Ten soldiers died yesterday in Bush's war. Twentynine, so far in December. The Baker-Hamilton Report (ISG) leaves no doubt about the fallacies of the war that President Bush and the neocons led us into. The sad fact is that many more will die before the exit from Iraq takes place.Paul Wolfowitz, one of the prime architects, must be happy to be out of it, running the World Bank. VP Cheney has stopped issuing his Strangelovian statements. Donald Rumsfeld paid the price for his role. Condoleezza Rice is reinventing herself. The smirk is gone but President Bush continues to defend his position. We'll hear more platitudes after his meeting with Prime Minister Blair. For reasons that mystify, Blair became a true believer in the Bush doctrine. He, too, paid a price for hitching his star to Bush.Why did 20-year old Lance Corporal Thomas P. Echols (1st BN, 6th Marine Reg, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force) become a casualty on December 4th. What did he die for? Someone must be held responsible for his death, the deaths of other soldiers, and the more than half a million Iraqis who died directly or indirecly from Operation Iraqi Freedom that we foisted on them. President Clinton faced impeachment for diddling with Monica Lewinsky in the White House. The human and financial costs of the war in Iraq are more than enough to call for impeachment of President Bush.

The Iraq Study Group (ISG)The much anticipated report from ISG has been submitted to the president and will be released to public later this morning (11:00 AM Eastern). President Bush made the usual noises. "Congress seemed eager yesterday to embrace the new Baker-Hamilton report as a possible way out of the morass in Iraq, while the White House is increasingly insistent that the document is but one of several suggestions President Bush will review as he ponders changes to a policy widely seen as not working in Iraq."Despite the growing opposition to continuing our military presence in Iraq, the president keeps talking about no withdrawal until a victory. Perhaps only he knows what that "victory" means. A few days before he resigned, a leaked memo from former Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted failure of the Bush Administration's policy and Robert Gates, whose appointment as defense secretary was confirmed yesterday, made no bones about it.Ultimately, the president will not be able to maintain his position about a victory. But he is living up to his record. He was wrong to begin the war; he is wrong about when and how to end it. Like Nero, who fiddled while Rome was burning, Bush keeps on singing the same old song.Excerpts from The Washington Post:Iraq Panel Warns of Looming 'Catastrophe'Circumstances in Iraq are "grave and deteriorating," with a potential government collapse and a "humanitarian catastrophe" if the U.S. does not change course and seek a broader diplomatic solution to the problems that have wracked the country since the U.S. invaded, according to a bipartisan panel that sent its findings to President Bush and Congress today. ...

One Man's Tribute to Dead Soldiers * The First Daughters20 days before Christmas. If reports are correct, cash registers are humming below the level for businesses to feel happy. Is that bad news? The pundits talk of good and bad economic indicators. People need jobs, and jobs depend on good economy. So, may the ringing of cash registers increase -- it usually does as the day comes close. On the 23rd and 24th there is pandemonium in the shopping centers. Even now parking spots are hard to find in local malls. The Silicon Valley, of course, cannot be taken as a sample of what is happening elsewhere in the country.News about Iraq continues to predominate. The president does not want his war to end soon; he talks about "victory". In the meantime, our soldiers are paying the price. Sixteen more have died this month. The total is 2906 (Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties).Two items, quite disparate, stood out -- Morrill Worcester's tribute to dead soldiers and the president's daughters.Washington Post'Rest easy, sleep well my brothers. Know the line has held, your job is done.'By Marc FisherSunday, December 3, 2006Every year for more than a decade, at the height of the season, Morrill Worcester would pack up a truckload of his Christmas wreaths and head down from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery. Without fanfare, he and a dozen or so volunteers would lay red-bowed wreaths on a few thousand headstones of fallen Americans.There was no publicity. No crowds gathered. The gesture was one man's private duty, born of a trip to Washington he won as a 12-year-old paperboy. Of all the monuments and memorials he saw, it was the visit to Arlington that stuck with him -- the majesty and mystery, the sadness and the pride, the sight of all those neat rows of government-issue white headstones.Years later, after he had started his Christmas products business, at the crunch point of one season Worcester asked some men who were building his new factory to find some wreaths and buy them for him.They went a bit overboard: When Worcester heard that he was the proud owner of 4,000 wreaths that couldn't possibly be sold by Christmas, he called a friend who owned a trucking company, contacted his senator in Washington and, two weeks before Christmas 1992, was at Arlington, laying wreaths.It seemed like the right thing to do. So he continued the ritual each year, honoring those who had died so that he and other Americans might live as theyvery year for more than a decade, at the height of the season, Morrill Worcester would pack up a truckload of his Christmas wreaths and head down from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery. Without fanfare, he and a dozen or so volunteers would lay red-bowed wreaths on a few thousand headstones of fallen Americans.It seemed like the right thing to do. So he continued the ritual each year, honoring those who had died so that he and other Americans might live as they saw fit.The First DaughtersMichael Kinsley's Sins of the Fathers in the Post pointed a spotlight on a subject that has been avoided by the media. "It is not the fault of Jenna or Barbara Bush that their father, the president, has gotten us into a war that he doesn't know how to get us out of. And, although you can blame parents for almost anything, George W. and Laura Bush are no longer responsible for the behavior of their twin daughters, who are in their mid-20s. Presidents, like the rest of us, don't get to choose their relatives. Remember Billy Carter?"Excerpts:As for the twins, we actually know next to nothing about them. George and Laura Bush made the wise decision to keep them out of the limelight, and -- with surprisingly little slippage -- they have managed to enforce this policy on the press, on the Republican propaganda machine and on the girls themselves. Good for them.From what little has leaked out, it seems that Jenna and Barbara are party girls who like to drink and dance until the wee hours with aristocrats and frat boys. Jenna is interning for UNICEF in Latin America (not actually teaching kids, as originally reported, but involved somehow in education). The twins recently took a trip to Argentina. Their first night there, partying in Buenos Aires, Barbara lost her purse to a thief.So it would appear that George W. Bush's daughters are not Amy Carter or Chelsea Clinton or Karenna Gore. So what? Are you surprised?Nevertheless, there is a war on. It's a war that has killed 3,000 Americans, most of them around Jenna and Barbara's age or younger. It has killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis of all ages. And even more Americans and Iraqis have been injured, lost limbs, suffered terrible pain. President Bush can be quite eloquent in talking about the sacrifices of American soldiers and -- he always adds -- their families. In the Reagan style that has become almost mandatory, he uses anecdotes. He talks of Marine 2nd Lt. Frederick Pokorney Jr. "His wife, Carolyn, received a folded flag. His two-year-old daughter, Taylor, knelt beside her mother at the casket to say a final goodbye."Bush says truly, about the American dead, "They did not yearn to be heroes. They yearned to see mom and dad again and to hold their sweethearts and to watch their sons and daughters grow. They wanted the daily miracle of freedom in America, yet they gave all that up and gave life itself for the sake of others."Living your life according to your own values is a challenge for everyone, and it must be a special challenge if you happen to be the president. No one thinks that the president should have to give up a child to prove that his family is as serious about freedom as these other families he praises. But it would be reassuring to see a little struggle here -- some sign that the Bush family truly believes that American soldiers are dying for our freedom, and that it's worth it.Who knows? Maybe they have had huge arguments about this. Maybe George and Laura wanted the girls to join the Red Cross, or the Peace Corps, or do something that would at least take them off the party circuit for a couple of years. And perhaps the girls said no. But I doubt this scenario, don't you?War hath no fury like a noncombatant---C.E. Montague

Chanterelles, Boletes and other treasures in the ForestsAlthough I began foraging for wild mushrooms about 8 years back, during the walks through the woods my search was primarily for chanterelles -- easy to identify, delicious, and not very rare in the woods of the Bay area during fall and winter. In addition to chanterelles I pick oyster mushrooms that appear on logs and tree trunks after the first rains. The book I use has hundreds of color plates and detailed descriptions for identifying wild mushrooms. Yet, like many foragers, not being absolutely certain I stayed away from other kinds.Buckeye Creek, January 2006 © JHLChanterellesAC with a large Chanterelle, Santa Cruz Mountains @ MusafirMy first visit to the Fungus Fair in the Oakland Museum on December 2nd was very rewarding. It was a learning experience. The lectures accompanied by video presentation were full of interesting information. Samples on the tables manned by mycologists were educational. The cooking demonstrations (the area where more people were to be found than anywhere else) were mouth watering. The food smelled good, looked good, and tasted yummy. My friends and I walked a few blocks to China Town and had lunch at a small Mandarin restaurant called Shan Dong. The food and service were excellent.Oyster Mushrooms © David Arora, Mushrooms DemystifiedBoletes - Highly prized mushroomsQueen Boletes @ David Arora, Mushrooms DemystifiedWhite King Boletes © David Arora, Mushrooms DemystifiedThe Fungus Fair is an annual event. The one which ended on Sunday (Dec.3rd) was the 37th. The Mycological Society of San Francisco , deserves praise for organizing it.There are numerous books about wild mushrooms. David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified, published by Ten Speed Press, is a treasure trove for local enthusiasts. Somewhat bulky (over 950 pages) but the photographs make it worth the weight. Includes a few recipes too.

Shias and Sunnis * Arabs and Jews * Hindus and Muslims * BushworldThe Catholics did it during the Spanish Inquisition; the Germans did it during Hitler's Third Reich; the Hindus and Muslims did it after the partition of India (sporadic incidents of communal violence still plague the sub-continent at times). Turks killed Armenians. Kurds in Iraq were killed during Saddam Hussein's reign. In more recent times, the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda killed each other in thousands.In Somalia warring factions of Muslims have been engaged in an orgy of killings for over a decade. The CIA was reported to be involved in supporting one of the groups. Last summer, Israelis killed a thousand or more civilians in Lebanon but failed to make a dent in Hezbollah's predominance. Now there are signs of trouble brewing between the Christians and supporters of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence is not far from the surface.And in Iraq a bloodbath is going on between the Shias and Sunnis -- bloodbath that George Bush's war is largely responsible for creating.If there are sane voices among Islamic religious leaders,we do not hear them speaking out against the atrocities. They either approve of what is going on or they are powerless to do anything about it.The extremists (fundamentalists) have the same mindset whether they are in Baghdad, Teheran, Mumbai, or Boise, Idaho. They are right; their god is the true god. God, if there is one, must be sleeping through all this or just plain sick of the carnage.See: Shia-Sunni Bitter Divide (BBC)Religion and Ethics - Islam (BBC) * The Worst President EverFor some of us there is no question about G.W. Bush being at the bottom of the scale. In "Move Over, Hoover" Douglas Brinkley writes in the Post: "Shortly after Thanksgiving I had dinner in California with Ronald Reagan's best biographer, Lou Cannon. Like many historians these days, we discussed whether George W. Bush is, conceivably, the worst U.S. president ever. Cannon bristled at the idea.Bush has two more years to leave his mark, he argued. What if there is a news flash that U.S. Special Forces have killed Osama bin Laden or that North Korea has renounced its nuclear program? What if a decade from now Iraq is a democracy and a statue of Bush is erected on Firdaus Square where that famously toppled one of Saddam Hussein once stood?"Excerpts:There is wisdom in Cannon's prudence. Clearly it's dangerous for historians to wield the "worst president" label like a scalp-hungry tomahawk simply because they object to Bush's record. But we live in speedy times and, the truth is, after six years in power and barring a couple of miracles, it's safe to bet that Bush will be forever handcuffed to the bottom rungs of the presidential ladder. The reason: Iraq.At first, you'd want to compare Bush's Iraq predicament to that of Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War. But LBJ had major domestic accomplishments to boast about when leaving the White House, such as the Civil Rights Act and Medicare/Medicaid. Bush has virtually none. Look at how he dealt with the biggest post-9/11 domestic crisis of his tenure. He didn't rush to help the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina because the country was overextended in Iraq and had a massive budget deficit. Texas conservatives always say that LBJ's biggest mistake was thinking that he could fund both the Great Society and Vietnam. They believe he had to choose one or the other. They call Johnson fiscally irresponsible. Bush learned this lesson: He chose Iraq over New Orleans.So Bush's legacy hinges on Iraq, which is an unmitigated disaster. Instead of being forgiven, like Polk and McKinley, for his phony pretext for war (WMD and al-Qaeda operatives in Baghdad), he stands to be lambasted by future scholars. What once were his two best sound bites -- "Wanted dead or alive" and "Mission accomplished" -- will be used like billy clubs to shatter his legacy every time it gets a revisionist lift. The left will keep battering him for warmongering while the right will remember its outrage that he didn't send enough battalions to Iraq.There isn't much that Bush can do now to salvage his reputation. His presidential library will someday be built around two accomplishments: that after 9/11, the U.S. homeland wasn't again attacked by terrorists (knock on wood) and that he won two presidential elections, allowing him to appoint conservatives to key judicial posts. I also believe that he is an honest man and that his administration has been largely void of widespread corruption. This will help him from being portrayed as a true villain.This last point is crucial. Though Bush may be viewed as a laughingstock, he won't have the zero-integrity factors that have kept Nixon and Harding at the bottom in the presidential sweepstakes. Oddly, the president whom Bush most reminds me of is Herbert Hoover, whose name is synonymous with failure to respond to the Great Depression. When the stock market collapsed, Hoover, for ideological reasons, did too little. When 9/11 happened, Bush did too much, attacking the wrong country at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. He has joined Hoover as a case study on how not to be president.dbrinkl@tulane.eduDouglas Brinkley is director of the Roosevelt Center at Tulane University.

George Will Knocks Jim Webb (D, VA)Reading "Already Too Busy for Civility" by George Will in the Washington Post I thought about the president and whether he has really earned the respect that, according to George Will, Jim Webb failed to show. One can argue that "form" and circumstances when customs (traditions) about the Office of the President, not the individual who occupies it at a certain time, should take precedence over personal feelings. Was Jim Webb boorish ?Wednesday's Post reported that at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, Webb "tried to avoid President Bush," refusing to pass through the reception line or have his picture taken with the president. When Bush asked Webb, whose son is a Marine in Iraq, "How's your boy?" Webb replied, "I'd like to get them [sic] out of Iraq." When the president again asked "How's your boy?" Webb replied, "That's between me and my boy." Webb told The Post:"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall. No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is."President Bush made a mockery of the oath of his office. Despite his statement about being a compassionate conservative, compassion has been sorely missing from his presidency. His administration engaged in a policy of divisiveness and exploited the tragic events of 9/11 to advance its agenda. He has beeen arrogant and deceitful. The voters sent a clear message on November 7th but he is continuing to proceed along the same route. The high price for his misadventure in Iraq will continue to haunt us for decades. No. Jim Webb was not a "boor"; he did the right thing. There must be others who feel the same way about their loved ones serving in Iraq. Comments musafir — 2006-12-06 Thank you. Your background gives you a comprehensive knowledge of the situation. I, of course, lack that. However, the reasons for going to war didn't feel right long before details about misleading and deceptive information used by the Bush Administration to take the nation to war came to light. There are many bloggers who keep posting about this unjust war. Few of us have illusions about the impact of what we say.

The Libby Zion Case * Saudis threaten Big Tobacco * Pakistani Court rules in favor of Mother of Misbah Rana * Slaughter of Civilians in IraqBarron H. Lerner in the Washington Post: "Many people have vowed to avenge the untimely death of a relative. Lawyer and journalist Sidney Zion actually did so -- to the benefit of patients and doctors-in-training nationwide."After his 18-year-old daughter Libby died within 24 hours of an emergency hospital admission in 1984, Zion learned that her chief doctors had been medical residents covering dozens of patients and receiving relatively little supervision. His anger set in motion a series of reforms, most notably a series of work hour limitations instituted by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), that have revolutionized modern medical education.Just about everyone involved in the Libby Zion case -- her father, her doctors and the people who testified at the trial that eventually resulted -- has a different account of what happened. But there are some undisputed facts.Libby was a college freshman with an ongoing history of depression who came to New York Hospital in Manhattan on the evening of Oct. 4, 1984, with a fever, agitation and strange jerking motions of her body. She also seemed disoriented at times.Unable to diagnose her condition definitively, the emergency room physicians admitted her for hydration and observation. As the physician of record, Raymond Sherman, a senior clinician who had treated several members of the Zion family, approved the decision by phone.On the hospital ward where she was sent, Libby was evaluated by two residents: Luise Weinstein, an intern eight months out of medical school, and Gregg Stone, who had one additional year of training. They, too, were not quite certain of Libby's diagnosis. Stone termed it a "viral syndrome with hysterical symptoms," suggesting that Libby was overreacting to a relatively mild illness. The doctors prescribed a shot of meperidine, a painkiller and sedative, to control her shaking. Sherman approved the plan by phone.The events of the next several hours will always remain controversial. At about 3 in the morning, Weinstein went off to care for some of the 40 other patients she was covering. Stone went to sleep in an adjacent building, where he would be available, if necessary, by beeper.After the doctors left, Libby became more agitated. The nurses contacted Weinstein at least twice. Weinstein ordered physical restraints to hold the patient down and prevent her from hurting herself. She also prescribed an injection of haloperidol, another medication aimed at calming her down. Busy with other patients, Weinstein did not reevaluate Libby.Libby finally fell asleep, according to the nurses, but when a nurse's aide took her temperature at 6:30 a.m., it was 107, dangerously high. Weinstein was called and emergency measures were tried to lower the temperature. But Libby Zion suffered a cardiac arrest and died. Weinstein called her parents, telling them doctors had done everything they could.To the doctors at the hospital, the case was an inexplicable "bad outcome" in which a healthy young woman had died of a mysterious infection.But the more Sidney Zion learned of the circumstances of Libby's death, the more he rejected this assertion. He became convinced his daughter's death was due to inadequate staffing at the teaching hospital. And he grew determined to ensure that others not fall victim to the same gaps in the teaching hospital system that he blamed for his daughter's death.From BBCSaudi Arabia has warned that it will sue global tobacco firms unless they pay the full cost of treating patients suffering from smoking-related illness.The health ministry said it had already rejected a lower offer from the tobacco firms, though did not say what level of compensation it was seeking. * A 12-year-old schoolgirl must return to her mother in Scotland, a judge in Pakistan has ruled. ...

1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division * William FaulknerTwo days before the month ends the November death toll for American soldiers in Iraq is 63, mercifully lower than October (106). For the 1st Brigade of 3rd Infantry Division, about to begin their third tour in Iraq since 2003, it is a time of closeness, anxiety, and prayer. The way things look they might be back for a fourth tour before American forces exit from Iraq. President Bush,scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan on November 29th, continues to maintain his "no withdrawal" position.Ann Scott Tyson in the Post:Fort Stewart, GA.Col. John Charlton, commander of the division's 1st Brigade, which next month begins its third Iraq tour in four years, stepped forward. "Be thankful for your families, your health, and for every day that you're alive," he advised. The brigade's mission, he said, is to bring peace to Iraq's volatile western Anbar province and its capital, Ramadi, which he said despite progress remain "a dangerous area, a very dangerous area.""Take this time . . . to be thinking about those soldiers represented behind or in front of you," he said, "and as you'll notice, there's still some space on the sidewalk there for more trees."This week, U.S. troops will have been fighting in Iraq longer than they did in World War II, with no relief in sight. Soldiers from 1st Brigade preparing at Fort Stewart for their third Iraq tour have been spending as much time in Iraq as at home. The rotations -- a year in Iraq followed by a year at home -- dictate soldiers' most intimate decisions: They mandate when troops can marry and have children. They sever relationships that cannot sustain the stress of absence or danger. And they lead some couples to pray for the war to end.After the memorial service, Lt. Col. Doug Crissman gathered his 1st Brigade soldiers and sent them on leave with a warning not to get hurt, go to jail or go AWOL."You're all a little bit nervous. Hell, I'm nervous," said Crissman, of Burke, Va., who commands the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. "The Army is asking us to do some tough stuff."Then his voice softened as he nudged his troops to be attentive to their families. "I need you to think about this visit a little differently," he said. "Spend time with them. . . . Tell them you love them.""Soldiers' Pay", is the title of the first novel published (1926) by the late William Faulkner who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1949. Excerpts from his acceptance speech in Stockholm, December 10, 1950:I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing. Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.

First it was Putin, then Nuri al-Maliki of IraqExpect more claptrap to come out of Jordan from the man caught in his grand vision that went awry. President Bush talks about looking at them in the eye and becoming convinced of their their sincerity. But can al-Maliki trust the president? Faced with loss of support at home and mounting pressure for an exit from Iraq, President Bush is going to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan to discuss shifting more responsibility on the Iraqis. The president is between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Not going to be easy. The Iraqis are not ready to tackle the peacekeeping; they have neither the manpower nor resources for the task. And, in Iraq, there is growing opposition to Maliki.The Washington Post"As violence in Iraq continues to mushroom, President Bush travels to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday and Thursday. Bush is coming under increasing pressure from the new Democratic Congress to reduce the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. But Maliki might push Bush for more support as he tries to govern a country torn by sectarian strife."The gathering is fraught with danger for Maliki. Both Shiite and Sunni leaders have criticized the prime minister; one prominent Sunni religious leader warned that the violence in Iraq could swell throughout the Middle East if the global community continues to back Maliki. Adding to the tension, Shiite politicians led by anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who form a key constituency for Maliki, are threatening to boycott the government if Maliki goes ahead with Thursday's meeting.

Drug runners like them; terrorists like them; Shias like them, so do the Sunnis; the CIA supplied them to pro-American groups in various trouble spots in the world. Mind boggling. ".......responsible for about a quarter-million deaths every year" is what Larry Kahaner wrote in the Post about the light weight automatic weapon created by Mikhail Kalashnikov. Truly a "Weapon of Mass Destruction".Excerpts:The AK-47 has become the world's most prolific and effective combat weapon, a device so cheap and simple that it can be bought in many countries for less than the cost of a live chicken. Depicted on the flag and currency of several countries, waved by guerrillas and rebels everywhere, the AK is responsible for about a quarter-million deaths every year.In Latin America, AKs ended up in the hands of drug cartels and anti-government rebels. Just as the CIA shipped AKs to Afghanistan, it did the same in Nicaragua in the early 1980s, sending arms to the contras in their fight against the Soviet-backed Sandinistas.In their battles against U.S. forces, many al-Qaeda fighters and tribal groups still carry the same AKs that the CIA had purchased more than a decade earlier. The first U.S. soldier to die by hostile fire in Afghanistan -- Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman of San Antonio -- was killed by a teenager shooting an AK.Although coalition bombing in 1991 destroyed much of Iraq's air force, Scud missiles and tanks, Saddam Hussein's regime retained its small weapons, including AKs. By March 2003, when Operation Iraqi Freedom began, Iraqi arsenals included seven to eight million small arms. These weapons -- which U.S. planners did not consider a major threat when the invasion began -- would prove deadly for American troops once major hostilities ended.The AK has pierced through popular culture, too. In 2004, Playboy magazine dubbed it one of the "50 Products That Changed the World," ranking it behind the Apple Macintosh desktop, the birth-control pill and the Sony Betamax video machine. Rappers Ice Cube and Eminem mention AKs in their lyrics. And in the movie "Jackie Brown," actor Samuel L. Jackson captures the weapon's global cachet: "AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every [expletive] in the room."Now 85, tiny, feeble, nearly deaf, his right hand losing control because of tremors, Kalashnikov is often haunted by the killing machine he has bestowed upon the world. "I wish I had invented a lawnmower," he told the Guardian in 2002.