To all the women of Iraq. I pray your children live. 

The Women Of Lebanon. 

Happy Mothers Day.

Sgt. John McGee, raised in Delta, one of 23 killed in explosion

By Lora Hines / The Clarion-Ledger

Rebecca McGee of Cary got a Mother's Day card on Monday from her son, Sgt. John McGee, who was stationed with his Alabama National Guard unit in Iraq.

The next day, the 72-year-old mother was getting ready for work when an Army chaplain arrived at her front door.

"I knew why he was there," McGee said. "I was stunned for words."

Sgt. John McGee, 36, was one of 23 soldiers who died in an explosion earlier this week while riding in a vehicle, said his mother. She did not know the cause of the blast.

"I really didn't cry," McGee said. "I said, 'Lord, have mercy' as I was walking around."

Officials from the Alabama National Guard could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Lt. Col. Tim Powell of the Mississippi National Guard said he didn't know details about McGee's death.

Since military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq began, 27 soldiers with ties to Mississippi have died.

Continues....

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2557

. 

Criminals Belong in Prison

Excerpt...

Ray McGovern, a 27-year veteran CIA analyst, nails it to the door. "It has been a hard learning - that folks tend to believe what they want to believe," wrote McGovern in an essay regarding this leaked memo. "As long as our evidence, however abundant and persuasive, remained circumstantial, it could not compel belief. It simply is much easier on the psyche to assent to the White House spin machine blaming the Iraq fiasco on bad intelligence than to entertain the notion that we were sold a bill of goods. Well, you can forget circumstantial."

The butcher's bill to date: 1,594 American soldiers dead, times ten grievously wounded; over 100,000 Iraqi citizens dead, uncounted more wounded, with a recent upsurge of violence claiming more than 200 lives in the last week alone; a nine-figure pricetag that spirals ever-upwards by the day, mortgaging our children's future for the profits of the few; no weapons of mass destruction anywhere in Iraq.

We need two exit strategies: one to get our forces out of that country as soon as humanly possible, and the other to get George W. Bush out of the White House and into a cellblock in The Hague. Save a bunk for Mr. Blair, too. Criminals belong in prison.

William Rivers Pitt

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8766.htm

Ahhhhhhh you are beautiful 

Art for Everyone 

Fatah's supporters celebrate the victory of their party in Palestine's local elections
 

Fatah wins in Palestine’s municipal elections
5/6/2005 10:02:00 AM

Palestinian political movement Fatah won in the municipal elections held in 84 cities across the W. Bank and Gaza, preliminary results released Friday indicated

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=8440

Welcome to Bushes Little Power Play, He has just made your job impossible and who will benefit from this little stunt, Hamas 

U.S. aid to Palestinian Authority to be channelled through Israel, NGOs
5/7/2005 9:30:00 PM

The U.S. Congress has imposed tight restrictions on aid money to the Palestinian Authority. The $200 million aid package is to be routed through Israel and NGOs, a move which has been described as "huge slap in the face" to President Abbas.

Did I ever tell you how I hate this Arrogant Moron and his republican minions, I hope Abbas to tells him to shove it right where you know what, They are totally without any ethics what so ever he loves his little power game with so many Nations, He loves causing so much Instability it works for him Palistine has nothing as usual from the Bush Administration just more of the same

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8458

The Games Children Play In Mosul. 

Iraq's nine-day death toll crosses 300

MANAMA: The whirlwind of violence sweeping across Iraq has claimed 17 more lives, taking the death toll beyond 300 following last week's announcement of a partial Cabinet line-up by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.

The deaths occurred after a car bomb exploded next to a security convoy of four vehicles at a busy intersection in central Baghdad. The blast killed at least 13 Iraqis, and four foreigners. The nationalities of the foreigners have not yet been established, but they are believed to be working for an American security firm. At least two of the vehicles were completely burnt, and thick black smoke swirled into the sky from the wreckage.

Eyewitnesses said that four bodies were taken out of a charred vehicle, while one bleeding foreigner walked away, clutching his head. The attack preceded a reported deal on the completion of a new Iraqi Cabinet. Sources in the new Government were quoted as saying that Saadoun Al-Dulaimi, a Sunni Arab was being appointed as the new Defence Minister, while the Oil Ministry would be headed by Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a Shia.

Mr. Jaafari is seeking to induct more Sunnis in his Cabinet in a bid to defuse the resistance to U.S. occupation that the Sunni community is spearheading.

Upturn in violence


There has been a sharp upturn in violence after April 28, that has targeted Iraqi and U.S. security forces, as well as members of religious and ethnic communities, thereby deepening sectarian strife in the country.

On Friday, 31 persons were killed in a suicide car bombing at a vegetable market in Suwayra, south of Baghdad. On the same day a suicide bomber in Tikrit blew up his vehicle next to a police bus, killing nine policemen. Another 84 persons were killed on the previous two days, including 60 in a strike on would be recruits in Irbil.

http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/08/stories/2005050803891300.htm

Art for Everyone 

Here is Your Proof 

International court hears anti-war claims Lawyers for families and groups present evidence they say shows government acted unlawfully on Iraq
Richard Norton-Taylor
Friday May 6, 2005

The Guardian Lawyers acting for anti-war groups yesterday presented the international criminal court with evidence which, they say, shows that the government acted unlawfully by participating in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

They say that British forces acted out of all proportion to the official war aim - ridding Iraq of its banned weapons programme but not regime change.

They also argue that British troops acted, and were ordered to act, beyond the bounds of military necessity. British soldiers acted unlawfully by detaining and, they allege, mistreating Iraqi civilians, and by targeting cluster munitions on urban areas.

The submissions to the ICC, which is based in The Hague, have been drawn up by Public Interest Lawyers, a Birmingham-based firm which is representing the Stop the War Coalition, Peacerights, a non-government organisation set up to promote peaceful conflict resolution, Military Families Against the War, and relatives of Iraqi civilians allegedly injured and killed by British troops.

The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned Tony Blair on March 7 2003, less than two weeks before the invasion that "given the controversy surrounding the legal basis for action, it is likely that the [international criminal] court will scrutinise any allegations of war crimes by UK forces very closely".

Luis Moreno Campo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, has told Public Interest Lawyers that the cases are potentially significant and that he is treating seriously evidence already submitted to it.
In its submission to the ICC yesterday, Peacerights said it had a "particular concern that attacks, and methods used, were pursuant to the impermissible military objective of regime change rather than dealing with the threat to international peace and security of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction".

It added: "There may have been attacks and weapons systems used (particularly cluster munitions) in locations where civilians were particularly at risk (for example, urban areas) where the military objective pursued was intrinsically connected to regime change".

Military Families Against the War told the ICC: "At the very least, a reasonable suspicion arises that the prime minister committed the UK (and thus our clients' loved ones) to war on the basis of regime change."

They have asked the court to determine whether any member of the British armed forces died or suffered injuries "pursuing impermissible military objectives connected to regime change rather than the threat to international peace and security in the region from Iraq's (alleged) programme of WMD".

Rose Gentle, the mother of a British soldier killed in Iraq, said yesterday: "The soldiers' families are seriously concerned that not only were they fighting an illegal war but also fighting for regime change rather than to remove WMDs. The attorney general had specifically advised that that would be unlawful. This just compounds the anger that we feel that our loved ones died for no good or lawful reason"

Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers said he had also referred to the ICC prosecutor all the cases of alleged torture and deaths in detention in areas controlled by British troops.

"Murder and torture are 'war crimes' and the UK had a particular duty under Geneva convention IV to protect Iraqi civilians during the occupation," he said.

He added: "The ICC will have no alternative but to formally investigate all these cases."
Lord Boyce, then chief of defence staff, has confirmed to the Guardian that his concern that British commanders might be hauled before the ICC was one reason why he demanded an unequivocal assurance from the attorney that an invasion would be lawful.

Lord Boyce got the assurance four days before the invasion - after the attorney had sought Mr Blair's advice on Iraq's weapons programme.

He described the ICC issue as potentially "hugely troublesome". He was persuaded, along with the other British chiefs of staff, to go along with it when ministers assured them in the late 1990s that there would be no problem when the government signed up to the court.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1477620,00.html

Its about bloody time dont you think

Says it all 

Mr. Raj is an American Hero
hehehehehe God I love this kid 

Ann Coulter Heckler Speaks Out!
Open Letter to Anyone Who Gives a Shit About Justiceby Ajai Raj
The guy who heckled Ann Coulter the other day (as referenced in this Newswire Post, and here on The Smoking Gun) speaks out, and PMjA brings it to you first!

The title of the Daily Texan front-page story covering Ms. Coulter's speech was "Arrest Made at Coulter Speech." You could also have caught it on CBS or in the Austin-American Statesman. The general idea is that some jackass made a scene, and Ann Coulter was also there.

I am
and I am a jackass.

We're running his rant today concurrently on both our weekly and on the daily.

Open Letter to Anyone Who Gives a Shit About Justice
by Ajai Raj

I'm writing this in response to the spectacle that occurred in the LBJ Library on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005, when Ann Coulter, a diabolical, ignorant, but nevertheless charismatic right-wing pundit, came to speak at the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Coulter--yes, Ms, I'd personally think such a vocal female conservative would be making Bubba a meat loaf instead of addressing a politically-minded collegiate audience, but whatever--is the author of relentlessly mendacious anti-liberal books, such as Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right and Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. She's famous for having an ass that stores so many lies it makes clown-car designers envious. Like her or not (and if you do, I'm surprised you can read) she's a Big Fucking Deal.

The title of the Daily Texan front-page story covering Ms. Coulter's speech was "Arrest Made at Coulter Speech." You could also have caught it on CBS or in the Austin-American Statesman. The general idea is that some jackass made a scene, and Ann Coulter was also there.
I am Ajai Raj, and I am a jackass.

In his article, which I enjoyed and commend him for, Mr. Sampath quoted the former president of the Student Events Center, the organization which arranged the event. He wrote:
"The person had been disruptive the entire event," said Matt Hardigree, former Student Events Center president. "He took the opportunity to say something lewd and offensive and then made masturbatory gestures as he exited."

And what do I have to say in rebuttal? Not a goddamn thing.

Matt Hardigree got it spot-on! From the beginning I was yelling obscenities along with my friends, roaring at Ms. Coulter's right-wing bullshit festival the way no one else had the balls to. Mr. Sampath writes in his article that (and this is my take) the protestors were told to be good all along. They were told to sit in the back and hold their signs and leave quietly. No wonder hippies get such a bad rap nowadays; protestors today might as well be ornaments on the Rightmobile. When I want someone to know I'm pissed off, I'm going to throw down and give them a good shit-ruining. I wanted to show Ms. Coulter that people are down if she wants to hold a circle-jerk, but we're not gonna do it her way. Not me, at least.

So yes, the Q&A session came around, and it was pathetic. Her slack-jawed fans got up and licked her face so she could pat them on the head--one schmuck offered to be her bodyguard, and she smiled, doubtlessly making a mental note that she wouldn't touch his nether regions if she were King Midas. Liberal protestors posed well-intentioned but woefully timid questions and got shot down in a hail of ignorant shitfire from the She-Dragon. Standing in line awaiting my turn, I watched her send a moderate Republican, who had questioned the sheer incendiary magnitude of her rhetoric, walk away in tears when she tore him apart for daring to question her.

So yes, I saw my "opportunity to say something lewd and offensive." And I took it.

She had just said something about gay marriage, the typical rightwing bullshit spiel that is still convincing people that the Bible is really the Constitution. Knowing that taking the time to say something insightful, specific, or even slightly critical would get me a lame comeback and a ticket back to my seat, I realized that the only way to win this battle was to fight fire with fire. Or bullshit with bullshit. So, as reported in yesterday's Texan, I fired:


"You say that you believe in the sanctity of marriage," said Ajai Raj, an English sophomore. "How do you feel about marriages where the man does nothing but fuck his wife up the ass?"
And the crowd fell silent. Ms. Coulter stood stunned atop her stage, unprepared for a jackass to say something so utterly crude and to the point. Her pompous and mean air is enough to stump questioners into timidity; I wasn't about to let her stop me. The audience members looked at me with raw disbelief; later, even friends who know me well admitted that they'd been surprised at how vulgar I'd been. The others in line for Q&A, mostly liberals, looked at me like I'd set their cause back forty years.

Did I give a shit? No. If I had a message, it's that the whole thing was a joke--hell, our whole political scene today is a fucking joke. Everyone's out to either pat themselves on the back for being right or whine about how they're being wronged without ever lifting a finger to fight for it.
So rather than dignify anyone else, I "made masturbatory gestures" as I exited. Again, bingo! I danced a jig and set my hand a-jerkin' at crotch-level, sneering for the crowd and letting them know I was ready to roll. I yelled to my friends that we were gonna split and made for the door.
Two cops approached me. I figured they were going to tell me I had to leave, so I said "You can't fire me, because I quit!"

"You're under arrest."

It was my turn to be shocked. I tried to ask them what for; saying "fuck her in the ass" at a college isn't a crime, last time I checked. They apparently mistook my inquiries for aggression, and grabbed me roughly and slammed me into the door. Within seconds the backmost two or three rows were surging forward, following the scene as the cops dragged me out the door. They yelled and chanted; my friends were more outraged than I'd ever seen any of them before. As they pushed me into the car, I heard my good friend Jeffrey Stockwell scream, "THIS ISN'T A JUSTICE SYSTEM! YOU CALL THIS PROTECTING AND SERVING?!" The crowd took up a chant at the UTPD officers: "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Shame is fucking right. When I asked the cops why they thought I needed cuffing, they told me that they didn't even see anything that happened, they were just doing as told.

As a good friend pointed out to me, it's a scary thought that people who are given weapons and the authority to forcibly detain people can act without knowledge of a situation.

I'm writing this at 7:15 A.M., Wednesday, having recouped over a few cigarettes and some coffee after being released from jail around 3 A.M. I had a party waiting for me--twenty or so friends and supporters who showered me with gifts such as a card, sodas, cigarettes, food, and a Blondie CD (go figure.) Several civil rights-interested associations approached me, offering pro bono legal representation and showing their support.

I have no regrets. Was I jackass? Yes. Oh Christ, yes. But here are the questions people ought to ask themselves: Did I deserve to be arrested? Did the cops need to rough me up for saying bad words at what was at least masquerading as an open dialogue? Do the people of Texas--hell, of America--feel that "potty mouth" belongs on the list of punishable crimes along with "aggravated assault" and "armed robbery"?
As stated in the Texan article, I am charged with Disorderly Conduct, which is a Class C Misdemeanor. Other Class C Misdemeanors include DWIs, possession of drug paraphernalia, and speeding tickets. Without getting into the justification for all of those, were my naughty words and crude hand motions as imposing a danger?

This isn't about politics anymore, however it might have come about. Either you think it's an absurd outrage or you think swearing is a crime. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are Republicans, for Christ's sake. Raise your hand if you watch South Park.

This is about drawing a line in the sand. It made me proud to see people standing up and calling bullshit when bullshit needed to be called. All politics aside, people ought to ask themselves, how far should our representatives of "justice" be allowed to go? Do the American people believe in censorship rights for the rich and famous?

I know I didn't slay the insidious evil that is Ann Coulter, but I did give her pause. She can easily go to another college or hoedown or whatever and spew her tired rhetoric without worrying about me. But I'm not the only one who feels this way. Other people will call her on her shit.

And hey, Ann, don't come back to UT. We're better than your bullshit here. And I can think of at least one jackass here who can dish it out better than you.

http://www.poormojo.org/pmjadaily/archives/003161.html

Ajai Raj, You Rock, finally someone with the balls to shove it to the moron, You are my HERO

Art for Everyone 

Ohhhhh that looks sooooo good 

Two Bulgarian soldiers were buried even as the pullout was confirmed 

America's 'dwindling coalition'
By Nick Childs
BBC World Affairs correspondent

The Bulgarian parliament has endorsed the decision to pull the country's 450 troops out of Iraq by the end of the year.

Japan is reported to be planning to do the same thing.

The Ukrainians, among others, have been withdrawing. Poland is cutting its commitment.

After some very acrimonious departures in the past - like that of the Philippines - it is difficult to escape the impression that Washington's band of coalition partners in Iraq is dwindling.

Of course, US officials would prefer it was not happening, with the security situation still very uncertain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4523857.stm

Student Suspended for Call to Mom in Iraq
Fri May 6,12:23 PM ET

A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said.

The 10-day suspension was issued because Kevin Francois was "defiant and disorderly" and was imposed in lieu of an arrest, Spencer High School assistant principal Alfred Parham said.

The confrontation Wednesday began after the 17-year-old junior got a call at lunchtime from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who left in January for a one-year tour with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion.

Mobile phones are allowed on campus but may not be used during school hours. When a teacher told him to hang up, he refused. He said he told the teacher, "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom."

Parham said the teen's suspension was based on his reaction to the teacher's request. He said the teen used profanity when taken to the office.

"Kevin got defiant and disorderly," Parham said. "When a kid becomes out of control like that they can either be arrested or suspended for 10 days. Now being that his mother is in Iraq, we're not trying to cause her any undue hardship; he was suspended for 10 days."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050506/ap_on_re_us/ mom_s_call_suspension_1&printer=1

This is what it has come to: Good for you Boy

Art for Everyone 

Art for everyone  

The children are not safe anywhere 

Bomb attack on security convoy kills 13 in Iraq
5/7/2005 12:15:00 PM GMT

Car bomb exploded at a busy intersection in central Baghdad on Saturday as a foreign security convoy drove past, killing at least nine Iraqis and four foreigners, all believed to be American, police and witnesses said.

Some 30 people were also injured in the blast.

The powerful blast in Tahrir Square damaged shops and set fire to several cars, said police Maj. Abbas Mohammed Salman.

But according to another police officer at the scene 17 people were killed and some appeared to be Westerners. But he spoke on condition of anonymity, and his information could not immediately be confirmed.

At least two of the sports utility vehicles in the foreign convoy were ablaze after the blast and police pulled charred bodies from the wreckage. One Western man staggered from the scene with blood pouring from his head.

Other witnesses said there were two large explosions, but it was not clear whether the second blast was a car bomb or the fuel tank of a vehicle exploding.

Foreign officials and security contractors move around Baghdad in high-profile convoys of four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicles accompanied by armed guards.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Darryl Wright said an unspecified number of American contract workers were among the dead and declined to provide more details.

Dr. Mustafa al-Ubosi, at nearby al-Kindi Hospital, said it had received four bodies and 29 wounded from the scene.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8450

Car bombs kill 67 people in Iraq 

58 die in car bombing at Iraqi market
Agencies in Baghdad
Saturday May 7, 2005
The Guardian

At least 58 people were killed and 44 wounded yesterday when a suicide attacker exploded a car bomb near a vegetable market in a mostly Shia Muslim town south of Baghdad, hospital officials said.

The slaughter in Suwayra was part of a fresh wave of insurgent violence in Iraq that has killed more than 250 people - many of them Iraqi soldiers and police - since the prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, announced his new government on April 28. Iraqi officials say the attacks are designed to fuel sectarian tensions and trigger civil war.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1478620,00.html

Art For Girls. 

My thoughts on the new 'Monkey Trial'.

By Carey Gillam, Reuters

TOPEKA, Kan. (Reuters) - A six-day courtroom-style debate opened on Thursday in Kansas over what children should be taught in schools about the origin of life -- was it natural evolution or did God create the world?

The hearings, complete with opposing attorneys and a long list of witnesses, were arranged amid efforts by some Christian groups in Kansas and nationally to reverse the domination of evolutionary theory in the nation's schools.

William Harris, a medical researcher and co-founder of a Kansas group called the Intelligent Design Network, posed the core question about life's beginnings before mapping out why he and other Christians want changes in school curriculum.

School science classes are teaching children that life evolved naturally and randomly, Harris said, arguing that this was in conflict with Biblical teachings that God created life.


--------

Ok...
First of all, if God created everything, and evolution is a scientific fact... Then who CREATED EVOLUTION...?

And second of all...Who used MATHMATICS to write those instructions on our stem cells...?

If God wrote a book...Where would He put it and in what language would it be written in...? The very words of GOD have been in front of our face every time mankind bled. Since the beginning of our time the secret has been within us all along. Science is the key that will unlock our greatest day. The day we heal ourselves.

Science can PROVE the existance of God.. If your God was the One who created the trees, THEN YES, we are talking about the same God. He also wrote thier DNA. We each were wrote our own special chapter.

Written With Mathmatics.

Anyone who says you cannot use science to read the words of GOD HIMSELF, is hiding something unholy.

And until we expose them, unnatural death will be our greatest curse.

Art for Everyone 

Art for Everyone 

Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law 

Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law
Fri May 6,11:00 AM ET
BAGHDAD (AFP) -

Three out of four Iraqis believe Islam should be the main or only source of law and legislation in their country, according to a poll of 2,700 Iraqis.

While just over 74 percent thought Islam should be the sole or main source of legislation, just 2 percent said religion should play no role in law-making, a poll showed Friday.
The findings come as parliament prepares to draft a new constitution, which will notably focus on the role of Islam,
Iraqs' official religion, in society.

The poll was based on some 2,705 interviews conducted from April 11 to April 20 by an Iraqi firm employed by the conservative US International Republican Institute.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050506/wl_mideast_afp / iraqpollpoliticsreligion_050506150015

Hamas on the March 

Hamas Emerging As Strong Political Force
By ALI DARAGHMEH,
Associated Press Writer
Fri May 6, 5:51 PM ET

QALQILIYA, West Bank - The Islamic militants of Hamas won nearly a third of the West Bank and Gaza towns up for grabs in local elections, unofficial results said Friday, cementing the group as a significant political force as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas tries to make peace with Israel.

Abbas' corruption-tainted Fatah' movement, which had feared defeat, did better than expected and held on to control over most of the area, winning in 45 of 84 communities. But he will no longer be able to ignore Hamas, which has long opposed negotiations with Israel.

Thousands of flag-waving Hamas supporters took to the streets, shooting off fireworks, handing out candy and honking car horns. In Qalqiliya, a West Bank town of 45,000 on the frontier with Israel, the green Hamas banner was hoisted over city hall as the group swept all 15 local council seats.

Hamas candidates also won control of the two other biggest towns holding elections, Rafah and Beit Lahiya in Gaza.

The election — the third round of local voting by Palestinians this year — was the final test for Abbas before parliamentary elections in July that could add to pressures to bring Hamas into the Palestinian administration

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/israel_palestinians

Wonder who won here Mr Bush, I think it was Hamas

Art For Boys.