An ally dares say what must be said
Canada has dared admit what other U.S. allies will not: America is a terrorist state that tortures prisoners and violates international law.
A Canadian Foreign Affairs Department training manual, Torture Awareness Workshop Reference Materials, defines torture and lists Guantanamo Bay and the United States, along with Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Syria as nations which torture prisoners and abuse human rights.
This is not an enemy of the United States making wild claims about “the Great Satan” of America. It’s not even our sometimes ally France. This is Canada, one of this county’s strongest allies.
While Canada didn't come out and say flatly that America is a "terrorist state," the manual clearly identifies this nation as one that uses terror techniques in direct violation of international law. In our book, that makes us the United Terrorist States of America.
When America can’t even pass muster with its friends, America is in trouble. Our emergence as an international bully with no regard for law or human decency is now complete and even our allies can’t look the other way.
The destruction of America by George W. Bush and his followers is almost complete. He still has a year left in office to finish the job.
Just when you think the rampant arrogance that has dragged our country into the mire and muck of criminal activity and corruption can’t possibly get any worse…it does.
Missing White House emails, destroyed CIA tapes that show torture of prisoners, violation of wiretap laws and nonstop abuse of human and civil rights highlight a government out of control and a nation unable to stop the decline.
The Bush Administration is lying about troop withdrawals from Iraq, lying about clashes with Iran and lying about its continued criminal actions both at home and on the international stage.
Later today, Bush will unveil a so-called “economic stimulus package” that economists already say is too little too late. As he did with Katrina, Bush is routinely ignoring a problem until it out of control. The man who exports terrorism to other nations and launches invasions based on lies doesn’t have time to deal with issues closer to home.
And he doesn’t have time to earn or keep the respect of once-staunch allies of this nation.
Canada has, in effect, called America what it has become: a terrorist nation.
Sadly, their assessment is true: And the most dangerous terrorist of all lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
As an American, it scares the hell out of me that this terrorist has another year to complete his mission of destroying America.
And it may be too late to stop him.
Carl, you and I must think a lot alike. I read a different write-up, same story, and almost posted it here. Sadly, it's true. Bush didn't start it; he was just the one that was such an oaf that he got caught.
There are signs of hope. No matter who gets elected next, it will be an improvement. Not much of one, but there's nowhere to go but up. When I hear analogies to the way the Germans let fascism sneak up on them I counter with: But they didn't have the Internet! And I know in my heart that the police state is bound to fail. It will never, ever work the way they contemplate. They wish to scare us with the spectre of a ruthless, efficient state that tracks our every move - when was government ever efficient? And the more elaborate the technology, the more it will break. And when it breaks they can't bring in slaves to fix it. Satellites fall, chips burn out, batteries die. That's the way it is. And if they have to depend on gummint agencies to keep it all working instead of intelligent, motivated, hardworking, educated, free men and women...no way. For a while, sure. But they can't keep it up. They're broke, remember?
There's another problem that holds them back. We are an armed nation. Close to 50% of the households in this country contain at least one firearm, and millions of people know how to use them wisely and safely. I suggest owning unregistered guns and hiding them well. Learn to reload your own ammunition and hoard lead wheel weights. Consider owning black powder weapons - they are exempt from most firearms laws, and with modern metallurgy and ballistics they are not the primitive arms of yesteryear. Don't have a gun if you don't know how to use it.
"I look forward to hearing your opinion, not only about how this has come about, but more importantly, what you feel can be done to correct this – and how the United States can regain it's dignity and rightful leadership in the world community."
First of all, breath Sacred Love. The Divine is there, in everything: see it. Be grateful.
Now for my answer, which you probably won't like.
How did this come about? We abdicated, that's how. It started at least 150 years ago, but especially with the advent of television, we have simply given up our duties as citizens in favor of consumerism. Three generations in front of the tube have made us dumb as rocks. That's a generalization, and it's as unfair as they get - and as fair as generalizations ever are, too. A generalization is nothing but a popular formula for a common denominator. And to the extent that this one is true, we deserve what's coming. To the extent that it isn't, we don't. There's a paradox for ya.
It's not just TV. Technology itself dumbs us down even as it opens up vistas elsewhere. I used to be able to multiply gear ratios and crank revolutions and wheel circumference in my head on long bicycle rides to keep my mind occupied and get a pretty accurate idea of how far I'd come and how fast I was going. Now I have a little computer on the bars that does all that and more, and I have no idea what the gear ratios are. I can't even remember my phone number - why should I? It's programmed into my cell phone along with about a hundred other numbers I used to know by heart.
Our way of life has given us heart disease, diabetes, ADHD, PTSD, homelessness, a poisoned environment, and a kleptocracy. Do you reckon it's had any effect on us mentally?
What can be done to correct it? We could have a revolution, I guess.
How can regain our dignity and rightful leadership? Fuggeddabaddit. Ain't happenin', bro. Who says it's rightfully ours to lead the world anyway? We did a pretty good job for a long time. Then we got a little too big for our britches.
I'm tellin' ya, it's falling apart and nothing can save it. Go ahead, call me a pessimist. You're wrong. I think it's the best thing that could happen. I'm an optimist because I see not ending but beginning. Still, I know chaos is coming. When the Four Horsemen gallop through our towns we won't be discussing politics.
8-D
If we want to make a difference we must live the new paradigm and do nothing to support the old. Don't like Chinese goods? Don't buy any, and don't shop at Walmart at all. Pissed off about GM food? Eat organic. Join a food co-op. Dismayed over the craven media? Don't give 'em a minute of your time. One of the biggest things we can do to pull the plug is turning off the TV. Better yet, throw it away entirely.
I've been trying to think of an example of how I think we can approach life with a minimum of entanglement with the current paradigm. We all have to work to pay the rent and buy food. Not many of us ever get to live off the grid, in a house that's paid for, on our own land. Even if we do, we still have to pay taxes. So it's difficult if not impossible to withdraw completely. And that's a good thing, because if we do we become recluses, and all our knowledge gets wasted.
Looking at society is a lot like watching freeway traffic from a bridge. Everyone seems to be moving together, but in reality each is going his own way. In their private spaces inside their vehicles, people are almost entirely insulated from one another. However if you stand there long enough, you'll realize that the traffic is a wave phenomenon. The cars go by in definite clumps or packs, separated by spaces. You see the same phenomenon among soldiers who get strung out on a long march. Well, where there's a wave, you can surf. (I didn't spend ALL my time in the desert growing up). On the road, you surf the wave by being aware of its frequency, and not just the speed of the drivers around you. The result is that you get there faster, safer and with far less stress. The paradox is that you drive slower doing it. Having judged the speed of the wave, you know that should be your average speed. By not feeling you have to pass everyone you spare yourself having to slam on your brakes later. Your average speed actually increases while your apparent speed is less.
In life as in freeway driving, the crest of the wave is where everyone is. That's where the jostling for position, the road rage, and most of the tragedies start. Driving in the troughs - the spaces between the packs - keeps you out of that mess. And just because the road leads to Los Angeles doesn't mean you have to go there. You could always take the Sedona exit.
Transferring this attitude of mine toward driving to the business of living, I've invested a lot of time into trying to understand the big picture - both the wave phenomenon, where this road is leading and the landscape it passes through on the way. I know for a fact that people were predicting this mess half a century ago. So, not enough people listened or cared enough to get off their fat behinds and do something about it - and here we are. I've watched it happen my whole life. Now, we're coming into the suburbs of LA, where if the air doesn't kill you there's a good chance the cops will (hint: choose the air). Nevermind though, you might see a movie star.
I think the world is full of promise and hope! I just don't find it in the current paradigm. I've just used Los Angeles as a metaphor for the mess we're in today, and in may ways that's apt. But my final point is that beneath LA the magical land still remains. The hills still contain mysteries and the standing stones still await discovery. This isn't hell, unless we choose it. It's life.
8-D
Dave,
Thank you for your comments. It is not that I don't have opinions of my own – I do. But I also know that I am physically cut off from the action of these events and so I am not sure I am fully aware of the causes and subsequent effects that are taking place. Living here on Vancouver Island is a little like living on another planet. It has its own pace and rhythm which is so different from what is happening in the rest of the world. In so many ways I personally am untouched by those other realities. I have to remind myself that they really are happening on the Main Land, over there, and on the other side of this world.
OK, so when I hear about these stories of terrorism, when I realize we are living in a world that is built on lies and corruption, by shadow governments that pull the strings of mankind like puppeteers on the world stage – I want only to see it crumble before our eyes, yes, I want it fail as indeed I know it will – because I realize that this, the old Paradigm must fall, must pass away before the new order can begin. And for that to happen, like a giant tree the storms must tear away the old leaves in the fall of the season, and the bare limbs must be then be subjected to the darkness and cold of the winter season when death seems to be everywhere. It will not be until the old is stripped away that the miracle of spring and new life can begin to emerge. And that which was seemingly dead rises again and the dead leaves of the old order, the broken branches that are now strewn on the earths mantel, become the rotting legacy that will nourish the new life that springs forth.
Yes, I am aware that all of this must come to pass. And I thank God daily that I am spared the pain of these changing times. Even the weather here has been gentle by the standards that is tearing and flooding other parts of the world. And as I woke up this morning I was met by a beautiful blue sky and a calmness and peacefulness that was like a gift of love and hope restored. Today I can feel no tension, no adversity. My world is beautiful and full of the Creators promise. How much I wish I could give this feeling to others. Yet I am also aware that what I am experiencing is also created by my own decision to see this as I do.
I am fully aware that others this morning are waking up to a terrible hangover from the night before, to a frantic search for another fix to feed their drug habit, and still others that only feel the numbing coldness of sleeping on the street. And it saddens me to realize that those who experience that adversity are still coming to understand the correct choices they must make in order to find this peace and joy in their life. Can I give that to them? I can council them on how this is done and I can give them a very simple formula to finding this. But I also realize it must be their eyes that are opened, and their ears that must have the willingness to hear, and if they turn away, that too is their choice.
And you may read this and feel, but Carl, are you not being too harsh? Do you not realize the difficulty they are experiencing? And to that I must say, YES, I fully realize what they are going through, and WHY? Because I have been there, I have been through the depths of the despair they are in. I have lived in the prison environment and faced the threat of death face to face. And I have also gone through the Transformation of realizing what I must do to correct these conditions in my own life. Yes, I have been through the fall and the death of winter, and I have been reborn in the spirit and new life of spring. I have meet and made the choice "to live" and that is the bottom line that all humanity faces.
And as I now listen to the news reports and learn of the falling of the stock markets and the demise of the super rich economies across the world – of the great fortunes that are about to be lost by the financial tycoons of Wall Street and the World's Market Places, I realize that yes, this must come to pass. It is the "Old Paradigm" that must die and fall in order for the "New Paradigm" to be born into our lives. There must be a new distribution of wealth in this world, for it is only then that a new order can come into reality. And the success of that transformation will depend on how much this "New Order" is founded on the principles of "Unconditional Love" for all mankind over the face of the this entire earth.
All I can say at this point is, yes, we are entering those darkest moments when many will yet have to come face to face with death. I am thankful I have experienced that and in remembering those moments I am thankful, "I was not afraid".
Truly, fear is your greatest enemy, but only if you surrender to it.
May God's Love and Blessing's be with all of us,
Carl Azcar
Your insights are profound, as your experiences have been. I don't think you're being too harsh in the least. I think you have awakened. This is what we were born for. This is what we're here to deal with. We have to try and see what works. Fortunately we have a lot of guidance, and we have learned to open to it. Now we must act. Some are teachers, some are healers, some are seers, some are doers. All must be messengers.
What I am most grateful for, besides just being here, is that we've been given the tools to do the job.
8-D
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331
This is a link to the full version of the movie Zeitgeist, about religion, 9/11, the Fed and the international bankers. If you haven't seen this it's worth the time.
8-D
When I read the headlines I feel despair.
Well Sophie, that's because that's what the headlies - oops, I mean headlines - are supposed to do. Seek out the underlying causes of what's happening, and address those. You're so right: you or I can't save the world. But we can do the right thing, and if enough people will just do that, good will prevail. And consider the resources we have on our side!
When I read here I feel hope.
Me too! The TC and joining the Team have given us resources to balance the fear of the negative with the courage of knowing the positive. We are not trying to banish fear. It's a necessary response to danger, and it can keep us alive. But we must never be consumed by it. Fear can only conquer love by default, when love never leaves the starting gate. It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen.
Yes, the greatest democratic experiment in modern history has become the greatest terrorist nation in history. The country has been taken over by would-be slavemasters - exactly as our Founders warned would happen, if the people did not remain vigilant! I believe it is all part of the divine plan.
8-D
When I read the headlines I feel despair.
Well Sophie, that's because that's what the headlies - oops, I mean headlines - are supposed to do. Seek out the underlying causes of what's happening, and address those. You're so right: you or I can't save the world. But we can do the right thing, and if enough people will just do that, good will prevail. And consider the resources we have on our side!
When I read here I feel hope.
Me too! The TC and joining the Team have given us resources to balance the fear of the negative with the courage of knowing the positive. We are not trying to banish fear. It's a necessary response to danger, and it can keep us alive. But we must never be consumed by it. Fear can only conquer love by default, when love never leaves the starting gate. It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen.
Yes, the greatest democratic experiment in modern history has become the greatest terrorist nation in history. The country has been taken over by would-be slavemasters - exactly as our Founders warned would happen, if the people did not remain vigilant! I believe it is all part of the divine plan.
8-D
Dear Dave and Sophie,
Thank you both for your thoughts on this subject. Sorry I could not respond sooner, I was away at a conference for two days and I actually came home yesterday with the results of a nasty bout with MSG, which I have very sever reactions to, headache, nausea, and I just needed a few hours to recover. It is now Monday Morning and after a good nights sleep I am finally back to my own feisty self.
Sophie, I certainly feel that sense of being cut off, a feeling of not being able to effect what is going on in the rest of that mad, mad, mad, world out there. Yes, I feel this is like a haven, because I really feel none of the turmoil personally that the news is filled with. Mind you, I am sure there is turmoil here as well if that was the life style I was to seek. For that reason, I feel the very news reports we see and hear are to blame for sensationalizing the events in our society that people seem to want. There are many times when I just turn it off, not because I don't care, But because I have already heard that three times before in that same day and I don't need to be reminded again about who is murdering who ad nauseam.
Dave, yes, I did see the movie "Zeitgeist" a couple of years ago, the first time the link was sent to me. Yes, I will watch it again because I now have high speed down load which I did not have before and So the last time was chopped up by my computer just trying to catch up with the action. I was just too tired last night to sit through two hours of it, but I will watch it today,now that I am feeling better, and I will get back to you on this.
Again, thanks to you both for your comments.
With God's Love and Blessing's,
Carl Azcar
Carl, I live in the same island bubble that you do. I am a dual Canada/US citizen as you are. I also watch what's happening to the US (and other countries) like I'm watching a slow motion train wreck. I felt sickened when I got back from a recent trip and had H*meland S*curity tape plastered all over my luggage. The culture of fear engendered at the airport was palpable. I believe like you that attitude is everything. I am here to do what I'm supposed to do. I will neither cling to my life nor give it up prematurely. I will love and feed and work with whoever happens to be my neighbor and live into being the kind of community and world I know is possible. Will it work? I don't know. The world is different when I am different. Dave, I really liked your car/freeway/wave analogy. I really like a lot of what you write but am usually dashing off somewhere and don't have a chance to say so. Thank you (and everyone else) for the words you write that reveal your heart. When I read the headlines I feel despair. When I read here I feel hope. Whatever happens to the US (or the world, or to me...) all I need to do is keep opening up in love, or in the words of a good friend, "we just keep taking another step and saying yes." I don't have to save the world, I just need to do the next thing...then the next thing...then the next thing. That's the only way I can do it that doesn't throw me into overwhelm. Truly an exciting time to live, no? I am glad to know all of you. You're such a lifeline for me. Thank-you!
http://www.youtube.com/v/oQ_o660d0oc&rel=1
VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS, DEUS ADERIT.
Dear Dave,
Just to assure you I have finally found the two hours I needed to watch this "Zeitgeist" movie. Yes it is the same one I saw a while back, but I think I watched a shorter version because I did not remember seeing some of the scenes that are in this latest version.
I also have several other DVD's of similar material – Aaron Russo's film "AMERICA, Freedom to Fascism", "Loose Change, Final Cut, and "9-11 ripple Effect". So along with "Zeitgeist" I am fast reaching a point to saturation.
I guess the main thing is how long it will take for all of this information to really start taking effect. It will be interesting to see if people just plain refuse to pay their taxes because it is now known that the income tax act in unconstitutional. That to me would be the real litmus test to determine wether people understand what is happening.
Yes, This is going to be a great year of Change and revelations.
Take care my friend, thanks for your comments,
Carl azcar