this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
this is a retrospective of the first 299 diary posts at dKos in the series. images for days 151-200 and selected poems below the fold.
Days 1-50 here.
Days 51-100 here.
Days 101-150 here
Note – Several images depict graphic scenes of death and mutilation.
Day 151
Day 152
Day 153
Day 154
Day 155
Day 156
Day 157
Day 158
Day 159
Day 160
Day 161
Day 162
Day 163
Day 164
Day 165
Day 166
Day 167
Day 168
Day 169
Day 170
Day 171
Day 172
Day 173
Day 174
Day 175
Day 176
Day 177
Day 178
Day 179
Day 180
Day 181
Day 182
Day 183
Day 184
Day 185
Day 186
Day 187
Day 188
Day 189
Day 190
Day 191
Day 192
Day 193
Day 194
Day 195
Day 196
Day 197
Day 198
Day 199
Day 200
From Day 151
From Riverbend’s Blog for Wednesday, May 18, 2005
The last two weeks have been violent. The number of explosions in Baghdad alone is frightening. There have also been several assassinations- bodies being found here and there. It’s somewhat disturbing to know that corpses are turning up in the most unexpected places. Many people will tell you it’s not wise to eat river fish anymore because they have been nourished on the human remains being dumped into the river. That thought alone has given me more than one sleepless night. It is almost as if Baghdad has turned into a giant graveyard.
The latest corpses were those of some Sunni and Shia clerics- several of them well-known. People are being patient and there is a general consensus that these killings are being done to provoke civil war. Also worrisome is the fact that we are hearing of people being rounded up by security forces (Iraqi) and then being found dead days later- apparently when the new Iraqi government recently decided to reinstate the death penalty, they had something else in mind…
The bombs are mysterious. Some of them explode in the midst of National Guard and near American troops or Iraqi Police and others explode near mosques, churches, and shops or in the middle of sougs. One thing that surprises us about the news reports of these bombs is that they are inevitably linked to suicide bombers. The reality is that some of these bombs are not suicide bombs- they are car bombs that are either being remotely detonated or maybe time bombs. All we know is that the techniques differ and apparently so do the intentions. Some will tell you they are resistance. Some say Chalabi and his thugs are responsible for a number of them. Others blame Iran and the SCIRI militia Badir.
In any case, they are terrifying. If you’re close enough, the first sound is a that of an earsplitting blast and the sounds that follow are of a rain of glass, shrapnel and other sharp things. Then the wails begin- the shrill mechanical wails of an occasional ambulance combined with the wail of car alarms from neighboring vehicles and finally the wail of people trying to sort out their dead and dying from the debris.
From Day 156
Couplets
by Thomas LynchTwo girls found dead. My sons go to the morgue.
Two cots, thick rubber gloves, two body bags.Too long stuffed in a culvert, raped and stabbed,
too decomposed to recognize. Too sad.Two local ne’er-do-wells no doubt abused
too much as children themselves, stand mute.Two caskets in a room, two families undone.
Two ministers. Two homilies. My sonstoo busy with flowers and townspeople
to contemplate the problem of evil,to shake their fists at God, regard instead
two funerals – the living and the deadto be transported in their separate griefs –
two hearses to be washed, two limousines.Today the wakes and paperwork details.
Tomorrow a burning and a burial.Two girls found dead of known brutalities
together forever, precious memoriestoo sweet, too savage, too beautiful and bad
to keep at bay by ritual or words.Two boys about their father’s business learn
to number, comfort, witness and keep track.
From Day 158
From the Living to the Dead
by deepintheheartoftxI see you in my sons’ eyes
reflected there, your mothers’ grief
transposed on my own imageLast night we went roller skating
I hadn’t been on skates in 25 years
“Just do your best, mom,” my six-year-old said.
When I fell, he helped me upAm I doing my best?
Little by little parts of me grow cold
Sons, daughters, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and strangers
are dyingI cannot help you up
I do not know you, or even of you
As I make breakfast
drive to little league
and tuck my boys into their bunks at nightYour names are not posted on a list
Pinned to bulletin boards in the hall
Like the ones my mother looked at anxiously
on her way to class every day when she was in high schoolYour passing is not noted in the
Halls of power
Your aborted lives unknown to us
As we work, and spend and
tend to livingDark stains spread over my soul
like the soldier who covered herself
in black tattoos
Cover my good intentions with sticky tarYet
I see you in my sons’ eyes
From Day 188
Sonnet XLIII
by Edna St. Vincent MillayWhat lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
From Day 197
The evil of the mind is conquered by the goodness of the heart
posted by Leonard Clark
from his blogJuly 5th, 2005
“Folks, I have decided to write you this email in response to those who are wondering in their own views why I am apparently violating the “rules”. Since I don’t have much time here is the gist of it: I believe American soldiers (my brothers and sisters) are being killed needlessy (sic) over here in this lie we call “the Occupation of Iraq”. To me it is a great offense to the laws of humanity to have American soldiers die needlessly in a place far from their native home when this evil practice could be stopped. When should a person, a human being if you will, speak out ? Well, for me these fellow soldiers are my loved ones, and if I were ever going to speak out about anything it would be to save the lives of those I love. To have human beings sacrifice their lives for a lie is a violation of their human rights, and so there you have it – I believe that not only are my human rights being violated but those of my fellow soldiers as well.”
Leonard Clark is serving on the streets of Baghdad in the National Guard. He is a Kindergarten teacher and a former Democratic Candidate for State House in Arizona. His blog was taken down shortly afterwards as part of a disciplinary action.
– – –
view the pbs newshour silent honor roll (with thanks to jimstaro at booman.)
take a private moment to light one candle among many (with thanks to TXSharon)
support veterans for peace
support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
remember the fallen
support Gold Star Families for Peace
support the fallen
support the troops
support the troops and the Iraqi people
read This is what John Kerry did today, the diary by lawnorder that prompted this series
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
witness every day
Click on the candle to copy the image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment.
…another heartfelt plea for Peace.
Peace
Again my heart has hope for the future: Danni said to me as we were on our way to the bus stop, “All I want for Christmas is no more war”
What do you say to that??
“Merry Christmas”
in the cause of peace for us all.
No more lies!
No more lives!
Out of Iraq Now!
.
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 14 April 1996.
ONLY a few hours after Israeli helicopters had staged their first raid over the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday, Hizbollah’s local Manar (Lighthouse) television station showed an intriguing film, an interview with a Lebanese man, his face pixillated to avoid recognition but his voice all too audible as he recounted his life as an Israeli agent in southern Lebanon. He had, he said, married a woman who lived in the Israeli occupation zone in the far south of the country — the strip of territory held by Israeli troops since 1978 — and had been recruited by Israel on a visit to his wife’s village.
Lebanon 1982-1984
It was unclear whether the man was a prisoner or a defector, but his information was specific. For months he had lived in the area north of Israel’s occupation zone, amassing details of Hizbollah’s movements and equipment. On a set of photographic maps provided by the Israelis, he had carefully marked the home of each Hizbollah member. He had communicated this information, he said, through an E-mail system that operated on Israeli-provided equipment which he kept hidden in the cabinet of his television set.
Amid the blood and rhetoric of this latest, wearingly familiar, war in Lebanon, Hizbollah was sending two messages over its TV station: that the historical background to the conflict is being ignored — in some cases deliberately — and that the Israelis had been planning this operation for months, just as Hizbollah itself had been working out its own methods of confronting the coming Israeli assault.
A Never Ending Story … Republican nor Democrat Leadership in WH!
US support for Israel has resulted in the oil nations of the Middle East being driven into the Russian sphere of influence. Barely able to hold onto Iraq, the US cannot fight and win a war against Russia for access to oil reserves.
The Neocons have not only sacrificed the lives of 2000 young Americans for Israel, they have sacrificed the nation’s economy by making us the enemy of those nations whose oil we depended on.
Iran Says Contracts With Russia Could Reach $10bn
Posted Nov 7, 2005 09:58 AM PST
● Hariri Assassination By Suicide Truck Bomb ¶ Mitsubishi Stolen in Japan
● Norman J. Pattiz – Chairman BBG Middle East Committee
Bush singled out Pattiz for his “perseverance and dedication to the project.” The ‘project’ being the production of Arab-language propaganda for two new media outlets: The Al-hurrah satellite television network, and Radio Sawa.
BURNING CANDLES
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Oui, please do not take this as ANYTHING against you or anything you post, I ALWAYS love your posts, regardless of length.
I am writing this in response to Susan and BooMan’s calling out of Arthur Gilroy for his long posts — Susan, BooMan, is Oui’s post above rude in it’s length? If not, why not? Again, just wanting to clarify “rules” and etiquette and to avoid double-standards.
For the record, personally, I could not care less about the length of people’s posts.
Long posts?? I love Oui’s and JimStaro’s posts… and I tend to ramble in replies and such. Is this a no no?
I left to run errands and came to find this. Clueless.
.
Stay focused and do your thing, use your talent and let the quarrels pass you by.
A long time ago, a lesson I learned from my chief engineer, when he ran into a problem and company politics of the blame game blocked a fruitful discussion. He would rise with elegance and his slender 6’5″ posture and address the meeting: “Gentlemen, let’s agree I take the blame for what went wrong, now let’s spend our time on fixing the problem. Thank you.”
Leaving all dumbfounded and in silence.
Thanks (((hugs))) Janet – no problem.
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
I will do just that 🙂 ((((((hugs right back atcha, baby!! xoxox)))))
Ok, well, I’m responding because you responded to something I wrote, but it looks like you aren’t actually interested after Oui’s great advice!
For further info., ask Susan and/or BooMan — I was only looking for clarification myself. If none is forthcoming, I will simply carry on!
Danni used a photo of a little girl for one of her letters to UNICEF and Politicians. Long story short – her and I went through some of your complitations this weekend. Not ALL of them. But, again, she’s an old soul and I she does do things that provide her with a sense of empowerment against this war.
Sunday she had an idea.
Print the pictures off and have children surround the White House with them.
Or
Instead of a Lemonade Stand – have a similar stand covered with the photos – manned with children.
But, again, she’s an old soul and I listen to her and she does do things that provide her with a sense of empowerment against this war
left out a bunch there.
The images are there for anyone to do what they want with. Me, right now, I’m a little tired to do anything else 🙁
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For Innocence Lost!
With the Reports of use of Chemical Weapons, Banned By World Body and U.S., being used in Iraq By The United States, we Have Crossed The Line Even Further in Crimes Against Humanity
There are now Two Diary’s Up, here, with Links To The Video Report, one is mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!
^^^^^
AMERICA IN DISTRESS
^^^^^
:o(…………
Thanks Rub.
Thank you, Rub, for the care and thought that you put into these diaries.
You mentioned in a comment here today how tired you are — I hope you are taking care of yourself, and finding support that sustains you, while you do this valuable work, that helps us all to stay strong in our resistance.