Tag: murder

Atrocities Can Be Expensive

Posted on by kathiemm

The brief video at the beginning of this post is horrifying but worthy of 15 seconds of your time.

Capt. Richard Koll, left, and Airman First Class Mike Eulo monitored a drone aircraft after launching it in Iraq. Credit U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Steve Horton

There’s thousands, maybe millions of them, out there. Some of them, invisible to you, are soaring around right now, doing their dirty business—spying and killing. And thousands more are still waiting to be set free to wreak death and destruction on babies, children, and adults who have the misfortune of being somewhere government operatives have decided to target.

Question: What allows the US drone program to get away with murder?

Answer: the usual thing. Tom Greening says it well:

PROFITEER

It¹s true I am a profiteer
from wars, and yes I know you sneer
at my crass immorality
that helps me live in luxury.
I feel no need to be defensive‹
atrocities can be expensive.
I revel in ill-gotten gains
from helping bad guys purchase planes,
and drones and bombs and other stuff‹
they never seem to get enough.
I must the politicians thank
for all the dirty cash I bank.

Tom Greening

Neither the death and destruction nor the dirty cash are featured in the corporate media but they are real enough.

I know your days are full of activities, and it is probably impossible to do all the things you should do, but if your government is going to do things in your names, things that are inhuman and violate international human rights, you might find it worthwhile to stroll a bit down the avenues where you can find some information—for example,  droneswatch.org  and  nodronesnetwork.blogspot.com.

For the military industrial complex, drone warfare is a great way to terrorize civilians in an area they want to control without stirring up the people back home and with a minimum of American casualties, but even drone operators, presumably safely behind their computers, can suffer from participating in murder.

Let’s get stirred up over the latest killing technology and welcome efforts to get more hard facts from the government about their missions of death.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Today’s Assignment: Human Rights 365

Posted on by kathiemm

 

Wednesday December 10 is Human Rights Day, a commemoration day for the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The theme this year is Human Rights 365—that is, a reminder that every day should be a human rights day.

Brothers and sisters, we have a long way to go.

 

 

  •  Racism violates human rights.
  • Slavery violates human rights.
  • Torture violates human rights.
  • Murder violates human rights.
  • Prolonged solitary confinement violates human rights.
  • Even severe poverty is a human rights violation.

Racism, slavery, torture, murder, prolonged solitary confinement, and severe poverty are not things people choose or desire. Nor, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, do people deserve such abominations, even if those people are different, annoying, foreign, other, scary.

The US government is fond of pointing the finger at human rights violations in selected other nations (not, generally, their allies), but such finger pointing is just another example of “Do as I say, not as I do.” All those human rights violations take place in the US today, every day, and all too many people are quick to find “justifications” concerning why racism , slavery, torture , murder, etc., are not human rights violations if done in or by the United States.

On Human Rights Day, 365 days a year, try to listen to a different drummer.  Fight racism, fight slavery, fight torture. Raise your voice against murder, solitary confinement, poverty, forced feeding, unequal opportunity, and all the social injustices that infect our society and damage us all. Make the world a better place. Right here at home. Do what you can.  365.

Importance of being intolerant

Posted on by kathiemm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYPRudsBzBY
Following the mindless slaughter of the First World War, the failure of the League of Nations, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the unendurable losses of World War II, nations came together as the United Nations.

In the Preamble to the United Nations Charter, we find the words:

‘We, the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, … to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, … and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours…”

The theme of tolerance appears frequently in U.N. documents. At the urging of UNESCO, 1995 was declared the United Nations Year for Tolerance. The year-long campaign for tolerance and non-violence was followed by the selection of November 16 to be the annual International Day for Tolerance.

Tolerance means respect for differences, appreciation of diversity. It means liberating oneself from the chains of prejudice, the burden of discrimination,  and achieving freedom from hatred of others who happen to differ in skin color, religion, language, sexual orientation, and other human characteristics.

For peace and social justice to be achieved, tolerance for diversity must go hand-in-glove with intolerance for many barbaric practices that continue to create suffering and anger in today’s world, including:

  • Rape
  • Female genital mutilation
  • Torture
  • Violence against women
  • Violence against children
  • Violence against men
  • Murder, including capital punishment and war-time killing

Tomorrow is the day to show tolerance for other human beings and intolerance for inhumane practices.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

“Never again”: A report from Rwanda

Posted on by kathiemm

[Note from Kathie Malley-Morrison:  Today’s post is part of an ongoing series by Andrew Potter, reporting from Rwanda where he is working on a documentary film about his experience.]

Writing on Rwandan brick wall: "Never Again"
Photo by Andrew Potter

I am experiencing this country with fresh eyes and an informed perspective.  I am encouraged by the balance that seems to have been achieved here.

Nathan and I have visited a number of local schools and are awed by the students’ intelligence and excellent grasp of the English language.

Two days ago we toured a genocide memorial at the site where over 10,000 Tutsis were massacred. This was a very visceral experience, one that was extremely difficult to digest. A description will have to suffice because photography was not permitted.

We entered a church, the same church where thousands of Tutsis had attempted to seek refuge. Walking into the church is like stepping onto a crime scene. Everything is freshly preserved. The pews of the church are piled with mounds of cloths from the dead.

In the underbelly of the church is a coffin holding the body of a Tutsi lady who was raped 15 times before she was brutally murdered. The ceiling is covered in bloodstains and bullet holes. It was an absolutely chilling scene.

I feel that this was incredibly important to witness first hand. It made me realize the severity of what Rwanda is currently attempting to overcome.

In being here I get the sense that people are doing the absolute best they can in the wake of an unspeakable past. In light of this I have shifted the focus of my documentary away from the genocide and reconciliation issues to simply documenting the school we are staying at and the everyday life of the people in this country.

There is a power, simplicity, and beauty in the way people have recovered and how they have achieved so much growth in the past 16 years.

Andrew Potter