I wrote a few weeks
back about the ALR, Academy of Learning in Retirement, and how much I had
enjoyed the different subjects. Well, we finished our the semester these last
few weeks and the topics we a bit more harsh. Four classes on the Narcos in
Juarez, Mexico and then 4 more on Torture.
Presented by Molly
Molloy, Research Librarian, NMSU; Editor, Translator and Charles Bowden, Award
Winning Author, these classes focused on he history and background of the
Mexican drug trade and violence, the
hyper-violence in
Ciudad, Juarez (and elsewhere in Mexico) from 2008 to the present, the myth and
reality of spillover violence from Mexico into the border region of the US, and
the human costs of US drug, immigration, trade, economic, and homeland security
policies. They presented a short movie clip from a documentary they had worked
on, “El Sicario”, which translates to “the Assassin” or the hitman. The talks
were chilling as they documented the goings on in Mexico.
We then attended a
showing of the movie and left there just shaking our heads in disbelief about
what is happening there. This was not a fun class, but very informative indeed.
As an additional footnote to all this, we attended the ALR Annual Meeting and
had the pleasure of Having Ms. Molloy sit at our table. In just 45 minutes we
were able to learn even more about her impressions and theories and what it
will take to end the Cartel violence
The class we finished
up was titled “Torture and Intelligence in the US War on Terrorism, another
very difficult subject with lots of opinions being expressed. This was the
first class where I saw people leaving during the lecture because they
disagreed with Dr. Gary Kern’s opinions. To sum them up in just 8 words, Bush
was a war criminal, so was Cheney. He pulled no punches but also let us know
that President Obama does not escape some blame here as he talked about the
drones being utilized and ordering the killing of an American citizen. Other
topics were: Methods used in the war on terror (special operations, hit lists,
the kill/capture option); the assassination of Osama bin Laden; effective and
ineffective interrogation techniques; the debate for and against torture in the
context of "the struggle for the soul of America".
All in all, a very
enjoyable way to spend some time learning
1 comment:
The political stuff I can dig my teeth into. Ciudad Juarez, makes me want to run away.
So I'll comment on politics. In #Uppers the other day someone said something like "Why should I worry, they're only going after bad guys?" Wow.
One thing no one seems to express directly is that Cheney's gang simply renamed torture. And the weak American press let them get away with it. "Enhanced interrogation techniques" as if that in any way is a legitimate discription of what our government was doing. It sounds good. Like meet products enhanced with ammonia!
Where is the so called Liberal Media when we need them?
Where is our liberal government when other nations start flying drones over our country. Who will speak for North Dakota when the drones appear there?
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