12/11/2009

Too bad we can’t fly some  of these women in for the  conference this weekend at PEA. They are literally  at the front lines of the gender war. You can  view a slide show here on Dilsha( front ) and her unit. Their predicament only  just  came into view for me, a bit of  focus. There has been a great deal of killing  this week between the PKK and Turkish Forces. If you read a bit you will  find a great media push  behind this  movement. It’s quite remarkable. It’s difficult frankly to discern the truth. Some media will refer to them as guerrillas, freedom fighters. Others simply brand them terrorists. Some  think  that no one will suffer them much longer as the area they  inhabit is important real estate.The US does not seem interested in engaging them. You don’t have to wonder given the territory that the  independent woman is considered a real threat. There will be a great  slaughter of women  soon unless a deal is brokered, as 40% of the PKK fighters  are these women. The PKK has  dropped their demand for an independent state. The US maintains a huge air base in Turkey  so  really  this little group of people  will not get much attention from us. US Air base Our World Wide military  presence is part of the problem. It should be a World Wide Peace Program.

There is a great deal of video  to watch on the PKK  .

There  is a higher quality version of this footage however there was no embed code available.  There were some unsavory comments on that particular You tube page.

Many filmmakers and photographers have visited the  PKK and the cinematic quality of the footage is engaging. It can be  hard not to feel manipulated. The women  certainly are dramatic, brave and very beautiful.

We should be working to settle, negotiate and calm all conflicts. This is just one of many. I take great exception to  our President speaking  to  the “inevitability” of War. No one is going to win. Everyone has to  take step back.

I finished  the House of War  by  James Carrol, it is very disturbing. If you are in touch at all with history you will fly through the 500  pages. I will return it today  to the Library. I am donating another book,” War Made Easy”  How Presidents and Pundits keep Spinning  us to Death. It’s very troubling as well. You simply have to understand that the continued  fueling of our war machine means no end to War, ever. They are planning for  War in 2035. We simply have lost the path to Peace. It is too bad we do not have someone that can stare down a room full of brass.Lest anyone forget, the suits  run the show, not the uniforms. President Kennedy during the Berlin Crisis was going over a targeting plan with a General. Nuclear targets. He asked why they  were going to hit so many targets in China if the beef was with the Russians. The answer , “because it’s in the  plan  Mr President”.

Plan?.

merry merry

Mike