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, My Left Wing, and TexasKos.
image below the fold
submitted today from YearlyKos
Some of the dead lie in the morgue of the hospital in the town of Kalar, after gunmen killed 21 people including many high school students and wounded one on Sunday after dragging passengers off buses in the town of Ain Laila, inbetween Qara Tappah and Baqouba, in Iraq Sunday, June 4, 2006. Four Sunni Arabs on board were spared and the dead were all either Shiites or Kurds. (AP Photo)
Death comes to Iraq now in many new and terrible forms. Though there is outrage among many Iraqis about the alleged massacre in Haditha last November, the violence on Iraq’s streets is so unrelentingly horrific that even the worst atrocities have lost their power to shock. Few Iraqis even know how many people have died by the bullets and bombs. Definitive statistics are impossible to find in a country where the most violent provinces are out of bounds for journalists and human-rights workers, and where the state infrastructure–hospitals, morgues, police stations–is not up to the task of caring for the living, never mind counting the dead.
Please contribute a poem or thought.
– – –
Join CIVIC’s “I Care” photo campaign
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
The candle that DianeL first lit many months ago, and which has become such an important part of these diaries since, is still available here.
You can copy that image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), craft your own image, and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment – as a sign that you know, but do not approve, and are not resigned.
“It is like trying to ignite – to pass on the responsibilities as much as possible to everyone else.”
Ravi Shankar
since George declared “Mission Accomplished” from the flight deck of a naval ship in San Diego.
I’ve had you on my mind this week, hope you’re doing ok in the chaos of election aftermath. (((leezy)))
Hi back Manny! I haven’t been posting as I was having some pretty serious medical problems. In and out of hospital a couple of times. I am doing much better but have to really be careful. I did quit smoking which is great! Two weeks tomorrow and I do not miss it at all. It’s a miracle!
I am disappointed yet very pleased that Busby got the votes she did. Remember this is redder than red here in the 50th. A Dem never should have even had a chance but she did very well and may even have a chance in November if the DNC and DCCC leave her alone. They ran the worst negative ad campaign I have ever seen. It was disgusting.
I had no idea! I hope you are doing okay now, kudos on the smoking cessation. I’ve cut down alot myself and feel much better. Miss you and your amazing homespace!
Thanks so much Manny. I miss you too my friend but need a very stressfree life for awhile. And don’t you ever forget that you are always welcome in my home anytime you need to get out of that heat you live in sweetie. Door is ALWAYS open! Hugs!
Haven’t seen you here for a while (but then, I’m not here everyday. Hope you are feeling better, Aloha.
we are number one in bring death and pain…
…that diplomacy will replace bombs and bullets.
Arab TV coverage of Zarqawi death
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost!
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most-wanted terrorist in Iraq, was killed when US warplanes dropped 225-kilogram bombs on his isolated safehouse, officials said Thursday morning. It’s not hard to cheer the demise of a terrorist who killed civilians with bombings and beheadings. But Zarqawi’s death, as David Corn writes, may not mean much in terms of bringing peace, democracy and stability to Iraq.
More on Zarqawi as the links for Reports are posted. Knowing that there is a Number of Posts about his Death, and haven’t had time to read them, just got home from work, I would Hope many are covering the Marketing of him, by the U.S., Starting with his Rise to Name Recognition by one Collin Powell and the Making of the Bogieman!
Wonder who they’ll produce next to Boast the Fear Factor and the whittle bush Poll Numbers!!
Once Again ‘We Made It, We Destroyed It, and Because He Was Not Iraqi the Retaliation for The Martyr We Produced Will Be WorldWide
with Michael Berg. Zarqawi literally wielded the knife that beheaded his son, Nicholas Berg, in 2004.
Michael Berg gave a powerful, painful interview on NPR’s “Here and Now” today, unequivocally stating his opposition to perpetuating the cycle of revenge that killed his son, and refusing to condone the action that resulted in Zarqawi’s death today. He called instead for restorative justice that would create the conditions for reconciliation — a truly just peace.
http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/06/20060608_2.asp
This is a voice that brought me to tears, standing in my kitchen this afternoon. It also fans the flame of hope in my heart. If a grieving father faced with the unfathomable horror of his son’s decapitated head on a website can speak so movingly of nonviolence and a just peace, on the day that his son’s murderer himself was killed — then can we not call that fact alone a miracle? Is not that fact alone reason enough to hope and to redouble our efforts to end this war?
I cannot think of much greater contrast that this diary, and Las Vegas. Two negative poles of what humanity does to humanity.