from "ondelette:"

Next week, March 9-15, is Black Flag Week in Pakistan. The lawyers in Pakistan will carry black flags. And they will probably march, as they have done since November, for the reinstatement of the judiciary, for the rule of law, and for the return to the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. The head of the lawyers, Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has been knocking heads with the government over the rule of law during multiple dictatorships going back to Zia ul Haq and Ayub Khan. Pakistan has not had a steady democracy, but rather military dictatorships alternating with often corrupt democratic rule, for most of its history.

Brief History of the Lawyers Protests

The current military government took power in a coup in 1999 at the end of a standoff with India at the line of control, the separation between the two countries in Kashmir. Pervez Musharraf rewrote the Constitution, and ruled as both the head of the military and the president, and has staged rigged elections to maintain power. When the Constitution forbade him to run again this year, he fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudry, hoping to get a better decision on running. Ominously, he had also been apprehending and interrogating terrorism suspects, holding them without charge, and allegedly turning them over to the Americans for interrogation. The Court released many of them, and demanded that the government either bring charges against the others and arraign them in court, or release them.

I frankly have mixed feelings about Unity 08. In theory, it's an interesting idea, but for now I am skeptical that we could make it work, especially given the currently available Republican field. However, I would prefer not to deprive anyone of the opportunity to respond to this survey. It is a rare opportunity to have one's voice heard... So, feel free to click on the appropriate link and make your thoughts and feelings known.

From the inbox:

Unity08 - Your Voice in Politics
Unity08 has launched a unique online study that allows you to rank the presidential candidates and the issues facing the country.

To start the study, visit http://linescale.com/survey/Unity31018.

We've invited you to take and publish this study because we've seen that your site actively discusses politics and the state of the nation. It is crucial for us to include as many American citizens as we can so that we can truly start discussing the "crucial" issues facing the country and how to resolve them... before it is too late.

I hope that you take advantage of this opportunity, enjoy the study, and tell your readers about it. If you'd like to publish access to this study, please use the following link, http://linescale.com/survey/Unity31018.

Unity08 is a political reform movement comprised of concerned citizens from diverse backgrounds, both physical and political, who would like to regain their voice in American politics. Unity08 is the only movement that leverages online technology to give more Americans the power to influence and shape politics at the presidential level. If you'd like to learn more, visit http://unity08.com.

Please feel free to contact me at your leisure.

Sincerely,
Bob Roth
VP Online Marketing
http://www.Unity08.com

...for he truly knows not what he has unleashed:

How would you like a nice Hawaiian Punch?!

Of course, I would probably be arrested, booked and all of that, but just think of all the publicity I would get for defending the Constitution.

Frankly, I think that just defending the Constitution really needs to get a whole lot more publicity... if we are ever going to reach the tipping point back to a sane reality, one that is less dominated by testosterone.

Mostly likely, I won't be "wiping" that irritating smirk off Addington's mug, but it is something to fantasize about... 

Not Tony Auth! He is not conflating anything. But... what is going on in the minds of five of the  members of SCOTUS as they defend conflating their own orthodox (rigid/white/male) Catholic dogma with their constitutional duties as justices of the highest court in the land? ...I cannot even imagine.

This cartoon, by the prize-winning cartoonist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, has caused quite a stir. Mostly, I've just seen online comments/blog posts decrying it for its anti-Catholicism and bigotry. That is not my purpose for linking to it here. I've been a fan of Tony Auth for years, but never more so than now.

You can find out more about Malalai Joya by checking out this story on the website for PBS's NOW (what TV ought to be!) which includes an interview with Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad who has made an inspiring documentary about Joya's underground (for her safety) campaign to be elected to the parliament. And, as is typical of NOW, you will find plenty of web extras.

My intention is that we highlight many more stories like this one and far more often...

That is my answer to the question that concludes the most recent post from Riverbend of Baghdad Burning, (which, either ironically or appropriately, follows her previous post about the decision to execute Saddam Hussein) in which she again tells us what it is really like:

"Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn't make them more significant, does it?"

Her post begins with:

End of Another Year...

You know your country is in trouble when:

for this site, I know. However, it is certainly something worth considering... or at least reading about.

found via the inimitable Huffington Post

[Unfortunately, the image is no longer available, but it was an aerial image of naked bodies forming a peace sign.]

Every paragraph is a gem in this Boston Globe piece on Carol Shea-Porter, by Rick Klein, but I tried to be as selective as I possibly could, and still make you want to read the whole thing...

The last time Carol Shea-Porter had been in the same room as President Bush, she said, her T-shirt's message -- "Turn your back on Bush" -- won her a push out the door from a Bush supporter as she left an airplane hangar in Portsmouth.

[snip]

Shea-Porter is one of the very few people in the age of big-money campaigns who can watch "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and truly see herself. She's of a political breed that many believed was extinct: the angry citizen who decides to run for Congress -- and wins.

Work, both the regular job, plus some extra work, a bit of travel, and some volunteer campaign work have kept us too busy to blog. However...

we have been very aware of what we would have been writing about: women's voices, both those that have been silenced recently, and those that have not. [I'll try and pull together a list...]

But, in the meantime, a story by Cooper Munroe, from the Huffington Post, "Single Women Rock the Vote," is one of the best pieces of news regarding political trends that we've read. And, yes, we know this has already been a pretty good news week so far...

Eric Reeves, "Smith College English professor and Sudan expert," makes it crystal clear to all of us in his interview with Salon's Katherine Miezkowski why it is so important that the UN send in the blue helmets to prevent the massacre that is intended by the Sudanese government. You can read the interview here.

Photo: Reuters/Candace Feit via Salon

“If every member of the house and senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different” - Former US Senator Paul Simon

"The only way that we here, in the US, can assert our own humanity is to stand up to genocide, even a distant one.” - New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof

"Our mild inconvenience [in being arrested] does not compare to the suffering of the people in Darfur. But until that suffering comes to an end, it is critical that people all over the world continue to demand that their leaders push for security and justice for the people of Darfur." - Reid Rector [an activist with Save Darfur] So wrote Rector in his blog entry about his frustration in trying to get enough people to pay enough attention to this story -- just click on his links.

...something along the lines of that Chinese (mis)fortune cookie: May you live in interesting times. In her post on Fair Play and Justice, Robin reminds us of the demonstrations being planned by United for Peace and Justice in NYC later this month (click on the banner for details). Elsewhere, CodePink has planned to shift from fasting to other froms of protest.. also near the end of this month... about the time of the Autumnal Equinox. On Sunday I stayed for the Meeting for Learning precisely because the topic was Civil Disobedience, and because I wanted to know more about the topic... practically speaking. It was a clarifying experience... about which there will be some future posts.

In the meantime, I was reading Sidney Blumenthal's latest piece at Salon, and the editor's choice of letters, and imagining what a creative and effective demonstration might look like. Certainly, as Molly Ivins asserts, it must be fun. What about a parade? Everyone loves a parade! We could make it even more fun-- and maybe even newsworthy-- if it were satirical. Something inspired, say, by the Billionaires for Bush, who not only have a lot of style, but appear to have a whole lot more fun than most political demonstrators. Perhaps a parade celebrating and unifying ourselves behind the president's PropAgenda (Propaganda = Agenda): The PropAgenda Parade.

Anyone unfamiliar with Molly Ivins' writing might think, upon reading a recent column, that she really is just plain excited about her recent adventure at Texas A&M's cow college. Such a person would soon learn, however, that with Ivins everything relates to everything else, especially politics. From her recent column (courtesy of Truthdig.com):

So the latest thing in cattle handling is cow whispering (I’m not making this up—this is straight from A&M). Either on foot or horseback, you just kind of sidle around your herd without upsetting them, talk to them gently and suggest they might like to go that way for a while, and then perhaps a tour along the pen line, and then perhaps some consideration of the gate and another little tour of the pen line. But all of this is done without loud noise, sudden movements or eruptions of testosterone. It’s such a revolutionary development of an American macho tradition it’s a little like watching NFL teams come onto the field in tutus. But it also works a lot better on the cows.

One reason for the popularity of war among a certain class of men, that hasn't been discussed as much lately as perhaps it should, is that they are privilged enough to be spared not just war's actual consequences, but also any real knowledge of war's consequences. GWB achieves this state of optimism and bliss, by focusing on his idea of what reality should look like and refusing to consider that reality might deviate from his will. Such an attitude might be admirable if he were climing a mountain, and everyone else along on the expedition was there willingly. Instead, he pushes others out the door on dangerous expeditions and demands that they return with reports that justify his world view.

Earlier in the week, while we were in the middle of moving and re-orienting this blog, we still had time to notice some other stories from elsewhere in the world that were reported at Broadsheet.

One link led to the main site for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which has a page devoted to international women's peace initiatives.

We were especially struck, though, by the story of two Israeli women, Abir Kopty and Hannah Safran, both longtime peace activits, who started an organization, Women Against War, shortly after the current Israeli-Hezbollah conflict began. They risk their own safety with their daily demonstrations. You can read the rest at Women's eNews.

Please tell us what you think, what you like, what you don't... or any other suggestions.

In particular, we would like suggestions on categories that would be useful or interesting, and your reactions to the user interface. Do you find it easy to use? Is there anything that would make it better for you?

For example, I was thinking that some .html help or aids would be helpful and will try to figure out how they can be implemented.

Thank you Bloggyland!!! Your team is awesome!!!

* * * * *

...sometime during this next week, assuming all goes according to plan [crosses fingers, knocks on wood], the contents of this blog will be migrated to a new site. The new site will have, once we get things configured and formatted, some features that I think everyone will appreciate.

For example, the most recent comments will scroll down a section of the screen, and no matter how old the relevant post is, you will be able to see that there is a new comment. In addition, you'll be able to find/search for other posts by someone whose work you like (or perhaps don't). We'll also be able to keep important stories, or even just ongoing features, prominently displayed on the "front page."

I was reading a Broadsheet story this morning, and then tonight found myself wondering... What if the Iraq War were compared with an abusive man/woman relationship?

An already powerful, but still power-hungry, man with plenty of women of his own, sees an exotic and beautiful woman of substance and culture, and decides he wants her too. And not just because she's rich, either, but because he thinks he can convince them both that they are soul mates. Really, he thinks of himself as Higgins to her Eliza, but he cannot say that metaphor out loud without risking being humiliated by his buddies.

Women all over the world-- as a group-- have the most skin in the game when it comes to wars, even if they aren't formally fighting on the front-lines... Children they have already born and raised are expected to become cannon fodder-- willingly; children they are still raising may become cannon fodder merely by accident; and yet, women are are expected to be innocent enough to be eternal optimists, expected, as such, to reproduce even more cannon fodder, in order to keep the machines of war (and its attendant industries, for that matter) humming along. *

The fasters are demanding that we bring our troops home from Iraq. They want the White House and Congress to call for:

MISHLOVE: You know, Freud once wrote towards the end of his career that in spite of all his investigation into the psychology of men and women he was never able to answer the basic question, what does Woman want? It seems as if in your psychology of the goddesses, you really are addressing that question. These goddess archetypes represent the different things that women want.