The Bush World Tour:
Afghanistan 2001
Iraq 2003
Iran 2008
An Administration official told me it's not even a consideration. "IRGC IED's are a casus belli for this administration. There will be an attack on Iran."
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The inmates are truly running the asylum. Look for the draft, coming soon to a town near you.
No, we're not talking about Islam.
[Stephen] Baldwin became a right-wing, born-again Christian after the 9/11 attacks, and now is the star of Operation Straight Up (OSU), an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military. As an official arm of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, OSU plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq. OSU is also scheduled to embark on a "Military Crusade in Iraq" in the near future.
"We feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple crusades that will sweep through this war torn region," OSU declares on its website about its planned trip to Iraq. "We'll hold the only religious crusade of its size in the dangerous land of Iraq."
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A must read article. Those of us who cherish the idea of a separation of church and state are understandably outraged. And using the word 'crusade' is both inflammatory and accurate in this case.
"This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military," said an unidentified military health officer who fears for his job.A shot from a syringe is leaving some U.S. servicemen and women on the brink of death.
"When the issue, I believe, of the use of the vaccine comes out, I believe it will make the Walter Reed scandal pale in comparison," said the health officer.Lance Corporal David Fey, 20, has dialysis three days a week. His kidneys are failing, his military career is over, and he feels like his country abandoned him.
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Our budget is topsy turvey and so is this bus. Ben (of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream) had it built to illustrate the massive military budget.
Building an empire is expensive and somethings have to give... like education, health care, infrastructure....
Hat tip to Joe for the article.
I fear Americans have forgotten the true horrors of war.
Wilfred Burchett decided to strike out on his own. He was determined to see for himself what this nuclear bomb had done, to understand what this vaunted new weapon was all about. So he boarded a train and traveled for thirty hours to the city of Hiroshima in defiance of General MacArthur's orders.
Burchett emerged from the train into a nightmare world. The devastation that confronted him was unlike any he had ever seen during the war. The city of Hiroshima, with a population of 350,000, had been razed. Multistory buildings were reduced to charred posts. He saw people's shadows seared into walls and sidewalks. He met people with their skin melting off. In the hospital, he saw patients with purple skin hemorrhages, gangrene, fever, and rapid hair loss. Burchett was among the first to witness and describe radiation sickness.
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We would do well to remember the consequences of all of this American saber-rattling, especially now that Bush's ire is now directed at Iran. Stories like this are especially important with the continued extensive military blackouts of news and the corporate media's complacency. Censorship has always gone hand in hand with the military but it seems so much worse right now.
