Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Forward THIS

I never know if anyone actually expects a reply to the many “forwarded messages” making the rounds...but every now and then, I just can’t help myself. So, scroll down and read. I interjected my comments after each vignette (even if this is almost definitely filled with fake stories anyway)...and, yeah, feel free to forward this one far and wide.

YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of ‘empire building’ by George Bush. He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.’ You could have heard a pin drop.

MZ: First of all, the only freedom (sic) for which those “fine young men and women” are fighting is the predatory freedom of corporate capitalism. Also, sure, there’s the land Powell mentions...plus all the land needed to construct massive US military bases and, of course, other facilities for our volunteer heroes. Then, later, they’ll need more land so US corporations can build their sweatshops. You know, the places where poor brown people learn all about democracy and the free market. And let’s not forget the land the US military makes uninhabitable for decades or even centuries thanks to the toxic weapons they use. But besides all that, there will definitely still be enough room to let a pin drop.

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?’ A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?’ You could have heard a pin drop.

MZ: Defense contractors like Boeing exist primarily thanks to corporate welfare. Taxpayers like us subsidize their research and development so they can continue conjuring up new and creative ways to threaten all life on the globe. The profits, of course, are privatized. As for those wonderful, altruistic aircraft carriers - from which our brave warriors take off to drop bombs on civilians from 15,000 feet - they are built first and foremost as weapons of war. Make no mistake about it. Aircraft carriers are just some of the tools by which the US can bully the planet and keep the world safe for corporate capitalism. All the “humanitarian” stuff is window dressing and if that were truly the priority, they’d be medical vessels with a few weapons installed solely for self-defense. Last but not least, aircraft carriers are an environmental blight on the oceans. The fact that France doesn’t build such taxpayer-funded toxic death machines is something that country can be proud of. Go ahead, drop your pin.

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, ‘whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.’ He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?’ Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied ‘Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.’ You could have heard a pin drop.

MZ: I wrote an entire book debunking the “good war” myth so here’s just a tiny taste: Part of the reason why France was overrun by Germany in 1940 was overt and covert US and British support for Hitler’s regime from the early 30’s right up to 1940 and beyond. “World wars” don’t happen in a vacuum and the sordid role of the “greatest generation” has been drastically sanitized over the years. Also, the reply given above doesn’t change the fact that yes, Americans are arrogant enough to think that everyone should speak their language. What was that? It sounded like a pin dropping.

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. ‘You have been to France before, monsieur?’ the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. ‘Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.’ The American said, ‘The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.’

‘Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!’ The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. ‘Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in ‘44 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find any Frenchmen to show it to.’ You could have heard a pin drop.

MZ: Lost amid this self-congratulatory orgy is the minor detail that by the time of the D-Day invasion, the Soviets were engaging 80 percent of the German Army on the Eastern Front. Oops...where’s that pin now?

(More)

What Is A Veteran?
A ‘Veteran’—whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve—is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America,’ for an amount of ‘up to, and including his life.’ That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact.

MZ: Some reality about “our” troops

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