Embryonic Stem Cell Research And The Pharmaceutical Industry

The final vote on the Embryonic Stem Cell Bill, as passed by the United States Senate, came down to 63-37 in favor of passage. Bush has promised to cast the first veto in the as of now roughly five and one half years of his presidency. As he most assurredly will do so, to the surprise of no one, that will be, for now, the final word. At 63 votes in favor, the Senate is four votes short of the two thirds required to override a presidential veto. Even at the unlikely chance that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson-the lone Democrat to vote in oppossition to the bill- might come to his senses and vote to override the veto, that would still leave them three votes short. So there you have it.

So what is the reason for this? Is this really all about ethics, as the President and other opponents insist? Does any rational human being truly, honestly believe that the harvesting of embryonic stem cells for research, stem cells that will eventually be destroyed anyway (because they can only be frozen for a maximum of five years and remain viable), is tantamount to the taking of life in order to save it?

Many ardently Pro-Life Republicans do not believe so, including such figures as former First Lady Nancy Reagan, in addition to current Senators, Tennessee Republican Bill Frist, who is the Senate Majority Leader, Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, Arizona Republican John McCain (who, evidently, temporarily forgot that he is supposed to be pandering to the extreme elements of the religious right), and a host of others. In fact, seventeen Republicans in all crossed party lines and voted with the Democrats on this issue.

And even this is not a true reflection of the depth of public support for embryonic stem cell research. According to the latest polling data, it is supported by 70% of the American public. Now that should be enough to override any potential Preisdential veto. But don’t hold your breath unless you look real good in blue.

So what is really going on? Even assumming that some of these people might honestly believe in the rightness of their cause, that they truly are bothered by the supposed moral dilemna posed by the ethics involved, does this account for all of them, or even of most of them, if any at all?

I don’t think so. In fact, I think they are all engaged in a shameful act of subterfuge, and that includes Bush. In some cases, including that of Nelsons, there might be some concern as to their positions with the voters in their states. But not to this extent.

I’ll come right out and say it. This has everything to do with the pharmaceutical companies. If embryonic stem cell research eventually yields cures for cancer, for Parkinsons Disease, for Alzheimers, diabetes, for paralysis-the list of potential cures seems neverending-then who stands to lose?

The pharmaceutical compaies, that’s who. The very people that are raking in billions of dollars in pharmaceutical drugs that mainly treat the symptoms, and rarely by comparison provide overall actual cures of serious diseases. If embyonic stem cell research leads to therapies that cure these diseases, how could this be controlled by the companies? Who would own the rights? After all, this would seem to amount to treatment by physicians, and follow up therapy. Pharmaceuticals might play a tangential role, in many cases an important one, but the overall effects, the most important treatments, would amount to direct care by hospitals and physicians, and as I said, follow up therapy. Ideally, this would eventually result in profound reversals in health conditions, and eventually total cures.

Then, the pharmaceuticals are left out. There is no further need for them, when it comes to treatment of these by now cured diseases. Thus, a potential loss of billions of dolars. So what are they to do? If they apply to the rights, if past experience is any guide, the therapies would become so expensive as to amount to a severe economic hardship, on any but the most wealthy, who might otherwise avail themselves of these therapies. The wealthy, of course, would probably get yet another tax break to make up for it.

Therefore, this is being held up, solely for the benefit of pharmaceutical company profits, and all this bullshit about the morals and ethics involved is nothing but a smoke screen, which is all too often the case. Add to the mix the confusion and outright lies about the viability of adult stem cell research from such sources as placentas and bone marrow, and you have even greater obfuscation.

The plain fact of the matter-these adult stem cells, for purposes of research, have been availiable for the last thirty years, and while they yet might lead to more advances, there is no valid scientific indication that the potential is any more than limited at best. Embryonic stem cells, by the same token, have only been used for research for the last eight years. 1998 was the first year they were completely isolated and availaible for research. It truly is a new frontier, with vast promise and potential. But it is being held up, under the pretense of religion and ethics, for the sake of company profits, in my opinion.

There is only one thing that can be done, and that is for the American people to stand up and shout, to make clear to their Senators and Representaitves that we, the vast majority of us, want this research to comence full spead ahead, and we want it to result in quality and affordable treatments and eventually, cures for diseases, with no piracy or unfair profiteering allowed.

But there is a vital first step that should first be undertaken. Look into the background of your Senators and Representatives. How many of them are supporters of the pharmaceutical industries? How many times have they voted for bills that are to the benefit of the industry? What is their voting records on health related issues? And, of course, how did they vote in relation to the Embyonic Stem Cell Research Bill?

Finally, here is the most important question of all. How much of their campaign contributions are derived from the pharmaceutial industry? You have a right to know the answers to all these questions. Especially the last one. If your Senators and Representatives receive a substantial amount of money from the pharmaceutical industry, and they tend to vote in favor of said industry, you can draw a logical conclusion that there is a correlation.

If they voted against this bill in support of embryonic stem cell research, you might well have your answer. You know then what to do. Let your voice, and your disgust, your anger, your outrage, be known, in no uncertain terms.

Of course, it goes without saying that George W. Bush is a strong supporter of the pharmaceutical industry.

Deep Purple In Lebannon

So far, it’s up in the air as to whether or not the hard rock group Deep Purple will be playing in Beirut Lebannon as they have been schelued to do late this month. One minue they are insisting they will do so. Then you hear the concert has been cancelled. Then, you hear the group refuses to cancel, that they intend to play if at all possible, or at the very least, if they do have to postpone the show, they have every intention of going ahead with the show at a later date, but definitely as a part of the current world tour, which has carried them to different parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The US tour is scheduled to begin in January of ’07.

They insist they owe it to their fans. Music, according to Ian Gillian, the long time lead singer of the group, is a universal language, and when in concert, the exchange of energy between band members and audience is phenomenal.

But is it worth the risk? Though I understand the sentiment, it would be best for all concerned should Deep Purple indeed call off the concert, at least temprorarily postpone it. To begin with, they may have no other choice than to do so. The Beirut airport is in a shambles, due to persistent Israeli bombings in what is a calculated attempt to prevent flights to and from the airport between Damascus, and especialy Tehran. The Israelis feel that the Beirut airport would amount to an open gateway to allow the transportation of more Hezbollah fighters and equipement. This is the reason as well they have attempted to blockade the country’s ports, stopping just long enough to allow American and French forces to safely, and as swiftly as possible, remove their citizens from the country, as many as are able to be removed at any one given time.

No place in Lebannon is safe. This is true not only of southern Lebannon, which is where the vast majority of Hezbollah forces and personnel are situated, but also in Beirut, which itself has taken quite a pounding over the last few days.

But over and above all of this, there are other reasons, more personal to the group and it’s members, that they should at least temporarily postpone this concert. And that is, quite simply, they could be turning themselves into targets.

During it’s heyday, beginning in 1967, Deep Purple was one of those British rock bands that were considered among the giants. Even before they turned really heavy, when they churned out such hits as “Hush”, a cover of a Joe South song, as well as a cover of Neil Diamonds “Kentucky Woman”, they quickly estsablished themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

After several changes of personnel, after which they ended up with such musical titans as Ritchie Blackmoor on lead guitar, and Gillian on lead vocals, they quickly adopted a heavier sound. In fact, at one time, in the early seventies, they were, along with Black Sabbath and Ledd Zeppellin, considered one of the top three heavy metal groups of rock. This was during the time of such monster hits as “Smoke On The Water”, “My Woman From Tokyo”, “Highway Star”, and “Child In Time”.

They were so popular at one time, in fact, that one night, when opening a show for the group Cream, it resulted in the latter, known as the worlds first “supergroup”, being booed off the stage, amidst demands for Purple to return to the stage.

This popularity didn’t last forever, of course, and due mainly to creative tensions and dissents, particularly an unfortunate rivalry between Blackmoor and Gillian, there was another change of personnel, resulting in Gillian being replaced by David Coverdale (later of Whitesnake). There was still some success, notably in such songs as “Burn” and “Mistreated”, but for the most part the overall output, with some exceptions, was not of the former quality. There would never be anything to rival the popularity and influence of the album “Machine Head”, and eventually this group fell apart as well, resulting in a temporary reunion of Blackmoor and Gilian. After some time, it became obvious it wasn’t going to work out, and this time it was Blackmoor who left the group.

Now, Blackmoor is involved in a Renaissance Band with his wife. Oddly enough, this group from time to time performs “Child In Time”, which I mention only because, if you were to hear the song, you would think the last thing it would be adaptable with would be Renaissance.

At any rate, while Blackmoor is trying to reinvent the distant past, Ian Gillian and the remainder of Deep Purple has been one of those never say die aging rock bands who keep trying to improve on past success, and remain creative. To this end, they seem determined to continue with their Space Trucking around the globe. A new release is due out soon, and in the meantime, they seem to be as popular, as in demand, as ever. And that is where the problem for them comes in.

They might be well seen by some Middle East factions as perfect examples of decadent Western culture. Gillian especially might be a target. This is not so much for his role in Deep Purple as it is due to his past association with the rock musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. In the movie, he played Christ, and sung on the album that resulted from this Braodway and Hollywood film megahit.

This might cause him to be looked at with revulsion not only by extremist Islamic factions, but by more conservative Christian factions as well. I fear that by holding this concert, in the middle of what can be described in no other terms but a war zone, Gillian and the group are inviting far more than just strident criticism, they are leaving themselves open to assault. The targeting of the stadium in Beirut by not so much Hezbollah fanatics, but by other Muslim extremsits, who might well hope to further fan the flames of strife and division for their own purposes, would be only one possible example. Such an attack by agents of Assad in Syria, for example, could well result in the complete destabilization, even the final collapse, of the fledgling Lebanese democracy , which is more than anything what the Syria government could use as an excuse to assert their authority over the region.

Or, it could lead to a hostage situation. After all, Lebanon has had no power over Hezbollah in it’s own borders. That is what has caused this problem to begin with, the idea that Hezbollah, with impunity, has been able to attack the Israelis from within the country where, in fact, they hold about 24 seats in the Parliament, and where they have maintained their power by providing social services the Lebanese government has been unable to provide. Lebanon has been helpless to do anything about them, and they are even more helpless now. How can they be expected to provide security for a concert such as this, a major cultural event which is sure to attract notice?

Gillian has gone on record as stating that the group owes it to their fans to hold the concert if at all possible. I would suggest that if he is truly that devoted to his fans-and I have no reason to doubt that he is-then he might want to consider their safety. A stadium full of devoted Arab fans, most of them Christian, many if not most of them teenagers, in attendance at what many would consider a decadent infidel western rock group, might make too tempting a target to pass up-even during relatively better times.

Blogroll: Newest Additions

Well, the mystery is solved. No wonder they keep her waiting in line as long as possible at her neighborhood Starbucks.

Now, she has a new blog, Star Kaats Biased Movie And Book Reviews, which you can access here. Or, drop by and visit her by way of the Blogroll, she is one of the newest additions. Just don't argue with her, you might get clawed.

Other new additions include “For Now, I Will Be A Toad”, “Bull Speaks, The”, “Miriams Medley”, and finally, “Moxie”, who is a conservative blogger that sometimes makes Ann Coulter look like Jane Fonda. Still, she’s an interesting blogger. “The Bull” is also a conservative, and a strong Second Amendment advocate, while Miriam may be recognized by regular commenters on my blog as “Sock Puppit”. She too has an interesting blog, which I recommend you check out. “For Now, I Wil Be A Toad” I haven’t quite figured out yet, but it’s a good blog.

Another recent edition is “Sacred Fems”, a production of "The Widows Son”, who is also responsible for “ Burning Taper, The”. If you are interested in Masonry (though “Burning Taper” has posts on other subjects as well), I recommend it heartily, and “Fems” also.

Weird Tales

Okay, I generally don't do stuff like this, but this is too important, potentially, to pass up. I waited in vain tonight for confirmation from the NBC Network News, which never came, and so it sounds even more unlikely. Still, there is a strange rumor making the rounds on the Internet to the effect that, United States Special Forces troops have taken over the Israeli nuclear power plant at Dimona.

The supposed reason for this has to do with a comment made by the President of China in a private conversation during the G8 Sumit in St. Petersburgh with President Bush. The warning was to the effect that if Iran blockades the Persian Gulf, in response to recent hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah organization in Lebannon, China would consider that to be tantamount to a declaration of war on the Chinese people.

In order to forestall this eventuality, Bush set in motion a of chain of directives which resulted in the action just described at Dimona. It sounds like some kind of crazy conspiracy theory to me, based on nothing more than rumor. Or perhaps an ill-advised attempt to increase readership, to whatever site is responsible for this. I don't have all the facts at hand, but I am certain it must be some Far Left blog or web-site, judging by the source from which I derived it.

If it is true, it could have far reaching implications. Israel it is said is bitterly in oppossition to the reported US action. They are also being advised in no uncertain terms, according to this story, that they should in no way undertake any overt hostile military actions against either Iran or Syria.

If the story is indeed the truth, there can only be one explanation for it. Someone has been informed through diplomatic channels, probably covertly, that Israel is strongly considering the potential for a nuclear strike, and I am guessing the intended target is Syrian President Assad, which would suggest what would amount to the annihilation of the city of Damascus. I wouldn't rule out Tehran as a potential target as well.

Like I said, I consider the report incredible, and so unlikely as to be consdiered almost laughable. But then again, I never would have suspected events up to this point to have reached the point that they have as of now.

One thing for certain, we are living in scary times. One nuclear assault by Israel, in any part of the Middle East, would have implications that could amount to a global conflagration. You almost wonder not if it will eventually happen, but when.

Okay, I just went back, found the URL to the site and story in question, and I copied and pasted it as a link which can be accessed by clicking on the title of the post. If I had bothered to do this first, I might not even have posted this. Still, it does serve some slight purpose, in that it serves to demonstrate the amount of lunacey that exists all over the Internet. That, and who knows, there might be some validity to the story, but just between you who read this, me, and the fence post, I wouldn't count on it. If you do read the original story, as posted on Whatdoesitmean.com, be sure you navigate over to the Homepage.

I knew there had to be a reason that Weird Tales seemed an appropriate title for this post.

Songs Of Criminals And Other Assorted Lowlifes

During the immediate Russian Post-Revolutionary era, a great many Rusian immigrants fled their native lands, fleeing to various places of the world. Paris was one of the major destinations, and a lot of the emigres found themselves faced with hard times, even to the point of having even to sing for their suppers. They sang tearful, sad songs of longing for their homeland, or in some cases of cherished, happy memoires of better times, now lost forever.

And thus, from these humble beginnings, a name was given to what would eventually be applied to a standard style of specific Russian folk music-“Chanson”.

Today, the music of Chanson evokes a wide range of comparisons, from hip-hop to American country music, and an even wider range of attributes. It has been called, at best, the music of “drivers and bodyguards”, and at worse, “the music of criminals”.

It has also been banned from Russian radio and television, save for limited amounts of time during the late evenings. It has drawn the suspicion, and even the ire, of Russian politicians, much in the same way early rock and roll, and later heavy metal, and then rap, caused such consternation among the American elite, before coporate America decided it was too good a money maker to be censored.

Today, chanson is almost an underground, counter culture style, popular in cafes, with Russian citizens from all walks of life, and ever more increasingly, with American and Western European tourists.

A great lot of it revolves around subjects the Russian governemnt would just as soon be forgotten, such things as the oppressive nature of the past Soviet regimes, and most especially life in the old Russian gulags. A lot of the music is sad, a lot of it is angry, and an apreciable amount is even mocking, and satirical, of the oppressive system, it’s abuses, it’s effects, and it’s consequences. And there are of course songs about more contemporary times and troubles, ideals and criticisms, songs both serious and trite, that is not necessarily, shall we say, at all times pleasurably oriented to all aspects of modern Russian life and politics.

Chanson has been around for awhile, since before the Revolution actually, since even the Czarist times, which means that it’s original fans might have, ironically, been communist revolutionaries. No one realy knows who started it, or how old it actually is. But one thing that is for certain, is that it has a long track record of rebelliousness, an attitude of anti-establishment, in any form.

As such, it has always been repressed, save for one brief period of time, in the early days of the Soviet Union, a time known as the “New Economic Policy”. This was a period of time, initiated by Lenin around 1922, shortly before his death (1924), in which there was a policy of economic freedom, a relaxation of the economic oppression which had brought about a devastating depression in the fledgling Soviet economy.

During this period of time, private businesses were allowed to compete freely with the state owned and operated businesses. All good comunists, of course, were expected to patronize the state run businesses, and to be sure many did. However, the private businesses proved to be too much for the state to compete with. For a time, Russian business, and the economy, experienced a revitalization.

And Chanson became the popular music of the day, in the cafes, in music halls, and on the streets. They ridiculed the Soviet regime, they romanticized the time of the Czar and the days when the Chruch was respected, they mocked the Soviet officials who shopped at the private stores, sometimes in secret. It was too much for a good communist to bear.

The brief, embarrassingly successful experiment in open markets was summarily ended, and Chanson once again went underground. Shortly afterward, Lenin died. But Chanson did not. It thrived in the shadows, much like the secret Soviet shoppers it briefly satirized. It evolved with the times, adapted to them, but always remained in the shadows, save for very brief intermittent periods when it would rise to the surface, such as during the Khruschev years, thouh very tentatively, and then resubmrged during the dark and stagnant days of Leonid Breshnev.

There were recordings, but always in secret, with distribution by way of private courier, directly to the households of fans. Sometimes the recording would be done in private homes, sometimes they would be done in studios in France, Britain, and America, and smuggled into the Soviet Union.

Now, it is once again recorded in Russian recording studios, and played in Russian clubs and cafes. Yet, it continues to be frowned upon by polite society, and by the officials of the Rusian governemnt, as always. Unless there is a crackdown, however, there is ever reason to believe the music form will continue to grow, to evolve musically and stylistically, and may even become a popular export, given the amount of Russian imigrants to American and to Western Europe from the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union.

Todays Russian immigrants seldom have to sing for their supper, and they have, in the Russian Mafia, the perfect patrons to promote the production and the distribution of their native music, fitting ones since this is, after all, the “music of criminals”.

However, even if there is an ultimate censoring of the music, it will survive as it always has, possibly even thrive. It says a lot about Russian culture, and about Russian officialdom. Russian bureaucrats are by nature heavy handed, intolerant, and oppresive, mainly because they not only abuse their powers and responsibilities, they simply take themselves way too seriously.

The Russian people, however, do not, while at the same time recognizing and appreciating the dilemna due to their oppression. The music of chanson- at times melancholy, at other times hopeful and spirited, rebellious as well as satirical- has served them well throughout the years as a culturally and socially binding release mechanism. And that is precisely why the Russian governemnt still looks with disdain upon this music. They can’t bear to be ridiculed and maligned as being on the same level as past Soviet and Czarist regimes. But even more than that, they can’t abide the thought of lowering themselves to demonstrate that they are not.

The past history of Russia, and it is a long and bloody one, suggests that the way to deal with enemies is to destroy them. Anything that theatens your hold on power is an enemy. Anything that gives aid and succor to that enemy is likewise a threat. And to be laughed at, satirized, ridiculed, is the most injurious of insults. And if somebody puts such rebellious and disrespectful thoughts to music, and the song spreads throughout the land, that is looked upon as a type of character assassination.

When you think about it in that way, it is no wonder that the most popular single subject of Russian Chanson is the Gulags.

Back in the darkest days of Stalinist Russia, for all intents and purposes American movies were banned. Of all the fans, and potential fans, of American cinema, one person watched American movies, on a regular basis, with impunity. That person was Joseph Stalin, who was a rabid fan of American western movies, and many times during his last days would invite those among his inner circle to attend viewings, private screenings, of some of his favorites.

Unfortunately, most of them knew little English, some knew none at all, and so many times Stalin would avail himself of the services of Lavrentia Beria, his feared and hated NKVD Chief, to provide the translations, which, according to Nikita Khruschev, amounted to little more than relating what anyone watching the screen could easily see for themselves.

"He's leaving now", Beria would explain, and then, "now he's starting to run", would be a typical example given by Khruschev in his memoirs.

The Russian movie industry has come a long way, and in a lot of ways has come full circle. Now, not only are American movies allowed, and even encouraged to be sent into the country, but American movie companies are more and more taking advantage of what is a promising atmosphere and growing industry, with a better than 400 million population, to actually film movies in the Russian Republic.

Many of them, such as Disney, are taking baby steps, wary of throwing too much finances into what might turn out to be a relatively unstable environment. Still, they recognize the fact that the Russian film industry is indeed experiencing a boom, and unlike other nations film industries-such as India, for example-foreign investors are welcome and encouraged.

This is all thanks in large measure to Vladimir Putin, who, recognizing the sorry morass the industry found itself in following the fall of the former Soviet regime, decided to change things for the better.

During the Yeltsin era, movies produced in Russia were few and generally poor in quality. What few exceptions there were to this general rule, and there were excpetions, found audiences not in movie theatres, but on VHS and DVD. The old Soviet era movie theatres themselves were for the most part turned to other uses, such as stores and auto dealership displays.

So what did Putins governemnt do that made the difference, that has caused this turnaround? They have reinstituted the Soviet era policy of subsidizing the industry. Of course, this has the potential disadvantage, in time, of raising the spectre of the possibility of censorship, which might be another reason for the reluctance of foreign companies to involve themselves too deeply in this vital yet fledgling market.

Still, it has it's advantages as well. A big budget movie in the US might cost around forty million dollars. In Russia, it might well be made for around two milion dollars. And Russia is a huge country, with a great deal in the way of scenic beauty. And the Russians are friendly, and eager to learn from Hollywood professionals, who themselves stand to gain in the way of this somewhat unofficial cultural exchange.

Finally, Russia has a long history in filmaking, even during the heyday of the communist era, when they produced such classics as "The Potemkin". Although there might be some degree of limitations, which is unfortunate, they have an established history of quality. It will be interesting to see the results of the present movie industry boom.

The only thing I'm wary of is the potentially negative effects on the American movie industries unions, especially such underlings as the grips, best boys, and all the other incidental workers and laborers who provide vital services in the production of American films, and who only make a relatively decent living due to the influence of their unions. True, this has contributed to the increase in ticket prices, and Russian imports are unlikely to be any less expensive, yet more profitiable to the filmmakers involved-doubtless another reason for their interet, possibly the main reason.

On the other hand, if Jack Nicholson were to settle for two million dollars for a thirty minute part as oppossed to ten million or more, it might be a big help to our own industry.

From Russia With Disdain

These last few days at the G8 Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin looked deep into George Bush’s eyes, and got a sense of his soul, and probably as well a verification of what he had doubtless long suspected-the American President doesn’t have a clue.

The fact that Bush actually encouraged Putin to try to adopt reforms for his country, and become more like the fledgling democray of Iraq, speaks volumes about this Presiedents naivitey. And Putins response, during the course of a press conference, practically shouts his disdain toward Bush’s policies. He laughed. It was not a good humored laugh. It was dismissive, even derisive.

To be like Iraq is the last thing Russia needs, he said.

We can learn two things from this exchange. One, George W. Bush honestly believes in the validity of his admnistrations Iraqi policy, and it’s war aims to help facillitate the hoped for results, of freedom, democracy, adherence to human rights standards, sectarian inclusiveness, and free markets.

He believes in all these things, and honestly believes the war is being won, that real progress is being made, despite the unquestionable roadblocks, which he can no longer seriously deny. He believes these things, but why does he believe them? Is it simply because he is in too deep, and has no choice but to put as good a face as possible on what has turned into a disaster of epic, tragic proportions? Is it because he honestly believes in the rightness of this cause? Does he feel he has been lifted up by his God for the purpose of spreading freedom throughout the Arab and Muslim world, to pave the way for the annihilation of Islamic Jihadist Terrorism? Does he simply believe it, perhaps, because he has been sold a bill of goods by Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the remainder of the Neo-Conservative cabal that has established a stranglehold of power over the nations capital, with George W. Bush nothing more than a well manipulated sock puppet?

The other thing we can learn, as pertains to Vladimir Putin, is that, whatever the reason for Bush’s faith in the Iraqi cause-Putin is simply not buying it, not for one second. To put it bluntly-he knows better, which isn’t surprising considering this is a man who began his political career on the heels of a highly placed position in the old Soviet KGB. The fact that he could treat Bush with such alarming a display of casual disregard, as to all but laugh at him in public, at a press conference, with the President in attendance, should give Americans great pause.

Bush had questioned Putins recent crackdowns, particularly on freedom of the press, in Russia, which was the reason for the Iraqi suggestion from Bush, in the course of a meeting between the two men. During the later press conference, Bush almost seemed apologetic in explaining how Putin made clear how he can not allow another country to dictate how they pursue their democratic ideals. Yet, he insisted the two of them were “good friends”.

Well, sometimes a good friend will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that you should mind your own business.

The G8 Summit, and in particular stories about Putin and Bush’s overall relationship, has taken on characteristics that seem almost allegorical in nature.

For example, there is the story about Putins dog, a large animal who jumped up aggresively on Bush and had to be restrained by Putin, who told the President that his dog could dispatch Bush’s little dog Barney with little effort,whereupon word emerged that at the visit to the Crawford ranch by Putin some years back, upon being introduced to Barney, by Bush, Putin made it clear that he viewed the little lap dog with disdain.

Whatever the reality of the story, it seems too obvious to pass up the parallel. Putin will never be a lap dog, to Bush or to anybody else.

This is a strange man. He recently vowed to track down and execute those responsible in Iraq for the recent murders of four Russian diplomats. He has unapologetically made clear that he will take whatever steps possible to crack down in the harshest terms imaginable on the Chechen rebels that have sought to engage in terroristic ativities in his own country.

He has made it abundantly clear that there will be limits to democracy in Russia, that it will be managed and regulated.

Yet, this is a man who, while on his way by foot to the Kremlin a while back, stopped at the sight of a group of children, lifted up the shirt of a small boy, kissed him on the stomach, and then ruffled his hair as he then continued on his way to the Kremlin in bounding strides. A mere display of sentimentality, perhaps, but possibly as well a revelation of what might be considered a streak of superstition, the same kind of good luck an American southerner long ago might seek to appropriate by rubbing the head of a black man.

Yet, he seems now to be popular in Russia, and this can be summed up thusly-he has in fact given the people what they want, which is, the promise of security.

As for the G8 summit, there doesn’t seem to be too much in the way of accomplishments, or long term agreements among the nations there, on such matters as trade or environmental concerns.

So far, the only decision of any importance is that, for now, Russia will not be brought into the World Trade Organization.

Tom Brokaw And The Dawn Of Doomsday

Tom Brokaw will tonight, on The Discovery Channel, host a documrntary, at 9:00 p.m. e.s.t., about global warming, about the very eral dangers it poses, as it posits the question, what can we do about it? Is it, in fact, too late to actually do anything about it at all. It purports to take a concise look at the causes, which have been upheld as valid by the majority of the scientific community. Foremost among these would be the effects of industrial pollution, as well as carbon emissions from autombiles and planes.

In addition, it presents a frightening cataloque of some of the more dramatic effects of global warming, specifically noting the effects on the polar regions, where vast glaciers can be seen to practically be melting before your eyes as huge sections of ice off the coast of Greenland and Antartica literally slide into the sea.

The long term effect of this, Brakaw notes, is the potential for devastating flooding. Practically the entire coastal areas of Florida, the North and Mid-Atlantic states, and even New York City itself, or at least huge portions of it, could end up underwater.

Although it wasn’t mentioned in the ads that I saw, one issue that would be impossible to avoid would be the detrimental effects of global warming on the weather, with the increase in numbers and intensity of severe storms, such as thunderstorms, flash floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.

The entire US has felt the effects this year. The western half of the country has experienced severe droughts, resulting in more forrest fires than usual, while the south and midwest has experienced increases in heat, humidity, and storms, resulting in tornadoes and flooding. Just last week, a number of tornadoes touched down in the Dayto Ohio area, seemingly just springing up from out of nowhere.

The Northeast, in the meantime, has experienced flooding on a scale heretofore almost unheard of. Finally, and remember, we are barely a third of the way through hurricane season, if that much.

That a newsman with the status and integrity of Tom Brokaw would agree to host this special speaks volumes about the validity of the science behind it. And, even if the science is to a limited extent debatable, just the possibility makes it a subject which is deserving of serious consideration, and national public attention.

Which leads me to my main question-why is this being shown only on the Discovery Channel? Why not on the NBC network, in addition to MSNBC? Would not a prime time network airing bring in sufficient ratings numbers? Surely a night can be determined for the showing on the network which would give it as great an impact as possible. Even if it didn’t bring in a lot of viewers, it would still be deemed a public service, and so would be worth the risk. And with the right amount of advertisement, it might even be a ratings bonanza, and for that matter, may serve to galvanize public attention and demands for action from what seems to be a reluctant, to say the least, Congress.

And, of course, I have already answered my own question. Look at who are the major advertisers on network television. Brtish Petroleum, Daimler Chrysler, all the other major oil companis in additon to auto manufcturers, airline companies, and all the major industries which depend to one extent or another on the products that in the course of their production send volumes of carbon emisions and other pollutants shooting into the atmosphere.

Ask yourself, why would they agree to sponsor a program which argues as it’s central theme that these very companies, in combination with the lifestyles of America and other industrialized developed nations, to say nothing of the other developing nations, such as India, Brazil, and China-are combining to end life and civilization on earth as we know it? It doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to think they would, does it? The wonder to me is, that they woudn’t resist showing the program on a relativly minor outlet like the Discovery Channel.

By the same token, if you’re smart, you cut your losses without incurring more casualties, or suspicion of heavy handedness. To this end, they can’t engage in killing the program all together, and to their way of thinking the harm to showing it on Discovery would be minimal. The people that tend to watch these kinds of cable networks tend to already believe the scientifically accepted view of global warming anyway, so they are really not learning anything new. The impact on them will be minimal at best, as they are already, from the perspective of these corporate entities, giant pains in the asses.

They can, however, and I have no doubt they have, pressure NBC,who depends on their advertising dollars, from showing the program on a major network like NBC, which would result in massive exposure, with potentially devastating results for the companies.

These national, and in some cases international, mega corporations, control the media, and to a large extent they control political discourse in this country, and their reach and influence is global. It all boils down to what I have been saying for years. We are moving ever more rapidly toward a global feudalistic society, which cares for nothing whatsoever about our survival, or the long term survival of the planet, it cares for nothing but it’s own power and short term profitability.

Northern Kentucky Democrats Banned From Starbucks

You would think that if there were anyplace in the known universe where Democrats could meet in relative peace and serenity, it would be at a Starbucks.  This was probably exactly what was going through the mind of Campbell County Democratic Party Chariman Ken Mullikin, when two employees approached the group while he was speaking at abotu 6:00 p.m. on July 12th, and informed the group they would have to leave.

The employees explained to them that their regional managers said they couldn't have a political meeting or discussion there, according to one person in attendance, who replied that they had been given permission, had in fact had a previous meeting at the Starbucks, all to no avail.

"This could have been handled better", said Katie Henderson, president of the College Democrats at Northern Kentucky University. "It was humiliating."

Starbucks had not returned media requests for interviews, or responded to any questions forwarded to their regional offices. Yet, Ms. Henderson did say they receive phone calls from Starbucks Representatives, who apologized for the incident., that it was being looked into, and that it was blown out of proportion."

When I read that, I thought to myself, what a strange response to give to a customer complaint.  It is all the more remarkable in that at the time in question, there were reportedly only four other customers in the store, while attendees of the meeting assert that they were not being disruptive.

"It really feels terrible to be discriminated against in such a public place," said Kenton County Chairwoman Kahy Groob, who said she as well later received an apology, along with an assurrance that the group would be welcme back.

Groob then went on to ominously suggest that the employees should be dealt with.

Not exactly the kind of sentiments I particularly care to hear from a representative of a party that prides itself on looking out for the workingman and "the little guy". After all, every indication is that these two employees merely thought they were following company policy, and probably were at that.

At the same time I can understand the reluctance of the senior management to alienate the political group. If I had a restaurant that only drew in typically four custmers on a weeknight at 6:00 p.m., the last thing I would want to do would be to start turning customers away. Even if they are talking politics.

I also have to wonder about the state of finances of the Northern Kentucky Democratic Party, that they have to meet in a Starbucks. There were only somewhere between fifteen to twenty of them. Haven't they ever heard of The Anchor Grill?

Special Rights And The Federal Marriage Amendment

The Federal Marriage Amendment which has been touted recently in Congress, has little chance of being passed, and for the same reason the equally insane Flag Burning Amendment has-it’s supposed proponents would in reality prefer to keep it alive as an election year issue, election after election, and blame the Democratic Party for keeping it from being passed. And, just as in the case of Kentucky Senior Republican Senator and Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, when necessary they will find a Republican Senator for whom it is safe enough to “cross party lines” and vote with the majority, on some pretext or another.

There is, however, one major differences in the two proposed “conservative” amendments-

The Flag Burning Amendment should probably be allowed to pass, for no other reason than to keep this inane stupidity from ever again taking up the important, valuable time required to conduct the legitimate business of the American people.

Yet, I can promise you it never will be.

The Federal Marriage Amendment, on the other hand, is an abomination, a perverse distortion of American ideals that would enshrine discrimination into the American constitution of a disliked and reviled, by many, minority group, and it should never be passed.

Yet, there is a better than passing chance that one day, it will be.

As I was explaining today in a comment on a post on the subject by Pissed Off Patricia, in Morning Martini, the Republican Majority are under the gun this year to produce results, and the pressure grows ever greater with each passing year. To understand the reason for this, you need look no further than your local churches, and the mythology of their particular cults, as pertaining to, at least insofar as the more conservative of them go, the word of God as to the true nature of homosexuality.

It has been reviled in sacred scripture as the most heinous of sins, worthy of not only scorn, but even of death. Five entire cities were suppossedly destroyed at least in part, if not wholly, to this evil. It was stated bluntly, in palin language, that it was among the most abominable of sins.

Now, what is the natue of sin? The answer, of course, is that it is rebellion against the word and laws of God. That implies, at least, a purposeful conduct. Therefore, you are presented with the subject of choice. At least when it comes to such matters as homosexuality.

However, it is interesting to note that in most other instances of sin, it is said that people sin because they have a natural sin nature due to the fall from grace perpetrated by the first humans, Adam and Eve. This doesn’t make in any more excusable, only more to the way of presenting an explanation, flawed though it is, as to why human beings cannever possibly attain perfection. Human beings are fatally flawed.

The Apostle Paul seems to have recognized this, and talked of Nero and his Roman Imperial Court as being so debauched, that they were given over to a sin nature. They were so debauched, in other words, so rotten to the core, there was not any hope for them, as that God had given them over to a “reprobate mind”. In a sense, they no longer had any option, no true choice to act in any other way-still, they were evil, and evil is as evil does.

The Apostle Paul himself may have been a homosexual. The fact is he spoke of himself as being weak, frail, infirm, and in additon there is no record of him ever being married. Yet, it is his writings which have had by far the greatest impact on Christian morals, even to this day, in their singlemindedness and rigidity. And this would include sexual and marital matters. “ It takes Richard Nixon to go to China.”

So anyway, the point is that conservative Christians, as well as Muslims and probably Jews as well, honestly believe that to allow gay marriage would be tantamount to an open indication to either one of two things.

To those that believe it is a “choice”, a great many people might actually “choose” the homosexual lifestyle, that over a period of time it would be seen as natural, and this would lead to the wholesale desecration of the sacred rites of marriage, and to the ultimate weakening and eventual doom of society. Men and women, in ever greater numbers, would eventually decide to leave their spouses and engage in a legally recognized marriage with their same sex best friends.

Before long, thanks to radical elitist educators with some sinister “homosexual agenda” more and more innocent children would then be lead to engage in the homosexual lifestyle. Before long, America’s morals would be down the toilet. Seuxally transmitted diseases would explode, tradtional marriages would fall apart in ever more increasing numbers, and the entire culture would disintegrate into a morass of sinful vice and excess. America would, in short order, be a 300 million plus Sodom and Gommorrhah.

Those who believe that homosexuality is not a choice, but is naturally occurring, still are in agreement to an extent. They feel that homosexuality is a test, imposed by God on them, one which they should struggle with every day, with his divine help. To give in to this evil would be therefore to fail the test. To legalize gay marriage,then, would make it easier to give in to those evil urges God has decided to test them with. The net result would be the same, in their opinion.

People who adhere to this belief like to cite studies of the results of gay marriage in certain European countries where it has been made legal, in The Netherlands, for example. They cite statistics that purport to demonstrate how traditional marriages have faltered, have declined, since the legalization of same sex marriage, how there are more divorces, etc.

Without having seen these studies in depth, I can’t really say for sure, except to volunteer the opinion that they are probably skewed. There might be other factors for the decline in traditional marriages which might have as much to do with the high rate of income taxes as anything else.

But when worse comes to worse, I would have to offer the opinion that the true reason for the decline has most probably everything to do with the rights of non-married oppossite sex couples being put pretty much on an equal level as the rights traditoanlly, in times past, reserved for those couples who choose to engage in traditional marriages. If true, this would have nothing to do with homosexual marriages, per se’.

But this as well brings up a whole other issue. Why is it that a traditional, heterosexual marriage, should be afforded special rights? Isn’t that a lifestyle choice? Were they forced to be married? Were they forced to have a child? Or two, or three, or four, etc? Well, am I responsible for that? So they are having a hard time raising their children. How is this my problem? How is it that I or anybody else should be penalized for their freely chosen and engaged in “lifestyle choice”?

How is it that since they have freely decided, on their own initiative, to marry and raise a family, they now have the right to the better jobs, more tax breaks, while I in turn am taxed to pay for their childrens education, and in some cases food, shelter, and even medcial expenses? Aren’t all these “special rights”?

After all, they knew full well what they were getting into when they entered this avenue of their life. Why should anyone but them pay the price for it? And why should their needs be considered of paramount importance over the rights of either same sex couples, married or otherwise, or of heterosexual couples who might choose to share a life together without the benefits and responsibilities of marriage?

In my honest opinion, if a heterosexual couple can marry, raise children, and stand together through all the good times and the bad, while that is commendable, it deserves no special applause. If their marriage is based on reality, and entered into with maturity and reason, and they are willing to work on it, that marriage will last, and flurish and prosper, regardless of the status of same sex couples or of unmarried heterosexual couples.

But, on the off chance that it might effect certain marriages adversely, resulting in an inevitable split-it’s probably just as well.

Still, as I said close to the beginning, there is a slight chance this amendment, if not this year, might someday eventually pass. All it would take is enough demands by that socailly conservative Christian segment of society, enough conservative Republican legislators on the national level to start to realize they have to eventually produce promised results.

As more and more states enact amendments to their own states constitutions to the effect of disallowing gay marriage-many of which, by the way, also include provisions to forbid the recognition of the rights of unmarried heterosexual couples as being on the same level as traditionally married couples-the pressure will beccome greater on conservative legislators, which may as well include some Democrats in addition to Republicans.

One day, they might have to produce. And if and when they do, our country will be the poorer for it.

The Real Me

You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (21% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

One Loony Conspiracy Theory-Mine-Bites The Dust

Yeah, I've been hanging around Far Left newsgroups for way too long, I've caught something contagious. I usually like to ridicule them for such nuttiness as the proliferation of Zionist conspiracy theories and how the 9/11 attacks were staged, but like they say, when you lie down with dogs, you can catch fleas.

When I first heard that the Hubble Space Telescope was due to be discontinued, the first thing I thought of was how this sounded like it might have an intentional relationship with George W. Bush's own coziness with the equally looney far right. In fact, this news was given out at about the same time that Bush was somewhat encouraging the teaching, as science, in public schools of what has been termed Intelligent Design-just another barely disguised (though this is denied) code word for "creationism".

It's proponents are quick to defend it by asserting they want to offer it as a scientific theory in addition to, not instead of, the teaching of evolution.

When I heard the news about Hubble being allowed to die, I made a connection between the two, and immediately jumped the gun by theorizing that the Hubble Space Telescope might prove to be somewaht of an embarrassment to Bush's major Christian backers. After all, it has already demonstrated what science has long ago claimed, that the universe was created billions of years ago, not the six to ten thousand years that many conservative Christians claimed, and to a large degree still claim.

What if it further established evidence of the Big Bang? There would be no further need for debate on that score. And I had an idea that Bush, for all his much vaunted religious faith, would not be counting on seeing God up there giving us all a high five in a billions years ago preparation for what he in his infinite wisdom would know would be our eventual snapshot into time and space.

Sure, the religous right could still spin it, but fewer people would believe the spin. More to the point, it would be an embarrassment to the people who have spent decades decrying and even ridiculing the theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory, should they suddenly be presented with photographic proof of the event.

The Hubble Telescope hadn't merely been eliminated as a program whose usefulness had run it's course, I decided-it had been assassinated. One of my formative posts on Blogspot was on this very subject.

I wish I had known Zandperl then, whose blog, Modern Science, is a member of the blogroll, she could have saved me the trouble of writing what I thought at the time was an interesting and provocative post. Come to find out, the Hubble is going to be replaced, in 2013, by an even better space telescope, and in the meantime there is one already that might in time outshine Hubbles vaunted accomplishments. But the new one in question, the one scheduled to be launched no earlier than June of 2013, will utilize infrared photography, in a cold setting shoelded from the sun, that will enable it to detect the formation of the earliest of stars.

Finally, I also understand that, as of this stage of the game, there is no way to view the actual Big Bang (itself, incidentally, probably an event of billions of years in duration), as the initial result of that event was a radioactive cloud that seems to have permeated the entire universe, making viewing past that point in time impossible.

In other words, this is in itself somewhat proof of the Big Bang. Who knows, someday we might eventually be able to pierce the veil. There would probably be really nothing to see but a vast explosion of light. Now that would be kind of hard to spin.

Will I Ever Live This Down?

You Are Most Like George W. Bush

So what if you're not exactly popular? You still rule the free world. And while you may be quite conservative now, you knew how to party back in the day!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

I find this very hard to believe, but then again the questionnaire is skewed and limited. I would have guessed Van Buren, frankly, or maybe Cleveland, or Truman. They realy need to give you more options on these questions, because this just ain't right?

Thanks to Cardianal Martini, who is soon taking a probably permanent leave of absence from blogging. Pay him a visit and wish him well. He's on the blogroll.

Pregnant Women And Their Sex Addict Babies

According to yet another scientifical medical study, it is not a danger to have sex during pregnancy, for the infant. Yes, I know that is old news, as far as the potential for causing miscarriages, or for injuring the child in the uterus. But this new directive has come down from on high from the clouds of academia evidently out of some expressed concern that see during pregnancy, or at least during late in pregnancy, might induce premature labor.

While that is certainly nice to know, no on has yet conducted any studies to determine the validity of my theroy as to sex during pregnancy, and it’s potential harm to the child. I posted this once before, and so, on the occasion of this newly and seemingly profound medical reassurance, I represent it here, in it’s entirety.

Sex During Pregnancy-Can It Cause Your Child To Grow Up To Be A Sex Addict?

Black Magic Lopez

To my way of thinking, Jennifer Lopez is a third rate singer and a fourth rate actress, who just happens to be very beautiful, so I could never quite figure out what the draw was. I mean, what is it with men? I'm hard up at times, but even at my worse I don't spend my time or money on such minimal talent. Except to wonder, what the hell gives here?

Well, as luck and Witchvox would have it, I may have stumbled upon the answer. Jennifer Lopez is, according to her ex-husband Ojani Noa, a practitioner of the religion of Santeria, as well as the even darker Brujeria. Both of these sects, similar to voodoo, involve the veneration of ancient African deities, brought over by black Carribbean based slaves, who disguised their deities as Catholic saints.

In the meantime, it involves animal sacrifice, such as chickens and goats, and ritual spirit possession.

Noa was earlier paid 150,000 dollas to keep silent after the divorce, but he has been lately anything but as he divulges how Lopez has used her practices in order to control all the men she has become involved with, including Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.

From there, it only gets stranger. Remember the tediously constant stream of "news" about "Bennifer"? Yeah, Ben Afleck was supposedly under Jennifers magical influence as well. He even has intimated the reason for the sudden breakup betwen the two. It was at the instigation of her spiritual advisor, one Merle Gonzalez, who advised her there was a bad aura that hovered over the relationship, and she should break it off, which she then did.

He must have seen the same episode of Entertainment Tonight that gave me the dry heaves.

Slayer

The metal band Slayer has learned well how to attract publicity by way of controversy, and that nothing is guaranteed to do the job better than the use of religion. Recent controversies over such movies as The DaVinci Code, and before that Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ most certainly didn't escape their notice. More to the point, they seem to have learned something from the bloody epic by Mel Gibson The Crucifixion Of Christ, that broke box office records worldwide, despite a raging controversy due to the films excessive violence, which many even in the Christian community viewed as horrific, gratuitous, and even pornographic.

This last film may have well provided some of the inspiration for Christ Illussion, or more specifically, for the cover art for the album, which is due out August 8th of this year on Rubins American Recordings/Warner Brothers Records.

The cover portrays Christ, his arms chopped off, standing in a sea of blood, surrounded by decapitated heads, and was painted by veteran Slayer album cover artist Larry Cornell, on a 4 ft. by 4 ft. slab of wood, using a combination of mediums. Kerry King, the guitarist for Slayer, was so taken with the artwork, he secured the rights to ownership of it.

It has already come under fire from some Christian groups, a month before it's due release date. If the artwork is as explicit as promised, the controversy is certain to grow, and as a result Slayers album sales.

I meant to include a link to the groups web-site, however, it's a shitty web-site, so I won't. Hopefully Slayer will make enough money fromthe proceeds of the album, in addition to their tour, they can afford to put up a decent web-site, hopefully one tht has a page that will load in under five minutes.

Failing that, I'm sure there is plenty of information to learn about the group, including their coming tour and dates and places for it. In the meantime, I will remain content to leave you with the above photo of the coming album, though I think this might be a milder version. One version was said to have been stolen from the web-site it was originally on. Personally, I think it was removed due to ISP complaints, but I could be wrong.

I know the grou8p was not satisfied with the first version, but were more than happy with the second. "It makes him look more like a drug addict" quipped one bandmember.

Just One Little Church In Abermarle North Carolina

Alan Dido, pastor of the Encounters Christ Church of Albermarle, North Carolina, seems to be on a jihad of sorts, a holy war, against what he terms Satanism, and drug addiction. I’ll give the good pastor credit for one thing-he has a clue as to one truth of pagan religions-it’s not like Hollywood, nor, does he stress, is Christianity.

In fact, Dido is not too happy with the status of Christianity as of now, he seems to think they aren’t truly living the life of Christians, they are present in body, you might say, but not in spirit. But his main problem with the church seems to be mainly that it isn’t A Church. He sees the predominence of the many different denominations as evidence of Satans work to divide the faithful.

Well, it’s not. The only thing it is evidence of is that people are too diverse and naturally independent to all be satisfied with any one faith, let alone any particular one expression of that one faith. If the good reverend was truly out to learn and teach the truth, he would realize that and at least accept it for the fact that it is, if not actually appreciate it, which would be even more preferable.

I will give him credit for one other thing though. He understands that Satnanists-which seems to unfortunately be his term for any pagan type religion-aren’t all the knifewielding psycopathic monsters engaging in ritual sacrifice and sexual orgies that people tend to imagine. He even goes so far as to give them credit for actually, for the most part, being law abiding citizens, possibly even of high moral character.

Unfortunately, he goes on from there to assert that this, too, is some kind of diabolical plot to infiltrate the body of Christ-the Church-from within, and so further the corrupting influence that has divided the church into all these varius divisions that seem to spring up, in his words, on every street corner.

So, in other words, Reverend Dido is chasing after imaginary monsters that exist within the dark recesses of his mind, while failing to appreciate the fact that he can’t seem to walk from one street to another without seeing evidience of the predominence of Christianity.

The road to heaven, Reverend, begins at the intersection of the body, the heart, the mind, and the soul-as does hell.

Religous Liberties

The World Overcomes Outreach Ministries of Memphis, the pastor of which is “Apostle” Alton R. Williams, can be easily found at the intersection of Kirby Park and Winchester, due to the recent addition of a 72 foot tall likeness of The Statue Of Liberty. The church also boasts a school, bowling alley, roller rink, bookstore, and according to the pastor, 12,000 members, predominantly black.

Dubbed The Statue of Liberty Through Christ, the statue holds a cross instead of a torch, and in the other arm, a tablet pair on which is engraved the Ten Commandments. According to the pastor, the statue was originally presented by France as a welcome to freedom for Americas recently freed former black slave population, and was only after received changed to represent a welcoming of immigrants.

Aside from this rather interesting historical revision, the statue seems to represent exactly what one would expect, the idea that America is a Christian nation, it’s laws were based on Judaeo Christian philosophy, etc. All of which is true, of course, but only partially so, I would submit only minorly so. But why quibble?

I am no expert, but if I recall correctly, one of the commandments on the tablet the lady holds in one arm has the admonition, “thou shalt make unto thee no graven images”. It goes on to explain that this is not a reference merely to human figures, but also to animals, birds, fish, and creeping things of the earth. Although the commandment states that you should not bow down to worship them, every word of this comandment was taken as a separate law unto itself, was believed literally, and for the most part adhered to rigorously.

A time traveller from today to ancient Israel in the time of King David, for example, would be hard pressed to find any statuary. In fact, it would be impossible to find any, not only in any public buildings or parks, but not in any private homes as well. Nor would you find any depictions of any kind of living thing in any kind of artwork whatsoever. The one sole exception seems to have been the two winged cherubim that rested atop the arc of the covenant, which of course was unavailiable for viewing by any save the priesthood, at least after the first temple was buildt.

Our hypothetical time traveller would likely even be stoned were he to present photographs from his wallet of himself and his family, for making a god of himself. Yes, I’m serious. They were that serious about these laws in those days, which all the more leads me to wonder why Christians today make such a big deal about displaying the commandments. Very few Christians actually observe them in the intended way, even the very fundamnetalists who want to force them on everybody else. For that matter, the vast majority if not all Jews no longer follow to the original intent this old prohibition against idols-which according to the original intent of the scriptures is what this and other such statues most surely are.

Now I know a good many Christians will object that ordinary statues are most certainly not idols, and they will vehemently deny that the Statue of Liberty or this likeness of her are idols as well. They will point out that no one worships the statues as though they were goddesses. They are symbolic representations of an ideal, which we can look upon and use as a channel to reflect upon that ideal, as a means of inspiring us to strive to be worthy of it. To which I would reply-

EXACTLY RIGHT!! AND THAT IS EXACTLY HOW PAGAN IDOLS WERE USED.

They as well were not actually living deities in and of themselves, but represented the god or the goddess and the ideals that diety represented, and by reflecting on them, in meditation, you sought to attune with the deity and those ideals, which you would hopefully be inspired to strive to be worthy of in some small way.

Sure, you can split hairs and point out the obvious differences, but it doesn’t matter. Acording to Mosaic law, a graven image of any kind was a potential idol, and held the danger of drawing you into idolatry. The good pastor of this church- the “Apostle” Williams- should reflect upon that the next time he gazes upon the likeness of the Goddess of Liberty.

And, by the way, Pastor Williams- should you by chance happen upon this post- kindly give my regards.

The Archaeology Of Myth

Just when you thought you would never hear it again, somebody else has decided they have found the remains of Noah’s Arc, nestled in the side of a mountain which is indeed within the range that would qualify it as a “mountain of Ararat”. This time the offender is one Arch Bonnema, of the Biblical Archaeology Search and Exploration (B.A.S.E.) Institute, a Christian organization dedicated to looking for Biblical artifacts. This discovery, 13,000 feet high on the side of a mountain in the Elburz Mountain Range of Iran is, according to Bonnema, potentially "proof that God is real”.

Ahhh, no. It doesn’t prove one thing, one way or another, it just offers a tantalizing little bit of affirmation to those who believe, and nothing to those of us who don’t.

My guess-what has been discovered is the remnants of an ancient temple, possibly to the Babylonian God El, known in later times as Allah and, to the Jews, yes, Elohim-or, to be clear, Yahweh. In his earliest incarnation, as El the Moon God, he was generally portrayed as riding in a boat that represented the crescent moon, was worshipped on mountains, and as such his temple might have well been made to resemble boats, probably in their time exquisitely adorned with such items as bronze, gold,silver, ivory, copper, and lapis lazuli.

There may as well have been animal stalls on these ships, where animals were maintained for the purposes of the conducting of sacrifices, and for the nourishment of the priesthood.

So why would I think this, why would I not at least consider the possibility that it might actually be Noahs Arc? Well, for one thing, there was suppossedly only one arc. So how many of these things have been found over the years? I know of at least one before this, for a fact, and I have heard there were more than just this one at the time I read about this one and saw the pictures of it. Assumming this book was not a complete fraud, which it might well have been, I have no choice but to conclude that all these findings are indeed archaeological treasures, and potentially brimming with scientifically verifiable information pertaining to the origins of the old Babylonian cult that gave birth to the three great Abramaic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

There may well have been a terrifying disaster of epic proportions that included flooding –not of the world, but of this specific Meditterannean region of it- which, in addition to lending the inspiration for the various flood mythologies of this region, may have actually lead to the fall from favor of the old cult of El among the Babylonian people, and his replacement by his son Bel Marduk, who was said to have overthrew his father after the latter sent a flood to destroy him, all the other gods, and all the earth.

The true shame of it is that when these discoveries are made, they are then appropriated by people with no serious scientific or archaeological backgrounmd, who then proceed to, I am very much afraid, discard any finding which don’t validate their own predetermined desires. This of course is even assumming they even notice to begin with. These people do not exactly strike me as professional archaeologists, or even as good amateurs. As a result, who knows what has been, or will be, destroyed, inadverdently or purposely.

Yes, true knowledge of the past, potentially and irrevocably destroyed,all in the name of seaching for a truth that never really existed.

Holy Moses!

The Double A baseball team the Tulsa Travellers have come up with what they consider the perfect gimmick to encourage attendance for their faith and family night during home town appearrances of the team. And according to General Manager Brain Carroll, it is catching on. The gimmick?

Moses bobble head dolls. Yep, Moses, clutching the Ten Commandments. Now, I can see where the novelty of this might be appealling,and it might really catch on, and expand.

"The bobblehead craze is still out there," said Brian Carroll, spokesman for the Double-A ballclub. "We'll probably draw two kinds of people for the game, the Moses fans and the bobblehead collectors."

How about Moses as team mascot? Everytime a team member from the oppossing club hits a homerun he smashes the tablets on the ground in anger. Anytime the oppossing team has bases loaded he drops to his knees in prayer. Anytime the Tulsa team gets a run he lifts up his robe and starts dancing a jig like dance.

Okay, I know, that last isn’t in the Bible, so what do you expect him to do, chase down the oppossing teams manager and pour molten gold down his throat?

Who knows, this might even start a trend. I can see it now, Jesus On The Cross Bobble-Head Dolls..