Alas, I have moved to another site: www.sapiengames.com

Quote of the day:

"If we are to survive, we must have ideas, vision, and courage. These things are rarely produced by committees. Everything that matters in our intellectual and moral life begins with an individual confronting his own mind and conscience in a room by himself." -Arthur Schlesinger, Jr

I think I had better pull out my old Zazen Pillow.

Rumsfeld Resigns!





About 2 hours ago, The Whitehouse announced that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will Resign.

This comes on the heels of a Democratic wave overtaking the House, a majority of the Governorships, and potentially the Senate. Seeing this as anything other than a “cleaning house” move on the Presidents part is near impossible.

The President has nominated CIA Director Bob Gates.

The real question is whether the change in personnel will coincide with a change in policy towards Iraq. I remain hopeful, but skeptical.

Free Trade Saves Lives


Frontline (PBS) recently had a program highlighting the efforts of an organization called Kiva.org. This organization enables average people to loan small amounts of money to those in the Third World who are in need of a business loan. $50 is not a large sum to many of us, but it can provide a life change to others.

The saying, "if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime," applies.

Quote of the day:

• The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack understanding. On the whole men are more good than bad; that, however, isn't the real point. But they are more or less ignorant, and it is this that we call vice or virtue; the most incorrigible vice being that of an ignorance which fancies it knows everything and therefore claims for itself the right to kill. There can be no true goodness, nor true love, without the utmost clear-sightedness. ~ Albert Camus

Democrats have been hammering the Republicans on this point for a long time now. They have recently claimed the house, and possibly the Senate.

A Democratic win is imperitive. But, Pragmatism must reign supreme. Good intentions have never fed anyone. But good solid planning, based and good solid facts, has.

I hope for a resurgency in Clinton-style Democratic policies. Socially liberal, but fiscally conservative. Bring down the deficit, encourage free trade that is as fair to those on the ground as it is to those on Wallstreet, Find Osama, Build a functioning democracy in Iraq, Contain China (and help to disband the CCP from within), encourage a Reformation in the Islamic world, take the Environmental Bull by the horns, and otherwise lead with a clear mind.

A full list, and there is more. But this election gives the Dem's the opportunity to restructure the party for the better ... let us hope they do, for if they don't, the Religious Right will gather together, stronger, and win it all back in 2008.

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” – President Bush, 5/1/03

That was then ... this is now. As of last week, the number of American Soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeded the number that died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. And that is just the Americans.

The best estimates put the Iraqi innocent death toll at around 50,000. And that number is growing faster as the Chaos on the ground escalates. NOTE: this puts our score HIGHER than that of the terrorists. We have created a situation that has killed MORE civilians than they have.

Ernest Hemingway once said:

“They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting
to die for one's country.
But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying.
You will die like a dog for no good reason.”

War Crimes

It's been about 3 weeks now since the cease fire between Hezbollah and Israel. And Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that government officials and army officers traveling abroad could face war crimes charges.

More than 850 Lebanese were killed during the conflict, most of them civilians. And Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian targets.

While Hasan Nasrallah, just weeks ago was clearly winning the propoganda war. Even he has to admit now that the Isreali's won the physical one. He said on August 27^th,

“We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 . . . that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not. “

If even he can admit that kind of defeat, then you know the damage is immense.

While I certainly understand the Isreali fear response. The damage they inflicted was largely against civilians. And included the total devastation of homes, bridges, roads, water treatment plants, supermarkets and fuel tanks.

They hid behind an air attack. Instead of a targeted ground campaign, that could have pitted soldier against soldier, they chose to bomb, from the air, targets that ended the lives of a huge multitude of innocents and children.

I am not against war when it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes the only way to stop violence, is to kill the perpetrater of that violence.

In the words of one of America's most Brutal men, Nathan Bedford Forrest, “War means fighting, and fighting means killing."

But, it is never acceptable to take out your aggressions on innocent civilians, simply because they live amongst those who are a threat to you. Of course, I realize, life is far too complicated in practice to play out along purely ethical lines. But, that isn't the point. It's in the struggle to do right, even in the hardest of times that defines us.

According to VOA News:

U.N. Human Rights spokesman, Jose Dias, says international humanitarian law lays down specific protections for civilians.

"In carrying out military operations, they must distinguish, at all times, between civilians and combatants and that civilians must never be the object of a direct intentional attack," he said. "That the anticipated loss to civilian life and damage to civilian property must always be proportionate to the pursuit of a concrete and direct military objective…Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited and civilians must not be used to shield military objectives from attack."

Links:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19681&Cr=Leban&Cr1

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/05/131123

Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter", has died.

At a time when our planet is suffering the most from our species gross negligence, it has lost one of its greatest champions.

Thankfully, he spent his life building a gathering of fans, and instilling within them a newfound love of the environment. I have a great hope that his fans will carry on his legacy by taking the small steps in their daily lives to further the cause of conservation.

We owe him that.

Environmentalism often gets beaten into the ground by us musicians. Most musicians have a tendancy to make a cause seem trite. No wonder ... as most contemporary musicians have the IQ of a Marmot. I hope I don't inspire the same disinterest.

Steve, unlike we artists, came with a credibility. He could be just as crazy and awe inspiring as a Rock Star, but we all knew it was genuine.

His foundation, Wild Life Warriors puts every dollar you donate directly to work saving animals in the wild.


Thank you Steve,
Saij

Indonesia--6,234 Dead

A good friend of mine lives in Indonesia. She is a sweet fantastic young woman. And she is in the middle of a major dissaster. I've been feeling helpless, as anyone would being this far away.

But as a small token, I have been trying to send money to groups that are in the area providing relief.

The death toll is now 6,234 people (ABC News). And while I am remarkably relieved that my friend is not a part of that number, that is over 6000 people. Which means there are multiple thousands of people in my shoes who DID lose their friend, or family member, wife, husband, child. And there are many more injured. It is horrifying to say the least.

I love this girl. She has done so much for me, and I intend to at least be bold enough to part with some cash.

Here is a link to a blog that has info on helping if anyone else is interested.
indonesiahelp.blogspot.com



Always,
Saij