Single What? Female...

The Iraq Blog...

Over the last couple of weeks, I'm sure you've heard little blips on the news about how there was a memo found entailing how Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were planning on invading Iraq well before the actual invasion. We know Bush's people had been planning this since Bush, Sr.'s reign, and such information got reported briefly on the news, but not enough of an uproar occured to move it beyong a passing news story. Now, here is this memo...it causes an uproar in Great Britain, yet Blair gets re-elected (even if only by a slim margin...sound familiar?) and we hear virtually nothing here.

Thank God my friend Sonia sent me this article from FAIR that I hope you will pass on to your friends and family and Congressfolk and the press cause something more indeed needs to be said about this. When you have minutes from a meeting that include lines such as "...but the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" and "an anonymous Washington offical" being quoted, confirming that the minutes were ''an absolutely accurate description of what transpired", it may all sound too Watergate for ya, but does it not beg further investigation? Particularly as the insurgency has yet to rest, elections or no.

Speaking of, you may have heard about how a governor and four of his security staff were kidnapped by insurgents yesterday. Yeah that's freedom for ya...

And the Runaway Bride and the Michael Jackson trial are still the top stories.


CountingTheCost.org is a group that wants to make sure that MAY 15th, everybody knows about how many lives have been lost in Iraq and is asking folks to head to their wesbite where you can sign up to get a number to wear in protest on May 15th. There's a $10 donation, but money goes to the project and war relief in Iraq. (and if you do not get the number in the mail in time for the 15th I still suggest wearing as a symbol of protest: put it on your bag, at your desk at work, in your window, etc )

And speaking of the losses and how they are to continue...the Senate approved the $82 BILLION extra dollars needed to keep up the fight. Nobody really knows where that money's coming from, so you might want to send a note to your Senator about that...

AND I suggest going over to Code Pink's website as there, you can sign a petition asking for the discharge of two soliders who are up for court martial for speaking out against the war and asking for conscientious objector status.

And speaking of soldiers needing to get out of Iraq, of course Rumsfeld is reiterating his thinking that we need essentially a lean mean fighting machine, you know, smaller army...would be great if we weren't trapped in a money and people pit called Iraq (and had people like North Korea and Iran actually building nuclear weapons...and they hate us...) Rummy would also like to reiterate that despite trying to quit the administration twice, he plans on sticking around for the long haul...

And as for a guy actually trying to help soldiers, you gotta give it up for special effects artist Chuck O'Brien. In the Wall Street Journal, his story is on the front page. He's mainly been known to create body parts for TV and film, but in 2003, he got "sick of making dead bodies" and started working for a group called Alternative Prosthetic Services, buidling and painting eerily authentic prosthetics for wounded marines and other soliders. I wanted to include the article but you have to subscribe, it ain't free like the other papers, but I recommend picking up a copy or checking the office copy (if your office keeps a copy floating around).

IN THE MEANTIME...If you haven't signed the "Fire His Ass!" Tom DeLay petition at MoveOnPAC, you still got some time!

And just as I chose this morning to paint my nails "high alert orange" I learned this morning that our "security rainbow" will most likely be scrapped...I still painted my nails in honor of the (ridiculous) chart. And speaking of that, apparently Tom Ridge actually has spoken out saying that he was strongly urged to raise the alert...even when not really necessary (haven't seen a story yet, but it was mentioned on the Today Show this morning).

And speaking of security, the AP has just reported that the White House AND the Capitol were briefly evacuated due to a small plane that apparently crossed into White House airspace. It might have been a cause for alarm (particularly after it was discovered that Georgian Secret Police found a grenade 100 feet from where Bush was speaking yesterday in the former Soviet province) but it turned out ot be a couple guys from North Carolina who'd gone off course.

And by the way, Bush happened to bicycling in Maryland "away from the White House". Dick Cheney was actually there and moved to a "secure location". Laura Bush and the visiting Nancy Regan were moved to a "secure location" Members of Congress were escorted out of the building...but not led to a "secure location" ("screw them they're only Congressmen!")

So what else is new?

So while you ponder our country's actual security KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, write, fax your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! And as always pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!

Peace --Alex

posted by funkweee @ 7:28 AM