Trouble’s a Brewing

So, why has it been so long since I’ve written this time? Well, life gets complicated sometimes. You know the adage, “When it rains it pours”? That’s what I’ve been seeing a lot of lately, pouring rain. Our family seems to be especially hard hit over the last six months with more than its fair share of tragedy. I guess I could just run down the list of bad events in chronological order, hmm. Oh, I don’t know, where’s the fun in that, right?

Perhaps a more effective way (it would be a long list) would be just to give a general gist of things and then maybe talk about stuff in future blogs. Let’s see…we have unemployment, illness, death, major surgery, addiction/relapse (no, not me) just to get the list started. Our entire family has been hit pretty hard with one thing or another. Don’t get me wrong there has also been some beautiful moments; the glimmer of hope…weddings, grandchildren (both here and expecting), but overall things have been very difficult. I basically find that Hee Haw song “Gloom Despair and Agony On Me” befitting life at this moment. So, all in all this life stuff has been very time consuming. It’s been pretty hard to find even a few minutes to myself where I am able to write. Then, if I do have a moment, well, the idea of writing honestly just seems burdensome because all I want to do is take a breath.


So, officially, (exhale) I’m going to try and discuss everything but I certainly can’t promise that there will be regular posts. I’ll do what I can when I can. I will ask this of my readers, if anyone out there can spare some positive energy, prayers, or thoughts they would certainly be accepted and welcome. From here I’ll post details when I can but suffice to say health issues are topping the list right now. My grandson, Mason, is top priority. He’s eight months old and will soon be facing and extremely delicate, major surgery on his head that will involve the removal of his entire skull cap. I’ll talk about the condition in my next entry, in the meantime, people…seriously need those prayers.

Thanks.

Reawakening

I’ve been trying to convince myself lately that my lack of writing has occurred because my life has been so busy and hectic. I think that I’ve been making excuses, though. While I have been extremely busy with kids, grandkids, puppies and kittens, not to mention everyday life stuff; the fact of the matter is that I just haven’t had the motivation to write.

I was told that a writer needs to write something “everyday” no matter what. I believe this rule of advice has been more trouble to me than help. You see, I’m not the type of person who reacts well to orders, and that’s kind of what this feels like to me. It makes me think that if I don’t write “everyday” like a good writer does, then I must not really be a “true” writer. Somehow, I’m deficient, less than the other “good” writers. There must be something in me that is unworthy of writing if I don’t do it everyday. Yes, I get that not all writers “feel” like writing everyday; but it goes beyond that.

I become resentful if I have to push myself to write. It becomes work when I have to do something I don’t feel like doing, and while writing may be my job it shouldn’t have to be “work”. Isn’t that what the saying, “If you do something you love then you never have to work a day in your life” mean? So, if writing is something I love to do, then it shouldn’t be work, correct? Unfortunately, though, when I force myself to write it becomes just that. Then, to make it even worse, if I miss a day the guilt begins to build. I don’t handle guilt well; I think this is why I try so hard to avoid guilt. The guilt of not writing builds up so strongly, and so quickly that it soon overwhelms me and I just give up altogether. Yes, I become a quitter.

Now, here I am months later and I haven’t written so much as a single word. In the back of my mind I keep hearing this nagging voice, “You should be writing everyday” and I try very hard to ignore it. Finally, this morning I worked past the guilt and decided, screw this….I feel like writing so I’m going to write. And so it is. I believe I’ve made up my mind to completely ignore the rule/advice of “a writer needs to write something everyday”. I think that from now on I’ll write whenever I damn well feel like it and screw the rest of the time. I can’t take the pressure of working like that; it’s not in my nature. I write because I love to write, not because it’s my job. If the day again arrives that this becomes work instead of pleasure I’ll probably stop writing again until I get over it. Until then, I’m going to write when I feel like writing and I’m going to spend time with my partner, kids, grandkids, the puppies and kittens, my garden, and my home in the meantime. I’m going to enjoy this life that I have been given and not work it into the ground. This is my new philosophy…I’m giving up on writing as my job and putting it back where it belongs…in the category of enjoyable things. Thus endeth the lesson.

The Recovery

So, after yesterday’s post and the tragic ending of a beautiful life I feel that it’s necessary to try and balance that negative with a positive. In this day and age we have all been witness to the trails and tribulations of our modern world. We have watched innocents be slain in genocides, mass murders, and murder suicides. We have all watched as the moral decay in our society has grown disproportionately to the moral well being of humanity. The earth itself is in pain over the way we human beings have treated ourselves. The question is, why? Why do we allow ourselves to suffer so? Why have we broken our bodies and minds to the point of anxiety, suffering, loneliness, and shame that we have? We have all seen it. We all know it’s out there. Everyday we question ourselves as to, “How can someone do something like that?” or “How has humanity gotten to the point of such cruelty?” We long for heroes and to hear word of good doings. We look to the sky with hope that things will get better, and there my friend is the key. The fact that hope is still present and alive in the human animal is what allows us the opportunity to change the world one person at a time, starting with our self.

We have all heard the call down deep inside us. The desire to be the best we can be. We long to fulfill our potential, so why not start today? There’s a book out there that’s been around for a while now. You may already be one of the ragpickers who have read it, maybe you haven’t, yet. I first read the book a little over 16 years ago and it helped change my life for the better. You see 17 years ago I was one of those people drowning myself in booze and drugs, looking for a way out of the thing I feared most, humanity. It’s easy to see the world in all its awfulness and then justify to yourself why you don’t want to be a part of society. The fact of the matter, though, is that it’s nothing more than fear. Fear that you may actually live up to your potential and then be responsible for not only your life, but the lives of those you touch. It becomes easy to say that you don’t matter and that no one will notice if you’re not a part of the game, but we all know that’s a cop out. We all have that gut feeling that tells us we do matter, we want to matter. The time has come to face the fear people. The book is called “The Greatest Miracle in the World” it is written by Og Mandino and it does carry the secret to peace of mind and happiness, seriously.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a religious person. I am without doubt spiritual, I always have been. I don’t believe that you have to be either Christian or religious in any manner to read this book and arrive at the benefits from it. While the book may seem to have a religious context to it, the message is actually much deeper than any religion ever has been. The story is an instruction manual, seriously, on how to alter your subconscious thought and create a positive mind that automatically sets your soul to heal itself and the souls of others. It trains your mind to become an instrument of hope. I strongly suggest that every person read it and sincerely follow through with the 100 days. It will change your life. I read the book again last night, after 16 years and I can see how it changed mine. Funny thing as I began to read the memorandum again, tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn’t stop them; something inside me knew that I have been witness to the greatest miracle in the world. Honestly.

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Miracle-World-Og-Mandino/dp/0553259148/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252764921&sr=1-2

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio.”

But do you ever really know someone? A very macabre topic today as I talk about the death of one of R’s co-workers. Seemingly a man that had it all together; a hard worker, nice guy, well liked, family man, had been at the company for many years, and then…

Last night I get a call from R who tells me they had just learned that this man had shot himself in the head and had died. Probably the most horrific thing about this is that he did it in front of his two children (R believes they are both in their teens). I can’t begin to imagine the horror of witnessing such an act and while my heart, and the hearts of all who knew the family, goes out to them; I can hardly think that any consolation is even the slightest bit comforting.

As near as people can figure he was under financial and marital strain but, of course, no one expected or saw any signs of this coming. I guess when something like this happens it’s never really expected, huh? I mean if it were then there would be a chance that the person could get help and maybe the end result would be a happier ending with the person surviving. It’s a very sad thing indeed but I also feel some anger here.

Not only did this man leave his children with a memory that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, he also left them with no means of financial help. He had paid into his life insurance and pension for all those years and now, his children are left without anything because of the suicide. I realize that this man must have been in immense pain to do what he did, but it was a selfish act indeed. It makes me think of others who have taken their own lives and/or the lives of others, and what it boils down to is selfishness. Sorry if I sound crass here but what right do these people have to destroy the lives of those they leave behind. I mean, it’s bad enough that they have taken their light, or someone else’s light from the world but it’s just down right selfish that they have also drawn the light from the people left behind who loved them.

I’ve suffered loss in my life, both of my parents passed on before I was an adult. Theirs’ was a natural death and that hurt plenty, I can assure you. But to witness the taking of a life of someone as close and dear to you as a parent…leaves me in the dark. It’s impossible to make any sense out of a senseless act and yet we try. The best I can come up with is selfishness. The person, this man, didn’t want to deal with his difficult life anymore so he opted out leaving his children to bear the burden alone and then adding to their pain on top of it. I’m sad. I’m angry. I’m sorry for the topic of this post but I needed to vent. Send thoughts, prayers, healing energy to the family, sure. What else is there to do?

Just Another One of Those Poem Things in the Works

Making a Meaning

Can anyone make sense of life, real sense?
Who can call the cards before they fall?
Who can sing the song of the prophetess?
Life is splayed before our eyes and
even then
the sense has left us.

There is no waiting in the wings for the
Bird of Paradise has gone the way of the Phoenix.
The electric sensation of the heartbeat filled kiss
prolonged and left for wanting
in the memory of
beings.

Singing in the soul the creation of beauty
the lifeforce of the fermata
which slips into silence and
exhilarates the blood in the living creature;
we who crawl into the
world of forgotten midst and
burst into fury.

There is no collar for the savage
creator of our own mind.
The deck cannot be stacked or
counted on for anything but
the toss of the dice and the lady
whose luck is not her own.

Beyond the door of the setting sun
the fire ignites the path of recollection
and foresight.
But who is it that can gaze on the
corona and still contemplate the fate
before them?

Over the Edge

I know it must seem like I had fallen off the edge of the earth or something. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve posted. Frankly, though, those who know me should expect this from time to time. I, like many other people, find obstacles to put in the way of daily writing. Oh…and did I mention that I fell off the edge of the earth. *kidding*

What can I say? I just haven’t written for the blog. No real excuse, just haven’t been doing it. I have been writing, but I’ve also been doing other things as well. Still playing the RPGs, sewing, and gardening, taking care of family, dealing with health issues of my own, and basically living that thing we call life. I suppose that nagging feeling finally got to me and I could no longer resist the urge to put something on the blog. I don’t really have a topic today but I thought…Does everyone know that there is a total solar eclipse happening today? It’s true, across India and Asia the sun will go dark for what will be the longest solar eclipse of this century. It will last for a whole 6.7 minutes and apparently cause millions of superstitious folk to do many a bizarre thing.



Honestly, from what I understand there are many people in India who believe that the eclipse is such an evil omen that they will go to extreme ends to prevent their child from being born on the day of an eclipse. Others, will bath in sacred waters and some will use the day to create chaos and cause bloodshed. What will you do today? Oh…well there’s going to be a total solar eclipse so I thought I would go out and massacre a few hundred folk. What about you? Very unsettling.

I wonder how it is that the superstition over shadows the science? Really, I have to say that I feel it. It’s like a churning in the gut, the possibility of something more being out there. Even though we know what causes the eclipse maybe there’s still something mystical, or spiritual that happens to human beings during the time of the eclipse. Perhaps something is triggered in the world archetype when all minds are focused on the same event, maybe we are providing it with the power we feel. Could it be that our Gods have the power they have because we will it into being? Just asking. Energy is energy, right? If we focus the spark on kindling we create fire. Basically we’ve exchanged one form of energy for another. Mystic happenings…maybe our focus causes the energy to take on a new form. Just sayin’.

I Am the Virginal Sacrifice

It’s true; I was sacrificed as a virgin last night. But, I’ll tell you more about that in a minute. First, I’d just like to point out that I haven’t made my new posts on a regular basis, sorry. Shit happens, man. What can I say? It’s strange, though, the number of hits have remained pretty constant. Ok, ok…back to the virginal sacrifice.

There I was lying on a porcelain slab which was in the shape of a crescent moon. I was held down by some mystical force, completely prone, totally defenseless. The four of them held a huge five foot long sword and together they chanted over my body. Each of them, in turn, cut their own hand and let the blood run over me. They continued their chant in a language that seemed to be some sort of basterdized Latin. I vaguely recalled some of the large black symbols that were scrawled around me. I had seen four large symbols on the floor when they brought me in. Each of the four were standing on one of the four symbols that surrounded the alter. I knew, from previous run ins with them, that they were of the Cult of Lilith. This was not boding well for me.

As the chanting continued my anxiety rose. I knew this was going to be the end of me. I watched, helpless, as the sword was raised above my body by the tall, good-looking one who had given me this life. He smiled at me while a small bit of his blazing red hair fell free from the ponytail, as he plunged the sword into my stomach, right through my belly button and beyond me into and through the alter. There was no blood. There was a tremendous rush of pain which seared into my being. I was unable, even, to scream. The chanting grew louder, and my thoughts and feelings swirled around as if they were becoming one.

I began to feel warm, something that I hadn’t experienced for the last several months. I could feel my body pulsating as a horrifying scream penetrated my ears and ruptured any last strength I had. As I lay there slowly slipping into torpor, he leaned over my face, smiled, and kissed my forehead. He pulled the sword from my stomach, it was different somehow. It no longer resembled the cold steel metal that had been driven through me, now, it had an ichor black glow to it. Still unable to react, I saw them stand, turn and leave. The building around me was on fire, there were pieces of burning ceiling falling to the floor on the other side of the room. I laid there.

Finally, when I thought my end was coming, Harper lifted me from the alter threw me over her shoulder and ran. When we reached Lady Imogen’s house I was placed on a cold tile floor, held down by Harper, Jake, and PD. Lady Imogen slit her wrist, the blood leached down my throat and I began to move, to struggle, to come out of my torpor. I wanted more, and I tried to grab her arm to keep the coppery liquid flowing into my mouth, but I was held fast. She drew away and I was back, able to move again; but I needed to feed.

To say the least, the night was eventful. There were many, many things happening all around that night. The Prince of the city has formally declared war. Things are so bad right now, that the werewolves are helping us. Yeah, can you say “bad things are happening”? Icky ichor and Banes are showing up all over the place. There is something draining the spirit life from the Umbra, leaving the world cold and dead. I don’t know what my role in all of this is yet, but I know I’m an essential piece of the puzzle. And I wonder, as I look through the unhealing hole in my stomach, and study the bloodless white dress; why me? My sire said he chose me because I was a virgin, I’m his preferred feed, but is that why I was sacrificed? What about the others who were made with me that night? We were all deliberately chosen by our sires, what does that mean? Has the Cult of Lilith completed its task? Maybe, or maybe, their turns are yet to come.

So, I’m hoping that by now you’ve deduced that this story was my latest Vampire update. It’s was an awesome game last night and I look forward to its continued awesomness. Things are really heating up. Yeah!

BTW – Do you know how hard it is to find a decent picture of a classical virgin sacrifice?

Fairytales

Once upon a forever ago there was a blog writer who tried to write her entries with some degree of regularity. Unfortunately, her life took hold and things got into the way and prevented her from writing. That in itself wasn’t too bad, but after a while she lost interest and turned her thoughts elsewhere. She found it difficult to focus her attention on a blog that she felt just wasn’t doing all that well anyway. So, in her mind she justified not writing in it for a long time.

Then one day, after checking her blog count she realized that she had a large count. In other words, people were reading it. She continued to track her blog hits and found, ironically, that she was receiving more hits since she had stopped writing than when she was pursuing it regularly. While this was perplexing to her, she found it very interesting as well and thought she would try an experiment.



She wrote a new post and put it up on her blog, and then she waited. She decided she would track the number of hits the new post received to see if the interest would continue. So, with an anxious mood, she waited, and waited. But, since it had only been a few minutes since her post, she was unable to retrieve any useful information. She called it a day and figured she would check tomorrow.

In the meantime she planned her children’s D&D game for the evening. They’ve come pretty far and have realized that the old mansion they are in is not haunted after all. It was, in fact, being used by smugglers who attempted to keep people at bay by making the place appear to be haunted. And yes, while she did have to semi lead them in that direction, given their ages of 9, 10, 11, and 13 they did a remarkable job on their own. Tonight, they have the clean up work. They need to finish going through the mansion so that they can collect all their bootie. They have killed all the smugglers but there is still a room full of skeletons for them to take care of, unbeknownst to them of course.



In the end, the writer closed her new blog entry with the promise of letting people know how the whole tracking experiment went and how the D&D turns out. And perhaps, just perhaps, the writer will once again make a serious attempt to post on a regular basis.

The End

I Think

I think I’ve been feeling a bit guilty for not writing on the blog lately, although, it’s a two way road. Honestly, I really just haven’t felt like blogging. I’ve been spending a lot of time working on my book but even that probably hasn’t been what’s robbing me of my motivation. Facebook has been taking up a good deal of time lately. I find myself spending a good two hours on it when I log on, either talking to friends or just catching up on all of the game stuff that is sent to me. I don’t really need to be on there, but it has been nice visiting with my friends. I suppose I’m allowing it to be a distraction, or an excuse for not writing. When it comes down to it, though, I think the real reason is that I don’t really feel like I have anything that important to say. I find that I’ve thought about writing on several occasions, but I’m having trouble coming up with a topic. I guess I figure if I don’t have anything to say, then why say anything? That said, this entry is strictly written to relieve that guilt feeling I have growing in the back of my mind.

I don’t like the idea of neglecting the blog for several different reasons. One, I don’t want people who may be following the blog to think that I’ve abandoned it. Two, when I don’t put forth an entry I feel like I’m slacking on a project that I have undertaken. Three, I feel guilt because when I don’t write, I also neglect reading other people’s blogs. That makes me feel like I’m letting those people down.

While I have a strong desire to create an entry each day, that obviously will not happen. I do try to post on a fairly regular basis, though, but even that suffers at times. So, the long and short of it is this. I suppose I’ll post when I feel like I have something worth posting, otherwise I won’t. I will, and I do, try to come up with topics that I feel are worth the post because I would like to keep them coming on at least a semi-regular basis. I guess we’ll have to see what happens.

One last thing…just in case you haven’t heard. President Obama will be coming to Elkhart this Monday, the 9th. From what I understand, since Elkhart now holds the honorable position of the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the president will be drawing attention to the need to rebuild America’s industries. I think this should be interesting and just thought that some of you may like to know that.

So, there you have it, my guilt entry. Maybe the mere act of writing an entry will spur me on to further entries. I guess we’ll have to see. TTFN

I’m in a Stupor

Really, I want to do some serious writing, but I’m having some trouble here. While I’d like to do this Blog entry, I would actually prefer to be working on my novel. The problem with that, though, is there’s too much activity going on right now to be able to bring my thoughts together. So…frustration ensues.

My brain is spending a little bit of time here and a little bit of time there, but I can’t seem to bring enough of it together to even get an entry out of it. Honestly, it’s taken over an hour just to get this far.

I have 19 year old daughter in crisis mode, 9 year old son in birthday day mode, birthday cake bake mode, chicken and noodles super mode, writing mode, cats on the table mode and the world has gone and left my brain to cope. That’s a dangerous thing to do.

So, today’s entry is just this. Here’s hoping tomorrow I can get things together. Peace.

Where to Now?

Time for a new poem. I felt the need to create today and so, here is the first draft. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess. Don’t mind the picture (45grave); it doesn’t really go with the poem. I just felt like being a bit obscure.

Far Away

Far away the world falls
into a blackend oath after
scaling the nerve of
scratching nails down the chalkboard

Watching letters of no one fly
past the window of opportunity
into a dark night of
anxiety and pleasure

Shock absorber walls keep out
undesirable thoughts
and deeds
Inside a trapped innocence
battered, broken, bleeding

The lives of many hold
the few torn remnants of a
wishing world turned inside out
Ready to take on the
Master

Far away she sings in the garden
looking out into humanity
feeling, pleading, loving,
vigilant.

Caressing the moment of respite
that has become her anchor
of redemption
creating a new life within
the tattered womb of isolation

The beginning moments of a
charitable love fall backwards
through the last sentiments of
a long ago day where time stands
still then erupts into echo

Far away they leave
forgetting that they once lived
sheltered in the garden where
the echoes of birth have faded

Israel and Gaza Continued....Humanity

Here we stand on the edge of one more humanitarian crisis in the world today. Where does end? Will it ever? Of course these are unanswerable questions at this time and place in history. One thing we do know is that humanitarian crises have occurred time and again throughout history, and still, they continue. It is up to humanity as a united front to put a stop to it. Does that mean, intervening in political battles, or jailing those we deem to be guilty? Some people may feel that it’s a necessary action due to the lack of other options at this time. Possibly. I think it’s going to take a huge overhaul in the mentality of the human animal before a true humanitarian concern becomes the status quo. Educating people to the plights of those suffering may help. If a person is first unaware of another’s suffering, or misinformed as to why they are suffering; it stands to reason that they’re not going to be concerned. But, I think humanitarianism goes far beyond that. I think there is a crucial state of being that needs to be present within the human psyche. A humanitarian, to me, is a type of person just as an artist is an artist, or an engineer an engineer. These are traits, characteristics…skills…that a person learns and develops through intentional practice. Humanitarianism requires that a person be able to consciously act against their own interest in a situation, when it will provide a means or way for another being to live a better, less sufferable life. Sometimes this can be a difficult road, especially if that person lacks adequate training. You wouldn’t expect a weather person to perform brain surgery. Why expect someone who has never been given humanitarian training to act humanely? I’m just sayin’. While some of you may believe that most people carry a compassionate trait in them; I’m saying humanitarianism goes beyond. Want to learn? Start by practicing patience…next time you go to the store intentionally pick the longest line and then, wait. Can you do it without feeling anxious or annoyed? If so, then you may be on your way. If not, keep at it until you can. K, today’s post isn’t about lessons in humanitarianism. It’s about the crisis in Palestine. Remember, the whole educating people who may be unaware or misinformed thing mentioned earlier? Well, that’s what this is about today. Maybe some future posts will have more exercises in humanitarian training…be patient ;-)



The occupied territories, Gaza and the West Bank have effectively been under siege since Britain left the lands in 1947. We’ve had the history, so you know that’s when Israel claimed the land after several Arab nations declared war on Israel and Israel was victorious. Since that time many Palestinian families have been displaced. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 600,000 Palestinian families were uprooted from their homes at that time, in what was now Israeli land, and relocated to refugee camps in areas that included Gaza and the West Bank. The remaining refugee areas were eventually handed back to the Arab nations, but Gaza and the West Bank remained under Israeli authority. There has now been two generations of Palestinians who have known no other life, than existence in a refugee camp, overseen by Israel. These are people who, for the last 60 plus years, have not been allowed to leave the sealed off West Bank and Gaza strip, without Israeli permission. Think Russia, during the cold war. It takes a great deal of money, power, and manipulation to obtain a pass out of these areas. That means, they are not free to visit America, or Syria, or even their remaining family members who live outside of the West Bank, or Gaza Strip without special papers and permission from Israel. In other words, they are captives whose basic freedoms are denied on an enormous scale. But, this is just the beginning.

How would you feel if you had to ask permission to cross the street so you could go to the store and buy food for your family? How would you react to being told that you were not allowed to send your children to school on some given day or days? How about not being allowed to work? Would any of these situations upset you? Answer honestly, and we all know that of course they would. We wouldn’t stand for it. But, these are the conditions Palestinians have been living in for the last 60 years. And who’s blinking an eye?

Of course, this too is only the beginning. Besides being denied access on a regular basis to places of daily life, let alone travel out of the country, many times food, fuel, and medical supplies are stopped from coming in. Hmmm…let’s see…this is not a starving Ethiopian suffering from conditions beyond his control. This is a Palestinian child suffering due to the impossible living conditions placed on him by an occupying state.

Again I ask, what if this was your life? What if this was your child? What if you knew your child was starving to death because of the restrictions placed on you by the governmental authority ruling over your state?

Alright, let’s talk about what it’s like to see that governmental authority in your presence everyday. You consider yourself fortunate because you have been given papers that allow you to hold a job, many you know are not. You leave at 5 AM walking your half an hour walk to your job. On the way you must pass through 2 check points guarded by soldiers. At the first check point you present your papers, then your body is searched, a stranger’s hands rub up and down your arms and legs, your torso is patted down, then you are told to sit and wait. You stay at that check point waiting for over an hour with no explanation as to why you have been detained. Finally, you are allowed to pass. When you get to the second check point you find out that it has been shut down. There is no access in or out until further notice. This may be a matter of minutes, hours, possibly even days. You sit and wait. It’s now 9 AM; you were supposed to be to work by 5:30. The check point opens, after standing in line you present your papers, are patted down and allowed through after watching many others be denied for no apparent reason. By, 10:00 you make it to work. You head back home at 4 PM, going back through the check points, knowing you could be detained for any period of time. You are at the soldiers’ mercy.



When you arrive home you are excited at the news that your wife was able to buy flour today. There was no produce allowed into the market but you have meat and bread. Your son and daughter work on their homework. At 7PM you hear the announcement over the area’s loud speaker, a curfew has been put into place until further notice. You hear gunfire at the end of the street, screaming, after a bit it gets quite. You stay in your home being sure to avoid the windows. In the morning you don’t bother getting up for work the curfew is still in effect. You understand that a curfew here means anyone caught outside their home after a curfew has been established will be shot. Your children’s homework goes ungraded and you hope the flour your wife bought will be enough to get your family through until the curfew is lifted. Over the next 2 days you listen to the sounds of sporadic gun fire and feel the rumbling tanks making their way down your street past your front door. You think how nice it would be to have some more meat to go with the small bit of bread that’s left. Finally, after 3 days the curfew is lifted and you are allowed to begin your day’s journey back to work. When you get home that night you discover that on their way to school your children came under gunfire and had to take cover in a blown out building. The group they travel with came out ok, this time. – If you think this scenario is embellished in any way, you’re wrong. This is what it is like to live in the West Bank and Gaza under Israeli occupation. Could you / would you live like this?

The latest outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza is just one more incident of hatred and fear building up to an explosive point. Living under inhumane conditions would drive all of us to desperate measures. What if this was your child?



Understand that Israel claims this treatment is necessary to protect their people. That they have been the victims of bombardments and suicide bombs there is no doubt. Israel is certainly threatened by many of the surrounding Arab countries, and weaponry is in no small supply where terrorists are concerned. But let’s face it after 60 plus years of living the way the Palestinians have been forced to live is it any wonder things are getting worse instead of better. What is taking place, and has been taking place, is ethnic cleansing plain and simple. Most Palestinians only want to live a normal life, where they can go to work, earn a living, and provide an education for their children. A humanitarian crisis has developed over the years to a point beyond reproach. The world (WE) must stand up and demand the end to this. No person…no human being…should ever be subjected to conditions such as this. You know it, I know it. You wouldn’t stand for it if it were you. Are you willing to stand for it because it’s not?

Israel and Gaza at War....Politics

The Political Perspective


I plan on presenting both sides of the political battle here as best as I can. Please keep in mind that Israel has a more open media policy than does Hamas. In fact, the information regarding the Hamas perspective, their goals, and their ideology has mostly come from US sources such as; the FAS (Federation of American Scientists) and the CRS (Congressional Research Service), and the Washington Institute. Now, while I would like to think these are reliable sources, it does need to be noted to anyone reading this that this is where the information has come from. I also read the news from the Al Jazeera web site, that’s about as close as I can get to any actual Palestinian political input. The following pictures of the Israeli government and Hamas are presented in a manner that, without doubt, influences the senses into one of civility VS terror, but keep in mind, too, that access to Hamas photos is also very limited. My past experience in activism and input from friends has also influenced my perspective, so please keep all of this in mind. Thank you.

Israel:


Israel was given a large majority of Palestinian land between the 1920s and the 1950s by the UN. By 1967, due to wars/attacks instigated both by Israel and Arab nations Israel came to occupy the West Bank and the Gaza strip, originally dedicated to Palestine in 1947. It’s easy for Israel to look at the West Bank and Gaza as a benefit of war. When one country wins a war it’s only natural for that country to occupy the land in which it has claimed. This outlook has been around since the dawn of time. So, in the eyes of Israel, they fought and died for their right to exist not only in Israel proper but also in the occupied territories. In their agreement to give the West Bank and Gaza back over to the Palestinians they feel they have made a great compromise. Israelites will be displaced, some who have lived in the occupied territories for a long time, and new accommodations within Israel proper will need to be made for them. The main thing that Israel is asking for is that the Arab nations recognize their right to exist as a nation, and allow them to live in peace and safety.

Israel states that in 2005 they withdrew from the occupied territories, allowing for the self-government of the Palestinian people. After the Palestinian elections in 2006 the West Bank fell under the jurisdiction of Fatah (formerly the PLO), while Gaza fell under the authority of Hamas. Fatah has been recognized as a legitimate governing body by both Israel and the UN. Hamas, on the other hand, is only recognized by the Arab states; in the eyes of Israel and the US Hamas is a terrorist group. This has brought on two different forms of negotiation between Israel and the West Bank, and Israel and Gaza. While fighting has lessened in the West Bank an onslaught of attacks has continued between Israel and the Gaza strip. The latest outbreak that we are now witnessing has occurred because Hamas claims Israel broke the latest peace treaty by denying the entry of essential food and medical supplies into the Gaza strip, and so began unleashing rockets in retaliation. Israel claims that the accusations from Hamas are untrue and that they have been under sporadic rocket attack all year. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IMFA) claims that 1,212 rockets and 1,290 mortar bombs fired from the Gaza Strip have struck southern Israel since the beginning of the year (Jan-Nov 2008). They believe Hamas has broken the truce and they feel it is their duty to defend the Israeli people. Israel does not recognize Hamas as a legitimate government; they see them solely as terrorists and will not concede to a Palestinian terrorist state. Israel claims that they are deeply concerned for the humanitarian condition of the Palestinian peoples within the Gaza strip, but they believe their ultimate safety and well being falls to the responsibility of Hamas. Israel is basically saying, enough is enough, lets end this now. They are tired of dealing with hostile people who they believe will not stop until Israel is conquered, and so, they must defend themselves until a sure victory is had.

Hamas:


Came into being in 1967 as a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, They grew into Hamas during the first intifada in the 80s. Their agenda is based strongly on Islamic Fundamentalism and their popularity within the Gaza strip has grown over the years. In the 2006 elections Hamas was voted into power and recognized as the ruling authority in Gaza by the Palestinian people. Fatah was elected by the peoples of the West Bank as their governing authority. The ideologies of Hamas and Fatah are deeply at odds when it comes to the recognition of Israel. Fatah is willing to recognize Israel as a state and negotiate with Israel. Hamas on the other hand takes the position that Israel never had a right to their land, that it was given to Israel under false pretence and that they hold no rights to it. They are calling for the complete withdraw of Israel from Palestine proper according to the Pre-1947 boundaries. It is widely believed that should Hamas be victorious that open warfare between Hamas and Fatah would follow.

Many of the Palestinians who have chosen to support Hamas have done so because they feel that Fatah has been ineffective in resolving the Palestinian crisis. They have seen year after year of occupation and oppression. They have been removed from their land, denied many basic human rights and feel that Israel is their enemy. They believe Israel’s primary goal is to eliminate them as a people and that Fatah is helping them to achieve that goal by negotiating with them. They strongly believe that Israel is a terrorist state. Combine that belief with the belief that Israel has taken their lands illegally and you have one volatile mixture.

It is believed that Hamas is being funded primarily by Iran, and probably by Jordan and some groups in Saudi Arabia. Hamas relies on violence as its chief means of achieving its goals. They believe that a truce is to be used as a means of regrouping and regaining their strength. Until Israel makes them a “serious” offer, which includes the complete withdraw from Palestine (pre-1947), they will not end the jihad (holy war). They have openly declared in propaganda pamphlets that Palestinians should “increase attacks with knives, grenades, and guns against the cowardly Jews in their houses and turn the day into darkness and the nights into intolerable hell * * * view every Jewish settler as a target to be killed, whose blood and money are for the taking.” [From the FAS / CRS ]

Looking at things through this perspective certainly gives one a feeling of hopelessness when it comes to seeking a tolerable solution to this problem. Keep in mind, though, that there are many, many Palestinians who do want peace. They would like nothing more than to be able to raise their children in safety, send them to school, go to work, and have a “normal” life. These are the people who unfortunately become the victims of this horrific battle. There have been so many painful and intolerable acts committed on both sides of this war that I believe its very difficult, if not fully impossible to cast blame on any one people. The fact of the matter is this…the politics of this situation has cost too many people their lives. Men, women, and children have been suffering for generations and the political aspect, negotiations, and wars have done little, if anything, to resolve the crisis. I believe that the only solution is to be found through a united humanitarian front. That front begins with educating people about the humanitarian crisis that has taken place and continues throughout the lands of Israel and Palestine. The next post will be an attempt to do just that.

Israel and Gaza at War...Continued

Are we ready for the next entry in the Israel, Gaza conflict? I hope so. Now, this post is bound to be controversial. I fully expect to hear about it from somebody, but I intend to speak my mind nonetheless. So without further ado and invoking the previous day’s warnings, here we go.

1. I have friends on both sides of this conflict, Jewish and Arab alike, I love you all but I’m sure that some of what I may say will piss you off. Sorry. I’m going to say it anyway. For those who know me, I would hope that you would feel free to express your views on this matter knowing that I fully respect your thoughts and opinions. That does not mean that my views will change. It does mean that I am willing to hear what you have to say. For anyone else who wishes to comment please know this; your opinions will be equally respected, acknowledged, and considered providing they are given with dignity and tact, and are free from bigoted, slanderous, or hateful remarks.
2. My primary interest in this conflict is humanitarian, not political, but I intend to cover diverse subject matter. This means that this post will be VERY long. I will be subdividing it into the following topics: The history of the conflict; The terrorist perspective; The political perspective; The humanitarian perspective
3. Lastly, some of the discussion and many of the pictures may be difficult for some people to deal with. Please know that my only intent is to draw attention to the serious nature of this conflict in hopes that we may soon see an end to a most horrific situation.

The Terrorist Perspective:


The question that’s begging to be asked in my mind is, “What defines a terrorist?” or “What makes a person a terrorist?” To me, I think the definition is completely relative. I think it all depends on how you look at the situation. In other words – terrorism is in the eyes of the beholder.

Now, I feel that anyone who finds it necessary to kill another human being in order to get something they want, regardless of what that is, is a person who has a lot of moral dilemmas to work out. But lets face it people, a terrorist is a person whose goals, and or agenda, is contrary to the dominating government entity and who takes violent measures to achieve their goal/s. The governing body at the moment will always determine who the terrorists are.

This means that, yes; the people responsible for founding our country were technically terrorists. I would think that you would be hard pressed to find a person in the 18th century British ruling party who thought otherwise. There have been many acts of terrorism throughout human history and it is always the people whose views or principals that are being challenged who jump on the term and tag their opponents as terrorists.



The fact of the matter, though, is like it or not, the so called terrorists may have a fierce principal that they are standing up for, such as say; freedom from oppression. Whatever the reason, a terrorist is only a terrorist to those who oppose him. To others, he/she is a freedom fighter, or even a hero.

I know this argument has been made before, but I think it’s valid and worth reminding people that we need to take a good hard look at those we deem terrorists and try to understand why they are acting the way they are. If we don’t we will never find peace. Also, it doesn’t matter who the terrorists are, when it comes to war people die. And that’s what’s at the bottom of our outrage when it comes to acts of terrorism. People die, and we hurt for them. We don’t want to hurt for the terrorist because they are the ones who have caused the initial pain, and so we label them evil and dismiss their pain. We demonize them, make them less than human so that we can justify to ourselves our own hatred and pain. I think that may be human nature, but it doesn’t change the fact that somewhere out there is someone who has been pushed to the brink by a force that he/she deems to be oppressive.




A terrorist believes that their only recourse is violence. This is why it is near impossible to reason with them or make them believe that other alternatives could be more effective. In their minds, all other options have already failed. This doesn’t make for a very promising outcome. Either the terrorists lose, or the ruling government loses. You would think that a terrorist could see the lack of his/her own best interest in this scenario, but lets face it, too many times throughout history terrorists have been successful. That information probably doesn’t help in the dissuading of a terrorist. I mean think about it. You’ve watched your loved ones suffer, possibly die, under the current regime. You’ve had everything taken from you and are left with no means to express your voice and outrage. You can either give in and except the oppressed life that you’ve been handed, or you can fight. If you fight there’s a good chance that you’ll lose but at least you’ll go out defending your right to live as you see fit, and maybe you’ll be able to set enough of an example that others will follow in your footsteps, hence, keeping the fight alive. Maybe not in your life time, but at some point, the people you care about will be able to live in a manner of their own choosing. And, there is at least some chance that you could win. What would you do?

I know enough people, here in the US, who would be willing to fight to the death over stupider causes than one’s freedom. When a person is desperate they take desperate measures. I don’t think we’re all that far removed, yet, from the animal instinct that causes a strike when cornered. Am I defending terrorism? That’s actually a tough question. Personally, as close to a pacifist as I am; I am not a total pacifist. If I’m being attacked, I’ll defend myself. If I watched a government slaughter my family, or others that I cared about, and then lock me away. I’d have to say; damn straight I’d fight back. Let’s face it that’s one of the things that makes us who we are. Can anyone say…Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood? Hell, I don’t think there’s an American out there today who can’t relate to the movies these guys have been in. Let’s face it, they have all fought (and won) to defend their, beliefs, way of life, and loved ones. In the eyes of a terrorist, they see their self in the way Hollywood makes us see our pop idles. Defenders of what’s good and what’s right, and to them, that’s worth dying for.

Tomorrow I’m going to take a look at the political perspective. Today’s post was rather general in that it didn’t specifically speak on any Israeli or Palestinian terrorist. I guess I did that intentionally. I wanted to examine why a terrorist, any terrorist, chooses that course of action. Tomorrow I’ll focus more directly on the ruling parties of Israel and Hamas, and their political interests. Oh and, sorry for the last picture…I couldn’t resist.

Israel and Gaza at War

Alright, so here we go. Unless you’ve been living in a hole lately you should be aware that Israel and Palestine have resumed fighting in Gaza. Now, before I get fully into this post I feel that’s it’s necessary to post several warnings to anyone who chooses to read this.
1. I have friends on both sides of this conflict, Jewish and Arab alike, I love you all but I’m sure that some of what I may say will piss you off. Sorry. I’m going to say it anyway. For those who know me, I would hope that you would feel free to express your views on this matter knowing that I fully respect your thoughts and opinions. That does not mean that my views will change. It does mean that I am willing to hear what you have to say. For anyone else who wishes to comment please know this; your opinions will be equally respected, acknowledged, and considered providing they are given with dignity and tact, and are free from bigoted, slanderous, or hateful remarks.
2. My primary interest in this conflict is humanitarian, not political, but I intend to cover diverse subject matter. This means that this post will be VERY long. I will be subdividing it into the following topics: The history of the conflict; The terrorist perspective; The political perspective; The humanitarian perspective
3. Lastly, some of the discussion and many of the pictures may be difficult for some people to deal with. Please know that my only intent is to draw attention to the serious nature of this conflict in hopes that we may soon see an end to a most horrific situation.

The History of the Conflict:

Prior to WWI the Middle East was under Ottoman rule. At the onset of the war Turkey sided with Germany. The British government persuaded the other Arab nations to fight against Turkey by promising them independent rule after the war. With the aid of the Arab nations Palestine was conquered.

Unbeknownst to the Arab nations, however, Britain had also made two other agreements which were contradictory to the agreement made with the Arab nations. First was the Sykes-Picot Agreement made with France. This agreement stated that Lebanon and Syria would fall to France as a zone of influence, while Jordan and Iraq would be dominated by British influence. Palestine was to become internationalized. The second agreement was made between Britain and the Zionist congress. In the Balfour Declaration of 1917 Britain gave Palestine to the Zionists as a Jewish national home. Despite the fact that there were over half a million Palestinians living in Palestine at the time, a slogan stating “A land without people for a people without land” was widely circulated as a means of drawing in a new Jewish population to Palestine. After WWI a large population of Jewish people began migrating to Palestine under the blessings of Britain and the League of Nations in accordance to the Balfour Declaration.

In 1919 the Palestinian people made an official objection to the Balfour Agreement during their first national conference. But by 1920 Britain had been given “official” rule over Palestine according to a mandate declared at the San Remo Conference. By 1922 attacks on the Jewish population in Palestine were increasing. The Palestinians feared the next step beyond the migration, which was declaring Palestine a Jewish state.

In 1936 Palestinians organized a strike to protest the confiscation of land that was taking place. Palestinians were being removed from their homes, some of which had been in their families for generations, and the land was given to Jewish settlers. In 1937 the Peel Commission recognized the conflict as irresolvable and recommended the division of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states with neutral sacred sites. In accordance to this recommendation Britain declared that there would be an independent Palestinian state within ten years. The Zionists rejected this declaration in 1939 and formed two terrorist sects which began a new war between both Palestine and Britain, but Britain remained in control until 1947. By the end of WWII (1945) Palestine’s land ownerships had been divided between Palestinian and Jewish occupants.


By 1947, though, Britain was struggling more and more to maintain control and decided to withdraw from Palestine, leaving the newly formed UN with the decision of what to do. The UN opted to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. The Palestinians revolted declaring their desire for retribution for the Israeli terrorist attacks and massacres that had taken place, as well as the land that had been confiscated.

On May 15th, 1948 Britain withdraws from Palestine leaving an official recognition of the existence of a Jewish state. This day brought with it a full out attack on Israel from the surrounding Arab nations who, in conjunction with Palestine, declared war on Israel. This was the first Arab-Israeli war. Palestine, Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq joined together in an attempt to prevent the Jewish state from coming to be. The Arab nations were defeated and treaties were made which placed the Gaza strip under Egyptian control and the West Bank under Jordan’s control. The remaining area fell to Israel and of the 800,000 people living in the now Israeli occupied land, only 170,000 remained. The others became refugees in the surrounding Arab nations.


Over the next two decades conflicts, between Israel and the Arab nations, occurred over the Suez Canal and the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. In 1967 Egypt insisted that the UN forces which had been in place there, since the Suez Canal incident, leave. Upon the withdraw of UN forces Israel launched an attack against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on the 5th of June, known as the Six Day War. When the war concluded Israel had captured and occupied the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Arab East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Golan Heights. Soon after, terrorist attacks by members of the PLO began, claiming the redemption of Palestine as their objective.

In 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in an attempt to gain back the territory lost in 1967. The United States intervened and stopped the Arab forces. In retaliation to the US intervention the Arab nations banded together and halted the sale of oil to the US and other western nations, creating the oil shortage of the 70s. In 1974 Kissinger arranged a truce that gave Sinai back to Egypt and Golan Heights back to Syria. Israel maintained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. That same year the Arab Summit recognized the PLO as the only legitimate voice of the Palestinian people.

In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon in order to wipe out the PLO presence there. By 1987 the “Intifadas” had begun. These were uprisings that took place within the refugee camps of Gaza and the West Bank which included demonstrations, protests, and rock throwing. In 1990 Yasser Arafat went to the UN Security Council requesting protection for the Palestinian people within the Gaza and West Bank areas. In 1991 peace talks began. In 1993 Israeli PM Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat agree to allow the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to become self-ruled, but in 1995 PM Rabin is assassinated by a right-wing extremist. The Israeli right wing leader, Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the new Prime Minister in 1996.

In the years following we have seen too many treaties/agreements come and go. Today, the West Bank is governed by the Fatah led Palestinian Authority while the Gaza Strip falls under the mandates of Hamas. The Fatah party is recognized as a legitimate organization by Israel but the Hamas organization is seen as a group of terrorists. A recent breakdown of a treaty between Israel and Hamas is what has caused the current conflict. Israel claims Hamas broke the treay, Hamas claims Israel did. Who knows? But I do know this: Many Arab nations still wish to see Israel disbanded and declared a non-nation; while many Israelites believe that the Palestinians are incapable of governing themselves. Both of these claims, I believe are completely ludicrous. But here you have the basis for the current situation. I warned you this was going to be a Looooong post. It looks like I’ll be posting the other portions tomorrow. Of course, if I get on a roll this could span out over a few days; we’ll have to see. At any rate, now you know where all of the conflict is stemming from. It seems to me that both sides have made mistakes but well, let’s face it, Britain - this is really your fault. Now, I have to say that the US is also partially responsible since we were the ones who put together the League of Nations and the UN, and lets face it they played a pretty big role in all of this too. Unfortunately, the past is the past and nothing will ever change that, so let’s start looking at each other as human beings instead of ancestral monsters and stop this craziness now. Alright, I won’t make you read anymore today. Tomorrow; the Terrorist Perspective.

A Merry Christmas

So, Christmas has come and gone. The holiday rush is over and everyone is chillin’. Around here, all in all, things went well. We didn’t have a lot to spend on the kids but we were able to get them a few things each that they wanted. I think they were happy. Of course, G, our youngest got a broken toy two years in a row now. That really sucked, poor guy. We bought him a remote control dragon that was supposed to do all sorts of stuff including walking. G wanted to be able to walk over the top of his other toys and pretend he was crushing them, kind of a Godzilla thing, I think. He originally asked for a D-Rex, but yeah, right…179.00 dollars. I don’t think so. This one cost 40.00 a considerable difference and would have been perfect. He was very excited when he saw it. Unfortunately, the button on the remote that makes the dragon walk and makes his wings flap is the broken one. The darn thing will do everything else, its eyes light up, it roars, but no walkie. Figures. I plan on taking it back to the store this coming week but man, last year he had a broken dinosaur toy, too. So, the whole large reptilian toy thing just hasn’t been working out well. On the plus side, though, he absolutely loves the harmonica he received, so it wasn’t a waste for him. The other kids were all happy with their stuff, PC games, bedding, Bakugon, Nerf guns, Tini Puppinies, and skateboards all topped the list.



The older kids (the ones who now live on their own) all got a check. It works well for them. But… they also got some homemade sewn goodies. S&B got a Bears apron and overstuffed pillow, K&D got a Bears apron and a Colts overstuffed pillow, and G&J got extra-long fleece blankets. J stands about 7 foot tall so I thought that he may have a hard time finding a blanket that he can wrap up in. I made them each an 8 foot by 5 foot blanky. G’s has white Japanese letters (characters ?) against a black background. J’s has a woodland duck scene. I wanted to find him something cool like Star Wars, or D&D type stuff, but no luck. I think he liked it though. He’ll be able to cover up from head to foot and wrap his feet up, too. He said that they’ve had to keep an extra blanket down at the end of the bed so he can cover up his feet when they’re sleeping so I thin it was a good choice. C has asked for a Bears shirt to be made for him from the extra material. I told him I need to get a pattern, but I think it’s doable.

Well, so much for the Christmas updatey thing. I think I’ll be spending some time in the near future doing some writing. Besides the novel (that has been sorely neglected over the holidays), I also need to write an article and keep up on the blog entries. I submitted the poetry chapbook but I won’t hear anything on it until February. Keep your fingers crossed. Check ya later.

Christmas Holiday

K, so the holidays are here and in full swing. Despite the economic crunch I still have much baking, sewing, cleaning, and cooking to do. What does this mean to you? Probably not too much, unless of course, you’re a devoted reader of this blog who can’t seem to go a day without a fix. Yeah, yeah…I know there’s sooo many of you out there *wink*. Seriously, though, it does mean that there’s a good chance my posts will become more erratic for a while. This is not to say that they haven’t been erratic in the past, but I’m just trying to forewarn everyone. I’m considerate that way.

So on with the post of the day – Question: What do a pair of shoes, President Bush, and an Iraqi journalist all have in common?


Answer: If you haven’t heard…During President Bush’s last visit to Iraq an Iraqi journalist threw a pair of shoes at the, soon to be, ex-pres. Now, why shoes? In Iraq it is considered to be a great disgrace to have shoes thrown at you. I’m not exactly sure why, R’s take on the matter was that “You throw a shoe at a dog” which may very well be on track here. Bush was able to duck out of the way and was not injured or even touched by the shoes, but the man was arrested nonetheless.

A couple of things here – Bush’s reply, when asked about the incident, basically stated that he believed this to be the opinion of one man and not at all a reflection of the Iraqi populace’s feelings. My take…OMG get real Bush! Iraq has been thrown back into the dark ages here, their infrastructure destroyed, their way of life altered forever, and lets not forget to mention the tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children who have died as a direct result of this war that was waged in the name of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” that everyone but apparently Bush knew were not there. Can Bush, by any minute proportion, actually believe what he is saying? Good God, I give up!

Next, and this is really the most important point of my post today, so please if you pay attention to nothing else, read this –
The journalist who has a wife and family to care for has been placed under arrest. He is facing up to two years in prison for throwing a shoe people! Give me a freakn’ break. Let’s be honest here. Ok, so what he did could “technically” be considered (what?) an assault on a government official. What it actually boils down to is a frustrated man, who has been placed under extreme hardship conditions, living in a country where neither he nor his family can safely exist, who attempted to have his voice and frustration heard. He wanted Bush to understand that he blames him for the atrocities he has seen and still has to live with. And how did he do this? By throwing a shoe! Not a bomb, not a knife, he didn’t take a shot at him. He used a pretty harmless object, an object that anyone with children has probably witnessed flying through the air at some point in time. And for this, the man may receive two years in prison. What, long enough for his family to die under the current hardships faced by the people of Iraq? For throwing a shoe he and his family should be given a death sentence? I personally think it’s amazing that an actual attempt on Bush’s life wasn’t made by someone there. What about you? Do you think two years in an Iraqi prison is a bit too much? I’m very interested in knowing how others view this situation. Please, leave your thoughts.

And…Happy Holidays because even when the world sucks, life goes on.

Environmental Fugitives

I came across an interesting article today. It seems that there’s a new most wanted list out now. This list doesn’t concentrate on the average criminal, though. The new list highlights environmental fugitives. These are people who are either responsible for, or have aided others, in environmental crimes. Now they have fled in an attempt to evade justice. The list is a way to bring these people’s faces to the public so that it might be harder for them to hide and, therefore, get away with their crimes. Now, some may wonder what the big is regarding environmental crime, so I thought I’d put up some pictures today that show what the big is. The rest of this post will show the sad side of our world. These pictures show the way the world is in too many areas. Our planet is far from pristine, the last thing we need is people exploiting her for their financial gain. I mean really, that’s like them saying “I’m going to come over to your house today and dump some industrial waste in your backyard so I can make a buck. You don’t mind do you? How’s the kid’s sandbox work for you, ok?” The planet isn’t large so anything they do does affect us in some way whether it is dirty air or water, or toxic materials lying in wait. I hate to see this side of our world but it’s a good reminder that not everything in nature is beautiful and wondrous and that our planet needs help. I know I don’t want to look at something like the following for the rest of my life.

Air Pollution










Water Pollution







Nuclear Waste










Industrial Waste













Strip Mining