anti-war meeting

Last Wednesday, the York anti-war group had a meeting, a teach-in actually for members. The purpose was “form an analysis” about the war in Afghanistan and to start organizing events around campus. I was anticipating the meeting hoping I would find out some new information regarding the situation but was disappointed.

First off, we had an hour long introduction where every said their name and spiel of why they want to be a part of the group. Just as I thought things were getting on their way, we interrupt for a break to serve the pizza. I think this seriously disrupted the flow of the meeting. I think if they had done the break after the presentations by the two speakers, it would keep us more focus when we came back to discuss about the analysis and then move quickly to organizing activities. Instead, the group decided to take the time to discuss group politics: What we should focus on? How we should have imperialist behaviours in our own dealings. How the issue of Palestine was important to include. How we shouldn’t suppose what the Afghans want. I agree all of this important and I think be met better in our course of action and course of talking about what we think is happening in Afghanistan. How did we get through 80% of the meeting without talking about the situation? Someone who had recently moved from Germany to here and had previously commented of the void of political action on campus made the comparison again. He soon left, I can only guess why. After he talked, one girl talked about some things we could do: tabling, have a speak-out. We didn’t have a vote or concession if this is what we want to do, instead we literally ignored it and then continued talking about why it’s important to talk but do organizing too. I said that we should talk about the analysis presented and to ask questions and keep the discussion on that, and once that is over get to organizing. I get a reply like how that is important but so is talking about how we want to do it or something similar, I can’t remember. I zoned out after that and waited for them to eventually split into two groups: one was to do research and create pamphlets, other was to make plans for action.

Sorry for ranting. I thought it would be informative for me on how I can better deal with these situations in the future. I guess I will have to be more assertive, suggest a vote, suggest to break up into groups, suggest to have a consensus on a resolution next time. I left the meeting, okay and partially satisfied. I was sad that I left there with little to add to my understanding of the situation (even someone voicing a pro-war voice would have made the meeting more stimulating) but we had some form of action to prepare for so that was good. I’m a little tweaked that not many have joined the google group I created or have posted replies and
stuff on it.

Afterwards, Dave and I went to the parking lot roof to watch the lunar eclipse. I was pretty awesome but the cold go to me and it wasn’t as fun anymore. I wish it had been summer time, then we could’ve sat out more and watch the eclipse happen instead of going inside and then back out again.

I just watched some CBC debate on the Richard Dawkins documentary: Root of All Evil. It was pretty ridiculous. I'm kind of tired of the religion debate, but watching stuff like that is still amusing. I may pose criticisms later.

Gantz and Battle Royale

I've watched the most gore I've seen in months, but one was an anime so I'm not sure it counts. They were still much more fun to watch then the Saw or Hostel series.

I watched the whole series (two seasons) of an anime called Gantz in over three days. It's about a bunch of dead people being forced to participate in a 'game' to kill aliens in order to survive. I'll admit it was a pretty poorly done anime dialogue and directing wise, but the concept is pretty interesting and brings up a throng of moral dilemmas. The most irritating part of the show was that most of the time the characters are standing around debating about what to do, while the enemies in the meantime do nothing (all the character should be dead by all means). The show was able to create an intense atmosphere of fear and adrenaline for me. There was a lot of head's being chopped and death. I really like the final temple god because it seemed invincible. Some of the moral dilemmas they faced right from the beginning included whether: to risk your life saving a homeless man from being hit by a train, to fight the aliens and if they were really evil, whether to help someone who acted remorseless and heartless towards you, Gantz was just using them and to what purpose, who to trust, etc. The show reminded me of movies like the Cube because they both had groups of isolated strangers put in an absolutely strange situation where they had to learn themselves slowly and often by trial and error what was happening to them. At the same time they are feeling paranoia towards each despite having to cooperate with each other in order to survive. It was sort of like Akira in that virtually nothing was explained while more and more plots were piled on. The show’s ending was provocative, though I didn't really understand it. The ending also reminded me of Donnie Darko. It would have been a brilliant show if it was better executed. (Oh, just so you know, the main character starts off as a very horny teenager so he says and does a lot of ridiculous, immature things.)

Afterwards, I watched a movie called Battle Royale with Dave. It's about a class of high schoolers forced to kill each other to the death until only one is left alive in the course of three days or they all die. There is the obvious shock of seeing kids in a very serious and mature situation as in the movie Kids. But the strongest impression it left was the fact that it wasn't far fetch to assume that people will adapt to the situation even if it's the most inhumane farfetched scenario you can think of.

Anti-Israeli Government Policies on Palestine

I'm angry because I'm having to write this post again because everything magically disappeared even when I SAVED halfway through. I hate my stupid mouse pad on my laptop. Anyways, Dave found this site that posted a speech about Anti-Semitism by Martin Luther King Jr.: http://www.paulasays.com/articles/on_israel/mlk_on_anti-semitism.html. I don't know what MLK Jr. would write after learning about the current state of Palestine.

I'm looking at this site and reading some other articles by this Paula Stern. Stern describes life in Israel as pretty bad because of having to live in constant fear of terrorist attacks, of Israelis being forced off their homes, of not being able to pray in areas of Jerusalem. I'm reading this and thinking it should be describing Palestinian life. Stern herself blames the conditions Palestinians live in as their own fault saying "Funny that they do not identify this supposed destruction with ongoing Palestinian corruption, internal fighting, the embezzlement and misuse of millions of dollars that should have been spent on education, on health care, on roads and infrastructure." in an article where she criticizes Amnesty International for being biased against Israel and having lost credibility. I'm laughing and at the same time apalled by this website while unfortunately regretting that this is what a majority of people believe or agree to.

I have a friend named Abi. I was mentioning to her that it was pretty awful that Palestinians have to live under occupation. She replies that the debate of whose land it was has been going on for centuries and is not going to be resolved now. I wasn't sure what to say as anything I said would be foreign to her. So I said that Palestinians were forced out of their homes; it would be like if the Aboriginals forced us out of ours except I corrected myself in saying that they would have legitimate reasons because we forced them off theirs first. (I don't think she understood. I think I have to make her watch Peace, Propaganda and the Promise Land, which was the documentary that politicized me to the issue. She later in the day mentions she wants to visit Israel, and I'm secretly choking inside at the thought of site of former homes and villages of now most likely dead or deeply impoverished Palestinians.) Well we need to pay reparations to indigenous people, massive reparations for the genocidal policies afflicted on them; same with the Palestinian people. As far as I know Jews weren't forced off Palestine were they? I mean weren't Jews living there before Britain handed Palestine over to the Zionist lobbyists (who before that were conducting their own terrorist attacks for their cause). I don't know the exact history of that, but I'm not suggesting we dismantled the state of Israel. The majority of the UN council (except for US and Israel) agreed that the occupations of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are illegal. Palestinians want no more than what we have much more of here in Canada, the US, and Israel: their own state, real control over their government, land, security, and future. They can't have that if Israel continues to built settlements in their land, hinder and denigrate every aspect of their life.

Interesting quote on Youtube

In response to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef_blCCBJp0

bluedevilx7 (1 week ago) Show Hide

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Pinky has quite an annoying voice. Does the delusional individual who voices it intend to sound so irritating. Talk about nasals issues. Perhaps if you weren't so pretentious you might get something. SUPERBLY CONSTRUCTED PROPAGANDA.

WeAre1withtheUnivers (4 days ago) Show Hide Marked as spam

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Media omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US is something acknowledged by many outside the USA, and is slowly realized more and more inside the US. However, due to those very same omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US mainstream media, it is difficult for the average American citizen to obtain an open, objective view of many of the issues that involve the United States

Reply to FNB group

First, what happens in Afghanistan should be up to the Afghans. If they want help, we should be send it on their asking and on their terms, not what we think is best for them and not protecting their government officials who where former drug/warlords. The people of that region have no control over what NATO troops do. Many see us an oppressive presence and many Afghans want to support the Taliban because they see it as a form of resistance to occupation. This makes it easy for fundamentalists to sway desperate youth to their cause; we are increasing terrorism.

Second, we should oppose war because it's immoral, not because of pragmatic reasons. By pragmatic reasons, I mean that "the war is not going the way we thought." That's the same reason why the majority of intellectuals oppose the Vietnam war. We have no right in forcing ourselves onto another country, making decisions for them, and making a profit from them (by contracting, weapon selling, protecting business interests). The truth of the matter is we are hypocrites. We pick and choose who we want to 'help' and when we want to get involved when it meets our interests. Eg. US supports Saddam when he commits his worst atrocities, in particular against Kurds, but US also supports Turkey's violence against Kurds living there, and supports the dictator Suharto in Indonesia. And if we can't accept and punish those responsible for our mistakes and our war crimes, we have no right to go policing others. There's a whole list of why the war in Afghanistan was illegal and wrong. But I just want to talk about war in general.

I don't know about training Afghan police and military. Again I don't know if the people we are training aren't just gonna be tools used for future oppression just as the government installed is just a puppet government.

All the money that's put into the war in Afghanistan and for security for international forces can be put to much better use if was actually going to feed, clothe, build homes and infrastructure for the Afghans, even if it wasn't spent for the impoverished here.

So I guess it's a no for the petition. WOW.