Are these people your enemies?

According to some reports, a total of 13 people were arrested in connection with this video by Iranian authorities who said this "vulgar clip" had "hurt public chastity".

According to a report from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the group was found guilty of "participation in the making of a vulgar clip" and "illegitimate relations between members." Five of the participants were handed six-month suspended jail sentences, while the director reportedly received a one-year suspended prison term. Each group member was sentenced to 91 lashes.

Tip of the hat to Bob Bateman for this idea.

Understanding the New Face of Modern Warfare

Top Computer Science Degrees

Secretary of State John Kerry Urges Military Intervention in Syria

TPM

“Make no mistake, in an increasingly complicated world of sectarian and religious extremist violence, what we choose to do or not do matters in real ways to our own security. Some site the risk of doing things. But we need to ask, ‘What is the risk of doing nothing?’,” Kerry said. “It matters because if we choose to live in the world where a thug and a murderer like Bashar al-Assad can gas thousands of his own people with impunity, even after the United States and our allies said no, and then the world does nothing about it, there will be no end to the test of our resolve and the dangers that will flow from those others who believe that they can do as they will.”

Does that sound like a good reason to start another war in the Middle East? To me, it sounds more like The United States insisting on being the policeman of the world. Of course, there probably is more to it, secret deals and hidden motivations, maybe CIA shit.

These are the kinds of wars we've fought recently, usually triggered by the natural resources that are at stake or the geographical control, never for the honorable reasons stated by lying politicians in Washington. Then, we get blowhard veterans like Moonshine coming around here boasting about how he personally fought in these questionable wars to protect my rights.

There hasn't been a war in our lifetimes that fits that bill. Not since the defeat of Nazism has there been an honorable war that truly put our rights as Americans at stake. So, forgive me if I don't buy into the nonsense of pathetic vets who join the service because there were no jobs at home or in order to get approval from daddy who was a whining Vietnam vet himself and then claim they were preserving our freedom and ensuring that we maintain our rights.

I don't buy it. And now with the addition of Syria as a possible venue of the next farce, unless North Korea or Iran take center stage again, it's about time for people to stop elevating these actions as patriotic endeavors.  They're not. 

Stop Honoring the Institution of War

Jon Stewart on Women in the Combat Zone

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

He makes some very funny jokes, but do you agree? Weren't the same arguments made against female firefighters and police?  Aren't some of the male soldiers slight of build?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

George Carlin on War

As Ricky said, always relevant.

The Medal Of Honor

This is obviously another liberal plot, which this bizarre article takes to task complete with misogyny and delusional biblical references.

According to Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal, every Medal of Honor awarded during these two conflicts has been awarded for saving life. Not one has been awarded for inflicting casualties on the enemy. Not one.

Gen. George Patton once famously said, "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his."

What's your opinion? Do you think there have been some tremendous acts of heroism of the "inflicting casualties" type that have been overlooked in these recent years? Would that indicate progress in some way, perhaps representinig a change in the way we view heroism?

Please leave a comment.

Update; Linky fixed--JG

The War is Making Your Poor

Thanks to The Humble Libertarian.

Offsides

Erez Tadmor on Youtube.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again

Truthout reports on the situation in Yemen and its relationship with the United States. (Thanks for the tip Laci).

...there has been a dramatic turnaround in the fluctuating love-hate relationship between the two countries.

And this week's aborted attempt to blow up a U.S. plane by a Nigerian student, with ties to a terrorist group in Yemen, has brought the political spotlight back on a country which is proud of its gun culture.

Yemen reportedly has over 60 million handguns and small arms spread over a population of some 21 million people.

Yehya al-Mutawakil, a former interior minister, was quoted as saying that everyone in Yemen is armed with handguns, while members of various tribes have gone upscale: they are armed with assault weapons, rocket launchers and submachine guns.

Between 2002 and 2008, Yemen received some 69 million dollars in U.S. military aid; and 496 Yemeni military personnel were trained under the International Military Education and Training programme (IMET).

William D. Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New York-based New America Foundation, cites press reports to suggest that Washington will rapidly ramp up U.S. military aid to Yemen over the next 18 months.

The projected total, he said, is about 70 million dollars, or roughly the amount provided during the entire administration of former President George W. Bush.

"U.S. military aid to Yemen is a double-edged sword," Hartung told IPS.

On the one hand, the Yemeni government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has participated in strikes against al Qaeda and al Qaeda-inspired groups within and around its borders.

On the other hand, he said, "The Yemeni government is one of the most unstable regimes in the world, and there is a danger that U.S. weapons and training could be turned against U.S. interests, if there is a change in government there."

This is my biggest disappointment with Obama. I was hoping he'd get us out of Iraq, wind down the business in Afghanistan and quit policing the world. I thought this was a characteristic of the Bush years. I was wrong. Now the only question seems to be, which will it be next, Iran or Yemen.

What's your opinion?

Perpetual War

On Opinione there's a wonderful post and interesting discussion going on about what Il Principe calls the perpetual state of war.

...the lack of involvement being asked of the American people in the perpetual war by chicken hawk politicians, is one of the most immoral and offensive displays of the ever growing unequal distribution of wealth and privilege in American society.

These are strong words, which to me make perfect sense. The author went on to explain how this has been made possible in part by the all-volunteer military. Although one of the commenters disputed these claims, insisting with statistics and lengthy argument that the makeup of today's military is representative of society at large, I don't buy it. How could it be?

The other controversial aspect of the Prince's views was whether the Nixon decision to abolish the draft was what undermined and ended the anti-Viet-Nam-war movement or the successful result of it. All fascinating issues.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.