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cosmotalks liked a video
(2 months ago)
I really like the message sent to Americans..
can they Imagine what they/their government does in the rest of the world?
Imagine!: speech written &...
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I really like the message sent to Americans..
can they Imagine what they/their government does in the rest of the world?
Imagine!: speech written & given by Ron Paul
should you be a US citizen in support of Ron Paul: http://revolutionpac.com/defense
CREDITS:
Obviously Ron Paul for the speech
Voice & Music: Jeremy Hoop
Video animation: Nicholas Bozman & MysteryBox. http://mysterybox.us
Original text:
Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of "keeping us safe" or "promoting democracy" or "protecting their strategic interests."
Imagine that they operated outside of US law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up checkpoints on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops, and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.
Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed, or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers' attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, ten more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.
Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.
The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment towards us.
According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of re-evaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn't stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. 50,000 troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.
Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy WILL change eventually, as Rome's did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.
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cosmotalks uploaded a new video
(2 months ago)
African Grey Parrot Cosmo (Craige) recognizes herself in a mirror. She says, "That's Cosmo."
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cosmotalks uploaded a new video
(1 year ago)
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cosmotalks uploaded a new video
(1 year ago)
Cosmo goes down the hall to the dogs' water dish saying "Cosmo wanna shower!" Then she takes a bird bath and calls out "Look! Good s...
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Cosmo goes down the hall to the dogs' water dish saying "Cosmo wanna shower!" Then she takes a bird bath and calls out "Look! Good shower! or "Wow!"
Sometimes she exclaims "Whatta bird!" --Betty Jean Craige (author of CONVERSATIONS WITH COSMO: AT HOME WITH AN AFRICAN GREY PARROT)
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cosmotalks uploaded a new video
(2 years ago)
Cosmo can teach children what she thinks about: for example, squirrels, doggies, company, kitchen, and me; what she wants, such as peanuts, a showe...
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Cosmo can teach children what she thinks about: for example, squirrels, doggies, company, kitchen, and me; what she wants, such as peanuts, a shower, and a ride in the car; and what she considers fun, like playing telephone, talking to company, going to work, and splashing in the dogs' big water dish. Cosmo can show children what she, "a good good bird," has in mind. Children certainly understand Cosmo's values, for Cosmo's values are a bit like theirs.
- Excerpted from Betty Jean Craige, Conversations with Cosmo, due out in print April 20, 2010. (Amazon.com)
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Blessings from Dunlap, Tn.,
Linda & Geronimo