] "Bombs Over Baghdad" sounds even more like
] self-contained, self-conscious artillery. The title
] promises internationalist fervour, but in fact seems to
] be just a clever metaphor for the repetitive vagueness of
] other hip hop artists - "don't pull the thang out unless
] you plan to bang... don't even bang unless you plan to
] hit somethang" - which is ...ironic... under the
] circumstances. But Outkast impart their message better
] than Dead Prez did on "Hip Hop", and with more reason to
] feel confident; the music is utterly blinding. What
] Outkast, or perhaps producer Earthtone III, seem to have
] realised is that much of the truly scary, fervent
] sounding music made during the nineties (hardcore techno
] and jungle being the relevant examples here) has been
] made in digitalised circumstances, without conventional
] ideas of meaning and feeling propelling them.

Or otherwise the song doesn't really mean anything...

However, I really like it anyway. I think I might buy this CD...

:)

Skykicking - Outkast - Bombs over Baghdad

I thought this was interesting and asked Cogg to meme it. It doesn't apply to me, but those of you with family in the Gulf might want to read it. I'm rerecommending it because Cogg doesn't "meme" often so it won't show up in most of your agents from him.

This link contains all pertinent information regarding the Service Star Banner, aka The Blue Star Banner. There is one star on each banner for every immediate family member serving in the Armed Forces during a time of war. If you see a gold star instead of a blue, then a serving family member was killed or died while in a time of war. Ask your parents or grandparents about it. They'll most likely remember it.

Service Star Banner - How to recognize military service in a family

] There's a new breed of combat personnel at the war front:
] soldier "bloggers."
]
] Once the narrow domain of geeks and technology
] journalists, "Web logs" -- or diary accounts published
] online -- have gone mainstream, making it possible for
] even soldiers to transmit daily updates to Web sites
] about the rigours of battle.
]
] War-themed blogs, appearing on sites such as
] www.blogsofwar.com and www.sgtstryker.com, have become a
] popular alternative news source since fighting broke out
] in Iraq a week ago, sometimes beating newspapers and
] television with war developments.

Soldier 'bloggers' report from war

] The grenade attack that took place today in Kuwait is
] alleged to be committed by another AMERICAN SOLIDER.
] Repeat. The Grenade attack today was an example of
] Fragging--not a terrorist attack. This shows that
] RESISTANCE and REBELLION ARE ON THE RISE! Watch the
] American Free Press downplay and try to bury this
] incident. Support our Troops--but only those who Frag
] their commanding officer.

Indymedia shows its true colors.

Independent Media Center - Peace movement?

] Exchange spokesman Ray Pellechia denied the station's war
] coverage was the cause. Citing "security reasons," he
] said the exchange had chosen to limit the number of
] broadcasters working at the lower Manhattan exchange
] since the war began, giving access only to networks that
] focus "on responsible business coverage."

Backlash against Al-J for showing you what war is like.

Yahoo! News - NYSE Revokes Credentials for Al-Jazeera

] What happens in the southern Iraqi city of Basra may be a
] key indicator of success, in political and psychological
] terms anyway. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force may
] capture Basra early, in part to secure its port and oil
] wells, in part to send images of triumph to the world.
] President Bush's advisers have assured him that Iraqis
] will welcome American troops with cheers and flowers.
] Basra is where this vision has the highest chance of
] coming true.

(Its not.)

How to tell if we're winning

] When it comes to political truth, I think many Arab
] citizens today can have a more informed perspective than
] Americans. Don't get me wrong - that's not because my
] country is more democratic, has better journalists, or
] more intelligent analysis. None of these is true (not yet
] - but I remain hopeful for Bahrain's new democracy). But
] we do see your news as well as our news as well as
] Israeli news. In my (so far limited) experience of
] American life, Americans are extremely sheltered in the
] news that they see. When I read Haartez, I learn about
] Isrealis suffering from the conflict, I learn what they
] are worrying about, I learn how they deal with their own
] extremists, and I learn about their many citizens that
] would like to see peace. And I learn all this from an
] Israeli perspective, so I hear a positive human side.
] Americans do not seem to be learning such things about
] Arabs. Reading British commentary does not count as
] getting "a different perspective".

[IP] In the Arab world today, we get a more informed perspective than you.

Rattle wrote:
] As promised, I have an update of the statistics regarding our
] traffic increase following the start of the war.

I think its PATENTLY OBVIOUS that the administration of THIS WEBSITE is the REAL FORCE behind this illegal war!!

Follow the *money*!!! WHO BENEFITS??!! Obviously evil media corporations like Industrial Memetics.

It is clear that the administration of this website used their secret ties with the Bush administration to push for this war in a bid to increase revenues.

I'll bet there is a big contract in store for Halliburton building website infrastructure.

BASTARDS!

Fuck MemeStreams!
NO BLOOD FOR PAGE VIEWS!!

RE: War! Huh.. Yeah.. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.^W^WWeb site growth.

] This is the only time in my many years serving America
] that I have felt I cannot represent the policies of an
] Administration of the United States.

More high level resignations...

] I know that the only truly powerful country on the planet
] is continuing to manufacture the perilous,
] conscience-stunting myth that technology can make war
] relatively safe. Indeed, we are so delusional on this
] subject that we believe that bombing the shit out of the
] Iraqis is a humanitarian act. This is a continuation of
] the same national system of denial that we began to
] construct during Gulf War I. Ask a knowledgeable American
] how many people died in that conflict and you will
] probably be told that the death toll was somewhere around
] 150.

JPB offers a (mostly) reasonable critique