OPEN BOUQUET (September-October)

By William Markiewicz

(As other short items may follow, I've decided to group them together.)

The Earth Under a Dense Nuclear Web (10/26)

Pentagon wants 'mini-nukes' to fight terrorists
By Julian Coman in Washington 
(Excerpt from telegraph.co.uk, 26/10/2003):

   The DSB's [Defence Science Board] findings envisage a 
   revamped nuclear arsenal made up of small-scale missiles
   whose explosive impact would be easier to control and
   could be targeted at smaller aggressive states.

Never before did the world have to be under such total, unquestioned control. The "1000 Year Old Reich" on the way to being realised.

No Other Choice? (10/15)

Excerpt from USA TODAY

Army probes soldier suicides
By Gregg Zoroya, 
Alarmed by the number of suicides among soldiers in Iraq,
the Army has asked a team of doctors to determine whether
the stress of combat and long deployments is contributing
to the deaths.

"The number of suicides has caused the Army to be concerned,"
said Lt. Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist at
the Army's Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Ritchie is helping to investigate
the suicides in Iraq. "Is there something different going on
in Iraq that we really need to pay attention to?"
(Related story: Soldier's suicide shocks Pa. town)

Is there no other choice for the actors in this tragic farce which is "Drang nach Osten" for the sake of Western Values, Golden Fleece, Oil, than to protest by choosing death?

Recent Suicide Attack in Haifa (10/04)

The Israeli government reacts with its usual twisted logic to the recent kamikaze attack in Haifa. Bush used the issue of September 11 to invade Iraq and Israel uses the attack on Haifa to get rid of Arafat. Arafat is the only man who possesses authority among the Palestinians and who showed a willingness to achieve peace with Israel even though he made one mistake, rejecting the golden opportunity offered him by Barak. Hamas promised and kept its promise that the wall would not impede their attack. Removal of Arafat of course will not inhibit the kamikaze. So, what will be the "brilliant" Israeli new step? Get rid of Palestinians altogether? Not an easy task but in today's world political configuration, not impossible. It won't impede attacks either. What next -- to get rid of the neighbours? To hunt for Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims wherever they are? It would be following in Bush's footsteps, who decides in advance where the next terrorist nest is situated. Even for Bush the task finally seems to be too much.

Instead of continuing pipedream politics, why not start with the simplest step: Get rid of Sharon and his settlements!

"Women Verecke" (9/20)

Akila al-Hashimi, a woman on the Iraqi Governing Council who was part of an Iraqi delegation to the UN, was critically wounded in Baghdad today. The attack was not an act of resistance against America but an act of terror against women. It's a chilling reminder to Iraqi women; the times of education as well as professional and political engagement are over for them. Now they should look for happiness in the kitchen and privileged positions in the harem under a clement master. The American attack and occupation of Iraq has liberated the fundamentalist monster kept down under Saddam Hussein

For the Americans, those fundamentalists are potential allies because they give more importance to control over women than to control over their oil.

UN to Israel: Keep away from Arafat (9/20)

Sharon's formula for peace: "You keep Arafat while we keep and multiply settlements over the Palestinian territory."

Regarding Clark's Defenders (9/19)

Jimmy Walter quotes an article in "Antidotal" maintaining that General Jackson was exaggerating in accusing General Clark of being ready for WW3 in the Pristina airport crisis. Anyway, whether or not the accusation is exaggerated, General Clark belongs to the constellation of hawks that plague America, meaning not the best candidate for President.

Clark for President? (9/18)

Excerpt from The Guardian, August 1999

"I'm not going to start the third world war for you," General Sir Mike
Jackson, commander of the international K-For peacekeeping force, is
reported to have told Gen Clark when he refused to accept an order to
send assault troops to prevent Russian troops from taking over the
airfield of Kosovo's provincial capital.

According to Jimmy Walter "The Russian incident makes him too crazy for his finger to control THE button."

Who Can Marry Whom? (9/16)

Marriage basically has two components: sentimental and legal. While sentiments are a personal matter, the legal aspect applies equally to everybody. Legal aspects represent material concerns, security, rights and duties. Why should duties and benefits depend on anyone's genes? Don't we all have the same basic necessities? The priest should have the right to defend his beliefs by refusing to marry a same sex couple. By the same token, the homosexual couple should be able to defend their basic right to security by claiming all the benefits accorded to the married couple.

Arafat Out, More Settlements In
With Their Heavy Toll On Human Lives (9/13)

With their annexations, the settlers don't fight but feed the terror. Sharon's team knows, like all of us, that with or without Arafat the Palestinians will not give up on their territories. Once Arafat's out, Sharon's team will find another and another Arafat to blame and to 'remove' while the conquest will continue.

It Is Not a War against Terror, It's War for Territories (9/11)

If the Israelis hadn't annexed the Palestinian territories, there would have been peace a long time ago. With their rural territories shrinking around them, the Palestinian cities are becoming semi-autonomous Bantustans with no chance to develop a basic economy. They'll be condemned to live on charities from, for example, the Saudis or the Emirates. How long can charity last? The Palestinian population will have to gradually emigrate.

Bush must favour such a scenario; otherwise he would have cracked down on Israeli expansion over the Palestinian territories at the very beginning.

"Danke America!" (9/03)

Saddam's Baath Party power gave predominance to secularism over religious fundamentalism. Whether the US decides to stay or to go, Iraq's future can only be theocratic. The well-organized Shiites enjoy vast support from the Islamic world, while more liberal Sunnis and secularists, in general, have no friends, no money, no armed forces. I'm mostly sorry for the bright, over-qualified Iraqi women who, from the Universities and the work force, will have to go into harems and kitchens. The Croats celebrated their victory with the song "Danke Deutschland!" Now, it is the Muslim fundamentalists' turn to thank America.

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William Markiewicz