I don't get into politics much on this blog; I did a few years ago on my now-defunct MT blog. But that was then. However, blog buddy Rori does. And she found this great video on YouTube (where ELSE would the great videos be?) that pretty much says it all.
And if you're wondering about the original song, it's by Gnarls Barkley, and it's here:
And if you want some statistics on the war in Irag, you'll find them below.
My friend across the pond, Elke a/k/a Sternchen, tagged me for a meme. This is a great one for people (like me) who love to read. To the five of you whom I've now tagged, here's what you do:
Pick up the book you are reading. Turn to page 123 and post on your blog the fifth paragraph. [My book doesn't have five paragraphs on page 123 so I posted the last paragraph on the page; I hope that's not cheating!] Then post that text and the book title and author on your blog! Finally (this is the most important part!), tag five others and send a personal message to those people.
[Captain Martin de la Hoz] concluded: 'They are destroying the country, bombing it with novel weapons, toxic nerve gases, surface mines dropped with parachute, bombs containing uranium, black napalm, sterilization chemicals, sprayings to poison the crops, and weapons of which even we still do not know anything. The North Americans are committing there one of the biggest barbarities that can be committed against humanity.'
So now I'm gonna pass the baton to five of my peeps:
Sheila, a buddy and co-worker who always has her nose in a book!
David who despite his busy schedule not only is an avid reader, but is himself a published author.
The horrific sight of burning buildings might have been a new vista for Americans on September 11, 2001, but it was certainly nothing new to the rest of the world.
World Trade Center, 2001
Tehran Apartment Building, 2003
Burning Office Building, Belgrade, former Republic of Yugoslavia, 1999
But there's nothing that I could say that Robert Jensen, University of Texas at Austin Professor of Journalism, hasn't said better. This text, republished at CommonDreams.org, is from a speech he gave at an anti-war rally on September 11, 2005, in Austin, Texas. I agree wholeheartedly.
There was nothing special about the pain of Americans on September 11, 2001. And there is no hope for this world until we in the United States -- the most powerful and affluent country in the history of the world -- understand that.
The deaths of 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania mattered, but no more and no less than the thousands of other deaths in the world that day, and the day before, and the day before that. Or the deaths since, as the United States has used the grief of Americans to justify two illegal wars of aggression, wars to consolidate the power and control of the few, wars accepted by the many out of moral laziness and fear.
All over the country today, people will be speaking about the nobility of the United States, the barbarism of the attacks on us, the deep suffering of Americans. I will do none of that.
I will not mark September 11 as a day of special grief until all of us mark every day as a day of special grief for those killed by the callous and cruel exercise of power. I am through indulging the grief of Americans. I will not be part of it. I will not contribute to it any longer.
Moxie gave a thumbs down to Oliver Stone's new film, World Trade Center. View the movie trailer. With box office heavyweight Nicolas Cage in the starring role, this film, maudlin at best, becomes just another disaster movie. I was quite put off by the movie's tagline:
The World Saw Evil That Day....
The world didn't see evil that day, WE did. The world has been seeing evil far longer than we ever did. By no means do we have the market cornered on grief or righteous indignation. And I'd be willing to bet that this country played a large part in a majority of the wickedness, crime, and evil that is visited upon other nations. Need an example? I've got a few.
WARNING: the following videos contain graphic images of death, dismemberment and destruction. Proceed with viewing bearing that in mind.
And just so you don't get the impression I'm playing favorites with Southeastern Europe:
And this, when all is said and done, is what's going on right now. One of the most non-judgmental, not taking sides, just throwing it out there, videos I've found and from a soldier's point of view, no less.
WIDGETIZE