Now for Democracy Now! (and Mike and I are doing the same items).
170 Die in Iraq Over Two Days of Violence (Democracy Now!)
In Iraq, a suicide car bomber has killed at least 21 people after he rammed his car into a convoy of police vehicles in Baghdad. This comes a day after 150 people died in one of the bloodiest days of the Iraq war. In the deadliest incident on Wednesday up to 114 Shiite day laborers were killed after they were lured to a car packed with explosives. Over a dozen other attacks were reported in Iraq on Wednesday injuring as many as 600 people.
Iraqi Justice Minister Condemns U.S. For Arbitrarily Detaining Iraqis (Democracy Now!)
The U.S. is also coming under criticism in Iraq by the country's Minister of Justice, Abdul Husain Shandal. In an interview with Reuters he condemned the US military for arresting Iraqis without a warrant and for holding thousands of them without charges. The Justice Minister also said he wants to strip immunity from foreign troops.
Operation Enduring Falsehood continues. It will continue until we look at things honestly. That inventory requires us examining the lies we were told, the things that have happened over there and asking ourselves some serious questions. Maybe the "fine tuners" need to make themselves feel better by attempting to rectify their mistakes? If so, they are fooling themselves if they think we are the ones who can fix the problems.
In my practice, one of the biggest difficulties I often have is with people who don't want to deal with their own actions. They want a free pass. They think seeking help by showing up for an appointment somehow absolves them of their actions. But they will not own up, or cop to, what they have done. Those are long term patients because you have to work with them slowly so that they can get over their denial and begin to see how events actually happened.
I think a lot of Americans are in denial. I should say, "In denial still." A lot of American, polls demonstrate this, have awoken from the nightmare and realized how bad things are. But you get people who won't wake up. Those people are probably not going to be reached anytime soon. Others are encouraged not to wake up by people who present themselves as "bright" saying, "We need to fix it."
I cannot begin to count the number of times I have had to review that we cannot fix others, we can only fix ourselves. That's so basic but it's so missed among the people chanting the "fine tune" mantra.
I'll do a quick example. Your name is Judy. You live next door to me. I "accidentally" bomb your house. I tell you not to worry. I'll pay for the repair costs. I build your house back up as I want your house to be.
You are not a child or someone who can't think for yourself. At the most, you needed my money to reconstruct what I've destroyed. You did not need me deciding the layout of your home.
Iraqis are not children. A number of Americans (those chanting "fine tune") seem to think they are.
"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center):
The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.
Hannah Arendt, 20th-century German political philosopher and author
Readers of the gina & krista round-robin knew C.I. was in D.C. but since C.I. noted it at the site today, I'll note here that I'm really proud of my friend who never lets anything interfere with activism. We'll all be in D.C. next weekend participating in the rallies and events and I hope many of you will be as well. But if you're unable to attend, I hope you will challenge yourself to figure out more ways you can be active in your own communities. Read C.I.'s editorial from Saturday because Mike told me today that his professor thinks it's the best thing anyone's written about the reporting from Iraq. After you read it, think of ways in which you see myths and lies taking hold around you and attempt to uproot them.
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