Congratulations!

It's a book!

Actually, it's a trilogy.

I started writing the month after I graduated high school in 1979 (I was bored), and I hammered out a 42-page travesty on an old manual typewriter. Twenty-seven years later I am pleased and not a little proud to announce that the three books that grew out of that 42-page travesty is now completely published.



Volume One, Fastoshi: Chronicles, came out in 2003;



Volume Two, Morshrarthi: Interactions, came out in 2004; and



Volume Three, 'Atshnegjir: Rebirth, was just rolled out today!

All three are available through the Bookstore section of the AuthorHouse website. Simply go to www.authorhouse.com, then to Bookstore, and type in my name:

Walter Reimer

And you will have access to the vision that has bemused and harried me for the past quarter-century. Enjoy!

Open Letter

I emailed the following letter to the offices of Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) this afternoon:


Sir,

As an American citizen (although, I admit, not from the district you represent), I share your indignation at the recent raid by the FBI on the offices of Representative Jefferson. However, I respectfully submit that you and the rest of the Congress have created the conditions to make this happen.

By not standing up to the Bush Administration's 'unitary executive' stretching of the Constitution as well as its cavalier attitude towards the Legislative and Judicial branches of the US Government, you and your fellow members have given the Executive branch the idea that they can do as they please.

Basically (and I hope that you will excuse the indelicacy), you made the bed, now sleep in it.


Now, I don't expect a reply, and while I didn't include my address and phone number, I'm sure that Senselessbrenner's little pals in the NSA can find it for him.

Memorial Day

For The Fallen

...

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
...

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

Weird News

Occasionally I like to read foreign news service websites. Not only do they give me a wider perspective on events, but sometimes they're rather funny.

From the Sydney Morning Herald we learn of a high school prank in the United States (Dallas County; I'm thinking Texas) where an honors student and his accomplice delivered a batch of bran muffins to the faculty. The muffins were laced with marijuana.

If you think hilarity ensued, you would be wrong.

Eighteen people had to go to the hospital, and the two high schoolers are looking at 10 years in prison for adulterating food.

***

One of the national symbols of Germany is the bear (matter of fact, it's on the coat of arms for the city of Berlin). Unfortunately, the last bear in Germany was gunned down about 170 years ago.

A single bear, apparently fancying a look around, wandered into the southern state of Bavaria from Italy (by way of the Alps - what, you think he flew?) about two weeks ago. After satisfying his hunger by killing a few sheep, the governor of Bavaria issued a shoot-to-kill order.

I guess the Germans like their national symbols on postcards, and not running about loose.

A Serene Moment

You might think this is Holland, but it's actually the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Doesn't matter - it's still pretty.

Such An Appropriate Song:

How sweet to be an Idiot,
As harmless as a cloud,
Too small to hide the sun,
Almost poking fun
At the warm but insecure, untidy crowd.

How sweet to be an idiot,
And dip my brain in joy,
Children laughing at my back,
With no fear of attack,
As much retaliation as a toy.

How sweet to be an idiot. How sweet.

I tiptoed down the street,
Smiled at everyone I meet,
But suddenly a scream
Smashes through my dream.
Fee fie foe fum.
I smell the blood of an asylum.
Hey you. You're such a pennant.
You got as much brain as a dead ant,
As much imagination as a caravan sign,

But I still love you. Still love you.
Oooh, how sweet to be an idiot.
How sweet. How sweet. How sweet.

- Neil Innes and Eric Idle, Monty Python

When Bad Things Happen

According to South Park:

Stan : "Why would God let Kenny die, Chef? Why? Kenny's my friend. Why can't God take someone else's friend?"

Chef : "Stan, sometimes God takes those closest to us, because it makes him feel better about himself. He is a very vengeful God, Stan. He's all pissed off about something we did thousands of years ago. He just can't get over it, so he doesn't care who he takes. Children, puppies, it don't matter to him, so long as it makes us sad. Do you understand?"

Stan : "But then, why does God give us anything to start with?"

Chef : "Well, look at it this way: if you want to make a baby cry, first you give it a lollipop. Then you take it away. If you never give it a lollipop to begin with, then you would have nothin' to cry about. That's like God, who gives us life and love and help just so that he can tear it all away and make us cry, so he can drink the sweet milk of our tears. You see, it's our tears, Stan, that give God his great power."

Stan : "I think I understand."

Truer Words ...

... were never spoken.

While bloviating about the Da Vinci Code, a God-botherer maundered some true words (I'm paraphrasing here): "Americans are a Jesus-oriented society, but are Biblically illiterate. Many seem to think that as long as something is attributed to Jesus, it's in the Bible."

Hmm.

I think that's why Jim Bakker and his egregious wife Tammy were able to gull so many people into building a vast real estate boondoggle designed primarily to the greater glory (and fatter wallet) of Bakker.

I think that's why Jimmy Swaggart managed to get out from under his hooker scandal. Now, I hate Jimmy Swaggart because he's a bad consumer (I mean, honestly, people - who in their right mind rents a hooker and just TALKS?), and not for being a genetic reject from the Backwoods.

I think that's how Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson have managed to make so much money.

I think that's how T.D. Jakes manages to afford his $1500 suits.

I think that's how Billy Graham managed to become the confidant of US Presidents.

And I think very strongly that's why George Bush thinks that God speaks to him.

Because Bush apparently believes this shit he spouts. And he and his merry band of Ayatollahs are dead set on recasting this nation into a cross-waving Christian Iran.

Sinclair Lewis never said more truthful (or painful) words, because we're seeing it right now, folks.

Death of a Thousand Investigations

One of the big fears of the Bush White House (and one of the things they are using to whip up a frenzy of fear-based support from the inbred genetic rejects and Stepford zombies that account for the majority of Bush's 'Base' these days) is the threat that if the Democrats gain control of the House and Senate they will immediately start impeachment hearings.

Um, boo-fucking-hoo.

The criminal gang fronting George Bush set the bar on impeachment so low during the Clinton years that they have no one to blame but themselves. However, I don't think that impeachment is in the cards.

No no no.

What I see is a spate of investigations - all of the allegations of malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence and outright criminal activity over the past 6 years - ripped out of the Black Memory Hole of the White House and spread out for all to see. Then after the investigations, the indictments and the Perp Walks.

Karl Rove.

Douglas Feith.

Paul Wolfowitz.

Michael Hayden.

But - and here's the kicker, folks - NO impeachment.

Leave Bush and Cheney where they are. Impotent figureheads with no props to fall back on (and the FIRST thing the Dems should do is outlaw those fucking signing statements!)

Let Bush leave office in January 2009, impotent and disgraced, and taking Cheney with him.

THEN put those two assholes on trial and send them to jail.

Separated at Birth?

Take a good long look at the fellow depicted above. Why is it that he looks so much like this guy?



This brings up an important question:

Does General Hayden have an assistant named Beaker?

"I don't need to be lectured by you."

Those words were uttered by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), in response to a scolding by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) (Hey! DWI! That's funny!) over the decision by the Senate Judiciary Committee (alias "The Senatorial Rubber Stamp for the Looting of America") to approve the proposed "Marriage Amendment" for debate on the Senate floor.

Well, Senator Specter, perhaps you do need a lecture, you querulous old man.

Perhaps you need to consider what else you said: "You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I."

What the hell did you mean by that, Sen. Specter? Does it mean that you freely and truthfully acknowledge that you are just a colorless apparatchik, a drone who blindly and unthinkingly agrees to everything your Senate leadership demands, no matter if it's allowing spying on US citizens, changing the laws ex post facto to allow such spying, or conspiring with your fellow GOP quisling Sen. Pat Roberts to stymie all attempts to investigate the fraudulent war in Iraq?

Please tell us, Senator Specter - we're anxious to know what you meant.

Mother's Day Song

Oh, sweet Mother of mine,
It's only for you I pine,
I'll try to get bail
And I'll drive up to jail
And I'll spring that sweet mother of mine!

A Bit of Silliness

Just something that struck me as extremely funny:

From The Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au):

Flatulence sets hospital on fire

May 14, 2006

A patient's flatulence has been blamed for bringing his hemorrhoid operation to a fiery end. The man suffered minor burns in a brief but dramatic operating theatre fire.

The patient was at the Southern Cross Hospital in Invercargill, New Zealand, to have hemorrhoids removed when the accident happened.

A hospital source said there was a sort of flash fire. The hospital confirmed a fire did occur, and has ordered an investigation.

Sooner or Later

Yes, it had to happen sooner or later:

From Al-Jazeera:

Iraq army units clash over bombing

Friday 12 May 2006 10:06 PM GMT

A roadside bombing north of Baghdad has provoked fierce clashes between two Iraqi army units.
According to Iraqi police sources one of the army units was Kurdish and the other made of Shias.
The US military provided a different account of the incident that occurred after a bombing near Duluiyah, about 75km north of the capital on Friday. The US account said one soldier from the Iraqi army's First Battalion was killed and 12 were wounded in the attack. Ali Ibrahim from the Iraqi police said four were killed and three others wounded. He identified the soldiers as Kurdish but did not specify their unit.
The wounded were rushed to the US military hospital in Balad and police said that when the Kurdish soldiers drove up to the hospital, they began firing weapons to clear the way, killing a Shia civilian. When security rushed to the scene, the Kurds decided to take their wounded elsewhere, Iraqi police said.
Iraqi troops from a separate Shia unit tried to stop them and shots were fired. The US statement did not say what prompted the soldiers to try to take wounded comrades away from a hospital that is one of the best equipped American medical facilities in Iraq. A third Iraqi unit set up a roadblock in the area and stopped the soldiers who were leaving, the US said. American troops then arrived on the scene and calmed the situation down.
The US said the Iraqi army was now investigating the incident.
Thousands of Kurdish peshmerga militiamen were integrated into the Iraqi army in order to provide security in areas with large Kurdish populations, some of which are located near Shia and Sunni Arab communities.
The peshmerga also provides security in the three provinces that form the Kurds' self-governing entity in the north.

******

The Kurds acted improperly, firing into a crowd to clear traffic. Now it has to be seen whether this is a merely isolated incident, or the harbinger of things to come. If the former, well; if the latter, the sooner we get our troops out of there the better.

There Used To Be A Thing ...

Called America.

I recall that there used to be a thing called America where people called themselves free, and actually were.

Where there was something called personal privacy, and that was protected by a Constitutional Amendment that demanded something called a warrant in order to violate that privacy.

Where there were laws, and capable people sworn to enforce them, all the way up to the highest office in the land.

Where there were three equal branches of government, who balanced against each other very nicely, and resisted any attempt by the others to influence them.

Where people were free to worship any Deity they chose to worship (or not), and no one could object.

Where there were laws and taxes so that the rich could not grind the faces of the poor into the dirt.

Yes, there used to be a thing called America.

What Will He Say?

Our Dear Leader and Imposer of the Pax Americana Upon the Undeserving Brown People of the Earth Whether They Want It or Not, George W Bush, shall deign to address the nation on Monday night.

What pearls of wisdom shall drop from his anointed mouth?

According to his new Dr. Goebbels, Tony Snow, Bush will speak about immigration in the hope of building up momentum for his immigration policy bill.

But what else will he say, with his poll numbers at 29% and more and more of the nation's privacy and freedoms dribbling down the toilet?

Will he declare martial law on the borders, and send what's left of our army to close them off?

Will he send the Aryan Nations to help the military?

Will he tell us that He Is The Law, and that the legislative and judicial branches Don't Matter?

Will he tell us that the Constitution is no longer the law of the land?

Oh, that's right - he's already told us that, by his actions if not his words.

The Bear, Awakening

First, a bit of background:

Back in those halcyon days before 9/11, President Bush said that he had looked into Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin's "soul" and judged that he was a worthy and trustworthy ally of the United States.

Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney excoriated the Russian government (headed by that same President Putin) for human rights abuses and for trying to use its oil and natural gas supplies to influence and intimidate its neighbors. Those neighbors - Ukraine, Belarus, etc. - were all once constituent republics of the USSR.

And now, this showed up in today's Times of London (www.timesonline.co.uk):

(emphases are mine)

Putin takes swipe at hungry America's 'Comrade Wolf'
By Philippe Naughton and agencies in Moscow

President Vladimir Putin took a swipe at the hungry "wolf" of America today in a strident state-of-the-nation address in which he said that post-Soviet Russia should build up its economic and military might.
In his seventh annual address as president, Mr Putin also promised to tackle Russia's falling birthrate, saying that falling population levels were Russia's "most pressing problem".
But the main thrust of his speech was on the need to bolster security. Mr Putin said that Russia needed a strong military not only to guard against potential attackers but also to resist foreign political pressure.
His comments betray increased anger over what Kremlin leaders see as Western attempts to influence the affairs of Russia and its relationships with its former neighbours Soviet neighbours, such as Ukraine or Belarus.
"We must always be ready to counter any attempts to pressure Russia in order to strengthen others’ positions at our expense," Mr Putin said. "The stronger our military is, the less temptation there will be to exert such pressure on us."
Mr Putin pointed out that Russia’s military budget is 25 times less than that of the United States. "Their house is their fortress - good for them," he said. "But that means that we also must make our house strong and reliable."
Then, in a clear criticism of US foreign policy, he quipped: "As the saying goes, Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat, it eats without listening and it’s clearly not going to listen to anyone."
"Where is all this pathos about protecting human rights and democracy when it comes to the need to pursue their own interests?" Mr Putin added, in what appeared to be a veiled response to accusations by Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, that the Kremlin's commitment to democracy was weakening.
Mr Putin said that his Government would work to strengthen the nation’s nuclear deterrent as well as conventional military forces without repeating the mistakes of the Cold War when a costly arms race against the US hampered Russia's economic development.
"Our response must be based on intellectual advantage, it must be asymmetrical and less costly while increasing reliability and efficiency of our nuclear triad," Mr Putin said, adding that the nation will strengthen all its components - long-range aviation, land-based strategic missile forces and nuclear submarines.
As part of that boost, Russia would soon commission two nuclear submarines equipped with the new Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles - the nation’s first since the Soviet era - while the land-based strategic missile forces will get their first unit of mobile Topol-M missiles.
Mr Putin said that the new missiles and warheads which can change their route to a target that an enemy would be unable to calculate will allow Russia to preserve a strategic balance without damaging the nation’s economic development goals.
In a wide-ranging speech lasting just over an hour, Mr Putin also focused on Russia's massive demographic problems.
While mortality has increased in post-Soviet Russia, the birthrate has fallen precipitously so that one family in two has no children and the average per woman has only 1.34 - far below the rate needed to keep the population stable.
Mr Putin said that the Russian population was now declining by 700,000 per year. "We have raised this question many times but in fact have done little. We need to reduce mortality, have an effective migration policy and increase the birth rate," he said.
As part of the solution, Mr Putin proposed more than doubling child benefits.
"We must stimulate today the birth of at least a second child," he said. "What stops a women deciding to have a second child? Bad living conditions, limited income ... sometimes, God help us, the thought of whether they would be able to feed the child."
On accession to the 149-member World Trade Organisation, which would open up global markets for Russian goods and commodities, Mr Putin said that WTO member states should not use the negotiations to make unrelated demands.
Russia has so far signed bilateral agreements with the European Union, China and Japan, among others, but has yet to reach the deals it needs with the United States, Colombia and Australia if it is to join the global trade body.
In March, Mr Putin expressed frustration at the pace of negotiations, accusing the U.S. of coming up with ungrounded demands that were hindering talks. The following month,a group of visiting US senators said that Russia's record on democracy and its stance in the current Iranian nuclear crisis would influence the US Congress when it considers Russian membership of the WTO.
Mr Putin also pledged to push up economic growth - currently running at around 7 per cent a year - as part of a wider plan to double Russia's gross domestic product within a decade. That growth, he said, would come not just from continued state investment of energy revenues but from real economic liberalisation.

***

Okay, thanks again, George and Dick. I have a quick question.

Does it even matter to either of you anymore that you are slowly and steadily pissing off our last few real friends on the planet? Granted, with expatriate Cold Warriors like Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the Neocon Cabal, Russia makes a tempting target, a soothing respite from the jarring asymmetry of fighting a military campaign against a social problem like terrorism.

I close this post with a rather telling little piece of history. You see, folks, we've been here before:

A series of ill-considered, rash and inflammatory statements, combined with a large military and what were perceived as territorial ambitions made up a lot of minds and slowly alliances began to form around Germany to keep it restrained. However, the Kaiser continually sought to break that encirclement, and that was part of the circumstances that led to the first great war of the 20th Century.

The Letter

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sent a letter to Dear Leader recently, marking a milestone in US-Iranian affairs. After all, it's been about 27 years since the last time we were on speaking terms with that country.

Now, what did he say?

Well, basically (I only just finished reading the translation, found on CNN) I consider a few things substantive, some rhetorical, and the overall impression might be surprising.

The substantive bits are a passing reference to Iran's nuclear program, and Ahmadinejad raises a valid point - why must the US consider any technological advance in the Middle East a threat to Israel? Are the Israelis children? Do they require our constant supervision?

The rhetorical part covers quite a bit of ground, but boils down to needling Dear Leader about his professions of Christianity while doing not at all Christlike things.

The overall impression? Were I Dear Leader (or even his Secretaryette of State) I would consider this an opening. I'd write him back, thanking him for his letter and suggesting that, since we're both reasonable people, we should meet somewhere and talk through our differences.

But this is important: I'd start with an apology.

You heard me right.

He alludes to the 1953 overthrow of the Mossadegh government that strengthened the Shah into an absolutist ruler and eventually led to the Islamic Republic. That coup was engineered by the CIA, people. So we're responsible for that, and I think an apology would be in good order.

But, of course, Condi "Beware My Manly Scowl of Bitchiness" Rice rejected the letter out of hand, and matters continue to slide inexorably to yet another Bush fiasco.

Hookers and Poker and Spies, Oh My!

Who would have thought it?

Now, everyone knows that the more strait-laced a member of the current Administration or the Christian Fascist wing of the GOP acts in public, the more likely that in private life they are a seething volcano of degenerate lust and depraved tastes that would make even Caligula blush.

So, with all that in mind, we begin with a lovely scandal that caused Randy "Duke" Cunningham to resign from the House o' Representatives in disgrace in advance of his prison sentence. Add to that the growing connection between the defense company lobbyist, Cunningham and a certain limo company in Washington DC, and stir in a "hospitality suite" at (of all the stupid places) the Watergate Hotel (!) where poker parties were held.

Poker parties possibly staffed with hookers (sex undetermined as of yet - you know how rumors are).

According to a source close to the investigation, one of the frequent participants in these parties was a former Congresscritter who now ranked high in the intelligence community. There was one person who fit that bill exactly - The Direct of Central Intelligence, one Porter Goss.

Goss quit on Friday - no two weeks' notice, none of that "I'll stay until my replacement is confirmed" bullshit. He left, bye-bye.

There are several theories as to why he left - the growing sex scandal in DC, the fact that he was almost universally hated by the CIA, and the fact that his methods at purging 'disloyal' (Democrat and liberal) members from the Agency were not winning him any friends.

So we have yet another lovely scandal breaking over the White House and preparing to descend like a fine odoriferous shitmist.

The most likely fool to be nominated by Dear Leader to replace Goss will be the head of the NSA and Deputy Director of National Intelligence, General Hayden. I would seriously question this Air Force stumblebum's credentials, since he hasn't even read the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution (or at least hadn't prior to January of this year), and his agency is the one enforcing Dear Leader's Stalinist domestic wiretapping program.

We have some fun days coming up, folks.

The Indian Atomic Deal

From the Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1516343.cms

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday made it clear that it will accept no "amendments" to the civil nuclear agreement signed with the US rejecting reported suggestions in this regard by Washington.

"I have seen the press reports (in which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was quoted as saying India should be ready for some amendments in the agreement). The Government of India's position remains that our commitments are to those that are outlined in the joint statement of July 18, 2005," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said. He was responding to a question about Rice telling an Indian Parliamentary delegation in Washington that India must be prepared to accept "amendments" to the agreement signed between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush on March 2.

"She (Rice) did not say basic (changes to the framework) but that India should be prepared, should be ready for some amendments which will be within the framework...but it depends how Congress interprets," Rajya Sabha MP Shahid Siddique, a member of the delegation, quoted Rice as saying. "...the message was that there are going to be amendments and we should be ready for it...," Siddiqui said on Wednesday.

Currently being debated in the US Congress, the agreement after approval by the American Parliament will end a 32-year-old ban on trade with India in nuclear technology and fuel.


***********

Time to pay the price, George.

The Indian Nuclear Deal, struck while Bush was pranging about the Asian continent and generally dragging our standing in the world lower, deliberately snubbed our "partner in the War on Terror" and gave India virtually carte blanche to develop and build more nuclear weapons.

Now, in the day-after haze reminiscent of so many other days (remember them, George? No? Maybe you soaked your cerebrum in too much booze) we want India to accept "amendments" to the pact. Since it's not a treaty, you see, but a business deal, the standard of acceptance requires a lot more scrutiny. After the Dubai Ports deal, the Congress may not be in such a compliant mood.

And India says, "Hell no - we want the full deal and no strings."

"..And the epitaph drear, a fool lies here who tried to hustle the East." Kipling never said truer words.

The White Crow

A columnist for the Washington Post wrote today about the contradictions in one Senator John McCain (R-AZ) - calling himself a conservative, yet willing to embrace causes and issues dear to the hearts of moderates and even liberals.

I call him a Political Bisexual, willing to either get in the saddle or bend over and lube up depending on what it'll take to get his ass elected.

Now, before you jump to conclusions, I will point out that a) I'm a lifelong Republican, and b) I respect McCain for his courage and his service to our country.

And with the disclaimer out of the way, let the trashing commence.

In order to gain some access to the White House, McCain had to swallow the huge lake of bile that rose in his throat after Bush savagely attacked his patriotism and his family in the 2000 primaries. He tried hard to get Bush to commit on anti-torture legislation, only to have Dear Leader whack him behind the knees through one of the now-notorious signing statements.

And now he's cozying up to the Dark Master of Evil and Bigotry, Jerry Fucking Falwell.

All in order to get his ass elected President in 2008.

With his desire to be all things to all people, McCain is - among the Republicans - a white crow among black crows.

And there's a strange thing about crows, Johnny boy. They'll kill someone that they think is different - and the Christian Fascists in the Republican Party are just waiting to sink their teeth into your throat again.

Open Question

Take a good long look at these people, who are hosts of a Christian evangelist television netwrork. In particular, take a good long steamy gawk at the woman on the right. Her hair is pink, her cheekbones could be used as lethal weapons, and her makeup would have Tammy Faye saying, "Girl, you need to stop now."

Now, the question:

Why is it that female evangelists on TV insist on looking just as hideous as possible?

May Day 2006

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation,
Arise, ye wretched of the earth,
For Justice thunders condemnation
A new world's now in birth!

No more tradition's chains shall bind us
Arise ye slaves, no more in thrall;
The world shall have a new foundation
We have been naught - we shall be all!

So, comrades, rally
And the last fight let us face;
The International unites the human race!
So, comrades, rally
And the last fight let us face;
The International unites the human race!


- The International (19th Cent.)