“Doc, save his life.” chuckled an American soldier, standing over the dead and dying bodies of (reportedly) Iraqi militants, “Got a band-aid?” Disgusting. Not a single trace of honor in their behavior, which, incidentally, is a clear violation of the Geneva convention.
It’s been more than 11 long, bloody years, since the military industrial complex waged a so-called ‘war on terror’ in the Middle East. Yet, according to a classified document from the US Military, the Taliban and their Pakistani backers remain ‘poised to retake Afghanistan’ as soon as foreign troops withdraw.
For the sake of every life senselessly cut short, and for all of the precious treasure we’ve squandered, let us at least learn something from this: wars do not create peace and democracies cannot be built with bullets.
Unless we just want to keep lining the pockets of war-profiteers while reinforcing anti-West sentiment amongst radicals, we’d do well to retire the failed formula of a predominantly militarized approach.
Instead, we could look to methods that might actually work, like building up impoverished communities around the world so that they themselves can tackle the problem of extremism from within.
Makes sense, right? Goes to show what could happen if someone other than the gun-toting looneys gets to call the shots.
While last week’s final Iraq War death count highlights those most directly impacted by the US-led invasion, these figures leave untold yet another tale of woe: that of the 3.7 million newly created refugees.
Each time Uncle Sam ventures abroad he leaves an unfinished story, and nowhere is it most unfinished than the story of Iraq, where the tragedy caused by the United States occupation and inevitable abandonment is on an epic proportion.
Whether tyranny has been cast aside is questionable, but certainly cast aside are the people of Iraq. They have been displaced both internally and internationally and are now imperiled by the sin of our omission.
Lam goes on to show how Iraq is not the exception, but more like the rule:
A Theme of Betrayal: Uncle Sam left unwanted children in Vietnam known as con lai – mixed-race children — and it took years for them to come to the US, years in which many lived as abused and abandoned as children of the enemy. Uncle Sam also left tens of thousands of South Vietnamese allies to languish in re-education camps.
The costs of war far outweigh any gains, and the scars left behind can last for generations. Never has war been more unnecessary than it is right now. It is time we move ahead into the world of peace we know exists.
First up comes some piercing insights à la Joe Rogan et. al in one of the best Occupy compilations yet:
Next we enjoy the musical styling of crooner Frank Sinatra, sharing his classic tune ‘New York, New York’, accompanied by the striking visuals of people being struck by police in Zuccotti park last night.
Finally, a video from yours truly, made more than 5 years ago. (Yikes! What the hell was I smoking?) Well, the medium might lack but the message is pretty solid: if we want to do away with extreme poverty a great place to start is with extreme wealth.
First up is Joe Rogan’s take on the ham-handed police tactics used to suppress peaceful protesters. Bear in mind that it is Joe Rogan, meaning there is strong language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaRlQh4JlYs
Next, we see what happens when you give a bully free licence to brutalize people. In this case, it’s some power tripping riot officer, shooting a cameraman for absolutely no reason, other than the sick sadistic thrills the cop gets from hurting civilians:
Finally, here’s a chopper-cam view of the marches in Oakland, showing many tens of thousands of people in what was reported to be just one of three marches of similar size:
And we can’t have viewers all around the nation getting the same crazy notions, now can we?
But it doesn’t matter what the mainstream media does. People everywhere are rising up. The same revolutions that overthrew tyrants in the Arab World will continue to manifest themselves here in North America.
Pretty soon, the oligarchs who’ve stolen our political and financial systems will find themselves replaced with policies and people more favorable to the population as a whole.
The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN, where he decried the Palestinians unwillingness to negotiate a peace deal. Well, no shit, Benji – it’s kinda hard to work out a deal if you keep grabbing land from the people you’re negotiating with.
Oh great. Palestine is poised to become an official nation in the eyes of the international community, and Israel decides the best course of action is to usurp as much land as possible, while they still can.
Well, the Palestinian’s bid with the UN was supposed to move forward stalled peace talks. If Israel gets their way, there most certainly will be peace between Palestine and Israel, but only because Palestine no longer exists.
Are you sick of hearing about Israel’s continued human rights violations? Then do something about it!
If you’re hardcore, you could get involved with Freedom Flotilla III and attempt to break the naval blockade of Gaza. But if that seems a little much, then there are other things you can do.
And if none of these options suit you, then I guess you’ll just need to figure out how best to contribute to the movement towards a more just global civilization.
The Zionist Story is a full length, independent film by Ronen Berelovich, telling the story of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and apartheid in Israel to produce a demographically Jewish State.
If you’re looking for an alternative viewpoint to the one portrayed by the mainstream media, this film makes an excellent starting point.
