.Welcome
Welcome
My name is Madtom and this is my first blog.
There are a lot of blogs out there and I want to make this one a little different. I will post what I see out there or link to news or other blogs that bring news from the front lines.
Once I figure out how, I want to put up a picture in the title of the Norman Rockwell painting "War News". Like the characters in that painting we are all eager to hear news from the front.
The thing that I want to do different with this blog, is that I want to post stories from the point of view of all the different characters that make up this war. I want to post stories from G.I.Joe, and from his enemy and from the point of view of their families. The idea is for anyone, be they friend or foe that has something to say, a story to tell, about this, or any war, can send it to me and I will post it here, anonymously.
I am doing this so that the public at large can get an idea of what is going on in this war, and for those doing the fighting can have their stories told. I want to try to do it from all sides. The good the bad and the ugly.
So if you have a story that you think needs to be told, and you want a forum to tell your story then e-mail them to me at thisfckingwar@yahoo.com
There is only a few rules, it has to be good, about a war and anonymous.
My name is Madtom and this is my first blog.
There are a lot of blogs out there and I want to make this one a little different. I will post what I see out there or link to news or other blogs that bring news from the front lines.
Once I figure out how, I want to put up a picture in the title of the Norman Rockwell painting "War News". Like the characters in that painting we are all eager to hear news from the front.
The thing that I want to do different with this blog, is that I want to post stories from the point of view of all the different characters that make up this war. I want to post stories from G.I.Joe, and from his enemy and from the point of view of their families. The idea is for anyone, be they friend or foe that has something to say, a story to tell, about this, or any war, can send it to me and I will post it here, anonymously.
I am doing this so that the public at large can get an idea of what is going on in this war, and for those doing the fighting can have their stories told. I want to try to do it from all sides. The good the bad and the ugly.
So if you have a story that you think needs to be told, and you want a forum to tell your story then e-mail them to me at thisfckingwar@yahoo.com
There is only a few rules, it has to be good, about a war and anonymous.
posted by madtom at 8:16 PM
44 Comments:
Welcome on board of the globosphere and good luck for your blog.
Barba - http://meetingpoint.splinder.it
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
There is no biased pro or anti war to this blog, nor was the name meant to imply that sentiment.
For one, the plan is to have no links at all, so no one can complain that my links are my bias. maybe there is some universal link out there, I don't know, but for now I'll just leave it blank.
The whole idea for this blog is neutrality, single opinion blog are a dime a dozen.
This blog represent the opinions of the public that is willing to participate. the name is a bit harsh, I understand that, but so is the subject. The lives of the fighting men and women of this conflict. Maybe some of the stories and comments that this blog (hopefully) may generate, is not for the faint at heart.
One of the main reasons that I think this blog is necessary is to guarantee an unfiltered uncensored unedited look through a keyhole, at the war.
And that is what the name was to imply.
I hope my poor attempt at an explanation helps the truth is that I only just had this idea a few days ago, And I am not to sure about it all yet myself.
I appreciate any and all suggestions
Madtom
Good luck with your new blog Madtom. Hope it works out just fine. It's always good and important to gather up the point of views of a war and then somehow decide the outcome of it in the end.
By the way, are normal Iraqi point of views included too? :) (Don't recall you mentioning that yet).
I look forward to the future of this blog. Keep it up all the way.
Sara.
Sara,
No I did not mention normal Iraqis, but I did not mention lots of people. No matter what list I make I'm bound to leave someone out, so If I did not mention you, but you have a sorry to tell, feel free to either e-mail me or just post it to the comments here, and I'll take it from there.
All I have gotten so far, are two files with net.sky viruses, and what looks like a scam to get my password, but its only been two days, lets give it some time.
To tell the truth I am amazed that I have gotten any response at all, it's only been two days, so I think Its going well so far.
Thank you all for your participation, and comments.
Madtom
Madtom,
I see your comments on ITM and Abbas Khaddim's sites so good luck with yours.. It would be nice to see some "balanced" views, unfortunately I don't think such things exist in today's world.. :-)
Good Luck,
Barry PajamaSalami
Barry,
I am going to try and keep "my views" out of this thing as much as is humanly possible. It's part of the whole idea.
There are plenty of blog out there where I present my views, this blog is for the view of those most affected by this conflict, or so I am hoping.
Madtom
Well I hope it works. I originally went to Khadim's site hoping to gain some insight into the thoughts of those whom I disagree with. Unfortunately civil discourse is overshadowed by the blind hatred of us. I find it especially amusing coming from those who appear to have sought refuge in my country.
I am still waiting to hear from a more "moderate" Iraqi (for lack of a better term) who may be pissed at us or hate us or whatever but also sees the long term potential of Iraq as a result.
Granted we have made mistakes and caused anguish and the loss of civilian life is devastating but we have done some good... What is the "real" story.. :-)
Barry PajamaSalami
I would be happy to submit a war story, but I would like to attach my name to it.
Todd Vodka
http://blithelywego.blogspot.com/
Send it in, and please include in the body of the text that "I want to attach my name to this entry at the blog for anonymous reports" or something to that effect so no one thinks that I have posted someone's name.
Without something like that clearly stated in a submission I will automatically post anonymously by default.
Madtom
Fidel Castro is watching you, you traitor Gusano.
You know this blog is still new, and I am still working on the second post. But I hope that once I get settled in I have the opportunity to solicit some post from the Cuban community that has also seen it's fare share of conflict.
So do not worry about Castro, he will get his turn, I can assure you of that.
Madtom
It appears that Barry doesn't quite understand a few tenets of Americanism...... To call America 'our' country in relation to immigrants who have immigrated here, is to show his banality without the b....
Madtom. I like your idea. I hope it works....
Scott from Oregon
You're doing a great job already Madtom. I suppose there are specific blogs which attract a lot of people from the very start and yours is one of them and I'm glad for that to happen for you Madtom. I'll vaguely assume you got quite a handful of time to do all this because I own a blog and I'm having difficulties trying to give some 'quality' time for it hehe, but I'm getting there.
I'm not much of a storyteller considering the voice of an Iraqi does matter a lot to most people now a days, but I do express my beliefs, opinions, and experiences about the past and what's going on now in my blog. I suppose that is all I can give for now. But you're welcome to take some posts out of my blog if they're interesting enough until I figure out what's a good story to inform you about Madtom. And no this is NOT an advertisement for my blog :) ...well, it may look like that but it certainly isn't.
By the way, do these stories have to be serious only? Because I do have one of these good ol' true stories my own mother experienced when she was a doctor in Iraq..it's one of those sad-funny stories we all get to hear from time to time. I don't know if that is what you are also looking for Madtom.
Sara.
Contd.
My apologies lol.......I don't even know or think my mother's story is relevant to any war. It happened in Iraq under Saddam's rule but it is more about cultural differences. Just had to correct that.(was during the 70s).
Sara.
Sara,
Yes, I will certainly take your mothers stories.
I am working now on the new post, not easy, I take it all back, everything I ever said to a blogger out there.
Where I try to present a cast of characters that will be our guest on this blog. not an easy thing, for one I would never have thought about your mother, so your being a great help.
The stories also don't have to be blood and guts, If it was up to me there would never be anymore blood and guts to tell about, What I am really looking for are stories that tell about the everyday things, as these stories usually tell so much more about the people involved, I think that is what the people out there want to read about.
So yes your mothers experience during the Saddam days is what we want to read, please tell her about my blog and ask her please to submit a story for us. And remind her that It should be completely anonymous so she can be completely honest and not have to worry about hurting anyone.
Madtom
Scott. And what "banalities" do I not understand about Americanism? This is MY fucking country, I served her, and for some pukes to seek refuge here then disparage the shit out of her makes me angry. What's your excuse?
America was and is a result of ideals manifested in a land and honored by those who have adopted her as a home. Go read the Statue of Liberty, start to finish, read the Constitution, then get back to me. You obviously served something too big for you to understand...
Scott from Oregon
Scott,
You know I used to play with you just to get your goat but if you see Shirin, Not Anonymous, and their ilk as Americans and me as not, you are truly a fool. Political discourse/disagreement is one thing...
I suppose to you Michael Moore is a "patriot"??
Hey, if you want to get my goat, be my guest.... She is a lonely old poison oak eater and may appreciate the company....
Show me where I have defined you as Un--American. I simply stated that you do not possess the ability to understand her tenets.... Apparently, there is more on the list than that.....
Scott from Oregon
Scott,
OK, let me try to explain it in my "redneck" simplistic terms. Lets say I walk in to a Muslim Mosque, whip out my barbeque pork sandwich and start eating it. Am I not disrespecting that Mosque and the beliefs of those who are there?
BTW, I hate goats, the damn things eat everything...
Barry PajamaSalami
My simplistic answer-- Yes, you are.
But the US is not a mosque, nor a church, nor an organization. And its basics tenets are the rights of its citizens to openly dissent.
I grew up with a friend whose father was a refugee from Russia (a Russian German). He came to the US at twenty without language skills and did well for himself and his family. He used to go on and on about those bastards in Sacramento (California politics) to the point where you almost felt he'd take a gun up there and shoot them. But you know what, God bless him and America for letting him be American.... He worked his whole life for PGandE, and kept the power on come hell or high water. You have obviously mistaken your belief system for the written beliefs of this country. Shame on you....
Scott from Oregon
Madtom,
Great blog and great idea. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
To Barry,
First of all thank you for serving our country. And I do mean our country, everyone is welcome here and welcome to bring their views here. This fact is what makes us a great nation and is one of the things you were fighting for. I understand your feelings and I struggle with them myself but we must be able to separate the enemy from the free speaker. When the people that degrade this nation begin to act violently on their views then they are the enemy, until then they are American's exersising the first right that the immigrants that founded this country believed so strongly in.
Hi Madtom,
Thanks for that. I'm sure your blog will work out just the way you wanted it to, you are getting there yourself and yes, it takes a lot to arrange or manage all this. I will send you my mother's story as soon as I could but I'm away from home right now in Australia, so I don't have her story with me right now but I will send it to you right away anonymously when I come back home.
All the best,
Sara.
Scott,
Where do you draw the distinction between dissent and traitorous rhetoric? You yourself were accused on that site of feeling that NA supported the beheadings..
Defiant Heart,
Thank you and I agree. I ask you the same question. If I abuse a Homosexual just for being homosexual, I can go to prison for a hate crime... Where is the distinction?
You are free to burn my flag, however, if you do it in front of me, I am free to jump up and down on your fucking skull.. :-)
Barry, you are Barry confused. The line between dissent and 'traitorious rhetoric' is inconsequential, as both are protected within the basic ideals of this country. However, you are not free to jump on anyone's skull, nomatter what they 'said', or even if they burned a flag. Someone just asked me what I have against Yahoos, and you have just amply personified my answer. One big difference between you--the American, and Abbas-- the American, is that he still has family in Iraq who is affected by what is going on, who have, at times, been in mortal danger. So, you're idea of traitorious rhetoric, might be his idea of a pained expression of fear and concern... It's time for a bigger hat size, son, the one you're wearing must be pinching something awful.....
Scott from Oregon
Scott,
What planet are you on son? The entire world may be "affected" by what is happening in Iraq. I have asked the question on more than three occasions on Abbas's site on what any of those fuckers think we should be doing since they think we are doing it wrong and have recieved ZERO positive responses. And again, I have not mentioned Abbas yet, I am mostly speaking of Not Anonymous and Shirin. (For all I know they are all over here plotting the next attack but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt). Sorry, but to me, not condemning the beheadings is as good as consent.
So America to you is let everyone in and let them do as they please? It means nothing to you to be an American?
And you are wrong, burn a flag in front of me and I will jump up and down on your fucking head.
You simply have not got the answer you wanted to hear. Shirin has given her answer so many times she probably cuts and pastes, but it doesn't compute in your simple mind and so you miss it. You come across as a simple, feeble-brained racists, is that the goal for you?
If you look at American achievements, you'd be surprised at how many were achieved by people with accents from other places. That is the America I believe in. The one who incarcerates head jumpers and people of your ilk. BTW, you're not the father of England's child, are U?
Scott from Oregon
WTF does acheivements by people with accents have to do with shit???
I am talking about people who openly consider my country the "land of Satan". Maybe you need to read David Horowitz's new book "Unholy Alliance".
I love how my comments/thoughts/etc make me a racist but their bullshit and propoganda make them good Americans. My neighbor to my right is a Muslim from Morroco, to my left Hindus from India. Great people, love this country and WANT to be in this country. Why am I supposed to "accept" people that hate my country?
Barry PajamaSalami
Scott,
BTW, got a link to any posts where Shirin ever actually answered my question? I must have missed it.
Barry PajamaSalami
Barry, she ignores you because you leave yourself ignorable with the way you present yourself. If her views haven't been dilineated to you by now, I suggest you go back and read her comments. She's been an American for a long time. And you need to stop 'adding' your interpretation to what people say to you. I don't see the words 'good American' in anything I have said to you. Remember, only your words are presented here. What kind of person you project, is what people will see. The statement that Shirin and Abbas (or Not) might be plotting something, for all you know, is racists. All they have ever done is assail Bush and disagree wholeheartedly with the war, something many white people have also done....
You keep right on believing that sweetpea..
The fact remains guys. You can debate this all day but in this country you can say anything you wish. Just because someone disagrees doesn't give anyone the right to kill, harm or excommunicate them from this country. When we start doing that we become our enimies. What do the radical Islamists do when when people disagree with them? They cut off heads and fly planes into buildings. Do you really think we should lower ourselves to their Communist/Socialist ways, Barry? That my friend (and here comes the forbiden phrase) would be unAmerican.
Defiant Heart,
And AGAIN I ask. At what point is the line crossed? When you and/or your children are forced to convert to Islam, pay a tax, or die, is that when we cut it off?? (Obviously this is purely hypothetical but not against what radical Islam is shooting for).
Total freedom is anarchy.
Barry, I usually saw, chisel, drive nails through, pound on, and stand on end 2x4's.... Don't usually argue with one....
The line is crossed when the basic tenets that this country were founded on are crossed. You, Barry, have already stated you would cross those lines.... Are you an Anarchist, then?
Your fear, Barry, is making you less than American. Look at it. If you have the courage....
Barry,
The line is crossed when my freedoms are diminished. Words are what they are. . . words. When I lose my right to disagree, when I am forced to change my religon, when I get my head jumped up and down on for what I say. That crosses the line.
Now I ask AGAIN, should we degrade ourselves and sink to our enimies level because we don't like it when people disagree with us? Don't get me wrong I am fully behind our country and a full on Bush supporter. I hate what these people say about our country and our president, but I refuse to take that or any other freedoms away from the citizens of this nation. That would be unAmerican.
When have I said that they can't say what they want to say? And when did I say I jumped up and down on your head for what you said? I merely stated that if you are free to burn my flag in my face, I'm free to kick your ass for doing so.
Barry, that is where you are horribly wrong. You are not free to kick anyone's ass. That is called breaking the law. You can do it, but there are enforceable laws that will be used to punish you. It is not your right to harm anyone outside of self-defense. I'm sorry but burning the flag doesn't directly harm you and therefore you could not claim self-defense. Burning the flag is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not cause direct harm or endanger. You love this country, I understand that, but don't let that blind you to what this country is all about.
Really? So I am free to call an African-American a "nigger" or a homosexual a "fag"... Give me a break. Just because you CAN say something, doesn't mean that you SHOULD.
And don't start calling me a racist or homophobe, those were just examples..
Barry, I don't think you're a racist. Those are valid points. You can do that. That is why we have the KKK and no one can stop their rallies. There are no laws about calling those people those name although they are derogatory. Look in your local paper at the police beat, have you ever seen anyone get arrested for saying stuff like that?
You're also right in your statement that "just because you can say something doesn't mean you should" but that is a personal ethical question. Just because you don't like to hear it doesn't give you the right to force others to stop saying it. Its called freedom of speech. I don't know how to say it any clearer.
I'm sorry if you can't understand one the cornerstones of our nation but I'm afraid we are begining to talk in circles.
People can say what they want to say as long they don't cause any direct harm to anyone. You can take acception to what they have to say and deal with it in one of two ways. Excersise your own freedom of speech and argue your point or become our enemies, lash out, forcably shut the mouths of decent and face the concequences of your actions. I really hope you will choose the later. You seem to be very intelligent don't waste it with ignorant violence and cencorship.
Alright, alright, you win. I'll just piss on you to put the fire out, how's that?? ;-P
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I don't want to be the winner. . . but if you insist ;-]
Just make sure you get the fire out. Thanks for the debate.
defiantheart.blogspot.com
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