Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Friday, June 17. 2005The recent release of Crash is worthy of a Saturday night at the movies. Ebert: "Crash" was directed by Paul Haggis, whose screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby" led to Academy Awards. It connects stories based on coincidence, serendipity, and luck, as the lives of the characters crash against one another other like pinballs. The movie presumes that most people feel prejudice and resentment against members of other groups, and observes the consequences of those feelings. Read entire review:: rogerebert.com :: Crash
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Thursday, June 16. 2005Germany prepares for more than the World Cup LOS ANGELES (eTurboNews) – The German city of Dortmund, one of 12 cities to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup games, is to rid prostitutes and their clients off the streets by installing designated areas to conduct business.Click here: http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000042/004295-p.htm Summer Reading
The Gospel According To America
A book worthy of reading this summer or anytime but especially in light of the discourse occurring in the Capital, the MSM, and everywhere else in America. David Dark’s The Gospel According to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea. A Review by Zachry Kincaid, director of The Matthew's House Project: G.K. Chesterton who wrote a series of newspaper articles some eighty years ago about his visit to America. Chesterton says that America is a country with the soul of a church. Based in the equality of all human beings principle, Dark relates this church soul to the Apostle Paul’s sameness in Christ. But, Chesterton reminds us that America is either entirely heroic or completely insane. Today’s version of gospel is closer to insane. The abuse of freedom has driven the Gospel out of serious public thought, reduced to Ten Commandments lawn signs and ichthus-marked SUVs. We should pause, Dark says, “as we consider how easily many Americans speak of their faith as a private, personal matter; a relationship somehow contained within the heart; an odd, airy thing called ‘spirituality.’” Ought Christians to rather act in step with the early followers who “are not of this world’s way of doing things, but their hope is still scandalously this-worldly. And the intensity of their passion for a socially disruptive, enduring freedom won’t be diminished, divided, or conquered by the prerogatives of any government.” (6) Freedom ringing from the mountains to the prairies, Dark argues, can be a corrupting factor to the definition of gospel in America. From Constantine making official the Christian faith as the Roman government’s faith, the West has been riddled with what to do with this system of faith that demands poverty and meekness. America is no exception. How do you take a “rogue” faith, as Dark says, and make it stately? One way President Bush has neatly tied Christianity to the American way is through rhetoric and terrorism and war. (As Dark references) Bush has framed America and Christianity as synonymous:
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Wednesday, June 15. 2005Venezuela's National Guard and Army to collide The Devil's Excrement Today, local newspaper El Nacional reported that "the professional troop" which is composed of the soldiers from Sergeant down of the ninth command of the national guard in Amazonas State had taken over the command center as a way of giving support to the national guardsmen of the CORE-8 in Bolivar State which had been deactivated and who claimed they have been abused and humiliated by the Army. Daniel has the low down on the Castro visit: Then the traditional military parade of June 24 was suspended. Assassination attempt in the air. Let's look at this with more detail. Carabobo is our Yorktown, our Trafalgar, our Austerlitz. Every year the National Monument is the site for a major parade. One year even Chavez considered reenacting the battle but was dissuaded not to do it when the difficulty and costs revealed to be more than expected. So, why suspend the parade now that Chavez is supposedly on the peak of his power, when 70% of the population loves him (according to chavista poll interpretation)? Mystery and Intrigue in Venezuela's Army and Castro gossip | www.vcrisis.com Quizás valga aquí parafrasear la famosa expresión napoleónica: esto de darle el nombre de Fidel a una promoción de oficiales venezolanos más que un error es una verdadera estupidez. translation-perhaps it is valuable to paraphrase the Napoleonic expression: Giving Fidel the opportunity to promote the graduating officers of Venezuela is more than an error it is true stupidity. Bolivian Indians demanding representation and it's about time. More on theh Bolivian uprising leading to the fall of a President
Tuesday, June 14. 2005A New Bible ""Of making many books," the Bible warns, "there is no end." Tell that to David Norton.Mr. Norton knows a thing or two about that, too. This quiet-spoken scholar has spent the past 10 years producing the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible (Cambridge University Press, 2005), the first entirely re-edited edition of the King James Bible since 1873.The Berkeley professor's next translation will probably be of the Bible's most comprehensive work of poetry, the Book of Psalms."The Chronicle: 6/17/2005: For Bible Editors, No Day of Rest Monday, June 13. 2005Blogs replace journals and diaries for college students needing to vent "So I'm taking a Neuro Anatomy class this semester, and the Prof announced a quiz after only 2 lectures and one lab. The quiz is covering the entirity of the spinal chord/brain stem organization including facial nerves. Yes, we tried to cover all of that in two classes. Tried. Oh my god, I'm gonna die." Piece here: Click here: The Chronicle: 6/17/2005: Inside the Student Mind Comment from Editor: Neuroanatomy is not for crybabies.
Bolivia facing a breakdown Civil War predicted in Bolivia. Chaos has started, the Indian factions are up in arms and Mesa has lost control and no one capable seems to be in the capital to take over and implement order. Latin America's problems increasing and the Bolivarian Revolution led by Hugo Chavez from Venezuela is lingering like a bad smell everywhere that political strife is taking place. For an update on all things going on in this land locked nation check out Publius Pundit who has done a great job researching the papers and blogs covering the situation.
Thursday, June 9. 2005Salsa TimeThe president in Bolivia resigns and the President in Brazil holds a meeting about corruption and faces accusations of taking bribes. President Bush speaks at the OAS meeting in Florida and condemns Chavez in not so many words and proclaims that democracy is ahead for Cuba regardless of Castro's intentions to keep the "RED SICKLE" rolling. It's Salsa time in Latin America. News | canada.com networkLA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - President Carlos Mesa, his 19-month-old government unraveling amid swelling street protests and a crippling blockade of the Bolivian capital, announced his resignation in a nationally televised address Lawmakers had hoped to calm tensions in a country where anti-globalization anger runs high. But the tax increase touched off fresh demands for the nationalization of the oil industry and a new constitution giving more clout to Indians, who represent about half the population. A historian turned politician, Mesa had no political sponsorship when he was thrust into the presidency in October 2003. He succeeded former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who resigned after street protests over plans to export the country's natural gas reserves left at least 56 people dead More Radical Chic? Is this still in fashion? Palling around with Fidel's friends in NYC? Disgusting. Michelle has story. How can this possibly be cool in 2005? Unless muderous psychopathic dictators are your cup of tea. Friday, June 3. 2005Don't give it away until you've got it. Alberto Vilar, the major Cuban American Philanthropist who donated large sums of money to his favorite causes has been charged with fraud. Mr. Vilar traveled the world to see Operas in the famous Houses like Covent Garden and provided funds to save many of them. I recall walking into the Hospital for Special Surgery and seeing his name plastered all over the walls. Perhaps it was delusions of grandeur or he just wanted to see his name on a few walls but his narcissism or generosity got the better of him and his clients. His fiance left him and he is sitting in jail trying to make the $10 million bail.
Wednesday, June 1. 2005Carmen Miranda A cultural icon, no? The Brazilian bombshell. You need this for your cultural education: audio and visual.
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Bird People "A loosely-knit community of birdwatchers in New York’s Central Park; ornithologists with their specimen collections at a dozen different natural history museums; bird banders gingerly extracting birds from mist nets and collecting data in upstate New York; six people searching for a nearly extinct bird in a Louisiana bayou: these are the strands that are woven together by The Birdpeople as it documents a passionate fixation."
Tuesday, May 31. 2005The Latin BeatSHOW ME THE MONEY Once again, President Chavez is in a pickle. The PDVSA (petroleum company of Venezuela) is missing billions. No one knows where the dollars are and Hugo's cousin is in charge. "Today in the Venezuelan blogosphere, writer after writer, some of whom do not even know each other, reach the same conclusion: Venezuela’ s state oil company, under the regime of Hugo Chavez, is being systematically looted by Chavez’s cronies so badly it’s affected production. And hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost. These sums are like Argentina’s default numbers, triple digit billions. It’s coming to a head as a powerful indictment of the Chavez regime, and try as he might to use diversions, like Posada Carriles, Bush, the Norwegians, the IRS, the foreign oil companies, it all comes down to the elephant in the room - the state oil company is bleeding money and Chavez is responsible. And Venezuelans are very angry, angry to the point that Chavez is trying to distract them."COLLAPSE OF VENEZUELAN OIL | www.vcrisis.com "Mr Chávez's hand-picked managers at Petróleos de Venezuela, or Pdvsa, are facing an avalanche of questions about the location of billions of dollars in unaccountable export revenue."Where's the money?" asks César Rincones, president of the congressional comptroller commission. "We could be on the brink of a financial crisis because of the mismanagement of the oil industry."FT.com / Home UK - Chávez faces claims of oil revenue cover-up This for the Spanish speaking readers. Hugo Chavez' type of Socialism is the type that subjugates and makes poor its citizens. His socialism is of the Castro kind: the kind influenced by the former Soviet Union and Leftist European states, the kind incorporated by the decrepit Caribbean dictator. "Cuando Chávez habla de socialismo no se refiere al Estado Social de Derecho, como anuncia la Constitución del 99, ni al Estado de Bienestar, como existe en una parte importante de los países capitalistas europeos, no importa que quienes estén en el Gobierno sean liberales o conservadores. Se refiere al único socialismo que ha existido y se conoce. Al que ha empobrecido y sojuzgado a los pueblos donde se ha implantado. Su socialismo es el que lleva la etiqueta de Fidel Castro: combina los rasgos que tuvo ese sistema es la Unión Soviética y en los países de Europa del Este, con los que le incorporó el decrépito dictador caribeño." Opinión y análisis - Fatal ignorancia
USA-1 and Venezuela-0 Posada Cariles is safe for the moment but should he be? It appears there will be some tight rope walking for the State department. MIAMI, May 27 -- The diplomatic tangle surrounding Luis Posada Carriles grew more complex Friday as the Bush administration rejected Venezuela's request to arrest him as a suspected terrorist, while a high-ranking State Department official questioned whether Venezuela sincerely wants custody of the accused Cuban militant.The Bush administration may be in a classic no-win situation because it may have to choose between extraditing Posada to a nation led by one of its most strident critics -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -- or being labeled "hypocrites" for talking tough about terrorism but refusing to extradite a suspected terrorist, said Jennifer L. McCoy, an expert in U.S.-Venezuela relations at Georgia State University. Thursday, May 26. 2005Teach the Constitution in school, you must be kidding. From the Federal Register: SUMMARY: The Assistant DeputySecretary for Innovation and Improvement announces that, pursuant to legislation passed by Congress,educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution onSeptember 17 of each year. This notice implements this provision as it appliesto educational institutions receiving Federal funding from the Department. "The rule puts into effect a provision that was inserted in the final federal-spending bill for 2005 by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat and the Senate's unofficial constitutional scholar.The Chronicle: Daily news: 05/25/2005 -- 03 ." "But many university presidents remain concerned that Senator Byrd's provision could establish a precedent for Congress's setting curricular requirements," said Becky Timmons, director of government relations at the American Council on Education. "Federal law prohibits the Education Department from establishing a national curriculum. Our members find it very intrusive," Ms. Timmons said. "They are concerned about the precedent it holds for Congress telling them what to teach." It is inconceivable that the American Council of Education believes that teaching the Constitution is opening the door to Congressional edicts regarding curriculums at the elementary, high school and college level. It makes common sense to teach the Constitution of the United States if you are educating Americans who have the right to vote and decide who leads their city, state, and country. Isn't an informed public the best safeguard for Democracy? I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Ms. Timmons is a card carrying ACLU member. People are always looking to pounce on anything remotely patriotic. It's a good thing Senator Byrd is a Democrat or we would be reading the how President Bush changed the American History curriculum. Editor's Note: I beg to respectfully disagree with the learned and honorable Opie. Of course, every kid should have a civics course in grade school and in high school - but that is the responsibility of the local school systems. I know it's getting late to close the barn door, but keep the Feds away from our schools. The real problem is that the schools want the Fed $, so they have to give up their own authority and judgement to get it. That isn't good.
Hedgies: Brother, can you spare a dime? From the NYT: ON average, according to Institutional Investor's most recent survey, the 25 best-paid hedge fund managers each took home $207 million in 2003, about double what they made a year earlier. That's $207 million in cash - not in equity or stock options. Meanwhile, the nation's 25 highest-paid chief executives each made an average of $37 million in total compensation last year, including options granted (but not those exercised), according to Business Week. Most hedge fund managers do make money for their investors. But even if a hedge fund manager doesn't make a cent for his investors, the manager invariably makes a fortune for himself. Think about it: just for showing up to work, the manager of a hedge fund with $1 billion in assets is guaranteed to earn $20 million a year in management fees alone. Why should he take any risks? Why should he alienate his cautious investors? If we add in his 20 percent cut of the gains, and assume that his returns last year were just average (in line with the S.& P. 500) he would have grossed a total of $41.8 million." Gunslingers No More: The Cautious Cash In - New York Times Wednesday, May 25. 2005If at first you don't succeed, then 'trial, trial' again. Mr. Posada has been tried and acquitted twice in Venezuela and pardoned in Panama. This is a tricky one for Bush. Cuban Exile Is Charged With Illegal Entry - New York Times "Mr. Posada spent nine years in a Venezuelan prison during trials and retrials on charges that he conspired to bomb the Cuban airliner. He escaped in 1985 and went underground to join a C.I.A. operation in El Salvador in an effort to help anti-Communist Nicaraguan rebels.He admitted masterminding bombings at tourist spots in Havana in 1997 that were intended to destabilize Cuba and terrorize people. One of the bombs killed an Italian visitor in Havana.He was jailed in Panama in connection with a bomb plot against Mr. Castro in 2000, convicted, and then pardoned by Panama's president nine months ago."
Humanitarian Adventure Travel. Relief Riders International. How cool is this? Camel? Donkey? Elephant?
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Tuesday, May 24. 2005The Latin BeatIt may have been only a crack, a small crack in the door of oppressive leadership but a glimmer of hope may have come through it. Castro was concerned enough to ship journalists and observers out before they had a chance to report on the Assembly held yesterday in Havana. In today's world of electronic media, and stringers blogging online, the days of an "iron curtain" are dwindling. "A reporter for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Francesco Battistini, was detained on his way to the meeting and put on a plane to Europe, the Italian foreign ministry said.Cuba expelled three Polish journalists Friday on a flight to Cancun, Mexico, a Polish diplomat said. They were among six Poles arrested at their Havana hotel Thursday night. The group, in Cuba to attend the dissidents' meeting, included a a photographer, a translator and an expert on Cuban politics.Two former Spanish senators were deported on Thursday, a day after arriving in Cuba for the meeting, and another legislator was expelled on Friday, officials said in Madrid.Police picked up Czech Sen. Karel Schwarzenberg and German Bundestag member Arnold Vaatz at their hotels on Thursday and drove them straight to the airport for flights home. AOL News - Cuba Allows Rare Anti-Castro Meeting Dissident economist Martha Beatriz Roque, who organized the meeting, said the expulsions showed the world the "totalitarian" nature of Castro's government." Unbelievable as it sounds, Mr. Serrano of the Bronx claims that the New York delegation understands Cuban politics better than Florida."If there was no Jeb Bush in Florida, and no strong Miami community, we would perhaps treat Cuba differently." PLEASE! Is he kidding? There is a strong Cuban community in Florida precisely because there is a Castro in Havana. Castro may have liberated Cubans from the oppressive dictator Batista but he has replaced one reprehensible government with another. The miserable Cubans who were left behind, who chose to stay behind have been swindled out of a future. "To encourage participants, the assembly has solicited and received expressions of support and solidarity from representatives of international organizations, including members of the European Parliament and members of the American Congress. Last Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 193, which, among other provisions, extends "support and solidarity to the organizers and participants of the historic meeting." The resolution, introduced by a Republican of Florida, Mario Diaz-Balart, passed by a vote of 392 to 22. The bill had more than 50 co-sponsors, including a Democrat from New York, Rep. Eliot Engel of the Bronx.New York was the best-represented state among the resolution's opponents, however, with six New York Democrats among the 22 nay votes. They included Charles Rangel of Harlem; Jose Serrano of the Bronx; Edolphus Towns of Brooklyn; Nydia Velazquez of Brooklyn, and Gregory Meeks of Queens, as well as Maurice Hinchey, whose district stretches from Poughkeepsie to Ithaca." Friday, May 20. 2005Today brings a ray of hope into the hearts of the Cubans. Is Fidel letting his guard down or will the Assembly be another propaganda ploy? WHAT IS THE ASSEMBLY TO PROMOTE CIVIL SOCIETY IN CUBA? Paxety Pages : Friday could be a turning point in Cuba's history. Americans and Europeans condemn Castro's illegal incarceration of dissidents and their poor treatment.European Union Condemns Trials, Sentencing of Cuban Dissidents - US Department of State : Washington -- "The European Union (EU) has condemned the recent trials and sentencing of 13 more Cuban human rights activists and journalists, who the 25-nation bloc said were arrested "while peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, opinion, association, and assembly.Three of the Cuban dissidents were convicted May 5 of contempt for authority, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and were sentenced to up to five years in prison. Another 10 dissidents, who had been arrested more than two years ago, were given sentences of up to seven years in prison.Castro's regime ordered a crackdown on dissent in March 2003 that resulted in the 75 dissidents being sentenced to prison terms of up to 28 years." If you would like to see what Cuba looks like today after 4 decades of Fidel in power click here.NEWS Italy this Summer? The strikes have already begun, just in time for tourist season. From Travelwire: "The unions are supposed to maintain a minimum level of service even on strike days, but this legal requirement is not always enforced in practice. The British Embassy in Rome has issued a warning that in addition to planned strikes there was also a risk of unannounced wild-cat stoppages by transportation workers in cities across Italy." Link.
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Thursday, May 19. 2005May the Force be with you: The Final Episode George Lucas has brought the galaxy back. Today is opening night for the last installment in the greatest movie making series of all time. Star Wars: "Revenge of the Sith" shows us what finally made Anakin turn to the Dark Side. According to reviewers everywhere, this installment is as good as the original. Kudos to Lucas for ending on such a high note and cementing his place as one of America's great filmmakers. Cannes Film Festival : But the topic of the second three, and particularly this one, is hard as hell. This movie chronicles Anakin's earlier transformation, by which the righteous pilgrim, so handsome, so brave, so noble, so committed, lost his way and became Ahab or Macbeth or Raskolnikov or Faust, or John Wayne in "The Searchers," a figure of power and strength and charisma and intellect, all of it invested in madness and destruction. "What corrupted Anakin into Vader?" a critic asked six years ago. "Pride, that manly bringer of self-destruction? Arrogance? Abuse? (An intriguing possibility and source of many monsters on the banal old Planet E.) Genetic predisposition? Fear? Lucas only knows and let's hope he can get it together to tell us. If told right, it should be quite a tale."Finally, it is.'Sith': The Promise Fulfilled
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Wednesday, May 18. 2005The Latin Beat In the NYT: US Arrests Posada. Mayhem in Miami. Click here: My Way News Luis Posada Carriles, the Cuban Terrorist has been arrested. There will be a ruckus raised in Miami tonight and party thrown in Havana and Caracas. Certainly Chavez and Castro await to see which one will yell "FIRE" when Carriles faces the firing squad.Babalu Blog The Bad Hair Blog Hugo to start his own Al Jazeera for Latin America. Bloomberg.com: Latin America Chavez plans on funding companies that empower workers:Venezuela's legislature, controlled by governing coalition parties, will soon consider a bill that would mandate joint management of all state and non-state companies, Chavez said before tens of thousands of red-shirted supporters who rallied next to the central bank in the city's center. The government's National Union of Workers' labor group introduced the proposal. Craziness exists everywhere. Newsweek, judicial filibusters and politics as usual in America provide conversation and editorial fodder but look out cause there is a war going on in places other than Iraq and Israel and Oil seems to be leaking all over the place. Tuesday, May 17. 2005Toiletgate, Anti-Americanism, and God I have listed below several articles reviewing the heinous article by Newsweek which led to riots and death in the Middle East. Is there no end to the Main stream Media's bias? There are plenty of papers and blogs and radio stations queuing up to defend the fiasco as a journalistic faux pas. Oh, That Liberal Media :Why did L.A. Times editors hide information about the satellite recording from their readers -- while repeating the Koran-in-the-toilet story without any caveats about the shaky sourcing of the report? It's certainly true that, once the riots occurred, the Newsweek reports were news whether they were true or not. But if L.A. Times editors were truly suspicious of stories based on anonymous government sources, surely they would have warned readers that the Newsweek report was based upon unnamed sources, and lacked corroboration. Paul Marshall on Newsweek & Koran on National Review Online :It would be charitable to think that if Newsweek had known how explosive the story was it may have held off until it had more confirmation. If this is true, it is an indication that the media’s widespread failure to pay careful attention to the complexities of religion not only misleads us about domestic and international affairs but also gets people killed. Ace of Spades HQ: If a quote or purported fact portrays Republicans, the military, or America generally in a positive light, they check it to death to make sure they're not spreading propaganda.But... if the quote or purpoted fact portrays those in a negative light, it pretty much gets into print with only the most cursory once-over by the editors. If it agrees with their basic world-view -- if it feels "right" in their gut -- then in runs. Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right - a Conference :Reuters AlertNet - White House bashes Newsweek report on Koran The comments continue and there is no end in sight. Like the Muslims who are up in arms over the desecration of the Koran, the Christians in this country are having their say too. The Left Lane of America has started a crusade and it is time to offer some direction, some understanding that the Christians here in America are not seeking for ways to destroy the American Way of Life or the politicians in Washington. Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they're smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do. Theology can be human and harmonious with seeking God. The distance between faith and culture should narrow in order for mankind to resist the temptation that the physicist is the high priest of civilization. The significance of the Tillich message lies in a reminder to heartfelt seekers of a lost spiritual element. The emptiness of a tech world cannot be fulfilled without an admission that we need the essentiality of a spiritual nature. Faith reinforces that the order found in scientific discoveries is not an accident. Tillich inspires, where the non-believer fosters desperation. The existential model endures the test of scrutiny and unites the lacking component. His popular attraction is the result of a public urgency. HOPE exists, if you know where to find it . . .Paul Tillich: the 'Apostle to the Intellectuals'
Click here: Religious Meaning as the Art of the Existential Experience: Atheists and agnostics alike, pride themselves on intelligence; their reason. Church goers study their Bible verses, Torah pronouncements and Koran passages. The skeptic often rebuffs these teachings since doctrine is perceived to be the work of men, and not confirmed to be from THE Supreme Being. The post modern world would have you accept that it doesn’t matter what you believe, life is now and will be over shortly. Popular culture regards deep reflection as fruitless, since it is futile to explain the universe. Live for today, in the way you want. That’s the message that dominates the media perception of the world. Thursday, May 12. 2005Latin BeatWhat to do about Luis Posada Carriles? Mr. Carriles is the Cuban exile responsible for bringing down a Cuban Airliner and other terrorist activities while trying to assassinate Castro He is seeking asylum in the United States and we better not let him stay. Our options are: to be tried here or extradited to Venezuela. Jail time is better than execution and everyone knows that Chavez will not be granting anyone a fair trial who has committed any act against his mentor Fidel. Click here: A Single Standard for Terrorists - New York Times
Wednesday, May 11. 2005The Latin BeatVenezuela es de Todos From The Devil's Excrement: "Ad by Causa R Party (Radical Cause Party) - not your Mom's right-wing party, parodying the Government slogan "Venezuela now belongs to everyone" - except those who signed." The country is in a mess. Hugo Hugo Chavez: the clone of totalitarianism | www.vcrisis.com An excellent piece by Veja-on-line writer Diogo Schelp ( Brazilian site) Read here if you would like the breakdown of the socialist movement sweeping South America.
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