Israel's military has in recent days attacked the Gaza strip with drones and F-16s, and has apparently been preparing for a possible ground war. Israel is using weaponry provided by the United States at the expense to U.S. taxpayers of $3 billion per year. Veterans For Peace member Doug Rawlings adresses the following statement to members of the Israeli military:

"I have been to where you are going. From my heart, I beseech you not to join me. In 1969, I was sent to Vietnam as a reluctant soldier, a draftee, who did not have the courage of my convictions. I chose to follow the orders of my government rather than to follow the dictates of my conscience. It’s been over forty years now, and I still remember the faces of the Vietnamese people who were victimized by my lack of moral autonomy. I became one of Pharaoh’s army, and, to this day, I have been wading through the miasma of that murderous indecisiveness. Had I heeded Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. instead of General William Westmoreland, I would have refused to serve as a pawn in my government’s immoral invasion and occupation of Vietnam.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- U.S. President Barack Obama's paternal grandfather arrived in Burma during World War Two as a Kenyan cook in Britain's colonial army, fighting Japanese invaders in horrific jungle conditions.

Today, people in Myanmar -- the country formerly known as Burma -- anxiously await the president's arrival during his Asia tour from Nov. 17 to Nov. 20 which also includes visits to Thailand and Cambodia.

Earlier U.S. involvement in the Buddhist-majority nation included visits by three Americans whose careers included the presidency.

But Mr. Obama will be the first to arrive as president in mainland Southeast Asia's biggest country.

He is proud of his ancestor's footsteps.

"Mr. Obama's grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, served in Burma during World War Two with the 11th East Africa Division of the King's African Rifles," said Thant Myint-U on his Facebook page.

(Facebook)

Here’s one take on U.S. militarism and the culture of domination:

“Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight.

“. . . Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. . . . That’s why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.”

Here’s another:

“I can’t sleep without drugs. But even then, I often wake up in the middle of the night, crying, my mind racing. And I lie there awake in the dark, reliving the rape, looking for a second chance for it to end with a different outcome, but he always wins.”

Matt Bors was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize this year! Most of the Free Press cartoons on the website are the work of Matt Bors, originally from Ohio. The Free Press began using his biting political cartoons that addressed current social justice issues in our printed issue many years ago. Since then, Matt moved to the west coast and became syndicated with United Features (now Universal U-Click).

Earlier this year, Matt was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the cartoon category: "For a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing and pictorial effect, published as a still drawing, animation or both." Another cartoonist got the Prize, but the committee cited Matt as a finalist:

"Matt Bors, syndicated by Universal U-Click, for his pungent work outside the traditional style of American cartooning."

Now Matt has a book coming out and is raising money through Kickstarter to fund his effort. It is his first collection of political cartoons titled "Life Begins At Incorporation." It's for a 225 page collection of his comics with humor essays.

Before anyone considers carving into a Butterball turkey on Thanksgiving, they should watch this video.

A new Mercy For Animals hidden-camera investigation gives a shocking look behind the closed doors of Butterball factory farms—revealing the heartbreaking cruelty and neglect animals face at the hands of the world’s largest turkey producer

The startling investigation comes less than a year after MFA exposed horrific cruelty at another Butterball factory farm—a groundbreaking case that led to the first-ever felony cruelty to animals conviction related to birds used for food production in US history.

In never-before-seen footage that is being released today, MFA’s latest investigation exposes an ongoing culture of cruelty at Butterball, including:

workers kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously throwing turkeys onto the ground or on top of other birds;
birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, and broken bones; and