Back after the seasonal hubbub. Hope everyone had a great break.

Other than the usual walking malfeasance perpetrated by the Bush administration, nobody officially went to war during the break.

Of interest (and virtually unnoticed), was the Bush administrations' elimination of a Labor Department group tasked with tracking mass layoffs from U.S. companies. The service was an accurate and current measuring stick of the economy that often contradicted the Bush Administrations' ascertains that the economy is strong.

Tensions continue to rise in the Middle-East. Last Sunday, U.S. forces bombed a Pakistani border town after a man, dressed as a border guard shot an American soldier. The soldier was not killed - and the administration said it was only pursuing the assailant when it dropped the bombs on Pakistani soil. As a result of the incursion, thousands of Pakistanis are protesting U.S. military presence - and subsequent plans to attack Iraq. Considering that Pakistan is a major staging area for the "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan, this does not bode well for maintaining good relations with the locals.

Whoo.....what a surprise.

If anyone believes that our military presence in the Middle East is going to do anything but harm, they've been lied to. We are in the Gulf to promote our own economic and political interests at the expense of the people and the land. Our continued sponsorship of Israel and military buildup will do nothing but breed hatred toward Americans - and will continue to prompt outbursts of terrorism, both at home and abroad. The Bush administration seems to think that terrorism is something that can be rooted out and extinguished. The truth is that terrorism is perpetual - and often the result of illegal invasion or occupation.

The more "terrorists" you kill, the more you create.

In other news...

Amphetamines, anyone? The U.S. government admits that American fighter pilots who accidentally killed four Canadians during a bombing run were on speed. Next question....since speed is known to impair judgement, do we really want these folks dropping bombs?

Also...

Get ready for the next major anti-war protest on January 18th. For those in Portland, it's being staged in the South Park blocks at 12:30pm.