HOLLOW HOLIDAY

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ON MEMORIAL DAY, AMERICA SHOPS, EATS, DRINKS, FORGETS

POLITICIANS & GENERALS PAY LIP SERVICE TO THE VICTIMS
OF THEIR OWN POWER-HUNGER AND RANK INCOMPETENCE


YOUTUBE:
"In Flanders Fields - Lest We Forget"
Number One on the Hit Parade, 1918


No Matter What They Say, War Will Never End, And Our Loved Ones Will Go On Dying For No Reason

How many more of these fake remembrances will we have to live through? We don't remember, we don't learn, and we don't respect the sacrifices of our casualties of war. There will always be another war, no matter what those heroes did for us all.

"We have always been at war with Eurasia." We live in a National Security State, in a permanent State of Emergency, in a never-ending war that serves only to enrich the few and impoverish the many. If we were a democracy, in a truly "free world," we would end this today. But we are a plutocracy, a bunch of peasants who are nothing but cannon-fodder and a source of more and more wealth to the already obscenely wealthy few sociopaths who rule over us without regard for our lives.

For thousands of years, people all over the world have been called upon to brutally slaughter their fellow human beings for absolutely no reason. The simple act of peaceful cooperation could have averted every war, just as it always has in our families and in our neighborhoods. But there is not enough power or money in that for our self-appointed leaders. By keeping us all living in fear of each other, we are easier to control. By carrying out an endless series of phony wars, the public treasury remains permanently open, and no check is too big to sign if it "guarantees our security and our freedom." But we will never be free or secure as long as we go on signing those checks.

Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, socialist, libertarian, communist, Fascist, monarchist, theocrat, it makes no difference. As long as we allow ourselves to be ruled by anyone, we will never be free or secure or at peace or prosperous. Our life's blood and our treasure will flow and these monsters who rule over us will benefit until we stop them. Let's try to remember that, every Memorial Day.

If we really wanted to honor our dead, we would never fight another war.


Click to see larger photo's. Higher-resolution prints available.

Puowaina Crater: Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific.

An Hawaii family mourns a loved one.

Private King was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field on the first day of World War Two in America. He had just turned 29.

Private White, 22, was killed in the final assault on the Japanese home islands, at Okinawa, six weeks before the end of the war.

Cremated remains are immured in the columbarium niches.

Tech Sgt Kobashigawa won the Medal of Honor for his actions in Italy in 1944 with the 100th, a Nisei Battalion. The Medal was not awarded until 2000, because Kobashigawa was a Japanese-American.

Generation after generation, the wars continue. Senior Master Sergeant Avila, 54.

LOCATE YOUR FAMILY'S HEROES:
Nationwide Gravesite Locator, Department of Veterans' Affairs

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SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

MEMORIAL MUSIC

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MUSICIANS WHO SURVIVED THE MILITARY

SERVICEMEN ROCK ON

For All The Victims Of The Big Bright Green Violence Machine


YOUTUBE: SHAGGY
"Mr. Boombastic"
Artilleryman, USMC


YOUTUBE: ICE-T
"The Iceberg - Colors (O.G.ReMix)"
Infantryman, U.S. Army


YOUTUBE: JIMI HENDRIX
"Jimi Hendrix: Machine Gun"
Paratrooper, U.S. Army


YOUTUBE: JOHN FOGERTY
"John Fogerty "Fortunate Son" Live from "The Long Road Home""
Infantryman, U.S. Army Reserve


YOUTUBE: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
"Kris Kristofferson and The Borderlords - Under the gun (Breakthrough, 1989)"
Helicopter Pilot, U.S. Army


YOUTUBE: JOHNNY CASH
"Johnny Cash - Singin' In Vietnam Talkin' Blues"
Signalman, U.S. Air Force


YOUTUBE: JOHN LENNON
"Give Peace A Chance... In Iraq"
And Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and Obama, man, listen up.


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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

CHANTIX POISONING OF VETERANS TO CONTINUE

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BUSH VA SEES NO PROBLEMS WITH INDUCED SUICIDE OF TERROR-WAR VETS

OBAMA CRITICIZES VETERANS AFFAIRS CHIEF;
MCCAIN SAYS NOTHING

Medical Ethicists & Vets Advocates Horrified: "No Informed Consent"


"'Disposable Heroes': Veterans Used To Test Suicide-Linked Drugs"

" Dr. McFall says the VA decided to continue the Chantix study because 'it would be depriving our veterans of an effective method of treatment to help them stop smoking.' "

In all fairness, suicide would help our veterans stop smoking. It would also trim the rolls of those requesting financial benefits, or health care. That would save the Republican government money it needs for Halliburton in Iraq (only a few months left to cash in). It might also lead to closing, or privatizing the VA medical system. Pretty much of a four-bagger, this Chantix.

No matter who reported this, or why, the facts remain:

1. No informed consent. Even in the 3-months-too-late notice sent to Vets in the study, there was no mention of suicide.
2. VA doctors continued to use a drug on suicidally-inclined patients after they knew it could lead to suicide.
3. The drug is STILL being given to veterans with PTSD.
4. Veterans groups, Democratic & Republican Congressmen and Barack Obama have expressed outrage and demanded answers, and an end to this experiment.

ABC NEWS
"32,000 Vets To Be Warned About Suicide-Linked Drug Chantix"

" Chantix has been linked to at least 40 suicides and 400 attempted suicides in the population at large, according to the FDA which published its first alert Nov. 20, 2007.

The FDA issued a second warning, and there was an alert from the drug's maker, Pfizer, before the VA finally began to warn veterans in the study on Feb. 29, 2008.

But even then, the VA omitted the word 'suicide' from the cover letter sent to veterans.

Secretary Peake said the new VA warning letter he is sending will specify that suicide is one of the possible side-effects of Chantix.

'I have no problem putting suicide in there, myself,' said Peake.

He said the VA would not hesitate to stop the study if needed, as some in Congress have demanded.

'We're not enrolling new people in this study,' he said, but there are no plans to stop the current project.

'Chantix is an FDA-approved drug,' Peake said, 'and we're trying to find the best way to support smoking cessation.'

But Peake said there was no evidence to suggest the study should be stopped. "

NO EVIDENCE???!!! Exactly how many suicides would be considered "evidence," Doc? One Vet down, and how many to go? I'll keep count for ya.

PFIZER STATEMENT ON CHANTIX & PTSD:

" Based upon post-marketing reports first reflected in a November 2007 labeling update, Pfizer today updated the CHANTIX label in the U.S. to include a warning that patients who are attempting to quit smoking with CHANTIX should be observed for serious neuropsychiatric symptoms, including changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior.

... Patients with serious psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder did not participate in the controlled clinical trial program. "

Pfizer came out with this in NOVEMBER 2007. The VA took out the words "suicide" & "suicidal," and passed it along in MARCH 2008.

UPI
"VA using PTSD sufferers in drug testing"

" A medical ethicist said the VA's behavior in the Chantix study violated protections in medical experiments.

'When you're taking advantage of a very vulnerable population, people who have served the country, and the agency that's responsible for their welfare isn't putting their welfare first, that's a pretty serious breach of ethics,' said Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at University of Pennsylvania. "

Dubya: "Ethics?" McCain: "What?"

ABC NEWS
"32,000 Vets To Be Warned About Suicide-Linked Drug Chantix"

" 'Our first responsibility is to our veterans,' said Peake, who said he has asked VA doctors to review 'the communications process' involving all VA studies using veterans who are suffering from PTSD. Some 400,000 veterans are being treated for PTSD.

The Bush White House had initially defended the VA's handling of the Chantix experiment. "

But, hey, it's only 32,000 disabled Afghan & Iraq war heroes, right? Oh, wait: There's actually 400,000 of these McBushwar survivors with PTSD. So far.

THINK PROGRESS
"White House Derides Investigation That Exposed Drug Testing On Vets As ‘Irresponsible Reporting,’ ‘Awful’"

Now, think it's time for a change?

MEDPAGE TODAY
"VA Denies Ethical Lapse in Smoking-Cessation Trial"

" The media report prompted presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to write to the VA's chief, expressing outrage 'that our government would irresponsibly endanger veterans who have already sacrificed so much for our country. ... It is distressing that our government could once again let down our veterans and their families.' "

Don't forget this in November, when it comes time to vote. Support the troops AFTER they get home, too!

PUBLIC CITIZEN
"New Study Highlights Dangers of Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix"

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
"VFW Demands Accountability Over Chantix"

VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE
"June 18 VCS in the News: Congress and VCS Demand a Stop to Experimental Drug Testing on Veterans with PTSD"

INSTITUTE FOR SAFE MEDICATION PRACTICES
"Strong Safety Signal Seen for New Varenicline Risks"

[Cross-posted at Out Of Iraq Bloggers Caucus
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TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!