It is estimated that the Bush Administration is responsible for the death's of over a million innocent Iraqi civilians. This is a "statistic" that is all too often overlooked in coverage of this abominable war. There are so many reasons to get American troops out of Iraq but this genocide ranks high on the list.

A story by Mark Weisbrot on Holocaust Denial, American Style estimates Iraqi civilian casualties now up be to one million.

This is am important update from a year ago when Chris Write's article Suffer the Little Children that was posted on the ePm community site last New Year's Day.

See below for an excerpt from his article and the current update by Weisbrot.

Australia's elections have resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour Party, and former Prime Minister, Bush's buddy John Howard has apparently lost out on the top spot but will not be retaining his seat in parliament. More below.

On Tonights ABC News - There's a short video at site link

They were prepared for war. They were prepared to die for their country.But Fort Carson soldiers say they weren't prepared to come home andfight a different battle -- addiction to illegal drugs.

Many of this country's bravest men and women who volunteered to defendAmerica in a time of war have come home wounded -- physically andmentally -- and are turning to illicit drugs as they adjust to normallife, according to soldiers, health experts and advocates.

High at the Mountain Post
Part One of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'

PHOTOS

It's only a rumor so far, but we might see NM Commissioner of Indian Affairs Benny Shendo announce a run for the House seat Rep. Tom Udall is giving up to run for the Senate.  Benny is from Jemez Pueblo, and I'm told he's got much good to recommend him.  If all that pans out, I'm likely to help his campaign.

               
Benny Shendo (on the right)

So far, the usual rumblings hereabouts are that we ought to have an Hispanic in the seat.  But those candidates - like Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez running for Senate - too often seem to have corruption problems.  Eric Serna, the last Democratic candidate for the seat before Udall, is mired in corruption problems himself.  But then there's innuendos of racism about Anglos running to represent the most Hispanic state in the nation.  Even good progressives.

An interesting answer to that conundrum is for a Native American to run for the seat.  NM-03 has the second highest percentage of Native Americans in the nation.  (AZ-01, with a higher percentage, also has a Native candidate in Mary Kim Titla, a TV news reporter, and enrolled member of the San Carlos Apache tribe.

Cross-posted at Daily Kos

One of the things that interests me the most about the tubes is the ability they provide for us academics to move outside of our "ivied walls" into what Brad DeLong of U Cal/Berkeley calls the "invisible college."

So, taking it to the other side, in planning a conference to be held at New York City College of Technology on May 3, 2008, we are deliberately inviting people from beyond academia to come in and join in the discussion.

What follows below the fold is a Call For Papers (CFP) for the conference.  We are looking for people to organize panels or to submit papers (ones that can be read aloud in about 15 minutes) that we will place on panels.  If you are interested, contact us through the email address in the CFP:

Maybe...

NBC News has learned that Trent Lott's in the midst of informing close allies that he plans to resign his senate seat before the end of the year. It's possible a formal announcement of his plans could take place as early as today.

Like a child that is losing a game, he'll take his ball and stomp off home in the Mississippi mud. If this rumor is true, it will make for another open Senate seat for the broke, and broken, GOP to defend in the next round of "kick the bums out!" (h/t C&L, and MORE BELOW...)

I have been traveling for Thanksgiving and have a different sort of post for the Beauty for our Souls this week.  The Radio City Music Hall is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Christmas Spectacular this year.  More photos to follow on the other side.....(click on photos for full size images

This morning, on CBS Sunday Morning, they had a segment called Reporting The Good News

In it they had three short stories about three differant people.

One was about a kid in NOLA called Weeding By Example

Last August, Hartman visited a teenager who mowed the lawn at New Orleans City park and helped grow the community's optimism.

A second was called  Running On The Memories

In October, Hartman met a man whose very first car not only wins at antique car shows but also keeps the memory of his first and only love alive to him and to all who come see the show.