Laurie Calhoun answers David Rosenberg's questions about drone killing and whether President Biden is likely to curtail the practice. The drone discussion spans minutes 10:15 to 13:20 of the Saturday Evening program on March 26, 2022. (Recorded on March 25, 2022). Other segments of the news report cover the crises in Ukraine and Yemen. https://archives.kpfa.org/data/20220326-Sat1800.mp3
The power of language is magical to behold. Through the mere pronouncement of words, people can be persuaded to do what they would never have thought to do, left to their own devices. The playbook with the most success in this regard is that of war. When people are “informed” that they and their families are in mortal danger, they can and often will acquiesce to any and all policies which government authorities claim to be necessary in order to protect them. Young people can be coaxed into killing complete strangers who never did anything personally to them. Citizens can be brainwashed to...
U.S. hypocrisy on war crimes is discussed by Laurie Calhoun from minutes 12 to 16:30 of this report on WBAI News with Paul DeRienzo. https://soundcloud.com/user-879607737/032422-nato-war-drums-ukraine-at-month-one-food-shortages-amazon-protest-in-newark?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Laurie Calhoun joins Philip Maldari on The Sunday Show on KPFA 94.1 in Berkeley to discuss the recent history of war crimes, including the 1999 Kosovo intervention, the 2003 War on Iraq, the 2011 Bombing of Libya, and the current military conflict in Ukraine. Also covered are drone assassination and the Global War on Terror, NATO, the distinction between the USSR and Russia, red lines, Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm (the 1991 Gulf War), Afghanistan, and the spectre of nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia. The recorded discussion took place on March...
Laurie Calhoun joins Dennis J. Bernstein on Flashpoints, a program of KPFA 94.1, Pacifica Radio, to discuss War Criminals Past and Present. The discussion begins about 34 minutes into the hour-long program, which was recorded on March 24, 2022. https://thedroneage.wordpress.com/2022/03/25/kfpa-94-1-flashpointspacifica-radio-war-criminals-past-and-present/
And while we're on the topic of war criminals: https://accuracy.org/release/bush-rumsfeld-war-criminals/
I recall being shown in grade school a series of short films about the danger of seemingly friendly men who drove popsicle trucks and tried to lure young children into accepting free treats. We were sternly instructed to stay far, far away from such people. How the world has changed. Today we have political leaders with no knowledge of our personal health situation asking us to accept injections of experimental substances for the simple reason that they have been told by their advisers (also ignorant of our circumstances) that it would be good for us to do. It is a bizarre, even absurd idea,...
The use of drugs is sometimes characterized as a victimless crime, since the person who ingests them will bear the negative consequences should something go awry. Supporters of prohibition, who wish for the government to regulate and limit sales and distribution, are typically concerned with not only the moral effects on individuals themselves but also what might be called the “collateral damage”: the family and community members affected by the user who succumbs and loses “the plot” of his life, so to speak. This concern with “collateral damage,” however, applies to drug (including alcohol)...
