Damn, this journal is lively.

GENEVA - Torture in Iraq may be worse now than it was under Saddam Hussein, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on the humane treatment of prisoners, the U.N. anti-torture chief said Thursday.

Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special investigator on torture, made the remarks as he was presenting a report on detainee conditions at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay as well as to brief the U.N. Human Rights Council, the global body's top rights watchdog, on torture worldwide.

Reports from Iraq indicate that torture "is totally out of hand," he said. "The situation is so bad many people say it is worse than it has been in the times of Saddam Hussein."

Nowak added, "That means something, because the torture methods applied under Saddam Hussein were the worst you could imagine."

Some allegations of torture were undoubtedly credible, with government forces among the perpetrators, he said, citing "very serious allegations of torture within the official Iraqi detention centers."

"You have terrorist groups, you have the military, you have police, you have these militias. There are so many people who are actually abducted, seriously tortured and finally killed," Nowak told reporters at the U.N.'s European headquarters.

"It's not just torture by the government. There are much more brutal methods of torture you'll find by private militias," he said.

A report by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights office cited worrying evidence of torture, unlawful detentions, growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in "honor killings" of women.

Iraq's government, set up in 2006, is "currently facing a generalized breakdown of law and order which presents a serious challenge to the institutions of Iraq" such as police and security forces and the legal system, the U.N. report said, noting that torture was a major concern.

Nowak has yet to make an official visit to Iraq and said such a mission would be unfeasible as long as the security situation there remains perilous. He based his comments on interviews with people during a visit to Amman, Jordan, and other sources.

"You find these bodies with very heavy and very serious torture marks," he said. "Many of these allegations, I have no doubt that they are credible."

According to the U.N. report, the number of Iraqi civilians killed in July and August hit 6,599, a record-high that is far greater than initial estimates suggested, the U.N. report said Wednesday.

It attributed many of the deaths to rising sectarian tensions that have pushed Iraq toward civil war.

who's up for a summertime picnic sometime this week?

graduated with a degree in Global Studies
worked for a year or so on a cruise ship
gone to the peace corps for a couple of years
and started graduate school

remind me of this often

how did my speech go you ask? welllll since lindsay is dyinnnng to know. I started out really strong this week by first forgetting my one on one training session then showing up late to my other training session by like 20 minutes. whoa was I on a roll. Then they told me the line up for the Saturday Morning Session where'd I'd be speaking after the freaking minister of justice of fucking Boliva. yeah hard act to follow?...I think so. Yeah then my speech was like "um once I went to this conference on child labor" and she was like "when I was 13 working as a domestic I organized labor unions throughout Latin America and the Carribean" and I was like um owned dude. So yeah I gave my speech and shit...and surprise surprise they loved it (very surprising actually) I was giving autographs, taking pictures with fans, and some lady even gave me money um what? to quote a wise 16 year old from MTV once said "people like recognize me...I have a whole new respect for celebrities now" lol dude but for real the people love me. so yeah basically speech went well.

they wont let us log onto fucking myspace. which is the only reason I even came to their damn store. succcccky.

A little fun fact for ya: The Bible is the most stolen book in the world. oh the irony!

anyhow, after speaking briefly with georgina and genesis I've come to the conclusion I am much too self-centered and a little TOO laid back when it comes to noticing people around me.

Prime examples:
1) I don't remember Fiona...and I've gone to school with her since 2nd grade!!
2) I don't remember Sable...at all...let alone 'bullying' her.
3) Maddie went to Taylor?????

and so on and so on.

'and I heard them say...nothing's ever promised tomorrow, today.' -kayne and adam

it doesn't make sense but I know what they are trying to say. This song was stuck in my head this morning and it convinced me to finally go through with my 'squashing all drama' plan. yeah you don't know how hard it was to write those freaking emails. they basically said:

goal for 2006: no drama/grudges/hosility

Yeah I'm starting my new years resolution early.

friends?


so so difficult.I'm proud/surprised I actually went through with that.

Highlights of the night:
Throwing up a little in my mouth
Falling asleep for the end of Shopgirl

don't answer that I already know what purpose they serve however I would still like to murder them all. especially the ones bold enough to crawl on my computer.

I love how you can love a song for the simplest reasons
because the way the vocals sound on a certain part
or the way the artist phrases an idea
or how the instruments come together in perfect unison at a certain point.

I love how lyrics of a song can relate to any situation you're going through,
and how an artist can say to you 'I've been where you are now' just through a verse in a song.

And I love how an artist can paint such a vivid picture with their words and melody that you can picture the music video that should go along with it.

I love it. I love everything about it.

I always hear song lyrics and think that is such a good lyric I should make it my headline...however most of the time it doesn't fit so I decided...I'll write a journal that has my favorite lyrics in it and just keep updating the journal...sounds great to me. So I'll begin.

all of Split Screen Sadness by john mayer

'you ask me to sneak out of town for just a day or three, go to DC and hold hands publicly, cause they don't know you and they don't know me'-john legend

all of Little Moments by brad paisley

'and if you want love, we'll make it.'- john mayer

'you can blow out a candle but you can't blow out a fire'- can't remember the guy but from a song called Biko.

all of Why Georgia - John. (God I ♥ him)

all of My Stupid Mouth (Its somewhat biographical)

'when sky blue gets dark enough to see the colors of the city lights, a trail of ruby red and diamond white hits her like a sunrise.'- john.

'from mixed beats to techno beats its always heavy into everything.'- john

'didn't have a camera by my side this time, hoping I would see the world with both my eyes'-john

'I can't think cause you're on my mind and when you're on my mind I can't find any word that rhymes with the word rhyme I gotta rhyme rhyme with mixture...and speaking of mixture with you I wanna be mixed up. you're a record and I'm like a record so lets let the dj's mix us'-BEP

scared of the world outside you should go explore pull all the shades and wander the great indoors-john.

'why you think me and dame cool we assholes...thats why we hear your music and fast foward cause we don't wanna hear that weak shit no more.'- kanye.

'Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy's cliche',And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky, are next to mountains anyway'- john

'I'm swimming in a sea of faces trying to find my way to you but it's no use, in a crowded room where everybody wants you'- john

'check your pulse its proof that you’re not listening to the call your life’s been issuing you the rhythm of the line of idle days' -more john

yeah I'd make that dream a reality if I weren't so afraid of them. I swear to god one made a hissing noise at me today. I want to kill them all. Funny thing about that is I was walking by myself and the raccoon ran up to the garbage can near me and when I turned around it made a noise at me and I had the scared/angry reaction where my heart stopped temporarily and then I got mad and I said (out loud) god I fucking hate them all. Then I realized I was talking to myself.

it reminds me of where the red fern grows. I'll get me some hunting dogs.

I decided (after listening to various black eyed peas songs etc.) that life's too short to hold grudges and be petty. so yeah I've decided to make ammends with any assholes who have done me wrong haha, that, and apologize to some people who suck and I've been mean to.

although I already feel like backing out of this arrangement.We'll see how it goes.

Subject's pretty self-explanatory however if you need clarification. Its foggy as hell. It makes me want to kill myself. I walked out of my room and thought to myself, this is death weather. I should commit suicide.

LiveJournal may replace myspace as my new internet addiction. Could it be? MySpace is dying. However, you can still leave me comments.