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SOMETHIN'S HAPPENIN' HERE . . . AND THERE . . . AND EVERYWHERE -- Beware and share!

"It is enough that a lie is believed for three days --
it has then served its purpose."

-- Marie de Medici, 1573-1642,
queen consort and queen regent of France



Militarism is a Greater Threat Than Terrorism
By Farhang Jahanpour
PhD, University of Cambridge


Selected excerpt:

War is the greatest scourge of our time and the greatest violation of human rights. [Emphasis added. -v] In many ways, the twentieth century was the worst century in human history in terms of people who were killed as the result of local, regional and international wars, most of them fought in the name of good causes, such as freedom, democracy, socialism, etc. It was the age of mass killing on an unprecedented scale. It was the century of technological barbarism and mechanised butchery. It is estimated that more than 170 million people were slaughtered in various wars during that century. While many people were hoping that the end of the Cold War would produce peace dividends and would usher in a period of calm and security, the world seems to be faced with a series of unending wars.

A great American peace activist and Catholic priest, Phil Berrigan, who died on 6th December 2002, spent 11 of his 79 years in prison for his protests against war. In reviewing Sr. Rosalie Bertell's book, Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon of War, Berrigan ended with these words:

"The military as an instrument of mass killing is a waste institution - humans, energy, oil, metals, scientific and technical skills, money - it consumes all and restores nothing to the resources of the planet. Any faithful or sane scrutiny would conclude that it must be dismantled. It kills, threatens and wastes - it is the BIG LIE institutionalised. Its veneer and untouchability gives new meaning to the demonic. Is anybody out there listening?"

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