POLITICAL MINE-FIELD THE DEVIL YOU KNOW & THE FORCES OF DARKNESS & EARTHBOUND ANGELS #1 LEADEN-WINGED ANGEL

In my last post I was discussing the upcoming election & the present sponsorship scandal & I may have seemed a bit flippant.

To clarify I should say that I don’t believe that all politicians are necessarily corrupt.

My point was that any political party taking power in this country or any other country is not going to turn out to be perfect & squeaky clean. No matter what good intentions a party has there are always going to be those who may be a small minority within the party or the government bureaucracy who see nothing wrong with using the system & their positions of power to help out their friends & supporters. This is how some people happen to view government that it is as a way to line their own pockets or the pockets of their friends & supporters.

Well the issue as I see it is not just whether or not the Conservatives under Stephen Harper are more trust worthy when it comes to spending the tax-payers money but that we shouldn't get side-tracked by this scandal & vote into power a party which may have an extreme right-wing agenda backed by Neo-conservatives & the Religious Right.

Due to all the hype surrounding this scandal I believe the electorate is left in a bit of a quandary about whom they can trust.

I should say I am not a big fan of Paul Martin especially after seeing a documentary on the Shipping Line which he owns. It seems when he was a cabinet minister in Chretien’s government he helped draft a bill to put a stop to Canadian companies from flying “flags of convenience ”he made sure there was one exception so that the ships in his company could still be registered off-shore & thereby be excluded from Canadian shipping & labour regulations.

So who should we vote for “the Devil we know or the Devil we don’t”.

What the electorate needs to decide is whether they want to put into power the New Improved Conservatives who are in my view far too similar in their policies & agenda to Bush’s Republicans. I fear what these New Conservatives will do when & if they come into power.

Of course if they come into power with a minority government this may help to control the more radical members of their party.

Anyway trying to discuss politics is like wandering through a mine-field. Someone is bound to get offended.

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GORD.

ELECTION LOOMING IN CANADA & THE EXTREME RIGHT EARTHBOUND ANGELS #6 NOT A PROPHET OR A MISUNDERSTOOD MESSIAH

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Musing of the day:

It seems we are headed for another Federal election in Canada. This is mainly due to the pressure being put on the present Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin over the "Sponsership Scandal". But will the new & improved conservative party under Stephen Harper be any better. I doubt it. Once the conservatives take power they will ensure that their friends & supporters are taken care of
which means they will siphon off money from the government's revenue to help them out. In other words the status quo will shift slightly from the left back to the right.
Those who support whatever political party expect something in return for their support if the party they are backing comes into power. This is the way it has always
worked & it is naive to believe it will change.

The problem is that there are other issues at stake. Harper will be pushing a right-wing agenda on matters which many Canadians believed had already been resolved. Like his counterparts in the US administration Harper will use certain issues just to gain power & will oversimplify such issues to appeal to the more extremist within his own part & the electorate at large. Thes include such issues which the Neo-conservatives & Religious Right portray as being in their view of greatest impotance for the preservation of our society. These include Gay Rights, Abortion & Free Choice, Censorship, the protection of property rights, the eventual dismantaling & privatization of the Medicare system & revamping the tax system to the greater advantage of the Upper Middle Class & the rich especially if they are conservative . They are also in favour of reversing federal statutes which they believe have become more lenient in regards to Criminal Justice & particularly on those regarding Marijuana . These also include issues surrounding laws regarding the Young Offenders Act & I would imagine they will want to open up a new debate on issues like Capital Punishment. They will also be in favour of even stricter laws regarding Immigration & allow for more rules to make it even more difficult for certain visible & religious minorities to enter the country.(ie Arab,Middle Eastern,Muslim & whomever else they dislike or distrust at the moment)

The Conservatives also want Canada to be more supportive of American foreign policy i.e. the War in Iraq & the so called War on Terrorism as if to say that Martin's government were pro-terrorism or was giving aid & comfort to terrorists. I believe there are those within the New Conservative party who will want to beef up our own internal security to mirror that of the United States i.e. HOMELAND SECURITY which in the US gives law enforcement agencies far greater powers than they need to spy upon its own citizens turning America bit by bit into a Police StAte. Is this the direction which Canadians want to go ???
More of this issue at another time.

KARL ROVE: THE ARCHITECT OF THE NEW AMERICA & "The Media is the message"

PAINTING BY SURREALIST JOAN MIROPosted by Hello
PAINTING BY JOAN MIROPosted by Hello

Just watched another interesting documentary called “ THE ARCHITECT: KARL ROVE” it was on PBS Front Line. The documentary tells the story of Karl Rove & how he helped George Bush & the Republicans win the 2000 election & the 2004 election by appealing to the conservative wing of the republican party & later brought most of the Religious Right into the fold. Karl Rove is accused of using “dirty tricks” & negative campaigning to defeat Democratic candidates. It also talks about the use of single issues such as Anti-abortion , the Gay marriage issue to drum up support through misrepresentation & fear & bigotry. One of the strange things about the Gay issue is as is noted in the film is the co-opting of Gay republicans working within the party to take part in this on-going attack on Gay Rights.

Too bad so few bother to watch documentaries such as this. Unfortunately most people are more interested in American Idol ,Survivor & CSI. As for liberal types they don’t see the writing on the wall until it is too late.



Bye for now,
GORD.

WAR CRIMES? WHAT WAR CIMES? JESUS OF NAZARETH & THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

WAR CRIMES WHAT WAR CRIMES ? THIS IS JUST THE GUYS HAVING SOME FUN !!!
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THE CHRISTIAN WAY TO INTERROGATE PRISONERS OF WAR ???
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INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE FOR THE NEW INQUISITION ??? THE AMERICAN WAY TO DEMOCRACY!!!
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Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

But heres a few words anyway:

From THE NEW TESTAMENT here are some qoutes of Jesus of Nazareth found in THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT from THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATHEW :
chapter 5 - chapter 10

MATHEW : Chapter 5

5.Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
9.Blessed ar the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said,An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall thee on thy right cheek,turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shall love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you...

MATHEW : Chapter 6

14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through or steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

MATHEW : Chapter 7

1. Judge not , that ye be not judged.
12. Therefore all thing whatsoever ye would that men do to you, do you so even to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mathew Chapter 10
16. Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Examining these words of Jesus of Nazareth I do not see any command to go to war or to seek revenge or to hate all those different from our selves. Instead much of the message is one of love, mercy , forgiveness & even showing love , mercy & forgiveness to one's enemies & not just the mere appearance of these but that these feelings must be deeply felt as part of one's whole way of treating others & even how we think about them.

I do not find in these passages anything which says that being materialistic & accumulating vast amounts of wealth is part of the Christian view of the world.
Jesus says one cannot serve both God & Mammon. Mammon representing materialistic wealth . Jesus doesn't say go out & make as much money as possible & in doing so give no regard to others. To refuse food, clothing & shelter Jesus says is the same as refusing these things to Him.

I also can find no passages which defend making profits off of war & the suffering of others.

I also find no passages that defend abusing prisoners or torturing them. In fact, Jesus says to forgive your enemies & show them mercy & even to love them.

Now when Jesus says to not pile up your material treasures of money & gold because moths & rust will spoil them. I don't think He is saying that you should store your treasures in a drier environment or in a good bank where they will be safe.
Not being a true Biblical scholar I might be wrong maybe heHe meant for Christians to invest in the Stock-Market or a Savings & loans. This interpretation is probably closer to what George W. Bush , Cheney, Rumsfeld & Conolezza Rice believe.

It always stikes me as odd how rich so many Christian Evangelical Ministers or Pastors are. Why do they need grandiose mansions & cadillacs & Mercedes when they supposedly live in the Mansion of the Lord their God.

And why do all these Christians Evangelicals or Fundamentalists & others who have a similar mindset hate with such passion people who happen to be GAY. Surely a good Christian would forgive someone who is Gay & try to understand them & show them some compassion rather than treating them as they would Lepers. But Jesus believed one should not treat Lepers with any less compassion & tenderness & with " Natural Affections" as one would treat a member of one's family or a stranger. Just remeber the story of the "GOOD SAMARITAN" .

But in the end The Religious-Right & their fellow travellers the NEOCONSERVATIVES will like the Pharises spend their time splitting hairs & will rumage through the Bible to find a passsage or two somewhere to justify & rationalize their own greed , prejudices, bigotry & narrow mindedness & their own desire to one way or another dominate the rest of the world. And of course the American Religious Right believe they have a right to their " pound of flesh"(Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice)

This sort of rationalizing is interesting in a way because the same process seems to be at work in the twisted views of the Extremist ISLAMIC religious leaders who bend & twist the QURAN & the traditions of the Hadith to suit their own agenda which seems to have little to do with The Prophet Muhammad (PEACE BE UPON HIM).

Anyway that is enough for now,
GORD.

TORTURE THE AMERICAN WAY THE FACE OF A ROGUE NATION

PRESIDENT BUSH WITH A HALO DEFENDING TREATMENT OF POWS !!!
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THE GIRL NEXTDOOR :THE BANALITY OF EVIL
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For all their self-righteousness I see nothing of JESUS OF NAZARETH in this laughter over abused & dead prisoners of war. The Jesus of Bush & Falwell & the Religious Right has little relationship to the JESUS any of us know from the Bible & Sunday School. Their Jesus is a Macho Guy in a business suit carrying a sword or an M16 rifle.

These pictures tell the story of what America World Domination is all about & they send the message to all nations & peoples that this is what happens if you are too critical of US foreign policies.

Sometimes the horrors the world presents to us is too much for us. This is how I felt after I went looking on the net for images of the War in Iraq & what I found was quite disturbing. I had resisted looking at such pictures before this it was like opening Pandoras Box all the Furies were were then thrust upon an unsuspecting world.

The images of dead American soldiers & dead Iraqi civilians should remind us that war is a bloody & gruesome business. The War in Iraq becomes more abhorrent to us when dead Iraqi civilians or any non-cabatants are desribed by President Bush & his advisors as merely being " Collateral Damage". Whatever the colour of their skin or their religious beliefs the taking of their lives should be taken more seriously than the way in which the US military & administration under George W. Bush views these deaths . They seem to mean nothing to them or their Neo-conservative supporters who see all non-Americans as expendable. Their callous indifference shows a rather darkside of American culture.

It seems to me that the United States has become a menacing Rogue Nation invading a country under false pretenses . Then they terrorize the Iraqi public through intimidation with the use of their overwhelming military power. If they have to they will reduce every city in Iraq to rubble as they did to Fallujah. This they will do to help free Iraqis & lead them down the road to democracy this is they say is their true motivation but I question this . The Americans then go further by abusing & torturing & even killing those whom they imprison which they justify by claiming all those arrested are terrorists. The presumption of innocence plays no part in the confinement & treatment of these prisoners. The prisoners are denied their rights not only under International Law & the Geneva Convention but even according to US civil law. These prisoners are denied due process. Many have never been allowed even a phone call or have been denied their right to an attorney or the right to know what the specific charges are for which they are being held. Families & friends of these POWS are not informed of what has happened to them even when they have tried to find out they are told little or nothing. And there is always the threat that those who get too outspoken about these matters maybe incarcerated on trumped up charges. Even within United States this sort of intimidation is taking place.
See for instance: the arrest & indictment of Professor Steve Kurtz the washingtonpost.com THE FBI'S ART ATTACK By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, June 2, 2004 etc.

This explains in part why the Americans are refusing to keep a tally on killed Iraqi civilians. If they do talk about the number of dead civilians they tend to play down the numbers of dead civilians. They reassure the people at home in America that few civilians have been killed. The spokespeople for the administration have claimed that there may have been 20,000 civilians killed since the conflict began two years ago . But human rights watch groups put the number of civilian dead at over 100,000. But Americans don't want to know the truth or they simply just don't care.

Besides the American public has more important matters to worry about. They are too worried about Reality-TV like American Idol Survivor & the Apprentice
& the trial of Michael Jackson . During the Rawanda Genocide Americans were obsessed & fixated on OJ Simpson & the Clinton Sex scandal so the death of 850,000 people in Rawanda barely made the news. As CNN would inquire but how many Americans were killed in Rawanda if no Americans then there is no story !!!

But why should we be surprised it is the same old story wherever the US has intervened they have had no regard for the very people whom they claim they want to help. Of course now they have divided the world into two distinct camps:of those countries & peoples who support American military actions wholeheartedly & those on the otherside who are the enemiies of America who disagree in any way with the Americans & are seen not only as the enemy of America but also of what they consider True Christian principles & Free-Enterprise & the American Way of Life.

But the view of the world held by Bush & his supporters is deeply coloured & darkened by their religious beliefs that these are the end times & Armageddon is imminent along with the Rapture of the true believers of Christ. They,therefore, believe that everything they do has been sanctioned & given the stamp of approval by their vengeful God.

I will in future discuss in more detail the belief system of George Bush & the Religious Right & how it affects internal politics & foreign affairs.

For shocking & disgusting stomach turning pictures see:

mindprod.com/iraq.html
Thenausea.com
dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/

AND:
The Memory Hole/pictures of military personnel wounded

Pictures of Civilian Victims in iraq war
www.robert-fisk.com/iraqiwarvictims

Also see SCOOP NEWS HEADLINES
www.scoop.co.nz/features/warimage
(what we are not supposed to see)

There a number of these sites some of the pictures are quite graphic & from what I hear Neocons get a kick out of this stuff. These are NOT PHOTOS FROM SOME HORROR MOVIE OR HOLLYWOOD ACTION FLICK this is the real world stripped to its bones. Is this the TRUE FACE OF HUMANITY ???


Anyway enough of politics for now
see you later,
GORD