licentious radio

Friday, April 4, 2003
[8:27:37 PM]

"The Republicans have tried to make a practice of attacking anybody who speaks out strongly by questioning their patriotism. I refuse to have my patriotism or right to speak out questioned. I fought for and earned the right to express my views in this country." -- John Kerry

[3:55:17 PM]
Those aren't 'handcuffs'; they're *Freedom* cuffs. And those are *Freedom* hoods over their heads, too.

*Freedom* water is what we're giving the Umm Qasr mafia to sell to the destitute Iraqis -- your money or your life. Death is *liberating*.

And finally, don't let's forget *Freedom* bombs -- the ones that only accidentally liberate hundreds of Iraqi civilians from their so-called mortal coil. (Formerly-known-as-cluster.)

[11:35:35 AM]
Ha, ha. Dixie Chicks have the number 1 country album out now, at least two weeks running. Even without the fascist Bush crony-owned Clear Channel suppressing their music because of an apology at a rock concert in Europe. Ha, ha, ha.

[11:04:40 AM]
The names of dead Iraqi civilians disappeared. For a few days, each article about civilian deaths would name one or two. Something changed, suddenly. I suppose the point was made, in journalistic terms. Now the articles mention names of survivors, and only mention the relationships of the dead.

Bakhat Hassan. Lamea (Hassan?), his wife. They are alive, and named. Their two daughters and son -- 2, 3, 5 -- two nieces, 12 and 15, his two brothers and their wives, his parents. We count them, but we don't know their names.

To me, the names are important. Samar. Mohammed. Imad. Khursa. Even Abu, the suicide bomber. Michael. Erik. Todd. Jacob. Donald. Randy.

Do we hide the names of civilians to give their families time to be notified? Or is it to subtract the individuals, and leave only the cold body count of collateral damage? Or maybe it's to save a few dozen words in the article?

My list: Names of Iraq war dead. Mostly the names are from news articles on the internet. The list includes Americans, British, journalists, civilians, Iraqi fighters: names of people who are now dead.

[9:31:00 AM]
Samar Hussein, 13 [independent.co.uk]: Samar's 40-year-old mother, Hamida, was telling her not to go out when the missile exploded. "She just fell. I could see blood coming from her stomach. She was gasping, and as I ran to her she was crying, 'Mama, Mama'... It was so terrible. ...There were others also hurt, and everyone was crying and screaming. We had to wait for a car because ours was so badly damaged. But I knew my Samar would not last until we got to the hospital. And that is what happened -- she died in my arms..."

[9:14:52 AM]
Hey! In case you were wondering about all the fuss, here's that pamphlet that right-wing kooks handed out to our soldiers. What's your duty in war? Each day, pray for Bush and the troops. Note: that's pray for Bush, then pray for the troops. If you're in a foxhole, pray for Bush first, in case incoming mortar fire disrupts your prayers. You can pray for the troops later. (Hopefully.)

A Christian's [sic] Duty [pdf at itmimg.org]

[9:02:34 AM]
New unemployment claims are running 400,000 per week? Ouch. Fix the economy! No more tax breaks for Bush cronies.

[8:58:10 AM]
Fatima Sulsam, 4, and Farahan, 12, poster children for the so-called liberation of Iraq. We conquered the country. It's a shame and a crime that Rumsfeld's plan didn't include taking care of the liberated. When children like Fatima and Farahan die, their blood is on Bush's hands, and on ours. People die in war. But after the conquest, letting people starve, drink dirty water, or die from lack of health care is not acceptable.

If we still can't take care of people in Umm Qasr, what disasters are in store for the rest of the country. Hoping that Saddam surrenders this weekend is not much of a freaking plan.

Bring us their heads.

BBC: