I wrote today’s date in my date book and suddenly it clicked — 11/11, Veterans Day. I knew that it was Veteran’s Day, but somehow I didn’t know it. I had forgotten what it meant. So I opened a book and then I remembered — “acres of dead.” That kind of put things in perspective for me.
An Element of Racism?
While it would be expected for Western media to report fully on civilian life taken in the Ukraine by the military of US designated enemy Russia, and for CIA managed Western media[1] to avoid reporting civilian loss of life caused by US/NATO military throughout the Third World, people in Asia, Africa, MiddleEast and Latin America are surly noticing an element of racism with so much media attention given White European lives lost reminding them of the complete absence of compassionate media coverage of the millions of civilian lives lost by peoples of skin of various hues of color during the many US led neocolonialist wars in their nations since the Second World War.
There’s a funny skit on the Don’t Crush That Dwarf album by Firesign Theatre in which two tv news anchors banter about the apocalypse. “Last year, Patty, you and the viewers will be interested in noting that the world ended.” To which his partner replies, “As we know it, Hugh!”
This is kind of what’s happened to us. The world, as we knew it, has ended and now we’re in a new world, feeling less than brave, and facing all four Horseman of the Apocalypse at the same time. For people who’ve been living in the virtual world for most of the last two decades, waking up and discovering that the real world that we were counting on is going, going, gone, the whole flaming mess we’re in must seem like a bridge too far. How could we have gotten to this?
Thanks to the heroic efforts of journalists risking their lives in war zones, the world is able to see the human tragedy of mankind‘s worst behavior. Coverage of the war in Ukraine has been exceptional and the continued work of journalists is a critical factor in any movement toward a cease-fire or the end of the war.
Among the many tragedies unfolding is that of a lack of access to timely medical care for people with chronic diseases that require drugs and treatment on an ongoing basis. Diabetes comes to mind because, without insulin, type1 diabetics can die. It is that simple.
The polls so-far don’t look too good for Trump’s re-election.
His ego will not accept a defeat. He WILL go to extreme measures to prevent this.
One extreme measure might be a war.
The anti-war and anti-US-meddling wings of all parties should be very happy today. John Bolton, the evil warmonger who has been Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor for the past year and a half has just exited the White House, stage right. Trump fired him, says Trump. I quit, says Bolton. Who cares? He’s gone and the world feels slightly less scary as a result.
Martin Luther King deserves being the only American whose birthday is celebrated with a three day holiday, but not only as the successful US civil rights movement’s leader, but even more for having been martyred confronting the American killing machine at its source, investors in military atrocities, covert violence and predatory finance.
Around this time of year, it’s common to hear the phrase “Peace on earth,” which is what the angels reputedly said to the shepherds out abiding in the fields. “Peace on earth, good will to men,” they sang in glorious harmony. They were heralding the coming of the prophet Jesus, who was foretold to be the Prince of Peace. Christianity seems to have arisen out of a desire for peace — the absence of war, the presence of good will amongst humans. It was deemed so important that this soon to be major religion was founded in part on these corniest of virtues, peace and love.
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” was a phrase made popular by Carl Sagan.
We need to modify this phrase to suit our current situation: “Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary action”
Demonstrations alone are insufficient. We need a mass civil disobedience campaign. We need to shut down the operations of the government in order to gain their attention.
Lies have always been used to sell war to a public that would otherwise be leery about sending their sons off to fight and die.
That is why every major conflict is now accompanied by its own particular bodyguard of lies. From false flag attacks to dehumanization of the “enemy,” here are some facts to help debunk a century of war lies.
