This is, in fact, the only song we play at work that doesn’t make me want to slit my wrists.
Eisenhower understood the trade-offs between guns and butter. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed,” he warned in 1953, early in his presidency. “The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete highway. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.
“
| — | Aaron B. O’Connell, Assistant Professor history at the United States Naval Academy and Marine Reserve Officer. |
“Vietnam Zippos showcases the engravings made by U.S. soldiers on their lighters during the height of the conflict, from 1965 to 1973. In a real-life version of the psychedelic war portrayed in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Sherry Buchanan tells the fascinating story of how the humble Zippo became a talisman and companion for American GIs during their tours of duty. Through a dazzling array of images, we see how Zippo lighters were used during the war, and we discover how they served as a canvas for both personal and political expression during the Age of Aquarius, engraved with etchings of peace signs and marijuana leaves and slogans steeped in all the rock lyrics, sound bites, combat slang, and antiwar mottos of the time.”
A policeman places his boot on the head of a member of the MOVE organization during a standoff at the MOVE commune. The radical MOVE group preach revolution, advocating a return to nature and a society without government, police or technology. During the confrontation a police officer was killed, and a number of officers, firefighters, bystanders and MOVE members injured. Nine MOVE members were convicted for involvement in the officer’s death.
1978, Philadelphia, Norman Y. Lono
Dude, the Philadelphia police dropped a mother fucking bomb on them.
So, that happened.
I had no idea. Someone mentioned it in passing and I was like, “Wait, come again?”
One of the fables we live by is that some day the killing will stop. If only we rid ourselves of Chinese, white men will have jobs and white women will have virtue, and then we can stop killing. If only we rid ourselves of Indians, we will fulfill our Manifest Destiny, and then we can stop killing. If only we rid ourselves of Canaanites, we will live in the Promised Land, and then we can stop killing. If only we rid ourselves of Jews, we can build and maintain a Thousand Year Reich, and then we can stop killing. If only we stop the Soviet Union, we can stop the killing (remember the Peace Dividend that never materialized?). If only we can take out the worldwide terrorist network of Bin Laden and others like him. If only. But the killing never stops. Always a new enemy to be hated is found.
“
| — | Derrick Jensen, The Culture of Make Believe (via thenewwomensmovement) |
“Japanese prisoners of war are bathed, clipped, ‘deloused,’ and issued GI clothing as soon as they are taken aboard the USS New Jersey.”
December, 1944.
And now that ship is a tourist attraction. I drive by it every day.
Afghanistan: A Video Portrait
This is so beautiful.
I think because of the way our media portrays the middle east it’s easy to imagine it as a wasteland. Like it’s just a pile of sand and no one enjoys being there. Almost as if we’re doing them a favor by blowing them off the map.
Imperialism is a real load of shit, eh?
*Update from Egypt* - Nerve Gas Used On Protesters
A banned chemical agent has reportedly been used by the Egyptian military as the brutal crackdown against tens of thousands of protesters has overshadowed prospects of a democratic transfer in the country.
Rashes, epileptic-type convulsions, temporary blindness and coughing up blood are among the symptoms being reported by Egyptian protesters who have fallen victim to a potentially lethal form of neuro-toxic nerve gas reportedly being deployed by security forces.
After almost a week of protests against the ruling military junta left some 41 people dead, several sources claim scores have died from gas asphyxiation, while thousands more have received medical treatment after possibly being exposed to an agent known as CR gas.
CR gas, which is up to 10 times more powerful than tear gas which is commonly used today, is no longer used by the United States due to its carcinogenic properties. The US military has categorized it as a combat-class chemical agent.
(Source)
This should be taken very seriously. Nerve Gas is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN. Nerve Gas can lead to death by asphyxiation as control is lost over respiratory muscles. The deadly gas is banned in most countries INCLUDING EGYPT.
