Kalachakra-The Wheel of Time
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saddam Hussein executed for war crimes
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm. He clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head before facing the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power.
A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed."
"Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.
Iraqi television showed what it said was Saddam's body, his head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.
The footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.
In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.
The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 108....... (Photo--artist Swapan Kumar Das)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm. He clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head before facing the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power.
A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed."
"Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.
Iraqi television showed what it said was Saddam's body, his head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.
The footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.
In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.
The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 108....... (Photo--artist Swapan Kumar Das)
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Heaven? or Hell?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DCSJdhy3-0 Hah?? :P hmmmm..... What are the theological implications of Dr. Ramachandran's split-brain patients...? So glad I'm not one of them.... ;)
a silly thought at night...
I was thinking about fear again.
Remember how I talked so informed, and determined about it...and yet hypocritical about it at the same time. It's one thing I've yet to overcome.
I have to say, I am getting better at it...getting better at controlling fright in myself. It's just something that was forced into me all at once ever since I was very young and now, I am really pushing for a new start. A new start in all aspects of my life. And it all began with my decision to come here. Now.. I am forced to be brave....not only by nature, unknown sources...but by myself. I'm talking to myself now. Telling myself what only I know I need to hear.
I think at this point, I've realized...temporary or not, that is where my comfort is...as well as my enemy. You know.. they say the most formidable enemy lies within oneself.
Have I begun answering my own questions? "It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."--Alan Cohen "The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."--Charles Dubois "Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." -- Dorothy Thompson "If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream." --'The Trumpet of Conscience'- Martin Luther King Jr.
Remember how I talked so informed, and determined about it...and yet hypocritical about it at the same time. It's one thing I've yet to overcome.
I have to say, I am getting better at it...getting better at controlling fright in myself. It's just something that was forced into me all at once ever since I was very young and now, I am really pushing for a new start. A new start in all aspects of my life. And it all began with my decision to come here. Now.. I am forced to be brave....not only by nature, unknown sources...but by myself. I'm talking to myself now. Telling myself what only I know I need to hear.
I think at this point, I've realized...temporary or not, that is where my comfort is...as well as my enemy. You know.. they say the most formidable enemy lies within oneself.
Have I begun answering my own questions? "It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."--Alan Cohen "The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."--Charles Dubois "Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." -- Dorothy Thompson "If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream." --'The Trumpet of Conscience'- Martin Luther King Jr.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
P-p-p-possibilities
Even though I can honestly say that I have gone through quite a bit so far in the last 15 years..blissful, hard, good, bad...Everything that I've experienced has come from just a tiny corner in the universe of the possibilities, my posibilities. I just imagine growing my awareness, my thinking, and my actions beyond that little corner of life I've seen. How much more could there possibly be? How could there possibly be more....?
I'm just thinking..... that what if the reason something seems impossible at times, is because you're looking at it from a limited perspective. You're not looking at it the right way, you're not considering each and every particle of it. I guess over all you've just got to remind yourself over and over... To consider that there is so very much more to life than what you have so far encountered. So much more possibility.
"A useless life is and early death" --Goethe
"One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world." -- Hannah Senesh
"All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom." --Albert Einstein
I'm just thinking..... that what if the reason something seems impossible at times, is because you're looking at it from a limited perspective. You're not looking at it the right way, you're not considering each and every particle of it. I guess over all you've just got to remind yourself over and over... To consider that there is so very much more to life than what you have so far encountered. So much more possibility.
"A useless life is and early death" --Goethe
"One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world." -- Hannah Senesh
"All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom." --Albert Einstein
Turn around.
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles
Coming in tales
Heads are a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles
Chasing tails
And coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start
It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles
Coming in tales
Heads are a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles
Chasing tails
And coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start
It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.
Friday, December 22, 2006
My mother...
"I never really put much thought to my role models. Whenever asked that question; Who is your role model(s)? I always ignored it, dismissed it...as just being another one of 'those' questions that I'm known to answer with an "I don't know", like...What do you want to be when you grow up? " Remember this? Let me just add...
Really, I think about my role model...my hero... every day...without ever acknowledging that that is what she is. I think...if I had to choose one person in the entire universe as a model for me, I think I'd have to say it's my mother. Maybe she doesn't realize it, but she's absolutely AMAZING...really, truly, no lie. :) There's just simply not enough adjectives to describe her greatness. I could go on and on and on about her. Yea, she has made mistakes, but who doesn't? That's what makes her even better. That there's proof that she can be so awesome and yet still be human.
The most breath-takingly beautiful people I know are the ones who have suffered incredible pain and somehow managed to let the bitterness of it drop away and only carry the beauty of their agonies forward.
She's my hope for the end of the road!
The Last Cloves
U.S. Air Strikes - (Poets Against War) In the four minutes/ it took me to mince the cloves,/ dump the tea leaves/ in the rose bush,/and soap the carafe,/ a whole city was lost./ There were feet still in school shoes,/ limp flesh singing into satchels,/ clinging to a post, a shattered clock. The children, if not orphaned,/ were purpled beyond recognition./ Orders had been carried down,/one signal igniting another./ And a man had let a deafening rhapsody/ guide his young hand to/ drop a five hundred pound bombon a mosque. Just when I finished rinsing the carafe,/ a whole city was under cement dust and smoke,/ and I thought I heard screaming/ behind walls of fire/ in the kettle’s sharp whistle,/ just when I added the cloves,/ the last green lime./ --Shadab Zeest Hashmi: (She is the editor of the annual Magee Park Poets Anthology.)
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Fahrenheit 451: The Hearth and the Salamander
"....It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history...."
"......The last few nights he had had the most uncertain feelings about the sidewalk just around the corner here, moving in the starlight toward his house. He had felt that a moment prior to his making the turn, someone had been there. Ther air seemed charged with a special calm as if someone had waited there, quietly, and only a moment before he came, simply turned into a shadow and let him through. ..."
"...How do you get so empty? he wondered. Who takes it out of you? And that awful flower the other day, dandelion! It had summed up everything, hadn't it? "What a shame! You're not in love with anyone!"...And, why not? ...."
"...One drop of rain. Clarisse. Another drop. Mildred. A third. The uncle. A fourth. The fire tonight. One. Clarisse. Two. Mildred. Three, uncle. Four, fire. One, Mildred, two, Clarisse. One, two, three, four, five, Clarisse, Mildred, uncle, fire, sleeping tablets, men disposable tissue, cottails, blow, wad, flush, Clarisse, Mildred, uncle, fire, tablets, tissues, blow, wad, flush. One, two, three, one, two, three! Rain. The storm. The uncle laughing. Thunder falling downstairs. The whole world pouring down. The fire gushing up in a volcano. All rushing on down around in a spouting roar and rivering stream toward morning. "I don't know anything anymore," He said, and let a sleep lozenge dissolve on his tongue...."
--Ray Bradbury "The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself." --Albert Camus "But words are things, and a small drop of ink/ Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces/ That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think." --Lord Byron "Fiction is the truth inside the lie." --Stephan King
"......The last few nights he had had the most uncertain feelings about the sidewalk just around the corner here, moving in the starlight toward his house. He had felt that a moment prior to his making the turn, someone had been there. Ther air seemed charged with a special calm as if someone had waited there, quietly, and only a moment before he came, simply turned into a shadow and let him through. ..."
"...How do you get so empty? he wondered. Who takes it out of you? And that awful flower the other day, dandelion! It had summed up everything, hadn't it? "What a shame! You're not in love with anyone!"...And, why not? ...."
"...One drop of rain. Clarisse. Another drop. Mildred. A third. The uncle. A fourth. The fire tonight. One. Clarisse. Two. Mildred. Three, uncle. Four, fire. One, Mildred, two, Clarisse. One, two, three, four, five, Clarisse, Mildred, uncle, fire, sleeping tablets, men disposable tissue, cottails, blow, wad, flush, Clarisse, Mildred, uncle, fire, tablets, tissues, blow, wad, flush. One, two, three, one, two, three! Rain. The storm. The uncle laughing. Thunder falling downstairs. The whole world pouring down. The fire gushing up in a volcano. All rushing on down around in a spouting roar and rivering stream toward morning. "I don't know anything anymore," He said, and let a sleep lozenge dissolve on his tongue...."
--Ray Bradbury "The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself." --Albert Camus "But words are things, and a small drop of ink/ Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces/ That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think." --Lord Byron "Fiction is the truth inside the lie." --Stephan King
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
I AM PROUD
You know... I have been unusually happy lately. It's kind of strange. But I'm loving it. And guess what?! The reason isn't a mystery to me for once, either! Although, I'm not going to mention it here.
But this is just great. A dramatic change from how I've been living for the past few years. I know I always say "Oh things are much better now"...well...hel-lo? They never were. That was me trying to convince you to convince me that it is. And I know.... I've just got to tell myself to be happy and I will (who was it they interviewed on mancow about this? Chopra?...or was it that other guy...AKA "David").. but it hasn't worked until I finally got off my lazy bum and did something. I just needed that extra action. And thank goodness I did, because it's changed my life in more ways than one.
See... I know it's going to be fine this time because this time I can't feel any bit of doubt/regret/fear that it wont and I'm on a role! It's been almost a week! Score! Nothing incredibly depressing for almost a week.. at least nothing strong enough to pull me down again. Can I say this? I AM PROUD of myself. :)
Anyway, change of subject. I've got so many things I want to post about here, but haven't gotten the chance lately simply because of lack of time. I'm studying too much for these finals! But thank goodness only one more day of them. I can come home at noon tomorrow and just relax. Maybe take a bubble bath and a nap...eat some CAKE. :P I think I've lost too much weight...really, too much.
hmmmmm anyway, I went to lunch today with my dad. He took me all the way out to Ali Baba's upon my request! I offered to pay, mostly for the 'waste of gas' :P but he declined. Anyway, came home and..... Studied!
But this is just great. A dramatic change from how I've been living for the past few years. I know I always say "Oh things are much better now"...well...hel-lo? They never were. That was me trying to convince you to convince me that it is. And I know.... I've just got to tell myself to be happy and I will (who was it they interviewed on mancow about this? Chopra?...or was it that other guy...AKA "David").. but it hasn't worked until I finally got off my lazy bum and did something. I just needed that extra action. And thank goodness I did, because it's changed my life in more ways than one.
See... I know it's going to be fine this time because this time I can't feel any bit of doubt/regret/fear that it wont and I'm on a role! It's been almost a week! Score! Nothing incredibly depressing for almost a week.. at least nothing strong enough to pull me down again. Can I say this? I AM PROUD of myself. :)
Anyway, change of subject. I've got so many things I want to post about here, but haven't gotten the chance lately simply because of lack of time. I'm studying too much for these finals! But thank goodness only one more day of them. I can come home at noon tomorrow and just relax. Maybe take a bubble bath and a nap...eat some CAKE. :P I think I've lost too much weight...really, too much.
hmmmmm anyway, I went to lunch today with my dad. He took me all the way out to Ali Baba's upon my request! I offered to pay, mostly for the 'waste of gas' :P but he declined. Anyway, came home and..... Studied!
Did you?
Did you know....
Not all dogs are colorblind, and birds were given wings to fly? Did you know the grass has dew in the morning and four-leaf clovers are lucky? Did you know the sky is really blue and the clouds are really made out of whipped cream and marshmallows no matter what they say? Did you know if you look at the sky when it rains, and open your mouth wide...the rain tastes better than wine? Did you know there's a man in the moon? And catepillars turn into butterflies? Did you know the wind can whistle, and birds can sing, and leaves can dance? Did you know that if you rub a dandelion under your chin and your chin turns out yellow... it means you're in love? And if you can blow all the seeds off a dying dandelion you get to make a wish? Did you know tying your shoes with two bunny ears works just as well as one? Did you know if you spin around in circles too long you'll fall over out of dizzyness? Did you know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? And you get good luck if you can hold your breath through a tunnel or cross your fingers on a window when you go over railroad tracks? And you can make wishes on shooting stars and a 1000 oragami cranes? Did you know, you can do anything if you want to enough? And you can be happy if you choose to?
Did you know??
Not all dogs are colorblind, and birds were given wings to fly? Did you know the grass has dew in the morning and four-leaf clovers are lucky? Did you know the sky is really blue and the clouds are really made out of whipped cream and marshmallows no matter what they say? Did you know if you look at the sky when it rains, and open your mouth wide...the rain tastes better than wine? Did you know there's a man in the moon? And catepillars turn into butterflies? Did you know the wind can whistle, and birds can sing, and leaves can dance? Did you know that if you rub a dandelion under your chin and your chin turns out yellow... it means you're in love? And if you can blow all the seeds off a dying dandelion you get to make a wish? Did you know tying your shoes with two bunny ears works just as well as one? Did you know if you spin around in circles too long you'll fall over out of dizzyness? Did you know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? And you get good luck if you can hold your breath through a tunnel or cross your fingers on a window when you go over railroad tracks? And you can make wishes on shooting stars and a 1000 oragami cranes? Did you know, you can do anything if you want to enough? And you can be happy if you choose to?
Did you know??
Suddenly I see
Her face is a map of the world/ Is a map of the world/ You can see she's a beautiful girl/ She's a beautiful girl/ Everything around her is a silver pool of light/ People who surround her feel the benefit of it/ It makes you calm/ She holds you captivated in her palm/
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
And I feel like walking the world/ Like walking the world/ And you can hear she's a beautiful girl/ She's a beautiful girl/ She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white/ Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember/ What you heard/ She likes to leave you hanging on a wire/
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
And she's taller than most/ And she's looking at me/ I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine/ She makes me feel like I could be a tower/ Big strong tower/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah
Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah/ Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah/ Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah /
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (x2)
--"Suddenly I see"- KT Tunstall
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
And I feel like walking the world/ Like walking the world/ And you can hear she's a beautiful girl/ She's a beautiful girl/ She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white/ Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember/ What you heard/ She likes to leave you hanging on a wire/
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
And she's taller than most/ And she's looking at me/ I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine/ She makes me feel like I could be a tower/ Big strong tower/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah
Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah/ Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah/ Suddenly I see/ She got the power to be/ The power to give/ The power to see yeah yeah /
Suddenly I see/ This is what I wanna be/ Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (Repeat x1)
Suddenly I see/ Why the hell it means so much to me (x2)
--"Suddenly I see"- KT Tunstall
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Torture, a part of the soul
Torture is Now Part of the American Soul
Cost of the War in Iraq$351,428,317,771 Torture Is Now Part of the American Soulposted Monday, 18 December 2006 Torture Is Now Part of the American SoulBy George Monbiot, The Guardianhttp://www.alternet.org/story/45613/ After thousands of years of practice, you might have imagined that every possible means of inflicting pain had already been devised. But you should never underestimate the human capacity for invention. United States interrogators, we now discover, have found a new way of destroying a human being. In early December, defense lawyers acting for Jose Padilla, a US citizen detained as an "enemy combatant," released a video showing a mission fraught with deadly risk -- taking him to the prison dentist. A group of masked guards in riot gear shackled his legs and hands, blindfolded him with black-out goggles and shut off his hearing with headphones, then marched him down the prison corridor. Is Padilla really that dangerous? Far from it: his warders describe him as so docile and inactive that he could be mistaken for "a piece of furniture." The purpose of these measures appeared to be to sustain the regime under which he had lived for over three years: total sensory deprivation. He had been kept in a blacked-out cell, unable to see or hear anything beyond it. Most importantly, he had no human contact, except for being bounced off the walls from time to time by his interrogators. As a result, he appears to have lost his mind. I don't mean this metaphorically. I mean that his mind is no longer there. The forensic psychiatrist who examined him says that he "does not appreciate the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him, is unable to render assistance to counsel, and has impairments in reasoning as the result of a mental illness, i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated by the neuropsychiatric effects of prolonged isolation." Jose Padilla appears to have been lobotomised: not medically, but socially. If this was an attempt to extract information, it was ineffective: the authorities held him without charge for three and half years. Then, threatened by a supreme court ruling, they suddenly dropped their claims that he was trying to detonate a dirty bomb. They have now charged him with some vague and lesser offences to do with support for terrorism. He is unlikely to be the only person subjected to this regime. Another "enemy combatant," Ali al-Marri, claims to have been subject to the same total isolation and sensory deprivation, in the same naval prison in South Carolina. God knows what is being done to people who have disappeared into the CIA's foreign oubliettes. That the US tortures, routinely and systematically, while prosecuting its "war on terror" can no longer be seriously disputed. The Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project (DAA), a coalition of academics and human rights groups, has documented the abuse or killing of 460 inmates of US military prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. This, it says, is necessarily a conservative figure: many cases will remain unrecorded. The prisoners were beaten, raped, forced to abuse themselves, forced to maintain "stress positions," and subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation and mock executions. The New York Times reports that prisoners held by the US military at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan were made to stand for up to 13 days with their hands chained to the ceiling, naked, hooded and unable to sleep. The Washington Post alleges that prisoners at the same airbase were "commonly blindfolded and thrown into walls, bound in painful positions, subjected to loud noises and deprived of sleep" while kept, like Jose Padilla and the arrivals at Guantanamo Bay, "in black hoods or spray-painted goggles." Alfred McCoy, professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, argues that the photographs released from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq reflect standard CIA torture techniques: "stress positions, sensory deprivation, and sexual humiliation." The famous picture of the hooded man standing on a box, with wires attached to his fingers, shows two of these techniques being used at once. Unable to see, he has no idea how much time has passed or what might be coming next. He stands in a classic stress position -- maintained for several hours, it causes excruciating pain. He appears to have been told that if he drops his arms he will be electrocuted. What went wrong at Abu Ghraib is that someone took photos. Everything else was done by the book. Neither the military nor the civilian authorities have broken much sweat in investigating these crimes. A few very small fish have been imprisoned; a few others have been fined or reduced in rank; in most cases the authorities have either failed to investigate or failed to prosecute. The DAA points out that no officer has yet been held to account for torture practised by his subordinates. US torturers appear to enjoy impunity, until they are stupid enough to take pictures of each other. But Padilla's treatment also reflects another glorious American tradition: solitary confinement. Some 25,000 US prisoners are currently held in isolation -- a punishment only rarely used in other democracies. In some places, like the federal prison in Florence, Colorado, they are kept in sound-proofed cells and might scarcely see another human being for years on end. They may touch or be touched by no one. Some people have been kept in solitary confinement in the United States for more than 20 years. At Pelican Bay in California, where 1,200 people are held in the isolation wing, inmates are confined to tiny cells for 22-and-a half hours a day, then released into an "exercise yard" for "recreation." The yard consists of a concrete well about 12 feet in length with walls 20 feet high and a metal grill across the sky. The recreation consists of pacing back and forth, alone. The results are much as you would expect. As National Public Radio reveals, 10% of the isolation prisoners at Pelican Bay are now in the psychiatric wing, and there's a waiting list. Prisoners in solitary confinement, according to Dr Henry Weinstein, a psychiatrist who studies them, suffer from "memory loss to severe anxiety to hallucinations to delusions ... under the severest cases of sensory deprivation, people go crazy." People who went in bad and dangerous come out mad as well. The only two studies conducted so far -- in Texas and Washington state -- both show that the recidivism rates for prisoners held in solitary confinement are worse than for those who were allowed to mix with other prisoners. If we were to judge the United States by its penal policies, we would perceive a strange beast: a Christian society that believes in neither forgiveness nor redemption. From this delightful experiment, US interrogators appear to have extracted a useful lesson: if you want to erase a man's mind, deprive him of contact with the rest of the world. This has nothing to do with obtaining information: torture of all kinds -- physical or mental -- produces the result that people will say anything to make it end. It is about power, and the thrilling discovery that in the right conditions one man's power over another is unlimited. It is an indulgence which turns its perpetrators into everything they claim to be confronting. President Bush maintains that he is fighting a war against threats to the "values of civilized nations": terror, cruelty, barbarism and extremism. He asked his nation's interrogators to discover where these evils are hidden. They should congratulate themselves. They appear to have succeeded. George Monbiot is the author of 'Poisoned Arrows' and 'No Man's Land' (Green Books). Read more of his writings at Monbiot.com. This article originally appeared in the Guardian. © 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/45613/ if you're not angry, you're not paying attention
Cost of the War in Iraq$351,428,317,771 Torture Is Now Part of the American Soulposted Monday, 18 December 2006 Torture Is Now Part of the American SoulBy George Monbiot, The Guardianhttp://www.alternet.org/story/45613/ After thousands of years of practice, you might have imagined that every possible means of inflicting pain had already been devised. But you should never underestimate the human capacity for invention. United States interrogators, we now discover, have found a new way of destroying a human being. In early December, defense lawyers acting for Jose Padilla, a US citizen detained as an "enemy combatant," released a video showing a mission fraught with deadly risk -- taking him to the prison dentist. A group of masked guards in riot gear shackled his legs and hands, blindfolded him with black-out goggles and shut off his hearing with headphones, then marched him down the prison corridor. Is Padilla really that dangerous? Far from it: his warders describe him as so docile and inactive that he could be mistaken for "a piece of furniture." The purpose of these measures appeared to be to sustain the regime under which he had lived for over three years: total sensory deprivation. He had been kept in a blacked-out cell, unable to see or hear anything beyond it. Most importantly, he had no human contact, except for being bounced off the walls from time to time by his interrogators. As a result, he appears to have lost his mind. I don't mean this metaphorically. I mean that his mind is no longer there. The forensic psychiatrist who examined him says that he "does not appreciate the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him, is unable to render assistance to counsel, and has impairments in reasoning as the result of a mental illness, i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated by the neuropsychiatric effects of prolonged isolation." Jose Padilla appears to have been lobotomised: not medically, but socially. If this was an attempt to extract information, it was ineffective: the authorities held him without charge for three and half years. Then, threatened by a supreme court ruling, they suddenly dropped their claims that he was trying to detonate a dirty bomb. They have now charged him with some vague and lesser offences to do with support for terrorism. He is unlikely to be the only person subjected to this regime. Another "enemy combatant," Ali al-Marri, claims to have been subject to the same total isolation and sensory deprivation, in the same naval prison in South Carolina. God knows what is being done to people who have disappeared into the CIA's foreign oubliettes. That the US tortures, routinely and systematically, while prosecuting its "war on terror" can no longer be seriously disputed. The Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project (DAA), a coalition of academics and human rights groups, has documented the abuse or killing of 460 inmates of US military prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. This, it says, is necessarily a conservative figure: many cases will remain unrecorded. The prisoners were beaten, raped, forced to abuse themselves, forced to maintain "stress positions," and subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation and mock executions. The New York Times reports that prisoners held by the US military at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan were made to stand for up to 13 days with their hands chained to the ceiling, naked, hooded and unable to sleep. The Washington Post alleges that prisoners at the same airbase were "commonly blindfolded and thrown into walls, bound in painful positions, subjected to loud noises and deprived of sleep" while kept, like Jose Padilla and the arrivals at Guantanamo Bay, "in black hoods or spray-painted goggles." Alfred McCoy, professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, argues that the photographs released from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq reflect standard CIA torture techniques: "stress positions, sensory deprivation, and sexual humiliation." The famous picture of the hooded man standing on a box, with wires attached to his fingers, shows two of these techniques being used at once. Unable to see, he has no idea how much time has passed or what might be coming next. He stands in a classic stress position -- maintained for several hours, it causes excruciating pain. He appears to have been told that if he drops his arms he will be electrocuted. What went wrong at Abu Ghraib is that someone took photos. Everything else was done by the book. Neither the military nor the civilian authorities have broken much sweat in investigating these crimes. A few very small fish have been imprisoned; a few others have been fined or reduced in rank; in most cases the authorities have either failed to investigate or failed to prosecute. The DAA points out that no officer has yet been held to account for torture practised by his subordinates. US torturers appear to enjoy impunity, until they are stupid enough to take pictures of each other. But Padilla's treatment also reflects another glorious American tradition: solitary confinement. Some 25,000 US prisoners are currently held in isolation -- a punishment only rarely used in other democracies. In some places, like the federal prison in Florence, Colorado, they are kept in sound-proofed cells and might scarcely see another human being for years on end. They may touch or be touched by no one. Some people have been kept in solitary confinement in the United States for more than 20 years. At Pelican Bay in California, where 1,200 people are held in the isolation wing, inmates are confined to tiny cells for 22-and-a half hours a day, then released into an "exercise yard" for "recreation." The yard consists of a concrete well about 12 feet in length with walls 20 feet high and a metal grill across the sky. The recreation consists of pacing back and forth, alone. The results are much as you would expect. As National Public Radio reveals, 10% of the isolation prisoners at Pelican Bay are now in the psychiatric wing, and there's a waiting list. Prisoners in solitary confinement, according to Dr Henry Weinstein, a psychiatrist who studies them, suffer from "memory loss to severe anxiety to hallucinations to delusions ... under the severest cases of sensory deprivation, people go crazy." People who went in bad and dangerous come out mad as well. The only two studies conducted so far -- in Texas and Washington state -- both show that the recidivism rates for prisoners held in solitary confinement are worse than for those who were allowed to mix with other prisoners. If we were to judge the United States by its penal policies, we would perceive a strange beast: a Christian society that believes in neither forgiveness nor redemption. From this delightful experiment, US interrogators appear to have extracted a useful lesson: if you want to erase a man's mind, deprive him of contact with the rest of the world. This has nothing to do with obtaining information: torture of all kinds -- physical or mental -- produces the result that people will say anything to make it end. It is about power, and the thrilling discovery that in the right conditions one man's power over another is unlimited. It is an indulgence which turns its perpetrators into everything they claim to be confronting. President Bush maintains that he is fighting a war against threats to the "values of civilized nations": terror, cruelty, barbarism and extremism. He asked his nation's interrogators to discover where these evils are hidden. They should congratulate themselves. They appear to have succeeded. George Monbiot is the author of 'Poisoned Arrows' and 'No Man's Land' (Green Books). Read more of his writings at Monbiot.com. This article originally appeared in the Guardian. © 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/45613/ if you're not angry, you're not paying attention
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Mirror Mask
Wow... I was so close. TIME magazine "person of the year" turns out to be...well, 'You'.
Honestly I had a similar first thought. I was thinking, they'll probably just throw away all candidates and just have it be everyone. 'You', as the consumers and citizens that make up the most influencial event(s) of 2006, according to TIME. It was a perfect choice. Couldn't go wrong with it. There was simply too many major events this year that could have been covered.
I mean, as soon as they started narrowing the choices down, I started dismissing my original ideas. I switched them out for what I wanted it to be. I personally thought, maybe they out to do the "bad guy" this time. It's been too long since there was a "bad guy". So I was going more for Ahmedinejad ((sp?) AKA the modern Hitler??). But I'm happy with their choice, and can't wait to head over to Borders with a Starbucks and read it!
"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." --Aristotle
Damn.. if only ^. All congress will be doing in 2007 seven is focussing on how to gain more power for their party or just themselves in preparation for 2008. They aren't the leaders....we're the leaders, the people........ummm.... right?
“We believe that atomic energy is a blessing given by God”-- Mahmoud Ahmedinejad-- "How can you prove you are not a bad person? You can't prove that.”
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
Honestly I had a similar first thought. I was thinking, they'll probably just throw away all candidates and just have it be everyone. 'You', as the consumers and citizens that make up the most influencial event(s) of 2006, according to TIME. It was a perfect choice. Couldn't go wrong with it. There was simply too many major events this year that could have been covered.
I mean, as soon as they started narrowing the choices down, I started dismissing my original ideas. I switched them out for what I wanted it to be. I personally thought, maybe they out to do the "bad guy" this time. It's been too long since there was a "bad guy". So I was going more for Ahmedinejad ((sp?) AKA the modern Hitler??). But I'm happy with their choice, and can't wait to head over to Borders with a Starbucks and read it!
"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." --Aristotle
Damn.. if only ^. All congress will be doing in 2007 seven is focussing on how to gain more power for their party or just themselves in preparation for 2008. They aren't the leaders....we're the leaders, the people........ummm.... right?
“We believe that atomic energy is a blessing given by God”-- Mahmoud Ahmedinejad-- "How can you prove you are not a bad person? You can't prove that.”
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
My Interesting "Interviews"
Why are we drawn to things we know are untrue, wrong...'bad'....?
- Because we have an inherent will to usurp authority; therefore, no matter what command we are given we will stumble to obey. Adam and Eve could not even keep one command why should we be any different. --Phoenixslayer
- It is due to the dark side of our fallen nature and like will attract like. --Believeme
- It would be difficult to know good, ifthere was no evil. How would we know love,if there was no hate?Life is a challenge. The good choiceswe make, enrich our person ale. --Kylekeye
- I don't think we're drawn to the 'untrue".I think human beings are naturally lazy.If someone can have an answer without having to do the research, then why should they memorize anything? I see this more and more in my daily life everywhere I turn. Nothing but lazy ignorant people who are just as content to let someone else think for them.The entire political system actually COUNTS upon this phenomenon so that they can get elected into office. Source(s):
How many times have you heard (and will you hear) "I voted my party this year"?You see the signs of laziness all around you.You seem to have risen above the mess... just keep treading water until you get to the high ground. Then NEVER give it up to anyone...... --Wolfie - Much of who we think we are is 'bad'. But the 'bad' I'm referring to is better described as 'delusional'. Are reality is set wrong. This, at the most fundamental level, is why we do 'bad' things (often without even knowing they're 'bad'). --Badbuddhist
- It is part of human nature to be curious and to fall to temptation. We are curious about the things we're told are bad and the people involved in those things seem to peek our interest, too. I think it's just wanting to understand why it's so bad or why those people seem to participate and not care about the consequences. We ask ourselves what makes them that way. When we're younger, I think those things we learn are bad become tempting, just to see what will happen if we do it...or if we can do it and not get caught. I think it all boils down to curiosity and temptation....the same thing Eve dealt with. --vanhammer
I heard this one quote from I can not recall, but it said that "satan would not BE without his cunningness". "Have you seen those whom have taken thier desires as GOD"-quranI have come to the conclusion that there is ONE universal truth of the matter to existance. And that being the only thing capable of creating it. But creations more than have the capability of frustrating and manipulating to the destruction of others well beings. Let alone the world on a thought that is of your own. GRANTED. My reasons to questions like such that you asked are highly blasphemous. Though they are blasphemous, they are true. So I martyre myself inshallah(GOD willing, if GOD wills, if it must be, if I must, if that is what I choose, etc). And I beg allah not to place me amongst the disbleiever, but to create a throne that I can call my own that I may one day sit upon with no crown. Only piety. Where my own thought will be the TRUE KING. I am sovereign reflected off of malik(sovereign lord). Thought could be the greatest toll that is of mankind. If one does not use it, how can they come to realise. Salam! Source(s):
May you take care on your path. Some are more easy than others. This is the will of allah. And I humbly accept the inequality for the ONENESS of ALLAH. PEACE! --misconstruded
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "terrorist" ?
- bin laden-- BloodyAdalwolf
- airplanes hitting buildings--David T
- BUSH --Feather
- Muslims! --MarkosM
- Explosions. --daisykris
- The World Trade Center, car bombs in the Middle East, abortion clinic bombings in the US.--rt66lt
- MY MOTHER,HER FAMILY AND THE CHURCH --badtricky
- George Bush --Mu'taz
- arabs blowing themselves up--Mrmoo
- islam....Honest answer to (what I hope is) an honest question. --CommonSense
- It certainly isn't Muslim. There have been MANY groups terrorize groups by terrorist activities. About the first terrorists I can think of was the Catholic church during the inquisition. --Rev. TwoBears
- Attack.--KAITLYN
- George W. Bush, the idiots who abused the prisoners at Abu Ghraib and now terrorize the guy who blew the whistle on the wrongdoers, Rumsfeld, Timothy McVeigh--vinslave
- Muslims with fat faces and beards and ugly women covering themselves from head to foot, in case they tempt men! --Franco
- Religion.--Godzilla
- 9/11 --pepsiolic
- Satan's and his outlash on Christian's .......--Ripcord3
- Islamic fanatics who believe in killing anyone who does not believe as they do. They want to have the crusades all over again but instead of catholic they are Islamic.--Chris Z.
- Arabs dressed in towels carrying AK-47s and a Koran. Don't blame me its just what comes to mind first of all since its the ones I see most often.--Anon.
- Anger...and ignorance--Colin C.
- I think of the Middle East and masked men in black clothes with guns, who are mostly Islamic radicals willing to die as long as any non-Muslim, or "infidel," dies with them. Source(s):
My source is merely the imagery the pops into my mind. Although, the associations I have with that word do come from the media exposure of the subject and the current state of world affairs. --Danielle C. - The Irish Republican Army...actually terrorist is a debatable word and has many defentiton so it doesn't mean blowing things up for religous zeal....--Amin
What is your first thought when you hear the word "Muhammad" ? "Allah"? "Islam"?
- pretender--Kim C.
- 1; Ali 2; lahve 3; Cat Stevens is a moron --GM
- Praised one, The GOD, and submitting to the will of GOD.......la ilaha illalah --misconstruded
- "Muhammad"- Intuitive fellow, "Allah"- Divinity, "Islam"- Beautiful, misunderstood --PaganRebirth
- Heads up-- TarKettle
- 1- founder of Islam, 2- Arabic word for "God", 3- a religion based on the Qur'an --rt66lt
- The Noble Prophet. Allah means God. Islam is the peaceful religion Muslims follow-- Affan
- Muhammad: peace be upon him, the greatest of mankind, Allah: The most merciful, the most glorious, the Almighty, Islam: my beloved religion the complete system for human life.-- MuslimRose
- Child Molester. False prophet.-- Georgiegi
- The boxer..That's what.. Then I think of KILLING...BABIES HOLDING GUNS, WITH PROUD PARENTS IN THE BACKGROUND..... DEATH..SAND ...SUFFERING....BLOOD...CARBOM... PARTS..why do you ask?? -- Thnkni
- Planes flying into buildings. -- Jer
- Ali-- Fuster
- Works in the corner shop-supports Arsenal and gives me crap horse racing tips. -- Andymcj66
- Another set of god-statues in need of constant polishing and stoking. I intend no specific disrespect of Islam, I think exactly the same of Christianity. --MiddleMan
- muhammed.....violent middle eastern man who was demon possessed. allah....fallse moon god, non existant. islam....lost and blind faith in a false prophet worshipping a false and dangerous god. -- Sheepinar
- 1. Muhammed Ali, the Boxer 2. Islamic word for G-d 3. Terrorism -- David T.
- My smallness and the God's greatness. --Emina
- Sick man. His follower are sicker to follow some one like him. --MD
- muhammad=islam=allah=Satan. -- Cthemagic
- really the first thing i think of is purity of religion, peacfulness,love and that goes for all three categories being, allah islam, and the profit muhammed(PBUH). And why do u ask ?? -- Muslimahg
- Courageous man, who united the Arab people and spread the word of God. (I am not a Muslim) peace. --Colin C.
- A dead man. -- dustylee3
- Muhammad - his amazing encounter with the angel who demanded he recite and his discussion of how women should be treated well; Allah - "The Merciful, The Compassionate..." ; Islam - muslimahs, hijab, beautiful masjids, the Q'uran... the beautiful call to prayer... I could go on for hours... --vinslave
- muhammad = the greatest man that ever lived -- UmmAyman
Are we becoming slaves to this modern and ever-enhancing technology?
- We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Yes, to a degree, but you can always turn the computer OFF. -- Paul H.
- I think you've becomes a slave of something when you either can't or don't think you can do without something. I think countries in the western world are becoming slaves of oil-producing countries because of their dependence on oil. This dependence is not totally necessary in that it is the result of western addiction to using vehicles more than they need to ans using vehicles that are bigger than they need to have. Commercials 'create' needs so that companies can sell their products, and people start to think that they can't do without them. Of course, we are now so dependent, in a real sense, on computer technology, that we would suffer greatly if we had to do without it. I think that anything you become dependent on you also become a slave to. --Rgtheisen
- Well we are free...free to need a new mobile every year although none work as well as an old analogue, need the same running shoe with a different stripe etc. Are blackmailed to throw whole television systems and computers and software in the bin. As we continue to glut ourselves and 3rd world countries follow with ever increasing air conditioning and dish washers I have to draw a parralell with locusts stripping a feild. Yeah sure we are slaves of our own destruction. --BOverit
- We are sitting in front of a PC answering and asking questions, are we not? muahahahahaha!!!! --ConstElat
What? I was bored...
Thursday, December 14, 2006
That I am
Thinking, wondering, hoping, wishing, going, jumping, leaping, spinning, dancing, smiling, laughing, trying, hurting, functioning, understanding, caring, being, singing, listening, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, loving, flying...
I'm gonna be happy....
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Black Spruce
Today went pretty good. I woke up to rain :) and the weather warmed up a bit, so it was perfect. Other than I had a surprise EOC today...mleh.... that's always fun, huh?
But, I decided I'm going to do one of those Angel Tree's. It's a little program where you take responsibility for one homeless and/or 'unfortunate' young child, and give them what they need/want for christmas. My little boy is 2 and a half years old... and it was the cutest thing. He asked for a 'Mr. Potatoe head' and a toy "truck that makes noises and flashes". It's so cute. But his mother said what he needs is clothes, a pair of pants or two, or shoes, and a jacket. :'( So... I'm going to spend a little money this weekend and find him an outfit and a toy truck. Can't wait to give it to him. :)
"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others. " --Barbara Bush
"You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." --Winston Churchill
"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." --Anne Frank
But, I decided I'm going to do one of those Angel Tree's. It's a little program where you take responsibility for one homeless and/or 'unfortunate' young child, and give them what they need/want for christmas. My little boy is 2 and a half years old... and it was the cutest thing. He asked for a 'Mr. Potatoe head' and a toy "truck that makes noises and flashes". It's so cute. But his mother said what he needs is clothes, a pair of pants or two, or shoes, and a jacket. :'( So... I'm going to spend a little money this weekend and find him an outfit and a toy truck. Can't wait to give it to him. :)
"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others. " --Barbara Bush
"You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." --Winston Churchill
"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." --Anne Frank
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Satan is our Scapegoat
Why are we drawn to things we know are untrue, wrong...'bad'....? Why will we do things that we know are wrong, or will cause something 'bad'...? Like that test...putting two people in seperate rooms, and giving one of them a button and telling them "Press this button and it will shock the person in the other room"....What does that person do? Press the button. Do we do it because of curiosity? Or fear or punishment? Or raised beliefs that respect for authority has no limits. But really.... on the other note.....Why are we drawn to things we know to be untrue?
Monday, December 11, 2006
"Bad hippy...no more Patchuli..."
Hmmm... Today was a great day. No specific reason either. I just thought to myself as I got out of bed "today is going to be awesome" --and bam, look at where the power of suggestion landed me :) Or is it just karma catching up to me....?
Sorry sorry... I'm not being conceited, I promise.
So, I seemed to accumulate a lot of homework today, and yet, I finished it all quickly after I got home. Just because I needed something o keep me occupied while I waited for it to be 4:oopm in the western hemisphere (of the US). Evan's birthday. I just so happened to catch him while he was waiting to pick of Josh. And I had a great talk with him...
And tonight, I'm just relaxing.... with my new CD, maybe a good book, maybe some art, and burn a little Santal..or maybe Lotus tonight, Patchuli? I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it; looking forward to catching up on some sleep....hopefully.
"Love...what is love? When it occurs , it cannot be denied. No matter what your past has held...when love occurs...your life has forever changed"
"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Somone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."
"Experience is a hard teacher; She gives the test first and the lesson afterwards."
Sorry sorry... I'm not being conceited, I promise.
So, I seemed to accumulate a lot of homework today, and yet, I finished it all quickly after I got home. Just because I needed something o keep me occupied while I waited for it to be 4:oopm in the western hemisphere (of the US). Evan's birthday. I just so happened to catch him while he was waiting to pick of Josh. And I had a great talk with him...
And tonight, I'm just relaxing.... with my new CD, maybe a good book, maybe some art, and burn a little Santal..or maybe Lotus tonight, Patchuli? I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it; looking forward to catching up on some sleep....hopefully.
"Love...what is love? When it occurs , it cannot be denied. No matter what your past has held...when love occurs...your life has forever changed"
"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Somone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."
"Experience is a hard teacher; She gives the test first and the lesson afterwards."
Sunday, December 10, 2006
'Cause when it all comes down...
Car door slams, it's been a long day at work/I'm out on the freeway and I'm wondering if it's all worth/The price that I pay, sometimes it doesn't seem fair/I pull into the drive and you're standing there/And you look at me/And give me that come-here-baby smile/It's all gonna be alright/You take my hand/You pull me close and you hold me tight It's the sweet love that you give to me/That makes me believe we can make it through anything/'Cause when it all comes down/And I'm feeling like I'll never last/I just lean on you 'cause baby/You're my better half They say behind every man is a good woman/But I think that's a lie/'Cause when it comes to you I'd rather have you by my side/You don't know how much I count you to help me/When I've given everything I got and I just feel like giving in/And you look at me/And give me that come-here-baby smile/It's all gonna be alright/You take my hand/Yeah you pull me close and you hold me tight Well, you take my hand/Yeah you pull me close and I understand It's the sweet love that you give to me/That makes me believe that we can make it through anything Oh baby, it's the sweet love that you give to me/That makes me believe we can make it through anything/'Cause when it all comes down/And I'm feeling like I'll never last/I just lean on you 'cause baby/ You're my better half Oh, oh baby you're my better half/Ooh, hey baby you're my better half --"You're my better half"-Keith Urban
Technology
We create it, we birth it, we feed it, we enhance it...and yet we fail to realize that it is biting us in return. And somehow, it is able to influence us so much that we drop down like we're slaves to some diety. When in actuality, this is the very true meaning of "idol worshipping" that we've been told to avoid.
It's simply common sense.
We think we are solving our stress problems by inventing a way for more leisure time. It's only creating more problems, more complications, more feelings that life is moving just too fast to keep up with.
So what are we really doing with that spare time due to our newly concocted labor-saving gadgets? Sitting in our cars in a jam because more cars and same old roads equals everyone going nowhere fast. Sitting in front of TV and computer screens with frivolous and violent video games, movies... that do nothing particularly good for us because it's just like heroin and gambling. Addictive. People waste away for hours on end doing nothing productive, and nothing sentimentally memorable, nothing beneficial...Just getting addicted so that we become dependent on these devices, dependent on their manufacturors to keep our lives......stable? Besides our dependency on this technology is not making life 'easier', it's just making us less productive and more stressed...removing what little life we have left.
Of course.. not all technology is malicious, man-eating, artificial scum. Some is beneficial in ways. We've just got to keep it to the basic needs. For example, a remote control for a TV set... imagine what a difference it would make in our health if we got up and took those few steps back and forth. Or a movie theatre...Rather than waste your money to kill your eardrums with the intense sound effects....why not save time, money, and health by watching it at home. I suppose, part of it is man's natural curiosity...almost impossible to overcome. Just keep your use of appliances reasonable... Although it doesn't seem so, life is so much more enjoyable and simpler with out them.
So...Are we just gonna let this thing make slaves of us?
"All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. " --Mark Kennedy
So...Are we just gonna let this thing make slaves of us?
"All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. " --Mark Kennedy
"Modern technology;Owes ecology; An apology."--Alan M. Eddison
"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." --Albert Einstein
"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people. " -- Karl Marx
...Yes, I love technology/ but not as much as you, you see. /But I STILL love technology. /Always and forever./ Always and forever... --"Kip's Wedding Song"
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sjeemft
-You can't keep this until you have given it.
-Your mother’s brother’s only brother-in-law is asleep on your couch. Who is asleep on your couch?
-A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son.
Have you caught my simple drift?
Have you caught my simple drift?
(ran out of time, sorry)
Friday, December 08, 2006
Eta Carinae
Star children
“Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events.” --Albert Einstein HAL; "I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do. "
Thursday, December 07, 2006
real?
I couldn't because I can't allow my imagination to become a reality that doesn't exist. I cannot allow myself to believe in that reality that doesn't, and never has existed. It isn't real, it's in your head, it's meant to be forgotten as a child, just imagination, just empty, meaningless words and dreams, they say. Okay, I trust you. But they don't go away.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Lopsided Universe
Evil--
(Adj.) morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked; (N.) the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin; (adv.) in an evil manner; badly; ill; (Id.) the evil one, the devil; Satan.
Dark, terror, pain, war, candles and rituals, Satan and demons, pentacles, sins, wickedness, black.
What exactly is evil?
Is it simply the absence of good? light? Or maybe just the opposite, the reciprocal of good..? A way to balance? The opposite of that which is deemed "positive". But if that's the case, what force is it that drives are minds to decide...to know... what is "positive" and what is "negative" ?
Or maybe... if 'evil' is the absence of anything at all, is it empathy? Is evil the absence of empathy itself? Can evil be described as man's general incapacity to feel with their fellow man...?
I just cannot understand. They say, you must choose a side; good, light, God; Evil, dark, Satan. Why not recognize that the story of our 'Heavenly Father' would be nothing without Satan? Why not recognize that without feeling pain, man would know no pleasure.
Someone told me this the other day.... "I think a man should be a man, should act like a man, but should know that without a woman he can never be whole, a woman to balance him out, like in nature, two halves, pieced together, to make one whole. "
Someone told me this the other day.... "I think a man should be a man, should act like a man, but should know that without a woman he can never be whole, a woman to balance him out, like in nature, two halves, pieced together, to make one whole. "
Moondance
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance/ With the stars up above in your eyes/ A fantabulous night to make romance/ 'Neath the cover of October skies/ And all the leaves on the trees are falling/ To the sound of the breezes that blow/ And I'm trying to please to the calling/ Of your heart-strings that play soft and low/ And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush/ And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush/
Can I just have one a' more moondance with you, my love/ Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love/
Well I wanna make love to you tonight/ I can't wait till the morning has come/ And I know now the time is just right/ And straight into my arms you will run/ And when you come my heart will be waiting/ To make sure you're never alone/ There and then all my dreams will come true, dear/ There and then I will make you my own/ And everytime I touch you, you just tremble inside/ And I know how much you want me that you can't hide/
Can I just have one a' more moondance with you, my love/ Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love/
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance/ With the stars up above in your eyes/ A fantabulous night to make romance/ 'Neath the cover of October skies/ And all the leaves on the trees are falling/ To the sound of the breezes that blow/ And I'm trying to please to the calling/ Of your heart-strings that play soft and low/ And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush/ And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush/
One more moondance with you in the moonlight/ Can't I just have one more dance with you my love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpqQL1tJgvM
Can I just have one a' more moondance with you, my love/ Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love/
Well I wanna make love to you tonight/ I can't wait till the morning has come/ And I know now the time is just right/ And straight into my arms you will run/ And when you come my heart will be waiting/ To make sure you're never alone/ There and then all my dreams will come true, dear/ There and then I will make you my own/ And everytime I touch you, you just tremble inside/ And I know how much you want me that you can't hide/
Can I just have one a' more moondance with you, my love/ Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love/
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance/ With the stars up above in your eyes/ A fantabulous night to make romance/ 'Neath the cover of October skies/ And all the leaves on the trees are falling/ To the sound of the breezes that blow/ And I'm trying to please to the calling/ Of your heart-strings that play soft and low/ And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush/ And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush/
One more moondance with you in the moonlight/ Can't I just have one more dance with you my love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpqQL1tJgvM
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Nuremberg
She put in a short movie...people talking politics in some court room. Naturally, no one pays attention and whispers among their friends, making jokes and laughing. Who understands politics anyway? Then...a scene comes that is so strong it could stop a train cold, a scene that doesn't need to be explained to be understood.In order to have a more valid reason for trying the accused Nazi leaders of war crimes involving WWII and the Holocaust fairly, they needed better 'proof', better witness. So...somehow, they were able to obtain footage (motion picture) taken by nazi's in(of) their concentration and death camps.
The footage was played for the whole room of participants and observers of the trials... as well as all of us in the classroom. The minute it started, both rooms fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. As terrible, horror filled images of Madjenek (and others) began playing across the screen...the judges in the movie, as well as in my classroom finally began to realize the extent of what really happened to those innocent people. In the movie, we saw people shake their heads (as we did) and being crying and leaving. No one left in our class, but there were plenty of tears.
It's just terrible. How can civilized people do these things to other...civilized people. You'd have to completely de-humanize them...see them as animals. But even then, who could do that to an animal? It's just mad...completely bloody fucking mad. It gets me all worked up, I know.. but it's horrible. It's in the past, I know. But seeing this, gave me a whole new sympathy. A whole new reality. And now, awareness has taken away any right I ever had to be ungrateful.
Once again....Make love, not war.
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" --Eleanor Roosevelt
Another head hangs lowly/ Child is slowly taken/ And the violence caused such silence/ Who are we mistaken/
But You see it's not me,/ It's not my familyIn your head, in your/ Head they are fighting/ With their tanks, and their bombs/ And their bombs, and their guns/ In your head,/ In your head they are cryin'/ In your head/ Zombie/ What's in your head, in your head/ Zombie/
Another mother's breakin'/ Heart is taking over/ When the violence causes silence/ We must be mistaken/ It's the same old theme since 1916/ In your head,/ In your head they're still fightin'/ With their tanks/ In your head they are dying/
In your head, in your head/ Zombie/ What's in your head, in your head/ Zombie
--"Zombie"-Cranberries (check out "Linger" "Dreams" "Analyse" "Stars" "Promises" "Animal Instinct") http://youtube.com/watch?v=DsW-xYZJ-6M Acoustic 'Zombie'. Dolores Mary O'Riordan Burton has a beautiful voice.
The footage was played for the whole room of participants and observers of the trials... as well as all of us in the classroom. The minute it started, both rooms fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. As terrible, horror filled images of Madjenek (and others) began playing across the screen...the judges in the movie, as well as in my classroom finally began to realize the extent of what really happened to those innocent people. In the movie, we saw people shake their heads (as we did) and being crying and leaving. No one left in our class, but there were plenty of tears.
It's just terrible. How can civilized people do these things to other...civilized people. You'd have to completely de-humanize them...see them as animals. But even then, who could do that to an animal? It's just mad...completely bloody fucking mad. It gets me all worked up, I know.. but it's horrible. It's in the past, I know. But seeing this, gave me a whole new sympathy. A whole new reality. And now, awareness has taken away any right I ever had to be ungrateful.
Once again....Make love, not war.
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" --Eleanor Roosevelt
Another head hangs lowly/ Child is slowly taken/ And the violence caused such silence/ Who are we mistaken/
But You see it's not me,/ It's not my familyIn your head, in your/ Head they are fighting/ With their tanks, and their bombs/ And their bombs, and their guns/ In your head,/ In your head they are cryin'/ In your head/ Zombie/ What's in your head, in your head/ Zombie/
Another mother's breakin'/ Heart is taking over/ When the violence causes silence/ We must be mistaken/ It's the same old theme since 1916/ In your head,/ In your head they're still fightin'/ With their tanks/ In your head they are dying/
In your head, in your head/ Zombie/ What's in your head, in your head/ Zombie
--"Zombie"-Cranberries (check out "Linger" "Dreams" "Analyse" "Stars" "Promises" "Animal Instinct") http://youtube.com/watch?v=DsW-xYZJ-6M Acoustic 'Zombie'. Dolores Mary O'Riordan Burton has a beautiful voice.
The minature earth
If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this...
- 61 asians
- 12 europeans
- 8 north americans
- 5 south americans (and the carribean)
- 13 africans
- 1 oceana
- 50 women
- 50 men
- 47 live in an urban area
- 9 are disabled
- 33 are Christian (Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Anglicans and other Christians)
- 18 are Muslim
- 14 are Hindus
- 16 are non religious
- 6 are Buddhist
- 13 practice other religions
- 43 live without basic sanitation
- 18 live without an improved water source
- 6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community
- 13 are hungry or malnourished
- 14 can't read
- only 7 are educated at a secondary level
- only 12 have a computer
- only 3 have an internet connection
- 1 adult aged 15-49 has HIV/AIDS
- The village spend more than US$1.2 trillion on military expenditures and only US$100 billion on developement aid.
- If you keep your food in a refridgerator, clothes in a closet, if you have a bed to sleep in, a roof over your head, You are richer than 75% of the entire world population.
- If you have a bank account, you are one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world.
- 18 people live on US$1.00 per day or less
- 53 struggle to live on US$2.00 per day or less
Appreciate what you have.
Monday, December 04, 2006
5 Things
5 Things in my refrigerator:
~~1) Celery, 2) Kraft Light Done Right Three Cheese Ranch dressing, 3) Ginger ale, 4) Oranges 5) Leftover pumpkin pie
5 Things in my closet(closet? do I have one?):
~~1) Dress clothes, 2) a pair of shoes, 3) empty hangers, 4) a box full of old photos and letters, 5) laundry basket
5 Things in my purse:
~~1) Glasses, 2) Wallet, 3) A bottle of Motrin, 4) Social Security card, 5) Movie stubs
5 Things in locker:
~~1)Literature book, 2) Buddha quote, 3) Pens, 4) Pack of Big Red with only half a peice left, 5) dust
5 CDs in my sterio (or how 'bout' what's stacked on my radio):
~~1) Queen-Greatest hits, 2) The Used-mixed acoustic, 3) Peter Gabriel-Passion, 4) Ala wahda wa nos ya Ashek el sax, 5) Juliana's Mix-Vol. 2
5 Habits to break:
~~1) Keeping notes on my hand, 2) Chewing on pen caps, 3) Cracking knuckles, 4) Saying 'certain' words, 5) Taking myself for granted
5 Things on my mind right now:
~~1) My love :), 2) My mother, 3) The gateway test tomorrow, 4) A new song-with beginning lyrics, 5) Evan
Do you know more about me now?
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -- Anais Nin
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." --Buddha
"When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self." --Confucious
~~1) Dress clothes, 2) a pair of shoes, 3) empty hangers, 4) a box full of old photos and letters, 5) laundry basket
5 Things in my purse:
~~1) Glasses, 2) Wallet, 3) A bottle of Motrin, 4) Social Security card, 5) Movie stubs
5 Things in locker:
~~1)Literature book, 2) Buddha quote, 3) Pens, 4) Pack of Big Red with only half a peice left, 5) dust
5 CDs in my sterio (or how 'bout' what's stacked on my radio):
~~1) Queen-Greatest hits, 2) The Used-mixed acoustic, 3) Peter Gabriel-Passion, 4) Ala wahda wa nos ya Ashek el sax, 5) Juliana's Mix-Vol. 2
5 Habits to break:
~~1) Keeping notes on my hand, 2) Chewing on pen caps, 3) Cracking knuckles, 4) Saying 'certain' words, 5) Taking myself for granted
5 Things on my mind right now:
~~1) My love :), 2) My mother, 3) The gateway test tomorrow, 4) A new song-with beginning lyrics, 5) Evan
Do you know more about me now?
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -- Anais Nin
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." --Buddha
"When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self." --Confucious
Ne me quitte pas
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens/ Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens/ Brown paper packages tied up with strings/ These are a few of my favorite things/
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels/ Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles/ Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings/ These are a few of my favorite things/
When the dog bites/ When the bee stings/ When I'm feeling sad/ I simply remember my favorite things/ And then I don't feel so bad/
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes/ Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes/ Silver white winters that melt into springs/ These are a few of my favorite things/
When the dog bites/ When the bee stings/ When I'm feeling sad/ I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel so bad
--"My Favorite Things" Maria-The Sound of Music
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels/ Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles/ Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings/ These are a few of my favorite things/
When the dog bites/ When the bee stings/ When I'm feeling sad/ I simply remember my favorite things/ And then I don't feel so bad/
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes/ Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes/ Silver white winters that melt into springs/ These are a few of my favorite things/
When the dog bites/ When the bee stings/ When I'm feeling sad/ I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel so bad
--"My Favorite Things" Maria-The Sound of Music
Just a quickie
Today was better. Decided to think a little more rationally than last night. Although, I had a practice quiz for the Gateway test (takes place tomorrow--Ahhh!) and nearly fell asleep in the middle of only question 22! It was an easy quiz, and it does count for a grade, but I just could not think very well through the next 50 problems, and sort of didn't do so well. But at least it didn't count for much for my overall grade. And neither will this gateway (as compared to the Finals) which is about the equivalent of an ISAT. And the rest of my day went pretty slow. But has gotten better as it goes. (yay!)
Mr. Cowman
Days have been rough on me lately. And I hardly get any sleep...when I do, it's restless. I don't eat much either....but I don't have much of an appetite lately anyway. I keep procrastinating everything til the very absolute last minute, and therefore not able to do my best in them. And I'm really exhausted lately...for what seems, no reason. Just so tired.. but cant sleep, and don't have time to either. Can't get up to do anything, and can't stay still enough to get rest. Lot's of things seem unreal to me. It is hard to explain. But I can lay there thinking, and everything literally becomes a dream. Moving here, leaving my friends.. family...Evan not with me...Emily growing up so fast. Of course many, many more underlying things that I wouldn't say here, or to anyone. Just everything is unreal to me. It's like I'm in a dream, and I'm going to wake up out of a coma one of these days and not remember anything but this dream. Just so unreal to me... that I have a life, a love, a family, a name, a person. I'm trying to forget the past.. and I'm doing......okay with that. But I'm not doing okay with not worrying so much about the future, or more importantly, the present. Someone said to me once...."well..The thing is EVERYONE gets a time when he/she feel lonely, left off, depressed, stressed, hurt, helpless... but people are different...some of them just go through it...and next day they forget about it" Well.. I would forget, but each new day brings new stresses, new problems to cope with. Now, why can’t I just be happy? I love those days when I can just be so happy I could fly. Just so content with myself and my life, that I can do everything I love, I can be patient, I can help, I can play a game with my little sister….With seemingly only one thing I cant do; stop smiling, stop loving to death, everything. I like those days. They come every so often. More so in the past couple months than ever before in my life. I want that everyday. But for some reason…the “choosing to be happy” thing isn’t working for me. Am I doing it wrong? I’ve just got too many holes in me right now. I keep trying to plug them up, but the holes are as unique as snowflakes. Nothing will fit right except its original occupant, or the occupant it is meant for. So should I just give up on that? Okay, it solves nothing either way. I just need to get things out of me. I think. I don’t know it that’s the problem or not. But it’s part of it. I need to stop trying to keep too much in one bottle. Because there’s only one size and it’s going to inevitably break if it’s packed too tight. Every new unbroken bottle is just the same. Same size, same desire to break with too much pressure. One of these days, if I don’t do anything to help myself, I’m going to run out of new bottles altogether. So the real question is…What is it that gets me up every morning? "a man destined to hang, can never drown, a man destined to drown, can never burn, a man destined to fry, can never, ever, ever die, in any other way than frying..."
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Samson and Deliah from the inside
You are my sweetest downfall/ I loved you first, I loved you first/ Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth/ I have to go, I have to go/ Your hair was long when we first met/
Samson went back to bed/ Not much hair left on his head/ He ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed/ And history books forgot about us and the bible didnt mention us/ The bible didnt mention us, not even once/
You are my sweetest downfallI loved you first, i loved you first/ Beneath the stars came falling on our heads/ But there just soft light/ Your hair was long when we first met/
Samson came to my bed/ Told me that my hair was red/ He told me i was beautiful and came into my bed/Oh i cut his hair myself one night/ A pair of dull scissors and the yellow light/ He told me that i'd done alright/ and kissed me till the morning light, the morning light/ and he kissed me till the morning light/
you are my sweetest downfall/ i loved you first
--"Samson" RegSpek
Do you think I am right in the meaning I got of this?
Puddles
Just look down at yourself in the reflection...imagine its looking up at you. Forever looking upward. Forever holding silent conversations in their eyes. Watching your opposite expressions. Watching those coincidences. Don't look away; can't look away; tear yourself away...only to look upward again. Only to jump to the next sea and start all over again. Enthusiam growing at each new leap. At each new upward glance, falls another drop. Another drop.
'...listening to the sound of heavens shaking; thinking about puddles, puddles and mistakes.'
Never give up loving unless you have to/ Never give up loving unless you must/ 'Cause it will haunt you in the future/ It'll try to crawl in your bed at night/
Never leave your lover unless he makes you/ By being cold and awful mean/ Even then, you'll probably always miss him/ He will visit in your dreams/
Names and dates and faces/ Places you were happyI'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/
Names and dates and faces/ Places you were happy/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/
Never give up loving unless you have to/ Never leave your lover unless you must/ 'Cause he will haunt your empty heart forever/ 'Til your body turns to dust/
I want you, I want you, I want you
"You"-- Regina Spektor
'...listening to the sound of heavens shaking; thinking about puddles, puddles and mistakes.'
Never give up loving unless you have to/ Never give up loving unless you must/ 'Cause it will haunt you in the future/ It'll try to crawl in your bed at night/
Never leave your lover unless he makes you/ By being cold and awful mean/ Even then, you'll probably always miss him/ He will visit in your dreams/
Names and dates and faces/ Places you were happyI'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/
Names and dates and faces/ Places you were happy/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/ I'll never fall, never fall like that again/
Never give up loving unless you have to/ Never leave your lover unless you must/ 'Cause he will haunt your empty heart forever/ 'Til your body turns to dust/
I want you, I want you, I want you
"You"-- Regina Spektor
trying to decipher what's written in Braille upon my skin...
That feeling comes...indescribable as deja vu, but lasts long enough to turn you mad. What is it you're looking for? What is it that leaves you groping through the dark searching without eyes? What are you supposed to find, see, feel, do....? All you know is it must happen, one way or another. Some people say it's impossible to find something without without having any knowledge of it except that it exists. But I must disagree. Even if you cannot see it, feel it, hear it, taste it.....even if you dont know where or how, why or even what...you'll find it if it's meant so. So don't stop trusting yourself, don't give up on that feeling....as strange as it feels. No matter if it brings the fear of the unknown. Chances are it brings the intense curiosity as well. Dont let go. "The light is there, and colours surround us. However, if there were no light nor colours in our own eye, we wouldn't perceive such things outside of us." --Johann Wolfgang von GoetheRaymond Kraft
December 7, 2008, began inauspiciously. At 0753 at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the attack that had triggered America's entry into World War II, sixty-seven years before, was ceremoniously commemorated, an honor guard, taps, a 21-gun salute, the bugle's notes and the rifles' crack drifting across the bay to the USS Arizona memorial, where Admiral Arthur Peterson, USN Ret., laid a wreath in memory of the sailors sleeping below, one of whom was his own grandfather. On the West coast it was 1053, and in Washington D.C. it was one fifty-three in the afternoon, 1353 military time. In 2006 America, tired of War in Iraq, had elected Democrats to modest majorities in both houses of Congress. Representative Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House, third in line for the presidency. In the spring of 2007, on a narrow, party-line vote, Congress, led by Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer refused to authorize spending to continue the war in Iraq, and set September 30, 2007, as the deadline for complete withdrawal of American troops. President Bush spoke to the country, to the American forces in Iraq, to those who had been there, and to the Iraqi people, to apologize for the short-sightedness and irresponsibility of the American congress and the tragedy he believed would follow after leaving task of nurturing a representative and stable government in Iraq half done, his voice choked, tears running down his stoic face, a betrayal of emotion for which he was resoundingly criticized and denounced in much of America's media. The level of violence across Iraq immediately subsided, as the Americans began preparations to redeploy back to the States. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised the new Congress for its clear vision and sound judgment. America's Democrats rejoiced and congratulated themselves for bringing peace with honor and ending the illegal war based on lies that George Bush had begun only to enrich his friends in the military-industrial complex, and promised to retake the Presidency in 2008. "The failure of many Americans, including many of the leading Democrats in Congress, and some Republicans, to fully appreciate the persistent, long-term threat posed to America's liberties and survival, and to the future of Liberal Democracies everywhere, by an Islamic Resistance Movement that envisions a world dominated and defined by an Islamic Caliphate of religious totalitarianism, and which will fight any war, make any sacrifice, suffer any hardship, and pay any price to achieve it, may prove to be the kind of blunder upon which the fate of America turns, and falls."At 1000 on September 30, 2007, precisely on schedule, the last C-5A Galaxy carrying the last company of American combat troops in Iraq had roared down the Baghdad runway and lifted into the air. Only a few hundred American technical and military advisers and political liaisons remained in-country. The Galaxy's wheels had scarcely retracted when Iraq erupted in the real civil war many had feared and foreseen, and which many others had predicted would not happen if only the American imperialists left Iraq. Sunni militias, Shia militias, and Al Qaeda militias ravaged and savaged the country, killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis known or suspected to have collaborated with the Americans, killing Shias for being Shias, Sunnis for being Sunnis, Americans for being Americans, and anyone else who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. By noon, not one of the American advisers and liaisons left behind remained alive. Many had been beheaded as they screamed. Most of their bodies were dumped in the river and never seen again. In the next thirty days more than a million Iraqis died. The General Assembly of the United Nations voted to condemn the violence, and recessed for lunch and martinis. In America, there was no political will to redeploy back to Iraq. And after a few months of rabid bloodletting, the situation in Iraq calmed to a tense simmer of sporadic violence and political jockeying, punctuated by the occasional assassination, while several million refugees fled the country. Only Kurdistan, in the north, which had thrown up a line of its Peshmurga fighters to keep the southern violence away, remained stable and at relative peace. In the spring of 2008 America began its quadrennial circus of a national election, and in November elected a Democrat, the Junior Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as it next president, to the surprise of few. Her running mate, to the surprise of many, was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose intelligence, charisma, and reputation as an indefatigable campaigner for gay marriage and the homeless of San Francisco helped solidify Clinton's support among liberal Democrats who only grudgingly forgave her for not openly opposing the Iraq war sooner, and the Clinton-Newsom ticket went to the top with a narrow 50.2% lead over Republican John McCain's 49.8% of the popular vote, despite, or perhaps because of, Clinton's and Newsom's lack of foreign policy and military experience. America, or a slim voting majority of it, felt it had had all the war it ever wanted to see, and Hillary had led her party to a glorious (if narrow) victory with the unambiguous slogan: "Clinton & Newsom: No More War." Crowds at every whistle stop had cheered and chanted, No more war! No more war! No more war! At victory parties George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice were hung and sometimes burned in effigy, enthusiastic crowds chanted "No more war!" many times more, and local bands cranked up the theme from the first Clinton electoral victory, "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow...yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone...," and indeed, it was. President Bush had been a very lame duck since the 2006 election, and with a Democratic Congress could do little but veto most of the bills it sent him. The Democrats couldn't override his vetoes, so for nearly two years almost nothing important had been accomplished by anyone on the Hill or in the White House. After the 2008 election it was transition time, flocks and herds of thoroughly demoralized Republican staff began leaving Washington in search of greener pastures, Congress adjourned for the Holidays, Democrats came house hunting, and Clinton and Newsom began the briefings they would get from a fully cooperative Bush administration on the state of the nation and the state of the world they would inherit and have to cope with for the next four years, or eight, and in those last weeks of November both Hillary and Gavin seemed to age rather quickly. The exhilaration of the campaign was over, and the weight of a tumultuous world began to settle on their shoulders. Back in early October, 2006, North Korean President (for life) Kim Jong Il had announced the detonation of a nuclear bomb deep in a tunnel in the stony mountains of North Korea. The seismic signature had been small, and American intelligence at first doubted whether it had been a nuclear explosion at all. Traces of radioactive emissions were detected a few days later, and the intelligence estimate revised to conclude that it had been a failed test that produced perhaps only 10% or less of the expected yield, only 0.5 to 1.5 kilotons, not the 20 kilotons, at least, that Western intelligence had anticipated. Kim Jong Il gloated. The deception had worked. The Americans were thinking in terms of long range intercontinental ballistic missiles with huge warheads that they could shoot out of the sky with their sophisticated billion-dollar anti-missile defense systems. He was thinking in terms of small warheads carried by small, medium range cruise missiles that could be launched from many places, and infiltrated close enough to slip in under the radar and hit America's coastal cities. On the evening of December 6, 2008, a junior analyst in the National Security Agency was going over routine satellite photo production of ship movements in the Atlantic and Pacific within a thousand miles of the US coasts. Late in the shift he thought he saw something through a haze of fatigue and caffeine, and called a supervisor over to talk. "Look," he said, photos up on several computer screens, more printed out and spread across his desk, "See? These boats, not big ships, fishing boats, yachts, they've been moving in along shipping lanes for several days, across from the South Pacific toward the West coast, up from the South Atlantic toward the east. Nothing very unusual, they're all small and slow, and scattered up and down the oceans, it seems, but if you look at the times and courses..." and he pulled out a chart he had plotted, "They're approaching so they will all arrive at about the same time, or all be about the same distance off the coast at about the same time...," he trailed off. The supervisor looked a bit quizzical. "Coincidence? Probably. You need more sleep. Too much fun in the night, eh? Let me know if you see something we can do something with." And walked away. At 0723 Hawaii time on the 67th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack three old fishing trawlers, about 100 miles apart, and each about 300 miles off the east coast, launched six small cruise missiles from launch tubes that could be dismantled and stored in the holds under ice, or fish, and set up in less than an hour. The missiles were launched at precisely one minute intervals. As soon as each boat had launched its pair, the skeleton crew began to abandon ship into a fast rubber inflatable. The captain was last off, and just before going overboard started the timer on the scuttling charges. Fifteen minutes later and ten miles away, each crew was going up the nets into a small freighter or tanker of Moroccan or Liberian registry, where each man was issued new identification as ship's crew. The rubber inflatables were shot and sunk, and just about then charges in the bilges of each of the three trawlers blew the hulls out, and they sank with no one on board and no distress signals in less than two minutes. The missiles had been built in a joint operation by North Korea and Iran, and tested in Iran, so they would not have to overfly any other country. The small nuclear warheads had only been tested deep underground. The GPS guidance and detonating systems had worked perfectly, after a few corrections. They flew fifty feet above sea level, and 500 feet above ground level on the last leg of the trip, using computers and terrain data modified from open market technology and flight directors, autopilots, adapted from commercial aviation units. They would adjust speed to arrive on target at specific times and altitudes, and detonate upon reaching the programmed GPS coordinates. They were not as adaptable and intelligent as American cruise missiles, but they did not need to be. Not for this mission. They were small, less than twenty feet long, and only 18 inches in diameter, powered by small, quiet, fuel-efficient, high-bypass turbofans, and painted in a mottled light blue and light gray ghost camouflage. Cruising at 600 knots, just below the speed of sound, they were nearly impossible to see or hear. They came in under the radar until they reached the coast. After that they were lost in the ground clutter. Nobody saw it coming. At precisely 0753, Hawaii time, 1353 in the District of Columbia, sixty-seven years to the minute after the Pearl Harbor attack began, the first of six missiles to hit the Washington area exploded in a huge white burst of nuclear fire just 500 feet above the White House, which disappeared in a mist of powdered plaster and stone, concrete and steel. President Bush and President-Elect Clinton had been meeting with Condoleezza Rice and Mrs. Clinton's national security adviser, reviewing the latest National Security Estimate, when they instantaneously turned into a plasma of the atomic elements that had once been human beings. No trace remained. Alarms immediately began going off all over Washington, and precisely one minute later the second missile exploded just as it struck the Capital dome, instantly turning thousands of tons of granite that had one moment before been the nation's center of government into thousands of tons of granite shrapnel that shredded several square miles of Washington like a leviathan Claymore mine. At precisely one minute intervals, four more 3 kiloton nuclear weapons exploded at an altitude of 500 feet AGL above the Pentagon, the CIA headquarters, the NSA headquarters, the FBI headquarters, all of which were fully staffed in the middle of the day. In five minutes, the government of the United States of America was decapitated, and a quarter million of the people who made the place run were dead, or dying, or had simply disappeared. Also at 1353 Eastern time, a missile had blown off just above the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, and thousands of years of collective financial knowledge and experience evaporated in the nuclear flame. In one minute intervals, others had hit the financial centers of Boston and Baltimore, and the Naval base at Norfolk, Virginia. Simultaneously, within the same 10-minute window of hell, nuclear tipped cruise missiles devastated the largest intermodel shipping facility on the West coast at San Pedro harbor, exploded just above the Library Tower in central Los Angeles, and short circuited the computer technology ghetto of Silicon Valley in Santa Clara County, big time. One exploded ten feet away from the top of the Bank of America Building in San Francisco and set much of the east slope of the city ablaze. Another giant fireball flared among the phalanx of office towers along the Capitol Mall in Sacramento, instantly obliterating Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state government of California, the largest state economy in the US, the seventh largest economy in the world. Two ripped open the heart of Portland, Oregon, one shattered the financial district of Seattle, and the last one turned the Microsoft campus into a pillar of fire and smoke, wiping from the face of history, in a second, the IT giant that had revolutionized global communications. It was 0803, Hawaii time. Ten minutes. Three million Americans dead. And not a trace of the assault fleet remained on the surface of any ocean. Vice-President Elect Gavin Newsom was in his bedroom at home in Pacific Heights, his window overlooking the Golden Gate and the Marin bluffs. He thought he heard an oddly loud crack of thunder and saw a flash reflected on the hills across the inlet, but it was a clear day and nothing else seemed out of place. He continued packing for the return trip to Washington, his second since the election, to continue his transition briefings and begin organizing his staff. His nomination as Hillary's running mate had come as a huge surprise, and he was elated. Someone rapped on the door, loudly, twice, and without waiting for a reply the senior Secret Service officer on his detail opened it and stepped quickly in. "Come with me, now," he said. Gavin was startled. "I need to finish packing," he replied. "No time, sir. Something has happened. Very big. I fear. No details yet. We have to get you out of here, NOW! RIGHT NOW! GO! GO! GO!" He grabbed Newsom's arm, swung him around, and pushed him out the door, where two other Secret Service agents flanked him down the stairs and out to a running black Suburban waiting in the garage. They pushed him into the back seat, jumped in, and the driver gunned the engine, out the drive, down the street, tires squealing. Nobody spoke until they were headed over the Bridge, northbound at seventy-five miles an hour, weaving through the traffic which wasn't yet the gridlock it would soon become. "What the hell's going on?" he finally demanded. "Okay. This is what I know," the officer said. "The US has apparently sustained multiple nuclear attacks in the last fifteen minutes, including Washington D.C. and San Francisco. Financial district. We're not sure how many, at least ten, maybe twenty. Lots of dead. Got the White House, the Capital, the Pentagon. Our job is to get you on an airplane at the nearest functioning airport, that'll be Novato, and get you to a safe place. Prestissimo." "Where?" Newsom asked. Things were moving way too fast now. "Don't know yet. We'll get orders." The Air Force Learjet had been airborne for two minutes when a cell phone buzzed, and the Secret Service captain answered it and handed it off to the Vice President Elect. "It's Mr. Cheney, sir," he said. "Gavin?" Dick Cheney asked. "Yes, sir," Newsom replied, subdued, for the events of the last hour had sobered up his elated mood considerably. "Okay, Gavin. I don't know what you know, so I'll tell you what I can. There have been approximately 20 nuclear strikes on government and financial targets in the US, about an hour ago. No real damage estimate yet, except that it's awful. A hundred times 9/11, maybe a thousand times. I happened to be at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and have moved into Cheyenne Mountain to set up a temporary HQ, until we get things sorted out. As you know Cheyenne was vacated by NORAD a few years ago, so we have plenty of space. You will be flown here, nonstop." "I know you haven't a lot of national and international experience." Cheney had thought of saying that Newsom had none, but Newsom would be too painfully aware of that. He didn't need reminding. "The President is missing and presumed dead. So is Mrs. Clinton. So you may become the next president, in about six weeks. I don't know. he Constitution says the Vice President succeeds a president who is dead or disabled, but it doesn't say what happens if the President Elect dies before being inaugurated. I suppose the Court will have to answer that, if we can cobble one together by then. In the meantime, I will assume you will be inaugurated. You'll have a steep learning curve, a real steep curve. All presidents do, under the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances." The next day a hard winter storm roared down the West coast from Alaska, pelting rescue workers in bombed out city centers with hard, cold rain, that did not let up for a week. People alive but injured or trapped in the wreckage died of hypothermia before they were found. Two days later, a cold front out of Canada brought heavy snow to the Northeast. Millions were already without electricity, and in a week of subzero weather hundreds of thousands more died. More than four million, altogether. More than one of every one hundred Americans. Al Qaeda had picked December 7 because it was the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and because, just before Christmas, the Infidel holiday, it would destroy the Christmas shopping season so important to so many retailers, driving another nail into the national economy of the Great Satan. And it would destroy the festive spirit of the season for millions of Americans, perhaps for all. The perfect psyop. Psychological warfare. And the weather forecasters had predicted severe winter storms on both coasts during the week immediately after disaster. Al Qaeda leaders had calculated, correctly, that by turning up the violence in Iraq during the weeks before the 2006 election it could achieve an anti-war Democratic Congress that would vote to end America's wars in the Middle East, and then by turning down the violence in Iraq after the election of an anti-war Democratic Congress, it could lull America into a false sense of safety and security in anticipation of the "peace in our time" that America's new ruling party had promised would follow from what Al Qaeda perceived, correctly, as America's retreat before the unstoppable determination of the Islamic Resistance Movement, the Jihad. America did not call it that, of course. The Americans thought they were just ending a bad and illegal war ginned up by George W. Bush to depose Saddam Hussein who had proven not to have WMDs after all, the ones the Americans had never found, the ones buried in Syria. Al Qaeda saw more clearly. It was a capitulation, a de facto surrender of the Middle East to the coming Islamic Caliphate that would someday rule the world. The martyrs of Islam had beaten the Great Satan to its knees. In time they would cut off its head. By Christmas, the American economy had imploded. Inflation soared, unemployment soared, businesses closed, cities that had suffered direct hits became ghost towns. Tax revenues evaporated, leaving state governments without funds to pay unemployment benefits or teachers' salaries. With the New York Stock Exchange gone, stock trading ended, and values plummeted. Retirement assets and pension funds disappeared in a wink. Nobody knew what to expect. Real estate crashed, and major banks filed for bankruptcy. With the collapse of the American economy, the largest on earth, the most productive country on earth, with just 5% of the global population producing one third of the global economic output, the rest of the global economy fell into chaos. Oil shipments stopped, food shipments stopped, and in that winter millions of people in third world countries starved to death. The America era was over. "In the spring of 1941, Nazi Germany was poised to dominate the earth. France, the low countries, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Greece, and much of Poland had been overrun by the Germans. All of Europe, save neutral Sweden and Switzerland, was in the hands of Hitler's friends and allies: dictators or monarchs who ruled fascist Italy, Vichy France, Franco's Spain, Portugal, the Balkan countries, Finland, and above all the Soviet Union." "A single German division under General Erwin Rommel, sent to rescue beleaguered Italians in Libya, drove Britain's Middle Eastern armies flying and threatened the Suez lifeline; while in Iraq a coup d'etat by the pro-German Rashid Ali cut the land road to India. In Asia, Germany's ally, Japan, was coiled to strike, ready to take Southeast Asia and invade India. No need to involve the United States; by seizing the Indies, Japan could break the American embargo and obtain all the oil needed for the Axis Powers to pursue their war aims.
"Hitler should have sent the bulk of his armies to serve under Rommel, who would have done what Alexander did and Bonaparte failed to do: He would have taken the Middle East and led his armies to India. There he would have linked up with the Japanese. Europe, Asia, and Africa, would have belonged to the coalition of dictators and militarists." "The Nazi-Soviet-Japanese alliance commanded armed forces and resources that utterly dwarfed the military resources that the holdouts, Britain (with its empire), and the United States, could field. The English-speaking countries would have been isolated in a hostile world and would have had no realistic option but to make their peace with the enemy, retaining some autonomy for a time, perhaps, but doomed ultimately to succumb. Nazi Germany, as leader of the coalition, would have ruled the world." "Only Hitler's astonishing blunder in betraying and invading his Soviet ally kept it from happening." -- David Frompkin, Boston University History is made, wars are won and lost, cultures and nations and civilizations come and go, rise and fall, as much by blunders as by victories. The failure of many Americans, including many of the leading Democrats in Congress, and some Republicans, to fully appreciate the persistent, long-term threat posed to America's liberties and survival, and to the future of Liberal Democracies everywhere, by an Islamic Resistance Movement that envisions a world dominated and defined by an Islamic Caliphate of religious totalitarianism, and which will fight any war, make any sacrifice, suffer any hardship, and pay any price to achieve it, may prove to be the kind of blunder upon which the fate of America turns, and falls. "Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to
create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit.
Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not
fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If
they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots." --Napoleon Bonaparte "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." --Albert Einstein "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."--Malcolm X "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." --Isaiah, II:4
"Hitler should have sent the bulk of his armies to serve under Rommel, who would have done what Alexander did and Bonaparte failed to do: He would have taken the Middle East and led his armies to India. There he would have linked up with the Japanese. Europe, Asia, and Africa, would have belonged to the coalition of dictators and militarists." "The Nazi-Soviet-Japanese alliance commanded armed forces and resources that utterly dwarfed the military resources that the holdouts, Britain (with its empire), and the United States, could field. The English-speaking countries would have been isolated in a hostile world and would have had no realistic option but to make their peace with the enemy, retaining some autonomy for a time, perhaps, but doomed ultimately to succumb. Nazi Germany, as leader of the coalition, would have ruled the world." "Only Hitler's astonishing blunder in betraying and invading his Soviet ally kept it from happening." -- David Frompkin, Boston University History is made, wars are won and lost, cultures and nations and civilizations come and go, rise and fall, as much by blunders as by victories. The failure of many Americans, including many of the leading Democrats in Congress, and some Republicans, to fully appreciate the persistent, long-term threat posed to America's liberties and survival, and to the future of Liberal Democracies everywhere, by an Islamic Resistance Movement that envisions a world dominated and defined by an Islamic Caliphate of religious totalitarianism, and which will fight any war, make any sacrifice, suffer any hardship, and pay any price to achieve it, may prove to be the kind of blunder upon which the fate of America turns, and falls. "Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to
create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit.
Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not
fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If
they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots." --Napoleon Bonaparte "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." --Albert Einstein "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."--Malcolm X "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." --Isaiah, II:4
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