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FROM AP: Quotations of the day
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
President Obama's declaration that "America is at a crossroads" in the fight against terror, a fight that is increasingly turning inwards, setting its sights on homegrown extremists, should give every American pause.
Like suicide, sexual assault is skyrocketing in the military. Why? Could it be that the problem is deeply structural? Could it be that it's related to the domination culture the military embodies.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" does what Star Trek has always done best: holds up a mirror to the United States and asks, "Are we the moral people we want to be?"
We have not repented of the torture that we facilitated after 1993 and implemented after 2001. Because we have not repented, we are all the more at risk of doing the exact same thing under new conditions or a new president.
We need enemies. Homeland Security is psychological. Thus the guilt or innocence of the Gitmo prisoners and all our other detainees is irrelevant.
The hunger strikers have succeeded in pushing Guantanamo out of the netherworld of non-news and onto front pages, into presidential news conferences, and to the top of the TV newscasts. But what exactly do those prisoners, many now being force-fed, want to highlight?
You can hardly point out that the Emperor has no clothes if you're not even allowed to look in his direction. And that's precisely the point of the government's war on whistleblowers. The message couldn't be more clear or more authoritarian: Avert your eyes, citizens!
So, what is the message of Iron Man 3? That's a question with a multi-faceted answer. Even if it only refers to the political message. Be advised that there are major spoilers ahead, so proceed, or not, on your own hook.
Committing atrocities is one thing, but institutionalizing them with the full imprimatur of the US government is another, and a more definitive way to ensure Bin Laden enjoys a posthumous victory.
Any systematic attempt to parse the meanings of the term "terrorism" is likely to be frustrated, however earnest the effort. It is a laudable aim to clarify policy choices as a prelude to making more informed decisions more candidly explained to the public. But that is politically unrealistic in today's climate.
How do these costs measure up against the benefits of the war? What benefits were there for the United States in Afghanistan war? How did the security of the United States improve by occupying numerous villages or imprisoning thousands of Pushtun villages in Afghanistan?
I never thought quitting was in my DNA. I never thought about giving up. I was strong. I played football at West Point. I was an officer in the U.S. Army. I had a wonderful marriage and two beautiful children. But war can change you. War can turn you inside out.
We should not be victims of the vicious circles of the past, perpetually dwelling on who first incited the trend of radicalization. However, we should devote more time and energy to dealing with simmering conflicts around the world emphasizing the importance of dialogue, compassion, empathy, justice and respect.
I've given a lot of thought to what I'm going to talk to you about right now given the gravity of the most recent prediction I have been preparing to reveal. These are not logical things I'm going to say, but things that I feel very, very strongly about.
He studied engineering, education and human resources, but somehow never got round to Islam. He did not claim to have any qualifications from an Islamic seat of learning, nor even claim to have any from a secular academic institution's course on Islam.
I had a chance to meet with some of the folks who have served as mediators to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and I am deeply disturbed by what I learned.
