mple is Iraq, but we all know about the toll that his phony crusade for freedom and democracy has taken on that country. So, let's take a look at some other examples that the media has only recently taken note of, starting with Uzbekistan, where more than 200 people were mowed down in an uprising against the country's brutal dictator. (Correction: In the process of editing this message some two days after I originally wrote it, I've just discovered that the death toll has now climbed to over 600! More on this later.)

"Thousands of terrified Uzbeks waiting to flee across the border into Kyrgyzstan stormed government buildings, torched police cars and attacked border guards Saturday in a second day of violence spawned by an uprising against the iron-fisted rule of U.S.-allied President Islam Karimov." (Bagila Bukharbayeva, AP)

But, you say that they were demonstrating for freedom and democracy? No, I don't think so. The people of Uzbekistan are predominantly Muslims, along with a fair-sized population of Jews, whereas their dictator Karimov is a staunch secularist, i.e., godless supporter of the Bush administration, who allowed the US to establish military bases in his country and to render so-called terrorist suspects to that country for subjection to the most brutal and medieval forms of torture conceivable, including the submersion of suspect's limbs in boiling water or oil and, on at least TWO occasions (according to Britain's former ambassador to that country) the boiling to DEATH of suspects who "refused" to cooperate!

Oh, and what about the riots in Afghanistan (another US supported pseudo-democracy), where it is now reported that there have been MANY deaths as a result of Afghan government troops firing on demonstrators protesting the flushing of their holy book, the Qu'ran, down the toilet at Guantanamo? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that I do vaguely remember the media ONCE reporting similar religious desecrations in Abu Ghraib but-- hey! -- that was a long time ago, at least it must have been, because the press seems to have completely forgotten about that!

Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Our evil Gestapo-booted Secretary of State Condosleazy Rice has expressed her heartfelt (didn't know she had one) indignation over the "alleged" incident and has promised to check it out and, IF it really did happen -- wonder who's going to take the fall for THIS incident, if anyone? -- punish the wrongdoers. Well, give us a break! In all probability, not only did the incident actually happen, but far worse instances of religious desecration as well, which have not yet come to light.

Just imagine what would happen if some MUSLIM student, in a fit of indignant protest, merely ripped a page out of OUR holy book at school. Well, I don't think I need to tell you, because the answer is already being demonstrated by the deportation of a young Muslim girl's father and an entire family of another Muslim girl, who dared to write an essay about terrorism (No, you ninnies! They spoke out AGAINST terrorism!)

And, in the meantime, of course, the rape, slaughter, and starvation goes on and on in Africa.

Looks like the not-so-good citizens of this country who support Bush and his STATE TERRORIST regime needs to ask themselves the same question that Christ himself asked as he hung dying on the cross: My Lord, why hast Thou forsaken [US]? For the answer, you only have to look to the corporate capitalists who now run our country, as Lincoln himself once feared would one day happen. You have only to look to our corrupt leaders who worship the golden "calf" that they feed daily on Wall Street and who seek to fatten their coffers at the expense of the world's poor, even as they further impoverish their own people.

WAKE UP AMERICA!!! It's time to take PEACEFULLY to the streets in the hundreds of thousands again. Only this time we have to remain there for, as Bush would say, AS LONG AS IT TAKES!!!!

Chris Tennant

OpaTennant@aol.com

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