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The Mythic, Heroic Narrative Obscures the Essence of War, which is Death
2007-06-19 19:12:00
All troops, when they occupy and battle insurgent forces, as in Iraq, or Gaza or Vietnam, are swiftly placed in what the psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton terms "atrocity-producing situations." In this environment, surrounded by a hostile population, simple acts such as going to a store to buy a can of Coke or driving down a street means you can be killed. This constant fear and stress leads troops to view everyone around them as the enemy. The hostility is compounded when the enemy, as in Iraq, is elusive, shadowy and hard to find. The rage that soldiers feel after a roadside bomb explodes, killing or maiming their comrades, is one that is easily directed over time to innocent civilians who are seen as supporting the insurgents. It is a short psychological leap, but a massive moral one. It is a leap from killing - the shooting of someone who has the capacity to do you harm - to murder - the deadly assault against someone who cannot harm you. The war in Iraq is now primarily about murd...
More About: Death , Cure , Myth , Obscure

Not a Big Truck; Series of Tubes
2007-06-18 18:55:00
Visitors to Tate Modern will be able to try out five giant slides that have been unveiled at the London gallery.The largest of the spiralling slides is more than 55m (182ft) long and descends from the fifth floor of the venue.Artist Carsten Holler said his work, Test Site, was a "playground for the body and the brain". He says slides can help combat mental health problems.The slides are the seventh exhibit in the series commissioned for the gallery's Turbine Hall. BBC>See more on the exhibit here including lots of photos, and one of those 360° interactive thingies.In other transportation news, Toronto guerilla cyclists are taking bike lanes into their own hands, spray painting bike lanes - now prettier in pink. Hot.Red Jenny
More About: Truck , Series , Serie , Erie