I am back in Iraq for part of April and May to continue recording the war through drawing. I’m going to Mosul, a city in northern Iraq, to visit the U. S. military’s COPs, or Combat Outposts, which have been a key part of the tactics of the surge: platoon-sized units living within the cities, backing up and working closely with Iraqi army and police. The tedious part is getting there.
At Kuwaiti customs I get a disconcerting dose of Middle Eastern bureaucracy: what should be a 20-minute job of stamping passports with visas yawns into a chasm of several hours, while the half dozen young Kuwaiti officials stare distractedly at their cell phones, pretend to take notes, and occasionally break into random conversation with one another. The stack of passports sits, barely moving. Children whine while mothers attend to them, and men look hopelessly at nothing, waiting for an official to contemptuously announce a name in a barely audible voice.
At Camp Ali al-Salem in Kuwait I gather my equipment for a nighttime flight to Baghdad in one of the cavernous halls where soldiers wait for planes to Iraq and Afghanistan. Whole companies of soldiers are sprawled out on the ground surrounded by their gear, forming vast landscapes of packs and bodies, everything covered in digital gray-green cammo. Platoons form lines in front of signs with destinations printed in large letters; the eerie light casts dramatic shadows. Despite my tiredness I wish that I could draw these scenes, but I’ve been told unequivocally that it’s impossible. I read, suck on Halls cough drops, and wait.
When I finally arrive in the Green Zone, nothing looks much different. Over the last week rockets and mortars have been falling thick and fast, mostly from Sadr City, and everyone seems to have stories to tell. Several people died, including a colonel who was out jogging one morning. It’s quiet now, with only one air raid siren all day.
There’s a lot more graffiti in the bathrooms and port-a-johns than before, but it doesn’t differ much from graffiti in any public restroom. With one exception: generations of Chuck Norris jokes, counter-jokes and commentary. Some notable examples:
Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
Chuck Norris has a nightlight. Not because he’s afraid of the dark but because the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris doesn’t read. He just stares at a book until it tells him what he wants to know.
When Chuck Norris pees he clogs the toilet.
The Peruvian guards manning the checkpoints are an enthusiastic audience while I’m drawing and I chat with them in my frayed Spanish. A young woman walks up speaking Spanish and I ask her if she’s from Peru.
"Oh no -- I’m Iraqi, from up North, near Mosul." I attempt to segue to the time of the Moors, when Spaniards mixed with Arabs but my Spanish isn’t nearly up to the task; she interrupts, "These Peruvian guys are too ugly -- only the women are good looking!" The guards hoot with delight.
I could mistake some of the Peruvians for Arabs, although others have distinctly Incan features. They have an easy rapport with the Iraqi translators, but one of the soldiers tells me they’re very racist towards the Nigerian soldiers stationed here. A Peruvian who has been here three years says none of his countrymen have been killed. "We say it’s because he’s [pointing towards the sky] a Latino!"
Much more at the link...
WASHINGTON - After a weekend of closed-door negotiations in Helsinki, a group of rival members of Iraq's parliament and tribal leaders are set to announce today that they will gather in Baghdad for the first time for a further round of talks that they hope will lay the foundation for peace in their troubled country.
"Progress has been made," Padraig O'Malley, the UMass-Boston professor and veteran peace activist who organized the meeting, said in a phone interview from the Finnish capital.
O'Malley said the participants agreed upon all but three of 16 broad principles, which he hopes the Iraqi Parliament will eventually endorse, laying the framework for negotiations to reconcile Iraq's warring parties and militias. He said the participants hoped that that their talks would lead to a detailed agreement on core issues that have plagued Iraq, including disarming militias associated with political parties, protecting the rights of minorities, and reducing corruption in government.
So far, the participants have declined to make details of their discussions public to avoid creating too much debate and acrimony in Iraq, O'Malley said. They are planning to announce their progress at a press conference at the Helsinki airport today before returning to Iraq.
The first meeting organized by O'Malley, held in September of 2007 at an undisclosed location in Helsinki, was kept secret because of security concerns and out of a desire to have participants freely discuss their views without the scrutiny of the media.
Participants at the weekend meeting included Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr Organization, a Shi'ite group considered the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of the most powerful Shi'ite parties, as well as Fouad Massom, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi Parliament's constitutional review committee, and Usama al-Tikrit, the leader of the Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic party and a former classmate of Saddam Hussein.
Four tribal sheiks - two Sunni and two Shi'ite - also attended.
One notable absence, however, was that of the representative from the movement loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. He had been scheduled to attend but called at the last minute to say he was unable to make the flight. As part of a crackdown ordered by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq, supporters of Sadr have been fighting US and Iraqi forces in Sadr City, his Baghdad stronghold, in a battle that has cost dozens of lives.
The weekend's Helsinki meeting was an exercise in unconventional diplomacy. Up until now, most of the reconciliation efforts have been organized by the Arab League, the US State Department, or the Iraqi government. This meeting was organized by O'Malley, the Institute of Global Leadership at Tufts, and the Crisis Management Initiative, a Finnish nongovernmental organization.
Continued...
The ad that the Democratic Party is airing about Sen. John McCain -- picturing him mouthing words about 100 years of U.S. troop deployment in Iraq -- is not only misleading, according to lawyers for the Republican National Committee, but also illegal.
The DNC ad pictures McCain responding to a question at a town-hall styled forum in January, where he was asked how long U.S. troops might be committed to Iraq. "Maybe 100.... that'd be fine with me,'' replies McCain, who maintains that he was speaking of a non-combatant role, simliar to the long post-war deployments of U.S. forces in Germany following World War II and in South Korea. The ad repeats those 100-year remarks with overlays of script: "Five years... $500 billion... over 4,000 dead.''
"As a legal matter,'' RNC chairman Mike Duncan said today, this is a "maliciously false'' campaign ad. "The advertisement in question falsely and maliciously'' quotes Sen. McCain as saying that extending the war in Iraq for 100 years would be fine with him, and places it in a context of images of combat. "Clearly this ad is just another attempt by the DNC to mischaracterize Sen. McCain's statements.''
Sean Cairncross, general counsel for the RNC, said that McCain had responded to a question about how long the U.S..might be in Iraq. He noted that McCain's comment about 100 years included a caveat that "as long as Americans are not being injured... harmed or killed.... It's fine with me.''
The RNC, calling on cable news networks and television stations to refrain from airing the ad, maintains that a party does not have the independent right to air an ad that a candidate has, and that it becomes the obligation of networks and stations to monitor the truthfulness of ads The party stopped short of threatening legal action, however.
The RNC also accuses the DNC of making an illegal coordinated contribution to the the Democratic candidates with this ad, but maintains that the main legal problem with the ad involves its willful misrepresentation of McCain. "This is a complaint about the facts that are being misrepresented in this ad,'' Cairncross said in a conference call with reporters. "Based on this being a deliberate falsehood. We are saying to the stations, 'You have an obligation.'''
Stay tuned for a DNC reply.
Quote by velveeta jones:
:rofl: :rofl:
................. *cough, cough* *snort*
Ahhhhh, sorry, I'm laughing over the "ad is misleading and maybe even illegal..." Oh, NOOO, are the Rapublicans upset? Aw. Too bad.
Isn't it funny that they complain over words said by their candidate, but not so much when words by a Rev. are tied to our candidate. Hmmm. Karma. I think this should be the DNC's reply:
Quote by right wing hater:
Good Morning everyone!
Daily Reading posted to News of Day
Highlights - Live Earth is back, Oct 5th
Delegate Calculator: HRC would need 69% of remaining votes in each primary to win (ie, winged monkeys more likely)
Study: Con-servatives tuned out everything except Fox from 1998-2006 (shocker!)
Krugman on McCain = permanent GWBush
Michael Moore on CNN (Larry King) this Wed (will talk about his endorsement of Obama)
GWBush has 265 days left....
Quote by m-hadley:
BTB, I'm home for a few hours this morning - so I'm bi-blogging away :D
Cheers,
mfaye
Quote by starling310:
hi stan.
Quote by Raine::rofl:Quote by starling310:
hi stan.
Quote by starling310:
Did Arianna just drop an explitive?
Quote by starling310:Quote by Raine::rofl:Quote by starling310:
hi stan.
;)
now that i know he's "out there" . . .
Quote by starling310:
Faye, was I wrong? My eyes were closed every time, right?
Quote by m-hadley:Quote by starling310:
Faye, was I wrong? My eyes were closed every time, right?
No, my darling Starling,
I have several photos of your bright eyes wide open I will send them along to BobR, so he can post them with the rest of the shots - good times :)
Cheers,
mfaye
Quote by livingonli:Quote by m-hadley:Quote by starling310:
Faye, was I wrong? My eyes were closed every time, right?
No, my darling Starling,
I have several photos of your bright eyes wide open I will send them along to BobR, so he can post them with the rest of the shots - good times :)
Cheers,
mfaye
You have any pictures of me?
Quote by livingonli:
Good morning Mala. Sounds like you feel the same way I do.
And tonight I go back to work. Vacation goes much too fast.
Quote by Raine:
HEy, Where has ShaneO been ?
Quote by velveeta jones:
Hey! I just found out that a few of you have facebook accounts............. You'll be getting an invite from me (my real name - not as Velveeta). :D
I had forgotten that I'd signed up for that silly Facebook, until I got an email recently from an old school chum! Pretty cool!
(Otherwise, I'm not much into these online communities like FB and Myspace).
Quote by Raine:
Ok, this is just wierd...
A Los Angeles porn company is planning to release a film supposedly showing guitar legend Jimi Hendrix having sex with two women, according to a report in the New York Times on Tuesday.
According to Vivid Entertainment, the film, which has no audio, allegedly shows Hendrix having sex with two women in a dimly-lit bedroom, the Times reports.
Vivid, which has also released sex tapes featuring Pamela Anderson, Tommy Lee and Kim Kardashian, among others, says that the tape is authentic, and will be offered for sale in stores and for download Online, according to the Times report.
===================================================
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by velveeta jones:
Hey! I just found out that a few of you have facebook accounts............. You'll be getting an invite from me (my real name - not as Velveeta). :D
I had forgotten that I'd signed up for that silly Facebook, until I got an email recently from an old school chum! Pretty cool!
(Otherwise, I'm not much into these online communities like FB and Myspace).
I just signed up for facebook and livejournal yesterday since so many others did. Plus I already had my myspace account.
Quote by velveeta jones:
:yawn:
I'm waiting for Miley Cryus................
:lol:
Quote by Raine:Quote by velveeta jones:
:yawn:
I'm waiting for Miley Cryus................
:lol:
I would do ANYTHING for the honour of being photographed by Annie. That story is so dumb.
Her parents were on set the whole time.
Quote by Raine:
I added y'all to my face book!
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
I added y'all to my face book!
Yes, that was QUICK!! Both you and Mala added me right away!! Now that's what I call mutli-tasking...........
:P
Quote by m-hadley:
No, my darling Starling,
I have several photos of your bright eyes wide open I will send them along to BobR, so he can post them with the rest of the shots - good times :)
Cheers,
mfaye
Quote by jd_in_ny:
good morning folks!
I have a facebook account, too, if I can join in
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
I added y'all to my face book!
Yes, that was QUICK!! Both you and Mala added me right away!! Now that's what I call mutli-tasking...........
:P
Quote by jd_in_ny:
good morning folks!
I have a facebook account, too, if I can join in
Quote by Raine:Quote by jd_in_ny:
good morning folks!
I have a facebook account, too, if I can join in
woohoo! I'll take all the friends I can get!
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by jd_in_ny:
good morning folks!
I have a facebook account, too, if I can join in
I'll look fer ya. I only have vague clues............ but I'll look.............. Hmmm, I wonder if your in the city?
Quote by jd_in_ny:Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by jd_in_ny:
good morning folks!
I have a facebook account, too, if I can join in
I'll look fer ya. I only have vague clues............ but I'll look.............. Hmmm, I wonder if your in the city?
hmmm... I don't know how high my security settings are... my name is Janna, though, and I'm on the Rochester network
Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
Quote by Raine:
SCOTUS and DEMS elected to congress are VERY important... HOWEVER...
This country needs a collective change in consciousness... I think many people are tired of Bush Clinton Bush Clinton.
McCAin is nothing more than a Bush.
Quote by Raine:JD, I am Raine in Atlanta, why don't yuo add me, and then we can do it from there?Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
Quote by jd_in_ny:Quote by Raine:JD, I am Raine ***** **** in Atlanta, why don't yuo add me, and then we can do it from there?Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
heh - that would probably be simpler, yes?
Quote by Raine:
JD, Tell me when you have me, and I will delete that post....
Quote by jd_in_ny:Quote by Raine:JD, I am Raine ************* in Atlanta, why don't yuo add me, and then we can do it from there?Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
heh - that would probably be simpler, yes?
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by jd_in_ny:Quote by Raine:JD, I am Raine ************* in Atlanta, why don't yuo add me, and then we can do it from there?Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
heh - that would probably be simpler, yes?
Quote by livingonli:
Have all the Headline News anchors been brainwashed by Glenn Beck?
Quote by jd_in_ny:
Yay!
Quote by jd_in_ny:
Friends! I feel so validated.
Quote by velveeta jones:
Yes, Raine is brave enough, or crazy enough, to use her real name!!
Quote by Raine:me too!!!Quote by jd_in_ny:
Friends! I feel so validated.
Quote by Raine:
:unsure: BobR is NOT going to be happy with this story!
Quote by livingonli:
So, is every Mel Brooks film destined to be a Broadway musical now?
Can't wait for "SpaceBalls: The Musical".
Quote by livingonli:
When I was in college, 80% of the guys at my college radio station wanted to nail Suzanne Hoffs. Although, I felt Michael Steele was pretty hot as well.
Quote by velveeta jones:
HEY! Newt is on the VIEW!! Whoopie asking him about Obama and putting him on the spot.
Quote by wickedpam:
the Gay Parade?
Quote by livingonli:Quote by wickedpam:
the Gay Parade?
It's a Hollywood thing.
Quote by wickedpam:
Yes but is it different then a Gay Pride Parade?
Quote by BobR:
oh gawd - this caller - GET TO IT ALREADY!!
Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:
Yes but is it different then a Gay Pride Parade?
Yes.
More gay.
Less pride.
:rofl:
Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Quote by Raine:
OK Sam and Marc are riffing on some strange stuff... I am back to the shoe.
Quote by Raine:
All people need to know is where those funds for the gas tax goes.
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
:lol: This sounds like some of those "Chuck Norris" things!
Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Quote by Raine:Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
:lol: This sounds like some of those "Chuck Norris" things!
DOES THE REVERAND WRIGHT WEAR CHUCK NORRIS' PAJAMAS?
Quote by starling310:Quote by Raine:Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GAS TO GO UP?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE WAR IN IRAQ?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SKYROCKET?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE MORTGAGES TO FAIL?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE THE NATIONAL DEBT?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING AND SPYING?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT CAUSE TORTURE AT GITMO?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
:lol: This sounds like some of those "Chuck Norris" things!
DOES THE REVEReND WRIGHT WEAR CHUCK NORRIS' PAJAMAS?
DOES REVEREND WRIGHT WEAR MAGIC UNDERWEAR?
Quote by wickedpam:
I love the pix of Liv and BobR on the couch
Quote by Raine:
:rofl:
Bob and Liv... in da house!!!
Quote by BobR:Quote by Raine:
:rofl:
Bob and Liv... in da house!!!
yo - yo - YOHHH!....
Quote by Raine:Quote by BobR:Quote by Raine:
:rofl:
Bob and Liv... in da house!!!
yo - yo - YOHHH!....
Livah flav!
Quote by Raine:
HEy, Where has ShaneO been ?
Quote by Shane-O:Quote by Raine:
HEy, Where has ShaneO been ?
I'm sorry Ms. Raine - and Liv - I responded to you on the SMS Live Blog - I was up quite late (7 am) - AGAIN - if I could just get rid of those pesky needs for income and sleep, I could get SO much more done.
Quote by BobR:
A REMINDER TO EVERYONE:
When uploading photos, please be sure to put them in the meetup08 folder!
"Baby Jesus has a penis!" Raine pointing at 15th century Italian statue of the Modonna and Child. He was buck naked and did have a penis.
Quote by velveeta jones:
Wha? I'll have to stream him. My crappy radio station cut him. :rage:
Quote by Raine:it was actually a painting Dahlink. I think I scared people away after that fact was stated.
"Baby Jesus has a penis!" Raine pointing at 15th century Italian statue of the Modonna and Child. He was buck naked and did have a penis.
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by Raine:it was actually a painting Dahlink. I think I scared people away after that fact was stated.
"Baby Jesus has a penis!" Raine pointing at 15th century Italian statue of the Modonna and Child. He was buck naked and did have a penis.
whatevah! I can't feel my fingers thanks to powerful meds hehe!
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by Raine:it was actually a painting Dahlink. I think I scared people away after that fact was stated.
"Baby Jesus has a penis!" Raine pointing at 15th century Italian statue of the Modonna and Child. He was buck naked and did have a penis.
whatevah! I can't feel my fingers thanks to powerful meds hehe!
Quote by Raine:
I am sleepy.
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by Raine:
I am sleepy.
Me too.
Quote by Raine:JD, I am Raine Corleone in Atlanta, why don't yuo add me, and then we can do it from there?Quote by jd_in_ny:
hmmm... that doesn't sound like me. I don't know whether my security settings are too high - the picture I have might not show up. Do any of them have the GWU network? (Does that show?)
Quote by velveeta jones:
Oh sheesh! More Wright talk? Can I stand it?
Quote by livingonli:
Oh, please when is someone going to bring up The Family?
Quote by BobR:Quote by wickedpam:
Yes but is it different then a Gay Pride Parade?
Yes.
More gay.
Less pride.
:rofl:
Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
Quote by Raine:I think I figured something out. Maybe she is trying to go after all those that will never vote for McCain???Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
is it a strategy, as opposed to being a part of the democratic party?
Quote by livingonli:Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
Will Bill-O than go on and say that Obama is not man enough to appear on the Factor and challenge Bill-O in his Hello Kitty underwear?
Quote by livingonli:
Oh, please when is someone going to bring up The Family?
The Family's most visible activity is its blandly innocuous National Prayer Breakfast, held every February in Washington. But almost all its real work goes on behind the scenes -- knitting together international networks of rightwing leaders, most of them ostensibly Christian. In the 1940s, The Family reached out to former and not-so-former Nazis, and its fascination with that exemplary leader, Adolph Hitler, has continued, along with ties to a whole bestiary of murderous thugs. As Sharlet reported in Harper's in 2003:
During the 1960s the Family forged relationships between the U.S. government and some of the most anti-Communist (and dictatorial) elements within Africa's postcolonial leadership. The Brazilian dictator General Costa e Silva, with Family support, was overseeing regular fellowship groups for Latin American leaders, while, in Indonesia, General Suharto (whose tally of several hundred thousand "Communists" killed marks him as one of the century's most murderous dictators) was presiding over a group of fifty Indonesian legislators. During the Reagan Administration the Family helped build friendships between the U.S. government and men such as Salvadoran general Carlos Eugenios Vides Casanova, convicted by a Florida jury of the torture of thousands, and Honduran general Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, himself an evangelical minister, who was linked to both the CIA and death squads before his own demise.
At the heart of the Family's American branch is a collection of powerful rightwing politicos, who include, or have included, Sam Brownback, Ed Meese, John Ashcroft, James Inhofe, and Rick Santorum. They get to use the Family's spacious estate on the Potomac, the Cedars, which is maintained by young men in Family group homes and where meals are served by the Family's young women's group. And, at the Family's frequent prayer gatherings, they get powerful jolts of spiritual refreshment, tailored to the already-powerful.
Clinton fell in with the Family in 1993, when she joined a Bible study group composed of wives of conservative leaders like Jack Kemp and James Baker. When she ascended to the senate, she was promoted to what Sharlet calls the Family's "most elite cell," the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, which included, until his downfall, Virginia's notoriously racist Senator George Allen.
We believe in the fulfillment of the Scriptures foretelling the end of this world as we know it. It is our belief that we are now living in the time period known in the Bible as the "Last Days" or the "Time of the End," which is the era immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:1). His second coming will fulfill the Scripture, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
Civil Government and Religious Liberty:
We believe in the Scripture's teaching that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interest and order of human society. (snip)
The only exception to this would be in matters of faith, where obedience to a law of man would mean disobedience to the law of God.============
The Sanctity of Life:
We are opposed to abortion. Scripture makes it clear that God esteems the unborn as a person with an identity, not merely as a mass of fetal tissue. (snip)
Quote by Shane-O:
Right now - Obama press conference.
Obama to Wright: meet the bus...
Had to be done.
Quote by Raine:
sans the Hello kitty, I bet you he will say that barack is not man enough.
Hillary, I hope , will not further throw her fellow dem under the bus.
Quote by Raine:
Gas Tax Holiday gets 2 pinnochios from WaPo:
The Pinocchio Test
The advocates of a "gas tax holiday" are exaggerating the benefits to consumers from their proposal. If the Illinois experience is a guide, there is likely to be some reduction in the price of gas, but it would fall well short of the size of the tax reduction. In order to pay for the tax cut, the government would have to cut back on highway construction and maintenance or find some other way of plugging the shortfall in revenues to the Highway Trust Fund.
===================================================
Quote by Raine:
:thud:
Quote by Raine:Listening to this guy filling in for randi, he just played a drop from *ush, Today during his press conference, saying he had not heard of 4$ a gallon gas.Quote by Raine:
:thud:
Quote by starling310:
It's not the $0.18 tax that bothers me. It's the other 3 DOLLARS and 50 CENTS!!!
. .. . . . . just sayin'
Quote by starling310:
Is it Stacey Taylor filling in? He's a good one.
Quote by Raine:
Hillary to appear on O'Reilly.
YES. That ONE.
Quote by Raine:
I know this is wrong...
I know...
What about that dream ticket? Put them together??
Quote by Mondobubba:
There is a Drinking Liberally here in Jacksonville! But they are lightweights they only meet once a month!
Quote by Raine:
Tonite's dinner... Rice with Tumeric and onion ... Seasoned steak and a veggire mix of Cauliflower, green beens, onions and red pepper seasoned with Savory and Dill with sliced garlic...
Quote by livingonli:
Tonight the salt mine is deep indeed. We are doing game 3 of Rangers-Penguins (Penguins are up 2-0).
Quote by Raine:IT's something! you can break them in!Quote by Mondobubba:
There is a Drinking Liberally here in Jacksonville! But they are lightweights they only meet once a month!
Quote by Mondobubba:
Raine cooking dinner
Quote by shelaghc:
Go Pens!
Quote by Mondobubba:
OMG. A reality show to be the next telenovela star. :thud:
Quote by shelaghc:Quote by livingonli:
Tonight the salt mine is deep indeed. We are doing game 3 of Rangers-Penguins (Penguins are up 2-0).
Go Pens!
Quote by Raine:That is so cute!Quote by shelaghc:Quote by livingonli:
Tonight the salt mine is deep indeed. We are doing game 3 of Rangers-Penguins (Penguins are up 2-0).
Go Pens!
I loves me my rangers... but you know, NY is not so well known for the cute mascots...
Quote by MNRN:
tru dat my bro, tru dat. :rofl:
just a quick drive by to say hullo. The tweenagah wants the computah (she had the phone but that was NOT enough, she says....)
so nice to "see" my friends in the evening. :hug:
Quote by Raine:
Just got done watching the Daily show...
I am going to make a prediction...Newt Gingrich will be McCain's choice for VP.