Terrorism is the war of the poor,
and war is the terrorism of the rich
…Sir Peter Ustinov…
Category: war
In these past ten years or so we in Ireland, North and South, have been enjoying a stable and hopefully lasting peace. The thirty years of conflict, bloodshed and loss of life are more or less over. (It ended in the early to mid-nineties of the last century) Yet, as peace-makers we can never become too complacent, because there is much hatred and bitterness North of our border. Now, I am not saying for a minute that our brothers and sisters in the North of Ireland have a monopoly of these two vices – far from it. I readily admit that there is not a little hatred and bitterness in the hearts of some South of the border. However, statistics show that the North of Ireland is an extremely racist country. A report recently declared that some 20 or so Romanian people of the Roma ethnic minority had to flee back to their homeland because they had literally been burnt out of their homes. I am old enough to remember such happening in the Catholic areas of the North of Ireland in the early to mid 1960s. So, all people of good will, North and South of the border, and, indeed, all people of good will everywhere must be peace-makers with a deep compassion for all our fellow human beings! There is too much conflict in the world today – and there probably always was – but in these more enlightened days let’s be conflict breakers or conflict busters.
Sadly religions of all hues have been more often than not repositories, and indeed often promoters, of hate and bitterness. Anywhere in the world where there is inter-national and indeed intra-national war oftentimes religion or interpretations of that phenomenon lie at its heart. We have to go beyond religion and find a spiritual ground or baseline – the only solid foundation for intra and inter-national peace. With these thoughts in mind I offer here some words from the wonderful Dalai Lama on the matter of the difference between Religion and Spirituality:
I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another–an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit–such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
From “The Pocket Dalai Lama,” edited by Mary Craig, 2002. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.
- Labels: belief, compassion, dalai lama, enlightenment, humanity, love, non-violence, peace, religion, spirituality, together, violence, war
Cover art for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.#33.
Art by Adi Granov. Marvel Comics.
War Machine (James Rupert Rhodes) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from the Marvel Comics universe. The character first appeared in Iron Man #118 (January 1979). Jim Rhodes, who became War Machine was introduced by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. The War Machine armor and character was designed by Len Kaminski and Kevin Hopgood.
James “Rhodey” Rhodes as the War Machine is one of the good guys, unlike the real war machine, the global arms manufacturers and the military-industrial complex.
Quote from President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell address:
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
[The following is an excerpt from stopthewarmachine.org]
In his 1961 Farewell address President Dwight Eisenhower warned us of a rogue military-industrial complex (MIC). Ike said the post-World War II MIC had the potential to destroy our democracy and world peace.
We look around at the loss of our civil liberties, rising inequality and the wars we fight abroad every year with our huge one-and-a-half million military forces that are stationed on every continent and in every ocean and it appears Eisenhower was correct. No other county spends as much of its wealth on the war machine as us. No other country has a global military presence that even begins to match ours.
Why do we need such a large a standing army? Some people suggest we had a military coup in our country hidden behind the ’50s Cold War rhetoric and that now the war on terrorism is being used to create a global empire for the MIC.
Bob Anderson for the Committee to Stop the War Machine 2/21/03
- Labels: above top secret, arms trade, big brother, control, war
johnny got his gun and became a
rude full-scale joke
if he was awake or dreaming
what makes you so sure you’re not dreaming?
This is what the rest of the world sees
when they look at U.S.
- Labels: arms trade, big brother, fear, slavery, violence, war
War…..
is a cowardly escape
from the problems of peace
…Thomas Mann…
Teach your children well
(Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)
Our eyes are opening, as all is very unclear, there are lies, damn lies and things we may never know the truth about but what we can see, what is becoming clearer and clearer is that there is a plan, a thirst for power and you and I are not part of it! There is clearly a conspiracy that has been going on, possibly since the beginning of time, we may have been genetically engineered we are certainly being manipulated through propaganda and thought control.
We have looked and can see who are in the higher echelons of power, who has a vested interested in promoting thought control of the masses. Several families are implicated, these families are obsessed with blood lines and some, notably the Bushesâ and the Windsorâsâ are inbred to the point of idiocy, why they have inflicted this inbreeding on their own families is open to conjecture. I for one am glad that my genes come from entirely different stock!
The picture as is unfolding is hideous, huge, corrupt and nasty, it is hard to comprehend the true crimes against humanity that have been committed here, people have suffered and died, and still are, even we westerners have been lied to, stolen from, murdered, our souls, our spark of divine light has been corrupted and we have been taught to believe we are unworthy, our minds have been confused muddled and taught lies and propaganda as if it was the truth.
So letâs take a step back and holding our shock and horror down look at this as if we were not the victims of a dangerous and dirty game, lets look as if we ourselves are aliens, gods, divine beings from another place, there has been underhandedness and trickery on a scale that is hard to imagine from a sane and lucid perspective so letâs take a step back from the emotion and look coldly and clearly.
Who are the real slaves here? Who have been deprived of their humanity by a breeding programme that they have only occasionally tried to inflict upon us? Who are ruled by a psychopathic master? They have it all these families, all the money all the power, we are fooled into believing that oligarchy is democracy, drugged by the opiates of hope and by TV screens that as Orwell predicted tell us what to feel and when to feel it. But we can free our minds by an effort of will, of understanding.
We are thinking, feeling human beings, and they have weaknesses, they are scared themselves, and they have no imagination that has been bred out of them, did George W Bush have any choice himself whether to be president or not? Once he was president did he have any choice about what to say, how to act? Does he have empathy for his fellow man? Is he enslaved by a system that tries to enslave humanity?
They are clearly then not the masters of their own destiny, they have weaknesses, and one of them was clearly spoken while Bush was president
âBush does not like black peopleâ
Why not? Are black people harder to manipulate, more likely to form their own opinions? Is that why black people in the US have been targeted time and again by the powers that be? Maybe they have more soul, keep a tighter hold of their own divinity and can see through a lie more clearly that white people.
There are other clues as well to their weaknesses, they donât like to be mocked to be the but of jokes, they clearly thrive on hate pain and division, and donât thrive on laughter and joy and fun, even children are not allowed to create merry hell any more, but are drugged with Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs, we Brits are a lot less reverent than other nations may believe, we take hardly anything seriously, when Diana died there were jokes the next day in the pub, when Londoners were murdered in the tube there were jokes about that too.
Can it be that humour, real humour, laughing out loud, fun and joy of life can also cut through their mind control? Iâm not sure but I think so, the energy from joy is much different from the energy from pain. These are proud and arrogant individuals, could they cope with being mocked, laughed at, and jeered at? At least it will make us feel better to have a laugh!
They have other weaknesses to, weaknesses that through their own secrecy have grown to monstrous proportions, thatâs what we have to focus on, look at. be aware of. They fall apart under the cameras too; last week in the UK is became illegal to take a picture of a policeman! I feel sure there is a weakness there, maybe the camera will show them for what they really are, show them in a way that our human eyes would never let us believe.
Keep looking, keep listening, the battle hasnât even begun yet, but when it does we need to know their weaknesses, need to see through the lies and propaganda, need to be armed with love, humour and joyâ¦â¦â¦â¦.
- Labels: big brother, joy, love, slavery, war
The Predator B
General Atomics
new and improved
MQ-9 “Reaper”
robot warfare is here
- Labels: arms trade, big brother, execution, terrorism, war
In the councils of government,
we must guard against the acquisition
of unwarranted influence, whether sought
or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced
power exists and will persist. We must never let the
weight of this combination endanger our liberties or
democratic processes. We should take nothing for
granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable
citizenry can compel the proper meshing
of the huge industrial and military
machinery of defense with our
peaceful methods and goals,
so that
security
and liberty
may prosper
together.
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the Nation, 01.17.61
- Labels: arms trade, big brother, fear, terrorism, war
Post Guernica now!
plaster it on all the walls,
on freeway billboards, schools,
work spaces, churches, and restrooms.
it moves the bowels in a most agreeable manner,
the smell of shit brings one down to earth again.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
- Labels: art, death, humanity, perspective, war
I am a……..prisoner of war…….you too…….are a prisoner of war.
Racism…….poverty…….and war……..what a waste of time………think what we could do with all the money we’ve spent on bombs and guns and bullets and tanks and rockets and plutonium and aircraft and warships and submarines and torpedoes and mines and flamethrowers and grenades and cannons and bayonets and bare hands and……….flesh.
When I stated that we will be better off when we finally put an end to all war forever…….a friend of mine said……”that would be impossible”………..I remember thinking………I don’t believe that.
- Labels: arms trade, racism, slavery, war
What is
the most
important thing?
The most
important thing…
is the “Family of Man”
You terrorists deserve to die
You, who fight for freedom
Defend your tattered nation
Demand fair trade, a border crossing
Water, food, and band-aids for your kids
You all deserve to die
Never mind the fence around you
Look away from smoking craters
You donât need a gun to save you
Nor vests to stop the bulletsâ path
Bow down before our Lord
His vengeance is your death
You all deserve to die
No holy land for you
Sovereign nation you are not
We would enslave you if we could
Spit upon your open graves
Rid the world of your disease
You all deserve to die
We are the victims here, you see
Five soldiers dead
Nuisance dud-bombs tickling our empty land
Our allies give us guns
Then tell us not to shoot
(Too often)
Or, if we do, act like it was you, because
You all deserve to die
War
is a cowardly escape
from the problems of Peace
…….Thomas Mann…….
- Labels: arms trade, peace, science, war
Terrorism is the war of the poor……
and war is the terrorism of the rich.
……Sir Peter Ustinov……
Blackwater’s owner and founder Erik Prince, was an intern in George H. W. Bush’s White House. Prince is a major financial supporter of Republican Party causes and candidates. Cofer Black, the company’s current vice chairman, was director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center (CTC) at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001. After leaving public service, Black became chairman of the privately owned intelligence gathering company Total Intelligence Solutions, Inc., as well as vice chairman for Blackwater.
During his testimony before Congress, when the term
“mercenaries” was used to describe Blackwater employees, Prince objected, characterizing them as “loyal Americans”.
A Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff report, based largely on internal Blackwater e-mail messages and State Department documents, describes Blackwater as “being staffed with reckless, shoot-first guards who were not always sober and did not always stop to see who or what was hit by their bullets.”
A staff report compiled by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on behalf of Representative Waxman questioned the cost-effectiveness of using Blackwater forces instead of U.S. troops. Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day per guard, “equivalent to $445,000 per year, or six times more than the cost of an equivalent U.S. soldier,” the report alleged.
There are a variety of ongoing controversies involving Blackwater Worldwide. It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports by the U.S. and international media. Critics consider Blackwater’s self-description as a private military company to be a euphemism for mercenary activities. Jeremy Scahill points out that Chilean nationals, mostly former soldiers, whose country of origin does not participate in hostilities in Iraq, work for Blackwater in that country, thus those Chileans meet the definition of “mercenary.” At least 60 Chilean Blackwater employees were trained during dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime. Author Chris Hedges wrote about the establishment of mercenary armies, referring to Blackwater as an example of such a force, asserting its existence as a threat to democracy and a step towards the creation of a modern day Praetorian Guard in a June 3, 2007 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Critics have suggested this may be going too far in putting political decisions in the hands of privately owned corporations.
In December 2006, an Iraqi politician, Ayham al-Samarie, escaped from a prison in Iraq, where he was awaiting trial for 12 criminal corruption cases. Blackwater, which he had hired for protection before his arrest, allegedly helped him escape. On September 22, 2007, U.S. federal prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that Blackwater employees may have smuggled weapons into Iraq, and that these weapons may have been later transferred to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Kurdish nationalist group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, NATO and the EU. The U.S. government was investigating Blackwater for these alleged crimes. On October 4, 2007, the FBI took over the investigation.
In January 2008, Marshall Adame, a Democrat running for Congress in North Carolina’s 3rd District, took part in a live question-and-answer forum where he was asked a question about Blackwater. Adame, who had served as a State Department official in Iraq recounted, “I saw them shoot people, I saw them crash into cars while I was their passenger. There was absolutely no reason, no provocation whatsoever.” He then stated, “There is no place in the American force structure, or in American culture for mercenaries, they are guns for hire; No more, no less.”
This led Blackwater executive vice president Bill Mathews to send an internal corporate email to staff:
There is a man named Marshall Adame who is running for congress in our district. He just put a quote online which says he wants this company and all of us to cease to exist. Do you like your jobs? Are you sick and tired of the slanderous bullshit going on in DC? If so, would you all mind joining me in reminding Mr. Adame that he is running for office in our backyard. Tell all your friends and family too. We welcome their assistance in making this point very clear to Mr. Adame. Anyone who wants to send a letter may do so at the following address….His email is….He was too cowardly to put a phone number on the web. I ask that you keep your comments to Mr. Adame professional (well, mostly professional). We help him if our comments get threatening or too crass. Letâs run this goof out of Dodge…!
As a result of the letter writing campaign Adame stated, “I feel very strongly about how extensively organized Blackwater has become, and I will do everything I can as a congressman to look into that, to find out whether or not the things they’re doing are even legal. Ultimately however, Adame was defeated in the 2008 Democratic primary by Craig Weber.
Overall, Blackwater has received over $1 billion USD in government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts.
In over twenty countries around the world, children are direct participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 children are serving as soldiers for both rebel groups and government forces in current armed conflicts.
Prisoner of War.
You’re next.
Pro-life?
Stop War!
End Executions!
Distribute condoms!
Fight Global Arms Trade!
- Labels: arms trade, birth control, execution, pro-life, war
I do not know who is to blame for the slaughter of civilians in Gaza and Israel. I do not care. Both sides are acting like uncivilised barbarians. At this time, blame is useless and counterproductive. Forget who is to blame, save that for later, if ever.
Blame doesn’t matter, and we are all responsible – to see that it ends.
Chardi kala to all.
Mai Harinder Kaur
- Labels: gaza, responsibility, war
Today, ninety years ago, the guns fell silent and children of Europe viewed in horror the madness that had been unleashed by their leaders on their behalf.
Words are too few and too unsatisfactory to express what the hills and the valleys of Northern France and Belgium had been witness to during the previous four years. To this day, live ammunition and human remains are still to be found in the meadows and forests that nature has reclaimed for herself from what was once a cratered moon landscape of an endless battlefield.
The ghosts remain, in villages long gone and yet remembered, calling out to us after all these years, to remind us of what befell them by a cruel chance of fate.
The village of Ornes, one of the villages détruits close to Verdun which was almost literally wiped off the face of the earth. See the church on the first postcard, and what was left of it in the second, in 1918.
The village was abandoned, the emptiness that could not be filled by human hands or voices was absorbed into the landscape, pitted with reminders of a horrifying legacy we dare forget only at our own peril.
The church still stands, with a simple cross on the altar in the haunting silence, in a place where grenades, mortars and gas had silenced an army many years ago.
The fallen came to rest, at the Ossuaire de Douaumont, a cathedral for the fallen and a place of reflection for the living.
Inside, the vaults contain a monument presented by each of the French départments, the walls covered with plaques honouring the named and the nameless buried outside.
The young and the old lie together, brothers in arms united in a death not willingly sought.
The entrance, a message of hope passed on by a generation of survivors, entreating us not to forget the good in all of mankind despite all the demonstrated evidence to the contrary.
I originally started out looking for a YouTube clip based on Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, on the title page of the score of which was quoted:
“My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pityâ¦
All a poet can do today is warn.”
I settled however for a theme taken from the BBC series “Dr. Who” which, to all intents and purposes, conveys the hurt and the sadness of a generation which had so appallingly taken leave of its senses but was destined to do so yet again within another twenty one years.
Lest we forget…
—————
- Labels: war