Christmas Gifts

Christmas Gifts

My brother sent me a gift in the mail. It is a very tiny, very cute little thingy… a Memory Stick/PC Card Adaptor. I like small, little things, which is why I got notebook computers in the first place. I think it was very sweet of him to send me a gift, and the point of this Memory Stick is to transfer my data (mostly old emails) off of my old computer and put it on my new computer. Right now, my old computer acts like a giant floppy disk. (Let’s leave aside the question of “should I save this data at all?” If I do transfer the data, then I can sell or give away the old computer, anyway.) He said he sent me this because he wanted to give me something practical.

I have no earthly idea how to make it work.

I was driving around town today and looking at the rime ice up on the mountains. (Rime ice, for those who have never seen it, is actually condensation, or humidity, frozen on tree branches and such.) It leaves the top of a mountain looking mostly white, with a bottom part that is mostly brown (some green from the pine trees). It is like someone drew a line to separate the two areas. While driving, I listened to my friend, Cecil, on the local radio station. He was talking about different holiday traditions and celebrations. I really enjoy having Cecil on the local radio. These were two gifts from today… the rime ice and the progressive radio with Cecil. This radio station allows me to hear “Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman. This is quite a gift.

Cecil mentioned the ancient rites of this season…. The pagan celebration of the winter solstice. I attend the Religious Society of Friends meeting (Quakers). We do not even have services for Christmas, even though this is a religion founded on (as they like to say) the “radical” teachings of Jesus Christ. They don’t see where Jesus asked us to celebrate his birthday, and they suspect, like I do, that he was born in the spring anyway. They consider the whole holiday quite “populist”.

I went and bought a copy of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” song. Another Christmas gift, from me to me. I remember singing this song while I was in high school…. I remember signing it with friends, some of whom are now dead. I remember singing it on New Year’s… with guys who had been to Vietnam. Now, today, it is again sadly, relevant. And that makes me feel like crying.

“As so this is Christmas,
and what have you done?
Another year over,
a new one just begun.”

I heard this week that the US troops that arrive at the military hospital in Germany only come with what they had on…. And they were requesting socks, underwear, sweatpants and sweatshirts, toiletries, movies, DVDs for the troops. I called the White House comment line (202-456-1112) and Senator Dole’s office (202-224-6342) right away about that one. Apparently, getting a limb blown off is not a good enough excuse for not packing your bags in today’s “the army you have, not the army you wish you had”. I can understand why the US military might not want to buy the typical movie a typical 20-something year old male might want to watch… that would just look terrible on a purchase order. But NOT PROVIDING THEM WITH UNDERWEAR is just beyond me. I will be sending some of my old videos over soon, like “A Walk to Remember” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding”. Most of those 20-something year old males will watch for about 10 minutes before they say “hey, I don’t have to watch this! I’m not on a date!”

“And so this is Christmas,
We hope you have fun,
The near and the dear ones,
The old and the young.”

Of course, this week we had 22 killed when an “insurgent” in Mosul blew himself up. Those of us who listen to Democracy Now knew that Mosul was in the hands of the “insurgents” by this past September. Those of us who know anything about guerilla wars know that the rebels infiltrate the occupiers all the time. Very tragic this event, and very predictable.

“A Very Merry Christmas, and A Happy New Year,
Let’s hope it’s a good one…without any fears.”

A blogger from Iraq “A Star from Mosul” wrote about her friend who died from US troops firing after a roadside bomb went off. Her friend was shot, and died, while in his teacher’s arms.

“And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
The rich and the poor ones
The world is so long….”

The people who made comments on her blog gave her lots of grief because she called the American troops “irresponsible” and because she never mentioned the recent killing of US troops in Mosul. This Iraqi blogger, and those who commented, never mentioned at all THE 66 PEOPLE KILLED TWO DAYS EARLIER in Najaf and Karbala. That would be three times worse than the Mosul incident, I think.

“And so happy Christmas,
For black and for white,
For yellow and red ones,
Let’s stop all the fights.”

Of course, those Iraqis civilians killed by US firepower are not mentioned at all. One statistical survey (a couple of months back) put this figure at 100,000. Being a statistical model, there is a wide margin of error here. However, they concluded that there is a better than 94% chance that over 40,000 civilians have been killed, mostly by US firepower (by a two to one margin), in this optional war for bogus reasons.

“A Very Merry Christmas, and A Happy New Year,
Let’s hope it’s a good one…without any tears.”

I read somewhere this week that 16 children in Baghdad died from exposure this week. They mostly have no electricity, and there is little fuel for the generators or for kerosene heaters. What fuel that is available is very expensive. The malnutrition rate is twice it was under the sanctions, which was already high. And it is not because of a lack of food (yet)…. It is because there is no safe drinking water. Not all those who die from war do so from bullets or bombs. They die from exposure and disease and stress and lack of medical care also.

“And so this is Christmas,
We hope you have fun,
The near and the dear ones,
The old and the young.”

The Washington Post wrote an editorial called “War Crimes”. This is in response to the ACLU’s unearthing the memos that indicate that the ‘Sec. Def.’ ordered torture (that would be Rumsfeld). Furthermore, military guys were pretending they were FBI guys. That made the FBI guys kinda nervous. Yes, torture, rape, abuse and other inhuman brutalities are also a part of wars, all wars. It just has that effect…. Seeing other humans as “others”, as being less than human. And having a buddy injured or hurt does inspire feelings of hate and revenge in a lot of people. And putting all the blame on the troops is like blaming your hand for hitting someone.

The Washington Post has not yet noticed that the entire war on Iraq is a WAR CRIME. But, nobody claimed they were a quick study, even if they do publish my letters sometimes (and sometimes not!)

“A Very Merry Christmas, and A Happy New Year,
Let’s hope it’s a good one…without any fears.”

Some 2,000 people were allowed back into Fallujah this week. That would be about 1% of the total number that left seven weeks ago, most of who are now living (and dying) in tents. Those people who went back said their homes are destroyed. There is no electricity at all here, and all the water and sewer pipes have been bombed to smithereens. The US military is proposing to put up water tanks on every block or so for drinking water. Meanwhile, three more US Marines died fighting there this week. I’m not sure if that makes it the fourth “liberation” of Fallujah, or if it is just the third “liberation”, part 2.

So, what happens if they cannot reach the water tanks to refill them?

Anybody over there thought of that? I didn’t think so……..

“And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
The rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong….”

“A Very Merry Christmas, and A Happy New Year,
Let’s hope it’s a good one…without any fears.”

Again and again on the “pro-American” sites (really “pro-war” would be the correct term) they hold onto the belief that Bush really intends to deliver “freedom and democracy” to the Iraqi people. Apparently, all the lies about WMDs have not made a dent on these people! It barely reaches their consciousness, or sometimes, they actually believe the WMDs were found! or used!! (no, I'm not referring to the napalm-like bombs the US dropped in Fallujah.)

They also go on and on about how the Iraqi people have to stop the insurgents themselves. The reality is the US military hired an insurgent (after screening him) who proceeded to blow them up last Tuesday. How can the Iraqi civilian population, which does not have the weapons, night vision goggles, protective vests, training, etc…. how can THEY stop the insurgents?

I have to constantly remind myself that some of those folks who thought this war was a good idea, fools that they may be, really do hope and wish (and sometimes work for) the best for Iraq.

“And so this is Christmas (war is over)
And what have we done? (if you want it)
Another year over, (war is over)
A new one just begun. (NOW)”

But those folks who started this war have no good intentions. (and think of this… it was probably less than 200 people on this planet who started this!!) And for those who profited from this war (that would include Senator Edwards), how can you live with yourselves? For those in our media that promoted and cheered on this war (that would include you, Aaron Brown), how can you live with yourselves? How can you go on day after day not informing Americans of what is really happening with their tax dollars? How can you look in the mirror and not throw up? How can those who profess to be Christians support war in any form?

“War is over, if you want it, war is over, NOW.”
“War is over, if you want it, war is over, NOW.”
“War is over, if you want it, war is over, NOW.”

And, as that radical Jesus said, “Father, forgive them: they know not what they do.”