Protest in San Francisco

This is a picture from the protest yesterday in San Francisco. I wish there had been a protest or vigil here, but I didn't organize it and neither did anyone else. We do have several vigils per week in my town, including Women in Black, so for a small place, we do a lot. The sign that is being held up here says "NO for the Palestinian People Blockage" in English, Arabic and Hebrew. There are more pictures at this link.

And there is a blog post about this vigil at this link. She says that activism isn't always pleasant, but stresses the importance even when we think it is not being noticed.

Today we got the news that Suharto, the mass murderer, has died. More information on him, his evil way, and how the US authorities supported him even while they pretended that they didn't. Hey, they are still pretending!

Of course, pretending is not limited to the politicians that we elect here in the USA. The American people like to pretend too - a lot of them pretended that there were WMDs in Iraq in 2002, even though common sense would have told any thinking person otherwise. Then some of them took up pretending that entire factories of production for weapons could be moved into another country without a trace. Most of these very dumb people pretend they were moved to Syria, but a candidate for president (Huckabee) likes to pretend they were moved to Jordan. Most likely, he could not find Jordan or Syria on a map. My dental hygienist supports him for president.

A few years back, many Americans thought that we should stay in Iraq until it is "better" -I am talking about 2003 and 2004 and 2005 and even 2006 - hey, there are probably STILL Americans out there who think we should stay until we make it all "better" in Iraq, and as far as I can tell, they truly and sincerely believe that American runs around the world freeing people from tyranny, just out of the goodness of our heart. So, while some Americans complain about feeding other American's hungry children, they say we should keep dropping bombs out of the loving goodness of our hearts.

Today, several people I have run into lately say that we should leave Iraq, but we should not do it "quickly" because that will make it worse. Well, if a large bulldozer knocked down EVERY wall of your home and then just sat there will no indication that it will ever leave, would you want to get the bulldozer off there quickly or slowly? Keep in mind, you cannot rebuild until the bulldozer does leave, and you are homeless.

I do not understand why some Americans who think they are progressive and informed what to prolong the suffering of the Iraqi people.

I think they are just dumb, but really, can you be that dumb for that long without being evil? I just don't think it is possible.

This weekend, I was supposed to go to a State Executive meeting for the NC Democratic Party in the eastern part of the state. My car is not reliable - and I will soon buy a new car - so I asked a friend who he is going with and could I come along. He told me yes, but apparently did not check it out with the person who was driving. On Friday afternoon, he called and told me that I did not have a ride because the driver does not want me in his car. So, I didn't go - but probably got a lot more productive stuff done here at home anyway. Apparently, I had an altercation with this driver, although I cannot remember it at all. I bet he decided that he does not like me because I have gotten up at all Democratic Party meetings (local and state) and let them know what I think of their very dumb ideas. And I feel pretty strongly about this because I know that the ideas that the US authorities are following (like in Iraq today, supporting Suharto in the past, and countless other times) are causing great suffering FOR NO GOOD REASON. As a matter of fact, I believe the only reason they are doing it is GREED. And Americans go on supporting this, and re-electing these people, and never come to acknowledge what is happening. They stay ignorant, and the US media certainly helps them in this goal - but really, can they be this ignorant for this long without being truly EVIL? I just don't think so.