http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder The world from my perspective. en enzedder enzedder Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:40:00 +0100 daily 1 I read this excellent review by Stephen Lendman, of the decline of american 'democracy', with a list of some of the laws and legislation enacted since 2001 that have whittled away at americans' human rights.  I recommend everyone read it, particularly those unfortunate enough to live in the US.  It's time more americans stopped being apathetic and selfish and actually wake up to what's happening.  Getting rid of Bush won't necessarily change things.  It's amazing how these rights have been taken away with barely a murmur from the american people who continue, ignorantly, to believe they live in a benevolent land of freedom.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:40:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Reviewing-the-fascist-state-of-america/4416/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Reviewing-the-fascist-state-of-america/4416/ I watched a DVD documentary called " Gaza Strip ", a film by James Longley.  There was no narration, just a camera rolling in the Gaza Strip, following the lives of some who live there, particularly young boys and women.  It wasn't easy to watch.  Nor is it easy to explain.  I was saddened, distressed, angry, at what the Israelis are doing to these people - bulldozing their homes (or them if they get in the way), blocking off their roads, not letting them leave, firing gas canisters of poison into groups of children, shooting children in the head, leaving bombs for children to play with.  These are the actions of descendants of holocaust victims.  Apparently there is no compassion.  Having stolen this land from the people who lived there, they are trying to drive them out, just as the Germans did to them.  It disgusts me.  I currently have no words to describe what I feel after watching this movie. If you watch this and come away unmoved, you have no heart. Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:27:12 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Gaza-Strip/4415/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Gaza-Strip/4415/ I never intended neglecting this blog for so long, but other matters have taken up all my time.  I will still be busy with them at least until February.  After that I hope I will have far more time to consider updating a blog. I've just finished reading an excellent book on the state of affairs in Iraq - The Occupation: war and resistance in Iraq by Patrick Cockburn.  If you want to know what's truly going on in Iraq I urge you to read it.  In a word, it's chaos.  After 4 years of occupation nothing has improved - at all. I'll outline or quote a few points that struck me while reading it. "The suicide bombers were usually non-Iraqis, with the majority coming from Saudi Arabia and others from Jordan, Syria or Egypt.  They were motivated by Islamic fundamentalism and hatred of the occupation."  This 'war' is breeding more hatred and, therefore, more terrorism.  Moreover, "an investigation into 300 young Saudis, caught and interrogated by... Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:40:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-Occupation/4414/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-Occupation/4414/ I've just finished reading Greg Palast's book “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”, detailing just a few cases of the widespread corruption in USA. The mind truly boggles at the extent of it, for a country that claims to stand for truth, justice and freedom. It's all a huge farce. The only thing that America stands for is immense greed. Included in the book is a timeline of America's involvement with Saddam Hussein. Let me duplicate it for you, as I don't think such examples can be repeated often enough for those who are either ignorant or have a short memory. 1979: Saddam seizes power with US approval; moves allegiance from Soviets to USA in Cold War; 1980: Invades Iran, then the “Unicycle of Evil”, with US encouragement and arms..; 1982: Bush-Regan regime removes Saddam's regime from official US list of state sponsors of terrorism; 1983: Saddam hosts Donald Rumsfeld in Baghdad. Agrees to “go steady” with US corporate suppliers; ... Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:30:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-best-democracy-money-can-buy/4413/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-best-democracy-money-can-buy/4413/ We always hear about suicide bombers and how many Israeli soldiers and civilians are killed.  We never hear about Palestinian casualties or why Palestinians might be taking the extreme act of killing themselves to make a point.  This link is just one story of many similar that we never hear about: Israeli troops raid Nablus at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E1CCBD0A-C8AD-43AC-91B5-47A2C7F57CC0.htm     Fri, 29 Jun 2007 02:38:42 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-sort-of-news-we-don-t-get-on-western-media/4412/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-sort-of-news-we-don-t-get-on-western-media/4412/ In no particular order: An Inconvenient Truth I never realised that Al Gore was concerned about global warming way before running for President.  It's a crime that the presidency was stolen from him.  I admire him for what he's trying to do.  Despite some sentimentality in the DVD, it's an excellent documentary about the real concerns of global warming.   Go here http://www.climatecrisis.net/  for more info.   Control Room A fascinating look inside the Arab news network, Al Jazeera.  It's always interesting to get the other side of the story - something we westerners rarely get.   The Corporation Multinational corporations are the equivalent of psychopaths, pure and simple.   No Logo Excellent documentary based on Naomi Klein's book about big brands and the destruction of consumer choice.   Supersize Me If you haven't seen it and are still eating... Mon, 04 Jun 2007 05:06:40 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Recommended-documentary-DVDs/4411/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Recommended-documentary-DVDs/4411/ In New Zealand it is currently Human Rights Week.  Not that most people are aware of it or care.  In the US this was apparently held in January.  But whenever it is held, it is an opportunity to reflect on human rights abuses around the world and in our own countries and the increasing threats to the human rights we currently take for granted in the west.  In New Zealand they have a good site outlining our human rights at: http://www.humanrights.net.nz/topics   The Human Rights Network Portal They are showing some excellent films which are worth watching if you get a chance.  Some of them are the following: Breaking ranks (Canada) 4 US soldiers take sanctuary in Canada to resist serving in Iraq.   Barakat (Algeria) A doctor’s journalist husband goes missing.   Breath of Peace (New Zealand) 70 years of peace activists in New Zealand.   Carla’s List (Switzerland) ... Mon, 14 May 2007 10:19:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Human-rights-week/4410/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Human-rights-week/4410/ Some time ago I borrowed a book called Checkpoint Watch: Testimonies from Occupied Palestine and was moved by the stories told by women (Israeli women) who monitored the treatment of Palestinians at checkpoints.   It is time I returned the book, which I will purchase.   Meanwhile, here are some excerpts from the book:   “ A glossary of oppression:   Blockades – physical obstacles to freedom of passage.   Since September 2000 or earlier, almost every village in the West Bank has been blockaded, usally by means of concrete cubes and/or earthworks, rubble, mud or ditches.   Some of these blockades are staffed, others are not… the blockades serving the purpose of preventing vehicular, and even pedestrian, access to and from each village…. an impossible task for the disabled, heavily laden, sick or elderly.   Worse still, access for emergency vehicles, ambulances, fire engines and so on is prevented by blockades… Unfortunately, donkeys and horses may not... Sun, 04 Mar 2007 09:23:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-plight-of-Palestinians/4409/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-plight-of-Palestinians/4409/ Finally a US soldier with the courage to take a stand against fighting in an illegal and immoral war. Visit this website to offer your support. Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:58:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Support-Ehren-Watada/4408/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Support-Ehren-Watada/4408/ You'd think this referred to China or some less-democratic country, but no.  We're talking the good ol' U S of A, land of the free. Thankfully the proposed legislation is on hold, but if it went through, if your blog had more than 500 readers and you said something negative about the government, you'd face jail... "Section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill currently before the Senate, would require grassroots causes, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report quarterly to Congress the same as the big K Street lobbyists. Section 220 would amend existing lobbying reporting law by creating the most expansive intrusion on First Amendment rights ever. For the first time in history, critics of Congress will need to register and report with Congress itself." Read more here . Sign a petition here . Tue, 06 Feb 2007 23:23:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Bloggers-who-criticize-government-may-face-prison/4407/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Bloggers-who-criticize-government-may-face-prison/4407/ It's either a feast or a famine.  I've been absent for months, but now I have a bit of time and there is so much that I want to write about.  Browsing the internet brings up a lot of issues that are interesting and I haven't even touched on books I've read recently. I found this article: A young marine speaks out It's wonderful to see young Americans in the military realise the truth of the 'war' in Iraq.  It is time that Americans were educated about the truth of their corrupt government and stop the hatred.  Now more than ever is a time for understanding, a time to step back and allow others to come to terms with their own troubles.  No-one asked America to interfere to "save" the Iraqi people.  No-one asked them to be judge, jury and executioner.  The greatest threat to the world is the current US administration.  The sooner the American people realise that, the better for all of us. Wed, 24 Jan 2007 05:47:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/A-young-marine-speaks-out/4406/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/A-young-marine-speaks-out/4406/ Americans wonder why they're hated.  They seem to think that only Muslims or the poor and oppressed hate America because they're 'jealous' of the 'freedom' and 'democracy' that American people 'enjoy'.  They argue that America only wants to help the rest of the world obtain freedom and peace and that they give aid to so many countries and lead the world in technological developments, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.  They believe this.  They really do and they just can't understand why there is such hatred in the world.  The truth reveals otherwise.  They probably don't realise just how many people in the west also hate America and America's "values" and "culture", or the depth of that hatred.  I have talked to any number of Australians, New Zealanders, British, German, French, you name a 'white' country - and they will all have some reason for hating Americans. Check out this rant by an Australian: ... Mon, 22 Jan 2007 04:55:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Anti-Americanism/4405/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Anti-Americanism/4405/ I just watched a very interesting DVD called "Control Room" about the beginning of the Iraq war from the viewpoint of Al Jazeera, Arab media. It was worth watching, if only to get the viewpoint of the Arabs, rather than the continual biased Western viewpoint.  Rather than be subjective and, as some Americans claim, full of lies, Al Jazeera was objective, trying to understand the true reasons for the invasion (they could see through the lies, they understand that the words 'peace' and 'USA' never come together).  The American soldiers spouted the bullshit they'd been fed - that it was all about freeing the Iraqi people, using 'precision' bombs.  Never mind the thousands of innocent civilians injured and killed, portrayed on TV by Al Jazeera (who, of course 'pretended' that there were casualties).  This was a war, what did they expect?  Americans wanted, of course, scenes of celebration from Iraqi people, but the scene in the square in Baghdad -... Mon, 22 Jan 2007 03:50:23 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Control-Room/4404/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Control-Room/4404/ Apologies for not having updated here in a long long time.  Often there is so much I'm enraged about, so much that I want to bring to people's attention, that I don't know where to start.  The Bush Administration continues to violate treaties and conventions, continues to whittle away at the world's and his own people's human rights and yet the public continue blindly on their own narrow paths, either oblivious or apathetic or just plain selfish. I will endeavour to write about some of them, even if it's only a sentence.  Something is better than nothing.  I will start with the decreasing access to information, another nail in the coffin of democracy in the USA.  Read this following article about Bush denying access to or destroying once public information.  The list of examples is a long one and continues.  Much of this information we can no longer access is very important.  If we don't know about it, the government becomes a totalitarian... Sat, 20 Jan 2007 23:41:06 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Overwhelmed-at-the-underwhelmed/4403/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Overwhelmed-at-the-underwhelmed/4403/ I saw the following back in September and had meant to post it but life has a way of intefering with plans.  Better late than never: Academic freedom under threat in Australia Academic freedom is under threat from increased Australian Federal Government interference in university affairs and the country's reaction to the "war on terror", according to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). NTEU National President, Dr Carolyn Allport, said that the Union was particularly concerned by the fall-out from the Federal Government's counter-terrorism measures which, she said, threaten to stifle research and critical debate, and place university staff at risk of being questioned by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. She said that staff would also be subject to control orders or, in extreme cases, being gaoled, simply for doing their jobs. Ms Allport said that the potential for new laws to stifle the ability... Sat, 25 Nov 2006 23:34:22 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Academic-freedom/4402/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Academic-freedom/4402/ I finished reading this succinct book which clarified the many reasons George W Bush should be impeached: for taking the country into war under false pretences - lies, lies and more lies for illegal wiretapping and surveillance and regarding himself as above the law for permitting torture and again regarding himself above the law for reckless indifference to human life – lack of response to Katrina and lack of planning in post-invasion iraq (ill-equipped soldiers meant more deaths) for leaking deceptive classified information to cover up his lies about the reasons for invading Iraq. Nixon was impeached for much less.  Clinton was to be impeached for merely having an extra-marital affair (and bogus claims about property). The book ends by telling the reader what to do - push for impeachment - stand up for your democratic right to get rid of this virtual dictator. Elizabeth Holtzman should know what she's talking about - she was... Wed, 22 Nov 2006 07:27:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-impeachment-of-George-W-bush/4401/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/The-impeachment-of-George-W-bush/4401/ Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time.  Life takes over and there barely seems enough time to think.  I feel so overwhelmed at times that I end up doing nothing. I'm reading a book called "The Impeachment of George W Bush" by Elizabeth Holtzman.  There are some sane Americans if only others would listen to them.  The mid-term elections were heartening with the promise of some change unless all the Democrats are spineless.  Read the book - Bush's impeachment is long overdue if only someone had the guts to get it in motion.  Hope to get back soon... Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:38:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Apologies/4400/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Apologies/4400/ Blame Arnold Schwarzenegger.  He liked the look of Hummers and wanted a tough-looking vehicle for himself.  "At his prodding, AM General... began making civilian Hummers in 1992, with the first vehicle off the assembly line going to Schwarzenegger himself."*  Apparently the whole idea of 'aggressive' cars was as a result of Americans' fears of violence and crime - SUVs were 'weapons - armoured cars for the battlefield'.  So Americans could feel big and strong behind the wheel of these monsters.  "Grill guards (or bumper bars) have no application under normal driving conditions", but they make SUVs look "angrier".  These monstrosities were deliberately marketed as 'urban assault luxury vehicles' and were supposed to make people feel safer.  SUVs are, as we know, anything but 'safe' - for anyone, driver included.  Well, I'm not sure of the motivation behind NZers driving these things.  Nothing to do with fear - but... Sun, 24 Sep 2006 07:11:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Hate-SUVs/4399/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Hate-SUVs/4399/ You've heard of the "conspiracy theories", rejected by many because we all know conspiracy theorists are nutters....  It's an easy way to turn people off listening.  They're liberal leftists.  They know nothing.  They're in league with muslims and are probably anti-semitic, evil... you name it.  I've heard all the pathetic comebacks by the ignorant who continue to take everything the government says at face value.  They believe it all happened exactly as they say (even though they contradict themselves).  So you may have watched Loose Change, seen Fahrenheit 911, and wondered how much is truth and how much is just another 'conspiracy theory'. I've read a great many books by respected authors and experts who say the same things as the 'conspiracy theorists'.  Here are just a sample.  Read any one of them or more than one and they all point to the same discrepancies, the same 'coincidences' the same facts that point to something... Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:10:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/9-11-why-believe-the-official-version/4398/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/9-11-why-believe-the-official-version/4398/ If you haven't already, watch this instead of the official version of events in the anniversary 'docudramas'. I watched one last night.  It was a moving re-enactment of events told by those within the Twin Towers - survivors and families of those killed.  It was well done but ruined at the very end when a survivor and then one of the writers of the 9/11 Commission Report (full of lies, omissions and distortions of the truth) said that "they will attack again".  Sure, sure - keep the populace fearful.  9/11 served its purpose.  Unless Bush et al look to lose their prestigious positions there won't be any more and if there are - look not to the Middle East but to the US government. Mon, 11 Sep 2006 06:51:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Loose-change/4397/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/enzedder/Loose-change/4397/