Posted 10:47 PM by Blah blah

28 baby girls found in suitcases on Chinese bus (AFP): Police in southwestern China discovered 28 baby girls hidden in suitcases on a long-distance bus and apparently destined to be sold, police and a state-run newspaper said. One of the babies had died by the time police, acting on a tip-off, found them Tuesday night on the bus at a highway toll gate in Bingyang, Guangxi province....

The oldest baby was no more than three months old, the newspaper reported. Some of the infants were two or three to a suitcase. The nylon suitcases were stacked on the luggage rack, the back row of seats and along the sides of the bus. The babies appeared to have been drugged to keep them from crying and being found....

"Most of the people arrested were middle-aged women from Bingyang. They probably wanted to make some money. They might have been headed for Guangdong," he said...

Child and female trafficking is a serious problem in China with cases regularly reported in Chinese newspapers. Children are sold to families who lack children or want more, while older girls or women are sold as brides to poor farmers. A report issued by UNICEF in 2001 said more than a quarter of a million women and children have been victims of trafficking in China in recent decades.

Protecting Children from Trafficking. (UNICEF)

Posted 10:05 PM by Blah blah

Blair's Speech Changed My Mind! Now I'm Pro-War

Wow! On C-SPAN, I just watched the British debate in the House of Commons before they finally approved the use of force in Iraq on March 18.

Tony Blair shook my brain and heart with his explosive speech. He is one of the most eloquent and articulate speakers I've ever seen. Politicians in the U.S. don't compare. Bravo! He gave a BRILLIANT performance. In his most dramatic moments, Blair reminded me of Winston Churchill.

Because of his speech, and from other things that have happened, I have now changed my mind about this war. Now I SUPPORT the war in Iraq.

Yes, that shows the power of one great speech. The clumsy, inarticulate Bush administration should have just broadcast Blair's speech nationally and let Blair do all the talking. It just doubles my already great admiration for him. I feel "shock and awe" of Prime Minister Blair. Really. Will explain in detail how my thinking has evolved, later.

In the meantime, please watch Blair's speech! Anti-war people, it will cause you to rethink your assumptions, and pro-war people, it will deepen some of your convictions with juicy details. But make no mistake. Blair does NOT think the same way as Bush. Which is one reason I support Blair's reasons for war over Bush's.

What the British papers later said about his speech, including papers like The Independent that had strongly opposed him: 'Blair played his cards brilliantly.' (The Guardian)

Watch Tony Blair's Speech. (RealPlayer. Fast foward to about 4 minutes into the recording to find the start of his speech.) You may also read his speech, but watching him speak and field an array of questions from fellow MPs is much better!

Thanks to Eric and Raven for linking this post. I will explain in detail what changed my mind. I will post excerpts from the speech which most influenced me. I strongly urge you to go to C-SPAN.org and find a way to WATCH the speech (in streaming video on RealPlayer). What I love about the British House of Commons is that Members of Parliament may interrupt a speaker with QUESTIONS during his speech. Blair was interrupted several times with questions, which he answered very well. Some of these questions were key doubts of mine. The text of his speech does not include the questions and answers. I loved how Blair dealt with key doubts head-on. He talked about the world fear of the U.S. being an arrogant bully. He gave his vision, different from Bush's, for what to focus on after Iraq. And he showed great respect for the views of the other side, unlike Bush.

See the articles I linked here for more on Blair's vision for the future and why it's better than Bush's or Chirac's.

Posted 4:54 PM by Blah blah

C-SPAN.org. War: The Ultimate Reality Show

I can't believe I missed this great news source. I love C-SPAN! Watch all videos of things like Saddam's speech after the initial attack, Gen. Tommy Franks' military briefing to the press, the British House of Commons Debate on Iraq, Bush's speech, Ari Fleischer's White House press briefing, and the U.N. Security Council speeches on Iraq. Listen to things like Bush's radio address, the Democrats' radio address, etc.

All are in streaming video/audio on C-SPAN.org.

On the Net, you may also watch C-SPAN broadcast live, as well as hear NPR.org (National Public Radio). One thing you cannot complain about in America is a lack of information. The government and media companies mobilized better than EVER in this war to bring you immediate and comprehensive coverage, especially on the Net. They have also helped soldiers keep in close Internet contact with their families. You can find great stuff on U.S. government websites and sites like U.S. Central Command.

I applaud the U.S. government and the world press for doing such a fantastic job to bring us news and keep us informed. This bounty of information probably helped shorten the war by keeping Iraqis informed, so they grew more courage to defy Saddam and surrender. Conscripts shoot their own officers rather than fight. (The Times) In terms of how open our leaders are to giving us information, and in how quickly we can get high quality unfiltered information, we live in a GREAT country! This makes me proud.

I tend to look at all these news links, as well as Google News. Then I look at Technorati to see what most blogs are linking to today. More exciting than Joe Millionaire or Survivor, Gulf War II Has Become the Ultimate in Reality Television (Agence France Presse).

Posted 10:39 AM by Blah blah

Saddam Speaks

The latest from Saddam's Cyber Palace:

Saturday, March 22, 2003
I never did get a chance to go to the store. Between the shrapnel, fireballs, flying body parts, and collapsing buildings, it just wasn't safe to venture out. But even in here, I couldn't sleep because of the racket. And when I don't get enough sleep, I get cranky. And when I get cranky, I gas the Kurds. That has never failed to make me feel better when I'm feeling down. But now I can't even do that! The phone lines have been cut, and my cellphone doesn't seem to work right either. Damn Verizon people deserve to be taken out and shot. Or did I do that last month....? No, no... I'm thinking of the Microsoft Tech Support team that was stationed here in Baghdad. Those people DEFINITELY deserved to be shot.

The Verizon people will be next, assuming I can eventually dig my way out of this bunker. Every time I try calling someone, all I get is this annoying voice that says, "Hey Saddam, can you hear us now.....? Good."

I knew I should have gone with T-Mobile. That Catherine Zeta-Jones is hot.
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:56 PM [+] ::

Friday, March 21, 2003
Well, I've almost used up all my Scuds, which is actually pretty good, since I didn't have any to begin with. HA HA HA!!!! Fooled that dumb Swede, Hans Blix, though. You've probably heard that the Americans are meeting with light resistance, and that my troops are surrendering en masse. This is all part of my brilliant military strategy to lull the invading hordes into a false sense of confidence. Just wait till they get to Baghdad!! Or more precisely, what's LEFT of Baghdad.

Does Amazon.Com sell hearing aids? I need one after what happened in that bunker the other day. That was louder than that Who concert I went to back in '75.
Anyway, I better stock up for what promises to be a long seige. I'm going to head over to my favorite store for supplies.
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:39 PM [+] ::

Thursday, March 20, 2003
There is some speculation as to whether or not I was killed last night. Poppycock!! If I were dead, don't you think I'd be the first to know about it? But if I am, in fact, now officially eligible to play the role of "the corpse" on Six Feet Under, then who appeared on Iraqi TV after the attack? Yes, I suppose it COULD have been one of my officially certified body doubles, but what would the point be?

For that matter, how do you know it's the REAL Saddam making these blog entries and not some imposter posing as me? I mean, posing as HIM, since if I was really me, I wouldn't be posing as me to begin with? Then again, I could ACTUALLY be me, but posing as an imposter posing as me in an effort to throw off the American intelligence services.

Then again, how do you know I'm not a 15 year old high school cheerleader in Poughkeepsie, New York? Some points for you to ponder....
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:47 PM [+] ::

Posted 9:06 AM by Blah blah

What the U.S. Military is doing to prevent harm to civilians. Leaflet Photos.
John Pendygraft. Military laptop.

How they try to prevent deaths of civilians, and how they decide on targets: see this Dept. of Defense talk with the press. See their presentation slides (Dept. of Defense).

See photos of the leaflets the U.S. has been dropping throughout Iraq, part of the "psych war" strategy. (U.S. Central Command)
____________________
Bah---CNN has told Kevin Sites to stop his personal blog. Christopher Allbritton has more. Chris is planning to go to Iraq soon.

Other cool blogs by the press in Iraq:

- John Pendygraft, photographer for the St. Petersburg Times (Florida). He is travelling with the HMM 365 Marine Helicopter Squad in Iraq now and posts photos. Very personal. I like this the best! Here's his blog without frames (big screen).
- BBC Reporters' Blog, a group blog by at least 12 BBC correspondents covering the war.
_____________________
The military's laptop of choice provokes shock and awe (Slate): "No wider than an entry-level ThinkPad but much thicker and heftier, the $4,500 GoBook MAX is a waterproof, vaporproof, shockproof piece of field equipment. 'We drop each one 54 times from one meter, bake it in an oven, chill it in a freezer, vibrate it, and submit it to a shower of hurricane proportions,' crows the GoBook's brochure."

Posted 10:59 PM by Blah blah

Saddam: Dead or Alive? Saddam's Favorite Mistress for Over 30 Years

Photos: Photo 1 and photo 2 of Parisoula Lampsos, his favorite mistress.

U.S. Officials: Saddam Seen on Stretcher After March 19 Strike (Fox News): "Saddam Hussein is seen being placed on a stretcher and into an ambulance in photographs in the possession of the U.S. government showing what is described as 'panicked digging' at the bunker/command-and-control facility that was struck in the first strike of the war March 19, U.S. officials told Fox News late Friday. Bodies are seen as they are removed, and these officials are confident that Saddam was seen being placed upon a stretcher."

‘Chemical Ali’ Dead? Three Key Iraqi Leaders Believed Killed; Explosions Shake Baghdad (ABC News): "ABCNEWS' Brian Ross reported that the three critical Iraqi officials — Taha Yasin Ramadan, Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, and Ali Hassan Majid, known as Chemical Ali — are believed to have died in Wednesday night's 'decapitation attack,' the opening salvo of the war. 'Chemical Ali,' Saddam's cousin and a key general and governor of southern Iraq, earned his chilling nickname by using chemical weapons to suppress a Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq in the late 1980s, killing thousands....

Earlier today, U.S. intelligence sources told ABCNEWS that witnesses at the site of a Baghdad suburban residential complex told U.S. intelligence officials that Saddam was observed being taken from the bombed complex on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask over his face, on Thursday before dawn local time.

At a news briefing in Baghdad today, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said the first U.S. airstrikes had hit one of Saddam's homes, but he said the Iraqi leader had survived and was safe. But U.S. intelligence sources said there had been a significant lack of communication from the Iraqi leader to his government and military structure since the bombing."

U.S. Thinks Hussein, Sons Were In Bunker (Washington Post): "A third administration official said 'there is evidence that he [Hussein] was at least injured' because of indications that medical attention was urgently summoned on his behalf. The condition of Hussein's sons, and any others who may have been at the compound, was also unknown, officials said....

But the government also consulted Parisoula Lampsos, who the Defense Department believes has passed a polygraph examination in support of her claim that she was Hussein's mistress in Iraq for many years. Lampsos has previously distinguished Hussein from his doubles in more than a dozen cases, one official said, and this time she said he was not the man in the broadcast."

March 21, 2003: Portrait of a megalomaniac (Scripps Howard).

Some fascinating old news.

Sept. 8, 2002
Terror of tyrant's mistress in gilded prison (The Guardian): "He called her 'Shaqraa' - the blonde. When she married another man after their youthful fling, he had her husband thrown into prison and his assets seized. His son raped her daughter when she was 15. Now, after a terrifying escape from Baghdad and months in hiding, Saddam Hussein's on-off mistress for more than 30 years has finally broken her silence. In 13 hours of videotaped interviews conducted by her rescuers, the opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC), Shaqraa describes life in her gilded prison, a private villa in the grounds of Saddam's presidential palace. Plied with cars, jewels and designer clothes, she lived in a world where women were treated as mere possessions. Now in her early fifties, she seems vivacious on the tapes, with more than a trace of the youthful beauty which made her a burning sexual obsession for Saddam."

Sept. 12, 2002
Defector Says She Was Saddam’s Mistress (ABC News): "A woman who says she was Saddam Hussein's mistress describes a Viagra-fueled lover who enjoyed watching The Godfather and tapes of his enemies being tortured — but cried as the allies took Kuwait from Iraqi occupation during the Gulf War....Parisoula [Lampsos] said she was part of what she calls Saddam's 'collection' of women, which she said included three wives and over the years five other mistresses. She said she was his favorite mistress, and was friendly with his wives."

May 2002: Tales of the Tyrant (The Atlantic). Excellent, detailed profile of Saddam. Intimate details of his daily life: "The tyrant must steal sleep. He must vary the locations and times. He never sleeps in his palaces. He moves from secret bed to secret bed. Sleep and a fixed routine are among the few luxuries denied him. It is too dangerous to be predictable, and whenever he shuts his eyes, the nation drifts. His iron grip slackens. Plots congeal in the shadows. For those hours he must trust someone, and nothing is more dangerous to the tyrant than trust."

Oct. 23, 2001
You’ve Got Mail — From Saddam: American Swaps E-mail With Iraqi Leader (ABC News): "Christopher Love was familiar with the democratizing power of the Internet, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock he received when he logged onto his e-mail at work late last week." This was after the Sept. 11th attacks. Here's the 10-page long email Saddam sent him!

Posted 4:40 PM by Blah blah

New on my reading list: Rachel Lucas, a widely read Dallas woman who is pro-war, pro-military, and writes well in a saucy, ernest way I find appealing. See, Raven and Danny? I read both sides. Anyhow, I don't think we should lump everyone into either pro-war or anti-war.

Raymond's List: Types of Views About This War

1. The "bomb whoever don't like my twang" crowd, who are friends with the "send 'em all the hell back home, to places I would never try to find on a map even if you paid me" crowd. They tend to have crewcuts and go "Yessir!"
2. The "we would never hurt a fly, EVER" crowd, who stock lots of Beanie Babies in the back seats of their cars and tend to chain themselves to the doors of 7-Elevens, mistaking them for government buildings. They tend to have a poor sense of balance.
3. The "government is all a conspiracy, you suck, the world will be damned" crowd, who tend to favor anarchy and barricade themselves in armed compounds. When lonely they just marry a 5th wife and burn offerings to space aliens.
4. The "I just woke up, wha...?" crowd. They tend to spend most of their time retying their shoelaces.
5. The "we're fed up with Saddam, fuck the U.N. and get it over with" crowd. They feel for the civilians, but not THAT much. They like Tom Clancy and don't speak French.
6. The "we're fed up with Saddam but all need to be in this together, and by the way let's get Tony Blair for President in 2004!" crowd. They tend to wear cool sunglasses, spend time in Barnes & Noble sipping mochas and frappuccinos, like Woody Allen, and DO speak French. Sometimes they have a hard time deciding what to wear. Their friends like to tell them their problems because they listen well. This is MY category.

Poor Tony was more a #6, but he decided to act like a #5 just for the war. After the war, he'll return to #6 behavior again.

Posted 8:24 AM by Blah blah

People have been checking up on the truthfulness of Salam Pax. Q: Is the Baghdad Blogger for real? So far, people agree: YES. By the way, look at these posts by him last October. "Salam Pax" is, of course, not his real name. Translated it means "Peace Peace."

Many of you are coming from Europe and Latin America today, especially from Britain, Ireland, Sweden, and Brazil. Please, everyone, sign my guestmap.

Posted 12:53 AM by Blah blah

wiredvideo: Funny video/sound clips. Bush-Blair Duet: Endless Love

From wiredvideo: Dr. Phil Crank Call. (MP3) One of the funniest crank calls I've ever heard!! Dr. Phil is the TV psychologist who talks about relationships. He used to be on Oprah but now has his own show. He also looks slightly like Saddam Hussein---but bald.

Listen to Bill Clinton do a rap. (MP3)

While Osama and Saddam are doing the Burka Boogie together, guess what? Bush and Blair have some gay action going!

See Bush and Blair sing this duet of "Endless Love". (QuickTime) If this page is too busy, try this site (MPEG).

Also see Bush twist his words in State of the Union Excerpt. (Windows Media)

See all of these and many more funny videos and MP3 clips here: wiredvideo . They have clips like "Who Wants to Marry an American?"

Posted 10:52 PM by Blah blah

Saddam and Osama: To-ge-ther Again...

It's about time. Osama Bin Laden has caved in to peer pressure and started a blog, called Osama's Offerings. Actually he calls himself Osama "binny" Laden. (His 3rd wife calls him "Binny-baby," and in bed they try to have mutual "o-samas.") He even has a cowriter too: guest starring in a limited engagement--- Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein.

Actually, here's Saddam's blog: Saddam's Cyber Palace!

Maybe Saddam and Salam Pax could have a blog meeting party! Praise Allah. Val, can you make it to THIS one?

Don't forget to invite God (aka Allah), who used to write this LiveJournal blog.

And remember Satan, who tells me he's feeling left out as the main Prince of Evil nowadays. "Before, it used to be just ME," he whines. "Now I got all of these devil imitators. BAH! They even spell their names like mine! It confuses people. I keep getting all these prayers from Saddam's followers and he gets prayers from mine. They're as goddamn annoying as telemarketers. EVERYBODY wants to be a jihad leader nowadays!"

Please vote: Am I SADDAM HUSSEIN or NOT? Some people posted Dr. Phil's picture here. Hmm, I always thought Saddam was Dr. Phil's stunt double.

Oh wait! Here's Saddam's LiveJournal. Arrgh. Why doesn't the New York Times tell me anything?

Posted 3:01 PM by Blah blah

Incredibly Hot Swiss Women

Unrelated to everything else, this must be a present from Tony Blair for all the ass-kissing I've been doing of him. DAMN, these Zurich women are sizzling HOT! Sometimes Blogspot malfunctions and loads some other blog when you load your own. It just sent me randomly to:

Zurich's True Beauty (*rated R*) "Dedicated to the most beautiful women Zurich's nightlife has to offer."

Sandy, Danny, your eyes will pop out. Thank goodness ich habe drei Jahre Deutsch gelernt (I studied three years of German.) They look a bit Swedish. I subscribe to Men's Journal, and one of their writers just went to Sweden and checked out the women and bar scene there. Rowr...! I met a Swedish woman here once, and we were casually talking about technology when she just changed the subject: "Oh, I want you to know that we Swedes don't only think of sex. We've made many contributions to technology." My mouth dropped open, just like when I first opened this blog from Zurich. I'll take a blog vacation now and buy a plane ticket.

According to its stats, this site gets over 1500 visitors/hour, 37000 visitors/day, and 1.1 million visitors/month!

Posted 11:36 AM by Blah blah

HAHAHAHA! I laughed for at least 5 minutes: U.S. Department of Laughs. Homeland Insecurity.

Hour-By-Hour Chronology of the War

Check out Blogs of War, by John Little. He's been blogging every hour on events since the start of the war. You find many links to pro-military blogs there. I'm adding this other blog to the top of my page: Warblogs:cc, the best content from six different war blogs.

My God, I missed this article from before the war began: Mass desertions weaken Iraqi defences (The Times): "In northern Iraq, on the border with Kurdistan, up to three-quarters of some Iraqi regiments have already fled. In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards are having to turn Iraqi soldiers back - telling them that they must wait until an attack begins before they can surrender. In the southern area, where there are six Iraqi divisions, fifty per cent of their officers are planning to surrender once the campaign opens." Saddam is dead, man!

Posted 10:32 AM by Blah blah

Are We Neglecting the War on Terror?

Top White House anti-terror boss resigns:

WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- The top National Security Council official in the war on terror resigned this week for what a NSC spokesman said were personal reasons, but intelligence sources say the move reflects concern that the looming war with Iraq is hurting the fight against terrorism.

Rand Beers would not comment for this article, but he and several sources close to him are emphatic that the resignation was not a protest against an invasion of Iraq. But the same sources, and other current and former intelligence officials, described a broad consensus in the anti-terrorism and intelligence community that an invasion of Iraq would divert critical resources from the war on terror.

Beers has served as the NSC's senior director for counter-terrorism only since August. The White House said Wednesday that he officially remains on the job and has yet to set a departure date.

"Hardly a surprise," said one former intelligence official. "We have sacrificed a war on terror for a war with Iraq. I don't blame Randy at all. This just reflects the widespread thought that the war on terror is being set aside for the war with Iraq at the expense of our military and intel resources and the relationships with our allies."

A Senate Intelligence Committee staffer familiar with the resignation agreed that it was not a protest against the war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but confirmed that frustration is widespread in the anti-terror establishment and played a part in Beers' decision.
_________________
Remember I talked about John O'Neill a few days ago? I bet he felt just the same frustration with the government as Rand Beers. O'Neill was Chief of Counterterrorism in the FBI, was the main Al Qaeda expert, and came THIS close to uncovering the Sept. 11th plot. What stopped him? Lack of resources and people above him in the FBI who disliked him personally. He was in charge of the investigation of the Oct. 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, but in the middle of the investigation, Barbara Bodine, then U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, denied his visa to return to Yemen after he had returned to New York for a break. So no one discovered the connection to Al Qaeda till it was too late.

Guess whom the U.S. government wants to help run Iraq after the war? You guessed it---Barbara Bodine, the woman who helped hinder the U.S.S. Cole investigation! 3 U.S. administrators will run postwar Iraq (CNN). Will the stupidity never cease?

My point, pro-war guys, is that this war on Iraq is draining BIG time resources from the war on terrorism. You focus so much on avoiding a pothole that you get hit by a truck. And I worry more about the truck---Al Qaeda and all those small groups we are NOT focusing on right now. More of Bush's "weapons of mass distraction." Note the official in the UPI article said "relationships with our allies." To fight terrorism we need all the international cooperation from France, Russia, China and other nations we can get.

Posted 8:41 AM by Blah blah

Tony Blair for President! It Matters WHY You Fight

I've joined PeaceBlogs.org. I'm not against war in all cases. I'm a pragmatist who supports the U.N. way. I'm a moderate who's against going it alone and in such a heavy-handed way. Join me in the list of PeaceBlogs!

By the director of Bowling for Columbine: A Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War. Hilarious! Check out his whole site. He has a razor sharp wit like Kevin Smith. See Moore's blog Operation Oily Residue. Fight Bush's "weapons of mass distraction."
______________
British Prime Minister Blair has shown the best leadership throughout this crisis, with grace under the most difficult circumstances. He has fought flu, a backbench rebellion from his own party, and an angry British public. He has driven himself to physical exhaustion by also taking on issues like peace in N. Ireland and national health care. Watching Robin Cook's resignation speech (RealPlayer), I was struck by how respectful and warm he was to Blair, his long-time friend, though they differ politically. I highly admire Blair and would much rather go to war if he were my president. I'd rather fight war for HIS reasons and with his style, not Bush's.

I see how much better a leader Tony is, because every time I watch Bush speak, I hate the war and and feel ready to set my Speedos on fire, while every time I watch Blair, I want to don my uniform and go march in the military parade. Bravo Blair!!!

Why? Please read:
Whatever the anxieties over this conflict, Mr Blair has shown himself to be a leader for troubled times (The Independent).

Even when wronged, Blair fights for the right reasons (Atlanta Journal-Constitution):

"Blair, under enormous pressure at home and undercut by his allies, had to understand what was happening to him, which makes his performance all the more magnificent. Like a child in a divorce, he has been fighting vainly to save a marriage in which one party had already decided to leave and the other party, sick and tired of it all, was ready to let him go. [i.e. French President Chirac]

So Blair, forced in the end to choose sides, chose wisely. He knew that if Britain, too, abandoned the United States, it would greatly diminish this nation as a potential force for good in the world. It would also ensure that no remnant of the multilateral world would survive the war.

'If our plea is for America to work with others, to be good as well as powerful allies, will our retreat make them multilateralist?' he plaintively asked the British Parliament on Tuesday. 'Will it not instead be the biggest impulse to unilateralism there could ever be?'

We will never know for sure, but a war against Iraq fought to pursue the realistic goals outlined by Blair might have won U.N. support. It would also have enjoyed support from Americans such as myself, who accept the necessity of U.S. military intervention in the modern world but do not accept this country in the role of bully.

I understand that such a distinction might seem odd. After all, Blair's war or Bush's war, it's the same war either way. But again, it matters why you fight."

Blair's speech (The Guardian) to the House of Commons this Tuesday. He gives thoughtful, excellent reasons for supporting war. He and Jack Straw are so much more convincing to me, because they care about BOTH sides of the issue and have a more mature view of what must happen for everyone to benefit. Bush acts like a spoiled brat pushing all the other boys away and throwing a tantrum with billion dollar toys. Blair acts like a MAN making a difficult, responsible choice with reluctance and compassion. THAT is the difference.

The War After War With Iraq (NY Times). More about why Blair's view is better than Bush's or Chirac's.

Posted 7:39 AM by Blah blah

If You Were Saddam...

What would you do? Asked Inz on RBJ. Ablative answered: "If I were Saddam, I'd

-cancel all my eBay listings,
-have a nice final meal, maybe prime rib or filet mignon, some red wine, baked potato with the works,
-go out, get hammered (I'm talking get-kicked-out-of-the-bars hammered)
-bring home the hottest burqa-wearing chick in the bar and bang her until my member fell off,
-get a good night's sleep, wake up in the morning, shower
-and dress up in my best Versace or Armani and wait to get picked up by a U.S. humvee."

Posted 6:38 AM by Blah blah

More About Salam Pax. U.S. Military Families' Letters

What is the war like for U.S. military families? See An Army Family Journal (MSNBC). Touching letters from families of servicemen. This journal is by Tamara, whose husband Noel is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division, deployed to Kuwait. Read these many letters responding to Tamara. These sites also link to many military blogs and wives.

More by Salam Pax today (again, I edited his grammar and spelling):

Thursday, March 20, 1:23 pm

Now that was really unexpected. When the sirens went on we thought we will get bombs by the tom load dropped on us but nothing happened, at least in the part of the city where I lived. Anti-aircraft guns could be heard for a while but they stopped too after a while and then the all-clear siren came.

Today in the morning I went with my father for a ride around Baghdad and there was nothing different from yesterday. There is no curfew and cars can be seen speeding to places here and there. Shops are closed. Only some bakeries are open and of course the Ba’ath Party Centers. There are more Ba’ath people in the streets and they have more weapons. No army in the streets. We obviously still have electricity, phones are still working and we got to phone calls from abroad so the international lines are still working. Water is still running.

The English-speaking radio station on FM is now replaced by the Arabic languge state radio program broadcasting on the same wavelength. I just say that because last night just as the BBC was broadcasting from Baghdad (yes, we have put up the satellite dish again), their news ticker (or whatever you call that red band down there) said that the Iraqi state radio has been taken over by US broadcast. We watched Saddam’s speech this morning. He’s got verse in it!!

Others who write from Baghdad: Net users offer glimpse of life in Iraq (MSNBC).

Will Femia talks about how several people questioned if Salam Pax is really whom he says he is. He tells the story behind Salam, an architectural engineer. Says that "several bloggers [offered] testimony to Salam’s authenticity." See Femia's "Weblog Central" for details. I realize now what the relationship is between many of those most widely read bloggers---they are columnists for MSNBC! MSNBC seems to get mainly pro-war, Republican columnists. There go claims about the "liberal" media!

Posted 9:32 PM by Blah blah

Hear the latest live on the Internet: CNN Radio.

CIA Had Fix on Hussein (Washington Post): "When Bush signed the launch order at 6:30 p.m., it had a hastily prepared insert. The first shots would strike through the roof and walls of an anonymous Baghdad home and deep beneath it in hopes of decapitating the Iraqi government in a single blow."

Bid to assassinate Saddam (The Guardian). Saddam is apparently still alive and is speaking to the nation now.

Iraq's Dirty Dozen (The Guardian). Saddam's sons: "Qusay Hussein: Saddam's youngest son is head of the elite Republican Guard and is responsible for Iraq's security forces. He is believed to be Saddam's chosen successor. Uday Hussein: Two years older than Qusay, he is believed by some to be genuinely psychotic. Uday controls most Iraqi media as well as a paramilitary group called the Fedayeen. Uday, semi-paralysed after an assasination attempt in 1996, has a reputation as a brutal playboy. He has been repeatedly accused of raping and killing young women and of having a private torture chamber."

As Baghdad Empties, Hussein Is Defiant (NY Times). Profile of Saddam and his twisted life recently.

Posted 6:52 PM by Blah blah

Bush gives order to attack Iraq (CNN): Bush "said the first strikes were against 'selected targets of military importance,' including what Pentagon officials said was a 'decapitation attack' early Thursday morning to take out Iraqi President Saddam Hussein even before the planned start of the war." This may be only an isolated attack. The ground forces are apparently staying put now.

Listen to CNN Radio live. The radio also says that 1000 troops launched a major raid in Afghanistan, against Al Qaeda members.

Am listening to the radio. The war has BEGUN. Air Raid Sirens, Planes Heard in Baghdad (AP). President Bush will speak to the nation in about 15 minutes. Now 6 am in Baghdad. People think the reason the U.S. wants to start boldly attacking in daylight is to scare the Iraqis by letting them SEE overwhelming force against them. It's psychological warfare to push Iraqis to give up.

Salam Pax has woken up.

Posted 5:12 PM by Blah blah

Bush's Ultimatum to Saddam Just Ended. Salam Pax's words.

Tick tick tick...

I post the latest entry by Salam Pax in Baghdad. Check his main page for the entry with photos. Stay safe, Salam (I edited his grammar):

Thursday, March 20, 2003 12:21 AM

It is even too late for last minute things to buy. There are too few shops open. We went again for a drive through Baghdad’s main streets. Too depressing. I have never seen Baghdad like this. Today the Ba’ath party people started taking their places in the trenches and main squares and intersections, fully armed and freshly shaven. They looked too clean and well-groomed to defend anything. And the most shocking thing was the number of kids. They couldn’t be older than 20, sitting in trenches sipping Miranda fizzy drinks and eating chocolate (that was at the end of our street). Other places you would see them sitting bored in the sun. More cars with guns and loads of Kalashnikovs everywhere.

The worst is seeing and feeling the city come to a halt. Nothing. No buying, no selling, no people running after buses. We drove home quickly. At least inside it did not feel so sad.

The ultimatum ends at 4 in the morning [5 pm California time] here in Baghdad, and the big question is will the attack be at the same night or not. Stories about the first Gulf War are being told for the 100th time.

The Syrian border is now closed to Iraqis. They are being turned back. What is worse is that people wanting to go to Deyala which is in Iraq are being told to drive back to Baghdad. There was a rumor going around that Baghdad will be "closed." No one goes in or out (check the map: go from Baghdad in a N/E direction until you reach Baqubah. This is the center of Deyala governerate.) People are being turned back at the borders of Baghdad city. There is a checkpoint and they will not let you pass it. There are rumors that many people have taken the path through Deyala to go to the Iranian border. Maybe, maybe not.

If you remember, I told you a while ago that you can get 14 satellite channels sanctioned by the state, retransmitted and decoded by receivers you have to buy from a state company. This service has been suspended. Internet will follow I am sure.

Things on Iraqi TV today:

- An interview with the Minister of Interior Affairs. Turned the volume down; didn’t want to hear anything.
- Demonstrations in Iraqi cities.
- Yesterday the last 500 prisoners from the Iraq-Iran war were being exchanged. I can’t believe they are still doing this. For fuck’s sake that war ended in 1989. Every Iraqi family can tell you a hundred heartbreaking stories about things that happen when you have thought your brother/father/son is dead and he suddenly appears after 10 years.

Posted 12:17 PM by Blah blah

Military outlines plan for fast and furious fight (USA Today).
Expansion of U.S. air power will stun Iraqis (AP).
Commando force poised to track and kill Saddam (USA Today). How the hunt might happen.

Read Salam Pax's blog from Baghdad! It will take time to load because thousands are reading him now. He tells it like it is, man. Aerial photo of Baghdad, from space.

I posted Salam Pax's entire entry from March 19th here on RBJ, for faster loading. Very eye-opening.

A sad day for diplomats worldwide. All their work---down the drain. Negative Views of U.S. Are Increasing in Europe, Poll Finds (NY Times): "Every nation surveyed wanted to recast the partnership between the United States and Western Europe to grant Europeans more independence in determining their security and foreign policy. The poll also underscored the extent to which the few governments allied with Washington, particularly Britain and Spain, are bucking the sentiments of their own people. Mr. Bush came in for special criticism from Europeans."

Sigh. More spying news. I really hope it's not the U.S. government. Please, Condoleezza Rice! Say it ain't so. Spy Devices Found at European Headquarters (NY Times): "The European Union has uncovered a bugging operation aimed at 5 of its 15 member countries, the organization said today....Two years ago, the European Parliament investigated reports that an American-led global electronic eavesdropping network had spied on Europe's business community. Its report found no concrete evidence that the network, dubbed Echelon, had been used in commercial espionage against European companies." Echelon is what was possibly used in the U.N. Security Council spying scandal a few weeks ago.

Posted 5:30 PM by Blah blah

Please read those articles in blue on top. That's what I think. Whew! Am taking a break...



Whom Else After Iraq?

Some looking ahead to future war targets (McClatchy). This really scares me. Wake up, guys! Is this the prelude to world war?:

Even as President Bush struggles, against robust international opposition, to launch a regime-toppling invasion of Iraq, some of the strongest and earliest supporters of military action against Saddam Hussein are already looking ahead to the next target.

Some hawks outside the government are beginning to turn up the rhetorical heat against Iran and Syria, both Iraq neighbors and both known to be funneling aid to Middle East terrorist groups. Others are focusing on North Korea and its rapidly mobilized nuclear weapons program, or the African country of Libya....

Donnelly said one such example might be the imminent overthrow of the Musharraf government in Pakistan, given the country's possession of nuclear weapons. [Pakistan, our ALLY in the war against the Taliban!]...

The administration's new National Security Strategy suggests an activist American military, one more inclined to act pre-emptively if the president concludes U.S. security is threatened.

In the updated strategy, Bush said the United States might unleash its military might even if unprovoked.

'As a matter of common sense and self-defense, America will act against ... emerging threats before they are fully formed,' the president wrote.

Posted 1:12 PM by Blah blah

John O'Neill: The Man Who Came Close to Preventing Sept. 11th

Heartbreaking true drama of John O'Neill, who was Chief of Counterterrorism at the FBI. He was flamboyant, extremely sharp, hardworking, and determined. He was the first to have a glimpse of Al Qaeda's connection to terrorism and to suspect Al Qaeda's intentions in the United States. Unfortunately, because several higher-ups in the FBI did not like him, his own agency fought with and bad-mouthed him, hurting his investigations.

He came THIS close to finding and preventing the Sept. 11th attack. But he was ignored.

PBS's Frontline tells the whole frustrating story in The Man Who Knew. Gripping. Please watch it in streaming video!

Look at this related story about problems inside the FBI, FBI Whistleblower Harassed? (60 Minutes, CBS).

Posted 10:20 AM by Blah blah

White House Claims: A Pattern of Deceit (Institute for Public Accuracy). Read.

Listen to CNN's Kevin Sites' audio blog from Kalar, Iraq. Kurdish people are fleeing the front lines now.

The Long Road to War (Frontline). Watch this PBS documentary that aired last night on national TV. History of U.S. and Saddam. The Survival of Saddam (Frontline): "How has Saddam Hussein survived so long and what explains his hold on the Iraqi people?"

Democracy Domino Theory 'Not Credible' (LA Times):

"A classified State Department report [Iraq, the Middle East and Change: No Dominoes] expresses doubt that installing a new regime in Iraq will foster the spread of democracy in the Middle East, a claim President Bush has made in trying to build support for a war, according to intelligence officials familiar with the document....

The report, which has been distributed to a small group of top government officials but not publicly disclosed, says that daunting economic and social problems are likely to undermine basic stability in the region for years, let alone prospects for democratic reform.

Even if some version of democracy took root -- an event the report casts as unlikely -- anti-American sentiment is so pervasive that elections in the short term could lead to the rise of Islamic-controlled governments hostile to the United States."

Anger on Iraq Seen as New Qaeda Recruiting Tool (NY Times): "On three continents, Al Qaeda and other terror organizations have intensified their efforts to recruit young Muslim men, tapping into rising anger about the American campaign for war in Iraq, according to intelligence and law enforcement officials. In recent weeks, officials in the United States, Europe and Africa say they had seen evidence that militants within Muslim communities are seeking to identify and groom a new generation of terrorist operatives. An invasion of Iraq, the officials worry, is almost certain to produce a groundswell of recruitment for groups committed to attacks in the United States, Europe and Israel.

...more women are being attracted to Al Qaeda, albeit in secondary roles, officials say."

Posted 6:44 AM by Blah blah

Robin Cook Resignation Speech

Cook wins Commons ovation (BBC). Robin Cook, leader of the British House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary, resigned yesterday in protest to Tony Blair. He "won an unprecedented standing ovation in the House of Commons after telling MPs why he resigned from the government over the looming war with Iraq....The BBC's political editor, Andrew Marr, called Mr Cook's performance 'without doubt one of the most effective brilliant resignation speeches in modern British politics.' "

Please either read Cook's resignation speech or watch Cook's dramatic, historic speech in RealPlayer video. I LOVE IT! Very civilized and persuasive. All of you pro-war people (i.e. Danny) must watch it too:

"For four years as foreign secretary I was partly responsible for the western strategy of containment.

Over the past decade that strategy destroyed more weapons than in the Gulf war, dismantled Iraq's nuclear weapons programme and halted Saddam's medium and long-range missiles programmes.

Iraq's military strength is now less than half its size than at the time of the last Gulf war.

Ironically, it is only because Iraq's military forces are so weak that we can even contemplate its invasion. Some advocates of conflict claim that Saddam's forces are so weak, so demoralised and so badly equipped that the war will be over in a few days.

We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat."

---

Good: The five key lessons of 911. "The terrorists have won. They have successfully convinced America to attack itself."

By Bill Clinton: Trust Tony's judgment (The Guardian).

Al-Muhajabah in Seattle writes this fascinating and articulate blog: veiled4allah, "the occasional thoughts of a Muslim woman." I think she's a law student. She writes in detail about Islam, her opposition to war, etc. If you ever want a rational Islamic view, please read her!

Take this tech job and shove it (Salon.com): "Sure, there are plenty of opportunities out there -- if you have 10 years of experience and are willing to work for free." Ughh. The technology field really sucks now. Many software jobs have moved to China and India, where engineers work for half or one-third of the price. For simple positions, companies now list an over-the-top set of technical skills which you don't really need. It's like asking you to know quantum physics to work at Starbucks. I know people who have been sent to China by their companies to "transfer" technology, which really means to teach people there your job so your company can eliminate it back home. My friend Moorthi has several other Indian roommates. All of them, he says, are here in Silicon Valley on a temporary work visa. They came just to learn a job to take it back home to India.

I hope Bush creates many new jobs in Iraq, for I might have to move there.

Posted 11:30 PM by Blah blah

Why So Impersonal? Filipino Chat with Ellen

I don't want to be a warblogger. The warbloggers rule the blogging world now, more than the geek bloggers. The most popular ones seem to be right-wing hawks, usually white men, lining up behind Bush and mainly pontificating, linking and quoting each other. They mostly come off as unbelievably serious and dull to me. I'd go to a party with them only if I couldn't get to sleep.

Don't get me wrong. Some of them do write eloquently and compellingly. Rafe Colburn is someone I just discovered. I don't consider him a "warblogger." He writes well-written and thoughtful opinions, plus he's great if you care about both programming and politics.

Yet why are they SOOO popular? Here is about THE most popular and widely read blog on the Internet: InstaPundit, by this law professor named Glenn Reynolds who also writes a column for MSNBC. He mainly links and quotes articles, much like what I did today. It's something you can do with one eye closed, when you don't have time to write.

The infamous Drudge Report, by Matt Drudge, gets almost 7 MILLION visitors a day. It was the site that first broke the Monica Lewinsky story. But it's only a collection of pure links with barely any comments. Add more right-wing shortsightedness and stir. Again, I scratch my head. What a dull site, for people who don't want to bother creating a website with news links.

Yawn.

I wish I had time to be more literary, more evocative, more personal. I wish I could write dark monologues as well as Joe Frank, my favorite radio dramatist of all time. You can listen to some of his old radio shows directly from his site. I recommend "A Call in the Night" and "Rent-A-Family." He's very dark, absurdist, surreal. If you like the playwright Eugene Ionesco (which I do), you will like Joe. He was inspired by Dostoevsky and Faulkner. He's nothing you have ever heard before, I guarantee. He seduces you with his stream-of-consciousness voice.

Yet to try to be as gripping or entertaining or original as he takes time. It takes painful introspection. Gnashed teeth. Heartburn. To write well is like a tiny version of giving birth, with a small sort of the same emotional investment. It's so much easier to write flippant commentary, regurgitate what others say, to graft someone else's wrinkled pathos over your unblemished skin.

Another reason I'm not so personal sometimes is because it will bore you. It would bore me. I can look inward but I don't prefer to live there. I'd rather study other people, other situations. My daily life is just as boring as yours. Probably more so. Not that I'm bored. The synapses of my brain are usually sizzling in unusual directions. I'd rather study YOU and see what makes you tick. In fact, some of you have been asking me for relationship advice recently. Dr. Raymond. HA!

But, I WILL try to be more "personal" again. Just nudge me if I'm getting too serious or stuffy. If you've ever talked to me, you'll know I'm really informal and chatty. I am silly. That's the usual me.

For example, here are excerpts of my chat with Ellen (sunnyfence) last week. She lives in Manila. Looking back, I can't believe I talk like this:

rayning: can you guys open those jars of macapuno??? [Filipino coconut. It is sold in extremely tight jars that you can't open.]
rayning: i never can here
sunnyfence: hehe
rayning: i always have to go to an army base and get a missile. why do they make those jar lids military strength?
sunnyfence: really? heat the top of the lid. it will expand it a little. that's how some people do it
rayning: yeah i do
sunnyfence: some people do it by brute force. we're strong, man ;)
rayning: but american jars are never like that. yeah...we are wimps. need to do more jar-ging
sunnyfence: hehe i don't know why they make it that tight but we get to eat them anyway despite it
sunnyfence: macapunos are good
sunnyfence: hehe, come here and we'll feed you as much as you want
rayning: oh yeah! ...grrrr....running to the airport!
sunnyfence: the sweets are mostly like that, i think
rayning: i'm so eager to get the fruits that i'm parachuting off the plane
sunnyfence: have u ever tried leche flan?
rayning: oh yeah!! yummy
sunnyfence: it's like regular flan or custard, but around 100x yummier
rayning: i LOVE all filipino fruits
sunnyfence: seriously
rayning: yes i've had leche flan
sunnyfence: isn't it sooooo good? mm
rayning: yes!!! i think they need to make a 5th food group...
rayning: the filipino jarred fruits group: lanka, macapuno, coconut cube things, halo halo beans, ubi
sunnyfence: have you had halo-halo?
rayning: oh yes! after eating it i have halo-cinations!
sunnyfence: hehe i knew you'd like it
rayning: look. ...i haven't met a filipino dish i didn't like
sunnyfence: if you go here i promise i'll give you halo halo!
rayning: ooohhhh.....just don't pour it on my head
sunnyfence: hehe good
rayning: it's easy to please me with filipino food. all i've had is good i think
sunnyfence: that's why you need to get your butt over here
rayning: i knowwww!!! so i can end my "texting" virginity! [I've never sent text messages by cell phone before. It's all the rage in Asia.]
rayning: and start ending my sentences with "tuloy"
sunnyfence: hahaha yup. you should try our other native sweets too
rayning: and become a center of "chismis"
sunnyfence: and bibingka and puto
...
rayning: sigh....i would love to be jumping off the jeepneys, crashing the chismis parties, texting with passionate flirtation, combing my hair with hairy coconut shells, bungee jumping into volcanoes
...
rayning: are you good at snapping mosquitoes with rubber bands?
sunnyfence: hahaha yup
rayning: wow...a skill i have yet to master. you know how my dad kills flies?
rayning: he'll wait till the fly has landed on a curtain, preferably a white one. then he'll go ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH
rayning: and smash the curtain against the window then smear it all out
sunnyfence: hehe i don't know how to snap mosquitoes with rubber bands
rayning: OH??? i'm surprised at you! isn't that taught at UP in Mosquito 101
rayning: so yeah my dad's style of fly-killing is to make fly-jelly instead
...
sunnyfence: hahaha
sunnyfence: so when we get into the car, a lot of flies seem to want to go with us to work.
sunnyfence: so on our way to work he'd suddenly clap his hands in whatever direction to try and kill the fly and it's SOOOO disgusting to see the smashed up fly
sunnyfence: ughh
rayning: so he claps and drives at the same time?? haha
rayning: does he see it land on your nose and go, "wait! don't move!"
rayning: SLAP
sunnyfence: uh huh! hehe
rayning: well after many years, that will lead to the medical condition known as "FLAT NOSE"
...
sunnyfence: hehe ray..i think i bring out the silliness in you [You definitely do!]

Posted 2:26 PM by Blah blah

Please see my new NEWS LINKS.
Flash graphic: How the Invasion Will Progress (The Guardian).
BBC News: Flash map of possible attack strategy.

Make Your Own Bush Speech! Play this Flash cartoon.

Hahaha! Angered By Snubbing, Libya, China, Syria Form Axis of Just As Evil (SatireWire):

Beijing (SatireWire.com) — Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."...

"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."

Posted 10:27 AM by Blah blah

How Google Grows...and Grows...and Grows (Fast Company): "Here's a search for the growth secrets of one of the world's most exciting young companies -- a company from which every company can learn."

Posted 8:23 AM by Blah blah

Tonight on PBS at 8 pm: Frontline. In a two-hour special, "The Long Road to War," FRONTLINE draws on its extensive archives of more than 12 years of reporting on Iraq to tell the history of the U.S. confrontation with Saddam.

The Arrogant Empire (Newsweek): "America’s unprecedented power scares the world, and the Bush administration has only made it worse. How we got here—and what we can do about it now....To support America today in much of the world is politically dangerous. Over the past year the United States became a campaign issue in elections in Germany, South Korea and Pakistan. Being anti-American was a vote-getter in all three places....how to explain the sentiment in Turkey, a country that sits on the Iraqi border? A longtime ally, Turkey has fought with America in conflicts as distant as the Korean War, and supported every American military action since then. But opposition to the war now runs more than 90 percent there. Despite Washington’s offers of billions of dollars in new assistance, the government cannot get parliamentary support to allow American troops to move into Iraq from Turkish bases. Or consider Australia, another crucial ally, and another country where a majority now opposes American policy. Or Ireland. Or India. In fact, while the United States has the backing of a dozen or so governments, it has the support of a majority of the people in only one country in the world, Israel. If that is not isolation, then the word has no meaning....

A war with Iraq, even if successful, might solve the Iraq problem. It doesn’t solve the America problem. What worries people around the world above all else is living in a world shaped and dominated by one country—the United States. And they have come to be deeply suspicious and fearful of us....

[T]he United States will spend as much next year on defense as the rest of the world put together (yes, all 191 countries). And it will do so devoting 4 percent of its GDP, a low level by postwar standards....

But should the guiding philosophy of the world’s leading democracy really be the tough talk of a Chicago mobster? In terms of effectiveness, this strategy has been a disaster. It has alienated friends and delighted enemies. Having traveled around the world and met with senior government officials in dozens of countries over the past year, I can report that with the exception of Britain and Israel, every country the administration has dealt with feels humiliated by it. 'Most officials in Latin American countries today are not anti-American types,' says Jorge Castaneda, the reformist foreign minister of Mexico, who resigned two months ago. 'We have studied in the United States or worked there. We like and understand America. But we find it extremely irritating to be treated with utter contempt.' ...

Does America really want a world in which it gets its way in the face of constant public anger only by twisting arms, offering bribes and allying with dictators?"

Good interview with Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the last Secretary General of the United Nations. (The Guardian).

Blog from Iraq

More by Salam Pax, the guy from Iraq. Please read him! I've changed some of his grammar and wording. (Also, remember to check out the blog of Kevin Sites, the CNN reporter now in Iraq. Kevin is also making audio blog posts and talked about his experiences from covering other wars):
...
Sunday, March 16, 2003
[RANT]
No one inside Iraq is for war (note I said war, not a change of regime). No human being in his right mind will ask you to give him the beating of his life, unless you are a member of Fight Club that is, and if you do hear Iraqis (in Iraq, not expats) saying “Come on, bomb us,” it is the exasperation and 10 years of sanctions and hardship talking. There is no person inside Iraq (and this is a bold, blinking and underlined "inside") who will be jumping up and down asking for the bombs to drop. We are not suicidal you know, not all of us in any case.

I think that the coming war is not justified (and it is very near now, we hear the war drums loud and clear if you don’t then take those earplugs off!). The excuses for it have been stretched to their limits they will almost snap. A decision has been made some time ago that “regime change” in Baghdad is needed and excuses for the forceful change have to be made. I do think war could have been avoided, not by running back and forth the last two months, that’s silly. But the whole issue of Iraq should have been dealt with differently since the first day after GW I [George Bush Sr.].

The entities that call themselves “the international community” should have assumed their responsibilities a long time ago, should have thought about what the sanctions they have imposed really meant, should have looked at reports about weapons and human rights abuses a long time before having them thrown in their faces as excuses for war five minutes before midnight.

What is bringing on this rant is the question that has been bugging me for days now: how could “Support democracy in Iraq” come to mean “Bomb the hell out of Iraq”? why did it end up that democracy won’t happen unless we go through war? Nobody minded an un-democratic Iraq for a very long time, but now people have decided to bomb us to democracy? Well, thank you! How thoughtful.

The situation in Iraq could have been solved in other ways than what the world will be going through the next couple of weeks. It can’t have been that impossible. Look at the northern parts of Iraq: that is a model that has worked quite well. Why wasn’t anybody interested in doing that in the south? Just like the US/UK UN created a protected area there why couldn’t the model have been tried in the south. It would have cut off the regime's arms and legs. And once the people see what they have been deprived of they will not be willing to go back. Just ask any Iraqi from the Kurdish areas. Instead the world watched while after the war the Shias were crushed by Saddam’s army in a manner that really didn’t happen before the Gulf War. Does anyone else see the words ("Iran/not in the US interest") floating or is it me hallucinating?

And there is the matter of Sanctions. Now that Iraq has been through a decade of these sanctions, I can only hope that their effects are clear enough for them not to be tried upon another nation. Sanctions which allegedly should have kept a potentially dangerous situation in Iraq in check brought a whole nation to its knees instead. And who ultimately benefited from the sanctions? Neither the international community nor the Iraqi people, he who was in power and control still is. These sanctions made the Iraqi people hostages in the hands of this regime, tightened an already tight noose around our necks. A whole nation, a proud and learned nation, was devastated not by the war but by sanctions. Our brightest and most creative minds fled the country not because of oppression alone but because no one inside Iraq could make a living, survive. And can anyone tell me what the sanctions really did about weapons? Get real, there are always willing nations who will help, there are always organizations which will find his money sweet. Oil-for-Food? Smart Sanctions? Get a clue. Who do you think is getting all those contracts to supply the people with “food”? who do you think is heaping money in bank accounts abroad? It is his people, his family and the people who play his game. Abroad and in Iraq, Iraqis and non-Iraqis.

What I mean to say is that things could have been different; I can’t help look at the northern parts of Iraq with envy and wonder why.

Do support democracy in Iraq. But don’t equate it with war. What will happen is something that could/should have been avoided. Don’t expect me to wear an [I heart Bush] T-shirt. Support democracy in Iraq not by bombing us to hell and then trying to build it up again (well that is going to happen anyway) not by sending human shields (let’s be real the war is going to happen and Saddam will use you as hostages), but by keeping an eye on what will happen after the war.

To end this rant, a word about Islamic fundis/wahabisim/Qaeda and all that.

Do you know when the sight of women veiled from top to bottom became common in cities in Iraq? Do you know when the question of segregation between boys and girls became red hot? When tribal law replaced THE LAW? When Wahabi became part of our vocabulary?

It only happened after the Gulf War. I think it was Cheney or Albright who said they will bomb Iraq back to the Stone Age. Well you did. Iraqis have never accepted religious extremism in their lives. They still don’t. Wahabis in their short dishdasha are still looked upon as sheep who have strayed from the herd. But they are spreading. The combination of poverty/no work/low self-esteem and the bitterness of seeing people who rose to riches and power without any real merit but having the right family name or connection shook the whole social fabric. Situations which would have been unacceptable in the past are being tolerated today.
[/RANT]

Posted 1:38 AM by Blah blah

Marriage Does Not Change Outlook on Life -Study (Reuters):

Most newlyweds experience a brief emotional bounce after their wedding, but they eventually return to the same outlook they had on life before they tied the knot, according to a study released on Sunday.

"We found that people were no more satisfied after marriage than they were prior to marriage," the researchers said....

The study, which took 15 years to complete, also found that people who were already satisfied with their lives before marriage were more likely to stay married longer.

"People who get married and stay married are more satisfied than average long before the marriage has occurred," the study said....

Dorian Solot, co-founder of the Alternatives to Marriage Project, said the study showed marriage was not a cure-all.

"I think it reminds us that there's no magic ticket to happiness. Wedding bells might do it for some people, but true happiness is about you and your own life, not your marital status," said Solot, who also co-wrote Unmarried to Each Other.

While long-term marriages tend to be happy, a constant search for that initial euphoria could be disastrous, said David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project, a Rutgers University-based think tank on marriage trends.

"It may be one reason for divorce is they are looking to maintain that high level of happiness throughout the marriage, which is kind of impossible for most people," he said.

Posted 3:48 PM by Blah blah

As usual, Thomas Friedman hits the nail on the head. I so agree with his thoughts: Repairing the World (NY Times):

"Some days, you pick up the newspaper and you don't know whether to laugh or cry. Let's see, the prime minister of Serbia just got shot, and if that doesn't seem like a bad omen then you missed the class on World War I. Our strongest ally for war in Iraq is Bulgaria — a country I've always had a soft spot for, because it protected its Jews during World War II, but a country that's been on the losing side of every war in the last 100 years. Congress is renaming French fries 'freedom fries.' George Bush has managed to lose a global popularity contest to Saddam Hussein, and he's looking to build diplomatic support in Europe by flying to the Azores, a remote archipelago in the Atlantic, to persuade the persuaded leaders of Britain and Spain to stand firm with him. I guess the North Pole wasn't available. I've been to the Azores. It was with Secretary of State James Baker on, as I recall, one of his seven trips around the world to build support for Gulf War I. Mr. Baker used the Azores to refuel.

Having said all that, I am glad Mr. Bush is meeting with Tony Blair. In fact, I wish he would turn over leadership on the whole Iraq crisis to him. Mr. Blair has an international vision that Mr. Bush sorely needs."

Reporter Takes His Weblog to War (Wired): Christopher Allbritton's blog, Back to Iraq.

See this blog by "Salam Pax," a guy who says he lives in Iraq. He says:

A quick run thru what is going on in Baghdad before uncles and aunts flood the house. The juiciest bit of news actually happened about a week ago but I was told about it today. A couple of days ago it was rumored that all top officials had their phone numbers changed, well who cares it’s not like I call Saddam every night to chat, but today a friend explained why. Around six days ago the phone lines of the Iraqi air defense units were “attacked”. When you picked up the phone in some of the command units you didn’t get a dial tone but a male voice speaking in broken Arabic. What it said is close to what the infamous email said, don’t use chemical or biological weapons, don’t offer resistance, and don’t obey commands to attack civilian areas and so on. This went on for a couple of hours. Now everyone has new numbers. I have no idea how that is at all possible. I do know that for some rural areas we use microwave signals for phone connections but they can’t be so stupid as to use it for military purposes.

Way to go uncle Sam. This is going to make one hell of a James Bond movie.

International Soap Opera

I think a lot of this international diplomacy soap opera, which is fun to follow, is a story of failed relationships. We see the same types of problems we have with our girlfriends/boyfriends/friends/family, blown up and formalized. But the same underlying issues apply.

U.S. Missteps Led to Failed Diplomacy (Washington Post): "[T]he first Bush administration appeared to work with greater skill and sophistication to ensure worldwide support for its policy, diplomats, analysts and former U.S. government officials say. Secretary of State James A. Baker III crisscrossed the globe, and President George H.W. Bush spent hours on the phones with foreign leaders in the months leading to the war. In the process, the administration won victories in the Security Council endorsing the confrontation with Iraq.

The president and senior officials in the current Bush administration spend less time on the phone or on the road, They appear more comfortable issuing demands than asking for help or bridging differences, diplomats and U.S. officials said. The summit will be Bush's first overseas trip in four months. He has not spoken to French President Jacques Chirac in more than five weeks....

In 1990, Baker made three trips to Turkey in five months. Bush's father called the Turkish leader 55 to 60 times after Turkey agreed to shut down an oil pipeline to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War began, said Morton Abramowitz, then U.S. ambassador to Turkey. The Turkish parliament was asked to open its bases to the United States after the bombs began to fall."