Nicholas "Nick" Berg from Philadelphia has been decaptivated. What does it take before American forces are withdrawn? Until a poll shows it's more rewarding for the Bush family? Until most Americans think it's a good idea to occupy Iraq the troops will stay. Simply because "most Americans" stands for "most voters"...

The beheaded American volunteer "lived for adventure". And he died for it too. Between the lines you can read that Berg was an electronics expert and as such was stationed in Iraq to help America win the "conflict", once known as "war" but under the Bush administration Newspeak has taken on a new form. "Mercenary's" are now called "volunteers" or "contractors". Fact is that they get hired to kill people and occassionaly they themselves get killed.
However awful it may be for their loved ones it comes with the job.


The price the occupying forces pay for what happened in the Abu Ghraib prison is high. For some odd reason people don't like it when you torture their mates.


Suppose the situation was reversed and the number one export product in the world was not oil but stupidity; Tony Blair would invade the US, hunt down and arrest George Junior because he's making such a mess of it. A lot of people would be cheering in the streets. Especially those who got unemployed because of his policy or can't afford to buy their mom the medicine she needs because of his policy or can't go to college because it's become too expensive because of his policy or think it's stupid to be wanting to spent bilions on a Mars trip while even in America self people are dying of starvation.
Suppose the British troops then stay "to help steady the explosive situation." Everytime they think they spot a "terrorist" (ie someone who still supports George Junior) they blow him up, including a dozen innocent bystanders because the "terrorist" happens to be in a marketplace on a saturday-afternoon. Every once in a while they will blow up a school "because it could be a training camp for future terrrorists."
Would those troops still be welcome?
What do you think honest American citizens have to say about that situation?



Had a bit of a rough week: the all favoured "blue screen of death" appeared om my monitor (that explains why I haven't written last friday) and next to my regular job I acted in a Diesel Jeans promotional video for which recordings took place in the middle of the night. I also learned I got turned down for a very promising extra job (meaning extra money!) so it hasn't been that great a week.
Fortunately there was time for fun and laughter. Like Mothers day for which my son had prepared no less than three gifts:
One for his gran: my mom who raised him as her own for over two years, one for his biological mom: neighbour Johanna and one for the woman who acted as his mom for about four years: neighbour Miriam who also happens to be Eva's en Dayna's mother.