Arundhati Roy - We

[@_@ Artman]

Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4631324857495646397) 1hr. 4 min. - Transcript (http://nmazca.com/verba/roy.htm) of Arundhati Roy's speech "Come September"

"Since it is September 11th we're talking about, perhaps it's in the fitness of things that we remember what that date means, not only to those who lost their loved ones in America last year, but to those in other parts of the world to whom that date has long held significance. This historical dredging is not offered as an accusation or a provocation. But just to share the grief of history. To thin the mists a little. To say to the citizens of America, in the gentlest, most human way: 'Welcome to the World.'"

[segovius]

Here in Barcelona it is Catalonia's National Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Catalonia).

[@_@ Artman]

Here in Barcelona it is Catalonia's National Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Catalonia).

I was thinking more on these times...

Twenty-nine years ago, in Chile, on the 11th of September 1973, General Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in a CIA-backed coup. "Chile should not be allowed to go Marxist just because its people are irresponsible," said Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Laureate, then the U.S. Secretary of State.

September 11th has a tragic resonance in the Middle East, too. On the 11th of September 1922, ignoring Arab outrage, the British government proclaimed a mandate in Palestine, a follow-up to the 1917 Balfour Declaration which imperial Britain issued, with its army massed outside the gates of Gaza. The Balfour Declaration promised European Zionists a national home for Jewish people. (At the time, the Empire on which the Sun Never Set was free to snatch and bequeath national homes like a school bully distributes marbles.)

In another part of the Middle East, September 11th strikes a more recent cord. It was on the 11th of September 1990 that George W. Bush, Sr., then President of the U.S., made a speech to a joint session of Congress announcing his government's decision to go to war against Iraq.

After the 11th of September 2001 and the War Against Terror, the hidden hand and fist have had their cover blown - and we have a clear view now of America's other weapon - the Free Market - bearing down on the Developing World, with a clenched, unsmiling smile. The Task That Never Ends is America's perfect war, the perfect vehicle for the endless expansion of American imperialism. In Urdu, the word for Profit, as in "p-r-o-f-i-t", is fayda. Al Qaida means The Word, The Word of God, The Law. So, in India, some of us call the War Against Terror, Al Qaida versus Al Fayda - The Word versus The Profit (no pun intended.)

For the moment it looks as though Al Fayda will carry the day. But then you never know...

I thought this speech and documentary would be a fitting piece for today's anniversary. Maybe not...

Please, take one hour of your time and watch/listen to this documentary and Roy's speech. It's worth the time.

[southside grabowski]

Good post Artman. I remember being told "Welcome to the World" by a South American collegue six years ago this day.

[@_@ Artman]

Good post Artman. I remember being told "Welcome to the World" by a South American collegue six years ago this day.

I watch it every 9-11. Or when I get so consumed by the propaganda out there, which tends to make you feel hopeless. It is a very enlightening and uplifting presentation.

There is dissent, but you don't have to be an ass in doing it either (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091001068.html?hpid=topnews).

[Akumulator]

Thanks for posting this. It was great. I've just ordered two of her books.