Don't know how to stop this war? Consider this:
America is still a democracy… But it's not a democracy in the way you think it is. America is becoming the pinnacle of capitalist democracy. That is, the corporation tells the government what to do.
When the individual tells the government what to do, it is ignored, because only the corporation has that power. As such, the individual's voice is through the corporation.
By sending a message to the corporation, you send a message to the government. Your vote may mean nothing to the government, but your “vote” — your purchase — does mean a lot to the corporation. So remember, when you excercise your right to purchase politically, you are voting.
Know who you are buying from.
Vote through consumer action.
Support only peaceful companies. Support only peaceful media. Those you don't support, WRITE THEM LETTERS and tell them why you're not supporting them. If they believe that being pro-war is hurting them financially, the war will end.
Thank you to Saira (who once had a relative sawed in half ALIVE for not converting to Islam) for directing me to this document based on one released by the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Please read it. Please forward it to anyone you think it would help. I absolutely stand by my statement that anyone who supports this war without knowing the below is stupid, and that anyone supports this war while knowing the below is evil.
Do you know enough
to justify going to war with Iraq?
- What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have? 6%
- What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have? 50%
- Which country has the largest oil reserves? Saudi Arabia
- Which country has the second largest oil reserves? Iraq
- How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide? $900+ billion
- How much of this is spent by the U.S.? 50%
- What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world, according the the UN? 10% (about $40 billion, half the amount of funding needed for every month of war on Iraq).
- How many people have died in wars since World War II? 86 million
- How long has Iraq had chemical and biological weapons? Since the early 1980's.
- Did Iraq develop these chemical & biological weapons on their own? No, the materials and technology were supplied by the US government, along with Britan and private corporations.
- Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use of gas warfare against Iran? No
- How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using gas in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988? 5,000
- How many western countries condemned this action at the time? Zero
- How many gallons of agent Orange did America use in Vietnam? 17 million.
- Are there any proven links between Iraq and September 11th terrorist attack? No
- What is the estimated number of civilian casualties in the Gulf War? 35,000
- How many casualties did the Iraqi military inflict on the western forces during the Gulf War? Zero
- How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were buried alive by U.S. tanks with ploughs mounted on the front? 6,000
- How many tons of depleted uranium were left in Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War? 40 tons
- What according to the UN was the increase in cancer rates in Iraq between 1991 and 1994? 700%
- How much of Iraq's military capacity did America claim it had destroyed in 1991? 80%
- Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its weapons for anything other than deterrence and self defense? No
- Does Iraq present more of a threat to world peace now than 10 years ago? No
- How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon predicted in the event of an attack on Iraq in 2002/3? 10,000
- What percentage of these will be children? Over 50%
- How many years has the U.S. engaged in air strikes on Iraq? 11 years
- Was the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? No
- How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? 20 million
- How many years ago was UN Resolution 661 introduced, imposing strict sanctions on Iraq's imports and exports? 12 years
- What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989 (per 1,000 births)? 38
- What was the estimated child death rate in Iraq in 1999 (per 1,000 births)? 131 (an increase of 345%)
- How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by October 1999 as a result of UN sanctions? 1.5 million
- How many Iraqi children are estimated to have died due to sanctions since 1997? 750,000
- Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq? No
- How many inspections were there in November and December 1998? 300
- Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to the Ba'ath Party HQ? Yes
- Who said that by December 1998, “Iraq had in fact, been disarmed to a level unprecedented in modern history.”? Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief.
- In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction did the UN weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and dismantled? 90%
- Is Iraq willing to allow the weapons inspectors back in? Yes
- How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by 1992? Over 65
- How many UN resolutions on Israel did America veto between 1972 and 1990? Over 30
- How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons? 8
- How many nuclear warheads has Iraq got? Zero
- How many nuclear warheads has US got? Over 10,000
- Has the US ever allowed in UN weapons inspectors? No
- Which is the only country to use nuclear weapons? The US
- How many nuclear warheads does Israel have? Over 400
- Has Israel ever allowed in UN weapons inspectors? No
- Who said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
- Who said, “Thou shalt not kill”?
