Time for some SERIOUS news:

Pooch accused of nip and tuck may lose title

abc news online: The canine winner of the world's biggest dog show may be stripped of its title after being accused of having a secret facelift, the Times newspaper has reported.


Danny, the Pekingese who beat 20,000 contestants to be crowned Supreme Champion at the renowned Crufts show earlier this month, faces an investigation into the allegations, the paper said.

Nips and tucks are banned under the show's strict rules and winners found to have gone under the knife can be stripped of their title, the event's organisers, the Kennel Club, told the paper.

However three-year-old Danny's owners firmly deny the charges, saying they are the work of jealous rivals in the fiercely competitive world of dog shows.

"It is all just jealousy," Albert Easdon, who displayed Danny at the show with Philip Martin, told the Times.

"They can't just say 'it's a lovely dog'."

"Not as tyrants have we come, but as liberators."

-- Adolf Hitler, March 1938

David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell from This American Life *listen* (start at 27:20)

Caution: Bush apologists should not listen to this!

Site of the Day:

This is from a couple of weeks ago but I found it amusing...

Free Speech Doesn't Apply to Scalia Awards Ceremony

foxnews.com: CLEVELAND — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia banned broadcast media from an appearance Wednesday where he will receive an award for supporting free speech.

The City Club usually tapes speakers for later broadcast on public television, but Scalia insisted on banning television and radio coverage, the club said. Scalia is being given the organization's Citadel of Free Speech Award. (read more)

Site of the day:

Powered by Poetry:
17 syllables at a time

Beat! Beat! Drums! - by Walt Whitman

BEAT! beat! drums!—Blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation;
Into the school where the scholar is studying;
Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride;    
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, plowing his field or gathering his grain;
So fierce you whirr and pound, you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.
 

Beat! beat! drums!—Blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets:
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? No sleepers must sleep in those beds;
No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—Would they continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?
Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow.
 

Beat! beat! drums!—Blow! bugles! blow!
Make no parley—stop for no expostulation;
Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer;
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man;
Let not the child’s voice be heard, nor the mother’s entreaties;
Make even the trestles to shake the dead, where they lie awaiting the hearses,
So strong you thump, O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow.

Congratulations on Your Liberation by Mark Fiore
The Village Voice - March 26th, 2003 6:15 PM

Site of the Day:


Jesus - with you always

140 Arrested as 'Die-In' Snarls New York Traffic

Thursday, Mar 27, 2003; 12:01 PM

from washingtonpost.com: NEW YORK -- Police arrested more than 140 protesters who lay down in the middle of New York's 5th Avenue during Thursday morning rush hour as part of a "die-in" to protest the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

About 400 antiwar activists converged near Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, many of them lying on their backs near the intersection of 49th Street and 5th Avenue and others holding signs and chanting "No War, No Oil, No Profit."

Daniel Ellsberg arrested at antiwar protest

by Jonathan D. Salant Thursday March 27, 2003 at 03:06 AM

Two Nobel Peace Prize winners, two bishops and Vietnam War activist Daniel Ellsberg were among those arrested near the White House in antiwar protests Wednesday. More than 100 demonstrators in Florida denounced President Bush during his trip to the state.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Nobel Peace Prize winners, two bishops and Vietnam War activist Daniel Ellsberg were among those arrested near the White House in antiwar protests Wednesday. More than 100 demonstrators in Florida denounced President Bush during his trip to the state.

Protesters in Washington climbed over police barricades closing off Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and sang and prayed until they were arrested. Police said 65 people were taken into custody. Protesters left behind some roses and pictures of Iraqi civilians that they said represented those who could die in the war.

Those arrested included Nobel laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement and Jody Williams of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, as well as Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Detroit archdiocese; Bishop C. Joseph Sprague of the United Methodist Church in the Chicago area; Dave Robinson, national coordinator of Pax Christi USA, the Catholic peace movement, and Ellsberg.

I post the following only to elicit reaction and comments from my moral christian readers who do not want the government to take any of their money but who do want it in other people's bedrooms. I understand that your "God" may find this activity sinful, but why don't we allow your God to mete out appropriate punishment at the appropriate time.

Supreme Court Seems Set to Reverse a Sodomy Law

New York Times: WASHINGTON, March 26 — A majority of the Supreme Court appeared ready today to overturn a Texas "homosexual conduct" law that criminalizes sexual practices between same-sex couples that are lawful in the state when performed by a man and a woman.

Texas is one of four states to make such a distinction, and one of 13 with criminal sodomy laws still on their books. It appeared from the argument today, on behalf of two Houston men who were prosecuted after the police found them having sex in a private apartment, that the court would follow a path of least resistance and invoke the constitutional guarantee of equal protection to strike down the Texas law. (read more)

More Moore...

I know all of you love Michael Moore so here is a video of his response to reporters' questions after the Academy Awards.

100k stream
300k stream

Why take history classes?

The most effectual means of preventing [the perversion of power into tyranny are] to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes. --Thomas Jefferson: Diffusion of Knowledge Bill, 1779. FE 2:221, Papers 2:526

The next time you are wondering why we take history classes you can think about Jennifer Ludden's report from tonight's All Things Considered:

*Listen* (3:49)

Then wonder how things might be different if we had a government that valued education. Just think, the leader of the most powerful country in the world was a C student. But then again, he is the self-described "Education President."

Some thoughts on news coverage of the war...

Those of us who are old enough to remember The Gulf War (Part I) have noticed a huge difference in the news. Instead of pool reporters filing stories which were then reported by all news outlets, the current "embedded" reporters are giving live reports from the battlefield.

I think that the best coverage on television, in terms of reporting and lack of propaganda, has been BBC. From what I've seen on BBC America they are not using fancy graphics and special music with war drums. They are actually reporting this as news, not as "the war show."

At the other end of the spectrum is Fox News, or as I like to refer to it--The US Department of Propaganda. I admit that I have not seen much of their coverarge, but what I've seen has been cheerleading for the US government. I saw one piece where they were calling peace demonstrators "un-American." As I write, the picture on their website is an American soldier handing food to an Iraqi child.

NBC/MSNBC has the most comprehensive coverage that I have seen. They are taking full advantage of their resources from NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and ITN. David Bloom and Kerry Sanders have given in-depth and descriptive reports from the battlefield, Peter Arnett's reports from Baghdad are excellent, and they have reporters covering the war from around the US, the Middle East, and Europe. The "Listening Post" section of their broadcast is very good; they see what news outlets from around the world are reporting and relay it every hour.

CNN also has a lot of reporters covering the war. Aaron Brown just get on my nerves with his editorial comments and attitude.

On the internet The Agonist somehow takes in many news reports and posts updates throughout the day. NPR has good coverage on the internet with links to their reports and live audio stream. Also, BBC has a lot info on their site.

They want to be "liberated" they just don't know it.

The Shock and Awe Show

The Pentagon Presents a New Genre: Hyper-Reality TV

by Richard Goldstein in The Village Voice

As the first bombs fell on Baghdad, George Bush was getting his hair done. We know this because a rogue technician broke protocol by beaming a candid image from the Oval Office to the BBC. Millions of people around the world saw the president primping and squirming, his eyes darting to and fro, for a minute and a half before his here-comes-the-war address.... (Read more)

'My So-Called Lungs' Diarist Dies of Cystic Fibrosis

Laura Rothenberg recorded two years of her life living with cystic fibrosis for Radio Diaries. Laura died last week at age 22.

Joe Richman who produced her award-winning diary recorded a remembrance for NPR's All Things Considered.*Listen* (4:36)

Laura's Diary: *Listen* (21:52)

Congratulations to Michael Moore on his Academy Award for Bowling for Columbine. Below is is acceptance speech:

I've invited my fellow documentary nominees on stage with us here in solidarity with me because we like non-fiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man who's sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the fiction of orange alerts. We have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And any time you got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up. Thank you very much. -- Michael Moore, March 23, 2003

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. . . .
we shall also do our part to build a world of peace
where the weak are safe and the strong are just.
- President John F. Kennedy
June 10, 1963

Millions protest around the world

Protests are going on all around the world today and the only thing that I have seen on the cable news channels is police hauling off protesters who were staging a peaceful sit-in in Washington Square park.

...and now back to more WARnography

I guess Dubya found a way to fund his tax cut for the rich.

GOP plan trims vets' benefits to fund tax cut

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON - With hundreds of thousands of American troops poised for combat in Iraq, veterans groups are criticizing a budget plan expected on the House floor this week that would slash Veterans Affairs money by $15 billion in the next decade to help make room for President Bush's proposed tax cuts.

"Cutting already underfunded veterans' programs to offset the costs of tax cuts is indefensible and callous," said Edward R. Heath, national commander of the Disabled American Veterans. "It is unconscionable to cut benefits and services for disabled veterans at a time when we have thousands of our service members in harm's way." (read more)

"Shock and Awe"

US forces are bombing the hell out of Baghdad and at 2:30pm Ari announced that Dubya has retired to Camp David for the weekend. Even war will not stand in the way of his long weekend.

THE MORON MAJORITY

By Ted Rall

An American Warlord Races to Waterloo

NEW YORK--Now it's official: most Americans are idiots

Decades of budget cuts in education are finally yielding results, a fact confirmed by CNN's poll of March 16, which shows that an astonishing 51 percent of the public believe that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (read more)

It is easier to lead men to combat,
stirring up their passion,
than to restrain them and direct them
toward the patient labours of peace.
-- Andre Gide

I hope that these people are safe.

The television was on when the Bush Regime started bombing Baghdad this afternoon. I was scared just watching on TV. I can't imagine how it feels to live there and have US bombs and missiles falling around you (not to mention the Iraqi anti-aircraft fire coming down).

SATURDAY, MARCH 22

• EMERGENCY CONVERGENCE on the WHITE HOUSE in WASHINGTON DC at 12 noon
  
• Emergency regional protests in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and around the country
  
• In New York City protest at 11:30 a.m., assemble on Broadway between 41st and 36th St.

A Citizens' Declaration

As a US-led invasion of Iraq begins, we, the undersigned citizens of many countries, reaffirm our commitment to addressing international conflicts through the rule of law and the United Nations.

By joining together across countries and continents, we have emerged as a new force for peace. As we grieve for the victims of this war, we pledge to redouble our efforts to put an end to the Bush Administration's doctrine of pre-emptive attack and the reckless use of military power

Add your signature
at MoveOn.org

Good people do not need laws to tell
them to act responsibly, while bad people
will find a way around the laws.
--Plato

USA Patriot Act Art

With thirty minutes until WAR, I think that it is time for Compulsury Patriotism while Liberty is Secured.

Andrei Codrescu read his story The Talking Carp on All Things Considered tonight.

Window Lights for Peace

Around the world, thousands of us are putting lights in our windows to keep the light of reason and hope burning, to let others know that they are not alone. Join us in sending this message of hope and peace by signing below.

www.moveon.org/windowlight

Well, I had a nice little conversation with Katie (via her comment page) in which she tried to convince me of the existence of (the one true) God. I should show her this as an argument against the existence of "God."

The screening process for this "Family Friendly Site" listing is obviously not very thorough because they have approved this site. Therefore, I proudly display my Family Friendly emblem:

The Reverend Horton Heat was on Conan tonight and they rock. That's right, I told you that I get all of my music news from Conan. Anyhow they are a "country-stained punkabilly" trio and I can't believe I haven't come across them before. Here is a 30 second clip *listen* or go to this site to download the full mp3 of "Galaxy 500". Also, check them out on the 7pm (ET) showing of Conan on Comedy Central.

Corey's Manifesto...feel free to comment

Published at the request of the author:

In response to an antiwar sentiment visible amongst postings and 

graphics on the website...?and for the purposes of enlightening others to my 

belief that there is much more to the war mongering than just war 

mongering, or to have others enlighten me on their views...



Corey: Hi Rob... nice to see political site not run by politicians... 

any chance you'd post my last so others could comment? I'm sure there's 

much I and others could learn by bringin stuff out in the open in such 

a forum... thank-you...



   I have a question to ask of the folks who oppose the current war 

situation (Early 2003 George Bush versus Iraq/Saddam Hussein)... And this 

is an honest question designed to help all of us understand stuff more 

clearly by comparing views and compiling all possible pros and cons... 

Everybody knows Saddam is a bad guy... whether or not he's bad enough 

that we should invade and overthrow him aside, we all should agree that 

he's not good. Whether George Bush's reason for attacking him is Terror 

or 9/11 related or something else he's not telling... do you folks at 

least acknowledge that there are scores of "conspiracies" involving our 

gov't and other world gov'ts which We the People could only begin to 

understand. I acknowledge that many if not all of these "agendas" are 

probably considered morally wrong by the majority of us.



   However, to paraphase a christian line (I am an Atheist btw... 

please no religious backlash because there is no god) "Let he who is without 

sin, cast the first stone..." The US, the Republican War Mongers, the 

Democratic Bleeding Hearts, the Independents Rebellious... 



   Look people...no one is perfect. Period. Is there any concession 

that whatever their hidden agendas may be, we still live in the most free 

and prosperous country in the world? I hate to say it, but of all the 

worlds evils, and of all the worlds imperfect people and gov'ts and 

factions thereof, isn't THIS one, the United States, whether current power 

rests in Democrat, Republican, or Others hands, the lesser of all the 

evils? Perfection is impossible. 



   Until we as a human race find a way to transcend our very humanity, 

this sorta stuff is going to happen. Would you prefer that Saddam's 

Agenda be the Ruling One? Perhaps you would all prefer that all females 

were put through the 'barbaric' (eh? I think...) clit-removal surgeries 

of radical Islamics. Would you prefer a scalpal and anesthesia or just 

the neck of a broken glass bottle? 



   And you might say that such is only the most radical example... But 

I ask you hasn't history and simple human nature shown that those who 

believe in such barbarisms are usually the most aggressive. And those of 

us who do not are also naturally much more passive. And therefore, by 

definition of those words, the most radical will powerfully influence 

the whole? 



   On a different note. Let's look at the economics of it all. So our 

Imperialist Capitalism is Raping the World Economy for our own 

gluttonous benefit... we also use that same money to continue to assert our 

influence over the world in every conceivable way. From insuring that we 

get cheap oil, to making sure we have influence over other nations such 

to permit our CIA infiltrators, who do their best to keep an ear our for 

anyone planning to try to pull a move on us. 



   Perhaps you would prefer to withdraw from this world power scene? 

Who should be the next to take over? Do you trust that the French will 

maintain dominance over the factions of the world such as to keep them 

from killing innocents? Or that the Chinese will uphold anyones civil 

liberties? The civil liberties we ALL (myself included) take for granted? 

Or the Brits , the Russians, the Zimbabweans, or the Chileans? 



   But let's not cite national examples... each nation of the world has 

a hundred facions. To stereotype a country in such a manner would be 

inaccurate at best. 



   Yes, there are conspiracies... conspiracies and hidden agendas and 

power plays which permit a few to become filthy rich and powerful. 

However, to be honest, I wouldn't mind being rich... even just a million or 

two... but as an intelligent capable American Citizen I have a choice, 

a freedom. The freedom to devote my life (to sell my soul, in my 

opinion) to becoming rich. A billion dollars can be made from mere ideas. I 

simply choose to be free. It's my choice not to fight to join the rich. 

Everyone is free to fight to join them. 



   Many have tried. Many who are absolutely no different than they are. 

And randomly, those who made it, made it. Call it a Dark 

Econo-Political Chaotic Darwinism, if you'd like. Its just how it goes. 



   I believe George Bush has a hidden agenda. But my statement to all 

who oppose him is: "So what?!" Like Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Ross 

Perot, and Al Gore didn't have hidden agendas. So maybe he DID manipulate 

the Florida vote to become our President. Whatever! It's another 

pseudo-Darwinistic type of deal. If Al Gore had made it, we would all be 

bitching about something else! 



   I'm sure I have pissed a lot of you completely off. And GOOD! 

Passionate discussion is far more productive! I wanna hear about it. Tell me 

I'm wrong... but please elaborate. I WANT you to convince me of your 

ideals... I promise to view all objectively and glean the most sensible 

and add them to my own understanding of our Times.



  Rob... and users and viewers of this website... Thank-you... now lemme 

hear it! --- Corey



*** Response from Rob... whom I believe to be the site creator, as he 

posted my "manifesto" as he named this...

Corey, I point you to the following:

Principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950
No. 82
Principle Vl

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

a. Crimes against peace:
i. Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

ii. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

It is no secret that the Bush Regime Administration and those who voted for him are not very fond of the United Nations. But we are a member nation of the UN and I think that it could be argued that this is a "war of aggression," which would put Bush and Blair in violation of international law.

Dubya says this is "Moment of Truth"

Well, Mr. Bush, since this is the "Moment of Truth" I would like some truth from you:

1. What is the REAL reason that you are pursuing war against Iraq?
   
2. Although you keep mentioning 9/11 and Iraq in the same sentence you have not made an actual connection. Is there really a connection? If so, what is it?
   
3. When you were running for president you said that your government would not "be in the business of nation building." Now you keep saying that you want to liberate the people of Iraq and establish democracy in the region. So which time were you lying?

AP Protests Gov't Seizure of Package

from washingtonpost.com (AP) -- Government agencies opened a package mailed between two Associated Press reporters last September and seized a copy of an eight-year-old unclassified FBI lab report without obtaining a warrant or notifying the news agency.

The Customs Service intercepted a package sent via Federal Express from the Associated Press bureau in Manila to the AP office in Washington, and turned the contents over to the FBI.

FBI spokesman Doug Garrison said the document contained sensitive information that should not be made public. However, an AP executive said the package contained an unclassified 1995 FBI report that had been discussed in open court in two legal cases.

"The government had no legal right to seize the package," said David Tomlin, assistant to the AP president. (more)

John Ashcroft continues his assault on the Constitution.

Dave Barry's take on the dispute between the US and France

"A different kind of French kiss" from The Miami Herald 3/16/2003

Edwin Starr for president; well maybe special envoy to the UN.

Children draw the darndest things:

Bingo's Brains Go Pop-Pop!! by Georgie Decker - Sioux Falls, SD.

OK, actually it is from the NRA Kooky Kidz Korner site.

Passenger finds 'chilling' note from bag handler

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- An airline passenger who had two "No War with Iraq" signs in his suitcase says the federal security agent who opened his luggage inserted a note criticizing his "anti-American attitude."

beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur

I watched the anti-war rally on C-SPAN this afternoon (well I was listening to it while working on other things) and every time that the guy from ANSWER spoke to introduce the next speaker I thought that it was Triumph from Latenight with Conan O'Brien. Hey, is that a sentence or what. :-)

Canada offers an apology to the United States

*watch* RealMedia 2:29 minutes
From www.22minutes.com

Emergency Convergence on the White House Today


C-SPAN will be covering the rally from 12-2pm EST.

or watch here

There are also several other protests scheduled around the US and the world this weekend. But we continue to hear from the government that the majority of people support war. However, NPR reported this morning that less than 20% of people in Great Britain support war and that more than 120 of Tony Blair's Labour Party MPs oppose his plans.

I found these on the web:
TERROR ALERT STATUS

At Vatican, St Peter loses his keys

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Gospels say Jesus gave the apostle Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, thereby entrusting him with the spiritual guidance of the faithful -- now the Vatican has lost them.

Vatican authorities were searching on Thursday for the left hand -- the one holding the keys -- of a 13th-century marble statue of the apostle in St Peter's Basilica after the hand and keys mysteriously vanished.

See: http://www.art4god.com/ for more "art"

An Order of Fries, Please, but Do Hold the French

From The New York Times: WASHINGTON, March 11 — The French may have Champagne, Brie, croissants and even kisses. Americans, at least in the cafeterias of the House of Representatives, now have freedom fries and freedom toast.

With frustration rising in the Capitol over French opposition to President Bush's policy on Iraq, Representative Bob Ney, the Ohio Republican who is chairman of the House Administration Committee, which is responsible for House operations, ordered the word "French" stricken from all House menus. The action was unilateral. No vote was required.


So we are about to start a war and our Congressmen are deciding what to call the food in their cafeteria. I would think that they have more important things to do.

editorial cartoon by Kevin Siers

Presidential Prayer Team?
Hey, you get a free window decal, what the hell, sign me up.

<~~ He has his eyes shut really tight, so he must be praying really hard.

Good news!

I saw a robin today. Which means, even though there is snow on the ground and it is freezing outside, spring will be here shortly.

Oh yeah...I HATE SNOW!

Kook?

I was looking over last week's posts and it looks like my kook factor was unusually high. Believe it or not, I haven't seen any black helicopters...yet.

I'm really not a wacko. I don't think that anyone is out to get me, however I do think that the United States is headed in the wrong direction on a lot of things. Most immediately is the planned invasion and occupation of Iraq, an action that is opposed by most Americans and most of the world. I'm not saying that majority opinion is necessarily right, but millions of people around the world are protesting and someone should take notice. Right now the US is trying to buy enough votes on the UN Security Council to approve military action, but if that doesn't work the Bush Administration will still go ahead with its plan.

The other thing that concerns me, in case you haven't figured this out, is the erosion of civil rights. Minister of Truth Attorney General John Ashcroft may have good intentions, but just because he thinks that he is doing the right thing does not make it acceptable to use any means to achieve his goal. For the past eighteen months this government has used a tactic of questioning our patriotism and telling us that we have to trust them to protect us. They want us to spy on each other and allow Big Brother the government to spy on us. They want to round up thought criminals potential terrorists and hold them indefinately.

While a war with Iraq will allow the US military to flex its muscles, it is the war against the elusive "terrorists" that will keep us in a perpetual state of war. This is the perfect enemy because it can be ever-changing. We can go in and bomb the hell out of Iraq and within a few weeks we would have to find another "madman dictator" to declare as a threat to world peace. But a War on Terrorism keeps us at war with an ambiguous enemy indefinately.

1984 was on cable this weekend and as I watched part of it I kept thinking that the Bush Administration was using Orwell's book as their model for governing. Big Brother, which personified The Party that ruled Oceania, used three methods to stay in power; it:

1. spied on citizens
2. controlled language
3. fabricated enemies

The Bush Administration does all three.

So, go ahead, call me unpatriotic, call me un-American, call me an agent of Goldstein, or just call me a kook.

U.S. and Britain Announce Plans for St. Patrick's Day Parade

the-lineonline.com (March 9, 2003) - Plans  include a large military parade, fireworks, masks, and 21,000 gun salute.  (Full Story)

How to get fat: Eat burgers, watch TV

By Daniel Q. Haney, The Associated Press
MIAMI BEACH -- Bulletin from the medical front: Eating fast food and sitting hours on end in front of the TV are really terrible for the waistline.

I know, I was shocked too!

High school theology teacher fired after giving student `I wish you would die' valentine

By Associated Press
3/8/2003 08:23 PHOENIX (AP): A theology teacher at a Roman Catholic high school lost his job after giving a student a valentine that read ''I hate you, I wish you would die.''

A police report stated R. Scott Jones passed out similar cards Feb. 14 to his other students at St. Mary's High School, many of whom regarded it as a joke, but one 17-year-old boy said he was ''freaked out'' by the card.

"Terror. Peace. Weapons of Mass Destruction."

I watched Dubya's "press conference" last night and I was going to comment on it but I found this "transcript" from whitehouse.org. So all I will say is that it seemed that Bushy was either being fed responses in his ear or from a something on his podium. The whole thing seemed rehearsed and scripted.

Right now I am listening to the UN Security Council meeting and I am in love with the Spanish translator's voice. She ranks right up there with NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

Peace Activist Implores Pope to be 'Ultimate Human Shield'

Leslie Scrivener, Toronto Star: Dr. Helen Caldicott, one of the world's most determined peace activists, is imploring Pope John Paul II to go to Baghdad as he is the "only person on earth who can stop this war" in Iraq.

Caldicott has organized a letter writing and e-mail petition, urging people around the world to write to the 82-year-old Pope asking him to travel to Baghdad and stay there until peace has been achieved.

"Your physical presence in Baghdad will prevent the impending slaughter of hundreds of thousands of human beings," her letter says.

Update: Mall Wants to Drop Peace T-Shirt Charges

Yahoo! News: - AP: "Officials at a mall where a man was arrested for refusing to remove an anti-war T-shirt asked Wednesday that trespassing charges against him be dropped."

I found these two cases of students being interrogated by the Secret Service for expressing disagreement with the Bush Administration Regime.

1. Apparently in Ohio it is illegal to wear a shirt that says "Not my President":
   Secret Service Agents question a Bellbrook High School student for wearing a controversial t-shirt.
   

   
   

2. Student activist gets a visit from the Secret Service

Prisoner of the Bush Regime

Jose Padilla, a Brooklyn-born American citizen, has been held in a Navy brig in South Carolina since June 2002. The FBI arrested Padilla at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in May 2002 and he has been held without charges and without access to his attorney, in violation of the 5th and 6th Amendments of the Constitution.

Padilla may be guilty of a crime, he may be a terrorist, he may be a horrible person, but he has the same rights as any other American citizen. If the federal government can do that to him then it can do it to anyone. Attorney General Ashcroft could read this an determine that I am a threat to national security and order that I be held indefinately. Well, there are people who are more deserving than me, but you get my point. They should either charge him with a crime or release him.

Man arrested at mall for wearing peace t-shirt
Group Protests N.Y. Peace T-Shirt Arrest
(AP) ALBANY, N.Y - About 100 people descended upon a suburban mall Wednesday to protest the arrest of a man who wore a peace T-shirt while he shopped. No arrests were reported. The group marched through Crossgates Mall at noon. At one point, there was a confrontation between one of the marchers and a man carrying a sign that read "9-11." Stephen Downs, 61, was charged with trespassing in a mall after he refused to take off a T-shirt that said "Peace on Earth" and "Give peace a chance."

I know that the mall is private property but this just stupid. This illustrates Naomi Kline's point that there is no free speech in private spaces that pretend to be public spaces. see nologo.org or this flash presentation

Today's Top News Stories

Iowa Passes Stolen Sandwich Case to Feds: "A case of a stolen peanut butter sandwich at the Des Moines airport has been turned over to federal authorities.
In Yahoo! News: Strange News - AP

Crucifixion offered in peace plea: "A New Zealand woman has offered to be crucified by U.S. President George W. Bush if he pledges not to attack Iraq.
In Yahoo! News: Oddly Enough Reuters UK

Man Reports a Bomb to See Boobies: "Police officers of the Russian city of Ulyanovsk arrested a 33-year-old man, who warned them of a bomb that was placed in the bath house (banya) in the Pushkin Street of the city In Fun Reports

Iraq: U.S.-U.K. Raid Kills Six Civilians in Basra

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq said on Monday that U.S. and British warplanes killed six civilians and wounded another 15 in raids on Basra, but Washington said the jets struck military targets after coming under anti-aircraft fire.

"The U.N. Security Council should back
tough inspections, not war."
Click Here

I am going to a local reading of Lysistrata tonight as part of theLysistrata Project.

I spent the afternoon at the doctor's office. He was running an hour behind with his appointments. :-| Anyhow, I still have the hyperreflexia and clonus. I don't know if this is something to be concerned about or not. I have to go back to the neurologist in a few weeks.

Elusive artwork shortlisted for £20,000 prize

Ananova: "An artist has been shortlisted for a prize for a work that will never go on display and may never even exist.

Carey Young's 'Non-Disclosure Agreement' is in the running to win a £20,000 prize at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

The 'Non-Disclosure Agreement' is a contract signed by Ms Young, 32.

According to the London Evening Standard it stipulates the piece must never go on show, adding that visitors to the Institute should not even be told what it is.

The idea is to challenge the way people think about art."

I love this excerpt from Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot:

"...I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey caffé mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top. No wonder it costs so much."

Isn't that great :-)

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the position staked out by France in the debate over how to disarm Iraq. *Listen*

Student Groups Plan Walkout to Protest War

New York Times: National: "Students at hundreds of high schools and colleges nationwide are planning a walkout on Wednesday to protest the Bush administration's plans for war in Iraq."

This is actually getting attention somewhere besides my lil blog. :-)

more of the Kane and Bunni show :-|

bunni: oh, hi

Kane: my computer ceaps messing up i think its sick

bunni: this is a funni show

bunni: hehe, i can wait

Kane: wut show

bunni: you can realli find a wierd way to speel everything

bunni: reba, i dun have cable, but i can live

bunni: funni *hehe* chuck chuck

Kane: thank you

bunni: ur very welcome 

bunni: hehe, u speak a different language?

Kane: i spell every thing funetickly

bunni: hehe, yeah, u do

Kane: im exstremy dislecksik

bunni: hey, mi friend mite come 

perty soon and chat with us

bunni: hehe, hold on, i pulled a plug

Kane: wuts your freands name

bunni: okey, so wats dislecksik, oh, now i rememver, neva mind

Kane: alalala