An Open Sky

After all
the prayers
have been said,
and the tears shed
and the uncomfortable silences,
when we cannot respond,
endured
there remains
the soft, tender sorrow
that time does not heal.

And in that sorrow,
Fatah,
an opening
to the genuine sadness
of being alive ---
open to
the absolute necessity
of letting go
of everyone
and everything
we love.

we can close off
this deep sadness
or open
our tender hearts
so wide
that our heart
becomes as an
open sky ---

no borders,
nor boundaries,
just
an open sky.

Rumi, from Andie's Web

Joint Ventures

Fuuuuck, dude!"

Leafing through Polemic Mbongi's standard, African Myth and Legend — Tales for the Post-modern, I stumbled across the following.

A monkey is sitting in a tree smoking a joint. A lizard walks past, looks up, and asks the monkey, "Hey! What are you doing?"

The monkey answers, "I'm smoking a joint. Come up and have one."

The lizard climbs up next to the monkey. They smoke a few joints. After a while, the lizard tells the monkey he is thirsty. His mouth is 'dry'. He decides to go down to the river to drink some water.

Down at the river, the stoned lizard loses his balance and falls into the water. A crocodile sees this. He swims over to the lizard and helps him to the side. He then asks him, "What's the matter with you?"

The lizard tells the crocodile he was smoking a joint with the monkey. Stoned and thirsty, he fell into the river. The crocodile decides to check out the lizards's story. He walks into the jungle and finds the tree. The monkey is finishing another joint.

The crocodile looks up at him and calls, "Hey! You!"

The Monkey looks down at the crocodile. His eyes widen.

"Fuuuuck, dude! How much water did you drink?"

Indeed. While we in the Department sometimes refer jocularly to Polemic's work as Postcards from the Edge, we know it to be a seminal work, relegating the likes of Credo Mutwa (Africa's Six-pack Chopra) and other frauds to a necessary obscurity.

Mbongi's book contains wisdom for the world. But does the world listen? No, of course not.

The Med Effect...

kisses for nothing

lace and velvet kisses on the balcony
and the wind sweeps the cocaine off the banister and the razor falls to the ground
we s a y a few words in unison
and break down our doors
a kiss on the floor
two more strokes, a little more
for once i'm not being paid to love you
and the whispering in my ear
actually sounds real
like a china... porcelain... shattered mirror
you tell me the ugly truth about myself
i l o v e y o u
written on the concrete-diary floor
and the pages that exist in wonder and betrayal
lick the blood from your hands
when you awake, kind sir
holding me in your arms
a trigger be pulled
and we lie together
[h o l d i n g ♥ h a n d s]
a red sunset for lovers never parted

cathryn

Jesus. Kids... who needs 'em? My thirteen-year old has a steady boyfriend. He's been around several months. She writes this while he says little, plays a guitar, sleeps, smokes, keeps odd hours, dresses in black, listens to metal, sticks needles and pins through his head, and is extremely polite. To me... not to his parents. He has no long-term plans. I don't think he bothers much about the future. But it doesn't matter. Cathryn's mood is improving. I think the boy's good for her.

Credibility

"What will be the state of their union?" Cartoon by Steve Bell [Guardian]

"For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible."

George W. Bush

The Official Story

The Interim Government, reversing a long legacy of serious human rights abuses under the previous regime, generally respected human rights, but serious problems remained. During the period of the report, the Government's human rights performance was handicapped by a serious insurgency in which a terrorist campaign of violence impacted every aspect of life with executions, kidnappings, torture, and intimidation waged against civilians, the Government and Coalition Forces. Although this insurgency may have had popular support in some areas, its core was former regime elements, foreign and domestic terrorists, and organized criminal gangs. On November 7, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi declared a 60-day state of emergency limited to Ramadi and Fallujah, in accordance with the July 6 IIG "Order of Safeguarding National Security." The state of emergency provides broad powers to impose curfews, close off entire towns and cities, take command of intelligence and security forces, and restrict assembly and movement. It remained in effect at year's end.

With the ongoing insurgency limiting access to information, a number of instances in the Report have been difficult to verify. However, there were reports of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, impunity, poor prison conditions--particularly in pretrial detention facilities—and arbitrary arrest and detention. There remained unresolved problems relating to the large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Corruption at all levels of the Government remained a problem. Some aspects of the judicial system were dysfunctional, and there were reports that the judiciary was subject to external influence.

U.S. Department of State | Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004

The Media's Take

Iraq's interim government replaced the human rights abuses of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein with its own offenses — including torture, arbitrary arrests, bribery and death — according to an annual U.S. human rights report. The U.S. State Department's assessment, titled "Country Reports on Human Rights," examines conditions in 196 countries including Iraq, Iran, Russia, Ghana, Guatemala, China and North Korea.

The document, released Monday, said the violent insurgency undermined the government and civic life and promulgated a "continuing shortage of services and staples."

CNN | Report cites Iraq government abuses, progress

Bolton Unplugged

"You're a Communist Party member?"

Replying to Bolton's jab, Pilger explained to him the current politics of Britain: "Well, Labour Party—they're the conservatives." Pilger meant "conservative" as in supporting Prime Minister Tony Blair's embrace of the war in Iraq.

By now Bolton was walking away from Pilger, looking like he much desired a fast separation. With a mischievous (or, some might say, wicked) smile on his face, Bolton shot back, "You're a Communist Party member?"

That was the Kodak moment, and it was captured by Pilger's camera operator. On Planet Bolton, if you inquire too forcefully about civilian casualties, you must be a commie. The Cold War might be over. But at least one senior Bush aide is keeping its spirit alive.

Pilger's documentary, as far as I can tell, has not aired in the United States. I've only seen the scenes involving Bolton and Feith. So I cannot vouch for the entire film. But in a flash, Pilger captured on tape a brief but telling exchange. Call it Bolton unplugged, and it's mean and ugly.

David Corn | A No-Compassion Conservative?

Looking back, it will seem to future generations inexplicable why Americans were unable on their own, and in time to save themselves, to accept a rule of nature so basic that it could be mouthed by an actor, Lawrence Fishburn, in a movie, The Cotton Club.

"You've got to learn," the line went, "That when you push people around, some people push back."

As they should.

As they must.

And as they undoubtedly will.

There is justice in such symmetry.

Ward Churchill | "Some People Push Back"