A lie got us into war

Only the truth will get us out.

They lied to us about weapons of mass destruction as a pretext for invading Iraq. In the name of fighting terrorism they launched a bogus crusade to fight evil. Six years later they are using the most sophisticated weapons money can buy to bring "freedom" to countries with oil or pipeline routes, namely Iraq and Afghanistan. While denying their own citizens adequate health care and education, they borrow billions from the Chinese and manipulate the stock market while suppressing the price of gold on a daily timetable. They continue their lies through the corporate media, allowing only embedded journalists to cover their wars. Their paid pundits appear on talk shows nightly under the auspices of a factual newscast promoting their war yet refusing any debate about it. Elected representatives in Congress remain silent about the recent loss of Constitutional Rights in America, or the pardoning of government officials who committed treasonous acts against the US Constitution, and the on-going militarization of a free society.

Who are they? They are high ranking bureaucrats who are profiting from this war as defense contractors. They are corporate officers who run think tanks. They are neo-cons who run multinational corporations like Halliburton, General Dynamics, Fox, etc. They are the media giants who sold us the events of September 11, 2001 with an official story -- fully developed within hours of the “surprise attack” -- the biggest lie of them all.

Powerful as they may be their story is beginning to unravel as common people are learning the truth about 9/11, Afghanistan and all the other lies that followed. Learning the truth depends on your willingness to look at the evidence before accepting the narrative of the news machine that has worked in partnership with a scandal-ridden government to curtail liberties, spread lies and keep us fearful. Question and look carefully at what you are being told before you accept a fact or dismiss it. Your freedom depends upon the truth.

Faces of War in Context

At first you see a photograph of a face, a young face. You only see an expression.

Then the photographer, Suzanne Opton, (click on Soldier) tells you that these are the faces of American men and women soldiers who have just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan to Fort Drum, New York.

They are likely to be sent back to the ever expanding war zone in a few months.

In remaining silent about the lies our leaders have told about this war we have betrayed Crumm, Morris, Dougherty, Kimbell, Pry, Claxton, Jefferson and Birkholz.

The Art of Life

A bottle of Scotch whiskey was sold to someone willing to pay $21,000 US/CDN. The bottle is 150 years old, far outliving anyone who may have bought the bottle and saved it as an investment. Recent public auctions have similarly yielded as much as $75,000 for this rare vintage whiskey.

The whiskey may taste much as it did when it was bottled, but that is merely conjecture. What you get for the money is a “2-part moulded olive green glass with 14 fluid ounces of whiskey. “Glenavon” is embossed on the sides of the glass and on top with ‘Special Liqueur’. A few decorative red stars appear above “Glenavon” in an outlined gold. “Special Liqueur Whisky” appears below and a small tag line at the bottom in black letters: “Bottled by the Distillers”.

The bottle can never be duplicated. The same might be said for its contents.

“Glenavon Special Liqueur Whisky” was bottled between 1851 and 1858, about the time Abraham Lincoln began to emerge as a leading political figure in America. The southern states were talking about succession from the Union and the abolitionists were making slavery the primary political agenda in the US. Elsewhere the French battled the Prussians and the British were colonizing India, Afghanistan and Canada, bringing whiskey with them on long campaigns.

I cannot imagine a circumstance whereby I would actually open this bottle. In fact, I could only imagine drinking it with a dear friend -- some 150 years ago. We would be into our second glass and talking about how the world was going to hell. Then we’d muse for a bit, and we’d get lost in our thoughts. We might even see the whiskey as part of a sacred tradition. We’d done our part by seeing the ritual through. We would feel refined by the taste and feel its presence coursing its way through our bodies. Emboldened we would share a promise to stand by something so precious as long as there was whiskey and a friend to drink it with. We would treasure each sip to the last.

Che Lives

Dear Che,

This image of you came from a poster I picked up on Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue in the early 70s. The poster hangs on my wall, next to a Che calendar.

You not only became a symbol, you went from icon status to cult figure with lots of teenagers worldwide now wearing t-shirts with your face on them. This suggests you are nearing brand status on merchandise. I’m sure this would amuse you.

Yet, the image remains taboo -- especially among those in power who sought your destruction. Your pose is always the same: defiant, prophetic, kindly, wise, and all the other attributes associated with a human whose myth grows, even after your execution by the CIA in Bolivia 40 years ago.

For me, your image fosters a freedom that it is our right to banish limitations imposed on those who have no voice. Perhaps your image is a reminder for us to rebel against the tyranny of petty, self-serving dogma that enslaves us and leads us away from our desire for peace and freedom.

Guernica Redux

Artist Amarie Bergman, who has seen Picasso's original Guernica, took an element of the painting and made it as a backdrop for the opening paragraph of an essay I began writing some four years ago. I thought the taste for war would have abated by now. An excerpt:

"As the US made its case for what was to become a misguided and tragic war the very icon that might have given the UN members and the American public pause in their deliberation was banished from view.

A tapestry copy of Picasso’s Guernica, hanging outside the entrance to the Security Council, was draped."

Mirthwerks Celebrates 1st Anniversary

MIRTHWERKS ENTERS SECOND YEAR, BRINGING MIRTH BY DESIGN

May 31^st, 2007 – VANCOUVER, BC – Mirthwerks Design Co. celebrated its first anniversary today with the announcement of its new summer collection honoring the “Summer of Love,” 1967.

Michael Shandrick, Chief Operating Officer, said the company will also introduce its “Peace and Rebels” series this month, by honoring those who resist conformity and raise consciousness through peaceful contributions.

Mirthwerks was initially formed on a park bench with the idea of making greeting cards that had a startling simplicity, intrinsic depth, and lightness; a cool vibe with a positive spin.

Mirthwerks cards are now retailing in Vancouver at the Vancouver Art Gallery Store and Chapters/Indigo on Granville Street at Broadway.

Words - as nouns, adjectives and, yes, verbs – along with geometric shapes are integral components in Mirthwerks designs.

Over the past year the company has expanded its operations into concepting 30-second spots, package designing and advertising.

Contact: Michael@mirthwerks.com