The Rag Blog

On education:

Schools out as Baghdad bloodshed kills education
07 Dec 2006 12:30:32 GMT
Source: Reuters

Mohammed, a teenager at school in central Baghdad’s Karrada district, told this week how he leapt a wall to escape as militiamen dragged his headmaster, pleading for his life, through the school yard in revenge for an alleged insult.

Read the rest here.

On commerce:

Violence, inflation eat into Baghdad stores
07 Dec 2006 12:30:25 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Aseel Kami

Baghdad’s wholesale Shorja market, one of the city’s oldest and a key supplier for countless small shops scattered across the capital, has been bombed frequently. In a brazen daylight attack last month, gunmen kidnapped dozens of porters at the market, which has recently cut its business hours.

Read it here.

On the exciting night life:

Mistrustful Baghdadis keep one eye open at night
07 Dec 2006 12:30:23 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Mussab Al-Khairalla

Across the Tigris river, in the mainly Sunni Adhamiya district, Abu Anas says his group of armed men is on alert for Shi’ite militiamen, especially after six bombs in nearby Sadr City killed over 200 people two weeks ago.

Read the rest here.

Mr. ElBaradei denounces the threats against Iran and North Korea
By TOKYO CORRESPONDANT
Dec 5, 2006, 13:45

Since these words were pronounced in Japan, which totally agrees with the U.S. harsh line of action against North Korea, Mr. El Baradei’s remarks take on a particular significance.

Read all of it here.

‘Support the GI Movement & End the War, Again’
…by David Zeiger

This letter is also in this week’s “Must Read” section on Michael Moore’s web site, http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=784

Here are responses to David Hamilton’s Tipping Point.

True david, and reliable sources do indicate that Laura is leaving as well.

Janet Gilles

It’s so sad. This may give it all a kind of quasi-official seal, but to whom is it really news?

By the way, sources say Barney may be wavering.

Thorne Dreyer

There are still 200 billion barrels of oil under Iraqi soil. The U.S. has spent a trillion or two trying to control it, own all the oil futures, own the infrastructure. For all the talk I have not heard any big shot politicians call for the U.S. to immediately withdraw or withdraw in less than a year or two, maybe. No one is talking about the status of the oil concessions. What will become of the plans Bremmer laid, the puppet Iraqi government? Can future Iraq governments be held to any deals if the U.S troops leave? No, is my guess. That is the only real question that determines policy. The question the pundits do not ask. The media reports as if the oil was not the main reason for the invasion. I certainly don’t read everything so correct me if I missed something. Many politicians are calling for more U.S. troops in Iraq. McCain is our Netanyahu, more macho than thou, less torture but more war. Someone needs to do exit polls at Wal-Mart to find out if discontent is also any kind of understanding. I hope so But I do not know and I do doubt it. People don’t like losing but that is not anti-militarism. Anti- militarism is also anti-imperialism. Are people there yet?

I figure reality will call the shots. The Eagle’s wings are on fire. The question is how far down the toilet will we go. Can mainstream Democrats repudiate Big Oil? Give Hugo Chavez a big hug?

Alan Pogue

My expectations are so low for Bush he might as well turn it over to Barney for an improvement.

I am just hoping we get to the first of the year (and the new Congress) without a bombing of Iran on the perhaps vain hope that the Dems have grown enough high legs to make bombing Iran a little harder.

Just the military types telling him that bombing would be futile and we can’t put boots on the ground because we are out of boots will not be sufficient to stop this nutcase.

Meanwhile, I have to whip over to campus and give an early final to one of my students who is deploying to Iraq….seems the Army couldn’t wait a week and let him take finals with the other kids.

I chat with [my son] Paul, or have been — the connection has been down a couple of days — and he just looks grim on the webcam. He was within 50 miles of that bloodbath a couple of weeks ago and didn’t even know about it. He does his convoys, eats and sleeps, and chats with family on line. His view of Iraq is more constricted than mine.

I hate this shit.

Steve Russell

David: I am so happy to hear you are volunteering to run for President as an anti-militarist. I will donate to your campaign! I am not as optimistic as you: I think the Baker-Hamilton report will give the Democrats the cover they need to continue doing nothing and proposing nothing. This report essentially calls for “staying the course”; it’s basically a proposal to increase the effectiveness of the training provided Iraqi troops, something Bush claims he has been doing for the past four years. Providing this training is something that all politicians (Demos and Reps) insist will take a long time, and this will be the justification for the continued occupation. Until this “training” is complete, the Democrats will be able to ignore the real issue — bringing the troops home. Baker-Hamilton is little more than a proposal to maintain the status quo; in essence it justifies the death of more American troops and Iraqi civilians while the politicians wait to find out which way the wind is blowing.

Jeff Jones

Here is a link to Tom Hayden’s analysis of the Baker Iraq report, same as mine but with more detail:

www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-hayden/troops-out-oil-companies_b_35816.html

So obvious it should be a big yawn but such is the thoroughness of the brainwashing of our society that this is news. Our non-reporting press doing its obfuscationist best.

I don’t think Obama is going to save anyone.

Out Now! Imprison Bush! or is it Out Someday Soon! Bush Made a Tactical Error!

Alan Pogue

Hey, Jeff. Glad to hear you are back among us. Hope Mexico was good to you. I have inside knowledge that I am unable to divulge at this time, of a very fine anti-militarist candidate who will be announcing soon, I hope. Unfortunately, this impending candidate, though imminently well qualified, is not my ideal candidate – Martin Sheen. Sheen is very left even for Hollywood, has already had eight seasons convincingly being president in front of millions of Americans and starred in “Apocalypse Now”. What more could you want? He should run with Cindy Sheehan, with whom I believe he has already been arrested.

Heard a commentator today describe the Baker Commission (please leave the name Hamilton out of this), as an historic cover-your-ass job. Everyone is looking to say I told you so, me included. All Washington hot air with little or no relationship to Baghdad reality, the over heated motor driving events.

My main point is that we are on the cusp of a historically propitious moment. American imperialism is about to take a beating like never before, victim of classic imperial over-reach, a much more serious blow than Vietnam. Given Bush’s unique qualities, it is a dilemma from which there is no escape from a continuous rain of events that look increasingly like defeat. The impact of these events on the American psyche is going to be great and unsettling. If there was ever a moment to attack militarism as an acceptable and fundamental component of US foreign policy, it is now. It is now because US militarism is failing while it is costing more than
ever. Meanwhile Europe has quietly, but quite emphatically rejected war as a legitimate means of handling inter-national relations. As a result, no European nation has fought another European nation for the past 61 years, a major historic achievement.

The Democratic Party is not going to nominate a black guy who has been in the Senate two years and whose middle name is Hussein. And, regardless, they are not going to address the issue of the unacceptable costs of US militarism in the blood and treasure of average Americans.

So would someone please seize the goddamned day!

David Hamilton

A few months ago, I posted a Greek menu of white bean salad, lamb, and roasted tomatoes and feta. If you’re inclined to try the menu, this is the Greek bread just made to go with it.

Daktyla – A Traditional Greek Bread (30 October 2003)

This is a hearty country-style bread with these ingredients. It makes very good toast and great bread to accompany stews, soups, or other Winter comfort foods.

3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package dry yeast
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
1 tablespoon sea salt
Olive oil

Mix the milk, water, honey, and olive oil together, then heat the mixture to about 110° F. (no more than 120° F.) Add the yeast and about 1/4 cup of flour, mixing well, and let the yeast begin to foam for about 20 minutes.

In the meanwhile mix the remaining all-purpose and whole wheat flours, corn meal and salt together in a large bowl, making a well in the center.

When the yeast is well activated, add the liquid to the flours and mix well, finally turning out onto a kneading surface that has been dusted lightly with whole wheat flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Clean the original large mixing bowl well, dry it, then add a little olive oil and turn the dough ball in the bowl to coat it. Cover with a clean towel and place into the oven with the light on (NOT the heat). Let it rise until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading for a couple of minutes to make it smooth. Oil a standard bread pan (8.5×4.5×3 inches) very well, form a loaf from the dough, and place it into the pan. Cover it with the towel again, and let rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

Remove loaf from oven, then preheat the oven to 375° F.

A couple of tablespoons milk
1 or 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
Sweet Hungarian paprika to taste

Mix the sesame seeds and paprika. Using a basting brush, coat the top of the dough with milk, then sprinkle the seed mixture onto it. Place into the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until loaf is baked a golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

Richard Jehn

May we be allowed to predict which oversight group will be the next on the BushCo hit list?

Rampant Fraud At Dept. Of Homeland Security

In a six-month period this year more than 300 Homeland Security employees were arrested and 243 were convicted. They included Transportation Security Administration screeners taking jewelry and cash from luggage, another agent smuggling $80,000 into the country and two federal air marshals accepting bribes to smuggle cocaine through various airports. Also arrested were two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who sold alcohol and cigarettes to illegal immigrants in their custody.

Read it here.

One Third Of Jailed Journalists Are Bloggers
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Thursday, December 7, 2006

As the implementation of biometric technology and its application to security becomes more widely used, we are not far from the day when we have have to thumb scan simply to use the Internet and only with government permission will we be allowed to run a blog.

Read it here.

Commander In Chief Emeritus

It’s just not enough for me that Bush will go down as the Worst President Ever. That’s good, but not enough.

Source

Meese of Arabia and the Baker Group’s Grab for Black Gold
Written by Chris Floyd
Thursday, 07 December 2006

Listen, if you start listening to actual Iraqis, you might as well hang it up right now. Because poll after poll shows that actual Iraqis overwhelmingly favor a single option for the U.S. military forces in their country: cut and run, the sooner the better. That’s what they want; but of course, they’re just like children, aren’t they, the precious little primitive critters. And everybody knows you can’t give children everything they want. It’s not good for them. So we have to hold the Iraqis’ hands until they can toddle on their own — and we have to slap their hands if they don’t do what we know is best for them.

Read the rest, including significant updates and additional reading, here.

Cargo Cults

[snip]

Our modern culture and economy, our current ability to sustain six billion people, is the result of the one time opportunity to burn all the fossil fuel that has ever been created on the earth. It isn’t because we are technologically advanced, clever, or receiving the bounty of God. It’s because we are burning up fossil fuel. It was fossil fuel that put a man on the moon, brought about the ‘Green Revolution’ which increased the world’s food supply six fold in twenty years, brought about the great urban and suburban centers, and made it so a culture and economy could exist with less than a fourth of one percent of its population being farmers. Not only are fossil fuels responsible for all that supposed “progress” but it came about as the result of every increasing rates of use.

Read the rest of it here.

Several days ago, a woman who posts at a pro-cannabis web site I attend, received a call from the military.

She was initially told that her son, the youngest of three children, and a soldier in Iraq, had been ‘shot.’

She spent the next two days in limbo, first being told that he’d be fine, then being told that it was an IED blast and that he was in critical condition and intensive care.

This morning or last night he died.

Corporal Jonathon XXXXX. He and another corporal in his unit both passed away from their injuries suffered in that blast.

Another death putting blood on the hands of GW and the PNAC.

She is on a limited income, prefers to use cannabis as pain-reliever, but can rarely find it or afford it, and can’t afford the pills that the Docs give her instead.

She is a single, working mother, having raised three children.

She is representative of the lower-middle-class core of the extended families of those in uniform right now; under-privledged, lower incomes, and few resources. The military persons who finally spoke with her yesterday evening told her that they could offer counseling, and would pay for half of her son’s burial, though she’s apparently unaware of her son’s basic life insurance policy, issued by Uncle Sam, that might cover some of these expenses.

For what ever reason, the effect of this has been profound.

I haven’t written any quality poetry in some time now, and don’t know if this is suitable. I won’t give it to her yet, as she’s not ready to read this, in my biased opinion.

————————————
Tokin’ Mom of Three 12/06/06
_____________________________
There’s a hole in her heart
That the Doctor can’t fill
She can’t find the weed
And she doesn’t want a pill

There’s a vacuum of memories
Swept away by a blast
She thinks of his voice
From when he called last

She looks at his face
From early school days
The little hand print
And his buddies all at play

The empty room’s bed
Where he used to sit and read
Where she tucked him in at night
And tried to hear his needs

The old baseball glove
and little football cleats
Next to framed prom pictures
And clean satin sheets

Folded on the chest
Where his clothes used to be
Next to the spot
Where he’d kneel on one knee

Saying bed time prayers
As a tiny lil’ guy
Hoping for his family
And pleading with the sky

Books on his night stand
Dr. Seuss and Old Yeller.
He died a young man
But she mourns that little feller.

Dirk Nelson

The last couple of days have indeed been a tipping point in the conceptualization of the Iraq War in the American mind as reflected in the mainstream media. First, new “Defense” Secretary Gates baldly states in his Senate confirmation hearings that the US is losing in Iraq. Then the Baker Commission report openly states that current policy is a failure. Pundits flail about in vain for a viable direction toward something they might be able to call success, all starting from the assumption that the current situation is a disaster growing steadily worse. The Baker Commission report is delivered to Bush like a death warrant on his legacy. But George W., with everything to lose, will almost certainly, given his shortcomings and insecurities, once more futilely exert his ever-shrinking manhood against these harbingers of defeat.

Today, 10 more US soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. Tonight the cable news commentators exhibit unvarnished contempt for Bush. They question his ability to even comprehend the depths of his dilemma. The ubiquitous assumption is that the policies (and lies) of George Bush that led the US into Iraq have resulted in catastrophe for US power and influence and the process of extrication from this morass will cost much more. This is now conventional wisdom. Look for Bush approval ratings falling into the 20’s. It’s fast heading toward only Laura and his dog, Barney, standing with him and he shouldn’t count on them.

It is the dawn of the Iraq syndrome era, a public backlash against the type of policies that drug the US into this quagmire. One obvious potential characteristic of this era will be a repudiation of American militarism on a historic scale. Iraq is such a fiasco for the US’s ability to dominate the world by military force that mere defeat within Iraq with the attendant humiliating retreat might be the least horrible option for US militarism. Far worse would be a spreading regional war possibly stretching from Afghanistan to the Gaza Strip, which the US has little or no power to seriously influence. Recently, the Saudis, Syrians and Turks (all majority Sunni) have all warned that circumstances might draw them into the fray in Iraq, especially if the US unabashedly allies with the Shiites to slaughter the Sunnis as Bush’s Monday White House guest, Shiite cleric and death squad leader Hakim suggested.

The Vietnam syndrome is credited with exerting a restraining influence on US aggression for at least a few years – until 1980. Iraq syndrome has much more potential to effect future US foreign policy. Vietnam was not a war over seriously strategic territory or resources. Iraq is. Vietnam only spilled over into Cambodia and Laos only due to the US bombing campaigns. Iraq may spill over in every direction regardless of every US effort to stop it. Furthermore, never was the Vietnam War as universally discredited as the Iraq War has already become. There may not be throngs marching down the streets, but the antiwar position never had such good poll numbers as that position has now in the US and virtually everywhere else as well.

Objective conditions clearly indicate that the period between now and the next presidential election will provide the most fertile period ever for an anti-imperialist, anti-militarist critique. The most powerful way this critique could manifest would be as part of a independent presidential campaign by charismatic left leaders who espousing anti-militarist and other popular policies (e.g., universal healthcare, end the drug war) outside the conventions of capitalist party politics. Regardless of the corruption of the electoral process, it is the venue for debate provided and the capitalist parties are very likely to cooperate by nominating candidates with long histories of supporting now discredited policies.

David Hamilton