My fellow Americans -- 'We The People .... Have No Clothes'

[understandinglife]

Let us probe why many Americans, including several whom I've asked the direct question, do not want to confront the reality of Bush meeting with Cindy Sheehan and telling her the truth regarding the 'noble cause' that Casey Sheehan died serving.

I think, deep down, most realize the fact that it was not a 'noble cause.' It was what I diagnosis as a malignant disease infecting many Americans -- 'remorseless consumeritis.'

Bush and the neoconsters know that 42,636 Americans were killed in motor-vehicle related accidents in 2004.

They also know that most other Americans don't give a flip.

Thus, to most Americans, what's a thousand or two Americans killed in Iraq in over two years if it ensures that millions of remorseless American consumers can drive vehicles big enough to sleep four or more in luxury, compared to the shelter 100s of millions elsewhere on the planet call 'home.'

You wonder if I'm being cynical or inaccurate.

Well, for starters, check this and ask yourself why would most of those Americans want to avoid having to confront even hearing about a news item like the following:

US Deploying Paratroopers at Iraq Prisons

By REUTERS

Filed at 6:57 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military will send 700 Army paratroopers to Iraq to help provide security at detention centers, officials said on Wednesday, as it prepares to open a fourth major prison and eventually leave the Abu Ghraib jail, the site of last year's prisoner abuse scandal.

An infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the U.S.-run detention facilities, defense officials said.

"There's an expansion in the detention operations going on," said Air Force Lt. Col. John Skinner, a Pentagon spokesman on detainee issues.

<clip>

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-usa-prisons.html?pagewanted=print

Obviously, the media is doing its part to make sure that most Americans are not aware of this tidbit.

And, for those Americans who are aware of it, no one in the media is going to deconstruct this stupid bit of bull shit propaganda about the reason for sending an elite paratrooper rapid strike force into Iraq.

Are you beginning to get why I ask the question, do most Americans really want Bush to tell Cindy the truth.

Today, the same day we read of an elite paratrooper group being sent to guard prisoners (that's like asking a major league pitcher with a 20 and 0 record to throw batting practice, everyone), we also find the following bit of news (though I am sure very few of our fellow Americans even saw or heard it):

State Department experts warned CENTCOM
before Iraq war about lack of plans for post-war Iraq security

Planning for post-Saddam regime change began as early as October 2001

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 163

Posted - August 17, 2005

If you go to page 6 of this .pdf file you will see the timeline that verifies the claim that State had engaged in planning for "post-Saddam" Iraq in October of 2001.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB163/iraq-state-02.pdf

However, what I am focused is the obvious disregard that the Pentagon had for all the planning that State was doing.

Newly declassified State Department documents show that government experts warned the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in early 2003 about "serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance," well before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

In a February 7, 2003, memo to Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, three senior Department officials noted CENTCOM's "focus on its primary military objectives and its reluctance to take on 'policing' roles," but warned that "a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses which would undermine an otherwise successful military campaign, and our reputation internationally." The memo adds "We have raised these issues with top CENTCOM officials."

Link:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB163/iraq-state-03.pdf

[Carolab]

1. Actually, we the people have a collective PSYCHOSIS.

http://baltimorechronicle.com/011305PaulLevy.shtml

We share Bush's "malignant egophrenia".

[lonestarnot]

59. Nope don't include ME!

[BeTheChange]

2. I find myself wondering..

What did they expect to happen over there? I mean, they planned for a war, but not for a peace, a democracy... they have been spinning wildly ever since Baghdad was taken with a wimper in 3 days.


What do you think they expected? What was the end game? Did they expect that Saddam was like them, that regardless of what the heck the world said, he really did atleast have some poison gas or something?.. and that they would do something to escalate shock and awe x 10?

We were obviously looking for a foothold in the middle east, but what I havent managed to figure out yet is why. Maybe it's one of these.. they are the best I can come up with:

1. They really think they are called to bring about armeggedon.
2. They buy into the neocon bullshit that the world would be better off if we just controlled it all, and sure, you gotta scramble a few eggs to make an omlet, but the ends justify the means.
3. Peak oil is serious and alot closer then we thought and we are making a mad dash for resources.
4. They were just prideful and carrying on Poppy Bush's war, truly refusing to see the truth that Joe Wilson, Kofi, the world was trying to show them. Hubris. It's been the downfall of many a civilization..

I dont know if the number of people who would care if any of the above scenarios were proven to be true would outweigh the ones that didnt by that much.

People like to drive their own cars.. I was appauled that even at the protests in crawford, people who had signs about how there should be no more blood for oil showed up as single car occupants... or that I saw people chain smoking and throwing butts on the ground.. or that I couldnt get people to even pick up their own trash.. When it all comes down to it, Im unsure how much any of us is truly willing to invest in real, hard, ugly, unglamourous, serious, no holds barred.. change.

I've had to do alot of reevaluating lately about how much the way I live and the choices I make truly support the atrocities that I talk about or protest against. I stopped smoking 8 weeks ago. I've stopped buying anything that is non essential. I've seriously cut down on my television watching.. Ive started getting involved with the organizations that matter to me. Ive stopped complaining about the world. Ive started loving people more.

[understandinglife]

3. "people who had signs about how there should be no more blood for oil ...

... showed up as single car occupants.

Ah yes. And, then you note:

"I'm unsure how much any of us is truly willing to invest in real, hard, ugly, unglamorous, serious, no holds barred.. change."

Yes. You are being honest and these are the issues.

Mr Herbert and others are on target, as well.

That is why, I posted the question earlier today the way I did, simply -- what would happen if Bush met with Cindy and told her the truth.

Are we all prepared to hear from Bush and the neoconsters the truth of what they have been doing?

Because if they enunciate it and it is even remotely close to what some of us recognize it to most likely be - AMERICA IS DEAD.

And, our task is then to either try to rebuild it or go succumb to the malignantly terminal disease of remorseless consumeritis.


Peace.

[BeTheChange]

4. The answer to your question is no..

because that would mean that we would have to own our share of the responsibility. As long as we can brush it under the rug, or push it off.. or obfuscate it with pretty flashing lights, or decorate it in ribbons..... we will continue to do it.


I tend to think that life as we know it will end not with a bang, but with a whimper.. a sigh of resignation, or realization... of acceptance.

Im not saying that there is nothing we can do, Im just saying that I think the mentality of the world is such at this point in time that we have become so over loaded with the bullshit that we cant see the foundational shit, the real shit and start shovelling our way out.

Some people call it dumbing down the masses.. some say its because of the pharm companies medicating the masses.. some say it's tv placating the masses, or big business over stimulating them.. A million symptoms but we dont have a cure. The most real thing I think most of us go through in our life is coming to terms with death. It is the heaviest thing your average Joe Blow must face. I think that there has to be alot more death before people are ready to deal with real truth. The trick would be getting the truth to stick this time.. not just crash like HST's mythical wave description of the 70's.

Only time will tell.

[EC]

46. Haven't most of us already owned up to our part

and started to prepare to live without oil?

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. Perhaps some liberal talk show host could organize a charter

bus so that Cindy supporters don't have to show "up as single car occupants". :shrug:

[BeTheChange]

30. So you think..

that holding up a sign that says no blood for oil after driving your SUV alone isnt incredibly hypocritical?

I just dont see it that way. Make another sign or your time would be better served attending a local vigil then wasting the oil.

[anarch]

25. I think all of the reasons you list played some part

Number 4 probably only on the part of the chimperor himself, but the rest of them...well, number 1 probably not so much except for the really far out fascists (including the chimp); number 2 -- these are the people who wrote the PNAC...I think they really do believe their own bullshit, and number 3: maybe not a mad dash for the resources themselves, but a mad bid for U.S. companies to control the flow of said resources. I think the oil companies take the whole Peak Oil thing very seriously, but think of it very differently than you or I do. Their own geologists have been some of the people who have been clamoring about since before it became a popular topic of debate.

It seems simple enough to me: the oil thugs (who basically run our whole government right now) recognize that global demand will seriously outpace supply (or at least the supply that can actually be delivered, inasmuch as we'll never actually "run out" of oil, we just won't be able to effectively get it out of the ground), and they see this happening in the relatively near future (5-10 years) to such an extent that they can make a whole shitload of money if they are positioned for it...and control of the last remaining giant oil fields is their key.

They clearly don't give a rat's ass about humanity...we--Americans, Iraqis, Iranians, everybody--are just here to consume their product and fatten their already-busting-at-the-seams wallets.

[EC]

45. Well, they are oilmen and we are on the oil standard

instead of gold....I call it Greed..


On edit: I think they also get off on the thought of ruling the world...also, remember they'll also have control of the major sources of water in Iraq, and Moonie is buying up the water in the rest of the world...

[flyarm]

5. i want the truth at all costs!!

i realize it will be unpalatable to many , but no matter what, i want the truth,
i believe every life lost deserves the truth.
with the truth we can search for solutions, without the truth we get an energy bill that does not show americans the real cost of our lifestyle, and more and more will die for the illusion so many live under in this country.
without the truth americans live in la la land at the cost of someone else's childs death..with no consequences or moral compass.

i lived through the northridge earthquake and lost almost everything, so i learned that "things" can be replaced...but people can not..human life is fragile..and so precious..
was it difficult , yes, did we survive loosing everything , yes and my family is better for it, because it was a great lesson..it was a lesson that love for each other was so much more important and valuable than anything we lost..we needed to depend on each other..we learned to not have fear, but to face what was difficult and to respond to what was dealt to us..but we did not loose each other...it was life and truth that survived our loss. can we all do with less? yes..is it hard ..with the way we live in this country yes it is hard..but in no way insurmountable..we live with such waste, we waste power, we waste food, we waste gas, we waste heat, and air conditioning, we are a nation of waste.
its about time we all become responsible, and it begins by making those who work for us in government tell the truth..we can deal with the truth, but when one lie is allowed to destroy lives and to take lives, than we are as evil as those who perpatrate the lies.
one lie requires so much to cover the lie and then where are we as a nation? we are total bullshit ..because the cover up becomes more and more cover-ups..and more and more lives lost, and the loss of the potential those lives could have shared with us all.
i know raising my son, i used to say often , tell me the truth, no matter how bad you think your problem is , we can always deal with the truth..but if you lie to me, i can not and will never trust you again..

if our government lies to us, how can we ever trust it again?
and how will we ever solve our problems?
and how can we live with ourselves knowing the lives lost for those lies?
yes many die on our roads every year, but that is apples and oranges to being sent to war based on lies..we all choose or do not choose to get in a car and drive, but our military serve this nation with the trust in all americans and our government to never put them into a war of choice..but of only nessesity and for protecting the very republic we live..if we accept lies and turn our head away from the honor they bestow upon us by serving our democracy and republic and protecting our constitution, we do not deserve that constitution , nor do we deserve the democracy we so hold dear.

we owe it to every serving member of our armed service to demand the truth ,no matter how many sacrifices it cost us in our daily lives.

we will find a way to deal with the sacrifices, but the sacrifices of our bravest should never be taken lightly , and we must be now and forever responsible for their service to us and always demand the truth ..they deserve nothing less of us!

[IndyOp]

22. Flyarm speaks for me!

We can deal with the truth.

Falling from the strata of lies and illusions through to the clear air of truth is like falling through a mirror. The mirror shatters. It is terrifying and painful to fall through it, but when you adjust it is better on the other side. It is exhausting and anxiety-provoking and depressing to live in lies and confusion. The other side is better.

[understandinglife]

34. I agree with both you and Flyarm ...

... but I think both of you and others here at DU know the truth.

But, when I look at the various statements by members of the Senate and House in the past few weeks about Bush's war on Iraq, I can't help but wonder if they are not among the likely millions of Americans who do not want to be disturbed or disrupted by Bush speaking the truth to Cindy Sheehan.

Folk who are expressing their lack of approval of Bush's performance overall, and in Iraq specifically, have not yet been told the truth as to why we are there and what it will really cost them if we were not now, and for way into the future, in full control of Iraq's oil, as well as much of the revenue being generated by exporting that oil.

What would happen if our fellow Americans were required to live in an economy that did not rely on all of the uses of that assured and relatively inexpensive Iraqi petroleum.

Furthermore, it is my concern that given the choice, many millions of Americans would shout "We Don't Care" as Bush and the neoconsters destroy all of Iran except the oil fields and pumping infrastructure.

That concern is a 'testable hypothesis' and I don't think we are going to have to wait very much longer before Bush and the neoconsters do the 'experiment' -- on Iran, that is.


Peace.

[IndyOp]

37. I have had the experience that you are mentioning...

My neighbor was career military (Army). He was stationed in Saudi Arabia for years and years. During the build up to the Iraq war when I argued 'no blood for oil' - his response stopped me in my tracks by its sheer simplicity. He said, "Oil is important." He completely dismissed the truth that we are and have long been killing innocents for oil (and copper and other natural resources and markets in which we can profit).

I have three reasons to hope:

First, I just woke up myself. Unsatisfied with the Newsweek answer to "Why They Hate Us" I found William Blum's "Killing Hope: 250 Military and CIA Interventions since World War II." Reading Blum (and Zinn and Chomsky) was a journey that changed me. If I can wake up, so can others.

Second, the more money and power a person has the less likely they are to 'wake up' to the suffering around them (to the suffering they are causing others by monopolizing resources). While the filthy rich are getting filthy-richer the majority of US citizens are experiencing a steadily declining standard of living. The masses are becoming more and more likely to wake up.

Third, I believe that we are not alone. I still believe help is on the way (and I'm not referring to John Kerry)! Yes, we are still ultimately responsible for our collective future and I believe that we have help.

By the way, UL - I find your ending to each email very calming:

Peace.

[evilqueen]

6. Bingo

It is not *just* about oil and gasoline (which the Iraqis currently pay 5 CENTS a gallon for (yes, you heard that right, it's nationalized and subsidized) and which the US and UK want to privatize), it is also about WATER and who will control the "riparian rights" to Iraqi water.

"Iraq is a country rich in water resources. We have large reservoirs, two large rivers, a large number of river branches, adequate ground water, the marshland area," Rashid said on the sidelines of a reconstruction conference in Amman, Jordan.

The source of Iraq's water, however is actually in Turkey... which makes what Sibel Edmonds has to say about the American-Turkish Council all that much more important. Do check out who is on that council. It may surprise you to find executives from: Lockheed Martin, Pepsico, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Boeing, Raytheon, and more, holding seats on that council. And, lo and behold, Brent Scowcroft is the Chairman of the Board!

Likewise, do realize that besides doing construction and building oil refineries and what-not, Bechtel has a long history of privitizing water resources. Bechtel has long experience in the Persian Gulf: it built or expanded oil refineries in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia during World War II, and later built a pipeline stretching from Saudi Arabia to Jordan. The company also built highways, airports and other infrastructure throughout the Middle East. Along the way, company executives built strong relationships within the Arab world, including with Bin Laden Construction, owned by the Saudi family whose estranged son Osama became the symbol of international terrorism.

[The Doctor.]

7. For one... most Americans play checkers, not chess.

We have grown so very accustomed to one-step thinking and instant gratification that we have willfully bred out the ability to think by factoral process. Like all the various comforts we seek, we willingly grab hold of any immediately placating explanation rather than commit to the core-wrenching exercise of societal introspection.

No, 'we' as Americans are not ready to know why we are pursuing this agenda.

True introspection is painful.

[autorank]

8. The 82nd Airborne guarding prisoners? Makes no sense...

...nor does the rest of it. The 82nd is what's referred to as "an elite unit," they're there to defend the country not guard prisoners. The Army brass must be pulling their hair out.

And the rest of it, my God. What if Bush told the truth? What if pigs lived in trees. It won't happen but if it did it would be "the horror."

Kick & Recommend (#3!).

Peace to you!

[evilqueen]

9. Exactly. Guarding prisoners is NOT their mission.

"The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, provides the ability to begin executing a strategic airborne forcible entry into any area of the world within 18 hours of notification. Their primary mission is airfield and seaport seizure. Once on the ground, they provide the secured terrain and facilities to rapidly receive additional combat forces. The division is the nation's strategic offensive force, maintaining the highest state of combat readiness." - Source

[autorank]

11. You know it took a long time to build up this Army and it's being

ruined by *co and the Rumster in years. It's such a shame. These are serious soldiers, people who do it as a profession and a life calling. Sending them to the filth Bush and Cheney created at that prison is such an insult. This is a very poor analogy, but it's like having a five star chef wash dishes. Nuts...

[evilqueen]

12. Do you REALLY think they are going there to guard prisoners?

I should hope not. I should hope that was just a "cover story" and not what they will really be doing. If it is a cover story, the question begs to be asked : What is the REAL mission?

[understandinglife]

19. In a word, "Iran" -- I suspect the scenario is ...

... an unprecedented series of 'tactical' nuclear hits on various Iranian command, control and nuke facilities and the rapid control of their southern oil assets (by groups like the 82nd).

Just a guess from someone who doesn't play checkers.


Peace.

[electron_blue]

27. No, I don't.

They're not going to guard prisoners. Nobody is that stupid, not even Bush. It looks like some serious sh*t is about to go down.

[bridgit]

10. we are one geopolitical event away from utter chaos...

and the bush admin seems just fine with that

[BamaBecky]

13. THIS PART would make a profound letter to the editor!

>>To whom it may concern:

What would happen if Mr Bush answered Cindy Sheehan honestly.

What would happen if in response to her question - "What noble cause did Casey give his life to serve?" Mr Bush spoke of the three strategic reasons he launched a war of aggression and subsequent occupation of Iraq.

How would each American respond to Mr Bush informing them, honestly, that Iraq's oil reserves must be controlled by America?

How would each American respond to the reality that Iraq has the largest fresh water system in the Middle East and that America now controls access to that life essential resource?

How would each American respond to the reality that the air bases America now controls in Iraq provide rapid strike capability anywhere in the Middle East and Central Asia?

Are we all prepared to receive from Mr Bush what we are requesting -- that he meet with Cindy Sheehan and speak the truth about why Casey died in Iraq?

Are you, my fellow Americans, prepared for the truth or would you prefer to not have Mr Bush stop the flowery rhetoric of 'noble cause' and 'spreading democracy'?

Be sure you really want the truth about the critical strategic reasons Mr Bush and his neoconster buddies entered the White House in January, 2001 knowing that they intended to achieve in Iraq, shortly thereafter.

The burden of that truth is profound, as some now realize.<<

UL you continue to amaze me!
Bama

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. People are waking up, but sooooo slowly! Let's hope the "tipping point"

for bellieving the truth comes before the criminals in Washington manage to stage another domestic attack, invade Iran, and start a nuclear World War III.

Thank you, UL. Recommended.

[yowzayowzayowza]

15. The "greed is good" generation...

deem their righteous avarice superior to the most basic elements of our democracy. With all due respect, the "greatest generation" has left us a task more daunting than defeating global fascism on the battlefield; conquering the "avarice state" within ourselves.

If this doesn't seem too far afield, perhaps I can make a meme suggestion:

Why can't we have free and fair elections? The avarice state.
Why must Grandpa shepherd Walmart shopping carts for want of a fistful of pills? The avarice state.
Why did we have a Constitutional crisis over an immaterial fellatio fib? The avarice state.
How did we start a war over a pack of lies? The avarice state.
Why have we created an ecologically unsustainable society? The avarice state.

As a google of the term "avarice state" returns zero hits, perhaps it could be a retort to the rightwing "welfare state" meme?

(Sorry for the spamming. :) Jus think we really need an rhetorical handle for this.)

[DerekG]

16. "Propaganda only works because people want it to work." --Thomas Merton

This horror is easier to bear when one is resigned to the fact that Bushco is not an aberration, but rather, the culmination. He's the Nero to the Claudiuses, Caligulas, and Tiberiuses we've been calling "Mr. President". (Does anyone here actually think Bush heralded in preventive/preemptive war? What do you call the Mexican War? Or the Spanish-American War? Or Vietnam?) What's more, the gleam in Bushco's eyes harbors our own visages: our avarice, barbarity and depravity made manifest. (Did your thirst for vengeance allow you to look away as we bombed Afghanistan? Did you overlook the crimes of a president/politician just because he/she was a Democrat? Deep down, do you believe might makes right? At one point or another, I was guilty of all three.)

Many Christian abolitionists perceived the Civil War to be God's punishment for some 250 years of chattel slavery; cryptic as it may sound, I think we're fated to pay the piper yet again. The author may not be Yahweh, nor should we necessarily look to karmic forces, but it will be payback, and it most certainly will be a bitch.

[frictionlessO]

17. Beautifully said and represented, my friend.

We have no clothes. The rest of the world has known this for quite some time.

Water is without a doubt the new oil, if people don't believe me check out the history of "Fiji" water.

Water treatment is set to become a huge growth industry over the next 25 years. Its actually something we rather excel at. New York Citys' water is actually considered to be better both taste and contents wise than about half the bottled waters out there.

Really great tatsing and pure waters like Fiji and Voss are already considered affordable luxuries. I've seen small bottles of both these brands going for nearly 2.00 at some city locations. Its not like these prices are going to go down, as we pollute our most valued natural resource the more profound the cost will be....

I digress, I would really love to see a full piece by you UL on nothing but the coming water wars.... or did you do one once?

Anyways thanks for an incredible piece of truth as usual.

Peace!

[SunDrop23]

18. You said it, It is easier to look the other way and drive off in an SUV.

I mean come on we've got soccer and ballet and my brother and his wife are coming in to town next week. I'm up to my neck in work. I don't have time to worry about all that other stuff.

(this is all figurative)

[paineinthearse]

20. open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US

To verify the media blaockout conspifacy, go to google news and enter the string "open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US" from the first article.

Know what you'll get?

Results 1 - 10 of about 14 for open-ended-deployment-to-help-provide-security-at-the-US. (0.33 seconds)

US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons
Reuters AlertNet, UK - 15 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons
Wired News - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons
Washington Post, United States - 14 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers to Iraq jails
The Age (subscription), Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers to Iraq jails
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons
Reuters - 14 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
Daily Telegraph, Australia - 11 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
Australian, Australia - 12 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
Advertiser Adelaide, Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Results 11 - 14 of 14 for open-ended-deployment-to-help-provide-security-at-the-US. (0.09 seconds)

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers to Iraq jails
Seven.com.au, Australia - 13 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

Paratroopers deployed at Iraq prisons
Brisbane Courier Mail, Australia - 12 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons
Almendhar, Iraq - 9 hours ago
... based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the US-run detention ...

NOT ONE MAJOR US OUTLET HAS PICKED THIS UP! (Wired is the only outlet) ...so you can be sure it is not in any print editions.

[understandinglife]

26. Precisely. But, the rest of the world already knows 'We The People ...

... Have No Clothes.'

Thank you for doing that search and posting it ... it is obvious, isn't it.


Peace.

[kma3346]

36. "open ended deployment" produces less hits now

I just googled "open-ended deployment" in Google News and only got two hits--one from Reuters AlertNet UK and another from an Australian news source. Does this mean that the other sites have been wiped already? I feel like I'm really getting paranoid, but I'm very worried about what is about to happen here in the U.S. that will require this elite force to be deployed. I have a very bad feeling about this.

[understandinglife]

38. Welcome to DU, kma3346. Here are the results for ...

... a google search of "open ended deployment" as of 1102 PDT:

Paratroopers to guard Iraq jails
Australian, Australia - 1 hour ago
An infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division, based in North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to provide ...
US deploying paratroopers at Iraq prisons Reuters AlertNet
all 76 related »

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-37,GGLD:en&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16310802%25255E2703,00.html

What matters is that we've yet to see anyone in the American corporate media ask the "you're sending a battalion of elite paratroopers to guard prisoners -- oh sure, now tell me the truth" type of question.

We'll know the answer by early Nov, at the very latest ...


Peace.

[Time for change]

21. I think Generator's parallel with Nazi Germany is appropriate

That is not to say that I believe that the magnitude of what is going on in Iraq now is as great as what happened in Nazi Germany, or even close -- at this time. However, I believe that the principle is the same, or at least very similar.

It is not at all unusual for the people of this country, or perhaps any country, to not want to believe that their leaders have bad motives. Just as children are generally very reluctant to believe bad things about their parents, adults will go to great extents to rationalize away the things that their leaders do in their name. That is why people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are so popular with segments of the US population. They help greatly with that rationalization process, and even give many of these people "pride" in their country.

I also believe that it is primarily people with low self esteem who are most susceptible to this kind of denial. If you don't have much in your own life to be proud of, then the need to have "pride" in your country is all the more urgent. This applies even (perhaps especially) to people who make no sacrifices or contributions to their country, or even hardly know what is going on.

This kind of denial is really tough to break through. The fact that we get little or no help from our MSM makes it a great deal tougher. What this means is that the evidence has to be overwhelming and in their face before many of these people will pay attention.

I only wish I had some better ideas to break through this denial.

[Stephanie]

24. Crawford Counter-protestors chant: "WE DON'T C ARE"

Great post, thank you.

[electron_blue]

28. Yes, this is the ultimate heart of the issue

And you are right. Even among the people around me who are sick about the war, I don't see any of them changing their behavior because of what they perceive the be the right thing to do.

This week my brother called to tell me he just sold his SUV and bought a Honda sedan instead. He said with these gas prices, he'll end up saving $180/month alone in gas. So, he changed, but because his pocketbook hurt.

People will adapt if they have to. Unfortunately, it seems that most Americans won't change unless they have to. Isn't that true about 95% of all behavior change?

Are there any specialists on human behavior who could chime in here?

[FSogol]

29. "Earth, we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap...

and too damn lazy." Kurt Vonnegut

[TNOE]

31. Wow - Very good post

a keeper. Thanks.

[kitkat65]

32. I agree that we really need to take an unblinking look at the way we live

and consume because it both directly and indirectly results in creating the circumstances for what we are experiencing now.

As they say, there's no free lunch.

But one thing I think people must wake up to (if they haven't already) is that the B*** regime created this war for their own benefit, be it political, financial, or global.

It's one of the oldest stories we know - a story of greed to the nth degree and because of the interconnectedness of our society, we can't help BUT support it.

Ironically, the lasting effect of this war is that people just might end up questioning and changing their consumer and cultural values, which is something Bushco would really like to keep from happening. And while it may not happen right away, perhaps it is incumbent upon us to make it so when the time is right.

Anyway, a girl can dream, can't she?

[newportdadde]

33. Nice post. It all falls on the wallet.

1800 kids dead = Thats okay we didn't get nuked this week and Bush got me back my mega extra 300 tax refund.

Suv and gas for boat doubles = OMG OMG I hate Bush Ahhhh!

[JNelson6563]

35. Actually, we're all wearing the blue dress now

to be more accurate.

[electron_blue]

39. blue dress? explain please

[understandinglife]

42. Think "Monica" ...

Peace.

[electron_blue]

62. yuk, sorry I asked.

[Eloriel]

40. Ouch.

That really hurt. Too true.

[understandinglife]

41. You should copyright that one!! And, I agree with Eloriel -- both ..

... "ouch" and "too true."


Peace.

[Independent_Liberal]

43. Yes, we have no clothes.

Thanks for posting this UL. It all makes sense.

:)

[EC]

44. Maybe I'm being a bit blind here, but I believe

there would be more people that would say, No You Don't Have to Kill Half the World for THEIR Oil....we progress, move forward, and learn to survive without the oil (we have to do it sometime and since they wasted 30 - 40 years already - time immediately). I don't believe we can't wean ourselves off of oil in 3 -5 years time - I think we can...so no - I wouldn't even think that was a noble cause, he'd have to do better than that...They tried this back in Nam too, when we said it was about the oil, their line was - and if it is aren't you happy we are taking it for us?

Oil is not a neccessity any longer - we've got all kinds of choices in other forms, and improvements do not come until something is used long enough to know what has to be improved....Bush, really could have written an energy bill that would have encouraged renewable energy, instead of going with the coal washing scam and giving money to existing big energy companies, instead of making it available for new, small manufacturing and installing energy companies...Hydrogen cells can be used in big factories now, they aren't good for cars yet, because they haven't figured out how to reduce the size of the storage, so use it where there is room for it now...

That's enough, I get really pissed when I think about the wasted time and all the deaths that can be attributed to oil, when it wasn't neccessary...if they had worked as hard on energy as they did on weapons and pharma, we would have all kinds of choices...

So sorry, I'll keep my clothes on...I won't need oil pretty soon...and the hell with plastic...(this is where we should make use of all that Genetically altered Corn)

[understandinglife]

47. Blind, not hardly. I think you are quite insightful.

However, your comment # 46, "Haven't most of us ..." is not my experience. I think very, very few Americans have given much thought to the implications of doing without oil.

But, do we have technology that can be scaled to replace many of petroleum powered devices -- certainly.

Do we have the ability to create and expand petroleum alternatives -- certainly.

Do we have the capital to invest in such developments -- certainly, just cut our budget for military aggression (it's not a 'defense budget' obviously) by even 10 % and transfer that capital into development and deployment of non-petroleum energy systems.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Peace.

[EC]

48. Maybe I am being a bit optimistic in 46

but I do think that secretly, deep down, most people know it's coming and are very quietly dealing with it as they can afford to...I'm beginning to see more and more solar panels on homes and new products on the market, I'm looking into the Plastic Solar Roofs now, checking out pricing, and where the closest installer is (it's hard work, since it is plastic, I figure better get it now, before it's banned.

http://oikos.com/esb/51/solarroof.html

[understandinglife]

55. That's ok; we need all the optimism we can muster. Please see # 54,

... and let me know what you think.

Thank you.


Peace.

[loudsue]

49. This is a great thread....it should stay kicked...

There is so much here that we really need to think about, digest, and begin to ACT upon.

1) Taking care of our water, and developing new purification techniques that can be used on a broad scale for towns & cities... AND making sure some corporation doesn't get the "privilege" to do it for us, and charge us an arm & a leg, each.

2) Developing replacements for fossil fuels, with the most immediate emphasis on replacing oil.

3) Educating our fellow earth travellers on the benefits to the PLANET of smaller families, smaller everything...including smaller MEALS (in America, anyway).

4) Pushing HARD for broader educational opportunities, at an affordable price to everyone...in every country, and emphasizing global COOPERATION, not global dominance or CORPORATISM.

5) An agricultural renaissance, in healthier food, without the destruction of our planet and rain forests -- not genetically engineered cardboard (with chemicals) that is supposed to pass for food.

Think of all of the jobs that could be created. Not "free trade", but "fair trade"... each country contributing what it can to it's own people, and to the whole.

We need to join with other countries and see what it is each of us has the capability of contributing, and then build on those things that WORK.

.... just thinking out loud here. Understandinglife... your post was so very profound, and something that needed to be said. It's time a lot of people started thinking in these terms, and COMING to terms with where we really are.

:kick::kick::kick:

[understandinglife]

53. I hope everyone reads your excellent and specific comments. In_deed ...

we have much we can DO, and the improvements in the quality of our life and the manner in which we interact with others are outcomes, beyond the obvious commerce/economic and environment consequences.

Thank you very much. You and DUer, EC, hit on key topics that should be the focus on the USA -- not destablizing wars of aggression and imperialistic occupation of other nations.


Peace.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

50. We look in the mirror and we see . . . Oh my God! NO!

What a great post! I swear I have been silently ruminating about so much of what you say. It seems the Greatest generation spawned the Peace and Love Generation that spawned the Material Generation that spawned the Nihilist Consumer generation

I love your phrase – “remorseless consumeritis”. I think it has been genetically bred into Americans as part of the experience of inhabiting and taming a new continent. Europe was already heavily populated and teeming when North America was being settled. They have known for centuries that resources are limited and that systems must be devised that keep the populace orderly. So they focus on things like mass transportation and health and education for their inhabitants. Americans have always believed that resources are endless and we are brought up that our goal is to consume as much as we possibly can before we die - bigger homes, bigger yards, and bigger cars. We focus on the wealth of the individual, not the wealth of the society. Independence and Self-reliance and the entire emphasis on the individual, so prized in American society (the American Way) foster selfishness and narcissism.

As a society we are not so much different than all the qualities we see in George Bush that we complain about so much – his sense of entitlement, his squandering of opportunities throughout his life, his myopia, his false front of regular guyness and bon homie while he crushes and sucks the life out of the lower and middle-classes in this country. He treats us like we treat the rest of the world. In the immortal words of Pogo – “We have met the enemy and they is us”.

[understandinglife]

54. Indeed. I chose the term 'remorseless consumeritis' for exactly ...

...the reasons you eloquently summarize. We need to reject 'bigger' and embrace 'quality.'

A simple act I've been discussing with some of my colleagues would be to have every child, preK through grade 12, spend 1 hour of 'recess' every day, during the fall and spring months, growing something they can eat; they can take home to their families.

It doesn't have to involve a lot of space. Just get a bunch of 50 gallon drums and cut them, length-wise, in half, put some soil and composite in them, and plant something. Tend it, every day. On Sat/Sun, the family walks or rides the bus to the school and checks on the plants.

Why isn't every front or/and back yard in America growing stuff that people can eat? What they aren't able to eat, needn't go to waste. Simply place it in boxes or bags and take to the local church, school, hospital, homeless shelter, whatever.

Why are we wasting exceptionally valuable water on "grass"?

Little things like this yield value -- food, an understanding of the weather, essential skills, community service ....

What we lack are leaders capable of enunciating the simple, the direct, the honest guidance of how we can improve, how we can contribute, how we can be way more of a partner and not merely a malignancy sweeping the planet with the horrible consequences of 'remorseless consumeritis' -- pollution, torture, destruction and death.


Peace.

[EC]

58. I agree

Since I come from a farming ancestry, I've always had gardens full of food, trees full of fruit and of course flowers for my table.(flowers growing in with the veggies encourage bees, to fertilize the blossoms in the squash and melons). I have taught this to my daughter and her friends, all of whom grow their own food now that they are homeowners and taught them to can it for later use. I have encouraged and taught them collection of water, I have not had to use the hose to water my garden at all, even this dry season...

If the schools don't teach it, Youth Centers and Churches should. Survival is going to depend on being able to survive without the luxuries we have become addicted to, and many seem to forget that our ancestors survived and thrived without these luxuries.


And I JUST DON'T GET THE OBSESSION WITH LAWNS, I wouldn't have one if I were paid to, they are a waste of resources and time.

[mod mom]

51. As alway UL, excellent post and excellent commentary. I again would like

to suggest providing access of your compiled writing which could be circulated to a wider audience. You wrote you are not interested in material gain from your compositions, and I applaud your stance, however we need to get more progressives aware of just what is going on. We are the ones on the front lines NOT the democratic party.

[understandinglife]

56. What do you think about the following ....

.... if I constructed an annotated list of various posts, providing URLs for each, and placed that here at DU for anyone to distribute, copy, use without restriction? The comments to my posts are many times more insightful and instructive than what I might have written, so by doing what I'm suggesting, folk would have access to all those comments.

To do this will take time and I have so little of it to just post new threads on different topics. But, I'm willing to consider doing the above if folk think it of value.

Thank you for your supportive statements of my efforts. I really appreciate it.


Peace.

[mod mom]

57. that's a hard one. As much as we need the UL retrospective, we need to go

forward at this important time in hx. I would offer to help, but my hands full w election reform in Ohio. I will leave this up to your judgement. thank you.

[mod mom]

52. kick nt

[enough]

60. kick

[understandinglife]

61. At Eschaton, Atrios offers some comments on a certain reality ...

... i.e., the reality that Bush and the neoconsters have zero intention of leaving Iraq any time soon.

Atrios states: "But, none of these people are George W. Bush. As we know, but no one talks about, we have no intention of getting out now or ever."

Not quite no one .... here's the link:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2005_08_14_atrios_archive.html#112446628869273044

At the time of my posting this link, his comments have attracted 626 responses ....


Peace.