FelineWarrior

Ruslan Sharipov: Letter from Prison (September 5, 2003)

Ruslan Sharipov: Letter from Prison (September 5, 2003)

"Ruslan Sharipov, a gay journalist in Uzbekistan who was sentenced to jail for 5 years under that country's sodomy laws simply because the US-supported dictatorship in Uzbekistan didn't like Ruslan's articles critical of local government corruption." - from HateWatch.org.

There are letters to be written about this! Please email all of the following Uzbek contacts on behalf of Ruslan:

clamm@whitecase.com
presidents_office@press-service.uz
prokuratura@lawyer.com
office@ombudsman.gov.uz
consulate@uzbekistan.org
embassy@uzbekistan.org
info@uzbekconsulny.org
Aucc@erols.com
Gcfurlong@aol.com

This list compliments of John Aravosis of Hate Crime.org See the HateCrime web site for news of other horrific stuff going on.

Yahoo! News - Laura Bush Heads to Europe to Polish U.S. Image

Yahoo! News - Laura Bush Heads to Europe to Polish U.S. Image

This oughtta be rich.
Entertainment value: High.
Productivity: Low.

What can I say? I'm pessimistic about such things.

What's up with the suicide theme here?

There's nothing, really, with the suicide theme, to be honest. I mean, there's a thing, but then again, there's not. It's a wee thing if it's a thing at all. {Forgive me, Professor Doss, for using "thing" so many times!}

You are wondering, "How do suicide and GW Bush relate to each other?" Well, there are many answers to that question. Or at least two that come to mind right now. One answer --the obvious one-- is that one wishes, at times, that she were a Kevorkian niece. You know, some family ties can really pay off (just ask Dubya), and having a professional in the mix might be handy. And why die a slow and painful death under the Bush administration when Uncle Jack could send me to my maker in just a few drowsy moments?

{By the way, even though I am speaking of Dr. Kevorkian in a semi-humorous tone, I truly do admire him and believe in the work he did. Some day, when you are old enough to hear it, I will tell you my own Kevorkian story.}

So there's that connection between suicide and Bush. And now that I think about it, having Dubya in charge of things around here is almost like assisted suicide, anyway. If you're not a rich, white guy, that is. If you are a rich white guy, then you're probably pretty stinkin' happy right now and wish that someone would send me to my maker. To that I say, "WhatEVER!" {Note Valley Girl tone}

Another connection might be this: throughout our relatively short history, fine American folks have been taking off for other countries to avoid putting up with some of the crap that goes on around here. From James Baldwin and Gertrude Stein to Johnny Depp and a zillion others, people have said, "I'm not gonna take this anymore! Let's head to France, where it's more relaxed and the coffee is better." So then the message, hidden though it may be, is that anyone sticking around is asking for it and basically signing up for a suicide mission.

These are just some of my thoughts on how the suicide-Bush connection might be made. Frankly, I just really liked the title, "ups and downs of suicide (burning bush)" and so I went with it. Sometimes a title is just a title, eh?

And no, I am not planning to take off for France or anywhere else. I have cats and it would be an enormous pain in the ass to have them quarantined for however long they make you do that. They'd be miserable and I'd be miserable, and our combined misery would chafe the buzzes of thousands of French people. I have too much stuff to be switching countries at this point in life. Visits, yes. Long-term or permanent moves, no. It is best for some of the discontented to stick around and yammer and holler and wave signs about in the air and blog and write essays and letters and shake their fists. Someone's got to do it, right? Right.

Finally... and this is really away from the suicide-Bush thing... I do not hate my country. No. There are those who might interpret my words and actions as hatred, but they would be wrong. Those people don't like anyone who thinks differently about, well, just about everything or anything! There are many events and policies that really stink, and that's my opinion and even the opinion of many others. There are also many good events and policies, and far more than "many" good people, and so we hang on to those in order to maintain and build a better US. (That could be read as "US" as in "we," or as "US" as in United States" - take your pick.)

Not agreeing with the government is hardly a new phenomenon. It's always happened and it's happening now. So snap out of it and listen up!

AlterNet: Bush's Other Lies

AlterNet: Bush's Other Lies

Great article, but one pauses to wonder {pause--pause--pause} if David Corn isn't pointing out the obvious.

I'm kidding, don't throw your empties at me! It's nice to have so many of the lies catalogued and in one tidy place. Makes it easier for me when pointing out the obvious to others.

MmHmm.

Bush Defends Destroying Life on Earth!

Yahoo! News - Bush Defends Change in Environmental Rules

Please someone, stop the madness! There is no foresight here, this man cannot see beyond his nose. First sends our people marching into Iraq, starts a big huge deadly fight, then with a finger up his nose, realizes he don't have a PLAN. Or friends. Or anyone who is nodding approvingly. Oy, vey!

Now our boy Bush is lifting everything but common sense (which is soon to be outlawed, just you wait and see) and saying, "Hey, polluting corporations! Go ahead, pollute! 'Sno big deal, 'cause, see, we'll be helping the economy!" Except for the part where hundreds or thousands of citizens will develop pollutant-related illnesses which they won't be able to have properly treated because they can't buy medicine from Canada where the prices are regulated, and those very same medications are ridiculously priced in the USA!

And is this war not the priciest hard-on you've ever witnessed?! Puh-leeze! Why can't Dubya visit one of the public bathrooms at Dupont Circle (in NW Washington, DC) and wank off with some boys? Wouldn't that save lives and money and good air and... Well, you get the picture. It's just about more than I can stand. It really is.

ARG!

It seems to me that one of the biggest downsides of suicide is that you don't get to observe the effects of the deed. So many people must imagine, at some point in the planning of their own demise, that alarming moment of discovery; the pain and agony that their untimely end will bring to those left behind must flash magnificently in his or her mind.

I'm not talking so much about the evil thought, "Ha-ha! Now they'll be sorry!" because I really think that's cliche. Think about it - there's no glamour in such a quip. No, there must be at least one rich scene played out in the mind of the suicidal one; something like watching an overly dramatic play, wherein a note is read, tears are shed, hands wrenched, and so forth.

But alas, even those dramatic scenes played out in the mind prior to suicide are dismally sad because, as is clear at least to me, there will be no balcony seat from which to watch (smugly, perhaps) the aftermath of the suicide. Maybe the joy of the suicide is in knowing that it's over --life, pain, a certain situation, something-- and not really in the observation of reactions to the findings. By "findings" I mean a body, hanging, perhaps, or with wrists shredded red, or appearing to be asleep but really cold and dead. Or even the colorful yet horrifying brain matter spattered about a room, the top of a head blown off. You see my point, though.

The other big --perhaps bigger-- downside of suicide is that there are no second chances. Whatever was wrong cannot be set right because it's over, that life is done. There are no balcony seats for observation purposes and there is no encore or second act. Once you draw that curtain shut, it does not open again.