rachel corrie 3/16/03
IRAQ SPAM
#1 - pot pourri
#2 - signs
#3 - post office
#4 - analogies
iraq spam #1 - pot pourri
Saturday, January 17, 2003
bunch of iraq posts this week:
1. jessica marcus in hawaii
2. ramon in amsterdam
3. curtis chamberlain in portland
4. mark ford in cyberspace
5. david milholland in portland
6. mita & mack in seattle
from jessica marcus:
"Why of course the people don't want war ...But after all it is the
leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is
always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a
democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a
communist dictatorship ...Voice or no voice, the people can always be
brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.
All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce
the pacifists for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger."
-Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II
from ramon:
> >To the tune of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands"...
> >
> >
> >If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq.
> >If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq.
> >If the terrorists are frisky,
> >Pakistan is looking shifty,
> >North Korea is too risky,
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >If we have no allies with us, bomb Iraq.
> >If we think someone has dissed us, bomb Iraq.
> >So to hell with the inspections,
> >Let's look tough for the elections,
> >Close your mind and take directions,
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >It's "pre-emptive non-aggression", bomb Iraq.
> >Let's prevent this mass destruction, bomb Iraq.
> >They've got weapons we can't see,
> >And that's good enough for me
> >'Cos it's all the proof I need
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >If you never were elected, bomb Iraq.
> >If your mood is quite dejected, bomb Iraq.
> >If you think Saddam's gone mad,
> >With the weapons that he had,
> >(And he tried to kill your dad),
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >If your corporate fraud is growin', bomb Iraq.
> >If your ties to it are showin', bomb Iraq.
> >If your politics are sleazy,
> >And hiding that ain't easy,
> >And your manhood's getting queasy,
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >Fall in line and follow orders, bomb Iraq.
> >For our might knows not our borders, bomb Iraq.
> >Disagree? We'll call it treason,
> >Let's make war not love this season,
> >Even if we have no reason,
> >Bomb Iraq.
> >
> >
> >Bolaji Adeola-Badejo
from curtis chamberlain:
BUSH THE TRAGIC PUPPET
Music: PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON
Original words and music by Larry Lipton & Peter Yarrow © 1959
New words by Stephen L. Suffet © 2003
(Special thanks to Joel Landy for helping out with the title and first
line.)
Bush the tragic puppet,
Loved to snort the C,
And frolicked in a big White House,
In Washington, D.C.
Bush the tragic puppet,
Loved to snort the C,
And frolicked in a big White House,
In Washington, D.C.
Little Dickey Cheney,
Loved that puppet, Bush,
Whenever Dick would want a war,
His buttons he would push.
Bush the tragic puppet,
Loved to snort the C,
And frolicked in a big White House,
In Washington, D.C.
Separately they traveled,
Never at one time,
Cheney kept his profile low,
Whenever Bush was flyin',
Petty vassal tyrants,
And Blair of Downing Street,
Would kiss the tush of puppet Bush,
And likewise Cheney's feet.
Now a puppet lives forever,
'Cause his head is made of wood,
Just pull his string, he'll dance and sing,
All around the neighborhood.
One sad day it happened,
Dick Cheney pulled a coup,
And Bush the tragic puppet,
Didn't know what he should do.
First he asked Don Rumsfeld,
Then Condoleeza Rice,
Then he finally asked his Daddy,
To give him some advice.
His Daddy answered Junior,
"Well, that's the way life goes,"
So Bush the tragic puppet,
Shoved a straw back up his nose.
Oh, Bush the tragic puppet,
Loved to snort the C,
And frolicked in a big White House,
In Washington, D.C.
Bush the tragic puppet,
Loved to snort the C,
And frolicked in a big White House,
In Washington, D.C.
from mark ford:
> Subject: Test on Iraq IQ
> Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 14:13:19 -0800
>
> Test on Iraq IQ
>
> By Naseem Rakha, co-founder of Silverton People for
> Peace. Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 8:36 AM
>
> Take the War on Iraq IQ Test Do you know enough to
> justify going to war with Iraq?
> 1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does
> the U.S. have? A:
> 6%
> 2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the
> U.S. have? A: 50%
> 3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves? A:
> Saudi Arabia
> 4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil
> reserves? A: Iraq
> 5. Q: How much is spent on military budgets a year
> worldwide? A: $900+ billion
> 6. Q: How much of this is spent by the U.S.? A: 50%
> 7. Q: What percent of US military spending would
> ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the
> world, according the the UN? A: 10% (that's about
> $40 billion, the amount of funding initially
> requested to fund our retaliatory attack on
> Afghanistan).
> 8. Q: How many people have died in wars since World
> War II? A: 86 million
> 9. Q: How long has Iraq had chemical and biological
> weapons? A: Since the early 1980's.
> 10. Q: Did Iraq develop these chemical & biological
> weapons on their own? A: No, the materials and
> technology were supplied by the US government, along
> with Britan and private corporations.
> 11. Q: Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use
> of gas warfare against Iran? A: No
> 12. Q: How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using
> gas in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988? A: 5,000
>
> 13. Q: How many western countries condemned this
> action at the time? A: 0
> 14. Q: How many gallons of agent Orange did America
> use in Vietnam? A:
> 17 million.
> 15. Q: Are there any proven links between Iraq and
> September 11th terrorist attack? A: No
> 16. Q: What is the estimated number of civilian
> casualties in the Gulf War? A: 35,000
> 17. Q: How many casualties did the Iraqi military
> inflict on the western forces during the Gulf War ?
> A: 0
> 18. Q: How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were
> buried alive by U.S. tanks with ploughs mounted on
> the front? A: 6,000
> 19. Q: How many tons of depleted uranium were left
> in Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War? A: 40 tons
> 20. Q: What according to the UN was the increase in
> cancer rates in Iraq between 1991 and 1994? A: 700%
> 21. Q: How much of Iraq's military capacity did
> America claim it had destroyed in 1991? A: 80%
> 22. Q: Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its
> weapons for anything other than deterrence and self
> defense? A: No
> 23. Q: Does Iraq present more of a threat to world
> peace now than 10 years ago? A: No
> 24. Q: How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon
> predicted in the event of an attack on Iraq in
> 2002/3? A: 10,000
> 25. Q: What percentage of these will be children? A:
> Over 50%
> 26. Q: How many years has the U.S. engaged in air
> strikes on Iraq? A:
> 11 years
> 27. Q: Was the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq
> between December 1998 and September 1999? A: No
> 28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on
> Iraq between December
> 1998 and September 1999? A: 20 million
> 29. Q: How many years ago was UN Resolution 661
> introduced, imposing strict sanctions on Iraq's
> imports and exports? A: 12 years
> 30. Q: What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989
> (per 1,000 births)? A: 38
> 31. Q: What was the estimated child death rate in
> Iraq in 1999 (per
> 1,000 births)? A: 131 (that's an increase of 345%)
> 32. Q: How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by
> October 1999 as a result of UN sanctions? A: 1.5
> million
> 33. Q: How many Iraqi children are estimated to have
> died due to sanctions since 1997? A: 750,000
> 34. Q: Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq?
> A: No
> 35. Q: How many inspections were there in November
> and December 1998? A: 300
> 36. Q: How many of these inspections had problems?
> A: 5
> 37. Q: Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to
> the Ba'ath Party HQ? A: Yes
> 38. Q: Who said that by December 1998, "Iraq had in
> fact, been disarmed to a level unprecedented in
> modern history." A: Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief.
> 39. Q: In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity
> to develop weapons of mass destruction did the UN
> weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and
> dismantled? A: 90%
> 40. Q: Is Iraq willing to allow the weapons
> inspectors back in? A: Yes
> 41. Q: How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by
> 1992? A: Over 65
> 42. Q: How many UN resolutions on Israel did America
> veto between 1972 and
> 1990? A: 30+
> 43. Q: How much does the U.S. fund Israel a year? A:
> $5 billion
> 44. Q: How many countries are known to have nuclear
> weapons? A: 8
> 45. Q:How many nuclear warheads has Iraq got? A: 0
> 46. Q: How many nuclear warheads has US got? A: over
> 10,000
> 47. Q: Which is the only country to use nuclear
> weapons? A: the US
> 48. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Israel have?
> A: Over 400
> 49. Q: Has Israel ever allowed UN weapons
> inspections? A: No
> 50. Q: What percentage of the Palestinian
> territories are controlled by Israeli settlements?
> A: 42%
> 51. Q: Is Israel illegally occupying Palestinian
> land? A: Yes
> 52. Q: Which country do you think poses the greatest
> threat to global peace: Iraq or the U.S.? A: ????
> 53. Q: Who said, "Our lives begin to end the day we
> become silent about things that matter"? A: Dr.
> Martin Luther King, Jr.
from david milholland:
January 18 some million people across the U.S. and around the world marched peacefully against the war. Last week, stock prices plummeted, swallowing up the slim gains made earlier this year. U.N. inspections in Iraq have turned up nothing except empty shell casings. Despite key allies' strongly stated concerns, as the U.S. economy further founders and the Venezuelan political [read oil] crisis continues, it is no coincidence that we're unilaterally headed to war, with thin international support.
The Sunday Boston Globe revealed the Bush Administration's classified plans - "Planning underway to manage Iraqi oil," January 26, 2003. Secretary of State Powell, quickly tiring of inspections that he and the U.S. helped initiate, had this to say: ".whatever form of custodianship there is, initially in the hands of the power that went in, or under international auspices at some point, [the oil] will be held for and used for the people of Iraq" (emphasis added). This is an oil grab pure and simple, in planning since Bush assumed office. Iraq's people, and our armed forces, will pay the price.
All in Congress [read Gordon Smith] who accepted Bush and Powell's glib assurances that we'd "do the right thing" through the U.N. now know that this administration stoops to conquer with no evidence to buttress its position and despite great and very reasoned opposition. Is there no shame?
from mita & mack:
Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General of the US has drawn up articles of
impeachment against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft. There is a
petition being organized and these will be hand delivered to the
Democratic leaders and the judiciary committee. To sign the petition go
to
http://www.VoteToImpeach.org
You can read the articles and sign the petition.
iraq spam #2 - signs
From: Mimi (Colombe Leland )
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Here are a few of the SIGNS that appeared at the Washington Rally, collected by someone whose fingers were not numb.
1) These colors don't run the world.
2) One nation under surveillance.
3) How did our oil get under their sand?
4) Go Solar, not Ballistic.
5) Who would Jesus bomb?
6) Start Drafting SUV Drivers Now.
7) Don't blame me, I voted with the majority.
8) Buck Fush!
9) It's NUCLEAR, not NUCULAR, you idiot!
10) Patriots are idiots - Matriarchy Now!
11) Resistance is Fertile.
12) (Pictures of sheep carrying flags) Stop Mad Sheep Disease Now.
13) (UFW sign) Pick Fruit, not Fights.
14) (On a five year old) More Candy Less War.
15) Say can you see my democracy?
16) (With pictures of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld) Asses of Evil.
17) It's the oil, stupid.
18) War is expensive, Peace is priceless.
19) Read between the Pipelines
20) No More BuShit.
21) Smart weapons, Dumb president.
22) The only thing we have to fear is Bush himself.
23) How many Lives per Gallon?
24) Peace Takes Brains
25) Anything War can do, Peace can do better.
26) Negotiation Not Annihilation.
27) Make touchdowns, not war - Go Raiders!
28) Another patriot for peace.
29) Oh Say can You Cease?
30) Star Spangled Bummer
31) Don't Arm a Son of a Bush
32) Don't do it George, Dad will still love you.
33) Power to the Peaceful
34) The last time we listened to a Bush, we wandered in the desert for 40 years.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." - Gandhi
From: stephen spyrit
Sent: Thursday, February 06
fred,
i'm throwing the slogans i was able to jot down at the last march, didn't write down alot
of the mass produced etc...i wonder what's the difference between
teachers for peace and teachers against the war?...
all love all the time, stephen.
Think outside the Bomb
What happens after Bombs?
BushAshcroft (all s's as swastikas)
Military might is not military right.
Kiss my tush Bush
4 year old for Peace
Pooches for peace
No Bombs will get Saddam
university of portland for Peace
Who would Jesus Bomb?
War in Irak = Poverty
Stop sending money to Israel
What would Gandhi do?
Profile this (middle finger)
Wake up America Bush knew about 911
No Irak Attack
Free Palestine
Hatred got us into this Love will get us out
Have the courage for Peace
PCC for peace
Teachers against the War
Pre-empt Bush
What if your kids were collateral damage
Bush steals from the poor to pay for the war
Peace is worth living for not worth dying for
Daddy's little despot
Our lives end the day we end thinking of what matters
War is camoflage. The emperor Bush has no clothes.
No hOILy War
People Not Profit
Peace is not the absence of tension but the presence of Justice.(MLK)
Silence=Permission Speak Out!
Stop the oil Mob
The World is not your Ranch
No Killing to Keep drilling.
We're Back!!
Rumsfeld is the devil!
Schools not Bombs
Food not Bombs
Nesara=Peace
Peacemaking works
Dignity Village
UN not US
World to Bush - Back off Irak
Who makes u.s. the boss of the world??
Bush and Dick go together
Out of Irak
Peace is Patriotic
When did "we the people", become we the government?
dissent is an american value
Books not Bombs
War is not healthy for children and other living things.
Resist Refuse Redirect
Who's the President? The answer is a no brainer.
United We Stand against the War.
Do you really want to pay for murder?
Violence begets Violence
When the Rich Wage War Poor Pay
Tell George NO!
Bush is a PooPoo head
Abolish the Patriot Act..Give America Back
Pre-emptive Peace.
Stop ALL weapons of mass destruction
Stop weapons of mass poverty
Against the War::
Veterans, Vegans, Four year olds, Students, Teachers, ect....
For Peace::,
Mennonites, Doctors, Students,Teachers,Business ect..
Brains not Bombs
King George of the OILiarchy
Peace=Tara
Peace not war in our name.
Has anyone seen my constitutional rights?
One world One peace
War is Hell
Retaliate with World Peace
read my lips? no war
Rabid Right Radical
U.S. Axis of Evil
Not my president
What would _____ do? (Jesus,Martin Luther King,Chief Seattle,Gandhi, Lenny Bruce, Elvis...)
Disarm George Bush
There is an alternative energy (sun icon, wind icon)
Secede from the Union (map oregon,california washington)
Power to the Peaceful
Business for Peace.
Peace is good Business
Peace begins with you
No War No Way
Grandmas against War
Bush's Ideals are MIA
Resist
Ban Uranium
Stop the Oil Administration
Support Peace drive less
Thou shalt not steal oil!
War is just Terrorism with a bigger budget
No-one wants your war
Free Palestine
People of the World Unite
Visualize a world free of Peace Sucking Parasites
Corporate Policy is Racism
It's not a War it's an invasion
Capitalism in Crisis
Bush doesn't have our consent
Find Osama First
What About N. Korea?
War is not the Answer
War Breeds terrorism
Fund education not war
Stop US terror!
Think outside the Bomb
Smart bombs by dumb people
The best President Enron could buy
Hey Bush! Avenge your father on your own time
Pray for Peace
Wage Peace
Weapon of Mass Destruction (picture of George Bush)
$ 4 Schools not War
War itch for the rich
The test of power is avoiding war not creating it.
Bush is an Oil Slut
Democracy not Imperialism
Your Violence will not protect you
Declare Peace
We are flipping the finger to the World
War is always a defeat for Humanity
What makes reality violent? Think of the children.
Florida was a Sham
Killing for Peace is like Fucking for chastity
George Bush likes to kill.That's fucked up.
No Fossil Fuel Fool
You are not my president
Just Say No!
Voice of the People
Make Love not War
4 Christ's Sake no war
Bush is a major league Asshole
Fuck Bush
This war is supported by the gullible
90% of war deaths are civilian
No future for people or the planet with war
Impeach Bush
Are you waiting until they come for you?
No American Empire
Peace in every step
Will you feel safe if we invade irak?
mujeres against the war
jesus against the occupation
US=rogue nation
Blessed are the peace makers.
Hate and Violence create war
Peace=Equality
Patriots for Peace
You can bomb the world to Pieces but you can't Bomb it to Peace
Stop Violence Now
Any who seek to comfort rather than to speak plainly, reassure rather than instruct, promise satisfaction rather than reveal frustration - they deny that greatness and drain that strength. For today as it was in the beginning, it is the truth that makes us free.
- Robert Kennedy
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
iraq spam #3 - post office
From: brady smith
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003
I went to the local post office this morning, and I noticed something very interesting. There is a flyer posted on the window about suspicious mail, and all of the suspicious criteria apply to the post office itself...For example:
#1 - Restrictive markings. The signs at all the post office windows that say "This window closed."
#2 - From a foreign country. My clerk was definitely not a native speaker.
#3 - Misspelled words. The handwritten sign taped to the glass said that if I had a problem, to knock on the 'mangers' door.
#4 - Lopsided or uneven. The only open window was on the left side. The entire right half of the post office where the PO boxes are was empty.
#5 - Strange odor.
#6 - Rigid or bulky. My clerk was both.
#7 - Excessive tape or string. There was tape and string all over that place.
#8 - Oily stains or discolorations. Just look at the floor.
Basically, if the Post Office itself were mailed to me, I'd call in the SWAT team to open it.
B
(brady lives in brooklyn)
iraq spam #4 - analogies
Sunday, March 2, 2003
Today the country has fallen into the hands of a coterie of fanatical (wanting to limit everything except the power of capital), ignorant (recognizing only the reality of their own firepower), hypocritical (two measures for all ethical judgements, one for us and another for them), and ruthless B-52 plotters. How did this happen? The question is rhetorical, for there is no single answer, and it is idle, for no answer will dent their power yet. But to ask it in this way in the night reveals the enormity of what has happened.
The political mechanism of the new tyranny, although it needs highly sophisticated technology in order to function, is starkly simple. Usurp the words "democracy", "freedom", etc. Impose - whatever the disasters - the new profit-making and impoverishing economic chaos everywhere. Insure that all frontiers are one-way: open to the tyranny, closed to others. And eliminate every opposition by calling it terrorist.
- john berger in the current Harper's
The United States, of course, is free to decide that a cadaverous satrap, kept under close surveillance, affects its national (and familial) interests. If the American administration is intent on precipitating the war that is Osama bin Laden's fondest wish, if it wants to give fundamentalism, which is currently ebbing, a second chance, we can say only, so much the worse for you - while regretting that history's most constant law, the perverse effect, is not better known to the Pentagon. Provoking chaos in the name of order, and resentment instead of gratitude, is something to which all empires are accustomed. And thus it is that they coast, from military victory to victory, to their final decline.
- regis debray in last Sunday's NY Times
(frank mangione jr. in today's Times in support of Debray: "Europe has seen all too well the tragedy that results from the pre-emptive use of force to impose messianic notions of order.")
for comic relief, earlier in the week the times had a full-page ad portraying the war against iraq as monumental bail-out of the huge, disastrously-failing pharmaceutical conglomerates, and illustrated with juxtaposed photos of the burning wtc and the burning reichstag.
the prospect of war keeps reminding me of crystal's two big perennial philosophical predicaments:
1. freud's narcissism of minor difference, i.e., the obligation "to denounce those most similar to us, because the resemblances are too telling of our vulnerabilities..." (j. letham)
2. and how the only apparent defense to being prey is to be predator.
where is dr. king?