Emperor George * Neil Young's "Living With War" * The "I" Word As April comes to a close, we learn that 72 of our soldiers have died in Iraq during the month. The total is 2400. Think of the president's Mission Accomplished appearance in a flight suit on the USS Lincoln. That was May 2,2003. Remember the words: ".....I think they're in the last throes if you will, of the insurgency" ? That was Vice President Cheney on CNN May 30,2005. U.S. casualties in May 2005 numbered 1666. So, 734 soldiers died since the vice president (who had taken four deferments during the Vietnam war) said that a year ago about the insurgents. Think about it. 734 soldiers, majority of them in their 20's. Those who sent them to Iraq will again issue lofty statements. The bereaved families will grieve but few of them will speak out about the wasted lives and maimed bodies. And the cost in terms of dollars (our money) keeps going up and up. The president still wants the grossly skewed tax cuts made permanent. Our children and grand children will pay for it while those who lead the nation into the mess do their golfing and quail hunting. The much vaunted Operation Iraqi Freedom has turned out to be a disaster. The Post reports that: "As the U.S. military struggles against persistent sectarian violence in Iraq, military officers and security experts find themselves in a vigorous debate over an idea that just months ago was largely dismissed as a fringe thought: that the surest -- and perhaps now the only -- way to bring stability to Iraq is to divide the country into three pieces." In the meantime, one hears more and more about the once unthinkable subject---impeachment of President Bush. Living With War, a newly released CD by Neil Young (yes, he is Canadian) includes a song "Let's impeach the President" Click on the title of the CD to listen to clips. In a despatch from Washington, Sarah Baxter of The Times (London) reports: "THE movement to impeach President George W Bush over the war on terror began with a few tatty bumper stickers on the back of battered old Volvos and slogans such as “Bush lied, people died” on far-left websites. But as Democrat hopes rise of gaining control of Congress this autumn, dreams of impeaching Bush are no longer confined to the political fringe. A poll last week found that voters, by 50% to 37%, would prefer the Democrats to win control of Congress. If Bush’s opponents find themselves in a position of power, the temptation to humiliate him is likely to be irresistible." I doubt that Democrats would succeed in taking control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections. In the unlikely event that should come to pass, I would rather see the Bush administration in a lame duck presidency than going through the process of impeachment. It is too expensive in every sense of the word. The nation will need all the energy the leaders can muster to move forward and repair the damage done after 2000. I opposed the impeachment of President Clinton for diddling with Monica Lewinsky and lying about it. No one died because of what he did. The Clinton impeachment was purely a partisan thing. I would have supported his impeachment if he took the nation to war on lies. No question that President Bush deserves to be impeached. Still, it is a course that I have deep reservations about. The fallen (two names have not yet been released by the DOD. Source:Iraq Coalition Casualties. Let's not forget the hapless Iraqi civilians killed in military action: Min. 34,512 Max.38,661 Source: Iraq Body Count Darrell P. Clay, 34, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 01, 2006Israel Devora Garcia, 23, Army Sergeant, Apr 01, 2006Michael L. Hartwick, 37, Army Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), Apr 01, 2006Timothy J. Moshier, 25, Army Captain, Apr 01, 2006Jeremy W. Ehle, 19, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 02, 2006Andres Aguilar Jr., 21, Marine Corporal, Apr 02, 2006David A. Bass, 20, Marine Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Patrick J. Gallagher, 27, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Kun Y. Kim, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Eric A. McIntosh, 29, Marine Staff Sergeant, Apr 02, 2006Eric A. Palmisano, 27, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Scott J. Procopio, 20, Marine Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Felipe D. Sandoval-Flores, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Brian R. St. Germain, 22, Marine Corporal, Apr 02, 2006Abraham G. Twitchell, 28, Marine Staff Sergeant, Apr 02, 2006Marcques J. Nettles, 22, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class, Apr 02, 2006Geovani Padilla Aleman, 20, Navy Hospitalman, Apr 02, 2006Ty J. Johnson, 28, Army Specialist, Apr 04, 2006Dustin J. Harris, 21, Army Specialist, Apr 06, 2006Daniel L. Sesker, 22, Army National Guard Specialist, Apr 06, 2006Chase A. Edwards, 19, Marine Private 1st Class, Apr 06, 2006Bryan N. Taylor, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 06, 2006Richard P. Waller, 22, Marine Corporal, Apr 07, 2006Shawn R. Creighton, 21, Army Specialist, Apr 08, 2006Jody W. Missildine, 19, Army Private, Apr 08, 2006Philip John Martini, 24, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 08, 2006Juana NavarroArellano, 24, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 08, 2006David S. Collins, 24, Army Specialist, Apr 09, 2006Joseph I. Love-Fowler, 22, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 09, 2006Gregory S. Rogers, 42, Army Sergeant 1st Class, Apr 09, 2006James W. "Will" Gardner, 22, Army Specialist, Apr 10, 2006Randall L. Lamberson, 36, Army Sergeant 1st Class, Apr 10, 2006Joseph A. Blanco, 25, Army Corporal, Apr 11, 2006James F. Costello III, 27, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 11, 2006Kenneth D. Hess, 26, Army Specialist, Apr 11, 2006George R. Roehl Jr., 21, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 11, 2006Scott M. Bandhold, 37, Army Specialist, Apr 12, 2006Roland E. Calderon-Ascencio, 21, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 12, 2006Marcus S. Glimpse, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 12, 2006Andrew K. Waits, 23, Army Specialist, Apr 13, 2006Salem Bachar, 20, Marine Corporal, Apr 13, 2006Stephen Joseph Perez, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 13, 2006Darin T. Settle, 23, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 14, 2006Mark W. Melcher, 34, Army National Guard Specialist, Apr 15, 2006Derrick J. Cothran, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 15, 2006Pablo V. Mayorga, 33, Marine Corporal, Apr 15, 2006Justin D. Sims, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 15, 2006Ryan G. Winslow, 19, Marine Private 1st Class, Apr 15, 2006Clinton W. Cubert, 38, Army National Guard Master Sergeant, Apr 16, 2006Ian P. Weikel, 31, Army Captain, Apr 18, 2006Robert J. Settle, 25, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 19, 2006Patrick A. Tinnell, 25, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 19, 2006Jason C. Ramseyer, 28, Marine Staff Sergeant, Apr 20, 2006Jacob H. Allcott, 21, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 22, 2006Michael E. Bouthot, 19, Army Private, Apr 22, 2006Kyle A. Colnot, 23, Army Sergeant, Apr 22, 2006Eric D. King, 29, Army Specialist, Apr 22, 2006Travis C. Zimmerman, 19, Army Private, Apr 22, 2006Eric R. Lueken, 23, Marine Corporal, Apr 22, 2006Jason B. Daniel, 21, Army Corporal, Apr 23, 2006Robert W. Ehney, 26, Army Sergeant, Apr 23, 2006Shawn Thomas Lasswell Jr., 21, Army Corporal, Apr 23, 2006Metodio A. Bandonill, 29, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 24, 2006Aaron William Simons, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 24, 2006Raymond L. Henry, 21, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 25, 2006Richard J. Herrema, 27, Army Sergeant 1st Class, Apr 25, 2006Michael L. Ford, 19, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 26, 2006Matthew Webber, 23, Army Sergeant, Apr 27, 2006Edward Davis III, 31, Marine Sergeant, Apr 27, 2006Lea R. Mills, 0, Marine Not reported yet, Apr 27, 2006* The Burial of the Dead "April is the cruellest month,breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain." ---T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), Waste Land

End of fleeting fortune...and fame for Kaavya Viswanathan. The publishers, Little Brown and Co.,did the right thing by pulling the book from stores. Once the details of her lies became undeniable, the publishers had no choice. Dragging the sordid affair and trying to put a spin on it wouldn't have done them any good. "CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27 -- The debut novel by a Harvard student, who seemingly copied numerous passages from another author's books, is being withdrawn from sale, the publishing house Little, Brown and Co. announced Thursday evening."

More dark clouds for the Bush White HouseFive times before the grand jury investigating the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name! Must be uneasy nights for Karl Rove. If he is indicted then it would be another issue to add to the growing list of problems facing the White House. Dan Froomkin in the Post: "In his fifth appearance before the grand jury, Rove spent considerable time arguing that it would have been foolish for him to knowingly mislead investigators about his role in the disclosure of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media, the source said. His grand jury appearance, which was kept secret even from Rove's closest White House colleagues until shortly before he went to court yesterday, suggests that prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald remains keenly interested in Rove's role in the case."

They Go on Killing * And the Plagiarist faces fallout from "Opal Mehta ....."There seems to be no end to the daily slaughter. Shias killing Sunnis, Sunnis killing Shias and, it seems at times that radical Muslims are killing just for pleasure; they don't care who they kill.In the past, Islamic nations have failed to raise their voices to condemn such acts of violence. Perhaps, at long last, there is an awakening. What happened last week at Dahab,Egypt, caused Arabs to question such wanton killings. No sign that the lunatics who carry out such atrocities are paying any attention. Further bombings took place in the days following the April 24th attack on a tourist resort in Dahab. From Washington Post: CAIRO, Egypt -- The Arab world reacted in horror and outrage Tuesday at the bombings of an Egyptian resort _ and a rift opened between hardline al-Qaida sympathizers and other radical Muslim groups who say the latest attacks have gone too far. *Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard student who unconsciously "internalized" 40 passages written by another author, continues to go through contortions. Her explanation after she was caught does not wash. Comments in The Onion about Kaavya Viswanathan. The Post: CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 25 -- Apology not accepted. That was the response Tuesday from author Megan McCafferty and her publishers to a Harvard student-turned-novelist who said she was sorry for her "unconscious" copying of passages from two of McCafferty's books. ...

The Lawmakers and Their Patrons, the Lobbyists Let's face it. Congress does not want enactment of a meaningful legislation to curb the influence of lobbyists. It never did. The members made some noises after details of Jack Abramoff's illegal deals came to light. But they had second thoughts. Editorial in the Post, Sham Lobbying Reform, paints a sickening picture of the lawmakers and their shameful decision to push for a toothless bill. "Mr. Dreier's Rules Committee took an already weak House bill and made it weaker. From the version of the measure approved by the House Judiciary Committee, it dropped provisions that would require lobbyists to disclose fundraisers they host for candidates, campaign checks they solicit for lawmakers and parties they finance (at conventions, for example) in honor of members.Excerpts: Privately paid travel, such as the lavish golfing trips to Scotland that Mr. Abramoff arranged for members? "Private travel has been abused by some, and I believe we need to put an end to it," said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). But that was January; this is now. Privately funded trips wouldn't be banned under the House bill, just "suspended" until Dec. 15 (yes, just after the election) while the House ethics committee, that bastion of anemic do-nothingness, ostensibly develops recommendations. Meals and other gifts from lobbyists? "I believe that it's also very important for us to proceed with a significantly stronger gift ban, which would prevent members and staff from personally benefiting from gifts from lobbyists," said Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) in -- you guessed it -- January. Now, Mr. Dreier's bill would leave the current gift limits unchanged.

Ad for a House of Prostitution riles MuslimsThe report from BBC starkly exemplifies the hypocrisy of the Muslims. "A Cologne brothel touting for clients with a World Cup-themed banner has blacked out the flags of Iran and Saudi Arabia after threats from Muslims." What does the protest mean...that Muslims don't patronize prostitutes? That is absurd. The giant banner on a high-rise building shows a semi-naked woman and the flags of the 32 countries in the World Cup, which kicks off in June. Back in the 1980's a building in Bangkok,Thailand, was known as the Saudi Hotel because plane loads of Saudi Arabians went to Bangkok and stayed there to cavort with prostitutes. The wide-open sex trade in Thailand attracted people from all nations. Perhaps it still does. Friends in Mumbai (Bombay) told me about regular traffic of rich Arabs who came to Mumbai to have sex with prostitutes.Then, the nature of the protest. Not a group with banners, chanting slogans. They don't believe in peaceful demonstrations. First there were telephone threats of violence, then about 30 hooded protesters armed with knives and sticks turned up outside Pascha on Friday, the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper reported. Why the readiness for violence?

Bruce Springsteen sings Pete Seeger * "Good Night, Irene" in Kolkata * Bush's Third War? Interesting article about The Boss in the Sunday Observer/Guardian. "Over on Ocean Avenue, a patron sits with a lunchtime shot and beer in the Wonder Bar, which advertises a dance party with DJ Jersey Joe. Down the block is the Stone Pony, the nightclub where Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey Shore's famous son, made his name. Its marquee advertises a show by Nils Lofgren, guitarist for Springsteen's long-time collaborators the E Street Band." Reading about Springsteen's new album, a tribute to Pete Seeger, brought back memories of the old troubadour. I listened to Pete Seeger strum his guitar and sing in Calcutta (Kolkata as it is known now) in the late 1960's. Didn't know much about Pete Seeger those days but someone gave me a leaflet that contained brief background information. The Vietnam war was raging and I had strong feelings about America's role. Reading that Pete Seeger was part of an anti-war movement was enough for me and a few friends to show up for the performance. Of course, the USIS wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. His appearance was privately organized. It was standing room only at the Rabindra Sadan auditorium. The audience (mostly Bengalis) enthusiastically joined Pete Seeger in what he called "a hootenanny" when he sang Good Night,Irene; We shall overcome; and Where have all the flowers gone. The New Yorker, in its issue of April 17,2006, has a profile of Pete Seeger. I spent more than an hour trying to negotiate the New Yorker's poorly designed, user unfriendly web site to get a link to the article before giving up. According to the New Yorker Forum there are others who find the web site frustrating. Wonder if the designers intentionally made it so. Seeger is 86, he was born in 1919. "He doesn't cultivate publicity. That isn't what he does. He's far more modest than that. He would never make a fuss. He's just standing out there in the cold and the sleet like a scarecrow. I go a little bit down the road, so that when I get him in view again, this solitary and elderly figure,I see that what he's written on the sign is 'Peace'."---The Protest Singer by Alec Wilkinson,The New Yorker.The Boss has done his share of making music against the war in Iraq, and Neil Young has recently issued an anti-war album which includes a song titled "Impeach the President". More power to them.* A lot is being written about Iran's nuclear program and President Bush's threats of war. Arthur Schlesinger Jr.in the Post on Bush's Thousand days: "There stretch ahead for Bush a thousand days of his own. He might use them to start the third Bush war: the Afghan war (justified), the Iraq war (based on fantasy, deception and self-deception), the Iran war (also fantasy, deception and self-deception). There is no more dangerous thing for a democracy than a foreign policy based on presidential preventive war." Frightening to think of the power that lies in the hands of a few megalomaniacs, and I don't mean Ahmadinejad and his aides. Comments Anonymous — 2006-04-26 hey there, just thought i'd make a suggestion for anyone interested in anti-war music (or just great music in general). check out Josh Ritter: http://www.joshritter.com/music.shtml his song "Girl in the War" is really great, as is all of his stuff. enjoy!

Waves over the leaks about Extraordinary Rendition Reading about the firing of CIA officer Mary McCarthy, it becomes clear that the seriousness of the case lies primarily in information about the secret program for outsourcing torture of prisoners. Ms McCarthy allegedly divulged details of the so called "extraordinary rendition" program, including names of countries to which the prisoners were sent. Very sensitive issue indeed."The CIA said in a statement last week that omitted McCarthy's name that the officer was fired for discussing operational intelligence matters with journalists. Officials have said the journalists included Washington Post correspondent Dana Priest, who last week was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for national security reporting that included the revelation of secret, CIA-run prisons for suspected terrorists in Eastern Europe and elsewhere." Intelligence gathering by nations is necessary and a fact of life. Intelligence agencies,however,do more than gather and interprete data. They participate in covert actions that are often border-line and sometimes clear violations of international laws. The "extraordinary rendition" program falls under that category. One can understand the embarrassment of high officials who had at one time flatly denied existence of it. Jane Meyer in The New Yorker,Feb.14,2005: On January 27th, President Bush, in an interview with the Times assured the world that "torture is never acceptable, nor do we hand over people to countries that do torture." A report broadcast by the BBC on March 20th describes in detail the case of one Abu Omar, renditioned by CIA agents from Italy to Egypt and the torture he underwent. "The Italian Government has issued "arrest warrants for 22 alleged CIA operatives involved". Egypt's role is easy to understand. It is the second largest recipient (after Israel) of U.S. aid. If all it took was to torture some prisoners to stay in the good graces of America, Hosni Mobarek's government saw nothing wrong. It is, however, the conduct of European nations that is murky....and shameful. Despite their professions of ignorance and outrage, almost all European governments are now facing questions about how much they have known about CIA operations. Have they been turning a blind eye? Have they allowed European airspace to be used for rendition? There is a suspicion in some quarters that they co-operate in secret but back off fast when CIA operations become public. Others believe that governments simply choose not to ask too many questions about what may be going on, even when it involves their territory. Whatever the case, the CIA's increasingly toxic reputation in Europe is causing some serious headaches, and may be making vital co-operation in the war against terrorism even harder to maintain. (This edition of Secret Wars by Gordon Corera was broadcast on BBC World Service on Monday 20 March.)

President Bush, the Environmentalist * Golfing CongressmenThe records are clear and abundant. The Bush Administration is no friend of the environment. But,like a chameleon, the president changes colors to suit the situation. And so he promoted alternative fuel on Earth Day. "With gas prices at $3 a gallon, Bush said the best way for the nation to end its addiction to foreign oil is to make a transition more quickly to vehicles that run on renewable and domestically produced energy."Tom DeLay went to play at St. Andrews in Scotland. Cannot blame Tom Reynolds for liking Pebble Beach. The view is breathtaking. Great golf course."The ethical furnace keeps getting hotter for House Republicans. Even Rep. Tom Reynolds, who heads the GOP reelection effort, is feeling some heat. The four-term New Yorker is being targeted by a liberal watchdog group, New Yorkers for a Cleaner Congress, for taking "more lobbyist-funded luxury trips outside of western New York in the last three years than he has returned home to western New York." The group singles out jaunts to Pebble Beach, Calif., by Reynolds that have totaled $205,185 over five years." While Republicans enjoy a more cozy relationship with them, Democrats are not immune from the insidious influence of lobbyists.

Smell of Decay in Washington,DC * Immigration and GOP * Vatican and CondomsCover story of The April 20th issue of The Economist (London) reads: "Taking on Bush - Can the Democrats get their act together?" Don't think that I am an exception when I say that there are days when the prospects look far from bright. What a pity that would be. With all the negative baggage being carried by Bush and the GOP, if the Democrats fail then they would have no one to blame but themselves.Editorial in The Economist: "SNIFF the air in Washington, DC, this spring and you notice the smell of decay." Mr Bush is the most unpopular Republican president since Richard Nixon: a recent Washington Post-ABC poll showed that 47% of voters “strongly” disapprove of his performance. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who did more than anybody else to build the conservative machine in Congress, is retiring in disgrace, the better to focus on his numerous legal problems. More Republicans may well be implicated in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in the coming months. The ideological shine has gone, too. The party of streamlined government has been gorging on legislative pork. A party that once prided itself on businesslike pragmatism has become synonymous with ideologically skewed ineptitude of the sort epitomised by Donald Rumsfeld (see article). “What is the difference between the Titanic and the Republican Party?” goes one joke in conservative circles. “At least the Titanic wasn't trying to hit the iceberg.” *The immigration issue has become a hot potato for the GOP as gay rights is for Democrats. With the midterm elections looming ahead, the Republicans are scrambling to find a middle ground between the hardliners and the so called elitist members of the party. The bottom line, they don't want to completely lose the Hispanic voters. ""How The GOP Lost Its Way",There is nothing new about this division. It is a 40-year-old fight that has its roots in the cultural, economic, regional and ideological differences between the two camps. Still, most conservatives felt that after the victory of Ronald Reagan and the Republican Revolution of 1994 their point was made and the country-clubbers would know their place. They were wrong. The Rockefeller wing is now attempting to reassert its control over the party and is openly hostile toward the Reagan populists who created the Republican majority in the first place."*The Vatican approves condoms! Not quite. As a weapon against AIDS, yes. "We must do everything to fight AIDS," said Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the retired archbishop of Milan, in Italy's L'Espresso newsweekly. "Certainly, the use of condoms can constitute in certain situations a lesser evil."But some things never change--old men in robes and their position on abstinence. "While there is no specific, authoritative Vatican policy on using condoms to protect against AIDS, the Vatican opposes condoms because they are a form of artificial contraception. Pope Benedict XVI repeated the Vatican's position last June, when he told African bishops abstinence was the only "fail-safe" way to prevent the spread of HIV." Comments Anonymous — 2006-04-22 To some, it may appear that Martini is breaking with the pope and official church teachings. But in fact, Martini's comments in the Italian magazine are entirely consistent with the church's reverance for life. The church teaches that no one should use a condom or any other type of artificial contraception. The reality, though, that if everyone follows that teaching, people will likely die. Martini is not a relativist. He is not arguing that the church shirk its beliefs and adapt to contemporary, secular morality — or immorality, if you will. He is not calling for condom distributions after Mass. Martini just wants to make sure that whenever possible, the church avoids a greater evil and, even after man has sinned, always stands up for life. musafir — 2006-04-22 This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.