Also tried to post this yesterday, to no avail (is this Ashcroft’s doing, perchance?):
WHAT’S THIS I HEAR?
Cheney’s daughter is a human shield in Baghdad.
Good girl!
May the sins of the father not be visited against her.
Category: Uncategorized
SPOOKY
THREE TIMES now I have tried to post this sentiment and Blogger each time has swallowed it mysteriously, so I am trying again:
Conviced as I am of the folly of human beings, I remain unconvinced of “the sanctity of human life”.
Let’s see if it goes through this time.
Maybe it’s just too ineffable.
WE ARE AN IDIOT SPECIES!
I am not talking about INDIVIDUALS.
I don’t want to die yet. I don’t want anyone I know to die either. Of course, I don’t want anyone “innocent” (whatever that means) to die.
But as a species, I’m not sure that we have earned the right to live.
Sad and enraging news from Rachel Levitsky, not about the war on Iraq but rather a grave domestic injustice:
Dear Friends,
Rachel Levitsky here. I’ve just returned from LA where I had a reading and was with Akilah Oliver, who has just lost her son, Oluchi McDonald, a beautiful 20 year old young man, to what is apparently a flagrant failure of the health care system. Many of you may already know the details but in case not, I’m sending this out to the folks on my list who I think may want to know what’s going on.
We don’t know much conclusively. Even the coroner is
evasive. What we do know is that Oluchi went into one
hospital with severe cramps and was tested for
appendicitis with inconclusive results and sent to
another hospital where he was not treated and died the
next day. It seems he had a blocked colon, a condition
like appendicitis, that is easily treated surgically,
and should be easily detectable.
Many of you are wondering what can be done to address
this horror and injustice in our community. (As
though the horror of the war and the Bush
administration’s push toward Fundamentalist Christian
State wasn’t enough.)
Here’s what we’ve organized so far. Akilah envisions a
three pronged approach:
1) Social Justice and Activism about the wrongs of the
health care system for poor people and people of
color. Akilah has started a group called “Somebody’s
Friend” and the first action is for folks to write
letters to the people at MLK/Drew Medical Center,
where Oluchi died. Back channel me if you’d like the
doctors, nurses names and the address. Anyone who
knows activists that may be effective in LA, please
forward that information to me at this email.
2) Legal–procuring an effective malpractice legal
team, and pursuing a possible civil rights case (CA is
one of first states if not the only, to have $250,000
cap on malpractice suits, however if Oluchi was turned
away for reasons of economy or race, there is a
federal case) and
3) Spiritual–assisting and supporting Oluchi on his
journey. This includes memorials, art making,
praying, etc. Akilah will be bringing Oluchi’s ashes
to Boulder, where he grew up, St Louis, where his
grandmother and extended family live, New York and LA.
There is a fourth element which is general financial
support for all these efforts. Akilah has no money,
had had a difficult time finding work in New York
where she’d been relocating before this happened–and
her unemployment had just ended. There are the fat
expenses of coroner, cremation, burial, retainer for
the lawyer, flying to the various places where Oluchi
has family and friends, staying in LA and making sure
things happen here, cell phone, mainaining apartments
and bills and the unexpected. Akilah does not have a
checking account. We are trying to figure out a way
for people who want to contribute to be able to do so
tax deductibly. Meanwhile here’s how you can get money (or other things) to Akilah:
1) Immediate Use: Send money order or blank checks
(that can be used to pay bills) to Akilah Oliver, c/o
Michael Farber, 1917 Rodney Drive, #211, LA CA 90027
2) DEPOSIT for need down the line: You can write
checks to Michael Farber to the above address or to me
at my address: Rachel Levitsky 458 Lincoln Pl #4b,
Brooklyn NY 11238. We’ll be establishing some sort of
account so that we can pay for things for Akilah.
3)I’ll let you know what happens if we come up with a
more streamlined system.
IF I ACCIDENTALLY SENT THIS TO FOLK WHO DON’T KNOW
AKILAH, PLEASE FORGIVE,
and feel free to send this to friends I may miss or
for whom I have no contact info,
I’ll be out of town again Saturday and Sunday and then more responsive to email.
Peace and
Be safe in these times and
Love,
Rachel
WAGE POETRY!
Slogans collected at the Peace Demonstration Saturday, March 22:
Shocked/ Awed/ Pissed Off
Shame Shame Shame
Hey Bush who are you kidding
Breasts not Bombs
Do We Hate Our Enemies More than We Love Our Children?
History tells us that empires do not last. Nations bleed themselves of resources to maintain a bloated military. They begin to rot from within.
Dear Terrorists–
George Bush is from Texas
[map of US with Texas enlarged, targeted]
Georgie: If we agree your dick is bigger than Saddam’s, will you call off the war? {picture of Bush crosseyed)
George W. hitler
The World will not stand the Strong to swallow up the WEAK.
–George W. Bush 1990
Jacques Chirac
You can have this back
We don’t need it any more
[pic of statue of liberty]
See you in the Hague Mr. Bush. Learn Int’l Law.
Oil on their minds
+ GREED in their hearts
= Blood on their hands
Rome Fell
Issam Sadak , Moroccan
DISAPPEARED in the USA
Report Card
George W. Bush
Does not Play Well with Others
(and runs with scissors)
Jesus is the answer Not War
Yee-Ha is not a foreign policy
Stop the cowboy discourse
Vets for peace say “Cheney to thefront”
I thought Bush was pro-life
Wanted: Osama Bin Bush
Bombs Kill Moms
Shame on US Media for propagating Bush’s lies
Truth, Reason, and Logic:
Causing Problems for Conservatives Everywhere
Illegitimate War
Illegitimate President
Silence is the voice of complicity
1 Second in Iraq=$1200=
1 year of a child’s education in 2000
US Foreign Policy Cucks
Stop Human Genocide [I asked her, why only human genocide?]
BUSH — the Only Dope Worth Shooting
How Can You Bring Democracy to Iraq When You’re Destroying it at Home?
Mr Bush: Get back to Domestic Issues —
You are no good at foreign policy
Actually you’re no good at domestic policies either —
VOTE DEMOCRAT.
How many lives per gallon?
Take the toys away from Junior.
The only Bush I support is my own.
Let’s not sleepwalk through history
Just cause?
Or just idiots?
Ye are not our shepherd and we are not your mutton.
Shock + awe = terror
The Bush junta’s crimes are shocking and awful.
Jesus CHOOSE Caesar
Baghdad destroyed along with democracy
Support our troops
End this War
George: liberate US!!
Brain Washington
[the asterisks below should be “does not equal” signs]
World opinion * focus group
Preemption * security
Disssent * treason
Democracy * occupation
Journalism * stenography
Peace * war
United Nations * irrelevant
Draft the bush twins
No more Bushit
You can’t liberate people by bombing the living fuck out of them.
What’s lovelier than a baby born on the eve of war, in exquisite defiance?
Welcome Jacob, son of Ange and Steve!
Where is Our Spring?
The war has no importance but emptiness. If I had a power to ban anything in the world, I would ban war. Recently, we can see a likelihood that war between Iraq and America will happen on TV, News Paper, etc. It absolutely has to be stopped.
What’s the purpose for having war instead of negotiation? Will we be happy after the war? Can we get some treat through the war? Of course not. Because after the war there is nothing but anger and madness which would cause a new war though the old one was over. Not to mention, the war makes a lot of harm and victims of not only soldiers but also innocent people bloodthirstily. In fact, my mother’s grandpa died because of World War 2 (1939-45) and many people in Hiroshima died by the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima City. Besides, after the war people who could barely evade death at that time were suffering from distress.
The second reason why I want to ban the war is clear. I don’t want to lose my life, family, friends and my peaceful future. If war happened now, I would rather die than living alone. I have a dream as everybody has a dream. I want to marry with a man whom I will really fall in love with. If I died because of war, I couldn’t go to heaven easily because I unfinished my future in the world.
That’s why I hate war and want to ban it. Can you figure out some plus of war? If you can, tell me your thought, but probably I won’t be able to nod with your thought. I wish we could have a peaceful world that would never have war again.
Chiharu Yokogoshi, Student, Hunter College NYC
NO.
NO.
NO.
NO.
Otohime 