Yobaba I like this

Yobaba is a 57 year old married woman from Portland, Oregon, USA.

"Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can." - Dalai Lama

RTÉ News: 50,000 protest against Iraq security pact: Oct 18, 9:15am (1 review) politics, iraq, war http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1018/iraq.ht...; An estimated 50,000 supporters of the Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have marched in Baghdad against the planned long-term security pact extending the presence of military forces in the country.

Iraq: Violence is down & but not because of Americas surge - Middle East...: Sep 15, 6:02pm (4 reviews) military, politics, war http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...; McCain's ... lack of understanding of what is happening in Iraq could ignite a fresh conflict. In so far as the surge has achieved military success, it is because it implicitly recognizes America's political defeat in Iraq. Whatever the reason for President George Bush's decision to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein in 2003, it was not to place the Shia Islamic parties in power and increase the influence of Iran in the country; yet that is exactly what has happened. [It is very noticeable that in recent weeks the US has largely ceased its criticism of Iran. This is partly because of American preoccupation with Russia since the fighting began in Georgia in August, but it is also an implicit recognition that US security in Iraq is highly dependent on Iranian actions.] General Petraeus has had a measure of success in Iraq less because of his military skills than because he was one of the few American leaders to have some understanding of Iraqi politics. In January 2004, when he was commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, I asked him what was the most important piece of advice he could give to his successor. He said it was "not to align too closely with one ethnic group, political party, tribe, religious group or social element". But today the US has no alternative but to support Mr Maliki and his Shia government, and to wink at the role of Iran in Iraq. If McCain supposes the US has won a military victory, and as president acts as if this were true, then he is laying the groundwork for a new war."

Online NewsHour: Slide show: Lt. Col. Steven Beck, U.S. Marine Corps |...: Aug 22, 11:27am (1 review) military, politics, war http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_cove...; "Katherine Cathey presses her pregnant stomach against her husband's casket. The baby was named James Jeffrey Cathey Jr." In the book, "Final Salute," former Rocky Mountain News reporter Jim Sheeler and photographer Todd Heisler chronicle the experiences of a U.S. Marine Corps casualty assistance officer, Lt. Col. Steven Beck, as he calls on families in Colorado to notify them of a family members' death. Lt. Col. Beck talks about his duties captured in the photos. Take 4 minutes and 36 seconds our of your busy life and watch the video. You will never forget it. Thank you http://xineann.stumbleupon.com/review/24623500/

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words - Helen Thomas News Story - WCVB Boston...: May 13, 9:48pm (6 reviews) iraq, media, war http://www.thebostonchannel.com/helentho...; Some readers resented The Washington Post for publishing an Associated Press photograph of a critically wounded Iraqi child being lifted from the rubble of his home in Baghdad's Sadr City "after a U.S. airstrike. Two-year-old Ali Hussein later died in a hospital. As the saying goes, the picture was worth a thousand words because it showed the true horrors of this war. Neither side is immune from the killing of Iraqi civilians. But Americans should be aware of their own responsibility for inflicting death and pain on the innocent. The Post's ombudsman, Deborah Howell, said about 20 readers complained about the photo, while a few readers praised the Post for publishing the stark picture on page one. Some mothers said they were offended that their children might see the picture, though one wonders whether their youngsters watch television and play with violent videos in a pretend world. From the start of the unprovoked U.S. "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, the government tried to bar the news media from photographing flag-draped coffins of American soldiers returning from Iraq. A Freedom of Information lawsuit forced the government to release pictures of returning coffins. Some readers felt the photo of the Iraqi boy was "an anti-war statement; some thought it was in poor taste." Well, so is war. Why has the media shied away from telling the story about Iraqi civilian casualties? News people and editors were more courageous during the Vietnam War. What are they afraid of now? Who can forget the shocking picture of the little Vietnamese girl running down a road, aflame from a napalm attack? And who can forget the picture of South Vietnamese police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan putting a gun to the temple of a young member of the Viet Cong and executing him on a Saigon street? There was no American outcry against the press for showing the horror of war when these photographs were published. Were we braver then? Or maybe more conscience stricken? The Pentagon made a command decision after the Vietnam War to get better control of the dissemination of information in future wars. This led then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to create an office of disinformation at the start of the Iraqi war. It was later disbanded after howls from the media. Too often in this war, the news media seem to have tried to shield the public from the suffering this war has brought to Americans and Iraqis. It's not the job of the media to protect the nation from the reality of war. Rather, it is up to the media to tell the people the truth. They can handle it. [Helen Thomas can be reached at hthomas@hearstdc.com]

Two-year-old Ali Hussein is pulled from the rubble of his familys home: May 13, 9:42pm iraq, war http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat...

Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times: Oct 9, 2007 6:45pm (1 review) music, peace, beatles, war, lennon http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content...; John Lennon would have turned 67 years old Tuesday were it not for the agitated roar of yet another madman's gun. If he were still with us, I think he might well ask when we, as a society, will outgrow our wars and weapons, and cultivate diplomacy and compassion instead.