The very presence of peace activist Yusef Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, caused a US-bound plane to be diverted. Yusef Islam was taken in for questioning, and his peaceful ways were found to be a threat to our very way of life.

This past weekend I was at the local bookstore. I found "The Essential Koran," right next to a copy of "The U.S. Government Guide to Surviving Terrorism." They were on the clearance table, so I bought both. Imagine which one is nicer to read?

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posted by Lorna Brown at 1:01 AM

Reason #417446 why I love Fark.

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posted by Lorna Brown at 1:40 AM

New Richard Dawkins book, excerpted in the Guardian. The premise sounds quite interesting - The Ancestor's Tale.

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posted by Lorna Brown at 12:46 AM

Over 1,000 US soldiers have died since the fighting in Iraq began.

Tonight at 9PM, MoveOn.org helped citizens organize candlelight vigils all over the country.

There was a large gathering lined up outside the Federal Building in West LA, but Mike and I decided to stop and pay our respects with a smaller, more intimate group in West Hollywood.

Here are the best of my pictures from tonight. I tried go for an old time newspaper look - it's solemn and I think it represents the feeling in the circle of people present.

Please take the time to look over the NY Times' roster of fallen soldiers, and remember that each of those faces represents a family's greatest disaster. I can't begin to imagine the sacrifice that each of those soldiers made, and the continuing sacrifice that their loved ones endure.

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posted by Lorna Brown at 11:00 PM

We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Quoted from an interview with Hermann Goering, while conducting research for the book Nuremberg Diary, by Gustave Gilbert.

posted by Lorna Brown at 4:18 AM

 

posted by Lorna Brown at 4:09 AM

Built on a unique foundation...

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posted by Lorna Brown at 10:21 PM