Sunday, December 31, 2006

Saving the world from ourselves

Many Global Warming discussions hinge upon the aggregate of political decisions of a society which are a result of culture. The culture of the US renders our nation incapable of leading the world in the challenge of Global Warming.

During a recent three and half week trip to Europe concluding an international business seminar in Munich and Paris, we met with business leaders such as the French Ambassador of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, directors from global companies like Siemens, and representatives from various Chambers of Commerce. Afterwards, I volunteered a week at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. Rarely was the topic of Global Warming discussed in terms other than as clearly in the planning agenda of the companies we visited. It was also implied that human causality was a foregone conclusion rather than a reaction to naturally occurring shifts in climate.


In terms of the opinion of regular people you meet on the street, positive and frank discussion welled forth in the pubs and bars throughout Paris, Garmische, Munich, Buckinghamshire, and Oxford. As an American though, they were rather direct in questioning me about my personal responsibility for having a president such as Mr. Bush. Bush is widely considered to be the most dangerous leader the world has faced since Hitler. I found that surprising, but like a frog boiled slowly in a pot of water, I have succumbed to our political state of affairs as the accepted status quo. It never dawned on me that he is viewed that dimly.


During these travels in Europe, I noticed people at bars and pubs find it socially acceptable to discuss issues that are meaningful (read as:religion, politics, the environment, race relations). There is little divide between having a good time and having real conversations. By contrast, at the Fox and Hound, a pub near my home in Atlanta, people may only dip their toes in the waters of meaningful discussion but rarely dive in and challenge one another, aside from drunken posturing and belligerence. Perhaps they want to appear intelligent, engaged or socially responsible. Invariably, once a boundary is passed where real urgency is laid plain, people then go to a "I don't want to think about" "eat, drink, and be merry" attitude.

The fact is that US citizens have NEVER been invaded, except for the Trade Centers. One could argue Mexico invaded. However, we garrisoned Mexico City in the 1840's. We invaded Mexico, not the other way around. Our own citizens perpetrated a similar atrocity, the Oklahoma Federal Building. Yet, one rarely hears any mention of this, so as to keep our anger focused on the Axis of Evil. We at home wring our hands that we lost thousands of people in a terrorist bombing, then we allow our government to spend 4x the money on a war in country that we know has no relation to the bombing, all the while allowing Bin Laden to literally walk out of the canyon where he was surrounded by the CIA's Jawbreaker task force. Then, the US Government tries to gag the author, former CIA member Bernstien.

The old world has been relentlessly bombed, blasted, and tortured throughout many wars over hundreds of years Europe lost millions in ovens, hundreds of thousands in bombings, and thousands to small arms fire. Besides the civil war 150 years ago that was self-inflicted, we simply cannot conceive of this reality.

Only 50 years ago, Europe was a wasteland, decimated population, divided in half with a Iron Curtain, with nukes bristling at the pickets. They truly stared Apocalypse in the eyes and perpetrated the Holocaust. (Photos from Dachau visit) They were forced to make decisions that led to cooperation and coalitions. Add to this the loss of their colonial holdings and warfare across these former colonies, you have a grim social and economic picture. Yet, they prevailed, and their Euro and Pound are now 40% stronger than the dollar over the past 5 years. All the while, the best minds say the dollar will slide even further, perhaps as soon as this January.


Americans have never faced at home the real atrocities which forced modern Europe to find political means to reconcile differences, create social programs, and develop a faculty for thoughtful listening. Instead, we have allowed our attitude to shift to the point where we have become a ruthless society that attacks anything that remotely resembles a threat to the cocktail party we live in. To avoid rocking the boat, we even resign ourselves to sitting apathetically in traffic for 10 hours a week, while at the same time vociferously denying any rail projects to alleviate the snarl and mess. Today, only 5 US cities (Boston, NYC, Philly, DC, Chicago) have extensive rail mass transit today, versus pre-1950's when US most cities had at least an extensive trolley system. During the 1930's we had a national rail network with trains exceeding 100mph. Just try to use Amtrak to go somewhere besides in the North east. The nations largest development ($2.2) of its time, Atlantic Station in Atlanta GA, is along side existing railways, .5 miles from the Amtrak station and the subway lines, yet Atlantic Station HAS NO STATION! That should illustrate how dysfunctional we are.(Rather accurate accounts of Atlanta are here.)

You have no choice but to own a car. The MARTA buses in Atlanta do not adhere to their own schedules. Your employer will fire you if you are late. Yet, Atlanta is the lowest average income earners of the 15 peer cities, where citizens on average can not afford more than $800 per month for a mortgage.

In the US, w let 30 million people go without adequate medical care. We allow people to freeze in the streets. We allow our old to face care systems in the nursing homes that are expensive and downright deadly.


Americans force welfare recipients to work two jobs to pay the rent, provide no day care services, and wonder why children show up at school with handguns, run away from home, or perform on the latest porn site. Single mom's with median jobs say earning $35k per year, must pay around $900 per month for quality childcare. Blame it on your congressman, you say? That person is OUR responsibility and so we are also responsible for thier actions.

We do have more immediate problems that some ice shelf calving in the hinterlands of Canada. Yet, we are doing little to change these pressing issues facing American society, never mind dealing with a far off dooms day possiblity that noone wants to talk about.


We bury our heads in the sand. We subsidize SUV purchases through the Farm Vehicle Tax Credit driving gas guzzling SUV's while providing little incentive to buy hybrid cars and removing electric cars from the market despite strong demand. During a time when we are fighting a war directly related to our dependence on oil, this is completely irrational. Our consumption puts our nation and our soldiers directly at risk. Yet we would rather throw our brothers and sisters into the line of fire rather than give up our Navigators and Escalades.

If driving an SUV is not viewed as unpatriotic to America during a war about oil and energy resources, then how could anyone have a hope that Americans will accept a meaningful dialogue about Global Warming, much less support positive actions to put a halt to the problem? They are happy to see Saddam hang, a man who never directly attacked us, while remaining silent and not outraged that Bin Laden is still out there plotting heavens knows what against us.

On the world political stage, the US is viewed as an adolescent with a good heart, a bad temper, inconsistent foreign policy, and with unlimited access to resources that no adolescent should ever have. The US simply does not have the motivation or capacity to face the issues related to fossil fuel based economics. We are the largest economy. We have the largest military. Moreover, if we ever interrupt our consumption patterns, we will bankrupt entire nations. "Why should we change our ways? We run the show, right? " are the thoughts driving the psyche of our countrymen.

We must look to the Old World countries for leadership is this matter. They have the skills in global trade relations, language, diplomacy, and have had to learn hard lessons about the consequences of reactionary and aggressive forms of conflict resolution. Cowboy diplomacy simply does work.

The good news is that some Americans are actively working on the problem. If you want to know about REAL alternatives to fossil fuels and bio fuels where a close friend three years ago became the first American to drive round trip coast to coast on Hydrogen. He has now created the first quad fuel vehicle, Unleaded, Ethanol, Natural Gas, and Hydrogen. Flip a switch; change the fuel. Change the world. This solves all manner of logistical problems about fuel types, distribution, and vehicle range.

Here is the rub - if Mr. Robinson at Intergalactic Hydrogen can do this in his garage without a college degree, then one has to wonder why the largest corporations in the world are withholding this technology from us, for they also must have developed similar capabilities.

For once, our pride in America may put us in the follower position in the fight to save the world. Now the world may have to intervene to save us from ourselves.



Related links:
China central bank sees risk of US dollar slide on asset sell-off

Taxpayers for Common Sense

American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 Lowers the SUV deduction from $100,000 to $25,000. Yet, $25,000 is $21,500 more than the credit for Hybrid fuel vehicles. Then add to it, the gas guzzler tax was REPEALED in 4Q'05, we clearly could care less about energy Independence and national security, much less being environmentally responsible.

Changes Effective for the Fourth Quarter of 2005 - Gas Guzzler Tax The gas guzzler tax on limousines with a gross unloaded vehicle weight of greater than 6,000 pounds is repealed, effective for sales, uses, or leases by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.

NASA's Earth Observatory

Tropical Storms and Meteorological discussion

The Digital Library for Earth System Education

Sea Level Visualization Tool
Speculative real estate investors click here! ;-)

Global Warming Claims its First Inhabited Tropical Island

Huge Arctic ice shelf breaks away

Hydrogen and Multifuel Vehicles

The Need for Better Scientific Understanding of Sea-Level Change

California Climate Change Portal

San Francisco Climate Action Plan

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Real Perspective

When I feel overwhelmed, I like to take a step back and relfect upon just how truly huge this universe is. In such immensity, fragile life is rare and precious. Yes, there are countless billions of worlds that likely support life that is comparable after a fashion to our own. Yet, the gulfs of space quarantine us and better still give us the room to grow and mature until we can take steps into that infinately expansive community.

In light of this immensity, the banal errands, the pending deadlines, and the capricous whim of people just do not seem so daunting or bothersome, but rather something to appreciate, respect, and uphold.


Luke 18:17 "Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all."

Luke 22:29 "And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me"

The video below (Click here for the full video with music) is a trip from Earth to the outer edges of the known universe and back again. I made this using a database called Starry Night Pro in 1993 while at the beach on Men's Retreat in St. George Island, Fl.

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Friday, November 10, 2006

Trinity and Three Rings




For every action an equal and opposite reaction exists. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. We are the victims of mathematics. It seems that even enlightened self-interest can not thwart the inexorable rhythm that tears us apart.

Yet, without hope things will improve and our inheritors will know a world richer than our own, life is pointless and evolution vastly overrated.

In many religions there is a Triune Symbol. Three rings in Siddhartha Gautama's Buddhist faith dating back to the 5th century BC, there are the three interconnected rings representing the Three Jewels or Triratana as shown here. Literally, the Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.



Christianity has the Holy Trinity representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Judaism has the Star of David, which is actually representative of two trinities, one for the divine existence, and one for our current extistence. "As above, so below."


Kabbalistically, the Star/Shield of David symbolizes the six directions of space plus the center, under the influence of the description of space found in the Sefer Yetsira: Up, Down, East, West, South, North, and Center. Congruently, under the influence of the Zohar, it represents the Six Sefirot of the Male (Zeir Anpin) united with the Seventh Sefirot of the Female (Nekuva).

This was confirmed by Christ's teachings

Beyond cause and effect, there is a third principal wielded by sentient life - the capacity for self-sacrifice - the conscious ability to override evolution and self-preservation for a cause, a friend, or a loved one.

About 12 years ago, Babylon 5's first season hit the air. On the surface, it appeared to be yet another Trekkie-style show. However, the writer must have done some homework on humans and what makes us great. This scene I have borrowed stayed in my mind since 1994. I ran across it recently. A mere 60 seconds, but it's message indelible and lasting in its truth.

Some of the episodes are now available online for free, incredibly enough!









The scene demonstrates what is best about humans, our diversity, our passion, and what ultimately adds palpable quality to every one's lives on this planet, this fragile spaceship we have been entrusted with, Earth.

Vandana Ti-sarana is often recited by both monks and lay people:

  • Buddham saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Buddha
  • Dhammam saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Dharma
  • Sangham saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Sangha

The Mahayana Chinese/Japanese version differs only slightly from the Theravada:

  • 自皈依佛,當願眾生,體解大道,發無上心。
I take refuge in the Buddha, wishing for all sentient beings
to understand the great way and make the greatest vow.

  • 自皈依法,當願眾生,深入經藏,智慧如海。
I take refuge in the Dharma, wishing for all sentient beings
to deeply delve into the Sutra Pitaka, gaining an ocean of knowledge.

  • 自皈依僧,當願眾生,統理大眾,一切無礙。
I take refuge in the Sangha, wishing all sentient beings
to lead the congregation in harmony, entirely without obstruction.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

BioFuel Boom- death knell for Orangutans

Cross posted from BOS UK and their friends saving the Orangutans of Indonesia

They are disappearing at a rate of 5000 per year, representing 10% of the total population.

Sky World News - Orangutans & Palm Oil



The Global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is making great efforts to have the industry demonstrate responsible action. Please encourage your grocer to make sure their products contain oils from GRSPO members.

Here are some of the Palm Oil global commodity brokers and industry constituents. Please encourage them to procure or produce the oil ONLY from plantations that have not been built upon "pristine forest".

Conservation campaigners advise against boycotting Palm Oil. 4.5 million people's livelihoods depend on the market. However, putting a stop to the deforestation would stabilize the Palm Oil market prices, and save the Orangutans, win win.

Univanich Palm Oil Public Company - Thailand producer of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). Company profile and image library, contact and product details.

Sternchemie GmbH & Co. KG - German supplier of palm oil and lecithin specialities from genetically-unmodified sources.


RNJ Alliance Sdn Bhd
- Brokers of refined palm oil products. Malaysia.

PT Intiboga Sejahtera - Major Indonesian producer of palm oil cooking oils, margarine, and shortening.

Orangutans - The Grim Facts




Forests - The Palm Oil Threat

Kerry ridiculous stements and Rover wagging the tail

Having personally met Kerry and also having had a few beers with John Edwards' brother in Asheville, I have a reasonably good idea of who these two guys are. They are very different people. Kerry is an elitist and a man full of hubris. Edwards, if you can forgive him for being a lawyer, is a self-made person who genuinely cares about the "good fight" referred to by Paul's epistles.

Though I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, it is interesting to see both sides. I simply a fiscally conservative citizen who wants smaller government, a truly self-responsible public, and a return to constitutional values our forefathers envisioned.

This claptrap about Kerry seems to be the usual garbage our media chooses to focus on. Instead of the plight of America's schools with tuition to colleges tripling since 2000, we focus on an idiotic and arrogant statement by a Senator who can't even beat Bush, one of the worst presidents our country has seen since the 1920's. Instead of focusing on the spiraling cost of Iraq, and the lack of funding in Afghanistan where the actual terrorists who bombed us are hiding, they quote a real putz and set up endless websites about a putz's statements. Instead of banging on how our own democratic process becomes more and more broken each time the majority party redraws voting districts, they trump a story that angers the troops and their families with the clear intent to distract them one week before a an important election event.

Optimistically, I see all of this as symptomatic of an irresponsible media that has strayed very far from what is honorable and dutiful in journalism. I see the media owned by powerful interests who have their own agenda that conveniently plays both sides of the fence putting people like Anne Coulter into the spotlight when she is such a stuffed shirt and a mouth piece. She gets well paid for her services, a very old profession that.

Of course the opposition party is going to seize upon this ridiculous and incredible gaff. Why focus on real issues that affect everyone when you can focus on one that will tick people off and sell more ads?

Yes, we need to focus on getting rid of the immoral and hypocritical Rover machine. It detracts from the true Republican party. Equally, we also need to oust the leadership of the DNC. Any candidate who could NOT beat the Republicans this time around are suffering from poor leadership and lack of focus. Abramoff, a failed war effort that is not even a declared war, terrorism amok around the globe, poor education, partisan infighting, crappy jobs being counted as employment, a GDP driven by corporate earnings and not individual earnings from real jobs and production, teachers gagged from doing their jobs beyond prepping kids for assessment tests, a completely insane medical system that advertises medications to patients who have no business self-medicating, an entire city economically knocked off the map after a storm with no hope in site, and our veterans getting quietly tucked away out of the public eye as per usual since Vietnam... all of this, and we focus on the statements of an aristocratic idiot who is out of touch and out of favor.


I propose a call to action. More than any of these, since we have a vacuum in the middle where MOST American's minds and hearts reside, we should fill the space with multiple NEW POLITICAL PARTIES that represent our views as citizens, whatever these may be. Organize among yourselves and create a real democracy. Oust these two parties if they do not suit you. Put them back in the box where they belong and can not harm our country any further. They are machines and do not represent most of us. Restore democracy at home.



Bryan Grant - Atlanta

Tuesday, October 31, 2006


Stand Your Ground. The magazine guys take a blow from the neighbors of Underwood Hills.

A big round of applause for our ATLANTA Police department Zone 2 officers for being so efficient in this effort. They usually do their level best to support the community and its citizens, and this instance is no different.

At 11:35am today, my housekeeper let me know there was someone at the door for me. I immediately spotted the fellow as the typical "college guy selling magazines" scam. Having asked for his permit, he proffered a document that was other than a permit. I asked to verify this dubious document by viewing his drivers license or student ID. He then began to stutter and fidget. I then snapped a picture of him with my cellphone, asked him to leave twice then contacted the police. Not more than ten minutes later I went outside to chat with the officer who was up the street in front of a neighbor's house. The officer already had the bloke in the back of the car in handcuffs. It turns out he had no ID, student ID or otherwise, and the solicitation permit was a fake. So at the very least, he was not soliciting legally.

Our neighborhood has had their knickers in a twist for over a week now about the Magazine Boys. What I am dying to know is whether anyone else has, as of yet, not caught others?

We all know this is a more or less organized way for would-be house and car robbers to case a property during the day. These guys do not work alone. Furthermore, actual burglary aside, Georgia is home to two companies that spawn this sort of activity. Why we have not closed them down is yet another mystery.

"Recent complaints have centered on two Georgia companies, United Family Circulation and Ultimate Power Sales Inc., a subsidiary. Last year, Montgomery County police said residents in Chevy Chase had been asked to buy books from salespeople who falsely claimed to be collecting for charity on behalf of a University of Maryland athletic team. Buyers said they were asked to make checks out to Ultimate Power Sales...
Messages left at United Family Circulation's offices in Buford, Ga., were not returned as of Tuesday." Washington Post August 18, 2005; Page VA09

If they are not able to hold him, you can be sure he and his friends will take a bit of revenge for their trouble. Keep your eyes peeled and keep the doors locked. Never fear as if he catch them in the act, they will go away for a very long time. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea to cross reference the video tapes at the pawnshops and the pawn shop records to see if this individual has been patronizing that establishment with goods "donated" by our good neighbors.

All it took was a simple phone call to 911 and quick cell phone photograph. It really is straightforward. Had I had even more presence of thought, I would have recorded the conversation with this charming fellow using my cellphone's voice recorder feature.


Georgia now has thanksfully passed "stand your ground" legislation versus a "duty to retreat", which was viable though in direct contradiction to a 1921 Supreme Court landmar ruling. In other words, under "duty to retreat", if you are threatened say in your own home by an assailant, you are to leave your home by the most efficient route necessary, and if you have other family in the home, there is shaky legal ground to support your efforts to also effect their evacuation. In short, you have a Duty to Retreat and leave others in the house behind. This would also apply at a gas station hold up. Your duty would be to hide in the bathroom and hope that they don't get the door open.

A good and balanced article about the topic is Is self-defense law vigilante justice?

Personally, I am all for Stand Your Ground laws given folks have received prior training with the guns they purchase to Stand their Ground with. The Duty to Retreat laws lead to a perceived lack of consequences for would be criminals and disempowers people from keeping public places safe for themselves. Law is only as good as the people who uphold it, and if the only people allowed to uphold it are police who are overwhelmed, underpaid, and 10-20 minutes from the scene, there is ample time for crime to occur unpunished.

While I do not relish the idea of having to shoot someone and will definitely pay some huge karmic debt for doing so, the alternative in the society in which we exist is to hide in the bathroom and pray they don't shoot through the door. Having a personally and very old friend who has been on the mend since 1989 from being shot in the head through the bathroom door where he was hiding by a robber, I know there is no defense like a strong and immediate consequence.

"16-3-23.1.
A person who uses threats or force in accordance with Code Section 16-3-21, relating to the use of force in defense of self or others, Code Section 16-3-23, relating to the use of force in defense of a habitation, or Code Section 16-3-24, relating to the use of force in defense of property other than a habitation, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use force as provided in said Code sections, including deadly force."

The press and various sites have covered this issue extensively. Repeatedly they state this law gives people the right "to shoot first and ask questions later" and that "innocent people" are going to get shot. First of all this assumes that a gun will be used in the self defense. Most people do not carry guns. A coffee mug, knife, or a 2x4 would be the more likely weapon of choice in self-defense. Guns are simply not usually within reach except when you are the criminal carrying the gun to perform the crime. Second, even if a gun were used and would be assailant shot dead, how is the would assailant guilty? After all the law does require that a threat of deadly be present before one can actually use this as a defense for killing another person. In the absence of the deadly force, which would be rather interesting to actually prove if it were not clear and present in the situation, the so-called self-defending vigilante would be guilty of murder himself. All this bill does is countermand a prior law that requires a citizen to leave their home and family and run away. Literally that is what is meant by a "Duty to Retreat". A quick review of the legal definition imparts the correct notion that this format places the victims in a rather indefensible place and subject to a high likelihood of prosecution which would even potentially and furthermore exonerate the attacker. This is bizarre and wrong.

Even the BBC in Britain, a country that has longer been mostly an anti-gun leaning politic, agrees that gun ownership is the only viable solution to their own escalating gun related violence in a society where it is illegal for any citizen to own firearms, except under very unique circumstances. Their own Olympic shooting teams face great difficulty in obtaining permits to practice for their events.
BBC news- Why Britain needs more guns

"Government assured Britons they needed no weapons, society would protect them. If that were so in 1920 when the first firearms restrictions were passed, or in 1953 when Britons were forbidden to carry any article for their protection, it no longer is.

The failure of this general disarmament to stem, or even slow, armed and violent crime could not be more blatant. According to a recent UN study, England and Wales have the highest crime rate and worst record for "very serious" offences of the 18 industrial countries surveyed."

We live in a sinful world, a world run by humans with free will and all the best and worst sorts of aspirations. In such a world, it is not responsible nor prudent to expect an outside intervening force to be an omnipresent source of protection and incentive to obey the law. We have to be responsible for the world we live in, and take action when it is necessary to do so. Society should not punish people for responsbile action.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Martha Stewart, ex-con and felon, sponsors KB Homes

Whenever I drive down I85 into downtown Atlanta, I see a KB Homes billboard with Martha Stewart on it.

"If anyone could turn a stay in jail into a good thing, it's legendary lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. Following the completion of her sentence on federal criminal charges, Stewart has not shied away from the limelight. Rather, she and her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), have embraced the spotlight. The company has its fingers in many moneymaking pies: publishing (magazines and books), television (programs), radio (satellite radio network channel), and merchandising. Stewart controls about 55% of MSLO's stock and about 92% of voting stock." Hoovers - Omnimedia overview



Given the media uproar about her conviction and that she is a known felon, I find it hard to imagine why KB Homes would ever conceive of paying a felon to be their poster person. Odder still, I find it interesting that this glaringly inappropriate marketing scheme has gone largely unnoticed by the media. And judging by the timing of the ad campaign and KB's stock price, it appears to have leveled out the precipitous drop in share value experienced prior to June 06.

It led me to consider several things. The first of which, KB Homes has deep pockets and can afford to research the impact of their marketing efforts. Hiring Martha Stewart was no accident, and I am sure their research indicated a net positive effect for their bottom line. Furthermore, Omnimedia shares prices performed their best WHILE she was in jail, and have done rather well afterwards.

Martha Stewart's audience
is primarily females in general and gay males. The whole green vase phenomenon in California’s gay communities was spawned a la Martha. She is a risk taker and shrews businessperson, which is why she landed herself in jail to begin with.


I think what concerns me, personally, here is that given the past five years of corporate scandals, the untold billions lost in market capitalization as a result, the endless hearings and convictions, the scandals at the government level (Abramoff is the tip of that iceberg), and high moral ground we as a country are supposed to espouse in our efforts to bring democracy to the middle east, it seems odd the American public is so receptive to having a known felon selling family homes and communities to them. After all, a felon is a felon, whether they are dealing drugs, peddling porn, or bilking the markets. Imagine the Enron Exec's face on that billboard! You would have the entire country in an uproar. Yet, somehow because Martha is able to dictate the mediocre tastes of average American households, her tainting as a felon is somehow whitewashed, and she is allowed to sell directly to our children the homes they live in.

It is an odd world. Given a public that gives solid market support to felons, gives high ratings to shows depicting morally bankrupt and irresponsible lifestyles such as Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives, and sees reality as a bunch of ruthless losers stuck on an island with some tiki torches because they cant hold down a real job...well I see the writing on the wall for our American dream of liberty and freedom. Our society is in decline, has been since about 1964, and the wall is fast approaching. And American society, if it goes, will take out the world economy alongside, as we are all so closely connected, and we are the largest consumer on the planet.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005.

McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2000.

Tainter, Joseph. The Collapse of Complex Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 198

Perhaps Bonfire of the Vanities would also be an appropriate add on here.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Friday, October 20, 2006

Response to UHNA Wal-Mart hooplah and complaining.

While I personally abhor Wal-Mart since they changed their management when Sam Walton left and agree that they are a net bad versus a net good, utilizing more of Peach Care than any other one employer in Georgia for example, there are many political blogs on the net already about Wal-Mart and their dastardly deeds (BTW Target isn't that much better). Apparently, Wal-Mart decided to do a blog as well, spamming it full of garbage.

And to Mr. Petzer - overall I have to agree with your attitude. People should shop with their feet and should have spoken up about all of this far sooner. We really do have bigger problems, and all of this hoo-rah should have been settled 3 years ago during the planning phases. Moreover, given the alternatives that were on the table, this was clearly the most attractive of the lot. Target or any other vendor "could" have vied for the lease in that spot. Wal-Mart won. It is not as if Selig is controlled by Wal-Mart. Go their website. They have tons of other anchor tenants in their various properties and do not specialize in Wal-Mart like some developers.

Yet, I think you may have lost your steam towards the end. If there are more important things in life as you say at the bottom of your letter, and you also deny possessing a political agenda. How would you propose to accomplish any of those goals? I suppose those goals must be isolated onto you and not involve anyone else. Otherwise, they would involve others. Then, you would have to employ a measure of politicking, therefore finding it necessary to manage an agenda.

As for your comment at about the G8 protestors, I hope that was written out of frustration. If not, you clearly have not followed exactly how those "riots" were sparked off. In Genoa, for example, the police went in to the school the night before the protest where the protestors were given lodging by the government, and beat several of them to within an inch of their lives while they were sleeping in sleeping bags. That is a sure fire way to agitate protestors. Then the next day when it all hits the fan, one of the cops shoots and kills a your male protestor. I was in Europe at the time. The American press for the most part did not make ANY mention of the beatings by the police the night before, portraying the protestors as just wild and unruly kids with nothing better to do but make trouble. However the Euro presse-agencies had the courage to offer a full accounting.

If you read about G8 at Seattle or Miami, similar events ensued. Miami's riot was started when an ill-mannered hippy tossed an empty plastic water bottle at the cops. The cops did not just try to arrest the culprit, the logical course of action. They beat the protestors, including all the old (50-60 yrs old) protestors that were there representing the Unions. The United Way was supporting those union folks (if you are anti union and give to the united way, you may to do some homework on where you give) and I know one of the people who was organizing the United Way's piece. If you want a real eye opener, see if you get your hands on a training video that the police use to train their troops. Germany in the 1940's would have loved to have such an artful and pertinent training tool.

In short, stores like Wal-Mart are a real challenge and often a threat to local businesses and the fabric of culture where those businesses operate. Is it really a good trade to get cheap golf balls, cheaply made trinkets, and some crappy clothes for the price of an area's culture? Certainly, the US is short on culture, but go and visit Sylva NC if you want to see the effects Wal-Mart has. The downtown shops are now all closed. The majority of the people, literally, work at Wal-Mart. The shops that are open are galleries run by people who do it for a lifestyle thing, and not necessarily to make a profit. They are simply idle rich folks having something engaging to occupy their minds and time.

If your idea of a vibrant and positive society is that of big box retailers and regional retail centers being the glue that holds our societal fabric together, I suggest you move out to HWY 138 in Conyers, Barrett Parkway in Cobb, or Pleasant Hill Road in Gwinnett. Me, I will take complicated and funky Intown living any day. I will take a Mayberry community to a strip mall by the expressway any day. I will drive the extra 5 miles to trade in the older style businesses. I will shop at Return to Eden and not Whole Foods. I will go to Octane, West Egg, or Café Centrale, not Starbucks (unless I am really hard up.) I will pay the extra .25 for the golf ball, and the extra .35 for the orange juice. I will reward well-run stores with my business, and therefore not shop at Kroger across the street but make the trip to Paces Ferry, Ansley or Vinings. I will vote with my feet and wallet.

That extra money when spent wisely stays in the community instead of rolling up to a multibillion dollar roster of shareholders that have no more concern about your quality of life other than whether the P/E ratios and projected growth rates meet their investment models.

Enjoy the Wal-Mart. Yes, it is better than the Castlegate, to be sure.

Bryan Grant
Woodland Hills Avenue

PS During the past few days, it seems our neighbors are more worried about sushi con jobs and Wal-Mart store hours than the Bill of Rights.

While we had our attention focused on the bargain basement across the street, our esteemed President passed legislation in direct contradiction to a Supreme Court ruling back in June. The bill allows a high degree of torture, testimony is admissible even if obtained under duress, charges do not have to be substantiated, and habeas corpus is dead. Of course, most folks think this is just for terrorists, and in a sense that is true. But who decides who is a terrorist? If there are no legal grounds for the accusation and the case can be prosecuted without these grounds, anyone could be conveniently called a terrorist and hauled in. I wrote an article here, http://right-action.blogspot.com/ that proposes what we as citizens can do in our own way to start making changes so that our government is more under our own control. Plus, you will find loads of quotes related to the topic from our favorites, Ben Franklin and George Washington. Enjoy.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

What is Right Action?

The Blessed One said, "Now what, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

"And what, monks, is right view? Knowledge with regard to stress, knowledge with regard to the origination of stress, knowledge with regard to the stopping of stress, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the stopping of stress: This, monks, is called right view.

"And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on harmlessness: This is called right resolve.

"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, abstaining from idle chatter: This, monks, is called right speech.

"And what, monks, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from unchastity: This, monks, is called right action.

"And what, monks, is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This, monks, is called right livelihood.

"And what, monks, is right effort? (i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (ii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen. (iii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (iv) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This, monks, is called right effort.

"And what, monks, is right mindfulness? (i) There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (ii) He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (iii) He remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (iv) He remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. This, monks, is called right mindfulness.

"And what, monks, is right concentration? (i) There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. (ii) With the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. (iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, mindful & alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.' (iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This, monks, is called right concentration."

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted at his words.

Magga-vibhanga Sutta
An Analysis of the Path
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Spirit of America versus the law of the United States

As you may already know, the key difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution/Bill of Rights is that the latter forms the basis of law. The prior is merely a dream and an idea, lending cultural inertia to how we interpret the law.

However, a key component of our ethos is the idea that we can remove a government that goes afoul of our "inalienable rights". Anyone would agree that our government is not representative except of those interests who can afford to gain the attentions of these officials.

"The meaning of "equally free and independent" is unclear and ambiguous, so say the courts of America. The "pursuit of happiness" is one of the "unalienable rights" of people enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, along with "life" and "liberty." "The right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment." Butchers' Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746, 757, (1884.)"

"Because the right is not set forth in the U. S. Constitution, it is not enforceable by the courts. However, the right to the pursuit of happiness is often raised in arguments against government regulations, because its mention in the Declaration of Independence gives it a degree of forcefulness. Barron's Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed, pg.378."


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Spirit of America versus the law of the United States

As you may already know, the key difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution/Bill of Rights is that the latter forms the basis of law. The prior is merely a dream and an idea, lending cultural inertia to how we interpret the law.

However, a key component of our ethos is the idea that we can remove a government that goes afoul of our "inalienable rights". Anyone would agree that our government is not representative except of those interests who can afford to gain the attentions of these officials.

"The meaning of "equally free and independent" is unclear and ambiguous, so say the courts of America. The "pursuit of happiness" is one of the "unalienable rights" of people enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, along with "life" and "liberty." "The right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment." Butchers' Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746, 757, (1884.)"

"Because the right is not set forth in the U. S. Constitution, it is not enforceable by the courts. However, the right to the pursuit of happiness is often raised in arguments against government regulations, because its mention in the Declaration of Independence gives it a degree of forcefulness. Barron's Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed, pg.378."


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Decare War if we are at War!

(In response to the several letters of the previous article.)

If we are at war, Congress needs to actually decare war. The current method only hamstrings the military, prevents our ability to prosecute the mission goals, and puts our soldiers at further risk. Not actually declaring war cripples the military leaders from making decisions that ultimately lead to saving lives and a modicum of victory. As of today, Bush was quoted comparing the Iraq insurgency with the Tet offensive. Anyone with eyes to see would have made that connection TWO YEARS AGO!

If we do declare war then, guess what? Geneva Conventions apply to all those prisoners. Either way, the manner we are conducting this affair is dishonorable and will only incentivize further eruptions of discontent. It is a dangerous and cowardly way to prosecute our cause, and it is moreover a fascist style of doing so. We have no idea if those 14,000 people were terrorists before they were arrested or not. You can bet hard money that they will have every reason in the world to enlist in whatever terrorist militia du jour happens to be recruiting outside the prison walls when thy are released.

Torture and undignified treatment of prisoners is despicable. This behavior is not limited to the Gitmo an Iraq prisoners, but applied to our own citizens. A society is judged by how they treat the least among them. Our neo-con leaders claim a Chistian religious alignment, yet their actions contradict a basic teaching in the New Testament.

Matthew 25:45 "“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Positively, I say to you*, to the degree that you* did not do [it] to one of these, the least, you* did not do [it] to Me.’take a dim view on this dark time in our nation's history."

With people living in poverty under bridges at home and our executive branch authorizing tactics that Goebbels would have been proud of, history will take a dim view on this dark time in our nation's history.

It has been said that my letter was fundamentally flawed on the assumption that we are a Democracy. However, I did not state that as such, and my quote of George Washington acknowledged our status as a Republic. It is then ironic that we are exporting democracy to other countries. And doing a fine job of it, paving the ways for Hezbollah and Hamas to take power. The meltdown in Iraq directly relates to our unqualified meddling in these political reform efforts, Afghanistan as well.

There are only two sides to the coin which allow our country to maintain its honor and integrity in the world trade community, all the while still remain within the laws prior to June, 2006. Option One- declare war and call these people POW's. Option Two - Steady as she goes but give these prisoners their habeus corpus rights.

What most people in their anger fail to acknowledge is that this law applies to EVERYONE. Anyone suspected of various sorts of activities, can be coerced via torture to give testimony that can then be used against them.

If that is the face of the new America, then it no longer stands for freedom and the pursuit of happiness. It stands for control, oppression, corruption and no true representation for the governed. In this light, we should fight our own government with every once of ardor that we once fought Japan and Germany.

There is no grey area here. Either observe the laws we create and apply them fairly, or throw it all into the dustbin and watch our society crumble.


Bill of Rights: Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

----------included comment----------------
We had to abridge some of our rights temporarily during WWII while we fought the Nazis. We are at war now, and thus have to abridge rights temporarily again. The best way to get our rights back is to win this war against the Islamo-Facists. We need to fight them all-out with no holds barred. That means bringing the war to Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. We must subdue the Islamo-Facists if we want to have our Freedoms again. There is no Islamic country today that is truly Democratic, nor one with freedom of the press or freedom of religion. The Islamo-Facists have no desire to negotiate with us, the have stated there aims clearly: to take over the Western World by force and forcibly convert us to Islam and remove our Democracy and Freedoms.

While Islamo-Facists are just a small percentage of the Islamic world, I have not seen demonstrations against there barbarisms in any Islamic nation. It seems that for whatever reason the majority of the Islamic world is silent over atrocities such as burning down Churches, Buddhist and Hindu Temples and killing innocent civilians including women and children.

Just as we subdued the Nazis and Fascist Japanese in WWII and the evil Dictatorial Communists of the Soviet Union, we must subdue the Islamo-Facists or loose all our Freedoms and our Religion. Most of the Europeans have already given up, and the UN has demonstrated there incompetently over and over since the end of WWII. We need to fight the Islamo-Facists all-out whether or not we have help from the rest of the world and without consideration of what the rest of the world thinks about us. The alternative to this (the continued appeasement of Islamo-Facists) will only cause the end of our way of life.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

AMERICAN LIBERTY AT RISK: Bush signs US terror trial bill (non-partisan commentary)

Liberty, freedom, and the values espoused by the founding fathers have taken an enormous blow today. I hope the American public will fight back and write back. That our officials have allowed this to come to pass is disgraceful and calls into question where their loyalties lie. Obvious by thier actions, they are not loyal to our founding father's mission as embodied in the Constitution. In a post script below, I took the time to run down Ben Franklin's and George Washington's quotes that would likely express their position if they were alive today. Their quotes hold the same resonance reaching forward over the years and are just as powerful.

The nation, under a two party system, has become grossly polarized. Animosity among the citizens percolates as blues move into blue controlled areas, and the reds move into the red controlled areas. This phenomena has been documented over the past five years, the concentration of reds and blues by relocation to red and blue districts. This oppositional government, precluding democratic discourse by its very nature, can only weaken our nation. The terrorists probably saw this a long way off. A weak and affluent citizenry all too ready to ask their government to take over and defend them.

Our country is being torn apart by our leaders. Their friends are snapping up the remains as they consolidate power in the remaining vacuum of the middle political ground. The first tool of statecraft is to generate divisive perceptions among the governed populace, encourage alignment along these divisions, and then rule over them while they are otherwise distracted by the delusion that they fight against "the other side for the preservation of the national interests". There is no "other side" in that game. It is an illusion crafted to distract and to sedate. Bread and Circuses, anyone?

Yet, there is a battle to fight. There are two sides to the battle. They are not partisan. There is democracy, expression, passion, liberty, and freedom, and there is fascism, control, aristocracy, and upward funnelling of powers. Those are the sides. Those are the battle lines. These are trenches where our predecessors have fought since the inception of our country over 200 years ago.

This bill is a resounding wake up call to all thinking and active participants in our great country. The first order of business is to express your opinion to the official who represents your interests in Washington.

Then, we must focus on the next election, in three weeks. We must focus on the individual running for office and ignore the party affiliation. Review their voting records. Scrutinize their platforms. Hold them accountable to their claims. Read their history. Check out their criminal records. Talk to their neighbors. Find out who these people are! Then vote for the most likely to follow through on their promises, listen to the constituents, and work hard in the office. No longer is it safe to assume that these individuals are well-intentioned souls who pull a party line, as if it ever safe. After all if Zell Miller can become a Republican, what difference does it make what ticket they run on? He was the yellow dog to crown all the rest of the yellow dogs. If he can turn, any of them can turn, in either direction.

Manifest a multiparty system. There is a yawing gap in our democracy. There is a wide spectrum of voters in the middle here. To the extremes we have the Republicans and the Democrats, and very few of us identify with either end. Are you a neo-con who uses religion as a tool to gain power? Are you a liberal that concedes individual achievement and personal responsibility in trade for a politically correct, sterilization of the human spirit in the name of welfare? 95% of voters are neither. 95% are too worried about how to pay the mortgage on the subsistence living they earn in a job-less recovery. (Ever wonder why they don't quote data related to the quality of the employment when they quote unemployment numbers? By and large, most people work a name tag fast food job earning less than $30k/yr.)

How can two parties be truly representative of our interests? How about the fiscally conservative Republicans? How about those people interested in less government taxation? What about those wild Environmentalists? How about reforming how one runs for office and fundraises? How about term limits on those Senators? How about reeling in the lawyers and the health care industry? There are so many causes and useful endeavors. A two party system can only serve to dampen and silence most of these important initiatives.

Let's organize multiple parties, find good people to run on those platforms, and let them fight for those causes held dear by people. In the mean time, we can cherry-pick candidates from the other "two" parties that fit into this model. Let's take back the power.

This new law on terrorism serves a purpose. It demonstrates without a doubt the extent to which are leaders are willing to sell out our rights for the sake of a few votes by playing on our fears. Freedom has taken a severe blow, and I believe that this is exactly what the terrorists planned all along, for us to give in to fear and give up our freedoms for security.

Hailing from red China, an unlikely source of inspiration in a call for freedom and reform, the Xinhuan press states- "Three weeks before the mid-term congressional elections, the signing of the bill was believed to be a deliberate move aimed to shift public attention, at least momentarily, from the scandals that could cost Republicans their control of Congress. (Editor: Mu Xuequan).. if a propagandist paper sees through the bill as a ruse, then it is a ruse, and a dangerous ruse which opens the door to wholesale erosion of the rights which maintain our freedoms. All the more ironic that the fascist Chinese government would give testimony which supports the defense of our own liberties, but then these are strange times.

"With Republicans in danger of losing control of the U.S. Congress in Nov. 7 elections because of voter anger over the Iraq war, Bush sought to put back on the campaign agenda a more favourable issue for him -- national security and dealing with those blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks."

The use of fear, indignation, and anger to leverage our rights away from us demonstrates how little esteem the administration places upon our qualities and capabilities as civic-minded citizens.

Check to see if you senator and state rep voted for or against the bill. Give them a piece of your mind if you agree that this is a misguided and ill-conceived bill whose sole purpose was to gain votes based on the fears of the American public, a cowardly strategy, and one that endangers our way of life. We are a better and stronger country thann to resort to cowardly tactics that use coerced testimony as evidence, allow torture tactics in interrogation, and countermands our own supreme court's ruling on the matter and runs afoul of the Geneva Convention, as they are not POW's ( a loophole exploiting the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law).

If this bill prevails, then you can guarantee the rest of our valuable rights will be alienated as the Supreme Court becomes becomes a gelded and marginalized mockery. All while the executive branch runs amok into dictatorial governance with the Senate in close pursuit with out stretched greedy hands ready for the greasing. this only appears partisan. It is just about power. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a movie that was almost banned in it's day is just as true now as it was in its day. The stakes have gotten higher, and the number of the zero's on the checks more numerous. The game remains the same.

Thank you for your time in reading this. I hope you will also find ways to cry out against this legislation, especially given that the Internet is so accessible and gaining momentum every day.

Sincerely,

Bryan "Beau" Grant
Atlanta GA

Some quotes..

George Washington
The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.

Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

How soon we forget history... Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. .. [and what of habeus corpus?]

It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. [the bill lacks of justice and of good faith]

Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.

Ben Franklin
-Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.

-The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either.

-They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

-The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice.

-Tomorrow, every Fault is to be amended; but that Tomorrow never comes.

-Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later.
Benjamin Franklin

So anyways the international news offered some of the following savory coverage....

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/72394.html
BRITAIN
"The Supreme Court ruled in June that the administration's plan for trying detainees in military tribunals violated US and international law."
"The president can now, with the approval of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorise trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions"
"A coalition of religious groups protested against the bill outside the White House and about 15 were arrested."-AP

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20601967-2703,00.html
OZ
"Since the opening of a US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, not one of the several hundred prisoners held there has been afforded a trial."
"permits the Central Intelligence Agency's secret prisons, and forbids "cruel and unusual" punishment of detainees - without further clarification of what falls in that category."
"The president can now - with the approval of Congress - indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorise trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions,"
"The Republican-controlled Congress last month passed the bill after the Supreme Court ruled in June that Mr Bush had overstepped his powers and breached the Geneva Conventions by setting up special war crimes tribunals for "war on terror" suspects."

THE QUESTION HERE IS HOW DOES ONE ENACT A BILL THAT DIRECTLY CONTRAVENES A SUPREME COURT RULING??

SWITZERLAND http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Bush_signs_law_backing_harsh_interrogation.html?siteSect=143&sid=7172075&cKey=1161119310000
At the signing ceremony, Bush could not resist a swipe at Democrats, an indirect shot far short of campaign stump speeches in which he charges they are soft on terrorism.

Critics and legal experts have predicted the law will draw vigorous court challenges and could be struck down for violating rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

They cited provisions that strip foreign suspects of the right to challenge their detentions in U.S. courts and what they described as unfair rules for military trials.

With Republicans in danger of losing control of the U.S. Congress in November 7 elections because of voter anger over the Iraq war, Bush sought to put back on the campaign agenda a more favourable issue for him -- national security and dealing with those blamed for the September 11 attacks.

RECENTLY ATTACKED SPAIN -
http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/international-news/military-trials-bush-signs-law-on-tough-interrogation-for-terrori?itemId=B24_15942&cl=%2Feitb24%2Finternacional&idioma=en
The upshot is similar.. highlighted and in bold - techniques bordering on torture - A stain on US history

China's State paper - http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/17/content_5216124.htm

While the legislation set the rules for court proceedings for suspected terrorists, it applied to only those selected by the military for prosecution. Most of those held by the U.S. military, believed to be about 14,000 and the majority in Iraq, would not be affected by the law.

Of the hundreds of detainees being jailed at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, only 10 have been selected for trial. The indefinite detention of others has been condemned by human rights groups as violating international law.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

'Ban Harry Potter or face more school shootings'

One day later and the entire planet has headlines about Gwinnett County Ga. Google "harry potter ban ga" and you will see practically EVERY news paper and media service on the planet in the top of the results. The blogs are already chock full of opinion. Many Georgians, in particular, are expressing embarrassment that they will now be associated with Mallorey and her ilk because we reside in the same state. The same state that made it illegal to be gay in Cobb County, put stickers for creationism in science books (also in Cobb County), tried to remove hispanic fiction in Gwinnett County, and boasts the largest density of extreme right wing PAC's in the country (90% of these PAC's are based in Cobb County.)

This is from the the Daily Mail in the UK-
"Referring to the recent rash of deadly assaults at schools, Mallory said books that promote evil - as she claims the Potter ones do - help foster the kind of culture where school shootings happen... That would not happen if students instead read the Bible, Mallory said."

We should all thank Sweeny for her good sense AP-"Board of Education attorney Victoria Sweeny said that if schools were to remove all books containing reference to witches, they would have to ban 'Macbeth' and 'Cinderella'"

I am sure the efforts of Laura Mallory will provide strong incentives for business owners to locate their future expansions in our state. After all, we are very rational and fair minded people who devote themselves to useful causes, right? What better place to hire your employees! With a vibrant 2.3% job growth rate in the Atlanta market, the best job market in the state, why should we make any effort to entice employers to Georgia. After all, God will provide.

Best regards,

Bryan Grant


What is it that makes Georgians so cantankerous and self-righteous? For example, even in football, a secular activity if there ever was, why does UGA consider practically every team they play an Arch Rivalry? Well if you have ever been accosted for wearing a GT sweatshirt by people you have never met, you might begin to understand why every is a rival to UGA.
Georgia Woman plays Voldemort and tries to kill Harry Potter in public schools


(Please read with your tongue in your cheek. If you detect a hint of sarcasm, it is intentional.)

Georgia is putting its best face forward by promoting censorship in schools.. again. It is comforting to know we have such well-inspired citizens in our progressive and forward thinking state! Let us hope these noble people prevail in this battle for good middle ground and faith-based values in our schools. Stamping out evil by whatever means necessary is the only way to insure a safe world for our families, our country, our way of life, and for our churches.

I have always held that the reason Georgia schools are 47th in the nation is that we do not censor nearly enough of these distracting and potentially dangerous ideas and literature. By allowing this circumstance to persist, we allow far too much independent thinking in our children. How will they ever learn to fit in? And besides, independence always leads to perdition of the spirit. It is import to steer our sheep into the fold so no harm can come to their souls, and we can keep them safe and under a watchful eye.

With nefarious influences so easily accessible to our children, it is no wonder that we have scant hope of ever instilling good "values", even if we do have school prayer and the commandments prominently displayed. However, we still must tenaciously hold forth to this battle for good and righteousness.

Yes, our schools are in the bottom 5 in the nation, but it is not the Christian Right's fault! The liberals prevent us from shaping our students with good ethical values and prayer work in school. If only they would stand aside and let God do his work, we could at least achieve mere mediocrity. And in mediocrity and servitude, our children and neighbors have better access to the spiritual light.

If you notice any of your neighbors in disagreement with any of this, please appoint yourself to your necessary duty and minister to them until they come around to the proper path of faithfulness.

Harry Potter is the example representing all the negative forces of witchcraft, occult powers, and evil. Burn these books now!

.... ;-)


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Beau

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060502/14076.htm