Lacking True Fighters for the World

[speciale]

Is it me or does our world lack good fighters for peace like the late John Lennon? Someone who dedicates most of their time in fighting for proper causes. A person that is not just donating money but rather trying to get people to get involved with current world issues like the middle east. I am not talking about nut jobs like these liberal idiots like Janeane Garofalo and her idiot friends. The only person that comes to mind right now is Bono and his fight for Africa.

Enlighten me, who are other out there fighting for a good cause?

[KinKyJ]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Franti made a movie (docu) last year about the ME. Worth seeing... Here's the synopsis:

Documentary Film Synopsis: "I Know I'm Not Alone"

Michael Franti, world-renowned musician and human rights worker, travels to Iraq, Palestine and Israel to explore the human cost of war with a group of friends, some video cameras and his guitar. A compelling soundtrack, visual and musical montages and Franti?s intimate voiceovers make the film speak to the MTV, X, Y & Z generations, as well as the baby-boomers. A true armchair travel film pulling the audience into these war zones in the company of Michael?s guitar, eloquence and wit ? you feel the humanity, artistic resilience and sometimes horrific experience of what it?s like to live under the bombs and military occupation.

With its raw video and editing techniques, the documentary is unlike the many academic and politically driven pieces in the marketplace, instead offering the audience a sense of intimate travel and the opportunity to hear the voices of everyday people living, creating and surviving under the harsh conditions of war.

First impressions of Baghdad are the tremendous lack of security, no electricity, no clean water and an immense amount of bombed buildings, Michael and the group are pleasantly surprised as they are welcomed with generosity and kindness by everyone from proud Iraqi families and youth, sick hospital patients to US Occupation Forces all wanting to share their stories and just hear music and take a break from the stress and suffering.

Maher Al-Waheesh, driver and interpreter, provides information about how the war has affected the people, economy, and security of the country. Michael and the group are warned of dangerous security issues in response to Michael's desire to walk the streets and talk to everyday people. Michael insists and they make contact with a Christian Family living in a Muslim neighborhood. The family shares their experiences of life under Saddam's rule as well as the effects of US occupation.

The group visit, Iraqi heavy metal band, 'The Black Scorpions.? Stories are shared from the musicians' point of view about their lack of freedom of expression, the difficulties of finding musical instruments and accessories, and the challenges facing youth and musicians in Iraq.

An sobering statement from the drummer of the heavy metal band brings it all home ? ?I spent my life between, like, 4 four wars. I was born in war...I'm real afraid of dying in war. For you guys, like, you got a peaceful country, beautiful nature, everything. I feel like, man, I would offer the rest of my life just to sit next to a lake or something for this, enjoying the fresh air... that's all.?

Next door is an underground tattoo parlor that was forbidden under Saddam's rule. Tom Ballanco, a retired US army Captain and is adventurous enough to endure receiving a tattoo.

Later that evening while talking with on-duty US soldiers in Saddam Hussein square, a bomb explodes. The group are forced to go inside for safety and end up at The Sheraton Hotel with Michael performing a few songs-notably his anti-war piece 'Bomb the World' singing "...you can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace..." to a tense group of US soldiers in their bar at the top of the hotel.

A visit to an artists and poets hangout, Cafe Hiwar, allows Michael and the group to hear about the oppression of artists, writers, and poets. Here they share music and poetry, with young and old alike. The local artists offer the group a glimpse into the depth and beauty of Arab history and culture, and share personal accounts of the grim consequences suffered by Iraqi artists determined to express themselves creatively

Michael brings together the US soldiers and Iraqi DJ?s with a radio station in Uday Hussein?s old penthouse in the Sheraton Hotel for an impromptu party and DJ session at Hot FM 104.1 ? ?Iraq?s first independent radio station.? This is the first time the Iraqi?s and US Soldiers have spoken together, let alone party together.

At a hospital in Baghdad, Michael and the group see first hand the devastation brought by years of war, sanctions and most recently, occupation. Michael speaks and sings for the patients in the bomb and cancer wards. The hospitals suffer from a severe lack of medicine as a result of the war which forces amputation of infected limbs due to a lack of anti-biotics.

A travel transition occurs from Iraq to Israel and Palestine. The group departs Iraq and travel throughout Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Gaza Strip and the West Bank trying to grasp the complicated issue of the occupation, the green line, the security fence and suicide bombers.

Historic information lay the academic groundwork for the difficult situation between the Israelis and Palestinians. Ironically, the overall desire for peace and safety resonates on both sides of the fence as told in various interviews. Moshe, an Israeli musician, says it best - ?...Arab and Jewish, we are so close...eating the same food, speaking the same language, we believe in the same God, we have the same father, we have the same mom. The problem is only about the political state.?

The group visits the Palestinian village of Jayyous and speaks to the villagers and Israeli soldiers guarding the security fence dividing the local framers from their lands. An argument breaks out, emotions are high, but Michael convinces the soldiers and villagers to meet later at another part of the fence.

Michael visits the once bombed Cafe Hilel in Jerusalem and talks to ex-Israeli Defense Force Soldiers about their thoughts on the barrier wall and the issue of feeling safe in a cosmopolitan war zone. Footage of the bombing brings home to the viewer the emotional and physical damage Palestinian suicide bombers have bought into the Israeli culture.

Michael speaks with an Ex-IDF Soldier as he explains his duties while stationed in the Gaza Strip. The soldier?s nonchalant descriptions of provocation and intimidation as common military duties is shockingly described as normal but visibly hurtful through his sad eyes. The groups witnesses this first hand when they visit the village of Rafah in Southern Gaza Strip.

In the old city of Jaffa, Michael meets and jams with Sheva, a musical ensemble of Jewish and Arab musicians speaking and singing out for peace. Michael also finds hip hop in Israel in the form of the political hip hop group D.A.M. The group meets up with Tamar of D.A.M and beat boxes his way into a concert and a demonstration for peace in the Israeli ghetto of LUD.

Michael goes into the town of Hebron, where the Israeli military may instill curfew on Palestinian locals at any given time. As Michael walks singing with his guitar through the Hebron market, excited children and teenagers drawn to his music swarm him. Amidst the excitement fueled by the novelty that Michael brings to the children, Michael and children cross into the curfew area where they are shot at by the Israeli military.

Michael meets with Israeli and Palestinian mothers and sisters who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, but have come together for peace and to share the common pain and find ways to forgive each other.

Michael meets with Refuzniks and their parents and talk about the mandatory IDF service. Later, an emotional meeting with grieving Israeli and Palestinian mothers and sisters of war victims states ?...it doesn't matter if you're a mother of a soldier or if you're the mother of a suicide bomber...it's the same pain...find a way to forgive and to prevent further death.?

Back in Jayyous, Michael brings the Palestinian farmers and the stationed Israeli Defense Soldiers together again to try and open up and have dialogue on the situation they have to deal with together everyday. More heated conversations happen, but then Michael continues to bridge the gap with his heartfelt charm and wit and finally a common thought and understanding concludes between the two parties and the film?s ultimate statement of humanity and the basic want for peace reaches full circle.

Movie website: http://www.iknowimnotalone.com

[thesightless]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

dude, its past the point of peace and negotiations. cat nt you see that. isreal pulls out of lebanon, pulls out of gaza, but yet, hamas and hezz continue to attack, you have 2-3 leaders of nations calling for the death of all jews worldwide, and so much more. just like japan, germany and the rest, you cannot negotiate, it is now at the point where the only solution if an unconditional surrender and disarmmament. i cant believe how long it is taking everyone to realize this. they dont want peace. they want a fight, and when religion is used as a reason.... there isnt anything else. just the winner of te fight.

[KinKyJ]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

dude, its past the point of peace and negotiations. cat nt you see that. isreal pulls out of lebanon, pulls out of gaza, but yet, hamas and hezz continue to attack, you have 2-3 leaders of nations calling for the death of all jews worldwide, and so much more. just like japan, germany and the rest, you cannot negotiate, it is now at the point where the only solution if an unconditional surrender and disarmmament. i cant believe how long it is taking everyone to realize this. they dont want peace. they want a fight, and when religion is used as a reason.... there isnt anything else. just the winner of te fight.

posting in the wrong thread again Sean?

[thesightless]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

no, because people like bill gates, bob geldoff and other great humanitarians can no longer focus on peace as lennon did, even they realize its a bunk cause. now the great humanitatians are focusing on disease and social issues, rather than violence. its a sad world.

[speciale]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

That was my point. There is no one to even try and start a revolution for peace.

[KinKyJ]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

and even if there was, we need more than Live Aid shit to get us out of this shit...

even though... pretty interesting to see music change in a few decades.

[speciale]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one



The world will live as one is a definite dream. A shame.

[mylexicon]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

The reason we had peace protestors before is because America is relatively level headed and democratic, and we were the country tooling around all over the globe trying to "save" people. Our hearts were changed, albeit slowly. Iraq kind of jumbles our actions towards war, but mainly people in the U.S. are war averse.

Until the Iraq war we tried not to rush into wars. Sure we dabbled behind the scenes, we sold arms, we bodysnatched drug-lords, but we didnt take our war machine and massacre the clueless imbiciles.

Today the war mongers are clearly militant Islamists and NK. I fucking dare Bono and the other fair-weather doves to picket the Hezbollah HQ. I dare anyone who thinks war is wrong to put a flower in their hair, a pyschedelic shirt on their back and play Kumbya my Lord infront of Kim Jong Il's palace.

Peace isn't really en vogue when you get killed for promoting it. And preaching the the choir of free nations is a waste of time.

Sometimes I think that peace protesting is a waste of time anyway. How did we learn not to drop a-bombs. We dropped them and the whole world realized a-bombs are deterrents only. If every free nation on earth just flew one unarmed 5 day low altitude sonic booming sorty over Hezbollah territory as a military parade of sorts, maybe they would realize destroying the Jews is not worth the effort.

[Miroslav]

Re: Lacking True Fighters for the World

We all have to do what we can to foster peace around us in our lifetime, but one thing is for certain:

there will never be any lasting peace on this planet as long as there are people.