this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war
we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment
we have no sympathy for the devil.
we acknowledge the power to act that is in us
image and poem below the fold
(RubDMC's daily intro.)
I'm Canadian, and while Canada has no official presence in Iraq, our troops are in Afghanistan under NATO. We grieve too for all impacted by these wars.
Amira Saeed tends to daughter-in-law Noor Ibrahim after her emergency Caesarean section at al-Jarrah Hospital in Baghdad. (By Naseer Nouri -- The Washington Post)
Iraq's Woes Are Adding Major Risks To Childbirth
BAGHDAD -- Noor Ibrahim lay shivering underneath two blankets on a bed at al-Jarrah Hospital. Steps away was a red plastic bassinet. It was empty.
A few doors down, her recently born son lay wrapped in a pink blanket. He was a chubby boy of nearly nine pounds with a big patch of black hair. His eyes were closed, his head cocked to the left, his mouth slightly open, his skin soft and pale.
The boy was not in a bassinet. He was in a cardboard box. He was not heading to his mother's room. He was heading to the morgue.
"Fresh death," Ibrahim's obstetrician said as she reached into the box and lifted the boy's limp right arm, still covered in blood and amniotic fluid.
Giving birth is painful enough as it is. In war-torn Iraq, it's also becoming more dangerous.
Spontaneous road closures, curfews and gun battles make even getting to the hospital a challenge for expectant mothers. Once they arrive, the women have no guarantee that they will receive adequate health care from a qualified physician.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - George Harrison
I look at you all see the love there that’s sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps.
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps.
I don’t know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love,
I don’t know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you.
I look at the world and I notice it’s turning
While my guitar gently weeps.
With every mistake we must surely be learning,
Still my guitar gently weeps.
I don’t know how you were diverted
You were perverted too.
I don’t know how you were inverted
No-one alerted you.
I look from the wings at the play you are staging,
While my guitar gently weeps
As i'm sitting here doing nothing but aging,
Still my guitar gently weeps
I chose this version as it appears on the new Beatles' "Love". It's apparently George's original demo with a new string arrangement...I find it even more poignant in this form.