Consumer Escort

Research executed on healthy, premenopausal women in the Netherlands specified that Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella (generic Yaz) suffered an enhanced risk of venous thrombosis as compared to non-users. The risks were increased as high as five times with oral contraceptives. These reports were published in August 2009. This was merely the beginning of the controversy surrounding Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella and the consequent lawsuits to come regarding Yaz side effects.

Among the recent tilts impending on Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella birth control, the pills also include drospirenone, an element not in other oral contraceptives. The British Medical Journal issued studies in August 2009 establishing a higher risk of venous blood clots in adult females taking drospirenone as opposed to those who received other oral contraceptives. In the same month, the Food & Drug Administration issued an unconnected advisory to Bayer Pharmaceuticals, makers of Yaz, for using low-quality batches of drospirenone from a plant in Germany. For the benefit of public interest and well-being, these studies have been made available free on the internet.

Any women that have been hurt as a result of taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella may be entitled to recompense. Many attorneys and legal counsel agencies such as thelegaladvocate.com now offer assistance to anyone experiencing side effects and health issues as a direct result of using Yasmin contraception. Now that more adult females across the United States are coming forward and filing lawsuits, the legal system is moving closer to furnishing justice for those who were misled by the birth control manufacturers and possibly their doctors.

One of my favourite pieces of music is the Sex Pistols’ classic
‘Holidays in the Sun’ - a song that begins with the line, ‘a
cheap holiday in other people’s misery’. This would have made a
fitting epitaph for my holiday in Israel, except that the $3000
air ticket meant that it wasn’t exactly cheap.

I went to Israel full of apprehension. Just knowing what we all
know of the backdrop of paranoia and pain that hangs over that
land is enough to make anybody apprehensive, but I also went
carrying a dark secret - that I was a friend of Mordechai
Vanunu’s, and I was nervous about the reaction I’d get should
this truth suddenly become public.

My friend Morde was completing an 18-year prison sentence for
doing something that most people in this country consider heroic.
Morde told the world about a secret stash of WMD’s (’weapons of
mass destruction’) that are being developed in an underground
factory in the Negev desert. Most people I know think he did the
world an enormous favour, but most people in his own country wish
Morde had kept his mouth shut. Indeed, most Israelis regard him
as a traitor!

In order to try to understand this attitude towards my friend, I
tried talking to local people about their attitude to nuclear
weapons. The response I received was alarming! “They’re only
there as our last resort” one articulate young journalist said to
me. “Just in case we get completely overrun.” “Well … what
happens then?” I asked. “Well”, he said, “then we destroy
everybody!”

Tragically, this was not an isolated example. Almost every time I
sought an opinion from taxi-drivers, cafe workers or hostel staff
concerning Israel’s nuclear capacity, the word ‘Armageddon’ would
come up. And these apologists seemed quite accepting of the fact
that in order to strike this decisive blow against their
neighbours, they might indeed need to take the rest of the planet
with them!

Thankfully not every Israeli took this position. Indeed, the
‘Free Vanunu’ campaign itself had a strong local contingent of
active peace campaigners.

These local activists were some of the most impressive people I
met during my stay in Israel. Even in Australia they would have
been impressive - mainly young, idealistic University students,
with a commitment to world peace and global disarmament -
impressive but not extraordinary in our context. In this context
though, growing up in an environment so overshadowed by violence
and fear, these brave young souls stood out like shining lights.

The violent side of Israeli culture was never more tangible to me
than it was on the day of Morde’s release. I had traveled many
thousands of miles to be reunited with my friend on the day that
he walked free. In my dreams I had imagined our reunion countless
times. Morde would walk through those gates with his belongings
in one hand, and me and a few friends and family would be there
to embrace him and lead him away. I didn’t really realise until I
reached the prison just how far from reality my imaginary
depiction of that scene would prove to be.

There were hundreds of us at the prison, and the vast majority
were not Morde’s friends. As the time of his release drew near, I
tried to move towards the prison gate where I had always imagined
myself standing as Morde walked out. I soon found myself squeezed
into the middle of an angry mob.

It was certainly one of the nastiest experiences of my life. The
whole mass of men seemed to seethe with aggression, and each
individual was competing to claw his way to the front, for what
exact purpose was not entirely clear. Thankfully I could not
understand the chants that were being sung to the tune of ‘here
we go, here we go, here we go’, but I was told later that the
words for ‘death’ and ‘traitor’ had been central to all the
mantras that were chanted that day.

On reflection I now think that it was a good thing that by the
time Morde came through those prison gates the police had packed
us together so tightly that I wasn’t able to move a limb. What
prevented me from running out to embrace Morde also prevented my
neighbours from reaching him with more sinister intent.

Thankfully the car with my friend in it got away with no more
than a dented panel and a shower of eggs. One antagonist did
manage to mount his motorbike in time to catch the car, but after
slamming into the side of the vehicle he lost his mount, and the
‘free man’ was able to proceed in peace.

Back at the gaol things then started to unravel. With their anger
unresolved, the mob started to vent their aggression on other
targets. I found myself swept up in this like a wave breaking
over my head. One second I was walking towards my bus. The next
moment I was surrounded by a mob led by an angry rabbi, screaming
at the top of his voice. ‘Go home’ was the only phrase I could
understand. Equally unambiguous though were the rough hands that
were being placed on my body, the kicks that were landing on my
legs, and the spittle that was accumulating on my face.

I didn’t see any path of escape in this situation, so I placed my
hands together in a position of prayer and bowed my head, working
on the hitherto successful strategy that if you refuse to fight
back, guys are generally very reluctant to beat you up. It
worked. A man grabbed me from behind with both hands and hauled
me out of the centre of the mob. I made it back to my bus without
further incident.

All of this would have been water off a duck’s back had Morde and
I then been able to board a plane and fly back to Australia.
Unfortunately the authorities had ruled that this ‘free’ man
should not be allowed to leave the country, nor go anywhere near
a border or a foreign embassy, nor have any contact with
‘foreigners’. The ‘foreigner’ restriction was aimed at the
foreign press. Even so, technically, I wasn’t allowed to spend
extensive time with my old friend without risking seeing him
re-arrested!

We were reunited briefly on the evening of that same day of his
release. Unfortunately I cried so much that I really didn’t get
the chance to tell him all of the things that I had prepared for
that moment. All I can hope for now is that one-day we will catch
up properly - perhaps over a few beers back here in the land of
Oz. I know that Morde would like that.

Getting Morde out of Israel is indeed the next big challenge for
the Vanunu campaign. I don’t know how hard this will prove to be.
I do know that I had a bloody hard time getting out myself. In my
case it wasn’t that they didn’t want me out (they held off the
departure of the plane until I got on board). They just seemed
determined to let me know that they didn’t want me back.

I had been warned by the other peace activists of intimidation
tactics employed by airport staff. Ironically, I initially made
it through all four security checkpoints without being stopped.
It was only as I proceeded to the final gate that a young man in
a suit caught up with me and said, “Excuse me sir, but can I see
your passport.” He then told me that there had been a ‘problem’
and that he would need to retain my passport until the ‘problem’
had been resolved. I was then shuffled into a small room to begin
a three-hour process of interrogation, body searching and luggage
examination.

In the end the verdict was that I was free to go and that there
was nothing suspect about the contents of my bags, but that the
bags themselves were suspect and that none of them could be taken
on board as hand luggage. This meant that I could carry with me
my camera, but not in my camera case, my laptop, but not my
laptop case, my video camera, but not the bag with the shoulder
strap that I lugged it around in, my toothbrush and paste, but
not my toiletries bag, and even my Palm-pilot portable keyboard,
but not the little vinyl dust-jacket that I kept it in. I could
take what I liked, so long as I carried it in my arms.

It was just a game, though they managed to keep straight faces
throughout the whole ordeal. For my part I refused to get on
board without the bulk of my carry-on items. In the end they
agreed to give me a large cardboard box to put them in.

And so my cheap holiday in other people’s misery came to an end.
But now the real work begins. For I returned home, but I left my
friend inside the confines of St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem,
where the good bishop has offered him sanctuary.

Morde can’t leave the Cathedral grounds. He has at least two
reporters on every exit, taking shifts to cover his movements
24-hours per day. If Morde tries to walk out into the street,
he’ll be immediately surrounded and identified, and given the
number of locals that would count it as a point of pride to be
responsible for his death, Morde’s life in the open probably
wouldn’t last more than a few minutes.

I’d like to see my friend back here in Australia. I wonder if the
Australian government has the courage to offer him citizenship?

DBS. April 2004

About the Author

‘Fighting’ Father Dave Smith - Parish Priest, community worker,professional fighter, father of three. Dave is the only Australian in Holy Orders to turn pro boxer to help fund his work. He is Parish Priest in Dulwich Hill, Sydney,and has received numerous awards for his work with young people

Get a free preview of his book, ‘Sex, the Ring & the Eucharist’ when you sign up for Dave’s newsletter at www.fatherdave.org

Colin Powell is a good story teller!
“He hid the weapons of mass destruction in all sorts of odd places. But we saw him hide it. We took photographs. We recorded discussions. We saw his links with terrorists. It is the most evil empire on earth right now. And he must be stopped!”

This story-teller is not some fiction writer. Or some movie star from Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world. And the scene is far removed from Frankenstein territory. But this story-teller is a former war general turned American Secretary of State named Colin Powell. The scene is the floor of the great United Nations, which some folks who have a bad sense of humor call Talking Nations. The major character of the story is Saddam Hussein. And the devilish empire is Iraq.

The high point of the JAMES BOND story is not the satellite photographs (after all where are the weapons?) nor is it the Al Qaeda connection (after all if you are not with us you are against us - by George Bush). But the most interesting point of the over one-hour speech at the Talking Nations, sorry United Nations, is the voice recording. For these “devils” in Iraq were actually saying “hide it, hide it, hide it” in reference to the weapons of mass destruction, sorry wepunmassdistrucshun. I actually like the literary effect (The Arabic version is musical to the ears).

And after the great “revelation,” war mongers went to town. They said that it has been proved that Iraq is actually a threat to world peace. What do they call a proven theory in Latin? Quod erat Demonstradum. Yes, the theory has been demonstrated that if Iraq is not disarmed right now, that “madman” directing events in that country will cause historians issuing titles like THE END OF ORDER. Or THE END OF HISTORY. Or THE END OF THE WORLD. What a pity! And these war mongers rolled out Ukulele the drum, and serenaded the movie star, Colin Powell.

But the pacifists were not impressed. First in that number was the Inspection Team in Iraq who thought they would have been handed these evidences ab initio, instead of making it a public show. (Forget them for they know not the rules of script writing.) Then Iraqi officials called it a cock-and-bull story. (Make it a cattle-and-ram story.) France and Germany say no to war. (Americans call them the old Europe) And even Russia is not impressed. Is it because they have their hands on Iraqi oil? (Never mind anyway. That Powerless country is part of “pieces of eight”)

Before then, Africa’s Nelson Mandela, was up in arms against George Bush Jnr. and Tony Blair. He called Bush an arrogant man intent in plunging the world into a holocaust, calling Blair George Bush’s foreign minister .He even says that Bush wants to render the UN irrelevant because an African -Koffi Annan - not a Whiteman, is Secretary-General.

But some wonder why Mandela said so. Is it that old age is telling on him? And he is forgetting things as if he crossed the River Lethe. Or drank Mandragora. Does he not know that Tony Blair, Britain’s Prime Minister cannot be a foreign minister to the president of another sovereign country? And it pained not a few Africans that this their illustrious son has forgotten elementary government.

Regarding his anti war stance, some point to his guerilla war against white South Africa. After all, his “terrorism” paid off because South Africa is now free of violence, anarchists, and rapists. And Bush and Blair want to make the earth a paradise– free of devils– by declaring war on dangerous Iraq. Forget Nelson Mandela. When last did a black man say useful things?

Now the game is over for Saddam Hussein. We are going to war. Do not think of the effect of the war on the world economy. After all, Iraq has some of the world’s finest oil. When we win the war, we would install our own Governor - General and take charge of the oil. You can imagine the rest of the story.

Do not think of the humanitarian cost. For Saddam has always gassed his own people to death. So, what if a few Iraqis die for the salvation of the many. Regarding the soldiers that would die in battle, never mind about that. For they would have beautiful memorial tombs erected for them .And the sons of the war planners would lay wreaths on them, and write their epitaghs. Some would take Charles Dickens book A TALE OF TWO CITIES with them to the grave yard, and copy the opening lines: “It was a summer of hope. It was a winter of despair”.

When Charles Dickens wrote A TALE OF TWO CITIES, however, he was not thinking of the war on terror. Or wepunmassdistrucshun. But in the world of James Bond, anything goes.

THE WINTER OF DESPAIR

We are ready to attack Iraq. The spy planes have done their work and we know just where to strike. So we advance with guns and bombs through the torturous Iraqi desert terrain. We kill and maim as we go, and the enemy decimates our soldiers, too. And we the surviving soldiers press on, ever wearing our masks. Because this “mad” man that rules this evil empire could use anything on us - including chemicals and biological weapons. But alas - after all the hazards, we win and disarm Iraq.

THE SUMMER OF HOPE

We celebrate our victory. The world will be a better place to live now without dangerous weapons in the hands of this evil country. Israel has these weapons too, but that country is better behaved. Besides, they are God’s chosen people.

The newly appointed Governor-General has just inspected his guard-of-honor, and is telling Iraqis how different this new democratic, liberal regime will be. For the people will now enjoy total freedom and life will be more abundant.

We hear many wonderful Arabian Night stories. It was told of a poor Arab cattle rearer who bought a field to graze his livestock. But unbeknownst to him, the field was laid with gold. And this poor shepherd now became a fabulously rich sheikh ever after.

The story strikes a semblance to our adventure. Because after we have buried thousands of our dead soldiers, and laid beautiful wreaths on their tombs, we retire to reflect on the success of our mission. Suddenly, we find ourselves, champagne in hand, floating on top of fine-grade Iraqi oil; watching Saddam Hussein hanging on a 1000-foot high pole and listening to a musical composition of Colin Powell. And it happens to be the musical rendition of the poem, PARADISE REGAINED by the blind poet, John Milton.It was then that I realized the vision of Collins Powell, and I remembered the JAMES BOND story at the UN.

Bravo!

ARTHUR ZULU. The Most Controversial Writer in the World is the author of the best -selling book HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER. For your copy and FREE excerpt, click on: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975 For contact, mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com

About the Author

Arthur Zulu, The Most Controversial Writer in the World is the author of the best-selling book, HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER. Download your copy and FREE excerpt at :http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975

Learn from my mistake if you don’t want the FBI knocking on your door! I had read or heard that if you don’t properly LOG OUT that someone who’s computer savvy can enter your site and appear as you. Because I was in a hurry the other day, I just shut my computer off without logging out. Today, ironically July 4th, 2 FBI agents knocked on my door and said they wanted to question me. First they said I had to go with them to be questioned and I refused, insisting they could ask me any questions they wanted right here. They said I had to go with them. I asked if they had a warrant. They said they didn’t need one, and that that was “new.” The one man and black woman ended up questioning me for over an hour here.

They said I had sent a bomb threat to the FBI in New York City against some Hindu festival. I said I did NOT. I told them that I wouldn’t do that and am not so stupid anyway, especially since I know e-mails can be traced since I had gone to the FBI last year to report several death threats I had received (which they said they traced to east Jerusalem). They said the threat came from my computer, but that it was made to appear to have originated in Jordan. I don’t know how to do that, and didn’t do it. It just happens that when I recently didn’t log out I had been on an Arab forum at www.arabia.com from JORDAN. Obviously, one of my enemies there abused the situation.

The FBI agents asked if I had any enemies. I said any militant Muslims could hate me for calling upon the Israeli government to build the Temple; that traditional Christians could hate me for speaking the plain truth that contradicts their pagan beliefs; that some Jews could hate me if they thought I was a “missionary,” etc. I also gave them the name of the former Church member, an embittered, demon-possessed person who had written Israel that I was going to try and blow up the mosque to stop the peace process. That’s why Israel deported me - fears based upon LIES.

I referred the FBI agents to my website at www.benariel.com and to my frequent Jerusalem Post letters, and my book Beyond Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall, to clearly see my beliefs that are honestly on record - and ENTIRELY aboveground and LEGAL. I have nothing to hide and am completely innocent, so I spoke with them and wished them a good Fourth as they left. The moral of this all-too-true story: LOG OUT!

But it doesn’t end there. I called and complained to the FBI director in this area about being lied to by his agent. The director said I was correct, that there wasn’t any change in the law that demanded I go with them for questioning without a warrant.

Later I agreed to permit the FBI to come and copy my hard drive, to further prove my innocence (although some friends were angry that I enabled my rights to be infringed upon). That time the nice black lady returned with someone new, not the Italian man who lied to me. She appeared sincerely interested in my book and biblical beliefs, which we discussed while the fellow was working with my computer. I said if they had any further questions they could call me to come downtown to their office. They must have “solved” their case, because she’s since been transferred to Detroit and I haven’t heard anything more from them about it. As I told her, I just figured they used that as an excuse to question me and remind me they’re aware of me, not that it was necessary at all. She insisted the FBI in New York really had received a bomb threat allegedly from me. God knows.

I watch the TV news and I get angry. I really need to quit that. It’s not good for my blood pressure. However, there are certain things that always get me going no matter how hard I try to ignore them. They get me hot under the collar and I guess they always will. I feel a need to vent right now, so I’ll discuss seven of them below. (Hey, that’s a nice round biblical number).

(1) Unrighteous indignation. What right do convicted felons serving time in prison have to punish someone else for their sins? They have no right whatsoever, but they do it all the time and the system winks at it. Very often, we’ll hear about a convicted child molester, for example, being assaulted or killed by another inmate. The sad part is that society has grown to accept this kind of behavior as a fact of life and, in many cases, seems to approve of it because of our deep hatred for certain kinds of criminals. Actually, God doesn’t give anyone, not even the best of us, the right to hate anyone else, not even someone like Hitler or Osama Bin Laden. When it comes to punishment for crimes, only those with clean records have a right to apply it, and then only in a lawful manner in keeping with the due process of law. Apparently, most of us, including members of the news media, have forgotten this precept.

(2) Forced acceptance. I’m a very tolerant person. I believe in religious freedom for all. I don’t believe in so-called “crimes against nature” laws. I believe everyone should be free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t directly affect anyone else. However, I wish the liberal busybodies would quit trying to force me to accept other people’s life styles, religions, customs, and cultures. Isn’t tolerance good enough? Apparently, it isn’t. I’m now being told that I must accept homosexuality as the moral equal to heterosexuality or risk being branded a “homophobe.” I must now accept other religions as being on a par with Christianity. It is politically incorrect to acknowledge Christianity as the only true religion. Instead, I am told that I must worship at the alter of diversity. In the name of multiculturalism, I must now refrain from viewing mainstream American culture and customs and as being superior to other cultures and customs. Otherwise, I risk failing the sensitivity test.

(3) Government coercion and confiscation. No law-abiding citizen should ever have to give up life, limb, liberty, or property (other than reasonable taxes) at the behest of government. However, all of these things happen or have happened, even in our beloved United States. People who have not been charged with crimes have been and continue to be detained for various reasons. The USA Patriot Act, among other things, places controls on where we can go and how we can use and store our cash. The concept of eminent domain is utilized every day to confiscate people’s property. For years, we had a military draft in this country and may have it again soon. A draft is not needed as people can be enticed into the military with enhanced salaries and benefits (which I’m all for). In times when that isn’t enough, I don’t see why convicts can’t be allowed the option of going into the military in lieu of their prison sentences. A draft, however, takes productive, law-abiding citizens by force and places their lives in jeopardy. To me, that’s almost the same as executing innocent people!

(4) Censorship. Other than for reasons of national security, censorship should never be used. Free adults should be allowed to choose whatever they want to view or hear and should be allowed to regulate what their children can see or hear. The marketplace should be the only deciding factor as to what is available. A free market system will provide what people want and discard what they don’t want. Each individual should have the right to decide what is offensive to him or her. No one should be given the right to decide that for another adult. Besides being a violation of a person’s basic rights to exercise his or her own tastes, censorship is problematic for another reason. Those doing the censoring rarely have enough common sense to avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water. In other words, stuff that most people would find acceptable or even desirable tends to get thrown out along with the obvious garbage.

(5) Double standards. Why is it “okay” for a man to be sexually promiscuous, while a woman behaving that way is considered a slut? Why do many fathers tell their sons to “have fun”, while telling their daughters they better not? In my opinion, sexual impurity just as bad for one gender as it is for the other. Why are only men required to register for the draft? Isn’t that government-sponsored sexism? Why are married men with kids encouraged to be safe, while single men without kids are not? Shouldn’t a high level of safety be stressed for everyone? Why can we have black history celebrations, Miss Black America pageants, black congressional caucuses, and so forth, but not the corresponding items for whites? Would their white equivalents be racist? Maybe, but not necessarily. Personally, I think we should forget about race and strive toward Martin Luther King’s ideal of a colorblind society. However, as long as we continue to identify people by race, his dream will never come to fruition.

(6) Too many lawsuits awarding too much money. Many small communities no longer have the services of an obstetrician. Medical costs are skyrocketing. No company within the borders of the U.S. now produces flu shots. Most of this is due to out-of-control lawsuits in which juries award ridiculous amounts of money. Lawsuits for accidental or negligent behavior should be limited to actual damages only. No pain and suffering or punitive damage awards should be made in those cases. Lawsuits for intentional misconduct that don’t involve physical injury should be limited to actual damages and punitive damages. Only lawsuits for intentional misconduct involving physical injury should be eligible for pain and suffering damage awards. Lawsuits involving the consequences from things that people do to themselves, ex., smoking or overeating, should never be allowed and not even be taken seriously.

(7) Nation building with American blood. If George W. Bush wants to “export freedom”, that’s fine with me. It’s certainly an honorable endeavor and there are many ways to do it without placing our military personnel in harm’s way. However, Americans should never have to shed their blood fighting for someone else’s freedom, especially in when it’s unclear whether many of the people we’re trying to liberate actually want the kind of freedom we’re trying to bestow on them. Despite what some will have us believe, it is neither our duty nor in our interest to remove tyrants that are not a direct and imminent threat to our security. If people of other countries yearn for freedom, let them take up arms and fight for it themselves. Americans will be more than happy to provide encouragement and send weapons and other types of aid.

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.

With the recent shakeups in the presidential cabinet, it has frequently been observed that the quality most treasured in the present administration is that of loyalty.

Is that such an admirable quality?

We prize the loyalty of our friends who protect our good name when we are not present. We respect the loyalty of committed couples who stay true to each other no matter the outside temptations. We recognize the loyalty of employees who stand by their ethics and keep competitors and enemies at bay. We treasure the loyalty of a soldier to his commander, if necessary to the death. We revere the loyalty of believers in their god and their unswerving commitment to their tenets of faith. We equate disloyalty with treason, dishonor, betrayal. We use names like Quisling, Benedict Arnold, Burgess and Hiss as epithets to express our loathing and disgust.

But loyalty has a darker side. In crime families, loyalty means embracing death or imprisonment rather than exposing crime, violence, and murder. In prison, the most despised inmate is the “snitch” who fails to stay silent about his knowledge of criminal acts, plots, and planned violence. Within adolescent groups and street gangs, the rule of silence and total loyalty is an absolute requirement for continued membership.

The old courts of kings and emperors were rife with sycophants: whatever the leader wanted to hear, they offered. Disagreements and alternative plans for the direction of governance were considered intrigue - dangerous differences of opinion to be rooted out and permanently excised from the body politic.

Where does the White House fit in? For all the positive connotations that loyalty may engender, we must look to the extent it is used and continually monitor it for abuse. No one would suggest that a President surround himself with staff who constantly criticize his ideas or regularly publicly disagree with his programs and proposals. However, the negative aspect of over-loyalty - zealousness - must be confronted if the goal is to weave plans for the common good through compromise in the face of diverse opinion.

The United States was born out of public political and ideological debate. While the framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution has fundamental beliefs in common, they did not hesitate to publicly disagree and argue in an effort to reach the most workable goals. For more than two centuries, American political discourse has embraced differences more often than celebrating similarities. Commonly, the friction and arguments of elections become translated into legislation and leadership that seeks to bridge the gaps and bring all into the common fold.

What seems to have changed is the willingness to let disparate views and opinions coexist. We have moved from a mentality that celebrates diversity and multiplicity to a narrow conception of what is right, absolutely right. Other opinions are not valued for the richness their views add to the national fabric but are considered wrong, without value, discounted, dangerously unpatriotic. The second term White House has purified its dogma, filtering our nuances and opposing ideas until everything is distilled into the single voice of one man. The moat around the faithful has been filled, the crocs loosed, and the land lies fallow beneath the keen eye of the true believers.

Arrogance and disdain, disguised as “political capital,” has the potential to morph into a level of power and intolerance that can only encourage eventual, inevitable, corruption.

Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the results of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of an interactive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker’s Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com

We have been told that it’s Republicans who are racists and the ones who discriminate against minorities. This is not true. We only have to look at Democratic and Republican ideologies to find out who the real bigots are. The party that discriminates against minorities is the Democratic party. Are you surprised? Well you shouldn’t be.

So lets analyze the Democrats ideology on minorities. Democrats and Liberals believe that we must throw money at immigrants and minorities in order for those groups to survive in America. If the Democrats had their way, they would throw billions of dollars away to immigrant groups in the hopes that those groups would survive. This is a racist policy. The Democrats don’t believe that immigrants have the ability to make it in America. They don’t believe that immigrants could survive.

This ideology mocks the intelligence and ability of every immigrant that comes to America. It should make them feel inferior that Democrats want to hold their hands and guide them along like little babies. This is horrible and unfair to new immigrants. They don’t need a parent. They need a friend.

Republicans believe that every person who comes to this country can make it and live the American dream. Conservatives like me don’t care which country those wonderful and awesome people come from. All we believe is that they have the ability, talent and drive to make it in this great country. This belief is what has made this country so great. If the Liberals had their way, they would destroy that ideology and take America down a dark path. You see, it’s the Republicans who believe everyone is equal. We give everyone a fair chance. We don’t favor any group or person over another.

Democrats discriminate in another way. It’s called affirmative action. Democrats and Liberals hide behind this useless policy and claim it’s to make the playing field equal. All that affirmative action does is tell minority groups that they’re inferior and need big brother’s help. If I was a minority, I would be offended by this policy. I would be wondering why big brother didn’t believe in me. It’s been about forty years since equal employment and affirmative action laws were past. Isn’t that long enough? Shouldn’t we have more confidence in all Americans?

Democrats continue to discriminate through their actions and policies. They don’t believe that immigrants and minorities have the ability to live the American dream. Democrats and Liberals want to act like big brother forcing their ideals on every one. It’s my belief that Liberals want to keep immigrants and minorities from living the American dream, so they can enforce their big brother policies on them. You can’t fight for the little guy if they succeed and prosper. Who would the Democrats fight for if there wasn’t a little guy? This is a racist and horrible ideology. It would offend and hurt me if I was a minority.

The Republican ideology is fair. It treats everyone as being equal. Republicans believe everyone can live the American dream

Anthony B. is the founder and owner of ItsTheRightWay.com a news, political and sports commentary website.

Anthony has over 7 years of experience as a business professional

As I watch the news on a daily basis, which I have become somewhat addicted to since 9/11, I can’t help but to sit back and wish that I was rich. I don’t have to be Bill Gates or Donald Trump rich. I just wish I was rich enough to start my own NEW political party. Why you may ask? Because I am absolutely embarassed to consider myself a Democrat, and totally against the majority of the philosophies of the Republicans. Now days, if you’re not for one, then you’re automatically considered to be a follower of the other. I, and I am growing to learn, many, many others do not fall into either of these two political categories. Sure, you say well, there’s the Independent or the Green parties. Frankly, they both seemed a bit weird to me. I definitely could not follow them. So let’s look at what we have.

We have the Republicans: A politically savvy group of people who seem to be very power hungry. A group whose primary desire seems to be to take over everything. Seems to derives from a very pompous egotistical attitude that they are the greatest and most intellectually inclined…and everyone else is not only beneath them, but less intelligent, less intellectual, even less patriotic (they’re so savvy that they strategically make you think that if you’re against them, then you’re against America). The Republicans seem to be a party filled with inner contradiction. On one side, they are super pro-life. At the same time, they’re super pro-war! How is that mentally possible. How can a person’s mind and heart care about life so deeply that they will do everything thinkable to protect the embryo, (which I commend that desire) but at the same time, be so willing and eager to send our young men and women (other people’s sons and daughters) to war to possibly be killed, tortured, at least mamed and their lives destroyed. Are they emphatic about saving the embryo so they can raise up a new army 18 years from now to fight in Iraq? (We’ll probably still be there). It’s weird.

The Republicans seem to be a party made up of liars, conivers, schemers and law breakers. They’ll lie to accomplish whatever their goal is at the time. And then, even after it’s proven to be a lie, Republican followers go on with an ‘ahhh…it’s still ok’ attitude. It’s weird. The Republicans seem to care only about the rich, the Haliburtons, the opportunity to make their super rich base just richer. They are commited to everything except the concerns of the middle and lower class citizens of America. It actually feels like they are systematically doing little things to smother out the middle class. As if they want this country to be a two class system. The rich and the poor. It’s weird. It seems like a lot of the Republican citizens in the middle and lower economic status have been strong supporters of the party and followers of the lies for one main reason. FEAR! The devistation of 9/11 shook up our entire country. Some folks are so afraid that they needed ‘John Wayne’ to come to the resue. It seems like they would like to see us just go and nuke everyone who is not ‘in-line’ with us. It’s weird. Their answer to everything is to just send more troops, as if the lives of our young sons and daughters are totally expendable. (But don’t forget…they’re suppose to be pro-life).

I could go on about the war but, even if I didn’t concentrate on the sending of our troops to Iraq as a main issue, I still have to pay attention to the other goings on in the Republican party. For one, they could care less about the economic condition of average Americans. They could care less that gas prices are unaffordable, that heating gas prices are going up 45%. That illegals are taking jobs that are needed by average Americans. (sometimes I forget a lot of the illegals work for the super rich at super cheap, below minimum wages…lawn care, nannies, field workers, assembly, etc.) Also, day after day another Republican is being accused of doing something illegal (Frist, DeLay, Rove
etc.). I think about how the great Colin Powell was so hurt and crushed by his own party for being used as a pawn in the con game, that he chose to quit. A great man quit serving our country! That’s so sad. Colin’s son was so mad he even quit HIS gravy job as head of the FCC.

I watch how there seems to actually be two seperate groups of Republicans. Those who have legitimate views and ideas, which they feel are best for the country and the world, and that’s their right. Then there’s the other group of Conservatives who are more driven by what they call ‘the movement’(dedicated to Republicans taking over everything). What’s absolutely weird is to watch these two groups in action, particularly the ‘movementeers’ which are rallied through the ‘movementeer’ talk show hosts and media. These are your Hannity’s, Laura Ingrams, Ann Coulters, Rush’s, Bill Kristols and the like. This group is so dedicated to ‘the movement’ that they will do anything and everything in their power to crush, smother and destroy ANYONE who is in disagreement with their views…even their own constituents! It’s weird. Look at what they’ve done to folks like Richard Wright, O’Neil, Joe Wilson…they hate Voinovich now. And now they’ve added Senator Dewine to their hate list. And these are ALL FELLOW REPUBLICANS! It’s weird. Now, since they aren’t absolutely positive that Harriet Miers is for ‘the movement’, they hate her. And to top it all off, they are slowly but surely coming to the realization that President Bush is making his decisions based on his own ideas and views…NOT FOR THE MOVEMENT! And if they could…the ‘movementeers’ would squash him next! (he’d better watch it) It’s almost funny to watch…but at the same time, it’s actually very sad.

I could go on and on about other things I disagree with the Republicans about but I’ll just go to the Democrats now and talk about what they are all about…………….Bare with me a minute here………I’m thinking…………wait, they….no……..what about..no…………..what! The Democratics aren’t about ANYTHING ! It it so sad for me to have to say that what had been my party throughout my life has absolutely no agenda whatsoever. NOTHING. What are they for? What are they against? Who the heck knows? Do they? Does Hillary? (and I like Hillary) So nowdays, if I say I’m a Democrat, I’m really saying that I’m for NOTHING! This is so sad. It’s like the Dems are totally afraid to have a view. The only thing they are, is against Bush! That’s it! That’s weird.

So I watch this stuff, day after day and just fantasize about starting my own political party. I’d call it ‘The Realist Party’. If I only had the money, it would be simple to do. I would take the good that the Dems used to be about and combine it with the little good that does exist in the Conservative camp…tweek things a bit, add a little essence (I like Emeril too) and BAM! We’d have ourselves a winner. A winner for America. A winner for the world. Hmmm…If…..

Greg Jones
Cleveland, Ohio

Greg Jones is the composer of the special anthem for world peace CD entitled ‘God Bless the World-While You Bless America’ which is already available on over 125 music sites and is garnering accolades worldwide. He is also a fellow blogger with talkingpeace.myblogsite.com as well as editor of Blogazine World. For CD free preview/lyrics/download/specials and more visit; http://www.godblesstheworldonline.com
orvillerecords@aol.com

The FBI recently before Congress stated that Eco-Terrorism was on the rise and it is probably the most significant current Domestic Threat. Unfortunately it is somewhat hard to profile these folks as most are misfits of society and somewhat socially inept. They do have some common ground however. First they hate Modern Day Corporations and believe that any problem of our society stems from corporations. They blame McDonald’s for making us fat; Tobacco companies for cancer; Oil companies for world poverty and Drug Companies for diseases in third world nations.

They cite example after example of skewed and selective attacks on corporate advertising rather than personal responsibility. They are conspiracy theorists generally. Almost all of them are heavy into drugs and are the first to tell you that it is not a problem at all. They are all for legalizing marijuana and taxation to solve any economic crisis. They all believe in free health care. They were Jerry Garcia caps in many colors to cover their matted hair because they rarely take showers.

Despite all the backwards thinking and drugs many are intelligent and use this intelligence to just get by and sponge off others who have means. Many times they have wealthy friends who are trust fund babies and fund their alcohol and drug addictions, which they deny. Most of their wealthier friends know of their activities but do not come forward, as these ELF people provide social acceptance for them, that perhaps the trust fund babies lacked growing up.

Generally the ELF groups are groups of what some to believe to be total losers and one could hardly disagree upon study of the profile of those Eco-Terrorists who have already been caught by the Canadian Mounties or the FBI in the United States. Usually each group of ELF is a loosely affiliated group, which has a personal call to the cause and may not even be in regular contact with other groups. This makes them harder to catch, but not impossible as many of these groups have been infiltrated by FBI, local enforcement and informants.

Eco-terrorists have started huge forest fires, although deny those usually. Burned down entire resort towns, often deciding not to take credit for it. Burned down million dollar homes in the woods and rural areas. They have attacked laboratories, research facilities and corporations. They have burned down car dealerships, lumberyards, kennels and construction projects. They claim to be helping the environment by polluting trillions of cubic units of our atmosphere, killing helpless animals in the forest and sending toxic fumes into the city? They do this in the name of Environmentalism? This just proves that drugs warp your mind and that these folks are clearly a nuisance as well as a clear and present danger to our civilization. There goals and objectives also seem to coincide with much of the Islamic radical fundamentalist International Terrorist and some believe that there are ELF cells who have been infiltrated by Al Queda. I believe this is occurring, since their objectives are so similar and it is a Canadian based organization. Think about it.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

The process of researching this topic has been an interesting one. It seemed that it would be easy to find information on the Twelve Cycles of Truth if it formed the basis for the Iroquois Confederacy. However, it didn’t take long to discover a distinct lack of information on the Twelve Cycles of Truth, while finding a vast amount of information on the Iroquois Confederacy.

It initially came to me that perhaps the person promoting the Twelve Cycles of Truth did indeed gain their information from an oral tradition, as it is acknowledged that there are no complete or exhaustive writings on Native American teachings.

Likewise, I considered that Carlos Castaneda is also highly likely to have made up his stories, yet much of his philosophies are coherent with teachings from various sources. I’ve seen it suggested that much of his philosophy derives from others such as Gurdjieff. So, Castaneda is promoting reasonable (in my opinion) philosophies based around a fictional teacher (Master) and fictional events, to illustrate his points on magic. As a willed suspension of disbelief is an important function of the magical process, writing about magical and spiritual teachings in an easy to read, fictional, way helps get the message across by stimulating the imaginative side of the brain.

However, checking further into the person promoting the Twelves Cycles of Truth, the only good reviews of her works seemed to come from people who had been recommended her books and hadn’t read them yet.

I discovered a whole web site devoted to exposing people who are ripping off the teachings of the Native American cultures, mainly for profit. Jamie Sams, who seems to be the only person claiming the Twelve Cycles of Truth to be traditional teachings, comes from a long lineage of people promoting concepts and beliefs that have never been part of any tribes cultural treasures, and often making a lot of money from it.

This, at very least, seems to be highly disrespectful to the cultures they claim to represent. Then, their only recourse at defending their claims is to counter that the tribes are only angry because they don’t want their teachings made public (implying that the tribes are in fact racist towards the Europeans who are lapping up the pseudo-native teachings).

Although I haven’t read any of Jamie Sams’ books myself, if the information reported about them was correct, then I couldn’t accept her teachings as being in any way authentic or useful (to me). For instance it is claimed she has created a 12-month lunar calendar (perhaps to fit with her Twelve Cycles of Truth), when most (if not all) native peoples, worldwide, have a 13-month lunar calendar. Likewise, if it is true that she promotes various acknowledged frauds, such as the ‘crystal skulls’ teachings, and the ‘medicine shields’ and is a member of the Wolf Clan (which has many alleged fraudsters operating under its banner), then it makes it incredibly difficult to take her Twelve Cycles of Truth seriously at all, especially as she doesn’t seem to be living them in the slightest.

All this information is compounded by the fact that the authors of the book The Paradigm Conspiracy (which from my cursory readings of it appears to be worth some consideration) have based the structure of their book on the Twelve Cycles of Truth, and relate that these Cycles formed the basis for the Iroquois Confederacy. It seems that no matter how much research is done, it is possible to overlook untruths because we identify strongly with them, and desire them to be the truth.

So, it is from this knowledge that I write my thoughts on how the Twelve Cycles of Truth correlate to the Buddhist teachings on the Twelve Link chain of causation, and how, along with the principles of Psychosynthesis, a model can be constructed providing a method through which Western Society can heal.

To be in the spirit of things, I will consider the Twelve Cycles of Truth on their own merit, free of any claims of falsity, or validity, although must state that from my research I cannot find any point of evidence that they formed the basis of a working model in the past. The merits of the Iroquois Confederacy stand on their own, including that they are acknowledged as helping inspire the Constitution of the United States of America, which in turn gave rise to the charter behind the United Nations. At the heart of the Iroquois Confederacy there is the respect for the sovereignty of each and every person (man and woman alike) and an aim of averting conflict through effective communication (to achieve peace).

Having written this, new information has come to light, in the form of Jamie Sams’ Sacred Path Cards book - so I have now skimmed through one of her books. It doesn’t change my impression that much of what is passed off as Native American teachings is done in order to make money (not to genuinely promote Native teachings, or even relevant spiritual teachings in the guise of Native teachings). It does give an insight that Jamie Sams’ claim of the Twelve Cycles of Truth being the basis for the Iroquois Confederacy has been blown out of proportion (most likely by the authors of The Paradigm Conspiracy). It seems likely they wanted a 12 fold structure for their book and chose the Twelve Cycles of Truth as this, perhaps reading into Sams’ statement that the Cycles formed the basis for a very powerful (empowering) and successful form of Democracy.

Jamie Sams’ brief statement on the Twelve Cycles of Truth is a little ambiguous, and I can actually read it two ways. She writes, “Our intention follows the Iroquois Peace Confederacy Tradition that uses the Twelve Cycles of Truth to bring peace.” (Card 18 - Whirling Rainbow, Sacred Path Cards)

To me, this could mean her intention uses the Twelve Cycles of Truth, or that the Iroquois Confederacy uses the Twelve Cycles of Truth.

Okay, so the validity (or “truth”) of Jamie Sams’ claims leads me to another issue. What is “truth”? Is there a Universal Truth that the Twelve Cycles refer to, which each of us needs to be aligned with in order for a peaceful world? Or is truth rather subjective?

To me, both answers are correct to some degree. Truth is mainly subjective when viewed by us as an individual, and it is our personal truth that we must express, as it is our individual purpose and identity in this incarnation.

So this led me to ask, what does truth mean?

The words truth and troth both stem from the Old English word for loyalty, firm, trustworthy. Further back, the words true and tree are related etymologically. Via their Germanic lineage trewam (tree) and treuwaz (true) they extend back to the Indo-European root deru- or dreu- referring to wood, and hence firmness. This therefore gives the word truth a meaning of “something firm”. It is said that the word Druid derives from the root words dru- and wid- meaning “strong seer”. (Etymological notes were researched via www.dictionary.com)

This sits well with me personally. I get the sense that truth (for me) is our personal truth, and what we feel strongly about in our expression of our own uniqueness. It is a loyalty to our Self via the expression of our Self, our expression of our own unique Tree of Life, and that in turn we are strongly connected with the Universal Tree of Life. It is the expression of our own unique essence as provided by our Higher Self - our Higher Self perhaps being our essential truth (and us as an individual the potential of expressing it).

The Twelve Cycles of Truth are: learning the truth, honouring the truth, accepting the truth, observing the truth, hearing the truth, presenting the truth, loving the truth, serving the truth, living the truth, working the truth, walking the truth, being grateful for the truth. To me, this all relates to the various aspects of expression of our own personal truth.

Each of the Twelve Links is dependent on the one after it:

Ignorance is dependent on Karma; Karma is dependent on Consciousness; Consciousness is dependent on Name and Form; Name and Form is dependent on Six Sense Fields; Six Sense is dependent on Contact; Contact is dependent on Feeling; Feeling is dependent on Craving; Craving is dependent on Grasping; Grasping is dependent on Becoming; Becoming is dependent on Birth; Birth is dependent on Old age / Death; Old age / Death is dependent on Ignorance.

Francesca Freemantle sums up the Buddha’s view of worldly phenomena by saying, “The Buddha described all worldly phenomena as having three characteristics: impermanence, suffering and nonself. We suffer because we imagine what is not self to be self, what is impermanent to be permanent, and what, from an ultimate viewpoint, is pain to be pleasure.”

These fits well with Psychosynthesis as we understand people tend to strongly identify with various things external to themselves, or with sub-personalities, so are not centred within their own Self. Material things are seen as permanent and lasting, as perhaps are such things as reputations and how powerful we become (how much power we exert over others). When acting from sub-personalities various concepts are considered right, or noble (and we should therefore find them pleasurable), such as being an achiever (doing a lot), struggling to achieve things the ‘tried and trusted’ way, rather than re-evaluate its effectiveness and worth, and whether a new and better way could be achieved. There is the soldiering on when we are ill, or being a “hard man” and continuing to play on in a game of rugby even though we are in pain and perhaps aggravating an already serious injury.

In my understanding, an aim of Buddhism is to allow one to break free from the distortions, and find one’s true Self (Buddha nature). So breaking any of the links of the Chain of Causation assists one in breaking down the illusions. In Psychosynthesis we talk about clearing away blockages, synthesising sub-personalities and becoming more aware and centred in the Self.

This then is a connection between the Twelves Cycles of Truth and the essence of the Twelve Link Chain of Causation. Ultimately there is a truth relating to expressing our own truth, by becoming aware and acting from our True Self. The two are coming from different viewpoints. The Twelve Cycles of Truth are about expressing the truth, whereas the Twelve Links of Causation describe processes that obscure or distort the truth - the truth being an expression of one’s True Self.

To me, expressing the truth of each individual’s True Self will be the core of any model which can help the Western world heal and bring about the necessary change for a sustainable society that lives in harmony with the environment rather than trying to fix the things we keep breaking, or fix the things we don’t understand (which aren’t broken).

The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) people embodied this in their recognition of the sovereignty of each individual. The Great Law of Peace contained three principles (although I find two of them repeated in various sources, the final one is varied depending on the source).

When making decisions under the Great Law of Peace, the Three Principles are:

Righteousness: meaning that the good of all the nation (which is viewed as a family) must be taken into account, and the needs of seven generations to come. This would effectively mean that decisions would have to offer viable solutions for the next one to two hundred years.

Power: meaning that the power of the people must be maintained, including the equal sovereignty of men and women. It also means the people acting in accordance with what is best for all, ie. United in their decisions. This is the ultimate in democracy, power to the people, for the people, by the people. It is important to recognise this is not power over, which is what the current paradigm and current regimes embrace.

Peace / Health: Peace fits in with the fact it is the Great Law of Peace, so is included first. Basically the Law is around maintaining peace at virtually any cost. If people are willing to work towards what is best for everyone then this is easily achievable. As a last resort a nation (or person) is entitled to use reasonable means protect themselves. Health is related to peace, in that a healthy mind, body and spirit (and emotions!) create a healthy individual. This leads to a healthy society that promotes peacefulness and well being of all individual members of the society.

There is much more of great worth that the Haudenosaunee people had within their Confederacy, which fleshes out the common law and rules. The proof is in the pudding, and the common Law allowed six nations (originally five) to co-exist and put an end to constant warring and cannibalism.

I believe this model can still work. It, however, needs a commitment from those involved to actually live the principles, which I believe can be summarised in terms familiar with Psychosynthesis practitioners.

Self-responsibility is necessary to maintain one’s health and personal power. Being in touch with one’s own needs and emotions, and preferably one’s own Higher Self. One needs to be working towards living their own truth, their own purpose in life. While in line with their Higher Self they will be acting in the best interests of all involved.

One needs to work towards good health, especially emotional health, which is a part of Western Society, especially amongst men, which is in desperate need of healing and renewal. When one is in harmony within they are able to be more in harmony with the external world also.

There has to be a willingness to practice forgiveness and unconditional love of self and others, accepting that we are human and will make mistakes.

The most important thing for inter-personal relationships, whether in partnership, community, or nation is open communication and a willingness to work together to find solutions to problems that meets the needs of everyone best. In Psychosynthesis this is finding the “And”.

Ultimately, I believe it is the only way the world can go if we want to sustain it (and our human race) for any reasonable length of time. At current rates we are serious damaging the planet, and destroying societies and lives through our actions. We need a global shift in consciousness allowing people to move into a new way of thinking where all citizens of nations can genuinely participate in the governance of their people. This is achievable, I do not doubt it, but until (collectively) we are willing to let go of the model of power over and allow a model of self empowerment to be our guiding principle for attaining peace things will not change.

However, on a not so gloomy note, I believe the implementation of any of the principles, even partially, by groups, societies, or nations, will began a process of healing which will allow the necessary changes to take place.

If you enjoy this article then you can find more on similar topics at my Magical Path website - http://www.magicalpath.net/.