And not only the US sell weaponry for "conflict resolution", the adminsitration will also charge for escaping the war zone... On the PBS jim L's show last night, an official of the US adminsistration said — without laughing — the adminsitration would send the bills at a later date to those that the US have helped get out of Lebanon — after a few nifty congressmen asked who would foot the bill for the evacuation... Nice.

Some Aussies do not have this problem yet mind you... The boat is still on its way.

The USA government is broke due to the billions it has spent on it's disastrous war on Iraq. They have to replenish their coffers somehow, but this is hitting below the belt. The "friendship" between Bushist and Little Johnny Brown Nose seems to be a one way deal. Typical.

You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation. ~~ Marian Wright Edelman

From The Independent

100 Iraqis being killed each day, says UN
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 20 July 2006
The number of Iraqi civilians being murdered or killed in the current fighting has been revealed for the first time by the United Nations. It is far higher than previous estimates.

Some 3,149 people were killed in June alone, or more than 100 a day, and the figure is likely to rise higher this month because of tit-for-tat massacres by Sunni and Shia Muslims. Some 120 Shias were killed in two attacks earlier in the week and gunmen yesterday kidnapped 20 employees of a government agency in Baghdad looking after Sunni mosques and shrines.

The death toll has risen every month this year and totalled 5,818 in May and June. This far exceeds the number given by the Iraqi Coalition Casualty Count, a web site that compiles casualty figures based on published accounts, which said that 840 civilians died in June. Overall 14,000 civilians were killed in the first half of the year says the UN.

Ever since the invasion in 2003 the US military and later US-supported Iraqi governments have sought to conceal the number of Iraqi civilians being killed. The US Army for long denied that it counted the number of civilians killed by its soldiers. The Iraqi Ministry of Health also refused to reveal to the UN the civilian casualty figures.
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Gus moralises...
I suppose not many George Bush Supporters would read this site... But if you do, consider a few things.
a) since George has put his mind to go on a "war against terror", more terror, wars and destruction has befell upon the world.
b) One could hope that this attitude would wear out the "terrorists"... and that soon the world would settle to be enjoyed...
c) "terrorists" are not what they are, just to be annoying... Many have a lot of grievances against whomever they are terrorising against. Many are just ordinary people whose family has suffered the intentional or accidental destruction from US forces, or others —including Israel—, at one stage. No justice was ever given. Anger was fermented...
d) Some terrorists are "insurgents" "freedom fighters", some avenge horrible crimes committed by our protégés... Some do crime themselves.
e) The more desperate people are the less they care about their life but will fight to the death to protect their family...
f) The American viewpoint of bringing "freedom" to some part of the world is attracting chaos because this is the nature of the beast. US attitudes disregard many historical dynamics and odd pressure points that cannot be solved by violence, as the US has done and encouraging Israel to do so...
g) grief may not enter your house, but many people have suffered,. Many more will suffer in vain and revolt in anger. The only solution, for the most civilised countries in the world, is to show the way to peace by PEACEFUL MEANS, even in the face of skirmishes. The death count would be far far less... At the moment the US and Israel are behaving like the horrible dangerous thugs they want to eliminate.
h) this desire of elimination wont work — morally and militarily — as Hizbollah may disappear from the surface of the earth, new more deadly forces of anger and vengeance will take the relay with greater efficiency.
i) the present US conflict management is massively stupid and unfortunately encourages this greater vengeance... Is there an agenda to create this? who knows... it would seem so since the leaders of the world would not be "that naive" as to use unbridled war believing it would work... ? There is a point at which vengeance in the heart of one man cannot be defeated with the greatest armies in the world but can be faded out with a hand shown in peace. Of course proper negotiations that bring justice and rights need to follow. Differences will have to be accepted without enforcement of superiority. A hard call, but the ONLY way. The rest is just history fodder.