A little Q & A sampling from the Decider:
Gioia, from California writes:
Mr. President, A silly question, but who picks your attire for all the important events you attend? Love your ties
George W. Bush
Dear Gioia, I pick my own suits and my own ties. Thank you for the compliment about the ties, and thank you for your question.
>>>>>>>>Riveting!
Dan, from Bethpage, NY writes:
Mr. President,I applaud your trip to the Middle East and yearn for peace as much as you do. In order to understand the people of the Middle East can you tell us what similarities you have noticed between the people of the United States and the People of the Middle East Countries?
George W. Bush
Dear Dan, perhaps the greatest similarity between peoples in the United States and the Middle East is the desire for people to live in peace. I like to remind our fellow citizens that a Muslim mom wants the same thing that an American mom wants -- that is for her child to grow up in a hopeful, peaceful world. That desire for security and peace provides the basis for our strategy with the nations in the Middle East to defeat extremists and terrorists who use murder as a weapon to achieve their political objectives. Thank you for your question.
>>>>>>>>> That would explain Shock & Awe & 5 years of occupation & the death toll.
Max, from Freeport, ME writes:
Dear President Bush, I would like to know why the government doesnt invest in research to try to create some kind of big battery that would replace the use of oil. That battery would pollute significantly less and would get rid of our dependency to Middle Eastern oil. In such a case, energy costs wouldn't vary subsequently to geopolitical issues. Moreover, we wouldnt have to constantly ask for the OPEC to lower its prices. It would also have a very positive effect on our economy.
Thank you for taking time to read this message and may God bless America
George W. Bush
Dear Max, our government is spending money on battery technologies that would enable automobiles to drive the first 20 to 40 miles using electricity. This, coupled with ethanol, is the main thrust of our initiative to become less dependent on oil. I appreciate you for sending in your question.
>>>>>>>> This is scheduled for, when-- the 12th of NEVER?
Patrick, from California writes:
Mr. President, During your tour of the ruins of Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, could you describe any thoughts of personal reflection.
thank you for your service to our country.
George W. Bush
Dear Patrick, our trip to the Sea of Galilee was magnificent. I had the opportunity at the Church of the Beatitudes, which sits at a high point, to gaze out on the Sea of Galilee. As I reflected on the view, at that moment I was reminded of the…New Testament story of the calm in the rough seas, which then reminded me of the power of prayer to bring calm in a person's life. Thank you for your question.
>>>>>>>>>> I'll sleep better tonight George. I bet the heavy Military ship traffic cruising around Iran are calming too.
LeRoy, from Beirut, Lebanon writes:
Dear Mr. President, Lebanon seems conspicuously absent from your itinerary this week. Doubtless, security concerns had something to do with this, but what can you say to assure us that Lebanon is still on the American agenda? What will friendlier U.S. ties with the Gulf, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mean for Lebanon? Both the US and France seem eager to broker a variety of business deals with the Gulf states apparently there is even a French plan to build a nuclear power plant for these oil-rich states but, when will Lebanon see any substantial foreign direct investment from its western allies?
Best regards, LeRoy
George W. Bush
Let me assure you I am committed to democracy in Lebanon. Syria, however, continues to try to subvert the outcome of the Lebanese political process from the outside. We support the Siniora government and the efforts of the March 14th group to come together to elect a President, pursuant to their constitution. I did not want to distract from the delicate political process that is now moving forward, and therefore on my trip I spent time with the leaders of the Middle East, strategizing on how best to help the Lebanese solve their problem of Syrian involvement and secure their own democracy.
As for the U.S. doing business in the Gulf states, I support open and fair trade and investment. I also understand why the Gulf states would want to develop civilian nuclear power, it is a much more cost effective way to desalinate the water. After all, water is a precious commodity for these countries. Thanks for your question.
>>>>>>>>>>> You heard it here first folks-- It's all about the DRINKING WATER.
Ironically, the Official White House web site has a regular column called "Setting the Record Straight". It begs the question-- are the records crooked to begin with?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Welcome 2008
Green waters and verdant mountains
are the places to walk in meditation;
by the streams or under the trees
are places to clear the mind.
Observe impermanence,
never forget it;
this urges on the will to seek enlightenment.
- Keizan Jokin (1264-1325)
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Ball of Confusion
As this year winds down, we will be hearing *Year in Review* recaps of the highlights (or is that low lights?) of what transpired in 2007. I'll make mine short by throwing a photo montage done to the song *Ball of Confusion*, by the Temptations. 2007 was a rough year for me, personally, my Mom had a stroke, a close relative passed on, our dog had to be put down, and a few hospital forays for me, one very serious. So in retrospect, I am happy to kiss this year goodbye.... and welcome 2008. Each new year holds new hope, and I hope for you the very best health & to be centered & on a good path, whatever that may be. I plan on working on making things less confused in 2008!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Lakota Sioux Secede From US, Declare Independence
In an interesting move, members of Lakota tribes have renounced treaties and are withdrawing from the United States.
“We are now a free country and independent of the United States of America,” “This is all completely legal.”
A Lakota delegation on Monday delivered a statement of “unilateral withdrawal” from the United States to the U.S. State Department in Washington.
The State Department did not respond.
Meanwhile, the delegation has delivered copies of the letter to the embassies of Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and South Africa. “We’re asking for recognition,” Means said, adding that Ireland and East Timor are “very interested” in the declaration.
Other countries will get copies of the same declaration, which Means said also would be delivered to the United Nations and to state and county governments covered by treaties, including treaties signed in 1851 and 1868. “We’re willing to negotiate with any American political entity,” Means said.
The United States could face international pressure if it doesn’t agree to negotiate. “The United State of America is an outlaw nation, we now know. We’ve understood that as a people for 155 years.”
Means also said his group would file liens on property in parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming that were illegally homesteaded.
Read more details at the “Lakota Freedom,” website:
http://www.lakotafreedom.com/index.html
Means said anyone could live in the Lakota Nation, tax free, as long as they renounced their U.S. citizenship. The nation would issue drivers licenses and passports, but each community would be independent. “It will be the epitome of individual liberty, with community control,” Means said.
To make his case, Means cited several articles of the U.S. Constitution, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and a recent nonbinding U.N. resolution on the rights of indigenous people.
He thinks there will be international pressure. “If the U.S. violates the law, the whole world will know it,” Means said.
Lakota tribes have long claimed that the U.S. government stole land guaranteed by treaties — especially in western South Dakota. “The Missouri River is ours, and so are the Black Hills,” Means said.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1980 awarded the tribes $122 million as compensation, but the court did not award land. The Lakota have refused the settlement. (As interest accrues, the unclaimed award is approaching $1 billion.)
I don't know what response the US Government will have. The Government is loathe to give up power. Oh! If the tables could be turned, I certainly support the tribes desire to break away from the outlaw nation the US has become.
*** Historic reference: Red Cloud was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux). One of the most capable Native American opponents the U. S. military ever faced, he led a successful conflict in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud's War over control of the Powder River Country in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana.
In June 1865 Red Cloud's Sioux joined a coalition led by Woqini (Roman Nose) of the Cheyenne to attack a military post on the North Platte River. Believing they had taught the bluecoats to respect the treaty, they returned home only to learn in August of further encroachments. The U.S. Army was constructing forts along the Bozeman Trail straight through Lakota territory (modern-day Wyoming), from the South Platte River in Colorado to Montana's gold country. Red Cloud foresaw the eventual expulsion of the Lakota from their land.
In 1866, he began what has come to be known as Red Cloud's War, the most successful war an Indian nation ever waged against the U.S. military. He achieved several victories, resulting in a new Treaty of Fort Laramie by which the U.S. abandoned all forts on the Bozeman Trail and acknowledged Lakota possession of what is now the Western half of South Dakota, including the Black Hills, and much of Montana and Wyoming.
Uneasy relations between the expanding United States and the natives continued. In 1871, Red Cloud visited Washington D.C., and met with Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely S. Parker and President Ulysses Grant. In 1871, the Red Cloud Agency was established on the Platte River, downstream from Fort Laramie. As outlined in the Treaty of 1868, the agency staff was responsible for issuing rations to the Lakota weekly as well as providing the annual annuity goods. In the fall of 1873, the agency was removed to the upper White River in northwestern Nebraska.
Red Cloud settled at the agency with his band by the fall of 1873. He soon became embroiled in a controversy with the new Indian agent, Dr. John J. Saville.
In 1874, General George Armstrong Custer led a reconnaissance mission into Sioux territory that reported gold in the Black Hills, a sacred area to the Indians. Formally, the Army tried to keep miners out but did not succeed; the threat of violence grew. Red Cloud, along with other leaders, rejected a treaty ceding the territory; he was unsuccessful in finding a peaceful solution, and did not take part in the Lakota war of 1876-1877 lead by T‘aĊĦunka Witko (Crazy Horse) and Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull).
In the fall of 1877, the Red Cloud Agency was removed to the Missouri River and the following year, removed to the forks of the White River where it was renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Red Cloud continued fighting for his people, even after being forced onto the reservation. In 1889 he opposed a treaty to sell more of the Sioux land; his steadfastness and that of Sitting Bull required the government agents to obtain the necessary signatures through subterfuges such as obtaining the signatures of children. He negotiated strongly with Indian agents such as Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, and opposed the Dawes Act.
Red Cloud became an important leader of the Lakota as they transitioned from the freedom of the plains to the confinement of the reservation system. He outlived the other major Sioux leaders of the Indian wars and died in 1909 at the age of 77 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he is buried. It is the Lakota of Pine Ridge Reservation, where Red Cloud is buried that are taking this action to Secede, and Declare Independence from the U.S.
Mitaku Oyasin! We are all related!
Anasazi clouds
* Thanks to Common Dreams for running the story
“We are now a free country and independent of the United States of America,” “This is all completely legal.”
A Lakota delegation on Monday delivered a statement of “unilateral withdrawal” from the United States to the U.S. State Department in Washington.
The State Department did not respond.
Meanwhile, the delegation has delivered copies of the letter to the embassies of Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and South Africa. “We’re asking for recognition,” Means said, adding that Ireland and East Timor are “very interested” in the declaration.
Other countries will get copies of the same declaration, which Means said also would be delivered to the United Nations and to state and county governments covered by treaties, including treaties signed in 1851 and 1868. “We’re willing to negotiate with any American political entity,” Means said.
The United States could face international pressure if it doesn’t agree to negotiate. “The United State of America is an outlaw nation, we now know. We’ve understood that as a people for 155 years.”
Means also said his group would file liens on property in parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming that were illegally homesteaded.
Read more details at the “Lakota Freedom,” website:
http://www.lakotafreedom.com/index.html
Means said anyone could live in the Lakota Nation, tax free, as long as they renounced their U.S. citizenship. The nation would issue drivers licenses and passports, but each community would be independent. “It will be the epitome of individual liberty, with community control,” Means said.
To make his case, Means cited several articles of the U.S. Constitution, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and a recent nonbinding U.N. resolution on the rights of indigenous people.
He thinks there will be international pressure. “If the U.S. violates the law, the whole world will know it,” Means said.
Lakota tribes have long claimed that the U.S. government stole land guaranteed by treaties — especially in western South Dakota. “The Missouri River is ours, and so are the Black Hills,” Means said.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1980 awarded the tribes $122 million as compensation, but the court did not award land. The Lakota have refused the settlement. (As interest accrues, the unclaimed award is approaching $1 billion.)
I don't know what response the US Government will have. The Government is loathe to give up power. Oh! If the tables could be turned, I certainly support the tribes desire to break away from the outlaw nation the US has become.
*** Historic reference: Red Cloud was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux). One of the most capable Native American opponents the U. S. military ever faced, he led a successful conflict in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud's War over control of the Powder River Country in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana.
In June 1865 Red Cloud's Sioux joined a coalition led by Woqini (Roman Nose) of the Cheyenne to attack a military post on the North Platte River. Believing they had taught the bluecoats to respect the treaty, they returned home only to learn in August of further encroachments. The U.S. Army was constructing forts along the Bozeman Trail straight through Lakota territory (modern-day Wyoming), from the South Platte River in Colorado to Montana's gold country. Red Cloud foresaw the eventual expulsion of the Lakota from their land.
In 1866, he began what has come to be known as Red Cloud's War, the most successful war an Indian nation ever waged against the U.S. military. He achieved several victories, resulting in a new Treaty of Fort Laramie by which the U.S. abandoned all forts on the Bozeman Trail and acknowledged Lakota possession of what is now the Western half of South Dakota, including the Black Hills, and much of Montana and Wyoming.
Uneasy relations between the expanding United States and the natives continued. In 1871, Red Cloud visited Washington D.C., and met with Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely S. Parker and President Ulysses Grant. In 1871, the Red Cloud Agency was established on the Platte River, downstream from Fort Laramie. As outlined in the Treaty of 1868, the agency staff was responsible for issuing rations to the Lakota weekly as well as providing the annual annuity goods. In the fall of 1873, the agency was removed to the upper White River in northwestern Nebraska.
Red Cloud settled at the agency with his band by the fall of 1873. He soon became embroiled in a controversy with the new Indian agent, Dr. John J. Saville.
In 1874, General George Armstrong Custer led a reconnaissance mission into Sioux territory that reported gold in the Black Hills, a sacred area to the Indians. Formally, the Army tried to keep miners out but did not succeed; the threat of violence grew. Red Cloud, along with other leaders, rejected a treaty ceding the territory; he was unsuccessful in finding a peaceful solution, and did not take part in the Lakota war of 1876-1877 lead by T‘aĊĦunka Witko (Crazy Horse) and Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull).
In the fall of 1877, the Red Cloud Agency was removed to the Missouri River and the following year, removed to the forks of the White River where it was renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Red Cloud continued fighting for his people, even after being forced onto the reservation. In 1889 he opposed a treaty to sell more of the Sioux land; his steadfastness and that of Sitting Bull required the government agents to obtain the necessary signatures through subterfuges such as obtaining the signatures of children. He negotiated strongly with Indian agents such as Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, and opposed the Dawes Act.
Red Cloud became an important leader of the Lakota as they transitioned from the freedom of the plains to the confinement of the reservation system. He outlived the other major Sioux leaders of the Indian wars and died in 1909 at the age of 77 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he is buried. It is the Lakota of Pine Ridge Reservation, where Red Cloud is buried that are taking this action to Secede, and Declare Independence from the U.S.
Mitaku Oyasin! We are all related!
Anasazi clouds
* Thanks to Common Dreams for running the story
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Grinch Parody
HOW THE SHRUB SCREWED CHRISTMAS: NOT
Based on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
by DOCTOR SEUSS ( AKA Theodor Geisel)
Parody Version by BibleBelted, PraetorOne, Matthew5, and DoctorWho
This parody was just too good & had to be shared.
I love Dr.. Seuss and the stories he told
Listening to them, they will never get old
Dr. Seuss told stories that made us ponder
brought our minds to reason & beyonder.
Dr. Seuss was the one
Who made activism so much fun! ~Fran
I'm posting exerpts (it's really long), but you can read the entire piece Here:
http://sirenschronicles.com/2007/12/02/how-the-shrub-screwed-christmas-not/#more-790
Thank you Sirens Chronicles for posting this post
It's the grinchiest best, cherished by most.
Every Blue
Up in Blue-ville
Loved Christmas a lot
But the Shrub
Who lived South of Blue-ville
Did NOT
The Shrub hated Christmas; and this was a reason
He hated the joy and the whole peaceful season.
It could be perhaps he loved pain and the fright
Or maybe his brain wasn’t working quite right
But I believe that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his conscience was no conscience at all.
But whatever the reason
The soul or his brain
He cursed through December, raising all kinds of Cain
Glaring up from DC with a mean Bushy smirk
He proved to the people that the Shrub was a jerk
Yes he knew every Blue up in Blue-ville above
Was now happily showing the peace and the love
“And they’ve taken my Congress,” he complained in a snit
“They’re praying for peace, they are so full of shit.”
Then he clawed with Bush talons, crazily drumming
“Stop democracy now, keep the freedom from coming.”
And the more the Shrub thought of the things they would tell
The more the Shrub thought “I’ll send Christmas to hell!
“Why for six God damned years we’ve exploited it now!
“I’ll screw Christmas good!
“But how?”
“I know how to do it,” the Shrub growled out loud
And he made a quick plan that would make Beelzebub proud.
And he smirked and he sneered, “what a great dirty trick!
“With some lies and the press I’ll make every Blue sick!
“All I need is a gimmick!”
The Shrub looked around.
“But since truth is rare here it’ll never be found.
Did that bother the Shrub?
“No The Shrub coyly said
“If I can’t tell the truth I’ll tell whoppers instead!”
So he called his pet FOX, then he called on the Reich
And the pundits crawled out, telling “facts” that weren’t right
And the corporate press
Came to spread the attack
Start a Yuletide war
To distract from Iraq.
The Pastors of hate said “Happy Holiday, dead.
“We think with out butts and we don’t use our heads.
“We hate all the Blues, yes our compassion is done
“They’ll pray to our God at the point of a gun!
“Then soon will we wake up, we know what they’ll do!
“They’ll cry and they’ll fuss and we’ll tell them ’screw you!’
“And the Blues up in Blue-ville will act as we tell them to do!”
“Here it comes,” cackled Shrub
“This I simply MUST hear!”
And there was a new sound rising up from the crowd
It started out low and then it got oh so loud!
But the sound wasn’t fear
Why the sound wasn’t sad
Te Shrub was aghast
The sound was upbeat and glad!
He glared up at Blue-ville
His shorts in a bunch
What he saw hit him hard and he brought up his lunch.
Every Blue up in Blue-ville, the weak and the strong,
Was speaking and telling the Shrub was all wrong.
He hadn’t screwed Holiday freedom at all
It came
The Liberty came and it drove Shrub insane
And the Shrub in his anger, just couldn’t conceive
Why sane people heard lies and refused to believe.
“It came with the Muslims! It came with the Jews!
It came with Agnostics! It came with the Blues!”
And he screamed and he screamed, ’til his throat was too hoarse
Then he shouted for hours but his rage ran no course
So he fell to the floor and he chewed on the rug
His talons dug carpet, oh he DUG DUG DUG DUG!
So what happened then?
Up in Blue-ville they say
The FASCIST right wing really lost it that day!
O’Reilly went home and he started to pout!
Rush Limbaugh killed pain, Oxycontin no doubt
Anne Coulter threw up ’til her implants fell out
And the Shrub
Drank Drank Drank
With a whine and a shout.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Interested in the Gitmo Playbook?
Go here:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/now_on_internet_gitmo_prison_manual/
Quoting the American Bar Association website:
The manual appears to reveal information that has previously been intentionally withheld. For example, it "indicates some prisoners were designated as off-limits to visitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross, something the military has repeatedly denied," the British news agency writes.
It also addresses the minutia of military prison management. Styrofoam cups, for instance, must be confiscated if prisoners have written on them, apparently because they may then be a vehicle for passing forbidden notes from one prisoner to another. Meanwhile, "(i)f the cup is damaged or destroyed, the detainee will be disciplined for destruction of government property," the manual states.
Just watched a film titled *GITMO*, I can't believe the US has this remote prison. A great quote from the movie:
Why do we need a prison on the other side of the law?
News items I did not know about:
10/5/07 The chief military prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay war tribunals has resigned, apparently over a lack of prosecutorial discretion.
11/1/07 A private practitioner from Canada who represents a Guantanamo Bay detainee held since the age of 15 has reportedly been banned by his military co-counsel from the client's upcoming arraignment at a military tribunal.
Because of a dispute with co-counsel selected by the Pentagon about how best to handle the defense of Omar Khadr, a Canadian-born Muslim who is now 21, attorney Dennis Edney says he has been told he cannot attend next week's arraignment, according to the Associated Press.
11/8/07 A Marine Corps lawyer has been told by his superiors that he may not testify before Congress about his decision to abandon a Guantanamo prosecution because of his concerns that a high-level detainee was tortured.
Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch, a former Guantanamo prosecutor who is now a military judge, had decided he could not prosecute a suspected al-Qaida terrorist because believed the detainee's incriminating statements were improperly obtained, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The detainee, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was allegedly subjected to beatings, death threats, and threats against his mother.
Why indeed....
http://www.abajournal.com/news/now_on_internet_gitmo_prison_manual/
Quoting the American Bar Association website:
The manual appears to reveal information that has previously been intentionally withheld. For example, it "indicates some prisoners were designated as off-limits to visitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross, something the military has repeatedly denied," the British news agency writes.
It also addresses the minutia of military prison management. Styrofoam cups, for instance, must be confiscated if prisoners have written on them, apparently because they may then be a vehicle for passing forbidden notes from one prisoner to another. Meanwhile, "(i)f the cup is damaged or destroyed, the detainee will be disciplined for destruction of government property," the manual states.
Just watched a film titled *GITMO*, I can't believe the US has this remote prison. A great quote from the movie:
Why do we need a prison on the other side of the law?
News items I did not know about:
10/5/07 The chief military prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay war tribunals has resigned, apparently over a lack of prosecutorial discretion.
11/1/07 A private practitioner from Canada who represents a Guantanamo Bay detainee held since the age of 15 has reportedly been banned by his military co-counsel from the client's upcoming arraignment at a military tribunal.
Because of a dispute with co-counsel selected by the Pentagon about how best to handle the defense of Omar Khadr, a Canadian-born Muslim who is now 21, attorney Dennis Edney says he has been told he cannot attend next week's arraignment, according to the Associated Press.
11/8/07 A Marine Corps lawyer has been told by his superiors that he may not testify before Congress about his decision to abandon a Guantanamo prosecution because of his concerns that a high-level detainee was tortured.
Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch, a former Guantanamo prosecutor who is now a military judge, had decided he could not prosecute a suspected al-Qaida terrorist because believed the detainee's incriminating statements were improperly obtained, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The detainee, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was allegedly subjected to beatings, death threats, and threats against his mother.
Why indeed....
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Mission Impossible
I was trying to find this theme song & came across this well done peak oil clip. The $2.85 gas rate shown in the clip was from "the good old days". I just paid $3.19 a gallon for regular today & saw diesel for $3.69 a gallon. Mass media says to expect $4 a gallon gas in the next few months. Our Mission, should we choose to accept it is to follow the money.
Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company—$39.5 billion.
Shell's revenues of $318.8 billion in 2006 made it the third-largest corporation in the world by revenues behind only ExxonMobil and Wal-Mart. Its 2006 gross profits of $26 billion made it the world's second most profitable company, after ExxonMobil and before BP. My point is someone is making crazy amounts of money, while others are taking it in the shorts.
Overheard at a rally: Exxon ~ Chevron ~ Mobile ~ Shell ~ Take this war & go to hell!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Historic Barbarians
Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan.
Japan has so far recognised the total number of victims who died of radiation illness and injuries in Hiroshima as 253,008 and in Nagasaki as 143,124.
HIROSHIMA:
* At 8:15 am on August 6, 1945, an American B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay dropped a 10,000-pound uranium 235 bomb on Hiroshima, instantly killing about 78,000 people. By the end of 1945, the number of dead had reached about 140,000 out of an estimated population of 350,000.
NAGASAKI:
* Three days later, at 11:02 am on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a 10,000-pound plutonium-239 bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man", on Nagasaki. The bomb instantly killed about 27,000 of the city's estimated population of around 200,000. By the end of 1945, the number of dead due to acute radiation exposure reached about 70,000.
Our local community held it's annual memorial, to those who lost their lives, and to vow to work so that this never happens again. The truth of the matter is nuclear proliferation is still occurring, with more countries amassing nukes, and previous agreements and treaties have been broken by the U.S. Government, so other countries like Russia, Korea, and perhaps Iran, have a kind of "if you can have them so can we" approach to nuclear weapon build ups. It IS bizarre that the U.S. has embraced the philosophy that because we are "good", we can have whatever weapons we want, but we have the authority to dictate to other countries what weaponry they can or can't have, because they are "evil".
I won't even expound on the good nukes/bad nukes mindset other than to acknowledge it's sheer insanity.
The keynote speaker, Bob Watada, father of Ehren Watada, the soldier at Ft. Lewis WA, who refused to deploy to Iraq, because of his pledge to defend the Constitution, against all enemies foreign & domestic- declared the Iraq war an illegal and immoral act, which he refused to participate in.
Mr. Watada spoke of learning about Barbarians in school. In Northern Europe they became known as the Teutons, Norse, Goths, and Celts. Quickly displacing or assimilating the indigenous people of the regions they entered, they never truly settled anywhere, ever-moving as their needs and resources changed. They wanted the gold and valuable resources of the places they attacked.
The only thing that has changed in the ruthless, rape and pillage the barbarians engaged in, are the "spoils" they seek. Perhaps then, it was land and gold, now it is oil. He came to the conclusion that Barbarian acts have continued into the 21st Century.
So as we commemorated the loss of so many lives in the only nuclear bomb attacks in history in the 20th Century, we also realize it is not just nuclear weapons that are so Barbaric, but the current practices of the occupation of Iraq are equally Barbaric.
As for his son's trial with the Military, he likened it to the Witch Hunts of Salem. Where juries were ordered to go back to the deliberations room until they came back with a "guilty" verdict. The trial of Ehren Watada was under way. A jury selected, testimony given, when the judge declared it a Mistrial- thereby creating double jeopardy, voiding the case. The double jeopardy appeal is pending. Ehren is in good spirits. He knows he is doing the right thing, and that keeps him going.
Ehren Watada is a Soldier of Conscience. The gathering closed with floating luminarias on the waterway. The images have a ghostly ambiance... perhaps a reminder we should be haunted by mistakes of the past & present?
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