Thomas Hill, Peacebuilding in Iraq on Religion For Life, March 22-26

Professor Thomas Hill is clinical assistant professor at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He is a peacebuilding practitioner and researcher with a decade of experience focusing on Iraq. Since 2003, he has made more than 20 visits to Iraq and has overseen the design, development, and implementation of a series of interrelated research and educational projects focused on the development of sustainable peace in Iraq. We discuss the crucial work of peacebuilding on Religion For Life. He speaks about his work on YouTube.



Listen via livestream...

Thursday, March 22nd at 8 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Sunday, March 25th, at noon on WEHC, 90.7.
Sunday, March 25th, at 2 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Monday, March 26th at 1 pm on WEHC, 90.7.
Via podcast beginning March 27th.

Iraqi Peacemaker on the Next Religion For Life

International Peacemaker of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Mazen Alsaqa is my guest on the next Religion For Life. 


He is a Christian refugee from Iraq now living in Michigan. 

 

In the Fall of 2011 he visited East Tennessee to tell his story of the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq. 

Read more about him at Shuck and Jive, here, here, and here. 

Here are articles about him in the Johnson City Press, the Tusculum College News, the Greeneville Sun, and here is information about the situation of Christians in Iraq. Listen...

• Monday, January 16th at 1 pm on WEHC, 90.7.
• Thursday, January 19th at 8 pm on WETS, 89.5.
• Sunday, January 22nd, at noon on WEHC, 90.7.
• Sunday, January 22nd, at 2 pm on WETS, 89.5.
• Via podcast beginning January 23rd.

Excuse Me While I Fail to Cheer

One would think since I have opposed this illegal, immoral, and unjust war since before it started from pulpit, computer, street, and campus (video of speech starts at 3:49), that I would be tickled by the news that "Operation Iraqi Freedom" [sic] -- wait make that [bold and cap SIC] -- is over as our leader has spoken.

I am not tickled, because it is simply more smoke and mirrors.

Don't think that the U.S. has left or ever will leave Iraq. We simply change the name of the "mission" and turn over aspects of the "mission" (guarding oil production and transport) to private security. Iraq has about 115 billion barrels of oil, which is about 10 percent of the world's reserves. As Earthlings descend into chaos and war for the remaining reserves, Iraq's kitty will come in handy for our declining Empire.

Now that the oil is secure in Iraq, on we go to Afghanistan. Obama just sent another 30,000 troops there. Now we have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Why? Check this interesting August 2009 interview on Russian Television with former Soviet General General Mahmut Gareev.

"Eighty percent of the world's drugs are now produced in Afghanistan. They've outdone the South American countries such as Colombia. 30,000 young people in Russia die from drug use every year....There are too many people who make money on this. I don't make anything up. Americans themselves admit that drugs are often transported out of Afghanistan on American planes. Drug trafficking in Afghanistan brings them about 50 billion dollars a year, which fully covers the expenses tied to keeping their troops there." --Gareev

That's not all. According the General, this is what the U.S. is doing:

"Essentially they are not going to interfere and stop the production of drugs. They engage in military action only when they are attacked. They don't have any planned military action to eliminate the Mujahideen. Rather they want to make the situation more unstable and help the Taliban to be more active. They even started negotiations with them trying to direct them to the Central Asian republics to destabilize the whole region and to set up their bases there."

Interestingly, the U.S. admits that it is protecting the opium harvests as Fox tool, Geraldo Rivera reports. Of course, Rivera is clueless as to the reason as this report shows. He repeats the latest military lie that we are protecting opium fields for security reasons. Yeah, right.

Oh, by the way, Afghanistan has a nice supply of lithium for our cell phones, laptops, and blackberries.

Once again I am amazed at the arrogance of the U.S. to admit publicly that we are protecting the poppy fields and then interview with TV reporters and lie about the reasons knowing that Americans are too stupid to care.

Here are some interesting links that will take you to other interesting places.

• Alex Jones Talks with Wayne Madsen CIA and Afghanistan
• Nato Rejects Russian Call for Afghan Poppy Spraying
• Was Pat Tillman Murdered by an American Sharpshooter to Shut Him up?

Mike Ruppert has been documenting connections between the CIA and drugs for a long time. Check it for yourself.

Speaking of Mike Ruppert, "Oh, Lucy! You Gotta Lotta 'Splainin' To Do" is a good start to the week leading up to the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 false flag operation that has changed the world.

This coming week I am going to be making some posts about 9/11. The reason for the posts is to highlight the reason for our Empire's insanity. Why did our leaders do this? Why were they so desperate? The reason for those desperate acts and the reason for these insane wars is still there.

Global oil production has peaked and industrial civilization has begun its collapse.

There is no stopping it. However, we can try at least to be decent.

I think that is why many of us voted for Obama. Sincere people who wanted peace, justice, and truth voted for Obama thinking he would be honest. Apparently, the forces are too powerful. He can't seem to bring himself to tell the truth about the state of the world and its collapse.

Then again, very few can.