Shame on us.

We took advantage of a less fortunate person.

An old man from Osaka, a city about 500 miles away from Fukushima, was sent to Fukushima and was made to do a dangerous job at the crippled nuclear reactor site after being told a different story by a dispatching agent.


Source:
Man made to work at Fukushima plant for 2 weeks without prior knowledge (The Mainichi Daily News)
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110509p2g00m0dm005000c.html

Notes on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

I guess very few people expected that Obama would literally follow his campaign promise when he said, "I/We will kill Osama bin Laden." Though many might have felt a little bit uneasy with the strong expression and unconsciously corrected it, saying to themselves, “I/We will find Osama bin Laden and put him on trial.” Right? Same with me.

Also, when you heard the breaking news that bin Laden was killed in a raid by American soldiers, didn’t you first assume that they failed to catch him alive in gunfights? I did. And yes the news said something like that.

But, for some reason, it seems to me that everyone, whether delighted or pensive, soon intuitively knew deep inside, even before the correction of the news, that the killing of bin Laden was done as a “punishment.” Sorry if this is not the case with you, but it just seems this way to me.


Notes:
Noam Chomsky: My reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death
http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2652/noam_chomsky_my_reaction_to_os/
or
http://www.israeli-occupation.org/2011-05-09/noam-chomsky-my-reaction-to-osama-bin-ladens-death/

The Revenge Killing of Osama bin Laden (Noam Chomsky)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/7370/the_revenge_killing_of_osama_bin_laden/

Some Final Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden (Michael Moore)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/some-final-thoughts-on-death-of-osama-bin-laden

Why We Put Those Like Bin Laden on Trial (Michael Moore)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/why-we-put

RAP NEWS 8: Osamacide - the truth about the Osama bin Laden operation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6O6sM2Shok

SEAL helmet cams recorded entire bin Laden raid (CBS Evening News)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/12/eveningnews/main20062410.shtml?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel

Their lives are worth as much as yours ...

Almost exactly eight years ago …

Some Japanese guy: America’s gonna attack Iraq next.
Me: Why? Saddam Hussein has nothing to do with 9-11.
Some Japanese guy: Because he has weapons of mass destruction.
Me: Who says so?
Some Japanese guy: President Bush.
Me: I don’t believe that.

I am proud of myself for saying this though I know this insight came not from my brain but from Howard Zinn, the most respected historian of our time, who passed away almost exactly a year ago.

I was not following news at that time but I was reading Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States.” I instantly knew the reason for the war was a lie.

“We can reject the belief that the lives of others are worth less than the lives of Americans, that a Japanese child, or an Iraqi child, or an Afghani child is worth less than an American child. We can refuse to accept the idea, which is the universal justification for war, that the means of massive violence are acceptable for “good ends,” because we should know by now, even though we are slow learners, that the ugliness of the means is always certain, the goodness of the end always uncertain.” (The Bomb, Howard Zinn)

Although things have not changed much or are getting worse, I am a little glad that I am still alive and seeing this: Arianna Huffington Called 'Sweetheart' By Joe Lieberman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwe_2u1Xwtw)


1. President George W. Bush announced that he was ready to attack Iraq in his state of the union address on January 28, 2003.
2. On February 16, 2011, The Guardian reported that Curveball, the man who was the source of the information of Saddam Husain’s WMD, said that he had fabricated the story about WMD and that many people had known that he was lying when Iraq War started:
Defector admits to WMD lies that triggered Iraq war (Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/15/defector-admits-wmd-lies-iraq-war?INTCMP=SRCH
Curveball doubts were shared with CIA, says ex-German foreign minister (Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/17/curveball-doubts-cia-german-foreign?INTCMP=SRCH

Don’t get angry, Luke!

…, or you will be pulled to the dark side.

A beautiful piece:
Reflections on the Age of Anxiety (Eric Allen Bell)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/reflections-on-age-of-anxiety