Remember The Children

All my recent posts have been related to Child Abuse because this is Prevention of Child Abuse month in Ontario. This is my contribution.

Child Abuse of all kinds is a terrible crime.

It's up to us as a society to put an end to it. To forget your agendas, look deep into the eyes of these children, be aware that there are other children out there suffering, and make these children, as well as adult survivors of Child Abuse the priority.

Ending and Preventing Child Abuse is everyone's responsibility

Canadian Named As Pedophilia Suspect.

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED BY INTERPOL

Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, 32, a teacher and alleged pedophile, is on the run from Interpol. He is suspected of being in Thailand. He was identified recently, by Interpol, as being responsible for hundreds of images on the Internet showing him sexually assaulting young boys in South East Asia.

If you see him, Interpol asks that you contact your local police service and not interact with him.

UPDATE: He's been located and arrested.

read more | digg story

The Cornwall Public Inquiry

Well, some interesting things have come to light, at the end of last week, regarding the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

Child Abuse victims need justice. Part of that is the acknowledgment that a crime was committed and the perpetrator of that crime brought to justice. This is critically important for their healing as individuals and it's critically important for our society to protect and recognize the value of our children.

My concern is that there appear to be various agendas at work in this particular case. While all the agendas claim concern for the victims as their motivation, I'm not entirely sure that's the case, and frankly, it's a sad state of affairs for the victims.

Since I don't know any of people, organizations, their characters, their motivations, it's impossible for me to say who's right and who's wrong based on anything but the facts that I see spelled out for me.

However, in this case, everyone claims to have the facts, and yet, a lot of the key facts, to some extent have been discredited. I can't comment on the specific Victims statements and whether they have or have not been discredited because I haven't read everything posted yet.

In Perry Dunlop's situation, it's really hard to tell whether he's having problems now because he was a whistle-blower, or whether they are caused because he became overzealous in his and his brother-in-law's independent investigation of the case. One victim states he was pressured by Mr. Dunlop to falsely claim he was abused by someone. Is it true? I don't know, and frankly, it would be difficult to prove for certain one way or the other.

In the OPP's situation, it's really hard to tell whether the investigations were not done thoroughly or whether their investigations were in fact thorough and done according to standard investigative techniques, and then tainted later. Investigations can be tainted if questions are asked improperly and then result in leading to people to say and recall things in a way that supports the investigators conclusions. On the other hand, investigations can also be tainted due to political pressure.

Generally speaking, I believe that, under normal circumstances, most OPP officers are quite professional, very concerned about child abuse, and would have done a thorough and proper investigation. The fact is that over 100 charges were laid. Can we really hold the OPP responsible for the fact that there were no convictions?

My questions to the Inquiry are simple.

Why was there only one conviction, when the OPP laid so many charges?

Why did it take Perry Dunlop's exposing this to get it investigated?

Regarding Mr. LaRoue's Affidavit. Were the victims at the parties identified and did they confirm his statement?

Is it true that some of the perpetrators were considered "above the law" and were not charged and if charged were not convicted for that reason? On the same vein, were those perpetrators well connected enough that they were able to put political pressure on the OPP and influence the results of the investigations?

Giving reasons that "make sense" should not be enough in this Inquiry. People, on all sides, should be required to provide proof that the reasons given are legitimate.

And ... I've decided not to comment further on the case, other than to say, that I wish the victims well, and when all is said and done, I hope they get justice, despite all the other agendas at play here.

A Pedophile Ring In Cornwall

In 1992, a young man came forward to report a case of child abuse.

He was the victim, and all he wanted was an apology from his church.

Over the years, this case has exploded into a politically charged scandal involving dozens of victims, and very prominent members of the Cornwall community and local Catholic Church.

Claims of conspiracy and cover up against top level politicians and police at the provincial level have been made.

The former Ontario Provincial Police Officer, Perry Dunlop, who exposed the goings on in Cornwall, sacrificed his career, endured death threats and other harassment against both him and his 6 year old daughter, was charged and then exonerated under the Police Services Act. His crime? Doing his job to protect the children of Cornwall.

Perry Dunlop should be commended and rewarded for doing his job exceptionally well.

A Public Inquiry into all of this was started in February 2006 and continues today.

The Cornwall Public Inquiry - unofficial site
This site was set up by the Victims Committee and contains background information, affidavits, etc. on the Cornwall Child Abuse scandal.

The Cornwall Public Inquiry - unofficial blog
Blogging the Inquiry as it occurs.

The Cornwall Public Inquiry - Official site (link updated 2010.04.02)

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Child abuse rates continue to rise in Ontario: Children's Aid Societies

October is Child Abuse Prevention Month in Ontario.

It's purpose is to draw attention to the very serious problem of child abuse in the province.

Child abuse shows it's ugly face in different forms:

Emotional Abuse: constant yelling and put downs targeting the child's self esteem.
Physical Abuse: extreme physical punishment for minor infractions often resulting in physical injury.
Sexual Abuse: sexual manipulation of children by pedophiles.
And frequently a combination of some or all of the above.

All forms of abuse create intense stress in children and can sometimes lead to mental illness, or at the very least severe emotional problems.

Child abuse scars children for the rest of their lives.

It often occurs in homes where one parent is also being abused by the same person abusing the child.

The resources required to help heal and support these devastated families are phenomenal, and scarce.

When abusers are reported and convicted, the sentences are so short that they are free to continue abusing for years. Some Pedophiles in particular have been known to abuse hundreds of children in their lifetime.

In my opinion, the best way to prevent child abuse is for the public to get involved and report it; to give significantly longer sentences to those people who are charged; and keep the pedophiles in jail for life.

We also need to increase the resources available to provide the families of the abusers the support and resources they need to heal and move on with their lives.

By doing this we show that we value our children.

Want to help? Canadian Center For Abuse Awareness

Child Abuse Is Everyone's Problem!

TORONTO - The Children's Aid Societies says more than 29,000 children in Ontario were abused or neglected last year, an increase of 24 per cent since 2000-2001. The child and family welfare agency also says it received more than 160,000 calls about child protection concerns last year, an increase of 25 per cent.

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Jim Crow still lives in the American South - Digg this and free the Jena 6!

In the small highly segregated rural Louisiana town of Jena in 2006, Six black students were charged with attempted second degree murder for defending themselves against a white student who had been racially taunting them. The weapon they used, according to the prosecutor? Their shoes. The jury? All white. When will Jim Crow die in America?

read more | digg story

Jena 6 - Justice For All

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Well, the Jena 6 controversy seems to be surprising a lot of people. Why?

It certainly wasn't a surprise to me.

We've deluded ourselves into believing that discrimination no longer exists in our world.

Well, guess what people. It does. And before you Canadians out there get all self-righteous, it's not just an American problem. It exists here in Canada too and is just as malicious.

Now before anyone starts screaming about reverse discrimination, I don't agree with what the black kids did. It was clearly wrong and they shouldn't have done it. I'm just putting it in context.

The fact that it occurred to a group of white kids to establish a white tree, tells us that discrimination exists.
The fact that it occurred to a group of white kids to commit a Hate crime by hanging nooses on the tree, tells us it exists.
The fact that the community came down extremely hard on the black kids, by 1) exaggerating the victims injuries and 2) charging these kids with attempted murder tells us it exists.
The fact that the School administration just brushed both the "White" tree and the nooses, off as a prank, tells us it exists.

What are the claims that the black community are making?

If a white kid does something it's brushed off as a prank and they are given a slap on the wrist.
FACT: The administration ignored the fact that the white kids had set up a "White" tree where other kids were not allowed to go for quite a long time.
FACT: When the black kids objected to this, the white kids responded by hanging nooses from the tree. By any rational definition a Hate crime.
FACT: This was brushed off as a "prank" and the white kids were given a slap on wrist.

If a black kid does something they are charged under the fullest extent of the law.
FACT: The white victim of the beating and his parents claim that he was beaten to within an "inch" of his life.
FACT: He was released from the hospital after two hours and attended a social event immediately after.
FACT: Attempted murder charges reflect the fullest extent of the law. The charge was changed but it was still more serious and involved defining the kids' white runners as lethal weapons???

The charges could have been simple assault, or the school could have chosen to intervene anytime, and in such a way that justice was served, in an effort to prevent this reaction by the black kids.

My question is: Why didn't the school intervene immediately? Did it not occur to them that the creation of a "White" tree would provoke the black kids, particularly when it had nooses hanging from it? Just like it would provoke Jewish kids if swastikas were found hanging from the tree.

Or, Perhaps they simply didn't care ... until a white kid was injured.

The very clear message they are sending here, is that it's okay for the white kids to commit Hate crimes, but it's not okay for the black kids to have a problem with it.

The Jena 6 have the right to equal treatment under the law and in the school system. This is a legislated legal right.

In my opinion, all the kids, black and white should be properly disciplined by the school for their behavior.

However, it's the School Board and the Town who should be charged for:

1) Allowing a Hate Crime to occur and not acting on it.

2) With Assault since they were the ones who created the conditions for the assault to occur.

A Green Alternative for Ontario?

When I think of the Green Party, the first image that comes to mind is:
A long haired, rosy cheeked, skinny, hard-body guy named Sven, with a knapsack. He's a vegetarian and rides his bicycle 25 kilometers to work and back.

This is an image, a chubby, relatively lazy, smoking, socially drinking, car driving female like me has trouble relating to. I don't actually recall the last time I rode a bicycle, but I think I was 12? I know I should quit smoking and probably will someday. Do without my meat? Not bloody likely. However, I do concede to eating organic food, including meat. I also agree with the concept of preventive medicine. And, if for some reason, I was put into a position where I had to kill my own dinner, I'd probably be vegetarian, because while I like eating meat, I would find it impossible to kill a living creature. One look into those big brown eyes and that would be it. I can't even kill a bug. The crunching sound sends shivers up and down my spine, so I leave that little job to the cat.

When I think of the Green Party, the first thought that comes to mind is that they are concerned about the Environment, that they are a single issue party.

Do I want a single issue party to run the government? I think a single issue party has a place in government and a role to play in bringing environmental concerns to the fore, but running the government is a different issue.

That's not to say they don't have proposals on other issues. They do, but I'm not sure their solutions are realistic and workable. They are, however, putting some very interesting concepts on the table which definitely provide one with food for thought.

Perhaps they're ahead of their time? Possibly.

All I know is I don't think I'm ready for them ... yet :) but I am giving them some serious consideration, along with the Conservatives.

Green Party of Ontario

Ontario Progressive Conservatives

Election Debate - Ontario - Who Won?

IMHO John Tory for the Conservatives!

Go Tory! An impressive exposure of the Liberals poor record over the last four years.

To my great regret, I voted Liberal in the last election, and am considering voting Conservative this time around.

Maybe we can get a Health Minister who is less obsessed about eliminating smoking from the face of the earth, and more obsessed with actually solving the major and very serious Health Care issues faced by the Province of Ontario, an Attorney General who actually cares about eliminating crime and corruption, some honest, serious leadership to solve the major issues affecting transit in the GTA and surrounding areas, and some honest, serious leadership to solve the border security issues.

The Liberals have been too busy handing out favors, positions, and money, like candy to their friends to actually provide any leadership on, or actually resolve any of these problems.

While I agree with a lot of the points Mr. Tory made, and he impresses me as a strong, well-spoken, intelligent and thoughtful leader, I have one concern.

The Conservative Party position on funding Faith-based private schools. Is this a sign that Mr. Tory is bending to the will of Special Interest Groups?

Hopefully not. I think a lot of us have had enough of that kind of crap from the Liberals both at the Federal and Provincial levels, and it's time someone took a stand against it.

The role of the Premier and each and every MLA is to represent the best interests of all of the people of Ontario.

It is not their job to represent Special Interest Groups.

Mr. Tory's explanation for his position on faith-based schools is that he would like to bring them into and under the requirements of the Public Education system.

That makes sense and I can understand his reasoning.

My problem is that our Public Education system is already stretched to the limit financially. I don't believe we have the money to support these special schools without seriously damaging the Public School system further.

As far as I'm concerned, people who choose to take their children out of the public education system, and into special schools of any kind, faith based or not, should do so at their own expense. All schools, private and public, should be required to follow the official Ontario School Curriculum, funded or not. So Mr. Tory should be able to accomplish the task of bringing these schools into the system without funding them with taxpayers dollars.

As a taxpayer, I can think of many, more important areas which require funding and which would benefit everyone, not just a select few.

I also think the Conservatives should rethink their position on the proposed Recall legislation, if for no other reason than to support their position that they plan to keep their promises to the electorate if they win the upcoming October election.

It would be nice if they just dropped the idea of funding faith based schools. It's a bad one.

If it wasn't for these two issues I'd go to the polls and vote Conservative with confidence.

As it stands, all I know for sure right now is that I don't want to vote Liberal or NDP!

CBC Report On The Debate

CBC Faith-based Funding For Schools

CBC Who Won The Elections Debate?

Kathy Griffin and Freedom Of Speech

Click here if you wish to sign the petition to stop the censoring of Kathy Griffin's remarks for the 2007 Emmy Awards. It's pretty clear her intent was simply to inject a little humor into the proceedings.

Leonard Cohen - The Future.

What's left to say?

Injecting Reason Into Hate

Can it be done?

Maybe, but I haven't seen it succeed yet.

We, middle of the road types, bop along in our naive little worlds, thinking that good and reason will always prevail.

We think that way because in our naive little worlds, it does. Essentially because we tend to be good people who are reasonable, willing to negotiate and compromise.

We've learned to resolve issues through communication and compromise, acknowledging along the way that we're not always going to get exactly what we want and that what we want might not always be the best thing for everybody. We also make an effort to be fair, and to understand others needs. We know how to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, and to understand where others are coming from. This is the source of our ability to negotiate and compromise.

Our biggest failing is that we think everyone else is like us. After all, we're the silent majority.

We have differences of opinion, different viewpoints, beliefs and value systems.

We get ticked off, frustrated, angry, file law suits, defend ourselves against our opposition, etc.

In the end, however, our anger doesn't lead to hate.

We just deal with our issues, or not, get over them, and move on.

Why? Because ultimately we are part of this world, we want to be happy, to share in it's pleasures and joys.

We want to see the positive, do good, make a contribution.

So, when we look into the face of Hate, we don't recognize it, don't understand it, try to work with it like we work with everything and everyone else, and are geniunely surprised when we don't succeed.

Christiane Amanpour commented in her documentary, God's Warriors, that you can't convince an extremist they're wrong!

Why not?

Because Hate is blind and it's based on fear, mistrust, obfuscation, and lies.

Hate is humanity's emotional Psychopath.

Hate believes that the ends justify the means.

Hate believes that which it hates is inhuman and therefore not worthy of trust, honesty or respect.

This is the foundation of the Irrationality and Unreasonableness of Hate.

This is the root of Extremism and Terrorism.

9/11: A Horror Revisited

When are we going to get over 9/11?

I don't know.

My memories of that day are as fresh today as they were 6 years ago.

My drive to work was the usual insane Toronto Rush Hour drive, down the 410 and along the 401, past the Airport. Then down the 427 and across the Gardiner Expressway. It was a normal occurrence to see the Planes flying low over the Highway to land at the Airport. My thoughts when observing those planes went to the lucky people coming back from or going to exotic holiday destinations. Every morning was same minus or plus accidents that frustrated the nerves and slowed down or stopped the traffic.

I left my home in Brampton at 7:15 AM, arrived at my parking lot at 8:45 AM and walked to work arriving just before 9:00 AM.

The receptionist, greeted me as I walked in, with the comment that a plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York. She looked terrified. I assumed it was just a tragic accident and responded accordingly. "No." she said, "They're saying it was a terrorist attack!".

I continued to my office which I shared with my Boss, and repeated what the receptionist had said.

A minute later, she rushed into our office, saying that a second plane had hit the WTC. My Boss and I looked at each other, got up immediately and all of us went to the coffee room where the company had a TV. Slowly other company staff joined us until the room was full.

Someone switched channels so that we could listen to the various news stories, and finally settled on CNN.

A skeleton staff was left to answer the phones and people came and went as their various jobs required.

We were all in shock.

I hadn't really kept up with world politics, didn't know the current issues on the international stage, and so, asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer, "Who would do such a thing, and Why?" Someone commented from behind me that it had to be Bin Ladin. I asked who Bin Ladin was and was told he was an Islamic extremist. I asked why the WTC? and was told because it was the heart of American Capitalism. I wondered why the Islamic extremists would care about hurting American Capitalism.

Someone else commented that the Americans had brought this on themselves.

I responded that no matter what the Americans have done, nothing justified this.

And then we saw the WTC towers come crashing down, live, through the eye of CNN's camera lens.

My immediate reactions were, "Oh My God, there are thousands of people in those buildings!" and "My son is on his way to work and has to go right past those buildings to get to MidTown Manhattan from Jersey City!"

In a panic I ran from the coffee room and tried to contact my son by phone to assure myself that he was okay.

The lines were tied up and I couldn't get through on my cell phone. My boss suggested I use the land line. I couldn't get through on the land line.

The rest of the morning was spent running back and forth from the coffee room to watch the events unfold, and to the phone to try to reach my son.

I finally got through at around 11:00 AM to the answering machine at his work place and left a message asking him to call me back right away so that I knew he was alright.

I then heard that a subway train had been buried under the rubble of the WTC and rescue workers were trying to get to it.

My stomach ached from the knots created by the worry and fear.

I went to the bathroom repeatedly because I didn't want anyone to see me cry.

To my great relief, he responded at around 12:00 PM.

He told me he took the bus, not the subway to get to work, that the bus went past the WTC.

He saw the second plane hit the WTC when he left his home in Jersey City which is right across the river from the WTC.

When the bus drove past the WTC he could see people jumping from 100 stories up and could hear their bodies landing.

He saw the Towers come down. The bus had stopped, and everyone was watching the events unfold in shock and fear.

He and his girlfriend, a Nanny in UpTown, spent the night at his workplace because no-one was allowed to leave the city, so they couldn't return to their apartment in Jersey City.

My boss told me that I could go home if I wanted to.

I thanked him, told him I would stay and settled down to trying to get some work done.

Driving home, the skies were empty near the airport.

From that point on, I saw the low flying planes over the highway in a completely new light.

It wasn't about vacationers and exotic holiday locations anymore.

It was about fear.

All flights to American locations had been redirected to Canadian airports, particularly the one next to the 401. Pearson International.

When I got home I called my Mother.

She had been planning to come to Toronto at the end of the week, and my vacation was to start September 15th.

We had planned to drive to New York together to visit my son and his girlfriend on September 15th.

His girlfriends parents were visiting that week and were scheduled to return to Germany on September 11th.

They left at the end of the week.

The line ups at the border were hours long and flying was not an option.

My son and his girlfriend asked us not to come.

We didn't go.

I cried for the people who died and for the people who lived.

My son's breathing troubles started two months later. He was initially diagnosed as having Panic Attacks.

Two years ago, he developed serious lesions on his skin all over his body, infected with Streptococcus bacteria. Neither he nor the Doctors could explain it.

He breathed in the dust on that day and the fumes for months as the fires burned and the toxic fumes drifted across the river to Jersey City where he lived.

He still has trouble breathing.

The Middle East, Biblical Prophecy, and My Humble Solution

After making the statement in my previous blog that the Biblical Prophecy relating to Israel was questionable, I thought I should at least find out exactly what it was.

Not that it makes any difference to me, since all Biblical prophecy (and other prophecy) is questionable in my mind.

I'm not religious, and happy that way. If, because of that, I'm tossed into the fires of hell during the End Times, so be it.

I identify myself as an Agnostic. I believe in secular government and society not a religious one.

I believe that everyone has a right to believe in their own religion and a responsibility to respect the rights of others to believe in their chosen religion, creed, value system or whatever.

So, that said, I went on a little exploration mission to find out what the thinking was in terms of the Middle East situation and the religious groups involved. I wanted moderate, not extremist views and got those in abundance.

The following quotes pretty much sums up the Biblical Prophecy surrounding Israel:

1. Genesis. The Beginning.The stage was set nearly 4000 years ago by God. A war that will destroy one-fourth of the world's population is about to take place. This war is outlined in Ezekiel 38 and other parts of the Bible. Russia, along with other allies, including some of the Arab nations, will soon invade Israel. The stage for what will happen soon was set long ago with Ishmael and Isaac. The descendants of Abram and Ishmael (which include some of the Arabs) and the descendants of Abraham and Isaac (the Jews) will soon clash one last time. Bad feelings have always existed between the two, for nearly 4000 years. It may be said that this is the longest running feud in the history of the world. It appears that this seemingly everlasting struggle between the seed of Ishmael and the seed of Isaac cannot cease, until one or the other is destroyed. No amount of diplomacy can change the conflict that God has set up. This coming war will take place during the Tribulation.

2. The Christian Part. Revelations. The End Times. RAPTURE is a term used to describe the removal from the earth of all living people that have been born-again as evidenced by their fruits. Just prior to the Tribulation coming about, the Rapture will take place. The number that will be raptured will be far fewer than most people might think. The Bible unmistakably portrays the raptured saints in heaven before the throne of God, prior to the Antichrist coming forth and the Tribulation beginning. The Scripture tells us, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed and be with Jesus in the air. 1 Cor 15:51,52-WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP, BUT WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED, IN A MOMENT IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT THE LAST TRUMP: FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND; 1 Thes 4:16,17-AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST, THEN WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS. We may be asleep, immediately we will be with Jesus. All the unbelievers, the lukewarm Christians, and those that did not obey the Gospel will be left to face the Tribulation.

Now, while it sums it up it doesn't really explain it.

In my explanation, I'm skipping the inflammatory parts that get people worked up and sticking to what might be referred to as the basic facts if one were to believe the Bible was a historical document which is debatable, but possible.

Essentially, the Old Testament indicates the following:

Abraham had two sons: Isaac and Ishmael. The sons had different mothers and so were half brothers.

Isaac, whose mother was Jewish, was the progenitor of the Jews and Ishmael, whose mother was Egyptian, was the progenitor of the Muslims.

God, it seems, offered a Covenant to Abraham, Isaac and their "seed" the Land of Canaan in exchange for their worship and obedience.

He offered a Great Nation to the "seed" of Ishmael but doesn't specify land, although the term Great Nation could make the issue of land debatable.

This comes from Genesis 16 and 17.

The Christians, according to the Bible, were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Son Of God, and that he will return as per Revelations.

The Muslims, aside from being the "seed" of Ishmael, believe that Jesus was a Messenger from God, as was Muhammed, and that there will be more Messengers Of God to come.

Muslims End Time beliefs appear to be similar to the Christian belief except that everyone will be converted to Islam during the Tribulation by Jesus.

Now let's assume that we believe all of this and let's assume that we believe in the concept of Prophecy.

If we believe in the concept of Prophecy then we also have to accept that once a Prophecy is known, that future defined by that Prophecy can be changed. After all, isn't that the purpose of Prophecy, to act as a warning, an alert, so that people can change their behavior and avoid the terrible consequences predicted.

This possibility to change outcomes predicted by Prophecy is supported by the biblical fact that God gave humanity free will.

Since humanity has free will, and therefore the ability to change prophetic outcomes, the only wild card becomes God and his plan, part of which is to send Messengers, Prophets, Messiahs to state his will, depending on which religious option you've selected.

The war part, the killing and fighting, etc. doesn't have to happen because the religious leaders could choose to exercise this free will and simply work out solutions which would accommodate all of the religious factions and then everyone can just happily sit and wait for God to do his part and send his Messengers, Prophets, Messiahs.

The stories that I took the time to read, all provided options, choices to the person. The stories I read also repeatedly blessed both Isaac and his "seed" as well as Ishmael and his "seed". So, in fact, God has blessed both the Jews and the Muslims.

Presumably, the End Times scenarios are warnings that if humanity doesn't do A then C will happen, but they have the option.

Since Revelations essentially says that the Messiah, Prophet, Son Of God, will take charge and handle the conversion process, it's not really up to believers to do anything except "be righteous and believe passionately", so that you can go with Jesus, or suffer and possibly die during the Tribulations. However, even here, if you are strong and "overcome" you can survive the Tribulations. It's all about choices.

There is also another option to consider, the one accepted by many moderate Christians, that in fact, all of the prophecies in the Old Testament were satisfied in the New Testament and are not in fact occurring today. Just thought I toss this option out there :).

Anyway, assuming that you believe in the above, I've tried to come up with a solution that accounts for those religious beliefs, and to my knowledge would satisfy those concerns. It's also a solution, that I, as an Agnostic and Secularist could accept.

So, here's my solution for the Middle East:

• Take the land that was originally Palestine after WWII.
• Call it "The Holy Land".
• Establish a fully Secular Democratic Government in which everyone, Muslim, Jews, Christians, Secularists, etc. participate equally and democratically.
  
• Establish a Religious Authority over Sacred Institutions like the Temple Mount which would be under the direction of a Committee consisting of internationally recognized religious authorities from each of the concerned religions. The Pope, an internationally recognized Imam, an internationally recognized Rabbi. Or, alternatively several recognized representatives from each religion to satisfy the different flavors each.

Would this be so difficult? The Jews are restored to their homeland, and the Muslims are restored to their homeland. The Christians have a religious say in what's going on? Everyone should be happy.

The Muslims and Jews are brothers, according to the Bible.

And, if one believes the Bible, the Middle East situation smacks of sibling rivalry.

As a Mom, the only thing I have left to say is:
Children, Stop Fighting, and Learn To Get Along ... For All Our Sakes.

God's Warriors

Go Christiane Amanpour and CNN!

I've always enjoyed her shows, but she really outdid herself with this one.

She's a true investigative journalist and her latest show, God's Warriors is a good example of this. It should be shown to all Journalism students as an example of the best in investigative reporting.

In my opinion, doing this particular show, produced in three parts, God's Warriors Jewish, Muslim and Christian, showed courage, and a passion for the truth.

A quick browse of news groups, and you'll find intense and heated debate on the first of her series, God's Warriors: Jewish terrorists and extremists!

Not a real surprise since this particular group of terrorists and extremists has been flying under the radar and has not received much media attention up until now. In fact, anyone who has brought up this issue in the past has been victimized by malicious smear campaigns, rumors, and false charges of antisemitism.

So, of course, it stands to reason that Ms. Amanpour is now being accused of the same thing.

Newsgroup postings, articles, blogs, etc. are accusing her of hating Israel, being antisemitic, misrepresentating Jews, etc. etc.

The main "complaints" seem to be:

1. She has placed Jewish terrorists and extremists on the same plain as Arab and Christian terrorists and extremists.

Why should they be on a different plain? A terrorist is a terrorist, Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. They differ in ideology only.

2. There are very few Jewish terrorists as compared to Arab and Christian ones.

Since there are fewer Jews, that stands to reason, so what?

3. Well, at least they admit that Jewish terrorists and extremists exist, barely, but the claim is made that it's just a few individuals and there is no organized structure.

Not according to Israel which lists Kahane Chai, previously known as Jewish Defense League, as a terrorist organization. The US, Canada and European Union have now (after 9/11) added Kahane Chai to their list of Terrorist organizations as well.

So, according to these individuals, Ms Amanpour, a credible, well-respected, experienced journalist, recognized internationally, is a liar, and their attempts to do damage control by putting their "spin" on the story is God-given truth. The actual facts are incidental.

Well, frankly, given the option, I will chose to believe an independent and respected journalist like Ms Amanpour before getting sucked in to the inflammatory and sometimes libelous "opinions" of these individuals who are supposedly not organized or representing any special interest, just "ordinary Jews" expressing their "love for Israel".

I saw the show, there was no bias, no hatred of Israel, no antisemitism, no misrepresentation of Jews or exaggeration of the facts. It was objective, investigative journalism at it's best.

Now, if these people really loved Israel, then why don't they respect Israeli law and policy, never mind International Law.

After all, it was Israel that declared Kahane Chai a terrorist and extremist organization shortly after the assassination of Yitzak Rabin in the 1990s. Rabin negotiated a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians, one which was supported by the Israeli government, but one which Kahane Chai disagreed with. This settlement included withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza.

So, their solution to disagreement on policy with Israel is to commit murder and break the law. Sounds like terrorism to me!

So much for their "love of Israel". I guess their "love of Israel" doesn't include any respect for Israeli Law or Israeli Government Policy.

In fact, their "love for Israel" always seems to surface when it suits their particular extremist agenda, and they can use it to terrorize, smear, slander and abuse anyone who disagrees with that agenda by accusing their opposition of ... guess what ... hating Israel, being antisemitic, misrepresenting Jews, etc. etc.

This has been a pretty consistent strategy applied by those elements for years and has been pretty effective.

Ms Amanpour's documentary exposed that particular terrorist strategy for what it is, an attempt to bully and manipulate people, governments, media, etc. into silence, towing their extremist line, or turning a blind eye to existing policy that doesn't suit their extremist agenda. If that doesn't work, terrorism in the form of murder, mayhem, and lies are considered acceptable options.

Ouch! That's got to hurt. Once people know what the strategy is, that it is a strategy, and that the aim of that strategy is to further a terrorist and extremist agenda, they're less likely to be manipulated so easily.

One of the most striking differences I've noticed between how the different communities handle the problem of terrorists and extremists in their midst is that in the Christian, Sikh and Muslim communities, terrorist and extremist elements are recognized for what and who they are. The moderates in those communities come forward to provide leadership to their communities and to organize against and oppose the extremist and terrorist elements.

I know for a fact that there are large numbers of Jews who oppose this minority of terrorist and extremist elements in their midst, want a geniune peace in the Middle East, are not pushing an extremist agenda based on some questionable biblical prophecy, and do not hate Muslims. I know this because I have contact with the Jewish community, amongst my friends and family.

Why aren't these moderates in the Jewish community coming forward, providing leadership to their community, and openly condemning the terrorist and extremist elements in their midst.

Other communities have done this.

Israel has done this.

Why hasn't the Jewish community in the Western World done this?

Perhaps now they will ... We can only hope.

Rock and Roll Heaven

"If You Believe In Forever, And Life Is Just A One Night Stand, If There's A Rock And Roll Heaven, Well You Know They've Got A Hell Of A Band." --Righteous Brothers

Elvis Presley - Amazing Grace

Elvis Lives! In our hearts!

Elvis Presley - Funny How Time Slips Away

Elvis Presley - Blue suede shoes

Just love that leather and those moves!

Elvis Presley-I Want You, I Need You, I Love You/1956

Elvis in Tux!