I have spent time with mass killers, warlords and death squad leaders as a reporter in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. Some are psychopaths who relish acts of sadism, torture and murder. But others, maybe most, see killing as a job, a profession, good for their careers and status. They enjoy playing God. They revel in the hypermasculine world of force where theft and rape are perks. They proudly refine the techniques of murder to snuff out one life after another, largely numb to the terror and cruelty they inflict. And, when they are not killing, they can sometimes be disarmingly charming and gracious. Some are decent fathers and sentimental with their wives and mistresses. Some dote on their pets. Chris Hedges: The Act of Killing – Chris Hedges – Truthdig
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Posts Tagged ‘ middle-east ’
Chris Hedges: The Dead Rhetoric of War – Truthdig
The intoxication of war, fueled by the euphoric nationalism that swept through the country like a plague following the attacks of 9/11, is a spent force in the United States. The high-blown rhetoric of patriotism and national destiny, of the sacred duty to reshape the world through violence, to liberate the enslaved and implant democracy in the Middle East, has finally been exposed as empty and meaningless. The war machine has tried all the old tricks. It trotted out the requisite footage of atrocities. It issued the histrionic warnings that the evil dictator will turn his weapons of mass destruction against us if we do not bomb and “degrade” his military. Chris Hedges: The Dead Rhetoric of War – Truthdig
Chris Hedges: America’s Disappeared – Chris Hedges’ Columns – Truthdig
In America, when you are poor, you can instantly disappear like this into the subterranean rabbit holes of our vast jail and prison complex. You crawl out weeks, months or years later. You try to pick up where you left off. You avoid the cops. You look for work. There is no work. It is a constant cat-and-mouse game the state plays with the poor. The hunters. The hunted. The poor, no matter what they do, are always potential prey, minnows in a sea of sharks. It is not only the masses in the Middle East and the jihadists who despise us for our purported “values.” The vast, persecuted underclass, the human refuse callously cast aside by our corporate state, the legions of poor our bankrupt media have rendered invisible, the young, violent street toughs with no education, no jobs, no prospects also see through the empty rhetoric of the power elite when it speaks about our freedoms and democracy. Chris Hedges: America’s Disappeared – Chris Hedges’ Columns – Truthdig
Chris Hedges: America’s Disappeared – Chris Hedges’ Columns – Truthdig
In America, when you are poor, you can instantly disappear like this into the subterranean rabbit holes of our vast jail and prison complex. You crawl out weeks, months or years later. You try to pick up where you left off. You avoid the cops. You look for work. There is no work. It is a constant cat-and-mouse game the state plays with the poor. The hunters. The hunted. The poor, no matter what they do, are always potential prey, minnows in a sea of sharks. It is not only the masses in the Middle East and the jihadists who despise us for our purported “values.” The vast, persecuted underclass, the human refuse callously cast aside by our corporate state, the legions of poor our bankrupt media have rendered invisible, the young, violent street toughs with no education, no jobs, no prospects also see through the empty rhetoric of the power elite when it speaks about our freedoms and democracy. Chris Hedges: America’s Disappeared – Chris Hedges’ Columns – Truthdig
Food World Gifting: Still looking for last minute gifts…
Still looking for last minute gifts for the restaurant lovers in your life? Treatful is a new site that offers e-gift cards to many great restaurants in town, from Angelini Osteria to Hatfield’s to The Tasting Kitchen, and everything in between. Gifts are delivered the the recipient’s inbox when the sender indicates. [Treatful] Read the original here: Food World Gifting: Still looking for last minute gifts…
Second Time’s A Charm : LA Creamery Plans 20 Locations In The Middle East
In, perhaps, one of the most random turn of events – LA Creamery – that small batch artisan ice cream company which rapidly expanded to three locations in under a year then just as quickly melted from three to zero locations – is about to ink a deal with the TDIC (Tourism Development & Investment Company), a developer of tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi owned by the royal family. In the agreement, LA Creamery would license its name to TDIC to open seven to 10 ice cream shops in the next few years, with a total commitment of 20 locations over 10 years time . Owner Brad Saltzman says, “After months of negotiations, we finally found a kitchen in Abu Dhabi to prepare the ice cream to our recipes. The Director of F&B of the entire TDIC is flying out next month to meet with us and we hope to have the deal wrapped up early next year .” · LA Creamery Closes Its Third and Final Scoopery [~ELA~] Read more: Second Time’s A Charm : LA Creamery Plans 20 Locations In The Middle East
