What’s with Blackwater these days? Do you recall how Blackwater was involved in a shoot-out last September on the 17th at a Baghdad intersection that left 17 Iraqis dead? Do you recall how Iraq’s outrage and how American public outrage called for Blackwater’s dismissal from Iraq?

Background: I selected some items for a brief recap on Blackwater in Iraq from my original article, “Tell Me Blackwater Ain’t So, Ma,” posted October 25th, 2007 on b4b and from my other related comments.

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The Ethanol Blunder has happened. President Bush in his 2007 State of the Union Address set our course for an all ethanol fuel nation. The “decider” proclaimed our nation to go, team, go ethanol all the way.

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Snipped from the uk.Reuters.com.

This is hilarious and should be done by all countries that allow the US to have military bases in their own country.

The US is wanting Ecuador to renew the lease for the only military base that the US has in South America. This lease is set to expire in 2009, but problems are already starting to surface. “Washington must let [me] open a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air base on Ecuador’s Pacific coast,” said Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s leftist President. Since the US is still fighting the ‘War on Drugs’ that has lasted decades and shows no sign of quitting, US ambassadors are trying to persuade Correa because the base is an important part of controlling drug trafficking.

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Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq.

Will you please tell me what’s going on? I want to see if you’re holding out, or what, because maybe I missed it. But, I think this is between the lines of the blogs and the media news stories. A coverup of a coverup. Then a smooth-it-out job.

I’m talking about the disgusting Blackwater mess. You might be as confused as I am whether they are leaving or are not leaving Iraq. The U.S. is supposed to be into arranging departure terms, so to speak, and they’re to leave within six months. It takes that long to find replacements, I believe. But in the meantime, Blackwater is back on the job, and Eric Prince, head of Blackwater is on TV this weekend trying to drum up moral support for his civilian Blackwater employees.

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Our cheerful Condi Rice.
Photo by AP.

Gertrude Stein might say, “A Genocide is a Genocide is a Genocide.” Congress wants to label the Armenian massacre as a “genocide.” Why not? Democrats call a spade a spade. For Republicans like President Bush, it’s NO WAY!

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When I read the criticism being aimed at Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq last week, I couldn’t help but think how we can further screw up a mess that is already fatally screwed up. What is particularly disturbing were remarks that were made by Senator John Warner who after spending two days in Iraq, unequivocally stated that Maliki needed to go. Now, don’t get me wrong. Maliki doesn’t appear to be the man for the job. But after all, that should be left up to the Iraqi people. He is a duly elected Prime Minister of a sovereign nation and a bold, new democracy that we propped up…uh, I mean that we helped get established. So, who are we to say who stays in charge or not? This is similar to calls for partitioning of Iraq on the part of U.S. politicians as though Iraq were some sort of offshore American colony. I firmly believe our constant meddling is what is hurting Iraq the most. But the U.S. government seems to be completely obsessed with not only preemptive democracy, but constant meddling. When will we ever learn?

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While watching the Daily Show last week, I caught an interview of Josh Rushing who really made me stop and think about how quick we are to judge things in America. I had heard of the al Jazeera news broadcasting al Qaeda tapes and thought that they were merely an arm of the terrorist group. Funny how when anything is associated with an Arab name, we immediately think of terrorism. It just goes to show how far we have to go in our education and acceptance of global cultures. I guess it’s because as Americans we are fairly isolated from the rest of the world. In Europe you go 100 miles and you’re in another country and culture. So what caught my attention with this particular interview?

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Snipped from newyorker.com.

As though Bush’s foreign policy hasn’t done enough damage to our global reputation as an arrogant imperialist, we apparently are in the process of planning attacks on another country which is not an imminent threat. It appears that the Pentagon is continuing intensive planning for a possible bombing attack on Iran, a process that began last year, at the direction of the President. However, I smell a rat and its name is Dick. Why Congress is allowing this loose canon to continue to plot his evil intentions behind the scenes is beyond me. You won’t believe what Cheney and Company is up to now.

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Snipped from alternet.org.

Have you ever wondered why Americans seem to have no time and most working families feel exhausted and drained? Well, it’s because of our government’s failure to support “the little guy” and favor businesses’ bottom line instead. I find it incredible that the richest country in the world doesn’t mandate employer’s to pay for sick time or vacation. And, for those who work for companies who have no benefits such as this, life becomes extremely difficult. You may say that small businesses can’t afford to pay workers for time off, but when you hear about what other countries are doing, you may change your mind. And I guarantee, you will be envious.

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