Thomas Paine's version of "you didn't build that":
"Separate an individual from society,and give him an island or a continent to possess,and he cannot acquire personal property. He cannot be rich. So inseparably are the means connected with the end,in all cases,that where the former do not exist the latter cannot be obtained. All accumulation, therefore,of personal property,beyond what a man's own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice,of gratitude,and of civilization,a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came"
Submitted by Leah
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The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell who sold us the war still go on doing what they do.
How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.
The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.
Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry. (A year ago Mr. Bush was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” dancing and talking about his paintings.)
We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!
The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.
A recent Amnesty International report makes clear the cost of America’s ‘war of annihilation’ against Isis
The McGlynn, a few thoughts
Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are mirror horrors.
The USA attacked and destroyed Iraq,on a false premise, and we knew it. Now we are kidding ourselves that they have a democracy, so it was all worth it. Trump even went as far as saying that we should now own most of their oil. We have been involved for 17 years in a war in Afghanistan, which seems to get worse every year. Add Syria to the total havoc in that area.
Many Americans agree with Trump, that we should not let Muslims into the country. But without our interference there would not be this massive refugee crisis to begin with.
Bernie Sanders said it best. We have spent trillions of dollars in the Middle East, created havoc and now ignore the death and destruction we caused.
The McGlynn
‘Once, Isis stalked American nightmares. “Bomb Isis,” Americans demanded. Now, America’s moved on, with little care for the ruins those bombings left.’ Photograph: Amnesty International/PA
Earlier this month, Amnesty International released a report proving that the US-led coalition had committed war crimes in their final push to oust Isis from their capital in Raqqa. Amnesty’s report is harrowing. Thirty-nine members of a single family killed. A father listening to the pleas of his children, buried under rubble, as they slowly died of thirst. A city destroyed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of civilians dead, not the 21 the US military so risibly claimed.
Unsurprisingly, it barely made a blip in the US media. Once, Isis stalked American nightmares. “Bomb Isis,” Americans demanded. Now, America’s moved on, with little care for the ruins those bombings left.
I spent the last three years writing a book with Marwan Hisham, a journalist from Raqqa, who risked his life reporting undercover during the Isis occupation of his city. In September 2014, Marwan broke the news on Twitter that the US-led coalition had begun its airstrikes – 20 minutes before the Pentagon announced its campaign. Until January 2016, when he finally fled the city, Marwan lived under coalition bombs. These bombs, as well as those dropped by Russia and the Syrian regime, leveled whole neighborhoods. Only a few days after the first strike, coalition bombs claimed Raqqa’s first civilian casualty, a young security guard named Ismail whose body Marwan helped pull from the rubble. As the months wore on, US bombs turned Raqqa into a wasteland of broken buildings and broken bodies, and Marwan watched his neighbors’ eagerness to be rid of Isis morph into horror.
CAIRO — Yemen’s warring parties are obstructing the flow of crucial aid from the Red Sea port of Hodeida endangering millions in what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, an international rights group said. It urged the U.N. Security Council to impose “targeted sanctions” on those responsible for hampering humanitarian assistance and violating international law.
In a report titled “Stranglehold,” Amnesty International blamed Iran-backed rebels known as Houthis for “excessive and arbitrary bureaucratic procedures” that are restricting the movement of humanitarian workers and causing delays in aid delivery across Yemen.
Amnesty cited aid workers in its report as saying the rebels exert influence over who receives aid, where and by which organizations. They also said the Houthis work in a “fragmented manner” that hampers timely distribution of aid.
Several aid workers also described incidents in which the Houthis demanded money to approve aid projects or authorize deliveries, threatening “to cancel projects if a bribe was not paid.”……..”The Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s unlawful restrictions on imports, coupled with the Houthis’ harmful interference with aid distribution, are preventing life-saving supplies from reaching Yemenis who desperately need them,” Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director Lynn Maalouf said.
DUBAI (Reuters) – Residents unable to flee Hodeidah face constant bombardment, lack of clean water and power cuts as an Arab coalition battles to capture Yemen’s main port from Iran-aligned Houthis in the biggest battle of a three-year war.
A displaced boy from Hodeidah city carries his brother who is affected by monoplegia, at a school where displaced people live, in Sanaa, Yemen June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
“We hear loud explosions all the time,” Assem Mohammed, a 30-year-old pharmacist, said by telephone. “We haven’t had water for three days.”
Mohammed, with his wife and six-month-old daughter, are among a dwindling number of residents who have remained in Hawak district, a neighborhood sandwiched between the airport, captured this week by the coalition, and the sea port, the latest target of the military offensive.
Drivers transporting fleeing residents out of Hodeidah have more than doubled their fares since the battle began, while the hospital where Mohammed works has threatened employees with dismissal if they are absent for long periods.
A major offensive in the area close to Israel could risk drawing Washington further into the conflict
Families flee shelling near Daraa in Syria on Friday. Photograph: Alaa Al-Faqir/Reuters
Syrian army helicopters have dropped barrel bombs on opposition areas of the country’s south-west for the first time in a year, reports said, in defiance of American demands that president Bashar al-Assad halt the assault.
Assad has sworn to recapture the area bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the army this week began ramping up an assault there, threatening a “de-escalation” zone agreed upon by the US and Russia last year.
The US on Thursday reiterated its demand that the zone be respected, warning Assad and his Russian allies of “serious repercussions” of violations. It accused Damascus of initiating air strikes, artillery and rocket attacks.
The UN’s secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, on Friday demanded an immediate end to military escalation in south-western Syria, saying he was “concerned at the significant risks these offensives pose to regional security”.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said earlier on Friday that the Syrian military escalation “unambiguously violates” the de-escalation arrangement and that over 11,000 people had already been displaced.
“Russia will ultimately bear responsibility for any further escalations in Syria,” Haley said in a statement.
A major offensive would risk a wider escalation that could draw the US deeper into the war. The south-west is of strategic concern to Israel, which has this year stepped up attacks on Iran-backed militia allied to Assad.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on opposition areas of the country’s southwest on Friday for the first time in a year, a war monitor and rebel officials said, in defiance of U.S. demands that President Bashar al-Assad halt the assault.
Children ride on a truck with belongings in Deraa countryside, Syria June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Faqir
Assad has sworn to recapture the area bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the army this week began ramping up an assault there, threatening a “de-escalation” zone agreed upon by the United States and Russia last year.
The United States on Thursday reiterated its demand that the zone be respected, warning Assad and his Russian allies of “serious repercussions” of violations. It accused Damascus of initiating air strikes, artillery and rocket attacks.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday demanded an immediate end to military escalation in southwestern Syria, saying he was “concerned at the significant risks these offensives pose to regional security,” a spokesman for the U.N. chief said.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has strongly condemned the murder of a religious cleric in western Herat province of Afghanistan, calling it a unforgivable terrorist act. The Office of the President, ARG Palace, in a statement said President Ghani strongly condemns the murder of religious cleric Jafar Tawakali and has called the perpetrators the enemies of
A clash has taken place between the Taliban and militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Khurasan (ISIS-K) in eastern Laghman province of Afghanistan. The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Military in the East said the incident took place on Friday in the vicinity of Alingar district. The source further added
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Octave Shield.
Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Arizona, died June 8, in Somalia of injuries sustained from enemy indirect fire. The incident is under investigation.
Conrad was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Spc. Gabriel D. Conde, 22, of Loveland, Colorado, was killed in action April 30 as a result of enemy small arms fire in Tagab District, Afghanistan. The incident is under investign.
Conde was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
All VA Medical Centers provide PTSD care, as well as many VA clinics.Some VA’s have programs specializing in PTSD treatment. Use the VA PTSD ProgramLocator to find a PTSD program.If you are a war Veteran, find a Vet Center to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
WAR DOCUMENTARY: IRAQ A DEADLY DECEPTION ALJAZEERA DOCUMENTARIES 2018 On the evening of 9/11, George W Bush made a vow to the American public – that he would defeat terrorism. Unknown to those listening in shock to the presidential address, the president and his advisers had already begun planning their trajectory into an invasion of Iraq. It was packaged as “holding responsible the states who support terrorism” by Richard Perle, a Pentagon adviser between 2001 and 2003. “I believe it represented a recognition that we would never succeed against the terrorists if we went after them one at a time and as long as governments were facilitating the organisation, training, equipping of, financing of terrorist organisations, we were never going to get it under control,” says Perle. After 100 days spent fighting those who had become publicly accepted as the culprits – Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan – the US set the ball rolling for war against Iraq. On the evening of 9/11 the president is saying: well, maybe we’ll be going after Iraq now and somebody said, well, that would be against international law. The president responded: I don’t care, we’re going to kick some ass.
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