GI SPECIAL 5D17

Texas Soldier Killed In Baghdad
Spc. Ryan A. Bishop, 32, of Euless, Texas, died April 14, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when he was struck by a roadside bomb while on patrol. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, fort Drum, N.Y.
Illinois Marine Killed In Anbar
Marine Lance Cpl. Jesse De La Torre of Aurora, Ill., 29, died April 16, 2007, during combat operations in Al Anbar province in Iraq.
IED Kills Pennsylvania Soldier
Pfc. Aaron M. Genevie, 22, of Chambersburg, Pa. died April 16, 2007, in Baghdad when his vehicle struck a bomb.
Fallujah IED Kills Two U.S. Soldiers, Two More Wounded
16 April 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070416-12
LSA ANACONDA, Iraq – Two 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldiers were killed and two were wounded in an improvised explosive device attack against their M-1114 vehicle in Fallujah at 2:20 a.m. April 14.
Baghdad IED Kills One U.S. Soldier, Another Wounded
16 April 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070416-08
BAGHDAD – A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier died and one other was wounded when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in a southern section of Baghdad April 16.
Marine Killed In Anbar
4/17/2007 U.S. Department of Defense News Release 07-01-03C
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – A Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West died April 16 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province.
One U.S. Soldier Killed, One Wounded By Baghdad Small Arms Attack
16 April 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070416-09
BAGHDAD – A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier died when a combat security patrol was attacked with small arms fire in a southwestern section of the Iraqi capital April 16. One other Soldier was wounded during the attack.
Baghdad IED Kills One U.S. Soldier, Two Wounded
16 April 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070416-16
BAGHDAD – An explosively formed projectile targeting an MND-B patrol killed one Soldier and wounded two others in a southern section of Baghdad April 16. The unit was conducting a combat security patrol at the time of the attack.
Task Force Marne Soldier Dies Of Non-Battle Injuries
April 18, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070418-04
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A Task Force Marne Soldier died in Baghdad Tuesday of non-battle injuries. The Soldier’s name has not been released, pending notification of next of kin.
Kokomo Soldier Killed Easter Sunday
April 11, 2007 Mary Milz, Eyewitness News, WTHR
Kokomo – Another Indiana soldier has died fighting the war on terror. 20-year-old Private First Class David Neil Simmons from Kokomo died Easter Sunday in Iraq. Private First Class Simmons left for Iraq just last month and his family was preparing a care package for him when they got the news.
Petty Officer Killed In Iraq’s Anbar Province
Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph C. Schwedler
April 10, 2007 By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH — When his high school football coach asked the players to lift weights three times a week, Clark Schwedler pumped iron five days a week.
Maui Soldier Killed In Iraq
April 9, 2007 Star-Bulletin Staff
When Army Pfc. Jay Cajimat was on the mainland for basic training, he asked his family to send him his favorite foods — Maui onion chips, li hing mui and macadamia nuts.
His mother wanted to send him one of his absolute favorite dishes — chicken adobo — but she never had the chance to.
Army Soldier Killed In Iraq To Be Buried Thursday In Picayune
Apr. 10, 2007 By HOLBROOK MOHR, Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. — Army Staff Sgt. Jerry Clark Burge Jr. will be buried Thursday in Picayune, the tiny South Mississippi town he called home before embarking on a military career that took him around the world and into Iraq.
As Soldier Dies In Iraq, Father Loses ‘Best Friend’
April 11, 2007 By Martin Weil, Washington Post Staff Writer
When Forrest D. Cauthorn graduated from high school in Virginia, his dad gave him a motorcycle. The idea was for him to ride all summer, crisscrossing the country while he decided what to do with his life.
But what the father did not know was that his son had already made his decision. He had joined the Army.
On April 5, Sgt. Forrest D. Cauthorn, 22, an infantryman from Charles City, Va., was killed in Iraq, the Pentagon said.
“Who Would Have Thought I’d Be Planning My Husband’s Funeral?”
April 12, 2007 By Susan Harrison Wolffis, Muskegon Chronicle
At 25, Stephanie Singleton of Muskegon is starting life over.
A war widow.
On Easter Sunday, her husband — U.S. Army Sgt. Todd A. Singleton, 24 — died of wounds suffered when his unit was ambushed outside Baghdad, Iraq, by enemy forces using explosives and small arms fire.
“Who would have thought I’d be planning my husband’s funeral?” she asks, her voice almost a whisper.

I realize that a lot of folks allow themselves to feel that American forces in Iraq are getting “what they deserve”. Well a few of them probably are.
I feel furious myself. Bitching and moaning about the actual War Criminals in control of the White House and Congress of the United States of America has got me and the world nowhere.
I sort out a portion of the US population, other than myself of course, and load all this scape on that goat’s back.
Eugene V. Debs is not dead.

The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose — especially their lives.

He’s not dead because I remember him. And you do too. He got a 10 year jail term and was stripped of his US citizenship for giving the speech from which those words were taken, and received nearly a million votes for President of the United States while he was serving time.
Eugene V Debs simply never gave up.
Divide and conquer… don’t let the light of your indignation shine on anyone but the Masters of War.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Apr 20 2007 12:25 utc | 3

John Francis Lee
We’ve been here before, either on Whiskey Bar or Moon of Alabama.
About your sentiment on the nobility of ordinary folks; that we should save our vitriol for the bastards who connive all these wars.
Try to juxtaposition that sentiment with one that was ingrained in many of us at an early age, by one of the most profound protest songs of the sixties. An isolated work of genius from a long gone time.
Sadly, this message got lost along the way.

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
Buffy Sainte-Marie
I wrote “Universal Soldier” in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in Toronto in the early sixties. It’s about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all. Donovan had a hit with it in 1965.
He’s five feet two and he’s six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of 31 and he’s only 17
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years
He’s a Catholic, a Hindu, an atheist, a Jain,
a Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew
and he knows he shouldn’t kill
and he knows he always will
kill you for me my friend and me for you
And he’s fighting for Canada,
he’s fighting for France,
he’s fighting for the USA,
and he’s fighting for the Russians
and he’s fighting for Japan,
and he thinks we’ll put an end to war this way
And he’s fighting for Democracy
and fighting for the Reds
He says it’s for the peace of all
He’s the one who must decide
who’s to live and who’s to die
and he never sees the writing on the walls
But without him how would Hitler have
condemned him at Dachau
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He’s the one who gives his body
as a weapon to a war
and without him all this killing can’t go on
He’s the universal soldier and he
really is to blame
His orders come from far away no more
They come from him, and you, and me
and brothers can’t you see
this is not the way we put an end to war.

Posted by: DM | Apr 20 2007 13:52 utc | 5

@heatkernel – 1
So you would like NBC to censor their news? They already do so in regard to pictures from Iraq. Now you demand they follow through on other stuff too.
Why? Can’t you stand the news? Does it disturb your small world?

Posted by: b | Apr 20 2007 13:58 utc | 7

A terrorist walks
Luis Posada Carriles has boasted of bombing Havana hotels, yet American justice lets him go free.

WITH A MISGUIDED decision upholding bail for Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has done more than free a frail old man facing unremarkable immigration charges. It has exposed Washington to legitimate charges of hypocrisy in the war on terror.
By allowing Posada to go free before his May 11 trial, the court has released a known flight risk who previously escaped from a Venezuelan prison, a man who has boasted of helping set off deadly bombs in Havana hotels 10 years ago and the alleged mastermind of a 1976 bombing of a Cuban airplane that killed 73 people. Posada’s employees confessed to the attack, and declassified FBI and CIA documents have shown that he attended planning sessions.
In other words, Posada is the Zacarias Moussaoui of Havana and Caracas. Moussaoui is serving a life sentence without parole in a federal prison in Colorado for conspiracy in the 9/11 attacks; Posada is free to live in Miami.
…

Posted by: b | Apr 20 2007 14:00 utc | 9

@b- #7
So you think playing the rantings of a mentally disturbed man over and over constitute giving us the news? Or only if the guy kills at least some people first? Or is “some people” not sufficient, and it has to be some specific number for him to buy network TV time? I’m eager to find out what you learned from the shooter’s video presentation.
Don’t you see that the endless sensationalism and going on about this story pushes other more important stories–such as Iraq, but I could name others–out of the headlines? The videos are only part of it, of course, but the easiest to appeal to people against because of the obvious worthlessness of such material.

Posted by: heatkernel | Apr 20 2007 14:20 utc | 11

@heatkerel – yeah, let’s form a committee and decide what is obvious worthlessness news and what not …

Posted by: b | Apr 20 2007 14:30 utc | 13

Sorry, JFL. I just can’t feel sorry for any GIs who get killed in this murderous war of aggression they volunteered to take part in.
My heart does break, however, for all the Iraqis they’ve murdered, maimed, raped, and tortured.

Posted by: ran | Apr 20 2007 15:00 utc | 15

i feel sorry for them (at least the ones that aren’t murderous psychopaths from the get go; they’ve been played like anyone else
although I’m surprised that anyone would be surprised about a funeral being a possible outcome of being patriotic while learning a new skill for a post combat career

Posted by: jcairo | Apr 20 2007 15:12 utc | 17

JFL
Mate, nothing makes me feel good. But you said it – we’re all going along with the program.
Decrying the ‘Masters of War’ is a bit pointless though, if you believe that only exceptional people can follow their conscience – and I’m not blaming these ‘kids’ as the universal soldier any more than I blame their parents, neighbors, teachers, and the assortment of armchair universal warriors. Who brainwashed them with this hand over-the-heart patriotism bullshit anyway?
I’m happy just to observe. If you want to change anything, I think you’ll need to start finding ways to build a nation of exceptional people. In the sixties there were more than a few exceptional people – but until I see 18 year olds chanting ‘hell no – we wont go’ or some updated version of that – it doesn’t look. Nobody wants to fight the real fight against their Master.

Posted by: DM | Apr 20 2007 15:33 utc | 19

ran @ #15
You must think GIs are like you and those you know. They aren’t.
Most of them have next to no education, would be pumping gas, turning wrenches, carrying lumber, or driving forklifts if they weren’t in the military.
Sure. They have very deadly weapons and they are trained very well to use them, but the direction that they go is determined by someone else. Someone higher up who has more than an inkling of what this is all about and where they intend to go.
The average grunt obeys. The alternative for him/her is prison or be a deserter. Once you are in you are caught. You went in because you believed the myths, the fairy tales, the advertising fantasy that you were sold. Then, you are in and you have to play the part. No one outside understands the trap and you can’t get out without disgracing your family, your neighborhood, and yourself. So, you have to be the player they want you to be. You just can’t think otherwise.
I know. I was one of them. Went in as a Randian (Ayn Rand, John Birch, remember) and eventually decided I was going to desert, maybe go over to the Viet Minh or try to make it to Europe.
Once your consciousness understands your predicament then you understand how few choices you have.
Too bad our society doesn’t build bridges that would allow them to walk over to another way of being. Instead you would just isolate them. Shun them. But, they will be back. They will live in your neighborhood. THEN what you made might come back to bite you someday.

Posted by: Jake | Apr 20 2007 16:42 utc | 21

b says:
“[The video] gives some insight into that kids mind – not a happy view though. It gives insight of a product of U.S. socialization – certainly not a regular product, but it generates questions.”
Well, that’s Cho’s version, and I guess you accept it on his say-so. But the facts don’t support Cho’s version. His parents say he has been emotionally disturbed from before their move to America. I maintain that he would have needed psychiatric treatment in any country, although some countries might have been better at getting him into it than America (some might have been worse, also). Further, I predict you or a psychiatrist could get similar “insight” by listening to the rantings of any number of psychotics or schizophrenics off their medication. I’m not an expert on this, but where he seemed to have differed from the usual mentally ill individual, is in his ability to contain and hide his illness (to great extent) from the outside world, from 2005 (when his last contact with the mental health system was made), through a 2 year period of planning and preparation, until the morning of 16.4.07. Again I am not an expert, but I would expect he is, though not typical, also not unique in that ability.
dan of steele wrote:
“It is indeed news and many people are/were curious to know what would make a student kill other students and faculty.”
He explicitly cited the Columbine shooter’s as a precedent and inspiration, and it seems clear that most of that was because of the media and pop culture superstars they became for killing 12. I predict that when the next one of these guys or pairs of guys massacres 50 a few years (or sooner) down the road, they will explicitly cite Cho’s 30 in their media kit. But I guess we’ll have to all see their video to find out, so its worth broadcasting around the clock for a few days after that shooting, and putting it on every paper’s front page.
dan of steele continues:
It is a bit condescending really to think that someone will see these videos and go “hell ya, I’m gonna go shoot me some students too”. the way I see it, folks that would do such a thing are already predisposed and really don’t need to see the rantings of some psychopath to come up with the idea.”
And some people think I am naive about pop culture and its dynamics! You write as if the whole world is a lab full of scientists and philosophers coolly studying this incident from a rational and detached viewpoint. Just wait until pop culture gets hold of this material, amplifying, twisting and glorifying it.
I don’t really see what good can come out of giving this so much play, or even any, in the immediate aftermath. The very small and rarefied audience that would like to study Cho’s inner mental processes could be allowed access to all this evidentiary material–which is evidence, even NBC says so–after the investigation has been completed. Those who are in a Cho-like mental state, though clearly ill, are apparently capable of making a rational calculation concerning how much attention such a massacre will buy them, and they are, as evidenced by this video itself, paying rapt attention to the media reaction and pop culture ramifications.
dan of steele concludes:
“free people should be able to know what is happening in their world. we don’t have to trust our superiors to make those judgments for us.”
So, no judgments were made in deciding (a) to open the package in the first place (b) to take away time/space from other news stories (Iraq, Gonzales, various foreign elections, etc., etc.) to devote to the rantings of one psychopath who hit the big jackpot?
As a general sentiment, I couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph, dan of steele. What are you doing to bring it about? I’m trying to get others to tune out of the MSM until they shape up (which may be never!) and making this a “case-in-point” regarding their duplicity. If the airing of this video exposes the MSM’s motives and methods in a way that is comprehensible to more people, then that’s to the good. It wouldn’t be desirable for someone from higher up to come down and censor TV’s worst excesses. They’re only putting their true nature on display–but that true nature should be identified expressly as such.

Posted by: heatkernel | Apr 20 2007 17:54 utc | 23

update on pet food recall and how it is entering human food supply
latest pet foods to be recalled:
ROYAL CANIN SENSIBLE CHOICE® dry dog food:
* Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior
* Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy
* Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult
* Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior
* Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult
ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET™
Dry Dog Food
* Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™
* Canine Skin Support SS21™
Dry Cat Food
* Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™
some think that the melamine is intentional because it appears to boost the protein content of the grains it was mixed with (wheat, rice, corn). and there is serious concern that it can or has entered the human food system as the grain has been fed to hogs and one of the chinese exporters exports other products like carrots, ginger, and other vegetables.

Posted by: conchita | Apr 20 2007 18:24 utc | 25

don’t know how many people here keep up with jerome and his diaries at dkos and/or european tribune but he has written a good one today about his son and his family’s experience with socialist healthcare. his son sees the doctors next week to ascertain how successful the radiotherapy is working. link i wish him and his son and his family the best.
as an aside, i have been reading the environmental/energy stuff written by him and others in the energize america group regularly, have learned tons, and am very impressed by how comprehensive their knowledge is and how active and committed they are.

Posted by: conchita | Apr 20 2007 19:05 utc | 27

I remember reading about the young boy who jumped out of a window thinking he could fly and died after watching Superman and concluded that some people are probably that stupid.
hey! watch out who you insult DOS! during periods in my life i have had very vivid flying dreams. one of my earliest memories is in my neighbors attic, i told the older kids i knew i could fly because i remembered doing it numerous times. they put me to the test by opening the window and challenging me. i stood on the bed and took off. luckily the bed was about 10 feet from the window. i was about 3. i also tried being a fish once at the beach, luckily my parents were there to revive me. i ate lots of worms too.
😉

Posted by: annie | Apr 20 2007 20:27 utc | 29

“While E85 vehicles (those running on 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) reduced two carcinogens, benzene and butadiene, they increased two others, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.”
iinm E85 is also driving food prices up

Posted by: jcairo | Apr 21 2007 9:14 utc | 31

He’s our Terrorist, fuck Cuba and Chavez.

Upon Mr. Posada’s capture, the government of President Hugo Chávez demanded his extradition. But the Bush administration has refused to extradite Mr. Posada to Venezuela or Cuba, claiming that it fears he will be tortured in those countries. In fact, Washington’s reluctance is more likely linked to Mr. Posada’s history as a Central Intelligence Agency operative and a darling of extremist sectors of the powerful Cuban-American community in Florida (he tried to assassinate Fidel Castro with C-4 explosives placed in an auditorium packed with students in Panama in 2000). Twenty-two months have passed since Venezuela formally asked for his extradition, offering 2,000 pages of documentary evidence to substantiate its claim, yet the State Department has not even acknowledged receiving the request.
Nor has Mr. Posada been charged with the 1976 attack, even though declassified Central Intelligence Agency documents indicate that his role has long been accepted as fact. Instead, he faces charges of immigration fraud, a travesty that could be equaled only by charging Osama bin Laden with entering and leaving Pakistan without a visa. Finally, Mr. Posada was released on bail on Thursday, even though he is an obvious flight risk and a violent terrorist.
Of course, Mr. Posada’s case isn’t the first instance related to Venezuela in which the Bush administration has set aside its principles for political expediency. Five years ago last week, the Bush administration gleefully welcomed a coup that overthrew President Chávez, replacing him with a junta that suspended the Constitution, dismissed the National Assembly and dissolved the Supreme Court. Thankfully, the Venezuelan people ensured that their democratically elected president was returned to power two days later.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Apr 21 2007 9:51 utc | 33

“As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down” said Bush.”
Well, it ain’t goin’ to happen.

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 21 2007 14:08 utc | 35

haditha & immunity

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Apr 21 2007 14:21 utc | 37

jcairo:
Thanks for the link to the Friedemann article.
Someone was asking about bio-fuels.
She writes not only on bio-fuels but on soil science as well.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Apr 21 2007 14:47 utc | 39

juannie, jcairo, jfl –
there is a google group of environmentalists who publish diaries at dkos and other blogs. the group was formed by jerome and several other commentators at dkos and most of the posts distributed within the group are published on dkos because of the reach, but is not limited to dkos nor does it require registration or participation there. i receive emails regularly about everything from environmental actions to solar and wind developments to studies of high-speed rail projects for the u.s. and more. here is the link to the google group if you’d like to see what they are doing. there are some very committed people there and i am impressed by what they are contributing and possibly accomplishing. they were asked to submit draft environmental/energy legislation by a senator and are currently awaiting a response on that work.
juannie, not sure if i mentioned to you, but at least one of the participants has also been very active in the vermont impeachment effort.

Posted by: conchita | Apr 21 2007 15:20 utc | 41

I have had some correspondence with Jerome on the Oil Drum, though I reckon he did not identify me as me. (I was glad to see his son is doing not too badly, thanks for the link.) I recommend that site for those who are interested in the nitty gritty, the numbers, argument and speculation around them, from some very informed and dedicated people. There are of course kilometers of posts about other things….but flame is repressed and nutters are booted.
The Oil Drum
it has a Canadian, European, and NYC branch.

Posted by: Noirette | Apr 21 2007 16:08 utc | 43

Conchita #40,
Back in the hey day of WB just shortly before it started to run it’s course, I went back and did a rough estimate of the number of comments per month from the beginning until that point. They were showing exponential growth. I posted that and Billmon replied that, paraphrased-my interpretation, “ exponential growth is not stainable… uh… not here I hope…”
We do everything from eating to wiping our ass and all the daily artifact related things in between predominately with fossil energy. From making the steel to powering the lathe that crafts another artifact energy sink. etc. etc…. We all know that story. Many of us just haven’t imbued it yet.
I just spent a 1 ½ Fosters hour with an old drinking etc. buddy, who told me that just 10 years ago, about when we first started hanging together, he saw the coming collapse but thought it would be after his term here. Today he gave it two years at best & we discussed our mutual survival. We had a great discussion as you might guess.
If you understand the concept and the end point acceleration of an exponential function then try to allow yourself to consider the negative exponential relating our way of life – our standard of living – your and my personal lifestyle.
If you think WB tanked fast… no that’s enough from me for now.
conchita #41,
thanks I wasn’t aware and I have bookmarked it.

Posted by: Juannie | Apr 21 2007 21:08 utc | 45

r’giap :
looks like their strategy is to immunize the whole bunch and then hang the blame on however few they have left. god only knows the criteria for the scapegoats versus those who get to play judas.
no matter what happens the real criminals walk :

In a separate investigation, a US army general concluded the Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored signs of “serious misconduct” in the Haditha killings, The Washington Post reported.
A report by Major-General Eldon Bargewell found officers may have willfully ignored reports of the civilian deaths to protect themselves and their units from blame.
Bargewell concluded that commanders fostered a tendency that devalued Iraqis to the extent that US soldiers considered the deaths of innocents insignificant.

That last is this, and every war in a nutshell.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Apr 22 2007 0:50 utc | 47

here’s an article from nairobi that covers a bit of the context – Conflict Over Ugandan Forest Revives Africa’s ‘Asian Question’. didn’t make the cut in the comment above, as i’d already reached my typepad-enforced five-link-limit before a post is determined to be spam.

Posted by: b real | Apr 22 2007 6:29 utc | 49

GI Special 5D21 : “I Didn’t Join To Go To This War”

In 35 years I’ve seen the Army change it’s Uniform several times and I have had at least one article from each era. This Shirt is part of the newest version of Battle Dress for the US Army, but this shirt will never see battle in a lost and criminal cause. I wear it today to honor and give respect to the soldier who had the courage to say no and walk away from an inhumane and unjust war.
The fact that I wear this soldier’s uniform is solid proof that the resistance in the US Military is growing day by day. Soldiers are waking up in droves.
I‘d like to read a message from that very soldier to all of you inside this installation who are now facing deployment to Iraq in a few weeks.
Here Is The Message From The Soldier:

“Soldiers I know you have either just gotten to Germany, been deployed, or are getting ready to deploy. You don’t have to do this anymore.
“I am an Iraq veteran. I am AWOL. I am not going to Afghanistan as I was supposed to.
“I went straight from arriving to Germany to getting ready to deploy just weeks later.
“Don’t let the army fuck you anymore.
“You don’t have to spend a year in some country as an occupying force.
“There are many ways out of this mess.
“Of course your commanders and 1st sergeants and sergeant majors don’t want you to know about these ways (because they’re dicks). All you have to do is walk away. The number of deserters is far greater then you think.
“If you take the time to look you will find the way out as I have.
“If you need help contact the GI rights hotline. Tell them you don’t want to do this anymore and you’re willing to do what it takes to get out.
“Serve your country as it truly needs to be served. Not by occupying smaller countries that never stood a chance against us, but by showing that Americans still have a backbone.
“Lets show that we haven’t turned into the imperialist tyrants that our forefathers fought against 230 years ago.
“They call you America’s finest. Its time to show them you truly show the finest human qualities that make up americans and say no.
“Face it; if you don’t you are going to be veterans of a war that was immoral and lost from the very beginning.
“At least you will be able to look back at some point in the future and say to yourself “I made one of the best choices of my life by not being a part of that bullshit anymore”
“When They Tell You To Go,
Just Say NO!!!
Thank You”

There are some interesting reports in this issue from the Stop the War Brigade in Ansbach, GDR and from the Ansbacher Friedensbuendis as well.
There is growing resistance to the war among the people forced to fight and die in it.
And the Germans in Ansbach at least, seem torn, as the Americans are, between renunciation of the war and taking their share of the war time profits.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Apr 22 2007 13:15 utc | 51

National Bank of Canada Weekly Letter
U.S: the probability of a recession is higher than consensus estimates

Summary
So far, there have been only 185k real estate sector-related job losses in the U.S. We estimate that there could be as many as 800,000 more.
Furthermore, we are also seeing a slowdown in business investment in machinery and equipment (IME). In fact IME, which is typically a key driver of economic expansion, risks slipping technically into recession levels.
The real estate sector implosion and slowing business investment have pushed the U.S. job market’s prospects to their worst levels in years.
We thus believe that our estimate that there is a 40% chance that the U.S. economy will slip into recession, is fully justified and the Wall Street economists’ consensus estimate (which assigns a 25% chance of a recession) is overly optimistic. Even the Maestro, Alan Greenspan, is more pessimistic than the current consensus.

Posted by: Alamet | Apr 22 2007 17:11 utc | 53