"Keep on keepin' on, folks —
WE are who we've been waiting for."
Daniel Patrick Welch
ACT loves Bloglines RSS Feed Reader!
You will too!
Archives
Contact
TruthOut.org
MoveOn.org
Inspired Presence
Keep On Truckin' Re-Visited
Information Clearing House
The Memory Hole
Barry Crimmins
Citizens for Legitimate Government
Environment News Service
TomPaine.com
MediaChannel.org
Mindfully.org
XColumn
More links
Blogroll Me!
Kill the President By Pip Wilson
Published online in installments
The First Lady sleeps, President Lumwedder creeps
to the fridge for a snack at midnight.
Froot Loops in a bowl, a banana, bread roll,
so ... down the mouth hole with little control,
and everything’s feelin' … all right!
Thus begins a brilliant romp that keeps me in stitches. (Thanks, Pip! I needed that!) Be sure to follow the saga of President Lumwedder. You, like thousands of Pip's subscribers, will be glad you did. Subscribe to the email so you won't miss a single verse!
Kalliope is an international forum of people who are trying to work out the mysteries and cryptograms evolving in the poem.
Power and Interest News Report PINR.org
Get the best of the international news commentary from the erstwhile YellowTimes.org group. Power and Interest News Report offers an objective analysis of issues and crises -- the facts and figures behind the news.
Investigating the 'new' imperialism
By William Bowles
William's prolific contributions take us far in understanding the seeming chaos of the world from a leftist Brit's point of view. 9/11 News and Information Links and essays; Haiti News and Information Links; Palestine/Israel News and Information Links; Venezuela News and Information Links
XX - A Novel by William Bowles
Published online in installments
| The Whole World is Listening |
|
Catch the wave!
Radio or TV wave, that is. Program alerts and transcripts provided here.
We are gaining a foothold in the alternative media sources for progressive
ideas. WBAI.org, FreeSpeech.org, DemocracyNow.org and so many others
are providing interviews, news broadcasts and discussions with people we
want to hear from! These broadcasts may be available on access cable TV in
your area! If not, they're available online.
Check in often for last-minute programming alerts.
Radiopower.org Network
STIRadio
FreeSpeechTV
Democracy Now!
Pacifica Radio Foundation
Flashpoints News Radio
Free Speech Radio News
Peace and Justice Community Radio
Wilson's Almanac Radio/TV Free Portal
AlternativeRadio.org
Current phase
Moonphase feed from US Navy sometimes delayed by interference. Please check back later.
Kindly Review A-Changin' Times
Design customized for ACT by Pip Wilson from a fine template by MKdesign //
found at Blogskins // We're powered by Blogger
Cost of the War in Iraq
(JavaScript Error)
United Nations'
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
It's been 8603 days since Bush said he'd catch
bin Laden dead or alive, pardner!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright Veralynne Pepper, '04
DISCLAIMER
This site often contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of the issues of American government policy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
|
|
|
Bushism for 4/7/2025
They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program. (Nov 2, 2000)
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize [sic] with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
— Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan Copyright 1963
(1991 Special Rider)
"A-Changin' Times: taking the best from the past to make the most of the present and to create a better future."
"What marching through the streets was to the Sixties,
walking through the halls of Congress is now."
— Marianne Williamson
You're visiting a website that incorporates a blogging feature,
not "just" a blog.
Blog entries follow, most recent entries at the top
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
| | | | |
| :: Nora | | 10/15/2003 10:14:00 AM |
| | | | | |
Bloodbath slows but doubt persists over US intentions
October 14, The Irish Times
"Leaving Baghdad once again, Lara Marlowe reflects on the political shambles to which an incoherent US policy has condemned Iraq"
Lara Marlowe is an American living in Paris, and a correspondent for the Irish Times. I'm giving her article in full here even though it's pretty long, because it's 'premium' content on the Irish Times website, so only those with annual subscriptions can access it. It's a riveting discussion of the current situation from someone who has just been on the ground in Iraq -- Nora
~*~
America's road to hell in Iraq is paved with good intentions, the promiscuous use of lethal force, and the absence of a coherent strategy. If there is a well-defined plan for restoring security, rebuilding the country's infrastructure and achieving the transition from occupation to self-determination for the Iraqi people, US officials are doing a good job of keeping it secret.
The US already had former Ba'athists and Fedayeen Saddam, non-Iraqi Arab and Islamic extremists to contend with. Tension between the Americans and Shia Muslims loyal to the radical cleric Sheikh Muqtada Sadr came to the fore in recent days, with a firefight between US soldiers and Sadr's militiamen in which four died. Sheikh Muqtada has since announced that he does not recognise the US-appointed Governing Council (GC) and is forming a shadow government. The circle of enemies is widening, and US officers routinely predict high casualties for the foreseeable future.
On the US side too, the cast of characters is murky. Westerners in civilian clothes, flak jackets and sunshades who show up after every bombing are assumed to be FBI and CIA. The Baghdad Hotel, where six Iraqis died in a double suicide bombing on Sunday, was widely rumoured to be headquarters for the CIA, Mossad and its Arabic-speaking helpers from the former South Lebanon Army militia. It was heavily barricaded, and few had the special clearance badge required for entry. In the aftermath of the bombing, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) denied reports of a CIA presence, saying the Baghdad Hotel housed members of the GC and US contractors.
 The lawlessness that claims hundreds of civilian lives every month is the primary concern of Iraqis. The mass rehiring of policemen has slowed the bloodbath, but not enough to convince the population that the US really cares about their safety. At the same time, violence increases against US occupation forces and their police proxies. The clatter of low-flying helicopters gives Baghdad an Apocalypse Now feeling. The letters IED (Improvised Explosive Device) punctuate every conversation with US soldiers. Hesco bastions - the earth-filled steel and canvas containers that have replaced traditional sandbags - are a prominent feature of the urban landscape. Mr Hesco, if he exists, must be raking in millions.
On a broader level, the dark future many Iraqis fear for their country risks engulfing the region. With his "for us or against us" philosophy, George W. Bush is forcing everyone to take sides. The polarisation is painfully obvious from Baghdad, where it's the US, Israel, the Kurds and a handful of gung-ho pro-Americans like the convicted fraudster 'Ali Baba' Chalabi versus die-hard Saddamists, Islamists, Palestinians, Syria and Iran. Most Iraqis don't want any part of such a conflict, but they will be the ones to suffer.
The US wants to bring more foreign troops in, though numerous examples show the near impossibility of imposing a solution through military means. It didn't work for the French in Algeria, the US in Vietnam, the British in Northern Ireland or the Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza. US officials are gambling that the Iraqis will help them defeat those they sloppily label terrorists, resistants and even freedom-fighters. It's a long shot, and if it were going to work, the US would have to offer Iraqis something more concrete than the CPA's unfulfilled motto of "equality, security, liberty".
Six months after Saddam Hussein's wretched regime fell, Baghdad gives the superficial impression of becoming a consumer paradise. My local supermarket in Karrada offered frozen chicken from Brazil, apple juice from Austria, Perrier water and Danish lumpfish - at prices few Iraqis can afford.
Iraqis are accustomed to a centrally planned economy with a social safety net, and they see no improvement in their daily lives. Six months of a US-style free market economy have had the predictable result: rich Iraqis get richer, and the poor are hungry and homeless.
The CPA's failure to restore electricity in the capital for more than 12 hours a day is the second grievance of most Iraqis, after security. A US business executive and former adviser to the World Bank who is assessing the Iraqi grid told me there were three obstacles to solving the problem. "Security, funding and the lack of a plan. CPA experts think it's too dangerous to visit the sites. There's no funding for power plants, and there's not a proper plan yet. Whatever is done is patchwork."
"Patchwork" sums up the US handling of the occupation so far. The first US administrator, a gaffe-prone retired general named Jay Garner, accomplished nothing and openly allied himself with Israel and the Kurds. The Pentagon replaced him with a smooth-talking career diplomat, Mr Paul Bremer. At a press conference marking six months of occupation on October 9th, Mr Bremer upbraided journalists for not reporting on the restoration of schools and the graduation of the first battalion of the new Iraqi army. He repeatedly referred questions to the CPA press office or the Governing Council, though Mr Bremer holds veto power over all GC decisions.
The proverbial buck does not stop with Mr Bremer. The problem is that the buck doesn't stop anywhere in Iraq; no one is accountable. US soldiers on either side of the same street give opposite versions of regulations on press access, but refuse to talk to each other. An MP at Abu Ghraib tries to send a truck-load of prisoners back to the capital because some of their documents have not been translated into English. The platoon sergeant, who has invested a day's work in the transport, holds out his orders, saying documents could be in either language. "The problem," the platoon sergeant tells me, "is people. The guys at the top don't see what's happening at the bottom."
In a tacit admission that Iraq strategy is adrift, the White House has just shifted responsibility for postwar Iraq from the Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. If the situation is to improve, the CPA must be consistent.
On May 23rd, the US announced it was disbanding the Iraqi army. A month later, after two Iraqi soldiers were shot dead by US forces in a demonstration outside the CPA's presidential palace headquarters, Mr Bremer decided to build a new Iraqi army. Back in April, Mr Rumsfeld allowed arsonists and looters to ransack Baghdad. That negligence was criticised, so Iraqi police and US MPs now waste time and resources arresting petty thieves, while powerful gangs continue murdering and raping. Iraqis have learned that violent street demonstrations pay; the CPA has often caved in to protestors' demands.
Few Americans observe the courtesies so essential to smooth relations in the Arab world. Merely by saying hello, introducing themselves, shaking hands and spending five minutes over coffee, much of the Iraqis' resentment could be dissipated. Instead, there's a tendency to bark orders. "The Americans don't feel they're foreigners in Iraq," a British expert at the CPA explains. "In their eyes, everybody else is foreign - including the Iraqis."
Iraqis, CPA employees and US military told me they believe the US wants to spin out the political process as long as possible, so the US has a pretext for staying in Iraq. Mounting casualties and next year's US presidential elections provide arguments to the contrary. But a corollary assumption is that the occupation serves the interests of big US companies with close ties to the Bush administration - the oil company Halliburton, its subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, and the construction giant Bechtel. These companies have already won billions of dollars in reconstruction contracts.
Suspicion about ulterior motives in Washington is a feeling shared by occupied and occupiers. "The UN doesn't own any arms factories or oil companies," an Iraqi university professor said, arguing that US troops should be replaced with a UN peacekeeping force. "Of course they're demoralised," a high-ranking US officer said bitterly when I asked how his men felt. "They're dying. For Halliburton and Bechtel."
Source
Link to This Post
|
|
|
|
| Meet ACT and the ACT-ivists |
|
Where have all the hippies gone?
They're right here — and everywhere — viewing their 21st Century world through the eyes of their early experience and through the eyes of their kids and grandkids. Come home to A-Changin' Times, a supportive, informative vehicle for news,
commentary and artistic expression of feelings in poetry, art and song — reflecting the changes we've a-gone through in our times. Inspiration, motivation, encouragement and activism. It's not just rants and warnings anymore."Make love, not war in 2004!"
Find some peace songs in midi format for your site here.
Breast Cancer Site
The Hunger Site
Clear Landmines
| Come gather 'round people |
|
Can we save ourselves in time?
"The times they are a-changin'," said Bob Dylan in 1963. Could he have foreseen that US citizens would lose their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms before his life was through? Can we honor
John Lennon's legacy and "Give Peace a Chance?" It's up to us to fight for our rights and for what is right. Here you'll find political
commentary, activism opportunities, views on news and more — all served with a twist, a song and a smile.
Subscribe for free to our daily blog ezine
of all the day's posts from this blog
About A-Changin' Times
I'm just sittin here watchin'
the wheels go 'round and 'round.
I really love to watch 'em roll.
No longer riding on that
merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go.
John Lennon
Yep. That's me, too. Watchin' the wheels and singin' outta tune. No wonder I'm dizzy most of the time!
The wheels in the world are seemingly spinning out of control. We see exponential growth in some areas, a winding down in others. There are war and
hate in one arena, love and unity in another — all born of one event. Astounding fortunes made by some, mean staggering losses for others — within
all industries — all at the same time. Earth changes are quaking the very ground beneath our feet while the sun is wreaking havoc with the weather.
This is our opportunity to change our outlook and move forward in a new way, with a willingness to release previously held ideas, let go and to open to
possibilities we might not have considered before. We will be required to use creatively what we already have in new ways, and, even if we have to
"fake it 'til we make it," it's an opportunity to learn. And it's an opportunity to take action — to let our voices be heard to make a difference, to find solutions, to make a change.
There is another way of looking at things and A-Changin' Times will provide support as we all make our way through this labyrinthine new world.
Love, peace and clarity,
Veralynne
I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: The ACTivists, our fellow bloggers, the readers, the contributors.
ACT has gathered a group of like-minded people without whom this venture would be a lonely chore. Thanks for your contributions, all; Bill, Colleen, Leo, Raff, Johanne, all the rest and those to come, your submissions and enthusiasm are invaluable. Bloggers, your blogs and links are inspiring. Readers, your links and referrals to and recommendations of ACT to friends and family are priceless. We all know folks who could benefit from "another way of looking at things." ACT NOW to open minds and hearts during these A-Changin' Times! ACT's philosophy is not to serve as strictly a news source, but to alert, awaken, inspire and motivate readers to exercise their rights and participate in creating positive change for people everywhere.
Meet the ACTivists
Lisa contributes to ACT from her base on the East Coast of the U.S. While her "Giftedly Outspoken" tagline may have started as a joke, it has proven to be valid! Her dedication to the philosophy of living simply and leaving no footprints on the Earth will reveal itself concerning consumer and health issues, employment crises, environmental activism, animal rights and much more. Lisa is learning to live the "cultural creative" lifestyle which will become more of a necessity for our survival in the days to come. In the meantime, her knowledge of bringing issues to light for grassroots activism will serve to accomplish our goals of making required changes in Washington.
DUG is our West Coast U.S. correspondent. A long-time supporter of ACT's goals, DUG is a prolific researcher and sharer of news and views from off the beaten track. He's seen the writing on the wall for a long time and his caring and altruistic nature motivates him to make every effort to help people understand what's going on under the mainstream media radar. DUG's progressive views and nose for progressive news is much appreciated here. Blog on, DUG!
Working his universal magic from a beach base in Australia, Pip's motto, Carpe Diem or "Seize the Day!", has served him well in approaching and accomplishing his goals of reaching other people. Pip's big heart drives him to research and present information that piques the curiosity, soothes the soul, and motivates those he touches to live life fully. Often entertaining and always informative his own weblog, Wilson's Blogmanac, is a daily "must visit" for thousands around the world. We at ACT are very fortunate to have his interest and caring mastery of the blogging art, for his technical as well as spiritual support and friendship.
Also from Australia, Lucy mentors, facilitates workshops and teaches in the field of personal and spiritual growth. Drawing on Buddhist, Christian and Hindu spiritualities, her website, Inspired Presence, is a creative presentation of her influences, artistic and spiritual. Lucy has recently started working with intuitive tools such as the Mythical Tarot and the Tao Oracle to assist people along their life journeys. Lucy brings to this service poetry's powerful use of symbolism and metaphor -- hence, The Lyrical Oracle, speaking with refreshing beauty and timeless truth, offering you insight, choice and power. Lucy's background provides experience and understanding which she uses in her inspired communication of the wisdom of the cards.
A motorcycle mama, a rock and roller and a true cultural creative, Jeannine (J-9), from the heart of America, brings a brilliant sense of humor to ACT, along with her sense of justice, peace and environmental devotion. J-9 is currently facing a health challenge, and we're looking forward to her great attitude and strength bringing her back to her giving, activist self in short order. J-9 shares Veralynne's enthusiasm for using music and the "hippie" philosophy of minimal consumerism and giving, in revealing the truth and in encouraging the healing of the planet and its global rifts among nations and people.
Tell J-9 You've Read It!
Veralynne may be Owner/Editor of ACT, but she's merely the ringleader, having been blessed with the voluntary efforts of a group of very different yet like-minded people with gifts to share. Veralynne fancies herself a proud dilettante and "hippie wannabe," reaching back into America's wealth of wisdom from our recent history for philosophy and guidelines to deal with today's issues of war and peace, injustice and lack of love for our mother planet. It's very easy to be cynical these days, but with ACT, Veralynne hopes to temper the pain and confusion we feel with music, creativity, progressive participation in the political process and sharing of ideas, attitudes and ACTions.
BLOG ENTRY CATEGORY AND COLUMN HEADINGS
MONEY. IT'S NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE* — Lisa's finger on the Pulse of America and Its Actions in the World
THINGS DUG UP BY DUG — His News and Views From Here and There
THE LYRICAL ORACLE — Poetic Interpretations of Events and Issues by Lucy Lopez
LOVE KNOWS — Remembering and Reflecting Hidden Wisdom of Our Forgotten True Nature by Lucy Lopez
I'N'I — INVESTIGATING THE NEW IMPERIALISM — From William Bowles
WHAT WOULD YOU THINK IF I SANG OUT OF TUNE? — Stream-of-Consciousness Essays by Veralynne
SOMETHIN'S HAPPENIN' HERE — World or U.S. News or Commentary
RIGHTS AND WRONGS — Government Takeover of American Freedom, Media and Elections
BATTLE LINES BEIN' DRAWN — War and Peace
POLITICS OF FEAR VS. DEMOCRACY — The Campaign to Oust Bush and the Progressive Movement to Regain our Country
BORN YESTERDAY...NOT! — Orwell Himself Couldn't Have Imagined This Bullshit!
CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC — Readers Write
CAN MUSIC SAVE YOUR MORTAL SOUL? — Old Hippies Breaking New Ground, New Hippies Treading Old Ground, and Everything Musically Relevant in Between.
C'MON PEOPLE NOW, SMILE ON YOUR BROTHER! — Cultural Creativity, Pop Culture, Art Culture, Lifestyle, Including
The Cultural Creatives, The Creative Class, The Hippies and Simple Living
HACKERS, CRACKERS, WEBLOG YAKKERS — The Internet, Privacy, Security, etc.
FLORA AND FAUNA — Environment and Health
THE MEDICINE CABINET — Negotiating a Peace Treaty in the War on Drugs
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH — Actions to Take to Make a Difference
STOP, PEOPLE! WHAT'S THAT SOUND? — Ev'rybody Look What's Goin' Down: Recommended Books, Movies, Music, Websites, Blogs, etc.
WORDS AND WORKS — Poetry, Prose, Letters, Essays, Quotes and Quips
ONWARD AND UPWARD! — Motivation and Inspiration
Not by our hands. Not by our will. Not in our name.
KEEP PLAYIN' THOSE
MIND GAMES FOREVER
For a brain teaser, make a list of all the things that
affect your life that are NOT political. Share your list
or your comments by email.
A quiz for a personal political profile:
From Political Sushi: Politics In The Raw
The Advocates for Self-Government have provided The World's
Smallest Political Quiz — see where YOU fit on the political
map
* "Food" for Thought From Lisa:
"Only when the last tree has died and
The last river has been poisoned and
The last fish has been caught,
Will we realise that
We cannot eat money."
19th Century Cree Indian
"The rich would have to eat money if the poor did not provide food."
Russian proverb
ACT! Sign petitions, make phone calls, write letters, send emails and faxes!
Contact your Congressperson about your interest or concern:
Senator: Contact
Representative: Contact
Or call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 (toll free
1-800-839-5276) which will connect you with the office of whomever
you wish to speak to. Keep an eye on ACT to learn about the issues.
Bloggers Parliament Members' Blogs
Deborama
Rook's Rant
CoPensar
Networking For A Better Future
Voice of Humanity
Blaugustine
The Fulcrum
Robert Paterson's Weblog
Guild of Ghostwriters
Todo lo solido
eCuaderno
DOHIYI MIR
United Diversity(Click "Joseph")
Sandhill Trek
Open Source Ethics
London and The North
Practical Metaphors
Cancer Giggles
Hear Willie's new peace song "Whatever Happened to Peace On Earth" here.
OUR SPONSOR'S URGENT MESSAGE
How can we expect to heal the planet if we cannot heal ourselves? Bring out your inner light and make a difference from the inside out.
Stress is a fact of life these days. Causes include financial insecurity, war, GM foods, dirty air, limited income, fat, the PATRIOT Act, sunspots, war, higher prices, anthrax, unemployment, war, debt, obesity, terrorists, layoffs, war, in-laws, Bush, bad drinking water, taxes, chemtrails, war, education expenses, solar flares, junk food, retirement, crazy weather, war, overweight, the stock market, Rx drugs, traffic, airport security, maverick asteroids, new car cost, health insurance, war, job retraining, utility costs, children's future, war, desire for
your own home or to pay one off, four more years of Bush, war, etc. Whew!
Invest in yourself and your family today. Overcome threats of the current economy, job loss and job interviews. Visit our websites for the plan you need to survive these trying times.
Do you want control of your future? Earn lifetime residual income while helping others save money. Deliver on the promise to yourself and your loved ones.
|
|
