if i could get a job with these people …
http://www.benetech.org/

for dave – electronic music on gameboys

info on programming game carts – http://www.critical-art.net/books/digital/tact7.pdf
the software – http://rhinoplex.org/8cylinder/software.html

jimmy carter speaks out agaisnt the war

of course his presidency was flawed, but as a diplomat, a humanitarian, and a model of ethical behavior carter is second to none. here is his restrained, reasoned argument against the war an iraq and a refutation that it is in any way a “just war”.

(note: blogged from http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/09/opinion/09CART.html&OQ=exQ3D1048200445Q26eiQ3D1Q26enQ3Dcc9bQ2520eccd41a4129a)

ATLANTA – Profound changes have been taking place in
American foreign policy, reversing consistent bipartisan
commitments that for more than two centuries have earned our nation greatness. These commitments have been predicated on basic religious principles, respect for
international law, and alliances that resulted in wise
decisions and mutual restraint. Our apparent determination to launch a war against Iraq, without international support, is a violation of these premises.

As a Christian and as a president who was severely provoked by international crises, I became thoroughly familiar with the principles of a just war, and it is clear that a substantially unilateral attack on Iraq does not meet these standards. This is an almost universal conviction of religious leaders, with the most notable exception of a few spokesmen of the Southern Baptist Convention who are greatly influenced by their commitment to Israel based on eschatological, or final days, theology.

For a war to be just, it must meet several clearly defined criteria.

The war can be waged only as a last resort, with all
nonviolent options exhausted. In the case of Iraq, it is
obvious that clear alternatives to war exist. These options – previously proposed by our own leaders and approved by the United Nations – were outlined again by the Security Council on Friday. But now, with our own national security not directly threatened and despite the overwhelming opposition of most people and governments in the world, the United States seems determined to carry out military and diplomatic action that is almost unprecedented in the history of civilized nations. The first stage of our widely publicized war plan is to launch 3,000 bombs and missiles on a relatively defenseless Iraqi population within the first few hours of an invasion, with the purpose of so
damaging and demoralizing the people that they will change their obnoxious leader, who will most likely be hidden and safe during the bombardment.

The war’s weapons must discriminate between combatants and noncombatants. Extensive aerial bombardment, even with precise accuracy, inevitably results in “collateral damage.” Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf, has expressed concern about many of the military targets being near hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes.

Its violence must be proportional to the injury we have
suffered. Despite Saddam Hussein’s other serious crimes, American efforts to tie Iraq to the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been unconvincing.

The attackers must have legitimate authority sanctioned by the society they profess to represent. The unanimous vote of approval in the Security Council to eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction can still be honored, but our announced goals are now to achieve regime change and to establish a Pax Americana in the region, perhaps occupying
the ethnically divided country for as long as a decade. For these objectives, we do not have international authority. Other members of the Security Council have so far resisted the enormous economic and political influence that is being exerted from Washington, and we are faced with the possibility of either a failure to get the necessary votes or else a veto from Russia, France and China. Although Turkey may still be enticed into helping us by enormous financial rewards and partial future control of the Kurds and oil in northern Iraq, its democratic Parliament has at least added its voice to the worldwide expressions of concern.

The peace it establishes must be a clear improvement over what exists. Although there are visions of peace and democracy in Iraq, it is quite possible that the aftermath of a military invasion will destabilize the region and prompt terrorists to further jeopardize our security at home. Also, by defying overwhelming world opposition, the United States will undermine the United Nations as a viable institution for world peace.

What about America’s world standing if we don’t go to war after such a great deployment of military forces in the region? The heartfelt sympathy and friendship offered to America after the 9/11 attacks, even from formerly antagonistic regimes, has been largely dissipated; increasingly unilateral and domineering policies have brought international trust in our country to its lowest level in memory. American stature will surely decline further if we launch a war in clear defiance of the United Nations. But to use the presence and threat of our military power to force Iraq’s compliance with all United Nations resolutions – with war as a final option – will enhance our status as a champion of peace and justice.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.

communique

this has been the weekend of good food and data transfer. i gave mikeal a key to my house so he could google for info on the sla (and it’s COINTELPRO connections) as research for the new issue of his zine, “bicycles for afghanistan”. ryan e-mails me from guatemala in a tone that seems the happiest in weeks with stories of the amazing things he’s doing south of the border. a slower paced central american lifestyle and still able to get access to e-mail every day? i think i could get used to that. and i put a letter to abbey in the snail mail today. it seems like there’s so much data that gets pushed around these days and sometimes its overwhelming and other times it makes me really excited. today is an exciting day.

billy’s mom’s making stovetop

this has been the weekend of good food. last night, will invited me over to the legion and i ripped mp3s and oggs of the new recording http://defianceohio.terrorware.com/audio.shtml. I also worked on my mix tape for the van rides on tour. i think chad came up with the idea. we each get a mix tape. you put 3 songs on it and then pass it to another person. that way there’s a bunch of evenly distributed songs to please everybody on the mix tapes. we also played some acoustic songs getting read for the show on the 15th. then we decided to make stir fry. will had hit up trader joe’s (luckily with no cops this time) – when is there going to be a dumpster/hobo trader: “trader ‘3 dogs and a multitool’ says check the dumpster of a delicious cornicopia of free food” and fork to get a bunch of great produce. the stir fry was delicious. but then we got a call from becca. she was making stir-fry at her house in a few hours and we were invited! i was thinking “this is just like the stove top commercial”. then will looked at me and said the very same thing. after he got off the phone i exclaimed “billy’s mom is making stovetop!” the stirfry at becca’s was equally good, and matt made his “chronic” mashed potatos. we listened to music, hung out, and had a general good time.

today, i went to blue nile with jimmy and katrina. it was awesome and delicious. jimmy told me some good food places to check out on tour. i was pretty excited. i like the good eats. then for dinner, more stir fry at stephen and brett’s!

to do

– i have becca’s nabokov collection
– erin’s apples to apples game is either at chad’s house or the mutant (as are will’s sister’s computer and my sleeping bag)
– i need to find my manilla folder. it’s either at the legion, becca’s or work.

tuxcards

hopefully this (http://www.tuxcards.de/) will help make my term paper easier .

it’s been one of those days where it’s taken forever to do *everything*. there’s exactly one thing i need to get done today, but all the other little chores i made for myself, even simple tasks like putting fenders on my bike, seemed clumsy and difficult.

went to the health food store that i recently realized was just around the corner from my house. not as good of a selection as the co-op, and no deli, but at least they are a convenient source for the sweet, sweet tofutti cream cheese.

i like going out during the day, for one because it’s a hell of a lot less depressing than getting cooped up all day. the natural light on the fresh snow is almost blinding. it’s also crazy to be reminded that there’s a different world out there that’s different and scary from my life. a world of business lunches and inane conversation and bougie moms taking their bratty kids to lunch. i guess that’s a little harsh. the line between bratty and precocious is a thin one. i’m just afraid that the privilage of being taken to good local eateries instead of mcdonalds still produces a hunger for designer clothes and suvs in the end.

put some capaciters in my ears. the nerdy ear jewelry solution.

i’m going to put a link to my band, defiance ohio’s website here because it still isn’t in google yet, and i think that at least my blog gets crawled. http://defianceohio.terrorware.com.

the first nice day all winter and the people who walk the streets at dusk make me thing there’s a good chance we’ll make it out of this alive

can’t we live our lives the way we want to live? and haven’t we got more than we have ever hoped and dreamed? i can’t live my future shackled to my past. i felt that way once, and i’m not going back.

the first nice day in weeks. it put me in better spirits at a time that i really needed it. as i rode my bike to the coffee shop to do some homework, i saw all kinds of people out walking around. it was great.

finished the cd layout on the computer using chad’s designs and ftpd the designs to the cd pressing place (cdman.com) and ryan overnighted the music today. it’s frustrating to have to worry about that stuff when i’m so busy, but it’s kind of neat to see what goes into the process of releasing a cd.

called hannah from philadelphia tonight to try to find out about a show. looks like it will be hard to get a show on the 24th since it’s a weekday. maybe we can be flexible with the nyc and providence shows so we can play philadelphia on a weekend. i hate calling people. i always feel like a jerk because i’m usually asking for someone to help me out in some way. being more involved with the “punk” community more closely is weird for me, because people act closer and do favors for each other, but then don’t see each other for a long time. i’m really appreciative of everyone who’s helped me or the band out and i hope no one thinks i’m ungreatful because i don’t stay in touch.

drama. drama that i don’t want to be in the middle of, and that i tried so hard to stay out of, but now i find myself smack dab in the middle of it. had a long phone conversation with will about it and we talked some stuff out. there’s still a chance that everything will turn out ok.

got a letter from abbey over the weekend. she sent me the flyer from our show in bloomington and the lil’ matt tobey and a lil’ geoff finger puppet that she made. totally sweet. i like getting mail from people and it’s fun to have friends in different towns. now i just have to not be a bastard and write back.