I finally got to catch Shadow Company, the 2006 documentary about the private military industry. Private Military Contractors really are more than “hired guns” — they are an essential part of 21st century warfare and a dramatic symbol of a certain special American Corporate Imperialism. As Robert Young Pelton put it in the movie: the PMCs don’t go in and fight the wars, but they sure as hell come in afterward and make sure that the corporations we installed are secure. Regardless of how you feel about the private military industry, it is here to stay. Shadow Company is a thoughtful, even handed look at the phenomenon.
Vincent Eirene, renowned Pittsburgh activist and operator for nearly five years of Blast Furnace Radio, and Geoff Kelly, editor of Pittsburgh’s alt-weekly Pulp, toured Iraq the week of March 14th . The two Pittsburghers, along with a handful of journalists, authors, college professors, and videographers from across the nation, were part of a delegation sponsored by the Global Exchange in San Francisco, in cooperation with International Occupation Watch Center, an alternative media and human rights coalition with offices in Baghdad. During that week a series of hotel bombings rocked the city. Kelly and Eirene talked with TNP reporter Matt Novak about the complex religious, social, and political identities of the Iraqi people, and why the U.S. has lost their good will. This is part II of a two-part series.
Many reports verify that U.S. forces are targeting hospitals as potential asylums for terrorists. What is the health care situation like? GK: One of the doctors we spoke to said things are much, much worse than before the war. Children die all the time. They don’t have the right medicine. In a city where there was nearly no violent crime, they now have 5-10 gun deaths a day. The auto accidents have increased. Their syringes, you should see them, [they're makeshift], they’re like toys! Nobody should be using them. And of course, people are getting diarrhea from the water, and dying.
Half the time, you can’t even get to the hospital, because roads are blocked, and many people don’t even have a car. After 10 p.m., it’s not safe to be out on the street anyway.
Lenny Flatley is not a Wiccan, a Scientologist or a registered Democrat. He will never finish his long promised account of the six months he spent on the Womens PGA Tour (for liability reasons). He is currently listening to the song "Words" by Doves. If you must contact him, he prefers that you do it on myspace.
“To the Sirens first shalt thou come…”
This country will give you a war if you want it, and it will give you all the consumer benefits of a system that creates war, if you want it, while keeping the war itself safely stashed away. And if you’re not satisfied, you can always get a lap dance.
