this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
in special honor today for a child in France
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
An unidentified man holds a candle during a solemn vigil for two German hostages in Leipzig February 2, 2006. The two engineers were abducted on January 24 outside their workplace in the Iraqi industrial town of Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad. In a video dated January 29 and broadcast by Al Jazeera on Tuesday, the kidnappers set a 72-hour deadline for Germany to end its cooperation with Iraq and close its embassy in Baghdad.
REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz
On the Persistence of the Letter as a Form
by Paul Guest
Dear murderous world, dear gawking heart,
I never wrote back to you, not one word
wrenched itself free of my fog-draped mind
to dab in ink the day’s dull catalog
of ruin. Take back the ten-speed bike
which bent like a child’s cheap toy
beneath me. Accept as your own
the guitar that was smashed over my brother,
who writes now from jail in Savannah,
who I cannot begin to answer. Here
is the beloved pet who died at my feet
and there, outside my window,
is where my mother buried it in a coffin
meant for a newborn. Upon
my family, raw and vigilant, visit numbness.
Of numbness I know enough.
And to you I’ve now written too much,
dear cloud of thalidomide,
dear spoon trembling at the mouth,
dear marble-eyed doll never answering back.
– – –
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important diary at MLW – Returning Vet PTSD – One Soldier’s Story as well her comprehensive series on PTSD and Iraq War vets.
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 Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – TAPS
support Gold Star Families for Peace
support the fallen
support the troops
support Iraq Veterans Against the War
support Military families Speak Out
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.
” I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.”
from Dirge Without Music
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Peace Now!
.
Unwanted publicity, the best you can get after Cindy Sheehan has been active demonstrating during recent weeks in Washington D.C. with little press coverage. Of course, the arrest is covered extensively by Crooks & Liars (apparently were hacked last night before coverage of SOTU).
Cindy Sheehan moments before her arrest in U.S. Congress.Cindy Sheehan even got coverage in Dutch news items, including a short interview where she explained the text of her t-shirt and her recent activities leading the Iraq peace movement. Cindy was invited to demonstrate in The Hague where parliament is about to decide a two-year military mission to Uruzgan province of Afghanistan with EU and NATO partners. It will be a clear majority in Dutch parliament, including the opposition Labor party PvdA of Wouter Bos, to vote for troop deployment.
LEAVE Iraq to the Iraqis
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
.
“Our commitment to race equality is as strong as ever,” the spokeswoman for PM Tony Blair said. “This imbalance is unacceptable and that is why the Home Office has set up this new unit.”
The total number of stop and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 in England and Wales more than doubled in 2002/2003 from 8,550 to 21,577.
And total stop and searches – including those under terror laws and those under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act – amounted to 869,164. This was a rise of 22% on the year before and the highest level since 1998-1999.
Muslims groups have criticised the rise in searches of Asians, saying it showed prejudice and “Islamophobia” were evident.
One campaign group, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the level of concern was now so high that its entire print run of 500,000 legal advice leaflets had already been snapped up.
Ligali - African British Equality Authority“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost!
A Widening US Corruption Scandal in Iraq
A former American occupation official in Iraq is expected to plead guilty to bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and other charges in federal court on Thursday for his actions in a scheme to use sexual favors, jewelry and millions of dollars in cash to steer reconstruction work to a corrupt contractor, according to papers filed with the court.
Out of Jail, into the Army
Facing an enlistment crisis, the Army is granting “waivers” to an increasingly high percentage of recruits with criminal records – and trying to hide it.
Cheney, Libby Knew Niger Yellow-Cake Allegations Were Bogus…
Never Coming Home
Written By A Vet and GoldStar Father – Trolls/Freepers/Repug Sheep/Young-Old Repug ChickenHawks Will Have A FieldDay Slandering Joe!!!! A TwoFer!!!!
Thursday, February 2, 2006
The killing has got to stop
JOE COLGAN
Never Coming Home
THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA
As Eric, over at Bush Flash puts it so Simply:
THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA
Encore feature- you should watch this, every day.