“People are suffering every moment because of this war – U.S. Soldiers and their families, Iraqi soldiers and civilians and their families – and this question of what we can do to end this suffering should be with us every day.”
a Concord (MA) area resident
this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
Tom Fox, a U.S. Christian activist taken hostage in Iraq last year, watches a child in Baghdad in this undated handout photo. Fox has been found dead in Baghdad, the State Department said on March 10, 2006. Fox, 54, of Clearbrook, Virginia, was one of four Western aid workers that a group calling itself ‘Swords of Truth’ kidnapped in western Baghdad in November. The four worked for Christian Peacemaker Teams, one of the few remaining aid groups operating in Iraq.
NO ARCHIVES NO SALES MANDATORY CREDIT REUTERS/CPT/Handout
Blackbird
by John Lennon/Paul McCartney
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
– – –
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important new blog – PTSD Combat
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
Peace
“Blackbird” was the lullabye I sang to both my babies.
That tune was the reason I wanted to teach myself how to play guitar when I was little. I had to give it up for lack of any support…I had paid for my own guitar (ordered it out of a Sear’s catalog and could only afford a few a lessons and my school didnt offer any band)
I went into the Guitar shop last week and saw a sweet acoustic Fender with a thin neck. Talked about going “back” and picking up the guitar again so I can pick the tune “for real” and not just from memorizing. Wanting to “go back” and regather the things that are important to me.
Wanting to STOP this war and regime… I have noticed has helped so many START to actually live their lives. It’s like we are all coming into focus. Our priorities for peace and decency have helped us grow. Have helped our children step closer to their dreams… while their mom re-picks up the guitar. If only it were that easy.
Oh, I will RubDMC. My husband said I was literally glowing while talking to the guitar guys about how I wanted to pick up th equitar again. 🙂 I found some cool blues lessons at Powell’s just next to the shop.
I have the Woody Guthrie CDs from the Library of Congress archives. “This Machine Kills Fascist” was on his guitar.
Was nice being in a store and able to talk about this war and not be worried about being assaulted verbally or with lit cigarettes 🙂
I LOVE PORTLAND and Portland CodePink 🙂
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost!
“George, your reckless and wanton foreign policies killed my son, Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, in the illegal and unjust war on Iraq. Helping to bring about your political downfall will be the most noble accomplishment of my life, and it will bring justice for my son and the hundreds of other brave Americans and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis your lies have killed.”
Cindy Sheehan
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Stop your meddling, Iraqi minister tells US
~~~~~~~~~~
“I took an oath when I joined the Navy. I swore to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Nowhere does it state that I must blindly follow the orders of unjust or immoral leaders. This is the reason that I am compelled to speak out against our use of Depleted Uranium. It is the biggest, invisible danger that our troops and the Iraqi people face and most insidious. What we are committing is a silent genocide of both planet and people.”
Kim Hawkins – Gulf War Veteran
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Iraqi Shi’ite cleric calls U.S., Britain and Israel a ‘Triad of Evil’
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“It was a failure of citizenship of the American people that the Bush cabal was allowed to invade Iraq. Thus, any U.S. citizen who is not doing everything in their power to end this illegal and immoral occupation as quickly as possible is complicit with the war crimes being committed in Iraq on a daily basis.”
Dahr Jamail
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Why Did Bush Destroy Iraq?
~~~~~~~~~~
Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America’s War? As Many As 250,000
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Slaughtered (Officially acknowledged) In Bush’s War 2307
The War in Iraq Costs $246,722,181,055 See the cost in your community
~~~~~~~~~~
Iraq may still seek WMDs
~~~~~~~~~~
Huey Long: “If fascism ever came to the United States, it would be wrapped in an American flag.”
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US Army in jeopardy in Iraq: An Iraqi civil war could cost the United States its army.
~~~~~~~~~~
Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas: “All democracies turn into dictatorships – but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it’s Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea… That’s the issue that I’ve been exploring: How did the Republic turn into the Empire … and how does a democracy become a dictatorship?”
~~~~~~~~~~
A Lawless and Incompetent Leadership: Bush at the Tipping Point: By Ralph Nader
~~~~~~~~~~
Alex Carey: “The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.”
~~~~~~~~~~
US military expects violent Afghan spring-admiral
~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times: “The fact is … that when totalitarian nations… play ball with U.S. business interests, we like them just fine. But when Venezuela’s freely elected president threatens powerful corporate interests, the Bush administration treats him as an enemy.”
Most don’t have the Lived Experiance to justify their Rethoric, and that Includes the Guests!
Where ‘Truth’ Can Be Found
March 11, 2006 —
Wayne Madsen Report
Llewellyn King’s consummate Washington insider newsletter, White House Weekly, never disappoints when it comes to straight and unvarnished reporting from the White House Press Pool. In the March 8, 2006 issue, the press pool reporter describes an account of what happened when the White House press plane touched down to refuel at Shannon Airport in Ireland on its way back to Washington after Bush’s recent trip to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Upon deplaning and repairing to the airport bar, the reporters encountered a group of returning GIs from Iraq on their way back home to Colorado. After a few beers and whiskeys, one of the returning troops spoke on behalf of his colleagues when asked what they thought of Bush’s war in Iraq. The soldier said, “Well, sir, in the shitter it says, ‘Bush can suck my d**k.'” Upon shouts of approval from his fellow troops, the soldier added, “And sir, if you want to find out about morale in the Army, find out the truth, you’ll always find it in the shitter.”
Dear Fellow American or UnAmerican – I urge you to take a moment and
watch the following filmstrip, Upated, at Click HERE. Be
sure to have flash enabled and your speakers turned on. You may also want
to make sure your right wing hosebag boss is at lunch.
You’ll even be able to view the Original, with link just below the view box, Enjoy!!
Peace.
Another 50+ innocents died today, for what? I am beginning to become hopeless because I feel so helpless.
PEACE for me=IMPEACH for them.
I see that you have honored Tom Fox in two War Grief diaries this weekend … and I am so grateful for that. I have a hard time articulating to non-Quakers why his life and death are so important. It matters hugely to me that your diary series, which reaches so many readers, has paid this honor to his memory.
He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.
–Aeschylus