Absolutely Maddening

Frankly — courtesy of RAN Understory Blog — this needs to be read to be believed;

“[Tom] Flanagan then notes that environmentalists could start engaging in ‘direct action,’ and could possibly even recruit [scary dark-skinned] ‘protesters from dissident First Nations’ to participate in their direct actions. (Flanagan suggests that ‘probably the best defence against such disruptions is to make sure that local First Nations receive significant economic benefits from any development.’ Apparently, it takes a series of bombings for Big Oil to come to the conclusion that they should actually provide benefits to the Indigenous peoples whose lands they’re literally tearing apart.)…”

Their arrogance is, if not so ridiculous, absolutely maddening…

Euthanasia Debate?

Back in February, I wrote a piece concerning a woman, Eluana Englaro, who was living her life in a coma — or a vegetative state, if you will. And her story became, almost instantly, internationally recognized as her “right-to-die” was being acted and debated upon. Well;

“Canadian law makers are gearing up [this fall] for a debate on the issue of euthanasia…”1

For the record, I am, both, compassionately empathetic and extremely wary about the issue of euthanasia. However, being presented with a “choice” in the first place, seems to me, to be somewhat problematic…

Continue reading Euthanasia Debate?

And There It Is

Yesterday over at Abolitionist Approach, Professor Francione, posted an “essay,” largely in agreement, with an “article about vivisection by Dr. Danny Penman,” titled “On Vivisection and Violence.”

And, at first, a couple of his comments didn’t sit right with me. The first;

“Putting aside that most people would, if in a situation which they were forced to choose, sacrifice the lives of countless other humans to save those close to them…”

Not because I necessarily have any objections to the validity of such a statement. I don’t. But, I guess, the fact that the plausible reality of such a comment is, more than likely, true, struck me as depressing. I can’t say why, or that I disagree with the seeming logic that would go into arriving at such a conclusion. Hell, if I had to choose, I’m not sure, I’d choose many over the one who is “close” to me. But he is absolutely right, “the animal issue is beside the point.” It’s neither here, nor there, in an argument for vivisection, at least…

Continue reading And There It Is

‘Don’t be a Buffalo Soldier’

Today, on Democracy Now, Amy sat down and spoke with “Princeton University professor Cornel West and Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party about the current state of Black America.” What I found most memorable in said conversation was when Carl Dix spoke about Buffalo Soldiers and warned against being one. Intriguing;

“[T]he Buffalo Soldiers were the black, mostly former slaves who joined the Union army during the Civil War and played a key role in defeating the Confederate army and ensuring the abolishment of slavery through their military victory in the Civil War. […] But then the United States government took the Buffalo Soldiers and sent them out west and had them fight in what is called the ‘Indian Wars,’ which was actually carrying out genocide and the theft of the land from the native inhabitants, while black people were being re-subjugated in conditions of near slavery as sharecroppers. So here you have people oppressed by this system put into the military and then sent off by this system to oppress other people for the system. […]  Well, that was my message. Don’t be a modern-day Buffalo Soldier. Don’t let this system, which continues to oppress and exploit you, along with oppressing, exploiting many other people, turn you into a mindless killing machine and send you off to help them tighten their oppression on somebody else, while they keep oppressing you and others like you…”

As it just so happens, with the above quote, Carl was speaking about an absolutely brilliant article he wrote for The San Francisco Bay View back on December 17, 2008, “Don’t be a Buffalo Soldier;”

“DON’T DO IT! Don’t sign up for America’s wars under the leadership of “commander in chief” Barack Obama and carry forward the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. Instead get with a cause that’s in the interest of humanity and is something worth fighting for – making revolution to wipe imperialism off the face of the earth!”

Check it out…