Tag: Culture of Illusion

Culture of Illusion – On the Rare Reporting of WWII Allied War Crimes.


War makes monsters of us all and there were, no doubt, many instances where the Allies committed what would today be defined as war crimes. However, it seems to me that, given the horror that the Nazis perpetrated, we tend, in the West to overlook any…

Having just completed a reading of World War II by Martin Gilbert, a generally well written and factual account of the conflict, I have only managed to find one instance of allied action that could be counted as a war crime. Here is the very short passage in a very large book:

On the day of the Deptford rocket bomb, a British submarine, HMSSturdy, on its way from Australia to Indonesian waters, stopped a Japanese cargo ship by surface shellfire. The Japanese crew having abandoned their ship, the only people left on board were fifty women and children, all of them Indonesians. In order to deny the Japanese any use of the ship’s cargo, the submarine commander ordered the ship to be sunk, despite a protest from the officer who had to lay the explosive charges. ‘Get on with it’, was the commander’s response. The cargo ship and its passengers were then blown up, together with the ship’s war supplies.

The Second World War – A Complete History, Martin Gilbert. p. 614

So a ship full of unarmed women and children were blown up. It is interesting to note how the author furnishes the commander with suitable justification for, what seems to be a heinous act. It was entirely okay for him to murder women and children because there were war supplies on the ship.

The date of this war crime, for war crime it surely appears, was November 25 1944.

There are few other examples in the book but given the size and scope of the war it seems unlikely that this is the only war crime on the allies side that went unpunished. In a fair and just world those who commit crimes would be prosecuted regardless on what side of the battle line there found themselves.

If the world was a just one then the author of this book might assign the same revulsion to this awful murder as he does, rightfully so, to the awful things that the Nazis did in the name of their Reich.

I think that these civilians were dismissed, by the commander and by the author, because they were Indonesian. I find it almost impossible to believe that had these civilians been upstanding members of the British Empire who understood the rules of cricket, had their tea at 4pm every day and had pale anglo-saxon skin that they would have suffered the same fate.

Maybe I am being terribly cynical though and I am unaware of many important facts concerning the fifth column nature of these Indonesian woman and children.

One day we will live in a world where we can acknowledge our own war crimes. That day does not seem to be today.

addendum: in my stupidity I overlooked the firebombing of Dresden, firebombing of Tokyo, the two nuclear bombs and any number of other “revenge” killings of German soldiers. However my aim with the small quote above was to highlight what seems like the slaughter of innocent women and children without the “luxury” of dropping bombs from a great height. The soldiers who committed this atrocity were actually on the boat laying the explosives. Whether they looked into the eyes of their victims or forced them, at gunpoint to stay on the boat, is not mentioned in the book.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

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Culture of Illusion – On the Rare Reporting of WWII Allied War Crimes.


War makes monsters of us all and there were, no doubt, many instances where the Allies committed what would today be defined as war crimes. However, it seems to me that, given the horror that the Nazis perpetrated, we tend, in the West to overlook any…

Having just completed a reading of World War II by Martin Gilbert, a generally well written and factual account of the conflict, I have only managed to find one instance of allied action that could be counted as a war crime. Here is the very short passage in a very large book:

On the day of the Deptford rocket bomb, a British submarine, HMSSturdy, on its way from Australia to Indonesian waters, stopped a Japanese cargo ship by surface shellfire. The Japanese crew having abandoned their ship, the only people left on board were fifty women and children, all of them Indonesians. In order to deny the Japanese any use of the ship’s cargo, the submarine commander ordered the ship to be sunk, despite a protest from the officer who had to lay the explosive charges. ‘Get on with it’, was the commander’s response. The cargo ship and its passengers were then blown up, together with the ship’s war supplies.

The Second World War – A Complete History, Martin Gilbert. p. 614

So a ship full of unarmed women and children were blown up. It is interesting to note how the author furnishes the commander with suitable justification for, what seems to be a heinous act. It was entirely okay for him to murder women and children because there were war supplies on the ship.

The date of this war crime, for war crime it surely appears, was November 25 1944.

There are few other examples in the book but given the size and scope of the war it seems unlikely that this is the only war crime on the allies side that went unpunished. In a fair and just world those who commit crimes would be prosecuted regardless on what side of the battle line there found themselves.

If the world was a just one then the author of this book might assign the same revulsion to this awful murder as he does, rightfully so, to the awful things that the Nazis did in the name of their Reich.

I think that these civilians were dismissed, by the commander and by the author, because they were Indonesian. I find it almost impossible to believe that had these civilians been upstanding members of the British Empire who understood the rules of cricket, had their tea at 4pm every day and had pale anglo-saxon skin that they would have suffered the same fate.

Maybe I am being terribly cynical though and I am unaware of many important facts concerning the fifth column nature of these Indonesian woman and children.

One day we will live in a world where we can acknowledge our own war crimes. That day does not seem to be today.

addendum: in my stupidity I overlooked the firebombing of Dresden, firebombing of Tokyo, the two nuclear bombs and any number of other “revenge” killings of German soldiers. However my aim with the small quote above was to highlight what seems like the slaughter of innocent women and children without the “luxury” of dropping bombs from a great height. The soldiers who committed this atrocity were actually on the boat laying the explosives. Whether they looked into the eyes of their victims or forced them, at gunpoint to stay on the boat, is not mentioned in the book.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

View Post

Culture of Illusion – On the Rare Reporting of WWII Allied War Crimes.


War makes monsters of us all and there were, no doubt, many instances where the Allies committed what would today be defined as war crimes. However, it seems to me that, given the horror that the Nazis perpetrated, we tend, in the West to overlook any evidence of our own terrible butchery.

Having just completed a reading of World War II by Martin Gilbert, a generally well written and factual account of the conflict, I have only managed to find one instance of allied action that could be counted as a war crime. Here is the very short passage in a very large book:

On the day of the Deptford rocket bomb, a British submarine, HMS Sturdy, on its way from Australia to Indonesian waters, stopped a Japanese cargo ship by surface shellfire. The Japanese crew having abandoned their ship, the only people left on board were fifty women and children, all of them Indonesians. In order to deny the Japanese any use of the ship’s cargo, the submarine commander ordered the ship to be sunk, despite a protest from the officer who had to lay the explosive charges. ‘Get on with it’, was the commander’s response. The cargo ship and its passengers were then blown up, together with the ship’s war supplies.

The Second World War – A Complete History, Martin Gilbert. p. 614

So a ship full of unarmed women and children were blown up. It is interesting to note how the author furnishes the commander with suitable justification for, what seems to be a heinous act. It was entirely okay for him to murder women and children because there were war supplies on the ship.

The date of this war crime, for war crime it surely appears, was November 25 1944.

There are few other examples in the book but given the size and scope of the war it seems unlikely that this is the only war crime on the allies side that went unpunished. In a fair and just world those who commit crimes would be prosecuted regardless on what side of the battle line there found themselves.

If the world was a just one then the author of this book might assign the same revulsion to this awful murder as he does, rightfully so, to the awful things that the Nazis did in the name of their Reich.

I think that these civilians were dismissed, by the commander and by the author, because they were Indonesian. I find it almost impossible to believe that had these civilians been upstanding members of the British Empire who understood the rules of cricket, had their tea at 4pm every day and had pale anglo-saxon skin that they would have suffered the same fate.

Maybe I am being terribly cynical though and I am unaware of many important facts concerning the fifth column nature of these Indonesian woman and children.

One day we will live in a world where we can acknowledge our own war crimes. That day does not seem to be today.

addendum: in my stupidity I overlooked the firebombing of Dresden, firebombing of Tokyo, the two nuclear bombs and any number of other “revenge” killings of German soldiers. However my aim with the small quote above was to highlight what seems like the slaughter of innocent women and children without the “luxury” of dropping bombs from a great height. The soldiers who committed this atrocity were actually on the boat laying the explosives. Whether they looked into the eyes of their victims or forced them, at gunpoint to stay on the boat, is not mentioned in the book.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

UPDATE: I found this link here – which says that apparently we won’t know for sure what happened until 2019 when the UK documents are unsealed. I can only assume that Mr. Gilbert had special access when he wrote his book.

Bill Moyers: Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to the Public Health


Marty Kaplan unravels distractions that prevent national outcry over unemployment, hunger, crumbling infrastructure and out of whack systems.

A great interview about how distraction and the skills of the stage conjurer are used to stop us focusing on the important issues

Bill Moyers: Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to the Public Health

Bill Moyers: Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to the Public Health


Marty Kaplan unravels distractions that prevent national outcry over unemployment, hunger, crumbling infrastructure and out of whack systems.

A great interview about how distraction and the skills of the stage conjurer are used to stop us focusing on the important issues

Bill Moyers: Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to the Public Health

Culture of Illusion – A Baby Won’t Solve Any Problems.


This will not be happening in London today although, from the way the media are covering it, you would think that it is…

Culture of Illusion – Dambisa Moyo on Celebrity Bullshit.


Just a little bit of Dambisa Moyo talking about the uselessness of Celebrity Aid for Africa:

http://youtu.be/N-9b_GulbYE

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Culture of Illusion – Dambisa Moyo on Celebrity Bullshit.


Just a little bit of Dambisa Moyo talking about the uselessness of Celebrity Aid for Africa:

http://youtu.be/N-9b_GulbYE

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Culture of Illusion – Framing Creates Fictions.


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Look closely
At each little moment.
Every glance
And captured frame
Means something,
Drawing the eye
To what
Others
Are watching.

Culture of Illusion – Mass Protest.


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While hundreds of thousands
While hundreds of thousands
protest in Egypt
protest in Egypt
There are others
There are others
No less passionate
No less passionate
No less dedicated
No less dedicated

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Culture of Illusion – Mass Protest.


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While hundreds of thousands
While hundreds of thousands
protest in Egypt
protest in Egypt
There are others
There are others
No less passionate
No less passionate
No less dedicated
No less dedicated

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Culture of Illusion – Mass Protest.


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Culture of Illusion – Qualified Advice for Living A Happy Life.


dowhatyoulove

DO WHAT YOU LOVE UNLESS WHAT YOU LOVE IS EATING HUMANS AND MAKING FURNITURE OUT OF THE LEFTOVERS.

Culture of Illusion – Evolution of a Technophobe.


technophobe

TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ETHICAL + MORAL PROGRESS.

 

Culture of Illusion – Don’t Worry, We’re Watching Everything You Do.


all seeing eye

All seeing eye

Low slung

Up High

Blinkless hive-mind

Panopticon Watching.

Culture of Illusion – Parameters of Good and Evil.


I’ve been away for a while but I’ve been working on very important things.

 

Like this:

 

EXTENT OF GOOD AND EVIL

 

You see.

(YOU REALLY NEED TO CLICK ON MY AWESOME DIAGRAM TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE AND IT IS SO WORTHWHILE.)

 

I told you I was working on Important Things.