since i am both a star trek fan (and NOT embarrassed)

and a proponent of peace, i read this with glee!

Aboard the Imperial Star Ship Ameriprise

by William Astore and Tom Engelhardt

TomDispatch

Okay, the new Star Trek film – you know, the prequel with space sex – is premiering in Australia. Go figure. All I know is I'm not beaming there. On the other hand, I've already been in close communication with a Trekkie pal, and she and I have chosen our night here in New York. May 14th. See you then. (I'll be the one wearing the TomDispatch hat.)

In the meantime, retired Lieutenant Colonel William Astore, TomDispatch regular and another Trek fan – okay, it's not exactly War and Peace, but give us a break – was thinking recently about the strange history of Star Trek, the show that took John F. Kennedy's "new frontier" deep into TV space, even as Lyndon Johnson's U.S. was moving ever deeper into its disastrous war in Vietnam. Now here we are again, a new Star Trek forty-three years later, and this time, two "counterinsurgency" wars already growing desperately old, and one, in Afghanistan, heating up to a boil. If only we could stick to the movies. But since we can't, pop that bowl of popcorn, butter and salt it well, and let Astore take you through some wormhole into alternate American universes on that spaceship we're all riding, the USS Ameriprise. Tom

Aboard the Imperial Star Ship Ameriprise

Heading for the Final Frontier
By William Astore

I grew up in the 1970s on reruns of the original Star Trek with Captain James Tiberius Kirk at the helm, backed by that ever logical Vulcan, Mr. Spock, Dr. "Bones" McCoy, and the rest of the intrepid, space-faring crew of the USS Enterprise. During the tumultuous 1960s, that sci-fi series – before being canceled – had pointed to a more promising future in which humanity would be united. Star Trek, after all, offered a vision of a post-racial society in which blacks and Asian-Americans would serve alongside whites as equals, and a post-nationalistic society in which Russian-accented Ensign Chekov could loyally follow a WASPy captain from Iowa...................

i can't think of any more things to say

my soul is sick over this

Don't Miss These Brilliant Essays on Gaza
By Jan Frel, AlterNet.

The events in Gaza have resulted in the producution of more media than any one person could digest in a lifetime. And since few of us have more than a small part of the day to learn about what's going on, it's almost certain that you might have missed some of the absolutely superb essays written in recent weeks that give the big picture.

Here's a quick guide to some of the best essays I've read on Gaza and the larger questions posed by the recent violence.

Israeli Uri Avnery in CounterPunch argues that after witnessing the events in Gaza, even through the distorted lens of televised mass media, "seared into the consciousness of the world will be the image of Israel as a bloodstained monster, ready at any moment to commit war crimes and not prepared to abide by any moral restraints. This will have severe consequences for [Israel's] long-term future, our standing in the world, our chance of achieving peace and quiet."

Chris Hedges has a sublime touch when it comes to writing about the insanity we are capable of when warmaking consumes a society. We all saw, and most of us, if you believe the polls, personally experienced this madness most recently during the onset of the U.S. invasion in Iraq.........

oh my

brave? insane? don't know but i like the cut of this woman's jib

(not agreeing ONE side is right or the other is. all i'm saying is WAR IS SHITE)



Palestinian Woman Stands Up To Israeli Troops (although the article title says palestinian, she absolutely has an AMERICAN accent)
John Aravosis (DC) ·

da liebs

ready willing and don't for a second doubt, VERY capable of starting ANOTHER war



i don't like the government of iran. they are evil and even more unjust than our own government. there are terrorists in iran. i have no idea how many or if the government is bankrolling and training them. my point is i don't think DA LIEBS HAS THAT INFORMATION EITHER.



before starting YET ANOTHER WAR where our men and women are being harmed maimed and killed, WHY DON'T WE GATHER ALL OF THE FACTS. why don't we determine what is true and what isn't true.



we invaded iraq based on lies. are we going to continue to invade more countries without having the full story?



Lieberman: Iran has declared war on the US



Josh Catone

Following a statement issued by the American Forces Press Service accusing Iran's Quds Force of "training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups," as well as Hezbollah operatives in Iraq, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) released a statement saying that Iran has declared war on America.
"Although no one desires a conflict with Iran, the fact is that the Iranian government by its actions has declared war on us," Lieberman wrote, while urging the United States to keep "open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran.".........

Lieberman: Iran Has Declared War

By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief, The Hartford Courant

............Lieberman said he hoped the latest news about Iran would help quash calls in Congress to withdraw U. S. troops.Withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq at this time, he added, "will give Iranians exactly what they want most" -- an "epic victory" for forces of terrorism."Iran's purpose in sponsoring these attacks against our soldiers is clear," he said. "The Iranian government wants to push the United States out of Iraq................