PNN #197 Show Notes http://bit.ly/17wnVXG
Syrians Form Human Shields
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Kj8vfsjQKLU#t=14
Bashar Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCS8SsFOBAI
Confused? About Syria
Using White Privilege to Make Right What is Wrong
Thursday, September 5th 2013. 1 ounce of silver is 25 dollars. 1 Bitcoin is 130 dollars. Peace News Now is brought to you in part by friends of http://WeUseCoins.com. Learn about bitcoin at http://WeUseCoins.com
Obama intends to tell the military to blow things up in Syria, groups of brave peace-lovers there have formed human shields around prospective US targets. Syrian people of all stripes and political affiliations are standing together, singing songs and holding signs reading “Hands Off Syria” , “over our dead bodies” , “No More American Bombing Democracy” , and one sign that read, quote, “Iraq, Lebanon, Ghaza, Libya, STOP!” .
They're calling on Washington to halt its march to war, and insist they're ready to die if it doesn't. They don’t know when or if the missiles will strike, but they will stay as long as it takes. These people are angry to learn that a foreign power has plans to drop bombs on their country. One protester said, “We don’t want what they did in Iraq over the chemical weapons claims to be done in our country.” Most protesters have gathered at Kassoon Mountain because it is a symbol of Damascus and Syria. It is also the home of military equipment and is expected to be targeted. Perhaps it will dissuade a drone bomber from blowing up innocent people if he knows they are down there dancing with children and playing music.
Just because people are dancing, don’t mistake Syria as a free country. Protest is entirely unwelcome and results in torture and death. Syrian Dictator Bashar Al Assad gave a speech in Hama on July 2nd, 2011, when the Arab Spring was beginning to take root. In response, the singer “Ibrahim Qashoush” led a crowd in a chant against the dictator in the streets of Hama. Here is a clip of that momentous occasion.
Ibrahim Qashoush was reported killed the next day by regime mercenaries. They cut his throat to try to stop his chant from spreading. But that’s old world technology, and while violence worked to crush resistance in the 20th century, the 21st century is a new century. It’s the age of digital information. The man may be gone but the videos and the ideas have only grown. The youtube video of this chant has been seen all over the world and continues to rack up thousands of views a day.
Are you confused about what’s going on in Syria? There’s a terrific article you should check out called “9 Questions About Syria You Were Too Embarrassed to Ask.” Did you know, for example, that Syria’s borders were drawn by European colonial powers in the 1920s? I guess those borders weren’t drawn on the map with much concern for the cultures of the people living there, because Syria has been in the middle of an extremely violent civil war for some time. Fighting between government forces and rebels has killed more 100,000 and created 2 million refugees, half of them children. Stay tuned to Peace News Now for updates on US military adventurism in the Middle East.
This story brought to you by friends of http://Blockchain.info -- Download the free bitcoin wallet at http://Blockchain.info
A video sent to PNN recently features a black woman retelling a story of a racial injustice that she experienced. She was at a checkout counter where a register clerk had just accepted the check of a white woman without question, but doubted to no end the legitimacy of this black woman’s check. The white woman noticed this double standard and asked the clerk why she is giving this other customer a hard time about her check when she was given no trouble at all. When other customers overheard this, they gasped and condemned the actions of the clerk. The manager came over and all was explained to him, and eventually all was made right. If the black woman had complained, she may have been perceived as argumentative. However, since the white woman complained about the injustice, the complaint was given legitimacy. The moral of this story was that it is not only possible to use one’s privilege to draw attention to injustice, but that it can be particularly effective. Remember this and speak up for your fellow man today.
Peace News Now is on the Next News Network and is brought to you in part by friends of http://WeUseCoins.com. I want you to share this episode, and if you enjoyed it, send some bitcoin to http://Donate.PeaceNewsNow.com/. I’m Derrick J, reminding you that Peace is the way!
