You ever hear the line "You know, the first thing Hitler did was take away all the guns." It seems to come up every time you talk to a gun-control opponent. My wife used it on me recently.

I am still waiting for evidence supporting that statement. No luck in my searches thus far.

I did find this editorial, however...

NewStandard: 8/15/99 - Is everybody these days using Hitler as an excuse?

War is Absurd...

Independent News - Don't confuse food parcels with cluster bombs, warns US

Pay special attention to article's last paragraph.

Happy Tuesday,
Brian

RANT ALERT... RANT ALERT...

Okay, I'm writing this in a rush, so forgive me if it's disjointed and none-too-elegant. That said...

Guardian - Bombs go astray, the casualties mount - and the doubts set in

Guardian - Chuch massacre leaves Pakistan in turmail

This war is an ugly business, and America will need to decide if it is going to conduct it or not. The middle ground it has been walking is useless: the civilian casualties bolster anti-American sentiment abroad (and at home), it does not militarily weaken the Taliban, nor does it politically weaken them -- if anything, their standing has been given a boost. It's like we're shooting a bear with a BB gun.

If the attacks of September 11th were grounds for war -- and we have gone to war with far less justification -- then we should officially declare it such against 'the enemies', and go about the business of vanquishing them...

...and in so doing accept this simple fact: much of the world already hates us. Maybe deservedly so. But there is almost nothing that we can do in the short term to fix that, without catering to all sort of extremist elements. We must accept the fact that we cannot gather the support of much of the Middle East and simultaneously take effective actions. Let's get on with the business of removing the largest threats to our national security -- whether they be private organzations or national governments -- with the same vigor that we fought fascism in the 1940's. And afterwards look at patching relations.

This is not to say we ought to avoid examining our policies and actions over the last 30 years and mend our ways. You do not build up that much animosity for absolutely no reason.

SO: We cannot let the attacks go unanswered. We cannot just continue our same vague and self-centered approach to the world.

Either would simply confirm that America is a rich, fat, lazy slob which can't be bothered with uncomfortable conflict, and will do anything to avoid it -- losing more of her values all the time.

(Sadly, I have little faith that she will prove the critics wrong.)

Have a happy Monday,

Brian

We can't deny that the US is, with its war on Afghanistan, genuinely attempting to eliminate its most imminent terrorist threat.

But there's more. Much more...

The Guardian | George Monbiot: America's pipe dream

interesting point -- i'm having a hard time countering it...

Paying the Piper for Peace (washingtonpost.com)

Phew, it's over! This had been keeping me awake at nights...

The Independent - Pavarotti cleared of tax fraud

I fell absolutely in love with the Little Italy section of Baltimore. The tall and narrow streets, the 18th-century architecture, and laid-back atmosphere remind me of certain quarters of Europe.

Housing seems to be pretty cheap there, too. Maybe I should move. :-)

Baltimore Sun - Little Italy

I guess you expect some changes in life after the September 11th attacks. Some are odd...

Metro's Spotless Image on The Line (washingtonpost.com)

I assume others have wondered "how did they get almost twenty people to go on such a huge suicide mission and (a) pull it off and (b) keep it secret?"...

From UK's The Observer... Attackers did not know they were to die

It should be painfully obvious to every American today that the threat of bioterrorism is no joking matter
-- Mr. John Ashcroft, US Attorney General

So there you have it -- Anthrax is now OFFICIALLY NOT FUNNY....

The row continues between hizzoner Giuliani and Saudi Prince Alaweed...

Found in The Guardian... Pay attention: we don't buy your dangerous lies

Any punk fans remember Stanford Prison Experiment? The experiment after which it was named was a phsycological study in which students were divided into "prisoners" and "guards" and locked in a specially-created prison environment. The project was cancelled after the guards devolved into sadistic tyrants.

According to the The Guardian, the BBC is set to repeat this experiment for broadcast.

Read all about it....

We all know that when many of our friends in the GOP say "I believe we need less government"...

...they actually mean "govenment ought to mandate my morality and subsidize my business interests" while demanding that those in lower social strata pick themselves up by the bootstraps.

That makes this Liberal reluctant to publicize my views on the US central government. But, I couldn't let this example from the Washington Post of how National Government's arrogance dirupts citizens lives go untouched.

Lest anybody forget, I am still in a band. Satyr currently has its EP/CD in post-production and we expection to be finished soon.

Years of cultural arrogance and moral inconsistancy may catch up with the USA someday. Our Prez is busy trying to build a world-wide coalition for his fight. Best of luck to him. Robert Fisk's article in The Independent explains why he'll need it.

Schönen guten tag! Es ist heute 10.Oktober und hab' ich am ersten mal eine Weblog gemacht. Ich hoffne, daß Sie etwas interessant finden wollen.

Leider can ich nicht am moment viel schreiben. Später kann ich...

Bis dann... Tschau!