Clipmarks | invictus's 'war' clips

Date set for Odysseus' return from Trojan War

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:30:56 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Although I read this story with caution and I still remain very sceptical about the astronomical references and interpretations, I'm posting it here for those who may be interested.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Using clues from star and sun positions mentioned by the ancient Greek poet Homer, scholars think they have determined the date when King Odysseus returned from the Trojan War and slaughtered a group of suitors who had been pressing his wife to marry one of them.

It was on April 16, 1178 B.C. that the great warrior struck with arrows, swords and spears, killing those who sought to replace him, a pair of researchers say in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Experts have long debated whether the books of Homer reflect the actual history of the Trojan War and its aftermath.

Marcelo O. Magnasco of Rockefeller University in New York and Constantino Baikouzis of the Astronomical Observatory in La Plata, Argentina, acknowledge they had to make some assumptions to determine the date Odysseus returned to his kingdom of Ithaca.

Tags: ancient history, greece, trojan war, homer, odysseus, archaeoastronomy

Mystery Object - The Standard of Ur

Sat, 31 May 2008 16:20:48 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.mesopotamia.co.uk

Leonard Woolley made many exciting discoveries while excavating the 'Royal tombs' at Ur. He learnt a great deal about how people lived and what they believed by studying the burials.

Clip Source: www.mesopotamia.co.uk

Explore the plan below and discover the 'Standard of Ur'.

Clip Source: www.britishmuseum.org

'Peace' panel

Clip Source: www.britishmuseum.org

'War' panel

Clip Source: mosaicartsource.wordpress.com

function is not yet understood

the excavator at Ur, imagined that it was carried on a pole as a standard, hence its common name. Another theory suggests that it formed the soundbox of a musical instrument

The main panels are known as ‘War’ and ‘Peace’. ‘War’ shows one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army. Chariots, each pulled by four donkeys, trample enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears; enemy soldiers are killed with axes, others are paraded naked and presented to the king who holds a spear.

mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli

The ‘Peace’ panel

a banquet

wearing woollen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Fixing Iraq's window

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:12:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Tags: iraq, war, cartoons

My Five Year Old Kid vs. Their Five Year Old War

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:27:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

"I do not want to tell my kid when she's ten: this war has been going all of your life. I don't want to tell her that next year! I want to tell her, yes, there was a war for the first five years of your life, but then people had had enough! They knew voting for a fake anti-war candidate wasn't going to end the war, they knew watching TV and bitching about it wasn't going to end the war, and they finally voted with their feet. I want to tell my kid that on the fifth anniversary of the war, people said, ENOUGH! And hit the streets in San Francisco and in over forty other cities around the country, and reinvigorated an anti-war movement that brought the war to an end."

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Y'all remember five years ago? Were any of you on the streets with Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) in downtown San Francisco five years ago?

I wasn't. I was not on the streets because I had a brand-new baby who needed to eat every two hours, so I couldn't risk arrest. I spent the day volunteering in the legal office, taking calls from folks in the streets.

That baby is five years old now.

This war has been going on for almost her entire life.

And it's not just Iraq that is suffering. Iraq Vets Against the War said, "For every bomb dropped on Baghdad, a bomb explodes on the Gulf Coast." And they're right; all the resources used for the war are resources stolen from communities. Where are those trillions coming from? From schools, from publicly-funded health care, from basic infrastructure and human needs. What could our communities do with 2.8 trillion dollars?

Tags: iraq war, war costs, humanity, dasw, anti-war

Russia pledges support to Serbia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:09:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Looks like Kosovo crisis gonna deepen soon. The likelihood of a new "war in Europe" is already being discussed by analysts. That's why Russia's position as a "key actor" seems very important at the moment.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Russia has emerged as Serbia's strongest ally

The man tipped to become the next Russian president has vowed his country will "stick to" its support for Serbia in opposing Kosovo's independence.

Deputy PM Dmitry Medvedev was in Belgrade for talks with Serb President Boris Tadic and PM Vojislav Kostunica.

Although its focus is mainly economic, the visit is seen as a sign of support for Serbia's view on Kosovo, the BBC's Bethany Bell in Belgrade says.

Kosovo's declaration of independence sparked protests in Serbia last week.

"We proceed from the assumption that Serbia is a united country, whose jurisdiction covers the whole of its territory, and we shall stick to this principled stand," Mr Medvedev said during his meeting with Mr Kostunica, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.

Mr Medvedev's comments, and the timing of his visit, will be seen as evidence that Russia's foreign policy is unlikely to change once serving President Vladimir Putin steps down.

Tags: kosovo, balkans, serbia, russia, europe, war

The "Out-of-control" Military Machine

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:02:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

Citizens must fight the militarism that's choking our democracy. Given the power and money of the military lobby, we're not likely to get any encouragement from either party or any presidential candidates, at least not at first. But we can force the issue into the dialogue and remember who listened and who didn't. Call it politics for the long run, the politics of hope with a sharper edge.

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Americans are worried about the impending recession and the Wall Street crisis, as well as the exhilarating and unpredictable presidential contest. But another threatening force is bearing down on the nation: our out-of-control military machine. The ever-voracious Pentagon is using this fragile moment as cover for seizing an even greater share of the nation's dwindling resources--trillions more in federal indebtedness to fight a phantom "war on terror." In constant dollars, next year's proposed military budget will be the largest since World War II--around $700 billion.

Tags: military, economy, united states, war, recession

"What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America"

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:40:20 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Harold Bloom speaks...

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of America's most prominent and provocative intellectuals.

Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to have symbolically embodied what he calls the "poor state of the nation."

"I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire. This war is what Parthia was to Rome.

"We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis. God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush) deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be condemned for crimes against humanity. Bush is ultimately responsible for this war," Bloom says

Tags: iraq war, united states, middle east, chaos, war

Shooting War: A Graphic Novel on Iraq (video)

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:34:02 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: A video preview, based on a graphic novel by Anthony Lappé. Iraq war in 2011.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Shooting War, a graphic novel set in Iraq in the year 2011, has been chilling readers and making headlines about its vivid and surreal depiction of the war zone.

It's the year 2011. John McCain is our unpopular president, the war in Iraq rages on, gasoline is $10 a gallon, and Tom Cruise and Mary-Kate Olsen have just called it quits. When videoblogger Jimmy Burns captures on camera a suicide bomb blast that rocks a Brooklyn Starbucks (destroying his apartment above), he's immediately hired by maverick network Global News and packed off to Iraq.

[Video]

Tags: iraq, iraq war, graphic novel, books, video

America, America!

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:23:10 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: See the video clip at the source

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Directed by KP Sasi and based on Kamaan Singh Dhami's anti-war song "American War Paar Da! (Check Out the American War!)," the 4-minute music video is a satirical but severe indictment of America's role in escalating world conflict. Originally written following the post-9/11 bombing of Afghanistan by the USA, and developed to address the occupation of Iraq, the song comments on various aspects of the American empire -- its stockpile of nuclear bombs, its cozy relation with fanatical and dictatorial regimes, and in fact, the very notion of American peace and liberty.

The song is set to the tune of the popular Sinhalese song "Surangini" and has English lyrics and a catchy chorus in Tamil. Dancing sometimes on Bush's shoulder, sometimes on the roof of Washington's White House, and sometimes in a colourful parade of children protesting against war, dancer Malavika Tara Mohanan embodies the indomitable spirit of resistance and satire.

Tags: music, united states, politics, satire, war

White House Intensifying Plans to Attack Iran

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:53:41 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

In his latest article in the New Yorker magazine, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports there has been a significant increase in the tempo of planning for war with Iran inside the Bush administration. Hersh says the White House recently requested the Joint Chiefs of Staff redraw longstanding plans for a possible attack. Hersh also reports the Bush administration's rationale for bombing Iran has shifted from Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program to Iran's role in Iraq.

The Bush administration is approaching its last year in the White House. As the clock ticks towards 2008, speculation grows over whether President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will indeed launch a widely feared attack on Iran.

Tags: iran, iraq war, united states, bush administration, seymour hersh

Between Imperialism and Islamism

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:58:35 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: An interesting analysis on the rise of radical Islamism around the world. The original article is recommended.

First, as demanded by both Muslims and non- Muslims across the globe, the US needs an attitudinal change. It must repudiate grand imperial designs as well as its claim to being an exception among nations. The notion of total planetary control had guided the Republican administration even before the attacks of 11 September 2001. The Democrats, meanwhile, many of whom have now publicly turned against the Iraq war, limit their criticisms to the strategy and conduct of the war, the lies and disinformation dispensed by the White House, suspicious deals with defence contractors, and the like. But they share with Republicans the belief that the US possesses the right – and adequate might – to mould the world according to its wishes.

Clip Source: www.zmag.org

Many of us in the left, particularly in Southasia, have chosen to understand the rise of violent Islamic fundamentalism as a response to poverty, unemployment, poor access to justice, lack of educational opportunities, corruption, loss of faith in the political system, or the sufferings of peasants and workers.

American imperialism is also held responsible. This, too, is a partial truth.

But like poverty and deprivation, imperialism and colonialism alone did not create violent Islamism.

Islamic radicalism is bad news for Muslims. It pits Muslims against Muslims, as well as against the world at large.

On the other hand, fundamentalist fury explodes when the Faith is seen to be maligned. For example, mobs set afire embassies and buildings around the world for an act of blasphemy committed in Denmark; others violently protested the knighthood of Salman Rushdie.

Had the US not cultivated them as allies against communism during the Cold War, history could have been very different.

Tags: islamism, violence, imperialism, poverty, world, united states

Iraq Will Have to Wait

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:27:59 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Bush responded to the Petraeus report by indicating that he would be inclined to start reducing the level of U.S. forces in Iraq sometime soon (maybe December, maybe the spring of 2008). But the bottom line is that the troop levels in Iraq keep expanding, as does the infrastructure of perpetual occupation. The Democrats in Congress are focused on winning the White House in 2008, not stopping a failed war, and as such they not only refuse to decisively confront the president on Iraq, they are trying to out-posture him over who would be the tougher opponent of an expansionist Iran.

Here’s the danger: While the antiwar movement focuses its limited resources on trying to leverage real congressional opposition to the war in Iraq, which simply will not happen before the 2008 election, the Bush administration and its Democratic opponents will outflank the antiwar movement on the issue of Iran, pushing forward an aggressive agenda in the face of light or nonexistent opposition.

Tags: iraq war, iran, bush administration, democrats, war

$190 billion more, for the wars

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:08:40 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Congress Wednesday to approve nearly $190 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008, increasing initial projections by more than a third.

A group of anti-war protesters in the hearing room cheered at several points during Byrd's speech, including when the West Virginia Democrat asked Gates whether America was more secure "as a result of this massive, astronomical investment."

"I believe the answer is crystal clear. We are not!" Byrd said.

Democrats say they plan to use the spending request as leverage to bring troops home, although they lack a veto-proof majority to do so.

To date, Congress has appropriated about $450 billion for the war in Iraq, and $127 billion for Afghanistan.

Tags: iraq war, robert gates, congress, democrats, budget, war expenses

Official: Iraq gov't misses all targets

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:22:25 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Official: Iraq gov't misses all targets

WASHINGTON - A draft report to Congress on the war will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Iraq has met none of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.

One likely result of the report will be a vastly accelerated debate among President Bush's top aides on withdrawing troops and scaling back the U.S. presence in Iraq.

The "pivot point" for addressing the matter will no longer be Sept. 15, as initially envisioned, when a full report on Bush's so-called "surge" plan is due, but instead will come this week when the interim mid-July assessment is released, the official said.

Tags: iraq war, united states, iraqi government

US Iraq chief warns of long war

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:17:35 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

US Iraq chief warns of long war

Gen Petraeus took over as head of US forces in Iraq in January

Petraeus interview

The head of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades.

Speaking to the BBC's John Simpson in Baquba, Gen Petraeus said there was evidence that the recent troops surge was producing gains on the ground.

But he warned that US forces were engaged in a "tough fight" which will get "harder before it gets easier".

His comments come as US calls for a rapid troop withdrawal gather strength.

Tags: iraq war, usa, armed forces, david petraeus, withdrawal