Here is the picture: you gently sleep after a tiring day and possibly dreaming about the cute girl you’ve just met in the afternoon when suddenly, in the middle of the night, something wakes you up. Then realize that thing that deprives your sleep is the smell of shit from the neighborhood. In fact, they just throw their human dung from their shitty toilet in the sewage system whenever it rains and even if the rain water flow is not that high to clear their dirty stuff away regardless any sanitation issues or at least for the sake of some people who want to sleep peacefully at night.
So here, apart from the problem of public defecation common to poor countries due to lack of infrastructures that some organization like Water Aid tries to sensitize through something like “World Toilet day”, it is more of a don’t give a shit attitude from the lower strata of Malagasy society who are alienated by the corruption of the elite and political class and maybe, unconsciously return the favor by literally giving shit to the others. My neighborhood is like a little ghetto, the average rent is about 70,000Ar (70 usd) but in no way these people can be categorized as the poorest of the poor which can justify why the fuck they clean out their toilet this way. The problem is that this practice is more and more generalized in different areas of the city which makes me think more about a form of protest than a mere result of poverty. Ok, the relation is not obvious but, I think that it can only happen when the discrepancy between the higher class and the lower stratum is far too big that leaves the latter no choice than to retaliate by just getting rid of their dump in the open. You can call it “pure violence” if you want which, according to Walter Benjamin, is the reflection of unexamined structural violence that backfire in inverted form: on the one hand, you can notice many luxurious car in the street of Antananarivo (the recent hype is the Land-Rover Sport Discovery) more numerous than in the street of London and on the other hand some people just dump their shit in the sewage system, and I just can’t sleep every time it happens. No riot, no Wall Street protest or shitty Arab spring; not happy? just dump your poo all over no one will give a shit anyway, that’s the philosophy. WTF?
A Medal of Honor for Imperialism: But don't look at this image! A digital transfer of Taleban contagion will begin downloading if you do.
In the latest in militainment news, Electronic Arts has bowed to pressure from military officials in the U.S. and UK–not that it wasn’t already predisposed to their sentiments–and to the overreaching complaints of family members of those who died killing Afghans, and removed mention of the Taleban from the upcoming release of “Medal of Honor.” Players can now play as part of “Opposing Force” rather than “Taliban.” Had EA not made the change, the game faced outright banning: British Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox called for retail stores to ban the game, and it was to be banned on U.S. bases, even though U.S. military personnel participated as consultants and testers to make it “more respectful” of their side, and of course, “accurate.” The only accuracy achieved is that, as in our mainstream media, the other is suppressed, and colonial disrespect is officially permitted and encouraged.
Being quite clear about the militarist propaganda functions of Medal of Honour, the executive producer Greg Goodrich stated: “the heartbeat of ‘Medal of Honor’ has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers.” Not such respect, rather reverence. Reverence, as in adoration, deification, genuflection, worship, and religiousness. Goodrich, speaking of the complaints, said: “This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to.” Apparently listening to these voices is required of all us, but more than that, strict obedience to those voices, so that no competing images can be seen. The assumption seems to be that where there are competing images and labels, there are competing sentiments, and that needs to be shut down.
It’s not the war that is offensive; it’s not the killing of Afghans in their own country; and it’s not the marshaled rage against those who dare to fight back and defend their home that bothers the militarists, the indoctrinated, and those bleating families who would rather not think about the real reasons why their camouflaged spawn were sacrificed by the state. No, what’s really offensive is that not even in the imagination should any players, in any part of the world, be allowed for a moment to walk in the shoes of the Taleban. Why not? Because the fear is that in reality we might take a side other than the authorized one–Goodrich ends his patriotic spew with this sugary nonsense:
“To all who serve – we appreciate you, we thank you, and we do not take you for granted. And to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines currently serving overseas, stay safe and come home soon.”
Apparently, the Taleban do not have families, and so the foreign invaders and occupiers need not bother with showing any sensitivity to Afghan families of the fallen. Once again, the video and the actual merge since this is no longer about playing but about training.
If anyone wishes to challenge the function of this game in training users to think like American militarists and war mongers–one can note that on the website of EA, only one single complaint was posted in what is apparently the only surviving thread (a user mentions that others were deleted). EA forum administrators would also like to hide from view any impression that there was debate, dissent, and complaints from other angles. The lone critic stated: “Glorifying war is disgusting. Glorifying only the parts of war fit to be sold is even more sick” and wondered if friends and families of the Taleban had contacted EA to express concern over the apparent lack of sensitivity toward them. Still having difficulty in spotting how military and commercial interests ideologically collude to censor and indoctrinate the young? Have a look at the responses, at how “community” pressure is mounted to sanction different views: knee jerk resorts to 9/11 sanctimony, and a flood of LMAO, GET A LIFE, STUPID THREAD image bombs. Not allowed for discussion.
It seems that the never ending 9/11 commemoration can only exercise a weak grasp on the minds of the young, which are also to be feared, as they may drift into the wrong intellectual neighborhoods, get lost, and perhaps never return. No wonder anthropologists had to be recruited for the Human Terrain System and other military programs–lest they become a domestic voice for the other, lest they question and criticize. This is war, and in war there can be no democracy. The totalitarian impulse of the “families of the fallen” required more than respect: it was not enough that they are free not to play the game, they want to ensure that no one else has the freedom to play the Taleban. For all of the insemination of the official state religion, the repetitive preaching of 9/11, none of it is enough. Now we are told that the Taleban have a slick and sophisticated propaganda effort–because they have a website, and a near dead YouTube channel, and oh my god Twitter and Facebook buttons! (We will take up the latter issue in the upcoming Encircling Empire report.)
In many video games one can still play in the role of Nazis. Correction: in all video games, it seems all we are allowed is to play the Nazi.
Everyone who likes FPS will be happy for the coming release of Medal of Honor in its modern warfare version. Unlike the precedent series which took place during WWII, the new Electronic Arts game is set in the actual Afghanistan battlefield; players will be virtually in the shoes of a special squad sent in the combat zone to deal with the Taliban. A note in EA’s website says that the very special death squad really exists to counter the asymmetric warfare US Army have to cope there – which means that the military force on the other side doesn’t have the same average $500 billion per annum defense budget –, they proudly say that the “TIER 1 Operators”, whom the game was inspired by and whose so-called elite soldiers gave their counselling for the details, are the new warriors for a new enemy in a new war.
The 2min YouTube trailer promises an intense adrenaline-hyped action (on your computer screen of course) but, I feel like sick of all this non ending killing campaign against Arab people and want to be on the other side, a kind of renegade. Thanks to FPS video game, I came to know various rifles used in the combat zone like the HK G36, M4 sopmod, Tavor or the LRRS CheytacM200 and Barrett .50 sniper rifles; no matter how hard is the game setting, it seems that it’s easy to kill the enemy when you use modern weapons and drone assistance while the terrorist only have AK 47 and old RPG-7 to defend themselves. So I think it is far more exciting to be in the boot of the enemy trying to score a large number of body count with only few magazines, making your way through obstacles when playing a suicide bomber or choosing the best place for an IED for a maximum damage. Not only it will sharpen your sense of survival but makes you proud of the cause you defend: an entire people, a culture, a country, a civilization snatched by force and on the verge of annihilation just for the oil greed of Western countries.
Indeed, FPS video games are part of western countries’ strategy to nurture among youth the hatred towards people who, when refusing to cooperate in unfair deals with them, are treated as terrorists. Bin Laden was not a terrorist when he worked with the CIA to fight the Soviet occupation, the Taliban were given financial support from the USA before they refused the pipeline deal of Unocal. An episode of Al Jazeera’s the Listening Post show tries to get into the intricacies of how the corporate media and the military PR focus on Hollywood action movies and video games to make a part of the population rally their agenda. I forget to mention that Al Jazeera itself may be considered a voice of the terrorists like in Call of Duty 4 where there is a scene I play (without knowing it) besieging Al Jazeera office full of terrorists (which is normal) shouting Arabic language and wearing Palestinian scarf. It is no longer fun to play FPS when you notice that guys who pilot “Predator” drone do it in distance via satellite just like in the video game and like you, they are not morally accountable for civilian massacre, I mean collateral damage. If you plan to buy Medal of Honor, think deeper about the whole agenda behind it because you are not only virtually kill villains (who hate America coz American women wear G-string) but contribute also to the real daily grief and sorrow of an entire population. Don’t let them deprive your humanity.
“The relation between USA and Israel has never been so important as now”; these are the words of Hilary Cliton, the American Secretary of State, in response to the rumors that Obama’s administration is tough with Israel leading to an historical US/Israel quarrel and almost disregard the main talk which is the suffering of Palestinian people.
What struck me while opening the radio last week-end was not the so called sanction the African Union — through its Security and Peace Council (CPS) — inflict to the Malagasy HAT members, but, the new that the USA bow again to the Zionist state of Israel, when its general secretary said that there is in no way a crisis between the US and Israel relationship. How many time the chosen tribes of Adonaï, or what is left of them, rode roughshod the international community; I mean the UN not the GIC (a group of puppets supposed to have an international aura to settle Madagacar’s crisis). Everyone acknowledged that the first step to the peace process between Palestine and Israel is that the latter cease all new settlements in the occupied territories or colonies, snatched from the Palestinian after the war and yet not recognized by the UN and the rest of the world. But, they refuse to do this first and logical move and declare it as unthinkable. The same shit at different time if we remember what became of the “Goldstone report”, the report proving that Gaza war in 2005 was indeed a war crime which officially targeted civilian Palestinians, but just ignored by the Zionist state for all to see. And no later than last month, the state ordained assassination of an Hamas leader in Dubaï.One should be chosen by God in order to show such arrogance. These Jews don’t fear any sanctions from any form of human organizations, believing that they have divine right and ready to crush any attempt to jeopardize their status. As Nergal- Behemoth commented: “(…) Jerusalem. beginning of the new era, escalation of mass hatred, source of a weak and faulty culture, the true heart of darkness.”
So I ask myself if I am an anti-Semite if I support the Palestinian cause, if I reject Zionism — which allow the Jews to settle in all former Palestinian territories. But to be against Zionism too is already a aknowledgment that they may have reason; however,we can not talk with people suffering madness, we should put them in psychatric hospital, isolate them. Indeed what is the main motive that drives the Zionism ? Religion of course. When Benjamin Netanayhu made an European tour in 2008 to entice people especially the Christians to support the politics of Israel, isn’t it a second version of the Croisades, a mere religious whim without fondation. Consequently, only a country who has already waged wars (Vietnam, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq) without foundation can support this stinking ideological thinking noticing that, Bush strongly believed that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse. When Hilary Cliton says that her country shares strategical interests with Israel, I would ask what ? Did she only know what the Diaspora do in her country knowing that the Jewish lobby infiltrate all the administration and what made Hitler treat them differently: “Jews only live in a country where they can make profit for their own”, a French proverb. Therefore, whether anti-semite or not, 35 years of occupation is intolerable.
“ Who are these egoists? Each one of them merely defends the interests of his class. Behind them all stands either the Jew or their own moneybags. They are all nothing but money-grubbers, living on the profits of this war.”, Hitler’s speech in Munich, 24 February 1941.
“We didn’t treat the Jews unjustly, they have been unjust towards themselves”, Koran .
To embitter the situation already corrupted by selfish politicians here in Madagascar, the crisis that hit the Gendarmerie seems to be a serious one. As to remember the situation, one month ago, the FIGN (Squad Force of The Gendarmerie) was accused of bribery if we can say it like that, because, they are said to have taken Ravalomanana‘s money (the former president) to keep the latter on power at any costs. But the former deny the allegation and has requested an investigation about who really got Ravalomanana’s money. One week later, some names circulated but no official declaration was been made about these high -rank generals and officers who received the money, it seems that the HAT government want to let it go without any condemnations. It’s only after when the FIGN deployed its defense measures, putting heavy artillery on their headquarters’ gate that everyone started to notice how far this will lead to.
In an interview by L’Express de Madagascar, Ravalomanana recognized that he distributed money to some security forces but the amount –as rumor goes– considerably changed on the way, Ravalomanana gave 3 Billion Ariary but the heads of the Gendarmerie only got 2,5 Billion Ariary as to say that his right-hand men lined their pockets . “The cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet”, we are now on the third week of the crisis and still no truth about who took Ravalomanana’s money has been disclosed.
It’s amazing to see how things have evolved in Africa recently.Zimbabwee got a new sanction from the European Union, the Congolese government lead by Laurent Gabgo has dissolved the Idependent Electoral Commission (th equivalent of CENI here in Madagascar) in order to ensure his own succession, Guinée-Conakry’s military junta has reached a deal to form a government, and the last but far from the least the recent coup d’état in Niger. The latter has particularly grabbed my attention since it appears that they have learned the lesson from Madagascar. I say it with a tinge of sarcasm but, at this rate, Jean Ping – the former Gabonese president now leading the AU commission and assigned as a mediator — will have his overtime raise significantly in settling all the unconstitutional mess here and there. Though the job of a mediator is not an piece of cake, I think that the case of Niger will be an easier task than Madagascar’s since the crisis here stem from the protest of a part of the population then backed by the military and ultimately hatched out a civilian government whereas in Niger the job was done only by military to get rid a malevolent president as they promise democratic election as soon as possible through the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD). That sounds good isn’t it ?
I stress here the term malevolent because without this coup Mamadou Tandja would have stayed on power forever like what Gabgo intends to do knowing that just like Ravalomanana, Tandja has signed many juicy mining contracts (AREVA’s uranium exploitation for instance). Most of the time, we always blame the military for their partaking in coup d’état and civil war on the behalf of multinational companies or just for power’s sake but just can not put Madagascar and Niger’s case in the same basket.If the military junta in Niger keep their promise, we can say that all hope is not gone for Africa.
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