Arudhati Roy: Iraq War and choosing between detergents (Dems Vs. Repubs)

[Bonobo]

Run time: 06:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFOuSoy5H-k   Posted on YouTube: July 07, 2006 By YouTube Member: talkingsticktv Views on YouTube: 45979   Posted on DU: February 16, 2007 By DU Member: Bonobo Views on DU: 1082

 
Comments on War, Empire, Globalization, the "Iraq War", etc.

She comments that from the long view, choosing between Dems and Repubs IS like coosing detergent brands (both that are owned by Procter Gamble).

Imagine that! She must be a mouthpiece of the GOP like Nader!

:sarcasm:

[pocoloco]

1. Roy Rocks!!

Go Girl!!!!

[burythehatchet]

2. Mi amore Arundhati

[Tom Joad]

3. Clinton supported "regime change" in Iraq. Sanctions killed thousands

Clinton bombed Iraq.

Roy sees things as they are, not as people would like to dream it.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Kicked, recommended and here are two books she has written,

I have Power Politics and I recommend it to anyone who wants an inside view of the effects GE and Enron produced in India.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Politics-Second-Arundhati-Roy/dp/0896086682/sr=8-1/qid=1171593777/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7889939-8081628?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0896086682.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
This book is the state of affairs for whats happening in India currently(2006) and concludes with a discussion of world affairs and the relationship of India to the world. A very intersesting discussion is presented about outsourcing to India.


http://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Persons-Guide-Empire/dp/0896087271/sr=8-5/qid=1171593777/ref=pd_bbs_5/002-7889939-8081628?ie=UTF8&s=books

In this fine collection of speeches and essays, Roy stridently argues against the global injustice of imperial democracy, narrow-minded nationalism, corporate fascism, the military industrial complex, privatization, and the ideology of those who would bomb civilians as part of a war campaign with unparalleled passion, clarity and rhetorical flare. Hers is a voice confronting the powers of empire.

With the accuracy of someone weilding linguistic pruning shears, Roy deftly shreds our most sacred doctrines. "Flags", she reminds us, are nothing more than "bits of coloured cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's minds and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead." They are the symbols of our government's imperialist ambitions.

'Freedom' is the mask government wears to "murder, annihilate, and dominate other people." It is the freedom "to finance and sponsor despots and dictators across the world. The freedom to train, arm, and shelter terrorists. The freedom to topple democratically elected governments. The freedom to amass and use weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological, and nuclear. The freedom to go to war against any country whose governments it disagrees with. And, most terrible of all, the freedom to commit these crimes against humanity in the name of 'justice', in the name of 'righteousness', in the name of 'freedom'."

Another word Roy takes issue with is 'Liberal Democracy' - a word the US government and its corporate cohorts have twisted, besmirched and spread over the world like an incurable STD. Liberal Democracy is simply a codeword for the type of imperialist market the US foists upon the world. It is a product we in the US sell to other countries, like Iraq, whether they want it or not, and death "is a small price...to pay for the privilege of sampling this new product: Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (bring to a boil, add oil, then bomb)."

"Meanwhile," while we all sit around debating the fate of the biosphere, "down at the mall there's a mid-season sale. Everything's discounted - oceans, rivers, oil, gene pools, fig wasps, flowers, childhoods, aluminum, factories, phone companies, wisdom, wilderness, civil rights, ecosystems, air - all 4.6 billion years of evolution. It's packed, sealed, tagged, valued, and available off the rack (no returns). As for justice," she says, "I'm told it's on offer too."

Roy also takes aim on the War on Terrorism - not for what it is, but for how it's conducted. "The underlying logic of the terrorist attacks, as well as 'retaliatory' wars against governments that 'support terrorism', is the same: both punish citizens for the actions of their governments." Neither Bush nor Osama bin Laden can face this fact, though, which speaks to their overriding similarities: "They both hold people responsible for the actions of their governments. They both believe in the doctrine of collective guilt and collective punishment. Their actions benefit each other greatly." Furthermore, they both converse with with a god who has sanctified their war against 'evil doers' - ie, each other.

The only thing not for sale, it would seem, is Roy's voice. Of all her books, this is by far my favorite. And of all the great social critics - Naom Chomsky, Edward Said, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman, Amy Goodman, Michael Albert, Chalmers Johnson, William Blum, Anthony Arnove - she writes with the most urgency and passion. Her talent is unmatched, her critiques scathing, her prose sublime.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. K/R

!!

[BayCityProgressive]

6. she is right

The Dems are imperialists too and both need to be gotten rid of...or we at least have to elect people who resemble the Progressive Caucus. It's funny...99% of DU opposes imperialism..but are supporting the candidates who support it...Kucinich doesn't..

[Egalitarian]

12. You are correct. It is debatable whether it's funny or sad.

:shrug:

[hellbound-liberal]

7. Arundhati Roy is a voice that must be heard. Here is a link to a talk she gave in 2002.

http://www.lannan.org/lf/rc/event/arundhati-roy/



The CD is available at amazon:

In "Come September", Indian author and anti-corporate globalization activist Arundhati Roy (in conversation with the legendary historian Howard Zinn) speaks profoundly about the dangers of nationalism, the cynical exploitation of grief by the state as a means of furthering far right agendas, and the tragic effects of U.S. military and economic domination of the global south. With eloquence and compassion, she acknowledges the trauma experienced by so many people in the United States post-9/11, while simultaneously reminding them also of the many more victims of U.S. imperialism in places like Chile, Palestine, and Iraq. Like Vandana Shiva, Hugo Chavez, Walden Bello, Subcommandante Marcos, and Dennis Brutus, Arundhati Roy is another dissident Third World voice demanding corporate accountability, social justice and world peace.(from a customer review at Amazon.com )

http://www.amazon.com/Come-September-Conversation-Howard-Zinn/dp/B00009ZYA3/sr=8-9/qid=1171624539/ref=sr_1_9/105-9052728-2170010?ie=UTF8&s=music

[femmedem]

8. Off to the greatest with you. n/t

[diddlysquat]

9. Thanks for this!

[ClayZ]

10. K and R........ Bookmark this!

Thanks for posting!

[jarnocan]

11. vote it up:)

[Egalitarian]

13. Wow. What she's saying is what we must understand if

we are to live up to our human potential and not be in one of two classes around the world. Either the capitalist or the capitalised upon.

[Dhalgren]

14. Kick!

She she is right. Enough said...