killing him at once. "

found this story on Uruknet.

Marine Recruiters Include Rape in Girls' Recruitment Pitch

Tweet SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two women who said two U.S. Marine Corps recruiters forced them to have sex after they expressed interest in joining the force sued over the incidents on Wednesday.

Oh, yeah, you really want these guys in your high school with your kids. From Uruknet.info

Black Ops Killers Acknowledged in US Embassies

Tweet In Paraguay a year and a half ago, members of one of the first of these "Military Liaison Elements" to be deployed were pulled out of the country after killing a robber armed with a pistol and a club who attacked them as they stepped out of a taxi, officials said. Though the shooting had nothing to do with their mission, the episode embarrassed senior embassy officials, who had not been told the team was operating in the country.

Saw this story and the one about the Iraqi Ambassador's "Pandora" remarks on Ali Abunimah's email list.

US Ambassodor to Iraq: We Opened Pandora's Box

Tweet The US ambassador to Baghdad conceded yesterday that the Iraq invasion had opened a Pandora's box of sectarian conflicts which could lead to a regional war and the rise of religious extremists who "would make Taliban Afghanistan look like child's play".

And even tho we are quite stupid about some things (see Darwin story below), most Americans have this story straight:

"An opinion poll published by the Washington Post and ABC News yesterday suggested that most Americans agreed with Mr Khalilzad - with 80% saying civil war in Iraq was likely, and more than a third that it was very likely. More than half thought the US should start withdrawing its troops, although only one in six wanted all troops to be withdrawn immediately."

So I imagine most of those folks would disagree with the Ambassador's being in Washington, as the Guardian implies, to ask for more US troops for a longer period of time.

Goodbye Darwin: 57% of US Believes Bible Creation Story

Tweet NEW YORK A Gallup report released today reveals that more than half of all Americans, rejecting evolution theory and scientific evidence, agree with the statement, "God created man exactly how Bible describes it."

Yikes!!!!!! Editor & Publisher (great online source) publishes results of Gallup Poll. And it's bipartisan stupidity: "Breaking down the numbers, Gallup finds that Republican backing for what it calls "God created human beings in present form" stands at 57% with Democrats at 44%."

Abu Ghraib to Close--Moving Prisoners Elsewhere in Iraq

Tweet The notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is to be closed, probably within three months, the US military said today.

There will probably be no rejoicing about this. Same occupation; same treatment, I would imagine. Just a different place.

Also the story tells of the hanging of 13 "insurgents." I am very sorry for this. Justice cannot be served by resistance fighters being hanged by an occupation-led government.

Former Seattle Black Panther Opposing Cantwell

Tweet In a news advisory about his candidacy, the Dixon campaign said he is running because "Mr. Dixon believes Sen. Cantwell's positions -- and votes -- on crucial issues such as peace and war, fair trade and corporate control, as well as civil liberties vs. unchecked government surveillance, are no longer representing the majority of Washington State residents."

Aaron Dixon will be announcing his US senate candidacy tomorrow at the 23rd & Jackson Recruiting Station at 10 a.m. Thursday. Cantwell's going down for supporting the war. Yes!

Israeli Prof. Compares Israeli State to Apartheid South Africa

Tweet Q: When you began to study this, I mean, what conclusions did you come to about, about the state of Israel and the situation of the Palestinians?

I think what came out is something which I think many, many Palestinians before me realized, but for me it took this individual journey into the past to understand that. I was taught as an Israeli academic that there is a very complex story there, and in fact what you find out is that this is a very simple story, a story of dispossession, of colonization, of occupation, of expulsion. And the more I go into it, the clearer the story becomes, even it becomes simpler, and it also brought me to think of the state of Israel, and the Jewish majority in it, in very much the same terms that I used to think about places such as South Africa, and the white supremacy regime there. So I think this is the natural, main conclusion.

Extremely interesting article explaining things like why there is no Jewish working class opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Also, about the US left's support of the two-state solution, Pappe says this:

Q: The supporters of Israel, left supporters of Israel, basically say that the two-state solution is the only real possibility for Israel, and that's why they push its support in the US. What is your answer to that?

I can see a support for a two-state solution emerging, immediately after the Six-Day war, when Israel did not yet annex the East Jerusalem, did not yet build one Jewish settlement in it. There was a lot of logic of saying that despite, despite the fact that it is only 20% of Palestine could be a basis for a Palestinian state, next to Israel, and that these two states, in the future, would develop in such a way that they might turn it into one state, and even find a way of solving the refugees problem. But this is all water under the bridge.

In 2005, with the number of Jewish settlements, with the Greater Jerusalem becoming one third of the West Bank, and the local, and global, and regional balances of power, I think a two-state solution can only become an indirect way for continuing the Occupation. And as I said before, if we understand that the diplomatic effort has deepened the Occupation, has not brought an end to it, so in the case of the two-state solution we have to liberate ourselves from that paradigm. It can only help the Occupation and the Zionist colonization, and only the beginning of ideas of one-state solution can create a different future there.

Pappe also calls the US media coverage of Israel Palestine "childish," and an "insult to intelligence."

Democrat Levin Instrumental in Gutting Antitorture Bill

Tweet In court filings, the Justice Department lawyers argued that language in the law written by Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) gives Guantanamo Bay detainees access to the courts only to appeal their enemy combatant status determinations and convictions by military commissions.

In other words, they can't go to court to object to their torture at Guantanamo. Torture away, says Carl. Carl Levin has been the senior democrat on the Armed Services Committee since 1997.

Former CIA Operative Stands Against Torture in Congress

Tweet On Thursday, March 2, Ray McGovern and 15 others took action today in the halls of Congress. The 16 donned orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by detainees at Guantánamo Bay. They wore gags over their mouths decorated with one word - torture. McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the CIA, also returned his Intelligence Commendation Award medallion which was given to him for "especially commendable service." He delivered the medal to Congressman Pete Hoekstra along with the letter below.

Status of House Impeachment Resolution

Tweet "For now, however, sources in Washington DC tell Atlanta Progressive News that H. Res 635 is a venue for coalition among members of Congress who are willing to consider impeachment for a variety of reasons."

Jim McDermott has signed on to this resolution. The article says 14% of House Dems have signed on.

Cantwell Panders to Terror War Supporters

Tweet This is what the Centralia Chronicle said about Maria Cantwell's vote FOR the Patriot Act Extension:

"By contrast, our other U.S. senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell, to her credit was among the huge majority of other Democratic senators — 34 — who voted in favor of the measure, along with all 55 Republican senators."

The contrast they speak of was Patty Murray's vote against it:

"She essentially gave more priority to protecting civil liberties that haven’t even been actually infringed upon by the act in the five years of its existence than to protecting Americans against the much more likely and far worse danger of terrorist attacks."

There haven' t been any infringements? What about Canadian Maher Arar being sent to Syria for torture? What about the VA nurse charged with sedition for speaking out against the administration's treatment of returning war vets? What about kicking Cindy Sheehan out of Congress because she was wearing an antiwar t-shirt? Yikes! Should we send a delegation to Centralia to inform them?

Webpage with videos from Iraq

Tweet I watched these videos shot in Iraq and linked below. They reminded me of the open letter to the troops that Stan Goff wrote back in Nov 2003 titled, Hold On To Your Humanity.
So I went back and re-read Goff's letter for the 5th time. This passage struck me the most after viewing these videos:

"I changed over there in Vietnam and they were not nice changes either. I started getting pulled into something—something that craved other people's pain. Just to make sure I wasn't regarded as a "f***ing missionary" or a possible rat, I learned how to fit myself into that group that was untouchable, people too crazy to f*** with, people who desired the rush of omnipotence that comes with setting someone's house on fire just for the pure hell of it, or who could kill anyone, man, woman, or child, with hardly a second thought. People who had the power of life and death—because they could."

To read Goff's full letter go here and scroll down a screen or two to begin reading:
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/what/viewpoint/01_2003.html

VIDEOS:
http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=21202&s2=04

Linda and my blog: www.siratyst.blogspot.com

We Now Welcome Comments...

Tweet apparently, we didn't have the setting right for easy commentating. Hopefully, it's fixed now. Let the punditry begin.

What's Happening in Haiti? What Liberal Press Won't Tell you

Tweet Stephen Lendman on Uruknet has an extremely informative article on recent (and historical) events in Haiti. He also indicts the liberal media for spreading US disinformation. Below is an excerpt about NPR, linked to the whole great article.

Their current president and CEO Kevin Klose, in fact, is the former director of all the major worldwide US government broadcast media including VOA, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe and the anti-Castro Radio Marti. In other words, he was the head of all US worldwide propaganda making him an ideal choice for a comparable job at NPR, the "peoples' radio" that never met a US instigated war it didn't love.

The Nation magazine, which I haven't read for awhile, also has taken the US gov't line on the people of Haiti. But as Lendman points out, this isn't their first slip into racist journalism: "They also ran a repugnant racist full page ad in their January 9/16, 2006 issue entitled "Arabian Fables" which outrageously implied Palestinians are prone to violence and deception, and there can be no peaceful, diplomatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Guess that's why I haven't been reading them!

The "Peace" Movement: How Not to Oppose War on Iran

Tweet Eli Stephens at Left I on the News dissects a message from the "peace" as opposed to "antiwar" movement. Linda

H.S. Students Support Teacher Disciplined for Provocative Comments

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The above picture shows some of the 150 highschool students in Colorado who walked out of classes in support of their teacher, who has been put on administrative leave for comments he made in class about George Bush and the war on terror.

The article linked below has more info on what the teacher said. A student taped part of the class and went on the radio to publicize what he called "political rants" by his teacher.

"During the talk, Bennish compared statements made by Bush to those of Hitler, wondered whether other countries should have the right to bomb U.S. tobacco fields because of the damage cigarettes do in their societies, called the war in Iraq an illegal invasion and said the definition of a terrorist is in the eye of the beholder."

The teacher is on administrative leave at this point.

Suffering Gulf War Vet "Played" by VA

Tweet "That's when he looked more closely at the label on the prescription bottle and suddenly it dawned on him: 'Obecalp' is 'placebo' spelled backward."

Insult to injury. Thank goodness this guy had enough guts to make this public. How many other people has this happened to?

Sensenbrenner Bill: A Crime to Help an "Illegal" Immigrant

Tweet "Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Sensenbrenner Bill." If approved by the Senate, the law would make it a felony for immigrants to be in the United States without documents, criminalize the act of helping an "illegal" immigrant, deputize local police to enforce federal immigration restrictions, and authorize millions of dollars to build 700 more miles of walls between the United States and Mexico."

We need to watch out for this when they start talking about it in the Senate obviously.

All this is from an email I get from the Rethinking Schools group. They recommend a book: The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border & Mexican Immigration to help school kids understand the issue. Sounds like I need to read it too.

"How can teachers help their students make sense of the raging immigration debates? Rethinking Schools has just published THE LINE BETWEEN US: TEACHING ABOUT THE BORDER AND MEXICAN IMMIGRATION by Rethinking Schools editor, Bill Bigelow. The book incorporates role plays, stories, poetry, improvisations, simulations, and video to show how to engage students in thinking critically about immigration. The book explores the history of U.S.-Mexican relations and the roots of Mexican immigration, all in the context of the global economy. And it demonstrates how teachers can help students understand the immigrant experience and the drama of border life.Ira Shor, who co-authored "A Pedagogy for Liberation" with Paulo Freire, says that, "Bill Bigelow has written a wonderful book on critical teaching, filled with examples, resources, and how to transform theory into practice. With ingenuity and integrity, Bigelow pushes to the limits of what's possible in public education." And Luis Rodriguez, acclaimed author of "Always Running," says, "This is exactly what we need."

Rick Steves ticks off local rightwing radio with this

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Rick Steves, the local travel guru, publishes a great suggestion about reducing the military budget and using the dough for the actual needs of the American people. In it he speaks about Europeans who were so grateful for the Marshall Plan they gave their kids American names.

In a very insightful book I'm reading, THE GLOBAL CLASS WAR (How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future--and What it Will Take To Win it Back), Jeff Faux explains that the Marshall Plan was definitely a scheme by which "...the U.S. government could require that cash-strapped countries use foreign aid to buy American goods. American governments also lavished generous subsidies on domestic agriculture, aircraft, and other industries in order to further assure successful competition in world markets."

So the Marshall Plan was just as imbedded in self-interest as US policies today. Faux's assertion makes me wonder who Rick Steves (and the rest of us really) can appeal to. The end of the book is supposed to have advice on what to do about this. I'll let you know. Linda

In the meantime, read Rick Steves attempt to redirect our tax dollars away from war.

Guest columnist
The real threat to U.S. security

By Rick Steves

Special to The Times

PREV of NEXT

Rick Steves

The greatest risk to our society today is not Islamo-fascist terrorism, but the people who use that term to scare us. As the human, fiscal and ecological damage caused by our nation's economic priorities grows, it's becoming clear that we're addicted to more than oil � we're addicted to military spending, too.

The United States spends as much on its military as the rest of humanity combined: more than $400 billion annually (not including the hundreds of billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). These military expenses are "off limits" as we sharpen our collective pencils to find $39 billion to cut from domestic programs. And yet, despite our already huge military expenditures, these days it's hard to get elected without promising even more military spending.

Recently, San Francisco Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval appeared on the Fox News program "Hannity & Colmes." Frustrated by our government's budget priorities, Sandoval suggested America would be better off without a military. Instead, he said, "we should invest our money in our kids." Right-wing pundits pounced on these statements, and even many prominent Democrats distanced themselves from Sandoval.

Should we abolish the American military altogether? Of course not. But daydream with me for just a moment: What if we gradually scaled down military spending, chose not to rush off to foreign wars based on questionable motives, and began to take the name of our "Department of Defense" literally?

Let's be honest: Is there anyone out there who would actually want to � or, more importantly, be able to � invade the United States? Consider today's biggest perceived threat, al-Qaida. Do Osama bin Laden and his gang want to ride into Washington, D.C., take over our government, and turn us into an Islamo-fascist nation? Or � as his recent offer of a "truce" suggests � do they instead want dignity for the Palestinians, Christian armies out of sacred Muslim territory, and freedom for the Arab world to control its own natural resources?

"We do not negotiate with terrorists," our administration gravely informs us. But forcing our interests on the ever-more-volatile Middle East doesn't seem to be helping much, either. Isn't it ironic that this planet's most overtly "Christian" nation is feverishly pounding plowshares into swords?

So let's try something different. Imagine if we required our military to manage with a budget no bigger than all the militaries of our hemisphere combined: That's Canada � $15 billion; Mexico � $6 billion; everyone from there to Tierra del Fuego � about $16 billion. Round the total up to $40 billion. Add to that a healthy sum to support the United Nations and our allies in their peacekeeping work (say $60 billion a year). Grand total: $100 billion.

That saves more than $300 billion a year ($400 billion less $100 billion), which we could use to tackle not "Islamo-fascism," but more-fundamental concerns: dependence on oil, both foreign and domestic; a skyrocketing debt that allows other nations (such as China and Saudi Arabia) to gain economic and political leverage over our homeland; progressively violent weather and a rising sea caused by global warming; and a lower class that's chronically in need of affordable housing, good education and reliable health care. We could even let the wealthy keep their tax cuts.

And what if we decided that, rather than being outvoted routinely in the U.N. 140-4 on Cuba, Israel, torture, the international court, and issues of desperate importance to the developing world (such as global warming, land mines, debt relief and AIDS), we believed it was good for our "homeland security" interests to be supported by the U.N. 140-4? Instead of being at odds with the rest of the world, we could join the family of nations in dealing with the pressing problems that confront us all.

I have many friends in Europe named "Frankie" or "Johnny" who were born in the late 1940s. Every time I see them, I'm reminded that there was a time when our allies in Europe gave their children Yankee names in gratitude for what America meant to them. This can happen once again across the world: America can become a superpower in a positive sense � so appreciated that other nations would fund their militaries to protect us.

The prospect of al-Qaida attacks is frightening. But America is being held hostage not by a man in a cave, but by clever people with a different agenda. They use Osama bin Laden to scare us � even terrorize us � into funding an agenda that's weakening our country.

It's time for patriots to stand up to fear-mongering and broaden our definition of "sanctity of life" and "homeland security." It's time for some courage and eloquence on the left. And it's time for our electorate to wake up and see the real threats to our for-the-time-being-still-great nation. If we rose to this challenge, I think we could report that "the state of our union is strong" � and it would be true.

Edmonds-based travel writer Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) produces and hosts the public-television series "Rick Steves' Europe" and the public-radio show "Travel with Rick Steves."

Copyright � 2006 The Seattle Times Company