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*Do Catholics practice birth control? Yes, many of them do and I don't mean the rhythm method advocated by the Catholic Church, described by some as Russian Roulette. Even in Italy the Vatican's edicts about birth control are not heeded by many.The numbers reported in the web site of Catholicsforchoice.org make it clear that on this issue there is a wide chasm between lay Catholics and the robed officials in the Vatican. Either the officials wilfully disregard the facts or they are completely out of touch. Their position is intractable to the degree that they do not condone use of condoms even as deterrents against the spread of HIV-AIDS.Source: www.benettontalk.comThe old men, who rule over what Catholics may or may not do in terms of the very private matter of sexual relations, remain impervious despite being rocked by numerous scandals involving priests who were exposed of involvement in both hetero and homosexual liaisons, including pedophilia.Our president is a staunch advocate of abstention. His position is one of expediency to gain support of the so called conservative Christian groups.LA Weekly News - June 24, 2004Published on June 16 in the Federal Register, the censorious new CDC guidelines will be mandatory for any organization that does HIV-prevention work and also receives federal funds — whether or not any federal money is directly spent on their programs designed to fight the spread of the epidemic. (The CDC is the principal federal funder of prevention education about HIV and AIDS, and its head a Bush appointee). It’s all couched in arcane bureaucratese, but this is the Bush administration’s Big Stick — do exactly as we say, or lose your federal funding. And nearly all of the some 3,800 AIDS service organizations (ASOs) that do the bulk of HIV-prevention education receive at least part of their budget from federal dollars. Without that money, they’d have to slash programs or even close their doors.These new regs require the censoring of any “content” — including “pamphlets, brochures, fliers, curricula,” “audiovisual materials” and “pictorials (for example, posters and similar educational materials using photographs, slides, drawings or paintings),” as well as “advertising” and Web-based info. They require all such “content” to eliminate anything even vaguely “sexually suggestive” or “obscene” — like teaching how to use a condom correctly by putting it on a dildo, or even a cucumber. And they demand that all such materials include information on the “lack of effectiveness of condom use” in preventing the spread of HIV and other STDs — in other words, the Bush administration wants AIDS fighters to tell people: Condoms don’t work. This demented exigency flies in the face of every competent medical body’s judgment that, in the absence of an HIV-preventing vaccine, the condom is the single most effective tool available to protect someone from getting or spreading the AIDS virus.It was. therefore, a pleasant surprise to read that the president's daughter, Jenna, in her newly published book "Ana's Story" wrote about the positive role of condoms in preventing HIV/AIDS.Washington Post - Sept.29, 2007She's undaunted by questions touching on the politics of AIDS. She praises her father's overseas initiatives while noting that "the Clinton Foundation is doing amazing work in Africa and in Latin America" as well."Ana's Story" features a UNICEF-compiled list of "Ten Myths About HIV/AIDS." No. 6 reads, "Condoms don't protect you from HIV.""A pretty obvious myth," Bush says. "Everybody knows that condoms prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS."She loses no opportunity to lavish praise on UNICEF and those who work there. But she deflects a question about the Bush administration's combative relationship with the United Nations as a whole."I'm not my dad," she says. "I can tell you that UNICEF is doing incredible work."

*It was a good summer; it was a very good summer.ImagesSunflower - Carmel Valley, CA. 9/16/07© MusafirDancing on the grass - TomatoFest, Carmel Valley,CA. 9/16/07© MusafirThey got rhythm© MusafirVisitors from Australia at Golden Gate Bridge© MusafirFarmers' Market, Mountain View, CA.© MusafirFarmers' Market, Mountain View, CA.© MusafirSand, Sea, Runner with a Dog© MusafirWalkers on the beach, Pajaro Dunes, CA.© MusafirSunset over the Pacific© Musafir*End of SummerJust an uncommon lull in the trafficso you hear some guy in an apron, sleeves rolled up,with his brusque sweep brusque sweep of the sidewalk,and the slap shut of a too thin rental van,and I told him no a gust has snatched from a conversationand brought to you, loud. It would be so differentif any of these were missing is the feelingyou always have on the first day of autumn,no, the first day you think of autumn, when somehowthe sun singling out high windows,a waiter settling a billow of white clothwith glasses and silver, and the sparrowsshattering to nowhere are the Summerwaving that here is where it turnsand will no longer be walking with you,traveller, who now leave all of this behind,carrying only what it has made of you.Already the crowds seem darker and more hurriedand the slang grows stranger and stranger,and you do not understand what you love,yet here, rounding a corner in mild sunset,is the world again, wide-eyed as a childholding up a toy even you can fix. How light your stepdown the narrowing avenue to the cross streets,October, small November, barely legible December.--James Richardson © The New Yorker Comments Anonymous — 2007-09-29 This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

*Tinkling in the White HouseSo far in this month of September 49 American soldiers have died in Iraq.Dan Froomkin writes in the Washington Post about "Bush's Battlefield Envy".President Bush wishes that he could be alongside the troops in Iraq -- except that he's too old.At least that's what he reportedly told a blogger embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. In the first session of its kind, Bush spent almost an hour on Friday talking with 10 so-called "milbloggers," including two who participated by video conference from a military base outside Baghdad.What next! But more than the president's words what struck me were the comments posted by the "mil bloggers".Ward Carroll of military.com wrote that Bush "grew very emotional as he made a linkage between his father's service in World War II and the fact that Japan is now an ally and then said, 'I've had meetings with the prime minister of the country he fought.' He actually teared up as he said that."" CJ," an active-duty soldier and blogger, wrote: "Being right next to him, I caught a single tear attempt to roll down his left cheek before he casually wiped it away."Matthew Burden, a former Army officer who blogs under the name Blackfive, wrote: "The President was very intelligent, razor sharp, warm, focused, emotional (especially about his dad), and genuine."Overall, Burden wrote: "[I]t was very cool. The President of the United States slapped my hand and called me "brutha". Top that."" Mrs. Greyhawk" of the Mudville Gazette wrote: "It was history in the making. This alone was awe-inspiring and I did have to concentrate hard to keep from having an idiotic grin on my face thru out the meeting, especially since we were all discussing serious issues."Unfortunately, I did not get to say much since the President gave very long but thought provoking answers to the important questions given him [by] others."Mrs. Greyhawk added another highlight: "I tinkled in the Whitehouse."No, we cannot top that; shouldn't even try. But there is veteran reporter Helen Thomas to bring us down to earth.Washington PostIn a June 14 briefing, Hearst columnist Helen Thomas asked press secretary Tony Snow if there were "any members of the Bush family or this administration in this war?"Snow's response: "Yes, the President. The President is in the war every day."Thomas said she meant "on the front lines."Snow replied: "The President."Ya Habibi! Think how valiantly G.W. Bush served during the Vietnam war. Comments Anonymous — 2007-09-19 We needed GWB during vietnam when he went AWOL. I think this site is crapola. Anonymous — 2007-09-19 "......this site is crapola". That is a matter of opinion. The comments above give the impression that the writer does not like President Bush. Neither does the blogger. Read it again....slowly from the beginning. Anonymous — 2007-09-22 Following from today's NY Times very aptly describes President Bush: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/confronting-our-siberian-dilemma-in-asia-and-elsewhere/ September 22nd, 2007 7:28 am It seems that the actions of Mr.Bush as president are consistent with his actions in the military. He is AWOL. — Posted by Pete

*Wonders never cease. We, who were ridiculed for saying that the primary reason for the war in Iraq was Iraqi oil, now have a big gun on our side. No less a person than Alan Greenspan, former Oracle of the Fed, writes in his memoir "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World" 'I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.'This is not going to be music to the ears of families of soldiers who died in Iraq and to soldiers who are suffering from injuries. Of course, some will continue to delude themselves and swallow the hokum from those who took the nation to war. *Another FatwaTwo years after Islamic nations went on a rampage over the Danish cartoons, Muslims are after Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks for insulting the prophet. The cartoons appeared in Nerikes Allehanda on 18th August. A fatwa has been issued. Hard to believe that majority of Muslims support the extremists who go on rampage, ready to kill for little or no reason. The Swedish government is bending over backward to appease them.

*AC-CENT-TCHU-ATE THE POSITIVE (Mister In-Between) (Johnny Mercer / Harold Arlen) You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-BetweenThe song made famous by Bing Crosby. Source: Lyrics Collection That is what the president and his team are doing. By now the whole world is aware of what the thrust of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker's report to the Joint Session of the Armed Services and International Relations Committees on Monday, September 10th, will be. There is not much they can say to to buttress the president's position. The Bush team went on full scale containment effort when the GAO (U.S. Government Accounting Office) report released last week made it clear that the situation in Iraq cannot be whitewashed by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker.Democratic Senator Joseph Biden's statement today, reported by NY Times, repeats what has been known for some time: “This president has no plan how to win and/or how to leave,” said Mr. Biden, before whose committee General Petraeus and Mr. Crocker will testify on Tuesday. He accused Mr. Bush of putting American troops “into the middle of a civil war to maintain the status quo,” adding, “that is unconscionable, and he’s wrong.”In recent days it began to feel as though among the Democrats some erstwhile critics of the president's war were ready to roll over. Senator Biden's remarks indicate that President Bush and the Republicans will have few, if any, converts.“This is the president’s war,” he said. “Unless we get 67 votes to override his veto, there’s nothing we can do to stop this war, but we must, we must, we must protect these troops.”The Republicans' hope is to be able to protract the war until 2008 when the new president will have to deal with the mess and the current incumbent of the White House, in his own words, will be busy giving speeches to "replenish the ol' coffers". Outwardly, Republican presidential contenders are mostly pro-Bush, pro-war. If they are unhappy about the prospect they are not going to talk in public about it. A group of men ready to inherit the mess for the sake of being president. If a Democratic contender, man or a woman, wins the presidency, expect a sea change as the Republican hawks become critics of the war and begin to talk about casualties.For now the White House PR machine is in full blast accentuating the positive. Their problem is that the negatives cast an overwhelmingly larger shadow over the president's pet war.

*A gray morning. The dull, hazy sky is partly the result of forest fires that began earlier in the week in south Santa Clara Valley. Day time temperature lower than the level it was during most of the Labor Day weekend. It never fails; I think of the hot days in August and September as summer's parting kick.In mid-August the annual week at the coast turned out to be unusually pleasant. The sun showed up every morning and the temperature remained below 80° F (27° C).Beach House at Pajaro Dunes©MusafirSunset over the Pacific I©MusafirSunset over the Pacific II©MusafirWhat I am going to miss are the luscious tomatoes.....and the figs. But in a few months the wild mushrooms will begin to emerge in the forests.Figs for lunchPhoto credit: Xerones (Flicker) © Observer/GuardianRoast figs with Marsala and brown sugarNigel Slater Observer, August 5, 2007Dark-skinned figs, warm from the oven with a drizzle of cream is one of the most sensuous of summer desserts. Effortless to make and to eat, they are best served straight from the oven. Lucky those with their own fig tree. I have used both sweet and dry Marsala for this before now. Serves 4. 8 figs (maybe more if they are small)a wine glass of sweet Marsalaa little brown sugarcream to serve Set the oven at 200°C/gas mark 6 (apprx. 330° F). Cut the stalks from the figs and slice a deep cross into each fruit, going about halfway down. Press each fruit around its middle so that it opens up like a flower (or a baby bird in its nest yelling for food). You can cut them in half if you prefer. Place the figs in a baking dish, sprinkle over the wine and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the fruit is meltingly tender and the edges have started to caramelise. If they haven't browned nicely then pop them under a hot grill for a minute. Serve the fruit, pouring the pan juices over as you go and a drizzle of cream*I use honey instead of brown sugar and a few sprigs of lavender in the baking dish.Time to think of Fall"Leaves fell, she watched them drop off, curl down and lodge in a bed of grass, still heavy with moisture, they were falling all around her, simple and unceremonious; for a month or two at least, a cool and lovely autumn."--Edna O'Brien, August Is A Wicked Month

*General Pervez Musharraf, the wily president of Pakistan, is in turbulent waters, his power diminished by his failed attempt to muzzle the Supreme Court. His role as America's ally in the war against terror has suffered setbacks. Now, with the impending return of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and reports about byzantine negotiations between the factions involved the situation is murky. Musharraf might yet succeed in remaining as president but only by conceding ground. And which party -- Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party or Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League -- will emerge on top ? Pakistan's powerful militant Islamic groups are not going to be silent spectators as the events unfold.Corruption was rampant during both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif's premiership. Between 1988 and 1999 both Bhutto and Sharif had served twice as prime minister. Under the constitution they are prohibited from serving a third term. They have made no secret of the fact that they will seek a constitutional amendment.The General's support has eroded among the people of Pakistan. Pakistanis are restless and want change. Records of the years when Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif ruled Pakistan give little hope for expecting a clean, democratic government. And the army would be loath to relinquish the power sharing agreement with General Musharraf. In worst case scenario, martial law could again be declared and make it possible for a military-mullah coalition to take control. Should that come to pass, it would be difficult for America to justify supporting the regime. But history is full of instances of strange bedfellows embraced by America purely for selfish reasons. What our government says often has little resemblance with what it does.

*A report dated August 27, 2007, in Roll Call, the Capitol Hill Newspaper, stated: "Craig Arrested, Pleads Guilty Following Incident in Airport Restroom but Says He Did Nothing Wrong." The incident took place on June 11, 2007.That was about Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. If it were not for their public positions about moral values one could feel sorry for people like Senator Craig. It must be difficult to repress your sexual feelings and present a sham facade in public. They froth at the mouth talking about evils of free sexuality. And the more strongly they denounce homosexuality, women's right to choose, and sex between unmarried couples, deeper the hole they dig for themselves. But they keep on doing it. Against gay rights, against abortion (women's right to choose); against sex education (teaching of the use of condoms) in schools, against availability of the Morning After Pill (Plan B) without prescription to women over the age of 18, and a leading Republican gets caught soliciting sex in a public restroom! Bunch of hypocrites.

*Bye bye FreddoEarlier this morning Associated Press reported from Crawford,TX, about expected announcement of the resignation of AG Alberto Gonzalez. It took a while to sink in but President Bush realized that his attorney general's position had become untenable. The AG himself read a short statement a few minutes past 7:30 confirming the report. He didn't take any questions. Later, The President, in his statement, offered high praise for Gonzalez. THE PRESIDENT: This morning, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that he will leave the Department of Justice, after two and a half years of service to the department. Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle. And I have reluctantly accepted his resignation, with great appreciation for the service that he has provided for our country.Who Will be the SuccessorThe nominee for the position will face a quite different Congress than AG Gonzalez did. Much as the president would like to have an attorney general for whom loyalty to him would take first place, that might not happen. The Senate Judicial Committee will not, cannot, rubber-stamp the president's choice. DHS Chief Michael Chertoff's records are far from laudatory. He will be in turbulent waters during the confirmation hearings.Among the names being mentioned as possible candidates is former Missouri senator John Danforth. Danforth had also briefly served as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. While Danforth might be well received by Democrats, for conservative Republicans that very fact would be a black mark against him.The President's VacationUnlike previous years there was no announcement from the White House about books that the president took with him to read during his vacation at Crawford. One can understand that the president has enough on his plate to keep him occupied but the reading list, consisting mostly of weighty tomes, always caused surprise. Maybe the man has hidden depths. Too bad that this summer he is not enlightening his mind with books. Comments Nel Ivancich — 2007-09-04 Dear Musafir, I was looking for Thomas Hardy's poem, "Waiting Both," when I found it w/your name beneath. When I clicked on your name, I discovered this blog. Enjoyed reading your "musings." Just got my own blog up and rolling. Still green at it. All best. http://claycarpet.blogspot.com/

* Despite opposition from White House against the action, the FDA could not withhold approval for sale of Plan B (known as the Morning After Pill) without prescription to women over the age of 18. It was made available as an over-the-counter drug on August 24, 2006. David Crary of Associated Press reported on August 22,2007: In the year since it was approved for over-the-counter sales, the morning-after pill has become a huge commercial success for its manufacturer, but its popularity and solid safety record haven't deterred critics from seeking to overturn the milestone ruling. The pill, marketed by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Plan B, was the focus of bitter debate for three years. After repeated delays, the Food and Drug Administration declared on Aug. 24, 2006 that customers 18 and older should be able to buy it in pharmacies without a prescription. Barr began distributing the over-the-counter version last November, and all national pharmacy chains now stock it. The company projects that sales of Plan B will total about $80 million for 2007, almost double the total for 2006 and up eightfold from 2004, when Barr acquired the product as a prescription-only drug. A clear indication that more and more women believe they should be able to enjoy sex without fear of unwanted pregnancy. The usual suspects, however, are up in arms about over-the-counter availability of Plan B. The Catholic Church and pro-life groups (among them Concerned Women For America) have joined together in attempts to overturn the FDA's ruling. The home page of CWA, based in Washington DC, contains this declaration: "CWA is built on prayer and action. We are the nation's largest public policy women's organization with a rich 28-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy." Well, one would think that women who follow CWA's Biblical principles could simply stay away from Plan B. "(Before sex)"Dennis: Look, even if you did get pregnant, I'd marry you.Odette: Do you believe in centralized government or states' rights ?Dennis: What?Odette: I just want to know the kind of guy I'm marrying.Dennis: I'm starting to get the distinct impression you don't want to do this anymore."---From Sarah Kernochan's 1998 film "Strike"(also released as "All I Wanna Do")