i am stuffed.
fly boy's had us eating out ever since we landed. c.i. asked what i wanted to do this evening and i said 'just relax here.' ha!
a ton of people are here (all wonderful, not complaining) and it includes kat who lives out here and ty and jess who are both staying with c.i. ty's doing an internship and jess is taking a class out here so they're both 'house guests from hell' (they told me to put that in - they're wonderful, you know it, i know it). ava came out here today to visit family and of course she's here now. (she said if i mentioned that to caution people to shed no tears for jim & dona who have the apartment to themselves). but it just hit me that usually the 'core' or the majority is on the east coast. elaine and her current boyfriend were supposed to have dinner tonight with mike and his family (including trina, his mother) tonight so don't worry about them either.
by the way when some 1 writes something like 'i made a sandwich, don't tell triva!' they're not making fun of trina or asking you to keep a secret, they're just trying to get her another link and get the word out on her.
c.i. said dinner would be something simple. it's a plethora of food. fajitas, enchiladas, tostadas, and i'm blanking on the thing that took c.i. the most to make. tamales! it's all wonderful and, again, i am stuffed. i was planning on blogging tomorrow morning but i think i'll sleep in so i grabbed a moment to get online and blog tonight instead.
i'm not tired yet but i can feel it coming on. you know that moment when the crash will come shortly and if you're silent you can hear it moving it in?
there was an e-mail from some 1 wondering if i thought i was 'dealing with my miscarriage' and noting that i called a guy 'hot' yesterday which appeared to be a clear indication to them that i was not 'dealing.'
i know what happened. it's happened before. i've lived through far worse (including 2 summers ago). i'm aware of what happened but if you're worried i might forget that i miscarried, let me assure it hits me at least once an hour, right out of the blue.
deal with your sorrows however you want and i'll deal with mine the way i want.
or, as deliah boyd would say, kiss my ass.
in happier news, flyboy got us tickets to my favorite singer. i didn't even know she was going back on tour. the 1, the only barbra streisand. i was buzzing on a high from that news all afternoon. i have been lucky enough to see her many times but my favorite was probably the rehearsal she did to perform at the 1993 clinton inauguration.
i just love barbra. always have, always will. she's wonderful and amazingly gifted.
in fact, i may muscle my way over to the stereo when i rejoin the party and put on some streisand.
not that there's not wonderful music playing already. i think jess has picked most of the selections and it's been very up and very festive. he's gone from the 60s to current day, to the 70s, to you name it. leaping all over the place and without obvious choices.
i had to ask ty what the diana ross & the surpremes song was because it came on and i knew it but couldn't place it. (it was 'forever came today.') there's been beatles, carly, stones, coldplay, white stripes, stevie nicks, ani difranco and pretty much every 1 you could think of coming out of the speakers.
jess being jess, there was, of course, the mamas and the papas. i was standing with a group when the song about 'when the mind that once was open shuts ...' (i forget the title, it's on the cd the papas & the mamas) and this woman told me about a dream she had.
we all got into it.
last night, she dreamed that she woke up and it was 1965 and she knew everything then that she did now. she had no money she could use (because she had modern day dollars on her and no 1 is going to take a 20 marked 2006 in 1965) so she decided to beg for some money and then bet people on things. like who would win the world series. then she realized she didn't know who would because she didn't follow sports. (that made me laugh.)
so she started betting on what she did know and so we were all trying to think what we could bet on (and win the bet) if we were transported back to 1965 right now?
there was a man who was a walking encyclopedia and he put all of us to shame.
and there was this guy who said he'd just write what he knew would be a hit and sell those songs. he kept going on about how he'd scoop simon & garfunkel by writing 'bridge over troubled water' years before.
which would, if you ask me, totally throw off history. i also don't think you could bring in that song earlier and have a hit, or as big of 1, the way it ended up. that song very much reflected its year.
but it was interesting to think of what i would and wouldn't be able to make ill gained bucks from due to my (poor) knowledge base.
okay, that's it for me tonight. going back to the party.
back and adding. c.i. linked to counterpunch in the iraq snapshot so i wanted to be sure to post it this evening. (counterpunch deserves a lot more links than it gets online and it's also elaine's favorite magazine.)
c.i.'s "Iraq snapshot"
Chaos and violence continue.
The ten day old "crackdown" in Baghdad, which has had little measurable impact on stopping violence, sprouted a new development today: "State of emergency." As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted this morning, "Earlier today, insurgents set up roadblocks and opened fire on U.S. and Iraqi troops close to the US-run Green Zone." The Associated Press reports this was done as fighting forces seemed intent on breaching "the heavily fortified Green Zone." As Sandra Lupien noted on KPFA's The Morning Show, amidst the violence, US troops "rushed to the area." Current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has "ordered everyone off the streets" of Baghdad, provided "broader arrest powers" and placed "a ban on carrying weapons."
Iraq last declared a state of emergency (or martial law) in November of 2004 for the entire country (exempting only Kurdish areas in the north).
Then prime minister Iyad Allawi declared it when violence broke out through much of the country as US forces geared up for their attack on/slaughter of Falluja. Current prime minister al-Maliki has declared a state of emergency for Baghdad only. A state of emergency was declared for the city of Basra in May of this year. Euronews notes that the Basra state of emergency "has not deterred militants." Omar al-Ibadi and Haider Salahaddin (Reuters) report that today in Basra a car bomb went off (police say ten killed, hospital says five).
Sam Knight (Times of London) reports that "the 5 million inhabitants of the Iraqi capital [were] given just two hours notice of a curfew" (started at 2:00 pm in Baghdad, as Knight notes, but it was set to end at 5:00 pm and not, as Knight reports, on Saturday -- since Knight filed, al-Maliki shortened the curfew). Knight notes the paper's Baghdad correspondent Ned Parker terming the "extended gun battle . . . just north of the fortified Green Zone" a "free-for-all." Along with gunfire and mortars, Reuters reports that two US troops died today "when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad."
In Hibhib, the Associated Press notes the bombing of a Sunni mosque resulted in at least ten dead and fifteen wounded. Reuters notes two police officers shot to death in Hilla. The AFP reports that five corpses were found in Mishada.
In peace news, Will Hoover (The Honolulu Advertiser) reports on Ehren Watada's refusal to ship to Iraq when his unit left Fort Lewis, Washington yesterday (6:45 am), he refused to board. Ehren's father Bob Watada tells Hoover of the three officers that spent hours on Wednesday trying to convince Ehren to change his mind: "They put the full-court press on him. They were telling him, 'You know, you're facing 10 to 15 years in jail, and do you want to do all of that?'" The Army issued a statement saying that charges wouldn't be filed "until the commander has had a chance to review all of the facts of the case and consult with the Staff Judge Advocate." Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that the gag order placed on Watada has been "rescinded . . . allowing Watada to talk to anyone." As Alex Fryer (Seattle Times) notes, "Peace groups around the nation plan a day of protests and vigils in support of Watada on Tuesday." For more information, click here.
Elsewhere, Australia's ABC reports that the Australian government "is playing down reports" of a threat to future trade arrangments with Iraq as a result of Australian troops shooting bodyguards of Abdel Falah al-Sudany (Iraqi Trade Minister) -- one died "at least three others [were] injured." Despite John Howard (prime minister of Australia) continuing to downplay the issue (he won't apologize at present), ABC notes "reports [that] the Iraqi Trade Minister is threatening to ditch all trade deals".
The AFP reports that the United States Senate "unanimously approved a $707 billion defence bill for the next financial year that includes almost $70 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
In news of future wars, Col. Dan Smith reports, for CounterPunch, on a little known development from June 20, 2006. As the 2007 Defense Department Appropriations bill was being addressed, Representative Maurice Hinchey attempted to attach the following amendment: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to initiate military operations against Iran except in accordance with Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States." Though the amendment was only underscoring the true powers of the U.S. Congress, it failed on a 215/47 vote. Unlike Michael R. Gordon, war pornographer and his "Iran Aiding Shiite Attacks Inside Iraq, General Says" (New York Times), the AFP notes of George W. Casey's allegations against Iran: "The White House and Pentagon have repeatedly accused elements in Tehran of arming Iraqi insurgent groups. But they concede they have no clear proof that the Iranian government is sponsoring the activities."
