I, for one, think that the auto makers should receive money, but we should fire the execs. There are way too many working Americans effected by this industry that are on the edge if we don't help them out where the execs failed. Wall Street has got theirs (to which I do not think they should have-and also in the manner to which that they have). As we move through and listen to the big three auto makers of America beg for money for their failed products and ideas we come to this video that I have below.
I find it interesting as to how GM is asking for $9 Billion, when if liquidated, as an on paper audit of the firm would indicate, that the company's true value is only around $3 Billion. Why the extra funding? Perhaps the extra is for the health and pension funds that Wall Street pissed away and will not return with their own bailout money, since they are using it to payout bonuses (I mean incentives) and spa trips, etc...Right...but I digress...Again, that is millions of Americans that rely on those companies for their retirement and insurance (just what Wall Street pissed away...)
Also, if the bosses couldn't do it right for the past few decades,(and of course we need to give blame to the Bush tax incentives for large car purchases and the fact that people bought them...) why would we give them these funds and still have the same failed managers and executives managing the firms? I agree with Michael Moore, as to, if we as tax payers are going to be owning these companies, we should immediately fire the managers and executives then mandate that with these tax dollar funds they make efficient electric and hybrid cars and trucks, as well as, build high speed rail lines for the country. It is our money and we need modern transportation like in Europe and Japan. All of that will put hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, to work for these new rail lines and retooling and re...
Just like what happened with Roosevelt and with the New Deal, then the car manufacturers were told NOT to make cars but were ORDERED to make tanks, guns, and items necessary for our society and the war effort. Well, guess what, we have a new war on. The war on fiscal solvency.
When a President declares war, as we have seen exemplified through this finally ending failed administration, lame ducked, shamed faced...sorry, I got carried away.
A President has special executive powers to mandate ideas, projects, processes, and regulations if there is a war on something. That's why they call it a war on something...anything...this way they can use special executive powers to make things happen that they normally would not. I say, let there be a declaration of a war on the economy. For this, Wall Street MUST give money to companies, small businesses and tax payers to help them with their financial messes to which Wall Street orchestrated. Detroit MUST make ecological affordable vehicles and high speed mass transportation to which will help our country move back and forth instead of the necessity to rely on the continually failing airline industry...Oh, yeah, those guys get bailed out too...remember those...
If we are going to go down this socialistic path, we as a society should benefit from OUR money and OUR needs. That's what socialism is, for the society as a whole and not simply for the rich.
Karl Marx posited that socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution which represents the transitional stage between capitalism and communism. I don't think that is altogether true or necessary. It is not necessarily a transition to communism. We can have socialism with capitalistic tendencies. Or should I say, WE DO HAVE socialism with capitalistic tendencies. Let's call it regulation with a bailout. Right now, what we have recently created in this country is the world's largest socialistic government, with capitalistic tendencies. There was not revolution, but there is class struggle, and even still the rich are currently winning this fight hands down. But, if the tax payers are going to be owning these firms on Wall Street, and in Detroit, we MUST have that accountability and oversight that the Republican party has so carefully forgotten about, as well as how much they deregulated over these past thirty years.
Ironically, (and perhaps it is the gods having fun with us), it was September 11th, when our own government financed a coup that assassinated and overthrew, Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist leader of Chile, in 1973. This is our pattern, is to state publicly and adamantly, and to brainwash our society that capitalism is the best system in the world and socialism or communism must be crushed. Make no mistake, I am not against capitalism. I enjoy the fruits of my hard earned dollars just as much as the next person.
What is the dilemma is that we destabilize socialist countries and overthrow democratically elected leaders of other countries after we demonize their leaders for running a system not like our own. We create crippling and stagnate economies after these actions in these countries for the American financial institutions to exercise their might in these "now democratic" societies. We then set up American corporate interests for raw materials and manufacturing to enslave the working class of these countries for the "now democratic" state, that is after we instill the new leader of the country that we want and who sees things the American way. Just like, back in Sept. 11, 1973, when we installed the murdering dictator General Augusto Pinochet. We have done this in Nicaragua, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Cuba, Iran...Iraq...
The irony is hitting us square in the face now and we must come to terms with our own societal two faced rhetoric as we have shown clearly to the world that a free capitalistic system is not the "only" way. There is no one way for anything. It is in our best interest to educate ourselves of our own misgivings and see the socialistic one way mirror to which we now find ourselves on the other side of.
Oh, sorry, I got sidetracked. I wanted to discuss cars...
Watch this! Perhaps Detroit can learn from this!!
This, the 212th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!
(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The writing is on the wall...paper...
If we would simply slow down a bit we would be able to see the pieces of the puzzle playing out right in front of our eyes. On this Thanksgiving holiday, I am thankful for being able to see through the haze of deception and the smoke and mirrors.
For those that have not opened their eyes in quite a while it might behoove you to know that the world has a severe crisis on its hands and I'm not talking just about the economy. This was is in the nuclear arena. The North Koreans are selling their nuclear technology to anyone with the money to pay for it. This was discovered, ironically enough, when a white supremacist tried to buy the technology and bring it into the US for the big race war.
Now, with Obama going into office perhaps the country will be in a position to receive assistance from other countries instead of the turning away due to the Bush lies and deceit. It will take a bit of time to create the trust again. Since there were no weapons of mass destruction, and we invaded a sovereign country anyway, we have been hard pressed to find a country out there who gives a damn about us for quite some time. This was exemplified in the recent entry, "The Eyes Have It". That shows what the world thinks of our current lame duck. Now, and for quite some time, the world has been feeling that this lame duck is crying wolf for anything anymore. The world has watched as Bush turned away to their calls for environmental crisis solutions, aid to Darfur, and so many more...
Now, we have been hearing about pirates, and they are not in the Caribbean. This is happening today off the coast of Somalia.
So, is there writing on the wall? For the conspiracy theorist in me, I say yes. Just take a bit of time and think about it. Blackwater, just like Reagan and Oliver North were doing in the 80's, has created their own war to substantiate their future cash flow positions. On one side of the transaction they assist the pirate organizations to acquire the equipment they need for these acts, provide them training for the equipment and various weaponry, and strategies to the pirates in handling delicate hostile hostage situations. On the other side they create a need for a company like theirs to step in and act for the hard pressed American military. They are the international guns for hire. Blackwater secures more security work, receive commissions from the arms sales, and gives training and information to threatened countries and shipping companies. They stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars for this deceptive business tactic.
In a Nov. 24th article on the global news website Speigel Online - International we find just this taking place in front of our eyes. They write, "Blackwater is now receiving inquiries from dozens of new clients, mainly shipping companies and shipping insurance companies. All of them want the same thing: that Blackwater mercenaries guide their freighters and tankers safely past Somalia, through the world's most dangerous waters, the hunting grounds of bands of pirates armed with Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers, attacking anything that comes into their sights. In their flip-flops and inflatable plastic boats, they look more like small-time crooks, the sort hardly worth the effort of any coast guard vessel. And yet, in reality, these pirates are causing huge problems for the naval fleets of major powers -- and, of course, for the governments in places like Berlin, Paris and Washington."
Perhaps Blackwater will begin to help companies negotiate the ransom demands with these pirates in the future. This will become an added profit center for the firm as they conveniently orchestrate these multi-million dollar transfers.
Rather than the United Nations helping the Somali government get a better foothold on their country and assisting them with their crumbling economy, which would be getting to the root causes of this dilemma in the first place, they buy into the War, Inc. philosophy.
Perhaps, no one wants to see soldier's bodies dragged through the streets of Mogadishu again like back in 1994.
John Cusack released a movie this year, to which he co-wrote, produced and starred in, called "War, Inc." It is a dark political satire film directed by Joshua Seftel. The story is partly inspired by an article entitled "Baghdad Year Zero", from the famed writer of, "The Shock Doctrine", Naomi Klein. War, Inc. is an interesting film regarding just this type of scenario. A corporate firm orchestrates the arms deals, orchestrates the ransoms, orchestrates the battles, orchestrates the information to the press.
I feel that, as the Bush, Inc. administration has done in Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater is now doing in Somalia and other areas around the world.
If you allow yourself to believe in the conspiracies or what people may think as the ridiculous you will soon find that it is not that but it is the obvious.
Have a great and safe holiday!
This, the 206th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!
(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs
For those that have not opened their eyes in quite a while it might behoove you to know that the world has a severe crisis on its hands and I'm not talking just about the economy. This was is in the nuclear arena. The North Koreans are selling their nuclear technology to anyone with the money to pay for it. This was discovered, ironically enough, when a white supremacist tried to buy the technology and bring it into the US for the big race war.
Now, with Obama going into office perhaps the country will be in a position to receive assistance from other countries instead of the turning away due to the Bush lies and deceit. It will take a bit of time to create the trust again. Since there were no weapons of mass destruction, and we invaded a sovereign country anyway, we have been hard pressed to find a country out there who gives a damn about us for quite some time. This was exemplified in the recent entry, "The Eyes Have It". That shows what the world thinks of our current lame duck. Now, and for quite some time, the world has been feeling that this lame duck is crying wolf for anything anymore. The world has watched as Bush turned away to their calls for environmental crisis solutions, aid to Darfur, and so many more...
Now, we have been hearing about pirates, and they are not in the Caribbean. This is happening today off the coast of Somalia.
So, is there writing on the wall? For the conspiracy theorist in me, I say yes. Just take a bit of time and think about it. Blackwater, just like Reagan and Oliver North were doing in the 80's, has created their own war to substantiate their future cash flow positions. On one side of the transaction they assist the pirate organizations to acquire the equipment they need for these acts, provide them training for the equipment and various weaponry, and strategies to the pirates in handling delicate hostile hostage situations. On the other side they create a need for a company like theirs to step in and act for the hard pressed American military. They are the international guns for hire. Blackwater secures more security work, receive commissions from the arms sales, and gives training and information to threatened countries and shipping companies. They stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars for this deceptive business tactic.
In a Nov. 24th article on the global news website Speigel Online - International we find just this taking place in front of our eyes. They write, "Blackwater is now receiving inquiries from dozens of new clients, mainly shipping companies and shipping insurance companies. All of them want the same thing: that Blackwater mercenaries guide their freighters and tankers safely past Somalia, through the world's most dangerous waters, the hunting grounds of bands of pirates armed with Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers, attacking anything that comes into their sights. In their flip-flops and inflatable plastic boats, they look more like small-time crooks, the sort hardly worth the effort of any coast guard vessel. And yet, in reality, these pirates are causing huge problems for the naval fleets of major powers -- and, of course, for the governments in places like Berlin, Paris and Washington."
Perhaps Blackwater will begin to help companies negotiate the ransom demands with these pirates in the future. This will become an added profit center for the firm as they conveniently orchestrate these multi-million dollar transfers.
Rather than the United Nations helping the Somali government get a better foothold on their country and assisting them with their crumbling economy, which would be getting to the root causes of this dilemma in the first place, they buy into the War, Inc. philosophy.
Perhaps, no one wants to see soldier's bodies dragged through the streets of Mogadishu again like back in 1994.
John Cusack released a movie this year, to which he co-wrote, produced and starred in, called "War, Inc." It is a dark political satire film directed by Joshua Seftel. The story is partly inspired by an article entitled "Baghdad Year Zero", from the famed writer of, "The Shock Doctrine", Naomi Klein. War, Inc. is an interesting film regarding just this type of scenario. A corporate firm orchestrates the arms deals, orchestrates the ransoms, orchestrates the battles, orchestrates the information to the press.
I feel that, as the Bush, Inc. administration has done in Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater is now doing in Somalia and other areas around the world.
If you allow yourself to believe in the conspiracies or what people may think as the ridiculous you will soon find that it is not that but it is the obvious.
Have a great and safe holiday!
This, the 206th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!
(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Iraqi Death Count
The number is shocking and sobering. I have recently included the small toll on the right column on this blog. I urge you to take the time to learn more through this organization on the horrors that the Repubican's have put this country, and our country through on this illegal invasion of this sovereign country.
For the accountability that Bush has continued to campaign for throughout his reign as ruler of this country, he and his cronies should be held accountable for the murders of these innocent Iraqi people, as well as, the murders of the Americans that went to fight in this illegal invasion. His premeditated actions should be prosecuted to the full extent of our laws as outlined in the book by Vincent Bugliosi, "The Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder".
It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on a scientific study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003.
That study, published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then. The graphic above provides a rough daily update of this number based on a rate of increase derived from the Iraq Body Count. (See the complete explanation.)
The estimate that over a million Iraqis have died received independent confirmation from a prestigious British polling agency in September 2007. Opinion Research Business estimated that 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed violently since the US invasion.
This devastating human toll demands greater recognition. It eclipses the Rwandan genocide and our leaders are directly responsible. Little wonder they do not publicly cite it. Here is simple HTML code to post the counter to your website and help spread the word.
******
The following comes from the mission statement of this organization:
...We have seen through the Iraq war that unnecessary military actions can undermine civil liberties and democracy at home, and can be used to remove pressing domestic issues from the political agenda to the detriment of the great majority.
During the Cold War, the United States spent trillions of dollars on an arms race with the USSR, as well as wars such as Korea and Vietnam. Yet we were able to create Medicare, Medicaid, and enact large enough increases in Social Security to drive the poverty rate among the elderly down from 35 percent in 1959 to less than 12 percent by the end of the era. But for a number of reasons—fiscal, economic, and political—our current circumstances are very different.
For example, at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, the U.S. gross federal debt was 43.5 percent of our economy and falling. Today it is over 67 percent and rising. Maintaining our current foreign and military policy and possible large increases in military spending (for example if we have an arms race with China, whose economy will be larger than ours within a decade) will lead to serious declines in U.S. living standards.
U.S. foreign policy therefore threatens to impede—perhaps as never before—the country's economic and social progress. It has become extremely important to the lives of all Americans, and we cannot afford to leave it in the hands of the "experts" without influence from the public.
Eventually the United States must move towards a more multilateral approach to foreign relations—one that relies less on raw U.S. military and economic power and more on international law and treaties, co-operation, and diplomacy. Our goal is to accelerate this transition through education, organization, and mobilization of concerned citizens.
For the accountability that Bush has continued to campaign for throughout his reign as ruler of this country, he and his cronies should be held accountable for the murders of these innocent Iraqi people, as well as, the murders of the Americans that went to fight in this illegal invasion. His premeditated actions should be prosecuted to the full extent of our laws as outlined in the book by Vincent Bugliosi, "The Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder".
It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on a scientific study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003.
That study, published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then. The graphic above provides a rough daily update of this number based on a rate of increase derived from the Iraq Body Count. (See the complete explanation.)
The estimate that over a million Iraqis have died received independent confirmation from a prestigious British polling agency in September 2007. Opinion Research Business estimated that 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed violently since the US invasion.
This devastating human toll demands greater recognition. It eclipses the Rwandan genocide and our leaders are directly responsible. Little wonder they do not publicly cite it. Here is simple HTML code to post the counter to your website and help spread the word.
******
The following comes from the mission statement of this organization:
...We have seen through the Iraq war that unnecessary military actions can undermine civil liberties and democracy at home, and can be used to remove pressing domestic issues from the political agenda to the detriment of the great majority.
During the Cold War, the United States spent trillions of dollars on an arms race with the USSR, as well as wars such as Korea and Vietnam. Yet we were able to create Medicare, Medicaid, and enact large enough increases in Social Security to drive the poverty rate among the elderly down from 35 percent in 1959 to less than 12 percent by the end of the era. But for a number of reasons—fiscal, economic, and political—our current circumstances are very different.
For example, at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, the U.S. gross federal debt was 43.5 percent of our economy and falling. Today it is over 67 percent and rising. Maintaining our current foreign and military policy and possible large increases in military spending (for example if we have an arms race with China, whose economy will be larger than ours within a decade) will lead to serious declines in U.S. living standards.
U.S. foreign policy therefore threatens to impede—perhaps as never before—the country's economic and social progress. It has become extremely important to the lives of all Americans, and we cannot afford to leave it in the hands of the "experts" without influence from the public.
Eventually the United States must move towards a more multilateral approach to foreign relations—one that relies less on raw U.S. military and economic power and more on international law and treaties, co-operation, and diplomacy. Our goal is to accelerate this transition through education, organization, and mobilization of concerned citizens.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Lies, deceipt, ...just another day in politics!
I got an email from a friend, who I am hoping sent it by mistake, but it discussed the "disgrace" that Obama spent money refurbishing a plane, and it seems "took the flag off" the tail of the plane. Perhaps this action was done in order to PAINT the plane, and is all out of context. The email goes on about patriotism and such...
I get so tired of people stating that McCant is more patriotic than Obama, simply due to his service and a war prisoner. This does not a President or patriot make. The people that wave the flag issue around like this are usually the same people that have no other thoughts regarding issues and must resort to meaningless issues such as this. I use the word meaningless to make a point. That being, patriotism is when people force themselves to think about what is NOT right about this country, and force themselves to continuously ask questions and question authority and make things better because of it. This is true freedom and patriotism! These flag concerned citizens need to open their eyes as to what is happening to our country, and how it has gone down the toilet and deeply into debt due to total mismanagement and excess spending that this current administration has done. Through lies, deceit, and manipulation we have watched our country go to shit!
If being President and running things in this manner, or wanting to have the same again, is Patriotic, something is seriously wrong with our moral structure in America today.
The following article comes from Salon.com. Whether than question its authenticity and find its proof, the faithful Repugnicants will simply disavow it as false and state that our government wouldn't do something like this...Like finding a fall guy and drug addict lying therapist to bring the Anthrax scare to be falsely linked to Al Qaida.
This Al guy seems to be guilty of everything in the world, based on this administration. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they want to find accountability, as long as it is not them.
War Room
By Alex Koppelman
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008 10:34 EDT
White House ordered forgery
I'll of course leave it to Glenn Greenwald, since this story falls right in his wheelhouse, to put this news into greater historical context, but I am honestly not sure whether to scream or yawn anymore when informed of new evidence of how mendaciously the Bush administration behaved in the run-up to the Iraq war.
The latest development is the alleged attempt by the administration to get the CIA to forge and backdate a memo concocting some bogus link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, as reported in Ron Suskind's new book, "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism." The White House, of course, denies the allegation. "The allegation that the White House directed anyone to forge a document from [former Iraqi intelligence director Tahir Jalil] Habbush to Saddam is just absurd," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.
Yes, Mr. Fratto, how absurd -- because, like, there's just no historical precedent with this administration for lying, misleading or manipulating intelligence. We should all be ashamed of ourselves for such absurdities.
― Thomas Schaller
I get so tired of people stating that McCant is more patriotic than Obama, simply due to his service and a war prisoner. This does not a President or patriot make. The people that wave the flag issue around like this are usually the same people that have no other thoughts regarding issues and must resort to meaningless issues such as this. I use the word meaningless to make a point. That being, patriotism is when people force themselves to think about what is NOT right about this country, and force themselves to continuously ask questions and question authority and make things better because of it. This is true freedom and patriotism! These flag concerned citizens need to open their eyes as to what is happening to our country, and how it has gone down the toilet and deeply into debt due to total mismanagement and excess spending that this current administration has done. Through lies, deceit, and manipulation we have watched our country go to shit!
If being President and running things in this manner, or wanting to have the same again, is Patriotic, something is seriously wrong with our moral structure in America today.
The following article comes from Salon.com. Whether than question its authenticity and find its proof, the faithful Repugnicants will simply disavow it as false and state that our government wouldn't do something like this...Like finding a fall guy and drug addict lying therapist to bring the Anthrax scare to be falsely linked to Al Qaida.
This Al guy seems to be guilty of everything in the world, based on this administration. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they want to find accountability, as long as it is not them.
War Room
By Alex Koppelman
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008 10:34 EDT
White House ordered forgery
I'll of course leave it to Glenn Greenwald, since this story falls right in his wheelhouse, to put this news into greater historical context, but I am honestly not sure whether to scream or yawn anymore when informed of new evidence of how mendaciously the Bush administration behaved in the run-up to the Iraq war.
The latest development is the alleged attempt by the administration to get the CIA to forge and backdate a memo concocting some bogus link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, as reported in Ron Suskind's new book, "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism." The White House, of course, denies the allegation. "The allegation that the White House directed anyone to forge a document from [former Iraqi intelligence director Tahir Jalil] Habbush to Saddam is just absurd," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.
Yes, Mr. Fratto, how absurd -- because, like, there's just no historical precedent with this administration for lying, misleading or manipulating intelligence. We should all be ashamed of ourselves for such absurdities.
― Thomas Schaller
Thursday, July 31, 2008
What is a war crime?
I found this article to be of interest. Perhaps it is time more people become a bit more educated on the definitions of war crimes in order to find if President Bush is guilty of them. If we are to impeach him we should understand what he has done. His desire for accountability statements show us that there is much room for him to stand and deliver on his promise for this. Only it is he who should be held accountable for the actions in Iraq.
I know this goes against the grain of where I have been heading lately with the previous entries, but as a society should we not close the door of ills such as these in order to heal the wounds to be able to move forward a more learned and civil people?
What is a war crime?
By Tarik Kafala
BBC News
BBC News
The arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his expected transfer to The Hague throws a renewed spotlight on the prosecution of war crimes.
But what exactly are war crimes? What body of laws do they refer to and who has the right to try a suspect for such crimes?
 Radovan Karadzic is set to follow Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague |
But during World War II the murder of several million people - mainly Jews - by Nazi Germany, and the mistreatment of both civilians and prisoners of war by the Japanese, prompted the Allied powers to prosecute the people they believed to be the perpetrators of these crimes.
The Nuremberg trials in 1945 and 1946 led to 12 Nazi leaders being executed.
A similar process started in Tokyo in 1948. Seven Japanese commanders were hanged, though the Allies decided not to put Emperor Hirohito in the dock.
These trials were essentially the precedents for the cases that the modern-day tribunal in The Hague hears.
In addition, individual governments, feeling that justice has not been done, have acted on their own initiative.
 |  At the heart of the concept of war crimes is the idea that an individual can be held responsible for the actions of a country or that nation's soldiers  |
He was kidnapped and taken to Israel where he was put on trial and subsequently hanged.
A more recent example was the 1987 trial of Klaus Barbie - a leading Nazi during the German occupation of France. Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Body of laws
At the heart of the concept of war crimes is the idea that an individual can be held responsible for the actions of a country or that nation's soldiers.
 Prosecutors aim to get justice for the victims of Bosnian war crimes |
The body of laws that define a war crime are the Geneva Conventions, a broader and older area of laws referred to as the Laws and Customs of War, and, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague (ICTY).
Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines war crimes as: "Wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including... wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial, ...taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."
This, international lawyers say, is the basic definition of war crimes.
The statutes of The Hague tribunal say the court has the right to try suspects alleged to have violated the laws or customs of war in the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Examples of such violations are given in article 3:
- Wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity
- Attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings
- Seizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and science
- Plunder of public or private property.
The tribunal defines crime against humanity as crimes committed in armed conflict but directed against a civilian population. Again a list of examples is given in article 5:
- Murder
- Extermination
- Enslavement
- Deportation
- Imprisonment
- Torture
- Rape
- Persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds.
Genocide is defined by the tribunal as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
But the law on war crimes is continually evolving.
In February 2001, the tribunal in The Hague delivered a ruling that made mass systematic rape and sexual enslavement in a time of war a crime against humanity.
Mass rape, or rape used as a tool of war, was then elevated from being a violation of the customs of war to one of the most heinous war crimes of all - second only to genocide.
Spotting a war crime
It is not always easy to spot a war crime.
The displacement of civilians from their homes by an enemy army is not necessarily a war crime.
It can be argued that the displacement is being carried out for the protection of the civilians.
It only becomes a war crime if the expulsions can be proven to be part of campaign of ethnic cleansing or designed as a mass punishment of civilians.
Equally, is it a war crime for the air force of one country to bomb an enemy's television station because of the propaganda in the broadcasts?
Under the Geneva Conventions, this is not a war crime. Just about all aspects of a state's infrastructure - roads, bridges, power stations, factories - become legitimate targets if they might be put to military use.
Such attacks only become war crimes if the extent of collateral damage to civilians and civilian interests resulting from the attack would be excessive compared to the military advantage gained from the attack.
International court
International human rights groups have long called for a uniform and global legal system for dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Apart from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, established in May 1993, an international tribunal was established in Arusha, Tanzania, for cases resulting from the atrocities carried out in Rwanda in 1994.
Another is trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor over war crimes committed during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Although these represent significant further steps in bringing those accused of war crimes to justice, they are, like Nuremberg and Tokyo, committed to dealing with war crimes in specific conflicts.
In July 2008, Surinam became the 107th country to join the International Criminal Court, set up in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity.
The United States has refused to sign the treaty, arguing the court could be used to pursue politically motivated prosecutions. Other major powers including Russia, China and India have also refused.
The question of whether international courts of this kind are political - as defendants like Slobodan Milosevic have argued - hangs over all international legal institutions.
In a sense it is true that the tribunals are political since the international political will to establish and fund them has to exist before they can get to work.
Critics of international courts often argue that international justice can only be truly legitimate when all war crimes, committed by any county, come under the jurisdiction of a single international court.Sunday, July 20, 2008
Words of Sun Tzu, or Bush...Sun Tzu, or Bush...
"The Art of War", considered one of the greatest books ever written, was written 2,300 years ago by Sun Tzu, a great Chinese military genius, during the era (476 to 221 B.C.). During this time there were a few hundred wars (equal to 150 years of World War II) fought non-stop between the separate warring states of China. At this time, it is clear, that war was done by the primary means of men on the ground. Thousands and thousands of lives were lost during these violent, face to face, hand to hand battles.
The difference today doesn't seem to be much. The United States has a policy to think that our technological defense weapons are all it takes to win wars. If this were the case we would be done and complete in Iraq, and Afghanistan, or what about Vietnam. Strategy, is what wins wars. Due to the fact that our current Administration had none when going into this situation except revenging "daddy's attempted assasin", we are now left with our young men and women running around wondering why they are there. Why are they being called back for the fifth and sixth time. This is exemplified daily at the end of MSNBC News program "Countdown with Keith Olbermann", "...this is now the 1078th (or whatever) day after the declaration of victory in Iraq!" And the saga continues.
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In the (translated) words of Sun Tzu:
Using a huge army in battle makes success very expensive
Long delays create a dull army and sharp defeats.
Attacking enemy cities drains your forces.
Long, violent campaigns that exhaust the nation's resources are wrong.
Manage a dull army and you will suffer sharp defeats.
Drain your forces and your money will be used up.
Your rivals will multiply as your army collapses and they will begin against you.
It doesn't matter how smart you are, you cannot get ahead by taking losses.
You hear of people going to war too quickly, still, you won't see a skilled war that lasts a long time. You can fight a war for a long time, or you can make a nation strong, you cannot do both!
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I reflect on these words from his second chapter. Profound thoughts of Sun Tzu's time that are in direct relation to today. We have found ourselves in a "quagmire" to use their own words. Such a throwback to the 60's. Can our leaders ever learn from history and their mistakes? The same people that helped run the Vietnam war (Rumsfeld and Cheney) have done the same thing all over again. Only this time they have the Bush family juggernaut behind them. Money is the forefront of this war. As the times have changed since the sixties, the money is more focused to a handful of participants and a small global group of white men.
Perhaps they should read Sun Tzu's book. It's pretty clear to me, and it's only in chapter two. One could get to it in a few minutes. and save us all a lot of shit!
I know, though, that when I watch Keith Olbermann on Monday, another day will be added to his tag line and more lives will be lost for naught.
Take a listen to this most recent turn of events from the Keith Olbermann Countdown!
I love this guy!!
The difference today doesn't seem to be much. The United States has a policy to think that our technological defense weapons are all it takes to win wars. If this were the case we would be done and complete in Iraq, and Afghanistan, or what about Vietnam. Strategy, is what wins wars. Due to the fact that our current Administration had none when going into this situation except revenging "daddy's attempted assasin", we are now left with our young men and women running around wondering why they are there. Why are they being called back for the fifth and sixth time. This is exemplified daily at the end of MSNBC News program "Countdown with Keith Olbermann", "...this is now the 1078th (or whatever) day after the declaration of victory in Iraq!" And the saga continues.
****************************
In the (translated) words of Sun Tzu:
Using a huge army in battle makes success very expensive
Long delays create a dull army and sharp defeats.
Attacking enemy cities drains your forces.
Long, violent campaigns that exhaust the nation's resources are wrong.
Manage a dull army and you will suffer sharp defeats.
Drain your forces and your money will be used up.
Your rivals will multiply as your army collapses and they will begin against you.
It doesn't matter how smart you are, you cannot get ahead by taking losses.
You hear of people going to war too quickly, still, you won't see a skilled war that lasts a long time. You can fight a war for a long time, or you can make a nation strong, you cannot do both!
****************************
I reflect on these words from his second chapter. Profound thoughts of Sun Tzu's time that are in direct relation to today. We have found ourselves in a "quagmire" to use their own words. Such a throwback to the 60's. Can our leaders ever learn from history and their mistakes? The same people that helped run the Vietnam war (Rumsfeld and Cheney) have done the same thing all over again. Only this time they have the Bush family juggernaut behind them. Money is the forefront of this war. As the times have changed since the sixties, the money is more focused to a handful of participants and a small global group of white men.
Perhaps they should read Sun Tzu's book. It's pretty clear to me, and it's only in chapter two. One could get to it in a few minutes. and save us all a lot of shit!
I know, though, that when I watch Keith Olbermann on Monday, another day will be added to his tag line and more lives will be lost for naught.
Take a listen to this most recent turn of events from the Keith Olbermann Countdown!
I love this guy!!
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