Aldous Huxley’s view of the future (i.e. now) from 1958: Source: http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.ca/
“All the traditional names, all the hallowed slogans will remain exactly what they were in the good old days. Democracy and freedom will be the theme of every broadcast and editorial—but Democracy and freedom in a strictly Pickwickian sense. Meanwhile the ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite of soldiers, policemen, thought-manufacturers and mind-manipulators will quietly run the show as they see fit. ” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited, published 1958
There are brutal thugs on both sides of the conflict in Gaza, but two photographs taken during one of the ceasefires highlight the difference between the Israeli and Palestinian experience of the carnage.
The photograph taken in Israel showed sunbathers back on the beaches, enjoying the weather. The photograph from Gaza showed a woman picking through the body parts and rubble of what had once been her home and neighbourhood.
I’m afraid the scope of death and destruction in Gaza has turned the phrase “Israel Defense Forces” into an oxymoron. They have always been proficient at killing their enemies. They now excel at making new ones.
And where does Canada, that once proud nation of peacekeepers, stand in all this? We offer helmets and vests to the Ukraine to protect their soldiers, but shrug at the horrific deaths and injuries of thousands of unarmed, innocent Palestinian civilians.
It seems Mr. Harper only considers it injustice if it happens to people who fit his personal religious and moral code. How far we have fallen.
“VICE News reporter Medyan Dairieh spent three weeks embedded with the Islamic State, gaining unprecedented access to the group in Iraq and Syria as the first and only journalist to document its inner workings.”
Darkness headed our way? Part 1 here: https://news.vice.com/video/the-islamic-state-part-1
Way to go Canada – that’s how you escalate a situation! We used to send peace-keepers; Harper prefers weapons. (Canada dropped hundreds of 500-pound bombs on Libya. Which is now quite a mess, by the way.)
This is starting with helmets and vests, apparently. (I bet the Palestinians could have used some of those in Israel’s latest bloody invasion. In fact, ‘Israel Defense Forces’ is now about as oxymoronic as you can get.)
But just as Harper’s simplistic good guy-bad guy view of the world would have gotten us into Iraq, he’s jumping into the Ukraine way before all the facts are known. Oh Canada, indeed.
We are the victims of your point of view
You think the world was put here just for you
You deal in cash and you manipulate
The devil helps you navigate
Sell your bombs, put your landmines under children’s feet
Cut the old growth forests down
Pump the oil into oceans, poison every creek
Don’t let your conscience rejoin, just count your coin
Find the island we call paradise
Build your house and say it’s mighty nice
Then one year later stand and make your speech
Announcing strip malls on the beach
Buy all the water, make us pay to take a drink
Claim all the seeds from Nature’s womb
Advertise to our children, tell them what to think
Don’t let your conscience rejoin, just count your coin
I remember times of innocence
When our minds were not for sale
Yes, I remember times of innocence
But we’ve let heaven go to hell, yes go to hell
Take a pill that says it’s time for sex
Take another ‘cause your life’s a mess
Be a victim of their point of view
Don’t stand up and shout, “Hey, you!”
“Take your bombs and shove them where the sun don’t shone
Leave those goddamn trees alone
You can have your piece but this world’s also mine
Stop acting like you were just born to count your coin”
I remember times of innocence
When our souls were not for sale
Yes, I remember times of innocence
But we’ve let heaven go to hell, yes go to hell
“Take your bombs and shove them where the sun don’t shone
Leave those goddamn trees alone
You can have your piece but this world’s also mine
Stop acting like you were just born to count your coin”
“The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control” William Binney is one of the highest-level whistleblowers to ever emerge from the NSA. He was a leading code-breaker against the Soviet Union during the Cold War but resigned soon after September 11, disgusted by
Washington’s move towards mass surveillance.
On 5 July he spoke at a conference in London organised by the Centre for Investigative Journalism and revealed the extent of the surveillance programs unleashed by the Bush and Obama administrations.
“At least 80% of fibre-optic cables globally go via the US”, Binney said. “This is no accident and allows the US to view all communication coming in. At least 80% of all audio calls, not just metadata, are recorded and stored in the US. The NSA lies about what it stores.”
Billionaire entrepreneur Nick Hanauer has a message for his fellow plutocrats. A few tidbits:
“I have been rewarded obscenely for my success, with a life that the other 99.99 percent of Americans can’t even imagine.
… I’m not the smartest guy you’ve ever met, or the hardest-working. I was a mediocre student. I’m not technical at all—I can’t write a word of code. What sets me apart … is a tolerance for risk and an intuition about what will happen in the future. … And what do I see in our future now? I see pitchforks.
… the problem isn’t that we have inequality. … The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society.
And so I have a message for my fellow filthy rich, for all of us who live in our gated bubble worlds: Wake up, people. It won’t last.”
“ISIS running rampant through the region means that America’s nine-year war in Iraq was virtually a complete failure. It achieved nothing. It proves that there is no democratic Iraq, or even a stable state to maintain control.”
The current situation was predicted with incredible accuracy before the US invaded by many who actually understand the region’s politics. Removing Saddam Hussein and dismantling all police and security forces created a power vacuum … that is now being filled. Just as would happen in any country where you did the same thing. Think about it – how long did it take for New Orleans to tumble into chaos after hurricane Katrina hit?
Always interesting to look at an issue from as many sides as possible. Especially in this ‘modern’ world of propaganda-style mass media. So, 2 different cartoons on the situation in Ukraine from 2 very different perspectives:
WESTERN UKRAINE
CRIMEA REGION
*Can’t find the name of the artists who drew these. Let me know if you find them and I’ll add the credits.
There are brutal thugs on both sides of the conflict in Gaza, but two photographs taken during one of the ceasefires highlight the difference between the Israeli and Palestinian experience of the carnage.
