No one said diplomacy is easy...
By Thom Hartmann A...
As of Thursday, Syrian officials said their country had become a full member of the Chemical Weapons Convention, however U.N. officials reacted with caution. One official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “I think there are a few more steps they have to take [before Syria is signatory of the convention].” As of now, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is suggesting a 30-day delay before submitting chemicals weapons data, but the U.S. and other nations say that the turnover of these weapons must be timely, verifiable, and complete.
After meeting with his Russian counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry said diplomatic efforts to prevent a military strike were “constructive,” but warned “this is not a game,” and “there ought to be consequences if [the handover of chemical weapons] doesn't take place.” Secretary Kerry kept the threat of military action alive, and said, “the words of the Syrian regime, in our judgment, are simply not enough.” At this time, it's unclear whether President Assad will agree to a shorter time frame, or whether Russia and other nations will continue to cooperate while the threat of military action remains on the table. A spokesman for the U.N. said they received an “accession document” from Syria, which expressed their commitment to the international chemical weapons ban, and currently, it is being studied.
In the meantime, Secretary Kerry set up further diplomatic discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the United Nations envoy to Syria. Those discussion will take place in New York later this month, and they will move on to setting up a peace conference, if Syria has began following through with their commitments. No one said that these diplomatic efforts would be easy, but many are hopeful that efforts will be successful, and keep our nation from starting another war.
Comments
#2
It doesn't madder what your move is as long as your enemy does not understand it.
#3
To think that Kerry could have been our President once...and that I might have even voted for him. Oh, well, what else is new...I voted for Obama the fist time...but I sure didn't the last time.
#4
In the words of Rom Emanuel " Who else are we going to vote for"?
#5
Quote DAnneMarc:It would be most helpful if the UN could arrange to seal off Syrian borders to any military contraband that might be headed to terrorist or rebel strongholds.
Excellent idea! I'm sure that Prince BeenTheir Al Insulting, the CIA's darling from Saudi Arabia, will continue to supply Al Qaida with weapons...perhaps even more chemical weapons.
I was reading about the Al Qaida attack on Maaloula, Syria where they captured a hotel, Maaloula Hotel, on a peak overlooking Maaloula. They fired down upon the mountain village.
Maaloula is a small village north of Damascus that is surrounded by mountain peaks. They are largely Christian and are loyal to Bashar al-Assad.
I went to Google Earth and found the hotel where there is a 360 degree panoramic view of the hotel at 33°50'45.14"N 36°32'41.82"E In the view, you can pan around look down upon the village, then pan around to the hotel. The camera is located on a ledge that juts out. It's kind of funny because when you look back at the hotel..just to the left in the foreground, you can see an Arab staring back from out of his sleeping bag.
Looking back over the village, you can see, on a nearby peak, a statue of Mary.
I understand Al Qaida was pretty ruthless against these Maaloula citizens. But then they were pretty ruthless against the citizens in the area to the east of Damascus...where they used chemical weapons in a false flag operation.
#6
1110Roger: Well, I suppose we could write in Alfred E. Neuman or Bugs Bunny! The host of politicians we've voted for so far are just as comical! Except they really aren't funny...they destroy lives!
Maybe they need to create a new comic series called The Little Rascals with actual caricatures of the Presidents since before Reagan.
"Diplomacy Hell! I want to kill someone!" says little Stymie! "Oh, I know...lets arm our former enemies, Al Qaida, and have our rich camel humper from Saudi Arabia supply them with chemical weapons. Then they can commit even greater atrocities than they did in Maaloula where they butchered a bunch of Christians, cut off heads, and raped Nuns!"
"Boys will be boys, eh? Heh! Heh! says Darla."
"You said it!" says Spanky.
#7
“Behind the Shock Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments”
A book by Gina Perry
Quote truthdig article:The real topic of [this Yale University] study [by Milgram] was obedience: Would someone administer what they believed were painful, perhaps lethal, shocks to another person, for no reason other than being told by an authority figure to do so?The obedience experiments showed, Milgram later told “60 Minutes,” that if “a system of death camps were set up in the United States of the sort we have seen in Nazi Germany, one would be able to find sufficient personnel for those camps in any medium-sized American town.”
The results of the experiments were captivating, hinting that we all carry the latent seeds of Eichmann in our DNA...
“The standard account of Milgram’s experiments suggests that ordinary people can be manipulated into behaving in ways that contradict their morals and values—that you or I could be talked into torturing a man. But could we?”
[was Milgram's results bogus? Gina Perry did a lot of research and found that...]
..a number of participants claimed they didn’t actually believe the shocks were real; that Milgram failed to publicize segments of his research that undermined his dramatic findings; and that in more than half the experiments—Milgram conducted 24 variations—the majority of people didn’t obey the orders.
Another academic, Don Mixon, argued that the project didn’t reveal our readiness to commit immoral acts, but instead the faith we place in experts. “People go to great lengths, will suffer great distress, to be good,” he told Perry. “People got caught up in trying to be good and trusting the expert. Both are usually thought of as virtues, not as evils.”
Christopher Browning’s extraordinary 1992 book, “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland.” Browning recounts how a group of non-military, non-ideological, older family men, who “went through their formative period in the pre-Nazi era,” were turned into killers, despite being tormented by guilt and conflict.
...plenty of participants believed they were inflicting pain, and they inflicted such pain precisely because they viewed Yale as a benign authority.
...once we have identified authority figures as benign, to trust and follow their orders, even when they appear reckless and cruel.
...we should remember, “experts” led our country into a disastrous war in Vietnam, and more recently, “expert” bankers (and regulators) played a central role in driving our economy into the ground.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/beyond_the_shock_machine_20130...
#8
Palindromedary ~ I hope you were just listening! Bravo for Thom! Thom just gave a caller a chance to vent on 9/11 and A&E 9/11 Truth.org. He even asked if he thought Chaney wired the buildings. The caller didn't get a chance to respond. "Yes, Thom!" I believe would have been the answer. Again! Bravo for Thom! Well done!
Thanks for dispelling my suspicion that your show was compromised!
#9
DAnneMarc: Hey, man, thanks for that tip...No, I have not yet watched Thom's program. I'll certainly watch it!
I've been trying to figure out my options on what I am to do when, in a few weeks, I may have to go dark..ie: no phone..no internet. I believe what AT&T Uverse is doing is highly illegal...or should be. And they are certainly being very deceptive.
#10
Do millions of Americans believe in our own authority figures when they try to say that they must strike Syria for ghastly war crimes..using chemical weapons? And somehow they are supposed to forget about all the many, many war crimes that they, themselves, have done? Are they supposed to forget that those Al Qaida enemies that our leaders constantly berated and wanted us to fear enough to justify even more tax dollars to support even more killing are now being supplied the weapons of mass destruction? The enemy of our enemies are our friends? And then our "enemy's enemy" will one day use all those weapons against us...killing our sons and daughters in any future US quagmire as they've done in the past. But our real enemy is hidden in plain sight and living amongst us (well, in very well to do gated communities, perhaps)
-----------
By the way, did you know that Condoleeza Rice has a very nice Condo on Spanish Bay Circle in Pebble Beach and another one on Ryan Ct. in Stanford? I won't tell anyone the exact addresses, though, because any nut would then be able to zoom right down on those addresses with google earth.
#11
Palindromedary ~ Yes, I know about the Milgram experiments in Yale, and the Zimbardo experiments in Stanford. I originally learned them in Sociology 101 some 25 years ago in college. I remember clearly that our wise instructor explained the experiments as an attempt to understand how Nazi soldiers were able to treat prisoners in such inhumane ways. The conclusions of the experiments were very shocking and far graver than the study or the class I was in ever expected.
On an aside, I remember clearly asking in the class if the experiments were only meant to understand what happened and not to discover what could happen. The teacher refused to give a verbal answer and just responded with a :-0 expression. I asked a lot of questions in that class. I got an A+ too.
#12
Palindromedary ~ Don't go dark, we need you! There must be a way!
#13
DAnneMarc: A+...fantastic! Yes, as long as the study depicted what they wanted depicted then that was ok. But if it illustrated what could happen...what has happened...and what is currently happening in the US... to shed light on our current leaders (you know, the "bastions" of freedom and democracy ;-Q ) then the subject gets a little touchy. As long as they can make it look like it had nothing to do with "democracy" and everything to do with "dictatorships" and little heel-clicking men with mustaches eating wienerschnitzel downing it with a stein of Dunkelweizen, then the subject is perfectly ok. But try to apply that to the Obama regime! Seig heil!
#14
DAnneMarc: Thank you, I appreciate it...but...I may not have much of a choice. What the heck maybe I'll sell everything and do a few more round-the-world trips. Go back to that little Hill People hut just outside of Chiang Mai and actually participate this time.
#15
Syria has nothing to do with anything other than $$$$$. Read the below and deal with the reality of the subject, not the jive theater dreamed up to mask the real motives of those seeking regime change.
Guest Post: Is The US Going To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/04/2013 - 20:06
As we asked (rhetorically, of course) over 3 months ago, why has the little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria? Could it be because Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid natural gas in the world and Assad won't let them build a natural gas pipeline through Syria? Of course. Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell lots and lots of natural gas to Europe. If the U.S. is successful in getting rid of the Assad regime, it will be good for either the Saudis or Qatar (and possibly for both), and it will be really bad for Russia. This is a strategic geopolitical conflict about natural resources, religion and money, and it really has nothing to do with chemical weapons at all...
Arabs (Saudis and Qataris) Will Pay for Syria WarPosted by : George WashingtonPost date: 09/04/2013 - 17:27Meet the Real Bosses ...
The Syrian War: What You're Not Being Told
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/04/2013 - 17:31
What's really going on in Syria? Let's look at the evidence from a non-mainstream media perspective...
- COMMENTS: 171
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#16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6X8YgCBV8o&feature=youtube_gdata_player
^insight into post WW2 and Nazis and of course "Skull and Bones" with its ties to the various socialist "planned economies" incl Marxism, Nazism and American "welfare socialism" -with references to Pavlov and education as a whole in the West.
It's one woman's very fine expose' of the monetary elite. She's cool.
#17
When Vladimir Putin is doing more to stop the United states going to war than the president who was elected to "End wars" then i think it's time for a re-evaluation.
#18
Imagine if the U.S. and Russia used this opportunity to bring about a real peace rather than all this posturing that can only lead to failure once again. Someone has to be the grown up here. The sea near Syria is seeing an escalation of battleships from both sides and is making it likely that some kind of 'accident' is likely. That in and of itself can derail the negotiations and set off another war that will not stop at Syria's borders.
#19
Call To Account ~ Thanks for that post! However, I was under the assumption that the interest of Qatar was to prevent the natural gas pipeline from Iran to Syria which would under cut the cost of their monopoly over natural gas supplies to Europe; in effect, running them out of business. Essentially the new pipeline would be able to provide more gas at cheaper prices than Qatar. It would rob them of their main source of easy income.
To actually want to take over the natural gas business of other countries is a scheme far more diabolical. Thanks so much for that heads up. If that is correct the "incentive" for the destabilization of Syria and military takeover is far greater than I was previously aware. So is the potential for WWIII.
#20
Thom Hartmann ~ When asked if it was illegal in the UN Charter for a country to make a threat of military action you said you "believe that is true". When asked if this would make the threat of striking Syria an illegal act in the international community you said, "Well, that might just be the threat of making a threat."
WTF. Come on Thom! You can do better than that.
#21
Another message from Dennis Kucinich:
From FacebookQuote Dennis Kucinich:"Is the Obama administration only pretending to look for a diplomatic solution in Syria?" -- Dennis Kucinich...
"The #CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in #Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the #Obamaadministration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear — a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria’s civil war." Washington Post.
We must remain vigilant for peace and a diplomatic solution and not escalate an even wider war. Please sign and continue to share the#HandsOffSyria pledge to Congress at www.KucinichAction.com
#22
I can't believe you are buying this. You are going to trust someone who gased his own people.
i think Obama's meeting with Putin was like making a deal with the devil. What did Obama promise Putin to get Obama out of this mess.
Remember when Obama whispered to Putin "not now I am in my first term"
#23
Kend ~ i hear you! However, I just don't understand you! Trusting someone who gassed their own people?? Please provide the evidence. "Not now, i'm not in my first term."
If you can't provide support for 2 more savings initiative then adios supportive engineering.
#24
Unfortunately, I just read that the CIA is moving massive amounts of weapons to the supposedly "good" rebels as we speak.
On another note wouldn't it be wonderful if our country could lead by example and get rid of the massive amounts of nerve gas we are still have stockpiled in Colorado and other states. Thank god we got it out of Oregon.
#25
Karl Smiley: I'm glad you brought that up...yes, there was a piece on RT today that said that the US has it's own stockpiles of chemical weapons...1700 tons in 6 different states....and they are leaking. In one state, where our government claimed they destroyed the Mustard gas in storage there, it was discovered the tanks were leaking the chemicals still.
#26
Kend: It was the Al Qaeda rebels who launched the chemical weapons in Syria in order to draw the US into striking the Syrian government. The US is supporting our Al Qaeda enemies. Or....maybe Al Qaeda has been acting as mercenaries all along...including helping to do 9/11. The US is supporting the same rebels that massacred Christians in Maaloula, Syria...cut off heads...all because the village supported the Assad government.
#27
Thom, Thank you for that very concise, hopeful letter to the President. Maybe you should be President. I wish I could feel the respect for our President that you articulated in your letter, but I don't. GWB's "fool me once..." line came to me last week re the President and every time the thought of him enters my head, that's the line I hear. I think he fooled us all BIG TIME when he ran for election first time around and the second time, those of us who had second thoughts didn't dare exercise them. And of course, he didn't do a thing you suggested. He did not even, if I recall, acknowledge Kerry's diplomatic breakthrough, took that credit for himself. What a disappointment! We need to start thinking now about the next elections. I'm going to get your 2016 book. Revolution? Is that in the title? I don't see any way around it. I hope you will, in succeeding weeks, suggest peaceful ways that the population can mobilize away from the moribund system we're now mired in. Along those lines, another topic I hope you will consider addressing is the undue influence that Israel has gained in this country and among our Congressional representatives. Can't remember the name of the guy who held the Republican purse strings closed for so long. After the last debt ceiling fiasco, he seems to have fallen from view. I bring him up because I think Israel and AIPAC have an even more deleterious effect on Congress and this country -- including even rumors that Israeli interventions represent fifth column interference in our government. Mearsheimer and Walt wrote a book called The Israel Lobby. The book got good foreign reviews but apparently poor reviews here, possibly because Jewish, Zionist, Israeli influence in America is so pronounced. This could be a very big problem in our future. Among the Snowden revelations was one that the NSA is directly giving Israel personal information about Americans which should be none of their business. To say this is disturbing would be an understatement. In any case, want to throw it out as a possible discussion topic at some point in the future. THANKS! for all you do...
#28
Maaloula, Syria..largely a Christian community...a place where they still speak Aramaic...the language of Jesus was taken over by US backed Al Qaeda terrorists and killed some Christians and tried to force others to convert to Islam under threat of death.
Assad, like his father, relatively non-secular, always protected the Christians. But now the jihadist Al Qaeda Muslims are out to kill as many as they can..cutting off heads even.
http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/saudius-jihadists-take-over-maal...
Here's a photo of a statue of Mary on a jutting rock over-looking the village of Maaloula.
http://www.syriangate.com/syria-news/Maaloula,Syria-Where-language-Jesus...
"Arab Christians come out strongly against US strike in Syria"
"Opposition to Western intervention on behalf of beleaguered Christian minorities emerged as a key theme of a regional Arab Christian conference hosted by Jordan this week."
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0906/Arab-Christians-com...
video of fighting in Maaloula...cute but brave RT reporter, Maria Finoshina, in fire fight area flinching as bullets fly by. Passing Syrian soldiers with big grins, and one falling off a truck, obviously enamored by the reporter. In another section of video you can see the Al Qaeda fighting from the Maaloula Hotel above (not in view)..you can just see the fence rimming the cliff. If you go to Google Earth you can see the hotel and get a view of where the rebel fighters were firing from.
The Mary statue, on top of a rock, can be seen in the both the Google Earth 360 panorama looking down on the statue from behind the fence and in the video looking up at the statue just to the left of the fenced in area above where the rebel fighters are firing from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4LcysndedgY
#29
DanneMarc: I watched that video of that caller from Berkeley, Lawrence, who talked about 9/11. And I was quite surprised that Thom Hartmann actually let the guy talk so long about it. I was also surprised that Thom didn't really challenge what the guy was saying. Thom sure did look like he stiffened up as soon as the subject was posed by the caller, though, and kept looking very tense the whole time. Thom didn't look comfortable at all about the subject.
I got to say...thank you Thom for letting the guy talk and thank you Lawrence of Berkeley for your call!
That was funny when, after Lawrence tried to answer Thom's question about who was really behind 9/11 and Lawrence mentions PNAC, Thom says that they were just a bunch of nuts...and Lawrence says..that it was the President and Vice President...and Thom says..well, yeah... but I still stand behind my statement. Funny! I don't know...Thom wrote a book about the JFK assassination maybe he will eventually write about 9/11. Thom did say, however, that he has never really investigated 9/11.
#30
DAnne sorry your rilittle should have proof in hand. I just have a bad feeling about this.
#31
Palin like I said to Danne, you are right. I just have a bad feeling about this. Something just doesn't seem right.
#32
Ah how about Juile Stein, Rocky Anderson...or Me!!! ;)
I encourage everyone who wants to actually strengthen the message that their vote carries to not vote for any candidate, Right or Left, in 2016, who has ties to Wall St.
It's time to STOP this Corporate highjacking of WE the Peoples Government.
ABOLISH CORPORATE PERSONHOOD...NOW!
movetoamend.org
#33
Palindromedary ~ Quite remarkable indeed. I too was grateful that Thom let people speak about 9/11. It is a start toward what you say has to occur before we can stop these stupid wars of aggression. People have to open their minds to what really happened that day. Then they can see that these wars we have gotten involved in are nothing more than wars of conquest and profit and have nothing to do with defense or justice.
The rights we have been stripped of as a nation have not been forfeited for security; but, only for control.
Thank you Thom for allowing discussion of this most controversial topic. I too am agnostic on this issue. However, the truth, whatever it may be, must be known!
#34
DAnneMarc: Amen to that!
#35
MMmmNACHOS ~ You've convinced me. You have my vote.
#36
Thom Hartmann ~ It truly pains me to see you wearing your arm sling as often as you do. I am sure that you are aware that protein is necessary to rebuild body tissue. It would be wise to put asside your banisment of animal tissue at this time. However, I understand your apprehension to do so. I also respect your decision as a vegetarian not to compromise your beliefs.
However, there are other ways to supply the body with an abundance of protein other than consumption of animal meat. Bean and legumes provide protean as well. Tofu, is a rich source of protein as well.
I am sure you are aware of these sources. However, you might not be aware of the source of protein available from hemp. In the Bible hemp is described as the sustenance that will be as meat for man. Currently an extract from the hemp seed is available legally on the market known as hemp protein. It is a powder form of the hemp seed.
This powder is available on the west coast at Whole Food Distributors as Hemp Protein. However, it is probably something that can be obtained in any health food store; and, certainly on line. It is a powder that can be added to cereals, smoothies, and fruit juices. One teaspoon per drink, once a day may greatly help in your rejuvinalization process.
Here is to the hopes of a speedy recovery.
Best wishes,
DAM
#37
DAnneMarc, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. If every country that has terrorist activity in it had their borders sealed, the borders of every country would be sealed, including America. And if we wouldn't like it if the UN or whoever sealed our borders...
It's kind of like that Biblical thing, where Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," and then big stone comes flying past his ear and hits the stonee, and Jesus yells, "Mom, dang-gone-it, would you quit throwing stones, I'm talking here."
No, wait, that's not how it went; Jesus' mom didn't throw stones. In fact she's kind of famous for her compassion for everyone. And other'n chasing the money lenders out of the temple, Jesus cut to the real issue and said to pray for peace within ourselves and in the world. (Which means that my- and possibly even Mr. Twain's- lengthy diatribes and sarcasm...)
Why, even Einstein said, "You can't create peace by cheating your wife out of credit for her contribution to your mathematical theories."
No, wait, I meant to say that Einstein said, "You can't prepare for peace by preparing for war." Yes, that's what I meant to say.
This whole thing in Syria is going on simply and solely because other countries want to steal something from Syria. Everything else is political fairy princesses posing for photo ops. Sure, there's human suffering going on in Syria, and it's probably caused in about equal measures by Assad's government, the military, and the rebels, because that's how it virtually always works. But there is suffering going on right here in America, and I don't see any of those armchair chicken____ hawks saying that America should spend literally half of all of its money on feeding our own hungry people, providing education for our own children, and giving healthcare to our own sick people. So the plain fact is that our hawks like McCain and Mini-McCain (Obama) are not at all concerned about the suffering in Syria. In point of fact, they want to INCREASE the suffering in Syria by bombing innocent people, but only because Syria has something that we want to steal. Well, that's not entirely fair because to tell the truth, McCain just likes bombing stuff. Have any of you seen that youtube video of McCain when he was ten years old and his mom yells out the back door, "Johnny-sweetie, stop bombing the neighbors and come in here and wash your hands, it's time for dinner."
But McCain is an anomaly in that way. Obama doesn't get a thrill out of bombing innocent people, he's just betraying the people who voted him into office and obeying the munitions manufacturers.
I don't see America, Russia, China, and the other heavyweight sociopathic bullies on this ball of mud going after Darfur; unlike their attitude toward Syria, they are not pretending to care about the suffering in Darfur, BECAUSE it has nothing they want to steal.
When a country's government behaves in a sociopathic manner, that country- as a group of people- has a clinically-diagnosable group mental disease. Which describes at least half of the efforts of pretty much every government that I have ever heard of. And when those thieving, homicidal maniacs are voted or kicked out of office, they are replaced by other thieving, homicidal maniacs. Why is this? Well, the transcendental meditation folks say that crime- and I would extend the concept to include crimes committed by governments- is reduced when a significant number of people meditate. And I would say that meditation includes prayer, as long as it's not prayer that God will send "those people" to hell, but rather actual prayer for peace.
That is my half a cent.
#38
David Abbot ~ I wish I could disagree; but, I can't. Patrolling Syrian borders with US jet fighters would just make it that much easier to parachute in any nasty contraband the CIA and Pentagon want the rebels to have. That hadn't occurred to me before. Thanks for snapping me out of that "the USA are the good guy" trance that I so want to believe. I guess you are right in that quiet, personal prayer may be all that we have in this matter. Hopefully, the presence of the Russians and Chinese will dissuade further mischief. Time will tell.
#39
You're welcome, DAnneMarc- I hope you'll do the same for me.
I do think that government action is a fast and efficient means of solving problems, but only if the government in question is ready, willing, and able to do the right thing for the right reasons. And when our government pointedly and over a span of decades ignores the need to help Americans whose only fault is that they had money the republicans were able to steal, I know that it is virtually impossible for our government to do much real good overseas because they have proven right here in America that they don't want to do good, so how in the world could we trust those lazy enablers of thieves to do good overseas where the facts are fuzzy at best and honest reporting is so rare as to be a myth?
Given these facts, I think we should cancel all foreign aid programs, bring home our military and close all overseas military bases, quit selling or giving war planes, guns, ammunition, bombs, missles, DDT, Agent Orange, nerve gas, and other poisons to foreign dictators, and just focus all of our attention on helping our own people- not our millionaires and billionaires, and not corporations, but our people. If we did that, America would become great again.
#40
Quote Palindromedary:The US is supporting the same rebels that massacred Christians in Maaloula, Syria...cut off heads...all because the village supported the Assad government.
Palindromedary ~ True, but then who ever said the US government likes Christians. If you ask me they have as much disdain for any real Christian as they do for any real Islamic. Religion means nothing to our government. All that "Moral Majority" nonsense during the reign of President Ronald Wilson (666) Reagan was make believe religion. You know, like little kids putting on their dad's hat and shoes and pretending to be adults. Don't let that fool you. This nation's government is Christian in name only. All that matters to them is power, money and control. Anything that stands in the way of that becomes the enemy--regardless of ideology. All they really believe in is themselves. Their holy trinity--"me", "myself", and "I".
Any real religion that is true to it's principles is diametrically opposed to the worship of the self. They preach forgiveness, selflessness, and charity. They always put the good of the majority and of others before the good of the self. They express their love of God through their good works for others. Therefore, any real religion is the enemy of the current US government regime. Sure it is hypocrisy of the highest order for those who call themselves Christians to support the martyring of other Christians. It is also evil of the highest order. It is also proof positive that the first group could not possibly be real Christians. Judge them by their actions and don't let the names fool you.
As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "No one can be more of a hypocrite than a Tyrant, who pretends to be a King."
#41
DAnneMarc: Yes, I agree! But I'd also like to add that most who think they are Christians, who call themselves Christians, are not really Christians. They are hypocrites. But then, I speak as an outsider.
#42
Quote Palindromedary:DAnneMarc: Yes, I agree! But I'd also like to add that most who think they are Christians, who call themselves Christians, are not really Christians. They are hypocrites. But then, I speak as an outsider.
Palindromedary ~ Not to worry, my friend. Being an outsider uniquely qualifies you to make that observation. You judge the action and not the appearance of Christians. "You will know them by their works." Not by their names.
As far as your conclusion is concerned... I totally agree. From the inside you would be surprised how many church going "Christians" I've met who don't even know Christ taught to "Love your enemy's."
A lot of people can't seem to wrap their head around that one. They look at the crusades instead of the New Testament and conclude 'Christ was a son of God who wants us to kill Muslims to go to heaven.' As though God himself can't kill anyone he/she wants.
How easy is it for some people to let themselves be fooled into a cult mentality and let someone else do all their thinking for them? How easy? Oh, thats right we were just talking about that subject. The Milgram and Zimbardo experiments. The Government knows exactly how easy it is.
On an aside, nowhere in the Bible does Christ say that Muslims, gays, atheist or anyone else you can think of is evil and should be attacked. The worst thing he said to do is that if people disagree with you, leave them alone. Hardly something Christian missionaries ever emulated. Don't try telling that to a typical "Christian." Typical "Christians" need to be spoon fed Christianity slowly one bite at a time. They don't chew well and choke if they get too much at once.
#43
Well said, DAnneMarc!
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"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
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"Never one to shy away from the truth, Thom Hartmann’s collected works are inspiring, wise, and compelling. His work lights the way to a better America."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"If you wonder why and when giant corporations got the power to reign supreme over us, here’s the story."
It would be most helpful if the UN could arrange to seal off Syrian borders to any military contraband that might be headed to terrorist or rebel strongholds. It seems obvious to me that during this peace negotiation there is a prime opportunity for the same rebel factions that may have caused the last attack to repeat the same strategy--perhaps with even deadlier consequences. There are plenty of satellites in space and aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean to launch joint successive surveillance flights along Syrian borders. I hope they have the good sense to do so.