(9 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
by David Swanson this morning…
The occupied government of Afghanistan and the United Nations have both concluded that U.S.-led troops recently dragged eight sleeping children out of their beds, handcuffed some of them, and shot them all dead. While this apparently constitutes an everyday act of kindness, far less intriguing than the vicious singeing of his pubic hairs by Captain Underpants, it is at least a variation on the ordinary American technique of murdering men, women, and children by the dozens with unmanned drones.
Also this week in Afghanistan, eight CIA assassins (see if you can find a more appropriate name for them) were murdered by a suicide bombing that one of them apparently executed against the other seven. The Taliban in Pakistan claims credit and describes the mass-murder as revenge for the CIA’s drone killings. And we thought unmanned drones were War Perfected because none of the right people would have to risk their lives. Oops. Perhaps Detroit-bound passengers risked theirs unwittingly.
The CIA has declared its intention to seek revenge for the suicide strike. Who knows what the assassination of sleeping students was revenge for. Perhaps the next lunatic to try blowing up something in the United States will be seeking revenge for whatever Obama does to avenge the victims (television viewers?) of the Crotch Crusader. Certainly there will be numerous more acts of violence driven by longings for revenge against the drone pilots and the shooters of students.
In a civilized world, the alternative to vengeance is justice. Often we can even set aside feelings of revenge as long as we are able to act so as to deter more crime. But at the same time that the puppet president of Afghanistan is demanding the arrest of the troops who shot the handcuffed children, the puppet government of Iraq is facing up to the refusal of the United States to seriously prosecute the Blackwater assassins of innocent Iraqis. Justice will not be permitted as an alternative to vengeance — the mere idea is anti-American.
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here…
have already occurred and will occur that will never see the light of day?
When I was mistakenly overjoyed at the hypocrysy, the Orwellian in you face fuckwadianism of a peace prize for Obama. Well that moment was wasted on sheeple, zombinals, what, ever.
before shooting them?
But then the US military never claimed to be a part of the “reality-based community.”
Says it all. We are clearly losing our civilization as can be seen by the fetishization of vengeance in our mainstream culture.
Let’s be clear about where we are and who we are collectively. Let’s be clear that most Americans support vengeance and violent acts. Let’s understand why our voices and most voices for peace aren’t heard. Let’s understand that it isn’t just leaders who have devolved, it’s ourselves, our friends, our neighbors. Let’s be clear that we live in a culture that has turned vices into virtues, where “liberalism” is a curse and compassion is laughed at at least by the masses.
This past decade has convinced me that Democracy as a cultural artifact is doomed and unsustainable. Even if the system was not fixed (and it is) people would still be stirred up by the appeals to selfishness, chauvinism and, above all, fear. The only way forward may be to transform ourselves and others from the inside out.
in deliberately withholding this information.
Instead, they ramp up hatred and nothing else.
They are complicit, 100% in these crimes.
They are nothing but the propaganda outlet of a fascist government.
The last week of watching CNN has proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Welcome to the Fascist States of America.
I don’t say that lightly. I really don’t.
But that is what we now have.
What was that classic piece about how slowly the corn grows, written by a German during the rise of Nazi Germany? One day, you just realize the corn is over your head.
(crickets)
Flight 253 obvious set up.
http://www.sott.net/
Fruit of the Boom.
I read David Swanson’s* article early today and, I honestly had to go away and get away!
Years ago, I remember seeing “Dr. Strangelove,” with Peter Sellers. The movie had a lasting impact on me — just imagining how easy it would be for just one “crazy” person to raise his arm, in excitement at the prospect of “bombing!”
Now, we have a collective bunch of arms raised, in the excitement of bombing, maiming, killing — WAR! Our government is controlled by true psychotic, sociopathic, “suicidal”** people! The CIA, Cheney and the military, being the top psychotics, and then running down the line.
And, in these psychotic efforts, the American people will be drained of every last cent they have in order to perpetuate the continuance of WAR!
The murals at the Colorado International Airport, I have, despite the good art, ALWAYS found disturbing — particularly, this one.
*David Swanson, has it right — no young man, woman should go to these wars — on the other side of the coin, the marginalizing of so-called “middle-class” Americans, period, has almost assured that no young American, unless wealthy, has or seems to have much of a choice IN THIS COUNTRY!
**I use the word “suicidal” because, it is all too apparent that obsessional psychotic behavior of those in our government “cannot see the forest for the trees.” They will continue this pattern of “warring” on a contrived (propaganda) notion of the “war on terra” until the point when some country or countries will finally find a means of dropping some bombs on us for all our killing and destruction. Those in our government are, indeed, psychotic, if they cannot foresee the inevitable that will be reaped upon us by their illness.
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to here instead of Antemedius?
good – bravo.
a fresh diary up now at GOS, he links to this piece in London Times dated Jan 1 that has the headline: “Hamid Karzai demands US hand over gunmen who killed children”