what will they do for us...
I am just amazed at how things are prioritized in the U.S. sometimes;
today I went to several “news” sites and for the most part, the top
three headlines read: “Fallujah Bombed,” “Supreme Court Hears Cheney Case”
and “Halle Berry To Divorce Eric Benet.” WHAT? How the hell does an
actress’ divorce make it up that high on the news ladder? That story was
posted above other stories like “Army Helicopter Vanishes,” and “Energy
Crisis Continues.” I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but it seems that
kind of news just doesn’t need to be categorized with other news about
death, invasion of privacy, political conspiracy, military operations,
etc.
Adhering to the theme of solutions to the crisis in Iraq, this PRE is
by renowned political author Howard Zinn and was taken from
www.commondreams.org. The title sums up the gist of the article and Zinn addresses
some extremely pressing and interesting points - a worth while read to
say the least.
What Do We Do Now?
by Howard Zinn
Published in the June, 2004 issue of The Progressive
It seems very hard for some people--especially those in high places,
but also those striving for high places--to grasp a simple truth: The
United States does not belong in Iraq. It is not our country. Our presence
is causing death, suffering, destruction, and so large sections of the
population are rising against us. Our military is then reacting with
indiscriminate force, bombing and shooting and rounding up people simply
on "suspicion."
Amnesty International, a year after the invasion, reported: "Scores of
unarmed people have been killed due to excessive or unnecessary use of
lethal force by coalition forces during public demonstrations, at
checkpoints, and in house raids. Thousands of people have been detained
[estimates range from 8,500 to 15,000], often under harsh conditions, and
subjected to prolonged and often unacknowledged detention. Many have
been tortured or ill-treated, and some have died in custody."
The recent battles in Fallujah brought this report from Amnesty
International: "Half of at least 600 people who died in the recent fighting
between Coalition forces and insurgents in Fallujah are said to have been
civilians, many of them women and children."
In light of this, any discussion of "What do we do now?" must start
with the understanding that the present U.S. military occupation is
morally unacceptable.
The suggestion that we simply withdraw from Iraq is met with laments:
"We mustn't cut and run. . . . We must stay the course. . . . Our
reputation will be ruined. . . ." That is exactly what we heard when, at the
start of the Vietnam escalation, some of us called for immediate
withdrawal. The result of staying the course was 58,000 Americans and several
million Vietnamese dead.
"We can't leave a vacuum there." I think it was John Kerry who said
that. What arrogance to think that when the United States leaves a place
there's nothing there! The same kind of thinking saw the enormous
expanse of the American West as "empty territory" waiting for us to occupy
it, when hundreds of thousands of Indians lived there already.
Read the rest at this link
http://epitaph.com/news/article.php?id=1293
thats a good article and i liked it so i thought i would share it with all of you.
ANYWAY my birthday is in 11 days and thats super rad but im tired my allergies are killing my my feet hurt and i have to take a shower maybe
love peace unity
KIAH
today I went to several “news” sites and for the most part, the top
three headlines read: “Fallujah Bombed,” “Supreme Court Hears Cheney Case”
and “Halle Berry To Divorce Eric Benet.” WHAT? How the hell does an
actress’ divorce make it up that high on the news ladder? That story was
posted above other stories like “Army Helicopter Vanishes,” and “Energy
Crisis Continues.” I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but it seems that
kind of news just doesn’t need to be categorized with other news about
death, invasion of privacy, political conspiracy, military operations,
etc.
Adhering to the theme of solutions to the crisis in Iraq, this PRE is
by renowned political author Howard Zinn and was taken from
www.commondreams.org. The title sums up the gist of the article and Zinn addresses
some extremely pressing and interesting points - a worth while read to
say the least.
What Do We Do Now?
by Howard Zinn
Published in the June, 2004 issue of The Progressive
It seems very hard for some people--especially those in high places,
but also those striving for high places--to grasp a simple truth: The
United States does not belong in Iraq. It is not our country. Our presence
is causing death, suffering, destruction, and so large sections of the
population are rising against us. Our military is then reacting with
indiscriminate force, bombing and shooting and rounding up people simply
on "suspicion."
Amnesty International, a year after the invasion, reported: "Scores of
unarmed people have been killed due to excessive or unnecessary use of
lethal force by coalition forces during public demonstrations, at
checkpoints, and in house raids. Thousands of people have been detained
[estimates range from 8,500 to 15,000], often under harsh conditions, and
subjected to prolonged and often unacknowledged detention. Many have
been tortured or ill-treated, and some have died in custody."
The recent battles in Fallujah brought this report from Amnesty
International: "Half of at least 600 people who died in the recent fighting
between Coalition forces and insurgents in Fallujah are said to have been
civilians, many of them women and children."
In light of this, any discussion of "What do we do now?" must start
with the understanding that the present U.S. military occupation is
morally unacceptable.
The suggestion that we simply withdraw from Iraq is met with laments:
"We mustn't cut and run. . . . We must stay the course. . . . Our
reputation will be ruined. . . ." That is exactly what we heard when, at the
start of the Vietnam escalation, some of us called for immediate
withdrawal. The result of staying the course was 58,000 Americans and several
million Vietnamese dead.
"We can't leave a vacuum there." I think it was John Kerry who said
that. What arrogance to think that when the United States leaves a place
there's nothing there! The same kind of thinking saw the enormous
expanse of the American West as "empty territory" waiting for us to occupy
it, when hundreds of thousands of Indians lived there already.
Read the rest at this link
http://epitaph.com/news/article.php?id=1293
thats a good article and i liked it so i thought i would share it with all of you.
ANYWAY my birthday is in 11 days and thats super rad but im tired my allergies are killing my my feet hurt and i have to take a shower maybe
love peace unity
KIAH