Alex Constantine on * The Fascists Among Us -

* The Fascists Among Us -

http://alexconstantine.blogspot.com/2008/07/fascists-among-us.html

By Dennis Jensen

The Rutland Herald

June 11, 2008

"But are there not many fascists in your country?"

"There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes."

” Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

I was going through some old newspaper clips the other day and found a long feature piece I wrote in 1990 about a man who I have come to regard as one of the great Americans of the 20th century.

His name was George Henry Seldes, a fiery, muckraking newsman and Vermonter who covered some of the greatest stories of his time.

Seldes, who wrote more than 20 books and worked well into his 90s, lived and wrote in Hartland. He died at the age of 105. Seldes was more than a newsman. Seldes was a free thinker and a true believer in the Constitution and a tireless fighter” in his many works for the civil liberties of all Americans.

In a wide-ranging interview in 1990 for a story celebrating his 100th birthday, Seldes made a bold prediction, one that caught my eye as I reread the piece.

Seldes said he feared that American soldiers would ultimately fight and die in the Middle East.

"For now, I think it's (war) been postponed. I'm afraid, though, the situation will keep boiling and we'll have a war there,"

he said.

Seldes had an incredible career as a newsman, mostly as a foreign correspondent with the Chicago Tribune.

He interviewed Lenin in Russia during an anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, covered the Spanish Civil War with Hemingway and was red-baited and brought before the McCarthy hearings.

Hemingway, Seldes said, was one of the first reporters to write about how, in Spain, "Germany was preparing for the coming (second) world war. And nobody paid attention to him."

Seldes was in Germany and Italy in the 1930s when fascism was nothing but an idea. In the 1990 feature, I wrote:

"And he (Seldes) saw how that idea, bolstered by lies, deception and thugs who made themselves rulers, altered the face of Europe."

Seldes, who interviewed Mussolini, the murderous fascist who came to power in Italy before World War II, was something of an authority on fascism.

But no other event of the 20th century had as great an impact on the old muckraker than did the Spanish Civil War. The world, including the American press, Seldes said, "ganged up on Spain." The fascists eventually won there.

If he were alive today, it would be fascinating to get George Seldes's take on the Bush administration. I can tell you this: Seldes could always smell a rat, and he would have despised what Bush and his thugs have done to the Constitution of the United States in the name of "national security."

He might have even gone so far as to describe Bush as a fascist.

By invading a weak nation without provocation, this government, in fact, duplicated the bullying tactics of the notorious fascists and Nazis of the 1930s and '40s.

This long war in Iraq has done far more than cost this nation in blood and treasure.

It has made our country weaker, militarily, and has helped to create a new generation of terrorists who see us as a ruthless nation that uses force as an instrument of foreign policy.

This war has allowed a corrupt administration to tilt this country in the direction of fascism not seen in my lifetime.

Here's what Bush and his henchmen have done to help disembowel our Constitution:

Warrentless wiretapping.

Discarding the Geneva Convention, which concerns the treatment of captured soldiers.

The illegal prison at Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners are held indefinitely without the right of habeas corpus.

The use of telecommunications companies to spy on Americans.

Cooking up evidence to justify the invasion of Iraq.

And what of the things we have yet to learn?

God bless this country if we are ever the victims of a truly horrific terrorist attack. In addition to the consequences of such an attack, we could very well find our civil liberties further threatened.

Government policies and officials of the kind that Bush brought us will do anything they can to "protect us," even if it means stripping us of our liberties. Fascism could be only a series of devastating attacks away, for Americans and their liberties.

I think that is what Robert Jordan, the central character in Hemingway's great novel about the Spanish Civil War, was referring to when he was asked by a fellow rebel fighter (in the above quote) about how many fascists there were in America.

If we can be so lost as to elect a man who repeatedly violates the highest laws of our land in order to run up his agenda and to allow him to launch an unjust war that continues to this day, can we really be that far away from the fascism that Robert Jordan so frighteningly foresaw?

Dennis Jensen is the outdoor writer for the Herald.
Contact him at dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20080611/OPINION03/806110312/1039/OPINION03

must read on Georgia-Russia war scenario

9.08.2008

Save the little nation from the annihilation!

Stop the genocide of the Ossetians!

The nationalistic and fascist government of Georgia from the year 1989 support the policy of the annihilation and the impression of the aboriginal Ossetian population from the territory that they occupy. From 1991 as a consequence of repeated military actions that were undertaken by the criminal authorities of Georgia against the small nations and the national purge murdered thousands of people –Ossetians, Abkhazians, Armenians, Russians. At the same time the scale of the genocide passed over the silence by mass media. The atrocity of the Georgian fascists, the tortures surpassed the one of the German fascists during the World War II.

The Georgian nation is sick, the ideas of the national oneness, justifying the territorial claims are warmed up by the Georgian mass media. The government of Georgia is financed by the USA, having it's own geopolitical interests in the region. Now the tragedy is developed, the Ossetian people are systematically shot in own houses, perish under blockages of the destroyed houses. The Georgian fascists have destroyed, have wiped about Ossetian villages, the city of Tskhinval is in ruins. It's impossible to count up the quantity of victims, that were buried under blockages of the houses destroyed by fire of the Georgian aggressors, the account goes on thousand. Groans of people from under blockages are audible. The Republic hospital where had helped to the wounded man was destroyed by the Georgian artillery, under blockages were wounded men and medical workers who could not be released under heavy fire of the opponent. Thus the Georgian party cynically declares the constitutional order prompting, one for another offers insinuations to accuse the Russian or Ossetian parts in the conflict. The people of Abkhazia will be the following victims of the Georgian extremism. We ask for the help, solidarity, and if it is possible with an exit on the international sites. Let the world knows the truth, instead of presented by the Georgian masters of falsifications lie.

IА “Рес”

. . . »»»

Inal Pliev: "It's necessary to suppress emphatically these volley plants, the armor-piercing techniques and all those instruments of murder that shoot at the peace town" At this moment the massed, intense, extremely cruel shelling of the housing estate of Tskhinval from the howitzers, mortars, artillery, IFV, tanks with using the system of the volley fire "Grad" from the direction of the Georgian villages continues. The bombardment goes on with the persistent volleys with the intervals under one second. This information was supplemented with the chief of the information department of the South Ossetian part of the Control Committee Inal Pliev. Here is the entire text. There are the hits to the houses that are situated in the immediate region of the boundary. There is fire and smoke around of us. Continues the intimidation and the oppression of the peaceful population. I suppose that the number of the victims will increase badly. But I have no idea about the number of victims, because we are in the shelters. Just now Saakashvily have declared by the radio that "gained a victory over the Russian Federation and Georgian troops are in the zone of the conflict and control Tskhinval totally and the Ossetian separatists will be obliterated". He also made the number of victims of the Ossetian part public (1500 persons). "I don't fight against the peaceful population, but with the gangsters". But in such a small nation can't exist 1500 gangsters. It's obviously that it is done to receive any political dividends. This war don't directed at the political victory, it is directed at total destruction of the peaceful nation. Now it is known that in the villages that have been occupied and that are released now the Georgians have taken away the Ossetian hostages. On the side of Georgia fight the international terrorists that had taken part in the war in Chechnya. It's especially discomposedly that the Georgian part hide the huge number of hostages from the Ossetian villages. This signify that they will be meanly killed as it was done earlier during the previous conflicts. I think that it was wise of Russia to provide safety of civilian population, by talking with the Georgians their native war language. The Russian collaboration is not enough, because the Georgians used heavy artillery against Tskhinval yesterday and today too. It`s necessary to destroy that artillery, because our people are dying, owr town is practically broken to pieses, otherwise South Osetia will be totally destroyed. Inal Pliev, the chief of the information department of the South Ossetian part of the Control Committee. . . . »»»

People of the Republic of South Ossetia apply for the government of the Russian Federation and for the people of Russia! The International Community that has been hypnotized with the crying misinformation of the government of Georgia and the cynical insinuations of Saakashvily doesn't undertake any measures to cut off the military actions of the Georgian part. On the contrary, they make different attempts to deprive the people of the South Ossetia of the peacemaking support and, in that way, doom them to the absolute destruction with the Georgian fascists. Meanwhile, the Georgian nationalists achieve their aims annihilating nearly one and a half thousand people of the South Ossetia and depriving the roofs and making the potential refugees the others. The irrepressible national ambitions and the territorial pretensions are warm up with the Georgian mass media, the supporting of the USA – the world-wide predominant force that has it's own interests in the region. When in April of 1989 in Tbilisi in the result of the dispersal of the unapproved antistate and nationalistic meeting perished 20 Georgian women, the Georgian part demonstrated the national hysteria with the involving of the universal mass media. Though, there is the data that those events also were the skilled insinuation of the Georgian "masters of the theatrical genre". And now, when thousands of people die, the Georgian nation triumphs, approving of the actions of their fascist government. The West is deaf. To live as a part of the fascist state is impossible. We ask for the juridical and legal help for recognizing the independence of the South Ossetia. And we ask for the help in the reducing the truth about the tragedy to the International Community, the RF and the common people. Читать на русском . . . »»»

Tskhinval is under the most frightful fire Innocent Ossetian civilians and Russian citizens killed: exact numbers cannot be established A massive and intensive shelling of the South Ossetian capital Tskhinval continues today as the city endures it's the worst attacks so far in the upsurge of violence in the Caucasus. While much of the civilian population in the capital are sheltering in their houses, many cannot take refuge from the bombs as their homes have been destroyed. There are still many women, children and elderly residents remaining in the city and, according to the latest information available, the city continues to resist the incursion of Georgian troops and has still not been captured. Georgian armed formations and heavy artillery have been accused of doing everything in their power to raze Ossetia with no regard to the safety of the civilian population. читать на русском . . . »»»

8.08.2008 - 11:52 Georgian SU-25 planes dropped bombs on civilians. In these minutes Georgian SU-25 planes dropped bombs on the peaceful citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia. SU-25 also strikes at ossetian village Kvernet, and bypass road,Zar, the only road, which links South Ossetia with the North. Perfidious massive bombardment of Tskhinval by the morning became more intense. In the city and its environs are fighting with heavy weapons. The people of South Ossetia requests assistance from the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the Government of Russian Federation to take urgent measures to protect the residents of South Ossetia, which are citizens of the Russian Federation and to do everything to stop the genocide of the Ossetian people. According to preliminary data, in the city killed more than 15 civilians. The Georgian convoy of tanks and infantry is moving towards Tshinval. Already devastated a large part of the town. Several buildings in the center of the city burn. Parliament House RYUO burned, the government buildings complex is damaged. High-rise housing and other residential buildings are burning. Читать на русском . . . »»»

Eduard Kokoity: «Situation is extremely deteriorated by the Georgian side» South Ossetia intended to take resolute measures on the facts of shelling of Ossetian settlements by the Georgian side. This was stated by the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity. «Presently the situation is very serious. At the height above Nuli village Georgians are constructing another post. We will take most tough decisions in this regard, for this are band formations and they are shelling our villages. The situation is aggravating from the Georgian side»-claimed Eduard Kokoity. . . . »»»

Georgian militaries fired funeral procession Georgian armed formations fired the funeral procession in Mugut village, Znaur region of RSO. As the Minister of Interior informed IA «Res» correspondent there was a funeral of RSO law enforcement organs serviceman Anatoly Kabisov killed during the firing of RSO MIA post in Velit village on the night from 1 to 2 August. . . . »»»

Georgian militaries fired funeral procession Georgian armed formations fired the funeral procession in Mugut village, Znaur region of RSO. As the Minister of Interior informed IA «Res» correspondent there was a funeral of RSO law enforcement organs serviceman Anatoly Kabisov killed during the firing of RSO MIA post in Velit village on the night from 1 to 2 August. . . . »»»

4.08.2008 - 17:09

Eduard Kokoity: «It is a meanness to shoot innocent people with sniper weapons, to hide behind the churches and to build fortifications at the cemeteries»

The President of the Republic of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity received the delegation from North Ossetia. They discussed the situation created over South Ossetia last days. All the participants mentioned the complexity of situation. Eduard Kokoity emphasized that the people should not yield to the provocations organized by the Georgian side, whatever tragic and grave as it may be.

. . . »»»

The Winter of Britain's Discontent - (?)

This morning one can spend hours reading articles and comments about the attack on the "vehicle" (read: fortified Rolls Royce tank) carrying HRM Prince Charles and Camilla - and forgetting what the ESSENCE of this is about (which, if you are a faithful reader of this blog - not many left save intelligence agencies - should be clear to you by now.

So this bit just radiated at me as posted in the New York Times' coverage (under BUSINE$$ - who'd a thought?). Now this is TRUTH: (thanx Terry !)

Terry
U.K.
December 10th, 2010
8:41 am

Whilst violence is very much to be discouraged, the police policy of 'kettling', holding people without food, water or toilet facilities, like sardines, for hours and hours on end, is designed to make them boil over, hence the term. Then the fascists can wade in and crack some skulls while blaming the kettled people they provoked. This is all part and parcel of hypocritical, sneaky Britain, in which 40 percent of the population live in relative poverty, such as is unexpected in a rich nation. The cry about the money running out is not true, it has merely been redirected into the coffers of the super-rich tax evaders, who also direct the plutocracy they falsely claim to be a democracy in Britain. The government is in any case a stitch up and was not voted in by the people, who are disgusted with these criminals. Handy thing, an unwritten constitution and no Bill of Rights! Along with a bit of gerrymandering and three Thatcherite, neo-con political parties that jump to the tune of the same New World Order banker pipers, it's any which way you lose for the majority of the people, as this farce illustrates.

"I would feel ashamed if I didn't deal with the way that the world is, not simply dream of the way the world I would like it to be," he said.'

The thing about this lying public schoolboy's utterance, is that the world is how it is because of manipulative, lying, thieving , classist fascists such as himself and his Bullingdon Club millionaire Cabinet mates.
The fees are just one aspect of the onslaught. The multi-billion Pound National Health Service is being handed on a plate by the coalition to the waiting parasite sons and daughters of the chosen ones, the quack class, who are carefully selected through a racist, classist school education system, which limits people's chances right from birth, so that these vultures can pick it clean to line their already inflated pockets, and further favour the rich over the poor (who pay a lot of money in taxes and National Insurance for 'their''free' NHS). The rich are in other words stealing everything they can, pushing up costs astronomically, or bankonomically, and stripping the people of everything they can in the fashion one would expect to find in the middle ages, not the twenty-first century.

Health outcomes are directly related to wealth, as is schooling, and now the rich want to ensure that the 'oiks', the less well off, are excluded from the knowledge economy, as they have been excluded from so many growth and advancement opportunities down the centuries in a Britain that is becoming even more socially divided than at any time in living memory.

There's also no money for education, but plenty for arms deals, even if the multi-billion Pound weapons are to be mothballed. The bankers levy, which was a paltry GBP 2,6 Billion over five years has also been reduced by get out clauses; the rich tax avoiders and evaders, hiding at least GBP 20 Billion a year are being let off the hook; leaking schools are being left to rot, while richer areas are being given special attention and funding. And so it goes on. Uncontrolled, rampant greed and arrogance by a class of colonialist slavers who believe they are genetically born to rule and be served. No, seriously! Let them eat cake!
And have they decreased and reined in spending, or reduced the trade deficit? Hell no, they've increased both. As long as the good old boys are making money; the old school tie waving in the Lodge, all's dandy.

The student protest is just the beginning. The fascists, including the royals(who got a bit of a wake-up call, when they went on a voyeuristic peek at the plebs, in the old Rolls), are inviting the workers, and anyone excluded from being treated as a human being in 'Great' Brutannia [sic] - which is more than half the population - to join the students out on the streets.

The sooner the place becomes a People's Republic the better, but you won't hear that from the average Brit journalist, since this occupation has also been a preserve of the Tories and their neutered batmen for some time, despite the deliberate pose of neutrality or pinko-trendiness that some have put on.

Is this the winter of Britain's discontent?
Watch this space.

My toolbar for the blog has been disabled, so it's a bit hard to put ALL the links I am going through this morning, but please take the time to look at this and think REAL HARD about what is at stake now as AUSTERITY and idiocy rule ...

Internet control and what is happening in the Middle East

What's at the bottom was forewarded to me. Right now we are talking about cut internet cables in the Middle East - at this time I don't know that Arab Muslim web sites are actually shut down, per se.

The very latest news on google can be found here regarding SEA-ME-WEA-4 and that is already two days stale.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3291606.ece


But the trauma left from 9/11 is huge, and people are bound to get triggered when events like this occur - the lastest speculation is that some one cut the optic fibre cable to prevent shares from being traded as the world's economy tanks out.

I think we are in a very intense period right now planetarily and events that will rock people's sox off were bound to occur.

I believe that the day is not faraway when the antiwar and environmental movement finally, at long last, join hearts and hands and fight back mightily against the fascists. And yes, "They" are fascists!

We are truly in freefall as their handiwork becomes ever more evident and we really need each other right now!

Many thanks to all my real friends!!

Let me repeat, as I endless do, I am NOT anti jewish, I am not anti-semitic; I am however very very opposed to the State of Isreal and its policies and tactics.

Somehow, despite the grim news all the attacks on Isrealis are coming out but nothing about what is truly happening in Gaza.

Veeger
Here are items related to Gaza today

Gov't considers ban on exporting Gaza farm produce via Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/950681.html

You can read them all by going here
http://news.google.ca/news?q=gaza+news&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozil
la:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn

see also this item on the arrest of an al Jazeera reporter in Egypt
http://voanews.com/english/2008-01-31-voa59.cfm

This is the latest ME news taken off the Chinese news source Xinhua

Olmert: Winograd report opportunity for Israel to mend failings

Hamas: Egypt promises Hamas delegation to reopen Rafah

U.S. soldier dies from non-combat related incident in N Iraq

Foreign security guards wound civilian in Baghdad

Egypt confirms closure of border with Gaza

Acting Palestinian PM says Hamas rule in Gaza doesn't terminate PNA dominance

THE FBI SHUT DOWN OF ARAB MUSLIM WEB SITES
IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO 9/11.

FBI accused of anti-Muslim bias Among the sites the FBI shut down just days before 9-11 was the web site for the Arab World's leading independent TV news channel.

FBI Agents Raid Muslim-Owned Internet Company Five days before 9-11.

FBI executes "unspecified search warrant" to shut down Arab Muslim web sites, denies racial bias Four days before 9-11.

US pulls the plug on Muslim websites The day before 9-11, the FBI moved to make sure that Arab Muslims could not defend themselves on the internet from accusations that would be made after the WTC attacks.

Guess who "persuaded" the FBI to shut down the Arab web sites just before 9-11 If you are going to frame someone, you have to make certain they cannot speak in their own defense.

---

See also: The Five Dancing Israelis Arrested on 9/11

Interested yet in the cult of Opus Dei ...?

Spiritual pathology IN ACTION? Great article in the lastest New Yorker magazine ... In my opinion, once the imperialists knocked out indigenous religions, these institutions were inevitable. Something just a little 'beyond' the Jesuits.


Opus Dei headquarters
243 Lexington Avenue
New York
17 story building
costs: US$ 42 million.
NY daily news about the building

And on the bottom, links that discuss cults .. and what is HEALTHY spirituality.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060518.wxcoopusdei18/BNStory/specialComment/home
Canadian news story

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=76182
about the two founders

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=691651
Irish news story

Their own NEW! IMPROVED! website
Opus Dei - Finding God in daily life
Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that helps people seek holiness in their work and ordinary activities.www.opusdei.org/ - 16k - 17 May 2006 - Cached - Similar pagesFAQ - What is Opus Dei? - In the Media - The Da Vinci ...About Opus Dei - Overview - Holy See - "Intolerance and ...More results from www.opusdei.org »

Before I read the book I expected that the evil teachings would be hidden behind a lot of sweet words and could only be found by reading a bit between the lines, but to my surprise it is not like that: The evil is more or less explicitly there for everyone to read. Most notably this is the Fascism that can be found everywhere.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0933932545/9757-9712260-452596

Below is part of a fabulous website I found. For a country by country analysis of Opus Dei "operations" go to the site.
The Unofficial Opus Dei FAQ
Franz Schaefer, http://www.schaefer@mond.at/
v0.24
This document is copyrighted by Franz Schaefer except for the definition of Fascism (which is from Chip Berlet). Permission to copy this document verbatim for any purpose is hereby granted. The latest version of this document can be found at: http://www.mond.at/opus.dei. Please forgive me any grammatical mistakes or misspellings, as English is not my mother tongue. (But I am always happy if someone tells me where I have made mistakes.) Also note that this is ``Work in progress'' and I am still adding material and changing things where I found that I was not accurate enough. The next thing planned is a chapter about the ``late'' Escriva to see if he learned from his faults when he grew older. Credits: Dr. Thomas Wilson for language screening and numerous people for sending me their opinions about my pages. En Español: http://opusdei.port5.com/faqs.htm
1. Q: What is Opus Dei?
A: Opus Dei a fundamentalistic sect which operates in a Catholic environment. Officially it is part of the Catholic church and so they claim that they are not a sect. Well, it all depends on how you define the word ``sect''. It would be best for you to derive your own opinion by reading this FAQ.
2. Q: Why have I written this FAQ:
A: A friend of mine got sucked into this cult and I had to explain to her why it is a bad thing. When I was searching on the Internet for information I found very little. There is their official home page " http://www.opusdei.org/ ", which does not reveal much about their true nature. Since I also want to prevent other people from falling into Opus Dei's traps I have written this document. I once was a religious person and a Catholic myself, though I have always been an extremly critical person and did not accept all the positions of the Church. In my opinion, the Catholic Church has accumulated a lot of dust that covers the message of Jesus. Opus Dei is an organisation that adds to this dust and mistakes the dust for the message in a lot of ways. Where one could argue that the original ideas from Jesus made some sense it is already rather questionable what the Catholic Church makes out of it. Even more questionable is the dangerous ideology that the Opus Dei spread in their name. But since the Opus Dei is successfull in taking over the Catholic Church there is less and less distinction between them every day.
3. Q: What kind of people are they?
A: Mostly good people. People with good hearts who love God and want to do good things and sacrifice themselves for the work of God. Only/mostly good people are attracted by them. These people are all a bit naive because they make one big mistake: They think that the Opus Dei can not be bad, because the people there are good people and they are all very religious. Therefore, they do not see all the evil ideology which is in the teachings of Josemaria Escriva (founder of Opus Dei). Most of these people are rather intelligent, as the Opus looks for intelligent people because they want to increase their influence on society this way and they can get more money from them. But intelligence does not always go along with a critical mind. Particularly when it comes to religious topics, many people refuse to use their intellect at all.
4. Q: Are you supposed to use our intellect on religious things?
A: Of course you are. Even though the fact that most religious teachings contain some irrationality most of the teachings are usually accessiblt to the rational mind. e.g: Think of Jesus, he always explained his ideas to his followers in the way of telling parables which he hoped that they would think about and understand. In fact jesus never tought any misterious or magical things at all. No dogmatic believes that someone has to follow without understanding them.
The Catholic Church has made many bloody mistakes in its history (crusades, burning of witches, the Spanish inquisition, etc ... , etc ... see http://spunky.paranoia.com/~wcs/victims.htm) ), so why should we assume it is perfect now? If we do not use our minds on religious things we might as well follow the sect that committed collective suicide with the California cult when the comet came close to earth because they thought there would be a starship to bring them to God. (Of Course, who knows: maybe they were right and Catholic people are wrong?)
Well, if you believe in God then you have to believe that God has given you our brain to use it and a conscience to decide right from wrong. In opposition to this the Opus Dei demands us to sacrifice our intellectuality to them and to completely trust their teachings as they claim these teachings are all God's will. Criticism is not wanted and not allowed. They will tell you that this only covers the religious field and that the members are otherwise completely free to do what they want. While I do believe that we should not completely trust humans in religious fields this is belittling. For a man who takes his religious beliefs seriously, almost any decision in life will be covered by his beliefs. So do not sacrifice your rational mind to any human organisation regardless of how holy they seem.

5. Q: What are the positive things in Opus Dei?
5.1 Q: What is the ``childhood in front of God'' about?
A: The idea of ``childhood in front of God'' has been nicely covered in the main book of the founder of Opus Dei (Josemaria Escriva: ``The Way''). Unfortunately, like every thing that is meant for God the Opus tries to utilise it for itself. So out of the ``childhood in front of God'' the ``childhood in front of the Opus'' is developed - so that their members do not act on their own responsibility, but leave every important question to the Opus, like children do with their parents.
5.2 Q: What about ``becoming a saint in every day life''?
A: I think every one here on earth should make this world a better place, so there can never be enough "saints". Making the world a better place can be done by charity and love. Unfortunately the Opus Dei view is that becoming a Saint is mostly a question of prayer; the topic of charity and love is of secondary importance to the love of God. (If Escriva, the founder of the Opus, had been a person with a little understanding of the Bible he would have known that there is no difference between these two types of love at all:
And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Matthew 25.45
5.3 Q: What about the development of a deeper spirituality
A: This is also one of their good points. Keeping up a high level of spirituality in our modern world is not an easy task and they do have some good concepts of how to do this. Of course it depends on what is meant with spirituality. If spirituality means a "dedication to too good and useful things for humankind" then it would be a good thing. Here the problem starts with the Opus Dei ideology....

6. Q: What are the negative things in Opus Dei?
A: In short:
The Fascist ideology in Escriva's teachings. The fundamentalism. The
Intolerance towards other religions.
The dishonesty.
The danger inherent in the undemocratic structure of blindly following orders.
The danger inherent in the psychological control they have of their members due to the ``weekly chat'' where they have to tell the innermost details of their souls to their spiritual leaders.
The aggressive and manipulative way in which they try to catch new members.
The evil character of the founder.
The fact that they do not reveal their true goals and keep a lot of material secret from the public.
The smug thinking of belonging to an elite.
6.1 Q: What is fascism?
A: A good definition of it can be found at a site dedicated to reminding us of the crimes of the holocaust. (by Chip Berlet) http://www.remember.org/hist.root.what.html
An other good definition comes from Umberto Eco (14 features of fascism): http://www.loop.com/~bramble/fascist.html I used the one from Chip Berlet. (to compare Escriva's teachings with the (mostly equivalent definition from Eco is left as an exercise to the reader:))
Here are some quotations from that document:
The seeds of fascism, however, were planted in Italy. ``Fascism is reaction,'' said Mussolini, but reaction to what? The reactionary movement following World War I was based on a rejection of the social theories that formed the basis of the 1789 French Revolution, and whose early formulations in this country had a major influence on the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. . . . Fascists particularly loathed the social theories of the French Revolution and its slogan: ``Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.''
Liberty from oppressive government intervention in the daily lives of its citizens, from illicit searches and seizures, from enforced religious values, from intimidation and arrest for dissenters; and liberty to cast a vote in a system in which the majority ruled but the minority retained certain inalienable rights;
Equality in the sense of civic equality, egalitarianism, the notion that while people differ, they all should stand equal in the eyes of the law;
Fraternity in the sense of the brotherhood of mankind; that all women and men, the old and the young, the infirm and the healthy, the rich and the poor, share a spark of humanity that must be cherished on a level above that of the law, and that binds us all together in a manner that continuously re-affirms and celebrates life.
This is what fascism as an ideology was reacting against. Its support came primarily from desperate people anxious and angry over their perception that their social and economic position was sinking. Frustrated with the constant risk of chaos, uncertainty and inefficiency implicit in a modern democracy based on these principles, fascism, the antithesis of democracy became an option.. . . Fascism and Nazism as ideologies involve to varying degrees some of the following hallmarks:
Nationalism and super-patriotism with a sense of historic mission;
Aggressive militarism even to the extent of glorifying war as good for the national or individual spirit;
Authoritarian reliance on a leader or elite not constitutionally responsible to an electorate;
Cult of personality around a charismatic leader;
Reaction against the values of Modernism, usually with emotional attacks against both liberalism and communism;
Exhortations for the homogeneous masses of common folk (Volkish in German, Populist in the U.S.) to join voluntarily in a heroic mission - often metaphysical and romanticized in character;
Dehumanization and scapegoating of the enemy - seeing the enemy as an inferior or subhuman force, perhaps involved in a conspiracy that justifies eradicating them;
The self image of belonging to a superior form of social organisation beyond socialism, capitalism and democracy;
Elements of national socialist ideological roots, for example, ostensible support for the industrial working class or farmers; but ultimately, the forging of an alliance with an elite sector of society.
Abandonment of any consistent ideology in a drive for state power.
6.2 Q: Why are they Fascistic?
A: The term ``Fascist'' has created some confusion. The ideology of Opus Dei has all the features commonly found in the abstract political category of ``fascism'' even though it is a very special form of this ideology, since it is mixed with elements of the Christian religion. Reading Escriva's book ``The Way'' with the above definition of fascism in mind, it is evident that he is the perfect Fascist. Here are some indicators: In #849 he directly states that he is against Voltaire's ideas.
Fascist loathe Liberty:
They have this law and order mentality: every thing should be under the control of the leaders. Large chapters in the book are about leadership and blind obedience. I guess Hitler would have loved this book. (read #56 till #80) Of course, they want to control the information you get. Like in #339:
You shall not buy books without the advice of an experienced Christian. It is so easy to buy something useless or mischievous. Often people believe they are carrying a book under their arm ... but they only carry a load of mud. (Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #339)
According to Maria del Carmen Tapia they also read the private mail of their members. And of course they want enforced religious values, too. Some People argue that other spiritual works also recommend obedience as useful but this does not prove it is a good thing. Particularly, the blind obedience (blind because the Opus also controls the information one can get) is dangerous. Normally if a person joins a monastery he will have to submit to some obedience there too: but that obedience usually only concerns ``outside'' things. You will do the house work they want you to do and you would go to mass regularly ... etc. but you would still be allowed to think independently. The obedience that also concerns mind and thinking is of a much higher level of obedience. Would you want to live in a world where the way you have to think is dictated? Criticising religious things and a free will is not wanted and not allowed: (see e.g. #945, #53, ...)
Fascists loathe Equality:
Escriva teaches that people should not even be equal in the eyes of God!! (#98 priests are more valuable than other people). In many others the need for leadership is expressed (e.g. #60, #61) the whole chapters about leadership all implicitly suggest that there are people who are superior and this is their legitimation of why they should rule over others. (I think there is a teaching where he explicitly says that he does not believe in equality. Can't find it, though ...)
Fascists loathe Fraternity.
One would think that Fraternity is something every person would immediately agree with, but his idea of fraternity is rather limited to the fraternity within the sect. (#458,) Also it is not the humanity that is a motivation for fraternity but a selfish way of being strong within the sect and against THE WORLD. (#460, #462, #55, #924) There seems to be no idea in them that the people outside the sect are equal humans too; they are just potential victims for their ``apostolate'', enemies, or even ``devils''. At the moment where he calls someone ``devil'' he excludes these people from: ``... a spark of humanity that must be cherished on a level above that of the law, and that binds us all together in a manner that continuously re-affirms and celebrates life'' as it is expressed so neatly in the definition of fraternity. Furthermore the characteristics of fascism from the above document have been:
Nationalism and super-patriotism with a sense of historic mission. Nationalism is something they can not really afford as they want to be globally active. Nonetheless they do think a little bit of nationalism is good for being Catholic: read #525. Obviously their goal is not to win power in a country but to win power in the Catholic Church and in the whole world. Where fascism in general needs enemies to blame for all the evil Opus Dei has to be very selective. Because of its global nature it can not as easily pick other nations. It would be a dangerous game to openly spread hate against other religions. This would lead easily to contradictions with their own spirituality (one of their good sides) but also to intolerance of other religions, which is not hidden very well (see my chapter about tolerance in my FAQ. In any event, the main enemies they picked are:
all people who criticise them.
communists.
some mysterious Freemason... dark world conspiracy.
Glorifying war: see e.g.:#306 or #311. It is not clear how much the words are metaphors or how much they are meant as written. (They are in a chapter entitled ``more from the inner life'' (at least this is the name of the chapter in the German edition), but his points often have other meanings than just the one that the chapter would suggest. In Spain there are many Opus members in top positions in the army (from the TAZ/Berlin 15.9.1995). Or read about the Archbishop of El Salvador below.
Authoritarian reliance on a leader or elite not constitutionally responsible to an electorate. There is no democracy within the Opus Dei. The points which emphasise the importance of leadership are numerous.
Cult of personality around a charismatic leader. It may be that he was a man with very bad traits. It is curious that such a person has any status at all. However, in the practical life of the Opus Dei the members had to treat him and is relatives like if he where God himself. (read e.g. Carmen Tapia's book). Members still write letters to him although he is already dead. If you go and ask Opus Dei members, they will tell you that they have a lot of material about Escriva that they do not show to the public because it would destroy the portrait that they have painted of him.
Reaction against the values of Modernism, usually with emotional attacks against both liberalism and communism. e.g. see #849. Communism is not directly mentioned but the anti-communism is everywhere in Opus Dei.
Exhortations for the homogeneous masses of common folk (Volkish in German, Populist in the U.S.) to join voluntarily in a heroic mission - often metaphysical and romanticized in character. (What could be more metaphysical than religion?) Also, he constantly appeals to heroic feelings when he describes how noble it would be to serve the Opus Dei.
Dehumanization and scapegoating of the enemy - seeing the enemy as an inferior or subhuman force, perhaps involved in a conspiracy that justifies eradicating them. (Enemies are devils. or see e.g.: #833 where he constructs the image of Freemasons as a demon-like enemy;)
The self image of belonging to a superior form of social organisation beyond socialism, capitalism and democracy. Most Christians will see their belief not as something that contradicts democracy or socialism. However, by merging all his political statements in his book, Escriva places his beliefs in direct competition with political ideologies. From his Fascist ideas it is clear that he is against socialism. All the points about leadership/obedience show that he does not think all too well of democracy. I think he has no problem with capitalism, if you have enough money you can also buy a little bit of holiness by being a ``cooperator'' (see their homepage).
While their ideological root is definitely not directly national socialistic, the forging of an alliance with an elite of society is exactly what they do. What `` ostensible support for the industrial working class or farmers'' concerns: They keep them silent and obedient by promising them a better life in heaven with their ``sanctification of ordinary work'' slogan. This is an abuse of religion.
Abandonment of any consistent ideology in a drive for State power. Fascist ideology is in contradiction with Christianity and so it is not all to easy to combine these two things. The question is: Why did he press all the Fascist ideology into this book at all? Of course if you want to construct a sect than the ideology comes handy: The leadership/obedience constellation is especially useful, but then he could have hidden the ideology much better behind religiose explanations. The fact that the ideology is so open, suggests it must have been something very important to Escriva. But to make his sect a success he does not care that it is in contradiction with Christianity. (Maybe he did not see that at the beginning, but I imagine that a lot of people will have talked about that topic with him. If he did not want to agree with a logical argumentation he used his 2+2+God equation (#471). To agree with the arguments of others? Never! (#54) Furthermore: Inconsistencies and contradictions gives you more freedom when you want to use the ideology to direct people into certain directions. When you want to command them, the one thing you can use is this point, and when you want to command them otherwise you use another.
One last point: Like the Nazis' head the ``entartete Kunst'' (art that did not conform to the official sense of beauty) Escriva also labels modern art as ``morbid'' and ``subjective''. (While, of course it is subjective - but it does not hide that - but he implicitly claims that he has the objective truth). Cutting down the freedom of arts is also a sign of Fascistic and totalitarian governments.
Conclusion: As it can be seen there is a lot of Fascism in the book of Escriva and in his sect. The reader who is aware of it will find a lot more in his book and in the behaviour of Opus Dei. The strong focus on leadership in particular, makes this organisation extremely dangerous, and with the mind control of the weekly ``confident'' talks, their leaders have incredible power over their followers.

WANT TO KNOW IF OPUS DEI IS STILL FASCIST ...? All these are still on line.

A Fresh Look at Timeless TruthsFather C. John McCloskey, III, STD is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and a research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute. Father John's articles and reviews, all of which are archived on this website, have been published in major Catholic and secular periodicals, including Catholic World Report, Crisis Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, National Catholic Register, Washington Times, the New York Times, and ACEPRENSA.
Father McCloskey's Most Recent Articles
State of the US Catholic Church at the Beginning of 2006The Catholic Church in the United States is in a state of profound transition.
Estados Unidos Se Prepara Para La Nueva EvangelizaciónBreve recorrido por la Iglesia católica en el país norteamericano.
Why Converts Choose Catholicism Book ReviewFather reviews Dave Shiflett's book, Exodus.
The Triumph of Rita Rizzo Book ReviewA review of Raymond Arroyo's biography of Mother Angelica.
God and Man at Georgetown Prep Book ReviewMark G. Judge reveals how he became a Catholic "despite 20 years of Catholic schooling."
Política sin Dios, por George Weigel
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization Book ReviewThomas E. Woods Jr. has written a challenging and indeed almost defiant book.
Revisitemos a Europa Reconsideremos a America
The Cube and the Cathedral Book ReviewChristophobia and culture. George Weigel looks at Europe.
Recuerdo Eucaristico De Juan Pablo El Grande
John Paul II - Apostle of LifeThe death of the Holy Father John Paul II, and the days which followed, were for the Church and for the entire world an extraordinary time of grace.
Otra Universidad para Charlotte SimmonsEn Estados Unidos crecen las universidades de inspiración religiosa y la presencia cristiana en los otros campus
Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver Book ReviewThe similarities between Sargent Shriver and Thomas More.
Como Encontrar Su Conyuge En Internet
A Eucharistic Recollection of Pope John Paul the Great
Saving Charlotte SimmonsThe United States stands alone in the world in offering true educational alternatives to the frankly secularist academy.
Lecturas Recomendadas Para El Año 2005 Spanish
Recommended Reading for 2005Spending a year in Britain does give a different perspective on the world.
Europe Revisited - and America ReconsideredThe spiritual illness of Europe may be terminal - but death is not the end.
The Compleat Gentlemen Book ReviewBrad Miner examines the what makes a gentleman by considering various aspects of this term and its history.
Universal Church, Global VillageThe Church alone knows what's wrong with the world, and its message will be the best medium or remedy to solve the many problems of the global village in our new century.
Christianity Tomorrow"...living through one of the transforming moments in the history of religion worldwide."
Friendship: The Key to the Evangelization of MenTo build the civilization of love and truth, strong male friendship must be revived.
Getting Started with Recommended ReadingHere are three of Father John's most popular articles:
Winning New ConvertsAs the Catechism reminds us, winning converts to our Faith should be a constant concern for all Catholics: "The true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers... or to the faithful." How should we go about it?
Spiritual ReadingDespite the lure of secular media, Catholics must spend time reading the Sacred Scriptures and other spiritual classics. Father John explains why we need spiritual reading and offers advice on what and how to read.
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church, a 2000-Year History Book ReviewH.W. Crocker makes the history of the Church come alive in this new book. Crocker writes with an attitude: he presumes that the Catholic Church is a divine institution founded by Christ and destined to last until the Second Coming.
More Featured Articles by Father John...

anonymous girl, ex-member
anonymous girl, ex-member
anonymous girl, ex-member
anonymous boy from barcelona
girl from germany
girl, was "born" into opus dei
boy, wanted to become a member but ..
about opus dei at a university in texas
girl, tells about the secrecy there..
girl, tells about her friends and opus dei activity on campus of unversity
assistent numerary tells how she came to the opus dei
EVERY THING YOU SAY IS A LIE (en español, I wrote him a friendly response but as with all those people who claim that there are lies on my page he could not come up with anything substantial).
Girl tells how they worship Escriva at his tomb.
on the "apostolate" of "friendship"
You don't dialogue with these people... They are RIGHT
child of opus dei member seeks for persons who can understand her trauma
how opus dei betrayed the pro-life movement
opus dei people are good people
Indoctrination at the age of 9
Opus Dei Teacher in school for 11 year old
exchange students - primary target for recruitment


General information on cults and sects:
Washington Post about Cult and Mind Control
Book Excerpt: Totalism (excellent)
Cult Awareness
Understanding Cult Mind Control
ex-cult archive
sequiem - Sekteninformation Deutschland
Otherwise related information:
What is a psychologically healthy spirituality

ACTivsm: REAL heART VANOUVER 18 February 2008

I just got a "call" from the City of Vancouver - a relief in two ways: One is my sitemeter is back to working AND I guess no one else today is going to get their computer knocked out when stopping by. (Yesterday, one friend did indeed get his computer knocked coming in for a read, a smoke and cuppa of joe, but how could he know in advance>)

And I went back to the link to see what lead Vancouver to visit virtual Toronto, and I found this WONDERFUL WONDERFUL POST -- here is REAL ART! PERFECTO for Washington's friggin berfday .. Should NOT be this way, of course, the fascists should have been arrested a long time ago (but that's of course the same old story we cover here again and again and again .. we would prefer doing art and writing book reviews or something .. just a little tiny bit of glamour would be nice!! )

Can you spell that OLD, OLD, (stale) phrase -

I-N-F-L-U-E-N-C-E P -E-D-D-L-I-N-G

Nice Frasier institute! Real Bloody Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Veeger

KARL ROVE /VANCOUVER ART GALLERY/ CALL TO ACTION

URGENT CALL TO ACTION !!! KARL ROVE @ VANCOUVER ART GALLERY MONDAY FEB 18. ( EMAIL BLAST THIS TO YOUR PEOPLE)



Sorry for the late notice on this but this is ridiculous, Karl Rove coming to Vancouver to collect his blood money on behalf of the Fraser Institute.
We need Karl and the people paying him to realize that we're not going to be complicit in war crimes. Tyranny is on our doorstep.
Dress appropriately and get creative in a non-violent, non- threatening way. Have fun with this and use your imagination.
The Red Carpet will be good times. Meeting at 530pm on the Robson Steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Let's have a welcoming party at each access point and bring a camera !

posted by BALLS AND MY WORD™ at 9:15 PM

The Bush Occupation of America - Media Urged to Expose Crime Family

The Bush Occupation of America - Media Urged to Expose Crime Family

An excellent article...


Summary Of The Bush Crime Family History

For any civilized endeavor to maintain its civility, there must be enforceable laws and/or rules; without which, there is anarchy. So, before we find ourselves struggling to regain our lost freedoms, like those tragic heros in Burma/Myanmar, perhaps we should take a strategic review of how we arrived at this alarming state, honestly apprise our current status, and as we approach another major election, cast about for viable options for now as well as the foreseeable future.
Any objective observer with the barest awareness of contemporary history should be able to readily trace the rise of this powerful movement that has taken control of the reins of power in the United States. The most blatant initial historical record is when Grandpa Prescott Bush and some of his cronies tried to entice General Smedley Butler to muster enough World War I veterans to take over the Presidency of The United States in 1933. Then again, in 1942 (a year after World War II was declared), Prescott Bush and this same cabal -- in their drive toward fascism -- were finally forced by the "Trading With the Enemy Act" to terminate their extensive business dealings with Hitler.
After WWII, this American branch of the Nazis didn't lose the war, they just transformed the battleground. They expanded their "connections" with Hitler's intelligence networks from The War into the formation of our own CIA. It is also this same group that President Eisenhower opaquely identified as the "Military Industrial Complex," in his dark farewell speech to us. Later, it was Poppy George H.W. Bush who sat on a boat (named Barbara) off-shore and directed the Cuban Bay Of Pigs fiasco. As a direct consequence of that largely unsolicited action, John Kennedy banished him and his CIA brothers from his administration, albeit only temporarily, as George H.W. Bush, then an active CIA agent, was later photographed in Dealey Plaza that sunny November day in 1963.


(Some Iraqi "insurgents", just two of the million + slaughtered in Iraq, never mentioned in the
American "free press." )

...article contines..

From FDR to today, the Bush Crime Family and their fixated core of corporate fascists have been tightening their grip on the throats of the American political, legal, economic and media systems -- as the following excerpt from the Democratic Underground so well outlines:

"A Pocket History of the Bush Organized Crime Family Crime Line

Hitler's "Angel" -- Prescott Bush and his Wall Street cronies helped finance and arm the Third Reich.* Some continued trading with the enemy even after Germany declared war on America.
Bay of Pigs -- Bush the Oilman and his Cuban and Mafia friends raise hell in Miami, New Orleans and Houston. Nice fellahs. LBJ called their organization "A regular Murder Inc in the Caribbean."

November 1963, Dallas* -- George DeMohrenschildt the "White Russian geologist" is friends with both Lee Harvey Oswald and George Herbert Walker Bush. Small world, as the coincidences get bigger. Almost 40 years later, FBI memos surface that detail how George Herbert Walker Bush fingered a young conservative the day of the assassination and "Mr. George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency" cleared the anti-Castro Cubans in Miami days later.

Vietnam -- OK for poor kids to fight an illegal war started over the phony Gulf of Tonkin Incident, just as long as "W," the drunken coke-whore dim son, "destined" to become preznit some day, or the rest of his rich frat brothers don't have to go. Meanwhile Poppy's rich friends became very, very, very rich.

Watergate -- Nixon was willing to throw anyone and everyone to the wolves -- except George Herbert Walker Bush and "The Texans" because "They'll do anything for our side." Gee. Would "murder" qualify as "anything." Think so, especially seeing how Nixon got the ziggy and Bush ended up in the clear.

October Surprise -- Carter probably would've beat Reagan, but Bush and his buddies in INTEL and the military-industrial complex cut a deal with the Ayatollah to hold the hostages clear through the election. On inauguration day, they got to leave Tehran. A couple of weeks later, Israel starts sending US-supplied weapons. It proves so "profitable," that Ollie North cuts out the Israelis and decides to sell them US-direct.

Reagan survives assassination attempt --Just a couple of months after Reagan is sworn in, Reagan is ALMOST taken out and Bush stood ready to take charge. His son Neil was ready to have dinner that night with John Hinckley's brother, Scott. Odd how these "One Degree of Separation" coincidences always happen to Poppy.
INSLAW/Promis -- The turd Ed Meese and cronies stole software that enabled the Justice Department to track criminal prosecutions, had their INTEL buddies add a trap door, and then sold it around the world, making it possible to track what every BFEE-connected dictator or friend from Saddam to d'Aubission is up to -- in Freedom's name.

Iraq-gate / Banca Nazionale del Lavoro arms -- Just how do you think Iraq managed to run its war against Iran for all those years? Saddam had to be getting juice from somebody, so they found a low-level banker in Miami to take the fall. US taxpayers floated Saddam $5 billion in loans. Meanwhile the Iran-Iraq war is prolonged by years and several hundreds of thousands of lives are lost.
BCCI International Money Laundering for Terrorists & Intelligence Community -- The terrorists' favorite bank, used by among others Abu Nidhal, Osama bin Laden, Ollie North, CIA, SIS and KGB. The Reagan and Bush administrations and friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress did all they could to keep it open. John Kerry got it shut down. \

Savings & Loan Scandal -- Legalized robbery in the form of "loans" made to the politically connected, Mafia and INTEL-huggers

Odd how even Neil Bush, who made millions while Silverado, the S&L he helped direct, lost billions in bad loans to Bush cronies, never spent a day in jail. Kid from Detroit steals a pair of shoes from the mall and it's OK to shoot him dead. Meanwhile, after the bailout "fixes" everything, Poppy's very, very, very rich friends become ultra-rich.

Iran-Contra -- Neo-con Michael Ledeen, Munacher Ghorbanifar and Adnan Khashoggi bend over backward to sell arms the Ayatollah and use the profits to arm the terrorist Contras. Most of the players should be in prison, but, thanks to Poppy's pardon, remain free to roam the streets, let alone corridors of power, and continue the terror.

Arbusto, HARKEN, Spectrum-7, Aloha -- Every company the crazy monkey's ever touched, he's run into the ground. Yet Poppy's family and friends, including James R Bath, the bin Mahfouz and bin Ladens, always help him out. No wonder the dim bulb went off thinking of ENRON, Kenny Boy and all the possibilities.

Gulf War I -- Poppy Bush gives April Glaspie the signal to greenlight Saddam's "border dispute" and push into Kuwait. No wonder Saddam felt betrayed when Cheney ordered the extermination of tens of thousands of fleeing Iraqi conscripts heading north on the "Highway of Death." Meanwhile, Poppy's ultra-rich friends become ultra-ultra-ultra rich.

Selection 2000 Shreds US Constitution -- After fixing things up so that 70,000 likely Democratic votes and voters are turned away or disenfranchised, the 2000 Florida Presidential "election" results in a "tie." Associate Justice Antonin Scalia gets the idea that maybe the GOP-packed Supreme Court should grant petitioner George W Bush's request for taking the Oval Office, anyway. Someone on DU wrote: "You don't steal elections to do good things." Prophetic words, those.

ENRON Energy Policy -- Sneering Dick Cheney meets with Kenny Boy Lay to discuss ways of helping ENRON rip-off California and the rest of America. There were others there, like Chevron and EXXON, because they need oil, too. Besides, the ultra-, ultra-, ultra-rich can never have enough.

9-11 -- After ignoring the warnings of outgoing President Bill Clinton, former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, anti-Terror Chief Richard Clarke, and Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, George W Bush ignores a report titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S." A month later, 3,000 innocent people are murdered. Two ways of looking at this one:

1.) Criminal Negligence, at best;

2.) Treason, most likely.

Gulf War II -- George W Bush, Sneer, and most of "the bureaucracy" make a case for going to war in Iraq, stating there are clear-cut connections between 9-11* and Saddam Hussein, who planned to use his arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons on America. (So far, the only bioweapon used on America was Anthrax that came from a US Army lab grown from a batch of the University of Iowa Strain.) Anwyay, it's not really odd to see how attacking Iraq was the Administration's number 1 priority, according to former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and anti-Terror Chief Richard Clarke, from January 2001. The reason? There's money to be made there and power to be gained at home."(end of excerpt); * links added
--
So much for a historical perspective; where do we currently stand? Well, our political, legal, governmental, military and medical systems as well as our unions have all been thoroughly compromised. Financially, since we are deeply in debt (mostly to Japan and China) "they" are selling off our corporate and country assets, our tax system and the Federal Reserve Banking system are beyond any controls, the demoralized and frightened middle class is being rapidly dissolved, our worldwide reputation is sullied more than at any time in our history and the value of the dollar continues to fall. Our infrastructure and environment are deteriorating while corporate and political corruption are rampant, bigotry and racism abound, our traditional news sources have become cheering profit centers for the administration and our voting processes are, at best, unreliable. Not the healthy picture of progress and hope that used to be the norm, prior to the sixties -- before someone started killing off the Kennedy brothers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
--
This may sound like a broken record, but the next election is truly going to be critical to the survival of our democratic way of life -- and thus the world. Perhaps we should begin to think of these individuals that support this administration as bloated, self-absorbed and out-of-control addicts, in need of intervention. Now, in an intervention, the first thing that has to happen is that the addict must be subjected to the facts of reality until their wall of denial is first exposed and then accepted. The initial indication that that has occurred is when the addict admits that there is a problem and then becomes actively motivated to do something about it. It appears that the 2006 midterm elections demonstrated that a growing majority of Americans think things are broken and want a change. Now, is the time to educate and motivate our fellow citizens to seek out and regain their lost sense of morality.

Article in its entirety is at: http://www.sonic.net/~taryfast/destruction.html

The article is by Tarry Faster, and most appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to express your views complete with links to historical sources.

posted by Stealth Lesbian