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Movie Monday
For some reason, when I click my blog's icon that's on my laptop I'm immediately taken to a Sunday, December 28, 2008 posting which discusses the last time Israel was bombing Gaza; probably it was another time just before the Israeli elections.
Wow! Talk about still being relevant! Here we are again before an Israeli election but this time it's not just "military" targets which are being bombed in Gaza but the prime minister's residence and newspaper buildings.
In 2008, I canvassed how the media was covering these bombings but I'm not going there this time. Instead, follow Juan Cole's analysis at:
and be sure to scroll down to his 11/17/12 posting for an excellent analysis of the situation.
Update: It's so trivial to talk about movies or websites or knitting when quotes from Israel are coming out as: "We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza.", Gilad Sharon, and "We must blow Gaza back to the Middle Ages, destroying all the infrastructure including roads and water." Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai. (Source: Huffington Post)
And then from his hideout in Burma, the US President, Barack Obama, marches out and reaffirms for the nth time that Israel has a right to defend itself. Hey, Mr. Prez, from the insouciance of your body language you could have sent out your dog, Bo, with a placard in his mouth saying the same thing. It's pretty obvious that Obama is back to his post-election mode of governing. Note to Republicans: You're looking at a push-over.
But today, I do have a documentary which is made more important by these recent events. Oliver Stone has produced and narrates The Untold Story of the United States and right now it's running on Showtime. Saturday, I saw the first episode re: World War II. I liked that Stone was unequivocal with his statements that without the USSR, the Allies would not have won that war. (Talk to most US WWII veterans and hear a completely different story. From them, you'll hear: We didn't need those stinking Commies.) I learned that FDR told Churchill that the US was not going to aid Britain so they could continue their colonial rule after the peace. And I quibble with the fact that Stone only mentioned the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 12/7/41 since that day produced coordinated Japanese air strikes which targeted both British and American bases across the Pacific.
Stone's partner in this project is Peter Kuznick who teaches at American University and was educated through his Ph.D at Rutgers University (Go Rutgers!) Kuznick is an interesting historian a la Howard Zinn with one of his books titled: Rethinking Cold War Culture.
There is no doubt that the liars will get to write so much of history since there are more of them than there are of us but people like Kuznick and Stone are carrying on the legacy of Zinn by presenting history with all its warts and so little of its jingo.
I strongly recommend Stone's Showtime series and his and Kuznick's book, The Untold History of the United States. Even if you enter this subject as a doubter, so many primary sources are used that you'll soon realize you have to do a lot more digging than popularized history books and the nightly news to get to the truth.
But today, I do have a documentary which is made more important by these recent events. Oliver Stone has produced and narrates The Untold Story of the United States and right now it's running on Showtime. Saturday, I saw the first episode re: World War II. I liked that Stone was unequivocal with his statements that without the USSR, the Allies would not have won that war. (Talk to most US WWII veterans and hear a completely different story. From them, you'll hear: We didn't need those stinking Commies.) I learned that FDR told Churchill that the US was not going to aid Britain so they could continue their colonial rule after the peace. And I quibble with the fact that Stone only mentioned the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 12/7/41 since that day produced coordinated Japanese air strikes which targeted both British and American bases across the Pacific.
Stone's partner in this project is Peter Kuznick who teaches at American University and was educated through his Ph.D at Rutgers University (Go Rutgers!) Kuznick is an interesting historian a la Howard Zinn with one of his books titled: Rethinking Cold War Culture.
There is no doubt that the liars will get to write so much of history since there are more of them than there are of us but people like Kuznick and Stone are carrying on the legacy of Zinn by presenting history with all its warts and so little of its jingo.
I strongly recommend Stone's Showtime series and his and Kuznick's book, The Untold History of the United States. Even if you enter this subject as a doubter, so many primary sources are used that you'll soon realize you have to do a lot more digging than popularized history books and the nightly news to get to the truth.
And be sure to go to:
for a very generous free read of the introduction to this book from Amazon. After reading that, this book has become the first item (and maybe the only) on my Holiday "I Want" List.
Finally, let me end this post as I ended that one way back on 12/8/08 because, unfortunately, it still has relevance today:
Finally, let me end this post as I ended that one way back on 12/8/08 because, unfortunately, it still has relevance today:
And so it goes. Children, the innocent, will die. My country will not be the honest broker here because of the government's relationship with Israel. And the next government will be no better. Both Obama and Clinton gave their first speeches after the Democratic convention to AIPAC. A first speech to Habitat for Humanity would have been much more promising…….
I fully understand Arnold's:
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
But I would rather live by Millay's:
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
But I would rather live by Millay's:
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
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