I've been a fan of doomsday scenario science fiction books. On the Beach was an early one that I enjoyed. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Miller goes a long way to explaining the medieval mind to modern day denizens, and as a medieval history major in college, it really helped bring that period to life in a way that dry history texts could not.
That said, I think the following observations by Juan Cole, professor at the University of Michigan make it far more clear the hell we have created in Iraq and why we will not win there. Read it and understand. Someday, we too will be the statue in the desert, Ozymandius, proclaiming to the empty desert to despair at our mighty works.
www.juancole.com:
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?President Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country.
What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number. Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans.
What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.
And what if those deaths occurred all over the country, including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco?
What if the grounds of the White House and the government buildings near the Mall were constantly taking mortar fire?
What if almost nobody in the State Department at Foggy Bottom, the White House, or the Pentagon dared venture out of their buildings, and considered it dangerous to go over to Crystal City or Alexandria?
What if all the reporters for all the major television and print media were trapped in five-star hotels in Washington, DC and New York, unable to move more than a few blocks safely, and dependent on stringers to know what was happening in Oklahoma City and St. Louis?
What if the only time they ventured into the Midwest was if they could be embedded in Army or National Guard units?There are estimated to be some 25,000 guerrillas in Iraq engaged in concerted acts of violence.
What if there were private armies totalling 275,000 men, armed with machine guns, assault rifles (legal again!), rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar launchers, hiding out in dangerous urban areas of cities all over the country?
What if they completely controlled Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver and Omaha, such that local police and Federal troops could not go into those cities?
What if, during the past year, the Secretary of State (Aqilah Hashemi), the President (Izzedine Salim), and the Attorney General (Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim) had all been assassinated?
What if all the cities in the US were wracked by a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings in every major city every year?
What if the Air Force routinely (I mean daily or weekly) bombed Billings, Montana, Flint, Michigan, Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Anacostia in Washington, DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" of "criminal gangs", but inevitably killing a lot of children and little old ladies?
What if, from time to time, the US Army besieged Virginia Beach, killing hundreds of armed members of the Christian Soldiers?
What if entire platoons of the Christian Soldiers militia holed up in Arlington National Cemetery, and were bombarded by US Air Force warplanes daily, destroying thousands of graves and pulverizing the Vietnam Memorial?
What if the National Council of Churches had to call for a popular march of thousands of believers to converge on the National Cathedral to stop the US Army from demolishing it to get at a rogue band of the Timothy McVeigh Memorial Brigades?
What if there were virtually no commercial air traffic in the country?
What if many roads were highly dangerous, especially Interstate 95 from Richmond to Washington, DC, and I-95 and I-91 up to Boston? If you got on I-95 anywhere along that over 500-mile stretch, you would risk being carjacked, kidnapped, or having your car sprayed with machine gun fire.
What if no one had electricity for much more than 10 hours a day, and often less? What if it went off at unpredictable times, causing factories to grind to a halt and air conditioning to fail in the middle of the summer in Houston and Miami?
What if the Alaska pipeline were bombed and disabled at least monthly?
What if unemployment hovered around 40%?
What if veterans of militia actions at Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma City bombing were brought in to run the government on the theory that you need a tough guy in these times of crisis?
What if municipal elections were cancelled and cliques close to the new "president" quietly installed in the statehouses as "governors?"
What if several of these governors (especially of Montana and Wyoming) were assassinated soon after taking office or resigned when their children were taken hostage by guerrillas?
What if the leader of the European Union maintained that the citizens of the United States are, under these conditions, refuting pessimism and that freedom and democracy are just around the corner?
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Rev. Swaggert meet Rev Crouch
Jimmy Swaggert, the defrocked prostitute frolicking minister said the other day that if a homosexual so much as looked at him 'that way,' he'd kill him and take it to god. Turns out that per the LA Times, the Rev. Paul Crouch, a real greedy born again living in S. California, just settled a lawsuit accusing him of a homosexual encounter for $425K.
What say you that we introduce the two? A match made in heaven, no doubt.
moe
What say you that we introduce the two? A match made in heaven, no doubt.
moe
Cat Stevens denied entry to the US
I would hope that this, if nothing else, would do a little something to convince brain dead Baby Boomers that this administration does not know its ass from a hole in the ground.
The Former Cat Stevens Gets Plane Diverted
LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine on Tuesday when it was discovered passenger Yusuf Islam - formerly known as singer Cat Stevens - was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, federal officials said.
United Airlines Flight 919 was en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between a passenger and a name on the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Islam. "He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds," Murphy said, and would be put on the first available flight out of the country Wednesday.
Officials had no details about why the peace activist might be considered a risk to the United States. Islam had visited New York in May to promote a DVD of his 1976 MajiKat tour.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Islam, 56, was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center. The Transportation Security Administration then was contacted and requested that the plane land at the nearest airport, that official said.
Melendez said Islam was questioned by FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Another federal official, who is in law enforcement and spoke anonymously because of agency policy, said that after the interview, Customs officials decided to deny Islam entry into the United States.
Flight 919 eventually continued on to Dulles after Islam was removed from the flight.
Islam, who was born Stephen Georgiou, took Cat Stevens as a stage name and had a string of hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken." Last year he released two songs, including a re-recording of his '70s hit "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
He abandoned his music career in the late 1970s and changed his name after being persuaded by orthodox Muslim teachers that his lifestyle was forbidden by Islamic law. He later became a teacher and an advocate for his religion, founding a Muslim school in London in 1983.
Islam drew some negative attention in the late 1980s when he supported the Ayatollah Khomeini's death sentence against Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses." Recently, though, Islam has criticized terrorist acts, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the school seizure in Beslan, Russia, earlier this month that left more than 300 dead, nearly half of them children.
In a statement on his Web site, he wrote, "Crimes against innocent bystanders taken hostage in any circumstance have no foundation whatsoever in the life of Islam and the model example of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Islam issued a statement saying: "No right thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action: The Quran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity."
ON THE NET
Yusuf Islam: http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/
The Former Cat Stevens Gets Plane Diverted
LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine on Tuesday when it was discovered passenger Yusuf Islam - formerly known as singer Cat Stevens - was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, federal officials said.
United Airlines Flight 919 was en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between a passenger and a name on the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Islam. "He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds," Murphy said, and would be put on the first available flight out of the country Wednesday.
Officials had no details about why the peace activist might be considered a risk to the United States. Islam had visited New York in May to promote a DVD of his 1976 MajiKat tour.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Islam, 56, was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center. The Transportation Security Administration then was contacted and requested that the plane land at the nearest airport, that official said.
Melendez said Islam was questioned by FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Another federal official, who is in law enforcement and spoke anonymously because of agency policy, said that after the interview, Customs officials decided to deny Islam entry into the United States.
Flight 919 eventually continued on to Dulles after Islam was removed from the flight.
Islam, who was born Stephen Georgiou, took Cat Stevens as a stage name and had a string of hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken." Last year he released two songs, including a re-recording of his '70s hit "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
He abandoned his music career in the late 1970s and changed his name after being persuaded by orthodox Muslim teachers that his lifestyle was forbidden by Islamic law. He later became a teacher and an advocate for his religion, founding a Muslim school in London in 1983.
Islam drew some negative attention in the late 1980s when he supported the Ayatollah Khomeini's death sentence against Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses." Recently, though, Islam has criticized terrorist acts, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the school seizure in Beslan, Russia, earlier this month that left more than 300 dead, nearly half of them children.
In a statement on his Web site, he wrote, "Crimes against innocent bystanders taken hostage in any circumstance have no foundation whatsoever in the life of Islam and the model example of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Islam issued a statement saying: "No right thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action: The Quran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity."
ON THE NET
Yusuf Islam: http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/
Friday, September 17, 2004
Washington dems have no reason to cheer state ballot
I am a resident of the great socialist republic of the state of Washington, and have been for 20+ years. I can truthfully state that since arriving here in 1981 as part of the Reagan Refugee Resettlement Program, I have never seen a statewide Democratic ballot at the top that is so lacklusterand filled with individuals who are more after personal aggrandizement than the public good.
Let's look at the top two candidates:
Christine O' Grady Gregoire. She is driven and a control freak. She runs the Attorney General's Office by fear and intimidation. She destroyed the reputation of a young. talented attorney in a vain attempt to get the office's errors and omissions policy to cover the $16+ million cost of a missed appeal deadline. She promoted an attorney as Division Chief of the Consumer Protection Division who spent more time harrassing underlings and driving them off the staff than he did prosecuting fraudulent businesses. And when an in house investigation revealed his misdeeds he was 'demoted' to Olympia to work with another division where he still earns in excess of $90K. This from a woman who trumpeted a 'zero tolerance' sexual harassment policy at the beginning of her 12 year reign at the AGO. Finally, have you ever seen COG ever take responsibility for any bad decision or statement without first trying to blame someone, anyone, else? Truman famously said, "The buck stops here." And that is as it should be. Those who are elected to positions of power bear corresponding amounts of responsibility. Ms. Gregoire has never been able to accept this part of the equation.
Deborah Senn: She's is actually Gregoire lite in terms of brains and ten times worse than Gregoire to work for or with. Her relationship with the state legislature is marked by deep hostility. During her term as insurance commissioner, it was discovered that in settlements she had reached with insurance companies, she had included a settlement provision giving money to the Insurance Commissioner's office for 'education purposes,' or some similar misnomer. The result was that she was usurping the legislative prerogatives in authorizing and appropriating money to run her office. In essence this was shaking down insurance companies for extra cash. Her excuse when confronted by the media about this? "Well, Christine Gregoire does it." Honey, two wrongs do not make a right. Legislators have long memories. Funding for the AG office will be very interesting if she wins the election. As Insurance commissioner, she ran through staff attorneys like an SUV runs through gas. She was noted for calling staff at 11 oclock at night and screaming at them. And the Insurance Commissioner's office lost its accredidation for two years under her tenure. Definitely look for morale problems in the largest law office in the state of Washington if she is elected.
That is not to say that the Republicans opposing them are worthy of support. Dino Rossi is a snake oil salesman who supports a conservative agenda likely to plunge Washington into further recessionary spasms if elected. And Rob McKenna has his head on backwards if he thinks that medical malpractice lawsuits have anything to do with the rise in insurance costs. or that it is the fit province of the AG to pursue legislation further limiting medical malpractice suits. This state already bans punitive damages. And from what I've seen, juries are not overwhelmingly pro-plaintiff. His barking about this amounts to dishonest scare tactics and should be stopped.
Given that the choice in the presidential race is so clearly overwhelmingly for John F. Kerry as the only qualifed candidate, I hate to see the statewide races bringing down the ticket.
moe
Let's look at the top two candidates:
Christine O' Grady Gregoire. She is driven and a control freak. She runs the Attorney General's Office by fear and intimidation. She destroyed the reputation of a young. talented attorney in a vain attempt to get the office's errors and omissions policy to cover the $16+ million cost of a missed appeal deadline. She promoted an attorney as Division Chief of the Consumer Protection Division who spent more time harrassing underlings and driving them off the staff than he did prosecuting fraudulent businesses. And when an in house investigation revealed his misdeeds he was 'demoted' to Olympia to work with another division where he still earns in excess of $90K. This from a woman who trumpeted a 'zero tolerance' sexual harassment policy at the beginning of her 12 year reign at the AGO. Finally, have you ever seen COG ever take responsibility for any bad decision or statement without first trying to blame someone, anyone, else? Truman famously said, "The buck stops here." And that is as it should be. Those who are elected to positions of power bear corresponding amounts of responsibility. Ms. Gregoire has never been able to accept this part of the equation.
Deborah Senn: She's is actually Gregoire lite in terms of brains and ten times worse than Gregoire to work for or with. Her relationship with the state legislature is marked by deep hostility. During her term as insurance commissioner, it was discovered that in settlements she had reached with insurance companies, she had included a settlement provision giving money to the Insurance Commissioner's office for 'education purposes,' or some similar misnomer. The result was that she was usurping the legislative prerogatives in authorizing and appropriating money to run her office. In essence this was shaking down insurance companies for extra cash. Her excuse when confronted by the media about this? "Well, Christine Gregoire does it." Honey, two wrongs do not make a right. Legislators have long memories. Funding for the AG office will be very interesting if she wins the election. As Insurance commissioner, she ran through staff attorneys like an SUV runs through gas. She was noted for calling staff at 11 oclock at night and screaming at them. And the Insurance Commissioner's office lost its accredidation for two years under her tenure. Definitely look for morale problems in the largest law office in the state of Washington if she is elected.
That is not to say that the Republicans opposing them are worthy of support. Dino Rossi is a snake oil salesman who supports a conservative agenda likely to plunge Washington into further recessionary spasms if elected. And Rob McKenna has his head on backwards if he thinks that medical malpractice lawsuits have anything to do with the rise in insurance costs. or that it is the fit province of the AG to pursue legislation further limiting medical malpractice suits. This state already bans punitive damages. And from what I've seen, juries are not overwhelmingly pro-plaintiff. His barking about this amounts to dishonest scare tactics and should be stopped.
Given that the choice in the presidential race is so clearly overwhelmingly for John F. Kerry as the only qualifed candidate, I hate to see the statewide races bringing down the ticket.
moe
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