Remembrance Day

November 11 2008 marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War 1, the war to end all wars.

We are brought up to respect this day and honour all those soldiers who lost their lives in battle defending our freedom. And rightly so.

Unfortunately Armistice Day didn’t end all wars. The wars kept happening and even more disturbing is that the number of civilian casualties in subsequent wars has increased exponentially.*

In WW1 the percentage of civilian deaths was 47% of total casualties.
In WW2 the percentage of civilian deaths was around 56%
The Vietnam War saw civilian deaths of at least 50% (some estimate many more)
The first Gulf War saw at least 4 times the number of civilian casualties over military deaths. (400%)
The current Iraq War has seen civilian deaths outweigh military deaths by at least 10 to 1.**

In Australia we celebrate ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day every year and have the image of the Aussie ‘digger’ planted firmly into our consciousness. Parades are held and ceremonies conducted. RSL clubs all over the country have a one minute silence every day to remember the fallen.

I find it interesting that governments have never proposed the idea of a day to commemorate civilian deaths resulting from war. The millions of innocent men, women and children who were and are terrorized, bombed and shot while just going about their day to day routine, killed in markets, schools, temples, in their homes and on the streets.

We console ourselves by thinking of them as ‘the enemy’. Faceless people in far off places. I have heard people say things like “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”. How would we feel if thousands of Australians were killed in the streets or in their schools by an invading force?

We honour our soldiers and herald them as heroes for their sacrifice. But what of the civilians? You’d think that so many millions who have innocently died as a result of war would deserve at least one minute of silence if not a day of remembrance. Or would that make us face the realities of combat and make us reluctant to follow our leaders into the next battle zone?

Lest We Forget.

*While there is always historical debate about casualty numbers I have taken averages from a number of sources which even after debate still point to a marked increase in the percentage of civilian deaths.
**Some will argue that this is the result of a different form of warfare since World War 1 and is caused by militants using human shields and hiding in civilian areas. But they also claim to have far more accurate weaponry which is supposedly designed to minimize civilian deaths.

Democracy works...

What a relief. Obama won. The people came out and the votes were counted. My fears were completely unfounded.

America will have a new president in January.

So now everyone can relax.

I can relax too and I have two months to sit and ponder a few things. Like what will happen to Iraq? How will the terrorists react to a new president? Where is Osama Bin Laden? Will the Patriot Act be repealled? Will the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay be released? Will the Wall Street crooks be punished for their irresponsibility? Will the oil companies give up on controlling the oil in Iran? Will Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Powell be held accountable for lying about the weapons of mass destruction? Or is 'change' just a catchy campaign slogan?

I'm sure everything will be just fine.

Late Mail

9.20am Australian EDST

The 2008 US election is a very strange affair.

The Republicans, who in the past have demonstrated no mercy when it comes to elections have completely failed to come up with a last minute attack on Obama. No Bin Laden videos, no Swift Boat revelations, no dark secrets being uncovered. What could this mean? Bush and Cheney have proven themselves almost tyrannical leaders that don't take defeat easily. They haven't even finished their mission to control the Middle East, so what is going on?

Three options:
a) They have finally admitted defeat in the face of public opposition and will concede a landslide victory to Obama.

b) They want Obama to win because he has quietly agreed to continue their imperialistic agenda for them.

or

c) They are about to unleash the biggest and most ruthless voter fraud ever and steal the election for McCain fully expecting mass rioting and chaos that they can bring under control with their new, but untested Martial Law legislation. The FEMA detention camps could finally get their first tenants.

Let's hope the answer is a)

See you on the other side.