I Heart Harry Potter

The latest, and last, Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold 8.3 million copies (worth around $250 million) in its first 24 hours - the fastest selling book of all time.

I went to Borders on the day it was released to pick up the copy that I had pre-ordered months ago. They opened at midnight as they did for the last book, and the store was packed. I got there at 12:10 and found it to be a weird cross between an after-hours party, a comic/fantasy convention, and the Christmas shopping season. There were glo-sticks and goth chicks, people dressed in character, and young kids that you don't expect to see out after midnight standing in lines that snaked through the whole store. I gave my name to a girl sitting at a table by the door. Once she confirmed my order, she gave me a purple wrist-band, a glow-stick and a poster of the book's cover art featuring the "soft geometry" pastels of illustrator Mary GrandPré. Then she pointed to the end of the long line of other nerds who had reserved copies. There were a lot of people in a separate line who hadn't reserved a copy; they were the "blue" line, and had to stand off to the side. I pulled up behind a kind of plump and disinterested-looking goth chick and a younger guy came up behind me. He had brought some reading material for the line. We chatted a little, comparing this year with last year's turn out, which I had missed. We talked about HP somewhat. I chatted with another guy a little about comics, and I was out of there 30 minutes later. By that time, the place had the feel of a club that was winding down, thinning out, people looking tired.

How cool is Joanne 'Jo' Rowling (aka J.K. Rowling), the author, for inspiring this massive book-release frenzy? Ten years ago, she developed the story of the boy wizard and his years at the school of wizardry after the idea fell into her head while waiting out a train delay. Since then, the last 4 of her 7 books have set records for the number of first print copies as well as for the record time in which they've sold.

There are a lot of records and firsts and milestones, but my favorite accomplishment is making the list of "Banned Books" repeatedly. The Harry Potter series tops lists such as "favorite challenged books" and "most frequently challenged books of the 21st century". What makes this even more lovable is that if you look at the lists of banned or challenged books, the most recurrent themes are sex, homosexuality, or offensive language, none of which can be found in any of the Harry Potter books. There are some G-rated 'sex' references, like teenagers making out, (or is that PG?) There's not a hint of gay activity, and the strongest example of profanity is the word "effing". Rowling's comments about the 2006 decision: "Once again, the Harry Potter books feature on this year's list of most-banned books. As this puts me in the company of Harper Lee, Mark Twain, J. D. Salinger, William Golding, John Steinbeck and other writers I revere, I have always taken my annual inclusion on the list as a great honour. 'Every burned book enlightens the world.' - Ralph Waldo Emerson"

The banning or challenging of Harry Potter books for their references to witchcraft is a blatant example of something ridiculous, I'm just not sure what. Close-mindedness? Fear? Paranoia? Is it because they're scared of some of the real things that imagination has brought into being? That we live in a world where fantasy novels can be feared and banned doesn't surprise me. We live in a world where the truth is more terrible than the lies that we eagerly swallow. No wonder some people take Harry and his world a little more seriously than they're meant to. A friend of mine who is an evangelical Christian argues that while the Lord of the Rings series, for example, is ok, the world of Harry Potter is strictly prohibited because, apparently, anything having to do with the world of witchcraft originates from Satan. As a secular, progressive-minded gay man who enjoys good escapist fantasy, I see this as an actual handicap on his part. I've tried to convince my friend that if he would read the books, he'd find a general theme of good vs. evil (just like Lord of the Rings) and that the protagonist is as fine a role model, if not better, than most of what you find in modern entertainment.

Anyway, other than being banned, Harry Potter books are just great reads. J. K. Rowling is a beautiful writer; she has a knack for pacing, for detail, for characterization and has a fun sense of humor. Her writing flows over you like a warm blanket on a cold night and it appeals to young and old readers alike. Whether it's because you like fantasy, or stories about finding your place in the world; challenging what you know to be wrong; standing up for what you feel is right; the power of love; the arrogance of power; struggling against oppression, racism, and slavery; denouncing torture and murder; and many other themes unworthy of banishment, you'll find yourself staying up way past your bedtime with Harry and his world.

Spy Vs. Spy: FBI Proposes Building Network of U.S. Informants

In an ABC News "Blotter" report by Justin Rood posted on July 25, 2007, we find the USA trying to boost its counterterrorism efforts by recruiting Americans to spy on each other.

"The FBI is taking cues from the CIA to recruit thousands of covert informants in the United States as part of a sprawling effort to boost its intelligence capabilities.

According to a recent unclassified report to Congress, the FBI expects its informants to provide secrets about possible terrorists and foreign spies, although some may also be expected to aid with criminal investigations, in the tradition of law enforcement confidential informants. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The FBI said the push was driven by a 2004 directive from President Bush ordering the bureau to improve its counterterrorism efforts by boosting its human intelligence capabilities.

The aggressive push for more secret informants appears to be part of a new effort to grow its intelligence and counterterrorism efforts. Other recent proposals include expanding its collection and analysis of data on U.S. persons, retaining years' worth of Americans' phone records and even increasing so-called "black bag" secret entry operations.

To handle the increase in so-called human sources, the FBI also plans to overhaul its database system, so it can manage records and verify the accuracy of information from "more than 15,000" informants, according to the document. While many of the recruited informants will apparently be U.S. residents, some informants may be overseas, recruited by FBI agents in foreign offices, the report indicates.

The total cost of the effort tops $22 million, according to the document.

The bureau has arranged to use elements of CIA training to teach FBI agents about "Source Targeting and Development," the report states. The courses will train FBI special agents on the "comprehensive tradecraft" needed to identify, recruit and manage these "confidential human sources." According to January testimony by FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole, the CIA has been working with the bureau on the course.

The bureau apparently mulled whether to adopt entire training courses from the CIA or from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which like the CIA recruits spies overseas. But the FBI ultimately determined "the courses offered by those agencies would not meet the needs of the FBI's unique law enforcement." The FBI report said it would also give agents "legal and policy" training, noting that its domestic intelligence efforts are "constitutionally sensitive."

"It's probably a good sign they are not adopting CIA recruitment techniques wholesale," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, an expert on classified programs. U.S. intelligence officers abroad can use bribery, extortion, and other patently illegal acts to corral sources into working for them, Aftergood noted. "You're not supposed to do that in the United States," he said."

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If these totalitarian excesses are too little too close to home for you, then check out the film The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), an Academy Award-winning German film marking the feature film debut of writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

We Do What We Want and We Want What You've Got

Here are two articles on the issue of Iraqi Oil and the American determination to gobble it all up.

The first shows how the US government is pressuring Iraqis to pass legislation that eventually puts their own natural resources into the hands of American oil companies. Of course, President Bush spins this as an opportunity for Iraq to determine its own future, but the truth is that the main objective of the Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law is to secure trillions of dollars for US Big Oil over the next 30 years.

The second is a time line that paints a vivid picture of how the USA has been trying to get its hands in Iraq's oil since early 2001. In this context, the motivation behind the American invasion and occupation of Iraq are clear.

According to their site, Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) "is a think tank for research, analysis, and action that brings together scholars, advocates, and activists who strive to make the United States a more responsible global partner. FPIF provides timely analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs and recommends policy alternatives. We believe U.S. security and world stability are best advanced through a commitment to peace, justice and environmental protection as well as economic, political, and social rights. We advocate that diplomatic solutions, global cooperation, and grassroots participation guide foreign policy."

Slick Connections: U.S. Influence on Iraqi Oil
by Erik Leaver and Greg Muttitt | July 17, 2007

"The oil belongs to the Iraqi people. It's their asset," declared President George W. Bush in a press conference on the White House lawn in June 2006. He had just returned from a surprise visit to Baghdad, in which oil had been one of the main subjects of discussion. "We talked about how to advise the government to best use that money for the benefit of the people," he clarified.

But by January 2007, the euphemism of "advice" had been dropped, as passage of an oil law became a "benchmark," an instruction to the Iraqi government.

Violating the very notions of freedom and democracy Bush invokes in nearly every speech on Iraq, the U.S. government has actively intervened in the restructuring of Iraq's oil industry since at least 2002. At different times, the Iraqi government has been threatened that passing the oil law was a pre-condition for partial reduction of Saddam Hussein's debts, for the provision of reconstruction funds, and even for the continued survival (through U.S. military support) of the al-Maliki government itself. (Read the complete text, including all end notes for the articles above and below, here.)














Oil Pressure: A History of U.S. Involvement in Iraq's Oil Development
by Erik Leaver and Greg Muttitt | July 17, 2007

Feb.-March 2001: White House Energy Taskforce produces a list of "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts."3

December 2002-April 2003: U.S. State Department Oil and Energy Working Group brought together influential Iraqi exiles, U.S. government officials, and international consultants. The result of the project's work was a "draft framework for Iraq's oil policy" that would form the foundation for the energy policy now being considered by the Iraqi Parliament. The final report noted that Iraq "should be opened to international oil companies as quickly as possible after the war.4 Later, several Iraqi members of the group became part of the Iraqi government. The Group included future Iraqi Oil Minister, Bahr al-Uloum.

January 2003: The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives from Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp., ConocoPhillips, and Halliburton, among others, were meeting with Vice President Cheney's staff to plan the post-war revival of Iraq's oil industry.5

January 2003: Phillip Carroll, a former chief executive with Royal Dutch-Shell, and a 15-member "board of advisers" were appointed to oversee Iraq's oil industry during the transition period. According to the Guardian, the group's chief executive would represent Iraq at meetings of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).6 Carroll had been working with the Pentagon for months before the invasion—even while the administration was still insisting that it sought a peaceful resolution to the Iraq crisis—"developing contingency plans for Iraq's oil sector in the event of war."

Carroll, in addition to running Shell Oil in the United States, was a former CEO of the Fluor Corporation, a well-connected oil services firm with extensive projects in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and at least $1.6 billion in contracts for Iraq's reconstruction.

One month after the invasion, Carroll took control of Iraq's oil production for the U.S. Government. He was joined by Gary Vogler, a former executive with ExxonMobil, in Iraq's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.

Mr. Carroll made it clear to Paul Bremer, the U.S. occupation chief who arrived in Iraq in May 2003, that, "There was to be no privatization of Iraqi oil resources or facilities while he was involved."7 Carroll leaves his job seven months later.

March 2003: Iraqi Oil Ministry was one of the few structures the invading forces protected from looters in the first days of the war.

April 2003: During the initial assault on Baghdad, soldiers set up forward bases named Camp Shell and Camp Exxon.8

April 2003: President Bush called for UN sanctions against Iraq to be dropped. The request sounds innocuous enough, but it masks an urgent U.S. desire for a free hand to start pumping Iraqi crude once again to raise funds for rebuilding the country.9

April 2003: USAID Solicits Bid to Draft Economic Reorganization Plan for Iraq. The U.S. Agency for International Development asks BearingPoint, Inc to bid on a sole-sourced contract for "economic governance" work in Iraq. The contract document was written by Treasury Department officials and reviewed by financial consultants. The confidential 100-page request, titled "Moving The Iraqi Economy From Recovery to Sustainable Growth," states that the contractor will help support "private sector involvement in strategic sectors, including privatization, asset sales, concessions, leases, and management contracts, especially in the oil and supporting industries."10

May 22, 2003: UN Security Council passed a resolution ending sanctions on Iraq. Significantly, the resolution gave the United States decision making power over how the oil funds would be used with regard to relief, reconstruction, disarmament, and "other purposes benefiting the people of Iraq."11

May 22, 2003: President Bush signed Executive Order 13303 providing full legal immunity to all U.S. oil companies doing business in Iraq in order to facilitate the country's "orderly reconstruction."

June 22, 2003: Iraq ships crude oil for the first time since the start of the war. Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, broached the politically sensitive issue of how oil revenue should be spent, proposing that some of the money be shared with Iraqis through a system of dividend payments or a national trust fund to finance public pensions. "Iraq's resources cannot be restricted to a lucky or powerful few," Bremer said. "Iraq's natural resources should be shared by all Iraqis."12

July 2003: Bremer appoints the members of the Iraqi Government Council. Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a member of the State Department's energy working group, is tapped as Iraq's oil minister. Al-Uloum soon proposed a privatization program, and endorsed production sharing agreements as the route to that goal.13

October 2003: Carroll was replaced by Robert McKee, a former ConocoPhillips executive. According to the Houston Chronicle, "His selection as the Bush administration's energy czar in Iraq" drew fire from Congressional Democrats "because of his ties to the prime contractor in the Iraqi oil fields, Houston-based Halliburton Co. He's the chairman of a venture partitioned by the ... firm."14

The administration selected ChevronTexaco Vice President Norm Szydlowski to serve as a liaison between the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Now the CEO of the appropriately named Colonial Pipeline Company, Szydlowski continued to work with the Iraq Energy Roundtable, a project of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which sponsored meetings to "bring together oil and gas sector leaders in the United States with key decision makers from the Iraq Ministry of Oil."15 Terry Adams and Bob Morgan of BP, and Mike Stinson of ConocoPhillips would also serve as advisers during the transition.16

November 2003: McKee quietly ordered a new plan for Iraq's oil. The drafting would be overseen by a "senior adviser," Amy Jaffe, who had worked for Morse when he was the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations. Jaffe now works for James Baker, the former Secretary of State, whose law firm serves as counsel to both ExxonMobil and the defense minister of Saudi Arabia. The plan, written by State Department contractor BearingPoint, was guided, says Jaffe, by a handful of oil -industry consultants and executives.17

December 19, 2003: BearingPoint releases "Options for Developing a Long Term Sustainable Iraqi Oil Industry," a report on the Iraqi oil industry favoring foreign participation as the most efficient way of developing the sector.18

March 2004: CPA names new Iraq Oil Advisers: Mike Stinson of ConocoPhillips and Bob Morgan of BP.19

March 2004: Iraq's interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) passed in March 2004 by Iraq's Governing Council, sets forth that CPA laws, regulations, and orders are to remain in force after the transfer of sovereignty unless a duly enacted piece of legislation rescinds or amends them.20

June 2004: U.S. handover to the Iraq Interim Government. Mike Stinson becomes an adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.21 Thamir al-Ghadban is named as Iraqi Oil Minister.

November 2004: International oil companies launched voluntary efforts to train Iraq's oil workers and provide technical assistance, hoping to generate goodwill and eventually get access to the country's huge oil reserves. Companies from the United States, Britain, and Russia—including ChevronTexaco Corp., BP, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and Lukoil—are paying to send Iraqi oil workers out of the country to teach them the latest techniques in developing and managing oil fields.22

December 22, 2004: Iraqi Finance Minister Mahdi, in a joint press conference with U.S. Undersecretary of State Alan Larson at the National Press Club, announced Iraq's plans for a new petroleum law to open the oil sector to foreign private investment. Mahdi explained, "So I think this is very promising to the American investors and to American enterprise, certainly to oil companies."23

Early 2005: New Government, old oil minister, al-Uloum reappointed to position of Minister for Oil. Ahmed Chalabi, head of the U.S.-backed Iraqi National Congress, was appointed chair of the Energy Council. In 2002, Chalabi said, "U.S. companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil."24

May 2005: Approximately 30 international oil companies signed Memoranda of Understanding with Iraq, generally for the training of Iraqi staff, consulting work, and studies.25

August 30, 2005: Bush says U.S. troops would continue fighting in Iraq in order to protect the country's vast oil fields, which he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.26

October 15 2005: The national referendum for the Iraqi constitution passes, containing an outline for oil revenue sharing and development.

December 2005: Iraq enters into agreement with the International Monetary Fund committing Iraq to draft a new petroleum law by the end of 2006 to allow foreign investment in the country's oil industry. The arrangement was signed before the new Iraqi government had been appointed and one week after the December 2005 elections thus denying Iraqi voters a chance to react through the ballot box.

February 2006-June 2006: USAID contracts with BearingPoint to draft Iraq's oil law to provide "legal and regulatory advice in drafting the framework of petroleum and other energy-related legislation, including foreign investment."27

March 15, 2006: Gen. John Abizaid, the Army general overseeing U.S. military operations in Iraq, said the United States may want to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq to bolster moderates against extremists in the region and protect the flow of oil.28

May 2006: Iraq's new oil minister, Hussein al-Sharistani, began drafting legislation to govern Iraq's oil sector. Following his appointment, Shahristani announced that one of his top priorities would be to pass a law allowing privatization through parliament by the end of 2006.

July 2006: U.S. Government and oil companies get a copy of the draft oil law.29

September 2006: International Monetary Fund and World Bank receive a copy of draft oil law.30

October 17, 2006: President Bush signs the 2007 Defense Authorization Act (PL No: 109-364) which states in SEC. 1519,"No funds ... in this Act may be obligated or expended ... to exercise United States economic control of the oil resources of Iraq.

February 2007: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, "has been in intense talks with Kurdish leaders in the north to overcome their objections to the draft. Iraqi officials say Mr. Khalilzad's negotiations were crucial to winning unanimous cabinet approval."31

February 18, 2007: "Draft Hydrocarbon Law" was submitted to the Iraqi Cabinet (Council of Ministers).32

February 26, 2007: "Draft Hydrocarbon Law" was passed by the Iraqi Cabinet and was submitted to the Iraqi Parliament (Council of Representatives).33

April 19, 2007: Defense Secretary Robert Gates travels to Baghdad to push political benchmarks and specifically the oil law.34

May 9 2007: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney travels to Baghdad to push political benchmarks and specifically the oil law.35

June 12, 2007: U.S. Admiral Fallon, head of the Central Command, warned Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a closed-door conversation to pass the oil law by July.36

July 3, 2007: Iraq cabinet approves amended oil law draft and resubmits to the Iraqi Parliament.37

July 12, 2007: The White House released its Initial Benchmark Assessment Report. Benchmark #3, "Enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources" is found to be not met. The report notes, "The effect of limited progress toward this benchmark has been to reduce the perceived confidence in, and effectiveness of, the Iraqi Government. This does not, however, necessitate a revision to our current plan and strategy, under which we have assigned a high priority to this subject, and the process overall has continued to move forward."38

A Failure Pile in a Sadness Bowl: The Death Business of Food

Hilarious comedian Patton Oswalt (from The King of Queens) does a funny standup routine in which he discusses one of the more ridiculous items for sale on the KFC menu.

According to the "nutrition calculator" on KFC's site, their Chicken & Biscuit Bowl has 870 calories, 44 grams of fat and (what ought to be a record-setting) 2420 milligrams of sodium.

If you travel outside of the United States a lot, don't despair. You can get your pile of failure in its sadness bowl in 24 other countries, even France! Who says the French are food snobs? Who says only Americans have terrible eating habits? Thanks to the corporations that own KFC, Taco Bell and their ilk, fast food menus are inspiring over-indulgent, gluttonous eating habits around the world.

Where do you draw the line between being responsible for what you eat and being inundated by bad choices? It's easy enough to say "well, don't eat it if you don't like it", but let's be real. These companies exacerbate a problem of rampant obesity in the USA and everywhere they exist. If you've ever tried to lose weight or diet, you know what effect these omniscient bad choices have on our food intake. It's not right.

Big business is there to make sure that we have all the choices we need to be unhealthy and susceptible to more diseases. And then, they step in to reap the rewards of a sick population. Who can say that we live in a civilized society? If the byproducts of capitalism contributed to a healthy, happy society, then maybe we could. But the reality is that capitalism has turned into a parasite that feeds off of us until there's nothing left. It sounds extreme, and yet it's happening to us everyday. Our great, modern, civilized society is a pile of failure in a bowl of sadness.

The Death Business: War Machine

According to the CorpWatch mission statement, they "investigate and expose corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud and corruption around the world. We work to foster global justice, independent media activism and democratic control over corporations. "

Here is a fun list they've compiled that shows the companies without whom this war would not be possible, including the amounts awarded for military contracts in 2005 and the amounts they contributed to the 2004 elections:
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Lockheed Martin: The world's #1 military contractor, responsible for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes, F-16, F/A-22 fighter jet, and Javelin missiles. They've also made millions through insider trading, falsifying accounts, and bribing officials.

CEO: Robert J. Stevens
Military contracts 2005: $19.4 billion
Total contributions for the 2004 election cycle: $2,212,836 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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Boeing: Aside from 747s, Boeing makes "smart" bombs, F-15 fighters, and Apache helicopters. Boeing has paid tens of millions in fines for selling flawed parts that led to thousands of unnecessary landings and at least one fatal crash and has been plagued by scandals connected to the company’s influence-peddling.

CEO: Jim McNerney
Military contracts 2005: $18.3 billion
Total contributions for the 2004 election cycle: $1,659,213 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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Northrop Grumman: Makers of the B-2 stealth bomber, you'd think this company could stay under the radar. But they're dogged by scandals-from bribing Saudi princes to botching the training of the Iraqi National Army to the tune of $48 million. Above board, their job is simply selling death.

CEO: Ronald Sugar
Military contracts 2005: $13.5 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.68 million (defense related)
$1.77 million (total)
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General Dynamics: General Dynamics makes traditional F-16 jets, Abrams tanks, and Trident subs. With contracts in the billions, and new markets (read: wars) opening every day, they're not as washed up as some may think.

CEO: Nicholas D. Chabraja
Military contracts 2005: $10.6 billion
Total contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $1,437,602 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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Raytheon: Raytheon means "light from the gods." Makers of "Bunker Buster" bombs, Tomahawk and Patriot missiles, this company loves big noises and large civilian casualty counts. When a missile killed 62 civilians in a Baghdad market, that was Light from the Gods.

CEO: William H. Swanson
Military contracts 2005: $9.1 billion
Defense-related contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $961,252 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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United Technologies: The name sounds like they make light bulbs, but UT, a.k.a. Sikorsky, sells Black Hawk and Comanche helicopters and various missile systems designed to inspire terror in civilians from Palestine to Colombia to Somalia and beyond.

CEO: George David
Military contracts 2005: $5.0 billion
Defense-related contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $558,850 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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Halliburton: This company truly has a guardian angel: former Halliburton CEO and now Vice President Dick Cheney who looks out for its interests from the White House. The result? $8 billion in contracts “rebuilding” Iraq in 2004.

CEO: David J. Lesar
Military contracts 2005: $5.8 billion
Oil and gas-related contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $221,249 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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General Electric: Run until 2001 by “Neutron” Jack Welch, who made it a matter of principle to lay off 10% of his workers per year, the world’s biggest company churns out plastics, aircraft engines and nuclear reactors and media spin through NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and msnbc.com.

CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt
Military contracts 2005: $2.2 billion
Defense-related contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $220,950 (source - OpenSecrets.org)
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Science Applications International Corporation: SAIC, awarded control of the Iraqi Media Network, was not able to spin US propaganda in Iraq and ended up being forced to withdraw. But their financial prospects remain solid as supplier of surveillance technology to US spy agencies.

CEO: Ken Dahlberg
Military contracts 2005: $2.8 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $781,410 (defense related)
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CSC/DynCorp: The world's premier rent-a-cop business runs the security show in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the US-Mexico border. They also run the coca crop-dusting business in Colombia, and occasional sex trafficking sorties in Bosnia. But what can you expect from a bunch of mercenaries? (Note: CSC sold DynCorp in January 2005.)

CEO: Van Honeycutt
Military contracts 2005: $2.8 billion
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Help the War Resisters League put a stop to the merchants of death. They invite you to join an emerging network of organizations and individuals committed to dismantling the war economy and developing an economy of peace that prioritizes people over profits. We seek to motivate and empower a broad-based movement to educate, agitate and organize against the military industrial complex through creative, nonviolent and democratic means. To get involved click here!

"That's What I Get For Buying A Hemi"

I got my oil changed today at a local place nearby. I gave the attendant my info and walked into the waiting area, sat down, and sifted through the pile of newspapers on the chair next to mine to find something to read while I waited. There were two other guys waiting there, one older and one younger. The older man was already reading and the younger guy was gazing into the garage bay, looking at the large black SUV just on the other side of the glass.

The attendant was a short girl who had impressed me already with her professional demeanor. She looked serious and smart with her eyeglasses and she had some grease on her hands and forearms. She had walked in behind me and called the younger guy to the counter as I found the front page of the Sun-Sentinel and started glancing through the headlines.

She ran through the list of things that were included in the service that was done to his vehicle. "Power steering fluid is fine, the belts are fine, tires are fine, we added windshield wiper fluid... It comes to $39.99". The customer's back was to me and my eyes were on the paper, but there was enough of a hesitation for me to get the sense that it was more than he was expecting. I guess it's kind of expected in a garage, that the bill exceeds what you thought it would be.

The guy indeed said that it was more than he thought it would be, and also commented "wow, it takes so much money just to fill it up with gas" and "geez, I guess that's what I get for buying a hemi." The girl was apologetic and explained that his huge behemoth takes a lot of oil to keep it going (but not in those words). I fought the urge to make a smartassed comment. He got all the way to his first oil change before he thought about the amount of oil it used, and the cost of it?" It seemed like a careless comment in the context of this war in Iraq. He could at least save us the theatrics in the waiting room.

I'm sure a lot of people who buy large or powerful vehicles as fashion statements or status symbols don't consider the extra expense of maintaining them. Some don't think about it, some don't care. At some point we're going to have to rely on the power of the people to pull our country up again. We all contribute to the problem. Write to your representatives and express the importance of passing more green-minded renewable energy legislature, like HR 3221, and tax incentives for green energy production and energy conservation like HR 2776, both of which were passed August 4th, 2007.

Sicko

I just saw Michael Moore's new movie, Sicko. Although I was prepared for the more sensationalist scenes, I still found it shocking, appalling, and downright depressing. I was teary-eyed through much of it. Thankfully, he put some laughs in to balance out the sheer misery created by America's health care industry. It's unfortunate that the laughs are on me, on Americans, but they helped to alleviate the sense of complete despair that was invoked by the stories of Americans whose lives were ruined when they got sick.

Say what you want about Moore's film-making techniques: he's one-sided, he's biased, he exaggerates, take your pick. But the bottom line is that he presents us with a problem in America that needs to be solved. There isn't a lot of gray area in that.

Conservative-minded people usually argue vehemently that it's not up to the government to solve our problems, that it's the individual's responsibility. But if you've just sliced off two of your fingers with a table saw, and are suddenly faced with the option of having the middle finger reattached for $60,000 or the ring finger for $12,000, you may suddenly see the need for other options.

The need for a change is clear. The health care industry is a big, profitable business, in spite of the fact that no one should profit from sickness and medical problems. Moore asks a few poignant questions in his film, among them: Who are we? How did we become a nation that turns its back on fellow citizens in need? Why did we allow Capitalism to turn into something so ugly? Why did we allow Socialism to be so demonized? Historically, Americans have been known to be helpful in times of need, but we see cases of our own people being turned out on the street like trash.

We live in a democracy that is supposed to have a government of the people, and yet as the government, we allow the health care industry to treat us like animals. We sit back while our representative in congress get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to allow this to continue. It's an outrage, and we know it's happening. We don't need to be slapped in the face by Michael Moore to see it, but we don't speak out against it. We've let the current system take us over, and we act like it's ok. We're complicit in that we continue to pay our taxes and pretend that we're just too busy to do anything about it. We continually throw it in the world's face that we're better, but more and more we sound like the bully on the playground who really doesn't have anything better. We pose and posture but our priorities are wrong. It's a bad system, it shouldn't be for profit, and we can change it.

Moore's most important point was this: We have the power to fix our country and to make it great again. It's up to us. Visit the "What Can I Do?" page on Moore's site. Ask your representatives to support H.R 676.

Mr. Decider, J'Accuse!

Wow, here's a scathing editorial by Keith Olbermann in response to Bush's decision to commute the sentence of his buddy I "Scooter" Lewis Libby (ILL) for lying to a Grand Jury and obstructing justice. The passionate excerpt and video (below) can be found at MSNBC with the full text. It's also available at TruthOut.org and most likely a billion other places in the Blogosphere.

I accuse you, Mr. Bush, of lying this country into war.

I accuse you of fabricating in the minds of your own people, a false implied link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

I accuse you of firing the generals who told you that the plans for Iraq were disastrously insufficient.

I accuse you of causing in Iraq the needless deaths of 3,586 of our brothers and sons, and sisters and daughters, and friends and neighbors.

I accuse you of subverting the Constitution, not in some misguided but sincerely-motivated struggle to combat terrorists, but to stifle dissent.

I accuse you of fomenting fear among your own people, of creating the very terror you claim to have fought.

I accuse you of exploiting that unreasoning fear, the natural fear of your own people who just want to live their lives in peace, as a political tool to slander your critics and libel your opponents.

I accuse you of handing part of this Republic over to a Vice President who is without conscience, and letting him run roughshod over it.

And I accuse you now, Mr. Bush, of giving, through that Vice President, carte blanche to Mr. Libby, to help defame Ambassador Joseph Wilson by any means necessary, to lie to Grand Juries and Special Counsel and before a court, in order to protect the mechanisms and particulars of that defamation, with your guarantee that Libby would never see prison, and, in so doing, as Ambassador Wilson himself phrased it here last night, of becoming an accessory to the obstruction of justice.

Liberty And Justice For All...Unless You're A Native American

Jeremy Briggs interviews Alex White Plume on Hemphasis.net, the definitive source for consumer information about hemp, the botanical cousin of marijuana.

Alex White Plume is a Lakota Indian living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, which comprises all of Shannon County, South Dakota. Shannon County is the poorest county in the entire USA, with 85% unemployment. In 2000, Alex became the only farmer to plant, cultivate, produce, sell and deliver a hemp crop within the borders of the USA since 1968.

Hemp ("Wahupta Ska Pejuta"--sweet white root medicine) is the strongest natural fiber on earth and can be used for a wide variety of products. Hemp has been cultivated and used in the United States since the country's founding, and well beforehand.

In 1998, the Tribal Government for the Pine Ridge Reservation legally differentiated between industrial hemp and marijuana, specifically allowing hemp crops. US laws do not make a distinction. Hemp is a perfect crop for the near-desert climate of Pine Ridge. It requires moderate moisture and no crop chemicals, while providing great potential for the nutritional and economic gains the area desperately needs. (The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature.) THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana that produces a mild euphoric feeling can be completely separated from hemp. Alex states, “You can make clothing, you can make lipstick, you can make perfume, you can make shampoo. Anything that’s made out of plastic can be replaced with the products from hemp. You cannot get high from smoking industrial hemp.”

In 2000, the DEA, with helicopters and machine guns, confiscated the crop (which was legal in the sovereign nation in which it was grown, and which was later found to contain only minute traces of THC), costing US taxpayers more than $200,000. In 2001, the DEA came only with side arms and weed eaters, this time simply destroying the crop. In 2002, Alex and his family again planted fields of industrial hemp, but were unable to complete their contract by delivering the crop to the Madison Hemp and Flax Co., because U.S. District Judge Battey (in Rapid City, South Dakota), issued a civil injunction stating that if Alex so much as touched his hemp, he would be held in contempt of court and jailed for up to six months without a trial or a jury. As a result, the hemp was cut and piled by people unknown; the pile lying in silent testimony between Alex and the Madison Hemp & Flax buyer Craig Lee, both barred from touching it by the government. Delivery was made, but the deliveree could not accept the product.

Alex's challenge to the legality of the injunction has been continually pushed back, preventing justice. Alex is struggling with the US court system for his right to farm his native land. His struggle is more about sovereignty than it is about farming, or possession of controlled substances.

According to Alex, Canadian hemp farmers yield 900-1200 lb/acre. On Pine Ridge Reservation the hopes are for 700 lb/acre. Alex would like to grow hemp on 160 acres, which could earn his family and tribe the money to make a decent living, independent of the United States' handouts. Many buyers have already committed. He estimates that it will take 35 pounds of seeds per acre. Alex needs seed. If Alex were left in peace to grow hemp, then many growth industries could be set up to help alleviate Pine Ridge's poverty, but the DEA, which has assumed the authority to set farm policy not only for the United States, but for sovereign nations all over the world, continues to brutally enforce insane doctrine.

Watch the clip "Hemp For Victory" to learn more about this versatile crop. Read about the benefits of industrial hemp at hemphasis.net

Alex White Plume's Update, Jun, 2007

"The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the local district court's decision will stand, but they also said that there is a hemp farm and there is a marijuana farm, and so they distinguished between the two species of plants. But only Congress can change the law. I wanted to go to the Supreme Court, which is our next step, but I don't have the $300,000 it'll take to go there. Besides that, the Supreme Court has always been an enemy to the Lakota. They always diminish our sovereignty, based on the fact of the "doctrine of discovery," that's what they use, because there is no criminal case law to prosecute indigenous people in this country.

Senator Paul from Texas has introduced a bill in Congress. It's in committee and they are waiting for it to be called down for a vote, so I'm supporting them [even though] they left out all the indigenous people, all the nations here in the United States and so we have to create our own bill to go up there. I'm hoping they will pass this bill for the Americans and that mine will just complement theirs, but we have to have this special sovereignty language in ours so that we continue to protect our sovereignty. So we're left out of the picture, after all these years of struggling. I know Senator Paul probably had good intentions in his mind, however I wish somebody would have communicated to me that they were doing this, and then, we'd have been able to help him out and participate in some fashion.

Other than that, hemp has been just idle. It's been standing still. I've been going out to Indian country, advocating for industrial hemp, educating all our people. I have to overcome all the obstacles — all the marijuana jokes — and then people get down to serious business and they look at it from a fresh perspective. We're getting to that point where we're going to start advocating again.

The Navajo Nation and a number of different Indian reservations have passed legislation to grow industrial hemp, but they are all waiting for me to get it legalized, so I have to do a lot of work. We need to get some lawyers together to craft a bill. Recently, I've realized that federal Indian law has evolved to become a kind of nightmare. Lawyers who specialize in federal Indian law often say, "Oh, I can do this. No, I can't do this. Indians can only do this and Indians cannot do this." So they limit themselves. I want to get some lawyers who do not specialize in Indian law. I want a lawyer who can fight for sovereignty that's not afraid to take this to task. But it's really scary because every lawyer that gets the degree and wants to pass the bar has to swear an oath, "I swear to defend the Constitution of the United States," and so thereby, my issue as an indigenous person is with the United States, so no lawyer will ever take this to its limits. We may have to go to an international lawyer, somebody who is out of this country that will take this [fight] for its pure meaning of what we want because we are another nation. We are a separate, distinct nation in this country. And although we exist in this greater society, I'd like to make an example.

All the other indigenous nations in the world can go to the World Bank to make a loan, to start some form of economic development. However in the United States, we cannot participate in that because we're colonized by a wealthy state, the United States. So even amongst indigenous peoples, we have to overcome all these obstacles so we can all work cooperatively.

I'm in favor of all forms of economic development as long as it doesn't have that Western mentality of exploiting the earth, exploiting the air and exploiting the water. To them, all they want to do is make a dollar. They don't care how much damage they do. I'm not for that. I want economic development to save Mother Earth. She is all we have and right now she is crying out for help. We all have to come to terms with that and we all have to join hands and work cooperatively.

I'm going to fight for Lakota hemp until I can make some money to support my clan for however long it takes. It's taken a lot out of us and economically we've just been devastated, but we believe in it, so we're not going to give up on it."

TAKE ACTION
Here are 10 things you can do to advance Alex White Plume's cause and contribute to the development and prosperity of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Lakota Sioux Nation.

Write your Representative about industrial hemp and the HR Bill 1009, which legalizes hemp cultivation in the United States.

Read some interesting historical facts about hemp, including why big business sees it as a threat.

Notes From Underground

"Inside Iraq is a blog updated by Iraqi journalists working for McClatchy Newspapers. They're based in Baghdad and outlying provinces. These are firsthand accounts of their experiences. Their complete names are withheld for security purposes."

Here are 4 recent posts: (1) The latest post links to a PDF file full of statistics that document the erasing of generations Iraqis and the traumatizing of those who are left. (2) is a quick analysis of the semantics of propaganda. (3) reminds us that children can't escape the suffering that this war inflicts. (4) One Iraqi calls it like he sees it: The USA is dictating the future of Iraq by influencing/coercing changes to its constitution.
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(1) July 02, 2007

Excuse Me

I wish to take a few minutes of your time.
Read what I read today.
If you have an explanation …
This is not random.

An excerpt: "Over 830 assassinations have been documented, victims killed along with their families. Numbers includes: 380 university academics and doctors, 210 lawyers and judges, and 243 journalists/media workers but not other experts, school teachers or students; neither professionals displaced internally and externally. All aspects of life are affected."

Iraq's Lost Generation: Impact and Implications, by Ismail Jalili

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(2) June 30, 2007

Colours

On the way out of the "Green Zone", stopped at several checkpoints, stared at, searched and checked again and again takes quite a while – time enough for some contemplation.

I always wondered why it was called the "Green" Zone rather than the "any other colour" Zone – it had neither any green grass nor any other outstanding greenery – so why "green"?

This "green" is a magical word for us. Being part of a predominantly desert region, "green" hills, "green" pastures… etc. instantly make us visualize Eden-like scenes of lush green grass as far as the sight could reach, lush green trees filled with birds of every kind, wonderfully cool shaded areas of different shades of green … green … green… Woops! I awake from my daydream, the "sniffing" dogs have finished their duty – the vehicles are clear and we're ready to move on.

In the crowd, three British men were talking amongst themselves boisterously, "Didn't I tell you? I was in the Red Zone yesterday, and it was …." My eyes sprung fully open, "Excuse me…", "Yes?", "I heard you say "Red Zone", where is that? I've not heard of a "Red" Zone.", Laughing "It's everywhere except the "Green" Zone! Everything out there!"

Now I know why "green".

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(3) June 26, 2007

the lost summer holiday

The summer holiday has begun in the elementary school in Iraq. It suppose like in whole world, children have different things to do in summer like picnics, spend the day playing and jumping here and there in gardens and parks that was built for such kind things, also some children go in long trip with their families to recreation and refreshing. That what may be happen in every where except Iraq the children find themselves face to face with boring life that fill of dangers and real actions inside houses without television or any entertainment devices with absence of electricity for days. So our poor children in this condition hate summer holiday that doesn’t bring them any kind of pleasures or funs but some times the lucky children spend some days in grandma’s house that live certainly in same conditions and some times it worst, just like what happened with my niece Yakeen 9years old.

Yakeen came from Omara, that consider as a safe place south Iraq. Yakeen expected spend nice time in Baghdad because she carries old memories about the capital. But unfortunately the capital destroyed when it was receive democracy dream, destroyed with all childish dreams so Yakeen shocked of this new image of Baghdad that helicopters fly for hours above our neighborhood, mortars hit our neighboring houses from time to time, curfew for days, dead body float on Tigris and in addition of all that the constant fear that my mother live in it from sectarian kill, Yakeen was observe all this with wondering look. Yesterday I heard Yakeen tells her grandma that she was dreaming of tomorrow when she was in home “Bebe (grandma) I used to have a lot of dreams about future when I was in home but here I’m dream of death only”. ……. Oh God the child lost her sense of tomorrow “that is Baghdad darling” the grandma reply. …… God what kind of expression grandma had give to child “that is Baghdad” as if she meant that is hell whereas the future dreams are fading.

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(4) June 22, 2007

Transparency???

At small gatherings and inside old cafes the betting runs high ... will the Parliament buckle under the pressure??

How unseemly for the government of a sovereign state - and its Parliament to be pressured into making ...of all things ... amendments to its own constitution ... by a foreign force!

It may have been understandable had the pressure been put on to urge the government to pick up its pace in providing adequate security in the country enabling the US to withdraw its forces gradually . That is something I can understand, and in fact would cheer on, and the US would have been within its rights.

But constitutional amendments?

Oil and Gas Law??

Debathification???

What is it to the US what identity the Iraqis wish to give their country? Whether "Arab State" - straight out, or "An entity active in its Arab and Muslim environment"?? Meaning no defined identity? Why is it so important to the US Admin?

And what of debathification?? After laying off thousands of absolutely competent employees, whether technical or administrative, for no other reason that they were obliged to write their names on Bathi lists simply to be able to obtain employment; the whole administrative structure of the government collapsed. So now what?? We haven't got any competent administrators or technicians to run the new show. Do we rehire the old ones?? What the hell! Why was it so important to Mr. Bremer to oust all competent professionals from our Gov. structure? Wouldn't it have been more prudent to keep everyone in place then pick out the rotten apples at our leisure ... with no collapse at all? Now to amend.

As for the Oil and Gas Law....... my heart aches for the thousands of lives that were intentionally put in jeopardy for the black gold. What a curse!

And now the pressure is on. The Iraqi Gov has succumbed. Will the Iraqi Parliament succumb also??

The scene is so clear for all those with the wish to see clearly. How transparent can you get??

http://www.fotos.geschichtsthemen.de/iraq-war/iraq.htm