the needle drop

99 luftballons

2003-09-02T17:33:52Z

It's my favorite thing in the world to be home at 12:30.

Also, to have a bike!

If you want me all you have to do is ask a thousand questions

2003-07-24T17:31:39Z

If you want my poetry, all you have to do is go to this website:

http://www.upwordspoetry.com/ussag.htm

Much fun, amigos, my poems are the second two down. If anyone wants in on a Micheal Brown poetry reading, ven conmigo this Friday, 6pm, to Tatnuck Booksellers.

mspitiful @ 2003-07-10T18:32:00

2003-07-10T22:26:44Z

Is this on the level, Wolf? - Red Riding Hood

so pleased.

2003-06-30T05:27:16Z

Spanish - 600
Literature - 730
Writing - 800

mspitiful @ 2003-06-27T11:32:00

2003-06-27T15:32:41Z

an ~~unattractive~~ irishman digs me.

here i am!

2003-06-26T16:53:50Z

I don't want to go home anymore.

Speaking in tongues

2003-06-24T15:12:54Z

Greetings from sunny(ish) URI.

Last night was my first good night. Met numerous interesting people, who I genuinely enjoyed rather than simply appreciated their friendship as something to keep me as un-loserish looking as possible. Oddly, all were from the Theater department. For posterity's sake, will update on the happenings of this (so far) week.

PS - I met my first non-white friend. Lucy. Also from Drama. Will probably never speak again, but is very funny and nice. Everything a First Non-White Friend should be. Also, possible boy interests: Trinidadian Paul who calls me "the Writer", and never fails to see the humour of there being a writing program here at the Games. Also, Danny (I've never called him Danny), who calls me Halle, as in Barry, and is a fellow writer. No I don't like either of them, but the attention is nice. Probably is also all in my head.

Saturday - we will not go into. Terrible, terrible, lonely, I want to go home day.

Sunday - also nothing worth mentioning. Fell asleep listening to The Roots at 10:30, felt v stupid when Dorm Checks came around and was already in bed, soliciting the scorn of dorm-checker.

Monday - finally, good day. got a little taste of home as, being a writer, am entitled to special privileges such as sneaking online while using the computer lab. am such an online fiend. wrote good-ish poem about my father. first line reads: my father spins tales from water vapor. am beginning to feel a bit more in my element (as need praise constantly). facilitators still don't like me, but am working on that...not really. finally, open space for 5 1/2 hours monday night. insane amount of time to hold four "debates" on topics which we all (the scholar-athletes, if you will) suggested and pasted on the "Agenda". RIDICULOUS amount of time. Had mediocre death penalty debate, made mediocre by fact that all involved were similarly opposed. felt somewhat bad for two (southern) girls who were pro. met Trinidadian Paul and Haitian Lucy. Good, funny people. T. Paul called me Malaysian girl, and so am (somewhat unbeknownst to him) am returning the favor. Were joined by Beth, Rachel, Annette (who constantly makes out with her Bohemian-cum-skateboarder boyfriend in middle of debates) and began discussing Affirmative Action. V good conversation, lovely people. All from drama. Three hours of waiting, bad Subway, mediocre strawberry cheesecake later, return to dorms. Have been, previously, somewhat intimidated by roommate/two girls in adjoining room as all three came together/are best friends. Decided to join them last night, so as would not be embarrassed to be already sleeping when dorm checks occurred.

Roommates are hilarious, weird people. Two curly redheads, the other goes by the name "Wayner". Surpass old record of latest staying up time as 10 oclock.

Tuesday - oh god is only Tuesday. took shower in lieu of breakfast. morning assembly, fabulous. Jim Morrione (sic) lectured on wonderul wonderful need for passion in our generation, and dissent, and skepticism in America. V passionate speaker. ran into girls in lav, saying "oh my god, i can't believe he busted the military so much. i'm, like, going to join it".

will participate in the Poetry slam tonight. to any interested, will be an official poetry slam Friday night, 6ish, University of Rhode Island.

Also, dorms here are terrible.

miss Worcester v much, miss my friends vv much.

"there's some sense of heart missing from this poem that i saw in that poem yesterday"
god, i am so at a poetry conference...

Editor's note: i am very wonderful. wonderful poet Elizabeth loves me. i have received praise for wonderful poem beginning with the line "my father spins tales from water vapor".

it is wonderful here! i am a poet!

mspitiful @ 2003-06-19T15:15:00

2003-06-19T19:08:38Z

Everybody but everybody has their away messages on.

I am living in a computer-based world, and I am a computer-savvy girl.

It's time to party

2003-06-19T02:02:56Z

This summer will be the absolute most. I am positively sure of it.

The fun will start as soon as the rain stops. For your cloudy-day entertainment, however

mspitiful
Magic Number	26
Job	Celebrity Nobody
Personality	The Glass Is Half-Full!
Temperament	What You Lookin' At?
Sexual	Gay
Likely To Win	A Place On The Bench (For The Reserves)
Me - In A Word	Belligerent
Colour
Brought to you by MemeJack

PS - I have been watching The XFiles like mad. To quote M Shannon, "I love it, I love it, I love it"

last of the famous international playboys

2003-06-09T19:08:58Z

I got into the Scholar-Athlete Games.

So, from June 21-28 I'll not be gracing y'all with my presence. Guess you'll have to deal, yes?

..."I'm, like, flipping out"

Attn: Joseph Torrey

2003-05-31T16:54:32Z

I'm waiting for Joe Torrey to come online becuase I want a bicycle and he's supposed to come get a bicycle with me and I don't like calling people on the phone.

Of course, we never really set a date for our bicycle-extravaganza. But, still.

Hmph.

Also - I've become so good at tying up loose ends, what with finding my internship (well, to be fair, one of them) and mailing off my application, and finally taking pictures, and attempting to get a bike. Today, I added everyone on whose friends list I was onto mine. I am getting too organized for words. I even called Liz Fussell about the Pleasant St. Network.

Also - we went to Wells yesterday and I had a surprisingly good time, with the beach and the Marginal Way walk. However, I do believe that Lisa forgot I was there.

ce soiree la

2003-05-29T20:51:06Z

Apparently there are TWO Girls' Incorporateds in Worcester. And apparently the one I called isn't the one on Lincoln St...

ah well. Such is the way of life, no?

The point of the story being - guess who's got an internship at the Providence St. Girls' Inc? Setting up and running a 12-week Creative Writer's Workshop? Guess how much colleges are gonna want to get in my pants?

That internship's going to run from November 1 - March 1, to allow for crew. I'll talk to Liz Fussel about interning at the Pleasant St Network for the other months.

Peace out.

hallooo

2003-05-24T17:39:55Z

This morning I got up, wrote my English paper (11 pgs), and listened to James Taylor.

This all accomplished before Jill even woke up. Lazy son of a bitch. GOD.

I decided to post from the Vineyard becuase it's...different that way.

...i don't know no love songs,
and i can't sing the blues
but i can sing this song,
and you can sing along
when i'm gone

"Well, that's funny because 'prom' comes from 'promenade'...and you can't promenade alone!"

2003-05-09T12:57:04Z

My mistake is I kept sayin' "that was proof that God didn't exist"
And you told me, "nah, it was proof that the devil do"

...But I see something in the way of things
The Roots

By the way, English is now Intensive Bible Study 101.
And we're all sinners, really.

You'll be keepin' my legend alive

2003-05-06T16:39:27Z

I would name her rock n roll

So...
Guess who's done with her AP exam?

the, the beat, th-th-the beat

2003-05-04T22:19:57Z

oh things have been going down lately, haven't they.

hang spring cleaning

i tell you:
girls just wanna have fu-unn,
and i'm just a girl.

who-ah, who-ah

2003-04-25T18:39:39Z

I've been coughing up mucous for the past 4 days. Gross.

P.S.- you know you're a slob when you take off your shirt to eat spaghetti.

pshaw

2003-04-18T16:47:28Z

Eminem #6 in the VHI countdown of the 50 greatest MCs?

I
think
not.

i'm holdin' on to what's golden

2003-04-05T21:16:47Z

My jaw hurt when I got home last night from laughing/smiling so much. Spaghetti dinner at Schlegel's was the funnest night ever. Yeah that's right, funnest time ever. Laughed the entire time through, seriously...it's the best time I've had in awhile. Just time to relax and talk and chill, if you will, with my crew compadres, which I haven't been able to do so far this Spring...a big reason I think of why this season hasn't seemed to be going so well thus far. We ate, talked, ate...talked more, discussed team bonding and why we're not, problems with the team, problems with Angela, with the damn boys team, I just wish the whole team rather than about half had been able to come because we worked out a lot of issues last night. The A boat B boat competition, for instance. Monday we're going to have a team discussion with Angela and give her our suggestion, do away with A boat and B boat, and the competetion of "everyone is trying, all season, to get a seat in A boat". Pretty much what we decided, and Dana put to words, is that the boats should be set from the beginning of the season, and the boats should compete every week as to which gets the title of A or B, and then that boat will race V1 that week. The boat lineups, however, shouldn't change too drastically, therefore promoting the advancement and competetion of the entire boat rather than competetion of the individual, and also fostering that boat camaraderie which is impossible to obtain if your boat never remains the same for more than a week. That's why 1st spring season was so much fun, we worked as a boat to improve, rather than working as individuals to beat our teammates...crew isn't about the individual, it's about the boat. I doubt Angela will go for it, but I mean, her strategy of just constantly putting together the boat with the strongest and fastest hasn't been working so far.
Anyways, I haven't had a night like that, of just pure good fun without any tension between anyone, and genuinely enjoyed myself for awhile. That's not saying anything bad about anyone, I think I just needed to be around new people that I don't necessarily know very well, and not have to worry about their specifics and just sit around talking loudly about Hitler and crew and things of that sort. Perfect pre-SAT stress-reduction night.
The SATs, however. Hoo boy, can I just send my PSAT scores? The better part of one year of ProbStat has completely obliterated any working knowledge of geometry and/or algebra II that I may have had. I'm really pissed off, because I know I once knew how to do most of the problems I skipped in the math section, but I just forgot/didn't have enough time. So I'm pretty sure my PSAT 600 in math has gone waaaaay down. Verbal I'm pretty sure I did as well/better than I did on PSATs, hopefully, since I'll have to make up for the math section. Next weekend, on to ACTs...I'm damn excited.
Also, the race was cancelled, thankfully, cus I would have been dead during it. I'm disappointed I won't be able to race next weekend though, but oh well. At least I'm getting ACTs done and over with. Enough stress in life without standardized tests.

I enjoy being around you far too much.

the cubs are now playful

2003-03-29T19:34:00Z

This started as a reply to someone who asked me why I am anti-war. However, it got kind of long, so rather than clutter up someone else's journal with it, I'll just post it on my own. This was a very spur-of-the-moment thing, so my grammar is off and the writing probably isn't up to par.

I know, I know, disclaimers shan't be allowed. If you're interested on why I'm against war, feel free to read. I'd rather not be stubborn and wrong, so if you find holes let me know and I'll go from there. Suggestions are always welcome. In this time of fact vs. fact when every fact is a lie and no truths are concrete...no one knows who's really right anymore.

Ok, I'm sorry...everything concerning this war just has had me on edge lately. I am anti-war first and foremost because I am against war period; however I do feel that in some cases it is necessary (the Civil War, WWII, though I do not believe that the US deserves the hero-credit they have pocketed concerning this war). I do not feel that the war with Iraq is justified for many reasons. An issue you point out is that the US is obligated, as a super-power and "humane" nation, to step in and take Saddam out of power to save the Iraqis. If this were Bush's ultimate priority and goal, I would be for this war. I do not, however, feel that it is. If Bush were concerned with human rights being violated, why hasn't the US interfered in China (the country which holds the record for worst civil rights of a people), Africa (you speak of “genocide” in Iraq…the Rwanda genocide – or 100 days genocide as it is known – could have been stopped in 3 days had the UN interfered. However, the US refused to do so, and vetoed any actions the UN could have taken. All I’m saying is, the US doesn’t give a shit about any life other than American life) , Afghanistan (what ever happened to that...), countless other 3rd world countries around the world. Another interesting point, Iraq was not a third world country until the US attacks of the Gulf War (I'm not saying those attacks were or were not justified, I am just pointing this out). Also, the Iraqi people have been suffering from the after-effects of America's bombings (cancer rates in children have skyrocketed since 1991), and the US in many cases has refused to offer medical attention, claiming that any medical technology they offer might be used to create "chemical warfare technology". Another point, the US backed Iraq during the Iraq/Iran war, and supported their use of WMD on the Iranian people. It's an almost Orwellian sense of changing allies and ultimatums, pros and cons, at the drop of a hat. Returning to the goal of the US to remove Saddam Hussein and turn Iraq into a functional democracy - I do not believe that this is in the US's ultimate game plan. The US wants to create yet another puppet-government in the Middle East, to extend its reach and power in the world; it is almost akin to modern day imperialism. (As a side-note, though many war advocates discredit this reason, I do believe that oil is a factor in this war – not major, but certainly playing a part. With the power to control oil – and Iraq being a major source of oil – comes the power to control many developing countries and the rate at which they are developing. China, for example, is a major developing country with oil imports controlled by the US. If the US loses this power to control the rate at which China receives oil, China may be able to develop at a much faster rate…and as some historians have speculated, China may be on its way to becoming the world’s next superpower – all records of egregious lack of civil rights aside. Also, Iraq recently tied its currency to the Euro, and not the US dollar, as the Euro currently is the stronger currency. If more countries begin to do this, the US will lose a lot of its economic power, and therefore, power in general, as pretty much, in this crazy world of ours, money equals power.) Back to modern day imperialism and the establishment of an American run democracy in Iraq…The US will institute a shaky government at best in Iraq, frankly we have neither the time nor money (nor desire…) to spend the time fixing all of Iraq’s problems. Were we the Superpower we should be, then we would. This government will fall apart as soon as US troops leave Iraq. You cannot obliterate an entire way of life and then recreate one from scratch all in a few days. Also, it has been historically proven (case in point, the overthrow of the Soviet Union, Gandhi’s satyagrahas, movements in France and Germany) that given time, a country’s own people will rise up and overthrow oppressive regimes. And they will be the ones to institute a new way of life/government, not the US. Nations under stricter regime than Hussein’s, this is. It is with Kipling-esque (Take up the white man’s burden!) arrogance that the American people believe that we are the savior of all, hero to the Iraqi people who cannot save themselves.
As another note, Democracy in Iraq would be, by definition, majority rule. Now, the statistics I have seen state that the majority in Iraq are the Shiites, who are “ideologically and theologically tied to Iran” (says William Rivers Pitt). Therefore, putting the Shiite majority into rule would create a bond between Iraq and Iran (both of fundamentalist ideology) and might sever all of our good ins with the oil in the Middle East. Placing the Kurds in control would create a direct conflict between Iraq and neighboring Turkey, as they have been warring with the Kurds for some time…more unnecessary tension in the Middle East. The Sunnis, then, would be the next choice, however, as Hussein himself happens to be a Sunni, we would be placing the same sort of tyrannical dictator right back in power.
Finally, this rot about it being the US’s obligation to “disarm” Iraq, to “fight the war on terrorism”, that “we have given them sufficient time to follow regulations”. First off, if Iraq is such a threat to the world, why could they not subjugate neighboring Iran in a 10 year struggle? Why is the US now, stomping them flat in this war? Terrorism my ass, Hussein has been linked IN NO WAY to the bombings of the WTC; 16 out of 19 of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia – where’s our war on Saudi Arabia? There is no “terrorism state” that we can attack; and so we are simply targeting nation by nation to “put them out of the running” so to speak. However, why Iraq?? Why now? Disarm Iraq because their WMD pose a threat to the world? Why not disarm the country holding the largest number of WMD, the one country to ever have used an atomic bomb (no wait TWO!) on people…oh wait…that was the US. Whoops…our hypocrisy is showing. Why couldn’t the US let Hans Blitzer finish his search and disarment of Iraq then, if we’re so set on disarming them? Would’ve saved some lives. And this bullshit on how 11 years to disarm has been enough…what about the 30 years Israel has had to get off Palestinian land? Why aren’t we attacking them? Because we’ve got a vested interest in Israel…and we had one in Iraq too, back during the Iraq/Iran war (as I’ve pointed out) and then they could have all the WMD they wanted…but now? I don’t know…we’ve decided that maybe it would be better if we simply controlled Iraq completely.

I’m sorry this has been so extensive, I have other reasons, and I’m sure you have many more reasons than you listed above. War is a passionate issue with me; I like to be as informed as possible. However, in these days, any information you get, there’s information somewhere else directly contradicting it. This is what I know, and it seems to be backed up by many sources. I’m not trying to change your opinion, I’m simply asking you to respect mine, and know that not all anti-war people are ignorant of the issues, and do have information backing their stance. Also, as to many people's claim that all anti-war arguments are simply a regurgitation of past heard facts, here's some news. Opinion is formed from personal judgement on compilations of fact. Any argument, whether pro or anti war, is going to contain facts that have been heard before. Unless you'd like to make up your own facts regarding this issue, it's an unavoidable occurance.

mspitiful @ 2003-03-28T09:07:00

2003-03-28T14:12:52Z

The Twenty Lies of George Bush, a worthwhile read for those for and against the war alike.

The twenty lies of George W. Bush
By Patrick Martin
20 March 2003

Monday night’s 15-minute speech by President Bush, setting a 48-hour deadline for war against Iraq, went beyond the usual distortions, half-truths, and appeals to fear and backwardness to include a remarkable number of barefaced, easily refuted lies.

The enormous scale of the lying suggests two political conclusions: the Bush administration is going to war against Iraq with utter contempt for democracy and public opinion, and its war propaganda counts heavily on the support of the American media, which not only fails to challenge the lies, but repeats and reinforces them endlessly.

Without attempting to be exhaustive, it is worthwhile listing some of the most important lies and contrasting Bush’s assertions with the public record. All of the false statements listed below are directly quoted from the verbatim transcript of Bush’s remarks published on the Internet.

Lie No. 1: “My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the final days of decision.”

The decision for war with Iraq was made long ago, the intervening time having been spent in an attempt to create the political climate in which US troops could be deployed for an attack. According to press reports, most recently March 16 in the Baltimore Sun, at one of the first National Security Council meetings of his presidency, months before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Bush expressed his determination to overthrow Saddam Hussein and his willingness to commit US ground troops to an attack on Iraq for that purpose. All that was required was the appropriate pretext—supplied by September 11, 2001.

Lie No. 2: “For more than a decade, the United States and other nations have pursued patient and honorable efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime without war.”

The US-led United Nations regime of sanctions against Iraq, combined with “no-fly” zones and provocative weapons inspections, is one of brutal oppression. The deliberate withholding of food, medical supplies and other vital necessities is responsible for the death of more than a million Iraqis, half of them children. Two UN officials who headed the oil-for-food program resigned in protest over the conditions created in Iraq by the sanctions. The CIA used the inspectors as a front, infiltrating agents into UNSCOM, the original inspections program. The CIA’s aim was to spy on Iraq’s top officials and target Saddam Hussein for assassination.

Lie No. 3: “The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament...”

Iraq has never “defied” a Security Council resolution since the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. It has generally cooperated with the dictates of the UN body, although frequently under protest or with reservations, because many of the resolutions involve gross violations of Iraqi sovereignty. From 1991 to 1998, UN inspectors supervised the destruction of the vast bulk of the chemical and biological weapons, as well as delivery systems, which Iraq accumulated (with the assistance of the US) during the Iran-Iraq war, and they also destroyed all of Iraq’s facilities for making new weapons.

Lie No. 4: “Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime have failed again and again because we are not dealing with peaceful men.”

According to the Washington Post of March 16, referring to the 1991-1998 inspection period: “[U]nder UN supervision, Iraq destroyed 817 of 819 proscribed medium-range missiles, 14 launchers, 9 trailers and 56 fixed missile-launch sites. It also destroyed 73 of 75 chemical or biological warheads and 163 warheads for conventional explosives. UN inspectors also supervised destruction of 88,000 filled and unfilled chemical munitions, more than 600 tons of weaponized and bulk chemical weapons agents, 4,000 tons of precursor chemicals and 980 pieces of equipment considered key to production of such weapons.”

Lie No. 5: “The Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.”

The Washington Post article cited above noted that CIA officials were concerned “about whether administration officials have exaggerated intelligence in a desire to convince the American public and foreign governments that Iraq is violating United Nations prohibitions against chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons and long-range missile systems.” The article quoted “a senior intelligence analyst” who said the inspectors could not locate weapons caches “because there may not be much of a stockpile.”

Former British Foreign Minister Robin Cook, who resigned from the Blair government Monday in protest over the decision to go to war without UN authorization, declared, “Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction in the commonly understood sense of the term.” Even if Iraq is concealing some remnants of its 1980s arsenal, these would hardly deserve Bush’s lurid description, since they are primitive and relatively ineffective. “Some of the most lethal weapons ever devised” are those being unleashed by the United States on Iraq: cruise missiles, smart bombs, fuel-air explosives, the 10,000-pound “daisy-cutter” bomb, the 20,000-pound MOAB just tested in Florida. In addition, the US has explicitly refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons.

Lie No. 6: “[Iraq] has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of Al Qaeda.”

No one, not even US government, seriously believes there is a significant connection between the Islamic fundamentalists and the secular nationalist Ba’athist regime in Iraq, which have been mortal enemies for decades. The continued assertion of an Al Qaeda-Iraq alliance is a desperate attempt to link Saddam Hussein to the September 11 attacks.

It also serves to cover up the responsibility of American imperialism for sponsoring Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. The forces that now comprise Al Qaeda were largely recruited, trained, armed and set in motion by the CIA itself, as part of a long-term policy of using Islamic fundamentalists as a weapon against left-wing movements in the Muslim countries. This policy was pursued from the 1950s and was escalated prior to and during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, which ended in 1989. Osama bin Laden himself was part of the CIA-backed mujaheddin forces in Afghanistan before he turned against Washington in the 1990s.

Lie No. 7: “America tried to work with the United Nations to address this threat because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully.”

The Bush administration went to the United Nations because it wanted UN sanction for military action and it wanted UN member states to cough up funds for postwar operations, along the lines of its financial shakedown operation for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Bush’s most hawkish advisors, such as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney, initially opposed going to the UN because they did not want diplomacy to slow down the drive to war. They only agreed after Secretary of State Colin Powell argued that the pace of the US military buildup in the Persian Gulf gave enough time to get the UN to rubber-stamp the war.

Lie No. 8: “These governments [the Security Council majority] share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it.”

This is belied by virtually every statement on Iraq issued by the governments of France, Russia, China, Germany and other countries opposed to military action, which have repeatedly declared that they see no imminent threat from Iraq. Bush brands his opponents on the Security Council as cowards, as though they were afraid to take action against Saddam Hussein. These countries were, in fact, increasingly alarmed—by the United States, not Iraq. Insofar as they summoned up resolve, to the shock of the Bush administration, it was to deny UN support for the war that Washington had already decided to wage.

Lie No. 9: “Many nations, however, do have the resolve and fortitude to act against this threat to peace, and a broad coalition is now gathering to enforce the just demands of the world.”

Only three nations are contributing military forces to the war: 250,000 from the US, 40,000 from Britain, and 2,000 from Australia. The other members of the “broad coalition” are those which have been bribed or browbeaten to allow the US to fly over their countries to bomb Iraq, to station troops, ships or warplanes on their territory, or provide technical assistance or other material aid to the war. None will do any fighting. All are acting against the expressed desire of their own population.

Lie No. 10: “The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours.”

Bush defines the UN body’s responsibility as serving as a rubber stamp for whatever action the United States government demands. In relation to the UN, however, the United States does have definite responsibilities, including refraining from waging war without Security Council authorization, except in the case of immediate self-defense. Under Article 42 of the UN Charter, it is for the Security Council, not the US or Britain, to decide how Security Council resolutions such as 1441 are to be enforced. The US decision to “enforce” its interpretation of 1441 regardless of the will of the Security Council is a violation of international law.

Lie No. 11: “If we must begin a military campaign, it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you.”

The widely reported US military strategy is to conduct an aerial bombardment of Iraq so devastating that it will “shock and awe” the Iraqi people and compel the Iraqi armed forces to surrender en masse. According to one press preview, US and British forces “plan to launch the deadliest first night of air strikes on a single country in the history of air power. Hundreds of targets in every region of Iraq will be hit simultaneously.” Estimates of likely Iraqi civilian casualties from the immediate impact of bombs and missiles range from thousands to hundreds of thousands, and even higher when the long-term effects are included.

Lie No. 12: “As our coalition takes their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you need.”

This is particularly cynical, since the immediate consequence of Bush’s 48-hour ultimatum was the withdrawal of all UN humanitarian aid workers and the shutdown of the oil-for-food program, which underwrites the feeding of 60 percent of Iraq’s population. As for medicine, the US has systematically deprived the Iraqi people of needed medicine for the past 12 years, insisting that even the most basic medical supplies, like antibiotics and syringes, be banned as “dual-use” items that could be used in a program of biological warfare.

Lie No. 13: “We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free.”

The goal of the Bush administration is to install a US puppet regime in Baghdad, initially taking the form of an American military dictatorship. It is no exaggeration to say that the US government has been the leading promoter of dictatorships around the world, from Pinochet of Chile to Suharto of Indonesia to Saddam Hussein himself, who, according to one recent report, got his political start as an anti-communist hit-man working in a CIA-backed plot to assassinate Iraq’s left-nationalist President Qasem in 1959.

A classified State Department report described by the Los Angeles Times of March 14 not only concluded that a democratic Iraq was unlikely to arise from the devastation of war, it suggested that this was not even desirable from the standpoint of American interests, because “anti-American sentiment is so pervasive that elections in the short term could lead to the rise of Islamic-controlled governments hostile to the United States.”

Lie No. 14: “Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war and every measure will be taken to win it.”

This combines a lie and a brutal truth. The Bush administration has taken every possible measure to insure that war takes place, viewing the resumption of UN weapons inspections with barely disguised hostility and directing its venom against those countries that have suggested a diplomatic settlement with Iraq is achievable. In prosecuting the war, the Bush administration is indeed prepared to use “every measure,” up to an including nuclear weapons, in order to win it.

Lie No. 15: “War has no certainty except the certainty of sacrifice.”

There will be colossal sacrifices for the Iraqi people, and sacrifices in blood and economic well-being for the American people as well. But for Bush’s real constituency, the wealthiest layer at the top of American society, there will be no sacrifices at all. Instead, the administration is seeking a tax cut package of over $700 billion, including the abolition of taxation on corporate dividends. Major US corporations are in line to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from the rebuilding of Iraqi infrastructure shattered by the coming US assault. These include the oil construction firm Halliburton, which Vice President Cheney headed prior to joining the Bush administration, and which continues to include Cheney on its payroll.

Lie No. 16: “[T]he only way to reduce the harm and duration of war is to apply the full force and might of our military, and we are prepared to do so.”

Every aggressor claims to deplore the suffering of war and seeks to blame the victim for resisting, and thus prolonging the agony. Bush is no different. His hypocritical statements of “concern” for the Iraqi people cannot disguise the fact that, as many administration apologists freely admit, this is “a war of choice”—deliberately sought by the US government to pursue its strategic agenda in the Middle East.

Lie No. 17: “The terrorist threat to America and the world will be diminished the moment that Saddam Hussein is disarmed.”

No one, even in the American military-intelligence complex, seriously believes this. US counter-terrorism officials have repeatedly said that a US conquest and occupation of Iraq, by killing untold thousands of Arabs and Muslims and inflaming public opinion in the Arab world and beyond, will spark more terrorism, not less.

Lie No. 18: “We are now acting because the risks of inaction would be far greater. In one year, or five years, the power of Iraq to inflict harm on all free nations would be multiplied many times over.”

This is belied by the record of the past twelve years, which has seen a steady decline in Iraqi military power. Saddam Hussein has never been a threat to any “free nation,” if that term has any meaning, only to the reactionary oil sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf and to neighboring Iran, all ruled by regimes that are as repressive as his.

Lie No. 19: “As we enforce the just demands of the world, we will also honor the deepest commitments of our country.”

The demands of the world were expressed by the millions who marched in cities throughout the world on February 15 and March 15 to oppose a unilateral US attack on Iraq. Bush seeks to have it both ways—claiming to enforce previous Security Council resolutions against Iraq (“the just demands of the world”), while flagrantly defying the will of the majority of the Security Council, the majority of the world’s governments, and the vast majority of the world’s people.

Lie No. 20: “Unlike Saddam Hussein, we believe the Iraqi people are deserving and capable of human liberty... The United States with other countries will work to advance liberty and peace in that region.”

For “the Iraqi people,” substitute “the Egyptian people,” “the people of the Arabian peninsula,” “the Pakistani people” or those of other US-backed dictatorships, not to mention the Palestinians who live under a brutal Israeli occupation that is supported by Washington. Does the US government believe that any of them are “deserving and capable of human liberty?” When the parliament of Turkey, under the pressure of popular opposition, voted to bar the US from using Turkish territory to invade Iraq, the Bush administration appealed to the Turkish military to pressure the government into overturning this democratic decision.

Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

"A fictitious President"

2003-03-24T03:42:39Z

Thank you Micheal Moore. You are my faith in America restored.

Thank you so much.

peace out brother.

2003-03-20T13:47:02Z

And thus ends the 11 day Live Journal strike of yours truly, E. Richardson.
I was meaning not to post until April 27, but I think that I can make an exception for today and then resume my strike. All things willing and able, of course.

10:00 p.m. watching CNN and creating a Prob Stat poster to save my damn group's sorry ass. This is what I'll remember. It carries down the generation, me thinking Gulf War II: The Vengeance as was proclaimed by the all-too-hilarious-yet-all-too-sadly-true Onion, my dad cursing all news reporters, "He should burn in hell", speaking of watching the same television, in the same house, same living room, withb the same sense of disbelief and shock, with my brother Khary at the commencement of the Gulf War.
This war,however, will supersceed any Gulf War in the past. Watching Baghdad on tv, hearing the air-raid sirens, watching the flashes of gunfire from Iraqi soldiers trying to shoot down air bombers they will never see much less hit before their city can be bombed to hell. The news reporters:
"It will be an extreme let-down if nothing happens tonight."

It's all a game of fort. Soldiers name their guns; one named his "Charlie", another "Bastard". "Better me than him" said one, and failed to see the irony in his mistake. A mother spoke of her brave and valiant sons going off to war "He told me he didn't want to go." He told me he didn't want to go. She feels nothing but pride for this boy, giving his life to serve his country.
The air raid sirens in Baghdad. Thinking about my ProbStat project, and how I would be going to school tomorrow, and I didn't have to worry about my house falling down around me, or seeing my family bombed, or seeing my school bombed, or seeing my city explode around me as the US obliterates all life in its search for one man who will never be found alive.

Fuck you Bush, from the bottom of my wonderful loving heart.

By the way, the walk out is tomorrow...why, I don't know. I was prepared to do it today. So was everyone else...now people are going to walk out today and have nowhere to go/no one will know about it tomorrow.

send me on my way

2003-03-09T23:16:06Z

I am so very much in love with Marissa...
every song I have ever wanted ever is on these CDs. Feel free to kill me, I will die happy.

Thank you!!

"I'll see you, on the radio"

2003-03-09T15:39:27Z

and this i know,
his teeth were white as snow

The little twist of fate that decided it was finally time for me to find out who sang the song "Gigantic" (after waiting and trying desperately - well, I'll admit it sorta slipped my mind for a good 7 or 8 months, hell, it wasn't too high on my agenda - so about 1 good month) to find out who sang it after the Belle & Sebastian concert is worthy of Bone Chomper status.
Do not try to read above sentence, will give whoever headache.

Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic

Week ended on a good note (besides obvious failure of stupid stupid Vert Anat test, who needs to know muscles?) people are v. nice and supportive of everything, am glad to have people like those in my life. Life is good when you make it so (aka, stop whining about obvious innumerous shortcomings and God's blatant displeasure towards and hatred of yourself). At least, such was (is, always will be) the case with me (however, I may note this many many times yet still manage to forget it occasionally. or, always)
We're all going to college soon, and we'll be moving away from all this "shit" that so bothers us...
just appreciate it now.

Am pleased with increasing perfection of everything. No, will not steel myself for obvious downfall of...life.