A Horseman's Christmas: Doris Eraldi

It's the night before Christmas, we're out in the barn
Blanketing horses to keep them all warm
They're eating their dinners, tucked in cozy stalls
Not aware that it's Christmas or any special day at all

They can dream of spring pastures from their pine-scented beds
No visions of sugarplums dance in their heads
But we people are thinking of merry parties and such
Maybe feeling a little sad at missing so much

This season is special but the horses don't know
We've got work to do before we can go
We finish the chores and head on inside
To get ready for dinner and our own yuletide

It's nearly midnight, the carols are sung
I remember a story I was told when I was young
How at midnight on Christmas Eve
The creatures of the barnyard can speak to us with ease

I am called to the barn, I wade through the rain
I know I must go, I can't really explain
I slide open the door, pause for a while
Then slowly walk down that dully lit aisle

A nicker from Casey, a wink from JD
Sleepy old Alibi waking to see
Tucker rustling his bedding, a snort soft and light
Each horse gave a greeting as I walked through the night

I thought about parties bright lit and warm
The one s we don't go to 'cause we have the barn
And vacations and holidays that we don't get
When we're working long hours for bills to be met

Walking all the way to the end of the aisle
I stop to stroke Bonnie, it brings me a smile
She snuffles my face, hot breath on my skin
It starts me to thinking about my horses, my kin

I could be at parties with laughter and mirth
But where I am right now is the best place on Earth.

Jaime Leigh Jones

I received the following email today from the political activist group MoveOn. I'm absolutely appalled.
___________________________________________________

Jamie Leigh Jones was a 20-year-old woman working in Iraq for a subsidiary of Halliburton when she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by several co-workers.

The next day, Halliburton told her that if she left Iraq to get medical treatment, she could lose her job.1

Jamie's story gets even more horrific: For the last two years, she's been asking the US government to hold the perpetrators accountable. But the men who raped her may never be brought to justice because Halliburton and other contractors in Iraq aren't subject to US or Iraqi laws. They can't be tried for a crime in any court.2

This is one of the most disturbing stories we have come across in a while. We're calling on Congress to investigate Jamie's case, hold those involved accountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law so this can't happen again. If hundreds of thousands of us speak out against this outrageous story, we can force Congress to take action.

When you get an email from us, it doesn't usually include a graphic description of a brutal attack. But when we heard this story, we knew we had to do something about it.

Here's how Jamie described what happened after the attack:

I awoke the next morning in the barracks to find my naked body battered and bruised. I was still groggy from whatever had been put in my drink. I was bleeding... After getting to the clinic and having a rape kit performed...I was locked in a container with no food, no way to call my parents, and was placed under armed guard by Halliburton.3

Jamie's attackers aren't the only ones exploiting a legal loophole to get away with their violent crimes. Another female employee of Halliburton says she was raped by her co-workers in Iraq.4 Employees of Blackwater, another private contracting firm in Iraq, were accused of killing innocent Iraqi civilians, and that incident turned into an international scandal. Worst of all, they may never be punished.5

Private contractors in Iraq are making massive amounts of money, operating above the law and are accountable to no one. This has to stop.

Congress needs to act now to bring these contractors under the rule of law. If they don't, nothing will prevent a case like Jamie's from happening again. No man or woman working in Iraq should have to fear that they can be attacked without consequences.

Please sign on to the petition: "Congress must investigate the rape of Jamie Leigh Jones and others, hold those involved accountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law." Clicking below adds your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/contractors_accountable/o.pl?id=11800-8222761-uT7GSo&t=4

Thanks for all you do,

–Nita, Wes, Karin, Marika, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Friday, December 14th, 2007

Sources:

1. "Halliburton hit in rape lawsuit," New York Daily News, December 11, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3274&id=11800-8222761-uT7GSo&t=6

2. "Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR," ABC News, December 10, 2007
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=3977702

3. Jamie's Journal, The Jamie Leigh Foundation
http://www.jamiesfoundation.org/Jamie.htm

4. "Female ex-employees sue KBR, Halliburton—report," Reuters, June 29, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3275&id=11800-8222761-uT7GSo&t=7

5."Blackwater Probe Narrows Focus to Guards," Associated Press, December 8, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3276&id=11800-8222761-uT7GSo&t=9

___________________________

Feel free to go sign the petition and forward to others that you know. If you want more information visit Jamie's Foundation. If you want to read her personal account of the horrors she has been going through fighting for her rights, you can read her journal.

St. Lucia Day

Today is St. Lucia Day, still widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries. I didn't have time to make "Lussekatter" (Lucia cat's) which are "Saffransbullar's" (saffron buns) shaped into cats. So I made "Pepparkakor" (gingersnaps) for the first time. Some of them turned out snappier than others, but they are all quite tasty.

I wasn't as fancy with my shapes, I just did traditional, round, gingersnaps.

Update!

You will be happy to see that I am trying to add labels to posts so that it will be easier to find old posts (for those of you that might be so inclined). It's not perfect, I'll try to make them more detailed from now on, but at least most of the old ones have some kind of title associated with them now, there's still a few I have to finish.

We're trying to have a snowstorm here. We got a couple inches last night, now the sun is out. Finally we've gotten rid of the brown mud, dead brown grass, dry brown leaves, empty brown flowerbeds...you get the point.

For an update on our adventures during American Thanksgiving check out Andrew's Blog. I trust him to do a better job at portraying the humor in our potentially dangerous mishap.