Friday, August 29, 2003 :::
Frightening, distressing, and mysterious news:
Car Bomb Kills Key Iraqi Shi'ite Leader, 75 Others in Najaf
This is another one of those horrible acts of terrorism in Iraq itself, but unlike the UN attacks or oil/water pipeline attacks, it's aimed at a prominent religious leader in Iraq.
Rival groups within the Shiite leadership are being blamed for the violence. The cleric, who was persecuted under the regime of Saddam Hussein, had also been criticized by some for allowing followers to work with the U.S.-led coalition authority.
Apparently the Grand Ayatollah al-Hakim (I'm not particularily knowledgable about Islam, but Grand Ayatollah sounds like a pretty high ranking and influencial title), who was the target of the car bomb, was delivering a speech on "unity", and cooperation with the U.S the afternoon of the explosion. Whatever you want to call them, "remnants", "terrorist factions", "the face of evil", there is obviously a very dedicated group still in Iraq that is willing to cause this kind of chaos. I mean, 75 deaths, and that's just the start of the count- a huge death toll. So, whether you take the position that the U.S. soldiers in Iraq need to really get to work making that country OK, or if you feel that the entire "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is a farcical slaughter that we're watching grow darker every day, I'm sure both camps could agree that Iraq is certainly FUBAR.
In other news, another soldier was killed by someone with a rocket launcher in Iraq. This is nothing new, but I urge you to take a look at this Time Magazine graphic of all the killings of U.S. soldiers and civilians in just the last month of U.S. occupation. Does the average American have any bearing on the situation in Iraq? Do they know that soldiers die daily for this war? Are they that sold on the killing? What does it mean to them? Feel free to email or IM your thoughts.
This is Andrew from the AlbaPerch, keeping it real.
::: posted by Andrewski at 11:22 AM
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 :::
Welcome back, loyal Perch readers! A new semester of Calabaloo is upon us, and the Perch is here for all the slick and skinny of Berkeley going-ons. Hope everyone had a relaxing and productive summer, and is looking forward to all the excitement Fall 2003 is sure to bring.
If you picked up the Daily Cal today, you surely noticed the classy article on Berkeley Blogs. The Albatross Perch, runner-up of the 2002 Hugo award for Best New Berkeley Blog, was egregiously not mentioned in today's article. Calstuff's Kevin Dennihan (who delivers the funny in this month's Squelch), is quoted liberally (how else for a Berkeley paper? yuk yuk) in the article.
Holy shit, they're giving out free boba drinks at the Tea House today. Doors open at 4:30. I hate boba drinks, I think they taste like squishy little testicles in milk. The only Boba I like is Boba Fett, and that's because I'm a nerd.
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:53 PM
Harrison Ford is the MAN!
Not ONLY is he going to be in Indiana Jones IV, coming out summer 2005,
Not ONLY is he allegedly banging Ally McBeal,
But he's also man enough to speak out against U.S. Foreign policy. Granted, he does it while in Spain, but he still said he's against the war. Also surprisingly, he's for gun control and thinks that movies have become videogame-like. I can't help but think that's a slight dig at George Lucas's last two Star Wars movies, compared to the three that Harrison Ford was in.
"I think American films right now are suffering from an excess of scale. Lots of movies we're seeing now are more akin to video games than stories about human life and relationships."
About the war:
"I'm very disturbed about the direction American foreign policy is going," said Ford.
"I think something needs to be done to help alleviate the conditions which have created a disenfranchised and angry faction in the Middle East. I don't think military intervention is the correct solution. I regret what we as a country have done so far".
I think it's great when celebrities speak out on issues. I wonder if Indiana Jones would have let the Bush Administration wield the Ark of the Covenant for use in the War on Terror? "It belongs in a museum, Rummy!"
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:42 PM
