According to the BBC, “Second fatality mars Basra campaign”. As opposed to the Iraqi fatalies marring everyday life.

Michael Moore booed as he slams Iraq war at Oscars

Write to your Ambassador at the United Nations via Greenpeace’s form (more info).
I added this to my letter: “In the past week, my pride in my country’s commitment to its traditional values of fairness and independence has been diminished. Australia’s support for the United States’ action without a UN mandate will be a permanent stain on our history.”

Somehow I made it to the V&A today to check out the Propaganda posters and Adventures of Hamza exhibits. Both were worth it.
The Adventures of Hamza included some surprisingly powerful women,. I was particularly impressed with Mihrdukht, who was like a proactive version of the Penelope of Greek myth. It’s weird to see the same ‘woman uses tricks to delay choosing a suitor’ meme in such different story-telling traditions. The Smithsonian Institute also has an online exhibit about Hamza.

On my to-do list today: stock up on tinned food, batteries and water, as per the government’s instructions in case of an attack on London. Not that I think it’ll happen, but what kind of a fool would I feel if I didn’t?

http://notinourname.org.au/: “The ‘Not In Our Name’ register will act as an historical record of those Australians who do not support an attack on IRAQ by Australia without UN approval.”

And now, some good news – BBC: “The US Senate has narrowly rejected a plan to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.
The defeat is a major setback for President George Bush’s administration, which had insisted that oil exploration in the 19m acre (7.7m hectare) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would help safeguard America’s supply of energy.”

Go read MichaelMoore.com‘s “Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War”

An Odd Spot I missed at the time: “A $NZ200,000 ($A184,179) dispute between two New Zealand telephone companies has been resolved in an unusual out-of-court settlement – a best-of-three arm-wrestling match between the chief executives.”

BBC: “Country superstars the Dixie Chicks have been dropped from many US radio playlists after one of the singers criticised President Bush’s stance on Iraq. Airplay for the group’s songs is down 29% on country stations, and 20% on general music stations around the country, a monitoring group has said.”
Imagine all those country music fans across American throwing little tanties.