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Domain: greenleft.org.au

Stories and comments across the archive that link to greenleft.org.au.

Comments · 61

  1. Very, very few Americans understand the facts. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Insightful · on U.S. Continues Biological Warfare Research

    By some measures, the U.S. government is the most violent that has ever existed in the world.

    The writer of this is an American who is very concerned about his government's participation in violence. In his opinion, a person doesn't really love his or her country unless he or she is willing to look at and understand areas where the country needs improvement. The same principle applies elsewhere. A man doesn't really love his wife if he turns his back when she is having serious, difficult-to-understand problems. And, a person doesn't really love himself or herself unless he or she tries to understand and resolve his or her own inner conflict.

    Strictly speaking, it is the U.S. government that is responsible for the violence, not the people of the United States. Very, very few Americans understand the facts presented here. There are many Americans who support violence, and who angrily reject these facts, but even those probably would not want their money being spent on violence if they fully understood the financial and social impact on their lives.

    The U.S. government has directly killed about 3,000,000 people since the beginning of the Vietnam war. Most of those, an estimated more than 2,000,000, were in Vietnam, a very poor country that did not threaten the United States.

    Historians say that the number of people indirectly killed by the U.S. government is at least another 3,000,000, for a total of 6,000,000. For example, U.S. bombing of Cambodia left that country destabilized, and the forces of violence controlled Cambodia for years after the U.S. bombing.

    The U.S. government has bombed 24 countries in the 58 years since the Second World War. The list below includes only countries bombed, not countries in which the U.S. government was responsible for other violence. The list includes only violence since the Second World War, not the extensive violence before the war. Most U.S. citizens are surprised and skeptical when they see the list, so a few links have been provided to supporting information. For more information, try the Google search engine or see the links below.
    1. Afghanistan, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003
    2. Bosnia, 1994, 1995
    3. Cambodia, 1969-70
    4. China, 1945-46
    5. Congo (now Zaire), 1964
    6. Cuba, 1959-1961 ("Bay of Pigs" invasion)
    7. El Salvador, 1980s
    8. Grenada, 1983
    9. Guatemala, 1954, 1960, 1967-69
    10. Indonesia, 1958
    11. Iran, 1987
    12. Iraq, 1991-2000, 2003 (The U.S. government used radioactive bombs in the first war against Iraq. See United States War Crimes Against Iraq for what appears to be an accurate history.)
    13. Korea and China, 1950-53 (Korean War)
    14. Kuwait, 1991
    15. Laos, 1964-73
    16. Lebanon, 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets)
    17. Libya, 1986
    18. Nicaragua, 1980s
    19. Panama, 1989. The U.S. government called it "Operation Just Cause". The link is to a U.S. military web site.
    20. Peru, 1965
    21. Somalia, 1993
    22. Sudan 1998. There are doubts
  2. Re:Rights vs Citizen rights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Virus Knocks Out U.S. Visa Approval System

    and you've seen me in the neighborhood a couple times with some known violent criminals

    Like Pinochet, Noriega, Khomeni, Hussein, Bin Laden et caetera? Those kinds of violent criminals?

  3. Re:hater's dilemma! by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1 · on Microsoft Plans IE Changes Due to Plugin Patent

    The patent was NOT "one click shopping"

    If you'd read the patent, you'd see it actually covers "placing an order over a with one press of a button". Using the word "click" as a shorthand for "button press" was a convenience for headline writers, but the patent is equally absurd either way.

    and I walked out of that room with half my butt chewed off, and a greater understanding of the patent process.

    Surprise surprise, a lawyer who argues that his entire professional field isn't ridculous! And he convinced you of it, too. Well, he'd have to be able to do that to stay in business.

    Patent attorneys dislike the USPTO every bit as much as geeks do.

    Just because a man complains about his job doesn't mean he'll be happy to be obseleted.

  4. Information that supports my earlier comment: by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1 · on The Beast of Brussels

    Information that supports my earlier comment:

    Judging from their comments, most people who post to Slashdot have very little understanding of the activities of the U.S. government. There have been many, many abuses concerning the collection of information. To prevent some of these abuses, the U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 1978, and has since modified the law seven times. "The purpose of FISA was to create a wall between criminal investigations and intelligence gathering that would decrease the numerous abuses by the government's intelligence and law enforcement agencies during the 1950s, 60s and 70s."

    The U.S. government has killed about 3,000,000 people since the beginning of the Vietnam war. The U.S. government has bombed 24 countries in the 58 years since the Second World War. The list below includes only countries bombed, not countries in which the U.S. government was responsible for other violence. The list includes only violence since the Second World War, not the extensive violence before the war. Most U.S. citizens are surprised and skeptical when they see the list, so a few links have been provided to supporting information. For more information, try the Google search engine or see the links below.
    1. Afghanistan, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003
    2. Bosnia, 1994, 1995
    3. Cambodia, 1969-70
    4. China, 1945-46
    5. Congo (now Zaire), 1964
    6. Cuba, 1959-1961 ("Bay of Pigs" invasion)
    7. El Salvador, 1980s
    8. Grenada, 1983
    9. Guatemala, 1954, 1960, 1967-69
    10. Indonesia, 1958
    11. Iran, 1987
    12. Iraq, 1991-2000, 2003 (The U.S. government used radioactive bombs in the first war against Iraq. See United States War Crimes Against Iraq for what appears to be an accurate history.)
    13. Korea and China, 1950-53 (Korean War)
    14. Kuwait, 1991
    15. Laos, 1964-73
    16. Lebanon, 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets)
    17. Libya, 1986
    18. Nicaragua, 1980s
    19. Panama, 1989. The U.S. government called it "Operation Just Cause". The link is to a U.S. military web site.
    20. Peru, 1965
    21. Somalia, 1993
    22. Sudan 1998. There are doubts that the pharmaceutical plant that was bombed was making weapons.
    23. Vietnam, 1961-73 (An estimated 2,000,000 Vietnamese were killed.)
    24. Yugoslavia, 1999

    There are many sources for this information. For example, see this PBS web page: PBS: A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions (PBS is the Public Broadcasting System in the U.S.) Also see From Wounded Knee to Afghanistan: A Century of U.S. Military Interventions [zmag.org] and The government of the United States is a consistent opponent of international law. [prairie-fire.org]

    I put some links and explanation together about wh

  5. The Christic Institute by bluethundr · · Score: 4, Informative · on White House Obfuscates Email

    The IRS is a great agency for exacting revenge on people idiotic enough to declare themselves your enemy.

    That's no joke. Just ask the Christic Institute. The Christic Institute is a government watchdog agency that has been a thorne in the side of Uncle Sam for a great many years.

    I first hear about Christic during the Iran Contra "guns for drugs" scandle in the mid 1980s. They were the ones who actually brought the suit against the government.

    An apt description of the Christic Institute (as appearing in this article)"The institute has won several landmark civil lawsuits, including the "Greensboro massacre" case against members of the American Nazi Party and Ku Klux Klan who assassinated demonstrators in 1979, and the "Silkwood" case against the nuclear industry. The institute does not charge legal fees and depends entirely on contributions from churches, Jewish philanthropies, private foundations and individual supporters."

    Another decent (and slightly more in-depth) history of the organization can be found here. The sad truth is that the IRS is likely to revoke their not for profit status making them liabel for back taxes for all of the years they have been in operation. Many feel that this is in direct retaliation to the Avrigan vs. Hull lawsuit. The government is alredy quite fond of issuing hefty fines to the institute for what it deems to be "frivolous lawsuits" (I'll let you judge that one for yourselves) as a means of intimidating them into not persuing their just causes. But if this IRS thing the IRS has in mind at the prompting of ultra conservative members of the house, it could mean the final curtain call for a heroic agency that has done much to keep america free.

  6. In hidden ways, the U.S. government is violent. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Pentagon Soft-Pedals Total Information Awareness
    It's painful to me, but I have had to accept that the U.S. government is corrupt in some ways. United States government agencies, such as the NSA, CIA, and FBI, have become global police that operate mostly in secret, without control or oversight by the people, and mostly without any kind of effective external control. United States citizens are allowed to know about these agencies only what the U.S. government wants them to know. (NSA is National Security Agency. CIA is Central Intelligence Agency. FBI is Federal Bureau of Investigation. These are official U.S. government web sites.)

    Hidden elements of the U.S. government have become the most violent force the world has ever known, with a long history of acting in a violent manner and supporting violent dictatorships: The U.S. government has bombed 24 countries in the 58 years since the Second World War. The list below includes only countries bombed, not countries in which the U.S. government was responsible for other violence. The list includes only violence since the Second World War, not the extensive violence before the war. Most U.S. citizens are surprised and skeptical when they see the list, so a few links have been provided to supporting information. For more information, try the Google search engine or see the links below.
    1. Afghanistan, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003
    2. Bosnia, 1994, 1995
    3. Cambodia, 1969-70
    4. China, 1945-46
    5. Congo (now Zaire), 1964
    6. Cuba, 1959-1961 ("Bay of Pigs" invasion)
    7. El Salvador, 1980s
    8. Grenada, 1983
    9. Guatemala, 1954, 1960, 1967-69
    10. Indonesia, 1958
    11. Iran, 1987
    12. Iraq, 1991-2000, 2003 (The U.S. government used radioactive bombs in the first war against Iraq. See United States War Crimes Against Iraq for what appears to be an accurate history.)
    13. Korea and China, 1950-53 (Korean War)
    14. Kuwait, 1991
    15. Laos, 1964-73
    16. Lebanon, 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets)
    17. Libya, 1986
    18. Nicaragua, 1980s
    19. Panama, 1989. The U.S. government called it "Operation Just Cause". The link is to a U.S. military web site.
    20. Peru, 1965
    21. Somalia, 1993
    22. Sudan 1998. There are doubts that the pharmaceutical plant that was bombed was making weapons.
    23. Vietnam, 1961-73 (An estimated 2,000,000 Vietnamese were killed.)
    24. Yugoslavia, 1999

    There are many sources for this information. For example, see this PBS web page: PBS: A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions (PBS is the Public Broadcasting System in the U.S.) Also see From Wounded Knee to Afghanistan: A Century of U.S. Military Interventions [zmag.org] and The government of the United States is a consistent opponent of international law. [

  7. Re:Extrapolating by Cached+Hit · · Score: 0 · on Congress to Make PATRIOT Act Permanent

    umm...i thought it had already begun

  8. Re:survey says? by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Interesting · on The Linux Uprising
    "Frustrations, though, run high. One Microsoft executive, chief strategist Craig Mundie, even calls Linux unhealthy for the technology industry. "It ultimately is a question about whether societies are going to value intellectual property or not," he says."

    No, they don't! Evidence: Napster, Kazaa, et al. Casual piracy in the workplace. Mix-tapes. etc.

    I'm waiting to hear how many people at the Redmond campus have been busted for using Napster or Kazaa. It's simply too much to expect of the 10,000 people Microsoft employs that all 10,000 are above photocopying magazine articles, giving tapes or CDR's to friends, downloading TV or Movie shows off the internet, or lifting the odd bit of code from someone else's project to insert into their own. Heck, even the British government has done such. I wonder what St. Mundie has in his closet.

  9. Re:WTFAYTA by BLAG-blast · · Score: 1 · on Police Database Lists 'Future Criminals'
    Last I knew, all prisoners were good for was stamping license plates and doing road work .

    That's funny, Microsoft seem to have found them useful for more than road work and stamping license plates.

    Don't tell me you think cable TV, a wieght room/exercise program, no taxes and no bills is a cheap bill on US tax dollars.

    I don't think that, I think people who are in prison are there to be killed or reformed. Turning them into slave labour does not reform them, neither does making them watch TV all day.

    You want my opinion on criminals, if your guilty (espesialy of high crimes like murder, arson etc) you have given up all your rights as s US citizen.

    But most of the people in prison are in prison on a non-violent drug related charge. Your attitude towards drug abuse will be pretty harsh i'd imagine, but remember that drug abuse (any drug) is a sympton of depression. This is easy to illustrate, noting the countries (and states) with the highest drug, alcohol and suiside rates all have shitty weather and the highest depression rates (Alaska, Iceland, Russia, Scotland....).

    Depression is a side effect of provity and supression, drug abuse is a side effect of depression, jail is a side effect of drug abuse, slavery is a side effect of jail. IF you are poor we will make you a slave.

    Yeah, it is a crime to be poor,

    And putting people in jail is going to help them stop being poor, how?

    If you're poor, get off your ass and start finding something to do.

    But, but, but, but where? that sweatshop job your poor uneductated black-ass can do is not in the hand of some prisoner, where either person likes it or not. Why not eductate the person in prison and employ the person who needs a job to stay out of prison.

  10. ...to stop aiding terrorists in the first place by TPFH · · Score: 1 · on US Starts Attacking Afghanistan
    Here is a really interesting article detailing the support the United States government has given to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. (I wish it had a bibliography however.) The biggest supporters of the Taliban, including bin Laden, were Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States.

    The United States government supported Osama bin Laden. We funded, armed and trained his forces, both in war and terrorism. We helped build his terrorist army to fight a superpower, the Soviet Union. I don't like communism, but our politicians created a monster in Afghanistan. Now it seems that monster has attacked us.

    Those that are now protesting against the bombing in Afghanistan condemned the Taliban long before tragedy of September 11. And yet the United States continued to fund them through May of this year.

    I do think that something should be done about the Taliban's tyranny, but you have to realize that the Afghans are the first victims, not our enemies.

    If we are really to put an end to terrorism we must stop our politicians from creating terrorists in the first place.

  11. Argentina; $$$$ & IMF by SubtleNuance · · Score: 2 · on Free Software Law in Argentina

    One of the major reasons you may be seeing this legislation is to save $$$. When presented with the options of health care versus supporting multinationals like M$ and Oracle. The IMF is demanding certain 'savings' and some wise member of the Argentinian Government has probably seen the light through the proprietary software vendors lies.

    The Argentinian people are currently battling proposed 'solutions' to the Argentinian economic 'troubles'. There have been massive protests in Argentina to protect their civil services.

    Have a look here for a brief about what is going on in Argentina.

    This legislation has little to do with Free Software and alot more to do with the priorities of a soverign nation.

    Here is another interesting article