"Stop this Shit"

The image is an anti-war rally in Israel. Young and old, Israelis are anti-war.

Uri Avnery writes about the tragedy in the Middle East:

Death, destruction. Unimaginable human suffering.

And the most disgusting sight: George Bush in a playful mood sitting on his chair in St. Petersburg, with his loyal servant Tony Blair leaning over him, and solving the problem: "See? What they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbullah to stop doing that shit, and it's over."

Thus spake the leader of the world, and the seven dwarfs - "the great of the world" - say Amen.

SYRIA? BUT only a few months ago it was Bush - yes, the same Bush - who induced the Lebanese to drive the Syrians out of their country. Now he wants them to intervene in Lebanon and impose order?

Record heat wave in the lower 48

Of course, greenhouse gasses and global warming have nothing to do with this, right? It's just summer. Little Shelter from Record Heat screams the LA Times.

The structure of large cities exacerbates extreme heat by trapping radiation - an effect known as the "urban heat island," said Johannes Feddema, a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Light is absorbed by dark surfaces like asphalt and concrete; when the city begins to cool in the evening, those surfaces release the heat they have absorbed, occasionally increasing the temperature by as much as 50 degrees.

Sunday night weather reports showed that in the lower 48, every state except North Dakota reached triple digits. That's hot.

I'm Jood, and I'm a grateful alcholic

Today is my 18th anniversary clean and sober in Alcoholics Anonymous. 18 on the 18th. The Hebrew letter for the number 18 is Chai, which means life.

18 years ago, my life was a mess. I was married, but I was in a suicidal depression, and wanted to die by becoming invisible. I wanted to fade into oblivion. Today, my life is rich, and full, and balanced. I'm surrounded by friends, and family. I'm divorced, but get along with my ex-. I have a job that is challenging, that I enjoy. I've found my voice in so many areas I'd forgotten I cared about - from my Improv class, to painting, to politics - I feel whole, and see the abundance in my life. This is so far from the constant despair I felt that I want to tell you all - I am a grateful alcoholic. Life is a journey.

Bush on the Mideast Bloodshed

“What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it’s over.”

Wow. That's what our prez said to Tony Blair at a luncheon at the G8 conference. Gives ya a warm fuzzy feeling, don't it?

In the meantime,Ha'aretz reports that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Tony Blair, and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday called for deployment of an International force along the southern Lebanese border. de Villepin also called for an immediate truce between Israel and Lebanon on humanitarian grounds. PM de Villepin was in Beiruit, meeting with the Lebanese Government, in order to find a solution to this insanity.

Meanwhile, back at Rancho Brainless, Secretary of State Condi Rice might someday, in the unnamed future, just haul her perfectly coiffed hair over to Lebanon. "At some point in the future, the secretary intends to travel to the region," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Probably after nothing is left.

But the NY Times today reports that Israel is softening its demand that Hezbollah disarm as a condition for cease fire. As of today, the report is that Israel will accept a pull back from the border, and release of the soldiers. The report continues to state that Iran and Syria, Hezbollah's primary supporters, appeared to join those seeking a solution to the now six-day war that's raging through Lebanon.

"The Tehran government called for a cease-fire, followed by a prisoner exchange, and Syria also promised to aid mediation efforts."

Most Lebanese are skeptical that Hezbollah will voluntarily withdraw from the border; Hezbollah says it will release the soldiers only with direct negotiations with Israel, and the release of Lebanese and other Arab prisoners. Israel is cool to an international deployment along the borders, saying that it would not stop Hezbollah attacks, but would hamper Israel's ability to strike back.

Israel needs to accept an international deployment, and must cease-fire. Only then can cooler heads prevail and create conditions for negotiation.

This phone is tapped

Hat tip to BZ for this photo.

The sticker says: "Your conversation is being monitored by the U.S. government courtesy of the US Patriot Act of 2001. Sec. 216 of which permits all phone calls to be recorded without a warrant or notification."

Photo snapped by Chris on High Street in Columbus, OH. Source: CrimethInc

Bill Harney, again

It's been two years since I went camping in the Victoria River area with Bill Harney and the people filming Bill and his story telling. My friend, Mike, guide extraordinary took some folks out this past June to experience Bill. I'm sure they will be changed at depth from the experience. One day, I will probably recycle my post telling about the experience, because it was extraorodinary. I adore Billy. He's just one of the most deeply spiritual people I know, and a really randy fellow too. I wish everyone could go camping with him.

Military records: NOW YOU KNOW WHY IT'S SO EASY FOR THE GOP TO KILL YOUR KIDS

Democrats:
* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent toVietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received 311.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.


Republicans --and these are the guys sending people to war:
* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam, disappeared from duty.
* Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non- combat role making movies.
* B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Vietnam POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem, " although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John Engler: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers
* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.
* Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
* Ted Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that don't shoot back.)

Democrats pull this ad

Hat tip to Helen Wheels, not only for posting this important ad that the Dems pulled; but for providing me with the means to put it up on my site. The more people see it, the better.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora calls for ceasefire

Lebanese PM calls for immediate ceasefire, which Israel would be smart to accept. Siniara's plan would deploy Lebanese Troops into Southern Lebanon, which Israel has sought for years. But Israel is stubborn. Israel has set conditions, demanding immediate release of their kidnapped soldiers and a withdrawal of Hezbollah from the border to 30 kms. away, on the other side of the Litani River. Israel remains on high alert. Lebanon is a disaster area. Hezbollah holds the world hostage.

I fully expect any number of bloggers I know, and respect, to tell me that it is all Israel's fault. So before that happens, let me remind you all that it is NOT all Israel's fault. Israel has a tiny, indefensible strip of land; it built a strong military in order to survive. It has been under constant attack since it was founded. It is surrounded by neighbors whose sworn goal is to drive Israel into the sea. Hezbollah predicts the destruction of Israel by 2025.

Nevertheless, I believe Israel must cease fire. I do not believe Israel is the country to blame; I believe that the militant extemists sworn to destroy Israel are to blame, but I believe Israel must cease fire.

Israel is stubborn, and has forgotten all sense of proportional response. An IDF Soldier (Gilad Shalit) is kidnapped in Gaza; the IDF is embarrassed, so all of Gaza must pay. The fighting and human catastrophe in Gaza has not stopped anything; in fact, two more soldiers are kidnapped into Lebanon, by Hezbollah, so all of Lebanon must pay. That is the thinking of Israel's government at this point -- not the majority of Israelis, mind you.

Hezbollah kidnapped the IDF soldiers ostensibly to help its Palestinian bretheren in Gaza. However, in Lebanon, there is no Israeli occupation. If Hezbollah were so concerned about the Palestinians, why do they do nothing to help those hundreds of thousands that live in refugee camps in Lebanon, in conditions as bad as those under Israeli occupation. (There. I said it.) No, Hezbollah is not concerned about the Palestinians. Nor are Israel's Defense Minister and Prime Minister able to differentiate between Hezbollah and Lebanon.

This is not a justified war that Israel fights. Their goal to have Hezbollah withdraw from the Lebanese/Israeli border is not happening because they've not spent time at the negotiating table. Everyone agrees that a nation must not remain silent when it is attacked within its own borders, but does that mean destroying everything within sight?

Egypt and Spain are both talking to Israel in order to garner restraint. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek was able to disuade Israel from a land attack on Beirut; I hope that he will be able to convince Israel to stand down. Mubarak is calling for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire. He states correctly that nobody will respond to anything except in a ceasefire and calm. War will not solve this.

Technical problems - my computer is a mess

I have emails I can't respond to because everything is frozen (Sumo and Yoga, I am not ignoring you, my email program is nonfunctional). Some things are working, some things seem to be dead as dead. I'm considering a MAC. They don't crash, right? I think I can manage to get through this, but emails, notsomuch.

How to find peace

Moshe Dayan was a warrior to his death. But he played an important role in creating the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt following the Six Day War. His statement above is the key to peace. Let cooler heads prevail.

I found this image over at Glenda's blog. Thanks Glenda!

Weather report

One of the many things I love about Coastal Southern California is the escape from excessive heat, and excessive cold. Away from the coast, inland, it gets quite hot in summer, but where I live, in a coastal area, it is fairly steady all year round, and rarely exceeds mid-70s during summer days. May Gray and June Gloom are real seasons of coastal fog which is beautiful, mysterious, and visually enchanting. July and August are comfortably warm. It's lovely living here, with no need for air conditioning at home.

EXCEPT THIS YEAR. Summer's Heat Fills the Calendar With Fry Days, reported in today's LA Times, talks about the failure of that necessary coastal fog, and As a result, the Los Angeles region endured a blistering June — the second-hottest on record after 1981 — and the rest of the summer looks to be a scorcher, including this weekend.

The result of this excessive heat is tinder-dry conditions. Two massive fires in San Bernadino County have joined, and firefighters battle to control them as conditions get drier by the hour. The fires release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, which contribute to the conditions that make the fires so dangerous. Our winter rains came late; we had no spring and are well into a summer that has been between 4 to 6 degrees higher than normal.

Who says we don't have global warming?


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Went to Valencia this afternoon for a travel open house which our agency did in cooperation with several of our key travel partners. We advertised, we sent mailers out to 20,000 qualified names in the Santa Clarita Valley. Nobody showed up because of the heat. This is a first for us, every other such event we've done has been hugely successful. Not this one -- people were not on the roads; people were home, or in air conditioned movie theaters. It was 110 and we had no shade. Nobody was in the pool at this place. We were supposed to stay til 8PM, but we wrapped up early. I'm dizzy. Put a fork in me, I'm done.

Friday grandbaby blogging

On Sunday, Beanie and her mommy went to the beach. Beanie discovered it was so much fun to bury herself in the sand. She did this all by herself. On Monday she will be 16 months old.





After the beach, and lunch, and a nap, Beanie and her mommy went to the Farm in the Zoo. Here she's getting a goat kiss. My daughter said Ellie was laughing. She had a very busy day. On the phone, Beanie told me all about it. She said "Jable nerdernerder nerder" and threw the phone away to wave her hands.

We have illegal EMPLOYERS, not illeagal immigrants.

In 1986, when Ronald Regan upended labor laws and began his attacks on Labor Unions, he basically turned a migrant worker population into permanent residents. As undocumented residents, they began to work for below minimum wage, taking jobs from American citizens who received higher pay because of Unions and Labor Laws.

Under George Bush, enforcement at work sites has dropped 95%. Under George Bush, employers are not being prosecuted, employers are not being fined. Under George Bush, the exploitation of "illegal" immigrants has exploded. And under George Bush, the red herring of "illegal immigrants" is intended to throw the scent off the abuses of power his administration makes on a daily basis.

The solution? Elect real democrats who will restore the labor laws, and go after the real problem: Employers who exploit people for their own greed.

Editorial: Terror War Wackiness by Rosa Brooks

In today's LA Times, this editorial is a must read. I'm tempted to paste the entire article, but instead, here's a sample:

IN THOSE 12 terrible days following the U.S. Supreme Court's Hamdan decision — which thoroughly eviscerated the White House's Orwellian "war on terror" legal framework — the Bush administration's warrior priests went through a brief but intense period of mourning.

Donald Rumsfeld rent his garments and ordered the ritual "water-boarding" of 100 Army JAG officers. Alberto Gonzales woke screaming in the night after a chilling visitation from the Ghost of Treaties Quaint. And W pensively re-read "My Pet Goat," wondering how the story that began so sweetly that September day could have turned out so terribly wrong.

It is a wonderful condemnation of the way they shred the truth and paste together an upside-down version of it. Go read her editorial, it will make you happy.

It takes so little to make me happy

But this really makes me happy. Vice President Sued by Plame And Husband.

The suit is against Cheney, Rove, and Lewis Libby. Plame and Wilson contend that they leaked information about Plame as retaliation for her criticism of Bush regarding intelligence reports about Iraq's pursuit of WMDs. Cheney is claiming immunity, but legal analysts said the suit could open new avenues for extracting information from the administration, because Plame and Wilson could conduct discovery if the U.S. District Court in Washington lets the suit proceed.

I'm rooting for Plame and Wilson.

I love Australia

Thanks to obob for reminding me that we all need a little humor to balance the very grim situation in the Middle East. He has a wonderful post about some of Australia's odd anscestral critters. Since I send a lot of clients to Australia, I thought I'd investigate further.

The Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo lived in the Pleistocene period (1.6M- 40,000 years ago)

Description:
Take a Red Kangaroo, double its size, replace its paws with grappling hooks, give it bizarre feet each with a single hoof-like claw, then allow it to run at super-high speed face-first into a wall. The result should vaguely resemble a Giant Short-faced Kangaroo, the largest kangaroo to have existed - and one of the strangest.

The Giant Short-faced Kangaroo had a flat face and forward-pointing eyes. On each foot it had a single large toe something like a horse's hoof. On these unusual feet it moved quickly through the open forests and plains, where it sought grass and leaves to eat. Its hands were equally strange: each hand had two extra-long fingers with large claws. Perhaps they were used to grab branches, bringing leaves within eating distance.

And you thought all kangaroos were sweet, cuddly things.

The Nation of Hezbollah

Remember Strother Martin, in Cool Hand Luke? "What we have here is a failure to communicate." I wish it were that simple. With yesterday's kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah acted as a sovereign state. The militants' raid is a sign that it sees itself as an independent force in Lebanon and beyond.

Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah went on Lebanese television, acting every bit like a head of state. In a not-so-veiled threat, Nasrallah said that criticism of the raids and kidnappings would be colluding with Israel. "To the Lebanese people, both officials and non-officials, nobody should behave in a way that encourages the enemy to attack Lebanon, and nobody should say anything that gives cover to attack Lebanon," he said.

Hezbollah has attempted this attack, unsuccessfully, before. This has been long planned, and it has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Corperal Gilad Shalit by Hamas in Gaza. While Nasrallah attempts to link the two, it really is a message to the rest of Lebanon, other neighboring states, and the West. Hezbollah is laying claims to being an independent state, at a time when Lebanon is trying to get them to give up arms.

Former UN spokesman Timur Goksel, who teaches at the American University of Beirut, lables Hezbollah's raid as an act of war. So does the State of Israel, but Olmert doesn't differentiate between Hezbollah and Lebanon, and so Israel attacks Lebanon.

And that is the problem. Hamas, and Hezbollah, have acted reprehensibly by kidnapping Israeli soldiers to use as leverage to gain the release of Arab prisoners. This undermines their own claims of political legitimacy. So does strapping bombs onto the bodies of young men and women, and having them walk into nightclubs, busses, other places crowded with civilians, and detonating.

Israel might feel justified in responding to these acts of terror by dropping bombs, but in truth, they would be better served by a more restrained approach. Widespread bombing in Gaza, and now in Lebanon, will not help gain a lasting peace. The situations are not the same. Hamas is a legally elected government in Gaza and West Bank. Hezbollah is not. While Hezbollah has legally elected officials in the Lebanese government, it is NOT the ruling party, and should not have its own militia. Yet Hezbollah's militia acted independently of Lebanon.

At this point, the entire Middle East sits on the brink. Will Mr. Bush use this as pretext to invade Iran and Syria? Probably. Hopefully, the governments in Egypt and Jordan are shuttling back and forth to negotiate a cease fire on both fronts; hopefully, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert will be struck with some sanity and call back his war planes. We need cooler heads, and great negotiators, and they appear to be MIA.

8 soldiers killed, 2 snatched in Hezbollah border attacks

Haaretz reports that two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped, and eight others killed today in attacks by Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert declared this an act of war, and immediately attacked Lebanon. There is nothing positive to be said about this situation, for which Hezbollah should be denounced, but so should Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Egypt had been negotiating a deal between Hamas and Israel which would have released some Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Corporal Gilad Shalit, the young soldier being held in Gaza. The government in Cairo was confident of success until "other parties" (read Syria) suggested to Hamas to increase demands that Olmert would not meet. And we can probably assume that Hezbollah would not have acted so brazenly had they not been given consent by their international sponsor, Iran. The United States has absolutely no influence in the Middle East any longer, so shuttle diplomacy of the kind that dates back to John Foster Dulles, with a long history through Clinton, is not in the cards.

We need to also look at the timing: the UN Security Council plus Germany has to respond to Iran's nuclear program (or lack thereof). John Bolton is not the man I want at that table, believe me. President Bush already has his eyes on invading Iran and Syria, and this, in my opinion, lines up as a perfect excuse for more of the same.

Israel's response has been over the top. I recall Aesop's Fable of the bet between the sun and the wind as to who could make the man remove his coat the fastest. The wind was convinced it would be victorious, and blew up a storm -- the man hunkered down, buttoned his coat ever tighter against the wind. Next, the sun came out and gently warmed the man, who removed his coat.

I urge everyone to get on the phone, write letters, get active: get us OUT of Iraq, get Condalleza Rice over in the Middle East, negotiating with ALL PARTIES for an immediate cease fire -- Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, ALL of them -- and this will include the release by Israel of low level prisoners as Cairo was arranging -- do what has to be done to end this now.

Summer with Code Pink

When I first started this blog, I thought it would be mostly about travel, because that's what I do. After my first post, I couldn't figure out how to find it again, so it languished for almost a year, and then I found it again by serindipity: Alicia sent an email about her session with Neil Young, and when I went to her blog, I found my own again.

Okay, I may have a Masters Degree (fine art, but still) but I was born blond, and I'm a grandmere, and sometimes technincally challenged. So stop laughing. Okay, don't stop laughing.

Still, by the time I found my blog again, I was quite outraged about what's happening to America. So my blog became less about travel, and more about, well, politics. But Code Pink has a handful of travel opportunities (I don't sell these, this is all Code Pink's deal) and it is a lovely blending of politics and travel, so here they are:



Cycling with Code Pink. CODEPINK Midwest Trip July 21-25

Join Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, and Fernando Suarez del Solar, Gold Star Families for Peace, on an exciting ride from Madison to Milwaukee to Chicago. This five day segment of the cross-country trip includes two full project days for local peace activism in Madison and Chicago. You can join for a day or the week. Cost is $80-$200 per day sliding scale.


Greet or host the peace cyclers along the way:

Meet with the Bike-Aid riders when they come through your town this summer! Your local peace and justice organization can plan events or host the group for a night. Check out the partial list of tour cities below to find out if you live near a place that Bike-Aid will be cycling through, then contact Deb (deb@globalexchange.org) to find out how to meet up with the riders!
bike aid


Camp Crawford in August This August 2006 we invite you to rejoin Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, CODEPINK and many, many others from around the world as we head back to Crawford, Texas to confront an ever-vacationing president with a growing majority of anti-war voices. This year Camp Casey will include the TROOPS HOME FAST, daily teach-ins and actions that will bring us closer to our goal of ending the war in Iraq!


Woman's Retreat in Austin TexasAugust 24 - 27. Speakers include Cindy Sheehan, Anne Lamont, Rhiannon, the co-founders of Code Pink, many others.

Click on the links to find out more.