An NYU student is tweeting every reported drone strike by the US since 2002

[HoopLife]

I'll just say this here, and then I'm done with subject:

I'm watching ESPN and reading twitter responses from athletes. How this is a tragedy and senseless. Im human, so of course I pain over this story. I got a baby cousin, just started elementary and another to start next year. I went to pray for the victims, but, I couldn't see myself doin that and forgetting the ppl who suffer each and everyday. The athletes talked about how senseless and horrible this is and how it's a tragedy. So is the prison industrial system. So is the violence on the streets, between minorities. So are these drones that are killing as many babies. I just can't stand how reactive this country is.

We could solve a lot of problems, if we attacked the root and jumped on it early, but, no. We wait til a tragedy--one that is perfect for TV coverage--to act like something is happening. I could say a lot, and it would sound insensitive, so, I'll say this; what about the child that will suffer tomorrow and has no athlete tweeting their sympathies? No, they may not even be an American.

I'll end it here; I'm not doin like most internet posters; I'm puttin some action behind my outrage.

But, I did pray; for the family and love ones of the Conn. victims and the countless ppl how suffer without this type of attention, everyday.

Peace, yall

It's a shame this post won't get the proper attention it deserves...

 

[CouldntBeMeTho]

Imagine how outraged americans would be, if it was pakistani drones bombing and killing our civilians. I couldnt even scroll down that whole list, and those are the KNOWN strikes. Which is probably a fraction of the real list.

 

[Type Username Here]

That is official US doctrine, I believe, yes. Any male over a certain age is considered a "militant" no matter what, that's how they keep civilian counts down.

This is partially true.

Any male between the ages of 16-40 is considered a MAM, military age male. It doesn't give you the right to just shoot or kill them though. Its an identification label.

But Im sure in these drone strikes the label is good enough to determine guilt.

 

[TrueEpic08]

Oh. I thought you were specifically referring to Obama letting those tears flow in a press conference about children dying when he's doing what he's doing with these remote control Tyco bombers.

Either way i found it ridiculous as well

That's why I said "especially the US government" when I was writing it. Obama's the one ordering the drone strikes and the one who has to approve every one, but it goes far beyond him. It's a generalized myopia within the American mindset that's existed since the colonies desired independence and has just found its most recent form in the justifications behind these drone strikes vis a vis "American tragedies".

I did include this in my thinking, but thanks for making it explicit.

 

[SuikodenII]

Crazy...

 

[Type Username Here]

That's why I said "especially the US government" when I was writing it. Obama's the one ordering the drone strikes and the one who has to approve every one, but it goes far beyond him. It's a generalized myopia within the American mindset that's existed since the colonies desired independence and has just found its most recent form in the justifications behind these drone strikes vis a vis "American tragedies".

I did include this in my thinking, but thanks for making it explicit.

No need to give the President a pass.

At the end of day, his office has supreme power. Even if you argue that he takes orders and is some sort of puppet, he can likely call an impromptu press conference and reveal that he's not the one making the decisions and finally tell the American people from the President's mouth that there is some shadow government at work. Until then, the blame falls on him.

These are war crimes.

My problem with Islam and my support of some of our efforts aside, I advocate for the rule of law. Those children dying over there hurt me just as much as the kids in CT.

Those Muslims in Gitmo being held and tortured is wrong, even if they might be criminals or "Terrorists".

American Muslims being spied on for solely being Muslim is wrong because they are American Citizens. If there is proof, so be it. But that NYPD situation is illegal and people should be put in prison. Even with my philosophical differences, I'm glad they can worship their religion.

If that makes me a corny, idealistic, and "Constitutional Worshipper" so be it. I have my emotional moments where I might stray, but I always rationally come back to this system of the social contract.

Sorry, I'm ranting all over the place.

 

[TrueEpic08]

No need to give the President a pass.

At the end of day, his office has supreme power. Even if you argue that he takes orders and is some sort of puppet, he can likely call an impromptu press conference and reveal that he's not the one making the decisions and finally tell the American people from the President's mouth that there is some shadow government at work. Until then, the blame falls on him.

These are war crimes.

My problem with Islam and my support of some of our efforts aside, I advocate for the rule of law. Those children dying over there hurt me just as much as the kids in CT.

Those Muslims in Gitmo being held and tortured is wrong, even if they might be criminals or "Terrorists".

American Muslims being spied on for solely being Muslim is wrong because they are American Citizens. If there is proof, so be it. But that NYPD situation is illegal and people should be put in prison. Even with my philosophical differences, I'm glad they can worship their religion.

If that makes me a corny, idealistic, and "Constitutional Worshipper" so be it. I have my emotional moments where I might stray, but I always rationally come back to this system of the social contract.

Sorry, I'm ranting all over the place.

Not trying to give him a pass, I'm just saying that this type of myopia is absolutely nothing new and we shouldn't act like it's anything new.

 

[Type Username Here]

Not trying to give him a pass, I'm just saying that this type of myopia is absolutely nothing new and we shouldn't act like it's anything new.

Yea, it isn't even new by even national standards.

Like other posters said, this type of shyt goes on in urban communities every day. Maybe not a concentrated event like yesterday, but spread out throughout the year.

 

[Serious]

I could say a lot, and it would sound insensitive,

I feel you breh.I hold back in some of my responses because that could easily be perceived as a sociopathic, insensitive, callous individual. When in fact, my stance on "reality" is trends of along the lines of remaining as unbiased and subjective as possible;

At the end of the day. It is what it is.

 

[Easy-E]

I feel you breh.I hold back in some of my responses because that could easily be perceived as a sociopathic, insensitive, callous individual. When in fact, my stance on "reality" is trends of along the lines of remaining as unbiased and subjective as possible;

At the end of the day. It is what it is.

I'm just gonna avoid the news channels for the next week. Cause it's gonna be the same thing:

• Oh, this white shooter is psychically deranged, he needs help (the DC Snipers were just terrorists [I was young, when it happened, but, I remember them makin' a fuss over their Arabic names, not if they were crazy or not] and the cats shooting, everyday [in the streets], are just criminals )
  
• Oh, there's nothing wrong with being able to cop extended clips and ammo through the mail
  
• The worlds comin' to an end...even though babies are dying, everyday, over in countries we love to ignore, everyday...Oh, but, not good ole' American babies, what did they do?

I feel the same way about 9/11; it's horrible and I feel for the loss, but, this country does more than 3k murders, overseas, in the name of "defense." Again, it's all about nationalism--"Those are foreigners, we have go reason to attack them." I could go on and on how we have the advantage and blessing of not havin' wars (with a few exception) fought on US soil.

Not to mention; I'm sick of talkin', I'm about actions. I gotta start takin' care of the poor, sick and forgotten.

I'll just leave this here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/o...-shootings-continue.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

MY wife and I learned about the Connecticut school shootings on our way home from the cemetery, where we had just finished observing the 20th anniversary of our son’s murder.

Our son Galen, who was 18, and a teacher were killed on Dec. 14, 1992, by a deranged student who went on a shooting rampage at Simon’s Rock College in western Massachusetts. Galen was a gifted kid, and Simon’s Rock seemed like the perfect place for him. He’d never been happier. The killer had a vastly different reaction to this environment. After run-ins with college officials, he vowed to “bring the college to its knees.” He bought an SKS at a gun shop down the road, and obtained oversize clips and ammunition through the mail.

In the wake of Galen’s murder, I wrote a book about the shooting. In it I suggested that we view gun crime as a public health issue, much the same as smoking or pesticides. I spent a number of years attending rallies, signing petitions, writing letters and making speeches, but eventually I gave up. Gun control, such a live issue in the “early” days of school shootings, inexplicably became a third-rail issue for politicians.

I came to realize that, in essence, this is the way we in America want things to be. We want our freedom, and we want our firearms, and if we have to endure the occasional school shooting, so be it. A terrible shame, but hey — didn’t some guy in China just do the same thing with a knife?

Still, whatever your position on gun control, it is impossible not to react with horror to news of the shootings in Connecticut. Our horror is nuanced by knowledge of what those families are going through, and what they will have to endure in years to come.

More horrible still — to me at least — is the inevitable lament, “How could we have let this happen?”

It is a horrible question because the answer is so simple. Make it easy for people to get guns and things like this will happen.

Children will continue to pay for a freedom their elders enjoy.

Gregory Gibson is the author of “Gone Boy: A Father’s Search for the Truth in His Son’s Murder.”

 

[OsO]

great thread on many levels

 

[Serious]

I'm just gonna avoid the news channels for the next week. Cause it's gonna be the same thing:

• Oh, this white shooter is psychically deranged, he needs help (the DC Snipers were just terrorists [I was young, when it happened, but, I remember them makin' a fuss over their Arabic names, not if they were crazy or not] and the cats shooting, everyday [in the streets], are just criminals )
  
• Oh, there's nothing wrong with being able to cop extended clips and ammo through the mail
  
• The worlds comin' to an end...even though babies are dying, everyday, over in countries we love to ignore, everyday...Oh, but, not good ole' American babies, what did they do?

I feel the same way about 9/11; it's horrible and I feel for the loss, but, this country does more than 3k murders, overseas, in the name of "defense." Again, it's all about nationalism--"Those are foreigners, we have go reason to attack them." I could go on and on how we have the advantage and blessing of not havin' wars (with a few exception) fought on US soil.

Not to mention; I'm sick of talkin', I'm about actions. I gotta start takin' care of the poor, sick and forgotten.

I'll just leave this here:

Yeah bro, I totally agree. I literally turned off the news after about 20 minutes or so. Didn't really pay close attention to Obama tearing up, yet I couldn't but ponder about whether or not the tears were a result of propaganda or truly in being despair.

I totally agree, with the your stance on 9/11. Honestly, as a misguided, uninformed, youngster, at the time of the attacks, I couldn't help but ponder about the logistics of the savage individuals whom committed such a heinous atrocity against this "great" nation. Now with a bit more incite on the situation, 9/11 barely even stretches the surface as vengeance, from all the coups the United States has "directly" played a vital part in, throughout the world.

My 2 cents...

 

[Aje]

 

[SumBlackguyz]

Hey, if they are over 13 years of age, they are probably terrorists.

probably because most of them witnessed their brothers sisters and parents get blown to pieces by drone strikes. It doesn't matter who you are, if you kill a member of someone's family, there is no way out of them wanting retribution against the assailant

 

[88m3]

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