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by JOHN ROSS

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Days after the worldwide protests against the United States policy of war with Iraq, I received an e-mail containing a dispatch from John Ross, a peace warrior, who had entered Iraq on 15 February to act as a human shield along with people from the United States, Britain, Japan, Italy, Russia, and a number of other countries. Mr. Ross is returning to the United States, as the report confirms.. -- RA]

AMMAN, JORDAN - (March 11th) - This past Friday (March 7th), the day the fatal Blix report would be broadcast to an expectant universe, my Turkish comrade, ex-Greenpeace Mediterranean campaigner and Elvis Presley lookalike Tolga Temuge and I were perched upon the ržckety roof of the engine house at the Daura oil refinery in west Baghdad, marking the site with industrial black paint, when the Human Shield action finally fell irrevocably apart.

We had already filled in the six-meter-long H-U and were outlining the M in the words that, when spelled out completely, would signal George Bush's death-dealing missiles that the refinery was a United Nations-certitified civilian site that provides fuel and home heating oil to the residents of Baghdad and beyond, and that by blasting the plant off the face of the earth, the U.S. president would also be endangering the lives of his own citizens and those of many other nations, when a delegation from the Organization of Peace and Friendship, our hosts in Iraq, summoned us down to the ground floor to read us the riot act.

Under a fatwa issued by Dr. Abdul Al-Hasimi, the "non-governmental" group's director, we were ordered to leave Iraq immediately, banished from this beleaguered land because we had usurped the functžon of an existing NGO by facilitating the deployment of over 100 Shields to five key infrastructure sites in and around Baghdad. Now the NGO and the government of Saddam Hussein would take control of such deployments. Others to be forcibly departed would be Gordon, a rangy, spike-haired Australian who was now coordinating the site assignments; Eva, an archly uppity woman lawyer from Slovenia who had led many of the unprecedented anti-war demonstrations on the streets of Baghdad that were an essential adjunct to our work; and the off-kilter initiator of the Human Shield Action, ex-Desert Storm Marine Ken Nichols O'Keefe, whose confrontational style and delusions of personal aggrandizement had thoroughly disaffected the Iraqi government during the weeks we spent in Baghdad... MORE





by ELIAS BAKKALI

BRUSSELS, BELGIAN - Whenever I try to speak about American foreign policy in Palestine I fear being labeled with anti-Semitism, despite of the fact that I am a Semite myself, but reality reveals nothing but a Zionist dominated Bush administration. If you open a thesaurus and search for the synonyms of the word "mediation" you will encounter terms like "arbitration", "conciliation" or "interposition". "Honest broker", "interceder", "moderator", "middleman" and "go-between" are all synonyms for the term "mediator".

Neutrality is the keyword that justifies one's status of a mediator and, in international relations, the rule of international law forms the pillar that supports one's legitimacy of mediation. It seems Washington has lost these characteristics, neutrality and rule of international law, which are, both, essential in any process of mediation.

There are two aspects that mark the present American view of the Middle East and make it, rather, ineffective and undermine its status of mediator: the existence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most power lobby as far as American foreign policy is concerned and the idea that Washington is doing God's work. The AIPAC has pushed Washington's neutrality into irrelevance and Washington's idea of doing God's work, on the other hand, has made it forget about international law too often... MORE





by ROD AMIS

NEW ORLEANS - 16 March, 2003: My life is feeling way too complicated, my love. It would be wonderful if I could make myself focus on a single woman, Europa being my preference, but the influence of the waxing moon has already taken me. Fashionable suddenly seems more accessible, Elusive is always on my mind and every woman suddenly seems appealing. Is this what they call "Spring Fever"? If so, I have got it. Bad.

I am thinking about starting a pool for the day the war (in Iraq) begins. The war in Kosovo started on my birthday in 1999. We were bombing Belgrade as I turned a year older. But this year the full moon and my birthday coincide, so I am betting the war begins before I turn fifty-one.... MORE

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Hello from a rather weary South African. Besides the rather unrelenting heat (even though it is now March and the mornings are beginning to feel a little cooler than a few months ago, the day times themselves are still harsh and dry with our summer sun) we have been keeping rather busy at work. Nine hour days without lunch breaks to provide a blessed respite are not uncommon (in fact, they are a daily occurrence).

As you may know I work for a company which specialises in recruitment, and I find it quite amazing just how many of my countrymen are looking for work - between us, we get to interview at least eight to fifteen job applicants per day. I am not complaining, at least I get the opportunity to meet different people on a daily basis - constant exposure to South Africans from all walks of life, and as it truly is a rainbow nation, this is always interesting.

As a Christian in general and an Anglican in particular, I was interested to hear the other day about the fact that the Anglican Archbishop, the Reverend Njongonkulu Ndugane, has decided to involve himself actively in politics, more specifically, in the humanitarian issue which has raised it's ugly head in our neighbouring country, Zimbabwe, governed by the Zanu PF party (it's President is President Robert Mugabe) ... MORE




by BOB POWERS

MARIETTA, OH, USA - The push behind 19-year-old singer/pianist Peter Cincotti has been rolling along its merry way for several months. Vanity Fair magazine, always ahead of the curve, calls Cincotti "a wunderkind with a very hot CD." Despite his lack of much experience on Planet Earth, Cincotti has become an overnight success through plenty of experience. He was playing the piano at age three and became a protégé at seven of the pop singer Harry Connick, Jr. His first major review came from the New York Times last year, with the headline, "18 and Going on Legend."

Now Cincotti's first CD, "Peter Cincotti," (Concord Records) shows that all the screaming publicity wasn't exaggerating. This fellow, who's as handsome as his singing voice and plays piano with the confidence of a jazz veteran, takes only a couple of tracks on the album to turn even the most avid cynic turn into a follower... MORE




by MPUTHUMI NTABENI

QUEENSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - One of the things Generator 21 has had since its inception is the renowned publisher, Rod Amis. It therefore seems appropriate when celebrating its anniversary to put his column on the couch.

Writing is one of the more difficult arts because it involves the whole of a person's constitution and personality. It is an effort to live up to one's identity in a more radical and consciously defined manner. Writers notoriously live defiant and non-conformist lives. Rod Amis, in "My Glass House,' combines a rare quality of humility with tingling sincerity and an equally rare ability to laugh at himself. To listen to the unrolling folds from the scrolls of his life is one of the reasons why most of us keep coming back to www.generator21.net week after week. We love his sensual mysticism of the ordinary that sublimates mundane emotions to artistic heights. The column throws us back at ourselves with a controlled impatience and a light of scrutiny. It says so much that, in the end, it says something for everyone. We recognize his search for essential value in of life, his lust after the real, because we share it... MORE




by LIONEL ROLFE

SOFIA, BULGARIA - My guide in Bulgaria, Boriana Andreewa, must have been a bit confused about whether I really wanted to go see Sofia's Central Synagogue. Early in the morning, she asked me if I wanted to see the synagogue. Part of me did and another big part of me didn't.

So it seemed as if I were responding in the negative, when in fact I really did want to see it. She didn't mention it again until we were walking in central Sofia, and she said we were now just a few minutes from the Central Synagogue.

We would be there in a moment.

Why I was playing so coy, not so much with her but myself as well? Here I suddenly was, in Sofia, one of the hubs of the Balkans and, for me, how I looked at such a place in the end revolved around how they treated their Jews during the Holocaust... MORE




by DAVE TOMAR

CAMDEN, NJ,USA - This week President Bush voiced America's readiness for war with Iraq, proclaiming that "we've come too far as a species to resort to the archaic measures of peace and negotiations."

Referring to the March 17th deadline imposed upon Iraq for complete disarmament, Bush explained that "it is time for the United Nations to prove its relevance by succumbing to the overwhelming influence of the United States. I want the U.N. to show that it is a legitimate forum for international exchange by reflecting the interests of the Bush family as well as its shareholders and subsidiaries."

As American and British bombers undertook a third straight week of daily "practice drills," that targeted "facilities routinely used to sustain Iraqi life," the Bush administration maintained its stance that war could be avoided by way of complete disarmament, as determined by "an impartial team of Texas C.E.O.s with an interest in world peace." White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer promised, however, during a Wednesday briefing, that "if the United Nations is not willing to act on the wealth of incomprehensible photographs, forged documents, outdated figures, religious tirades and unsubstantiated reports that we have delivered, then the United States is prepared to go it alone. We are just that willing to protect the world from Saddam Hussein's ownership of oil."... MORE




by STUART ALTMAN

NEW YORK, NY, USA - Growing up in New York City, I never played golf because we just didn't have that much grass. It looks like you need half of Iowa to play that game. Due to the fact that I was surrounded by concrete, I could never even imagine playing golf. I could never get into golf on TV because, for me, it was boring. I just couldn't understand why the game required everyone to be quiet.

Let me get this right: a baseball player can hit a ninety-five mile an hour fastball with fifty thousand people cheering, yet a golfer needs total silence to hit a ball standing still.

To further astound me, they even created a Golf Network. This must be for people with heart conditions who can't get overly excited but insist on watching TV. But finally there is a reason to watch golf and it has nothing to do with the game itself ... MORE




by YOU

THE WORLD - FromLynda D-M., (No City Provided,) Vermont, USA

Subject: Kudos, no brickbats

Hello Rod,

Here I am at work. I just wanted to thank you for the sensible, sane, revolutionary work you are doing at G21. Really you are in the forefront of trying to protect the freedoms of regular folk, armed only with your magic "pen" and wry intelligence. It's a pretty sinister atmosphere we're living in, and that's here at home! I appreciated your rant following the world-wide protests of the "fringe elements" . I also followed the link to Bill Moyer's conversation with Chuck Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity. Chilling. I guess we gotta get up, stand up! Thank you.

Lynda D-M


ROD RESPONDS: Ms. D-M,

Thanks for visiting G21 and for writing. I've made no secret of being a dissident, something an old man should not do. Mr. Ashcroft has probably put me at the top his list of people who should be disappeared.

But an idea never dies. This idea of freedom of thought infected me as a child and stayed with me, as I know it stays with you. Resistance is not futile, it is inevitable.

Cheers,
Rodja.... MORE

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