Thopinions: USA

Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Gunned down ... New face of American fatalities

So, US have essentially become a warzone by its own actions. We immigrants bemoan that in several "developing" countries (i.e. Pakistan, Brazil, India, African countries etc) gun violence keeps increasing & these are labelled "war zones" & dangerous countries. Problem is that these kinds of stories & stats are not frequently reported in the media to the point that we all think that Western countries are safe & sound.

So I did my own quick calculations on death & killings (being a Pakistani myself, I'll compare Pakistan & US):

US Population (July 2014 est.) (per CIA World Fact Book): 319M
Per this article & CDC, about 33,563 were killed by gun violence in 2012: about 0.01% of 2014 pop.

Pakistan Population (July 2014 est.) (per CIA WFB): 196M
Using US death percentage of 0.01%, we get about 21,000 deaths in Pakistan ("should-be-deaths")

Per website, pakistanbodycount.org, there were 32 suicide attacks, killing 243 people & injuring 705 (total = 948) in 2012.
51 drone attacks killed another 349 & injured 98 people (total = 447), bringing the total lives affected by terrorism in 2012, in Pakistan, to 1,395.

Yes, 1,395 total lives affected. If we strictly compare apples to apples, meaning deaths vs deaths, then that number (killings in Pakistan) drops to 592. (0.0003% of population).

Even if we assume that these numbers from PakistanBodyCount.org are underreported & exaggerate the numbers to 20 Pakistanis dying, on average, on a daily basis in cities & civil unrest all over the country; even then, we only add an additional 7,300 deaths in the above total of 592 ... still far below the American deaths of 33,563.

Deaths by guns, in US, in 2012: 33,563.
Deaths by guns, in Pakistan, in 2012: 592

You can decide for yourself which country is more unsafe !!!
Power of media can show one country to be far more unsafe than it really is, & show another country far safer than it really is ...

On top of that, when 3,000 Americans died on 9/11, the whole America was after revenge & destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq, & even Libya, & in the process, sow the seeds of hatred & discontent in the peoples of those countries to the point that now, we are reaping the "wonderful" fruits of those invasions. These 33,000 deaths are 11 times more than how many Americans died on 9/11, but is any American shouting for blood & revenge?

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The year 2015 may well be the first in recent US history that firearms fatalities exceed traffic fatalities. Gun deaths by homicide, suicide or accident have been steadily increasing, following a low point in the year 2000, & are expected to top 34,000 by 2015.

In contrast, deaths from motor vehicle accidents have dramatically declined in the same time period, & are expected to drop below 33,000 in 2015, based on the 10-year average trend.

Restricting gun ownership ... has been much more difficult due to the powerful lobbying efforts of the National Rifle Association & other advocacy groups, & because of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees all individuals the right to bear arms (a right that has been upheld by the US Supreme Court).

... the overall trend is unlikely to change: guns kill people, cars not as much.

http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/gunned-down-not-run-down-the-new-face-of-american-fatalities/

Monday, February 9, 2015

Why I gatecrashed a banquet for arms dealers

Since, Independent news site is a paid-subscriber site & one may not have access to it (like me), I've posted the whole article below:
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As I waited for the right moment to take the stage at last night's annual ADS dinner, I was surrounded by a world where luxurious dinners reward the business of selling the tools of death & repression. In a room full of leading politicians, civil servants & arms dealers, I began to wonder: which ones were responsible for what crimes?

Had the people in this room been among those who sold the weapons to Israel that were used in the assault on Gaza, which killed 2,105 Palestinians & 495 children? Were they among those who had sold the tear gas used against democracy protesters in Hong Kong? Was it here that MPs were persuaded that renewing the UK's nuclear weapons is a necessity, or that buying useless aircraft carriers for billions of pounds was a good idea?

What about the UK weapons that have been used by oppressive governments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt & Bahrain, & the sign this sends out? When the UK sells arms to tyrannies it acts as a signal of support for the human right abuses that are taking place in those countries.

I was seconds away from speaking in front of representatives from MBDA, a missile company that armed the Gaddafi regime; BAE Systems, which is Europe's biggest arms company. I wasn't on the speakers bill, I wasn't meant to be there, but I felt like I had to be there.

The ADS isn't just another trade body: it represents some of the biggest arms companies in the world. It spends a lot of time & money on lobbying politicians & trying to sell as many weapons as it can to anyone who will buy them. Along with the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, I wanted to be there to make sure any illusions they had that they were working in a publicly acceptable business were well and truly shattered.

Their power is obvious. When I looked through the guest list it became apparent that there were over 40 MPs in the room, as well as lots of top ranking civil servants & Ministry of Defence personnel. It is this kind of access to politicians which means arms company interests are put before those of ordinary people.

I'm 5 months pregnant, & am worried that before my child can even talk, he will have lost opportunities. My local council is talking about closing children's centres & shutting its youth centres in the coming year. That's bad enough without even thinking about the loss of free further education, & how he'll manage to house himself in a post-austerity UK, or whether a decent job will still exist.

So for me, the reasons why I found the courage to stand up to hundreds of arms dealers as they lobbied our politicians for more military spending feel very personal. But I was there with others, many of whom stood in the freezing cold to challenge the arms dealers as they arrived.

We did it because these people profit from enabling & encouraging conflict, & from selling their weapons to some of the most oppressive governments in the world. The politicians help: they make sure the government pull out all stops to promote these arms companies & their deadly wares. In the last 4 years alone, the Coalition government has licensed £3.8bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship with an appalling human rights record.

I don't want my son to grow up in a world where arms dealers can make millions of pounds through encouraging war. I want him to grow up in a world with different priorities, a world that puts social & environmental justice ahead of militarism and war.

I am still wondering why the arms dealers clapped when I spoke. Some were certainly applauding the security as they managed to silence my challenge. For others, I think, clapping was a way of trying to neutralise what I was saying, of staying distant from their own humanity.

But I didn't go there expecting to change hearts or minds. I went there to make sure they knew that ordinary people don't accept their skewed priorities; that we will challenge & expose them as they influence the political agenda; that they can't expect to carry out their business as if it was any other.

I think it is possible to end the culture of militarism & war & to assert human needs over arms company interests. It starts when any of us stand up & say enough is enough.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-gatecrashed-a-lavish-banquet-for-arms-dealers-because-death-and-misery-should-never-be-considered-business-as-usual-10026988.html

Friday, February 6, 2015

Lords of War ... in West

This article reminded me of one of my most fav movies: "Lord of War". Damn, it was a good movie but it only earned $73M (budget: $42M) ... but I digress ...

How can there be any peace in this world when all powerful, developed, "civilized", & guardians of UN & NATO, are armed to the teeth themselves, & support their defense industries through tax $$$ (people don't get healthcare, food, education in US, UK, EU, but there are millions available for state subsidies for these companies). Ironically, North Korea also uses its state funds to build more weapons instead of feeding its own people.

People are being laid off all over the place because economies are in recession for almost 7 years now, but ironically, these companies like Raytheon, Cobham, Thales etc. are enjoying significant growth in their businesses all over the world. Ironically enough, not only they are principal job creators in the West but they also are at the forefront of technological innovation.

Regardless of what some groups are doing in Middle East & Africa or what is right or wrong in their eyes or the world, but at least, in the West or "civilized" parts of the world, all of us humans know, for a fact, that wars & conflicts are bread & butter of these huge defense companies. Then, why will they ever, with the help of their respective governments, pursue or help spread peace in this world? Thanks to media, we are all being programmed to hate dictators & certain groups in Middle East & Africa, but we completely ignore pointing fingers at these billion-$$$ harbingers of death & destruction, & their activities are much more widespread & destructive than those dictators & groups.

http://rt.com/uk/229675-arms-industry-profit-bloodshed/

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

US hacked North Korea in 2010

American foreign policy: When I do whatever I want to do to you first, you cannot retaliate in kind, & if you do, you are the bad guy.
I can poke you as much as I want but you cannot poke me back.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30879637

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Promised Land

When stakes are big for companies or gov'ts, they let the people think that they are in control through their votes but ultimately, they (companies, gov'ts) themselves are controlling the outcome, by any means necessary.

IMDB RottenTomatoes Wikipedia

American Sniper earning $250M in 2 weeks

Ironic how an islamophobic, war-glorifying, & hate-mongering movie has already earned $250M USD (budget: $60M) in 2 weeks of its opening, whereas, other war-related movies, e.g. Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs", with its message of how wars are destructive for American youths & future generations, made just $63M at the box office (budget: $35M) or Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah," with its similar message as "Lions for Lambs", made only $30M at box office (budget: $23M).

So, the movie which is glorifying war & fanning the flames of islamophobia & xenophobia is being loved by American audiences. It earning so much in just 2 weeks of its opening in American theatres shows the amount of hatred & prejudice in the general public. Yes, there are non-violent, peace-loving, war-opposing Americans, too, but they obviously are in much fewer numbers than their counterparts in the other camp.

The only barrier which is saving the lives of Muslims, & in general, Arabs, in US, is the fear of arrest & prosecution of the perpetrators by the American justice system. If, however, someone thinks they can get away with an assault against a Muslim, then they have no reason to hold themselves back.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2926333/Clint-Eastwood-scores-biggest-hit-career-American-Sniper-passes-200-million-mark-second-weekend-box-office-domination.html

Monday, January 26, 2015

American Sniper stoking Anti-Muslim threats

This is just the start. European xenophobia & islamophobia are going to spread all over North America in the next few years, due to worsening economic conditions all over North America.

As long as economy is humming along nicely, nobody cares. As soon as economy starts to falter, xenophobia sentiment starts creeping in society. This time around economy is taking a long time to recover & still no sign that it will recover soon or will even recover back to pre-2008 levels.

The ...longer it takes to recover, more time xenophobic & islamophobic sentiments have, to firmly take root in society & uprooting those later will be extremely hard. It's going to get a lot worse before it becomes better (assuming it does become better).