this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people – without exception, or precondition, or judgement.
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, My Left Wing, and TexasKos.
2 images and a poem below the fold
A young Iraqi man comforts his mother who suffered wounds in crossfire during street fights, Sunday, July 9, 2006, in the Jihad area of western Baghdad, Iraq. Gunmen stopped cars in western Baghdad, grabbing people from the street and separating Sunni Arabs from the rest, killing at least 41 people, police said, in a dramatic escalation of sectarian violence in the country. The attack in the dangerous Jihad neighborhood was apparently in retaliation for the car bombing the night before of a local Shiite mosque.
(AP Photo/Mohammed Hato)
– – –
An injured Iraqi woman whispers to her son as she waits for treatment at Baghdad’s Yarmouk hospital. Ten people were killed in a bomb and mortar attack in a Shiite district of Baghdad as sectarian violence showed no let-up a day after 61 people were killed in apparent tit-for-tat attacks
(AFP/File/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)
– – –
Birds Again
by Jim Harrison
A secret came a week ago though I already
knew it just beyond the bruised lips of consciousness.
The very alive souls of thirty-five hundred dead birds
are harbored in my body. It’s not uncomfortable.
I’m only temporary habitat for these not-quite-
weightless creatures. I offered a wordless invitation
and now they’re roosting within me, recalling
how I had watched them at night
in fall and spring passing across earth moons,
little clouds of black confetti, chattering and singing
on their way north or south. Now in my dreams
I see from the air the rumpled green and beige,
the watery face of earth as if they’re carrying
me rather than me carrying them. Next winter
I’ll release them near the estuary west of Alvarado
and south of Veracruz. I can see them perching
on undiscovered Olmec heads. We’ll say goodbye
and I’ll return my dreams to earth.
– – –
read This is what John Kerry did today, the dKos diary by lawnorder that inspired this series
love and support the Iraqi people
join CIVIC’s “I Care” photo campaign
raed in the middle’s blog
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
love and support our troops
read Ilona’s important blog – PTSD Combat
support Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
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
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 a young heart with an old soul peace takes courage (multimedia)
poetry matters poets against war
support the troops and the Iraqi people
witness every day
While speaking at the YearlyKos 2006 Convention in Los Vegas, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner said (and I paraphrase from memory): “George Bush, incompetent idiot, blah blah blah, went to war in Iraq when the real threat is in Iran.” (my emphasis)
There was a brief pause after his statement, and I regret that I wasn’t brave or quick-witted enough to yell “Bullshit!” into the silence. But the moment passed, Warner picked up his next thread in perfect cadence, and I bit into my box lunch apple.
So now what?
I’m gonna let him know that I think his statement is bullshit, and why. I’m starting here. If anyone knows of other ways, please put them in this thread.
Thanks.