I keep going back to Gibbon's Decline & Fall of Rome to understand America. When Ceasar crossed the Rubicon river the Roman Republic fell to Empire.
On this day the US pulverized a few hundred prisoners into "body parts" in an obscure ancient mud & stone fort near Mazar-i-Sherif in Afghanistan, and Bush threatened Iraq and another "40 to 50 countries harbouring terrorists." This day, a postmodern Ceasar crossed the river of intent and the nacent empire emerged from behind its rhetorical shield of Republic. This same day US Attorney general told us that they had discovered another few hundred "terrorists" among the 1,100 prisoners that have been seized and held incommunicado over the past several months, and that their names would not be released as that would aid the enemy. Woe betides the American people for the folly of servile aquisence to Empire will be upon their shoulders, and the evil deeds of empire will be in their name, and the world will have them to blame. -----Original Message----- From: Brownson, Jamil [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 3:00 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: [PEN-L:20043] RE: Re: RE: Re: Re: today's new ultimatum oops, sorry michael, i was just playing off the previous comment on spain as a terrorist state as it harbours terrorist (ETA) then too so does France, not to mention their Corsican independence terrorists. I can't calm down. I am too angry at all the senseless killing & threats & destruction. I no longer care about the 911-WTC tragedy, which has been used as a ploy to exert an equally tragic distortion of american power & potential in a scenario more tragic than any Shakesperian drama that I can recall. In fact "Je'accuse" shrub & all his fathers' keepers, henchmen & handlers of insulting the victims of 911 by creating ever new victims, toasting humans, roasting babies as equally as men with guns, using a bull in the china shop approach. Afghanistan is no paradise nor Afghans weak kneed sisters, after so many years of killing fields even kids can kick around human heads "body parts" like reported remains of the once 600 prisoners who rebelled them were bombed to smithereens by the US attack planes & the first combat by US & Brit commandos were against this poor mud-stone fort near mazar-as-sharif, which to all of us who have some Arabic or Persion (at least a half billion Muslims out of a billion) means the tomb of the noble. It is not lost on us, that this tragic massacre & mayhem was perpetrated at a place with such a symbolic name. Basta! Enough. -----Original Message----- From: Michael Perelman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 2:26 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:20039] Re: RE: Re: Re: today's new ultimatum Take it easy, Jamil. We have 40-50 countries to bomb. Let's get our ducks in a row first. On Tue, Nov 27, 2001 at 02:21:00PM -0800, Brownson, Jamil wrote: > Spain, then all the Spanish speaking countries as they all harbour > terrorists, albeit many of them US trained & backed, then of course Cuba, > which by US definition is terrorist simply because it does not kow tow to > its fate as being a US dominated semi-coloonyas it was from 1898-1960 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Stephen E Philion [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 10:27 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [PEN-L:20032] Re: Re: today's new ultimatum > > > Shouldn't we be bombing Spain next? What is this knowingly harboring > terrorists w/o unconditionally handing them over to the US anyhow? > > Steve > > Stephen Philion > Lecturer/PhD Candidate > Department of Sociology > 2424 Maile Way > Social Sciences Bldg. # 247 > Honolulu, HI 96822 > > > On Tue, 27 Nov 2001, Ian Murray wrote: > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Devine, James" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "Pen-l (E-mail)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 8:27 AM > > Subject: [PEN-L:20024] today's new ultimatum > > > > > > > from the SLATE "Today's Papers" column:> all the big US newspapers > > featured > > > >President Bush's comments that the Saddam Hussein should let > > weapons > > > inspectors into Iraq. And what happens if Saddam balks? "He'll find > > out," > > > said the President. Bush also said that any country "that develops > > weapons > > > of mass destruction that will be used to terrorize nations," will > > now be > > > granted > > > terrorist status. He has never mentioned this criterion before. > > Still, Bush > > > said he wasn't changing positions. "Have I expanded the definition?" > > he > > > asked. "I've always had that definition, as far as I'm concerned." > > < > > > > > > let's see. What country, located in North America, developed and now > > harbors > > > the largest arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in the world? > > what > > > country has actually used them and has threatened to do so again on > > several > > > occasions? what country, besides Iraq, also refuses to accept > > international > > > inspection? > > > > =================== > > < http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1127-03.htm > > > President Bush's prime purpose now is gearing up America for a wider > > war. "It's not over. It's not over," he told Newsweek, concerned that > > the people might think otherwise. "Afghanistan is just the beginning," > > he roared to an audience of soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. > > "America has a message for the nations of the world. If you feed a > > terrorist or fund a terrorist, you're a terrorist." > > > > Who should be hired to bomb Langley, DC, Saudi Arabia etc.? > > > > Maybe it's time to bring back the free market in mercenarism. > > > > Ian > > > > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
