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elledark: Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in the military service. It originally honored soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War) but was expanded after World War I.By this Memorial day over 6,400 US troops will have been killed in Americas middle-east ‘wars of choice’ along with unknown numbers, probably hundreds of thousands, of Iraquis, Afghans and others. Let us be perfectly clear, these deaths were unnecessary. America was lied into the invasion of Iraq. It wasn’t an honest mistake or faulty intelligence. The American public were played for fools. The same administration that lied so shamelessly over Iraq also invaded and occupied Afghanistan with no plan and no clue what success would look like. Over a decade later the killing still goes on in the same bone-headed, bloody, muddled way and nothing has been achieved. Nothing. Collectively these ‘wars’ have been one of Americas biggest foreign policy blunders to date, right up there with Vietnam. Blood and money.  America has spent at least $1.38 trillion so far in operational costs for its unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Money America could not afford. What does $1 trillion look like ? Can anyone even comprehend a sum that vast ? If you made a million dollars a year, it would take you a million years to earn $1 trillion. A mind-boggling sum of tax-payers money. Imagine the homes and schools and hospitals that money would have built. Imagine the good it could have done in these hard recessionary times if it hadn’t been so foolishly squandered on destruction and death. There were always other choices. There are now.Soldiers who risk their lives for their country deserve our respect. The craven politicians who lied America into unnecessary and immoral ‘wars’ and those who now want more of the same deserve none. War must never be the default option, as it has been. War must not be ‘never-ending’, as the ‘War on Terror’ was cynically designed to be. War must always be the absolute last resort, where every other possibility has been explored and failed, and there is no other choice.  This Memorial Day it seems to me that the best way any patriotic American can support the troops is to demand  .. not ask .. demand that America ends its catastrophic meddling in the middle-east and brings its soldiers home safe. All of them. Complete withdrawal from all countries where they have no business being. No sleight of hand. No smoke-and-mirrors. No private mercenaries or troops re-branded ‘advisers’ left behind as looks likely in Afghanistan. All out. Now. President Eisenhower who, unlike recent American leaders actually knew what he was talking about on this subject, said “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” He also said ..“When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.”With cowardly, secretive drone attacks escalating and with the usual warmongers now clamoring for involvement in Syria and conflict with Iran, America’s leaders could usefully reflect on Eisenhower’s words this Memorial Day. I hope they do.Ellie
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elledark:

Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in the military service. It originally honored soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War) but was expanded after World War I.

By this Memorial day over 6,400 US troops will have been killed in Americas middle-east ‘wars of choice’ along with unknown numbers, probably hundreds of thousands, of Iraquis, Afghans and others. Let us be perfectly clear, these deaths were unnecessary. America was lied into the invasion of Iraq. It wasn’t an honest mistake or faulty intelligence. The American public were played for fools. The same administration that lied so shamelessly over Iraq also invaded and occupied Afghanistan with no plan and no clue what success would look like. Over a decade later the killing still goes on in the same bone-headed, bloody, muddled way and nothing has been achieved. Nothing. Collectively these ‘wars’ have been one of Americas biggest foreign policy blunders to date, right up there with Vietnam.

Blood and money.  America has spent at least $1.38 trillion so far in operational costs for its unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Money America could not afford. What does $1 trillion look like ? Can anyone even comprehend a sum that vast ? If you made a million dollars a year, it would take you a million years to earn $1 trillion. A mind-boggling sum of tax-payers money. Imagine the homes and schools and hospitals that money would have built. Imagine the good it could have done in these hard recessionary times if it hadn’t been so foolishly squandered on destruction and death. There were always other choices. There are now.

Soldiers who risk their lives for their country deserve our respect. The craven politicians who lied America into unnecessary and immoral ‘wars’ and those who now want more of the same deserve none. War must never be the default option, as it has been. War must not be ‘never-ending’, as the ‘War on Terror’ was cynically designed to be. War must always be the absolute last resort, where every other possibility has been explored and failed, and there is no other choice. 

This Memorial Day it seems to me that the best way any patriotic American can support the troops is to demand  .. not ask .. demand that America ends its catastrophic meddling in the middle-east and brings its soldiers home safe. All of them. Complete withdrawal from all countries where they have no business being. No sleight of hand. No smoke-and-mirrors. No private mercenaries or troops re-branded ‘advisers’ left behind as looks likely in Afghanistan. All out. Now.

President Eisenhower who, unlike recent American leaders actually knew what he was talking about on this subject, said “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” He also said ..“When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.”

With cowardly, secretive drone attacks escalating and with the usual warmongers now clamoring for involvement in Syria and conflict with Iran, America’s leaders could usefully reflect on Eisenhower’s words this Memorial Day. I hope they do.

Ellie

thegirl-inred:

toned-tanned-fit-andready:

v0nlaust:

caliiforniadreaming-xo:

gothicstan:

localised:

do you ever get the urge to get up in the middle of the night while everyone else is fast asleep and just walk places and to be completely alone and entirely dedicated to your thoughts

yes but the problem is i dont want to get murdered u feel me

i feel you 

we all feel you 

why are so many people touching me

This is why you don’t walk around in the middle of the night

skinny0minnie: avo-ca: crystalseawaves: frosty-bliss: oceankids: summer-avenue: 0riginal-sluts: this is my brother two years ago. we were at the park, just me and him, and he turned to me and said “kayla, don’t you ever wish there were no bad people in the world?” i thought it to be a funny thing for a 5 year old to say, but shrugged it off. last year, he didnt come home from school, we thought that being only in grade prep, he might’ve decided to go home with his bestfriend without telling us, but he didn’t.  the school confirmed they saw him get on his school bus after the bell rang. but thats all we knew, the bus driver said that he had gotten off a stop early, my mother was frantically searching the neighbourhood for him. we never found him. it’s been two years and we’re still looking for him, he was such a beautiful boy, and i cant help but think the worst. he could be anywhere in the world by now, so please, reblog this, no matter where you’re from, you could save a life. xx if you dont reblog this i have no respect for you. help save a child’s life. this literally breaks my heart fuck kony, SEARCH FOR THIS LITTLE FELLA NOW, oh my gosh, i got goosebumps and my eyes watered :( i can’t even imagine the sickning feeling of losing my 9 year old brother, let’s hope he is fine, he’s a beautiful boy <3 why must the world be so shit. i hope you come back, cutie x I have to reblog this…I have a little sister.
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skinny0minnie:

avo-ca:

crystalseawaves:

frosty-bliss:

oceankids:

summer-avenue:

0riginal-sluts:

this is my brother two years ago. we were at the park, just me and him, and he turned to me and said “kayla, don’t you ever wish there were no bad people in the world?” i thought it to be a funny thing for a 5 year old to say, but shrugged it off. last year, he didnt come home from school, we thought that being only in grade prep, he might’ve decided to go home with his bestfriend without telling us, but he didn’t.  the school confirmed they saw him get on his school bus after the bell rang. but thats all we knew, the bus driver said that he had gotten off a stop early, my mother was frantically searching the neighbourhood for him. we never found him. it’s been two years and we’re still looking for him, he was such a beautiful boy, and i cant help but think the worst. he could be anywhere in the world by now, so please, reblog this, no matter where you’re from, you could save a life. xx

if you dont reblog this i have no respect for you. help save a child’s life.

this literally breaks my heart

fuck kony, SEARCH FOR THIS LITTLE FELLA NOW,

oh my gosh, i got goosebumps and my eyes watered :( i can’t even imagine the sickning feeling of losing my 9 year old brother, let’s hope he is fine, he’s a beautiful boy <3

why must the world be so shit. i hope you come back, cutie x
I have to reblog this…I have a little sister.
s-ummer-crushes: “Leo and I were literally straight on the tip [of the boat], and we were about to go down slowly with the ship. It was a night shoot and we were outside and it was very, very cold, and we were up there on this tip literally, a hundred foot in the air, absolutely petrified, and they were adjusting the camera angle and Leo and I just hung on to each other for dear life. We had cigarettes hidden in the pockets of our costumes and the two of us literally were having conversations like ,’What would happen if we died?’ and I’d say things like ‘Leo, I love you, I really do love you so much. You are a very important person to me and I’d have your babies. I would, I’d have your babies, really, it’s fine. And help me God, dear God, please tell my mum that I love her dearly’. We were so, so scared. But that’s the nature of the game. You look back on it and it was all completely thrilling and compelling-every day.”-Kate Winslet  fack, this is amazing &lt;3 I love this movie so much
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s-ummer-crushes:

“Leo and I were literally straight on the tip [of the boat], and we were about to go down slowly with the ship. It was a night shoot and we were outside and it was very, very cold, and we were up there on this tip literally, a hundred foot in the air, absolutely petrified, and they were adjusting the camera angle and Leo and I just hung on to each other for dear life. We had cigarettes hidden in the pockets of our costumes and the two of us literally were having conversations like ,’What would happen if we died?’ and I’d say things like ‘Leo, I love you, I really do love you so much. You are a very important person to me and I’d have your babies. I would, I’d have your babies, really, it’s fine. And help me God, dear God, please tell my mum that I love her dearly’. We were so, so scared. But that’s the nature of the game. You look back on it and it was all completely thrilling and compelling-every day.”
-Kate Winslet 

fack, this is amazing <3 I love this movie so much

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