A must see. (Quicktime required) Bright Eyes sings a song on the Jay Leno show. It seems like he prepared it specially for a national TV audience. I must say, it moved me. Please watch it to hear the frustration with dubya which envelopes American society.

Oh, then there's this. So, there's not going to be a "drawdown" of troops at the end of this year? And there's going to be a reversal of the Iraqi government's wish to put an end to mosque raids? Hm...who's in control here? It seems as though the occupying forces are barely holding on to control for the fledgling government. And what is the fledgling government doing? Mainly stealing from Iraq and raising sectarian tension while not helping improve security one damn bit.

Can you tell that I'm angry? Well, Bright Eyes does a good job of summarizing my anger. And while I may not be able to express myself too well at the moment, I can defer you to those that do.

I try to avoid posting entire articles, but this article sums up my thoughts lately. Patrick Cockburn has done some extraordinary reporting for the London Independent from Iraq. I wish there were more reporters like him. I hope you enjoy the article.

Iraq is a bloody no man's land. America has failed to win the war. But has it lost it?

Ten US troops were killed in action across Iraq last week. The fighting is now sustained and ferocious. Patrick Cockburn, winner of the Martha Gellhorn prize for journalism, reports from the frontline of America's war on terror

15 May 2005

Iraq is a bloody no man's land. America has failed to win the war. But has it lost it?

And in Afghanistan, the Taliban rises again for fighting season

"The battlefield is a great place for liars," Stonewall Jackson once said on viewing the aftermath of a battle in the American civil war.

The great general meant that the confusion of battle is such that anybody can claim anything during a war and hope to get away with it. But even by the standards of other conflicts, Iraq has been particularly fertile in lies. Going by the claims of President George Bush, the war should long be over since his infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech on 1 May 2003. In fact most of the 1,600 US dead and 12,000 wounded have become casualties in the following two years.

The ferocious resistance encountered last week by the 1,000-strong US marine task force trying to fight its way into villages around the towns of Qaim and Obeidi in western Iraq shows that the war is far from over. So far nine marines have been killed in the week-long campaign, while another US soldier was killed and four wounded in central Iraq on Friday. Meanwhile, a car bomb targeting a police patrol exploded in central Baghdad yesterday, killing at least five Iraqis and injuring 12.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the leader of one of the Kurdish parties, confidently told a meeting in Brasilia last week that there is war in only three or four out of 18 Iraqi provinces. Back in Baghdad Mr Talabani, an experienced guerrilla leader, has deployed no fewer than 3,000 Kurdish soldiers or peshmerga around his residence in case of attack. One visitor was amused to hear the newly elected President interrupt his own relentlessly upbeat account of government achievements to snap orders to his aides on the correct positioning of troops and heavy weapons around his house.

There is no doubt that the US has failed to win the war. Much of Iraq is a bloody no man's land. The army has not been able to secure the short highway to the airport, though it is the most important road in the country, linking the US civil headquarters in the Green Zone with its military HQ at Camp Victory.

Ironically, the extent of US failure to control Iraq is masked by the fact that it is too dangerous for the foreign media to venture out of central Baghdad. Some have retreated to the supposed safety of the Green Zone. Mr Bush can claim that no news is good news, though in fact the precise opposite is true.

Embedded journalism fosters false optimism. It means reporters are only present where American troops are active, though US forces seldom venture into much of Iraq. Embedded correspondents bravely covered the storming of Fallujah by US marines last November and rightly portrayed it as a US military success. But the outside world remained largely unaware, because no reporters were present with US forces, that at the same moment an insurgent offensive had captured most of Mosul, a city five times larger than Fallujah.

Why has the vastly expensive and heavily equipped US army failed militarily in Iraq? After the crescendo of violence over the past month there should be no doubts that the US has not quashed the insurgents whom for two years American military spokesmen have portrayed as a hunted remnant of Saddam Hussein's regime assisted by foreign fighters.

The failure was in part political. Immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein polls showed that Iraqis were evenly divided on whether they had been liberated or occupied. Eighteen months later the great majority both of Sunni and Shia said they had been occupied, and they did not like it. Every time I visited a spot where an American soldier had been killed or a US vehicle destroyed there were crowds of young men and children screaming their delight. "I am a poor man but I am going home to cook a chicken to celebrate," said one man as he stood by the spot marked with the blood of an American soldier who had just been shot to death.

Many of the resistance groups are bigoted Sunni Arab fanatics who see Shia as well as US soldiers as infidels whom it is a religious duty to kill. Others are led by officers from Saddam's brutal security forces. But Washington never appreciated the fact that the US occupation was so unpopular that even the most unsavoury groups received popular support.

From the start, there was something dysfunctional about the American armed forces. They could not adapt themselves to Iraq. Their massive firepower meant they won any set-piece battle, but it also meant that they accidentally killed so many Iraqi civilians that they were the recruiting sergeants of the resistance. The army denied counting Iraqi civilian dead, which might be helpful in dealing with American public opinion. But Iraqis knew how many of their people were dying.

The US war machine was over-armed. I once saw a unit trying to restore order at a petrol station where there was a fist fight between Iraqi drivers over queue-jumping (given that people sometimes sleep two nights in their cars waiting to fill a tank, tempers were understandably frayed). In one corner was a massive howitzer, its barrel capable of hurling a shell 30km, which the soldiers had brought along for this minor policing exercise.

The US army was designed to fight a high-technology blitzkrieg, but not much else. It required large quantities of supplies and its supply lines were vulnerable to roadside bombs. Combat engineers, essentially sappers, lamented that they had received absolutely no training in doing this. Even conventional mine detectors did not work. Roadsides in Iraq are full of metal because Iraqi drivers normally dispose of soft drink cans out the window. Sappers were reduced to prodding the soil nervously with titanium rods like wizards' wands. Because of poor intelligence and excessive firepower, American operations all became exercises in collective punishment. At first the US did not realise that all Iraqi men have guns and they considered possession of a weapon a sign of hostile intention towards the occupation. They confiscated as suspicious large quantities of cash in farmers' houses, not realising that Iraqis often keep the family fortune at home in $100 bills ever since Saddam Hussein closed the banks before the Gulf war and, when they reopened, Iraqi dinar deposits were almost worthless.

The US army was also too thin on the ground. It has 145,000 men in Iraq, but reportedly only half of these are combat troops. During the heavily publicised assault on Fallujah the US forces drained the rest of Iraq of its soldiers. "We discovered the US troops had suddenly abandoned the main road between Kirkuk and Baghdad without telling anybody," said one indignant observer. "It promptly fell under the control of the insurgents."

The army acts as a sort of fire brigade, briefly effective in dousing the flames, but always moving on before they are fully extinguished. There are only about 6,000 US soldiers in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital and which has a population of three million. For the election on 30 January, US reserves arriving in Iraq were all sent to Mosul to raise the level to 15,000 to prevent any uprising in the city. They succeeded in doing so but were then promptly withdrawn.

The shortage of US forces has a political explanation. Before the war Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defence, and his neo-conservative allies derided generals who said an occupation force numbering hundreds of thousands would be necessary to hold Iraq. When they were proved wrong they dealt with failure by denying it had taken place.

There is a sense of bitterness among many US National Guardsmen that they have been shanghaied into fighting in a dangerous war. I was leaving the Green Zone one day when one came up to me and said he noticed that I had a limp and kindly offered to show me a quicker way to the main gate. As we walked along he politely asked the cause of my disability. I explained I had had polio many years ago. He sighed and said he too had had his share of bad luck. Since he looked hale and hearty this surprised me. "Yes," he said bitterly. "My bad luck was that I joined the Washington State National Guard which had not been called up since 1945. Two months later they sent me here where I stand good chance of being killed."

The solution for the White House has been to build up an Iraqi force to take the place of US soldiers. This has been the policy since the autumn of 2003 and it has repeatedly failed. In April 2004, during the first fight for Fallujah, the Iraqi army battalions either mutinied before going to the city or refused to fight against fellow Iraqis once there. In Mosul in November 2004 the 14,000 police force melted away during the insurgent offensive, abandoning 30 police stations and $40m in equipment. Now the US is trying again. By the end of next year an Iraqi army and police force totalling 300,000 should be trained and ready to fight. Already they are much more evident in the streets of Baghdad and other cities.

The problem is that the troops are often based on militias which have a sectarian or ethnic base. The best troops are Kurdish peshmerga. Shia units are often connected with the Badr Brigade which fought on the side of Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. When 14 Sunni farmers from the Dulaimi tribe were found executed in Baghdad a week ago the Interior Ministry had to deny what was widely believed, that they had been killed by a Shia police unit.

The greatest failure of the US in Iraq is not that mistakes were made but that its political system has proved incapable of redressing them. Neither Mr Rumsfeld nor his lieutenants have been sacked. Paul Wolfowitz, under-secretary of defence and architect of the war, has been promoted to the World Bank.

Almost exactly a century ago the Russian empire fought a war with Japan in the belief that a swift victory would strengthen the powers-that-be in St Petersburg. Instead the Tsar's armies met defeat. Russian generals, who said that their tactic of charging Japanese machine guns with sabre-wielding cavalry had failed only because their men had attacked with insufficient brio, held their jobs. In Iraq, American generals and their political masters of demonstrable incompetence are not fired. The US is turning out to be much less of a military and political superpower than the rest of the world had supposed.

Muzboot? Wala laa?

Refreshing update: Judges have decided to not go gentle into that good night by refusing to play a role over-seeing elections, rendering the results unconstitutional, unless legislation is passed that guarantees their independence.

Judges in Egypt have refused to oversee September's presidential election unless new legislation is passed guaranteeing their independence.

They also want assurances they will be allowed to oversee all stages of the electoral process.

More than 2,000 judges backed the demands at a Cairo meeting of the judge's club, an elected body of Egypt's judiciary.

This is an unprecedented show of defiance to the Egyptian government.

The Egyptian government is used to getting its own way, but now it is facing a revolt from a key branch in the state.

True democracy in Egypt? I doubt it, but let's wait and see if Saddam Mubarak will go all Uzbeki on the people or not.

Original Post:

Eight members of Al Jazeera's staff was arrested, further stifling any real change or transparency in the Egyptian dictatorship. The dream of holding truly democratic elections in Egypt is fading fast. Saddam Mubarak says, "Don't touch my judges!"

Aljazeera has reported that Egyptian security authorities arrested eight members of its crew preparing to cover a meeting of the General Assembly of Cairo's Judges Club.

Aljazeera's correspondent Samir Omar and producer Ahmad Nour are among those arrested on Friday.

The afternoon meeting is aimed at pressing the judges' demand that they be allowed to fully monitor the presidential elections, and is expected to announce the judges' final position on the issue of supervision of the forthcoming elections.

The judges have threatened not to supervise the elections at all if they are not given full control over each step of the election process.

They have also demanded the approval of a law on the independence of judicial authorities.

Why doesn't the US fund the opposition in Egypt? Is it only because of the peace treaty with Israel? How long will fake democracy last in Saddam Mubarak's Egypt?

And concerning the possible pardoning of Puppet Crook Chalabi by Jordan...well, King Saddam Abdullah's dictatorship needs some further fine-tuning in order for this to seem plausible. Or perhaps all he needs is a simple bribe of 300 million dollars, which I'm sure Chalabi can supply since he's probably stolen that and more from Iraq and Iraqis in the past couple of years. A peace treaty with Israel is probably going to take a while considering Iraq doesn't even have stable essential services. So, that isn't an option at the moment.

Good luck to all you crooks and puppets. You're gonna need it. Make sure those Swiss bank accounts are sealed air-tight. I've been hearing some rather sickening 1st-hand accounts of the bribery going on in Iraq at the moment. If you try to come and tell me it's not happening from both Americans, Iraqis, and other contractors...well, I'd know you'd be completely full of shit. Corruption is as bad as it has ever been. And there are people making boat-loads of money off of Iraqi suffering. It makes me sick. If there is a hell, there will be a special sub-circle for you bastards making money and gaining power in such a manner.

Ah...it feels better to get that off my chest. I've been feeling incapable of blogging as of late because I don't know what else to say about what's going on in Iraq anymore. Things are clearly spinning out of control and there is no improvement in essential services and security.

And we apparently have most of our government in place. If you ask me, this government will not last the, what, 5 months they have left. Anyway, if they do...it will suprise me.

Another thing...

I was inspired to sit down and try to think about solving all the world's problems again when I saw Hotel Rwanda the other day. If I come up with anything, I will let you know. It was a great film...and as I've been very interested in what happened in this low-point of civilization since 1996, it was amazing to see it brought to life. I also saw Kingdom of Heaven. I thought it was actually very good. There are some historical inaccuracies, but it still resonates the general feeling and situation quite well from what we know. I certainly believe it was fair, though. The era of the Crusades were the lowest point in the history of Christianity.

That's all for now. I am surprised I squeezed out so many words. Hehe...

Lim.

Look what American taxpayers have been paying for all these years.

Previously, Egyptians have cast only a yes or no vote on a sole candidate nominated by parliament every six years.

Whereby Saddam Mubarak's margin of victory tended to be near the margin of Saddam Hussein's 99%. The former would only receive about 98% of the vote, though.

Now with the new changes, it looks like corruption will only be encouraged. How comforting.

The guidelines stipulate that a presidential candidate must either be a member of an official political party or, if running as an independent, get a minimum of 65 recommendations from elected members of the lower house, 25 from the Shura council, and 10 from local councils from at least 14 governorates.

Insisting to rescind such stipulations for entry into the presidential race shall be paramount to those that wish for real democracy in the Arab world. Making changes in the most populous Arab nation, Egypt, may prove to be difficult, but to be two-faced and insincere about what's really happening only adds more poison to the current situation. And that's the last thing we need now.

The regulations, which were first published in state-owned media on Thursday, were seen by opposition figures as putting a gag on serious contenders because all the elected bodies are dominated by Mubarak's ruling party and its supporters.

Ya think?

Over 30 posts were just preliminarily named. It is an incomplete list of 36 posts. So three months after the election, there is an incomplete list. Well done. At one point it appeared as though they had to have a vote on how to vote for the list of ministers. Thus many people in the National Assembly did not know the list of nominated Ministers yet. Then they read the names. You've got to be kidding me.

And Ahmed Chalabi is a Deputy...and Minister of Oil. (Maybe I mis-heard this?) This is hilarious. What a joke. Sorry, but this is going to be a joke of a government if this session is an indicator.

I suggest there be a Ministry of Ministers. Perhaps Sistani or the ghost of Nebuchadnezzar can be the Deputy Minister of the Minstry of Ministers.

Great, just great.

UPDATE: ten minutes later... They went ahead and actually voted for an incomplete list. 'Scuse me... huh??? I'm not quite sure I understand. But who understands most things that happen in Iraq? It seems the National Assembly didn't mind it, though: The vote was 180-5 ...isn't the National Assembly 275 people? Ok...I don't know what to say about this right now.

I imagine sometimes this may be what the current American administration is thinking at the moment. Is it just my imagination, or may one deduce that the violence allows for the stalemate for a government to continue. And that this helps to pave the way for the possibility of the chaos-maker and built-in alibi for American foreign policy miscalcuations, the guy who gave the lies that unleashed the most powerful military in the world on one of the weakest countries in the world, Mr. Fake-information & "Curveball" supplying Chalabi, being fathomed as a prime minister by some after Jafaari's government (that was never meant to be) collapses.

What government? Oh right, there still is no government. No need for that! Let violence legislate!

I love the smell of sovereignty in the morning.

Some use violence to destroy. Some use religion or greed as an excuse to destroy.

I, on the other hand, will destroy you with irreverence.

Lim.

I want to commend two people who had the courage to stand up for what they believe in while in the face of considerable odds and enormous difficulty. Their actions humble me beyond belief.


The first is Carl Ford, another Republican I love. If you click the picture above or the link you'll hear his testimony (in real video) at the Senate confirmation hearing of John Bolton. Of course, John Bolton is not suited to serve as an ambassador anywhere, much less ambassador to the UN. This video is an eye-opener (if you have the patience) as to why he should not be appointed. There is something to be said for this anti-ambassador being forced out of a position where he could actually shape policy by putting him in an ambassadorship. Meaning, it's a positive thing that he be put in this position because he will not be able to shape policy. I believe Zbigniew Brzenzinski mentioned this on CNN while appearing with Kissinger the other day. Maybe he will be so discredited by the time he comes out of this hearing that he'll be unable to get a job anywhere but the Heritage Foundation.


And finally, Marla Ruzicka. I'd like to pay tribute to somebody whom I think served as the conscience of the world with regard to Iraq on my more optimistic days. She helped to uncover America's secret tally of Iraqi civilian deaths a week before she was tragically killed. She did so much for Iraq and Iraqis. She lived a dream to help those suffering from war. I'm humbled by simply knowing people who were good friends of Marla.

Without the likes of Marla and Margret Hassan, the future of Iraq is not as bright. These sort of women are one in a billion kind of people. And my heart goes out to their families during these tragic days. But my heart goes out to them most of all for paying the biggest sacrifice in order to be heard and in order to help Iraq. They will be so sorely missed.

Anybody whose conscience moves them to speak what they truly feel should be commended and honored. People like these are some of the true heroes of our time.

Peace out,
Lim.

I like contrasts and contradictions. My beliefs and background are constantly in flux with one another. I live contrasts and I am a contradiction of sorts. Sometimes I don't know which way I'm supposed to go. Then my gut tells me. So, I go. And here's another case where my gut leads me. Of course, the Pope is a traditionalist. He wasn't about to ordain women. I believe there's certainly the argument to do so. Although I may find it strange only because I am not used to it in the case of the church, women should be afforded all rights that men are afforded. A patriarchal society is not in the interest of humanity. A similar situation (of the ordaining of women) arose in Islam when a woman gave prayer in NY recently. Now, if you're for ordaining women in the Catholic church, surely you'd be for allowing women to give prayer in a mosque. Abbas explained how it is not the woman's role. Sure, I can understand that...yet, there is something to be said for the re-transformation of religion no matter what the "traditions" may be. I thought about it long and hard, and I decided I don't hold it against the Pope for being against certain things...and I don't hold it against Islam for wanting to maintain certain traditions. I do believe there should be room for eventual transformations though. Religion or faith, rather, doesn't become less relevant because there is somebody of a different gender initiating it. Where in the bible does it say that women cannot be ordained? And what about Kharijite women of Islam? I have loads of questions.

Yet I know the value of Pope John Paul II. Most of all, he was a courageous and moral man. I respected him for his beliefs...even if they interfered with my progressive leanings. There will be an important funeral today in Vatican City. Millions have gone to pay their respects. President Bush has gone with some of his people, no doubt to score as many political points off of the Catholic faith and this outpouring of support for this important man from people across the world. It is clearly for American consumption. FAC, remember? FAC! Anyway, I chose to ignore it up until now for a reason. But let me be frank now: It's so disgusting to me to take advantage of this moment for domestic political gain. But what's new? Terry Schiavo ring a bell or two? I would rather not dwell on this any further. It's something so obvious, but I thought I'd point it out anyway.

On to the latest podcast:

This is mostly an Arabic vocabulary lesson set to a Dvorak version of Stabat Mater. The Pergolesi version of Stabat Mater is my favorite. What's more, this recording of it is the absolute best though. Definitely buy it. You will not be disappointed. It is my favorite opera recording of all time perhaps. And it's not because it's the Stabat Mater at all. You'll understand when you hear it. The Dvorak version I include in this irakast from a Deutsche Grammaphone record (1977) I have is pretty good though. I believe the contrast of a western style of music with the Arabic lesson (from the Department of Defense) is an interesting contradiction to use as a dedication for the Pope today. I have no snide remarks for you at the moment. I just feel sadness. The good kind that motivates a person...

So, please give this podcast I dedicate to Pope John Paul the Great a listen. It's just a stripped down simple version which I only used timing to create some subtext. I hope you enjoy it.

I'll most probably be taking a hiatus for a little while. I'll post if I can.

Please take care of yourselves and those around you.

Liminal

Irakast 4, Liminal Radio Presents a Dedication to Pope John Paul II

Show: 6.0
Length: 14:45
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 128 kbs
Size: 13.5 mb

Subscribe to the best podcast in the world by clicking below.

No matter how I feel about the process, I am very happy for the Kurdish people. They deserve to be represented and never be taken advantage of by any leader again. They deserve to be leaders in all of Iraq. They are Iraq afterall. And one of my father's best friends in Iraq is Kurdish. He lives in France now. Long story.

One of the first reasons I started blogging was to address the issue of Kirkuk, though. It was my first post in fact. I've only occasionally gotten into the subject because it's tremendously difficult. I'm still very concerned about developments. I have family in Kirkuk, so there's direct reason I would like to see a just and peaceful solution there. And I hope the things Jalal Talabani said when sworn-in will all be true. There's some sketchy details we must pay close heed to in order to ensure peace.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari was selected to be the prime minister of the new interim government. I still have not gotten a grasp on him quite yet. Many people in Iraq don't know who he is even. Remember people voted for lists. What I've heard, when he's spoken, has sounded ok I suppose. I just have an uneasy feeling about Sharia law being implemented and the rights of women and minorities. But let's see how this goes. We'll get the idea somewhat quickly of how much of a change for the better will happen. Iraqis are tired of waiting for things to improve. Let's hope things get better.

For now, congratulations to Iraq and congratulations to the Kurdish people.

Peace to Iraq!

Liminal

Seems as though I'm offended all the time? Sorry. Seems as though I'm offending all the time. Again, sorry. But, well... not really. Catharsis is a funny thing. Sometimes you have to push it, be as sincere as possible, to acheive it. I do this blog for myself. I do other blogs for others and myself. I see it as a random occurence if you happen to be here. You're lucky to know this odd thing exists, in other words. I give you a peek at my world, while informing you about my outrage. It's a beautiful thing. And I appreciate each and every last one of you for coming. Yes, even if you don't agree with me. I appreciate the fact you stopped by and read something. I hope I upset you or satisfied you enough. Come back if you want more.

Of course, I do have a lot of people supporting me in my loose-mouthed cause. And I have many crazily incensed by my words. There are even people who are both. What's most important is knowing there's several people out there reading that know I'm well-intentioned and accept me for who I am. I love you if you're one of those people. I do still love you if you're the other kinds or fit under different catagories of disgust and pleasure, but well...you get my point. It's best to be supportive and accepting. ;) I respond much better to this sort of behavour. My inclination is to do more and more for those that behave like this to me. Because in the end, we all just want some acceptance and support from those that care for us...right?

So, if I've offended you...join the club. If I am offended by you, join the other club. I don't take it personally (although it sounds otherwise). I'm here to build with you. It just so happens you've encountered my catharsis, so don't fault me for it. We all need an outlet for our frustrations, don't we?

I just want to be loved.

Please watch the horizon. There is something special coming.

God bless Iraq.

:)

Several premium models are available. Only the best for the troops in such hard times.

She seems so much better after we give her a pair of some rose-tinted glasses! Look at that smile!


These are for men. The foldable one here is for tight situations where you don't wish to break the spirit of your new found Iraqi happiness (i.e. the rose-tinted glasses). They fold and protect themselves with bullet-proof lenses. Business men use it as heart armor. The ones worn on the right are usually by private contractors that get paid 10,000 a week. You know those Blackwater renegade killers above the law. They even need a little happiness while they're in their Iraqi Hotels.


And below here you have the most popular rose-tinted glasses with the lady soldiers.

Ask Tom Delay's wife and daughter. They can tell you all about it. They made half a million dollars in only 4 years! One of the most profitable get-rich-quick schemes I've ever heard of! You should try it your self.

Ya Zalamay, Shlon hal Zalmay?

Your latest dose of "Neocon Nepotism." Following the anointing of Bolton and Wolfowitz in freshly minted positions of great importance (envoy to UN and World Bank president), Zalmay Khalilzad is the next Neoconservative (is he a Neocon praktike?) from the Project for a New American Century appointed to a high-level position as US envoy to Iraq. (Bolton has yet to be approved, if I understand correctly, even though he believes "there is no United Nations.")

Shuffling around his loyal cohorts, Bush (or whomever is pulling the lever) appoints yet another person who signed the letter PNAC wrote to then President Bill Clinton in 1998 to attempt to scupper support for dethroning the evil formerly American-funded bastard Saddam Hussein.

Here is the letter. Click the image to get to the PNAC original. These boys are just too much!




Not to bode on the past. You know...it's just for the record. This letter was written 7 years ago, just in case you cannot see. Call me a cynic for mentioning it yet again.

On to more delightful topics...

I'm aiming to offend intolerant people with my headline. If you're offended by one, it's possible you'll agree with the other...and vice versa. Funny how that works, huh?

So, did I accomplish my goal? Who did I offend?

Ha. You know I like it raw. "Yeah baby I like it raw. Shimmy shimmy ya..." (Ol' Dirty Bastard RIP)

Anyway, here's Robert Fisk's latest stroke of brilliance. I want to make more commentary, but I'm just being run into the ground and my eye is banged up. I'm the one-eyed blogger now! hehe...

Here's a taste:

Up at Tripoli is Lebanon's biggest keep, the massive Castle of St Gilles that still towers ominously over the port city with its delicate minarets and mass of concrete hovels. Two shell holes - remnants of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war - have been smashed into the walls, but the interior of the castle is a world of its own; a world, that is, of stables and eating halls and dungeons. It was empty - the tourists have almost all fled Lebanon - and we felt the oppressive isolation of this terrible place.

Pat knew his Crusader castles. "When you besieged them, the only way to get inside was by pushing timber under the foundations and setting fire to the wood. When they turned to ash, the walls came tumbling down. The defenders didn't throw boiling oil from the ramparts. They threw sand on to the attackers. The sand would get inside their armour and start to burn them until they were in too much pain to fight. But it's the same thing here in Tripoli as in the little castle. You can hardly see the city through the arrow slits. It's another - bigger - prison."

And so I sat on the cold stone floor and stared through a loophole and, sure enough, I could see only a single minaret and a few square metres of roadway. I was in darkness. Just as the Crusaders who built this fortress must have been in darkness.

Indeed, Raymond de Saint-Gilles spent years besieging the city, looking down in anger from his great fortress, built on the "Pilgrim's Mountain", at the stout burghers of Tripoli who were constantly re-supplied by boat from Egypt. Raymond himself died in the castle, facing the city he dreamed of capturing but could not live to enter.

And of course, far to the east, in the ancient land of Mesopotamia, there stand today equally stout if less aesthetic barricades around another great occupying army. The castles of the Americans are made of pre-stressed concrete and steel but they serve the same purpose and doom those who built them to live in prisons.

From the "Green Zone" in the centre of Baghdad, the US authorities and their Iraqi satellites can see little of the city and country they claim to govern. Sleeping around the gloomy republican palace of Saddam Hussein, they can stare over the parapets or peek through the machine-gun embrasures on the perimeter wall - but that is as much as most will ever see of Iraq.

The Tigris river is almost as invisible as that stream sloshing past the castle of Mseilha. The British embassy inside the "Green Zone" flies its diplomats into Baghdad airport, airlifts them by helicopter into the fortress - and there they sit until recalled to London.

Indeed, the Crusaders in Lebanon - men with thunderous names like Tancred and Bohemond and Baldwin - used a system of control remarkably similar to the US Marines and the 82nd Airborne. They positioned their castles at a day's ride - or a day's sailing down the coast in the case of Lebanon - from each other, venturing forth only to travel between their keeps.

As soon as I clean up a few things (I'm notoriously tidy.), I shall hopefully get to everything I must do on the computer! I look forward to it. It's been a busy day.

Nobody can tell me this isn't a good thing. Lets work together to destroy the Axis of Hypocrisy.

In a sign of momentum against the muppets, Egypt students rally for reform across campuses in Cairo and the Nile Delta. It's the largest protest to date against Mubarak. I believe the changes he made earlier are just cosmetic...so he can keep the flow of US dinero coming to Egypt. Once those billions yearly are pulled away from Cairo by Washington, the Egyptian ruling party will collapse.

So, why Mr. Bush are you continuing your support of muppet Mubarak?

Is it similar to the Saudi situation? Are you scared of what democracy might bring in these countries? I don't understand. Clarify yourself to the world.

Let the people rule!

Women are not the only ones that start wars...a male alcoholic liar provided the impetus for the most recent war on Iraq. His name was Curveball. And he was real close to Ahmed Chalabi. NO WAY!

He must have been greatly admired by the President and Vice President for his delusional thinking. Quite the man that Mr. Curve. He didn't quite make the curve, did he? You'll find him under some table drinking himself into a stupor while clamoring, "Saddam has these guns that look like porcupines, which inject meaning into life. He carries them around with him everywhere. He was a very suicidal man Saddam, so we had to take precautions, you know. Give me another double habibbi! Gjeass, you are very nice lady, thank you for your service honey...oh, I mean Dick." (I know this makes no sense...he was a drunk afterall.)

I could have told you this was going on years ago. Curveball would have still been this administration's "star witness" though. Drives me mad how these drunken war-mongering idiots were able to steer hundreds of thousands of people so blindly without proper preparation or adequete numbers. And I'm not even getting to the fact that it was an illegal war. And now look at the budding democracy in Iraq. Well done crooks. Enjoy the party because unless you're a cousin of Ahmed Chalabi, you can't get alcohol with little trouble. I doubt Curveball himself would be hangin in bars in Baghdad, though. It's unfortunate, because I'm sure he's a hoot. Oh but there's the Vilayet, excuse me, I mean Green Zone. Is that what they call those things these days

Between January 2000 and September 2001, Curveball offered 100 reports, among them the claims of mobile biological weapons labs that were central in the US evidence of an illicit weapons programme, but subsequently turned out to be trucks equipped with machinery to make helium for weather balloons.

The commission concluded that Curveball's information was worse than none at all. 'Worse than having no human sources,' it said, 'is being seduced by a human source who is telling lies.'

Oh anyhooo, I think the AI on this Cyborg source could have helped ol' Curve out. We should have at least employed him a couple to make him drinks while he worked on the plan to invade Iraq. Maybe that was it. He wasn't drunk enough! Has anybody every thought of that??? hmhmmhmm? hmmm??? I bet nobody has. See, so much could have been done differently.

Marans!

(heheeehee)

I'm laying off the computer as of late, but I had to say something about this because I think it is perhaps one of the more dispicable things I've read about somebody. Yes, former Mayor of NY, Rudolph Guiliani made money off of the tsunami. 80,000 dollars to be exact.

What a prick. Need I say more? I'll just put a quote here to spark your interest further.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A state lawmaker wants former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to return the $100,000 fee he received to speak at a tsunami relief fund-raiser.

Giuliani donated $20,000 from the fee to the event's tsunami relief fund - twice the amount requested by the benefit's sponsor, the South Carolina Hospital Association, said Thornton Kirby, the group's president.

But Rep. Tracy Edge said the full fee should be returned because the Feb. 9 speech in Columbia was publicized as a charity event.

``Nowhere was it disclosed that Mayor Giuliani was being paid for his appearance,'' Edge said.

This article at the Christian Science Monitor goes a long way in explaining the way I feel. I'm absolutely sick and tired of the hypocrisy whereby American governments support puppet regimes in the Arab world while calling for democracy. What they don't realize, indeed, is that if there truly was democracy in many countries...it would not lead to popular support for America and its errant foreign policy.

In Bahrain last week, the largest protests in memory saw the country's politically disenfranchised Shiite majority saying enough to pro-American King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa's policies. And in Cairo Wednesday the chants included "Enough to Mubarak, Enough to Bush, Enough to Blair,'' along with "We will not be ruled by the CIA" and "Down with the White House."

It was a reminder that while the US has contributed to the shift in climate in the Middle East, a real democratic opening, in the short term at least, may not serve US interests. Most in the region appear angry at America's close relationship with Israel and its invasion of Iraq, and say that statements prodding allies to reform haven't overcome decades of support for Arab dictators.

"There seems to be this assumption that if you're pro-democracy then you're pro-US foreign policy, and that's incredibly misleading,'' says Marc Lynch, a political scientist and expert on the Middle East at Williams College in Massachusetts.

As a secular and modern Egyptian democrat, Jihan Shabaan is the very image of the Middle Eastern citizens President Bush hopes will take to the streets and demand the freedom.

She says a lifetime without political freedoms, in which she's watched average Egyptians drift deeper into poverty, has convinced her to risk everything at the forefront of Egypt's Kifaya movement, which is demanding that President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-time strong-man, step down and be replaced by a freely elected leader.

But for Ms. Shabaan and most of her colleagues in the movement, "enough" doesn't apply to President Mubarak alone. She expects a democratic Egypt would distance itself from the US, a long-time ally, and hit out at what she calls decades of "hypocritical" US policy in the Middle East.

"If things really change here, America's illusions that its interests in the region would be advanced by democracy will be laid bare,'' she says. "A real democratic government in Egypt would be strongly against the US occupation of Iraq and regional US policies, particularly over Palestine. We are strongly against US influence."

Despite apparently genuine sentiment, Kifaya organizers say there's also practical reasons to make the distance from the US clear. The government has tried to paint democracy activists as foreign puppets in the past, alleging they take foreign money. "The regime are the ones taking American money. But they always accuse us of having foreign money whenever there are calls for democracy," says Shabaan.

Attitudes like Shabaan's point to a frequently overlooked disconnect. America's conviction that its rhetoric will help secure its interests in the region often clash with the anti-US leanings of many of the Arab world's democracy activists, who generally belong either to Islamist parties or to left-leaning, anti-US groups.

Where I differ, I may outline, is being supportive of Islamic parties. And I AM NOT ANTI-US. I am against US foregin policy. It's literally killing us. Let me, once again, get this straight for those of you who may be reading. I think religion and politics should be separate. Plain and simple. I believe one of the weaknesses of the Bush administration's policies when it comes to the Arab world is that the only reason he is still in power is that he panders to Christian fundamentalists. On the other hand, call me what you will, I believe Islamic parties exist in a similar dynamic. Sure, Hizbullah helped kick Israel out of South Lebanon. But America helped kick Saddam out of Iraq. Let's be honest with ourselves. For the foreseeable future I don't see any way to separate Mosque and State in the Near East. Look at the Palestinian issue and how long it has dragged on if you want to see rhyme to your reason why. Nor do I see a manner in which to wise up millions of Christian Fundamentalists in the US. It's all so ironic how similar the problem is in each place. I can only keep voicing my opinion and trying to promote honest debate.

Though personally, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place this past month and a half because I've had to own-up to my personal thoughts when Lebanon is added to the equation. I'm feeling more and more marginalized. I always knew it would get 10 times as complicated to explain my thoughts about Lebanon and Iraq. Let me be clear about religion and politics, though. I despise Neocons/Christian Fundamentalists/Big Oil A-holes, and similarly, I am creeped out by Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah. I don't see peace coming to the Near East anytime soon. I have no hope for moderate voices any longer. They are being drowned out by extremists.

Thus, I'm sick of politics. It's exposing nerves I better leave guarded. Because all in all, I'm a peaceful person that only wishes success and some happiness in the lives of friends and family members. I can't help but feel passionate about certain matters. I'm not beginning to understand why I have to validate my opinions to people by repeating them in such a manner. So, I've decided to get more creative (by doing a podcast and other means). As time permits me, I'll continue to do this very thing.

Indeed there are so many injustices happening on our planet today. One of the over-arching ones is that so many people are being more radicalized directly and indirectly because of the war and occupation of Iraq. The other is the complete and utter failure of people addressing the Palestinian cause with urgency and a measured hand. Both of these problems appear to have no end in sight.

There are also other huge problems on the horizon that have been thrown into great relief because of energized interest in the Arab world. I hope more people see them. Dictatorial regimes still dominate the political landscape in most countries in the region. A young, jobless, and radicalized Saudi Arabia is not reforming, so it should be on top of the list. Jordan's Abdullah has no respect for freedom or human rights and is a part of the Axis of Hypocris. There is an increasingly uncertain future for Lebanon as May(?) elections approach and the intelligence chiefs continue to be reluctant to release their grip. And Egypt has no compass with regards to democracy and human rights while continues to be supported unconditionally on the basis that they have signed a peace treaty with Israel. The reality on the ground in Egypt couldn't be more different. People don't like Hosni Mubarak or America. And when will the violence end in Iraq? And who knows exactly what's going on in Yemen, Sudan, and the Horn in general? I could go on, but it saddens me deeply.

There are no limits to the continued hypocrisy. Yet I say "Enough!" in the face of all those that sustain it. Extremists feed extremists. I cannot say this enough.

...must go to prison for his crimes. It's amazing how Iraq has completely disappeared off the front pages of newspapers. Yet we find information like this out and nobody can do a damn thing about it.

What complete fffin idiot uses a thousand year old minaret as a lookout position? Do you know how stupid that is? Are you kidding me? And what? You think the fact that "insurgents did it" means jack shit to Iraqis. You'll only get increased ire from the resistance by doing such a retarded thing. I mean, why did this happen? Why were there American forces in the minaret? Isn't something like this illegal? WTF

I'm so angry. You bastards. Rage rage rage rage rage

You inspire rage only. And it is not fair to erase or maim the history of another country. You assholes. You're only making things worse. You idiots. Babylon now this? You FREAKS! Freaks of nature! You walking abortions. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. You destroy the oldest library in world! You have fun using Babylon as your battlefield! You do this too.

Well, look at it. Because the top part will never look the same. It took over a thousand years. You know something's wrong today. Do you know how proud Iraqis are of their history? It's like you're killing their mother.

Wake up assholes. You're getting nowhere. When something like this happens, I feel so Iraqi...I feel Iraqi like how the hulk transforms. This place was built in 852 AD. That means it's over almost 1,000 years older than America. But who gives a shit? I mean, it's just some building to use for lookouts.

Is this the price Iraq has to pay? Starving children, torturing and possibly raping prisoners, erasing history, bringing democracy in a jiffy. I could be wrong, but I could be right...this is a tragedy of insane proportions. I'm certainly close.

I feel like I'm going to implode. What part of Iraq's history is next?

Liminal Radio Presents: Irakast #5, Guest host Gollum brings it on your ear drums with part II of the DoD Arabic lesson. Once again, Shlonkom Bakazay here, offering you more cultural education than the US Army gives its recruits before sending them to Ramadi.

So, yes, you're a lucky of the proud few able to experience the medicinal musical masterpiece and urbane educational onslaught that continues the Department of Defense Series for Infidels (DoDSI). I have produced and curated this 8 minute presentation guest hosted by Gollum with the hopes that it will stir in its audience the movement toward peace and destruction of cultural barriers standing in the way of building bridges that will not bombed by impatient Iraqis sick of being occupied because these bridges shall be semantical and conceptual bridges of lustful musical entreaties of submission enducing words and notes. I had no idea Gollum likes Drum&Bass, much less that he's an aspiring wiki-wiki wheels-of-steel biatch. Golly, what a guy. He's got spunk, he's got verve, he's got the same can-do attittude of the little engine that could only if he had electricity and other essential services.

It's a mockery, a mockeracy

Anyway, the Arabic lesson is directly from some vinyl I found made in 1960 by the US Department of Defense. The music by Gollum kickin' crazy stylez with a 505. We dedicate this one to the children because they're are future. And if a few of them don't learn Arabic, we're in deeper shit than the already up-to-our-necks deal we've got now. Mr. Ereli at the State Department simply is not enough Arabic coming out of the US government. I don't think Karen Hughes will be learning any Arabic any time soon either. And I think there's more Arabic recorded on these two records than has been spoken publicly by American officials on Arabic TV stations in the past four years combined. A couple words of advice: when you plan on taking over a large swathe of land in a region whose major language you speak little of...well, on a public relations level, expect poor image in the eyes of this region's citizens as you also try to make their people like being tortured, starved, and treated as subaltern beings. So see this audio as compulsory or perhaps a penitant action after ripping babies bodies apart with precision weapons for the sake of forcing democracy in Iraq. I'm trying to appeal to my base, can't you see? And if you don't like Gollum's music, then you'll have to complain and beg for a different version. So, join in the fun. Let's make everything worth it. Let's ensure the safety of America by turning this mockery into a mockeracy that could then perhaps turn into a hypocrisy (like America) and aspire towards real democracy one day.

Peace to all y'all real habbibbis.
OUT,
lim

Irakast 4, Liminal Radio Presents Gollum making the Department of Defense his bitch

Show: 5.0
Length: 8:48
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 128 kbs
Size: 8.4 mb

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Watch a teach-in that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first teach-in against the Vietnam war at Ann-Arbor, MI.

I've spoken and attended several of these teach-ins in the past several years. The first was immediately after 11 September. I cannot count the number, though. And, I must say, they can be some of the most strange, schizophrenic, scintillating, depressing, frustrating, and uplifting experiences. I've been extremely depressed and negative about protests and their ineffectuality. Teach-ins are an opportunity to raise a magnifying glass to the problems, yet they're usually offered only to those who have both the time and access to higher education. This makes me angry. The one I linked to here is held at George Washington University.

Anyway, it's still certainly worth watching or listening to while you cook some Easter food. I'd like to think we can "End the war", but I see a lot of things already written on the walls that do not bode well for all no matter what anybody says or does. Again, as I'll always say, I hope I'm wrong. And I hope things may be reversed. We've got to continue speaking out against the occupation and its effect on Iraq and Iraqis especially.

All I know is that there are some wonderful speakers at this teach-in deserving of your attention: writer Naomi Klein, Phyllis Bennis from the Institute for Policy Studies, Celeste Zappala, founding member of Gold Star Families for Peace, Anas Shallal from Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives.

Perhaps I've just heard enough. Some of the speakers are new to me, though. Patrick Resta, the Iraq War Vet is intense, articulate. He's excellent actually. And of course, it's always great to hear a dignified Iraqi voice in Anas Shallal. He had a family member kidnapped and released for a ransom, too. Anyway...

Enjoy, Stop the Occupation, and Happy Easter.

Visit United For Peace and Justice.

As to Professor Cole's recent post:

The rightwing Zionists want to racialize the Sudan conflict in American terms, as "Arab" versus "black African" because they want to use it to play American domestic politics, and create a rift among African-Americans and Arab-Americans. Both of the latter face massive discrimination in contemporary society, and they should find ways of cooperating to counter it. What is happening in Darfur is horrible with regard to the loss of life and the displacement of persons, but the dispute is not about race. It is about political separatism and regionalism.

Hip-hop is the answer for the first part. Perception of visible racism is played on yet again. The irony on this Easter is that both groups tend to be on the more culturally Christian side of the fence. Most Middle Easterners in the US are Christian and Lebanese. Some numbers: 42% are Catholic (includes Roman Catholic, Maronite, and Melkite); 23% are Muslim (includes Sunni, Shi’a, and Druze); 23% are Orthodox (includes Antiochian, Syrian, Greek, and Coptic). 12% are Protestant. In contrast, 76 percent of Americans identify as Christian; 13 percent are secular; and 14 percent practice another or no religion and 1.3 percent practice Judaism in the United States. Where do they come from? 47% came from Lebanon, 15% came from Syria, 9% came from Egypt, 6% from Palestine, 3% from Iraq, 2% from Jordan, 18% from 16 other countries. And Darfur...well, I'm afraid nobody cares about Africa still. How do we change that simple fact?

And yes, Mosul's Abu Ghraib has been confirmed by reports steadily streaming out of most news-outlets. Most of us already knew all the stories about what was happening in Mosul. We didn't need this belated confirmation or weak-validation by western media.

"We have a great deal of responsibility to the people of Iraq. It doesn't start by continuing the occupation. It starts by ending it."
-Phyllis Bennis

I'm going to copy this faster than your pussycat runs on hot coals. [via Dave]

This is by far in the Department of WTF.

Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted - but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Miami Herald has learned.

Ex'squeeze me? Will this bish'ah face be gracing the presidency in our lifetimes? God help us all. But help them [and him] first.

Duh'Lay Off Dude:



Oh and did you know Tom Delay, faced with similar circumstances as the Schiav'asco, decided to have his father killed-off by removing his feeding tube. I mean, that is, if you interpret his actions then exactly as you interpret his actions as of late.

CANYON LAKE, Texas — A family tragedy unfolding in a Texas hospital during the fall of 1988 was a private ordeal -- without judges, emergency sessions of Congress or the raging debate outside Terri Schiavo's Florida hospice.

The patient then was a 65-year-old drilling contractor, badly injured in a freak accident at his home. Among the family standing vigil at Brooke Army Medical Center was a grieving junior congressman -- U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

More than 16 years ago, far from the political passions that have defined the Schiavo controversy, the DeLay family endured its own wrenching end-of-life crisis. The man in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and a ventilator, was DeLay's father, Charles Ray DeLay.

What a sanctimonious prick. He needs to be forcibly taken out of the Majority Whip position, then the Senate, once and for all. More at Kos. Bill Frist should be riding on his fake-Christian coat tails on his way out. The last thing I heard off the TV was that Schiavo's parents said that she had not taken communion and that she needed to do so before she died. What a low-blow.

If only TV-reality from this one show were as real as the American reality today. What if our politicians were this honest with us?

If I'm not mistaken Le Monde is the first major world newspaper to sponsor and host blogs. Check out their community page.

The multilaterism has already worn out according to an editorial from Le Monde last week.

The signs of political overtures to the world in general, and Europe in particular, demonstrated by George W. Bush after his re-election, have quickly reached their limits. To replace James Wolfensohn, the World Bank President who will leave his post on May 31st, the American President nominated the current number two man in the Pentagon, Paul Wolfowitz, as the White House's candidate. In doing so, George Bush, having just returned from his European tour, is moving more towards the unilateralism of his first mandate than the willingness to engage in dialogue displayed at the beginning of his second.

Admittedly, Mr. Wolfowitz immediately acknowledged that he wouldn't do Washington's bidding at the World Bank (whose president is a North American, following a tradition that goes back to the end of World War II). But he has little chance of convincing anyone in the international community, since his personality suggests the exact opposite of American openness and humility. Mr. Wolfowitz is one of the best-known neoconservatives in the American president's entourage and one of the architects of the war in Iraq. The neoconservatives inspired George W. Bush's idea of a crusade of .good versus evil. which then served as the ideological basis of this intervention, and assured that American soldiers would be greeted with flowers.

The same people saying Wolfowitz might surprise some with success at the World Bank are the same people who said Iraqis would welcome American troops with flowers.

Maybe? Yes...No? Who knows? Who knows.

And go to Lebanese Blogger Forum for the latest of mine and many others' posts on Lebanon. Redundancy is for player-haters.

1) Guiliana Sgrena says that she was not on the main road to the airport. She was on a more secure access road.

2) The 300-400 shots fired that killed Nicola Calipari came from behind. The driver was the only person in the car that was not wounded. If the shots came from the front, the driver would have surely died.

Democracy Now! | Headlines for March 25, 2005

Because they set a good example?
No.

Because F16s make neighbors more friendly to one another?
No.

Because nuclear weapons are fun?
No.

Because the sky is blue?
No.

Because rain is wet?
No again.

Because there is NO LOGIC in US foreign policy! Please tell me where this one is going.

The United States unveiled plans Friday to help India become a "major world power in the 21st century" even as it announced moves to beef up the military of Pakistan.

Under the plans, Washington offered to step up a strategic dialogue with India to boost missile defense and other security initiatives as well as high-tech cooperation and expanded economic and energy cooperation.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the Bush administration's outline for a "decisively broader strategic relationship" between the world's oldest and largest democracies, a senior US official said.

"Its goal is to help India become a major world power in the 21st century," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Oh, wait wait...I think there's an answer in this article.

The United States, he said, was prepared to "respond positively" to an Indian request for information on American initiatives to sell New Delhi the next generation of multi-role combat aircraft.

"That's not just F-16s. It could be F-18s," he said.

Arm both sides?

Isn't that what happened with Iran and Iraq?

You have got to be kidding me. If this is what turns out to be the case. Oh, "We'll give you the old planes, and we'll give you the newer ones. You know...so you can protect yourselves. (wink wink) You're not enemies are you?"

It smells like bullshit to me.

Update: More liquid doo doo on the matter. Rice: "We're just trying to help you both at the same time."

BBC reports: US will accept Israeli settlements.There will never be peace now. Well, the odds just got slimmer in the very least.

On the left is what should be a Palestinian state. On the right was the so-called generous Camp David (July 2000) agreement. If you don't recall, this is when Ehud Barak agreed to keep 20% of the illegally-occupied West Bank. Does that seem fair? I wonder what the map will look like after the main "populatoin-centers" are sliced out.



In other BS: After stalling for over 5 weeks and having no choice in the matter whatsoever, the Lebanese government have agreed to c-ooperate with an international investigation.

Yeah, they're essentially saying, "Min Zubitt'ak...don't you worry about a thing, we'll have that international investigation. But we insist it cannot be independent. We must be involved."

WHO ARE THEY TO MAKE DEMANDS?! WTF!?

Sorry, when the judge who was presiding over the UN inquiry resigned moments before the report was to be handed over, the Lebanese government/intelligence, thus Syria, smacks of guilt. They have implicated themselves in the crime through this last month. So, what now?

Again, I ask...When are the heads of Lebanese intelligence going to resign?

Check out what the report said:

"The Lebanese investigation process suffers from serious flaws and has neither the capacity nor the commitment to reach a satisfactory and credible conclusion.

"To find the truth it would be necessary to entrust the investigation to an international independent commission."

The report added that Lebanon's security services were unlikely to conduct an adequate inquiry under its current leadership.

No kidding. Why would they ever come to that conclusion?

Too little, too late.

What's going to happen now?

Dear Mohammed and Omar,

I hope you are keeping well and safe. I'd like to reach out now because I have many fears about the future for Iraq.

These are my personal opinions. I hope you will listen and not take it personally. I know many people think similarly. And so I want to help foster some debate, any debate, in the multiple vacuums that comprise the Iraqi blogosphere at the moment. Things are getting less interesting because of this exact lack of the interaction of differing opinions. And an alarm is going off in my mind, so I think now's the appropriate time to voice this concern in the spirit of debate.

275 thieves are dividing the booty as I type these words.

If this weren't the case, then why is it that there is no government yet?

If this weren't the case, why won't a technocrat that has no political affiliation be appointed to head the oil ministry?

I would support the Kurds completely if I felt like they were speaking for all of Iraq. Unfortunately, I feel they are concerned only for the independence and secular outcome in Kurdistan/N. Iraq. This is what I call the rise of deep sectarianism similar to what we had in Lebanon during the civil war.

Iraq is shaping up to be exactly as Lebanon was during that time and it breaks my heart.

Meanwhile, I cannot comprehend how you continue to say certain things you do here while blocking the other opinion completely. I would urge you to link blogs that have the opposing opinion if we want to address the possible rise of sectarianism in Iraq. I will, if you will.

Also, I am trying to get a similar forum, like the Lebanese Blogger Forum, together so that people of many different opinions may interact in a civil and measured manner.

On that note: Thank you for linking LBF. I hope this is a step in that direction.

Peace inside and out,

Liminal

Life is like a cucumber.
One day it's in your mouth, one day it's up your ass.

In what is seen as a surprise move to support religious violence on the other side of the world by selling heavy armament to a friendly military dictatorship, US President George Bush called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell him about the decision. Bush remarked, "We just can't let you be successful over there in North West Asia Manny. You're tapped to lead the world along with Brazil, China, and Russia...and we just can't let that happen. Happy Good Friday!"

Indian government spokesman Sanjay Baru said Mr Singh had expressed "great disappointment", saying the move would exacerbate India's security concerns.

The move marks a change in US policy, which blocked the sale in 1990 over Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

(Thanks to Indymedia Beirut for the image)

One more political article from me. Because of the gravitas of yesterday's events I'd like to provide an excerpt for wandering viewers to stumble across.

A highly sensitive report released by the United Nations last night criticised the attempts by Lebanon's authorities to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri last month and demanded the creation of an independent international commission to get to the bottom of who perpetrated his murder.

There was also unsparing criticism of the Lebanese security teams in Beirut, saying that they showed "systematic negligence" in providing protection for the former prime minister. At the same time, the report points an accusing finger at the Syrian intelligence force, saying it bore primary responsibility for the breakdown of security and law and order when a huge car-bomb killed Mr Hariri and 17 other people.

The report was delivered to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, earlier yesterday by its principle author, the deputy Irish Police Commissioner, Peter Fitzgerald. But its public unveiling was delayed for several hours, suggesting nervousness inside the UN about the strength of its contents.

I really don't see any other way. When I speak of accountability, I want somebody to be held responsible for the deaths and injuries of 14 February. I would be a hypocrite if I haven't argued for accountability in multiple matters from multiple suspect parties. There will never be closure if we don't take measures to ensure further fact-finding. In fact, I'll go so far to say, there has to be an indpendent international invesitgation regardless of what steps any party takes from this point forward. Why is both Lebanon and Syria reluctant to embrace such an investigation? That remains the question. I've heard the argument such an investigation would never find the US or Israel guilty, but I just don't buy this arbitrary premise.

Isolate the matter. Make it about Hariri and the other lives affected by that day. And let the chips fall where they may. Yes, it sounds impossible at this point. But what doesn't make sense about investigating this tragedy further? What's wrong with trying to really figure out who the perpetrator was? It's so blatantly obvious the Lebanese government failed. They were given many chances. Now they must answer to the many Lebanese who will not rest until they are shown the door.

Perhaps I perpetuate the one-sided nature of this forum by making such a statement. What other direction shall we go, though? Not investigating things further? Accepting the Lebanese government's current results to the investigation? I have not heard one reasonable and pragmatic alternative.

So, I feel strongly about it and I believe there's enough room here for me to be frank.

out,
lim.

-Images, Words, and Understanding: Clarifying the Images (Ming Xiang)

-Images are the means to express ideas. Words [i.e., the texts] are the means to -explain the images. To yield up ideas completely there is nothing better than the -images, and to yield up the meaning of the images there is nothing better than -words. The words are generated by the images; thus one can ponder the words and so -observe what the images are. The images are generated by ideas; thus one can ponder -the images and so observe what the ideas are. The ideas are yielded up completely -by the images, and the images are made explicit by the words. Thus, since the words -are the means to explain the images, once one gets the images, he forgets the words, -and, since the images are the means to allow us to concentrate on the ideas, once -one gets the ideas, he forgets the images. Similarly, "the rabbit snare exists for -the sake of the rabbit--once one gets the rabbit, he forgets the snare; and the fish -trap exists for the sake of fish--once one gets the fish he forgets the trap." If -this is so, then the words are snares for the images, and the images are traps for -the ideas.

-Therefore someone who stays fixed on the words will not be one to get the images, -and someone who stays fixed on the images will not be one to get the ideas. The -images are generated by the ideas, but if one stays fixed on the images themselves, -then what he stays fixed on will not be images as we mean them here. The words are -generated by the images, but if one stays fixed on the words themselves, then what -he stays fixed on will not be words as we mean them here. If this is so, then -someone who forgets the images will be one to get the ideas, and someone who forgets -the words will be one to get the images. Getting the ideas is in fact a matter of -forgetting the images, and getting the images is in fact a matter of forgetting the -words. Thus, although the images were established in order to yield up ideas -completely, as images they may be forgotten.

609-610 B.C.E., Wang Bi ji jiaoshi ed.