The Furious Spinner

Here are some statistics: American Military Casualties in Iraq since 3/19/03: 1,657. Estimated US military wounded in Iraq: between 15,000-38,000. Reported number of Iraqi civilians killed by military intervention in Iraq: between 21,834-24,776. (Don't forget that Iraq is a mess right now. There is more violence, as well as less electricity, less clean water, less food, and less infrastructure since the US invasion.)

Here's a little of what Amnesty International had to say about human right abuses by the US government during 2004: "Hundreds of detainees continued to be held without charge or trial at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Thousands of people were detained during US military and security operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and routinely denied access to their families and lawyers. Military investigations were initiated or conducted into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by US personnel in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and into reports of deaths in custody and ill-treatment by US forces elsewhere in Iraq, and in Afghanistan and Guantnamo. Evidence came to light that the US administration had sanctioned interrogation techniques that violated the UN Convention against Torture. Pre-trial military commission hearings opened in Guantanamo but were suspended pending a US court ruling." We all knew it, but now AI has made it official, again.

You can find a chronology of US war crimes and torture in "The Crimes of Empire" by Tom Stephens.

Once again, the Doonesbury strip for Sunday says it all.

I am sorry for the deaths of those men and women who go to war. War is always a failure. Their loss of life is a failure of our government—a failure of diplomacy, a failure of communication, a failure of imagination. And during this weekend as the media froths over "heroes" and how great war is (war is hell but isn't it a great adventure underlines everything they say), it is important to remember those who have stood for peace, too. I thank all those known and unknown who have worked for peace. Here are the names of some of the people I have known who have worked (and are working) for peace: Linda, Val, Millie, Mario, Mark, Bob, Claudia, Daniel, Susan, Daniel, Teresa, Connie, Amber, David, Barbara, Peter, Jeff, Joelle, Rhoda, Ira, Jerry, Sylvia, Rita, Evine, Lucia, Paul, Michelle, Patricia, Theresa, Keith, Sam, Anna, Dan, Pat, Scott, Diane, Krista, Rebecca, Michael, Sola, Theresa, Cosmos, MB, Tina, Tom, Linda, and so many more. Thank you, thank you, for all your hard work and dedication.

Blessed be.

All photographs and written material copyright © 2003-2008 by Kim Antieau unless otherwise indicated. May not be used without permission.