Culture of violence

Americans are wondering about the bloodletting -- in a theater, on school campuses, and elsewhere. Some arguments about guns being the problem, the lack of leadership in Washington, the role of the NRA. All of this seems to miss the point. We are selective in our valuation of human life. Ten years of warring in Afghanistan, along with economic injustice at home, has limited - at least in their minds - the options of our warriors upon the return. Now I think you can argue cause and effect - that perhaps violent people are drawn to military service. But surely the military plays a role in dehumanizing the victims. The result is the dehumanizing of us all, and the violence is unleashed.

You can check out an interesting article here: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/2012813114351987126.html

Secure yet?

There are a total of about 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

Can anyone explain this to me?  It has been 67 years since the end of hostilities.  The Korean War ended, the Vietnam War is over. Yet we still feel compelled to keep 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan?

The Japanese people don't like them there.  Crime is up (hey, they are young and pretty much bored).

We are borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for troops to watch the Chinese.  It is total insanity.

Our treatment of veterans is a shame

"Of the 850,000 disability claims currently pending before the (VA) department, more than 35,000, or 4 percent, are from World War II veterans."

What?  Talk about a back log!  Read the full article here.