One of Caldwell's better novels, Answer As A Man touches on most of her recurring themes - the conspiracy behind governments to incite wars for profit and to install taxation to create a form of slavery. She also continues to stress than man can be evil and God cruel.

This is the story of an Irish innocent, Jason Garrity, who rises from the slums of a suburb in Pennsylvania to become a wealthy landlord and hotelier. For too long he is unable to see the evil around him, and is taken advantage of by his wife, his siblings, his best friend . . .

A good read, and as always, Caldwell makes one think. Whether you agree with her or not, she presents compelling arguements.

One meeting attendee was Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Society, several of the participants said. The MAS website describes Bray as an imam and “long time civil and human rights activist.” Bray’s critics say he has a history of defending terrorists. They point to a video of Bray at a rally in 2000, for example, in which he can be seen pumping his fist in the air in support of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. In a 2004 interview, he called the Israeli assassination of a Hamas spiritual leader an “unlawful, cowardly and dangerous act of state-sponsored terrorism.” Bray did not return a call requesting comment.

Also attending the meeting was Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR is a Muslim-American civil rights group that has, as its website states, “consistently and persistently condemned terrorism and the killing of innocent civilians.” Nonetheless, the group has many critics, especially in law-enforcement circles, and is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case.

  Obama's campaign claims that if they had known that terrorist sympathizers were going to be present they wouldn't have gone to the meeting. The claim of the Obama campaign that there was no knowledge of who would be present is being challenged by at least one member of Obama's campaign.

A second meeting participant speaking on condition on anonymity said he was stunned to learn that Awad and Bray had been invited to an event where Obama representatives would be present. The participant said Awad and Bray are considered politically “radioactive.” He said that some in the Obama group knew ahead of time that top CAIR officials would be in attendance--an allegation the Obama campaign disputes.

“Yes, when I knew they were coming it made me uncomfortable,” the attendee said. “There was some hope it wouldn’t get out” into the media, the attendee added. “There was some concern within the Obama camp that some of these people coming may be a political liability.”

 According to this source the campaign knew who would be attending and just hoped that it wouldn't get out to the public. The Obama campaign refused to let NBC interview the director of Obama's "Muslin Outreach Program".

 This shows another case of Obama's lack of good judgement, he has an ever growing list of shady associations. Most of these misjudgements are in his past, even his recent past, but this misjudgement is critical in my opinion. And it is not in his past. Was it a mistake as the campaign claims or did they know? Do they just consider it a misjudgement just because he was caught?

 I am not saying that Obama is a terrorist and I am not saying that he is a sympathizer but I am questioning his judgment. Besides hope and change and change and hope his only other selling point is his supposed great judgement. If we can't trust his judgement than he has nothing left.

 Barack Obama has stated that he would sit down with Iran and other dictators with no preconditions so is it too much of a stretch to believe that he would send his campaign to speak to such dubious groups as CAIR? I don't think so.

“Woe to you who have been complacent because of your wealth and your exalted position.  Your time for gloating is coming to an end!

“The love of money has caused all kinds of trouble. Some people have wanted money so much that they have surrendered their values of right and wrong, causing themselves and others much pain.

“You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you, and it has only just begun! Your savings will be eaten up, and your losses will be evidence that you have done wrong.  You have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you will lose it all.

“In the same way that you have exalted yourselves and lived luxuriously, in the same way you will know torment and sorrow.

“You have gained riches for yourselves, gathering gold and silver into your treasuries.  By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, causing you to be prideful and arrogant.  Therefore I will bring you down; your pride will be humbled.

“Your riches and possessions will not be able to save you on the day that I show My anger, says the Lord.

“The day is near when buying and selling will have no more meaning. No business-person will live long enough to get back what they have lost.

“Your love of riches is what led you into great sin, so now your net worth will not even be enough to buy the food you need.

“I will give foreigners everything you own, in order to punish you for your sins.

“Without warning, those you owe will demand payment. Then you will become a frightened victim. You have plundered and taken advantage of nations everywhere on earth, even going to war against some and murdering their people. Now those who survived will be as cruel to you.

The people of your nation will be trembling with fright. They will say, "This crisis is like a fire burning out of control! Can any of us survive?"

“You can only survive if you say and do what is right. Stop using your power to cheat the poor and stop accepting bribes. Stop joining with those who are planning wars or do other evil things. Then you will be safe. You will be as secure as if in a strong fortress. You will have food to eat and water to drink.

“Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, I am now rising up to take action, says the LORD; I will give them the freedom and safety they long for. I will punish their oppressors!

“Your only hope is this:  You must see that justice is done, and you must show kindness and mercy to one another. You must stop oppressing widows, orphans, foreigners who live among you, or anyone else in need; and you must stop planning ways of harming or taking advantage of one another.

“I know how terrible your sins are and how many crimes you have committed. You persecute good people, take bribes, and prevent the poor from getting justice in the courts. Make it your aim to do what is right, not what is evil. Hate what is evil, love what is right, and see that justice prevails in the courts. Perhaps the LORD will be merciful to the people of this nation.

“The LORD says: It isn't too late. You can still return to Me with all your heart. Start showing that you really are sorry for your wrong behavior. Turn back to me with broken hearts. I am merciful, kind, and caring. I don't easily lose My temper, and I don't like to punish. Perhaps I will change My mind and treat you with mercy.

“I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Release those you have unjustly imprisoned! Free those who you have abused and tortured without cause! Stop your military occupations and oppression of people in other nations! Stop oppressing the poor people in your own nation! Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your homes with the poor and homeless. Give clothing to those in need, and stop turning your eyes away from the needs of your fellow human beings.

"A truly good person is righteous and honest. He doesn't charge interest when lending money. He refuses to do anything evil; he is fair to everyone. He doesn't cheat or rob anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security; and he feeds the hungry and gives clothing to the naked.

"Listen to this, you lovers of riches and materialism: You have thought you were safe and secure. You thought that you would never suffer the loss of your riches and property. But in a moment, in a single day, you will lose your riches and property. You felt sure of yourself in your evil; you thought that no one could see you. Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray, and you said to yourself, there is no one else quite like me. But now disaster will come upon you, and none of your financial magic can stop it. Ruin will come on you suddenly--- ruin you never dreamed of! You will be powerless, in spite of the advice you get. Your advisers will leave you and go their own way, and no one will be left to save you.

“The LORD says,  I will humble everyone who is proud and punish everyone who is arrogant and cruel.

“These are the things that the Lord has spoken. He will bring it to pass.  He has purposed; He will also do it.”

___________

Karl Steven Keene; October 10, 2008; Moorhead, MN

Was Jesus on:

Women’s Rights: Feminist Lord or Chauvinist Pig?

Male chauvinism ranked women lower than heathens and slaves; it was the order of Jesus’ day. What if Jesus was the premier feminist who allowed women to learn and earn?

Abortion: Abortionist or Abolitionist?

Jimmy Carter remarked, “I have always been against abortion; it’s not possible for me in my own concept of Christ to believe that Jesus would favor abortion.” What if God was the quintessential abortionist?

Armed Conflict: War Lord or Lord of Peace?

Almost everyone knows Jesus as the “Prince of Peace,” the man who recommended “turn the other cheek.” What if Jesus owned and carried weapons, and what if he was a political revolutionary who took on Caesar’s Roman Empire?

      Taxes: Taxpayer or Tax-cheat?

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar” has been given as the reason to pay taxes. What did those words mean to a Jew who was audited under brutal Roman occupation?

Homosexuality: Straight Talker or Gay Stalker?

Alan Colmes wrote, “Homosexuality doesn’t come up in the four Gospels…Jesus wasn’t that concerned about it.” Is it possible that Jesus was the first to offer an explanation that being gay is inborn and not sinful?

 Welfare: Lord’s hand or Handout?

Jesus touted, “Blessed are the poor” and giving “to the least of these.” Was Jesus for state-sponsored welfare from “Uncle Sam?”

Illegal Drugs: Drug Lord or Drug Warrior?

Annually, the “war on drugs” results in millions of arrests for using marijuana. What if Jesus enlisted the help of Mary Jane rather than Holy Mary to perform miracles?

Global Warming: Hothead or Cold Shoulder?

In 2007 Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient truth” was hot in the hottest year ever. What if it was Jesus who first championed global warming through his “green” gospel?

Death Penalty: Executioner or Executive Parole-giver?

Jesus and John the Baptist were victims of barbaric state executions. What if Jesus supported a death penalty that was rife with inequality and unfairly targeted the poor?   

More information forthcoming....

It occurs to me this morning, however, that I sometimes approach my MMOs from the wrong angle. They hold a very large place in my life, true dat, and have done for a decade now -- but so did tabletop RPGs. And yet with tabletop RPGs I never expected those games to somehow provide more for me than entertainment. Games aren't there to provide meaning to life and yet sometimes we seem to get so wrapped up in them that it's hard to remember. A movie has more of a chance of being a life-changing experience, to be honest.

I spent most of last week in a weird funk, maybe due to the big four-oh, maybe not, and a lot of that time was spent wondering why I suddenly wasn't having so much fun in WAR. As I eventually (finally) worked out last night, it's not the game, dummy, it's the player.

A game that was fun yesterday and suddenly isn't today probably didn't turn into a steaming heap of crapness in 12 hours. Work it out. This doesn't actually obviate many of the comments made about level pacing -- but those are matters of nuance rather than base build, I suspect. I would prefer not to have to travel across pairings to level because I don't want my million alts ALL doing the same content over, and over, and over. But that's a personal thing, really, and at least the RvR will always be different.

So, yeah. I certainly sometimes seem to expect my MMOs to alter my central moods far more than this kind of entertainment can, until I regain my reason. It's just a game -- there's only so much it can do for you.

Also related, I suspect, is the fact that we're now a month into launch, give or take. That shiny new game smell is starting to be only a distant whiff, which probably makes many of us game geeks nostalgic and melancholy.

The real test, now, will be to see who's still playing in 2 months, and then in another 5 or 6. Does WAR have enough lasting appeal to keep people playing for 6 months, let alone a year and then some? I think so.

I want to start with a reference which started me to want to write this down. It's from Keen at Keen and Graev's Gaming blog. He thinks that WAR defined some own kind of definition for a MMORPG and called it MMORvRG.

I have to agree that in Warhammer Online this immersion is not coming up and the RP in MMORPG is nearly lost. Even on a RP-server there is not much RP going on. The game itself doesn't promote RP very good, because it is lacking communication between players. It's not totally a design fault as there are many ways players could set channels or communicate..But for some reason they don't do it and don't get helped too much by the system to do it.

You don't get too much downtime in the game to be able to talk to others. While you might discuss the strategy for a scenario the other side may already be near the flag, artifact, ...  RP is not possible without working communication, there is so much action that I don't have the time to read some stuff in the tome and if I have it, then it's way overloaded to enjoy reading. So the immersion by playing my character (communication to other players) or by reading the storyline of quests or other tome stuff is nearly non-existent. Keen only cut the RP from MMORPG.. I want to go a bit further..

Many players seem to forget that this is a game. I know that it is very frustrating when you get stomped in scenario by e.g. 500:43 (I experienced it on both sides of the scoring board ..and so are most of you i think), but this is no excuse for forgetting how to behave. I saw some very rude comments in scenario chat because we lost. Cope with it, learn from the mistakes and kick the other side's butts in the next one. (Again a point which leads to less immersion, but is the only way not to repeatedly hit his head on the table because something went wrong ;) So it's just a health care tip and not a RP advice.. )

People have to realize that scenarios are not really balanced other than in numbers of participants. Looking at the T2 scenarios I find it very frustrating and a bad design that there are capture the flag scenarios in a tier where there are chars with or without mounts. It's not so bad in Phoenix gate like in Stone Troll crossing, but i think that it wouldn't hurt if no one was able to use his/her mount in the T2 scenarios.

Scenarios are also not balanced because people seem to overestimate the effect of the RvR bolster to them. This bolster just enables you to not be totally cannon fodder, but makes you in no way "hero of the day" ;) There is a end of the food chain for every tier and when not being maxed out you will have a disadvantage. The bolster just closed the gap a bit, but you have to keep in mind that a scenario where most of your side is at the lower end of the tier (in terms of rank) and the others are on the higher end will most likely result in loss. Nothing written in stone, but just the probability is imo heavily shifted.

Communication and Team play rules in scenarios. Don't expect to win against a team of that works together. This is the exception to the rule above. With good team play you can overcome the disadvantage of being at lower rank. Not if it's too big, but something in the middle of possible ranks can win over disorganized end of tier ranks. I have experienced this in PUGs and in the guild I am on Erengrad. Adding voice chat is a big plus too. Most guilds use vent/TS and this is highly effective in scenarios, where you don't have time to type in everything into the scenario-chat. Again leading to less chat in the scenario group chat channel.

Coming back to my topic. All this just means less immersion ... more of a e-sport character. Not only cutting the RP in MMORPG, but also some of the G. Is this the reason why some people just don't say MMORPG anymore, but MMO? ;)

I'm curious to see how the community and the game of Warhammer Online evolves. Will it be a game to last for years? I'm not really sure. Fast paced action is one pro.. No immersion and connection to the world is imo a big contra.

Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait.

Parece que no ha habido ningún contratiempo de última hora del que es uno de los juegos más esperados del año, pues Epic Games ha anunciado que el desarrollo de Gears of War 2 en Xbox 360 ha sido ya completamente finalizado, entrando el proyecto en fase Gold y pasando ahora a ser producido en masa, para tener todo listo para el próximo 7 de noviembre, fecha en la que se pondrá a la venta en Europa y Norteamérica. Poco más que añadir, salvo que, al igual que muchos de vosotros, ya estamos contando los días que faltan para poder tener entre las manos este Gears of War 2.

Do they know that he is emotionally unstable?
When he was a toddler he would hold his breath until he passed out when he did not get his way.
In high school he got in so many fights, his nickname was Punk McNasty.
At the Naval academy, he often flew off the handle.
In the Senate he had profanity laden outbursts at other Senators when they disagreed.

He has superstitious in need of multiple charms and rituals.

He is a compulsive gambler who spends 14 hours at a stretch at crap tables, betting thousands per roll.

He spent a grand total of 20 hours on 23 combat missions that were neither heroic nor exceptional.

His version of his POW internment are unconfirmed and he has blocked access to North Vietnamese records. There are other versions that are more consistent with his behavior before and after Vietnam.
Many other POWs were offered and refused early release. It is known that McCain gave more than name rank and serial numbers unlike many or most of the other POWs. There is testimony that he gave information thnat got other US fliers shot down. (With about as much confirmation as McCain's version.

McCain was not only a close friend of Charles Keating but it is well documented that McCain actively and deliberately interfered with government oversight of Keating's fraudulent banking that resulted in 20,000 people losing life savings and costing taxpayers 2 billion.

Taxation without Representation is Tyranny!

The methods being used by the owners, against the people, include secrecy, intimidation, blatant lies and their misrepresentations about everything that comes from the government concerning everything they say they are doing to correct any of the myriad failures that have brought this formerly successful nation to its metaphorical knees!

This siege is being led by the same people that were supposed to have protected the public, from everything that has happened since Cheney-Bush took over on 12-12-2000: when they were officially appointed by the US Supreme Court that stopped the vote-count in Florida which gave the election to the losers.

This includes Pelosi who has served not as the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, but as the handmaiden of the Cabal. In every instance where leadership was required, Pelosi got down on her knees before the Cabal and perverted, delayed or prevented the will of the public from being voted on—in direct contravention of the will of the public which her office is charged with insuring! As the third person in-line for the office of the presidency, Pelosi must be charged along with Bush & Cheney in their covert and now overt wars upon us all. Nancy Pelosi would do well to research what happened to Marie Antoinette, during the French Revolution. It took the French population a very long time to finally get angry, but when they finally did—heads did roll and that will happen here!

Currently, the elections process itself is also under attack by both the Republicans and the Democrats: just in case everything else fails to force the nation into Martial Law. Most of this was directed from the White House by Karl Rove who should be in Federal Prison, but who was never tried for his crimes, so we are all still having to deal with his Faustian schemes.

For six straight days stocks around the world continue to fall, yet the spin-masters of media continue to describe this global meltdown as “A credit crunch.”

The next government official that uses this criminally-insufficient term ought to have his or her tongue cut out on the spot! Because these conditions are now equal to what was last seen in 1937! This behavior, coupled with wholesale evictions and voter-registration purges, clearly adds the entire elections process to the lengthy list of crimes against the public; in this massive drive to deny the right of representation, along with the right to vote; to those that pay taxes for representation in the government decisions that are dragging us all down the road to open tyranny and into a bogus state of Martial Law!

This entire voting scandal is being exposed by Greg Palast and Robert Kennedy Jr., in a forthcoming article in Rolling Stone magazine and in a comic book called “Steal Back Your Vote.” (1)

Meanwhile in the elections process itself, both candidates have failed to tell the public that “the United States is no longer a Republic we are a corporation that is still in bankruptcy, which is why we cannot now just declare bankruptcy! “The UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CORPORATION went BANKRUPT in 1933. They must renew the bankruptcy every 70 years. It was renewed in 2003. So it's already been bankrupt for over 70 years which is why everything is such a mess. The U.S. Government became the US GOVERNMENT CORPORATION via the Act of 1871. The result is that even our elections have been a complete sham and scam.” (2)

In the bizarre “debates” where the token audience sits like so many manikins, prohibited from displaying any reaction whatever to what is said by anyone—not unlike what would happen inside a prison—virtually no reality is allowed to invade the comments of the “anointed potential leaders.” They both speak of money to be spent on programs and new policies as if the current meltdown was not a fact. Ladies and gentlemen not only are we broke, we are so deep in debt that this corporation (formerly our Republic) shall never be able to escape: yet none of this is ever even mentioned.

Today we have also learned that “the Treasury Department May Take Ownership Stake in Banks. Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, according to government officials.

Treasury officials say the just-passed $700 billion bailout bill gives them the authority to inject cash directly into banks that request it. Such a move would quickly strengthen banks' balance sheets and, officials hope, persuade them to resume lending. In return, the law gives the Treasury the right to take ownership positions in banks, including healthy ones.”

So if you like the way the banks have routinely screwed you on your credit cards, and their ‘management of your money’ you’re going to really enjoy having the thoroughly corrupted “government’s” management of your bank’s ineptitude, because they will no doubt take everything to an entirely new level of outright incompetence coupled with theft and deceit run amuck! (3)

And if all of the above is still not enough to drive the nation into Martial Law; then the Dictator still can use the $100 million he just received in discretionary funds to send in his own troops To enforce Martial Law!

This has been made possible because of secret-contracts whereby Blackwater and others have been retraining police forces throughout the nation, to militarize what used to be peace officers. This will now be augmented by US combat troops that began their duties nine days ago by order of the president. (4)

This is a full-court press by those that the public has refused to arrest and charge for their previous crimes against the people of the United States; and because we failed to act before—this situation has now created all of the impossible problems that now must be faced and ended by the 70% of the public that totally disagrees with everything that is now being done to us in the name of another false-flag “emergency”!

1) Gregg Palast on Vote Rigging and Suppression Ahead of the 2008 Elections

2) USA – the link to “Point 1” was erased, but the facts have not changed

3) Treasury Department May Take Ownership Stake in Banks

4) FEMA sources confirm coming Martial Law

Thousands of Troops are deployed on US streets

kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net

Yesterday all the JETs in the prefecture were invited to Aomori City to participate in Culture Day:  an educational event organized by our prefectural advisors designed to inform us about the culture of Japan.  Julie and I learned about the tsugaru shamisen, taiko drumming, karate, shogi, cooking, wooden horse painting, and how to make a decorative goldfish.

In this post I will talk about the forums I attended (shamisen, taiko, karate, and shogi) with an emphasis on the shamisen.  Julie is actually in Tokyo right now and will post her own entry on the forums she attended, and probably a few thoughts and photos from the trip she embarked on today, when she returns.

A Brief History of the Human Race

Julie and I attended the first session together, a 70 minute presentation on the history of tsugaru shamisen.  The shamisen is a three-stringed banjo-like instrument that is plucked with a pick (bachi) that resembles an ice scraper.  The tsugaru style is distinguished by a few characteristics, including a more percussive style of strumming.

After playing two songs, the performers put down their instruments and the man on the right began speaking in English.

"Hello!  My name is _________.  You can call me __________.  I don't know English, but I like English.  I hate Nihongo (Japanese)."

The last sentence genuinely surprised the audience and we responded with laughter.  He then went on to explain that Japanese is a hierarchical language.  For instance there are many forms of "I" depending on where you find yourself.  English on the other hand, he said, is very friendly.  There is only "you" and "I."  Therefore, he concluded that when we teach our students English we also teach them the friendliness of our culture, whether we are aware of it or not.  His insight gave me a completely new perspective of my job.

The man then walked over to a nearby table, grabbed a dry erase marker and said, through a translator this time, "It is written that we will learn about the history of tsugaru shamisen, but..."

He then proceeded to sketch a map of Africa on the dry erase board and informed us that we would instead learn about the history of humans.  It turns out this guy's other passion is archaeology.  Over the course of the next hour he brilliantly weaved together indigenous cultures, war, peace, snakes, religion, rope, music, art, archaeology, and mythology in a way only a seasoned college professor could do.  It was as if when he planned the presentation he said to himself, "if it's culture they want, it's culture they'll get."

I took notes on the lecture.  Here's a summary.  Please take it with a grain of salt as I have not taken the time to verify it with other sources.  If this happens to be your area of expertise, please correct my understanding by leaving a brief comment on this post.

If the entire history of our species is represented by 7 meters of length, then according to his calculations, a length of 3 centimeters represents the duration of time we have been at war with each other.  He demonstrated this with a volunteer and an actual tape measure.  The man said we are wildly off track, but he remains optimistic that we can get back on the road to peace.

What caused us to fall so far?  Snakes!  It turns out we can gain insight by exploring the role of snakes in ancient cultures.  The man said that snakes used to be revered in just about every ancient culture.  In Japan this is made evident in the pottery of the Jomon culture.  The Jomon era is the earliest in Japan's pre-history and the string-style pottery that the people created is famous.  Apparently their inspiration for the pottery came from the way snakes reproduce.  The man insinuated that it is a symbol of a time when we lived in peace with our environment -- a time when we didn't hate snakes.

The oceanic currents off the Eastern coasts of China and Korea drift towards Japan which meant eventually new people settled into the region.  Thus we enter the Yayoi period.  The man said that the new inhabitants, mostly people from modern day Korea, brought with them rice, iron, war, and a hatred of snakes.  His teacher, a man ten years his senior, proved they brought war by discovering motes, people buried with weapons, and a dramatic increase in the size of arrowheads dated during this period.

"The Yayoi and Jomon have two different faces and two different cultures," he said.  Whereas the Jomon people had large circular eyes, the Yayoi were more narrow.  The Jomon settled in the North and South and the Yayoi landed in the space inbetween.  He said if you look at eyes of some of the people in these regions today you can see evidence of this.

He went on to talk about the music of the two cultures and how they differed.  Basically Jomon art was more robust.  He also said that Japan's first name, Asaka, means "great fantastic place."

He concluded the lecture by reiterating that our world is in trouble.  As evidence he sighted continued war, global warming, and habitat destruction.  Yet he is optimistic.

"Remember," he said, "the most important thing is snakes!"

We clapped.  It was a great, informative, and entertaining lecture that made me realize just how ignorant I am when it comes to the history of Japan.  I have decided I need to do something about this and plan on reading more than just the occasional interesting article on Wikipedia.  If you have any book recommendations, let me know.

After lunch I attended sessions on shogi (Japanese chess), taiko (traditional drumming), and karate.  Taiko was my favorite of the three.  I hope to have a longer post dedicated to it in the near future that will involve a popular arcade game.  Shogi was interesting, but I still prefer Go.  I spent most of my time in the karate session reminiscing about my two years in taekwondo when I was in elementary school.

Before I sign off, here is a brief video of one of the shamisen performances.  It's our first attempt at embedding video on the blog.  Enjoy!

BY Beate Arnestad

Considered the most professional guerilla organization in the world and the first to employ suicide bombing, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have engaged the Sri Lankan government in a brutal civil war for the past 25 years. It’s one of the longest-running wars in Southeast Asia in which an estimated 70,000 people have lost their lives.

In an effort to create an independent Tamil state in northeastern Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers, as they are also known, have conducted at least 170 suicide-bombing operations since fighting began — by far the most attacks carried out by any rebel group until the Iraq war in 2003. In recent weeks, government forces have pushed deep into Tamil territory toward the Tigers’ administrative capital of Kilinochchi in an all-out offensive to destroy the network for good.

When filmmaker Beate Arnestad, a 20-year veteran of the Norwegian Broadcast Corporation, moved to Sri Lanka in 2002, she became interested in what happens when an entire generation grows up surrounded by a constant threat of violence.

“I wanted to try to understand what goes on in a country suffering and trying to live in a war zone — not for one or two years but for their whole lives,” she told FRONTLINE/World.

Arnestad was surprised to learn that 30 percent of these suicide missions were carried out by women. When she asked Sri Lankan journalists about the prospects of making a film about women in the LTTE’s Black Tigers division — the unit specifically trained as suicide bombers — she was told that it would be dangerous and pointless as the Tigers would never grant her access.

Nevertheless, she started driving into the rebel-controlled territories for more than year, establishing a network of contacts within the organization and asking to make her film.

“Finally, I think they were just tired of me. And at some point they gave in,” she said.

The resulting film, “My Daughter the Terrorist,” is believed to be the first time any selected suicide bombers have spoken on film about their training and motivations. In this version for FRONTLINE/World, we see a portion of the full-length feature along with director Arnestad discussing what it was like to make it.

The film introduces Dharshika and Puhalchudar, two 24-year-old women who have been living, training and fighting side-by-side for the past seven years. They are part of the Black Tigers, and are prepared to strap Claymore mines to their chests and blow up themselves and anyone within 100 feet of them to benefit their cause.

“When we have no bullets left and can’t do anything, we have our cyanide capsules,” Dharshika said, revealing the small glass cylinder filled with cyanide that both she and Puhalchudar wear around their necks.

Gradually, the film shares some of Dharshika’s troubled past, and her personal reasons for fighting with the Tamil Tigers become apparent. She left home and joined the group before she even became a teenager.

“When a child experiences too much sadness, she can’t feel anymore,” her mother Antonia told Arnestad during several emotional interviews during the film. “Not all children are able to accept the suffering,” she said.

For Arnestad, Dharshika’s mother’s story is equally important, describing how protracted and bloody civil wars can fracture and destroy families. Antonia rarely sees her daughter, and often checks through pictures of dead soldiers to see if Dharshika is one of them.

Since the film was completed, Arnestad has not been able to track down Dharshika or her mother. But as of July 2008, she did receive word through an aid worker that he’d seen Dharshika and that she was still alive.

But with the fighting in Sri Lanka intensifying again, Dharshika’s future remains uncertain.

– Matthew Vree

Source :Front Line World

To Watch a Clip>> Here

I was in the sky over Teterboro New Jersey in N5718U, a Piper Cherokee 140, learning to fly with my instructor William Levy. One of the navigational devices in that plane was an automatic direction finder. An ADF is an enhanced AM radio receiver that shows you your bearing relative to the radio tower broadcasting the signal you tune in. These towers are marked on your chart. With a little mental jiu-jitsu you can figure out where you are, which is useful to a pilot. As a side benefit you can listen to the radio.

That is how and where Bill and I, two apostate Jews, heard the news bulletin on WABC Radio 660 that Israel had been attacked.

you not behind plow,

you will never get rich

you son-of-a-bitch

you are in the army now

The economic crisis could help the military recruit and retain troops, Pentagon officials said Friday, potentially ending years of extraordinary bonuses and waivers that have become necessary to keep enough troops to fight two wars.

"We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society," said David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "That is a situation where more are willing to give us a chance. I think that's the big difference — people willing to listen to us."

Chu said all the services met their recruiting goals for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The active Army recruited 80,517; the Marines signed up 37,991; and the Air Force and Navy signed up 66,333. All the branches met their re-enlistment goal except the Air Force, which fell just short of its goal, Chu said.

The U.S. military spent $750 million of its $115 billion personnel budget on bonuses in the past year, he said. The Army currently offers an $18,000 signing bonus, which it gives recruits who come from households earning a median income of $48,616.

In addition, the Army and Marines aggressively encourage troops to re-enlist, for a bonus of as much as $40,000. In Iraq and Afghanistan, most large bases include at least one recruiter who pitches troops at the mess hall, as they prepare to leave base for a mission and at their bunks. If they sign up overseas, they can collect their bonuses tax-free.

But retired military officers and others fret that the Pentagon has let standards fall too far, allowing more high school dropouts and convicted felons to sign up, particularly in the Army.

Something for the poor to look forward.....vist beautiful exotic palces, meet new people, then kill them.

Seven years after the Bush administration launched “Operation Enduring Freedom” with the relentless bombing of Afghanistan, US intelligence agencies have concluded that the situation in the devastated country is on “a downward spiral,” and that prospects are poor for stabilizing the US-backed government and militarily defeating the growing armed resistance.

These are the conclusions drawn by a classified draft National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that is in the final stages of preparation, according to US officials cited Wednesday in the New York Times.

According to the Times account, the report, which represents the consensus view of 16 separate US intelligence agencies, concludes that “the breakdown in central authority in Afghanistan has been accelerated by rampant corruption within the government of President Hamid Karzai and by an increase in violence by militants who have launched increasingly sophisticated attacks from havens in Pakistan.”

The report, which essentially warns that Washington is in danger of losing its war in Afghanistan, is not to be released in final form until after the US November elections.

While the US and its NATO allies have beefed up their occupation forces by some 20,000 troops over the last 18 months, the same period has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of armed attacks carried out by Afghan resistance fighters, whose ranks have been swelled by civilians seeking revenge for the deaths of relatives killed in stepped-up American air strikes and house-to-house raids.

On Tuesday, villagers in the southern province of Helmand reported that a US air strike claimed the lives of 40 civilians. In one demolished house, a couple and their eight children perished. The villagers reported that there were no Taliban fighters in the area when the bombs struck.

“There are confirmed reports of civilian casualties; however, it is unknown at this time how many,” a terse statement from the US-led occupation forces read.

The Pentagon found itself compelled to acknowledge on Wednesday that it indeed slaughtered dozens of civilians—most of them children—in an August 22 air strike on the village of Azizabad in Afghanistan’s western Herat province. The US military, which initially denied that any civilians had been killed, now admits to killing 33 unarmed men, women and children along with 22 “anti-coalition militants.” Afghan officials have continued to insist that 90 civilians—the majority of them women and children—died in the attack.

Hostility to the US puppet regime headed by Karzai has grown as the country’s economy has continued to deteriorate. Most recent figures put the national unemployment rate at 40 percent, and it is estimated that nearly half the population are unable to get enough food to meet minimal nutritional requirements.

According to US estimates, government forces control less than a third of the country, and many believe that to be an overestimate. Meanwhile, the Taliban and other forces opposing the US-led occupation have established control over increasingly large swaths of the country, installing their own mayors, courts and police forces.

At the same time, official corruption is rampant. As the NIE confirms, the heroin trade accounts for fully half of the country’s gross domestic product.

NATO officials announced this week that they had reached an agreement with the Afghan regime to use the foreign occupation forces to suppress the drug trade, which according to Pentagon estimates earns $60 million a year for the Taliban. Germany, Spain and other NATO countries have opposed such a move, believing that it will only stir up further popular opposition to the occupation.

The problem is compounded by the fact that government officials are probably making considerably more from narcotics trafficking. Last week, the New York Times published an article citing multiple official sources linking the Afghan president’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, to heroin trafficking.

The paper cited American narcotics investigators who reported that “senior officials at the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] and the office of the Director of National Intelligence complained to them that the White House favored a hands-off approach toward Ahmed Wali Karzai because of the political delicacy of the matter.”

The dismal assessment drafted by the US intelligence agency found confirmation from senior military commanders this week.

Admiral Michael Mullens, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters Thursday that the situation in Afghanistan has been headed in “the wrong direction” for the last two years.

“The trends across the board are not going in the right direction,” Mullen said. “It will be tougher next year unless we get at all these challenges.”

Also on Thursday, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, told the French news agency AFP that “ultimately the solution here in this country will be a political solution, not a military one.”

The intelligence estimate from Washington and the statements from the US commanders echo recent assessments provided by a British military commander and the British ambassador in Afghanistan.

Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the outgoing commander of British forces in Afghanistan, told the press last weekend, “We’re not going to win this war,” and that the best that could be hoped for was “reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat.”

Meanwhile, the French publication Le Canard enchaîné quoted a memo recording a discussion between the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, and a French official last month in which Cowper-Coles insisted that the US-NATO military presence in the country “is part of the problem, not the solution.”

According to the document, the British ambassador described a corrupt and bankrupt Afghan regime that survived only thanks to the foreign occupation forces. The only way out of the crisis, he affirmed, was by replacing Karzai’s regime with an “acceptable dictator.”

British officials have apparently concluded that the US-initiated war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and American military commanders, their forces stretched to the breaking point by the deployment of 152,000 troops in the occupation of Iraq together with the 33,000 in Afghanistan itself, appear largely in agreement.

There is no indication, however, that Washington is about to concede defeat in this seven-year-old war. Justified as a retaliation for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the war is part of a drive to establish US hegemony over the oil-rich regions of Central Asia that were opened up in the wake of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. This remains a key strategic objective of the American ruling elite.

According to a report in the Washington Post Thursday, the Bush administration has responded to the NIE by ordering a major reassessment of US strategy and tactics in Afghanistan, an initiative that may well lead to a substantial escalation of the US intervention there.

According to the Post, given the upcoming election and the subsequent change in administrations, “senior officials have expressed worry that the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan is so tenuous that it may fall apart while a new set of US policymakers settles in.”

Under consideration is a significant increase in the number of troops as well as stepped-up intervention into western Pakistan, where already, as the Post points out, “Military Special Operations forces and operatives [are] now conducting regular secret incursions.”

The Post notes that an escalation of the dirty colonial war being waged by American forces in Afghanistan would enjoy bipartisan support.

“Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are unlikely to question a major new US commitment; both have called for an increase in US troops,” the Post writes. “And unlike Iraq, where lawmakers have argued for years over funding and troop levels, there is bipartisan backing for doing more, and doing it quickly, in Afghanistan.”

In short, the November election will provide no means for the American people to express their overwhelming hostility to the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead, it appears increasingly likely that an escalation prepared by the Bush administration on the eve of the vote will be continued by the next administration, no matter whether Obama or McCain is victorious at the polls.

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Children fill water containers in a former Baghdad army base, now a slum. Cholera has infected many supplies

A deadly outbreak of cholera in Iraq is being blamed on a scandal involving corrupt officials who failed to sterilise the local drinking water because they were bribed to buy chlorine from Iran that was long past its expiration date.

The centre of the epidemic is in Babil province, south of Baghdad, in the marshy lands east of the Euphrates river, not far from the ruins of ancient Babylon. In Baghdad, where half the six million population has no access to clean drinking water, people are now drinking only bottled or boiled water.

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has appointed a commission of inquiry to find out why ineffective chlorine was being used. He is also refusing to release three officials under arrest despite demands from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) to which they are linked. In the town of al-Madhatiya, in southern Babil, a councilor involved in buying the chlorine was reportedly released after militiamen connected to ISCI intimidated police into freeing him.

The scandal over the contract is becoming a test case of the Maliki government's willingness to tackle the pervasive corruption in Iraq where officials see their jobs primarily as a way of enriching themselves through bribes. It is also a test of his ability to exercise central control over ISCI and parties which have been hitherto dominant outside Baghdad.

Cholera is endemic in Iraq but last year there was an epidemic in northern Iraq which was far more serious than anything seen for years. Some 4,700 people, mostly in Sulaimaniyah province, were struck.

This year, the government hoped to stop another outbreak of the disease by repairing shattered water and sanitation stations and putting chlorine in the water supply. An Iraqi government official, who did not want his name published, said the Health Ministry bought $11m (£6.4m) worth of chlorine from Iran for use in the provinces of Babil, Diwaniyah and Kerbala, all on the Euphrates river south of Baghdad.

In the latter two provinces, officials noticed that the chlorine was old and the time during which it could be employed effectively had expired, and refused to use it. But in Babil the chlorine was put in the fresh water supply stations at al-Madhatiyah, al-Hashimiyah and al-Qasim, south-east of the provincial capital, al-Hillah. Soon 222 people were confirmed as having cholera in Babil, in a total of 420 cases of whom seven have died.

The scandal is a reflection of the the way Iraqi politics works. The ruling parties monopolise jobs and contracts. It is impossible to find work at any level in most ministries without a letter of commendation from one of the parties in the government. The enormous Iraqi government apparatus, employing some two million people, is a patronage machine. There are now more state officials than under Saddam, but it is unable to supply electricity, food rations and clean water, despite Iraq's $80bn in accumulated oil revenues.

The power base of ISCI, the most powerful Shia religious party, is the Shia provinces of southern Iraq between Baghdad and Basra. Political parties are expected to protect their members from arrest. This explains what happened next. The officials arrested in Babil belonged to the Badr Organisation, the militia wing of ISCI. Leaders of the party demanded their release but Mr Maliki refused. Badr militants then turned up at a police station in al-Madhatiya and forced the police to release a councilor apparently involved in purchasing the chlorine.

But the grand Shia coalition which won more than half the seats in the Iraqi parliament in the last election in December 2005 has broken up. Mr Maliki is trying to build up his own Dawa party, using the resources of the state.

He has deepening differences with ISCI which won most of the southern Iraqi provinces. They accuse him of trying to create a power base in what was previously their territory by paying the tribes who belong to government-sponsored "support councils" in southern Iraq. His aim is to get his own candidates elected in the provincial and parliamentary elections next year. "These will be crucial in deciding who will hold power in Iraq in future," said one senior Iraqi official.

Control of oil revenues gives Mr Maliki a crucial card. Iraq has 50 to 60 per cent unemployment and most jobs are with the state. Salaries of state employees have risen sharply. But the government remains largely dysfunctional aside from its growing military strength. Iraqi journalists are encouraged and paid to write "good news" stories. In Baghdad, people notice there is little mention of the cholera in the media. This provokes fear that the epidemic may be worse than the government admits.

After the invasion: Services in Iraq

* Before the war, Baghdad had electricity between 16 and 24 hours a day. This has dropped to just under 12.

* There was no national mobile phone network, now there are at least 12 million subscribers.

* In April 2007 there were 261,000 internet subscribers. Before the war this number was estimated as 4,500.

* Of the 34,000 doctors registered in pre-war Iraq, 20,000 fled, 2,000 have been killed and 250 kidnapped.

* Registered cars more than doubled, to 3.1 million by October 2005.

Source: The Brookings Institution

Source

	Spokesman says he is yet to get information on the incident

A member of the eastern provincial council, R Thurairatnam told BBC Sandeshaya that his party is to make official complaints to the police and to Chief Minister regarding the incident.

Bodies of Kannasamy Kuhadas, 18, and A gunaseelan, 26, were found washed ashore on 04 October in Palamunai, Batticaloa.

'Arrested' on 02 october

The relatives have told the Tamil Democratic National Alliance (TDNA) councillor that the two were arrested by the police on 02 October at a cordon and search operation at Valampurai Traders in Batticaloa.

The TDNA is consisted of EPRLF (Padnanabha Wing), PLOTE and TULF Tamil parties that support President Rajapaksa's government.

When the relatives went to the police on 04 October, Mr. Thurairatnam said, they were told that the two arrested were already released.

Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara told BBC Sandeshaya that he was not aware of the incident though he knew about the two bodies washed ashore in Batticaloa.

SSP Gunasekara promised to investigate and respond on Saturday.

Source : BBC_sandeshaya

World Bank meeting dates and details

The 2008 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be held over the weekend of October 11-13 at the World Bank and IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In recent years, the Annual Meetings have been preceded by meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the Development Committee (DC), the Group of Ten, the Group of Twenty-Four, and various other groups of members. At the conclusion of their meetings, the IMFC and the Development Committee, as well as several other groups, issue communiqués. These documents are public and posted on the World Bank and IMF's websites.

As in previous years, the Civil Society Policy Forum, a program of policy dialogues for civil society organizations (CSOs) will be organized alongside the Annual Meetings. The Civil Society Policy Forum will be held from October 9 – 13, 2008. Information about discussions being planned for the Forum is available here and will be updated frequently as we near the date of the Meetings.

Source

The Weekend and Beyond

Here are some travel tips for this weekend and the rest of the month.

IMF/World Bank Meeting

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank will hold their annual meetings this weekend in the District. Beginning at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday through the completion of the meetings on Monday the following streets will be closed:

• 18th Street between G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 19th Street between G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 20th Street between G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• The south curb lane of Pennsylvania Avenue between 18th and 20th Streets, NW
• G Street between 17th and 20th Streets, NW
• H Street between 18th and 21st Streets, NW

Only pedestrians with business in the area and proper identification will be allowed access to the following locations:

• 600, 700 and 800 blocks of 18th, 19th and 20th Streets, NW
• 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2000 blocks of G Street, NW
• 1900 block of H Street, NW

Metro Track Work
Metro is working on the Red and Orange lines this weekend, which could add 20 to 25 minutes to travel times through the construction zones. On the Red Line, trains are sharing a track between Takoma and Silver Spring from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday while crews stabilize the other track and smooth out rail surfaces.

On the Orange Line, trains will share a track between Vienna and West Falls Church from Friday night until 10 a.m. Sunday Oct. 12 while crews replace crossties. Every other train in the direction of Vienna will end its run at the West Falls Church and head back toward New Carrollton, to enhance service along the most heavily used part of the line.

14th Street Signals
The District put two new traffic signals at the intersection of 14th and Shepherd streets and 14th and Taylor streets NW. Both are set to flash now, but they are scheduled to go into full operation on Tuesday. The District Department of Transportation said it installed the signals to address community concerns about safety at the intersections.

But the two signals will work a bit differently because of different conditions. The one at 14th and Taylor will automatically cycle between those two streets every 100 seconds. At 14th and Shepherd, the signal will remain green for 14th Street until a vehicle or pedestrian on Shepherd wants to cross. The intersection has vehicle sensors on Shepherd Street and pedestrian push buttons on all corners.

Rock Creek Park Closures
On Oct. 20, maintenance workers are scheduled to clean catch basins and remove trees on Beach Drive, which will be closed between Joyce Road and Broad Branch Road NW from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

On Oct. 21, similar work will be done on Bingham Drive, which will be closed between Oregon Avenue and Beach Drive NW from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Laytonsville Road Work
The Maryland State Highway Administration is starting a $490,000 safety improvement project along Olney-Laytonsville Road at Fieldcrest Road, which should be done in late November.

Workers will widen the westbound roadway to create a bypass lane, reducing congestion by allowing traffic to safely bypass turning vehicles. They also will restripe the westbound roadway at Stanbrook Lane to make a new left turn lane. But in the meantime, watch for single lane closures between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays.

Tysons Metrorail Project
Road work and utility line relocation is continuing along Route 7 between the Dulles Toll Road and Route 123, with increased activity near Westwood Center Drive and Tyco Road. The service road in front of the former Moore Cadillac dealership will be closed. Drivers trying to reach the nearby hotel and neighborhood should use Westwood Center Drive and then turn right onto Sheraton Tysons Drive.

New Paving in Prince William
Motorists in Prince William County might soon notice a quieter, drier stretch of road on the Route 234 bypass. The Virginia Department of Transportation is testing a new road material on the Route 234 bypass that absorbs road noise while increasing drainage capacities.

The new material, called Porous Friction Course, lets air and water seep down from the road surface away from the tires, which should reduce hydroplaning, tire pavement noise, and splashing.

In late August, a 1.7-mile stretch of the bypass between Balls Ford Road and Sudley Manor Drive was paved with the new stuff, and researchers will test the surface over the next few months. This section was picked because it had the right traffic volumes, travel speeds and existing pavement conditions. If the results look good, VDOT could use the material on other roadways, including Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway.

Source

Headquarters

International Monetary Fund,

700 19th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20431

Source

Headquarters

The World Bank

1818 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20433 USA

Source

Should we all be a bit suspicious well maybe.

A draft report by American intelligence agencies concludes that Afghanistan is in a “downward spiral” and casts serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban’s influence there, according to American officials familiar with the document.

...

The report, a nearly completed version of a National Intelligence Estimate, is set to be finished after the November elections and will be the most comprehensive American assessment in years on the situation in Afghanistan. Its conclusions represent a harsh verdict on decision-making in the Bush administration, which in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks made Afghanistan the central focus of a global campaign against terrorism.

Is the U.S. in such a mess in the conflict with terrorist networks? Well, aside from a serious lack of competence, the U.S. has been using all the wrong methods. Via Jeff Huber:

How Terrorist Groups End, a recent Rand Corporation report authored by Seth G. Jones and Martin C. Libicki, studied 648 groups that existed between 1968 and 2006 and analyzed how their terror activities terminated.  Only seven percent desisted because of military force applied against them.  83 percent of the success against terror organizations came from policing and political actions.  "Against most terror groups," the report states, "military force is usually too blunt an instrument."  It notes that "even precision weapons have been of limited use against terrorist groups," and that the "use of substantial U.S. military power against terrorist groups also runs a significant risk of turning the local population against the government by killing civilians."

...

"Our analysis suggests that there is no battlefield solution to terrorism," Jones and Libicki write.  They also admonish that "Military force usually has the opposite effect from what is intended: It is often over-used, alienates the local population by its heavy-handed nature, and provides a window of opportunity for terrorist-group recruitment."

A recent article in Scientific American Mind reinforces this same point:

The psychological rationale of war is to bring the enemy to its knees and to convince it and its support base that terrorism is counterproductive. And yet experience in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ireland, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip suggests that the use of military force does little to “prove” the inefficacy of terrorism. Military strikes against terrorist targets may temporarily interfere with terrorists’ ability to launch their operations, but they do not generally lessen the motivation to engage in violence—and may even boost it as a result of the enmity that foreign occupation typically engenders and of the injustice and excesses of war.

Unfortunately, though:

Both major presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, have called for American troop increases in Afghanistan even beyond those the White House has ordered. [NYT]

Good to know we're learning our lessons.  Right.

As I've noted before, despite the historic nature of this year's presidential candidate slate, there is no anti-war candidate, and with the war du jour impinging dangerously on the precarious balance between India and Pakistan, it remains to be seen whether the progressive candidate will be a "less war" candidate.   Senator Obama's early and consistent critique of the Iraq war failed to go deep enough to challenge the basic premises on which the War on Terror (tm) was based. The overarching frame of War remains firmly in place. Until this frame is set aside, even should the Democrats take the White House, Senator Obama and his congressional allies will be hamstrung in any attempts to roll back the worst excesses of the Bush Administration. The Scientific American Mind article makes the point eloquently:

President George W. Bush adopted the war construct immediately. On the morning of September 12, 2001, after a meeting of the National Security Council, the president told reporters: “The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war.”

The war metaphor helps to define the American perception of the threat of terrorism. If terrorism is war, then the national security, indeed the existence, of each side is threatened. The conflict is zero-sum; the outcome will be victory for one side or the other. Being in a state of war also requires national unity, and dissent is easily interpreted as unpatriotic. The solution has to be military. Thus, the Department of Defense must play a lead role in shaping policy, and the president’s duties as commander in chief must take precedence over his other tasks. An expansion of executive power accompanies the war metaphor: measures that would not be acceptable in peacetime, such as restrictions on civil liberties and brutal interrogation practices, are now considered essential.

Thus, as long as the narrative of War remains in place, militarists and political regressives will retain political and rhetorical leverage to keep the most onerous facets of the Bush legacy in place: accelerated military deployments abroad and draconian rights violations at home. Constituents of politicians will continue to clamor for these things for as long as the theme persists in the national dialogue that the United States "is at war with terrorists."

But even more troubling from a Christian perspective is the pernicious effect that the War frame has on the way we look at others:

The war concept also deafens ears to the underlying troubles of the terrorists—the frustrations and grievances that may have fostered terrorism, as well as the belief systems that lent it ideological sustenance. Meanwhile the metaphor encourages stereotyping and discrimination against members of the broad social categories to which terrorists may belong, such as Muslims, Saudi Arabians or Middle Easterners. [SAM]

In other words, the War frame severely compromises our ability to love our enemies. And because this is the case, we narrow our thinking on the conflict in a way that prevents us from ever taking truly expedient or faithfully Christian actions.  While certainly not an advocate for Christian nonviolence, Registan.net puts it well:

While losing 280 soldiers is indeed tragic, many thousand [Afghan] civilians have died this year—and a not-insignificant number of those have been at U.S. or ISAF hands. ...[For] far too many Big Thinkers in DC, it’s all about us—and not them. The “them” is the critical missing piece of the fight, and until we start to learn how we can help “them,” we won’t win.

Those of us who give our loyalty to Christ already have a pretty solid blueprint about how to combat evil while drawing our enemies to us in love (and yes, it really is that simple and that difficult). I've written before about the political dynamics that render al-Qaida vulnerable to nonviolent interference and resistance.  If we really want to "win" in Afghanistan, Christians should understand that "victory" will come through Afghan models of programs like Direct Aid Iraq, not bombs and not-so-smart bombs. Until we do a better job confronting and discrediting the War frame for the conflict with terrorist groups, though, these measures would face near-insurmountable opposition as policy proposals.

In fact, until the War frame is consigned to the trash bin, those of us who practice Christian love and nonviolence will continue to be considered the real terrorists.

First, why did we attack Iraq in the first place?  Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack on the US, al Qaeda, and the Taliban are based in Afghanistan.  That is where we needed to be all along.  These are the enemies that should be avenged and obliterated.  I realize Saddam Hussein was a horrible tyrant, but he never directly attacked us and no WMD's were found in Iraq.  Secondly, why are we still there?  Is it America's job to be the world's police force?  

McCain stated in the first presidential debate that we are "winning the war."  What war?  All that is happening now is fighting between religious factions and Americans are getting in the way.  McCain also wants us to stay in Iraq because to leave now would be to admit defeat.  Defeat?  How can we be defeated in non-war skirmishes amongst religious factions wherein Americans are simply getting in the way?  Leaving Iraq is not defeat, but giving Iraqis freedom to do what they want.

Obama feels that we should phase out the troops which would have everyone out by summer 2010 with the exception of task force to help work on the "humanitarian crisis" of five million Iraqis who are refugees in their own country.  He feels America has a moral obligation and a responsibility to help the Iraqis.

Here's my humble opinion:

The Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds want to fight amongst themselves?  Let them.  They are going to anyway whether American military forces or a "humanitarian task force" are there or not.  Why continue to risk the lives of Americans in a battle that is destined to happen?  Pull out.  Completely.  Stop being the world's police force or diplomatic facilitator.  Do you honestly think if America was having similar problems other countries would come to our rescue?  Bullshit.  Maybe England or Israel to some extent, but anyone else?  Bitch, please.  Each country should take care of itself.  Moral obligation?  How about the moral obligation to take care of the poor, starving victims in our own counry?  We have enough of our own problems to waste time on everyone elses'.

These are just my thoughts.  Feel free to agree or disagree; I shan't be offended!

Charities' fear over failed banks

UK charities say they fear they have lost up to £120 million of funds invested in collapsed Icelandic banks.

UK charities fear they may have lost up to £120m of funds invested in failed Icelandic banks.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations says at least 60 members have reported funds may be at risk.

The NCVO has met ministers, who are promising to do all they can to protect an estimated £1bn held by charities, UK councils and other bodies in Iceland.

A Treasury delegation is in Reykjavik and the UK and Iceland say they will now work together for a solution.

The group includes officials from the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority.

'Disconcerting remarks'

The crisis sparked a war of words between London and Reykjavik on Thursday, with Gordon Brown criticising the Icelandic authorities for failing to guarantee UK depositors would get their money back.

Under Iceland's financial regulations, the government is supposed to pay up to £16,000 compensation per account at a total cost of £2.2bn.

A spokesman for Mr Brown said the UK now hoped to work "constructively and co-operatively" with the Icelandic authorities.

Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde had accused the UK of being responsible for the collapse of the country's third largest bank, Kaupthing, after anti-terrorism laws were used to freeze assets in the UK.  (Like Iceland is a terrorist.)

Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde said he had received a letter from Gordon Brown

On Friday, Mr Haarde confirmed both countries were working together but said Mr Brown's comments had been "disconcerting" and "not very helpful".

Meanwhile, the UK government has denied claims of "complacency" after it apparently ignored warnings in July about Icelandic banks facing collapse.

Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott and Tory MP Michael Fallon both raised the issue with ministers on separate occasions.

They were reassured savers would be protected by law.

A Treasury spokesman said: "As the minister made clear at the time, the Icelandic authorities have a legal obligation to pay out depositors under their existing compensation scheme and we expect them to honour this commitment."

He added it was not the role of the UK government to advise UK residents and citizens of financial institutions around the world, and few people had anticipated the current situation.

Chancellor Alistair Darling, who is in Washington for meetings with other G7 finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund, told the BBC that simply "talking" would not lead to a solution.

'Uncertain position'

Meanwhile, as details of charity deposits emerged, a cancer hospital in Manchester has announced it was the latest victim of the Icelandic bank collapse.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, based in Withington is facing losses of £7.5m after depositing the funds with Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander. Up to £6.5m was charity money.

The Cats Protection League said it also had £11.2m deposited in a UK bank owned by the collapsed Kaupthing.
NCVO said City Minister Paul Myners had given no guarantees during their meeting that such assets would be secure, although he was "reassuring".

Chief executive Stuart Etherington said: "He was saying the government would do all it can to ensure the assets of these charities are reunited with them. He was very positive about that.

"What's important is the charities which have been affected by this come forward. If we're going to secure adequate compensation for them, with the strength of the UK government, it's important they come forward."

Some NCVO members which provide services for councils fear they will not be paid if town halls lose money in the crisis.

Most of the charities which have investments in troubled Icelandic banks have not yet been named, but they are thought to include major organisations.

Other charities known to be affected include Naomi House children's hospice in Sutton Scotney, near Winchester, which has £5.7m of deposits invested with KSF

The Physiological Society in London has £523,000 invested with the same bank, and Samaritans has links to KSF because it is the parent company of Investment Managers, which looks after the charity's investment portfolio.

Graham McGeown, of the Physiological Society, said: "This is a difficult time for our organisation. We have £523k tied up in KSF and are not entirely sure if we will get this money back.

"With NCVO we are calling on the government to help protect our money as well as other organisations who may also be involved in the banking crisis." Under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, charities classified as small businesses are covered for the first £50,000 of any investments.

But it is not clear whether they would benefit from the wider guarantee given to individual savers by the chancellor that they would recover all of their money.

The NCVO's head of campaigns and communications, Louis High, said many of its members were also concerned about local authorities' ability to pay for services.

He said: "For many smaller organisations that rely on this money and have tight financial constraints, non-payment for their work could be disastrous or even spell their death knell."

The organisation has called a sector-wide summit to examine the potential impact of a recession and what can be done to protect charities from financial disaster.

UK 'ignored Iceland warning'

The government has been accused of "complacency" after it apparently ignored warnings in July about Icelandic banks facing collapse.

Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott and Tory MP Michael Fallon both raised the issue with ministers on separate occasions.

They were reassured savers would be protected by law.

The Treasury said it was not the government's role to advise savers and ministers had stressed Iceland had a legal obligation to pay compensation.

Lord Oakeshott said: "Alarm bells were ringing all over about the Icelandic banks and the Treasury must have been blind and deaf not to hear them."

But a Treasury spokesman said: "As the minister made clear at the time, the Icelandic authorities have a legal obligation to pay out depositors under their existing compensation scheme and we expect them to honour this commitment."

He said a government delegation was now in Iceland to find a solution to the current situation.

"This is part of the action the Treasury is taking action to ensure the interests of all retail depositors are safeguarded and that legal obligations to UK creditors are honoured."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown reacted with anger on Thursday after the Icelandic government refused to guarantee the deposits of UK citizens with money in three of its biggest banks, following their collapse.

Crisis talks

Under Iceland's financial regulations, the government is supposed to pay up to £16,000 compensation per account at a total cost of £2.2bn.

Mr Brown is angry as the UK has received no assurances from the Icelandic government that they will meet this commitment. Treasury officials have travelled to Iceland for crisis talks on repayment.

Lord Oakeshott, a pension fund manager and former director of Warburg Investment Management, raised the alarm about possible shortfalls in the compensation funds - and the danger of an Icelandic bank collapse - in written questions more than two months ago.

In the first question, he asked how much cash was in the Icelandic compensation fund and if Britain would be left to pick up the bill if there was a shortfall.

He was told by Treasury minister Lord Davies that the liabilities of the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme would be limited to "topping-up" funds provided by the country in which the bank is based.

In a second question, he asked: "What steps [have] the United Kingdom financial authorities taken to satisfy themselves, independently of the Icelandic financial authorities, of the solvency and stability of Icelandic banks taking deposits in the United Kingdom and of that of the Icelandic Deposit Guarantees and Investor-Compensation Scheme behind which the United Kingdom Financial Services Compensation Scheme stands as guarantor of last resort?"

Lord Davies, for the government, replied that there was no concern about the liquidity or capital base of Icelandic banks operating in the UK: "All UK-incorporated subsidiaries of Icelandic banks regulated by the Financial Services Authority continue to meet threshold conditions."

Some banks had been allowed to open branches in the UK through a process known as "passporting," which meant they were not regulated by the FSA, explained Lord Davies.

But he added: "The FSA has a regular dialogue with overseas regulators and firms where the firms passport into the UK, to share information about the firms and specifically their UK operations."

'Sky high rates'

He also assured UK citizens with money in Icelandic banks that they would be "protected against any losses in a similar way as if their savings were in a British bank".

On Monday, Lord Oakeshott again quizzed Lord Davies about how much money was in the Icelandic compensation fund and what would happen if it "cannot or will not pay out".

He told peers: "If my cash were in an Icelandic bank I would be very worried indeed: the currency has collapsed, interest rates are sky high and bank liabilities are hundreds of thousands of pounds for each Icelandic citizen. Would the minister be happy if his savings were in an Icelandic bank?"

In contrast to the lengthy and detailed reply he had given in July, Lord Davies said he had not been "fully briefed" on the situation in Iceland.

"It is not for me at the dispatch box to judge whether it is safe to invest in Icelandic banks," he told peers.

"However, the safeguarding of their position will depend on co-ordinated action in which this country must play a leading role."

Speaking earlier on Friday, Lord Oakeshott accused the government and the FSA of ignoring the growing warnings from the City about the position of Icelandic banks, one of which, Icesave, had deposits that were almost the equivalent of Iceland's entire GDP.

"I asked these various, very hard questions and I got a very complacent answer back from the treasury minister, he told the BBC News Channel, adding he had been alerted to problems in Iceland by credit rating agencies, which had downgraded the country's banks.

"The Financial Services Authority is responsible for the security of British savers' money. They should not have trusted the Icelandic banks to look after £5bn of their money," he added.

Minister grilled

The peer said that together with Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, he had put his concerns about the Icelandic banks to the new head of the FSA, Lord Turner, in an hour long meeting on Tuesday, adding Lord Turner had been "very receptive".

Concerns were also raised in July by the Conservative deputy chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Michael Fallon, who asked junior Treasury minister Kitty Ussher how much money was in the compensation fund, after press reports there was a shortfall.

Ms Ussher told him: "I do not have figures for the Icelandic compensation scheme."

Mr Fallon then asked if she was satisfied that British investors in Icelandic banks are fully guaranteed in the event of a bank collapse.

Ms Ussher replied: "I am satisfied that the law exists to guarantee them, yes."

Mr Fallon: "You are satisfied that the law exists to guarantee them?"

Ms Ussher: "Yes, under a combination of European and British law."

Mr Fallon: "So they will get all their money back?"

Ms Ussher: "That is the legal situation."

Darling calls for action from G7

Britain v Iceland

Iceland's banks dominate papers

]]> http://vindicus.wordpress.com/?p=11 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:23:03 +0000 vindicus http://vindicus.ca.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/cause-and-effect/         Of course, the financial/economic crisis now afflicting America and various other nations was triggered by rampaging greed. One, however, cannot blame the big shots in the banking system and Wall Street without also blaming the little shots. Nearly everyone in America and countless folks elsewhere are at fault. That is because all of them are true believers in the most insidious sociopolitical system ever devised on this world—Americanism, which promotes the deeply flawed financial-economic system that serves as the engine of consumerist-driven commercialism. Americanism is insidious because it pretends to be wonderful. Yet it is pure, unrepentant evil run amok. It asks everyone to devote themselves to the Cult of Individualism and worship in the Temple of the Unholy Trinity of Me, Myself, and I. Nevertheless, America’s financial-economic system is based on the follies of easy credit sustaining perpetual debt—public, corporate, and private. And so, as Americanism talks loudly about freedom, it endeavors to turn everyone everywhere into debt-slaves. The only way that Americanism’s insanity can possibly be maintained is for its true believers to continue raping and pillaging the Earth’s beauty for the sake of pride, vanity, greed, and stupidity. Never mind that doing so would soon wreck our world beyond repair if it were allowed to continue.

         The governments of America and her associates and colleagues are in the process of using most of their financial/economic ammunition to win the battle at hand. If they prevail, their triumph will prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. More battles are coming. America and her associates and colleagues will end up being helpless to the tides of history. A depression is coming that will trample their financial-economic integrity. That will lead to sociopolitical and socioeconomic upheavals throughout our world, but particularly in America, which will suffer horrendous political turmoil and civil strife. Meanwhile, in one or another way, her foolishness will instigate World War III. During such, Russia and China will band together with their friends and allies to kill America. Her day of reckoning will occur in her 237^th year. [Beware of the ides

of April 2014, America.] By the end of 2017, she will become a vast corpse rotting in the winds and rains of history. God will never allow her to rise from her ashes and rubble. She will, however, become an object lesson similar to Sodom and Gomorrah.

 [For a more detailed account of what lies ahead, consult The Apocalypse of Jeremiah and Other Revelation by James Trusty, which is available as a free download at www.sphyrex.com and as a paperback at www.lulu.com & www.wordclay.com. Also, consult the messages of the Yahoo webgroup Nexusinfinitas.]

Cadman bribe tape wasn't doctored: Expert

Ted Colley ,  Canwest News Service

October 10, 2008

SURREY, B.C. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's own audio expert says a tape providing key evidence about an alleged bribe was not doctored as Harper has claimed.

Author Tom Zytaruk asked the prime minister on tape about an alleged attempt by Conservative officials to bribe Independent MP Chuck Cadman.

In 2005, Cadman told his wife, Dona Cadman, that two Conservative representatives had offered him a $1-million life insurance policy in exchange for his vote in a confidence motion aimed at bringing down the Liberal government.

Cadman was terminally ill at the time and died just two months later.

The interview, in which Harper speaks of an offer to Cadman "to replace financial considerations he might lose during an election," has been cited by Liberals in the House of Commons and on articles posted on the Liberal party website as evidence that Mr. Harper knew of an alleged attempt to bribe Cadman in May 2005, in exchange for his vote in the Commons to topple the Liberal government of the day. Harper, who denies knowing any such thing, is suing the Liberals for $3.5-million.

Two audio experts hired earlier by Harper said the tape appeared to have been doctored.

An Ontario judge ordered another analysis and Harper tapped former FBI agent Bruce Koenig for the job.

Koenig said the portion of the tape dealing with the insurance policy "contains neither physical nor electronic splices, edits or alterations," according to a report entered in court on Friday.

Last month, Harper was able to persuade the court to put the lawsuit on hold until after the Oct. 14 federal election. Harper also tried to keep Koenig's report out of the court record until the vote had passed, but the Liberals were able to get it on the record Friday.

Zytaruk, who has steadfastly maintained the tape was never altered, said he's happy about the timing.

"I'm glad this came out before the election. I was really looking forward to testifying because it's not pleasant to be accused on a national scale of doing something dishonest, such as doctoring a tape."

Dona Cadman, the Conservative candidate in Surrey North, could not be reached for comment before press time.

Source

Harper, Bush Share Roots in Controversial Philosophy

Close advisers schooled in 'the noble lie' and 'regime change.'

What do close advisors to Stephen Harper and George W. Bush have in common? They reflect the disturbing teachings of Leo Strauss, the German-Jewish émigré who spawned the neoconservative movement.

Strauss, who died in 1973, believed in the inherent inequality of humanity. Most people, he famously taught, are too stupid to make informed decisions about their political affairs. Elite philosophers must decide on affairs of state for us.

In Washington, Straussians exert powerful influence from within the inner circle of the White House. In Canada, they roost, for now, in the so-called Calgary School, guiding Harper in framing his election strategies. What preoccupies Straussians in both places is the question of "regime change."

Strauss defined a regime as a set of governing ideas, institutions and traditions. The neoconservatives in the Bush administration, who secretly conspired to make the invasion of Iraq a certainty, had a precise plan for regime change. They weren't out to merely replace Saddam with an American puppet. They planned to make the system more like the U.S., with an electoral process that can be manipulated by the elites, corporate control over the levers of power and socially conservative values.

Usually regime change is imposed on a country from outside through violent means, such as invasion. On occasion, it occurs within a country through civil war. After the American Civil War, a new regime was imposed on the Deep South by the North, although the old regime was never entirely replaced.

Is regime change possible through the electoral process? It's happening in the U.S., where the neocons are succeeding in transforming the American state from a liberal democracy into a corporatist, theocratic regime. As Canada readies for a federal election, the question must be asked: Are we next?

The 'noble lie'

Strauss believed that allowing citizens to govern themselves will lead, inevitably, to terror and tyranny, as the Weimar Republic succumbed to the Nazis in the 1930s. A ruling elite of political philosophers must make those decisions because it is the only group smart enough. It must resort to deception -- Strauss's "noble lie" -- to protect citizens from themselves. The elite must hide the truth from the public by writing in code. "Using metaphors and cryptic language," philosophers communicated one message for the elite, and another message for "the unsophisticated general population," philosopher Jeet Heer recently wrote in the Globe and Mail. "For Strauss, the art of concealment and secrecy was among the greatest legacies of antiquity."

The recent outing of star New York Times reporter Judith Miller reveals how today's neocons use the media to conceal the truth from the public. For Straussians, telling Americans that Saddam didn't have WMD's and had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, but that we needed to take him out for geopolitical and ideological reasons you can't comprehend, was a non-starter. The people wouldn't get it. Time for a whopper.

Miller was responsible for pushing into the Times the key neocon lie that Saddam was busy stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. This deception helped build support among Americans for the invasion of Iraq. Miller was no independent journalist seeking the truth nor a victim of neocon duplicity, as she claimed. She worked closely with Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff and responsible for coordinating Iraq intelligence and communication strategy. Libby is a Straussian who studied under Paul Wolfowitz, now head of the World Bank, and before that, deputy secretary of defense, where he led the 'Invade Iraq" lobby. Wolfowitz studied under Strauss and Allan Bloom, Strauss's most famous student.

Miller cultivated close links to the neocons in the administration and at the American Enterprise Institute, the leading Washington-based neocon think tank. AEI played the key role outside government in fabricating intelligence to make the case for invading Iraq. Straussian Richard Perle, who chaired the Defence Policy Board Advisory Committee until he was kicked off because of a conflict of interest, is a senior fellow at AEI and coordinated its efforts. Miller co-wrote a book on the Middle East with an AEI scholar. Rather than being a victim of government manipulation, Miller was a conduit between the neocons and the American public. As a result of her reporting, many Americans came to believe that Saddam had the weapons. War and regime change followed.

'Regime change' in Canada

As in the U.S., regime change became a Canadian media darling. Before 9-11, the phrase appeared in Canadian newspapers less than ten times a year. It usually referred to changes in leadership of a political party or as part of the phrase "regulatory regime change." Less than a week after 9-11, the phrase began to be used in its Straussian sense, as if a scenario was being choreographed.

From 19 mentions in Canadian newspapers in 2001, regime change soared to 790 mentions in 2002 and 1334 mentions in 2003. With the Iraq invasion accomplished that year, usage tailed off in 2004 (291 mentions) and in 2005 (208 mentions to November 10).

There's one big difference between American and Canadian Straussians. The Americans assumed positions of power and influence in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The Canadians have not had much opportunity to show (or is that hide?) their stuff. That may change with a Harper victory.

Paul Wolfowitz's teacher, Allan Bloom, and another Straussian, Walter Berns, taught at the University of Toronto during the 1970s. They left their teaching posts at Cornell University because they couldn't stomach the student radicalism of the '60s. At Toronto, they influenced an entire generation of political scientists, who fanned out to universities across the country.

Two of their students, Ted Morton and Rainer Knopff, went to the University of Calgary where they specialize in attacki