Code Pink Disrupts Rumsfeld Hearing

Protesters heckled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday, shouting, "Fire Rumsfeld for war crimes" at a congressional hearing to probe the Pentagon's handling of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.



The seven protesters, members of the grass-roots group CodePink Women for Peace, disrupted Rumsfeld's testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee by standing, chanting and raising their hands and pointing at the defense secretary.



"We want Rumsfeld fired and there should be a wider investigation of the brutality of this investigation," said Gail Murphy, one of the group's founders.



I thought the ladies were quite effective today. They were strong and concise without being forceful or belligerent. Nicely done, Code Pink.



[link]

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{Friday Diversions}

:: Flashback, The Game - [link]; via: bruce eisner

:: Human Chess Game - [link]

:: Online Palm Reading - [link]





{Today's Quote}

Beginning the day,

I see that life is a miracle.

Attentive to each moment,

I keep my mind clear like a calm river.

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

~Thich Nhat Hanh



We've got to outvibe this bad juju we've had this week. Go spread some love today. Bring in your neighbor's paper, let a car pull out in front of you, buy the guys lunch behind you at the drivethrough, etc.

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:: Why Rumsfeld Should Go

A few years ago his Pentagon ruled that the United States would no longer be bound by the Geneva Conventions; that Army regulations on the interrogation of prisoners would not be observed; and that many detainees would be held incommunicado and without any independent mechanism of review. Abuses will take place in any prison system. But Mr. Rumsfeld's decisions helped create a lawless regime in which prisoners in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been humiliated, beaten, tortured and murdered -- and in which, until recently, no one has been held accountable. Lead Editorial May 6, 2004, from the Washington Post. [more...]



:: Taboo Tunes

A history of banned bands and censored songs. Filled with raunchy sex ditties, morbid murder ballads, blasphemous satanic songs, paeans to intoxicating substances, and radical political anthems, Taboo Tunes lays the censors' stories bare.



Far from merely recounting dusty history, Taboo Tunes casts a much-needed spotlight on current concerns over civil liberties and artistic freedom in the post-9/11 world. Looks like an interesting book. I remember when Louie, Louie was considered obscene, although I couldn't understand the lyrics, and was surrounded by many rumors. It was even investigated by the FBI. See this Smoking Gun link. [link]



:: We're going to LEAF this weekend. Lake Eden Arts Festival. All types of music and fun improv troupes as well as sufi meditation chanting, tribal belly dancers, a lake, camping facilities, and more.



Oh, cool. My Prozac fits into my Pez dispenser.

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snagged from Anne



Today I've been pruning azalea bushes, and weeding flower beds; getting reading to plant some perennials this weekend. Will plant some eezy-peezy impatiens, petunias, and still deciding on others, to go along with the already up white ground flox, and the purple iris, red tulips, and yellow daffodils in various stages of sproutdom.



Anything to remove my senses from this never-ending biased media infiltration, immersing myself in my little corner of moistened earth. Bush going on Arab television is so beyond phony and days late. And if we have those photos floating around, what happens when cameras aren't snapping? I'm just so revolted over those pictures that I start ranting and babbling and can't find the words.



One person; one vote. (May not apply in some states.)

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:: {Tuesday Morning Webtrail}

May 4, 1970 - Four Dead In Ohio - Kent State Massacre. Today is the 34th annual Commemoration events with William Rivers Pitt the Keynote speaker this afternoon. [link]



::Torture At Abu Ghraib - A "do not miss" piece in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh about the tortured and abused Iraqi soldiers. [link]; and another link of those revolting photos for the many website visitors coming by in search of it. I'm so heartsick over their treatment and humiliation that I want to rise up against the US. How do you think the other inhabitants of the planet feel about us?



:: Paul Krassner - Gadfly of the ’60s still buzzing sounds off on Bush, Nixon and Clay Aiken. [link]



:: Love Parade and Fuck Parade - both held in Berlin; Fuck Parade is on July 5 , Love Parade is July 10. The grassroots Fuck Parade was born in 1997, in Berlin, as a counter-demonstration to the commercialization of the Love Parade and to the creeping gentrification of the neighborhoods around the center of East Berlin. I'd like to see them both.[link]



:: Mondo Man's New Millenium - [link]



:: Keith Richards, Rickie Lee Jones, Ben Harper, Jerry Lee Lewis, along with several other music notables will toast Willie Nelson's 71st birthday by performing at a concert Wednesday in Los Angeles. The USA network is expected to air the event, titled Outlaws and Angels, on May 31. [link]



:: Jagger sings for Alfie. Mick Jagger and the Eurhythmics' Dave Stewart have collaborated on three new songs and the theme music for an upcoming remake of the classic 1966 film Alfie, which stars Jude Law. [link]

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