* Iraq War Veterans * Countdown for Bush PresidencyCoverage of the war and soldiers had receded to back pages as the surge succeeded in reducing the number of casualties. Yesterday, Steve Vogel of the Washington Post reported on a gathering of Iraq war veterans at Silver Spring, MD.War Stories Echo an Earlier WinterGrim-faced and sorrowful, former soldiers and Marines sat before an audience of several hundred yesterday in Silver Spring and shared their recollections of their service in Iraq.The stories spilled out, sometimes haltingly, sometimes in a rush: soldiers firing indiscriminately on Iraqi vehicles, an apartment building filled with Iraqi families devastated by an American gunship. Some descriptions were agonized, some vague; others offered specific dates and locations. All were recorded and streamed live to the Web.The four-day event, "Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan -- Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations," is sponsored by Iraq Veterans Against the War and is expected to draw more than 200 veterans of the two wars through tomorrow. Timed for the eve of the fifth anniversary of the war's start next week, organizers hope the soldiers' accounts will galvanize public opposition.For some of the veterans speaking yesterday, the experience was catharsis.Former Marine Jon Turner began his presentation by ripping his service medals off his shirt and tossing them into the first row. He then narrated a series of graphic photographs showing bloody victims and destruction, bringing gasps from the audience. In a matter-of-fact voice, he described episodes in which he and fellow Marines shot people out of fear or retribution."I'm sorry for the hate and destruction I've inflicted upon innocent people," Turner said. "Until people hear about what is happening in this war, it will continue."Yes, there were pro-war soldiers.Counter-protesters outside derided the event and were deeply skeptical of the claims being made inside. "We want absolute specifics," said Harry Riley, a retired Army colonel who leads Eagles Up!. "This is too important to our nation. The credibility of our nation and the credibility of our soldiers are involved."Riley said those making allegations against the U.S. military should have to give sworn testimony instead of speaking at an antiwar conference.Organizers said they have sought to verify the records of all soldiers speaking, including reviewing their service records and talking to other members of units. Some soldiers had videos and photographs, which were displayed yesterday on a large screen in the auditorium.The War PresidentThis from the man who dodged Vietnam:"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind. Again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true. " --- G.W. Bush, Feb 8, 2004, Meet The Press, MSNBCWar hath no fury like a non-combatant.---C.E. Montague Comments Paul Mitchell — 2008-03-25 200 soldiers from both wars out of a total of 1.6 million that have served in both wars so far? I would say that most knew that they were doing the right thing, the 200 are the exceptions that prove that.

*Bush's War * Et tu, Spitzer!As the presidential candidates try to bring their opponents down by capitalizing every misstep, accentuating the negative in every speech and, in the process, proving that behind the facade they are all cut from the same cloth, one issue that appears to have receded into the background is the war in Iraq that was foisted on us in 2003 by the Bush administration.Last week, the Senate held a hearing about costs of the war. Do not expect much from it. McCain blithely talks about a "hundred-year war". Soldiers are still dying. With the deaths of five soldiers in Baghdad today the total number of U.S. casualties is nearing 4,000.BAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a bomb blast in central Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said, in the worst single attack on U.S. forces in Baghdad in months.Most of our elected representatives have moved on to other matters. Deaths in Iraq no longer receive the attention they deserve.....except by the families of soldiers. But they,too, appear to meekly accept the situation. Some of them believe that the deaths are for a noble cause; others remain silent out of a sense of futility about their ability to do anything to stop it; voices of those who speak out against the war are not loud enough. *"They say: 'Our deaths are not ours: they are yours, they will mean what you make of them'."---Archibald MacLeish (The Young Dead Soldiers) * Eliot SpitzerThe last thing the Democrats needed was a scandal involving a prominent politician. But it happened and now the inevitable fallout will take its course.

*"Crimes against our Constitution"Applause for the people of Brattleboro and Marlboro, Vermont, who approved resolutions to indict President G.W. Bush and Vice President R.B. Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution".No specific crimes are mentioned, but organisers of the anti-Bush effort have referred to perjury, obstruction of justice and war crimes related to the Iraq conflict. The resolutions ask town attorneys in Brattleboro and Marlboro to draft indictments without outlining how to enforce them, giving the charges little practical consequence.An empty gesture? Perhaps, but it was courageous of the citizens of Brattleboro and Marlboro. *"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."---Edmund Burke

*Numbers behind the smoke and mirrors * Paris Book Fair and MuslimsOne trillion means twelve zeroes -- 1,000,000,000,000. Read Bob Herbert in the NYTimes, think about the waste of our money and the lies that lead to the unjust war in Iraq.The $2 Trillion NightmareExcerpts:On Thursday, the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Senator Chuck Schumer, conducted a public examination of the costs of the war. The witnesses included the Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz (who believes the overall costs of the war — not just the cost to taxpayers — will reach $3 trillion), and Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International.Both men talked about large opportunities lost because of the money poured into the war. “For a fraction of the cost of this war,” said Mr. Stiglitz, “we could have put Social Security on a sound footing for the next half-century or more.”Mr. Hormats mentioned Social Security and Medicare, saying that both could have been put “on a more sustainable basis.” And he cited the committee’s own calculations from last fall that showed that the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year, or make a year of college affordable for 160,000 low-income students through Pell Grants, or pay the annual salaries of nearly 11,000 additional border patrol agents or 14,000 more police officers.What we’re getting instead is the stuff of nightmares. Mr. Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia, has been working with a colleague at Harvard, Linda Bilmes, to document, among other things, some of the less obvious costs of the war. These include the obligation to provide health care and disability benefits for returning veterans. Those costs will be with us for decades.Mr. Stiglitz noted that nearly 40 percent of the 700,000 troops from the first gulf war, which lasted just a month, have become eligible for disability benefits. The current war is approaching five years in duration.“Imagine then,” said Mr. Stiglitz, “what a war — that will almost surely involve more than 2 million troops and will almost surely last more than six or seven years — will cost. Already we are seeing large numbers of returning veterans showing up at V.A. hospitals for treatment, large numbers applying for disability and large numbers with severe psychological problems.”The Bush administration has tried its best to conceal the horrendous costs of the war. It has bypassed the normal budgetary process, financing the war almost entirely through “emergency” appropriations that get far less scrutiny.Hypocrisy of Muslim Countries A book fair in Paris has become the subject of controversy with several Muslim countries announcing boycotts because the guest of honour is Israel.Saudi Arabia has become the latest to withdraw, following Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) has also urged its 50 members to pull out from the fair, which starts on 14 March.Isesco said Israel had committed crimes against humanity in Palestinian areas.Is Israel guilty of "crimes against humanity"? Yes, of course, it is. And it has been aided and abetted by the United States for geo-political reasons.But look at the roster of accusers. None of the Muslim countries involved can claim to be exempt from human rights abuses. Like the United States -- guilty of "extraordinary rendition", waterboarding and other shady acts that are yet to be reported -- the Islamic countries consider themselves to be untainted. It is a laughable position to take. They are like the proverbial ostriches with heads buried in the sand. Comments Paul Mitchell — 2008-03-05 What says you about the primaries yesterday? Bad for the Democrats?

*Fitna * Female Foeticide * End of the Chanterelle SeasonThere they go again. Fitna, a film made by Dutch MP Geert Wilders has riled up Muslims because it criticises Islam! It is a long way from The Hague to Mazar-i-Sharif (Tomb of the Chief) in northern Afghanistan but didn't take long for the mob to appear there. The BBC reported:"On Sunday, hundreds of Afghans took to the streets in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to protest against the film.Demonstrators burned Dutch flags, and called for the withdrawal of Dutch troops from the Nato force."Some Muslims are touchy about the Koran. Takes very little to incite them to go on rampage, ready to kill and burn. But where would we be if all countries prohibit critical books and articles about the Koran or making films that question or criticise its teachings? *India - Female FoeticideThe Indian Government has taken a positive step against selective, gender-based, abortions. The cash incentive is expected to reduce the number of such abortions. Guardian.co.UKThe Indian government today announced a scheme to pay poor families to give birth to and bring up girls in an attempt to stop families nationwide aborting an estimated half a million female foetuses a year.Families in seven states are set to benefit from cash payments amounting to 15,500 rupees (£193) to keep and bring up their female children.Ministers say more than 100,000 girls could be saved in the first year. In India ultrasound technology coupled with a traditional preference for boys, who are seen as future breadwinners, has led to mass female foeticide. * Last of the Chanterelles©Musafir March 2, 2008Beauties, but found only a few of them. The soil felt dry when I walked in the woods yesterday afternoon. With most of the rains behind us, the season for chanterelles is ending in this part of the San Francisco Bay area. It will be November before I go foraging for wild mushrooms. In the meantime, we can look forward to a show of wild flowers. The rains in February created the right conditions for good displays. Apart from occasional wintry showers And frosts some nights to spoil our flowers, Winter's done.--David Curtis (Perthshire, Scotland, 2002)

*Democrats in Ohio are still reported to be for Hillary Clinton. But her lead has slipped to a point (about 5%) where it is no longer "safe". Outcome in Texas is up in the air. March 4th, when primaries will take place in those two states, is a crucial day for both Clinton and Obama.What will happen next is a matter of concern to all Democrats. For one candidate it would be time to "fish or cut bait". Though yet to be officially anointed, Republicans have a candidate. Infighting among Democrats is the last thing we need. Sooner the Democratic contender is named the better we shall be to begin the real battle for White House.Let us hope that the Democrats will come together and act for the good of the party. Protracted behind the scene manoeuvres by power brokers for support from super delegates must be avoided. Heed the people's will and decide long before March 15th (The ides of March).*Funny Headline of the DayBush: US Is Not Headed Into RecessionCaesar:Who is it in the press that calls on me?I hear a tongue shriller than all the musicCry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.Soothsayer:Beware the ides of March.Caesar:What man is that?Brutus:A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.---Wm Shakespare (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2)

*After the Rhetoric Who Will Walk the Walk? When John Edwards pulled out of the race Barack Obama became my choice. Hillary Clinton's fixed smile, at times almost rictus-like, and her tiresome emphasis on experience fail to convince me. Above all, Clinton's support of the war and attempts to skirt around the issue made me turn against her long before the nationwide momentum for Obama began. She certainly can claim more years in politics. Does that translate into ability to govern? No president can be successful without competent cabinet members. Obama can be expected to select people who will have the necessary knowledge and expertise to assist him.However, let's not delude ourselves. Once elected, politicians have a habit of forgetting what they said during campaign. I do not expect either Obama or Clinton to fulfill the promises they are making. That is how the system works. No matter who occupies the White House the power brokers -- big money contributors, lobbyists, labor unions -- will extract their "pound of flesh". Obama's flipflop on campaign financing cannot and must not be condoned. There will be deals cut. There will be scandals, created ones if not real. If Obama is elected, the search for his feet of clay will be intense; warts will be magnified. But the bottom line: undoubtedly a better America....many times better than the abysmal depth to which Bush and his neocon cohorts have taken our country to.Charlie Wilson, the then chairman of General Motors, reportedly said in 1955: "What is good for General Motors is good for America". GM is no longer the major force it once was but there are others and they wield tremendous power. Under Republican administrations rules that were in place to prevent unethical corporate practices were removed or government watchdogs looked the other way as rules were broken. Targeted tax cuts that benefit those at the highest level of income were promoted and passed. Ordinary Americans were conned by smoke and mirrors as Republicans sacrificed their interests in championing free-market economy. They would stand to get a more fair deal; their concerns would receive attention. Soldiers would be brought home from the unjustified war. McCain has moved to the right as far as possible. He now acts like a Bush clone except that he speaks better than the incumbent of the White House. But knowledge of English language is not a good reason to elect him. As to the Vicki Iseman story, if McCain's supporters desert him because of that piece of fluff then perhaps he is better off without them.McCain distorting Obama's statement about Pakistan.Media outlets uncritically reported McCain's false assertion that Obama "once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan"Summary: The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com's The Trail both quoted Sen. John McCain's false assertion that Sen. Barack Obama "once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan." McClatchy Newspapers -- apparently quoting from the prepared text of McCain's January 19 speech -- reported that McCain said Obama "once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan." In fact, in an August 2007 speech, Obama stated: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and [Pakistani] President [Pervez] Musharraf won't act, we will." Comments Unknown — 2008-02-25 Dear Musafir, This mail is apropos of a posting you made in April 2006. Commenting on Bruce Springsteen's festschrift to Pete Seeger, you mention that you were present in the concert that Seeger gave in Calcutta in the late-60s. Now, I am a Ph.D. student in Syracuse University researching the influence of American musicon Calcutta's youth culture. I will be grateful beyond estimation if you would partake of your memories of that concert with me. I rather fortuitously stumbled upon your blog while doing a google-search on the matter. In the limited space afforded here, it will not be possible for me to discuss my project with you in any appreciable detail. If, however, you feel inclined to share your thoughts with me then do kindly acknowledge this email. I will be more than glad to relate my project to you in greater detail. My email id is: shbasu@maxwell.syr.edu. Thank you in advance, Sharmadip Paul Mitchell — 2008-03-01 While I do not share your hatred of capitalism, free enterprise, and corporations, the thing that I do agree with is your understanding that politicians lie to get elected. Some more than others. Why in your opinion do we allow that in the people we elect to govern?

*Heralds of Spring * Haikus Cold and wet afternoon. We are 30 days away from Spring Equinox. It feels very wintry. Yet there are signs that spring is around the corner. Acacias began showing their plumage a few weeks back; the daffodils alongside Hwy 280 back of the Stanford Dish have made their annual appearance for the pleasure of motorists. And yesterday I noticed blossoms on a cherry tree in a neighbor's yard.©Musafir©Musafir * Spring too, very soon!They are setting the scene for it--plum tree and moon.---Basho (1643-1694)Blossoms on the pear--and a woman in the moonlight reads a letter there.---Buson (1715-1783)Source: The World of Zen by Nancy Wilson Ross * Chanterelles were late in emerging this season because of lack of rain. The January rains brought them out. Some are still to be found but the delicious mushrooms will be soon gone.BG in the forest©Musafir

*Democrats * Republicans * Eavesdropping Bill Disturbing....what is happening in the race for White House. The contenders are behaving just as others did in past presidential elections. Mud-slinging, while not yet very pronounced, is going on. And in the battle for support they continue to trample on truth and do somersaults. They want to please all interest groups. They are ready to play the 'race card', 'abortion card', 'faith card'. You name it, they are ready and willing. John McCain, formerly an Episcopalian is now a devout Baptist.Recent passage of the eavesdropping bill and protection for telecom giants who cooperated with the Bush Administration by providing records without court order was a glaring example of the failure of the Democrats to stand up to such abuses. Some of them, including our Senator Feinstein, fully support the Bush Administration on this issue; others are plain gutless, still under spell of 9/11, or they receive contributions from the telephone companies.Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) is reportedly steering the secretive Senate Intelligence Committee to give retroactive immunity to telecoms that helped the government secretly spy on Americans.He has also recently benefited from some interesting political contributions.WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday approved new rules for government eavesdropping on phone calls and e-mails, giving the White House much of the latitude it wanted and granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped in the snooping after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Protection for the telecom companies is the most prominent feature of the legislation, something President Bush had insisted on as essential to getting private sector cooperation in spying on foreign terrorists and other targets. The bill would give retroactive protection to companies that acted without court permission.Few comments from friends:DM, Massachusetts: " Today's senate voting to grant immunity to phone companies about tapping got me curious. Dem big mouths always come on TV saying they opposed everything about Bush and yet they can seem to never overturn any of his bills. So I looked up the Senate voting record for today's bill just for kicks.http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00019To me it seems the Dem party is filled with republican moles, inclduding some from CA, who put on dem party suit simply to sabotage the notion that dems will stand up to bush. * SG in California, wrote: "My interest in US domestic politics flagged after Clinton took office in 92 (I recall listening to Bill at a discussion group on education at Stanford the day before he announced his candidacy), because the war between the Clintons and the "vast right-wing conspiracy" did not interest me.The Obama-Hillary battle is interesting because it pits baby-boomers against the generation that grew up with civil rights bill having passed the Congress. It's brought our the closet misogynists, the closet racists and the liberal hypocrites all out in the open.Obama and Michelle are high-achieving blacks who do not constantly bitch about racism but expect to be treated equally as whites.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/us/politics/14michelle.html?hp=&pagewanted=allI like that attitude.The white liberals are oh-so pro-affirmative action because they carry the burden of white guilt and holier-than-thou attitude as a badge of honor. Most of them have little social (and in many cases, little professional) contact with non-whites. Clintons belong to this group. They are all for black upliftment as long as they and their (mostly white) buddies do it. Note that George Bush has had more non-white senior executive and White House staff than Clinton did.The younger gen voting for Obama is much more racially integrated and do not continually mouth affirmative action and other platitudes like the old liberals (except the members of the rapidly expanding Hispanic Separatist Nation who also seem to like Hillary more :).It's like the caste system in India. Congress and the Commies (particularly in Bengal) were always dominated by Brahmins who wanted to uplift the lower castes but did not care to have them in their own social or political power circle. Our generation started breaking the caste barriers in school, college dorms, in friendship, and in marriage. *DM, from Massachusetts: One of my takeaways from this election as I hear various call in talk shows on TV/radio during this ballot bowl season: conservatism is another name for war mongering and hate spewing free speech, and how important it seems for the republican candidate to pander to the the handful bastion of these conservative media personalities instead of serving the people that elect them. For it is they who best decide what is good for the country. If this kind of arrogance and hate was being spewed by the leaders of another country we all know what would that be labeled as. Some claim they want to hear about specifics instead of motivational oratory. Remind me when was the last time a president was able to deliver on specifics they promised to the people. They only managed to deliver what was promised behind closed doors away from the public eye. Unfortunately this 2 party system manages to perpetuate this conservative and liberal mentality and gives meaning to their existence. These labels give these people something to rally around and plot around. I wish someday these would just disappear instead of these spy vs spy mentality they seem to foster in many - "I as a staunch conservative want HRC to win because she would mess it up so much that the (neocons) will then rule the (world) for another 20 years after that" - almost an exact quote from a Talk of the Nation episode. and of course the way Latino population is growing in a few years everybody else will be hasta la vista :) We will all be worshiping Mother Mary & baby Jesus in bathtubs in our front yards." * Perhaps a bit of a stretch but that possibility cannot be completely shrugged off. I'll not be around when the Hispanic community becomes a dominant force in California and a few other states. The prospects, however, are disheartening and I cannot help feeling sad about the inevitable changes on the distant horizon. Currently, a debate is raging in the United Kingdom about recognition of Sharia Law for Muslim citizens. One gets the feeling that it will not happen as long as majority of the Brits oppose it.

*Fraudsters in the Charity RacketScammers exist; they have always existed and always will. The NYTimes editorial on February 8th described the nefarious activities of one particular organization -- Coalition to Salute American Heroes (CSAH). Perhaps the same people who coined the unforgettable phrases "collateral damage" and "friendly fire" came up with the name but that is beside the point.Before you contribute a penny to CSAH spend a few minutes checking how it spends your money. In the past there were reports about Frank Hudson, the then CEO of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, who spent contributions on botox injections to make himself look good, and then there were horror stories about mismanagement of funds by the people who ran Goodwill Industries of Santa Clara County, California. The United Way of America which receives support from local corporations had its share of problems with executives who misappropriated funds. The founders of Coalition to Salute American Heroes, however, win the prize for spending most of the money on salaries and perks for themselves.Their sister organization is named "Help Hospitalized Veterans", HHV!Excerpts:An envelope arrived in our office the other day. It had the bulky, tawdry look of junk mail: pink and lavender Easter eggs, a plastic address window and a photo of a young man in fatigue shorts using crutches to stand on his only leg. “Thousands of severely wounded troops are suffering,” it read. “Will you help them this Easter?” It was a plea for money from the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, one of the worst private charities — but hardly the only — that have been shamefully milking easy cash from the suffering and heartache caused by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.The coalition and its sister organization, Help Hospitalized Veterans, were among a dozen military-related charities given a grade of F in a study last December by the American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit watchdog group. These and other charities have collected hundreds of millions of dollars from kind-hearted Americans and squandered an unconscionable amount of it on overhead and expenses — 70 percent or 80 percent, or more. The usual administrative outlay for a reputable charity is about 30 percent. Money that donors surely assumed was going to ease the pain and speed the healing of injured soldiers went instead to junk-mail barrages, inflated executive salaries and other forms of corporate-style bloat.And what did the soldiers get? Try almost $18.8 million in “charitable” phone cards sent to troops overseas in 2006 — not to let them call their families, but rather to call up a stateside business that sells sports scores.And think of what Mr. Chapin told the House committee when asked what would happen if his charities ever told donors where their money went. “If we disclose, which I’m more than happy to do,” he said, “we’d all be out of business. Nobody would donate. It would dry up.” Comments Anonymous — 2008-02-10 Please keep this story alive and running. The more people who see it the better. Not only will it point the way to donate with a watchful eye but it will, more importantly, put Mr. Chapin and his cronies out of business for once and for all. Thanks.