^^^^ Perhaps Somalis could help their neighbors into starting the fireworks. Let's all be busy ruining each other's countries instead of having all the wrestling in Somali-inhabited lands.

Eritrea-Ethiopia deadline expires A deadline for long-time foes Ethiopia and Eritrea to agree their shared border is to expire at midnight. The date was set a year ago by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission which was created following a bloody border war between the two countries. The commission says if it fails to hear anything it will consider the line it has drawn as the official border. Both sides say they accept its ruling, but neither has moved their troops to their own side of a buffer zone. Some 80,000 people died during the 1998-2000 war. The United Nations has a peacekeeping force of 1,700 charged with monitoring a security zone along the new border. The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, says the commission can hardly be said to have succeeded. TENSE BORDER Dec 2000: Peace agreement Apr 2002: Border ruling Mar 2003: Ethiopian complaint over Badme rejected Sep 2003: Ethiopia asks for new ruling Feb 2005: UN concern at military build-up Oct 2005: Eritrea restricts peacekeepers' activities Nov 2005: UN sanctions threat if no compliance with 2000 deal Its imminent disappearance leaves the two armies glaring at each other across a still unresolved border. What was meant to be a demilitarised border is now thick with troops and bristling with weapons and representatives of the commission have not been able to get in to set up border markers, our correspondent says. The two sides will not talk to each other and there is no obvious way to move the issue towards a more satisfactory conclusion, she says. In the past few weeks there has been talk of UN involvement and perhaps the appointment of a facilitator to work with the two sides. But so far no such initiative has been announced. ****** denial The Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders, Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afewerki respectively, were allies until after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Their rebel movements had fought together to overthrow long-time Ethiopian ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam. The 1998-2000 war was ostensibly fought over the dusty town of Badme, which was subsequently awarded to Eritrea by the border commission. But to this day the settlement remains under Ethiopian administration. Meanwhile, Mr Meles has denied accusations made by separatist rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia that his troops have committed massive human rights abuses against civilians. The rebel ****** National Liberation Front accused government forces of executing local residents during counter-insurgency operations in the region. Mr Meles said such violations would not take place because his government respected human rights. He said that given his own experience as a former rebel leader he knew that harassing civilians was the gravest mistake a government fighting an insurgency could make. Published: 2007/11/30 12:25:00 GMT Source

Yaa Allah.

Daily struggle for displaced families from Mogadishu AFGOOYE, Somalia, November 30 (UNHCR) – Weeks of rain have turned the countryside around the Somali town of Afgooye a rich green, but the regular showers have also made life even more miserable for the tens of thousands of displaced people here. Afgooye has been swamped by people fleeing waves of fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government forces and insurgents this year in the capital Mogadishu, located some 30 kilometres to the east. There are now an estimated 200,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in this normally sleepy town and many are living in appalling conditions. They are among some 600,000 people who have left Mogadishu. Makeshift settlements cover every available patch of land and the simple shelters are packed so close together that it is sometimes impossible to walk between them. A population the size of a city has become dependent on humanitarian aid to survive, while the influx of new arrivals over the past few weeks means food, shelter, water and health care are insufficient to meet demand. Sanitation remains a major problem. Jerry cans in hand, people queue along the road, waiting for the water truck to arrive so that they have something to drink and cook with. They bathe, whether they want to or not, when the rain showers pelt the town. These people rely heavily on humanitarian aid agencies like UNHCR, which has distributed assistance to up to 90,000 displaced Somalis in Afgooye this year. The UN refugee agency is preparing further distributions once it has replenished aid stocks, which were emptied two weeks ago following a fresh influx from Mogadishu. Many of the IDPs have tragic tales to tell and many show the signs of their suffering. A little girl's head is scarred where she was hit by a stray bullet; women carry malnourished children with distended bellies. A three-month old baby with grayish skin can barely move his head. "He suffers from watery diarrhoea because his mother lives in a squalid settlement next to the river, where there is no sanitation," an aid worker explained. A lot of families are distraught after losing track of relatives during their forced exit from Mogadishu. Several said they had to give money to armed men at checkpoints set up along the road to Afgooye. Aid workers also complained of difficulties at checkpoints, where men were demanding payments before letting the aid through. Anab, who arrived in Afgooye a week ago with her 10 children, claimed she was ordered to vacate her house in Mogadishu by Ethiopian soldiers and became separated from her husband during the panicked flight out of the city. She went to Afgooye to join friends who were living in one of the settlements after fleeing the capital earlier this year. "They let me share their tiny shelter, but it cannot accommodate 20 people, which means many of us have to sleep in the open air," she told UNHCR. The constant rains make a hard life even harder and people search for new ways to protect themselves with the limited resources available. Khadija managed to collect some rags to cover her shelter made of sticks, but without plastic sheeting it will collapse in heavy rains. UNHCR has distributed the precious sheeting in the past, but the new arrivals have nothing. Isman, who fled Mogadishu with two wives and 15 children, is fed up with the hardships of Afgooye and yearns to return to Mogadishu. "Here we have no proper shelter, so my children have to sleep under the trees. This is not a life for them", he said. Hilowle, who arrived a few days ago, also yearned for Mogadishu and the job opportunities it offers. She was already living as an IDP in the Somali capital, where she sought shelter 17 years ago after fleeing violence in her native region of Baidoa. "Every human being wants to settle somewhere in his life, have a house in a good place with his family", she said. "How come I spend my life fleeing, always living in a flimsy shelter, unable to settle somewhere even once in my life?" By Catherine Weibel in Afgooye, Somalia Source

About 80 would-be migrants drown off Yemen coast Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:48am EST SANAA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - About 80 people drowned off the coast of Yemen when their boat sank while trying to cross from Somalia to the Arab country, a Yemeni official said on Friday. About 45 others survived after the vessel, carrying an estimated 126 migrants, went down close to the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula country late on Thursday, the official said. Most of the survivors were Somalis. Rescuers and fishermen pulled 27 bodies from the sea, he told Reuters. The survivors were handed over to officials of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. Many African migrants cross to Yemen, which they see as a gateway to other parts of the Middle East and the West. Sixty-five people, including three children, drowned in the Gulf of Aden while trying to cross from Somalia to Yemen last week. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; Writing by Firouz Sedarat; Editing by Michael Winfrey) Source

Originally posted by Ghanima: Siidan sii maahee, put a lid on it. :rolleyes: I starting to thing that "men's" section is needed after all. Akhaas. Being vulgar and X-rated is just distasteful and Ciyaal suuqnimo Can you believe this? I'm as stunned as you are, Ghanima. These people have no shame, atheer. Ever watched an episode of Family Guy? Here's one of the funniest quotes from that show: Stewie (to one of the prostitutes at Cleveland's house): So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?

Originally posted by J.a.c.a.y.l.b.a.r.o: Ilaahay nimuu la jiro Aadmigu ma horjoogsan karo Now God is a secessionist? :confused:

Xiinow, Oodweyne wouldn't last one mirqaan session with me as he would come out here the next day happily waving the white and blue. Alas, I don't chew anymore.

^^^ Me is more annoying than Oodweyne, and together, they're a great couple. Don't stop them.

^^^^ LOL. Sheepishly surrender, eh? At least you saved your energy and didn't come back with a 10,000 word post like Oodweyne.

^^^ Evidence not shared is evidence non existent. And you don't need to hide the evidence, you're already a believer. Give the evidence to the heathens.

^^^^ If you provide me any record, however obscure, that indicates a secession movement prior to 1991, I promise I will thoroughly consider it and may be even change my position. Until then, I'm afraid I'll have to stay put. Fair?

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: 1- Tell us what you think would be a realistic approach to end the current mayhem in Somalia. A combination of fighting the occupier and engaging him politically. The enemy sooner or later loses his ambition and drive given enough opposition, however "hit and run" it may be. Negotiations are best made from a position of strength. Capitulating to the enemy then coming to the negotiation table is an exercise in futility yaa Xiin. The occupier and his puppet regime understand, and are feeling the effects of, the resistance's determination. You can see now that the days of "we will not negotiate with terrorists" are quickly coming to an end. And that is not because Ethiopia is getting softer but because the resistance is trying its endurance. 2-Articulate a strategy to remove Ethiopia from all Somali soil, not only from Bakara market! The bigger task is making Somalis, of all clans, share a common vision. Even then, it will not be easy to lift Abyssinia's stranglehold on Somalis. Surely, negotiations alone will not work as no one, Ethiopia included, gives up land if they feel there are little repercussions to be suffered. Nimaan warankaagu gelin weedhaa ma gasho, as our ancestors used to say.

^^^ The average Somalilander may be genuine in his or her solidarity but the leadership of Somaliland is knowingly complicit in what's happening in Muqdisho: it is actively aiding and abetting Ethiopia in its occupation of Somalia. The distinction must be made clear. Oodweyne should be here any minute now.

Cadaan, now that you're officially a Somali, I want to know if you support the wretched TFG and would like Yey to adopt you as a nephew. Do you support the war criminal Yey? No waffling please.

^^^ You have no shame. Originally posted by SheekhaJacaylka: Recognition doesn't come on a golden plates ,, ppl have to suffer and struggle before that ,,, we started our mission in 1982 and we're in the best position ever. What evidence do you have the call for secession movement started in 1982? Perhaps a speech by a high ranking rebel leader, an entry in the movement's manifesto, an editorial written somewhere or even rumors attributed to the leadership of the SNM? Basically anything recorded that would indicate the secession idea began in 1982. I have a very hard time taking your word for it yaa Sheekha.

Somalia offensive after attacks Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces have launched an offensive against insurgents after simultaneous attacks in the capital, Mogadishu. At least six Ethiopian bases in the city were targeted on Tuesday night by Islamists. Casualties are not known. Correspondents say rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and machine guns were used in the attacks. The attacks came after Ethiopia's prime minister said his forces cannot withdraw from the conflict in Somalia. Meles Zenawi said he had expected to withdraw his soldiers earlier in the year, once the Islamists had been driven out of Mogadishu. But he said not enough peacekeepers had arrived and divisions within the Somali government had left it unable to replace the Ethiopians. Their presence is unpopular in Mogadishu. Earlier this month, insurgents dragged the bodies of Ethiopian troops through the city. Hunt The attacks took place simultaneously at about 1930 local time on Tuesday night. At least six Ethiopian army bases came under fire: * In the north of the city at two former factories and at Ex-Control intersection * In the south of the city at the football stadium and an army camp * In the central Bakara market district where there are bases along the main road. There are reports of another attack at around midnight, although details have not been confirmed. It has not been confirmed whether there were casualties, although eyewitnesses reported seeing a dead body near one of the bases in the north. Correspondents say troops have been sent to northern and southern suburbs to hunt down the insurgents. The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says Ethiopian lorries and tanks can be seen patrolling the streets. Those civilians that have not fled the city are remaining indoors, he says. The UN refugee agency says 60% of Mogadishu residents have left their homes, including 200,000 this month, following the latest clashes between insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government. Our correspondent says the insurgents say they have been encouraged by the admission by Mr Meles that his forces were becoming bogged down in Somalia. On an Islamist website, the insurgents said they were winning the struggle, and called for further attacks on the Ethiopian forces. Only 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers have arrived, from a planned 8,000-strong African Union force. Somalia has not had a functioning national government since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Source

Tue. November 27, 2007 04:00 pm.- By Mohamed Abdi Farah. (SomaliNet) Armed clashes between Somali’s interim government troops along with the Ethiopian forces and local insurgent groups have renewed in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia on Tuesday night, witnesses said. The latest gun battle broke out around 7:00 pm local time in different locations in the capital where the fighters of the Young Islamic Movement known as ‘Al-Shabab’ launched attacks on the positions of the allied forces. The sound of the artillery weapons could be heard and rocked the battle zones and mounted concern on the civilians. It is not yet clear the casualty on the rival sides as the fighting continues around Bakara market area and on Industrial road exchanging heavy weaponries. In a statement posted on Islamic website, the Al-Shabab claimed the responsibility for tonight’s attacks on the bases of the allied troops. Source

Since we're not busy rebuilding our country, we might as well keep Ethiopia 'bogged down'. Sooner, rather than later, they'll leave wounded and we will have an opportunity to string up the likes of Dheere, Geedi and Yeey. Time is on our side.

According to war criminal Dheere, Der Spiegel is now a criminal entity. November 27, 2007 INTERVIEW WITH CHAIRMAN OF SOMALIA'S COUNCIL OF ISLAMIC COURTS 'The So-Called Legal Government Is a Farce' War-torn Somalia is experiencing ongoing fighting between Islamic insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, chairman of the Council of Islamic Courts, talked to SPIEGEL ONLINE about how the Ethiopian forces are violating human rights and why he opposes al-Qaida. Sixteen years after descending into anarchy, there still seems to be little hope of a lasting peace in Somalia. The capital Mogadishu is plagued by continuing violence. Thousands have been killed in the city this year as Islamist insurgents battle the country's transitional government, which was set up in October 2004, and over half the city's inhabitants are reported to have fled the violence. Until this year, the strongest of the many groups which had been battling for power in Somalia was the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC). The loose-knit union of Islamic courts took control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia in 2006 and also threatened to take countrol of Ethiopia's Somali-speaking eastern region, the ******. The Islamists imposed Sharia law during the second half of 2006. They managed to reunite Mogadishu, which had been divided up among rival warlords, and brought some semblance of law and order to the anarchic country. The Ethiopian army marched into Somalia in December 2006 to help Somali's interim government oust the CIC. The Islamic group, who are strongly opposed to the presence of Ethiopian troops in the country, fought back, prompting the current wave of violence. However the CIC is not a homogeneous group but is divided between moderates and hardliners, all of whom claim they want to restore stability and the rule of law in the country. However the hardliners also want to stamp out "immoral" foreign influences: While in power, they closed down cinemas showing foreign films and banned some radio stations from playing foreign music. Meanwhile the Somali transitional government has been criticized for cracking down on the media. The government accuses the media of undermining national security and has arrested journalists and media managers. Seven reporters have been killed in the country since January. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed is the chairman of the Council of Islamic Courts and is considered a moderate. He talked to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the "popular uprising" against the Ethiopian troops, his opposition to al-Qaida and the future of Somalia. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Sheik Sharif, why don't you give your rebels the order for an immediate ceasefire? Sheik Sharif: I'm powerless to do that. The popular uprising against the hated Ethiopian occupation troops -- which every Somali patriot must see as his enemies -- can't be stopped. SPIEGEL ONLINE: But this isn't just about the Ethiopians. You're also fighting against the army of the legitimate Somali government. Sheik Sharif: The so-called legal government is a farce. There were no free elections worth speaking off. They're keeping us out of a true national dialogue -- which we've always called for -- with the slimmest of arguments. Critics of the government find themselves in jail without trial or simply disappear without a trace, just because they condemn military collaboration with that very part of Ethiopia which has been oppressing millions of Somalis for decades ... SPIEGEL ONLINE: ... You're referring to the eastern Ethiopian province of ******, which is populated by Somalis and which the last Somali president, Mohamed Siad Barre, wanted to "liberate" ... Sheik Sharif: ... but how can we question the internationally recognized borders of Ethiopia when our own country of Somalia is breaking up into several regions, where local interest groups have grabbed power for themselves and can operate without any kind of control? You don't need an intelligence service to figure out that Ethiopia and Kenya, along with other countries in the region, interfere pretty openly in Somalia's affairs. But the Somali people, which right now is held together only by a common language and by Islam, is no longer going along with them. The resistance against the Ethiopians and their stooges in Somalia keeps spreading and will sooner or later topple the regime. SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Ethiopians marched in to keep Somalia from turning into an Islamist state. Sheik Sharif: That was a weak pretense which only complicated the situation even further. We never intended to declare an Islamic republic. SPIEGEL ONLINE: But it was clear which way things were heading in Somalia. Alcohol and music were outlawed and women had to wear veils. Some of your coalition partners declared open sympathy with the mujahedeen in Afghanistan. And didn't the terror network al-Qaida gain a foothold in Somalia? Sheik Sharif: That was an evil slander. Even if a few of our comrades favored a strict interpretation of Islamic law, it was up to the citizens to orient themselves toward Islamic custom according to their own discretion. I was, and still am today, strictly against giving asylum in Somalia to al-Qaida criminals and their kind. SPIEGEL ONLINE: But that couldn't happen right now anyway, because government troops still hold the reins of power. Sheik Sharif: The government troops are fighting with their backs to the wall. They control only 5 percent of the country's territory. The Ethiopians, whose army composes the real backbone of the current Somali government, are not very motivated. They are moving through an occupied country, haphazardly murdering and pillaging, fully aware that sooner or later they will have to leave. When the last Ethiopian armored car leaves Somalia, the regime will collapse like a house of cards. We are gaining territory every day -- it's only a matter of time. SPIEGEL ONLINE: That means the bloodshed will not end any time soon. Is it true that Eritrea is providing you with weapons and money? Sheik Sharif: Although Eritrea has experienced the expansionist and racist regime in Addis Ababa at first hand, it is neither providing us with weapons nor any other logistical support. We are surviving because the Somali people are on our side. At first it was students and shopkeepers who supported us, but now we are backed by every social class. Our influence is growing inexorably. SPIEGEL ONLINE: That sounds like wishful thinking. If you truly wanted peace and democracy, wouldn't you ask the United Nations to actively intervene? Sheik Sharif: If the international community simply opened its eyes to the continuing violation of human rights in Somalia, and if it were ready to make a fresh start here, we would of course welcome a UN intervention. But that doesn't seem likely, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I stick to my position that if, instead of trigger-happy Ethiopian occupiers, we had neutral blue helmets here in our oppressed country, who could make free elections possible and secure a transition to a future of peace and reconstruction, we would welcome them. The European Parliament in Strasbourg has already taken the first step. It has imposed an arms embargo against the current Somali government in protest against the violation of human rights. Interview conducted by Volkhard Windfuhr Source

Journalists, Human Rights Groups Condemn New Somali Curbs on Reporting By Alisha Ryu Nairobi 27 November 2007 Somali journalists and human rights groups have condemned new regulations introduced by the mayor of Mogadishu severely restricting independent reporting in Somalia. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, arrests, detentions, assassinations, and death threats against journalists in the capital have prompted dozens to flee the country in recent months. Mogadishu's mayor, Mohamed Dheere, has unveiled new rules to prohibit, among other things, reporting on the military operations of government and Ethiopian forces without prior government approval, as well as interviewing opposition members in Somalia or outside the country. One Somali opposition group, led by Islamists who ruled much of southern and central Somalia for six months before being ousted last December, is based in Eritrea's capital Asmara. Another opposition group, an organization of radical young fighters called the Shabbab, is in Mogadishu, waging a ferocious Iraq-style guerrilla war against the government and its Ethiopian allies. The mayor says any journalist who publishes or airs opposition views will be considered a criminal. Journalists are also forbidden to disseminate news about the displacement of civilians from Mogadishu unless they first provide the government with statistical proof. The Mogadishu-based Somali Human Rights Defenders Network released a statement Tuesday, calling the mayor's new rules unconstitutional and a violation of human rights. The group said it is deeply concerned about what it termed the escalating oppression of the free media in Somalia by officials of the internationally-recognized transitional federal government. The interim government came to power nearly a year ago with the military help of neighboring Ethiopia and the backing of the United States. Since January, at least seven Somali journalists have been killed in apparent targeted assassinations. It is still not clear who was responsible for the killings. Somali journalists have reported receiving threats from radical insurgents, interim government officials and Ethiopian troops. Many have fled to neighboring countries, with a large majority settling in Kenya. Afraid they may not be able to return to Somalia any time soon, some journalists are seeking asylum in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The head of the National Union of Somali Journalists, Omar Faruk Osman, says he has appealed to the new Somali interim Prime Minister Nur Adde Hassan Hussein to re-open the offices of independent newspapers and several radio stations in the capital that have been shut down by the government in recent weeks. "People in Mogadishu today, they have no radio to listen. They have no newspaper to read," he said. "The transitional federal government has proclaimed in the transitional federal charter, the interim constitution of Somalia, [it would] protect the human rights of its citizens, including journalists and to protect the freedom of expression and freedom of press. We plead with the new prime minister to do his best to take action and end the on-going violations." Somali lawmakers in the town of Baidoa, where parliament meets, are said to be debating whether to turn Mayor Mohamed Dheere's regulations into the country's new media law. Source

America in the Time of Empire Posted on Nov 26, 2007 By Chris Hedges This column was originally published by the Philadelphia Inquirer. All great empires and nations decay from within. By the time they hobble off the world stage, overrun by the hordes at the gates or vanishing quietly into the pages of history books, what made them successful and powerful no longer has relevance. This rot takes place over decades, as with the Soviet Union, or, even longer, as with the Roman, Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian empires. It is often imperceptible. Dying empires cling until the very end to the outward trappings of power. They mask their weakness behind a costly and technologically advanced military. They pursue increasingly unrealistic imperial ambitions. They stifle dissent with efficient and often ruthless mechanisms of control. They lose the capacity for empathy, which allows them to see themselves through the eyes of others, to create a world of accommodation rather than strife. The creeds and noble ideals of the nation become empty cliches, used to justify acts of greater plunder, corruption and violence. By the end, there is only a raw lust for power and few willing to confront it. The most damning indicators of national decline are upon us. We have watched an oligarchy rise to take economic and political power. The top 1 percent of the population has amassed more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined, creating economic disparities unseen since the Depression. If Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes president, we will see the presidency controlled by two families for the last 24 years. Massive debt, much of it in the hands of the Chinese, keeps piling up as we fund absurd imperial projects and useless foreign wars. Democratic freedoms are diminished in the name of national security. And the erosion of basic services, from education to health care to public housing, has left tens of millions of citizens in despair. The displacement of genuine debate and civil and political discourse with the noise and glitter of public spectacle and entertainment has left us ignorant of the outside world, and blind to how it perceives us. We are fed trivia and celebrity gossip in place of news. An increasing number of voices, especially within the military, are speaking to this stark deterioration. They describe a political class that no longer knows how to separate personal gain from the common good, a class driving the nation into the ground. “There has been a glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders,” retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former commander of forces in Iraq, recently told the New York Times, adding that civilian officials have been “derelict in their duties” and guilty of a “lust for power.” The American working class, once the most prosperous on Earth, has been politically disempowered, impoverished and abandoned. Manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas. State and federal assistance programs have been slashed. The corporations, those that orchestrated the flight of jobs and the abolishment of workers’ rights, control every federal agency in Washington, including the Department of Labor. They have dismantled the regulations that had made the country’s managed capitalism a success for ordinary men and women. The Democratic and Republican Parties now take corporate money and do the bidding of corporate interests. Philadelphia is a textbook example. The city has seen a precipitous decline in manufacturing jobs, jobs that allowed households to live comfortably on one salary. The city had 35 percent of its workforce employed in the manufacturing sector in 1950, perhaps the zenith of the American empire. Thirty years later, this had fallen to 20 percent. Today it is 8.8 percent. Commensurate jobs, jobs that offer benefits, health care and most important enough money to provide hope for the future, no longer exist. The former manufacturing centers from Flint, Mich., to Youngstown, Ohio, are open sores, testaments to a growing internal collapse. The United States has gone from being the world’s largest creditor to its largest debtor. As of September 2006, the country was, for the first time in a century, paying out more than it received in investments. Trillions of dollars go into defense while the nation’s infrastructure, from levees in New Orleans to highway bridges in Minnesota, collapses. We spend almost as much on military power as the rest of the world combined, while Social Security and Medicare entitlements are jeopardized because of huge deficits. Money is available for war, but not for the simple necessities of daily life. Nothing makes these diseased priorities more starkly clear than what the White House did last week. On the same day, Tuesday, President Bush vetoed a domestic spending bill for education, job training and health programs, yet signed another bill giving the Pentagon about $471 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. All this in the shadow of a Joint Economic Committee report suggesting that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been twice as expensive than previously imagined, almost $1.5 trillion. The decision to measure the strength of the state in military terms is fatal. It leads to a growing cynicism among a disenchanted citizenry and a Hobbesian ethic of individual gain at the expense of everyone else. Few want to fight and die for a Halliburton or an Exxon. This is why we do not have a draft. It is why taxes have not been raised and we borrow to fund the war. It is why the state has organized, and spends billions to maintain, a mercenary army in Iraq. We leave the fighting and dying mostly to our poor and hired killers. No nationwide sacrifices are required. We will worry about it later. It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population. This permits the oligarchy to squander capital and lives. It creates a world where we speak exclusively in the language of violence. It has plunged us into an endless cycle of war and conflict that is draining away the vitality, resources and promise of the nation. It signals the twilight of our empire. Source

Originally posted by Ghanima: @ Castro It needed to be pissed on, everything is a topic is this place :rolleyes: and it is not aislly fight or a fight at all. LOL. Carry on then. I'm sure there's more pissing to be had. As you were.

^^^^ Way to piss all over a topic. Shitty as the topic is, it's still a topic. Won't you two take your silly fight elsewhere?

Lil, just tell her she has a life long admirer in South Texas. And hug her too, for me.