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Vagabond - Extracts ...,
Just found your October 1997 page ...,
Stephen Schwartz ...,
A New World is Dawning ...,
Middle East ...,
Proportional Murder ...,
Iraqi War Opponents ...,
More Millennium ...,
Walden Three Linked to Vagabond ...,
Why I changed my mind about War in Iraq ...,
"Who Has the Right to Exist?" ...,
Poem -- "War" ...,
Fireships by Millenium Twain ...
J'ai vagabondé sur votre site.
J'aime beaucoup le : "life : short story / death : non-story" (à mon avis, le "eternal" gâche un peu la jolie formule)
Difficile (impossible ?) de rendre cela en français.
A propos de "another world" : j'ai justement écrit une nouvelle "L'autre monde", qui parle d'une destination proposée par une agence de voyages.
Bonne continuation.
Pierre-Yves Millot
pym@club-internet.fr
Pierre-Yves -- I understand your point. As I gave the story of life a measurement (short), I just followed the train of thought and also gave the story of death a measurement (eternal) to keep them in balance. I don't assume that the reader automatically defines non-story as eternal. Of course I didn't think about all of this, it just now came to mind not so much as affirmation but as a question; maybe after all you are right.
I love your idea of a travel agency for other worlds. What a coincidence that we both gave the same humorous twist to the notion of death. WM
Very impressive, vivid use of words to create startling images! My congratulations, that's a rare skill in this day & age!
Thanks for your postings!
Terri
"T.Miller" amill7@cfl.rr.com
Thanks Terri. WM
Hi William,
I don't know if you follow the whole neocon/paleocon brouhaha that's going on currently in the pages of websites, including Free Republic, but it brings up some interesting things. One writer, Stephen Schwartz, can't write an article without mention of the "evil Serbs." He claims the Serbs intent was to kill every Muslim in Europe, as evidenced by the "genocide" they perpetrated in Bosnia and Kosovo, and that if the US hadn't intervened in the Balkans, the Serbs would've been free to realize their goals of a Muslim free Balkans. He is also hard on the Macedonians, and like Christopher Hitchens (whom I respect greatly although I disagree completely with his opinions on the Balkans) is virulently anti-Orthodox. Anyone who questions the policies of the US vis a vis the Balkans is automatically a Milosevic lover and supporter of fascism. It's ridiculous. Recently, he's launched attacks on Antiwar.com's Justin Raimondo, due to Raimondo's stance on the current war and what Schwartz sees as Raimondo's fascist leanings. While I agree that Raimondo goes too far in things he says, I find Schwart's Serbophobia troubling. I thought you'd be interested in some of these goings on, as they relate to things you've written about, and you've dealt with them so articulately in the past. The link to the Schwartz article is here
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7453
There is also an ongoing discussion at Free Republic here:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7453
This is the line from Schwartz's piece that really got me: "In the present situation, the neofascists, which I consider the correct title for Buchanan, Taki, and Raimondo, must be granted no quarter, just as Saddam, the Serbs, and the Wahhabi Islamofascists in Saudi Arabia deserve no quarter." Serbs the same as Islamic extremist murderers and Saddam? Please!
Cheers
Andrew
duluoz2@yahoo.com
Andrew -- We have a hard time living with those bastards. The problem is that they have mass media and we can only whisper in comparison. I must confess that I sometimes feel tired, discouraged and only adrenaline keeps me going. WM
William Markiewicz,
One should not expound on things serious while under the influence. However, here I go again. The fact that so far we have not found the dreaded weapons of mass destruction begs the obvious question. "Will we fire the intelligence community? Will George Bush resign? Will we apologize?" Not likely! We are liberators! The Iraqis should thank us for their liberation. (Slight hint of sarcasm).
The good guys always have a rationale to justify their actions. When we go after the little asshole in North Korea, we will have an excuse. Probably weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein has them -- we just haven't planted... er .. found then yet.
The world can sit back and say, "How terrible!" And, that is a natural reaction. The use of overwhelming power is scary. On the other hand, as I most fervently hope, a new world is dawning!
This new world doesn't need chicken shit dictators to resist communism. Communism, for all its virtues, is not applied well. It is dead. No one knows how to do it. After Chile, especially, the world should know this, now.
I would like to think that GW, and the other dorques in Washington, understand that our (USA) mission, if we have one, is to eliminate the little turd balls of the world. If we have so lofty a goal, Saddam Hussein is only a beginning.
The Geneva Rules forbid attacking persons. I think the time has come to revise this idea. The folks who may be subject to attack, used to make the rules! It is time to change the rules of the game. Much like the US rebels who fired at the British from ambush, we need to acknowledge that the citizens of ANY country are not evil. However their "leaders" may have some undesirable characteristics that make them very expendable. In other words, we don't make war on other countries, we try to remove their errant leaders. And, today, we have the technology to do so.
Of course, if GW doesn't go after the little dimbulb in North Korea, or follow up with idiots in Iran, or wherever; it may be only about oil. But I most fervently hope that the man who wields the most power in the world, is not so chicken-shit-childish as to wage war for a 2% margin. If I read GW right when he said that we were in the fight against terrorism for the long term, then I would expect that we will continue exterminating vermin --er, dictators.
If this turns out to be the case, there will be no USian more proud than I. I will be the first to loudly proclaim that we have at last reached the end our rope in tolerance for the miserable little cockroaches that rule through oppression. I most fervently hope and pray that I have it right.
And, if not, I apologize.
Paul Bruce, in Michigan.
pfbruce@i2k.com
Yes Paul, you are wrong. Nobody can afford to treat the world as its playground and the weaker nations -- meaning everybody -- as babies to keep in line or as dangerous microbes to be eliminated. It is a reign of Rome with Caligula at its head, who today may be right, tomorrow wrong, always with incalculable consequences. Is this the 21st century we dreamed of?
Don't forget that a super-dorque is infinitely more dangerous than a mini-dorque. The Super-Shark, chasing criminals, converts the planet into a bloodbath. WM
Bill Markiewicz,
I think you're missing the point. When the USians went into
Afghanistan, they were whipping a whipped dog. ANYBODY can kick
a dog when it's down.
When the USians went into Iraq, they attacked the alpha male. The leader of the tribe. The grand kahoona. The message is, "We can put you in your place, Assholes. Fall in line, or get bombed!"
The message is, as far as I can tell, this:
"You want to be a terrorist? Fine! Blow up some towers and kill a
bunch of unrelated people.
BUT, here is how it is actually done. See Iraq! See how the inept
leadership of Iraq is causing much pain and sorrow among its citizens.
See how with immense firepower the US makes the whipped dog
whine!
Who wants to be next? North Korea? Iran? Syria?"
The United Nations, and maybe the rest of the world may have much more tolerance than the United States. But somewhere we have to draw the line. The line that demarcates how much we will tolerate.
I think our tolerance has been exceeded. The little two-bit, chicken- shit dictators in insignificant countries are being put on alert. By attacking the alpha male of the two-bit, chicken-shit, dictators we are saying that enough is enough!
Get smart or die!
It's the Mohamar Qadaffi approach. We will not attack a country, but we will kill the asshole leading it! It is tragic that it took until the 21st century to discover that assholes need removing WITHOUT killing all the people who are enslaved to the asshole.
That is how I see it. Of course, being an USian, I could be wrong. BUT, being a USian, I will NOT be defeated.
Right or wrong will be left to the historians.
Paul Bruce
pfbruce@i2k.com
See my response in this issue. WM
Leszek and Olek, former "apparatchiks" of the Communist Party, used to be close neighbors in the "Bay of the Red Pigs" in Warsaw. In "solidarity" with their newfound friend George, they have unilaterally declared war on the far away country of Iraq. Like vultures they are now lobbying for lucrative construction contracts to cover the $700 mln loss that Poland incurred pulling out of Iraq in 1991. Prior to the Gulf War, Poland had over $1 bln of construction contracts in Iraq each year. Is Poland sending troops to Iraq to fight for this long lost money? Troops that could not possibly get a visitor visa to enter the U.S.?
A recently declassified 1948 document reveals a strategy of the American foreign policy, based on the fact that the United States has half of the world's wealth and only 6.3% of its population. "We cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment", the document reads. "Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships that will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our nation's security". Given the growth in that disparity since 1948, this strategy is key to understanding U.S. foreign policy during the past half century.
OK, we can understand this strategy and the motivation of wealthy nations to keep all their marbles in their pockets but what does it have to do with poor Poland? Declaration of war has not been ratified by the Polish Parliament, this war has not been approved by the United Nations and both Premier and President - Leszek and Olek can now be accused of crimes against humanity for sending troops to Iraq.
There is a widespread sentiment in the Muslim world (300 mln people) that this war is for the strengthening of Israel, as part of George W. Bush's plan to remake the Middle East. Consider that, last month, the New Yorker magazine reported on a policy paper circling among U.S. hawks, called: "A clean break: A new strategy for Securing the Realm", written in 1996 by U.S. foreign policy analysts as advice for then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The title refers to a foreign policy for Israel that would de-emphasize the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians and move "to a traditional concept of strategy based on balance of power". One key item in the strategy, the paper implies, would be toppling Sadam Hussein.
But the real heart of the anger felt by Muslims is the violence that has been, and will be, meted out to the Iraqi people. The equating of Islam with violence by Western pundits is seen as the pinnacle of hypocrisy when you consider that 90,000 tons of bombs - the equivalent of 7 1/2 Hiroshima bombs - were dropped on the people of Iraq in the 43 days of the 1991 Gulf War, and that UN sanctions contributed to the death of hundreds of thousands Iraqis afterward.
As images of Iraqi casualties mount during the coming conflict, the resentment can only increase and this is war is bad business for peace loving Poland. How could our poor country, in convulsions from a painful jump from communism to capitalism, declare war on another poor country to defend the wealth of the richest country in the world?
The answer lies in the dictatorial powers usurped by the former Communists with the aid of proportional election law. The members of parliament in Poland do not represent the interests of the individual voters but only the interest of the party. It is easy for Premier and President to usurp dictatorial powers and to declare wars as they please without a verification vote in Parliament. Who is going to stop them - unarmed and impoverished citizens who are not sure when the sick economy will stop this free fall? I am certain that if the peaceful and God loving Poles had a chance for a true vote, Poland true to the guidance of its Pope would not have declared war on Iraq or anyone else.
Saddled with proportional election law, Poles do not have true voting rights, as they never know who is going to represent them in the Parliament. The present rules allow political parties to prepare lists of "choice" candidates and those who are at the top are guaranteed seats in Parliament even if they receive only 10 votes. This perfidious proportionality has been written in the Polish Constitution to protect the interests of the former Communists and their new wealth, which they accumulated taking advantage of "free market" opportunities. Now this proportionality of the election law has dragged us into an unwanted war.
An observant person might notice that the former Communists have approx. three quarters of Poland's wealth and only 5% of the population. They cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. War against real or imaginary terrorists is very handy for them to protect their political positions and private interests. However who is a terrorist for some, might be a partisan for others. Wealthy minorities are well advised to use dialogue instead of bloody coercion.
In my opinion, problems of resentment and aggression will intensify as the world is coming to the end. Not in a Biblical sense of Armageddon but in a sense of markets that have no money and will no longer provide for the growth of greedy nations. Days of 30% market growth are over as there is no fresh money in the Middle East, South America, Africa, Europe, India and Asia. Our world is in a phase of stagnant markets and for some, the war might be seen as a solution. But the war has never has been a long-term solution. Especially now when there are so many tools of mass destruction in hands of Russia, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, France, China, USA, Israel and North Korea. Is Poland also going to have nuclear arms on our soil?
A possible solution might be the new "Bretton Woods Act" promoted by the American presidential candidate Lyndon Larouche. (http://larouchein2004.net ) A plan for a joint reconstruction of the world for the people and by the people. A plan for rich nations to preserve their wealth and poor nations to have opportunities to increase their standard of living to prevent needless suffering and deaths. This is what I pray one day will be discussed and lobbied in the United Nations hallways instead of yet another resolution for or against the war. This approach requires honest and strong leadership and this is what our world needs the most today. I hope that the needless greed does not screw us all.
Stanislaw Tyminski
stan@maloca.com
Where were these "Peaceniks" when President Clinton bombed Yugoslavia? It is important to note that the Serbs did not have weapons of mass destruction. They did not attack us first, infact they were never a threat to the US, nor did Clinton ever receive U.N. sanctions to bomb the Serbian people in a cruel war.
Jeanette S. Czubak
JSCzubak@aol.com
Campbell Hall, New York
This is the most exciting day I can remember in a long time -- and perhaps the most beautiful webpage I have created:
http://unamity.com/electra/index.html !!!
Millennium
unamity@yahoo.co.uk
and already mirrored at:
http://www.pterodactyl.tv/x49/
Excellent full page ads in the "New York Times" and "USA Today" WM
Three months ago, I still believed a US-led war against Iraq was a painful necessity. Saddam started three wars (Iran, Kurdish minority in Iraq, and Kuwait). He also supports Palestinian terrorism against Israel. And oppresses his own people, I was said. Therefore I believed that to remove Saddam Hussein was absolutely necessary to achieve peace and democracy in the Middle East, and that the death of innocent Iraqis was, unfortunately, the price to pay... And I was wrong.
I understood that I was wrong while spending three months in USA. I stayed in Tucson, a big town in Southern Arizona. And almost everybody I spoke about Iraq with was opposed to the possible war. People who like to think are opposed to this war, although they find Saddam evil, because "USA is not the police of the world". And because Iraqi civilians should not be punished for having a bad president.
What I find unacceptable are Bush's and Powell's arguments. How can they say that Saddam must prove that he has no weapons of mass destruction? How can he anyone prove that he does not have a weapon hidden somewhere, anywhere?
The allegations of a supposed connexion between Saddam and Bin Laden are ridiculous. Of course, both men are Arabs, and Muslims, but this is nearly all what they have in common...
Bush and Powell believe that the whole world is stupid enough to believe their allegations, even when both are unable to show evidence of what they say...
In such circumstances, this war would be unacceptable.
I still hope it won't happen.
Ludwin Fischer
Geneva, 10 of March 2003
ludwin@redpin.com
http://www.cybpress.org
OK, Osama and Hussein are both Arabs but they differ in their attitude to Islam, which makes them enemies. Bin Laden's Islam is ultra rigid while Saddam is not known as a practicing Muslim and Iraq has a high degree of religious tolerance. WM
In response to my article "Who Has the Right to Exist", I received an unsigned email in which the author claimed that the Palestinian Arabs have no ancient roots. We exchanged some correspondence which I don't present here because he didn't stick precisely to the subject making it hard to draw a final conclusion. All we need is the census of the Arab population particularly in the Palestinian territory that claims a right to independence: 1) What is the number of Arab cities and villages in Palestinian Territories? 2) Please name some main Arab cities on Palestinian Territories with their respective population figures and the approximate date they were founded. 3) What is the number of Arab villages throughout Palestinian Territories and how ancient are they? Thanks in advance to those who provide this information. WM
If glory be in war;
Call to fighting cause.
Sounding trumpet, bugle blare;
Forward body, nation's duty, spirited care.
Arms and regiments, bodies dead with empty stares.
Held with spellbound stare;
Pausing, thinking, wondering, looking, hoping.
Regal dress, early morn;
Firm bodies lined in splendid form.
On fields with buttons ready - press!
Leaders, heroes, wealthy dealers;
Spurring, urging, telling, convincing - fight!
Just cause at dawn;
Belief, action, halt, retreat.
Life has lost its normal beat.
Horror at sights in view;
Crying, wailing, maiming, slaughter, death!
History speaks, sad regrets.
History speaks sad regrets.
Victor, vanquished, tears of fear, hearts upset.
Count the dead, write strategies won;
Planning, removing, rebuilding, stop killing!
Another wrong, and convolute;
Duty, action, questions fall.
Human beings dead, lies fed - salute!
Poem by Courtenay Francis Raymond Barnett
barnet46@hotmail.com)
Announcing StratoPark ! ! !
X49 SuperScram ElectroShip?
Millennium Twain
unamity@yahoo.co.uk
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William Markiewicz