Morning Report: May 23, 2005

Wolf Brigades score victories; Iraqis suffer losses. Iraq's elite Wolf Brigades struck a blow to terrorism, according to Iraq the Model: 'According to Al-Iraqia TV, the Wolf brigade's intelligence elements successfully infiltrated the terrorist groups in the Abu Ghraib region and the information gathered this way paved the way for the latest operation which was done in two waves; the 1st raid was accomplished yesterday while the 2nd one started at 5 in the morning today and has just ended as Al-Iraqia reporter at the scene in Abu Ghraib said. The successful raids which represent the largest operation performed by Iraqi forces so far had resulted in arresting 450 suspected terrorists. The brigade depended mainly on its intelligence personnel who recognized the suspects' faces and pointed them out one by one. The Wolf brigade did almost all the job with the multinational forces providing backup when needed. Among the detainees was an "Amir" i.e. someone who beheaded at least 10 Iraqis. Also it's believed that the terrorist who lead the latest large attack on the prison in Abu Ghraib was also among those detained. Abu Ghraib area has a special significance in the plans of terrorist groups and it's the joint between Baghdad and Anbar province (which includes Ramadi, Fallujah and Qa'im). This area hasn't tasted peace since the terrorists began their operations against Iraqis and coalition troops two years ago. The area also hosts one of the biggest camps of the former Iraqi army; a factor that made it easy for terrorists to possess weapons and ammunition. The raids ran smoothly and were clearly very well planned and implemented as no casualties happened among the soldiers of the Wolf brigade.' On Monday, four people were killed in a bomb attack apparently targeting security forces, Fox News reports. (ITM, Fox)

Belmont Club on Galloway: Style vs. substance. Most who observed British MP George Galloway's performance before the US Senate found Galloway's presentation impressive. Wretchard at The Belmont Club is more interested in what was asked and answered during Galloway's 47 minutes of fame: 'The really striking thing about the Galloway's testimony as transcribed by the Information Clearing House is how the Senators and the Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow were pursuing a non-collision course. Galloway had come to score press and public relations points at which, by all accounts, he was successful at doing. But Senator Coleman and Levin seemed totally uninterested in responding to Galloway's sharp political jibes. It was almost as if the Senators were deaf to his political posturing. Instead, they focused exclusively and repeatedly on two things: Galloway's relationship with Fawaz Zureikat and Tariq Aziz. Zureikat was a board member of Galloway's Mariam foundation who is also implicated in the Oil For Food deals. Tariq Aziz was Saddam's vice president. ...' In light of the Senators' utter indifference to Galloway's provocations, and the curious disappearance of his testimony from the Senate Committee's website, Wretchard concludes: 'The Senators were building a causal bridge to something, but to what? I am in no position to say, but will guess that Galloway's testimony and its disappearance from the Senate website can only be understood in the context of what Coleman and Levin were trying to achieve. My own sense is that the investigations are cautiously nearing far bigger game than George Galloway; but that his evidence or his refusal to give it is somehow crucial to achieving this larger goal. ...' Read the full article at the link. (Belmont Club)

Kuwaiti women get the vote. Morning Report belatedly notes this important May 16 news item: 'Kuwaiti lawmakers approved political rights for women Monday, clearing the way for females to participate in parliamentary elections for the first time in the Gulf nation’s history.' Nadz offers this analysis: 'And it's about time, too. The activism and hard work of Kuwaiti women has finally paid off - although as always, there's a catch: "fundamentalist Muslims included a requirement that any female politician or voter abide by Islamic law" So what does that mean, exactly? "Abide by Islamic law" could mean many things, from separate polling stations to women being told who to vote for by their husbands. You can be guaranteed that the conservatives will use this to restrict female voters as much as possible. It will take more action by Kuwaiti feminists to stop them. But there's no doubt that this is a clear step forward, and should serve as a reminder that there is much more to be done.' Nadz also writes about some important Arab/Muslim women: Nawal al Saadawi, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Amina Wadud, Hind al-Hinnawy, Irshad Manji, and Mukhtiar Mai. Read her post, and follow the links there for more information. And don't miss the current posts at Nadz Online. (MSNBC, Nadz Online)

Dreams Into Lightning Marks 20,000 Visits

... and counting. Congratulations to the visitor in Germany, Windows XP user, who read my post on hair at 7:53 AM (Pacific) on May 21, and became this site's 20,000th visitor.

And thanks to all the 20,078 people who've visited so far. From my stats I know I've got readers in Iraq, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Europe, Britain, and every time zone in North America. (Special thanks to that regular reader in the Nome Time Zone!) Also a personal thank you to the regulars I know by name (either onscreen or in person): Blanche in SF, Diane in Ottawa, Gila in Portland, Stefania in Italy, Judith in New York, Tom the Redhunter, the Fadhil brothers in Baghdad, and Jane Novak in New Jersey, who started me down this road to perdition.

LCR's Patrick Guerriero Addresses Basic Rights Oregon

Patrick Guerriero of Log Cabin Republicans addressed a group in Lake Oswego, Oregon this afternoon. The event, hosted by Basic Rights Oregon, drew about 30 people in weather that was sunny and rainy by turns.

Guerriero was introduced by host Karl Rohde (pronounced "roadie"), who opened his elegant, Frank Lloyd Wright - inspired home (designed and built by Rohde's father, he told us) to the event. Karl served on Lake Oswego's City Council as both the only Republican and the only openly gay member, and led passage of the city's civil rights legislation. Also introducing the speaker was Roey Thorpe of BRO; Guerriero praised Ms. Thorpe's activism, which he said had earned her respect at the national level.

The Massachusetts-born Guerriero joked that there were "more Republicans here [in the room] than in all of Massachusetts", although perhaps most of the guests were BRO-affiliated Democrats. He began his talk by noting the need for "a segment of the LGBT community to speak out with a centrist voice for equality - in every state." For that, he said, the help of the Republican Party will be needed "in every area" because all major advances in civil rights in the modern era have come through working within institutions.

"I debate the far Right all the time," he said; "someone has to do it." (In response to Pat Buchanan's "amazing" accusation that he is advocating for the "radical homosexual agenda", Guerriero counters that he is advocating for basic respect and dignity - in short, for "the right to have boring families.") "We want the most stable and conservative thing," he said.

Outlining the special role of gay conservatives and the Log Cabin organization in the national debate, Guerriero enumerated three areas of particular interest: (1) family recognition and responsibility; (2) the war on terror, and our responsibilities toward the thousands of lesbians and gays serving silently in the American armed forces; (3) persons of faith. Lesbians and gays in the American military, he said, unlike their British and Australian comrades, cannot be honest with their commanding officers about their most important relationships, and must face painful discrimination in the area of family notification.

Guerriero concluded by noting that "conversations are going on in the kitchens of conservative America" which will provide the framework for a broader understanding of gay people and their relationships. In an interview with Gay Patriot, he said of LCR, "our goal is to go out of business." Looking forward to the day when LCR will no longer be needed as an activist organization, he told BRO: "Some of us are going to be here when we get into the endzone."

Lesbian and gay activists have won many victories for equality, but face some tough challenges from the opposition, which has been highly effective in gaining grassroots support. The task ahead is to win the grassroots back. In the Gay Patriot interview, Guerriero outlined the three phases of gay activism:

The first phase, which was necessary, was this very angry, in-your-face…I’m thinking of the folks at Stonewall who had the guts to rise up against the police. ... The second phase from the mid-Eighties to, I think, probably the Year 2000 – I’ll use that since it was an election year….was this effort to show that there was a different face to the community. So that was when folks started their black tie dinners; Log Cabin Republicans comes to Washington and professionalizes itself. And you have organizations that took this kind of rabid, more left-leaning, aggressive, in-your-face type of tactics [phase] to a “now we have to make ourselves feel good” [phase]. ... And then from 2000, and I’ll use that year loosely, the challenge which I don’t think any organization has quite figured out yet, is how you move to the third phase of this [gay rights movement]. How do you speak to the conservative grandmother in Toledo, Ohio, and the conservative Southerner who has only been yelled at about these issues – and probably cast a bad vote at some point in his or her life. Or even said something that they would probably take back now.

We are now at the beginning of the third phase. This is not the hardest part - that part was done by those who stood up to police and criminal harrassment and legal prosecution in earlier years. But it is a part that requires dedication and maturity. Or as Guerriero says, "our biggest focus is to prepare Log Cabin Republicans enough to grow up."

What this means in practical terms, he explained in response to a question, is meeting the challenge of going from "safe" environments like the liberal coastal cities to places like rural Washington and interacting with persons of faith. It means asking ourselves whether we've maybe spent a few too many activist dollars in the big cities instead of places where the funds were needed more, or perhaps called a few too many people "bigots" who weren't really bigots but just uninformed. Guerriero recalled that he's met many Republicans who have said, "you're the first person who just asked to talk about [gay issues]" - all too often, gay activists were picketing and protesting but not dialoging.

The battle for equality will be won. If we are complacent and timid, the speaker said, it will take fifty years; if we take action, it can be done in fifteen years. The choice is ours.


Log Cabin Republicans
Basic Rights Oregon

Many thanks to Patrick Guerriero for visiting Oregon. Also thanks to Karl and Roey for making this possible, and to Eric Carver, the Finnish-American freelance journalist who covered the event for audiences in Finland.

Also, a personal thank you to the gentleman who gave me a ride back home to downtown Portland - thanks for the ride, and for the stimulating debate about Iraq!

(Don't worry - I promise not to rub it in when you finally realize you were wrong.)

Politically Correct Homophobia, Misogyny

Cathy Young nails it at ReasonOnline: Multiculturalism:

On April 30, American journalist Chris Crain became the victim of a hate crime in Amsterdam. While walking in the street holding hands with his partner, he was savagely beaten by seven men shouting antigay slurs. A few days later, Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Program at the Human Rights Watch, expressed some sympathy for the gay-bashers. Crain's attackers were reportedly Moroccan immigrants.

"There's still an extraordinary degree of racism in Dutch society," Long opined to the gay news service PlanetOut. "Gays often become the victims of this when immigrants retaliate for the inequities that they have to suffer."

Welcome to Politically Correct World, where acts that would merit unequivocal condemnation if committed by white males are viewed in a very different light when the offenders belong to an "oppressed group."

Read it all. Hat tip: Gay Patriot.

Morning Report: May 22, 2005

Oregon's Smith to Arab leaders: Freedom first. Debka reports: 'US senator Gordon Smith [R - Oregon] advised Arab leaders to first take care on injustices in their own countries before fixing Palestinian issue. Addressing World Econonic Forum panel in Amman, he said: “Obviously greatest US commitment is to Israel’s security”, he stressed, and justice for Palestinians “if possible.”' (Debka)

North Korean ship docks near Seoul. Incredibly, the North Korean government is experiencing a shortage of fertilizer. South Korea has agreed to provide the humanitarian aid during inter-Korean negotiations, CNN reports: 'For the first time in over two decades, a North Korean ship docked in a South Korean port Sunday, the start of a series of voyages to pick up fertilizer donated to North Korea by the South Korean government. ... South Korea pledged to send 200,000 tons of fertilizer to North Korea during meetings last week between the two nations. ... North and South Korea ended rare bilateral talks on Thursday without agreement on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.' (CNN)

MSH, Ian Curtis +25 Years

Today marks twenty-five years since the death by suicide of Ian Curtis, lead singer of the Manchester, England -based rock band Joy Division (previously known as Warsaw and Stiff Kittens, and subsequently re-formed as New Order); it's also the 25th anniversary of the eruption of the Mount Saint Helens volcano in southern Washington State, which killed 57 people.

Morning Report: May 9, 2005

US forces strike Iraq insurgents. CNN reports: 'U.S. forces have launched an offensive against "insurgents and foreign fighters" near Iraq's border with Syria, killing at least 75 of them in the first 24 hours of the operation, the U.S. military said Monday. According to the military, coalition and Marine Corps aircraft and forces from the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines are involved in the fighting in Iraq's Anbar province. "The operation is currently on the area north of the Euphrates River, in the Al Jazirah Desert. The region is a known smuggling route and sanctuary for foreign fighters," the military said in a statement.' Debka adds: 'A merger of all Iraq’s insurgent forces is behind the deadly surge of violence that has climbed to 55 attacks per day. US has launched offensive with air support against Iraqi insurgents in Anbar province near Syrian border. US military reports 75 rebels killed in first 24 hours. Targeted are Obeidi sanctuary for foreign fighters who continue to stream into Iraq and smuggling route from Syria. Joint commands and operational units, including al-Zarqawi’s al Qaeda wing, are focusing action on Baghdad area timed for formation of new Iraq government.' (CNN, Debka)

Yemen's ambassador to Syria seeks asylum. Debka reports: 'Yemeni ambassador Syria Ahmed al-Hasani fled to London last week and asked for political asylum. Al-Hasani was Yemeni air force commander during 2000 al Qaeda attack on USS Cole in Aden harbor when 17 US seamen killed, 500 injured. He testified to links president Salah and Yemeni military and intelligence officers maintain with al Qaeda to this day – amid joint Yemeni-US counter-terror combat in Saada region'. Armies of Liberation explains: 'The Jihad in Yemen takes the form of the state attacking its Shia minority. There have been indications that aspects of the Yemeni government, in collusion with some leadership in the opposition Islamic Islah party, are close to al-Qaeda. A recent defector from Yemen, the Ambassador to Syria, says that its very likely that President Saleh was aware of the plans for Cole bombing. Indeed , Saleh refused to investigate the bombing until the US threatened military action. Sheik al-Zindani is on the US’s most wanted list and is a leader of the Islah party. He met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, and became his mentor. After returning from Afghanistan, Zindani became the leader of Islah’s radical faction, and the “Afghan Arabs.” Using state power, today Shia libraries are being trashed, mosques prohibited from preaching the Shia version of Islam, and mass arrests are taking place with thousands held without trial. All Shia schools are now closing. Officials of Saleh’s Sunni government have characterized their teachings as “blasphemous,” “backwards,” and “deviant.” The curriculum of some hard core Wahabbi schools, the greater threat according to analysts, was not addressed in their statements. There is also a very bloody and violent element to the jihad in Yemen. ...' Read the post at Armies for full details and links. (Debka, Armies of Liberation)

Nobody's Perfect

Quote of the Day:

However, he added, "The press has never pretended to be perfect. My own paper pretty much decided to overlook the Holocaust."

Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times, speaking at the Frank R. Kent Memorial Lecture in Journalism at Johns Hopkins University; go read Rand Simberg's thoughts at Transterrestrial Musings.

Reason to exclude gays? Uncle Jimbo says no.

Uncle Jimbo of Military Matters writes:

The question is whether pretending there aren't gay folks in the military even matters anymore, I don't think it probably does. If they are already there what benefit does it provide to have them pretend they are straight? Are our troops so intolerant this will tear units apart? I sincerely doubt it and if it won't, then change the rule. There were dudes in my unit that we were fairly certain played in a different league, but there were plenty of others who didn't want their preferences or in some cases perversions aired publicly either, and that was 10 years ago. Unfortunately we had absolutely no lipstick lesbians.

The military integrated racially before the rest of the country and offered women a fair shake earlier too, but somehow it is lagging now. Homosexuality is rapidly becoming a yawn issue, "Oh you're gay, that's nice. What time is the movie?" That is a good progression and there is no reason not to add the military to the list of people who just shouldn't care who you sleep with. Plus it would take one more issue away from the dirty, nasty, patchouli-smelling, hippy protestors and that's a good thing. ...

Col. David Hunt (Ret.) was interviewed by NRO in this June 2003 piece:

NRO: How do you feel about women in combat?

HUNT: I'm in favor of competent people doing their job — I don't care how you go to the bathroom. It's said that Jessica Lynch killed a lot of people, which is why they tortured her so much. It ain't about sex. If I'm with you on the battlefield, we're not going to do it! We're too tired and too scared to have sex. We're not serious until we're inclusive, which means: "Can you do this job? Can you fight the war on terrorism?" Fine, you're on! I don't care if I have a whole division full of lesbians, if they can do the job. Look, we kicked out a bunch of gay men who were linguists, Arabic specialists. What kind of stupidity is that? ...

The military leadership needs to start listening to these people. I served ten years in the Air Force and four years in the Marine Corps, and the question of whether gay people were there, or belonged there, was more of a distraction than anything else. Whether a person is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, or (like me) simply a living violation of Article 178 of Skippy's List - none of that matters in the prosecution of combat against the enemy. All that really matters is: Can the person do the job?

Morning Report: May 8, 2005

Iraqi assembly approves six Ja'afari appointments; human rights nominee al-Shibli steps down. Debka reports: 'Iraq’s general assembly approves 6 appointments to Jaafari government including 4 Sunni Muslims. Of 155 deputies present, 112 confirmed Sunni Saadoun al Dulaimi as defense minister, Sunni Hashim Rahman al-Shibli – human rights; Sunni Osama al-Nujaifi – industry: Sunni Mutlak al-Jiburi –Dep. PM. Shiite Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum named oil minister.' However, Shibli declined the post, citing his opposition to the current government's ethnic quota system. AP via MSNBC reports: '“Concentrating on sectarian identities leads to divisions in the society and state, and for that reason I respectfully decline the post,” Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shibli told reporters at a news briefing.' (Debka, MSNBC)

Kuwait denies women the right to vote. Kuwait's parliament has denied women political rights in Kuwait, according to this Feminist Majority Foundation newswire. 'In a blow to women's rights, the Kuwaiti parliament has failed to pass legislation that would have given women the right to vote and run for office in municipal elections. According the New York Times, Islamist and conservative lawmakers created a block that eliminates any chance that women will be able to participate in elections for another four years. Kuwait’s constitution gives men and women equal rights, but the current election law only allows men over the age of 21 who are not in the police or military the right to vote or run for office making only 15 percent of the population eligible to vote. If women were granted the right to vote, that could make the percentage of eligible voters rise to 39 percent, reports the .Associated Press, which could substantially change Kuwait’s political map.' (FMF)

Microsoft renews support for gay rights. Reversing an earlier decision to back down on its promised support for a narrowly defeated Washington State gay rights bill, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company would support gay rights legislation in the future. According to the AP report at MSNBC, 'Ballmer made the announcement in an e-mail to employees two weeks after gay rights activists accused the company of withdrawing its support for an anti-discrimination bill in its home state after an evangelical pastor [the Rev. Ken Hutcherson of Redmond, Washington - aa] threatened to launch a national boycott. The bill died by a single vote in the state Senate in late April.' An article at Gay.com (via PlanetOut) elaborates: '"After looking at the question from all sides, I've concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda," Ballmer wrote. "Microsoft will continue to join other leading companies in supporting federal legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, adding sexual orientation to the existing law that already covers race, sex, national origin, religion, age and disability," he wrote. "Obviously, the Washington state legislative session has concluded for this year, but if legislation similar to HB 1515 is introduced in future sessions, we will support it."'

Raid on Zarqawi compound kills six terrorists. Fox News reports that 'Coalition forces killed six terrorists in raids targeting the terror network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi near the Syrian border on Sunday, the U.S. military said. Weapons caches were found during the operations in Qaim city, and 54 terrorists were detained, the military said in a statement. It also said that Ghassan Muhammad Amin Husayn al-Rawi, a militant in al-Zarqawi's group who was captured on April 26, had provided intelligence that had helped lead to Sunday's raids.' (Fox)

Debka: Al-Libbi arrest in Pakistan points to new phase of war against al-Qaeda. According to a Debka report, the recent arrest of a senior al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan indicates a shift in focus from the person of Osama bin Laden to the next generation of terrorists: 'The high profile arrest Monday, May 3, of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, 40, the man responsible for al Qaeda’s operational planning and execution in Pakistan, was followed three days later by the capture of 18 members of his network. He was taken after a gun battle in the Mardan Division of Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province which borders Afghanistan. DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources sayal-Libbi, a Libyan national aged 40, moved to Mardan recently from his Waziristan hideout when a Pakistani Army military operation made it unsafe. The new Mardan hideout was raided by officers of the ISI-Inter-Service Intelligence. They were acting on a tip from none other than the head of US Central Command, who paid a surprise visit to Pakistan on the morning of May 3 and conveyed the information to president Pervez Musharraf. Several hours later, al-Libbi was bagged. The raid, which yielded the arrest of four other foreigners whose nationalities have not been disclosed, turned into a chase when two of the suspects fled on a motorbike. One, clad in a Burqa, was later identified as al-Libbi, The chase involving three vehicles ended when security officials overpowered the man driving the bike. They also fired at the second fugitive, but he ran towards a half-built house, jumped into an adjoining house and locked himself in a room. When efforts to break open the door failed, police lobbed a teargas canister inside the room through smashed windowpanes. "From the smoke-filled room emerged a young man, hands up and head slightly bowed. He was unarmed and later identified as al Qaeda's chief operational commander in Pakistan, Abu Faraj Al Libbi," a police official said. ...' Morning Report regrets that no photographs of the burqa-clad terrorist are available. The Debka analysis goes on to report that: 'DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources also reveal that, since entering its second term, the Bush administration has quietly initiated a new phase in the war on terror, adjusted to counter perceived threats from the new and deadly al Qaeda breed spawned since 9/11. Very little is known about the new structure, its central command, and whereabouts. “No longer is the US global effort focused on the hunt to track down Osama bin Laden; instead, the search is on for his links,” say the sources. In any event, most of the earlier al Qaeda cells have either been caught or exposed and are no longer able to operate effectively. They have been replaced with a fast-growing network which takes its inspiration from Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Running it to ground, US and Pakistani intelligence agencies both believe, will uncover its links to the two leaders. Debriefings of the latest crop of al Qaeda detainees begin to lift the veil on the new structure’s organization and reveal it as tight and tough with very few weak points. But no clue to the top men’s whereabouts has been elicited.' Read the full analysis at the link. (Debka)

Belmont Club on Oil-for-Food: If no criminality, why the death threats? Examining the troubling words of Paul Volcker, Wretchard wonders why, if the UN Oil-for-Food scandal was merely an instance of "negligence" (as Volcker's reports so far have concluded), the lives of witnesses would be threatened by too deep an investigation - as Volcker himself also alleges. 'The two reports so far issued by Paul Volcker have dealt with the formal remit of the Oil For Food Program; the procedures under which bids were let; the dubious relationship between Kojo Annan and Cotecna and the possible but isolated malfeasance of Benon Sevan. By his own account, Vocker found ineptitude but not criminality. While he cannot exonerate the Secretary General, nothing in the Volcker reports so far can put a smoking gun in Kofi Annan's hands. So far, it has been a story of incompetence without a crime or a criminal mastermind; of people who resemble conspirators without being members of a conspiracy. Volcker's implicaton that the "lives of certain witnesses are at stake", though he would not name who specifically "was threatening witnesses" clearly indicates that despite his first two reports, something criminal, indeed murderous lies within the Oil for Food universe. Something that could get people killed. Having excluded the possibility of a criminal conspiracy in his first two reports, Volcker now wants to prevent former investigator Robert Parton from divulging certain undisclosed details to the US Congress because he fears that the "lives of certain witnesses are at stake". That which was denied is now invoked.' (Belmont Club)

The Hours, the Days, and the Years

Sometimes interesting things happen when you watch two totally incongruous movies back-to-back. I had such an experience this week when I watched "The Matrix" on DVD, followed by "The Hours". And while Stephen Daldry's beautiful film with Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf seems to have little in common with "The Matrix", it occurred to me that there are some points of connection.

There are no computers and no kung fu fights in "The Hours"; and when people fall out of buildings, they don't get up again. And yet, like the denizens of the apocalyptic world of "The Matrix", many of the characters seem to live in an invisible prison - one they cannot "smell or taste or touch". And some of them, like Neo and the other inhabitants of Zion, choose to confront the reality of their world - even if it is unpleasant and dangerous, even if it threatens their very sanity. Virginia Woolf has no use for the comforting retreat of the suburbs, and precious little patience for the well-intentioned efforts of others to "take care" of her. She, too, prefers "always to look life in the face, and to know it ... to love it, for what it is." She is a red-pill person.

But there are many kinds of prisons. Mental illness - Virginia's depression, Richard's schizophrenia - can also be a prison. Sometimes the only way to exercise your autonomy is to have some say (as Virginia says) in your "own prescription", just as Neo must choose for himself which pill to take. (Or like Richard, who simply takes too many pills.) The choice is in your hands; but once the choice is made, you must live with the consequences.

I live alone, and spend a great deal of time in my own company. Often, this blog is the only conversation I get during the day. It's a strange conversation, the one you and I are having: we do not meet face to face, and with the exception of a few friends who read my blog, we are probably strangers to each other. All you know about me is what you read here; and all I know of you is the anonymous statistics collected by SiteMeter.

Sometimes I have a certain feeling - as if something is wrong, it's not fitting together somehow, and it's not a problem that's definable, and it's not a problem that is fixable. As if no matter where I go or what I do, I'll always be surrounded by this invisible membrane that keeps me separated and locked away from the rest of the world, from humanity, from life. I don't even know what name to call it; I don't know if it has a name.

I do know that I can make my own choices. I do not want anyone making them for me. I don't want anyone telling me how to live, or what to read, or what to listen to, or how to think. I don't want anyone feeding me pre-digested answers like some kind of processed food. And I do not want to be stuffed into some kind of mental coccoon and told that it's for my own good.

We do not get a choice whether or not to die. That decision is made for us, and in the end, without exception, it will always end the same way. The choice we do get is whether to face each and every day. Sometimes it is not an easy choice. Even the most fortunate among us may inhabit prisons invisible to others. Freedom from fear does not, alas, bring freedom from suffering. To choose, consciously, to live each and every day that is given to us - to say with Audre Lorde, "Today is not the day" - this is the real test of our humanity.

We are at our most when we forget ourselves. Clarissa is sustained through the difficult years - which seem to go on and on - by her duty to her old lover. ("When I'm gone," Richard mockingly reminds her, "you'll have to think about yourself.") Neo can fulfill his mission only after the Oracle convinces him that he is not "the One", the messiah of Zion.

When Virginia walks into the river, she makes a choice that many of us have contemplated at one time or another. Perhaps, like many people who make the same choice, she is no longer the master of her own actions. Do such people sin by this act? Perhaps that is for the Righteous Judge to decide. What we do know with a certainty is this: That just as the actions and kindnesses of others have affected our own lives, so too do we affect the lives of others, even in ways that are hidden from us. We have the choice to extend and accept such kindnesses - whether in the form of a fancy dinner or a simple cookie - at every moment we draw breath. By choosing kindness and love, we also choose conflict and suffering; but we choose life.

Michael Totten Is Back from Lebanon ...

... and experiencing massive culture shock in Portland, Oregon. He writes about it here.

Jet travel is a funny thing. One day I'm driving around South Lebanon near Fatima's Gate at the Lebanese/Israeli border looking at the Golan Heights, Hezbollah's roadside propaganda, and scorched tanks.

Next day I'm in calm and collected Portland sipping espresso while surfing the Internet. As if jet lag weren't enough, I'm still experiencing culture shock inside my own country. A month really is long enough for that to kick in. ...

Read the whole thing, with pictures, at the link.