No, that's not true. I did read about "The Sedition Report" in the news: "Report Cites Increase in Attacks on Military Recruiting Centers" FOXNews (March 26, 2008). But I've learned that for many people, FOX News isn't news, it's ultra-right-wing radical propaganda.
Mainstream, or Traditional, News
So, I checked a more 'reputable' source, looking for articles about attacks on military recruiting centers, or peace protesters, and found this:- "Photo of Times Square bombing suspect released"
CNN (March 8, 2008) - " Leads in Times Square bombing fizzle"
CNN (March 7, 2008) - " Anti-war protesters arrested at IRS"
CNN (March 19, 2009) - " A timeline of Tibetan protests"
CNN (March 14, 2008)
As for peace protesters, "College students from New Jersey to North Dakota have planned walkouts, while students at the University of Minnesota vowed to shut down military recruiting offices on campus." They are nobly motivated, these peace protesters: "Craig Etchison, 62, a retired college professor from Cumberland, Maryland, and a Vietnam veteran, said he has been protesting the war for years.
" 'I've watched with horror as Bush has lied about this war,' he said in front of the building. "I'm appalled at the number of civilians we've killed just as we did in Vietnam.' " CNN (March 19, 2008).
Now that's news!
CNN shows their "real" America: anti-war protesters demonstrating for peace and social justice, earnestly striving to educate the masses and sway an uncaring establishment with cries of "Out of Iraq," "No war, no warming," and "No blood for Oil!".
And, best of all, a reference to Vietnam!
It's enough to warm the heart of any child of the sixties.
The problem is that this is the 21st century.
It's not just CNN. They're just one of the more successful - and, for the most part, a-political - of the traditional news outlets.
Wake Up! It's 2008!
Quite a bit has changed in the last forty years, but at least two things haven't:- "Peace," or "anti-war," protesters
- How they are handled in traditional news media
Odd, how people who advocate military action on terrorists, with the intent of bringing peace to a region, are 'hypocrites,' while people who hate violence and bomb military recruiting offices - aren't.
I know the excuse: the anti-war bombers aren't trying to kill anyone. But get real: sooner or later, there'll be collateral damage in one of those attacks.
But wait: There's only been that one attack, in Times Square, and maybe another one someplace else, right?
Wrong.
Anti-Military Activist Violence: Not Ripped From the Headlines
"The Sedition Report" is "a report of the numerous anti-military acts committed by groups right here in the United States. This list is constantly being updated ..." This report is the work of Move America Forward, "a non-partisan, not-for-profit charitable organization committed to supporting America’s efforts to defeat terrorism and supporting the brave men and women of our Armed Forces." (Talk about radical!)Move America Forward's executive director, Catherine Moy, and a military spokesperson were quoted by FOXNews, commenting on the report:
" 'We hope that people will see the report and see that this is not just one or two incidents,' Moy said. 'They are attacking these institutions to try to stop the war even as we are winning the war.'
"Moy continued: 'These people will stop at nothing.'
"The Pentagon reviewed the report but couldn't confirm that the more than 50 incidents listed were actual 'attacks.'
" 'Beyond incidents of vandalism, it's obviously difficult to count non-violent protests as an actual attack since these demonstrations usually do not result in deliberate acts against the U.S. military,' said Paul Boyce, a U.S. Army spokesman at the Pentagon."
The Pentagon, as usual, was very cautious in its statement. However, I'd say that the following might be considered attacks, even by the Pentagon's narrow definition:
- Broken windows
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 19) - Broken Recruiting center, from a bombing
(New York City, New York, March 6) - More broken windows
(Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 22) - $1,000 worth of damage
(Beaumont, Texas, January 1, 2008)
Where Shall We go? What Shall We Do?
Unlike Rhett, I do care about those questions. I've read people saying that they'll leave the country, if some candidate wins the election. I don't think that's a good idea, if you're already in America.I've thought seriously, a few times in my life, about moving: and each time, after serious research, I couldn't find a better place to live. Particularly when it came to being allowed to express opinions that aren't officially approved.
If Running Away is Out - What's Left?
Use your head. We live in the Information Age: Exploit those (information) resources.- Realize that traditional, or "main stream," news outlets publish 'all the news we feel like printing.'
- Their news isn't going to include anything that doesn't agree with their notion of what the world should be like.
- Think when you read and listen.
- Research topics that interest or concern you.
- Services like Google are a great help, as long as you remember the difference between an assertion and a fact.
- Use your brain, not your endocrine system, to make choices.
- Emotions are great for motivating us, but lousy for making rational decisions.
I've written about paradoxical peace protesters before: "Embrace Peace or I'll Kill You! More Violent Peace Lovers" (March 7, 2008)
1 comment:
Why blame Islam?
Individuals, not religions, carry out inhuman acts.
Islam is a religion of peace, accepted and practiced by more than 1.25 billion people worldwide. It is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and if it was what some critics claim, why should the people from all walks of life from around the world keep embracing Islam? Where is the sword now?
In Islam, a person has the right to defend himself, his family, his country or his neighbor(s), which justifies the resistance being offered by the people of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir and Palestine, to attacks on their soils by the so-called liberators, who are actually the occupiers.
The Holy Qur’an clearly states that if a person saves one life, it’s as if he saved humanity, and if a person kills one human being, it’s as if he killed humanity.
What is happening in the enslaved Muslim countries is a natural reaction to occupation, bombings, killing and terrorizing of innocent civilians (children, old men and women), rapes, in addition to looting of resources, national antiques and artifacts, above all destruction of property by the occupiers.
Terror breeds terror.
We assure those who bash Islam that if there was no occupation in this world by foreign invaders, there would be no resistance – the so-called terror.
We would like those who criticize Islam to explain the following acts committed by the Christians on Jews, other Christians and Muslims alike, throughout history:
- Hundreds of thousands of Muslim men, women and children killed by the crusaders, who were Christians.
- Inquisition of Jews and Muslims from Spain by Queen Isabella, a Christian.
- Millions of people killed by the European and American Christians during the two world wars.
- Atrocities committed on millions of Jews and Christians by Adolph Hitler, a professed Christian.
- Hundreds of thousands of Christians killed every year by the Irish Christians, including the British and the IRA, both Catholics and Protestants, during the past few centuries. Why are they not blamed to be “Christian Terrorists?”
Both of them believe in Jesus Christ, who told them to turn the other cheek, and both of them believe in the same Lord, Who commanded that “Thou shall not kill.” Period.
- Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, was a Catholic. Are all Catholics terrorists?
Last but not least, the bombings, killings, rapings and lynchings of both American Indians and black slaves (Afro-Americans) during the past 200 years in the United States.
What about them?
Will those filled with hate for Islam blame Christianity for the above inhuman acts by Christians in various parts of the world since its inception?
If not, then why are they blaming the religion of Islam for what is a natural reaction to occupation of Muslim countries by foreign invaders?
Most importantly, these folks should know that the three great Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have one common basis, and that is one God Almighty.
“All men (and women) are created equal, and we all are one nation under Almighty God,” is a statement according to the Holy Qur’an and is very well elucidated in the U.S. Constitution.
Lastly, yet importantly, as brothers in humanity, we recommend those filled with hate get an education in the history of Islam and Muslims, before they dare to write nasty letters full of personal, ingrain hate and vendetta.
We would be pleased to provide anyone with free copies of the Holy Qur’an and Islamic literature in English, which would help them to understand the truth about Islam and Muslims and get rid of hate from their systems, God willing.
May God Almighty show you the light, Amen.
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