War is expensive, in human life, environmental degradation, and in its destruction of human values. Nevertheless, most nations do not hesitate to spend what they believe is necessary to either defend their territory or conquer that of another nation. In every case, ‘the other’ is defined as less than human. Costa Rica is the exception; … More Strategy and Tactics, Blood and Brutality
I hear a lot of talk these days about the “Laws of War.” I always found that a strange concept. Certain legal principles of what is acceptable killing and destruction prescribe what is and is not included in the presumptive moral basis for proper and improper behavior by troops and their leaders in the conduct … More Thanks, But No Thanks: Morality and War
We’ve all heard the old saw that “to a man with only a hammer for a tool, everything looks like a nail.” Video of the escalating massive military incursion onto the streets of Ferguson, MO, reminded me of that metaphor again last week. Suddenly, U.S. mass media has awakened to the militarization of local police … More Gaza, USA; Ferguson, Palestine: Pounding nails in Freedom’s Coffin
The recent police killing of a young black male which has gained national media attention is in most ways not unique. We never hear of most of them. What distinguished Michael Brown’s murder and generated so much outrage was the fact that it was so clearly a “killing of choice,” not of necessity. It’s not … More The Incredible Darkness of Being…Confronted by a Racist Cop
A number of books and articles have appeared over the past few years raising the specter of societal collapse. The crises of climate disruption and hyper-inequality in an increasingly unstable U.S. and global economy are converging toward destabilization. These converging destabilizing forces will likely produce some form of radical change –like it or not. But … More State Secrecy: Collapse or Transformation
No power elite in the world is immune from becoming a perpetrator of the process of destruction of a population of Others. Unwarranted extreme power of corrupt officials is often enhanced by manipulation of the mass media to demonize an “out group” of Others. Information control and propaganda allow elites to control “public opinion” and … More Living in Fear of the Other: The Process of Destruction
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 