Rag's Magazine

June 15, 2003

2 Centuries Later, a Moment for Indians to Retell the Past
By TIMOTHY EGAN
from Sunday New York Times
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April 14, 2003

Another War to Consider?

By Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com
April 9, 2003

"For the long-term freedom, health, prosperity, and security of Americans – and the world's other six billion people, and all its other species, too – there is no more critical task in the coming months than to oust George W. Bush, and the lunatics surrounding him, in November 2004."

April 2, 2003

We're two weeks into the war in Iraq, it goes on but doesn't dominate the networks anymore lately. I assume a channel such as CNN will be staying with it. A couple days ago I came across iraqibodycount.com and thought I should put their counter on my site. I just felt that it would be a constructive thing to do. I don't deny that the US led coalition are doing their best to minimize "collateral" damage, quite probably trying harder and being more successful than any combatants in any previous conflict. But war = war and war = hell, a military man said that war is hell, and he would know.

Visit their website to learn how they compile their numbers, or access their database of incidents behind the numbers and more.

The following comments about the development of the PR industry comes from an article from alternet.org

"The PR industry, as many may know, was actually started by the military during World War I, when persuasive techniques were developed to recruit soldiers."

"After the war a lot of those people went to work for the private sector and are seen as the grandfathers of PR," says Laura Miller, associate editor of PR Watch (www.prwatch.org), a corporate and media watchdog group. "They were very up front about the fact that [in their opinion] in a democracy, public opinion needs to be controlled by a small number of people who know what's best for the public."
for complete article use link below

An Army of Propaganda
By Kari Lydersen
AlterNet
March 31, 2003

Another article from AlterNet

"Donald Rumsfeld's bellowing about Iraq's unfair tactics evokes the British, 225 years ago, complaining that the Yanks didn't stand in a row and fight the way the Redcoats did."

from The Six-Day War
By Geov Parrish,
WorkingForChange.com
April 1, 2003

March 7, 2003:

Listening to Bush and his oily cohorts one could be excused for having the impression that Saddam (yep, the same guy that allegedly tried to kill Dubya's daddy) personally planned and financed the events of 9/11. In fact, and conveniently ignored by the Bush regime and Colin Powell (a man for whom I once had respect), on the last tape purported to be made by Osama bin Laden, Osama exhorted the Iraqi people to rise up and overthrow Saddam Hussein. That doesn't sound to me like a "terrorist connection" between the two men who have replaced Mr. Ghadaffi of Libya as America's Most Hated. Indeed there is much more evidence of links between Saudi Arabia and Al Quaeda, but the sheiks there are America's buddies, so we don't care if the Saudis have freedom or fund terrorism. Saddam was America's buddy too, back when he was using WMDs on Iran.

I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theories that have the current regime either planning the events of 9/11 or at least ignoring evidence that they were being planned, like I will accept the possibility that FDR may have had information indicating that Japan was preparing to attack Pearl Harbor. But it cannot be denied that the aftermath of that terrible day and the shock of the American people has created an environment that has allowed the administration to veer sharply to the right and run roughshod over Americans' civil rights and rights to privacy to an unprecedented degree. The ability to issue various color "terror alerts" and keep the public in a state of vague unease and fear certainly hasn't been harmful to the interests that Shrubco represents either - big oil, military contractors and the greedy corporate types that brought us Enron, etc.

I have to admit that these are depressing times for a once idealistic child of the sixties. This illegitimate regime seems hell bent on declaring war not only on Iraq, but also the environment (ANWR, Kyoto and tax credits for buyers of SUVs), anyone whose quality of life is improved by medical marijuana and anyone unfortunate enough to be middle class, working class or (shudder) poor. Not only is this government morally bankrupt, but with tax cuts for the rich and a trillion dollar military adventure looming, the United States may soon be economically bankrupt as well.

I guess I am naive to have thought that, as people that have to share the only planet we have to live on at this time, we would have made more progress in learning to live in peace by now. I wish no harm to the people of the United States, after all as Rick Mercer of "This Hour has 22 Minutes" pointed out, they never really elected these guys. It would be nice though to see that smirk wiped off of Dubya's face.

Readings while waiting for the State of the Union address, January 28, 2003.

To go back home you shouldn't be reading still
...........................................you should have clicked back a ways.