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Blogmanac team
Jeannine Wilson (USA)
Veralynne Pepper (USA)
Pip Wilson (Australia)
Carpe diem!
Seize the day with more than 150 articles at Wilson's articles department
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Saturday, December 20, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac December 20 | Modresnach
 Modresnach – The Mothers’ Night
This is a Germanic/Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon annual commemoration, an Odinist Midwinter festival held approximately on this date, many echoes of which can still be found in our Christmas traditions. It was believed that dreams on this night foretold events of the year to come. Traditionally, pine or other evergreen trees are decorated tonight to represent the tree of life. The decorated evergreen tree symbolises the Tree of Life, or Yggdrasil (World Tree). In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil was a gigantic ash tree, thought to hold all of the different worlds: such as Asgard, Midgard, Utgard and Hel. Like Jesus on the Cross (often called ‘the Tree’ in the Christian tradition), Odin suffered on Yggdrasil.
The star at the top of the Modresnach tree represents the pole star of the Star God or Goddess ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Read about the origins and folklore of the festive season at the Wilson's Almanac Christmas page.
[Christmas tree fingerprint art here]
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*Ø* Blogmanac December 20, 1192 | Capture of the Lionheart
1192 Richard I of England (Lionheart) was captured in Vienna by Duke Leopold – whom he had publicly insulted in the course of his crusade – and was handed over as a prisoner to the Emperor Henry VI.
Richard I (September 8, 1157 - April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. He was often referred to as Richard the Lionheart, Coeur de Lion and Oc et No by the French, and Melek-Ric by the Saracens (his name in Arabic used to frighten children: "King Rick will get you if you don't watch out!").
 Blondel, a legend
Richard’s imprisonment gave rise to the legend of Blondel. Blondel (de Nesle, late 12th century) was a French poet and musician, a trouvère (later troubadour). He is most well known for the legend, first seen in the Récits d'un ménestrel de Reims (1260s), that after Richard I of England was captured and held for ransom in 1192 Blondel searched for him in Germany and Austria. The story relates that Blondel went from castle to castle singing a particular song (possibly "L'amours dont sui espris"), the imprisoned Ricahrd would reply with the second verse after Blondel sung the first – thus identifying were Richard was imprisoned and then Blondel would (depending on the source) either aid the king's escape or report his position back to England.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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Blogroll Us Friday, December 19, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac December 19, 1940 | Phil Ochs, troubled troubador
 1940 Phil Ochs (December 19, 1940 - April 9, 1976), American protest singer of the early 1960s, perhaps best known for his songs ‘Power and Glory’, ‘There But for Fortune’, ‘Changes’, ‘When I'm Gone’, and ‘I Ain't Marching Anymore’. Ochs was a passionate vocalist who wrote poignant lyrics about war, civil rights, labor struggles and other topics.
Intensely disappointed by his lack of commercial success, however, and haunted by other personal demons – namely alcoholism, writer's block and depression – Phil Ochs hanged himself in 1976. His songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, John Wesley Harding and They Might Be Giants among many others ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Are the polls wrong about Kucinich?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
 There's a meme floating around "out there" that 'no one can beat Bush because none of the candidates contrasts him enough on the major issues.' Every right-wing talking head parrots this "party line" from the mainstream media. The mainstream media and the pundits are knocking themselves out to prevent the people from learning that there IS a candidate who contrasts Bush on the major issues. Which candidate evokes a "Who is THAT?" from most people when they hear his name? See how well the propaganda machine works? All we are saying is give this man's platform a chance. Whoever you're favoring, compare their record and their plan to Dennis'.
ARE THE POLLS WRONG ABOUT KUCINICH?
That's the headline of an article at Utne.com that shows that the www.kucinich.us website is the second most read presidential campaign site, and which presents other reasons to believe Kucinich's low ranking in some polls is misleading. Here's the article.
WHAT ARE PRIMARIES FOR?
The Democratic caucuses and primaries are the time to support the candidate who has the best chance of defeating George W. Bush. Clearly, that candidate is Dennis Kucinich. The primaries are not the time for supporting the candidate who you think has the best chance of winning the primaries. That's exactly as useful as staying home. Why is Dennis the one to beat Bush?
1. Dennis' platform fits his record. He opposes the "PATRIOT Act" now, and is the only candidate who voted against it. He opposes the war now, and is the only candidate who voted against it or who opposed it from the start. And he is the only one who will bring our troops home in 90 days.
2. Dennis cannot be attacked for planning to cut services or raise taxes because he is the one candidate with the guts to cut the bloated Pentagon budget and end the occupation of Iraq. He makes proposals and explains how he will pay for them. And his tax plan is laid out in detail.
3. Dennis and most Americans want single-payer universal health coverage. President Bush and most other candidates want to keep the HMOs and private insurance companies in charge.
4. Dennis is the only candidate with a plan to end NAFTA and withdraw from the WTO, replacing these corporate trade agreements with fair bilateral trade based on workers' rights, human rights, and the environment. The other candidates side with the current President in wanting to maintain NAFTA and the WTO.
5. Dennis has a history of attracting swing voters and "Reagan Democrats" in winning elections against better-funded Republican opponents, it is Dennis Kucinich. He has repeatedly defeated entrenched incumbents. He beat a Republican incumbent for mayor in 1977, for state senator in 1994 (overcoming the national right-wing tide) and for Congress in 1996.
6. Dennis' Congressional district includes the suburb of Parma, Ohio, described as "one of the original homes of the Reagan Democrats." An Ohio daily calls it a "conservative Democratic district," which he carried by 74% in 2002. Being a success there may be a better predictor of national success than holding statewide office in a liberal stronghold like Vermont or Massachusetts.
7. Dennis, unlike some other candidates, opposes the death penalty, will end the war on drugs, supports the Kyoto treaty, will take us to 20 percent renewable energy by 2010, and will back no justice who will not uphold Roe v. Wade.
8. Dennis attracts third party voters and Ralph Nader supporters.
9. Ohio has 20 electoral votes. It is the state that is key to national victory; only two candidates in the 20th century have won the presidency without carrying Ohio.
Dennis sets the media straight. Continue reading . . .
Brilliant Column in Des Moines Register
Post your comments on Kucinich Site
Come to Iowa and New Hampshire
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*Ø* Blogmanac | BREAKING NEWS
9/11 Chair Says White House Could Have Stopped Attacks
It has been two years and three months since America absorbed the horrific attacks of September 11. A fight has been waged since then to determine the facts behind that terrible day: How did it happen? Why was it not stopped? The Bush administration has fought the official investigations into these attacks every step of the way, going so far as to nominate master secret-keeper Henry Kissinger to chair the investigation. They failed in this nomination, and wound up with former New Jersey Governor and fellow Republican Thomas Kean. Today, Kean has fired an incredible broad-side across the bow of the White House, stating bluntly that the attacks of September 11 could have and should have been stopped, and that blame for this failure rests squarely on the shoulders of the Bush administration.
-- William Rivers Pitt
Go to article
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*Ø* Blogmanac December 17 - 23 | Saturnalia & the origins of Xmas
 Four major Roman festivals were held in December, including Saturnalia which celebrated the returning Sun-god.
Saturnalia (from the god Saturn) was the name the Romans gave to their holiday marking the Winter Solstice. Saturn was a Roman cognate of the Greek god Chronos (Time). He devoured all his children except Jupiter (air), Neptune (water), and Pluto (the underworld, or grave). These time cannot consume. He carries a sickle, like the Grim Reaper. The reign of Saturn was celebrated by the poets as a 'golden age'. According to the old alchemists and astrologers Saturn typified lead, and was a very evil planet to be born under. He was the god of seedtime and harvest and his symbol was a scythe, and he was finally banished from his throne by his son Jupiter."
Saturnalia was celebrated for seven days beginning on December 17. It honoured the corn-god Saturn and his consort, Ops, the goddess of plenty. Normal activities were suspended during this time period. Slaves and masters were temporarily on and equal footing, and the theme was goodwill to all. (The Roman masters were civilised enough to not kill their slaves afterwards, as seems to be the custom with such holidays in more primitive cultures.)
During this wild week, public business was suspended, the law courts and schools were closed and no criminals were punished, no wars were fought nor any business conducted. People spent much time gambling and feasting, and roles were reversed with masters waiting on their servants. Slaves wore their masters robes, and the patricians, wearing fantastic costumes, roamed the streets with their slaves ...
This is just a snippet from the December 17 page (I'm running late, sorry – see immediately below) of the Book of Days. There are also ideas on how to celebrate your own Saturnalia. Let your kids be parents for a day; they can discipline you, but they'll also have to feed you. Enjoy!
More folklore and origins of Christmas
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Me back, me beard
 That was a close shave
It seems like I've been gone for weeks and I have to relearn how to use the computer. Over the past few days I've been moving house, and then there was a couple of days waiting for the telephone company to bloody well show up. And in between, a day in which I thought my modem had packed it in, but it was just a faulty plug.
But I'm back by the skin of my face. Terribly disorganised, but I've opened and even unpacked lots of boxes. I've found a few basics, like Esmeralda, my computer, and one Bic razor. I'd like to say that after four days without shaving I had a beard like Saddam Hussein, but that would be a lie. Jeezuz, that guy can grow a beard. All that hair in nine months? I know a lot of people will be sad if he gets shot before they extract some of his hormones for research.
I'm way behind in my work, and also pretty tired from moving to beautiful downtown Repton, NSW, Australia. Lots of stuff to carry in heat and humidity. Please bear with me for a couple of days while I try to catch up. Thanks, folks. And thank you, Blogmanac team members, for holding the fort so well during my wanderings.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Something to Think About
I've been listening to the mainstream talking heads blather on since Sunday about the victory Dubya has accomplished by unearthing Saddam--literally. They've pinned all sorts of heavy effects on this event, from ending the resistance in Iraq to giving the democratic candidates for the presidency nothing to compete against Bush with, to improving the economy and suddenly making us feel safer on America's shores! Sickening!
First of all, I'm not comfortable with the timing and method of revealing the finding of Saddam to the world. Something in my gut tells me they've had him for a while and chose this moment to reveal to us the drug-addled, cowed old man, already over-interrogated, for political -- election-related -- impact. I believe it's more for American approval points than to quell resistance attacks on troops, sad to say. Deadly attacks on troops have, in fact, increased because the Iraqis now feel that they don't need the U.S. to protect them from Saddam.
Anyway, I think the important thing to remember is that these events being touted as some sort of victory or achievement are meaningless in the face of the true damage to America, its image, its values and its respect in the world. And, at least with respect to our corporate presence in Iraq, hear Paul Krugman tell it:
Patriots and Profits
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Tuesday 16 December 2003
Last week there were major news stories about possible profiteering by Halliburton and other American contractors in Iraq. These stories have, inevitably and appropriately, been pushed temporarily into the background by the news of Saddam's capture. But the questions remain. In fact, the more you look into this issue, the more you worry that we have entered a new era of excess for the military-industrial complex.
The story about Halliburton's strangely expensive gasoline imports into Iraq gets curiouser and curiouser. High-priced gasoline was purchased from a supplier whose name is unfamiliar to industry experts, but that appears to be run by a prominent Kuwaiti family (no doubt still grateful for the 1991 liberation). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers documents seen by The Wall Street Journal refer to "political pressures" from Kuwait's government and the U.S. embassy in Kuwait to deal only with that firm. I wonder where that trail leads.
Meanwhile, NBC News has obtained Pentagon inspection reports of unsanitary conditions at mess halls run by Halliburton in Iraq: "Blood all over the floors of refrigerators, dirty pans, dirty grills, dirty salad bars, rotting meat and vegetables." An October report complains that Halliburton had promised to fix the problem but didn't.
And more detail has been emerging about Bechtel's much-touted school repairs. Again, a Pentagon report found "horrible" work: dangerous debris left in playground areas, sloppy paint jobs and broken toilets.
Are these isolated bad examples, or part of a pattern? It's impossible to be sure without a broad, scrupulously independent investigation. Yet such an inquiry is hard to imagine in the current political environment — which is precisely why one can't help suspecting the worst.
Let's be clear: worries about profiteering aren't a left-right issue. Conservatives have long warned that regulatory agencies tend to be "captured" by the industries they regulate; the same must be true of agencies that hand out contracts. Halliburton, Bechtel and other major contractors in Iraq have invested heavily in political influence, not just through campaign contributions, but by enriching people they believe might be helpful. Dick Cheney is part of a long if not exactly proud tradition: Brown & Root, which later became the Halliburton subsidiary doing those dubious deals in Iraq, profited handsomely from its early support of a young politician named Lyndon Johnson.
So is there any reason to think that things are worse now? Yes.
The biggest curb on profiteering in government contracts is the threat of exposure: sunshine is the best disinfectant. Yet it's hard to think of a time when U.S. government dealings have been less subject to scrutiny.
First of all, we have one-party rule — and it's a highly disciplined, follow-your-orders party. There are members of Congress eager and willing to take on the profiteers, but they don't have the power to issue subpoenas. [Emphasis added. -v]
And getting information without subpoena power has become much harder because, as a new report in U.S. News & World Report puts it, the Bush administration has "dropped a shroud of secrecy across many critical operations of the federal government." Since 9/11, the administration has invoked national security to justify this secrecy, but it actually began the day President Bush took office. [Emphasis added. -v]
To top it all off, after 9/11 the U.S. media — which eagerly played up the merest hint of scandal during the Clinton years — became highly protective of the majesty of the office. As the stories I've cited indicate, they have become more searching lately. But even now, compare British and U.S. coverage of the Neil Bush saga.
The point is that we've had an environment in which officials inclined to do favors for their business friends, and contractors inclined to pad their bills or do shoddy work, didn't have to worry much about being exposed. Human nature being what it is, then, the odds are that the troubling stories that have come to light aren't isolated examples.
Some Americans still seem to feel that even suggesting the possibility of profiteering is somehow unpatriotic. They should learn the story of Harry Truman, a congressman who rose to prominence during World War II by leading a campaign against profiteering. Truman believed, correctly, that he was serving his country.
On the strength of that record, Franklin Roosevelt chose Truman as his vice president. George Bush, of course, chose Dick Cheney.
SOURCE
Related Stories:
In Iraq, The Slaughter Goes On
Many More Americans Dead, Wounded in Iraq
Halliburton Continues Extended Payday in Iraq
Anti-war MPs Give Blair No Respite Over WMD Hunt
Kabul is Hit by 2 Rockets
James Ridgeway | You Got Him? Get Out!
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*Ø* Blogmanac | The Threat From Computerized Voting Machines
From the Desk Of...
 Martin Sheen
Dear Current or Future Member of TrueMajority,
I am writing to you as a fellow member of TrueMajority to ask for your help in preventing a scandal that could shake our nation to the roots of our democratic principles. Please take a moment to send a free fax to your Representative in Congress, and then to pass this letter on to your friends and family in the hope that they will help too.
We start with a principle so obvious it seems strange even to write it: For a democracy to work, the people must believe that balloting is conducted fairly and votes are counted accurately. Americans feel justifiable pride that our nation has created a system to ensure this, including provisions for recounts.
In the wake of the punch card voting mess in Florida, the federal government dedicated billions of dollars to help states purchase new voting machines. Some pioneering states have begun purchasing a new type of touch screen computerized voting machine. These machines register votes on a memory chip and then digitally transmit the results via telephone modem to election headquarters.
We can only hope that neither glitches nor tampering will change or erase any of our votes. We all know that computers sometimes crash and lose data. Power cords get pulled out of the wall. And what better trophy for a hacker--or over zealous campaign worker--than to skew the outcome of the actual election?
There is a simple solution to these problems. The California Secretary of State has ordered that these new computerized voting machines print out a paper copy of your vote for your approval before the vote is registered. These printouts would then be saved in case the machines malfunction or there is any question as to whether or not they have been tampered with. Without them we would just have to trust the companies that make the machines--companies like Diebold whose CEO, Walden W. O'Dell, recently wrote in a fundraising letter for the Republicans,
"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year."
Without a paper trail, there is no way to reliably validate an election or conduct a reliable recount. It's that simple.
Register with TrueMajority, or customize your message here.
POWERFUL LETTER TO THE EDITOR FEATURE
Letters to the editor are another powerful way to influence your Congressmembers. This feature uses state-of-the-art technology to make it really easy for you to send a letter to the editor.
TrueMajority is working on this important issue with some of our partners, including Working Assets, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, and MoveOn.org.
The California Voter Foundation has lots of great links to these groups and news articles about this problem.
The New York Times also did a great editorial on this issue.
So please take a moment to protect your right--our right--to make sure every vote is counted and every election is fair.
Thanks for your help,
Martin Sheen
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Blogroll Us Wednesday, December 17, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac | The flight of fantasy
By Ray Comiskey
One hundred years ago today, the Wright brothers made aviation history on a North Carolina beach
 "There were only five curious locals on the beach that morning, which was hardly surprising. It was a cold, bleak, windy December day, and a couple of bicycle manufacturers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, were attempting to do something that had never been achieved before in human history - piloted, powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine.
"To the casually interested, the odds must have seemed stacked against them. In a widely publicised attempt only nine days earlier, Samuel Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, saw his steam-powered machine, heavily financed by the US government, break up almost immediately on take off. His pilot finished up in Washington's Potomac River. The stinging shame, which clung to Langley and the Smithsonian for years afterwards, was to lead to a feud between the institute and the Wright brothers that lasted almost 40 years.
"The Wrights had already had their own failures. On December 14th they made an attempt to fly, tossing a coin for the honour of who would try first. Wilbur won, but their machine failed, which was why it was Orville who got into the unpromising-looking Flyer three days later. At 10.35 on the morning of December 17th, he took off on a stretch of sand just north of Big Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and flew for 12 seconds, covering 120 feet. Later that day, alternating at the controls, they made three more flights. The next two covered 175 and 200 feet respectively. On the final flight of the day, Wilbur stayed up for 59 seconds and covered an astonishing 852 feet, before a crash from an altitude of 30 feet put an end to the day's work.
"Behind that achievement, however, were no gifted amateurs. The brothers, focused, methodical, practical and intelligent, had been fascinated by the problem of making a flying machine ever since they were boys, when their father, Milton, a minister and later a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, brought them home a toy "hélicoptère".
"For the next few years, Wilbur, born in Milville, Indiana in 1867, and Orville, born in Dayton, Ohio in 1871, tried to build a toy flying machine. Largely unsuccessful, they turned to kite making. Orville also started his own printing business in 1888, where, with Wilbur's help, he designed and built a printing press. After their mother, Susan, died in 1889, they sold the printing business and opened a shop to sell and repair bicycles. Brilliant at anything mechanical, they saw the business expand into manufacturing and, crucially, the money it generated helped support their early aeronautical research and experiments ...
"For better or worse a new era was emphatically launched. Little more than five years later, planes were in action over the trenches of the first World War, first for reconnaissance and guiding artillery fire, and finally for dogfighting; sometimes even with pistols at eyeball distance. The rest is civil and military aviation history."
Source: The Irish Times
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Blogroll Us Tuesday, December 16, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac | The World Sleeps Safely!
 "Statement by the President"
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Today I bring news of great consequence to all the pollsters of the world. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, former CIA employee Saddam Hussein was captured alive. This man, the most powerful, diabolical evildoer ever to threaten humanity, was found in his hometown of Tikrit, beneath the dusty lean-to of a long-time supporter. In short, he was exactly where everyone thought he'd be. And today, I am proud to say that it only took us just shy of nine months from the day I gave him forty-eight hours to skedattle or be promptly administered a Texas Lead Enema.
Also as expected, Saddam was found presiding over operations at a state-of-the-art Weapons of Mass Destruction control panel with a retractable top, hot babes and heliport – albeit artfully camouflaged to resemble an unstaffed, vermin-infested hole in the ground. It was here, from this advanced, zillion dollar terror complex that he concocted and carefully managed execution of his countless nefarious schemes – most notably his powerful, intoxicating ability to make us forget all about the people who were actually behind 9/11 by impersonating a filthy piece of poor homeless trash. Well that was his last mistake. Little did he know that this administration is even quicker at taking down the poor than it is at nabbing evildoers! ...
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the peerless arsenal of the United States military-industrial complex, do hereby proclaim December 15, 2003, to be National Victory Over the Guy Who Isn't Osama Bin Laden Day.
Full text at Whitehouse.org
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Blogroll Us Monday, December 15, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac | Totally Full of Crap Awards All 'Round
Two Items From Colleen:
Who the Hell Said That?
By Will Durst, AlterNet
December 11, 2003
And now it's time to play "Who the Hell Said That?"
1. "With a healthy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them."
A) Tom Delay, revealing his secret strategy to keep Republican Members of Congress in line when they express concerns about the Bush administration's rampant deficit spending.
B) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on his feud with Colin Powell and the State Department.
C) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spokesman, H. D. Palmer, on cutting K-12 funding.
D) Lt. Colonel Nathan Sassaman, battalion commander of the forces occupying Abu Hishma, Iraq, explaining a plan to keep the village safe by encircling it in a wall of barbed wire.
2. "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
A) Donald Rumsfeld, articulating his frustration at the Coalition's inability to find Hussein's fabled Weapons of Mass Destruction.
B) Spokesperson for the legal team of Michael Jackson's accuser speaking either on behalf of his client's case or the King of Pop's missing nose cartilage.
C) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver making a Freudian slip in defense of her husband's groping accusations.
D) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, disputing whether the West Bank wall Israeli soldiers are erecting exists because he's banned all photographs of it.
3. "Wal-Mart is the greatest thing that ever happened to low-income Americans."
A) W. Michael Cox, chief economist of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas.
B) W. Michael Cox, a man who obviously never tried to run a household paid minimum wage with little or no benefits.
C) W. Michael Cox, a man whose portfolio apparently includes absolutely no Kroger, Safeway, Jewel or Albertson's stock.
D) All of the above.
4. "I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."
A) Former Vice President J. Danforth Quayle.
B) President George W. Bush.
C) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
D) Reality Show Star Paris Hilton.
5. "We know there are known knowns: there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns: that is to say we know there are things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know."
A) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during a briefing on Iraq.
B) My Uncle Bud after eight hours on a bar stool at Tony's Tavern watching an entire Sunday slate of NFL football.
C) AARP directors defending their decision to endorse Medicare reform even though it may end up costing seniors more money.
D) Iowa State Elections Chairman, Bob Roberts, explaining the state's arcane caucuses regulations.
6. "Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."
A) Actor Tom Cruise on the decision to portray little or no blood in the battle scenes of his new movie "The Last Samurai."
B) Condoleeza Rice, referring to the official White House policy of preventing journalists from documenting returning body bags.
C) Russell Crowe's character, Jack Aubrey, in the film adaptation of Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander."
D) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, when questioned as to why the Pentagon refuses to provide kill figures for enemy combatants.
Answers are 1. D) 2. A) 3. D) 4. C) 5. A) 6. D)
Will Durst's 2003 Totally Full of Crap Award goes to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.
SOURCE
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
I especially love (NOT) the military attitude of "With a heavy dose of fear and violence . . . we can convince these people . . . that we are here to help them." I don't know if sentences can be considered oxymorons, but this particular bit of military intelligence -- itself an oxymoron -- seems to fall into that category. Should we laugh or cry? And does it really make any difference if we do either? Colleen
Totally FUBAR!
[This regardless of Sunday's reported discovery of Saddam. -v]
Bush's Iraq Policy: A Quagmire of Confusion
By Jim Lobe, AlterNet
December 12, 2003
As the Bush administration searches with increasing desperation for a viable "exit strategy," its so-called Iraq policy grows more muddled with each passing day.
The latest example – and an especially spectacular one – was when George Bush personally asked key European and other leaders on Wednesday to forgive tens of billions of dollars of Iraq's crushing debt. The very same day, the Pentagon announced on its website that companies from these countries will not be permitted to bid on 18.6 billion dollars in reconstruction contracts in Iraq.
Needless to say, the Pentagon's directive and its timing were unlikely to put the leaders of Russia, France and Germany – the most important of the excluded countries – in the mood to entertain the president's request
Read 'em and weep . . . or laugh--whatever
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Captain Yee's Ordeal
New York Times
December 14
"The military's mean-spirited and incompetent prosecution of Capt. James Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantánamo Bay, illustrates the danger of allowing the war on terrorism to trump basic rights. After holding Captain Yee in solitary confinement for nearly three months, and smearing him with adultery and pornography charges, the military is now uncertain whether the documents whose confidentiality he is charged with breaching were even confidential. In the interest of justice, and of resurrecting their own reputation, military prosecutors should drop the case ...
"It is already clear how much harm the military's misguided prosecution has done to Captain Yee and his family. What is less obvious, but no less real, is the threat this sort of prosecutorial mentality poses to all Americans. The specter of terrorism cannot become an excuse for the government to railroad people first, and ask questions later."
Full editorial
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Blogroll Us Sunday, December 14, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac December 14 | Beginning of the Halcyon Days
 During the Halcyon Days, the Mediterranean was supposed to stay calm. Halcyon is Greek for a kingfisher (‘sea-hound’). The ancient Sicilians believed that the kingfisher incubated its eggs for fourteen days on the surface of the sea, during which time, before the winter solstice, the waves were still.
Alcyone was a Greek demi-goddess, the daughter of Aeolus, the guardian of the winds, and Aegiale. She is sometimes regarded as one of the Pleiades. More often she was thought of as the daughter of Aeolus. She married Ceyx, son of Eosphorus (Morningstar) and the king of Thessaly.
They were very happy together, but then Ceyx perished in a shipwreck and Alcyone (‘queen who wards off [storms]’) threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion, the gods changed them into the halcyon birds. Since Alcyone made her nest on the beach, and waves threatened to destroy it, Aeolus restrained his winds and becalmed the waves during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days", when storms never occur. The halcyon became a symbol of tranquillity.
Pictured is Australia's Azure kingfisher.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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