It's almost the end of September 2004, and things in Iraq are still heating up, and there's no reliable signs of valid improvement there. The US death toll has surpassed 1,000 and God knows how many thousands/tens of thousands Iraqis have died since.
From the Nation's website , here's the Top 10 reasons for why the US should get out of Iraq though I think it should be the Top 10 reasons why the US were unjust, exploitative and criminal in invading Iraq.
I'm looking at my first posting on this blog, way back from last year, and I realised back then I actually supported GWBush's view on evil in this world. I mean I disagreed with the methods the US used to wage war, but I was in support of his reason for waging war. I was naive back then, and didn't have much knowledge of global politics and events especially the US. Also I didn't have any exposure to alternative/ non-mainstream media and information so I relied a lot on mainstream media for my international knowledge. I was naive, and it's really hard to know that there are so many people out there who still think the way I did. So many people who support GWBush and his administration/government and their policies in spite of all the injustices, crimes, anger and evidence to back these up, that's occured because of Bush and his administration.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Been quite preoccupied these past weeks so couldn't blog regularly. Tonight's posting links to articles on accusations and provocations against Iran by Israel,
and a webpage on the massacre that occured at the Sabra and Shantila refugee camps in Lebanon in the 80s.
The final link is to an article on the public scorn and scandal , such as being branded as unpatriotic, meted out to American journalists, specifically Dan Rather, who dare to ask the tough questions about their government and its policies and actions. This article on Zmag, is written by Greg Palast, who in my opinion is one of the best investigative journalists around, based on reading his best-seller: The best democracy money can buy.
and a webpage on the massacre that occured at the Sabra and Shantila refugee camps in Lebanon in the 80s.
The final link is to an article on the public scorn and scandal , such as being branded as unpatriotic, meted out to American journalists, specifically Dan Rather, who dare to ask the tough questions about their government and its policies and actions. This article on Zmag, is written by Greg Palast, who in my opinion is one of the best investigative journalists around, based on reading his best-seller: The best democracy money can buy.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
So after the tragic loss of life in the Beslan school hostage-taking, Russia is planning to turn up their fight on terrorism and fundamentalism, taking a page from the recent US war policies of these past few years and threatening to carry the fight anywhere. Also Russia is apparently turning for advice and support from Israel, itself a victim of 'fundamentalism'.
This is a nice brief summary of the failings of the US' policies and actions and why there's so much hatred and anger against the West in the middle east.
There's a main point to be derived from all these article referrals above,
these 3 countries have all been horrendously afflicted by terrorism and their first and main solution is to attack and destroy these 'terrorists' to stop the terrorism.
They are all deluding themselves, the only way to stop this terrorism is to stop their own terorism/ oppression, whether against the Palestinians, against the Chechens, and for the US,against so many people.
Violence only begats more violence.
This is a nice brief summary of the failings of the US' policies and actions and why there's so much hatred and anger against the West in the middle east.
There's a main point to be derived from all these article referrals above,
these 3 countries have all been horrendously afflicted by terrorism and their first and main solution is to attack and destroy these 'terrorists' to stop the terrorism.
They are all deluding themselves, the only way to stop this terrorism is to stop their own terorism/ oppression, whether against the Palestinians, against the Chechens, and for the US,against so many people.
Violence only begats more violence.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
These are just some thoughts I have on the perspectives that North american people have on foreign countries, specifically those that are Islamic,African and even Asian. These perspectives are sometimes really prejudiced, like when people automatically associate Islam with terrorism after 9/11, and when people think Africa consists of hopeless savage people who're incapable of . In all this, do people ever think carefully about the other side, about why so much hatred exists towards America from a lot of the international community? No, and I'm not blaming ordinary people themselves, I think the mainstream media has a lot to do with enforcing our rather negative and patronising opinions of those foriegn, troubled countries.
If I was an American
What I think on our cocoon of our comfortable society
Living in North America and being middle class, people really enjoy/get accustomed to a relatively comfortable life. Having a nice,big,air-conditioned house or apartment to live in, driving a car, being able to get loans freely, having a tv in each room of the 5 bedroom house, a car for each person, spending freely on clothes,food and electronics,DVDs with multiple easily-obtainable credit cards,watching the latest reality tv-shows, and listening to similar, formulaic pop music. All this may be wonderful and even I've benefited from a few of these amenities but at the same time do you ever think life may be too (perfect), too scripted, that life is defined by a set of rules and formulas that once broken makes one an outcast or weirdo?
We live our lives convinced that ours is the best life, and that our culture is the best. Everything we learn and pick-up drums into us that our way of life is superior, is the God-given righteous way. From school where we're taught about democracy, patriotism, honour, tolerance, about who won WW2 and who the evil enemies were, about the hard-fought ideals our nation stands for,about the great British empire and the primitive, ignorant, backwards nations and kingdoms it helped modernise as if invading, conquering and exploiting a people is a favor to these people.
The media, or should I say mainstream media, that we obtain news and information and facts from, that's supposed to educate/inform us on events and states of affairs around us, gives us content that creates a biased view of the world, a view that says we (the Western world) are much more civilised than the rest of the world, that we have a superior society, where peace and justice and democracy and human rights and respect reigns, that everywhere in the world we intervene we are doing good things, bringing our democracy and justice and equality to those less privileged, and that when locals get angry and attack, it is only because they don't want and can't accept what's good for them, that they prefer tyranny, fundamentalism and their primitive ways. All of this was sadly exposed during our reasons for and subsequent invasion of Iraq, with all the bold assertions of hidden weapons of mass-destruction, collusion with al-Qaeda, giving the Iraqi people our kind of freedom and democracy that they and the rest of the Arab world lack but really need, confirming the hollow ignorance, narrow-mindedness and stupid prejudices of our feelings towards foreigners.
And the sad thing is, this succeeds, all this one-sided media coverage and succeeds in making us feel superior towards others, feel pity for those who don't live our lifestyle, causes us to want to help others live our lives, (and if our names happen to be D. Rumsfeld or GW Bush or D. Cheney) causes us to want to enforce our 'standards' and 'democracy' on them.
The mainstream (large,corporate media organisations) media easily dominates public attention, with many people turning to CNN and FOX and reading the NYTimes and Time for their regular news.
Many alternative media do exist, with the Internet being the best source of it with independant media sites like Zmag, and personal blogs that link to a wide range of relevant news and articles. A growing number of people are turning to these alternative sources of information and hopefully soon the alternative/independant media will be seen by general public to be as dependable and accurate/reliable if not more than mainstream media [is considered]. In addition foreign media like BBC (which is mainstream but considered more unbiased than American media) and Al-jazeera are also good sources of news and can offer a more worldly perspective and view on events that local pro-american ones can't.
If I was an American
What I think on our cocoon of our comfortable society
Living in North America and being middle class, people really enjoy/get accustomed to a relatively comfortable life. Having a nice,big,air-conditioned house or apartment to live in, driving a car, being able to get loans freely, having a tv in each room of the 5 bedroom house, a car for each person, spending freely on clothes,food and electronics,DVDs with multiple easily-obtainable credit cards,watching the latest reality tv-shows, and listening to similar, formulaic pop music. All this may be wonderful and even I've benefited from a few of these amenities but at the same time do you ever think life may be too (perfect), too scripted, that life is defined by a set of rules and formulas that once broken makes one an outcast or weirdo?
We live our lives convinced that ours is the best life, and that our culture is the best. Everything we learn and pick-up drums into us that our way of life is superior, is the God-given righteous way. From school where we're taught about democracy, patriotism, honour, tolerance, about who won WW2 and who the evil enemies were, about the hard-fought ideals our nation stands for,about the great British empire and the primitive, ignorant, backwards nations and kingdoms it helped modernise as if invading, conquering and exploiting a people is a favor to these people.
The media, or should I say mainstream media, that we obtain news and information and facts from, that's supposed to educate/inform us on events and states of affairs around us, gives us content that creates a biased view of the world, a view that says we (the Western world) are much more civilised than the rest of the world, that we have a superior society, where peace and justice and democracy and human rights and respect reigns, that everywhere in the world we intervene we are doing good things, bringing our democracy and justice and equality to those less privileged, and that when locals get angry and attack, it is only because they don't want and can't accept what's good for them, that they prefer tyranny, fundamentalism and their primitive ways. All of this was sadly exposed during our reasons for and subsequent invasion of Iraq, with all the bold assertions of hidden weapons of mass-destruction, collusion with al-Qaeda, giving the Iraqi people our kind of freedom and democracy that they and the rest of the Arab world lack but really need, confirming the hollow ignorance, narrow-mindedness and stupid prejudices of our feelings towards foreigners.
And the sad thing is, this succeeds, all this one-sided media coverage and succeeds in making us feel superior towards others, feel pity for those who don't live our lifestyle, causes us to want to help others live our lives, (and if our names happen to be D. Rumsfeld or GW Bush or D. Cheney) causes us to want to enforce our 'standards' and 'democracy' on them.
The mainstream (large,corporate media organisations) media easily dominates public attention, with many people turning to CNN and FOX and reading the NYTimes and Time for their regular news.
Many alternative media do exist, with the Internet being the best source of it with independant media sites like Zmag, and personal blogs that link to a wide range of relevant news and articles. A growing number of people are turning to these alternative sources of information and hopefully soon the alternative/independant media will be seen by general public to be as dependable and accurate/reliable if not more than mainstream media [is considered]. In addition foreign media like BBC (which is mainstream but considered more unbiased than American media) and Al-jazeera are also good sources of news and can offer a more worldly perspective and view on events that local pro-american ones can't.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
A brief posting tonight, a reference to an article from the Guardian newspaper of England, on the reason given by Chechen militants for their hostage-taking in Beslan. Read the article and see why the Chechens have so much hate and malice for Russians, to the point of deliberately harming schoolchildren.
Then if you want more news and background info on this vicious conflict between Chechyna and Russia that has largely gone unnoticed by the West, check out this section on the Guardian's website.
Then if you want more news and background info on this vicious conflict between Chechyna and Russia that has largely gone unnoticed by the West, check out this section on the Guardian's website.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
A new site I recently found that offers good news articles and opinions from the "left" point of view. Green Left weekly, of Australia.
This is something from the site about the present situation in Darfur, Sudan.
This is something from the site about the present situation in Darfur, Sudan.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
These 2 previous posts on Chechyna and Africa were written by me during last year-2003. A little of the information on Africa might be outdated but not because things have gotten better. Indeed things have gotten worse especially with the crisis in Darfur,Sudan, the continued plunder and killings in Congo, and the hostage taking and suicide bombings perpetrated in Russia by Chechyen rebels/'freedom fighters'.
It's really sad to hear of the school hostage-taking by Chechynen fighters and the outcome in which untold hundreds of innocent people and hostage-takers died.Even now the exact circumstances are unclear but I'm sure that the public will strongly regard those Chechynens as evil, sadistic monsters and the Russians as innocent victims of these 'terrorists'. People should be aware of the untold and many tragedies that the Russian military has done in Chechyna in the years since the mid-90s. Then they'll know there are no clear sides of good and evil.No good guys and bad guys.
It's really sad to hear of the school hostage-taking by Chechynen fighters and the outcome in which untold hundreds of innocent people and hostage-takers died.Even now the exact circumstances are unclear but I'm sure that the public will strongly regard those Chechynens as evil, sadistic monsters and the Russians as innocent victims of these 'terrorists'. People should be aware of the untold and many tragedies that the Russian military has done in Chechyna in the years since the mid-90s. Then they'll know there are no clear sides of good and evil.No good guys and bad guys.
Africa is a great continent filled with a wide range of countries, peoples and cultures. However sadly, it is also filled with countless tragedies-wars,conflicts,poverty,disease,famine.Though sometimes these events make it onto the news and public awareness,Many times they do not. As a result most people in general regard all the sufferings in Africa as just one big faceless problem.
But really the sufferings in Africa count among the worst in modern history and it is crucial that in these times of technological achievements and social prosperity the general public should be aware of this fact,of the details and the extent.
Western Africa:Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia
Brutal civil wars have been fought in both Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, with Liberian involvement each time.Many people have died and others have been mutilated,tortured and raped and all sides have commited these terrible crimes. In Sierra Leone, government forces battled the rebels until a peace settlement was forged in 2002 partially due to armed intervention by British soldiers.2003 was certainly not better in Ivory coast which saw a civil war raging on until French armed intervention saw a ceasefire being brokered. This started from a failed coup attempt September 2002 by disgruntled troops which then escalated to a full-scale rebellion due in large part to alleged discrimination felt by northern Muslim people from the government. Liberian troops had gone into the Ivory coast to fight on the side of the rebels though Ivorian troops have joined with French troops to push out these Liberians.In Liberia whose leader,US-educated Charles Taylor has funded and sent forces into Sierra Leone to support the rebels and worsen the conflict to rake in profits from diamond resources in that country, there is another civil war going on which involves several rebel factions.
Central Africa:Democratic Republic of Congo(formerly known as Zaire)
A terrible war has been going on in this impoverished nation which started as a civil war and erupted into full-scale warfare involving several nations including Angola,Rwanda,Uganda and Zimbabwe.The death toll from this catastrophic is at least 3 million.That's right-I'm not mistaken. At least three times the amount of people killed in Rwandan civil war in 1994 and certainly much more than the casualties in Iraq,Kosovo or the Middle East. This war was started in part from the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide 1994 when Hutus in Rwanda after their horrific mass murder of over 500,000 Tutsis fled into Congo where many of their kinsmen live and found sanctuary under the Congo's then leader/dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Looking for revenge and to bring the murderers 'to justice', the Tutsi-controlled army of Rwanda crossed into Congo in 1998 and attacked the Hutu militia refugees-the genocidaires. In addition, Rwanda helped engineer a rebellion to topple Mobutu Sese and installed another as leader Laurent Kabila who was friendly to the Rwandans. However, Kabila instead rearmed the Hutu genocidaires so the Rwandans tried to start another coup to topple Kabila. Other African nations got involved, Uganda and Burundi aided the Rwandans in this attempted uprising against Kabila, but friendly nations,most prominent Angola and Zimbabwe intervened to help save Kabila from the fate of Mobutu Sese. In 2003, most of the nations involved have pulled out or have stopped fighting each other. They have all exacted a terrible toll on Congo with their fighting and plundering.the difference now is that instead of full-scale warfare there are now numerous bands of militias and thugs most armed by different countries such as Uganda and Rwanda, and they roam across large parts of Congo such as the eastern countryside creating an atmosphere of unlawlessness,pillage and exploitation. Essentially most of those nations that invaded became less interested in fighting each other and more active in pillaging the local peoples and plundering their resources. Recently in May there were reports of massacres in Northeastern Congo by rival tribal militias-Hema and Lendu whilst UN troops were helpless to stop the carnage. Thousands of people were killed in fighting and massacres and the international community was finally forced to look at this terrible conflict and intervene with French soldiers forming the brunt of an international force. However certainly for the last few years the international community including the Western media,developed nations and government leaders has hardly done anything to stop or expose this violence. It is laudable that the UN and France have sent peacekeepers and troops into Congo but as judged by the death and destruction it is far too late for the millions killed and violated.
But really the sufferings in Africa count among the worst in modern history and it is crucial that in these times of technological achievements and social prosperity the general public should be aware of this fact,of the details and the extent.
Western Africa:Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia
Brutal civil wars have been fought in both Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, with Liberian involvement each time.Many people have died and others have been mutilated,tortured and raped and all sides have commited these terrible crimes. In Sierra Leone, government forces battled the rebels until a peace settlement was forged in 2002 partially due to armed intervention by British soldiers.2003 was certainly not better in Ivory coast which saw a civil war raging on until French armed intervention saw a ceasefire being brokered. This started from a failed coup attempt September 2002 by disgruntled troops which then escalated to a full-scale rebellion due in large part to alleged discrimination felt by northern Muslim people from the government. Liberian troops had gone into the Ivory coast to fight on the side of the rebels though Ivorian troops have joined with French troops to push out these Liberians.In Liberia whose leader,US-educated Charles Taylor has funded and sent forces into Sierra Leone to support the rebels and worsen the conflict to rake in profits from diamond resources in that country, there is another civil war going on which involves several rebel factions.
Central Africa:Democratic Republic of Congo(formerly known as Zaire)
A terrible war has been going on in this impoverished nation which started as a civil war and erupted into full-scale warfare involving several nations including Angola,Rwanda,Uganda and Zimbabwe.The death toll from this catastrophic is at least 3 million.That's right-I'm not mistaken. At least three times the amount of people killed in Rwandan civil war in 1994 and certainly much more than the casualties in Iraq,Kosovo or the Middle East. This war was started in part from the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide 1994 when Hutus in Rwanda after their horrific mass murder of over 500,000 Tutsis fled into Congo where many of their kinsmen live and found sanctuary under the Congo's then leader/dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Looking for revenge and to bring the murderers 'to justice', the Tutsi-controlled army of Rwanda crossed into Congo in 1998 and attacked the Hutu militia refugees-the genocidaires. In addition, Rwanda helped engineer a rebellion to topple Mobutu Sese and installed another as leader Laurent Kabila who was friendly to the Rwandans. However, Kabila instead rearmed the Hutu genocidaires so the Rwandans tried to start another coup to topple Kabila. Other African nations got involved, Uganda and Burundi aided the Rwandans in this attempted uprising against Kabila, but friendly nations,most prominent Angola and Zimbabwe intervened to help save Kabila from the fate of Mobutu Sese. In 2003, most of the nations involved have pulled out or have stopped fighting each other. They have all exacted a terrible toll on Congo with their fighting and plundering.the difference now is that instead of full-scale warfare there are now numerous bands of militias and thugs most armed by different countries such as Uganda and Rwanda, and they roam across large parts of Congo such as the eastern countryside creating an atmosphere of unlawlessness,pillage and exploitation. Essentially most of those nations that invaded became less interested in fighting each other and more active in pillaging the local peoples and plundering their resources. Recently in May there were reports of massacres in Northeastern Congo by rival tribal militias-Hema and Lendu whilst UN troops were helpless to stop the carnage. Thousands of people were killed in fighting and massacres and the international community was finally forced to look at this terrible conflict and intervene with French soldiers forming the brunt of an international force. However certainly for the last few years the international community including the Western media,developed nations and government leaders has hardly done anything to stop or expose this violence. It is laudable that the UN and France have sent peacekeepers and troops into Congo but as judged by the death and destruction it is far too late for the millions killed and violated.
Chechnya
This small,mainly Muslim nation has been subject to many inhumane,oppressive and bloody actions stretching back from forced relocation of Chechynens to Kazakhstan by Josef Stalin after WorldWar II.In the early nineties during the collapse of the USSR,a separatist movement announced Chechnya's breakaway from Russia to become an independent country. Then in 1994 Russian leader,Boris Yeltsin launched an armed campaign against Chechnya to crush its independent movement which led to a bitter 2 year guerilla war and a humiliating loss and pull-out by the Russian army.A tentative cease-fire was agreed upon then.
However in 1999,Russia again invaded Chechyna in greater strength after Chechnyan forces invaded a neighboring republic Dagestan.
This led to a protracted campaign in which Russian forces took the capital Grozny and most of the country but in the process destroying most of Grozny and the country,forcing thousands out of their homes whilst carrying on a police-state rule over the Chechynans.Lots of alleged abuses have been commited by both sides though including kidnapping,torture,rape and murders.
Chechnyan fighters have been caught in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and this is one instance of how oppression and suffering has caused people to turn to extremists for direction and aid.
Recently in April 2003,American President Bush proclaimed in a speech that terror was on a decline but the sad truth is that once people are oppressed,suffering and desperate they will turn to anything to be able to express their rage and frustrations and religious fundamentalism is one of the most effective outlets. Only if the conditions that cause these situations are eradicated then can terrorism be "eliminated".
Info on Chechnyan War
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
About a month ago, I saw a relative from the US. Nice person,from Texas, and going to the largest university there. It was a decent time, and it was just like any previous meeting, except this time, I happened to bring up politics. That was when I received a shocking insight into Americans and how chilling their ignorance is.
I had mentioned I read Newsweek and that it's good it's considered liberal (as opposed to conservative) when she asked me if I supported the Democrats (supposedly the liberal American party). I said I did, then quickly corrected myself - I'm not a Democrat supporter (I'm actually anti-American), I just prefer the side that's not led by Bush.
My relative was herself stunned by my replies to her question, and she asked why. Well, obviously because his administration has done many terrible things around the world. I gave her Iraq as an example, and she was surprised and indignant. Her responses, that Iraq was involved in the 911 bombings, that Saddam confessed to them, and then her statement that Fox is the most fair (balanced) news shocked me into a slight mental numbness. I did manage to question her about when did Saddam actually confess to bombing the World Trade towers, and say that a lot of people around the world and media know that Bush was wrong, that it's a widely-accepted view.
She defended Bush by saying he's a christian while Kerry was in his second marriage, and that they were stout GOP (Republican) supporters down there.
We ended up talking about other things, and there was no anger or bitterness arising from our political conversation, but it was something that affected me.
So what was so shocking about all this? The fact that my relative is oriental, intelligent, well-educated and decent, yet absolutely believes in Bush and his lies and manipulations. Can you imagine what those 'rednecks' or common folks especially Texans think about Bush? They must really worship him and believe completely in his every word and statements. How terrible is it when folks in the most powerful nation on earth continue to believe in the exploitative and deceitful and harmful (for lack of a better word) actions of their president and government out of blind loyalty despite all the evidence available, all the hatred and loathing by nations of the US all over the world, all the warfare and inequality that exists in large part to US intervention and interference (Haiti, Venezuela,Liberia-1980s, Chile-1970s,Ethiopia-1980s,Iraq, ......).
I had mentioned I read Newsweek and that it's good it's considered liberal (as opposed to conservative) when she asked me if I supported the Democrats (supposedly the liberal American party). I said I did, then quickly corrected myself - I'm not a Democrat supporter (I'm actually anti-American), I just prefer the side that's not led by Bush.
My relative was herself stunned by my replies to her question, and she asked why. Well, obviously because his administration has done many terrible things around the world. I gave her Iraq as an example, and she was surprised and indignant. Her responses, that Iraq was involved in the 911 bombings, that Saddam confessed to them, and then her statement that Fox is the most fair (balanced) news shocked me into a slight mental numbness. I did manage to question her about when did Saddam actually confess to bombing the World Trade towers, and say that a lot of people around the world and media know that Bush was wrong, that it's a widely-accepted view.
She defended Bush by saying he's a christian while Kerry was in his second marriage, and that they were stout GOP (Republican) supporters down there.
We ended up talking about other things, and there was no anger or bitterness arising from our political conversation, but it was something that affected me.
So what was so shocking about all this? The fact that my relative is oriental, intelligent, well-educated and decent, yet absolutely believes in Bush and his lies and manipulations. Can you imagine what those 'rednecks' or common folks especially Texans think about Bush? They must really worship him and believe completely in his every word and statements. How terrible is it when folks in the most powerful nation on earth continue to believe in the exploitative and deceitful and harmful (for lack of a better word) actions of their president and government out of blind loyalty despite all the evidence available, all the hatred and loathing by nations of the US all over the world, all the warfare and inequality that exists in large part to US intervention and interference (Haiti, Venezuela,Liberia-1980s, Chile-1970s,Ethiopia-1980s,Iraq, ......).
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