22.12.06

Solstice Wishes






For those who do check in here on my little space every so often, my apologies for the lack of fodder lately and good wishes to you all for the Solstice, the season, and the New Year. There's no time like anytime to spread the love.

I’m not often one to suggest compromise where idealism is concerned; I simply fail to see the point of it; but how’s this for pragmatic wishful thinking?

Would that we (everyone) could agree to treat everyone with a level of civility that we expect to be treated with. All the rest of the bullshit could stay, but we’d not resort to violence.

Peace to you all.

12.11.06

gardening

The time was ripe for digging in mr. damon's fractal garden again:

6.11.06

More decimation in Gaza





Nonviolent demonstrations throughout West Bank in protest of Israeli attacks on medical crews


I'm bringing you another update from Dr. Mona El-Farra:

while on their way to their school with their school bags , and their teacher on board of small school bus , the van has been attacked by one missile , teacher is seriously injured , 9 at least were ijured , one is killed , medical staff at AlAwda hospital are dealing with the injured , some were reffered to the shifa hospital ,in Gaza city.
...
i have seen some of the shrapnels , that were recovered from the previous day injuries , with clear writing USA USA, the shrapnels seems unusual ,surgeons didnot come across before ,we donot have the time and facilities to investigatte , some experts might find results , any way killing of civilians is ilegal either with knives or internationaly abandended weapons .

my messege to all good American men and women , PLEASE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TAX MONEY ARE NOT USED FOR KILLING INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN GAZA

MOna with love and soliderity


For any American readers who've not already been well informed on how your tax dollars are working for Israel please check this site: If Americans knew

2.11.06

Spread the Word

post copied verbatim From Gaza with Love



End the Assault Against North of Gaza

Press Release: 2 November 2006

END THE ASSAULT ON BEIT HANOUN

Yesterday the Israeli Occupation Forces began the
grotesquely named “Operation Autumn of Fury” on the
Gaza Strip. Beit Hanoun, scene of the continuing
massacre by Israel since June 25th, was re-occupied by
Israeli tanks. Since yesterday 12 civilians have been
shot dead and more than 65 woemn and children have
been injured. On the first dayof Eid Ul Fiter, last
week, 7 residents of the town were also killed by the
IOF.

The town of Beit Hanoun was bombed by Apache
helicopters and F16 and V58 fighter planes. All of
Beit Hanoun’s residents have no water or electricity
today. These air-strikes which damage essential
infrastructure and terrify the civilian population are
a form of collective punishment against the
Palestinian people and are war crimes which are
forbidden under international humanitarian law,
especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, which
prescribes the manner in which armies must treat
civilians during times of conflict.

We, therefore, call on the international community to
exert pressure on the Israeli Occupation Forces to
conduct itself within the boundaries of international
humanitarian law and ensure the protection of all
Palestinian civilians.

We also demand the immediate halt of the Israeli
Occupation Forces’ attacks on the Gaza Strip and an
end to the closure and isolation of the Strip, both of
which are exacerbating an already desperate
humanitarian situation inside the Strip.

For Comments contact:
Dr. Mona Al Farra +97082846602 or 0+972 599 410 741.
Dr Abu Ala'a, Gaza Strip, + 972 599 441766
Dr Asaad Abu Sharkh, Gaza Strip, + 972 599 322636
Dr Ayyoub Othman, + 972 599 412 826

25.10.06

Of Note

It's been a little while semi-offline and I missed this significant observation by Rigorous Intuition (v. 2.0)

22.10.06

Igor




Igor Falecki drummer -4 years old.

16.10.06

KANONHSTATON



"The Protected Place"







Youngfox has more pictures, news and updates on Kanonhstaton, the Six Nations reclamation site near Caledonia; where they're saying 'no more' to the oppression of their People, and the appropriation of the Land.




UNITY - it's a beautiful thing to behold.
"It is our territory. Just because it has passed title illegally throughout the years doesn't mean that it isn't ours."

~Janie Jamieson


Unity Flag image via

12.10.06

tick-tock....

...the Planetary Clock can't slow down and wait for us to catch up.



Tub-thumper reminds us that the World Can't Wait.


You might think you're 'just' eating Orange Roughy for dinner, but you're 'Eating the Planet'.


While conservation groups and the international community at large are calling for a UN moratorium on the fishing practice known as bottom trawling; Canada's "New Government" won't support it!
It'd be really nice if the NeoConservatives could surprise us once in a while by not acting so predicably like greedy psychopathic bastards.

Stating a 'lack of scientific evidence' as their reason for voting to continue this practice of total destruction of entire ancient ecosystems; they wait for something or someone to provide some more information, and have no substantial plan for acquiring this 'scientific information'.

Come now, this logic is akin to allowing your 5 year old to mix up your various cleaning materials in your toilet, knowing full well that it's going to create a damaging toxic reaction because you don't fully comprehend the exact chemical reaction that will result.


It's total and complete idiocy, but in the case of bottom trawling the damage is irreversable, and the only benefit the temporary accrual of wealth for a very few corporations; and of course this all only happens because YOU buy the damned catch!

Trawling of every sort is destructive, albeit not in the same sweepingly huge scale as Bottom Trawling.



Skin missing from their fins and other parts of their bodies indicates they have been caught in trawlers' nets.


Surely as Canadians we can and should draw on our collective heritage of a Nation from which Greenpeace has sprung, our hindsight and understanding of our destruction of the cod fishery and demand that our Government FULLY support this moratorium.

....tick-tock...

6.10.06

Post hasty





I'm not even Muslim (or any other monotheistic believer), but this brand of bullshit Jack Straw hillbilly thinking makes me want to wear veil simply to excercise my right to wear whatever the hell I want before it no longer exists.

Even if I agree that communicating with someone who's face I cannot entirely see poses its challenges, no one should hold the power to force another to compromise their own personal freedom of choice.

If you've got a problem with that; well then you've just got problems.

Revelation




A goat looks at a window of a butcher's shop in a village near the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon.


via

(observation: looks to me as though he can't help but remain on his hind legs...there doesn't appear to be enough slack in the unfortunate creature's lead to allow him to stand on all four of his legs)

4.10.06

Among Canadiana I appreciate...Emily Carr





Early Emily...




Emily Carr: Totem Walk at Sitka, 1907



Later Emily...





Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky, 1935


Forest, British Columbia, 1931-32


photos via

22.9.06

Ever feel like blogger is consipiring to keep you from posting??

*&$%*&#$%*&$#(*!!!!!!!!!!

I do.
Ok, that's better.

This post is not quite the book meme that Michael Hawkins passed along to me, but it should vaguely resemble it...

The Baghavad Gita is something I read during a very difficult period of change in my life. It helped me to find my own strength when it seemed to be needed.

Recently I picked up a copy of Carlos Castanedas' Tales of Power and after getting into it and finding I'd begun a series of books out of sequence, I was only spurred to keep on so that I could get to the rest.

Follow the Path with Heart.


Right now I'm reading The Secret History of the World and it is compelling to say the least, could blow your mind, or confirm your own thoughts, and will surely present notions or facts that you didn't already know.

17.9.06

Here goes nothing

This could go rather wrong...here's a new template.

10.9.06

While I'm on a slow roll...

....I started out with the intention of posting the book list that I was meme'd by Michael Hawkins' at Spontaneous Arising, but ended up in a dream puppet's stumblings and found this bit of Foamy Custard:



[.....]
A number of times in American history, the populace has glanced outside the duality struggles of content and briefly viewed the controlling symbols of context. Artists have glimpsed outside the duality and have allowed a large number of the ruled to see the rulers. And visionaries have also seen outside the duality. These are times when third parties in America have had their greatest impact.

But these times have been rare. Much more common has been the dominance of one of the symbols, equality or freedom, at the expense of the other. In the first half of the 20th century, the symbol of equality dominated America and the world in the form of mass communications, mass production, mass culture, totalitarian, communist, Fascist and Nazi political systems. As Erich Fromm observed, the overriding desire was to 'escape from freedom' during this period of time.

The second half of the 20th century, though, saw the decline of the equality symbol and the rise of the symbol of freedom. Much of the impetus for late capitalism and consumerism has been fired by this 'escape from equality' and a 'return to freedom.' This desire to escape from equality and return to freedom is behind the rise of postmodernism and relative narratives over meta-narratives. It is also responsible for a lack of standards of morality, for celebrity culture and Hollywood and the growth of the religious right and evangelical fundamentalists. It is also behind the growth of a segmented, niche marketplace full of numerous cable TV channels and the explosion of brands and consumer choice.
[.....]


I thought it quite timely to be posing such questions of our current state in the world. Thinking in such terms individually to discern shit from shine-o-la excercises the muscle that has for too long now fallen into a state of atrophy. Too many, for too long, have allowed others, betters, more accomplished, more wealthy, more powerful, to present us public opininion 'free, courtesy of the house' for us to follow and display. Goods to purchase and appropriate social conduct all available for free marketing to You.

This market obediance has led us to the place and time that we find ourselves in today and that same programming is what me must undo collectively.

This would be a truly fruitful situation from which a productive counterculture could be a feasible reality; but if we're to make that future a reality, there is a lot of collective self-improvement to be done.

8.9.06

Counterculture?

I've been in very low gear as far as posting goes lately, so I decided to post a short rant that I made over at Mickey Z's the other day. I've edited only slightly, nothing of the context is skewed.....


image via

I don't think we can possibly hope for any effective counterculture to be bourne of humanity until and unless we fully regain control of our everyday lives in the system which we currently have.

This is no small task and it requires the awareness and involvement of the majority of the population as individuals to take responsibility for the results of their individual actions, both materially and psychologically.

We must relinquish our "Consumer Status" and reclaim our "Status as Citizens".

I think this becomes a feasible option only after we see and understand the many nuances of manipulation that exist by great effort on the part of those who hold power on our planet.

Until then, I believe it is more ‘narcissistic and infantile indifference’ to think that our current global political, social and economic situation will remain unchanged; or if there existed a sussessful counterculture such as you suggest, it would revert to an equally tenuous situation before more than a couple of decades at most.


This article [suggested by my fellow Expendable JOS] serves to lift the corner of the veil and aids in the appreciation of the magnitude of effert that is put toward controlling our social conditions.

2.9.06

The Magic Hour



This striking photo and many others at mr. damon's skychurch

6.8.06

Will you stop what you're doing to help stop the war?




STOP ISRAEL'S BOMBING NOW!
Saturday, August 12 2006, 1:00pm - 3:00pm

MASS RALLY & MARCH
(Toronto)
Saturday, August 12
1:00pm
Israeli Consulate

180 Bloor Street West
(west of Avenue Road, north side of Bloor)

March to U.S. Consulate
360 University Avenue
(east of University, south side of Armoury)


Called by:
Canadian Arab Federation
Palestine House
Muslim Unity Group - Toronto
Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation
Canadian Peace Alliance
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
Trade Unionists Against the War

Even if you go through your day to day without ever discussing religion or politics with co-workers and strangers alike; you should try to attend your local march next weekend and add to the visible numbers who demand peace in their names.

Pretending it's a drama or cartoon playing out on the channel you never turn to on your television set will just leave you wondering where you've ended up; a third of the current Middle East's population will have been exterminated so efficiently that you won't even be aware that 20% of the deductions taken off your paycheque every week ended up making it all possible.

This isn't just something that can be waved off with the tagline that it's been happening forever. There is no time like the present for you to speak out for peace.


Watch a Video Letter:

From Beirut...to those who love us.

2.8.06

Mediterranean Ecocide





Tragically the international community, aware that Lebanon cannot possibly clean this, will make no resolution to curb this man-made black tide on Beirut's shore.

Is everything in the Middle East destined to perish so horribly?

1.8.06

A Selfish Pause for enjoyment




of Jeff Grant's photograph of a Kniphofia sp. (or so I've deduced)





And a dog named George

Canada's shame continues






This Talking Head over-rationalises the Israeli demolition of Lebanese society, reducing his position to little more than an apologist for murderers.

He is as useful as tits on a bull and doesn't have an opinion until it's given to him.

Apparently he cannot count either:
"I don't think that Canada's position is isolated in any way and I don't think that we have done anything other than participate productively, actively in looking for solution that will lead to a ceasefire."

Canada was alone with the UK in supporting the veto imposed by the US on the proposed UN resolution for a ceasefire.

He extolls the virtue and solemn importance of enforcing UN resolutions, but selectively excludes the myriad resolutions to which Israel has never complied.

Alexa McDonagh certainly has bigger balls than he, and at least sees that an immediate ceasefire is the minimum that Canada should be calling for. (and I do mean minimum)

25.7.06

Do I need a New World order Map?







Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he does not favour sending Canadian troops to southern Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping force, adding that countries in the area should be responsible for resolving the conflict.
via (emphasis mine)

So did Afghanistan suddenly become part of North America when I blinked?

This jackassery really has to stop.

The politicians won't do it while we allow them to continue to decide which status quo situations should continue, and which they will decide (strategically) need to be changed.


"It is time for a new Middle East," she said. "It is time to say to those that don't want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not."
~Condlizzard quote via

21.7.06

A Measured Response....

...must be dependant upon who's yard-stick you're using.


Troops were also fighting Hezbollah militants inside the Lebanese border.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the number of Lebanese killed in the ten days of violence was more than 330.

He said that more than 55 bridges had been destroyed and claimed Israeli forces had also targeted medical convoys.

"This attack is no longer against Hezbollah, it is an attack against the Lebanese and Lebanon," he said.
via

But, of course, Israeli politicians and apologists have a different take on this situation:

Alan Baker says that Arbour, who has been an international war crimes prosecutor and a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, doesn't understand the situation.
via

And while western nations fawn and busy over getting out those Lebanese fortunate enough to hold dual citizenship along with foreign tourists:

"Here, it just seems like the world is doing nothing.

"People are dying and it feels like a collective punishment on the whole nation.
via

OR...

Maybe Israel was targetting the deadly and feared Lebanese Pigeons....



Lebanese pigeon fanciers release birds they found alive under the rubble of houses that were destroyed when Israeli airplanes targeted them, in the town of Choueifat, at the southern edge of Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday. (AP Photo)


Support Peace.
This means YOU!

7.7.06

Never Again?

I have often wondered for whom this expression was intended.
Never Again....should any people suffer collective punishment simply for existing.



On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted that he intended to commit war crimes in Gaza, telling his cabinet that he wanted “no one to be able to sleep tonight in Gaza”. Olmert thus officially acknowledged Israel’s policy of collectively punishing 1.4 million Palestinians, a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

via


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), and Isolate the Gaza Strip from the Outside World

29 June - 5 July 2006


~9 Palestinians were killed by IOF.

~6 of the victims were killed by the IOF shelling in the Gaza Strip.

~Two of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the West Bank.

~91 Palestinians, including 18 children, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.


~IOF warplanes launched a series of air strikes and mock air raids on the Gaza Strip; offices of the Palestinian Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior and a number of civilian facilities were destroyed or damaged.

~IOF conducted 81 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and reoccupied areas in the Gaza Strip.

~102 Palestinian civilians, including 7 ministers, 24 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, 6 children and two girls, were arrested by IOF.

~5 houses and hundreds of donums[1] of agricultural land were destroyed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

~6 houses in the northern Gaza Strip were transformed by IOF into military sites.

~35 charitable societies in the West Bank were raided and a number of them were closed by IOF.

~The electricity network in Rafah was destroyed, and the town has been living in darkness.

~IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip; dozens of patients are stuck at Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border; and IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians.

~IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF started to establish a fence around “Kermi Tsur” settlement, north of Hebron; and IOF confiscated at least 25 donums of agricultural land in Beit Oula village, west of Hebron.


via

23.6.06

Harriet






Rest in Peace, Harriet ~1830-2006

30.5.06

10.5.06

my disdain for humanity

Is partially explained by this:



Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid killed by Idaho Trophy Hunter

At a time when humanity is causing more species to go extinct than ever, when our polar ice is melting and the Arctic climate changing so rapidly and becoming an environment that is less and less inhabitable by those unique creatures indigenous to it, this man is already back up in the North (this time a Grizzly's in his sights) and an new hybrid species which is the only example of a creature heralding both the demise and survival of the powerful Nanuk, hangs on the wall of a trophy hunter from Idaho.

Of course, my disdain is not limited to the hunter; I have a healthy disdain for my government and its regulations which not only allow, but encourage foreign trophy hunters to visit our country for the main purpose of shooting and killing creatures for pleasure.

23.4.06

Get Some






I've been on a temporary internet hiatus, or rather a hiatus from the internet, which may continue for a while yet.

Life can become busy with itself in many ways.

In the meantime, a thought I think everyone can benefit from: create unity.

See you all soon, and thanks for continuing to check in at my little space on the world wide web.

24.3.06

Stop the Seal Hunt


The seal hunt begins in less than 2 days.

Tell Canada's government to come clean about what's really happening on the ice before it's too late!


TAKE ACTION NOW



Now I must add that as a Canadian I respect that there are cultural and historical ties to the seal hunt. Many a fine Newfoundlander needed to hunt seals at one time both to put food on the table and to sell the pelt for income.
There is no need and no excuse for this to happen today.
Any outport Newfoundlanders who aren't happy about the protest to this hunt can use their time machines to go back and stop Joey Smallwood from killing your traditional way of life and making it unsustainable.

If you're without a time machine, then I'm afraid that you just have to deal with the fact that this is a barbarous practice and find an alternative supplement to your income.

Times change, so must we.

Surely we can see that these animals should not be predated by man any longer.

23.3.06

We're in it DEEP



Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a great deal of explaining to do.

First we're 'only' in Afghanistan to ensure a better way of life for Afghans; many may buy into that crap, but Canada's forces are there as participants in the USA's Operation Enduring Freedom, no if's and's or but's about it; and this despite Canada never having issued a mandate from the people.

Now after hearing the good news of the rescue of 2 Canadians & 1 British hostage that CANADIAN TROOPS ARE IN IRAQ.

”CTV News has learned that Canada's elite Joint-Task Force 2 was involved in the rescue in western Baghdad.

"We're told that Canadian special forces and British special forces played a very key role," CTV's Robert Fife told Newsnet.

The Defence Department refuses to confirm Canadian military involvement in the operation.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, speaking in London, said the Mounties were also involved in the rescue, but an RCMP spokesman would not confirm that.
.....


Only three hours passed from the time rescuers learned the exact whereabouts of the hostages and when the raid took place, he said.”


full article

Now I'm glad those folks are safe, but it does not excuse the Canadian Government deceiving its citizens and spending their tax dollars wantonly and without discourse or disclosure.


I'd like to know:

1. WHY?
2. SINCE WHEN?
3. WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
4. HOW LONG WILL THEY STAY?
5. WHY DIDN'T YOU DEBATE THIS IN THE HOUSE?
6. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL CANADIAN CITIZENS?

22.3.06

Welcome the Snowdrop









Galanthus nivalis

My belated greetings on the Spring Equinox.

3.3.06

Hey - Wake Up!

I make a plea to all mindful Canadians to inform themselves and make their opinions known to their elected MP.

Thanks to Youngfox for a great post today, and one which addresses the most urgent topic of Canadian involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

If you pay your taxes you "SUPPORT THE TROOPS".
If you do not support this war you do not support government policy. See the difference and never let war mongers and their brainwashed thralls guilt trip you for having a conscience.
Remember what that did to the American public discourse.

28.2.06

Canadians should DEMAND proper representation from their Govt.




Even if it is now a neoConservative Canada, how dare our new Defence Minister - former lobbyist and full on supporter for the growth of the canadian military industrial economy for private profit - subvert my right to proper representation and suggest that a vote is not necessary?


Recent opinion polls have suggested public support for the mission is low, but Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has said the mission is vital. He rejected the idea of a vote in Parliament over whether to continue the mission.



full article (inserted link 02 03 06)


Excuse me, but Canadians do not want to participate in this war.

A vote MUST be had if we're to continue to play along with the notion that we are represented by our elected officials.

Contact your MP today and demand a parliamentary vote to determine whether Canada has a mandate for war!

using your postal code


by the name of your Member of Parliament

(the conservatives apparently don't think you need to contact them all yet - mine's not even updated with any contact info yet. Oh boy will they enjoy my call)

18.2.06

Paradise Now

Support Paradise Now's right to be shown, and it's right to be called a Palestinian film.

Free Speach has been much touted these last weeks; do we really mean it?



Thank you to my friend Eman of AquaCool for raising the issue:

After winning the AGICOA’s
Blue Angel Award for the best European film at the Berlinale
, and a Golden Globe for
the Best Foreign Language Film movie in the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Paradise Now has created such a controversy. As soon as the news of this movie being nominated for the Oscars, an online petition signed by over 11,000 Israelis was created to force the withdrawal of this movie from the Oscars all together, claiming it encourages mass murder!

17.2.06

Friday Cat Blogging






Too tired for serious matters - Enjoy more Papa Cat in the meantime!

13.2.06

The Nose of Africa

Love your Animal Companions.

11.2.06

Spacetime





Go and enjoy a dig in mr. damon's Fractal Garden.

5.2.06

Will the US bomb Iran Back to the Stone Age?



Check out what Eric Margolis has to say about the mainstream fabricated conceived threat that Iran poses to 'the West' in his most recent article.

29.1.06

Justice in Vermont (with your help)





"A citizen in United States should never expect to gain justice through the judicial system. The system is so corrupted that in the rare case when justice prevails, it is not because of, but it is in spite of, the system."
~Rosemarie Jackowski


We are posting this call to action today because a kind and decent woman needs your help. Rosemarie Jackowski is a 68-year-old grandmother/Air Force Veteran/writer/anti-war activist and an advocacy journalist living in Vermont.


"On March 20, 2003, I participated in a peaceful protest against the war. I was arrested, incarcerated, handcuffed, booked, fingerprinted, photographed, arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced. My conviction is currently under Appeal in the Vermont State Supreme Court. Courtroom procedure allows the condemned the Right of Allocution. This was the first time that I was allowed to speak freely and openly to the court. Below are my words, as I spoke them, to Judge David Suntag, in Vermont District Court, in Bennington, Vt., on October 7, 2004."


A Courtroom Speech By Rosemarie Jackowski

To get an idea of where Rosemarie is coming from I would suggest you read the above article as well as:
"Silence is the greatest of all crimes"

An interview with Peace Grandma, Rosemarie Jackowski
by author Mickey Z

The details of her protest trial can be found at the Veterans for Peace website.

The idea of a jury steamrolling a grandmother for committing an act of civil disobedience is, unfortunately, not very surprising in America’s current political climate.

BUT…

That is not subject of today’s appeal to you.
The current injustice facing this amicable woman has to do with her actions as a plaintiff stemming from a traffic accident in Vermont in the year 2000.

While waiting in a line of traffic she was rear ended by a loaded logging truck.
Many eyewitnesses reported the truck driver was “distracted” by some young ladies on the roadside and clearly the negligent party in the accident.
It would seem like a straightforward case but for the fact that the truck was owned and operated by the state of Vermont.

It gets worse. It has taken FIVE YEARS for the government to even begin her deposition.

I urge you to read the horrific details of this matter in her recent article:

The Deposition By Rosemarie Jackowski

Being deposed by a government lawyer for a case where the State is the defendant is, no doubt, a rough ride. It would seem that the State of Vermont had an intimidation card up its sleeve when the lawyer’s questions began to stray far from the case at hand into the realm of Rosemarie’s political beliefs and very personal life.

An excerpt from The Deposition:

"The big day arrived. I was taken into a small, windowless room in the state’s attorney’s office complex. I looked around. There was a one-way mirror opposite to where I was seated. There were some metal bookshelves with black garbage bags on them. It reminded me of Abu Ghraib.


I was told to raise my right hand and was sworn in. Then the interrogation by an assistant to the state attorney general began. She asked questions about my political activities… questions about my political writings. She had copied all of them from the Internet and waved them about with great emotion. She seemed excited by the fact that some of my articles had appeared on a web site that has a four-letter word in its name. Obviously, she thought that this would embarrass me. It did not. I calmly explained to her that I do not have a web site and I have no control over what name other people give to their web sites. I don’t know if she believed me or not.


Then the interrogation got even more interesting. She asked questions about my sex life. She asked questions about my marriage that had ended 35 years prior. Then she started to ask detailed questions about the fact that I had been the victim of a brutal rape. The rape, which is irrelevant to this case, had occurred 40, yes 40, years ago during a time when I was working in Florida. By now, it had become very clear to me what was happening. There was no doubt in my mind that this was an attempt to intimidate me."


Whether or not you agree with Rosemarie’s political beliefs they should not hold any bearing in her case against a State-owned trucking company that had cause her much physical anguish and financial devastation. As for the exceptionally private matters of sexual assault or divorce- the representative of the State of Vermont has gone too far!

This is not the progressive State that I have read about over the years. This is brutal.

We are appealing to you, dear reader, to take a few moments to write to one or both of the people listed below and join us in demanding a fair and equitable conclusion to this rather straightforward case of negligence on the part of an employee of the State of Vermont.

The harassment and obfuscation by the assistant to the state attorney general and the dragging out of this otherwise uncomplicated matter are Justice delayed and Justice denied.

Dick Sears, Chairman of the State Judiciary Committee:
rsears@leg.state.vt.us

Speaker of the State House, Gaye Symington:
speaker@leg.state.vt.us

Governor of the State of Vermont, Jim Douglas:
http://www.vermont.gov/governor/contact.html


A susinct sentence or two is all we ask.

If you are a Blogger we would ask that you perhaps utilize your own space to help spread this appeal with your own article or a link back to this one.

Thank you very much.

Amelopsis and Youngfox.