The Runcible Blog

Tonight I watched Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder, a documentary on HBO. It was very sickening and hard to watch. The opening shots are the prison security camera recording the brutal murder of an inmate. The killer, motivated by some "white power" crap, stabbed the guy 67 times. Ugh...it is just awful. I can't describe it.

How anybody can stand on top of someone, stab the person repeatedly in the back, face, and neck, and watch that person die is absolutely beyond me. The documentary seemed to imply that life in prison will drive prisoners to violence, but there is no excusing such a terrible act. Now the murderer, who was serving life in prison for a previous brutal murder, is on death row. A short addendum to the movie stated that the killer attacked a Muslim inmate after 9/11/01 apparently in retaliation for the terrorist attacks.

Now, I don't believe that the death penalty will solve anything, but geeze, what can you do with such violent people? How can we solve this problem? How can we as a "civilized" society teach people that violence is not the way to solve conflicts? And especially, how can we attempt such a difficult task while we bomb, kill, destroy, and project the concept of "might makes right" to the rest of the world and our own people? There's so much violence out there. It's downright discouraging.

---
On a side note, I have a shirt that I've worn for a bunch of years. It says:

Marines
Travel to exotic, distant lands. Meet exciting, unusual people.
And kill them.

A while back, my father remarked that I probably wouldn't wear that shirt today considering my anti-war stance. I was sort of surprised because I always understood that the quote was one that opposed war. Of course, it's a paraphrase of a quote in Full Metal Jacket by "Joker", a soldier who wasn't exactly enthusiastic about being in Vietnam. He said "I wanted to be the first kid on my block with a confirmed kill." But his tone was obviously sarcastic. So, I always understood the quote on my shirt as one that pointed out the harsh irony of war. That may sound contrived, but it's true.

For some reason, it never occurred to me that other people wouldn't see the absurdity of the quote. Now, I look back to all the times I've worn that shirt and had people comment on it, and I wonder if they got the message that I understood. I don't think they did, and that's too bad. I guess I should've been less subtle.

I also have a bumper sticker on my car that reads, "I couldn't go to work today because the voices told me to stay home and clean the guns." I thought that was a pretty funny quote at the time, although it doesn't apply to me personally. I'd like to think that if you knew me, it would be obvious that I'm not a gun-toting freak. But I suppose it's not obvious enough. This brings to mind a conversation from the aforementioned movie:

"You've written 'Born to Kill' on your helmet."
"Yes, sir."
Why did you do that?"
"I don't know, sir. Everyone writes things on their helmets."
"You write 'Born to Kill' on your helmet and you wear a peace button. What is that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke?"
"No, sir."
"Well, what is it supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Answer that question, corporal, or you'll be standing tall before the man."
"Well, sir," Joker says with exaggerated thoughtfulness, "I suppose...I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man."
"The what?"
"The dual nature of man?... You know, sir, the Jungian thing about aggression and xenophobia on one hand, and altruism and cooperation on the other?"
There is a fairly considerable mouth-breathing pause from the colonel.
"Whose side are you on, son?"
"Our side, sir."
"MARINE!"
"Yes, sir."
"Don't you love your country?"
"Yes, I do, sir."
"Then how about getting with the program? Why don't you jump on the team and come in for the big win?"
Joker still manages to keep a straight face. "I'm certainly ready to do that, sir."
"Confess corporal, confess that you want peace."
"I confess, sir."
The colonel leans closer and lowers his voice, "Son, we've all got to keep our heads until this peace craze blows over."

Today's Washington Post reports that an "unembedded" (read: uncensored) journalist has "disappeared" after apparently reporting too much:

Phil Smucker, who writes for the Christian Science Monitor, told his paper yesterday that military police were going through his belongings and were concerned that he had disclosed too much information in an interview, according to Monitor Foreign Editor David Scott.

Despite repeated attempts to contact Smucker, "that's the last we've heard from him," Scott said. "He was upset. I don't think he felt like he'd done anything."

"Some general in Qatar blew a fuse and said, 'Get rid of this guy,' " said Smucker's father, John, who lives in Alexandria.

But censorship during war is nothing new. In fact, it's an important part of the strategy:

Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.
--General William Westmoreland

Meanwhile, supposed "patriots" have effectively shut down the Al-Jazeera website while claiming to be protecting freedom. The irony is lost on these particular computer hackers.

Another word that ends in "y" is hypocrisy. Today's example comes from our much-loved government, who won't reveal where they're keeping Iraqi prisoners of war. No big deal, you say? Well, actually, the Geneva Convention (yes, the same one Donald Rumsfeld whines about the Iraqis violating) grants the Red Cross the right to inspect and interview any POW's for evidence of mistreatment. So there you have it -- the daily dose of hypocrisy. Kinda brings this to mind:

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.
--Ernest Hemingway

Finally, here's a poignant sentiment from one of our old, irrelevant presidents (after all, he didn't have to deal with 9/11.....only that little skirmish known as the Civil War):

Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so, whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose -- and you allow him to make war at pleasure. If today, he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada, to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us' but he will say to you, 'Be silent; I see it, if you don't.'"
--Abraham Lincoln

It's been a long time since I listened to "Pretty Hate Machine" by Nine Inch Nails, so I popped it in the car CD player. Man, what a great album! I remember way back when I used to make ANSI art of the NIN logo with backwards N using a now-ancient 386. Those were the days. But now, for some reason, I actually understand the lyrics on this album. That says something about what I know now compared to then.

Yesterday I ended my brief and futile three day fast in protest of the war. I lost 5 pounds and gained a slightly different perspective. I know fasting won't stop this war, but it helps remind me of the much greater suffering happening across the world. Maybe if lots of people went on hunger strikes, it could make a difference in public opinion. I might try fasting again.

I've had a few arguments with people as a result of the generally pro-war attitude at work, the Eagle Tribune. Since the newspaper itself is noticeably biased in favor of war, it's been discouraging to hear so many people cheerleading for the president. Maybe if the paper even bothered to present the harsh realities of war, we wouldn't have to read editorials that describe the "shock and awe" bombing campaign as "riveting". Maybe if more people saw the picture of this guy: , we would think a little harder before sending young people off to die in a war of choice. He won't be coming home, and for what good reason did he die? This prisoner of war might be subjected to torture or death because of his involvement in this illegal war. He is merely a mechanic and looked understandably frightened when his interrogators recorded his answers to their questions. He said he has no problem with Iraqis; he doesn't want to kill anyone but would only shoot back at those who try to kill him. Another POW, when asked why he was in Iraq, answered, "because they told me to come here".

The President, he's got his war
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us a rhyme or reason
Have one doubt, they call it treason
With chicken feathers all without one nut

Goddamn it!
Tryin' to make it real compared to what!
Sock it to me! (Woo)

From "Compared to What" by Les McCann

This is the part of war you won't see on CNN:

from Al-Jazeera

Isn't it generally understood that when you hang out with someone or go on a "date" with someone that you shouldn't start having long cell phone conversations in the middle of it? When did such interruptions become polite? Those nextel 2 way things are the worst -- you have to hear both sides of the impolite conversation. It wouldn't be a big deal if it was a short conversation or just saying "I'm busy. call ya later", but after a while, it's just not cool. Come on now; I'm not being unfair.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned or something, but I thought it was considered a good idea to pay attention to your date. Then again, I'm not hip to culture these days. Apparently, "rude" is the new "polite".

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
--William Shakespeare

As I watched live footage of a foggy sunrise over Baghdad and listened to the familiar sounds of early morning: birds singing, dogs barking, a passing car; for a moment I was transported to that city of 6 million people and could almost smell the pleasant aroma of dawn in Spring. For a brief moment I imagined waking up to a beautiful sunrise and the beginnings of Spring only to be greeted with a barrage of 1,000lb. bombs dropping on my neighborhood. It is nearly impossible for most Americans to imagine such a situation. It is truly sickening to think about how sheltered we are when many people react with excitement towards the "fireworks" of this aggressive war.

It's been reported that the president went to bed early tonight -- around 10pm. Meanwhile, half a world away, on the president's orders, thousands of soldiers march into an uncertain, dangerous future, and millions of innocent Iraqis awake to death and destruction, again.

War being the greatest of evils, all its accessories necessarily partake of the same character.
--T.S. Eliot

My only "support" for the troops is to ask them to refuse to fight an illegal, immoral war. If they proceed, they are just as accountable as the Nazi military was. Ignorance of international law does not exempt those who would blindly follow their leaders into an unjust war.

A “just war” is hospitable to every self-deception on the part of those waging it, none more than the certainty of virtue, under whose shelter every abomination can be committed with a clear conscience.
--Alexander Cockburn

How many Iraqis will die in order for us to "liberate" them? Will we Americans even be allowed to see the true destruction that will result from this arrogant action?

What else can I say that has not already been said during the months and months of worldwide opposition to this war? Today marks a tragic point in history: the day when unbridled military power succeeded in dismantling international alliances, subverting strong world opinion, and ushering in a new age of blatant imperial ambitions.

Shed a tear for Freedom and Democracy tonight

Bush's war rhetoric makes me sick. I, and millions of other people around the world, are powerless to stop this illegal war that begins in less than 48 hours. The president and his handlers have been smirking and telling everyone "who cares what you think?" while dismantling international alliances, alienating some of our closest friends, bribing nations for support, and spouting outright lies in order to scare the population into following this aggressive action. Make no mistake, an invasion of Iraq will be illegal under the same laws that Germany and Japan were prosecuted after WWII. Not only that, but by definition, U.S. troops will be war criminals even though they are following the orders of their commanders. However, it's unlikely that any American will be held accountable for their actions considering the U.S. rejected the International Criminal Court and invokes international law only when it suits American interests. In the words of Chevy Chase: "This is crazy. This is CRAZY. THIS IS CRAZY!" I watched a Frontline show highlighting the past 20 years of the Iraq situation. One clip showed a kurdish refugee crying out for help after the U.S abandoned the Kurds to face Saddam's wrath. American soldiers could see what was happening but wouldn't help. Seeing her pleas for help made me tear up a little bit, but let's not have any delusions that this war is anything but a selfish power grab. Those who latch on to the humanitarian angle for justifying this war are fooling themselves. Bush doesn't care about Kurds and never has. Considering Bush doesn't even care about poor Americans, why should anyone buy his lies about fighting to "liberate" the Iraqis? Not In My Name This is not my war. Bush is not my president. The only support I give to our military is by asking them to come home. If they decide to follow orders and kill civilians, they are criminals who deserve to be prosecuted. I don't hope that they be killed just as I don't wish for Iraqi deaths. But when 3,000 bombs fall on the 6 million inhabitants of Baghdad, who will be so ignorantly hypocritical to say that their cause is "peace"? The soldiers heading for Iraq will be aiming at the wrong Republican guard. Let us restore Democracy in the United States before we attempt to foster "liberty" in the Middle East at the barrel of a gun.

I'm tired, incoherent, very surprised and somewhat confused. Just when you think you might know someone, it turns out you have no idea. What surprised me most was not the actual event but that it happened only last month. When I heard that, alarms went off and questions arose. But, what can I say? What do I know? I can't "hate" someone because of such a thing, but I also can't ignore the caution signs that just popped in front of my face. I know I'm being intentionally vague since there's no need to be explicit. I know what I mean, and I think someone else does too. I better sleep on it.

It's way past my bed time.... http://funk.shacknet.nu/ is now a 300Mhz Pentium II with 288MB of RAM and about 8GB of hard drive space. Impressive, no? This is a test post to see if the database is working (it should be).

Last night I went out with Kerry from Saugus to Lasertag and then saw About Shmidt (highly recommended!). It was an action-packed, fun time. --- In other news, I finally "published" the entries on my Travel Blog from my trip last month. There are still a couple things I wanted to add, including a final entry, but it's been a month, and I'm already forgetting what happened. I'll get around to adding that stuff later.

Since most media outlets have decided to charge into war with the administration, there are some important stories that are largely unheard. For instance, there's the story of the U.S. spying on UN delegates in order to drum up support for a new resolution to justify the war (even though the new resolution doesn't authorize war). This story has been overlooked since there may be some question as to the validity of the leaked memo. However, the memo hasn't been refuted either.

While most news organizations were extensively covering the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, I didn't hear a peep about the rumors that he may have been captured months ago and is just now being revealed to the public. The linked story makes a lot of sense from an intelligence stand point, and I'd like to see more journalists follow up on the lead.

Finally, there's the story of Hussein Kamel, the highest ranking Iraqi officer to defect. He's been cited by the administration as the most reliable source of information regarding Iraq's weapons program. What we didn't know until now is that he told UNSCOM inspectors and CIA agents in interviews that Iraq had destroyed all of its WMD after the Gulf War. The inspectors kept the truth under the lid because they didn't want to let Saddam know what they knew. Unfortunately, the American public didn't know about it either.

Hopefully the media will start being a little more responsible, unbiased, and truthful about this immoral, illegal war, but that's wishful thinking.

(Emphasis on the tool part)

A few days ago, Bush had an informal meeting with a faithful constituent from Alabama. Here are some startling quotes:

Bush talked about his struggle to persuade that bunch in New York -- the United Nations -- to act against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

No media bias here, folks...
Bush:

"I don't know what they're going to do, he said. But I can tell you this: I know what I'm going to do, and Saddam Hussein is going to be disarmed. I told them they could be the League of Nations or the United Nations. That's up to them and the history books ."

So, to answer your question, Yes, war is inevitable.

I came from Texas, and I'll go back to Texas. And in Midland, Texas, when I grew up, there were more signs saying Get us out of the UN' than there were saying God Bless America.' And there were plenty of God Bless America' signs.

I bet there were more STOP signs than "Get us out of the UN" signs, but I suppose that won't sway the good ol' boy from Midland Texas (who attended the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and graduated from Yale. Where is Yale again? Oh, that's right -- not Texas) from dismantling the UN in his grab for power.

Ok, here's where Bush gets scary:

"I feel the comfort and the power of knowing that literally millions of Americans I'm never going to meet ... say my name to the Almighty every day and ask him to help me, he said. My friend, Jiang Zemin in China, has about a billion and a half folks, and I don't think he can say that. And my friend, Vladimir Putin, I like him, but he can't say that.

This guy thinks he's doing God's work. Does anyone else find that prospect disconcerting? Are we going to see an Executive Order declaring Bush infallible? I shudder at the thought of a Bush re-election...

Read the entire account at the Mobile Register

I jammed with Nathan from Winchester yesterday. I mostly played his cello -- the first time I've played a cello. It's weird since the thing is tuned in 5th's rather than 4th's, but it's quite a cool instrument. I don't know; the stuff we usually play (the stuff he likes to play) is in odd time-signatures and is atonal.

Then, we went to see Joe Maneri, Matt Maneri, and I think Matt Moran (not sure) play at the Zeitgeist art gallery in Cambridge. Well, that music is weird -- atonal, no particular key or time signature, no repetition or mimicry. It wasn't easy for me to appreciate that kind of music. To me, it seems like music for music's sake. It's very very serious music and except for a few moments, I didn't particularly feel any emotion while listening, unless confusion counts. Although I can appreciate the difficulty of playing such a rigid, restricted (but somehow free) type of music, I don't think it's a good idea to take music so seriously. I think there are extremes in music seriousness, with maybe Parliament/Funkadelic on the music-for-fun extreme and atonal stuff on the other extreme. Maybe it would be better to stay somewhere in between those extremes.

Even though I mostly couldn't get into the music, I couldn't criticize Joe. He's seems like a great guy -- a short and stout man in his 70's with a long white beard. He's playing the music that he hears in his head despite the people who don't appreciate the microtonal squeaks and moans, and for that I have to give him credit. He told me he doesn't play for himself and would stop playing if he didn't have an audience. I thought that was a noble sentiment.

Last night I had a dream about that girl again. It's weird because I haven't had such a dream in several months. In the dream, she was telling me the stuff she's been doing with her guy friends -- stuff that I definitely don't want to hear. I wish she had never told me what she did on that day in September(and other days before that). It's still haunting me after all this time. But I don't know where the dream came from-- maybe being in Cambridge last night brought back some memories. Oh well, moving on...