I'LL COUNT RIVERS OVER YOU Mainly of interest to me would be the simple facts -- in the past six months, the site has had more than 9,000 visits, and 19,000 page hits. After doubling the daily averages, February settled into 163 daily hits. Statistics, damn statistics.

30 MILLION MORE ARMS AND LEGS Tomorrow marks the fourth anniversary of the Ottawa Convention, in which 131 countries agreed to the total elimination of anti-personnel mines. The Red Cross announced today that close to 30 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed -- and 44 of the signatory states will have destroyed their entire stockpiles by tomorrow. Why not contribute to the Adopt-A-Minefield program for my birthday? Save a life, save some cake.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASHCROFT The American Civil Liberties Union launched a series of ads this week taking Attorney General John Ashcroft to task for his continued push "for expanded surveillance and intelligence gathering powers" through the Department of Justice's latest wish-list of powers not granted in the 2001 USA Patriot Act. Earlier in the month, the ACLU ran an ad showing the creators of the Bill of Rights and decrying Ashcroft as an editor.

THREE STRIKES, NO OUTS? Odd to suddenly find myself being more pessimistic than David Ignatius, who sees hope in the three litmus tests he's laid out for the Bush administration to avoid the isolation it has been creating (and perpetuating) for two years. Ignatius says a strong Bush stance on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue, getting a majority vote on a second UN resolution regarding Iraq, and getting Russia on board in support of the U.S. vis-a-vis Iraq are the three keys. But if you read the headlines today, each is in peril.

Bush did make a strong speech this week about the future of the Middle East, as Ignatius notes. Unfortunately, buried in his speech was a strong indication that Bush frames the Palestinian issue the same way Ariel Sharon does -- let's not discuss the end of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories until the Palestinians make concessions. And the UN vote has become more questionable since Saddam Hussein made his most recent gesture toward disarmament; Iraq's penny-at-a-time approach is nibbling away at UN resolve on the issue, and the US-British resolution may pay the price for it. Finally, Russia's President Putin as much as said yesterday that he would use Russia's veto, if necessary.

There are the three strikes.

THE LINK BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE MoveOn.org has shown one thing -- no matter what Michael Powell and his FCC buddies do in regards to deregulating the media, there's a new game in communications these days. MoveOn organized hundreds of thousands of virtual marchers this week to fill the phone lines on Capitol Hill, and is now using the Internet to generate local funding for local ads protesting a possible war with Iraq.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, JOHNNY CASH "You may well scoff at Christian kitsch, but be on the lookout for "Hurt"; the video is loosely and beautifully made, and, by running the stark song up against set pieces and still-lifes of trinkets, it manages to make perishing kitsch stand in for end-of-life regrets."

STOP MAKING SENSE If you try to untangle clear motivations for a potential war with Iraq from Bush administration statements, you're in trouble. John Judis, however, filters the noise and serves up a slightly complex, but completely understandable, interpretation of his own. One of the better -- and briefer -- analysis pieces I've seen tackle the muddle which is the Bush Iraq policy.

A HUMAN SHIELD From Ruminate This: "Some people dream of being rock stars or Hemingway. Others aspire to lofty business goals: becoming the CEO of IBM or some such fancy outfit. Nowadays, prompted by the Armagedon Dreams of one George W. Bush, citizens around the world are responding to a new personal calling: human shield. They are arriving in Baghdad in protest of a war that should never be, and they are willingly putting their lives on the line in the hopes of preventing war. One wonders what makes a sane person put themselves directly in harms way. One would have to be nuts, no? ... meet Godfrey Meynell, a formerly decorated British military officer and longtime civil servant. His credentials are long and impressive, and Godfrey Meynell is no nutcase..."

RELAX. DON'T DO IT. "Singer George Michael, one of the most high profile celebrities to speak out about Iraq, has urged young pop stars to abandon plans for a new Band Aid-style charity song. Michael said today's chart stars were too manufactured and trivial for any song to carry weight. There were fewer credible artists around compared with when he took part in the original Band Aid with Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Sting and U2 in 1984, he has told the BBC's Hardtalk programme."

Not that I disagree entirely -- Justin Timberlake as the voice of reason and empathy? -- but is there anything more depressing than the old icons of pop lambasting the young boneheads of pop for trying to make a dollar off of current affairs? And George Michael, the Wise Old Man of Pop Politics? Crikey.

THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW So, how does the Bush rhetoric of the 2000 campaign square with the present reality? Terry Neal takes a stab at it this morning, and declares it poorly done.

Take the 2000 debate with Al Gore, where Bush said, "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be.'"

"This just shows that in the campaign they hyped any issue they could, first of all because they had convinced themselves that they were right," said [Leon] Fuerth, [Gore's foreign policy advisor] now a professor at George Washington University. "Back then, they felt that they had to tear down the Clinton/Gore policy to make up for the lack of experience that their own candidate had. That was then. This is now. This is the school of hard knocks."

Oops. Why can't reality be more a little more like reality television? That's what I bet Bush is wondering these days.

WASHINGTON, LOVEABLE WASHINGTON "New York has its financial geeks, and celluloid visions swan through the brains of swarms of Los Angelenos. But here in Policywonkdom, it's all about the history of ethnic conflict in Macedonia, or the state of civil liberties in the Information Age, or hydrogen fuel cells and U.S. energy independence. It's a city of brainiacs and militant readers, of many-degreed people who relish not the notion of a boozy night on the town, but a serene evening at home buried in a book. Devouring all of this text won't tax the liver, but it can exhaust the eyes and punish the back. Is there a model reading space? A perfect light? An unsurpassed chair?"

So begins an amazing little article in the Post that delves into the reading habits of the high and mighty, and tosses in some advice from the experts on what you should be considering when it comes to creating your own reading space. I'm with Carla Choen, co-owner of Politics & Prose bookstore: "Forget the separate room," she said. "When you are engrossed in a book, the exterior is irrelevant."

BUSH'S HOUDINI BUDGET First, it was the failure to set aside appropriations for Afghanistan in this year's budget. Then there was the aggressive approach to the AIDS crisis in Africa, which it turns out meant robbing the Global Fund to pay for Pax Americana. Now it seems the compassionate conservatives in the Bush administration who embraced AmeriCorps in last year's State of the Union address, and since, forgot to include funding for that program, as well. I suppose actions do speak louder than words.

A RARE EDITORIAL EXPLANATION The Washington Post editorial board steps out with a long, well-written and surprising piece, written in response to their many readers who have written the paper about its coverage of Iraq. The editorial team explains very clearly the boundaries that exist between the editorial and news rooms, the history of its stance on Iraq (dating back to 1991), and its rationale for supporting war today.

THE QUEEN IS DEAD After seven years -- six of them rather delicious and dorky -- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is going the way of the garlic eaters. Apparently timed to coincide with President Bush's attempt to bring about The Rapture, the cult hit will close out this season with a five-part climax. We can only hope that Xander finally dies.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER The International Crisis Group has published a report, "Iraq Policy Briefing: Is There an Alternative to War?" that looks at the options and consequences of four courses of action without weighing in on final conclusions. The options ICG lays out are: go to war now; set a new disarmament deadline; give more time to the inspectors; opt for an alternative strategy of stronger containment, deterrence and diplomacy.

YOU CAN RING MY BELL WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of a U.S. war against Iraq called and faxed their senators on Wednesday, paralyzing the telephone lines of many lawmakers for several hours.

POST DOT HOME After years of yearning -- and speculative rumors -- the Washington Post is landing on doorsteps throughout the Richmond area.

DEATH IN BAGHDAD There's an old tale about a man who flees Baghdad to escape Death:

A man was in the market in ancient Baghdad, where he saw Death make a threatening gesture toward him. The man was terrified. He ran to a friend and asked to borrow a horse, so he could escape to the city of Samarra. The friend lent him the horse, and soon after ran into Death. "Why did you make a threatening gesture toward my friend? He is a good man," he said. "I didn't make a threatening gesture," replied Death, "it was a gesture of surprise. I was surprised to see your friend in Baghdad, as I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra."

There are many versions of this tale, and there are many ways to calculate the civilian casualties that are certain to result from any war with Iraq. Fred Kaplan looks at two of the more public estimates circulating. Kaplan's key points in disputing the numbers are that the military does not currently plan to target infrastructure (which they did target in 1991 with tragic post-war results for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis), and that the administration's post-war plan will minimize deaths after the conflict ends. Whether 2,000 or 200,000 thousand people die, it will be a tragedy. And the greatest tragedy is how avoidable this will have been at any stage of the 12 year drama: in 1991 when the post-war settlement was reached, in 1999 when Clinton bombed Iraq but didn’t reach closure, at any time if Saddam Hussein had changed his tune, and over the past year of drum beating from the Bush hawks. Unlike the death of the man in Samarra, these deaths could have been avoided.

THE ADVERSORIAL IS CONSPIRATORIAL Woo. A treasure trove of pre-Dr. Seuss advertising work from Theodore Seuss Geisel -- read the intro, click on the company links to the left and definately peruse the larger images. I personally enjoyed the Ajax Cups ad, though the Flit bug powder is a snorkler: "This fortuitous cartoon depicts a medieval knight in his bed, facing an dragon who had invaded his room, and lamenting, 'Darn it all, another dragon. And just after I'd sprayed the whole castle with Flit.' "

PENNY RICH, POUND FOOLISH For sale: An invasion of Iraq. High risk venture, minimal returns. A variety of models to choose from, ranging from $60 to $95 billion dollars. Reconstruction extra. Financing available. See American taxpayers for details.

GOOD-BYE, PIONEER 10 It was made to last 21 months. In January, it apparently ended the reportable portion of a 31-year flight. Launched in March of 1972, Pioneer 10 was the first human-made object to pass the orbit of Pluto and at last contact was 7.6 billion miles from Earth. It should reach Aldebaran in two million years.

THE SCOOP ON BEEF Last week, I introduced you to the Cool2bReal website, which seeks to make BEEF the HIPPEST food product in America among the pre-teen set. Paul Ford looks behind the scenes at how the National Cattlemen's Beef Association worked their magic with the help of the marketing groovesters at Circle 1 Network:

Copywriter: [aside] What have I done? I am the Iago of nutrition!

Designer: I know I should feel guilty, but my salary allows me to buy name-brand aluminum furniture.

Art Director: when the economy is better, I will tithe 10 percent of my salary to PETA.

IT'S THE FRANTIC FEELING THAT SPRING WILL NEVER ARRIVE That's what I attribute Mimi's manic scribing to, and damn if I didn't just end that clause poorly.

VOICES CARRY A collection of photos from literally dozens of cities that hosted anti-war or pro-peace or whatever language you choose to use rallies several weeks ago. An image per city makes for a lot of photos.

INCENSED BY CENSORHSIP? I picked up the latest copy of Index on Censorship on a whim, and it was that good. Peruse the website for a glimpse into how media and governments and our own laziness contributes to closed conversations.

REMEMBER OUR 'ALLIES' IN PAKISTAN? Ah, spring is just around the corner and with it the strong possibility of a renewed Taliban offensive against American troops and international relief agencies in Afghanistan. The Taliban? Yes, you thought they were all gone. Maybe you want to ask President Musharaf about that.

SAVE US FROM OUR PAST Living in Richmond, Virginia, usually doesn't make you want to tear your beating heart from your chest and throw it in the James River. Until the Sons of the Confederacy start running their yaps. Fortunately, the City Council and the National Park Service learned to turn on the white noise generators, which means that a statue of President Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad will be dedicated as planned on April 5. Here's a sampling of the debate at last night's City Council gab-fest: " 'Lincoln waged war on unarmed civilians, namely the women and children of the Confederate States of America,' said Henrico County resident Walter Ring... 'He is known as the great emancipator, but he emancipated no one. A far better term for Abraham Lincoln would be the great segregator,' said Ron Doggett, Virginia president of the European American Unity and Rights Organization, which opposes affirmative action and what the group sees as discrimination against whites." Cuckoo. And thank you, Sa'ad El-Amin, the Council's lone bomb-thrower, for making sense once in your life: "The man saved us from hell. And I don't give a damn what motivated him."

A TALE OF TWO CITIES There are many ways to distinguish New York City and Washington, D.C. The Dickies versus the Bad Brains, for instance. Or Q and not U versus Interpol. Pointy sneakers versus tasseled loafers. Magazine-sponsored dance parties versus embassy cocktail hours. Or, you can just compare the subway systems.

EIGHT REASONS TO BE SMITTEN WITH MIMI SMARTYPANTS Yes, yes. It is a sign of a lazy lad to use textual infatuation as a way to avoid having to seriously delve into the nether regions of a world in crisis. But, you know, sometimes you've just got to let someone else take center stage. That, and my new iBook just arrived.

1. Today's analysis of the bit player from Sesame Street, one flaxen-haired doll named Prairie Dawn: "Don't get me started. There is something about that farm-fresh face and her porn-ready name that just makes me want to do unspeakable, degrading things to this little noseless whore. I can't even look at her picture without picturing her squirming and whimpering on some wet-and-messy plastic sheeting, while oiled studs and dominating bisexual brunettes with cruel smiles yank on her Heidi braids and---stopping this now before Jim Henson's ghost comes knocking on my virtual door. The end."
2. On arriving at a show to discover it was sold out: "Strangely, I had briefly considered buying tickets in advance, but decided against it because then I would be all locked in to going, and MIMI IS A ROLLING STONE, AIN'T NOTHING GOING TO BREAK-A HER STRIDE, OH NO, SHE'S GOT TO KEEP ON MOO-VING..."
3. "Sometimes I feel like I am in training to be someone's drunk and eccentric great-aunt."
4. "There was this one Little House on the Prairie episode where Laura's dog died, and somehow it was her fault or it happened through her negligence... It sent me into a deep depression for days at six years old..."
5. "I was very, very upset by the fact that the rabbit couldn't have any Trix. We are talking tears and unable-to-sleep upset. My mother told me that "after the commercial ended" the kids let the rabbit have Trix..."
6. "I still want to go see vegan straightedge hardcore bands and heckle them by tossing unlit cigarettes and handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese at them."
7."I decided I don't like constellations. It is cheating. It is not letting the stars have their individuality. You think a star wants to be part of Orion's belt? Get out of here with your Big Dipper bullshit."
8."KAVA KAVA KAVA KAVA KAVA"

THURSDAYS ARE MADE FOR ROCK Kate Bredimus loves the rock. Why else would she describe this Thursday's rare Hindu Affiliate emergence at Alley Katz so glowingly? Yep. Because they bleed the music. "Tucked away in a studio in some clandestine location in Richmond is a compelling band of sonic shapeshifters called Hindu Affiliate. Their music is like a love song to, er, music – an unfettered sweep through three-minute pop songs, dark instrumental passages, alt-country, and piano rock. It's kind of like if Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Steely Dan, Sonic Youth, and Sparklehorse cut an album together. Don't hate Hindu Affiliate for being good at it all. They were born that way."

ANTHONY SHADID LIVE Shadid is a solid reporter who stumbled -- almost literally -- into his new role as a foreign correspondant for the Washington Post. In the last few months, he's delivered some solid reporting that has managed to squeak some nuance from the region that was woefully lacking for a time in U.S. reporting. He presents some good perspectives from Cairo and the rest of the region in today's online chat at the Post.

DIAL 1-800-NO-TO-WAR That's the objective of the Virtual March on Washington this Wednesday -- more than a call a minute to elected officials in Washington to protest military action against Iraq. Visit MoveOn for details. The Boston Globe takes an interesting pass at the new tactics of the anti-war movement in this electronic age.

MIMI'S META MUPPETS Miss Smartypants ponders Sesame Street alliances. "9. Oscar the Grouch. Now we're talking. Me and Oscar, getting all kinds of punk rock fucked-up on amphetamines and malt liquor. We would watch skateboard videos on TV and then we'd get bored and kick in the TV screen and roll around in the shards a la Iggy Pop. It matters not because Oscar's got a whole closet full of motherfucking TVs. And a whole closet full of firearms. And a whole closet full of malt liquor. Later we have a Silly String fight, go for a ride on his elephant, generally trash his place. ROCK! Verdict: Yes."

THE U.N. SNICKERS AND EVERYONE CATCHES A LAUGH The U.N. Observer offers up comedian Andy Borowitz's recent news satire -- "President Saddam Hussein of Iraq dropped between one and two feet of snow on the Northeastern United States today, closing airports and creating hazardous driving conditions, President George W. Bush revealed. 'To those in the world who say that Mr. Saddam Hussein poses no threat, I’d ask you to take a look outside your window,' President Bush said in a White House press briefing this afternoon. 'It’s a freaking mess out there.' While President Bush offered no concrete evidence of a Saddam-snowstorm connection, he said that Secretary of State Colin Powell would be sharing satellite proof in the days ahead of a link between Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda, the blizzard, and the new ABC series entitled 'Are You Hot?' " Sheesh, everyone wants to take credit for snowstorms these days.

GRAMMY WHO KNEWS Hmph. Who knew that Norah Jones is the daughter of the legendary Indian music master Ravi Shankar? Probably all of you. Well, I can't say I'm sad that I missed 'N Sync's homage to the Bee Gee's at the Grammy's by going to see "The Quiet American." I probably could have passed on the bad Chinese food, too.

KENNETH POLLACK ON 'TALKING POINTS MEMO' Pollack's book, "The Threatening Storm," is close to being the only thing I read last year that provided a clear rationale for dealing militarily with Saddam Hussein. He sat down for a lengthy interview with Josh Marshall in January to discuss where things stand today, and again makes sense. Pollack remains firm in his conviction that Saddam Hussein needs to be dealt with, but he has large questions -- shared by many in the U.S. and overseas -- about the bungling of the Bush team, about the pacing, about the consequences, and about the issues we've neglected while dealing (badly) with the Iraq issue. It's a long interview, but worth reading. Here's Pollack on timing: "I've always felt that we had to go to war against Iraq sooner rather than later. But I didn't necessarily think it had to be this year. And there were always a whole bunch of things that I wanted to do to make sure that we were ready to go when we did go. But the problem that I face now is that I think we are so deep into this - we are so far down this road - that it is now or never. I think that if we don't go to war this time around I don't think we will ever go to war with Saddam Hussein until he's acquired nuclear weapons. And then he picks the time and place of going to war." And here he is on what's been left undone in the Middle East: "On the Middle East peace process I think they've singularly failed. They haven't even put out their road map. I think this is a big issue. And I think that if we have problems in the Middle East as a result of the war they will largely be because the administration refused to really engage on getting negotiations resumed between the Israelis and the Palestinians. And I think they've missed some real opportunities there."

DECODING YOUR COLOR ALERTS As in, "Orange Alert: Keep an eye out for dusky foreigners and free-thinkers."

READY DOT SPOOF I know everyone already has visited the www.ready.gov website to bone up on the Cold War era primers that Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge (aka "The World's Least Reassuring Spokesperson") is providing citizens for a nominal fee. If you feel you didn't get enough information there, try visiting the Idlewords site for important tips about biological, chemical, nuclear and radiation threats: "If a chemical weapon follows you home, try to act casual."