Sabinal Blue

Visiting The Thoughts Of Yet One More Person

Meanderings of an introverted dancer - a public school teacher with thoughts on music, politics, and life in the hills.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Sheltered, Protected

There are depths I can’t travel, yet I feel I must. Bursting through is fearful because I foresee a period of pain. I worry that when chasing demons the angels will also flee for there will no longer be a need. Is there enough trust within me to stand naked before myself. That seems like a question, but it isn’t. Like when the computer sends out an unasked for warning – ‘you are not connected to any networks.’ There will be words to avoid of necessity because their meanings have escaped purpose in the world.

Nothing erodes the heart. It cannot become a smooth ball without becoming destroyed, thus as it flips through its stages the ache strengthens and knows it is there to remain. A voice creeping slyly without guile – not wisdom but experience. The words are notes the sentences chords the paragraph a movement in a symphony.

I’m on the beach with fruit flavored ice wondering my tongue. The Ramones were the catalyst. A cartoon band for young adults. Moving out of childhood into a world of music that both reminded me of my youthful joy and rebelled against the synthesizers that had taken over that soul of music. I did not belong in a world where the muse was violently removed from popular culture, yet I found myself there. The Ramones sheltered me, protected me.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Two months

Been awhile since I've been here, but I finally read a report in the newspaper that was not censored by our government. How the heck it slipped through is anyone's guess. I've been hearing stuff like this underground for almost 5 years now. Well, it's no longer underground. The only question now is - how do we get the burning Bush to back off when his truth in his head does not meet the truth on the ground??? The man is way off base with reality, and really needs a good 6 or 7 months in an asylum. Of course, that would only help reality if Cheney were committed in the next room. And, I'm being nice, because I truly believe they both belong in prison. Here's the article and the link:



By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his government's military and political progress on Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."

One of his top aides, meanwhile, accused the United States of embarrassing the Iraqi government by violating human rights and treating his country like an "experiment in a U.S. lab."

Al-Maliki sought to display confidence at a time when pressure is mounting in Congress for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces. On Thursday, the House passed a measure calling for the U.S. to withdraw its troops by spring, hours after the White House reported mixed progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting 18 benchmarks.

During a press conference, al-Maliki shrugged off the progress report, saying that difficulty in enacting the reforms was "natural" given Iraq's turmoil.

"We are not talking about a government in a stable political environment but one in the shadow of huge challenges," al-Maliki said. "So when we talk about the presence of some negative points in the political process, that's fairly natural."

Al-Maliki said his government needs "time and effort" to enact the political reforms that Washington seeks — "particularly since the political process is facing security, economic and services pressures, as well as regional and international interference."

But he said if necessary, Iraqi police and soldiers could fill the void left by the departure of coalition forces.

"We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want," he said.

One of al-Maliki's close advisers, Shiite lawmaker Hassan al-Suneid, bristled over the American pressure, telling The Associated Press that "the situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American laboratory (judging) whether we succeed or fail."

He sharply criticized the U.S. military, saying it was committing human rights violations and embarrassing the Iraqi government through such tactics as building a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah and launching repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in the capital's slum of Sadr City.

He also criticized U.S. overtures to Sunni groups in Anbar and Diyala provinces, encouraging former insurgents to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq. "These are gangs of killers," he said.

In addition, he said that al-Maliki has problems with the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, who he said works along a "purely American vision."

"There are disagreements that the strategy that Petraeus is following might succeed in confronting al-Qaida in the early period but it will leave Iraq an armed nation, an armed society and militias," al-Suneid said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070715/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq