The Bush administration promoted the misguided and destructive war in Iraq by targeting five core concerns that often govern our lives--concerns about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Looking ahead, the continued occupation of Iraq--or an attack on Iran--will likely be sold to us in much the same way. I examine these warmongering appeals--and how to counter them--in the new video above, entitled Resisting the Drums of War.
(also available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UKnb5zJbM).

The increasing erosion of our constitutions, civil rights and democracies as they are being gradually subjugated by Authoritarian Security Surveillance States. The bloating no-fly lists and terrorist watch-lists. The continuing inhumane and barbaric renditions, "enhanced interrogations" and indefinite detentions - of children, teenagers and adults alike. The continuing standing of Military Commissions, which are nothing more than politically-driven, rigged, kangaroo courts. The seemingly unending wars of choice and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq - both based on lies to justify a vengeance operation for 9/11 and the securing of foreign oil resources. The ever mounting toll of civilian deaths, displaced refugees and soldier casualties.

This is the overall state of things today with regards to our so-called "Western civilization" - especially with regards to the U.S.A., the U.K. and Canada.

(Cross posted from Docudharma)

The likely outcome of the Bush-led Republican raid on America astonishes me.  As America’s national nightmare approaches the eight-year mark, the Bush administration is apparently going to escape unpunished.  They are going to skate scot-free.  They have brazenly committed major crimes against the people of the United States, not to mention the terrible things they have done to much of the rest of the world...and these bastards are going to skate scot-free.  

They have implemented a systematic program of torture approved, directed and overseen by the White House.  And it wasn’t just some schoolboy pranks and it wasn’t just the isolated waterboarding of a few really bad guys.  It was systematic, it was widespread, and it was far worse than the elite media has admitted.  Far worse.  They have hidden the most shocking images from view.  But as they say, the truth will out.

They call it missing in action, but those soldiers are missing at home, too, at every wedding and every graduation and every holiday.

Sometimes you meet an old man who has children and grandchildren now, and he never had a father. You meet amputees who had twenty good years ahead of them, playing softball or throwing a football around on Thanksgiving or pushing a stroller and lifting a baby ever so carefully out of it...

No war ever ends.

A Nation that sends its Sons and Daughters into Occupations?

A C-17 Airforce Transport plane arrives in Kandahar, Afghanistan to receive the bodies of five U.S. service members killed. Though more than 1,000 US and coalition forces were on hand to participate in the "ramp ceremony," a Los Angeles Times reporter and photographer were asked to leave the area by a military public affairs officer. A Pentagon policy banning coverage of this particular event was cited as the reason. [Photo: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times]

Iraq

America's wars of aggression and crimes against humanity continue in Iraq and Afghanistan despite the opposition of the majority of Americans. Whenever people tell me that they oppose the wars, I ask them why they continue to vote for war. They have numerous excuses. Some think they have no choice because peace isn't on the ballot, so the only way they can exercise their franchise is to vote for war. Some don't think that voting for a candidate committed to war, is the same as voting for war. Some think that despite the trillions of dollars in war profiteering, if they just allow their candidate to kill a few more million innocent people, they might then be able to persuade their candidate to stop the wars. Others think that the only alternative to war is violent revolution--haven't they ever heard of peace? None of these arguments make any sense, yet people keep repeating them, hoping that repetition of illogical arguments might justify the fact that they claim to want peace but keep voting for war.

Progressive Americans, that’s a joke. Barack Obama promised change and one of the first things he did after clinching the Democratic nomination, was to continue the rhetoric of the Bush Administration. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel like a knife has been driven through my heart, and I didn’t even support him! The truth is what’s happened to this country? I’m no fool, I know that we have been involved in toppling unfriendly governments and have started imperialistic wars for a long time now. The difference between then and now is that America no longer looks after just it’s “interests”, it wants control of everything.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

Legislation passed by Congress this week will finally help US Armed Forces members cope with rising college tuition rates. Along with mental health care and homelessness, education is a key issue for returning vets.

But as the report above details, a skeptical President Bush may veto the bi-partisan bill. Understand, of course, that this is a declaration to support the troops when they come back home from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Daniel Zwerdling, of NPR, continues his reporting on the Treatment of our returning Military Troops, you know who they are, maybe, those who those 'Support The Troops' magnetic ribbons, now rarely seen, are meant for. Or the significance of those 'Lapel Flag Pins' the politicians and some others harp about, the politicians who Praised a Coming Invasion of anothers little Country but didn't have the the time, nor will, to do their jobs in Oversite, Funding, and simple Investigation!

Remember this photo? I'm sure you've seen it a dozen times as it's made it's way around the web. Her name is Katherine Cathey and she's a mother, a mother of a son who never met his father Marine 2nd. Lt. Jim Cathey. Katherine mentions this photo in a video, of which I'll give you the link to in a moment, one you should view.

Recently NPR's Fresh Air aired an interview with journalist Jim Sheeler who won a Pulitzer Prize for his series about Marine Colonel Steve Beck and the families of the fallen soldiers. Katherine Cathey was one of those families that Col. Beck helped. The interview was called A 'Final Salute' to Fallen Marines and you can read abit at that link, as well as listen to, or you can click here to bring up the NPR player to listen in, it's abit over 31min. long and well worth the listen.

The above may seem like a bold statement, but I believe it's true. The United States of America is operated and kept alive by the American people, not the politicians that rape, pillage, and spend our money and our most precious resource, America's brave soldiers that fight these illegal wars. Many of our "volunteer military" are not in the fight because of patriotism - but to support their families and seek GI benefits that will allow them to attend college when they leave the armed services.

Our economy is already in ruins, food and gas are becoming luxuries to the poorest families in America, and the middle-class is disappearing faster than Bush's approval ratings. Millions of us are facing foreclosure while the oil companies post profits that are obscene - and still receive huge government subsidies. The average American is now becoming aware that Bush and Cheney are war criminals, yet Congress refuses to impeach them, even though there is a mountain of evidence that supports their immediate impeachment, indictment, and incarceration for breaking our own and international laws. Congress is worthless, and as bad as Bush's ratings are, Congress rates worse, symptoms that the public has lost respect and hope that any of them will find the courage to do what's right! The only thing left to stop the destruction of our country and another war is the people themselves - but first, they have to know what to do. As we stated over a year ago, its time that America's premier alternative news sites, Blogs, and every individual on the Internet get busy and come together in solidarity to take back our country.

On March 31st, we published an article entitled Russian Intelligence Services State US Is Preparing For Attack On Iran. We were not the first to break the story, and in fact, were behind the curve and found the story posted on the Digg Community. The article was well received, however, we noticed that it was being read by an enormous amount of state governmental agencies as well as a "who's who" of federal entities - many of whom followed every link and spent a substantial amount of time reading, and then making return visits to the same article. It ls unconscionable that our Mainstream News Media hasn't followed-up on and reported facts that indicate the United States is on a clear path to war with Iran:

(Cross posted from Docudharma)

I was born at the tail end of 1951.  My father was a soldier who served in WWII and Korea.  His brother came back from Korea so psychologically devastated that he never recovered.  He lived nearly fifty of his seventy years haunted by the horror of what he witnessed in the Korean War.  He was not alone.  Every war produces more casualties than are accounted for in the body counts.  My uncle died just a few years ago but it was the Korean War that killed him.