blessed britons

In 2001, the UK government approved the sale of a £28 million military air traffic control system to Tanzania. The World Bank, which usually steers clear of criticising individual purchases, said that the system was both unsuitable for Tanzania's needs and out of date, and that a civilian system could be purchased for an eighth of the cost. Campaigners argued that the deal should be stopped on the basis that half the population of the country lacked access to clean water. This was also the position of Clare Short, then the International Development Secretary, but she was over-ruled as Tony Blair intervened personally to ensure the deal went through.

— CAAT

From The G8: Arms Dealers to the World

mad world

you have this business where TV won't show what we see, for reasons of so-called 'bad taste.' I remember once being on the phone to a TV editor in London when Al Jazeera were asked to feed some tape of children killed and wounded by British shell fire in Basra, and the guy started saying, 'there's no point feeding us this, we can't show this.'

"The first excuse was, 'people will be having their tea, so we can't put it on,' then it was, 'this is sort of pornography, we don't show this.' And ... the last thing was, 'we have to show respect for the dead.' So we don't show any respect for them when they are alive, we blow them to bits, and then we show respect for them.

— Robert Fisk

Interview with Arab Media Watch

you know that innocent people will die

Submitted by antarchi on July 23, 2007 - 02:07.

when you plant a bomb in a discotheque, the death of bystanders is deliberate; when you drop bombs on a city, it is accidental. We can ease our conscience that way, but only by lying to ourselves. Because, when you bomb a city from the air, you know, absolutely know, that innocent people will die.

— Howard Zinn

Terrorism over Tripoli

antarchi's quotes