|
Did you know slavery is legal in the USA? Read this section of that country's constitution.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Amendment XIII
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Source.
It is possible the exception refers ONLY to the "involuntary servitude" bit of it. Not sure.
NOw, before you go all rabid on me, let me assure you I do think the USA's constitution is very good in general, far better than my own country's constitution.
For those who like to say Hitler was not a Christian, all these were said by Adolf Hitler:
"It must be thoroughly understood that the lost land will never be won back by solemn appeals to the God, nor by hopes in any League of Nations, but only by the force of arms."
"We are all proud that through God's powerful aid, we have become once more true Germans."
"Always before God and the world, the stronger has the right to carry through what he wills."
"What we have to fight for is the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may be enabled to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the creator."
"The world will not help, the people must help themselves. Its own strength is the source of life. That strength the Almighty has given us to use; that in it and through it, we may wage the battle of our life The others in the past years have not had the blessing of the Almighty - of Him who in the last resort, whatever man may do, holds in His hands the final decision. Lord God, let us never hesitate or play the coward."
"Who says I am not under the special protection of God?"
Prior to the USA's invasion of Iraq in 2003, Terry Jones (of Monty Python) sent this letter to the London Observer.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Letter to the Observer
Sunday January 26, 2003
The Observer
I'm really excited by George Bush's latest reason for bombing Iraq: he's running out of patience. And so am I! For some time now I've been really pissed off with Mr Johnson, who lives a couple of doors down the street. Well, him and Mr Patel, who runs the health food shop. They both give me queer looks, and I'm sure Mr Johnson is planning something nasty for me, but so far I haven't been able to discover what.
I've been round to his place a few times to see what he's up to, but he's got everything well hidden. That's how devious he is. As for Mr Patel, don't ask me how I know, I just know - from very good sources - that he is, in reality, a Mass Murderer. I have leafleted the street telling them that if we don't act first, he'll pick us off one by one.
Some of my neighbours say, if I've got proof, why don't I go to the police? But that's simply ridiculous. The police will say that they need evidence of a crime with which to charge my neighbours. They'll come up with endless red tape and quibbling about the rights and wrongs of a pre-emptive strike and all the while Mr Johnson will be finalising his plans to do terrible things to me, while Mr Patel will be secretly murdering people.
Since I'm the only one in the street with a decent range of automatic firearms, I reckon it's up to me to keep the peace. But until recently that's been a little difficult. Now, however, George W. Bush has made it clear that all I need to do is run out of patience, and then I can wade in and do whatever I want!
And let's face it, Mr Bush's carefully thought-out policy towards Iraq is the only way to bring about international peace and security. The one certain way to stop Muslim fundamentalist suicide bombers targeting the US or the UK is to bomb a few Muslim countries that have never threatened us.
That's why I want to blow up Mr Johnson's garage and kill his wife and children. Strike first! That'll teach him a lesson. Then he'll leave us in peace and stop peering at me in that totally unacceptable way. Mr Bush makes it clear that all he needs to know before bombing Iraq is that Saddam is a really nasty man and that he has weapons of mass destruction - even if no one can find them. I'm certain I've just as much justification for killing Mr Johnson's wife and children as Mr Bush has for bombing Iraq.
Mr Bush's long-term aim is to make the world a safer place by eliminating 'rogue states' and 'terrorism'. It's such a clever long-term aim because how can you ever know when you've achieved it? How will Mr Bush know when he's wiped out all terrorists? When every single terrorist is dead? But then a terrorist is only a terrorist once he's committed an act of terror. What about would-be terrorists? These are the ones you really want to eliminate, since most of the known terrorists, being suicide bombers, have already eliminated themselves.
Perhaps Mr Bush needs to wipe out everyone who could possibly be a future terrorist? Maybe he can't be sure he's achieved his objective until every Muslim fundamentalist is dead? But then some moderate Muslims might convert to fundamentalism. Maybe the only really safe thing to do would be for Mr Bush to eliminate all Muslims?
It's the same in my street. Mr Johnson and Mr Patel are just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of other people in the street who I don't like and who - quite frankly - look at me in odd ways. No one will be really safe until I've wiped them all out. My wife says I might be going too far but I tell her I'm simply using the same logic as the President of the United States. That shuts her up.
Like Mr Bush, I've run out of patience, and if that's a good enough reason for the President, it's good enough for me. I'm going to give the whole street two weeks - no, 10 days - to come out in the open and hand over all aliens and interplanetary hijackers, galactic outlaws and interstellar terrorist masterminds, and if they don't hand them over nicely and say 'Thank you', I'm going to bomb the entire street to kingdom come.
It's just as sane as what George W. Bush is proposing - and, in contrast to what he's intending, my policy will destroy only one street.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
There are many ways to represent it phonetically in English, but however you prefer to spell it, you can download a dozen or more translations here.
Rachel Corrie was a girl who found a cause and was brave enough to sacrifice her life to it. She was trying to prevent the Israeli military destroying the homes of Palestinian civilians, and they ran over her with a bulldozer. Here you can read her first-hand reports of what she witnessed in Israel.
The USA's slogan for their tactics during their 2003 invasion of Iraq was Shock And Awe. Feel free to view the paper they get this from: here.
A funny little piece someone sent me today.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Axis of Evil Wannabes, by John Cleese
Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and
Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said
would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned
of in his State of the Union address.
Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for
starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil...in their dreams!"
declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils...
best at being evil...we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they
conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't
have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is
not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in
the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake. Ours is wickedly
cool."
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within
minutes, France surrendered. Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain
triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs.
Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the "Axis of Somewhat Evil," forcing
Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the "Axis of Occasionally Evil," while
Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the "Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As
Just Generally Disagreeable."
With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up...Sierra
Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the "Axis of Countries That
Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics."
Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite
Nice But Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America," while Scotland, New
Zealand and Spain established the "Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to
Wear Lipstick." "That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said
Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him,
a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected the
establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of
its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and
Chadguay denied the charges.
Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, leaders
said that's only because no one asked them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
What Kangaroo Court? Camp X-Ray, as it is called, in Cuba. A USA navy base. The USA is holding people there against their will, and by no known convention of law, either American or international. The prisoners have not been charged with any crimes. Some are about to face trial, at which they may be sentenced to death, and still without even being charged. This is American justice. This is the "capital of democracy" they keep telling us they are.
One of the Australians being held there was abducted by American soldiers at a checkpoint on a road in Pakistan, a country which was not at war with the USA, and was in fact assisting the USA during its military campaign in Afghanistan. They grabbed him at a checkpoint in Pakistan, dragged him off to Cuba, and he's been locked up for more than a year without even being charged with any crimes, under ANY system of law.
And what does our glorious Australian government do about it? Nothing. Not a harsh word anywhere. As long as the money keeps rolling in from America, John Howard and the rest of the Australian politicians simply shut up and play nice.
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
"Armor" by John Steakley is without doubt the best power-armour science-fiction story. His English skills aren't the best, but I love the story.
Buy it at Amazon.
"The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher. The world's only openly practicing real wizard, working as a private detective. Lots of fun, with interesting characters. Four books in the series so far.
But it at Amazon.
"1984" by George Orwell. My favourite book. It examines the erosion of freedom by the state, among other things.
Buy it at Amazon.
"The Edge Of The Sword" by Captain Anthony Farrar-Hockley, British Army, retired. A true account of the Captain's adventures in the Korean War. A very interesting read.
But it at Amazon.
"The Sword Of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind. One of my favourite series for magic and fantasy and all. Lots of fun.
Buy it at Amazon.
"Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone". Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Some people get the idea in their heads that if a book gets lots of hype, they shouldn't read it. Contrariness without reason is pathetic. The books really are very good. They start with a young target audience in mind, but each in turn is aimed at a slightly older audience. And they are written VERY well. By the time you get to the latest book, you'll probably love them.
Buy it at Amazon.
Reported yesterday on the local news.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Police gun drill blasted
By Rosemary Odgers, David Murray and Michael Madigan
July 7, 2003
POLICE target practice will be reviewed after it was revealed they were using pictures of real people for anti-terrorist training.
Special emergency response team officers have been using 28 real-life images in target training, including two pictures of Aborigines and four of women.
The photos included staff from the Queensland Police Service and mugshots of criminals.
Police Minister Tony McGrady said the use of the images was unacceptable and called for an immediate review.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson apologised to anyone identified in the photos but said the pictures had helped in the training of 40 SERT officers.
Mr Atkinson said the photos were selected to show different physical characteristics to enable an officer to identify with real-life hostage or terrorist situations.
"In such circumstances, an officer may have only a matter of seconds to accurately identify the hostage-taker and facial characteristics including skin colour are vital in this process," Mr Atkinson said.
"We will investigate ways to provide the necessary level of identification and marksman training in future without any possibility of causing embarrassment or hurt to any individual."
Indigenous leaders and civil libertarians said they were outraged at the practice.
ATSIC commissioner Robbie Williams said it was a "disgraceful" treatment of Aboriginal images.
Mr Williams said many Aborigines were on police photograph files for non-violent crimes such as taking part in street protests.
"This is going back to the days of (former premier Sir Joh) Bjelke-Petersen," he said.
"We've tried to come through the racist years and get somewhere but this just shows the present government hasn't changed things."
Civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman said only generic outlines should be used in target practice.
"To use the photographs of suspects when they are arrested as targets for sniper practice particularly when a number are of Aboriginal extraction is appalling," he said.
Queensland Police Union president Gary Wilkinson said police should be able to use whatever means necessary for their counter-terrorism training.
"It is necessary to make the training for hostage situations as life-like as possible in preparation for the day when the inevitable happens," he said.
"I would have thought that all Australians would be pleased to know that everything possible is being done by police to prepare themselves. This is an operational issue and the Police Minister has no business ordering a review of police training methods."
Mr McGrady said police would investigate the possibility of using computer-generated pictures.
"I do not condone the unauthorised use of indigenous or other actual images by police on training targets," he said.
The Courier-Mail
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Source of the article.
|
Search This Site
Syndicate this blog site
Powered by BlogEasy
Free Blog Hosting
|