In reference to to Bush's PR Lady, Karen Hughes, remarks to Turkish women's concerns with the war in Iraq:
In speaking out against the conflict in Iraq, Tuksal (a Turkish woman) said that "in every photograph that I see from Iraq, I see the fear and concern in their eyes and I cannot relax."
"I feel the pain that you are feeling," Hughes said, but she added: "It is impossible to say that the plight of women was better under Saddam Hussein. Women were tortured, they had their children tortured in front of them."
Hmmmm... So, the fact that US Soldiers are commanded to torture children in front of their parents, and women tortured in front of their families... Apparently, that's better than under Saddam's regime. Maybe in your world, Ms. Hughes.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The Time Has Come... To Face The Facts...
Remember that song by, oh, what's the name of that band? They sang, "The time has come... to face the facts... ... Beds are Burnin'..." Golden Eye or Gold Knife or something like that. That song jammed!
Anyway, what I wanted to really get at is that many residents of New Orleans are able to go back to their homes and access the damages from Hurricane Katrina. Yes, it has been one month, hasn't it? Some authorities think that it is too soon to let residents back in. I say its high time! How will New Orleans rebuild when residents are not around to help clean up? If I was away from my home for a long period of time, even knowing that there might not be much left when I get back, I would still want to get back home as soon as possible. There is something detrimental to the human spirit when you live out on the road in foreign places for too long.
Assessing reality is better sometimes. There is a sense of comfort in facing the facts. It is a part of the grieving process, and a part of the getting on with your life process. It's about re-establishing home again. It is a part of creating change and making a place better than when you left it.
The irony is that we are still debating a strategy to get Iraq back on its own feet. The current Bush Administration believes that we should stay the course, which means that we will be there for an infinity. That is like authorities telling the residents of New Orleans that they can't have their city back until it is the right time, in the authorities eyes, which could be never.
As New Orleans will have to deal with contamination caused by the flooding for many years, Iraq will also have to deal with contamination from violence for many years, too. However, the sooner both places are able to try and rebuild, to re-establish themselves again, the better off they will be as communities.
The longer the U.S. sticks our nose in their issues, the more people lose faith in the United States, because the U.S. has by such actions shown a lack of faith in people.
Anyway, what I wanted to really get at is that many residents of New Orleans are able to go back to their homes and access the damages from Hurricane Katrina. Yes, it has been one month, hasn't it? Some authorities think that it is too soon to let residents back in. I say its high time! How will New Orleans rebuild when residents are not around to help clean up? If I was away from my home for a long period of time, even knowing that there might not be much left when I get back, I would still want to get back home as soon as possible. There is something detrimental to the human spirit when you live out on the road in foreign places for too long.
Assessing reality is better sometimes. There is a sense of comfort in facing the facts. It is a part of the grieving process, and a part of the getting on with your life process. It's about re-establishing home again. It is a part of creating change and making a place better than when you left it.
The irony is that we are still debating a strategy to get Iraq back on its own feet. The current Bush Administration believes that we should stay the course, which means that we will be there for an infinity. That is like authorities telling the residents of New Orleans that they can't have their city back until it is the right time, in the authorities eyes, which could be never.
As New Orleans will have to deal with contamination caused by the flooding for many years, Iraq will also have to deal with contamination from violence for many years, too. However, the sooner both places are able to try and rebuild, to re-establish themselves again, the better off they will be as communities.
The longer the U.S. sticks our nose in their issues, the more people lose faith in the United States, because the U.S. has by such actions shown a lack of faith in people.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
What The PUC?
Do these soldiers understand what they are doing when torturing detainees (referred to as PUCs--persons under control)?
Extreme torture is violence, a hate crime, evil, sickening.
Do these soldiers and their superiors realize the more they torture the more psychological ammunition is given to the enemy?
The enemy, by the way, are not cyborgs or robots. These are people just like you and me. They have feelings and emotions. They have mothers, fathers, loved ones, and friends. Just like we do. Like Jesus said, what you do to the least among you, you do to me. Wonder if these soldiers realize who they are torturing?
In allowing these situations and ignoring the chain of command that should be responsible for their soldiers' behavior, does the United States realize that other countries do not trust us anymore as peace loving people?
Do we realize that when Johnny comes marching home, he will need to vent his stress (as he did with PUCs, as the article states this was a stress-relieving game), and find that he will have to find a PUC to torture? Do we realize the kind of permanent psychological and character damage we do to soldiers when they are commanded to torture? Do we realize that these soldiers who are now geared toward violence will be our neighbors, spouses, parents, and friends when they come back from their time in Iraq?
Should we be frightened of the monster we've created in Iraq? You bet!
Extreme torture is violence, a hate crime, evil, sickening.
Do these soldiers and their superiors realize the more they torture the more psychological ammunition is given to the enemy?
The enemy, by the way, are not cyborgs or robots. These are people just like you and me. They have feelings and emotions. They have mothers, fathers, loved ones, and friends. Just like we do. Like Jesus said, what you do to the least among you, you do to me. Wonder if these soldiers realize who they are torturing?
In allowing these situations and ignoring the chain of command that should be responsible for their soldiers' behavior, does the United States realize that other countries do not trust us anymore as peace loving people?
Do we realize that when Johnny comes marching home, he will need to vent his stress (as he did with PUCs, as the article states this was a stress-relieving game), and find that he will have to find a PUC to torture? Do we realize the kind of permanent psychological and character damage we do to soldiers when they are commanded to torture? Do we realize that these soldiers who are now geared toward violence will be our neighbors, spouses, parents, and friends when they come back from their time in Iraq?
Should we be frightened of the monster we've created in Iraq? You bet!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI Kind of Scares Me...
Pope Benedict XVI is probably not an evil person, but he scares me for some reason. Remember the character "Penguin" in Batman? Yeah. The Pope reminds me of Penguin. It just scares me a bit. I think I would be a bit frightened if, when I meet Jesus face to face, Jesus looked like "Penguin."
By the way, for some reason, the photos will not post. So, I guess I need to give you some links to see the comparison:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/pope/
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=pg&photoid=495834&id=1800174173
By the way, for some reason, the photos will not post. So, I guess I need to give you some links to see the comparison:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/pope/
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=pg&photoid=495834&id=1800174173
Christ's Representative?
The Roman Catholic Church believes that a priest is Christ's Representative.
Would Christ's representative do pedophile acts? No.
Would Christ's representative do anything to harm the flock? No.
Would Christ's representative be acknowledged as such only from their knowledge and gender? No.
It is more than just book learning and the fact that someone has the right anatomy. It is about character. It is about how someone leads. It is about charity, humanity to all this person comes in contact with, regardless of who they are or their social status. It is about encompassing Christ, and all His loving and sacrificed sacredness, in their being. It is about the Spirit of LOVE. (Remember Paul's view of Love in 1st Corinthians? Yup. That is an excellent model for the faithful, especially priests, to follow.)
There is more to being a priest than just adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is about living the truth and being an example of Jesus to all.
Is a pedophile priest an example of Jesus? IMHO, absolutely not.
Being a priest is not about their sexual orientation. Being a priest has no room for those who abuse their role as Christ's representative.
The Roman Catholic Church has a very strong and solid foundation (Christ and His first followers, who were both men, women and children), the walls built by the faithful as guided by the Holy Spirit are unwaivering to uphold Christ's love (although our humanity shows its disposition as the walls paint flakes off needing to be repented, er repainted frequently), however it seems the establishment's roof (clergy and priests, Christ's representatives) wasn't built with the same integrity and durability. Some roof spans are very strong and have had to withstand the stress from weaker spans, and sometimes have broken due to the weakened state of the roof. The roof is being to fail to protect the faithful, the roof leaks and the elements damage the walls further (bishops allowed pedophile priests to continue serving people knowing that the priest would likely continue inappropriate activities, the diocese is weakened financially and spiritually by pedophile cases). Sometimes the roof sags, forcing its weight against the walls and creating permanent structural damage that could cause the structure to fall (i.e., bankruptcies due to the pedophile priest issues, the victims and their loved ones who have endured the pain of molestation, and those who have taken advantage of the situation, many walls have faltered).
If the US Roman Catholic Church can recover from the downfall, I pray that we will find good architects that hold to the spiritual traditions of our faith, not the societal and cultural traditions that force the collapse of the roof.
Would Christ's representative do pedophile acts? No.
Would Christ's representative do anything to harm the flock? No.
Would Christ's representative be acknowledged as such only from their knowledge and gender? No.
It is more than just book learning and the fact that someone has the right anatomy. It is about character. It is about how someone leads. It is about charity, humanity to all this person comes in contact with, regardless of who they are or their social status. It is about encompassing Christ, and all His loving and sacrificed sacredness, in their being. It is about the Spirit of LOVE. (Remember Paul's view of Love in 1st Corinthians? Yup. That is an excellent model for the faithful, especially priests, to follow.)
There is more to being a priest than just adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is about living the truth and being an example of Jesus to all.
Is a pedophile priest an example of Jesus? IMHO, absolutely not.
Being a priest is not about their sexual orientation. Being a priest has no room for those who abuse their role as Christ's representative.
The Roman Catholic Church has a very strong and solid foundation (Christ and His first followers, who were both men, women and children), the walls built by the faithful as guided by the Holy Spirit are unwaivering to uphold Christ's love (although our humanity shows its disposition as the walls paint flakes off needing to be repented, er repainted frequently), however it seems the establishment's roof (clergy and priests, Christ's representatives) wasn't built with the same integrity and durability. Some roof spans are very strong and have had to withstand the stress from weaker spans, and sometimes have broken due to the weakened state of the roof. The roof is being to fail to protect the faithful, the roof leaks and the elements damage the walls further (bishops allowed pedophile priests to continue serving people knowing that the priest would likely continue inappropriate activities, the diocese is weakened financially and spiritually by pedophile cases). Sometimes the roof sags, forcing its weight against the walls and creating permanent structural damage that could cause the structure to fall (i.e., bankruptcies due to the pedophile priest issues, the victims and their loved ones who have endured the pain of molestation, and those who have taken advantage of the situation, many walls have faltered).
If the US Roman Catholic Church can recover from the downfall, I pray that we will find good architects that hold to the spiritual traditions of our faith, not the societal and cultural traditions that force the collapse of the roof.
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