Dr. Dahlia Wasfi's speech "No Justice, No Peace"

Dahlia Wasfi is an Iraqi-American physician and peace activist. Born inn 1971 in New York to a Jewish-American mother and Muslim Iraqi father, Dr. Wasfi spent part of her early childhood living in Iraq.
Visit her site here.

"We have an obligation to every last victim of this illegal aggression because all of this carnage has been done in our name. Since World War II, 90% of the casualties of war are unarmed civilians. 1/3 of them children. Our victims have done nothing to us. From Palestine to Afghanistan to Iraq to Somalia to wherever our next target may be, their murders are not collateral damage, they are the nature of modern warfare. They don't hate us because of our freedoms. They hate us because every day we are funding and committing crimes against humanity. The so-called "war on terror" is a cover for our military aggression to gain control of the resources of western Asia.

This is sending the poor of this country to kill the poor of those Muslim countries. This is trading blood for oil. This is genocide, and to most of the world, we are the terrorists. In these times, remaining silent on our responsibility to the world and its future is criminal. And in light of our complicity in the supreme crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ongoing violations of the U.N. Charter in International Law, how dare any American criticize the actions of legitimate resistance to illegal occupation.

Our so-called enemies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, our other colonies around the world, and our inner cities here at home, are struggling against the oppressive hand of empire, demanding respect for their humanity. They are labeled insurgents or terrorists for resisting rape and pillage by the white establishment, but they are our brothers and sisters in the struggle for justice. The civilians at the other end of our weapons don't have a choice, but American soldiers have choices, and while there may have been some doubt 5 years ago, today we know the truth. Our soldiers don't sacrifice for duty-honor-country, they sacrifice for Kellogg Brown & Root.

They don't fight for America, they fight for their lives and their buddies beside them, because we put them in a war zone. They're not defending our freedoms, they're laying the foundation for 14 permanent military bases to defend the freedoms of Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum.

They're not establishing democracy, they're establishing the basis for an economic occupation to continue after the military occupation has ended. Iraqi society today, thanks to American "help" is defined by house raids, death squads, check-points, detentions, curfews, blood in the streets, and constant violence. We must dare to speak out in support of the Iraqi people, who resist and endure the horrific existence we brought upon them through our bloodthirsty imperial crusade. We must dare to speak out in support of those American war-resisters, the real military heroes, who uphold their oath to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, including those terrorist cells in Washington DC more commonly known as the Legislative, Executive & Judicial branches.

"If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress"

Frederick Douglass said

"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughinging the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both ... but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

Every one of us, every one of us must keep demanding, keep fighting, keep thundering, keep plowing, keep speaking, keep struggling until justice is served. NO justice, NO peace."

Real video of Dr. Dahlia Wasfi speech on 2012.
There is a version that uses the speech showing shocking images but as the person, or organization who used the speech and edited the images didn't sign I don't consider it a reliable source.
If we are fighting unethical people we have to be very careful and not jump into the same mud.

Dr. Dahlia Wasfi

Obama speech interrupted by Medea Benjamin: she raised all the real issues...

... while Obama talked about nothing. The president has become a kind of spoke person.but Obama lacks the skills. He should take lessons with Ari Fleischer who was capable of letting you know that you were going on a trip to hell in such a way that you would believe you were taking a cruise to Caribbean islands.

The heckler is Medea Benjamin founder of of the antiwar group Code Pink:
Excerpt:

Medea Benjamin: "Can you tell the Muslims people that their lives are as precious as our lives?"
Medea Benjamin: "Can you take the drones out of the hands of the CIA?"
Medea Benjamin: "Can you stop the signature strikes that are killing people on the basis of suspicious activities?"
Obama (cynically): "We're addressing that ma'dam."
Medea Benjamin: "Will you apologize to the thousand of Muslims that you have killed?"
Medea Benjamin: "Will you compensate the innocent family victims?"

Take a look at Obama's expressions while Medea Benjamin keep asking. cynicism is the word that describes it.

Watch the video and notice how Obama treats Medea Benjamin: as if she was a "young lady" - he used this expression - that don't deserve to be listened even when he claims the opposite.
And the clap people all part of show , are there to help silence any voice.
I wonder if real people where there. I would like to count the boos.

He prepared himself to read this speech written by another person and the young lady want to spoil it all?
Poor president! People don't show respect for authorities. (this is sarcasm, always better to highlight)
They only have the prepared speech full of rhetorical tactics, lies and that says nothing other than declare that they are on power and will keep doing whatever they want whether people like it or not.

When someone appears speaking from the heart and raising the real issues... they don't know how to deal with the situation because they don't want any dialog with people.

Medea Benjamin

Next time bring the crowd to help Medea! I only fear the number of arrests.

"The Soldier Myth" by Joe Glenton: a must-see

I've just discovered Joe Glenton at... BBC? Astonishing but he was being interviewed by Peter Sackur at HardTalk.
I went to his blog and just started watching this first video of the series "The Soldier Myth".
Joe was put in jail because he refused to go back to war, wrote a book debunking the idea of soldiers defending their countries when they are defending imperialism instead. He is involved in many anti-war activities.

I'll gather more information, watch the videos and write about it later. See you!

One of the soldiers Joe talks in the video.

Things are getting worse and worse

There is too much going on. I wonder where is the way out, how is...

John Lennon analyzing our society

"War is a game that has gone too far."

If you listen you'll see that what he said portrays the world as it is today.
By that time musicians, artists, writers,and all of those who were in the culture arena were part of the anti-establishment movement, anti-war movement or counterculture or any movement for fight for freedom and a better world.

It was not about leadership. It has to do with saying what many who don't have a microphone was thinking and uniting people who wanted to change the world.
In the era of celebrities it was lost.

"I think that our society is run by insane people for insane objectives..."

"If anybody can put on paper what our government, the American government etc., and Russian and China, what they are actually trying to do, what do they think they're doing I would be very pleased to
know what they think they're doing!"

"All we have to do is awaken the power in the people. The people are unaware, they are not
educated to realize that they have power."

"Everybody believes that the father will fix everything, the father being the government... the government will fix everything, it is all government's fault and shake this - Lennon show his fist - but we are the government.
The people are the government."

"Peace and war are two products."

The fight for freedom is never over.

Anti Iraq war protesters - The March of the Dead

Try searching "anti war protests" and you will see that the results are not at the mainstream media, they are at anti war activists sites and some blogs.

This is a strategy to tell people that there is nothing to be done and nobody cares. Many people are not silent and many are deeply concerned and I have posted about February, 15 2003 anti-invasion protest.

In March, 18 2008 protesters blocked the traffic and government buildings in Washington to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

A group of protesters did "The March of the Dead" to symbolize the death of civilians and military people.

More pictures of the protest here.

"Far from the eyes of the people." Ironic: "weapons of mass destruction" are being used in Iraq.

February 15, 2003 - Iraq Anti-invasion Protest Day and Malachi Ritscher self-immolation as a protest

Left: Anti-war protesters demonstrate near the United Nations headquarters - AP

Right: Thousands gathered at the centre of Amsterdam's -AFP

February 15, 2003 protests against Iraq invasion put millions of people around the world at the streets. People don't want war, governments do.

It's amazing that for no reason other than profiting Iraq war is still killing innocents of both sides. Seven years of war.

Anti-war movements are still organizing protests but they are not being reported. People are more active than mainstream media want us to believe.

February 15, 2003!

Photo: VOA Photo - N. Colombant 20 March 2010

Protesters carried symbolic coffins to mark their opposition to U.S. military action.

Malachi Ritscher, a familiar face at antiwar protests... In November, 3, 2006:

Chicago Indymedia has learned that on Friday, November 3 local music and art afficianado and peace advocate Malachi Ritscher burned himself to death on the side of the Kennedy Expressway near downtown Chicago during the morning rush hour. Near Malachi's remains, police found a camcorder with videotape inside and a homemade sign that read "Thou Shalt Not Kill.* "

Source: Chicago Independent Media Center.

You can read more here.

* link to Malachi Ritscher suicide note.

“Counting Lives Lost: Making Abstract Numbers Tangible" - Kathleen Crocetti

Kathleen Crocetti is a Blue Star mother whose son is serving the country in the Air Force is the author of this installation. The traveling sculpture installation, depicts the almost 4,274 American casualties and almost 99,000 Iraqi dead since the beginning of the war in Iraq, each represented by a five-inch clay figure placed in a base of tons of sand. You can find more of her work here and at other sites. Kathleen Crocetti says:

“The aim of this work is to honor those who have died as respectfully as possible while making the growing abstract number visible and tangible,”. “This memorial is also a call to measure the true cost of war. It is time that we, as a nation, recognize not just our losses, but the losses we have caused.” “War memorials are usually constructed after the cessation of violence. Honoring those who have died on both sides of the battlefield while the battle continues to rage makes this work political. War is war. This installation is not about how and why we got into this situation, rather how and when we will get out of it.” “We need to start the grieving process now because it is painful and uncomfortable, and the the sooner we start acknowledging our culpability and responsibility, the sooner we will stop inflicting grief upon others.”

We are all responsible. No more silence.