Category: antiwar

Fri, January 10, 2014

prisoner of war

Nguyá»n VÄn LÃ©m (referred to as Captain Báº£y Lá»p) (died 1 February 1968 in Saigon) was a member of the Viet Cong who was summarily executed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. The execution was captured on film by photojournalist Eddie Adams, and the momentous image became a symbol of the inhumanity of war.

On the second day of Tet, amid fierce street fighting, LÃ©m was captured and brought to Brigadier General Nguyá»n Ngá»c Loan, then Chief of the Republic of Vietnam National Police. Using his personal sidearm, General Loan summarily executed LÃ©m in front of AP photographer Eddie Adams and NBC television cameraman Vo Suu. The photograph and footage were broadcast worldwide, galvanizing the anti-war movement; Adams won a 1969 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph. (read more)

Labels: antiwar, death, execution, murder, photography, war

Tue, August 6, 2013

get involved…you live here

Labels: action, antiwar, corporations, corruption, eyes, fascism, government, lies, truth

Sat, August 3, 2013

war support betrays humanity

That’s what I googled to find the following.
A very well written piece entitled War Is Betrayal, by Chris Hedges, from July 01, 2012, on the Boston Review website. Link to the whole article is HERE.

Excerpt from the article, quoting Jessica Goodell in her 2011 book,
Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq:
“In a poignant passage, she talks about what it was like for her and a
fellow Marine named Miguel to come home and see all those yellow
ribbons:

Weâd frequently pass vehicles displaying the yellow ribbon âsupport-our-troops decal,â but we never once mentioned it. We probably passed a
hundred or more decalsâtwo hundred if you count the multiple decals
decorating the cars of the more patriotic motoristsâand yet neither of
us even once said, âLook, more support from the citizenry. Letâs give
the âthumbs upâ as we pass.â . . . I knew that these people on their way
to work or home or dinner had no idea what it was they were supporting.
They did not have a clue as to what war was like, what it made people
see, and what it made them do to each other. I felt as though I didnât
deserve their support, or anyoneâs, for what I had done. . . . No one
should ever support the people who do such things.”

Platoon action figures.

Yes, they are for real.

Labels: antiwar, Culture, war

Tue, June 26, 2012

Avant Garde

Avant Garde antiwar poster, circa 1967

Labels: antiwar, art, peace, protest

Mon, April 30, 2012

Sgt Bales vs War

Recent information blows my PTSD theory. Sgt Bales wasnât suffering the effects of multiple deployments. He re-upâd and saw the military as his calling. It sounds like a deliberate attack. I have a new theory. The only sane response to an irrational and life-threatening situation is to act in an equally irrational manner. U.S. soldiers are trained to fight with âdiscriminationâ and regard for civilian life. However, theyâre constantly put into battle with an enemy that fights without such civility. The Taliban are known to place little value on the lives of civilians. The Afghan people live in fear of the Taliban, but the Taliban are there all the time and they know theyâll continue being there after weâre gone. They side with them out of necessity. As a result, U.S. soldiers are operating in a region â..riddled with mistrust and hostility.â In an effort to deprive Taliban fighters of cover, U.S. soldiers routinely bulldoze houses, orchards, and farms. This fuels more hostility. As a result, residents regularly assist the Taliban. They help plant IEDâs and U.S. soldiers often find bomb-making material in their homes. The war in Afghanistan has put our troops in an un-winnable situation. I deplore the killing of innocent women and children (any killing for that matter) ..but the civilian population is harbouring and assisting the enemy and the Taliban have no problem getting their compliance out of the barrel of a gun. This is no doubt the case in the Panjwayi district where Sgt Bales and his squad were operating. Perhaps the only way Sgt Bales felt he could deliver a message of strength was to act with equal ruthlessness. Itâs been seen before. During the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, orders were given to shoot civilians âThey’re all V.C., now go and get themâ [ link ]. Instead of prosecuting Sgt Bales, perhaps itâs the U.S. war in Afghanistan that should stand trial.

Labels: antiwar, bill

Tue, May 3, 2011

The Battle for Tomorrow – special offer

âTeen fights for equality in power-packed novelâ

My new book (a novel) went up on Amazon today. Itâs about a sixteen- year-old girl who participates in the blockade and occupation of the US Capitol.

As the story begins, Angela Jones is the primary caretaker of her invalid mother. Having taken on the responsibilities of an adult, she is still treated as a child by law. A 23-year-old political activist opens her eyes to the urgent issues facing humanity, including the sinking economy and catastrophic climate change, problems that will have devastating consequences for Angeâs future.

Ange is arrested during the protest and winds up in a juvenile detention facility. While there, she finds herself fighting for the right to live independently, in opposition to laws that require her to be released to a parent or guardian.

Living overseas has really highlighted for me the massive age discrimination experienced by US teenagers. In most developed countries the school leaving age is 16, also the age when most working class youths get full time jobs and move into their own flats and apartments. In many countries, sixteen-year-olds (as full fledged taxpayers) are allowed to vote. I blog about this at http://stuartbramhall.aegauthorblogs.com/2010/07/17/election-2010-lowering-the-voting-age/

I suspect The Battle for Tomorrow will be controversial because it talks frankly about teen sexuality, contraception and abortion. Americans donât believe in talking about sex to teenagers, which may be the reason the US has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 43% of girls and 39% of boys have had sex by age 18 (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_024.pdf).

I believe The Battle for Tomorrow will be the 21^st century Catcher in the Rye, only the hero is a sexually active female and the action takes place in the streets of Washington DC.

To celebrate my new book, I am offering a 2 for 1 offer (expires May 14th) â a free ebook version of The Battle for Tomorrow with purchase of new, used or ebook version of my memoir The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee. Email receipt to stuartbramhall@yahoo.co.nz for coupon code for a free download.

Links for The Most Revolutionary Act

(winner of 2011 Allbooks Review Editorâs Choice Award):

New and used print copies: Amazon

ebook (all formats) for $5.99:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/55477

Links for The Battle for Tomorrow

softcover $18.95: www.thebattlefortomorrow.com

ebook (all formats) $5.99: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51531

Link to audio file of Battle for Tomorrow (Chap 1)

http://tinyurl.com/3sksxwj