No Thanks!

The new pope has begun to expound on what seems will be a major theme of his reign:

-the unifying Christian roots of Europe. . .

Is this guy for real or has he just been sniffing incense too long?

- First of all, the roots of Europe are hardly Christian. Christianity was imposed by a disintegrating empire through it's minion missionary monks late in its development.

-Secondly, Christianity has been at the root of centuries of disunity in Europe. This in the form of political instability, oppression and bloody war after bloody war.

Europeans get it:

They have, despite the negative influence of Christianity, begun to form a union that will mean no more war in a secure, affluent culture covering the entire continent. The fact is that most modern Europeans barely tolerate Christianity. It has been relegated to the museum curators, historians and tourists. The EU (see its proposed constitution), pointedly excludes Christianity from involvement in its affairs. To that end, the Vatican has been purposely univited to participate in its deliberations.

So much for the unifying Christian roots of Europe.

Mr. Benedict! You don't get it:

Oppressing women, sexual minorities and the poor are not acceptable policies in the modern democratic society of Europe (or anywhere else).

The third world where you lord it over still may not yet be able to break your repressive hold as Europe has. But, the time will come and not a moment too soon!

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QUOTE FOR THOUGHT:

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
--Sinclair Lewis


PRESCIENT!!!

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Join the Common Cause Crusade

Common Cause is working hard to make sure that the serious problems revealed in our election system, such as hours-long lines, malfunctioning machines, and absentee ballots that never arrived, are fixed and not forgotten.

To help us keep the story alive as we push for reforms, two award-winning documentary filmmakers, Erin and Conrad Stanley of Los Angeles, produced a compelling two minute video. It is entitled, "Never Forget November 2nd". Click on the link in this post to view.

Please invite everyone you know who is concerned about our flawed election system to see it (click on the link in this post to view- the video is set to play in your windows media player at low (264k) broadband speed)!

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Politics

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Need for FDA Action

In some states, legislators are pushing laws that would explicitly grant pharmacists the right to refuse to dispense drugs related to contraception or abortion on moral grounds. Others want to require pharmacies to fill any legal prescription for birth control, much like Governor Blagojevich's emergency rule in Illinois, which requires pharmacies that stock the morning-after pill to dispense it without delay. And in some states, there are proposals or newly enacted laws to make the morning-after pill more accessible, by requiring hospitals to offer it to rape victims or allowing certain pharmacists to sell it without a prescription.

Some of the bills could become moot if the Food and Drug Administration approves the morning-after pill for over-the-counter sale by pharmacists, something advocates for women's reproductive rights and several Democratic senators have pressured the agency to do.

If over-the-counter sales are allowed, experts on the issue say, pharmacists who do not want to provide the pill on moral grounds could simply decide not to stock it, which current state laws already allow them to do. If a large drugstore chain decided to stock it, but an individual pharmacist in the chain objected, such a dispute might be governed by the employment agreements between the chain and the pharmacist.

-from nytimes.com

-it is obvious that the FDA needs to act now to provide over the counter access to the 'morning-after' pill. It will go a long way toward taking away the power of denial by fanatical employee pharmacists, and the media forum it provides for them and their 'christian' right backers.

The 'christian' right says that requiring pharmacists to dispense contraceptives against their religious beliefs is a violation of their civil rights. This is like a 60s diner owner in the south claiming that forcing him to allow blacks to eat in his restaurant against his racial beliefs (usually based on religious beliefs) violated his civil rights. How absurd!

*I have changed the link on this post to reference a similar and relevant newer post at bopnews.com- just click on the link!

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Row over UN Oil Scandal

Mr Annan becomes embroiled in the oil-for-food scandal:

The US and Britain have rejected allegations by UN chief Kofi Annan that they turned a blind eye to oil smuggling by Saddam Hussein's regime. Mr Annan had suggested the two had inadequately policed UN sanctions against Iraq, enabling the regime to earn huge amounts in illegal deals.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the charges were "inaccurate", while Washington was also dismissive.

The UN has itself been under fire over the so-called oil-for-food programme. The $60bn (£32bn) programme allowed Saddam Hussein's Iraq to sell oil in order to buy civilian goods - including medicine - and therefore ease the impact of UN sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Actually, the bulk of the money Saddam Hussein made was from smuggling under the 'watchful' eyes of the Americans and British.

US Senate investigators have alleged that the Iraqi regime received some $4bn (£2.13bn) in illegal payments from oil companies involved in the programme.* But this figure is dwarfed by the $14bn (£7.5bn) that allegedly came from "sanctions-busting" - illegally selling oil to neighbouring states such as Jordan and Turkey.

"The bulk of the money that Saddam [Hussein] made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food programme, and it was on the American and British watch," Mr Annan said. Iraq made billions of dollars from illegal oil sales and bribes. He added, ". . . they were (US and Britain) the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies."
--(edited from an article by the BBC)

*This leaves out the fact that the the oil company bribes came from corporations with very close ties to the administration, e.g. Chevron and other Texas based companies. It looks like the real scandal has come home to roost!

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GOP Leaders Threaten Courts!

Seventy-four percent of Americans surveyed by CBS News said Congress intervened in the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case to advance a political agenda, not because they cared what happened to the Florida woman whose last days took center ring in a grotesque national media circus. The people called it accurately, as right-wingers on Capitol Hill confirmed with incendiary reactions to Schiavo's death. "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior,'' snarled House majority leader Tom DeLay; GOP Senator John Cornyn wondered aloud on the Senate floor whether there was a connection between the "perception" that judges are making political decisions and the fact that "some people...engage in violence." Both DeLay and Cornyn took some appropriate hits for playing to the worst instincts of a country where in recent months judges and their families have been the targets of violence. But few in Washington were confused about the meaning of DeLay's warning: While he might muse about impeaching federal jurists, his real passion is for removing barriers to the Bush Administration's campaign to pack the courts with right-wing judicial activists.

(from an article in The Nation- 'click' link)

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Only Symptom of Problem

GAS PRICES SOAR AND SOAR. . .

. . . all the while the white house and congress do nothing- they won't even talk about it (except to spout renewed support for their pro-corporate energy law). Hmm, how could that possibly be?

Gas and oil prices, even adjusted for inflation, haven't been this high in over 25 years. There has been no overt action by OPEC this time or any real oil shortage otherwise.. The white house promised us that 'freeing' Iraq would be a great step towards stabilizing America's oil supply (as well as pay for the war there- lol). Contrarily, the 'free' markets have gone off the deep end on a massive speculation spree.

The sad fact is we are beginning to feel the results of a white house hands off policy towards corporate behavior at the expense of the general welfare. Those the white house really represents- international corporations, especially those in the oil (can't imagine where that connection comes from- lol), pharmaceutical and financial industries, have been given unprecedented leeway by law to rape and pillage (metaphorically, of course) to their hearts' and bank accounts' content- damn the rest of us.

There have been absolutely no efforts by this administration to moderate the massive rise in oil prices- even though they have it well within their power to do so (there is the strategic reserve and the influence of the treasury bond market), because it would not be in the interests of those whom they truly represent. Look next for similar corporate rape by the pharmaceuticals when the pro-corporate medicare law really kicks in. And, we will no doubt see a similar effect with the implementation of the pro-corporate bankruptcy law. Then there is the push for pro-corporate tort 'reform'. Will it never end?

Americans are seeing a massive shift of wealth upward, unprecedented since the days of the nineteenth century robber-barons. The laissez-faire policies of the repubs are creating a nation of real have and have-nots- not just a politically rhetorical one. Where is the morality?

(link is to published article by me in Indymedia. us)

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