this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
A doctor at Baqouba public hospital attends to a mortally wounded Iraqi soldier with severe head injuries, tries to call a specialist clinic in Baghdad for assistance on his cellphone, after a roadside bomb killed at least 11 Iraqi soldiers near Adhaim, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. The soldier later died.
(AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)
from Tetélestai
by Conrad Aiken
I
How shall we praise the magnificence of the dead,
The great man humbled, the haughty brought to dust?
Is there a horn we should not blow as proudly
For the meanest of us all, who creeps his days,
Guarding his heart from blows, to die obscurely?
I am no king, have laid no kingdoms waste,
Taken no princes captive, led no triumphs
Of weeping women through long walls of trumpets;
Say rather, I am no one, or an atom;
Say rather, two great gods, in a vault of starlight,
Play ponderingly at chess, and at the game’s end
One of the pieces, shaken, falls to the floor
And runs to the darkest corner; and that piece
Forgotten there, left motionless, is I. . .
Say that I have no name, no gifts, no power,
Am only one of millions, mostly silent;
One who came with eyes and hands and a heart,
Looked on beauty, and loved it, and then left it.
Say that the fates of time and space obscured me,
Led me a thousand ways to pain, bemused me,
Wrapped me in ugliness; and like great spiders
Dispatched me at their leisure. . .Well, what then?
Should I not hear, as I lie down in dust,
The horns of glory blowing above my burial?
– – –
read Ilona’s important diary at MLW – Returning Vet PTSD – One Soldier’s Story
view the pbs newshour silent honor roll (with thanks to jimstaro at booman.)
take a private moment to light one candle among many (with thanks to TXSharon)
support Veterans for Peace
support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
remember the fallen
support Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – TAPS
support Gold Star Families for Peace
support the fallen
support the troops
support Iraq Veterans Against the War
support Military families Speak Out
support the troops and the Iraqi people
read This is what John Kerry did today, the diary by lawnorder that prompted this series
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
witness every day
Click on the candle to copy the image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment.
” I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.”
from Dirge Without Music
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
.
FM Bot stated there will be tough questioning inside the NATO meeting, and the first chance to meet Condi Rice face to face. There can not be any light between our definition of human rights and what binds the United States government. Commentators in the Dutch media have lambasted statements of Condoleezza Rize, indicating adherence to U.S. laws and international obligations is quite different to International Human Rights and binding International Treaties of the Geneva Conventions.
● FM Bot on Nominee John Bolton
● FM Bot Reluctant to Send Troops to Uruzgan, Afghanistan
● NATO – Profile Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
LEAVE Iraq to the Iraqis
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
so be it
Hmmm…time for a third party (that actually represents the people?) or what?
Don’t get me started ;o)
.
Democrats should know better after disastrous result Election 2004 for President and Congress. Voting FOR the Iraq War out of FEAR for losing your constituent’s vote in November.
Democrats should be clear the pre-emptive Neocon attack on Iraq is a failed policy and no American life should have been sacrificed.
Parliamentary democracy in Israel and the Netherlands is based on coalitions to be formed. Even a hawk like Ariel Sharon wants to distance himself from his Likud party’s right wing faction under Benjamin Netanyahu. Starting a new party more to the center of the electorate within five months of the elections indicates political insight and courage.
Both assets missing in the response of Democrats to Rep. Murtha‘s outstanding analysis of the Iraqi occupation called a quagmire. A complete failure as Democrat is Sen. Joe Lieberman, not able to distinguish his view as Democrats from failed foreign policy by the neocon White House.
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
…yes, Peace begins within.
Peace
Raid frees Saddam judge ‘plotter’
So desperate to feed their families,
it seems to join is to commit suicide. Desperation is a strong motivator.
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For Innocence Lost!
Dear Operation Truth Supporter,
Before we put word out to the media, we wanted our most dedicated supporters like you to receive early notice about a crucial campaign Operation Truth is joining.
The “Torture Is Not US” campaign, launched in conjunction with the American Progress Action Fund, is a push to get Congress to pass the McCain anti-torture amendment. On October 5, the U.S. Senate voted 90 to 9 in favor of this amendment offered by Republican Senator and Vietnam Prisoner of War John McCain. The amendment to the defense appropriations bill would outlaw torture of detainees in military custody and establish the Army Field Manual as the uniform standard for the interrogation of Department of Defense detainees.
Despite this being common-sense amendment, its final passage is in doubt, as the President has vowed to veto any legislation that contains the McCain amendment.
It is critical that you visit http://www.tortureisnotUS.org to offer support to the campaign. Not only is outlawing torture important for moral reasons, but condoning torture has a very real and negative impact on our Troops’ safety.
First, by expressly allowing for torture by our forces, it puts our Troops at greater risk of being tortured by enemy combatants in this and future wars. John McCain knows what it is like to go through this kind of inhumane treatment. That is why he is doing all that he can to ensure other Americans don’t suffer the same fate he did. Second, in this and future wars, American Troops must gain the trust and support of people in foreign lands in order to curb attacks and diffuse any insurgency like we’re seeing in Iraq. It makes it difficult to gain that trust when we are seen as torturers.
Please take the time to go to http://www.tortureisnotUS.org to view a television ad created to support the campaign, and send an email to your friends encouraging them to stand behind John McCain and the safety of our Troops.
Thank you for REALLY supporting the Troops,
Paul Rieckhoff
Iraq Veteran
Founder and Executive Director
Operation Truth
Operation Truth