some nocturnal buddies.

sleeping at night is overrated

Massive National Antiwar Demonstration

When -- Saturday, March 20
Where -- New York City

March 20th is a Global day of Action against war and
occupation on the first anniversary of the war on
Iraq. The Peace Center is sending buses to the huge
national demonstration in NYC.

Tickets are $40/$25 student and low income. If you
can't go, please consider sponsoring a student
demonstrator. For more info, to reserve seats or to
donate, please call us at 894-2013 or email
colin@wnypeace.org colin at the peace center

you can read more about it on the United for Peace and Justice site ( )

If you can't go to NYC . . .

What -- "Freedom from Fear" antiwar rally/march
When -- Saturday, March 20th, 2 PM
Where -- Lafayette Square, Downtown Buffalo

The Bush administration has manipulated post-9/11
fears to justify wars abroad and abuses at home. On
March 20th, Western New Yorkers will join together to
reject the politics of fear and say:
No more war and occupation
No more anti-Arab discrimination
No more anti-immigrant policies
No more violent policing in our community

For more info, or to get involved, call 894-2013 or
email colin@wnypeace.orgcolin at the peace center

i'm getting too many emails on this one to ignore it.. [note: the articles are listed in backwards chronological order] just to give some context, it seems what started as a way to even out the injustices of who is serving in the war, has led to a frightening plan on the part of the pentagon to fill draft board seats..this first article is from someone affiliated with project censored, which focuses on the news that the larger media outlets *somehow* miss..

US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005
by Adam Stutz • Wednesday January 28, 2004 at 09:50 AM (http://www.vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/01/105146.php)

Dear Friends and Family,

I urge you to read the article below on the current agenda of the federal government to reinstate the draft in order to staff up for a protracted war on "terrorism."

Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163) would time the program so the draft could begin at early as Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election! But the administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed NOW, so our action is needed immediately. Details and links follow.

If voters who currently support U.S. aggression abroad were confronted with the possibility that their own children or grandchildren might not have a say about
whether to fight, many of these same voters might have a change of mind. (Not that it should make a difference, but this plan would among other things eliminate higher education as a shelter and would not exclude women -- and Canada is no longer an option.)

Please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all the aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents.... And let your children know -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for change! Please also write to your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and write to newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story.

The Draft*

$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. SSS must report to
Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: to
view the SSS Annual Performance Plan - Fiscal Year 2004.

The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of Congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.

Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and H.R. 163 forward this year, entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the Committee on Armed Services.

Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era remember. College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the US signed a "Smart Border Declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Manley, and US Homeland Security Director, Gov. Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable
a
lo

ng gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.

• This article by Adam Stutz is from the "What's Hot Off the Press" column of the newsletter of Project Censored, a media research group at Sonoma State University that tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list (more than 20 years running) of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported, or self-censored by the country's major national news media. The mission of Project Censored is "to educate people about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The News That Didn't Make the News and why."

"What's Hot Off the Press" includes student synopses of articles currently being investigated for inclusion in the next Project Censored report. For more info and/or to receive Project Censored's newsletter, go to or email [censored]@sonoma.edu

Don't believe it yet? Go to and search for "S 89", then later
search for "HR 163" where it says "By Number" and you'll find the articles. I would link you to the articles directly but that doesn't work for some reason.

"Oiling up the Draft Machine?" (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5146.htm)

updated:

brian has brought it to my attn that these bills have been sponsored by legislators not aligned with the white house, to highlight the fact that not everyones sons and daughters are fighting. the salon articles i found when i typed "millitary draft" yielded this article, from when the bill was first being introduced:

Bring back the draft? (http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/01/07/draft/) Rep. Charles Rangel says yes -- the poor, black and brown shouldn't be the only Americans fighting and dying in Iraq.

what to think?

but if its true that the pentagon is planning on filling draft board vacancies, (refer to the oiling the draft machine article), what then? would that level the playing field any? this still doesn't get at deeper issues of wars, lies, media deception and justifying invasions. and would the public outcry over an unjust war stop any of this motion of talking about drafts? military spending is up, the global trade machine is moving forward (and many a link has been made between war and the proliferation of trade), and if the pentagon's report on climate change (see journal 103) is accurate, we are at the beginning of more conflict. and they're not just suggesting that climate change is happening and that we should think about it, theyre thinking strategically about building power to fight those climate-related wars, when they come...

youre out of touch im out of time but im out of my head when youre not around

i have exactly 666 emails in my mailbox(es). funny that.

theres absolutely nothing meaningful to say. if i was charming and conniving id sucker you into helping me drywall and paint to start the 'move emily upstairs' effort this week.

now, for a word in the second person

we were observing how rare it is that people use the term second person, its always referred to when the first or the third person is used. except for choose your own adventure, remember those?

you remember and take a stroll down memory lane (go to page 56)

you don't remember and try to look it up online to figure out what the hell she's saying (go to page 128)

you don't remember, and don't remember that you don't remember (go to page 42)

you sigh about how stupid and meaningless it all is, and decide to go back to the oscars (go downstairs)

so email me with yr answer to this:

what is your life like when youre in love?

this is really happening, happening

never before have the words 'conveyor belt' been so frightening.

the nytimes reports of a hollywood movie coming out showing climate change attacking the earth..(even though it's not really happening, according to the administration.)
the sky is falling! say hollywood and, yes, the pentagon (http://nytimes.com/2004/02/29/weekinreview/29revk.html)

"The Pentagon study (available at: www.ems.org/climate/pentagon-climate-change.pdf (http://www.ems.org/climate/pentagon-climate-change.pdf)) is not as dramatic as Mr. Emmerich's film, but it was alarming enough that a British newspaper, The Observer, proclaimed: 'The Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us. Secret report warns of rioting and nuclear war. '"

Conclusion

this is the actual conclusion of the pentagon paper. don't worry, if you live in the u.s. you ll be ok..until you get to the last sentence:
It is quite plausible that within a decade the evidence of an imminent abrupt climate shift may become clear and reliable...In short, while the US itself will be relatively better off and with more adaptive capacity, it will find itself in a world where Europe will be struggling internally, large number so refugees washing up on its shores and Asia in serious crisis over food and water. Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life.

don't wake me, i plan on sleeping in

"
again last night i had that strange dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
concerns about the world getting warmer
people thought that they were just being rewarded
for treating others as theyd like to be treated
for obeying stop signs and curing diseases
for mailing letters with the address of the sender
now we can swim any day in november
"

here's a proposal.

we want to start a crafty night, which is composed of a bunches of peoples doing all sorts of craftyness, from knitting to crocheting to beading to making jewelry to paper crafts to decoupage to drawing to sewing to mending to anything else that you would count as being crafty. we want to switch it up from house to house to house and rotate between those locations so that its not just one house. and we want to make flyers and get people to come to each others house and be crafty together. if anyones into all things crafty, lets figure out a night, im into spearheading an effort if i know people want to do it. im tired of talking about it and not doing anything about it.

what a numbskull.

i just discovered that i missed todays critical mass. i hope you all were there anyways. theres always next month. this year i will pull out my blades or quad skates and pay respects to the year when i only skated (and where did all the skateboarders go, wtf) mass. speaking of skates I've also decided that im going to throw a rollerskating party for everyone for my own birfday when it approaches. we ll have ice cream, pizza, a dj spin the tunes, and plenty of games. we'd better start practicing our dance moves. i will be watching my blue-skintight-legging-clad video teacher religiously if anyone wants to join me. for rea

village mayor in new york state says he'll marry gay couples (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/26/national1843EST0831.DTL). thats the new paltz mayor that is.

ah, to be back.. this morning i tried to update to (e:strip) while i was waiting at jfk airport, since jetblue has this new wifi connection theyre touting, but it did not work. i was excited to be updating from an airport, but i repeat, it didn't work. oh well.

anyways i wasnt expecting it to be so warm outside. its so nice. im thinking about jumping on my bike, i can't remember when was the last time i used it was. but to be here all of the sudden, so many things to do. what to do first?

ah, nothing of significance to say at this moment. all sorts of colors and shapes and unwritten words come to mind. righty-o

i just can't stay away from the computer. i flipped open my laptop to do some work, and lo and behold, this place has a wireless connection.

anyways, im at a berkeley co-op house that totally rocks. there's a treehouse outside, built in a way that didn't require cutting any part of the tree, and doesn't impede the tree's growth. but the entire house feels like a treehouse, with all these nooks and crannies everywhere. there's the bubble room, which is a tiny half-room with a huge bubble window overlooking the city. a bike workshop and then the sauna in the basement. i'm so inspired, i can't wait til the buffalo co-op house gets goin.

earlier today we visited another house, where a group of 11 people are jacking up a their house so they can build below the house, as well as above the house. there's a stack of wooden pieces underneath the house holding it up, jenga style. here's are pictures of the jack-up process... (http://barringtoncollective.org/roots/lift.html). besides all the crazy construction, they've just finished building a chicken coop, they have a beautiful yard where everyone's got tents pitched, and there's a geodesic dome, all of the last two covered with liberated billboards.
its pretty amazing what theyre trying to do there, they're basically building a house around an existing house.

i wanna stop by the eucalyptus grove on the way to the co-op that we're staying at. at that house, we're in the 'penthouse' thats lined with windows. the sun will wake us up tomorrow. ok, enough about co-ops..

so a county in new mexico opened its county clerks office doors to same sex marriage. i dno if this is news back home. but here's the (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/02/20/samesex.marriage.nm.ap/).

one day more.. i can't wait to be home..

for lots and lots of reasons..

(but this suing the state thing is great. does anyone remember the antimiscegenation laws? it wasn't that long ago that interracial marriage was illegal..
(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kdown/loving.html))

anyways back to what i was sayin. if my heart wasnt in ny and bflo and nyc i think id want to stay here. good thing i have a few more days to get over my crush.

as i finish writing this, the song 'come back from san francisco' just came on. 'come back from san francisco/ it can't be all that pretty/ when all of nyc misses you.' hmm.. anyways i hope everyone is snuggling and keeping warm in b-lo and on da elmwood strip