Flower Speaker Power ---
The Japanese have created a very Japanese invention: turning flowers into speakers. Read about it on the BBC News.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
US Helicopter Fires On Civilian Crowd, Kills 80 ---
This story in the Washington Post, describes a pair of Army helicopters raining bullets down on civilians, including a Palestinian TV journalist. The attack killed 80 civilians and was filmed. That film is being shown all over Al Jazeera. Think that's good for our image? Nice going, Army.
This story in the Washington Post, describes a pair of Army helicopters raining bullets down on civilians, including a Palestinian TV journalist. The attack killed 80 civilians and was filmed. That film is being shown all over Al Jazeera. Think that's good for our image? Nice going, Army.
3 Years On ---
It's been three years since the WTC was destroyed by religious fanatics. 3,000 dead in the immediate attacks. Have we paid them proper respect? Have we done the right thing by their families? Do the victims' families sleep easier at night knowing we have done everything in our power to not only track down and capture the perpetrators but also to move the mountains of prejudice and hate that separate the United States from many poor, developing countries? I don't think so. The 9/11 families had to sue the Bush Administration. Bush fought against establishing the 9/11 Commission, then withheld the funding from it (which was illegal), and then refused to testify. Bush finally testified off the record, and with Dick Cheney in the room with him, like Dick is his legal guardian. A lot of talk about tracking down regimes that sponsor terrorism, but 2 of our dubious "allies" over there are the main sponsors of terrorism themselves: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. 17 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. Pakistan is a radical Islamic state with nuclear weapons ruled by a general who seized power in a military coup. The Al Quaeda network used Pakistan as a base and the Pakistani reluctance to capture them as a means to evade the American dragnet. Did we attack these places? No. Bush is buddies with the Saudi royal family. How can we go around the world promoting democracy while helping these corrupt dictatorships to thrive? If this is really about establishing democracies in the Middle East, why don't we do more to insure Israel's permanent survival, like brokering a peace settlement there? Why do we give military aid to Saudi Arabia? If it's not about democracy, then is it about oil? What is it, something like 21 of the Bush cabinet members and advisors are oil company executives or sit on boards of directorships for oil companies. Is that a coincidence? Whatever the reasons we're in Iraq, it's obvious that our cowboy approach didn't work. We need allies. We need other countries to help us. We need to dump Bush, and fast. The past three years have been a disaster unless you're a CEO or a redneck kook in a pickup truck crying about "your" tax dollars supporting black women who want more kids to get more welfare. I have actually heard this comment. It's laughable. What happened to the common good? To moral decency, to the idea that being Christian means helping as a servant, not being a smug, judgmental racist/homophobe/prude/ignorant clown? What if Jesus was not an American, you foolios?
It's been three years since the WTC was destroyed by religious fanatics. 3,000 dead in the immediate attacks. Have we paid them proper respect? Have we done the right thing by their families? Do the victims' families sleep easier at night knowing we have done everything in our power to not only track down and capture the perpetrators but also to move the mountains of prejudice and hate that separate the United States from many poor, developing countries? I don't think so. The 9/11 families had to sue the Bush Administration. Bush fought against establishing the 9/11 Commission, then withheld the funding from it (which was illegal), and then refused to testify. Bush finally testified off the record, and with Dick Cheney in the room with him, like Dick is his legal guardian. A lot of talk about tracking down regimes that sponsor terrorism, but 2 of our dubious "allies" over there are the main sponsors of terrorism themselves: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. 17 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. Pakistan is a radical Islamic state with nuclear weapons ruled by a general who seized power in a military coup. The Al Quaeda network used Pakistan as a base and the Pakistani reluctance to capture them as a means to evade the American dragnet. Did we attack these places? No. Bush is buddies with the Saudi royal family. How can we go around the world promoting democracy while helping these corrupt dictatorships to thrive? If this is really about establishing democracies in the Middle East, why don't we do more to insure Israel's permanent survival, like brokering a peace settlement there? Why do we give military aid to Saudi Arabia? If it's not about democracy, then is it about oil? What is it, something like 21 of the Bush cabinet members and advisors are oil company executives or sit on boards of directorships for oil companies. Is that a coincidence? Whatever the reasons we're in Iraq, it's obvious that our cowboy approach didn't work. We need allies. We need other countries to help us. We need to dump Bush, and fast. The past three years have been a disaster unless you're a CEO or a redneck kook in a pickup truck crying about "your" tax dollars supporting black women who want more kids to get more welfare. I have actually heard this comment. It's laughable. What happened to the common good? To moral decency, to the idea that being Christian means helping as a servant, not being a smug, judgmental racist/homophobe/prude/ignorant clown? What if Jesus was not an American, you foolios?