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You can hear the whips cracking...

In an attempt somehow salvage this past week, the Bush Administration is turning the screws on Ahmad Chalabi - the leader of the U.S. designed interm Iraq government. Looks like someone is looking for another scapegoat to deflect criticism toward......especially after the U.S. slaughter of 40 at an Iraqi wedding. Locals claim that 10 children were killed in this raid. The government denies it was a wedding....says that the house hosting the event was a hideout for insurgents.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-appointed ,mayor of Fallujah said (in a heavily U.S. guarded press meeting) that the city is the safest in all of Iraq (since the U.S. pulled back) - and is inviting contractors to return to the area. Right. Chances are, this guy is going to end up dead somewhere in the next month.

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Thank god for Michael Moore. He does what all of us working stiffs wish we could do. Looks like his latest film is a stink bomb for the Bush administration - and a critical hit at Cannes.

More power to him, I say. For once, one of the "common folk" has managed to find his way to a communications tower - and is broadcasting a perspective that many of us are looking for.

I'm just glad he's doing his part....

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Here's a sobering interview with a 12-year Marine that participated in the Iraq invasion - and has since left the service in protest.

On the subject of veterans against the war, I recommend staying tuned to the editorial cartoons of Vietnam vet Jeff Danziger. He's always had the soldier's back - and rarely pulls a punch.

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The story of Nick Berg just won't go away....

New questions surface regarding the execution of Berg....questions that suggest a conspiracy of distraction by our own government. Some are alledging that the horrific murder is in fact a fake - or more accurately, a military psy-op....targeting the American public as a tactic to draw attention from the Iraqi abuse scandal.

Although it is still the fodder for conspiracy sites, the questions that are being posed have plenty of legitimacy - and strike at the heart of the Bush administration. The horrifying fact is, these accusations could very well be true. The timing of the execution and the hazy facts surrounding Berg's detainment by U.S. forces (which is currently being denied) - makes for a pretty good argument. That...and all the American public has to go on is a few stills of the video - which does not accuractely convey the whole story.

To see this for yourself, the uncut video is available here....(warning - extremely graphic).

For those who wish to spare themselves the gory details....know this. The beheading is strangely bloodless (i.e. - the beheaded body isn't bleeding like a live body)....leading to the speculation that Berg might have been dead prior to the execution. Also at issue are several smaller details:

1. According to an US military report in April 2003, the alledged murderer - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - was killed in the bombing of Falluja.
2. In the video "Zarqawi" is wearing a gold ring -- an adornment forbidden by Islam.
3. The orange jumpsuit worn by Berg is much like those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo.
4. The "terrorists" look pretty well-fed and exhibit body language consistent with Westerners.

The list goes on.....

Additionally....here is another link to some ugly American footage. The cold, calculating military footage from an Apache cockpit....as they kill three "enemy targets"....including killing the wounded....a violation of the Geneva convention.

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In less grumpy news.....

The parental clock is getting more hours these days. Alex is pouring her evenings into the new operetta she's rehersing for, so.....it's lots of daddy time for next couple of weeks. This week has been exhausting - as I've been wrapping up rehersals for Rutter's "Requiem" at Bridgeport - with a performance on Saturday evening.

All good. All busy.

Greer is handling it all in stride....although we wish we could spend more time with him. More photos will be coming soon...

In my spare seconds, I've started a small collection of 16mm films - which I hope to show/watch.....when I find a suitable projector to show them from.

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More mea culpas from Washington.

After getting through being "disgusted" - the president now feels "disgraced" by the abuses at Abu Ghraib....wallowing in his own self-righteousness while Don Rumsfeld scampers off to Iraq to exhibit official concern.

Covering their asses with every misleading step.

"Mr Rumsfeld got a frosty reception from detainees at the prison. Hundreds watched from behind a fence, some of them showing a thumbs-down gesture; others held aloft a tattered Iraqi flag." - AP

Even with photographic proof and ugly testimony from former detainees - the blame is still on the soldiers.....who, while responsible for their own actions - were most assuradly encouraged and instructed by military and contractor intellegence personel.

No doubt about it.

Meanwhile, damage control is in full swing. Prisoners are being released and the soldiers are court-marshalled. Interestingly, the recent beheading horror is quickly turning into a liability, rather than a successful diversion.

Berg's father lays the blame for his son's death at the feet of GW.

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Here's an interesting tidbit...

Regarding the abuses at Abu Ghraib....it appears that of the 37 interrogators that worked at the prison, 27 of them were private contractors from CACI. One of those CACI interrogators, Steven Stefanowicz, was implicated in the abuses.

One wonders if these contractors will be held to the same standards as the soldiers that are being court-marshalled.

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On the heels of the Iraqi abuse ugliness - comes new and equally appaling news of a U.S. civilian beheaded by terrorists in Iraq. Video of the act posted on the internet as a warning to a westerners. More of the same to come.

As horrifying as this is, the media attention surrounding this act carries the unmistakeable stink of distraction - in the face of the growing military abuse scandal. My Wednesday newspaper carried a half-page photo of Nick Berg and his captors - as if responding in kind to the images of U.S.-sponsored prison terror tactics.

Only after this sensational photographic information has been spread around - and Berg's story used as a diversion - , do we learn from his family that U.S. forces had actually held and questioned Berg for two weeks - assessing his credentials as a contractor looking for reconstruction work. This timing is crucial, according to his family, who now blame the U.S. adminstration for not releasing him before the escalation of violence in April.

I'm reminded of Pvt. Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. Two more U.S. citizens used to plug media holes in this sham of a war. Given the response from Berg's family, one wonders if this story will blow up in the face of those who are pushing it.

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I've been pretty quiet this past couple of months - especially regarding the controversy erupting in D.C. over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

The distractions of fatherhood have a lot of pull these days - but I am compelled to get back on the wagon - if only to help prepare a warm spot in the unemployment line for Don Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz.

Although Bush is standing by his man - saying that Rummy is doing a "superb job"; there is call for his ouster from all sides. The abuse photos that continue to surface will eventually demand the blood of someone other than enlisted men and women. Even though George and Dick are backing Rummy now, don't expect much love from either if this gets beyond the spin doctors. My feeling is that Wolfowitz or possibly Paul Bremmer will be served up first - before Rummy sees the ax.

John Poindexter went first, then Wolfowitz, then Rumsfeld...