Just noticed, Amnesty is to release a report accusing coalition troops of torturing Iraqi POW's.


Then, Ray transmitted his weekly round-up. Hopefully we'll get more of this when he's back online - to me personally, an example of great weblogging. Enjoy.


Ranger's Commentary


Warning:

fas-cism (fash’iz’em) n.

A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.


** More PNAC

** On “half-hearted empire”

** Some of the joining of business and politics, tho a fairly tame look at it, actually, compared with many things I’ve seen.

** An angry writer that lets out some of the truths of the war that aren’t covered in the states too much, but again just a quick gloss. This writer actually argues for bringing Bush to a war crimes tribunal (along with Saddam); I know many people think these are crazy thoughts, but personally I think we’re going to live in constant war until we establish a supra-national body that can break through the sovereignty shield when great wrongs are committed. That’s exactly what America says it (and it alone, empty promises aside) has the right to do - only problem being, America doesn’t represent morality, it simply represents America (and not even that - it represents the wealthiest sliver of a percentile while actually playing fast and loose with the lives of the masses, the ones most likely to get hit when the next bomb goes). I’ve come to believe that nationalism has no place in a peaceful world - it creates false distinctions and lends itself to jingoism. Just as we had to grow from city-states to nations to end the majority of civil war, we now must grow from nations to The World in order to end the majority of our current fratricide (and the sister equivalent, I’ve been over here too long, forget the word). As long as people can look at Nazism and excuse it as a German quirk, they gain no lesson from it. It is a human quirk, and possible in any place, any society. Separating it from ourselves and sidestepping the necessary introspection is dangerous - it is how history repeats.
People used to like to talk about the evil Japanese, but just 70 years before their great war of conquest it was a very peaceful nation, a Buddhist nation in fact (albeit a rather corrupt form of Buddhism). It’s surprisingly easy to hijack nationalism. And people are shockingly blind to the errors inherent in themselves, as long as they are able to project it forth onto the ‘other.’
Tom Paine said, I believe, something along the lines of “My country is the world. My countrymen are all mankind.” Well, until we get closer to that, we ain’t gonna go anywhere but stay stuck in this cycle. I’ve said before that if we are ever to have hope of a peaceful world, it will take a massive power surrendering part of its sovereignty to a supra-national power. All others will follow. The institutions are in place. All America needs do is rethink the world, and we could do it. What a pity that instead America is descending into the familiar pattern of jingoism, conquest, overreaching, and eventual implosion. At this pivot point, we are turning the wrong way.

** I do enjoy all the comparisons between Clinton and Bush that come up these days... how everyone got so incredibly mad and outraged when Clinton lied about his personal extramarital affair, yet don’t blink an eye at Bush’s lies concerning national affairs (and the deaths such large decisions affect) are basically ignored, or jocularly referred to as necessary fictions to get the dander of Americans raised high enough that we’d go for their war(s).

** It speaks the feelings of some people that [this] site is becoming quite popular.

Many of you are likely familiar with Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General. He’s the author of the impeachment.
Personally, I think it’s somewhat hypocritical to threaten Bush with impeachment when we have let other presidents go who have committed crimes of equal repugnance (Reagan in South America comes to mind, or even Clark’s former boss, Johnson, in Vietnam) and certainly the dirty side of politics has long been an acknowledged part of American politics. However, if we ever hope to end this particular brand of blandicized ugliness, we’re gonna hafta make an example of someone, someday.

** This lady is pretty upset about the lies of the administration, and throws in a coupla interesting tidbits - like the recent march of 1 million shi’ites in Iraq chanting “No to America!” How many papers reported that one?

** Ah, this one I really like. Looks a bit at the bin Ladens and Saudis and some of those connections. It’s funny that it is absolutely true - everyone knows where the truth will lead, and everyone admits that you can’t go there. Isn’t politically allowed. What a farce.

** Ah yes, the balancing act. Do nothing, and the city’s museums are robbed of millenia of culture, smashed or stolen. Do too much, and we are the worst version of Big Brother. It’s tough to do the right thing in this situation, maybe impossible. Which again begs the question, why are we in this position? PS This is a NY Times article, for those to whom that still equates with respectable journalism.

** This one is saying something I have been saying for a long time - wars of national and international proportions do nothing to stop terrorism. If anything they increase it, both by providing newly bitter foes and creating the chaos in which terror-type violence can thrive and grow. Trying to sell Iraq in this way - or the future wars in the mid-east if Bush wins 2004 - just makes me sick. Those who think that the Israeli-Palestinian problem can be solved thru removing regimes friendly to Hamas et al don’t get what Hamas is. Such wars will only strengthen said guerilla movements. America probably never would have been incited to full revolt if the crown hadn’t fired on innocent crowds all those centuries ago (it barely had enough support as it was, with Tories basically equalling Patriots in number). Nothing is different now. The more force we use, the worse the acts we invite.