connecting*the*dots

I don’t often use these guys as an example of great journalism, but this Hardball segment is on point. They convincingly expose Dick Cheney’s lies regarding the tie between one of the primary 9/11 terrorists and Iraq.

The entire piece screams conspiracy to sell and then launch an illegal war.

Of course, this leaves me with a few questions:

• Who holds these men and woman accountable to such contradictions and lies? Congress? Another special prosecutor?
• Do we have to wait until there’s a Democratic administration in office before an investigation is launched?
• Is Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation expanding?

If it’s proven that this unethical administration schemed to launch an illegal war by knowingly using false evidence — a war which has already killed tens of thousands of people — I want justice.

And no, my sense of justice would not equate with a misdemeanor.

(via The Republic of T)

America, can we all put down our Coors Light and X-Boxes for a moment?

Thanks.

Now let’s dig back into our collective Cowboys and Indians past and pretend that every injustice in American history didn’t occur.

That’s right, every atrocity from the Vietnam War to the destruction of the Native American population never happened; no Tuskegee experiment; no slavery; anti-women suffrage; industrial age child labor, etc.

Did you find your happy place yet?

Good.

Now let’s wallow in our newly formed self-righteous goodness as a nation and take a look at the chant we were all required to recite in school, specifically the last part of our Pledge of Allegiance”

“…one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Are those words now fresh in your gray matter?

Good.

So, as an absolutely righteous nation with a Godly pledge, let’s take a look at one way our government reacted to the mother of all terrorist attacks.

So Much For “Indivisible”

Patrick Fitzgerald — the man who took down the 1993 WTC bombers, the 1998 bombers of the US embassy in Africa and John Gotti of the Gambino mafia family — is quite possibly going to hand out indictments to a chunk of the current administration for crimes of treason, including cover up perjury and obstruction of justice.

This is not an isolated case of misdoings; these charges have everything to do with the war in Iraq, and are even more telling of our government’s character.

For those of you that have been enjoying all the freedoms that this country provides, but with blind faith and limited involvement regarding our government, take a moment to review the following time line of our divisive leadership:

2001: An Italian intelligence report had Iraq purchasing uranium yellow cake from Niger, in defiance of United Nations sanctions. Dick Cheney contacted the CIA to look into its validity (since then, it’s become public knowledge that the report was forged)

February 2002: Unbeknownst to Dick Cheney, former-US ambassador Joe Wilson is dispatched by the operations unit of the CIA to Niger in order to verify the report provided by the Vice-President

March 2002: Wilson briefs the CIA and the State Department African Affairs Bureau to his findings, which turned out to be a complete contradiction of the forged Italian report; no such uranium sale had been made

September 2002: The British government publishes a “white paper” asserting that Saddam Hussein and his unconventional arms posed an immediate danger, citing Iraq’s attempts to purchase uranium from an African country

December 2002: The State Department publishes a fact sheet that mentions the Niger case

January 2003: Bush follows up his lies to Congress by addressing the American people and the world, stating that there was explicit evidence that Saddam had purchased yellow cake uranium in Niger

March 2003: The United States of America invades Iraq via Shock and Awe

June 2003: Discovered in October 2005, Scooter Libby’s notes show that Dick Cheney asked George Tenet — the post-9/11 decorated former CIA Chief — about Joe Wilson

July 6 2003: Joe Wilson writes an op-ed piece in The New York Times entitled What I Didn’t Find In Africa, which contradicts the administrations entire version of the Iraq, yellow cake and Niger story

July 14 2003: Directly following the printing of Wilson’s op-ed, Robert Novak identifies Joe Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative in column titled, Mission To Niger. He attributes “senior administration officials” as his sources.

September 14 2003: On Meet The Press, Dick Cheney denies receiving any brief about Joe Wilson’s findings, adding “I don’t know Joe Wilson. I’ve never met Joe Wilson.”

October 1 2003: Joe Wilson tells Ted Koppel on Nightline that Washington reporters told him that senior White House adviser Karl Rove said his wife was “fair game.” Wilson “plans to give the names of the reporters to the FBI,” which is conducting a full-blown investigation of the possible leak.

Outing the identity of an unofficial covert CIA agent is not only a threat to the lives of the agent and his/her colleagues, but it is an explicit act of treason, as it potentially threatens our National Security.

So here we have an administration espousing American values left and right, yet crafting false evidence to justify war with a sovereign nation. The same administration then attacks Wilson’s wife — and our safety as a nation — because Wilson made it crystal clear that the administration disregarded his official briefing in order to back false evidence and rally support for the war.

Bully tactics, plain and simple.

Back to the anthem; where exactly does the term “indivisible” fit into the equation here? How about that “one nation” concept? I can see “under God,” “liberty” and “justice for all” at work over in Iraq…

There’s a lot riding on Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation.

Holding individuals accountable for treason, perjury and obstruction of justice will begin to show American citizens and people around the world that the promise of the American Republic is still alive. Exposing the motivation behind these actions would go far in exposing the criminal cabal responsible for launching this war.

Look, I’m a realist, I know accountability is tougher to score than a 70-yard field goal. Unfortunately, I’m also at a point of my life where I perceive the motivations of the federal government as being one and the same with corporate America: short-term growth at any cost.

So while the potential reality of my perception of our government could be dangerous to the environment, individuals rights, the national economy and the shores of any sovereign nation with natural resources, the perception itself is even more disconcerting; for it is this perception of reality that rages as the unlimited and intangible natural resource that powers terrorism from oversees.

I stopped crossing my heart and blindly chanting the American jingle a long time ago for these exact reasons.

Haven’t you?

(via MacLiberals)

Tom Toles (via Yahoo!)

Update: If it isn’t clear from the title of the post, this is from the October issue of The Nation, titled "Perp Walk" by Joe Wezorek of American Leftist

After harassing all of my friends for months to join me, I ended up not making it to DC this past weekend. I’m against this war, but I wasn’t ready to go it alone, blending into the crowd of 100,000 strong. Not personally representing my dissent for this unjust war was disappointing, but at least one of my buds on the other side of the country, DeWitt Clinton, made it to the San Francisco rally and took a bunch of great pictures.

Thankfully, I had options for the weekend, so instead of throwing tomatoes at The White House, I spent a relaxing time in the backwoods and mountains of Northern Virginia with Angela and her family. From laid-back, Spades playing nights in the Mellen cabin to the pseudo-Dirty Dancing community vibe of the British Invasion party, the weekend turned out better than I could have hoped for.

About a month ago, the Economist published an article about Yahoo!’s schizophrenic nature as a company. Yahoo!’s history as an Internet pioneer moved me to christen them as a change agent for Web 2.0 — the complete opposite of the flaky AOLish operation.

Well, those wacky Yahooligans are off their meds again. God bless ‘em.

In a few weeks, Yahoo! plans on releasing In the Hot Zone, a first person, solo journalism (SoJo) effort by Kevin Sites, who’ll cover the most war torn areas of the globe; areas which receive little to no mainstream coverage in the US. Here’s a taste of the Yahoo! approach:

Our Principles:

We will be aggressive in pursuing the stories that are not getting mainstream coverage and we will put a human face on them. We will not chase headlines nor adhere to pack journalism but vigorously pursue the stories in front of and behind the conflict, the small stories that when strung together illustrate a more complete picture.

We are professional journalists and will apply to our work the ethical code of conduct as outlined by the Society of Professional Journalists:

• To seek and report the truth.
• To minimize harm.
• To act independently.
• To be accountable.

We strongly believe, as stated in the preamble of this code, "that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy."

We also will add four more criteria to our work that will take us above the journalistic code. We also pledge in our reporting and storytelling:

Transparency
An honest and authentic accounting of both our failure and successes, to pull back the curtain on our editorial and technological process. We refuse to propagate the myths of the omniscient, infallible correspondent.

Vulnerability
We will strive to live, breathe, and experience the lives of the people we are covering — including the daily dangers they’re exposed to from combat, disease, and hardship.

Empathy
We may not always agree with our sources, but we will make every effort to understand their positions and report them with clarity, so that our audience may have context and perspective.

Solutions
Our site will contain links to organizations and groups that are working to aid victims of these conflicts and assist in their peaceful resolutions.

Will Yahoo! succeed in this venture? I don’t know, but it really doesn’t matter, because by just making this announcement, Yahoo! has already set the tone for alternative news reporting in a mainstream format (the far reaching walls of the Yahoo! membership and reach).

Even if they fail in the tactical attempt based on any number of conflicts (remember the Chinese reporter incident?) more sites will undoubtedly take on the challenge and pick up the baton running. A change agent, when all is said and done, is about the change. Steering change through it’s evolutionary course isn’t necessary the goal.

Yahoo! is leading at the point where Web 2.0 crosses over into the real. Sweet.

UPDATE: Current TV anyone?

(originally uploaded by dreadfuldan)

Mother nature dropped Katrina.
The federal government dropped the ball.
Kanye West dropped the illest freestyle in the midst of the harshest climate.

And Mos Def just dropped Katrina Klap, a jam that will undoubtedly mark this moment in the annals of hip-hop and social activism.

1, 2, 3, 4 bust it!
This is for the streets
The streets everywhere
The streets affected by the storm called… America, huh.
I’m doing this for y’all
As for me, the creator

Get busy, y’all!

God save these streets, one dollar per every human being
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
Listen, homie
It’s dollar day in New Orleans
It’s for the water everywhere and people dead in the streets
And Mr. President, he about that cash
He got a policy for handling the niggers and trash
And if you poor, you black
I laugh a laugh, they won’t give when you ask,
You better off on crack
Dead or in jail or with a gun in Iraq
And it’s as simple as that
No opinion, my man
It’s mathematical fact
Listen
A million poor since 2004
And they got illions and killions to waste on the war
And make you question what the taxes is for
Or the cost to reinforce the broke levee wall
Tell the boss he shouldn’t be the boss anymore

God save these streets, one dollar per every human being
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
God save these streets, quit being cheap, nigger, freedom ain’t free!
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
Lord have mercy!
Lord, God, God, save our soul, a God save our soul, a God, a God save our soul
Lord, God, God, save our soul, a God save our soul, soul, soul… soul survival!

It’s dollar day in New Orleans
It’s for the water everywhere and babies dead in the streets
It’s enough to make ya’ holla out
Like, where the fuck is Sir Bono and his famous friends now?
Don’t get it twisted man
I dig U2
But if you ain’t about the ghetto
Then fuck you too
Who care about rock n’ roll when babies can’t eat food
Listen, homie man, the shit ain’t cool
It’s like, dollar day, for New Orleans
It’s for the water everywhere, homies dead in the streets
And Mr. President’s a natural ass
He out treatin’ niggas worse then they treat the trash

God save these streets, one dollar per every human being
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
God save these streets, quit being cheap, nigger, freedom ain’t free!
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
Soul survivor!
Lord, God, God, save our soul, a God save our soul, a God, a God save our soul
Lord, God, God, save our soul, a God save our soul, a God, a God save our…

God did not intend for the wicked to rule the world
Said God did not intend for the wicked to rule the world
God did not intend for the wicked to rule the world
And even when they do
It’s a matter of truth
Before their wicked ruling is through

God save these streets
A dollar day for New Orleans
God save these streets
Quit being cheap, homie, freedom ain’t free!
God save these streets
One dollar per every human being!
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
God save these streets
Quit being cheap, nigger, freedom ain’t free!
Feel that Katrina Klap!
Ghetto Katrina Klap!
Soul survivor
Lord, God, God, save our soul, a God save, God save our soul
Feel that Katrina Klap!
Let’s make them dollars stack!
And rebuild these streets
God save these streets
God save these streets
God save the soul!
Feel that Katrina Klap!
See that Katrina Klap!
Soul survivor

Don’t talk about it, be about it.
Peace.

Push it along. You’ve got to push it along…

George Bush: "No one could have anticipated the breaching of the levees."

Really?

2001
Preliminary Public Health Issues
2002
PBS Special
City in a Bowl
2002
NOLA.com
Washing Away
2003
New Orleans Hurricane Impact Study
2004
National Geographic
Gone With The Water
2004
Independent Weekly
Disaster In The Making
June 2005
New Orleans City Business
New Orleans District of the US Army Corps of Engineers Faces

It took me 10 minutes on Google to find those references. I’ll just chalk up your statement as another lie, Mr. .. eh-hem… President.

But while we’re talking about the levees, let’s discuss what happened to the funding for the Army Corp of Engineers to finish the construction. Apparently, there was a specific article in the Times-Picayune on June 8th of 2004 which detailed the federal cuts for hurricane preparedness and levee construction and improvement in New Orleans. It’s not available on-line, but TMPCafe put together excerpts of the piece here. Here’s a taste:

The Bush administration’s proposed fiscal 2005 budget includes only $3.9 million for the east bank hurricane project. Congress likely will increase that amount, although last year it bumped up the administration’s $3 million proposal only to $5.5 million.

"I needed $11 million this year, and I got $5.5 million," Naomi said. "I need $22.5 million next year to do everything that needs doing, and the first $4.5 million of that will go to pay four contractors who couldn’t get paid this year."

[…]

The challenge now, said emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri in
Jefferson Parish and Terry Tullier in New Orleans, is for southeast Louisiana somehow to persuade those who control federal spending that protection from major storms and flooding are matters of homeland security.

"It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay," Maestri said. "Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

So apparently, occupying a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and had no weapons of mass destruction is a higher priority than shoring up a defense structure to ensure that the largest homeland disaster ever doesn’t occur. Your President, George Bush, moved FEMA into the Homeland Security classification bucket so he could draw potential disaster protection/relief funding into his War for Oil… er… Against Terror.

How’s that for blatant disregard for public safety? How many people are in American jails for simple possession of narcotics, while this man runs loose destroying our nation, murdering innocent people around the world, while lining his own pockets?

How pompous and disrespectful is this guy?

George Bush, Governor of Texas, giving the "one finger victory salute" before he addressed the state.

George Bush, President of The United States of America, flipping off the press and anyone watching.

No, Fuck You Georgie Boy. WHEN WILL THIS POMPOUS, INCOMPETENT, MURDEROUS, CRIMINAL, COKE-HEAD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!?

To the House and Senate: Your constituents are becoming furious. It’s time to relieve this man of his power.

we bring the live to the live to bring death to the all
barrels of dark reason tells the story of the gall
100’s of men and women have the power to stand tall
’stead they just stand by and watch the march to a fall
what’s up y’all?
who’s up for an overhaul?
who’s ready for a medicine ball
dropped from way outta site,
an old found depth and a new found height?
three times left… you know i’m right.
pushing the boundaries of air tight
i’m blasting through to ignite,
even in spite…
of my in-stability,
of my new-found city,
of the pity of a fitty-
sense
of the diddy of a twenty-
pence
of the quality of kweli…
hence
the expansion of a mos def
fence
intense custom eyes gives rise
two light blue hues cutting ties…
lost in the queue.
too much to say,
too much to do,
packing in the world for a step to the chrome-
a zone…
stepping up for a push and a lift two
a tone…
stepping back down
to step right back up
up,
up,
and away…

So President Bush has met with more than 700 family members of 270 soldiers killed in Iraq. I’m sorry, but this fluff piece from Newsweek ("I’m So Sorry") just doesn’t cut it for me.

How is it that myself, half of this nation and a majority of the world, didn’t buy the propaganda leading up to the invasion of Iraq, yet this smug bastard was still able to Shock and Awe us into the next Vietnam? Why isn’t Newsweek writing an “I’m So Sorry” piece about that move?

That was a rhetorical question by the way.

Bush should meet with every family that has lost a son, daughter, sister, brother, mother and father due to this war. This Newsweek piece smells like one huge wristband to me. Just do the right thing and stop the media spin barrage, please. And oh yeah, one more thing: Break convention and meet with Cindy Sheehan for a second time. This is all starting to sound like a bunch of ankle biter’s complaints that the birthday girl is receiving a second slice of cake.

I’m a registered Independent, so everyone is fair game for me to criticize. And that’s my only beef with Michael Moore’s approach to his work. While I agree with his stance on about everything he’s dropped, he practically disappeared from the theatre-going public eye for eight years while Clinton was in office. Okay, he made “Big One,” but that doesn’t quite count.

If you’re a documentary filmmaker, attempting to represent the best interests of the people in this country, specifically the under-privilaged, don’t be partisan. There’s more than enough bullshit on Capitol Hill to sift through during any administration in the White House.

Greed, shadyness and stupidity don’t hold political cards.

I realize that Moore didn’t vote for Clinton or Gore in the last two elections, but his films projects a perception of a hardcore anti-Republican stance, instead of one that just supports doing the right thing, first and foremost. The government of this country—including the media—operates with the smoke and mirrors of a two-party system, meaning that Moore’s output can then be manipulated to work against the Democratic party, as he is presented as a strong supporter of “the other side.”

There’s nothing wrong with choosing a party to support per se, but when his agenda is to open the eyes of the fringe to sway votes (with Fahrenheit 9/11), middle-ground needs to be served in the midst of the sniper fire as a peace offering.

No matter! I’m counting the days for the release of “Fahrenheit 9/11.” I’m hoping he can put to celluloid at least a chunk of emotions that I’ve been struggling with for the past 3+ years. Call him what you may, but Moore does have a knack for capturing the poignancy of a particular issue.

Mr. Bush, Mr. Blair… since this war is much more about winning the hearts and minds from within Iraq, the Middle East and the watchful eyes of (former?) allies around the world than finding WMDs, maybe we should try a few new tactics. Well, of course I have a few ideas! I’m expecting you to take notes, but don’t worry, this won’t hurt too much.

1. Instead of placing American flags on fallen statues, roofs of buildings we occupy or on bridges we take over, etc., how about placing traditional Iraqi flags with a corresponding one that reads "freedom" in Arabic in it’s place? It promotes the idea of liberation not occupation. That is your stance, isn’t it?
2. Kill the radio broadcasts in Arabic that are making fun of Saddam. As much as these people hate him, you’re only patronizing their intelligence. It may work with Leno or Conan for our retarded American public, but it’s viewed as an insulting tactic around the world. The Arab world, specifically, gets a tad bit uptight when you make fun of an Arab leader… even if he is/was a dictator. We don’t need any more people with hate in their hearts against us. It’s a dumb move. Dumb and classless. Oh my bad, the CIA is in charge on this one… no wonder.
3. If we’re dumping billions into the war budject, we should have at least a few billions set aside to immediately move in and provide medical assistance. Temporary to begin with, perminant within a year or so. Build new, modern hospitals in strategic areas of the country in order for all people to get assistance. This, along with an irrigation system to provide fresh water throughout the country, would be the greatest investment towards the future of peace in the country.

See? That wasn’t so bad. You’re such big boys! Ok, now get out of my office and go fix the world. If you don’t no one will… right?

Read this “statement of principles” at newamericancentury.org and try to tell me that this document, written back in 1997, isn’t a premeditated statement of an agenda for a strangle hold on the world based on “our” national interests and values.

This isn’t my stance on their statement; they actually say it themselves! So, do you want to know who they are?

Out of the twenty-five knuckleheads that signed their names to this crap, Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld stand out the most as policy influencer’s of the Dubya mentality.

This country is going to hell in a handbag.

Hm, I wonder why most of the world is burning our flag right now? Stating that one of our primary directives is to “challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values” wouldn’t read as code to any educated person would it? This document can only help improve our perception around the world, especially in Muslim nations where Islamicism is becoming more and more blistering, don’t you think?

These PNAC guys refer to hostile regimes, but when the US is the biggest bully on the block, how exactly does one define a “hostile regime?”

One that actually swings back after getting drilled into perpetual third-world status?

What a bunch of asshats we have in power. Sure, post-9/11, we need to remain vigilant in the defense of our country, but we’re on the defensive mostly due to the actions of our government for the past 50 years, very possibly because of documents like this one.

The rest of the world seems to recognize there are shades of gray in how to deal with terrorism. They also seem to recognize “our agenda” because we post it on the friggin’ internet!

Our government should enter itself into the 4×100 relay; administrations have been passing the aggressor and impudent baton to one another for decades now.

*click*

embedded eyes for the world to see
aggression
repression
straight up atrocities
the coalition of two
with the paid help of thirty eight
the move to baghdad’s gate…
a soldier’s eyes dilate…
garbled orders seal their fate

iraq didn’t hit new york
the pentagon
or even pennsylvania
they sure as hell didn’t fund the aggression
but they’re gonna catch hell like tony pena
you see america is a game of power and repression
the residue of 75 years of administration masturbation
so what can a private do?
now that he’s been ordered to commit pow! pow!
walk in the direction of home?
fire one shot off into his dome?
no.
no way.
not now.
he now does what he’s been told
because he’s now a (brainwashed) soldier
even as voices rush through his mind screaming
“murderer!”
and “i told ya!”…
everlasting memories
anti-social
distant
colder…

the night is quietly turning into day
blood red sky creeping out of gray
embedded eyes for the world to see
time to turn in for bed
time to turn off the tv.

*click*

I came across an extremely well written article in Newsweek which eloquently supports my stance on US foreign policy (i.e. we’re now bullies and have thrown diplomacy to the wind).

On so many levels, Fareed Zakaria illuminates the wrong turns America has made under the present administration, which has practically ostracized us from both the majority of citizens and governments of the world. Our “go it alone” attitude can be justified simply through our standing as the lone superpower in the world, but in flexing such an option, Zakaria argues that not only do we create a poor perception of ourselves, but our actions contradict the positions of the democratic states we are supposedly attempting to support.

An example: Need an air-base in Turkey? Just bribe the government with billions of dollars of support to make it happen, but as a “democracy,” the Turkish government is actually trying to represent the will of it’s people — an overwhelming 90% of which are against the war in Iraq.

It’s schizophrenic at best.

I’m not doing Zakaria justice, read the article. We’re in a very tenuous position in world history.

My day at work today centered around getting pissed off about the upcoming war; the commute home got even more interesting.

First, for the comedy relief of the day. I’m waiting for the N/R train on the Cortlandt Street platform, when I look across the track and notice this older gentleman, probably in his mid-sixties, dressed conservatively in a gray suit, casually drop his paper on the platform and stroll away. My first thought was, "Ok. He just littered. Maybe that’s how people acted before Woodsy the Owl. Give him the benefit of the doubt." So I did, and went back to scanning my own rag. That’s when I hear water splashing down on the track.

In the midst of the afternoon commute rush, the same guy is urinating onto the tracks. No one knows what to do. All of us were deer in the headlights, caught watching this unfold. The guy didn’t look drunk and was dressed in a nice suit. He eventually finished (old guy = bad prostate), but the kicker? He strolls back to his paper, picks it up and goes back to reading. Ha.

So I finally get on the train and manage to find a seat. At the next stop, the women next to me gets off and a guy squeezes between the doors and sits down in her place. Nothing out of the ordinary. So during my daily dose of conservative subway people watching (i.e. don’t look at anyone for more than two seconds and only in glances), I notice the new guy reading a miniature copy of something that looks like Arabic, bobbing his head up and down… pausing… and then mumbling to himself. He’d then reopen the finely bounded/crafted book for a half second, look up in the air, and then go back to mumbling.

Now, I’ve been traveling the NYC subway system for years, and to my best recollection, the only people I’ve ever noticed reading like that have been Orthodox Jews traveling with me from Brooklyn to downtown Manhattan. So here I find myself during the month of "Shock and Awe," sitting next to a guy with a mustache as thick as Saddam’s, dressed in a green army jacket, mumbling to himself while reading Arabic prose.

Welcome to New York City, the cultural Mecca of Western Civilization—the only place where one can feel enlightened daily by the vast diversity of people surrounding you, yet simultaneously fear for your life because of the actions of your government and media outlets.

I’m pretty sure (about 99 & 44/100%) that this guy was praying and looking inward during a rough time in his life or something, yet his actions, which at any other time wouldn’t catch my eye or stir my hand to write about, got me second guessing my safety. This type of irrational fear is what the majority of this country doesn’t understand when they blindly back a poorly sponsored and irrational war.

The “red states” of this nation don’t land anywhere near the top twenty terror spots to hit in America (I have the celebrity map, you know). So while Billy Bob and soccer mom 12,614 “support the government fully to protect us” in very vaguely defined ways, people over here in NYC start to look for exits whether we’re underground, on the streets, or inside our office buildings.

I hate the fact that these thoughts even crept into my skull. As hard as it has been to be a New Yorker over the last few years, being a Muslim New Yorker must take the cake for “king of all shitty positions.”

Well, I guess it’s better than being Muslim in Ohio.

We could be tried as war criminals based on the 1991 war, primarily for images like the one below.

No, that’s not ‘The Mummy’ from a bad 1930’s flick. That’s one of the many Iraqi troops/civilians from the infamous ‘Road of Death’ during the retreat from Kuwait. This type of damage suggests the use of napalm, phosphorus, or other incendiary bombs, which were all outlawed in 1977.

And, by the way, it’s also against international law to fire upon troops who are "out of combat." But we always seem to take things one step further. We didn’t even attempt to differentiate between Palestinian and Kuwaiti civilians and Iraqi troops; we just created a massive traffic jam and annihilated over ten thousand people.

I was watching film last night of our helicopter pilots hovering over the desert at night, with night vision goggles, tearing apart individuals as they strolled across the desert in a haze, trying to reach some sort of civilization. There was no way they could have been confirmed as combatants. We even paused to fix upon bodies laying on the ground to dump tons of rounds into them. These were the types of images that forced Colin Powell to suggest an end to the war.

Now, I know war isn’t pretty. Supposedly, “All’s fair in love and war” and whoever coined that phrase, they were absolutely right about love. But there are laws concerning warfare and they were created to honor the humanity of all combatants, including US troops. I highly doubt we could ever be held to such standards.

We’re so quick to flash our badges of honor, respect and heroism as a country, and then we run rough shot through the UN and the rest of the world as if they don’t even matter.

Okay, back to being quietly steamed.

So I ended up watching PBS Frontline last night about the Saddam/Iraqi crisis going back 25 years.

Either our government is perpetually run by a bunch of short-sighted morons or we’ve always had long-term vision for conflict and strife. I really don’t know which one is more frightening, but at least one is the truth.

The CIA gave Saddam power. Our tax dollars went to overthrowing the previous Iraqi government (which in the process led to close to 1,000 executions by Sadaam on coming to power) and handing the reigns of a strategically important country in the Middle East to a wanna be dictator, who frequently and vociferously declared that he longed to be the “Sword of the East” to destroy the West.

Now please answer this question for me: Were the men running this nation at the time so stupid to think that this wouldn’t come back to haunt us? OR were they so obsessed with overthrowing Iran that putting a maniac like Saddam in office was just an afterthought as long as he could do the job? That seems to be the standard operating procedure for our government; insert dictator in land a to accomplish disputable goal b so our hands don’t smell like c.

I went to art school, but hell, even I took Algebra. If a=b and b=c then a=c. Karma is fuzzy math, our actions are not.

So now we swoop in to “defend the safety of Americans.” Oh yeah, we also want to end an era of human suffering in Iraq. I guess it only took us 12 years to realize that there were human beings there, and not just brown people. I mention that because after we kicked the shit out of Sadaam the first time around in Desert Storm, we urged the Iraqi people to overthrow the government… from the decks of our aircraft carriers.

And what happened when the people actually rose up to take back their country? General Stormin’ Norman gave the Iraqi’s permission to fly armed helicopters in the just established “no-fly zone,” leading to the systematic killing of the resistance movement.

All the while the Iraqi people are pleading for us to come in and finish the job of taking out Saddam, Colin, Daddy Bush and the rest of the world sat back in containment mode.

Look, I’m not against removing Saddam, but this country has made so many blunders in Iraq since the 70’s, I’m just discusted how we’re attempting to storm in there and sweep the proverbial dirt under the proverbial rug.

Sadaam is our Frankenstein. Where’s the accountability?

At times like this, when war is just around the bend, us civilian folk often look to political cartoonists to provide an encapsulated vision of what’s happening in the world around us.

Well, I’ve come across a cartoonists take on the war with Iraq using Flash as a vehicle for delivering the message. It’s a bit scary, but you have to love the power of the interactive medium.

the air is thick
filled with gaseous vapor
a pulled off caper
paid with dirty green paper
manifest destiny
poured into our spongy brains as kids
screwed on tight were our corrupt gray-matter lids
our god given right to conquer and expand
moving out across the land
with a gun in our hands
just now we don’t stop at the rim of the pacific
to be more specific
our treacherous skills have become prolific
the new world order
the axis of evil
locked down borders
governments in upheaval
where do we not have our paws in the mix?
our capricious actions have become too much to fix
so on the offensive we go again
no way we’d rethink
no way we’d change our plan
the harder we push
the greater the anti-american
sentiment
fostered by the actions of our self-serving
government
makes you and i feel powerless
seemingly unable to make a difference
just what the administration wants
apathy and indifference
maybe one person can squash the ignorance!
yeah right…
unless i’m the ceo of a faceless corporation
with bankroll to support a fledgling candidate
i’ll be stuck with my own convictions
stewing more and becoming irate
some may call it pessimism
i just call it fate.
come on people…
take a nibble on my bait.

Who the fuck is George Bush to urge Americans to call members of Congress to back a war with Iraq if UN policy isn’t put into effect soon enough?

Who and what defines soon enough… his approval rating?

The questions that surround the impetus and timing on going to war are outstanding to say the least. Bush seems to want to do daddy proud and finish the job over there, but of course it’s not that simple; I’m sure there are billions of dollars and a heap of control at stake.

This preemptive charge by W is a bit frightening… make that terrifying.

In ‘81, Israel took out a nuclear plant in Iraq supposedly being used to develop nuclear weapon material in a preemptive strike. The United States and the UN chastised Israel for the attack, though Israel might have been justified in attacking due to their proximity to Iraq, as they would probably be the likely first target if that capability ever came to pass.

What’s our excuse?

We’re now charging into Baghdad to take out Saddam, guns blazing down side streets and into bunkers. If Bush really wanted to be pro-active regarding the threat of terrorism, wouldn’t it make sense to curb our own actions around the world instead of inflaming them?

Forget justification, our intelligence is so limited, we don’t even know where the chemical weapons are (the ones that we helped develop), or if there are any even remaining.

And how are we going to find Saddam?

Our guys are going to think every Arab with a thick mustache and a cowboy hat is Saddam, shooting first and asking questions later. If Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction, he’ll be riding one bareback to Jerusalem like Major Kong in Dr. Strangelove while we’re searching for him in every downtown bazaar.

A lot of Americans will die in this invasion… and scores more civilians. I really hope we know what we’re doing, but unfortunately, Bush isn’t a beacon of reassurance.

I wish I could just write a pearl script that would automatically update his damn approval rating. I bet it’d give the UN at least six more months to complete their inspections.

sleep ain’t coming tonight
i’m not gonna front
no need to fight
my senses are wide open
ripped apart at the seams
i start to drift off
and then come the dreams
twisted schemes
silent screams
twin light beams
the theme it seems
is a familiar one
i’ve felt it before
and before i know it
i’m through the bedroom door
sweat on my brow
hair straight on end
i thought this wouldn’t phase me
i thought i was on the mend
but this fucking feeling won’t die
no matter how hard i try
to deal with it straight up
or look in the mirror and lie
i’m a new yorker
through to the core
but before this moment
i would’ve swore
that this was just a stint
a lease in time for me
but the bond was in place
long before the overkill of reality
before my neighbors were taken out
before allah lost part of his good name
before the skyline was raped
before the unwanted fame
before…

the world has changed.
no shit, glad you’ve woken up.
we don’t all drink from the same fountain
or even from the same cup
but if the music’s right
and the air is clear
why confuse the good times
with political matters
we fear
nothing.
at all…
because "no fear" is a fucking brand
manufactured for morons
living in a testosterone dreamland
yeah, we’re all now awake
we now have an enemy to curse and blame
but do we really understand why
"they" burn our flag and name?
no.
but who cares?
we’ll bomb ‘em till they quit.
yeah that’s a solid tactic
a top five rotation hit
now all the brands are buzzing
pulling at our patriotic strings
the marketing is subtle
yet sick and deafening
"united" is just that
ready to serve you across the land
and since they’re so "united"
they want us to go lend a helping hand
because, you see, they’re "with us"
and not just a part of our verbal psyche
but what if their name was continental?
or fuddruckers?
or nike?
brand opportunity
awareness at an all time high
higher than they used to go
when consumers weren’t afraid to fly
so come on out and support ‘em
get the business back on track
while you’re at it buy a rolex
shit, get a new cadillac
because money is all that matters
to a society built on exploitation
i wonder what "those people" would say
if we opened up actual lines of communication?
yeah right…
too late…
it’s all about annihilation.