Comments on: Bomb Haters, Unite!

By: Jonathan Stephenson

Jonathan Stephenson — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:18:15 +0000

That a people can turn their heads in indifference to these weapons, and to the people, many of whom are children demonstrates that in the 8000 years of recorded history, people have not changed, they are as merciless as they were in the days of Egyptian Pharoahs and Sumerian Kings, as Roman Emperors and The Mongol Khans.
Until we learn shame and love, sorrow and forgiveness we are doomed to continue as cannon fodder for ruthless men and women, for the next 8000 years, should we last that long. The problem is us!!!!!

By: Jean Jones

Jean Jones — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:17:15 +0000

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!! And we have a new chance for a real statesman for president.Pray for peace for all especially our new leader Barack Obama.

By: Anwaar

Anwaar — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:18:20 +0000

Gordon Brown blows a loophole in ban on cluster bombs Times Online Gordon Brown has negotiated a loophole for Britain to continue using cluster bombs, despite his declaration of a full ban. The prime minister appeared to reinforce his humanitarian credentials when he dramatically overruled the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in talks at a 109-nation conference in Dublin on Wednesday. While Brown announced support for â€œa ban on all cluster bombs, including those currently in service by the UKâ€, the government quietly excluded new anti-tank cluster shells that are not yet in service. Britain will now press ahead with an Â£83m contract to buy a new generation of the munitions, signed last November with GIWS, a German manufacturer. Continue reading.......

By: Anwaar

Anwaar — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:47:02 +0000

Here are excerpts from today’s New York Times editorial;

“On Friday, 111 nations, including major NATO allies, adopted a treaty that sets an eight-year deadline to eliminate stockpiles of cluster arms â€” pernicious weapons that scatter thousands of small bombs across a wide area, where they pose a long-term deadly threat to innocents. The Bush administration not only failed to sign the treaty but vigorously opposed it.

After marching in lockstep for years, even Britain broke with Americaâ€™s position and agreed to withdraw its weapons from use. That dealt a much-needed blow to Washingtonâ€™s long-standing opposition to this sort of sensible arms control, and in particular to this treaty-averse administration.”

“…No one has more invested in cluster munitions than the United States, which Human Rights Watch says has been the largest producer, stockpiler and user, using them in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Others that have used them include Britain, France, Sudan, NATO, Israel and Hezbollah….”

“…As the main holdout, the United States gives cover to countries like Russia and China, which also rejected the ban. The treaty is weaker for it: together, these three nations have more than a billion cluster munitions stockpiled, far more than the number of weapons expected to be destroyed. Also weakening the pact is a loophole that will let America continue military cooperation with treaty signers, even if it uses cluster munitions….”

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:30:34 +0000

As a young boy living in Mogadishu in the 1960′s I remember the begging crippled children. They were everywhere. I would save the roll we were given at dinner when eating out and would toss it to someone upon leaving, being careful not to pass it to anyone other than a single individual so no fighting would break out. Many had horrible disfiguring diseases. Elephantiasis and rickets were everywhere. There were no girl beggars. The Somali don’t consider girl children who is crippled to be of any value so they are dispatched as soon as abnormalities are discovered.

There is a natural human tendency to dislike the effects bombs, guns or anthrax has on the human body. Unfortunately it does not address the habit humans seem to have regarding aggressive and violent behavior towards his fellow man. Vlad the impaler would place live humans on spikes to die an agonizing death. American Indians were fond of the bashing of infant children to death in an effective effort to rouse the anger of the adults. The technology has changed but not the patterns of behavior. Most of us will likely witness the huge numbers of blind and burn victims mixed in with the slow incapacitation caused by radiation sickness. Modern society is getting easier to destabilize now that we no longer produce the products we use to survive ourselves. War has claimed fewer causalities since the discovery of nuclear weapons. I hope that trend continues but I doubt it will.

Shelley

By: Anwaar

Anwaar — Sat, 31 May 2008 10:52:39 +0000

Ban Cluster Bombs Petition

As well as signing the online petition you can help to gather signatures by printing off the form below and asking family, friends and colleagues to sign it.

Once the form is completed you can send it to:

No More Landmines

4th Floor, Charles House

London, W14 8QH

Or you can scan and e-mail it to info@landmines.org.uk

Thank you for your support!

Attachments:

Ban_Cluster_Bombs_Petition.pdf

By: Pervaiz

Pervaiz — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:08:23 +0000

A heart wrenching article. It is a somber reminder of the barbarities perpetrated by the Huns, the Visigoths,the Vikings, the Tartars and the recently crumbled great empire where the Sun never set. Perhaps barbarity is the uglier side of our genetic endowment that we invariably avoid looking at. Nevertheless, our multi faceted collective unconscious comprises of kindness, empathy, compassion and need to nurture too.

Hence, unite.

By: Virgil

Virgil — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:09:15 +0000

An excellent and timely piece. The best report I have read on the subject.

Regards, Virgil

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:08:54 +0000

Anwaar…I am a bomb hater.

Chuck

By: RG Gregory

RG Gregory — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:08:23 +0000

The greatest sickness on earth today is Authority. The system by which Authority is appointed, or appoints itself, is of little relevance. Voted-in Authority, in today’s circumstances, is probably the most dangerous; its voters the most deluded, being offered an apparent choice between divisions of the same. In the West, in the name of relative comfort (for most) and sheer greed for the favoured, we are deprived of any real say in the matter of the abominations perpetrated in our name. Cluster bombs, land mines, nuclear warheads, chemical weapons: only the start of the list of murderous presents we gift to those we are ordained not to like, and by our standards deigned not to count.

The following poem was written over 40 years ago. Its despair has intensified since.

participation

step this way
my friends
step this way

here governments retreat
here the people
stand on their own two feet
you haven’t seen the like
for donkey’s years

i go in
it is true

the people strut
in their new glory
their drinking hand
a never-ending
fountain of champagne
out of their pockets
ooze
banknotes and confidence
more or less tax-free
they are busy
converting their children
into gold
their wives
to diamonds

it is true
there haven’t been such people
for donkey’s years

but o the millions
of non-people
crunched into the patterns
of the carpet
their blood rivers
their bones mountains