Bush administration

The offenses of the Bush administration are countless. There are so many, and they are so cleverly suppressed by the administration, that they are forgotten in a day's time.

Well, someone needs to do something about it.

Here is a list I'm compiling of the Bush administration's crimes over the last few years. I am starting with what comes to mind immediately and what is in the news. Please let me know what I'm missing.

1. Iraq war. WMD never existed. His faulty (or doctored) intelligence led us to a costly and worthless war. Also, he attempted to link Al Qaeda with Saddam Hussein, a connection that doesn't exist. He wanted to invade Iraq even before 9/11.

2. Jack Abramoff said he met Bush 12 times. Bush says he doesn't know who he is. Somehow, I think the latter isn't telling the truth.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060209/pl_nm/crime_abramoff_dc

3. According to Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney disclosed the top secret ID of Ambassador Wilson's wife, a CIA agent. Cheney did this in retalliation against Wilson, who accused the administration of twisting intelligence to justify the Iraq war.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_leak;_ylt=AlqhNzh7Okpfn22WWSAJqkKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ

4. The administration's illegal domestic spying program. Ilegal or not, this may be a good thing, if, as Bush claims, it has foiled terrorist plots in LA.

5. Detaining alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay without cause or habeas corpus. Prisoners at Guantanamo have been kept there for months at a time without due cause or any other justification.

6. In a prison at Abu Gharib in Iraq, enlisted men (and women) degraded and tortured Iraqi prisoners, in all manner of cruel and unusual ways. The Defense Department washed their hands of the event; Don Rumsfeld accepted no responsibility for the events.

7. The inadequate reponse to Hurricane Katrina.

8.

Just to crack open a bottle of controversy, can we all agree now that Islamism doesn't just cater to the radical? Thousands of protesters in several countries have rocked the streets with calls for destruction of the West, all over some silly cartoons that they could not tolerate.  

The most lasting result of my tenure in Melbourne is the realization of how much I love my name. The likelihood of my son bearing my same name is very high.

Let me tell you why.

The first observation that many people in Melbourne noted was that my name sounds like it should adorn an Indian moviestar. Those remarks obviously came from non-Indian people. If they were Indian, they would be familiar with India's greatest king ever, Ashoka. So clearly the name has modern funk (it suits moviestars) and ancient heritage and regality.

 Better yet, without any impetus from me, people in Melbourne decided that the relatively easy to pronounce Ashok could be reduced to an even more convenient nickname, Ash. How suitable and how appropriate.

Does this now usher in the era of me introducing myself as Ash???

Initially, yes, my pals over at Jamba Juice call me by my self-styled alias. Who will it spread to next?  

Signing off.

My last exam went well. Friday night after, I hit up this comtemporary Spanish bar with Sandeep and Stan. Stan and I then drank up at the Queensbury with Steve and his weird hoes, only to run into Nate and his hoes. I owe Friday night's success most of all to Steve, who pretty much covered my bar tab, and the subsequent reefer bill. There's a first time for everything...

Saturday I played with ball with my baller buddies, like Brasilian Jerry, Eric, TP... great times as always. Then lunch with Pang Hao and Jack, followed by dinner with Kenny, Christine, and Jon.

I had a lightning weightlifting session with Justin and Kevin, then hung out in Michelle's room for the night. She brought everyone over-- Fiona, Armand, Steph, Jerry, Caryn, Lipei-- and they gave me such incredible going away presents!! I got inspirational books, a GINORMOUS card that didn't fit in my backpack, and a framed photo of us all to go with it... I felt really special this day.

The next day (Sunday) it was toodles to Melbourne. I'm afraid it wasn't the teary farewell you might have expected... but here ends my saga. 

Been studying for the last few for my all important exam. Yesterday night I contrived to meet Beth's friend Gosia... but somehow it failed! I didn't get her msg, she didn't give me her #, and we ended up eating at the same restaurant without knowing we were both there!! So instead I ate with Eric and Geraldo de Brasil... I love the intl flavor of Melbourne. Jerry is without doubt one of the coolest cats I've met here.

Today I grabbed lunch with my discussion tutor Adrian. He's a really knowledgeable and cool guy, another great guy I'm lucky to know.  

Thereafter I did manage to meet with Gosia for coffee and I do see why Beth likes her. She's a nice gal.

As a footnote to the day, I use the tram here in Melbourne every day. But I NEVER pay, and today for the first time I was caught on a surprise inspection! The fine's $150...but guess what suckers? I'm splitting town in a few! Can't touch this!

One of my greatest failings (more of a pecadillo, really) is that I really have few practical skills. I took wood and metal shop but I've never fixed a problem at home; I took programming classes but I can't debug an error; I lift weights but I still can't make my pecs contract. Obviously the last one is highly useful. .

Nowhere is this lack of training more evident than in my inability to cook. Because of this I'm forced to eat out every meal. This is in stark contrast to my pre-college years when I ate EVERY meal at home (shit I hardly ate even ate fast food in those days).

In all of my culinary experiences, I've honed my taste and developed a list of my favorite foods to eat. If you're ever in the mood for any of these foods, give me a ring. Cept maybe the third rung ones.

1st tier: Mexican, Greek/Turkish, Thai, Indian

2nd tier: Italian, Spanish tapas, American (burger!), Chinese

3rd tier: Japanese, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Vietnamese, Malaysian

I still don't know much about Korean and French, so those are next on my list!