perspective

Rainy recently posted about The Congo. Here's some more perspective for you. Try to keep this in mind next time the barista gives you the wrong drink and you explode in a fit of rage. No matter how hard your life is here, it really isn't that hard.

Here are some facts to get you started in case you're too lazy to click the link:

1. 5.4M ppl have died since 1998
2. 45K ppl die each month - majority from treatable diseases like malaria (and trust me, malaria is treatable)


SunnyShine

RainyBow note: Another quick fact: life expectancy in the Congo two years ago didn't even reach 42 years. Let's guess at the causes: diseases that could be treated if medical care and/or drugs were available/affordable, infant mortality, malnutrition/starvation, war... there's so much more. None of it will be solved quickly, and very little of it affects me. I did nothing to be so lucky.

lies and more lies

This is a little late but I still need to put it down for the record. Recently, the US President went to Saudi Arabia to ask for a little more oil. Not surprisingly, this was his first real trip to the middle east in 8 years in office. Interesting that he has no trouble putting his citizens in the hot zone so they can get their limbs blown off or get killed but he can't spare a minute to visit. Too dangerous maybe? What can you expect of a president who had never been out of the US when he took office.

So great that he has remained friends with the Saudis through these tumultuous times. You never know when you're going to need more oil to run all of the 16 cylinder vehicles the US is so fond of. Kittens and roses.

The war on terror shows no signs of ending. We must do our best to rid the world of the terrible Afghans and Iraqis. Damn, those Iranians are pesky too. What no one seems to remember - or maybe they don't even know - is that 15 of 19 of the 911 pilots were SAUDI. Of the other 4, 1 was Egyptian, 2 were from UAE, and 1 was Lebanese. No, there's no mistake.

None were Afghan.

None were Iraqi.

None were Iranian.

They were SAUDI. Who is Bush hobnobbing with?? The Saudis. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't recall any wars being declared on Saudi Arabia in recent memory. I do recall handshakes, smiles, and dancing.

It's all about oil, people. The US doesn't care about anything or anyone unless they are sitting on oil. Can't upset the Saudis and risk not getting their oil.

Please remember this when the bombs start falling on Iran in the name of the war against terror. Ask yourself why. The lies just keep coming and the Americans just keep swallowing them.


SunnyShine


ps....I'm back.

it's only about our wars and our soldiers

OK, Sunny just posted about Veterans Day/Poppy Day/Armistice Day/Remembrance Day/probably some other names that I don't know. Apologies for another one in the same vein.

While I don't personally know anybody affected by war right now, various wars wiped out most of my family in the past. My family members weren't soldiers and most had no connection to the conflict. I wouldn't feel so crappy about this if anyone actually learned a lesson from it, but, as Sunny has already pointed out, war is out there, everywhere, right now. Humans don't learn.

I think this day should be a time when we all take a moment and think about the consequences of large-scale human conflict. Why do we keep doing this?

Every year on November 11, I go to a memorial, hoping to find like-minded people who are asking themselves the same question. Every year I'm so horribly disappointed. I look around and everyone is old and white, and the memorial is always the same:

1. it's replete with Bible readings, hymns and references to a Christian God.
Argh. The last time I checked, I didn't live in a Christian country, and Christians weren't the only victims of war. This seems obvious to me.

2. references are made only to the wars in which our country has been involved, and in which our citizens have died, and the ceremony is always about soldiers who have fallen and soldiers only.
Nobody feels the need to even mention the other conflicts that have ravaged other parts of the world (parts that are the native land of many people who've immigrated to this city) or about the average citizens who die all over the world as a by-product of war.

3. representatives of countries instigating war and conflict in the world are permitted to place a wreath at the cenotaph.
Call me a hardass (especially when I've just said that I want the memorials to be more inclusive) but I feel that if your country goes out and invades other ones, your consulate or embassy or whatever shouldn't be able to just stroll up with some stupid flowers and pretend your country's on the side of peace.

I was out-of-town this weekend and decided to go to a ceremony in a small town, hoping that maybe it would be different. It wasn't. One of these years I'll just stop going.

RainyBow

lest we forget

Today is Remembrance Day. This is a day to remember people who fought, and people who fought and died in the name of war. Unfortunately, wars are still being waged all over the world and needless deaths continue.

Here are some stats about Iraq:

US costs: approx 800B (including 200B budgeted for 2008)
daily spend: approx 270B
troops in Iraq: 183000
troop casualties: 4152
troop injuries (US): 28451 (not including psychological injuries; they estimate that 30% of all troops return home with psychological problems)

Iraqi civilian deaths: upwards of 600K (Bush would have you believe it is less than 100K but some people even estimate that it is over 1M)
Iraqis displaced by war: 2.2M
Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies: 70%

Now these numbers are probably not 100% spot on and different orgs have different stats, but a little higher or a little lower doesn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.

The Iraq war makes us forget about all the other wars, insurgencies, uprisings, conflicts etc going on all over the world. Educate yourselves. Learn about Kashmir, Ethiopia, Chechnya, Burma......and educate the people you know.

Don't forget how lucky you are.

SunnyShine
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RainyBow note: Shocking numbers. While you're on the Iraq thing, everyone should watch No End in Sight.

is this the best way to honour the fallen

Highway of Heroes? Couldn't they have come up with a better name? So fromage. I'm not sure how I feel about this whole subject. I think I'm against. Wouldn't time be better spent trying to get these people out of the situation in the first place? Here are some fatality stats about Afghanistan and Iraq. Enjoy. Funny no one ever mentions the number of Afghan or Iraqi dead. I bet Bush can't count that high.


SunnyShine

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RainyBow note: There is so much to say on this topic, but I'm going to limit myself to one rant, which is on the use of the word "heroes" these days. Remember after September 11th when everyone lamented the horrible fate of the people who were trapped inside the World Trade Centre? Clearly I'm not going to begrudge the American people their right to mourn the victims of that terrible day. However, it makes me crazy that so many Americans keep referring to the victims as "heroes." The last time I checked, "hero" meant a person notable for feats of courage. While these people died a tragic death, it's not like they chose to. I doubt any one of them said to him or herself, "hey, I think some terrorists might fly into these buildings today and make them burn and collapse, and just because I'm brave, I'm going to go inside of them and die if I have to."

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SunnyShine note: Your comment is further evidence that we may have been separated at birth. I was going to write a post about the exact same thing. The word 'hero' is so diluted that is practically has no meaning any more. When was the last time you heard about a true hero? These days, you just have to show up and you're a hero. sigh.