September 16, 2005

While we organize around the demand for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq, it is essential that the movement show the connection between the war in Iraq and all the other fronts of the U.S. government's war for Empire, including the struggle of working and poor people in the United States.

from David Corn:
Is This What Bob Dylan Had in Mind?

You may be the most powerful person in the entire world, yet as Bob Dylan once warbled, "Even the president of the United States/Sometimes must have/To stand naked." But do we have to be reminded of that? Here's a Reuters photo of a note that George Bush sent Condoleezza Rice when he was at the UN on Wednesday.

I received this photo of Bush's vacation from several people:

September 15, 2005

Wednesday, September 14th, 2005
First Aid
An Update from Jason:
Today we went to Mississippi, first stop, Gulf Port. Our convoy included 1 school bus and 3 vans all full of goods and food. We first visited a number of Native Americans who have been totally ignored by the relief effort. We found out about them because of a post they had left on the VFP message board.

We then went to one of the projects in the area and unloaded tons of goods in the parking lot of the community center in that neighborhood. We gave goods and food to about 100 people there. That was great to be able to help that many people in such a short amount of time. Again, like I hear from everyone, we were the FIRST relief aid that any of these people had gotten. No Red Cross, No FEMA, No Nothing.

We then went to Wiggins, LA. We visited a drop-off area there at the Magnolia Fire Dept. I spoke to the fire chief, Pete. He told me how devastated they were there. It's funny, no matter how many times someone tells me that I'm the first relief they've gotten, it still infuriates me. They had some food and water but that had only come from private donations. This was the fire chief of the town telling me this. This was not a random person I met on the street. He is one of the leaders of his community and yet he was not able to even contact the Red Cross or FEMA to get help. You could see it in his face just how frustrated and tired he is of all of this and hopefully someone reading this will get some real government help to Pete instead of some Veterans for Peace dropping off food and water.

September 14, 2005

As evidenced in the life of William Rehnquist, judges, even Supreme Court Judges, rarely if ever change their basic beliefs.Ê They will do everything possible to project their personal attitudes and influences on the people of the United States of America.Ê Up to and including Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, a citizen's right to privacy, a womanâs right to choose, and anything else their twisted personalities are attempting to effect!Ê John Roberts clerked for Rehnquist, he is a Rehnquist devotee, and should be rejected by the Senate if indeed Freedom and Democracy is important to all Americans.

September 13, 2005

ÊÊÊÊ Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force. Several mercenaries we spoke with said they had served in Iraq on the personal security details of the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul Bremer and the former US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte.

Ê ÊÊÊÊ"This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary told us as we stood on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. "We're much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq."

Ê ÊÊÊÊBlackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences. Their presence on the streets of New Orleans should be a cause for serious concern for the remaining residents of the city and raises alarming questions about why the government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here. Some of the men now patrolling the streets of New Orleans returned from Iraq as recently as 2 weeks ago.

Ê ÊÊÊÊWhat is most disturbing is the claim of several Blackwater mercenaries we spoke with that they are here under contract from the federal and Louisiana state governments. more...

September 12, 2005

It has been four years today. How does it feel four years later?

For the 3,000 victims in America, more than 100,000 have died in Iraq. Tens of thousands of others are being detained for interrogation and torture. Our homes have been raided, our cities are constantly being bombed and Iraq has fallen back decades, and for several years to come we will suffer under the influence of the extremism we didn't know prior to the war.

As I write this, Tel Afar, a small place north of Mosul, is being bombed. Dozens of people are going to be buried under their homes in the dead of the night. Their water and electricity have been cut off for days. It doesnât seem to matter much though because they donât live in a wonderful skyscraper in a glamorous city. They are, quite simply, farmers and herders not worth a second thought.

Four years later and the War on Terror (or is it the War of Terror?) has been won:

Score:
Al-Qaeda Ð 3,000
America Ð 100,000+

Congratulations.

September 11, 2005

"The very core of liberty secured by our Anglo-Saxon system of separated powers has been freedom from indefinite imprisonment at the will of theExecutive."
......Judge Antonin Scalia

I had to sit down when I heard the Padilla case had been settled. I literally felt sick to my stomach, like I was gasping for air. The case of Jose Padilla is quite simply the most important case in the history of the American judicial system. Hanging in the balance are all the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence including habeas corpus, due process and "the presumption of innocence". All of those basic concepts were summarily revoked by the 3 judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court. The Court ruled in favor of the Bush administration which claimed that it had the right to indefinitely imprison an American citizen without charging him with a crime. The resulting verdict confers absolute authority on the President to incarcerate American citizens without charge and without any legal means for the accused to challenge the terms of his detention. It is the end of "inalienable rights", the end of The Bill of Rights, and the end of any meaningful notion of personal liberty.Ê more...

September 10, 2005

Dr. Ben Marble, a young emergency room physician who plays in alternative rock bands and does art on the side, needs our help. Since he was the one who told Dick Cheney to "go fuck yourself" on Sept. 8, that's the least we can do.

Marble is a complex guy, to say the least. Some of the lyrics he writes can be considered harsh by some Ð personally what I've heard is very much on target - but he has a softer side as an organizer of breast cancer fund-raisers, not to mention an ER doctor.

When he, like thousands of others, lost his home due to Hurricane Katrina last week, it was the single most traumatic week of his life. That led to his Sept. 8 confrontation with the man who best represents the worst of the most callous, heartless, shittiest administration in U.S. history. more...

September 16, 2005


September 15, 2005


September 14, 2005


September 13, 2005


September 12, 2005


September 11, 2005


September 10, 2005

Archives

No War in Iraq march.

Klezmatics

On April 3, 2005, Barbara and I went to see the Klezmatics, with guest Joshua Nelson, Jewish gospel singer. To quote the concert program, "Their soul-stirring Jewish roots music recreates klezmer in arrangements and compostions that combine Jewish identity and mysticism with a contemporary zeitgeist and a postmodern aesthetic. Since their founding in New York City's East Village in 1986, the Klezmatics have celebrated the ecstatic nature of Yiddish music with works by turn wild, spiritual, provocative, reflective and danceable." The concert was phenomenal.

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This site consists of original photographs and composites by Fletcher Oakes, unless otherwise credited.