Illegal Attacks - Ian Brown & Sinead O'Connor

First two warm-up videos.

Veterans-for-Peace UK released a video yesterday against the rising tide of recruiting child soldiers by the British govt. and its a powerful mind-trip. Unlike civilians who shy away from treating soldiers without due deference, veterans feel no such restrictions. This video is a parody of all the Saturday morning war-propaganda every GenX'er with - and it has teeth.


Veterans-for-Peace UK's
Action Man: Battlefield Casualties





I enjoyed V4P-UK's video so much I stopped by their twitter page and they were linking to a sister video put out by the Quakers. If you think ex-soliders and pacifist Quakers are a strange mix, hit the history books, these two groups have been at the front-line of anti-war movements since Vietnam. This video's topic is the same: The implementation of a government plan to increase the acceptance of war and militarism in UK schools.

I know for fact that this is happening in Canada too. I have seen the public relations plans and the funding for these plans on-line and I have held in my hands the pro-war 'newspapers', featuring an eagle and beaver visiting war-graves (I not making this up!) that was given to Mike's kids when they were still in the single digits of age. The criminal perverts who made that 'newspaper' are neither welcome on my property nor in my house. 

Quaker Peace & Social Witness's
The Unseen March





The previous videos were launched this week but now back to 2007 to the single best mainstream anti-war video to come out of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, it's the only one I know despite Wikipedia listing dozens of such songs.

This song mixes Ian Brown's street-punk cynical wisdom with Sinead O'Connor's heart-felt Biblical pleas (Isaiah 3:15 'What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor?) to powerful effect. Add some orchestral strings and you have the best anti-war song I've heard in a decade or two.

I'm linking to the official video despite all the pop-up junk because it is one of the best videos I've seen. Simple, haunting and the message is subtle but irrefutable: In the family of humanity, the door you kick down on a night-raid is always your own families'.





So what the fuck is this UK?
Gunnin' with this US of A
In Iraq and Iran and in Afghanistan?

Does not a day go by
Without the Israeli Air Force
Fail to drop its bombs from the sky?

How many mothers to cry?
How many sons have to die?
How many missions left to fly over Palestine?

Cause as a matter of facts
Its a pact, its an act
These are illegal attacks
So bring the soldiers back
These are illegal attacks
Its contracts for contacts
I'm singing concrete facts
So bring the soldiers back

What mean ya that you beat my people?
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor?

So tell me just how come were the Taliban
Sat burning incense in Texas
Roaming round in a Lexus
Sitting on six billion oil drums
Down with the Dow Jones, Up on the NASDAQ
Pushed into the war zones

Its a commercial crusade
Cause all the oil men get paid
And only so many soldiers come home
Its a commando crusade
A military charade
And only so many soldiers come home

Soldiers, soldiers come home
Soldiers come home

Through all the blood and sweat
Nobody can forget
It ain't the size of the dog in the fight
Its the size of the fight in the dog
On the day or the night
There's no time to reflect
On the threat,
The situation, the bark nor the bite
These are commercial crusades
Cos' all the oil men get paid
These are commando crusades
Commando tactical rape

And from the streets of New York and Baghdad to Tehran and Tel Aviv
Bring forth the prophets of the Lord
From dirty bastards fillin' pockets
With the profits of greed
These are commercial crusades
Commando tactical raids
Playing military charades to get paid

And who got the devils?
And who got the Lords?
Build yourself a mountain Drink up in the fountain
Soldiers come home (x4)

What mean ya that you beat my people?
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor?

Both of the first two videos were fantastic!  I had not seen either of those videos before and they both hit hard.  The military is infiltrating so many aspects of civilian life from sport, movies and school.  It was interesting seeing how the UK schools are adopting a military ethos to teaching because not long ago I was reading that in Alberta the oil companies have been invited to help create the curriculum for everything from kindergarten to grade 12.

Here is the link to the article