Slaughter

"Among the 5.7 billion human beings, the older generation, including me, is getting read to say good-bye to this world. The youth has to carry responsibility for the future. So, please realize your responsibility, remember your potential, and have self-confidence. Have an open mind and a sense of caring and belonging. The freshness and strength that youth has should not fade away. You must keep this enthusiasm." The Dalai Lama



It was not a news day for the squeamish. The news of 6600 Iraqi deaths in July and August , was numbing and chilling. It doesn't get better though.

Now Iraqi death squads one aspect of the sectarian violence AKA civil war, is creating a situation where torture in Iraq is worse now than under Saddam's reign.

The previous line is a strange thing to write because the implication is that somehow there is a lesser torture or an improvement on torture. The point is that any torture whatsoever is a complete failure on all levels. Yet listening to George Bush lately we hear things like "the good news is not being told, there's plenty of good in Iraq, or sure some things are not going as we had hoped." I have to shake my head at the folks that are somehow appeased or made to feel confident with this. My faith level in the present administration is below zero.

We were told many times about how Saddam brutally tortured his own people and that this alone was reason to invade. Now torture in Iraq is worse? Worse? Isn't this the point in time where many elite higher ups have to be fired, removed from their positions of power, maybe banished to the moon? If your jaw isn't dropping lately, what does it take?

Condi Rice compared The Iraq War to The Civil War. From a numbers of death point of view, she appears to be correct. That is the only logic I can make out of her statement.

Civil War facts:

Union Army
Battle deaths: 110,070
Disease, etc.: 250,152
Total 360,222

Confederate Army
Battle deaths: 94,000
Disease, etc.: 164,000
Total 258,000

Duration of Civil War: April 1861 to April 1865 4 years=48 months

Battle deaths alone for both sides would total 204,070
Divide 204,070 by 48 = 4,252 deaths from battle alone per month.


Artwork by Brice Marden