Haven’t seen it on our news sites yet, but Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation claim that al-Zarqawi has been arrested in Bagouba by US Forces.

The people of Falluja have “repeatedly accused US forces of using Zarqawi as a pretext to demolish a city of 300,000 in an attempt to quell its resistance to the occupation” but many in the Iraqi resistance oppose his methods and have distanced themselves from him.

Will they find a new figurehead for the next city to be destroyed? How would you feel if invading “liberators” totaled Boston, Chicago, Miami… All this compassion for a natural disaster, still no sign of cognitive dissonance toward the thousands of civilians we have murdered and are continuing to murder – our attack on a hospital! a hospital!! I know they disregard the Geneva Conventions, and they really didn’t need that wee memo for that, but didn’t any of these guys even watch M*A*S*H*?

The Guardian reports that as US casualties exceed 200 weekly, large portions of Iraq are outside any control. Incidents that we don’t seem to hear about have been escalating in response over the last several months. You might have seen the video that made the rounds of the boys targeting civilians walking down the street – I think the title was something like “Hey Dude.” The article I stumbled across today was dated September 14 2004 – it has pictures of a US aerial attack on an ambulance in Falluja that killed more than than 20 people – an AMBULANCE! Full of people! They aren’t just using those Apache helicopters to shoot wild horses in America – how ’bout them unarmed civilians and journalists gunned down on Haifa Street in Baghdad?

Meanwhile – the Tsunami toll nears 155,000, and Bush&Co are launching their own relief on the side – outside the UN. Yeah, why not just build a new agency from scratch and ignore Oxfam, Doctors without Borders, the Red Cross, and so on – who are already placed and who can help immediately? No no – we have to make sure that whatever we “contribute” is turned into yet another chance to line the pockets of Whatever Corporation. Kind of like the AIDS package – in retail priced drugs. Or any of the no-bid contracts – ie Halliburton. Strangely enough, Bush Senior has teamed up with Clinton to help raise more private funds. Bizarro world.

And before everyone gets too happy about Afghanistan, just remember that’s where 87% of the world’s opium comes from.

Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up

Maybe I should have stayed on my news sabbatical.