“I don’t walk about belief – whether or not we should have started this war. Rather, I walk because we shouldn’t live our lives as if all is normal. People are suffering every moment because of this war – U.S. Soldiers and their families, Iraqi soldiers and civilians and their families – and this question of what we can do to end this suffering should be with us every day.”
a Concord (MA) area resident – in a letter to the editor regarding her own participation in a public vigil each Friday morning at the town center – ‘We Walk for All Who Suffer Because of War.’
this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
An unidentified Iraqi man cries after seeing the body of his relative, killed in a mortar attack, in a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2006. Mortars slammed into crowded Baghdad neighborhoods Sunday, killing 19 civilians and injuring dozens, police said.
(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Alone
by Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
– – –
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important new blog – PTSD Combat
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
Peace
Just how could anything hold us onto the earth after such pain?
I hate what my country AND COUTNRYMEN are allowing.
Death is just that ugly old snake head that I grant not only for me but for my most loved ones would not cherish a view of. All I ask, God, is peace and harmony on this earth for all of it’s creatures.
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost!
Flash Video
What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding
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Night of a Thousand Dinners 2006
March 1- April 4
Adopt-A-Minefield would like to invite you to participate in our sixth annual Night of a Thousand Dinners initiative. Every year, thousands of caring supporters like you host a dinner with their friends and family to spread the word about the global landmine crisis and help us raise much needed funds to clear landmines and give landmine survivors the assistance they need to rebuild their lives.
There are several ways you can support Adopt-A-Minefield through the 2006 Night of a Thousand Dinners initiative, which runs from March 1, commemorating the date the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force, to April 4, recently recognized by the United Nations as International Day for Mine Awareness.
Visit our website at 1,000 Dinners to:
Sign up to host a dinner for your friends and family. Instead of asking for flowers or wine, ask for a donation. You can hold a tea party, barbeque or wine tasting. Get your school, community group or club involved. We'll send you a host kit with a DVD and helpful information on how to make your dinner a success. Brochures are also available upon request.
Join us at our inaugural New York Citydinner, to be held on April 4, 2006 at the United Nations, and help us honor Kofi Annan and the United Nations for their commitment to mine action. Call 212-907-1391 to purchase tickets or to place an ad in our special commemorative program book.
Bid on exciting items in our online auction running March 1 - April 18 at Charity Folks. Here are just a few of the one-of-a-kind lots:
"Chef for a Day" at the acclaimed restaurant, Chez Panisse, with Alice Waters
Dinner for four at Fleur de Lys, one of San Francisco's finest restaurants, with a private tour of the kitchen and a personalized cookbook
Cooking lessons for you and nine friends at the acclaimed AspenCookingSchool, followed by a delectable dinner and wine pairing
The Adopt-A-Minefield Team
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American Government:
Heading Toward Disintegration and Collapse
By Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
It is very obvious that this capitalistic nation is concerned merely with the financial interests of big corporations and nothing else matters, not even the very health and life of the American people. Its top priority is to cater to special interests.
===“Never again shall one generation of veterans abandon another.”
is what we REALLY should be fighting against!
let me find in me
threads of courage and hope
to weave, together with yours,
a blanket of peace
I want nothing more than to say to that man how sorry I am.
Sorry for all the sorrow the actions of my govt have caused.
Sorry for my fellow Americans who act as if nothing is wrong.
Sorry for not doing more to stop this madness.