.
More on the fleecing of U.S. taxpayers...

Rumblings from the Washington Post - on Haliburton's growing contracts with the military. Turns out that Dick Cheney's former employer stands to make $1.7 billion off of government contracts that were handed to them without entertaining other bids.

Ah...privitization of the military. Don Rumsfeld seems to think that outsourcing military services such as housing, supplies and security - will be better in the long run.

Better perhaps for the corportations that feed off of war and "rebuilding". Think about it. Many of the same companies who supplied the weapons to destroy Iraq (General Electric, Lockheed Martin, etc.) are sharing U.S. military bedspace with the corporations that are in charge of rebuilding.

Conflict of interest, anyone?

In addition, private contractors are not held to the same standards as their military counterparts. And since the casualty rate for contractors has skyrocketed in Iraq (about 1 killed per week) this has resulted in many no-shows - and subsequent delays in taking care of our troops.

Hipsters
Circle I Limbo

Democrats
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

General asshats
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Scientologists
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Bill Gates
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Saddam Hussein
Circle VII Burning Sands

Republicans
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

George Bush
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

.
Another deadly day in Baghdad. Car bomb destroys U.N. humanitarian building, killing 20 and injuring over 100.

Anyone still think these people want us over there? Look forward to more of the same - with no end in sight - until we are gone.

The killing of a Reuters videographer this week is starting to stink. Reports say that he and his crew had been identified earlier - and given permission to film - by the same unit that killed him. The excuse? The camera looked like an RPG.....at 90 feet.....the distance from which he was shot.

And finally...

As the military death toll creeps higher (129 dead since "the end of major operations"), Bush backpeddles on his psuedo-macho aircraft carrier announcement, saying that "we still have combat operations going on. It's a different kind of combat mission, but, nevertheless, it's combat, just ask the kids that are over there killing and being shot at."

No shit, George.

.
For anyone wanting to see the WTO in action, behold the recent maneuverings by the United States to void the EU requirement for a special label on genetically modified foods.

That's right....by applying to the World Trade Organziation, member nations can have the laws of another member nation suspended - if the WTO finds that those laws interfere with international commerce.

In the case of the European Union vs. WTO, a GM foods labeling mandated by the EU (that followed a five year ban) can essentially be overthrown - subverting local law and disregarding the opinions/concerns of the populace.

Once again, profit wins out over people.

My main concern about GM foods is less about the fruit - than the seeds. By genetically modifying seeds, corporations such as Monsanto (producers of Roundup and other toxic goodies) can patent them - thereby controlling the means of reproduction/distribution. In the case of Monsanto, their seeds are resistant to Roundup - a common insecticide used in farming. Soon enough, in order to use Roundup, farmers will have to purchase these non-reproductive patented seeds....thereby handing over control of a primary right to harvest and plant their own seeds.

In other news....

I know it's short notice, but I'm taking the day off to protest pResident Bush's arrival in Portland - and would welcome anyone who wants to speak out to join me.

Here are the details:

When: Thursday, August 21st - 10am (marching to U of P @ 10:30ish)
Where: Columbia Park at Lombard St - near the University of Portland campus (where Bush is speaking).

For breaking news on the event, check:

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/08/269543.shtml

Also, here is a map of the meeting place:

http://media.portland.indymedia.org/images/2003/08/269544.gif

For more information, contact me @ greg@grumpyvoices.com

.
Could U.S. monies to Israel be slopping over into Columbia?

Guatemalan authorities have ordered the arrest of three Israelis with suspected ties to terrorist groups - for allegedly running 3,117 AK-47 assault rifles and 5 million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to a group of right-wing Latin American paramilitaries, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

This was the case during the Iran/Contra scandal. Israeli gun runners (using U.S. money) supplied weapons to various U.S.-backed Central American paramilitary groups - whose purpose was to subvert and threaten the local government and its supporters. In the case of Nicaragua, the planes that were bringing the guns to the Contras were often leaving with kilos of cocaine, for distribution in the United States.

Some things never change.

.
The latest mountain made out of a molehill.

U.S. Government sets up sting to nab a small-time arms dealer. Much noise is heard.

No progress on terrorism is made.

.
My mom says that I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Somedays, I would agree. A great deal of unnecessary weight finds itself on these pages and in my day to day conversations.

Sometimes I think about how easy it would be to stop fighting and give in to the urge to purge my conscience.

Then there are days like this.

Since Bush declared the "end of major combat" in Iraq, I have been keeping a list of every KIA that is reported via Centcom and the world media. Every week, the dead are categorized by day, location, military unit and incident code. I post it in my workspace and hope that someone notices. It's grim, but it's necessary to remind everyone of the price our troops are paying to help corner part of the oil market.

In the past seven days, 13 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq - the victims of an illegal war.

Also, is there a coverup of vaccination-related deaths in the military?

In other news...

HELL'S HIGHWAY at the Clinton Street Theater! Campy and creepy, it unveils, debunks and lingers on the topic of high school drivers ed "shock" films. Look for cameos by Ronald Reagan and Sonny Bono (plugging an anti-drug program).

.
It's the full moon, I'm telling you.

The last two days have been a string of activity - and the rest of the week doesn't look promising. Most of the work is in preperation for the weekend. We're looking to jettison a fair amount of material goods at our yard sale this Saturday - after which I have a bachelor party to attend, followed the next day by another house party with some friends. At some point, we'll finish shooting the feature....hopefully before the month's end.

Brain is on overload.

.
Had a wonderful time last night visiting with the usual Portland blogging suspects. I have no pictures, but an addiction to those damn almonds. Thanks to Jenn for putting this together. The need to cook for others is a powerful thing.

Also spent today getting my acting career off the ground. Just like the old days, except I'm in front of the camera now. Things were supposted to have started earlier for me, but the schedules change as they often do. Spent an hour shooting a scene in downtown Vancouver and then spent most of the late evening (and early morning) shuttling back and forth between remote locations while shooting about three minutes of script in the car.

In other news...

Great new site for keeping track of the corporate cronyism happening in the White House.

.
Curious George is coming back to Little Beruit, ladies and gents. He's expected on August 21st (according to Indymedia) at the University of Portland.

Speaking of dense foliage, our fearless leader has elected yet another one of his corporate cronies to continue the privitization of Iraq. What do you bet that Bush-friendly corporations see most of these business benefits?

On a lighter note...

The 25th Anniversary of Animal House in Cottage Grove on August 30th. Toga contests, parades, and a concert with Otis Day and the Nights and The Kingsmen.

Bluto and I have our reservations...

.
Another U.S. soldier (from PDX) speaking his mind.

I watched Blackhawk Down last week and shuddered to think what our troops are facing. Growing urban discontent - and the warfare that will come with it. Much was said of the street-to-street war that would erupt in Baghdad. It didn't explode during the initial assault - but it may well boil over with time.

.
I wonder if Haliburton gives out hazard pay for this.

If I was working for KBR, I'd be asking for a pretty high pay increase right about now. As the tensions increase, more civilian contractors will be seeing the war up close. Those oil lines will never be safe again.

In other news....

Check out the documentary "We Interrupt This Empire" from the folks over at Video Activism. The film follows the protests in San Francisco that followed the beginning of the second Iraq war. It's the first film to confront the realities of war profiteering and expose the flimsy lies that the Bush administration is selling the American public.

At times, the film bears a resemblance to the potent activist films of Barbara Trent (The Panama Deception), laying out the raw facts and exposing the deceitful tactics used to instigate war. At other moments, it seems disjointed - jumping between background material and footage of the protestors with little transitional cohesion. Still, it's well produced investigative/on-the-scene journalism that deserves to be seen by all.