March 20, 2003
The Killing Has Begun
The people in Iraq wait in resignation for the Superpower to destroy them. They have no defense. They have only their prayers. Only their loved ones next to them for comfort, so they can die together. They have been worn down, subjected to more suffering than any human being could be expected to survive. And yet still they wait as George Bush prepares to annihalate them.It is a very sad day for America. The poor people of Iraq still have their dignity, their moral authority. The United States has lost its prestige, its aura as a benign force for democracy, justice and peace. It is now only the roque superpower. The tyrant of the world.
I heard reports of Americans saying they are "relieved" that the war has begun. Relieved? Relieved of what? Exactly what burden have you been subjected to that will now be lifted as mass murder commences in Iraq in your name?
If you stop to think about that remark, it probably means they want to be relieved of the incessant barking about Iraq and war and Saddam Hussein and Weapons of Mass Destruction that they have been subjected to endlessly for the last couple of years. They have actually been brainwashed into thinking the destruction of hundreds of thousands of people is better than having to endure all of this tension contrived by their government and its media.
I say turn off your damned idiot box and educate yourself if you've got any guts. Ignorance is no excuse. Allowing the government to brainwash you is no excuse. This is a traditionally democratic society that is being transformed into a totalitarian state, a vicious and destructive one.
You have a choice whether to go along like a sheep while your government commits atrocities around the world, to absorb its programmed messages without a question and give up even the integrity of your own mind; or to wake up, make a little effort to find out what is really happening.
More links of interest
Internet censorship from a bill introduced by John McCain requires filters be put on computers in libraries and public schools to filter words that might be considered obscene, words like "bre*st". (That asterisk is a filter nullifier.) Obviously that horrible, evil word is not always obscene, so it's all somewhat ridiculous. See Alternet "Is It Too Late to Save America?" See Alternet. Senator Byrd: "Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of a strong yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed." See NYTimes. Walter Cronkite, the legendary CBS news anchor once known as "the most trusted man in America," spoke out passionately against the Bush administration and said that its pre-emptive war could bring dire, unintended consequences. "The arrogance of our spokespeople, even the president himself, has been exceptional, and it seems to me they [other countries] have taken great umbrage at that," Cronkite said. "We have told them what they must do. It is a pretty dark doctrine ... We are going to be in such a fix when this war is over, or before this war is over Š our grandchildren's grandchildren are going to be paying for this war ... I look at our future as, I'm sorry, being very, very dark. Let's see our cards as we rise to meet the difficulties that lie ahead." Jimmy Breslin went to the library and looked up the Adolf Hitler speech that kicked off World War II. "It is darkly familiar to what we have been hearing here, when for the first time in American history we became all the things we ever hated and invaded another country," Breslin says. He reprinted much of the speech to make his point. Hitler was at that point pretending that Polish soldiers had fired on German territory, as a pretext for launching his Blitzkrieg invasion of Poland. Here are his curiously Dubya-like words: "Deputies, if the German government and its leader patiently endured such treatment Germany would deserve only to disappear from the political stage. But I am wrongly judged if my love of peace and my patience are mistaken for weakness or even cowardice. I, therefore, decided Wednesday night and informed the British government that in these circumstances I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish government to conduct serious negotiations with us. The other European states understand in part our attitude. I should like all to thank Italy, which throughout has supported us, but you will understand for the on of this struggle ... we will carry out this task ourselves. This night for the first time, Polish regular soldiers fired on our territory. Since 5:45 a.m. we have been returning the fire and from now on bombs will be met with bombs. Whoever fights with poison gas will be fought with poison gas. Whoever departs from the rules of humane warfare can only expect that we shall do the same ... until the safety, security of the Reich and its rights are secured. See Newsday Hello Authoritarianism! New Jersey's "anti-terror czar" (!?), said that if the government escalates the color-coded readiness to Code Red, you will be considered the enemy if you leave your home. See South Jersey News. Bush has stated on numerous occasions that he wishes he could be a dictator. See links to three of the incidents at Buzzflash. Mary Dejevsky, writing for The Guardian analyzes Bush's war speech and finds a "nightmare world of a paranoid president." In this world, she says, "Saddam Hussein's ultimate ambition is not hanging on to power by nefarious means in a small, corrupt and clan-ridden dictatorship, but nothing less than world domination. He and Iraq are presented as posing a direct threat to the United States and the American people. In desperation, Mr Bush said, Saddam Hussein 'and terrorist groups' may try to conduct terrorist operations 'against the American people and our friends'."