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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
This blog is dedicated to the 353 victims of the SIEVX disaster,
and casualties of poverty and authority all around the planet
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Saturday, January 03, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac January 3| Peace on earth
 Festival of Pax, Goddess of Peace (Our Lady of Peace)
In Roman mythology, Pax (‘peace') was recognized as a goddess during the rule of Augustus.
On the Campus Martius (Field of Mars, God of War), she had a minor sanctuary called the Ara Pacis, dedicated to her on January 30, 9 BCE. Her temple was on the Forum Pacis (Templum Placis) built on the site of a meat market by Vespasian, which was dedicated in 75. She was depicted in art with olive branches, a cornucopia and a sceptre. Pax became celebrated (in both senses of the word) as Pax Romana and Pax Augusta from the 2nd Century BCE ...
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, January 02, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | Today's snippets
Advent of Isis from Phoenicia, celebrated in Ancient Egypt, Rome
Isis discovered that the Ark of Osiris had been cast up by the Mediterranean in the region of the Phoenician Byblos, so journeyed across the sea to find it, and then brought it back with her to Egypt. Offerings were made on the seventh day of the month Tybi, roughly January 2.
The Egyptian deity Isis was honoured with a temple at Rome. Today, singers, musicians and dancers, mostly female, would perform at this temple during the festival of the Advent of Isis ...
 1536 Anabaptist leader and social revolutionary, John of Leyden (John Bockhold), ‘The Prophet’, was executed. He had preached a coming apocalypse, and advocated polygamy and free love. John of Leyden was a tailor boy who became the leader of the Anabaptists of the German town of Munster on the executions of Muncer and Storck. His predecessors had tried to establish a theocracy. He had a magnificent coronation, and coins were struck for his reign; he was represented as a monarch and prophet in one.
He sent out twelve apostles to announce his reign through all Low Germany. He also married twelve wives at one time, decapitating one of them in the presence of the others when she was rude to him ...
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 | Peace on Earth: The Prospects
By Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com
"Remember those quaint, nostalgic times when this season was associated with the phrase 'Peace On Earth'? That is, way back in the days before our born-again leader with the proclaimed personal ear of God started ordering up wars the way other politicians ask for planning studies? Before our nation became so drunken with manufactured bogeymen and antiseptic media invasions and patriotic warmongering fever that war’s unpleasantness made it something people wished absolutely to avoid? When peace was considered a good thing, not the way of cowards?
"I miss those days. A lot of us do ...
"All told, the U.S. military is now active in some 60 countries around the world. The dozen or so examples above [see full text - N] are among the most egregious – and what is the U.S. doing killing people in even a dozen countries? – but they have several factors in common: (1) No war has been declared against any government in any of them. (2) They are not on the same continent as the United States. (3) All target poor countries’ civilian populations. (4) In few of these cases have serious attempts been undertaken, especially by the U.S. government, to find a just and peaceful resolution to the situation. (5) Most Americans know very little about any of them, as national corporate reporting is generally either uncritical or, more commonly, nonexistent. The exception is Iraq, where the “factual” reporting is so markedly different from that in Britain and Europe that it might as well be describing a different conflict.
"Does that feel like an overwhelming list? Here’s a useful counterweight:
"This past year, on one day, tens of millions of ordinary people on every continent and in scores of countries gathered together, in national capitals and town squares, and demanded peace. Not asked for, not petitioned for, or recommended or begged. We demanded it ...
"Now, with extraordinary speed in our unipolar world, we’re seeing a second wave of nonviolent revolutions, one with a more explicitly economic component: rejection of the so-called 'Washington consensus' that imposes neoliberal economic and political straitjackets so as to make poor countries poorer and to send their wealth to the banks and gated communities of North America, Europe, and Japan ...
"The sooner the United States starts behaving like one country among many, rather than a global bully, the better the prospects for peace on earth become. The irony is that the post-9/11 bellicosity of the Bush Administration has been so extreme that in the long run it may lead more directly to a world with a common aversion to wars and empires.
"If we’re willing, much of the rest of the world is ready. It’s in our hands. So here’s to peace on earth in 2004 and beyond."
Full text at Alternet.org
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Blogroll Us Thursday, January 01, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | New Year's customs and folklore
Happy New Year!
New Year’s Day is a holiday in 162 nations of the world. In Britain there is an old custom that you should take nothing out of the house today, not even garbage.
Take out, then take in
Bad luck will begin
Take in, then take out
Good luck comes about
If you must carry something out, make sure to bring something in first. The best thing is a coin which you have hidden outside on New Year’s Eve.
An old British tradition has it that you should not lend matches, or fuel, to anyone today, or you’ll lack fire all year. And don’t lend money to anyone, or you’ll be without it this year.
Welsh Callenig
The Welsh give a Calennig today. It’s a New Year’s apple, stuck with wheat, oats, nuts and evergreen leaves. Its covered in flour and gold paint or leaf, and stands on a tripod of rowan or holly skewers for luck. These woods are ancient Druidic magic charms, as is the apple itself.
Yulekebbuck
The Scots at New Year traditionally eat Yulekebbuck, or Christmas cheese. The first Monday in January is their public holiday, which they call Handsel Monday.
Pocket full of money
In Scotland, Wales and the border counties of England, an old tradition is for children to go singing door to door on New Year’s morning, for which they will be rewarded with coins, sweets, fruit or mince pies. A typical song goes:
I wish you a merry Christmas
A Happy New Year.
A pocket full of money
And a cellar full of beer.
A good fat pig
To last you all the year.
Please to give a New Year’s gift
For this New Year.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about New Year's Day 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 | Greetings!
To Wilson's Almanac,
A HAPPY NEW YEAR Greeting for you!
Enjoy!
Love, peace and clarity,
From A-Changin' Times
(ACT, The Blog)
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Wishing all our readers, and the team, a very Happy and Peaceful New Year!
Blessings from Ireland
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*Ø* Blogmanac | What's next? Key Maps? Playboy?
FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs
TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Monday, December 29, 2003
©2003 Associated Press
(12-29) 16:18 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
 The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.
In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs "to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning."
It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways.
"The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through careful planning," the FBI wrote.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the bulletin this week and verified its authenticity.
"For local law enforcement, it's just to help give them one more piece of information to raise their suspicions," said David Heyman, a terrorism expert for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It helps make sure one more bad guy doesn't get away from a traffic stop, maybe gives police a little bit more reason to follow up on this."
Full Story
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Blogroll Us Wednesday, December 31, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac | To Nora, Blogmanac team member in Ireland
And to all, bright blessings from Australia
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*Ø* Blogmanac December 31 | Happy New Year!
All about New Year customs and folklore
 All over the world, people love to make a noise on the last midnight of the year. Church bells ring out in England (fitted with muffles until midnight, then allowed their full voice), and in Thailand the temple bells peal at midnight as people call out Kwam Suk Pee Mai (Happy New Year!).
An old Icelandic custom has it that if the pantry window is left open on New Year’s Eve, the pantry drift (a frost which is fine-grained and sweet to the taste), will come in and, when gathered and saved in a pot marked with a cross, will bring prosperity to the home. Icelanders used to believe that elves moved house on this night, and could be coerced into giving treasure to those who intercepted them at crossroads.
The People of Nigeria allowed their Ndok ceremony, held biennially in December, to merge with Western New Year customs, as Ndok was a rite of renewal. Only the men engage in Ndok, which sees, as everywhere on New Year’s Eve, much noisy, rowdy behaviour and, as in Iceland, people meeting at crossroads which are believed to be places of assembly for spirits.
In Russia, Grandfather Frost (D’yed Moroz), who looks suspiciously like Santa Claus, and his assistant the Snow Maiden (Snegourka), will pay a New Year’s visit to children, bringing with them gifts. In Greece, however, children will have left out sweets, cakes and drink for St Basil, another Santa-like character, for it is his feast day. They’ll even put a log in the fireplace so he can step easily down the chimney. In Armenia on December 31, goodies are lowered down the chimney on a rope.
New Year’s revelling, however, has been most shaped by the otherwise generally sensible Scots, who really know how to kick up their heels to say “good riddance!” to the Old year and “welcome!” to the new. The singing of Auld Lang Syne, is, of course as Scotch as whisky, and was recorded from the oral tradition by the Scottish national poet, Robbie Burns. Now, all over the world, people mouth the words like football players pretending the national anthem before a game. Despite its difficult words, it is one of the world’s best known songs.
The Scots call this season the “daft days” or Hogmanay, a word which might derive from practically anything if you listen to the experts, such as the Greek for 'holy month' and the French for 'man is born'. While some New Year’s customs go back to ancient Europe and even the Middle East – we know, for example, that 4,000 years ago the Babylonians made New Year’s resolutions – the Scots put their stamp on it, for they always thought it was a bigger deal than Christmas. They have yet to convince the rest of the world, however, to indulge in the Hogmanay sport of “first-footing”, in which it is thought to be good luck if the first person over one’s threshold in the New Year comes in the front door, is male, without eye trouble, not splay- or flat-footed, fair haired, carrying a lump of coal and a bottle of Scotch, and leaves by the back door. (In 1966, 19-year-old first-footer Alex Cleghorn was walking on Govan Rd, Glasgow with his two brothers, when suddenly he disappeared and was not seen again. Daft days indeed!) On the Greek island of Carpathos it is a white dog they have to rush inside at the stroke of midnight.
Australians, with their keen sense of culture and modernity, tend not to bother with the lumps of coal, white dogs, elves and crossroads, tending instead to get blithering drunk (like the wassailers of old England, the door-to-door drinkers whose name came from the cry Wass hael!, which approximates to Cheers!) and to pretend to have an ab-fab time ...
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.
Have a great night, everyone, and bright blessings for 2004. Thanks for coming through 2003, and a big thankyou and hugs to the rest of the Blogmanac team!! Lots of work and commitment.
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*Ø* Blogmanac December 30, 1916 | Live hard, die hard
 1916 Grigory Rasputin (January 10, 1869 - December 16, 1916 (OS)), mystic and favourite of the wife of Russia's last tsar, was murdered by a group of conservatives who wished to rid the Russian court of his malignant influence. He was served poisoned wine and cakes of which he partook, beaten, castrated, had his penis flung across the room and was subsequently shot several times and thrown into a frozen river before he expired ... (Read on)
The mystery of the ‘mad monk’s’ bishop
Rasputin's roger, or a sea cucumber?
 The name Rasputin in Russian does not mean ‘licentious’, as is often claimed. However there is very similar Russian adjective, ‘rasputnii’ which does in fact mean ‘licentious’, and for whatever reasons, Rasputin’s name will always be associated with sexual libertinism. The folklore of his genitalia, which is probably no more than folklore, is one reason for this.
According to Rasputin’s daughter, Maria, her father’s penis was 13 inches long when erect. So perhaps his profound influence at the Russian imperial court was more than spiritual. How Ms Rasputin came to have this information is not known, though some say she acquired that very organ as a keepsake after his death.
It has been alleged that Grigori frequented St Petersburg’s bathhouses and was seen entering, with both aristocrats and prostitutes, these places of sex, magic and superstition, where he performed rituals in which he attempted to exorcise the demons of lechery by literally beating them out of women. Afterwards he would have intercourse with them. We all know the value of “kiss and make up”.
One society woman, Olga Lokhtina, was so affected by the charismatic peasant that she thought he was Christ and she the Virgin Mary; she even left her rich husband and children for him. On one occasion, it is said, Rasputin was observed violently beating her while she held on to his schlong, shouting, “I am your ewe, and you are Christ.”
It is widely believed that on the night of Rasputin’s murder (December 16 by the Julian calendar that was still used in Russia at the time, but December 30 according to the Gregorian calendar), the great member was severed from his body and flung across the scene of the crime: the dining room in the basement of the palace of Prince Felix Yussupov, one of his murderers. Stories differ as to whether the emasculation of the Tsarina’s favourite took place before or after his death.
His maid was said to have found Rasputin’s thing while cleaning up the apartment, after the murder. Then, in Paris during the 1920s, a cult of Russian émigré women worshipped an object that they believed to be the organ in question. Or, so it is said. Some say that the relic adored by these cult followers was kept in a wooden casket, but bits were broken off and given to disciples. The story goes that Marie Rasputin, on discovering the wee-wee cult, expressed her disapproval in strong terms and took possession of whatever it was they were worshipping.
After a middling career as a circus performer in Europe, South America and the US, the ‘mad monk’s’ daughter died in California in 1977, aged 78 (she is buried in Rosedale Memorial Park, Los Angeles), having failed in her ambition of changing, by means of a book she had written, the popular view of her father as a stereotypical weirdo – no small task even for a good writer. (Actually, we should note here that he was not actually a monk, but a starets, or religious pilgrim.)
The legend goes further, that antique dealer Michael Augustine, of Davenport, a small ocean-side community north of Santa Cruz, California, came into possession of Rasputin’s roger. In 1994 at a storage locker sale he'd bought as a job lot, he found the effects of a certain Dr Roberta Ripple, deceased, former president of the Santa Monica Writers Club. Dr Ripple’s possessions included three type-written manuscripts by Marie Rasputin – a hagiography of her father, My Father Rasputin, (ghosted by Roberta Ripple) a novel (My Boots Are Narrow), and a short article entitled ‘Wreck of An Empire’.
But there was more – in its own velvet pouch, a black, wizened object (eeeyewww!) was found resembling the uncircumcised helmet (glans) of a penis. An accompanying note identified it as Rasputin's john thomas and stated that Marie Rasputin had been given it by Rasputin's maid and former lover, who claimed she'd been present at his dismemberment.
A manuscript by Marie – and the wizened object – were sold to a person or persons unknown at Bonham's London auction house (“Auctioneers & Valuers Since 1793”) on March 10, 1994, for the scarcely princely sum of £350. The missing member was last seen, held aloft, at a press conference at the auction house ... (Read on)
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 December 30 when you're there.
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By any measure of comparison, my December 30 was better than that experienced by billions of people in the world.
However, may I mention the two hours it took me to put together the second-hand water-bed I got for Christmas (used to be Baz le Tuff's), and the three hours I've spent since then cleaning up the flood caused by my trying to rush-start an 18-hour-late Almanac and then losing track of the time while toilet-reading about the Chase family haunted vaults in Barbados?
My mind only went to Barbados for about fifteen minutes but as God found during the first week, you can wet a lot of stuff in a quarter of an hour.
Back to the Almanac. I should have started the next one already LOL
Thank you.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | New push to help quake survivors
 "Relief teams in southern Iran are concentrating on caring for those made homeless by last week's earthquake, as hopes fade of finding more survivors.
The bodies of 28,000 victims have been recovered - but more are thought to be buried under the rubble, many of them in the ancient mud-brick city of Bam.
"With some rescuers pulling out, aid workers are now highlighting the plight of exposed survivors.
"The six Gulf Cooperation Council states have promised $400m for reconstruction.
"Aid workers say they are concentrating on providing shelter, food and heaters to the tens of thousands of survivors facing long, cold nights in the open.
"A United Nations official warned that even a common cold could prove fatal to them ..."
Source BBC
We can stay informed and donate to help the tens of thousands of bereaved survivors at UNICEF.
Iran Appeal at Islamic Aid
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Welcome to the new America
 Coffee, Tea or Handcuffs?
An Australian journalist gets a taste of Department of Homeland Security hospitality
by Steven Mikulan
"Sue Smethurst enjoys traveling. 'It’s one of the things about my job that I absolutely love,' says the 30-year-old Australian, who works as an associate editor for the women’s magazine New Idea. She doesn’t even mind flying. 'It’s one of the great pleasures of the world to be able to turn off your cell phone and be where no one can annoy you.'
"But when her Qantas flight from Melbourne, Australia, touched down at LAX around 8 a.m. on Friday, November 14, Smethurst found herself nightmarishly annoyed — by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Smethurst was supposed to continue to New York and on Monday interview singer Olivia Newton-John. Smethurst had honeymooned in Manhattan last year and was looking forward to a long, free weekend 'having a good walk through Central Park, getting a decent bowl of chicken soup and going Christmas shopping — all those gorgeous New York things.' Better still, her six-hour layover in L.A. would allow her to have lunch with her American literary agent.
“'I had a room booked at the Airport Hilton, where I was going to leave my bags, shower and get a cup of coffee.'
"But first she had to clear LAX’s immigration check-in, which she reached after 20 minutes in line. An officer from the DHS’s newly minted Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bureau studied the traveler’s declaration form Smethurst had filled out on the plane.
“'Oh, you’re a journalist,' he noted. 'What are you here for?'
“'I’m interviewing Olivia Newton-John,' Smethurst replied.
“'That’s nice,' the official said, impressed. 'What’s the article about?'
“'Breast cancer.'
"When Smethurst tells me this, she pauses and adds, 'I thought that last question was a little odd, but figured everything’s different now in America and it was fine.' What she didn’t know was that her assignment and travel plans, along with the chicken soup and stroll through Central Park, had been terminated the moment she confirmed she was a journalist. Fourteen hours later, she was escorted by three armed guards onto the 11 p.m. Qantas flight home.
“'I want to say right off that I adore America and love Americans,' Smethurst says. Still, she remains perplexed and emotionally bruised by what followed in Terminal Four. The CBP agent who read Smethurst’s traveler’s questionnaire took her to a secondary inspection area 30 feet away and told her to wait, then left for half an hour. He returned with additional uniformed staff who, professionally and pleasantly enough, asked more questions.
"What sort of stories did she write? What kind of magazine was New Idea? Where was it published? What was its circulation? Does it print politically sensitive articles? When would her interview appear? Who would be reading it?
“'I laughed,' Smethurst recalls, 'because we’re a cross between Good Housekeeping and People magazine. The most political thing we’d likely print was Laura Bush’s horoscope.'
"The polite interrogation continued. Who was her father? His occupation? Her mother’s maiden name and occupation? What were their dates of birth, where did they live?
"The agents gravely nodded at Smethurst’s replies and left once more, promising to return. When they came back half an hour later, one of the officers offered Smethurst a cup of airport coffee.
“'I thought at that stage something was quite wrong,' Smethurst says, 'so I asked the man with the coffee if there was some problem.'
“'I will tell you when there’s a problem,' he abruptly snapped, according to Smethurst. Then he pointed to a nearby sign:
"Your Silence Is Appreciated ...
Read on at LA Weekly
Thanks Lynn Perry for sending me this.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Oh, why can't we see! That...
Love Sees No Color
Love sees no color, no race, no religion
We are the same as the rays from the sun
Love sees no color, no race, no religion
Only through love can we live as one.
When I look into your eyes I see hope, and future
Realizing what we have inside.
Hearts of love, hearts of light, hearts of new beginnings
Eager to find the answers we are seeking
Why does it take one man to end it all?
Oh, why can't we see!
Why does it take much more to stop the fall?
When on only takes love to be free.
Let’s light a candle for the joining of our union
One for the fate of all mankind
One for love, one for thanks, all that we are given
Celebrating life and love we are finding.
The words to the song “Love Sees No Color” came one night to singer/songwriter Nassiri, a gentle, soft-spoken man who has truly been enlightened.
 The song title alone expresses a simple, yet powerful, recipe for peace. It’s a message that Nassiri is advocating with his accompanying music video filmed in the natural setting of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area with kids representing different nationalities from all over the world.
Believing that it is children who can lead the movement for world peace, armed with meaningful words and uplifting music, Nassiri has embarked on a self-funded mission. Proceeds from the song and video eloquently sharing his hope for the future are being submitted as a donation to UNICEF to aid children who are victims of war and poverty.
The words to the chorus hold a mesmerizing message that should be emblazoned on the walls of the United Nations.
Love sees no color, no race, no religion
We are the same as the rays from the sun
Love sees no color, no race, no religion
Only through love can we live as one
Nassiri, the song’s author, is one of the chosen few in life who is actually following his destiny. His music career began only five years ago, after decades of success in the retail and wholesale clothing industry. He started living his dream of musically spreading love and understanding after studying global religions and the timeless wisdom of history’s great teachers. The result of his intense pursuit has been inner peace and a universal consciousness that he now shares through his philosophical lyrical prose.
Read further for origins and future
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*Ø* Blogmanac | A "Fireside Chat" of Sorts
William Rivers Pitt is one of the brightest stars in our progressive league of voices standing up to the powers that be with facts and figures and knowledge they can't dispute. His writing and editing for truthout.org is a mainstay of the movement to inform and motivate Americans to save our country. His dynamism in live appearances can be enjoyed on CSPAN from time to time and now a taste of his impact can be felt in nightly audio presentations online.
'Truthout.org Overview' Evening Audio with William Rivers Pitt
 "We hope you will join us every night for this webcast as we examine, in depth and right here, the news of the day.
"We do truthout for three reasons: Far too often, the mainstream television news media act as little more than commercial advertisers for their parent companies. This is not journalism, and we desperately need journalism in this day and age. We also do truthout because the mainstream print media, while retaining great credibility, requires an enormous amount of time to sift through properly. Our editors, who read between 10 and 30 newspapers a day, do that for you.
"Finally, the English philosopher John Locke said,
'It is one thing to show a man that he is in error,
and another to put him in possession of truth.'
"Tonight, tomorrow, and for as long as we are able, truthout.org will be in the business of putting you in possession of the truth.
"The truthout overview will be available Monday through Friday each evening. We look forward to you joining us in this endeavor."
BOOKMARK!
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*Ø* Blogmanac | NOW IT IS REVEALED
Revealed: how MI6 sold the Iraq war
By Nicholas Rufford
12/28/03: (The Times) THE Secret Intelligence Service has run an operation to gain public support for sanctions and the use of military force in Iraq. The government yesterday confirmed that MI6 had organised Operation Mass Appeal, a campaign to plant stories in the media about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.
The revelation will create embarrassing questions for Tony Blair in the run-up to the publication of the report by Lord Hutton into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, the government weapons expert.
A senior official admitted that MI6 had been at the heart of a campaign launched in the late 1990s to spread information about Saddam’s development of nerve agents and other weapons, but denied that it had planted misinformation. “There were things about Saddam’s regime and his weapons that the public needed to know,” said the official.
The admission followed claims by Scott Ritter, who led 14 inspection missions in Iraq, that MI6 had recruited him in 1997 to help with the propaganda effort. He described meetings where the senior officer and at least two other MI6 staff had discussed ways to manipulate intelligence material.
“The aim was to convince the public that Iraq was a far greater threat than it actually was,” Ritter said last week.
He said there was evidence that MI6 continued to use similar propaganda tactics up to the invasion of Iraq earlier this year. “Stories ran in the media about secret underground facilities in Iraq and ongoing programmes (to produce weapons of mass destruction),” said Ritter. “They were sourced to western intelligence and all of them were garbage.”
Kelly, himself a former United Nations weapons inspector and colleague of Ritter, might also have been used by MI6 to pass information to the media. “Kelly was a known and government-approved conduit with the media,” said Ritter.
Hutton’s report is expected to deliver a verdict next month on whether intelligence was misused in order to promote the case for going to war. Hutton heard evidence that Kelly was authorised by the Foreign Office to speak to journalists on Iraq. Kelly was in close touch with the “Rockingham cell”, a group of weapons experts that received MI6 intelligence.
Blair justified his backing for sanctions and for the invasion of Iraq on the grounds that intelligence reports showed Saddam was working to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The use of MI6 as a “back channel” for promoting the government’s policies on Iraq was never discovered during the Hutton inquiry and is likely to cause considerable disquiet among MPs.
Full Text
Related Stories
In case you missed it: Blair's secret weapon: Investigation: A covert project, set up by the UK government, 'cherry-picked' intelligence to fit the hidden agenda of justifying war with Iraq
In case you missed it: Scott Ritter Proved Right! MI6 ran 'dubious' Iraq campaign: "I was approached by MI6 to provide that data, I met with the Mass Appeal operatives both in New York and London on several occasions. This data was provided and this data did find its way into the international media.
Bremer 'rejects' Blair WMD claims: The US official running Iraq appears to have contradicted Tony Blair's claim Saddam Hussein had laboratories for developing weapons of mass destruction.
[This is the information that needs to get to people who won't hear it by mainstream media. This is the information that will give more credence to those who voted "NO!" on the Iraq war for Republican voters in the presidential election. Please help everyone learn about this. We know the mainstream and the White House won't tattle on themselves! -v]
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*Ø* Blogmanac | FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH -- Actions to Take to Make a Difference
WE DON'T GET MAD! WE GET ORGANIZED!
Dear Veralynne of ACT (A-Changin' Times),
The Republicans are determined to end this year with a bang. In a flurry of last minute behind-the-scenes legislation they have successfully kept Democratic Members out of crucial negotiations. While the Republicans dismantle Medicare, continue funding corporate boondoggles with defense funds, and break down the walls of civil rights and civil liberties, no dissenting voices are allowed to be heard.
This isn’t just politics as usual. What they have done is unprecedented: they are making sure progressive voices go unheard. They are making lawmaking a “Republicans-only” operation.
Does this sound like democracy to you? It sure doesn’t to me.
I hope you will join me, and make 2004 a new year for politics— and a year for renewal of democracy in America, by supporting America Coming Together (ACT).
Getting mad simply isn’t enough. To win back the White House and elect progressive candidates all across the country, we must do a better job of identifying and mobilizing supporters. That’s why some of the leading progressive organizers in America have come together to advance a bold and far-reaching Action Plan to turn out millions of progressive voters.
Together, we will reach out to millions of Americans— I mean really reach out— face-to-face, door-to-door, neighbor-to-neighbor contacts that will give you and your neighbors the opportunity to be heard on the issues that matter to you the most. And that’s what America Coming Together (ACT) is all about: getting people back into the polling places and back into our government.
And when those voters march to the polls, they will defeat George W. Bush and his extremist allies from the school boards to the House and Senate.
Let me be clear, we are in for the fight of our lives, and it won’t be cheap. Our Action Plan will cost $94 million to carry out. We’ve already raised $45 million and, to keep our efforts on track, we must raise $5 million more by December 31st.
I hope that I can count on you to help us meet that goal with a gift of $50, $75, $100 or the most generous gift that you can afford. Please take the first step in getting America back on the right track by supporting America Coming Together.
The rewards of victory will be well worth the time, effort, and money we invest.
The Republican operatives aren’t waiting to start the campaign, and we can’t either. We urgently need your support now to keep our efforts on track, so please help us meet our December 31st goal.
Sincerely,
Ellen Malcolm
President,
America Coming Together
Please help us reach our goal by sharing this message with your friends and family.
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From Leo:
"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something
fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded
in the human spirit." -- Abbie Hoffman
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Blogroll Us Monday, December 29, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac | The New Republicans
NY Times editorial turns up the heat on the GOP
"The Republican Party has been in charge of the national agenda for almost three years now — Democratic majorities in Congress don't crimp George W. Bush's style the way they did for his father or Ronald Reagan when they were in office. We have thus had an unobstructed view of what the 21st-century version of the party looks like. It's very clear this is not the father's G.O.P ...
"Late-20th-century Republicanism was an uneasy alliance of social conservatives — who were comfortable with government intervention in citizens' lives when it came to morality issues — and libertarians who wanted as little interference as possible. That balancing act ended on 9/11. Since then, the Justice Department has enlarged the intrusive powers of government by, among other things, authorizing "sneak and peek" searches of private homes and suspending traditional civil liberties for certain defendants ...
"The administration is determined to deliver on corporate America's goal of cutting overtime pay for white-collar workers. At the same time, it has been tepid in asserting greater federal vigilance over the developing scandal of workplace safety.
"Republicans have always enjoyed their reputation as the champions of business. The difference now is that they no longer couple their business-friendly attitudes with tight-fistedness. Discretionary spending has jumped 27 percent in the last two years; budget hawks complain Congressional pork is up more than 40 percent. Some of that money has gone to buy the allegiance of wavering party members in the closely divided House and Senate, but much of it is directly tied to the demands of big business. Agriculture subsidies to corporate farms have swollen to new heights, while energy policy has been reduced to a miserable grab bag of special benefits for the oil, gas and coal companies ...
"This, it appears, is what compassionate conservatism really means. The conservative part is a stern and sometimes intrusive government to regulate the citizenry, but with a hands-off attitude toward business. The compassionate end involves some large federal programs combined with unending sympathy for the demands of special interests. If only it all added up.
New York Times Editorial, December 28, 2003
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Bush's man rejects Blair weapon claim
Luke Harding, The Observer
December 28
"Tony Blair was at the centre of an embarrassing row last night after the most senior US official in Baghdad bluntly rejected the Prime Minister's assertion that secret weapons laboratories had been discovered in Iraq.
"In a Christmas message to British troops, Blair claimed there was 'massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories'. The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) had unearthed compelling evidence that showed Saddam Hussein had attempted to 'conceal weapons', the Prime Minister said. But in an interview yesterday, Paul Bremer, the Bush administration's top official in Baghdad, flatly dismissed the claim as untrue -- without realising its source was Blair.
"It was, he suggested, a 'red herring', probably put about by someone opposed to military action in Iraq who wanted to undermine the coalition.
"'I don't know where those words come from but that is not what [ISG chief] David Kay has said,' he told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme. 'It sounds like a bit of a red herring to me.'"
Full text
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Short calls on Blair to resign
BBC:
"Clare Short has called on Tony Blair to resign because she says he deceived the British people over the Iraq war. She accused the prime minister of risking his own legacy because of an obsession with 'his place in history'. She predicted he would not lead Labour into the next election and urged him to resign for the honour of Britain.
"Ms Short was international development secretary before the Iraq war but left the cabinet afterwards in protest ...
"Her criticisms were echoed by Labour left-winger Diane Abbott, who told the same programme Mr Blair has risked backbench rebellions by making loyal MPs feel like 'pillocks' over the Iraq war."
Full text
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Blogroll Us Sunday, December 28, 2003
*Ø* Blogmanac December 28, 1879 | Unluckiest day of the year (Childermas)
 1879 The Tay Rail Bridge disaster, Dundee, Scotland during a fierce gale. A section of the bridge collapsed, wrecking a train which was running over its single track. 75 passengers on the 7.15 Edinburgh to Dundee train were killed, including the son-in-law of the bridge’s designer, Thomas Bouch. Engineers quickly determined that the metal used in the bridge's design was of poor quality, and modern structural analysis of the bridge also shows its design was not sufficient to resist the strong winds commonplace in the Tay estuary.
The Victorian poet William Topaz McGonagall (1825 - September 29, 1902) – whose work has been distinguished as, "The worst poetry ever written, in any language, at any time" – commemorated this event in his poem 'The Tay Bridge Disaster'.
It must have been an awful sight,
To witness in the dusky moonlight,
While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,
Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,
Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,
I must now conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.
William Topaz McGonagall, often claimed to be the world’s ‘best bad poet’, 'The Tay Bridge Disaster' (1879)
Read also about Childermas (Feast day of the Holy Innocents killed by King Herod) – and the slaughter of the innocents in 2003.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today – said to be the unluckiest day of the year – 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 December 28 | Oops yesterday
Funny, ain't it. I mean, that's life. "At great expense to the management" I managed to get the Almanac ezine out every day, plus the Book of Days, and post something about the day here, all through the Silly Season as well as my own moving house. Sleep was a luxury.
Then, yesterday, when I had all the time in the world, and although I did the ezine and the December 27 page at the BoD, I didn't post a gollygosh thing here about the folklore and history of December 27. Strange. I think I went into collapse mode after all the madness of the last fortnight.
Anyway, about yesterday's folklore:
My true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.
I've been getting the bizarrest Chrissie prezzies.
Also on December 27, a bit of 18-Rabbit news:
 631 CE A Naranjo captive in a Caracol (in the Cayo District of the nation of Belize) war underwent some grisly sacrificial rite under the auspices of a Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico) lord, resulting in the capture of Waxaklahun U-Bah-Chan, or 18-Rabbit (pictured), the Mayan snake divinity of Naranjo (ancient city of the Maya civilization in the Peten department of Guatemala, about 10 km west of the border with Belize).
There's plenty of interesting stuff at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, for December 27. I hope you enjoy.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Balloonists set new solar target
By Carolyn Fry
 "Record-breaking aviators Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard hope to harness the Sun's power to fly round the world. The pair gained worldwide recognition in 1999 when they became the first to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon.
"Now they plan to repeat the journey in a solar-powered aeroplane which will have to use batteries to fly at night. A feasibility study has confirmed the viability of the Solar Impulse project and experts are now preparing to design the craft for launch some time in 2006 ...
"It will not carry any fossil fuels on board and so will offer completely pollution-free transport. 'The great thing about this project is that it allows us to be a force for good from the beginning,' says Jones."
Read the whole story at BBC News
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