LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY nebris)

From CounterPunch

By STEPHEN LENDMAN
April 23, 2007

Chris Hedges is a journalist who for two decades was a foreign correspondent for the New York Times spending much of his time reporting from conflict zones in El Salvador, the Middle East and from Serbia covering the Balkan wars of the 1990s that divided and destroyed a country under the guise of humanitarian intervention providing cover for naked imperialism. There it allowed NATO (meaning the US) to expand into Central and Eastern Europe to keep predatory capitalism on the march for markets, resources and cheap labor everywhere using wars to get them and eliminate "uncooperative" heads of state like Slobodan Milosevic who was kidnapped, Mafia/Mossad style, by the ICTY kangaroo court in the Hague, hung out to dry when he got there, and in the end effectively or, in fact, murdered to shut him up and prevent ugly truths coming out about what the conflict was really about and who the real criminals were.

The wars and subsequent show-trials had nothing to do with myths about it fed us by Western media. Those wanting the truth can find it in excellent books like Diana Johnstone's Fools' Crusade; the extensive research and writings of Edward Herman, Noam Chomsky, Michael Parenti, law professor Michael Mandel; and the newest book out on the subject titled Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic and the Corruption of International Justice by British journalist John Laughland. Edward Herman wrote a superb review of the book in the April, 2007 issue of Z Magazine now available in which he pointedly says "the rules of the (illegally constituted) ICTY (established by the US and UK) stood Nuremberg on its head" and Laughland states "instead of applying existing international law, the ICTY has effectively overturned it" to hide NATO's crimes and allow more of the same playing out now in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

( The Christian Right supports these type crimes and motives for them readers will understand from Hedges' new book... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Religion and geopolitics; Lebanon, Israel, Christian Zionism
by bewareofthegod.com

American Jewish citizens can be sure that a large number of Jewish organizations will claim to speak in our name - without being asked to do so. We can also be sure that should we dissent from the US Jewish community’s central item of faith, that Israel can do no wrong, we will be pilloried. When our gentile fellow citizens express doubt, they are accused of anti-Semitism. Those of us who are Jewish are taxed with self-hatred.

Is it the supreme duty of American Jews to use our considerable influence to align US policy with that of Israel?

(…)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

House OKs bill guarding Pledge from courts

The House, citing the nation's religious origins, voted Wednesday to protect the Pledge of Allegiance from federal judges who might try to stop schoolchildren and others from reciting it because of the phrase "under God."

The legislation, a priority of social conservatives, passed 260-167. It now goes to the Senate where its future is uncertain.

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Seattle's Discovery Institute scrambling to rebound after intelligent-design ruling
By David Postman
Seattle Times chief political reporter

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kalibex)

"Redemption Among the Faithful"

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY luxetumbra)

(Apologies if this has been posted before - scanned the comm, but didn't see it.)

THE CHRISTIANIZING OF AMERICA A review of Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth by Richard John Neuhaus (Use Bugmenot to read it if you can't see the whole thing.)

( An extended quote )

A long article, but worth the read. Here's another good article about Neuhaus and his history, if you're curious. (He was also a domestic policy adviser to Bush on stem-cell policy and gay rights).

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BTW, anyone know when Damon Linker became a liberal? (or more liberal-ish - just like Kevin Phillips, I'm not sure how to describe him now.) He used to be the assistant editor of the more-Catholic-than-thou First Things, but I haven't seen any articles about there being a falling out between him and Neuhaus, the chief editor of that magazine. Linker has a book coming out in September with more about Neuhaus and Co., Theocons: Secular America Under Siege. I think I'll be picking it up.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY iniswitryn)

Tennessee pastor's wife confesses to his murder.

I'm posting this rather lurid story here because this family has "dominionist" written all over it, from a family history of evangelical ministers, to husband and wife both having attended an evangelical university, to the husband's ministry in a back-to-the-Bible-as-infallible-source church (Church of Christ).

I wouldn't be surprised to see forms of familial abuse and coercion crop up in the defense's presentation.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Another extensive Salon article. You'll need a day pass to view it if you are not a subscriber.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY mad_mediocrity)

I was browsing through and old Newsweek (from February of this year), and came across a scary article. You can find it online here. (I browsed through the dark_christian archives and couldn't find it, but I apologize if this is a repeat.)

( And a cut to be nice ... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY mizliz)
Here's a nice counter to my earlier posts - an article from Mother Jones about leftist Christian community organizing. It's a struggle sometimes (particularly where I live) not to blindly tar everyone with the same brush, and the article gave me a good slap to the head as a reminder.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY caitlin)

I have some very sketchy information on WorldNetDaily, and every time I read the site itself, I feel icky.

Does anyone have any information on the site (aside from the Wikipedia entry, which I have read)...

It is said that WND is a "conservative" site, but stuff I have read on it comes across as Dominionist and such.

C.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY mizliz) An excellent article from Philip Pullman, who has done more to reframe a rational cosmology with his "Dark Materials" books (ostensibly for children) than anyone I know. 

This is worth the reading, I promise.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY amethyst_hunter)

Just stopped by my library tonight (LiveJournal won't work for me at home) and spotted the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine (singer Kanye West is on the cover). Because my time is limited here at the library (I only get a half-hour), I can't search down the online link, if there is one. But I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of the magazine and read the article entitled "God's Senator: Inside The War Room of The Religious Right". It talks about Sam Brownback, a Dominionist who has presidential and theocratic ambitions. Some very, very horrifying reading there, as Brownback happily talks about, among other things, instituting the death penalty for people who disobey a theocratic government.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY silvaerina_tael)

I found this rather interesting article from the Yahoo Canada site this morning. Thought some of you may like to take a look considering, as it does, claims that Canada is "too liberal and hedonistic" and "marxist"... And here I thought that we were more socialist...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060127/ca_pr_on_na/not_so_conservative

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY thegrungediva)

I found this article stating that over half of Americans are in favor of impeaching Bush. So why doesn't congress do it already?

It appears that dominionists represent a minority. It's just that they're so big-mouthed and obnoxious, they seem like more.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I found this very insightful Buzzflash interview with Mark Crispin Miller.

He has some very interesting insights:

This is a faith-based movement, which means that we cannot just write off everything they do as mere manipulation by cynics who secretly know better. That some of them are Machiavellian there is no doubt, but there's a pathological component, an apocalyptic drive, that we ignore at our own peril.

What often seems to be mere breath-taking cynicism is, as well, a sort of self-delusion, or self-hypnosis, common to fanatical movements of all kinds, religious and otherwise. These are people who themselves are in the very audience they're always working to arouse. On some level they believe that, if they say something repeatedly and loud enough, it will not just make everybody else believe it, but it will actually make it true. It is that faith-based self-deception that makes the movement deeply frightening - and incomprehensible - to rational observers. There is no arguing with that mentality, which poses a far greater worldly threat than all the humanistic interests on Earth combined.

They respect no worldly powers other than themselves, and so they've set about the reconstruction of our government, to operate it wholly by themselves in their own interests. If it were up to them, there would be no special prosecutors. There would be no independent authorities capable of passing any judgment on them or of enforcing any rules that they would rather not follow. If it were up to them, there would be no parties but their own. It's staggering, but surely less astonishing than the refusal of "the liberal media" to give it the attention it deserves.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Apparently, Texas is slated to be an ID battleground in the near future, if Governor Perry has his way.

( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY catvincent)

Found via Buzzflash

"Most Americans pay little attention to what's going on in Africa, and even less to the work evangelical Christian organizations are doing there. Except for the occasional article about the AIDS pandemic, a devastating drought, or an armed conflict, generally speaking only Africa-focused academics, inveterate news junkies, and/or former and current Peace Corps volunteers have their fingers on the pulse of developments in Africa.

Several high-powered U.S.-based Christian evangelical organizations are not only following developments in Africa, but they are making news. Some of these groups view the small countries of Africa as a Petri Dish for religious and social transformation."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dagoski)

Check out this Alternet story on the connection between the Bush family and Rev. Moon. Now, I had just about forgotten about the Moonies. I hadn't realized that they were still active and influential. Where does this gorup fit into the larger group of scary pseudo Christian groups?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gairid)

Amusing article from Slate on those low-budget 'Left Behind' apocalypse films.

http://www.slate.com/id/2131365/

The article is pretty funny, even if the subject matter is not. Take a look!