People ask me why I post irrelevancies, like my weak attempt at humor below. Sometimes I think it's because I simply can't sustain feeling unrelentingly outraged and overwhelmed and saddened by what is happening, both here and over there. And remember, it's happening in our name. As one of the prisoners released from Abu Gharib said, "I couldn't believe Americans could do such things." If only.

from Bernard Chazelle:

'Condoleezza Rice: "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us"

... I could almost hear the Beatitudes from The Gospel According to Dubya: "Blessed are the children whom the sea swallows, for they shall tug at our heartstrings. / Cursed are the children whom our bombs blow up, for they shall roam the dark alleys of our indifference." We've been Iraq's tsunami. But expect no charity drive, no minute of silence, no flag at half-staff: nothing that would allow shame to rear its ugly face.

With Bush's reelection, America now has the president it deserves. And should you find that Lady Liberty, all dolled up with the latest in fashion from Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, looks a bit like a used up hooker, you won't need to ask who hired her pimp: We did.'

the rest is here, "Why the Children in Iraq Make No Sound When They Fall"

via zonaeuropa.com, "The Children of Iraq" Note that this is a photo-essay, and may take some time to load, but it is well worth it.