Part The Second
But, back to the examination of the concept of faith.
Perhaps it could be said that faith in it self is admirable. Indeed, faith in any religion or philosophy, if followed as a template for daily behaviour, is most probably that one intangible that allows us all to remain in each others company, without flying off our collective handles to run amok. It is the ethics and the practice of those, which faith provides.
If one believes in an higher being, or in a life after death, or in the divinity of words or historical figures, or even in the simplicity of one’s self, then one has a foundation upon which one can build a code of conduct.
This sense of ethics is a by-product of faith, that intangible sense of right that is at the root of all actions.
For whether we choose to follow our ethical path or not, is moot at best. The fact we know there are at least two roads to follow, is enough. The right has been established, as has the wrong.
Equally, so not to become entangled in meanings not necessarily meant but still implied, we could say ‘light and dark’, or ‘blessed and cursed’, or black and white’.
The sense of the matter lies in there being two entirely opposed forces or directions, and we, having ethics born of faith, have now the knowledge to judge between them.
It also, at that point, becomes blatantly evident, that no matter what explanations or excuses might be proffered to choosing the wrong road, they are only as much as noise, unless there is accompanying action.
That, brings us to the concepts of ‘confession, repentance, and contrition’, and how humans deal with ones they have wronged, and those who have wronged them.
These three simple tenets, perpetuated by the Roman Church within its dogma, are ethically foundational. They are the backbone of a beings ability to cope with the reality of actions, in concert with the ethereal element of faith.
In many religions, historical and contemporary, the mainstream followed the tenet ‘do unto others..’. It maintained a religious element in a totally sociological function, that of maintaining mainstream peace within a changing population.
It ensured that those ‘of the faith’ kept themselves with a benign pattern of behaviour, at least where others of the same faith were concerned.
It also allowed for the formation of an ecclesiastical court, which would hear complains from the congregation on matters internal. This court indeed, was betimes more influential and powerful than the actual judiciary, for the law at it’s most severe, could only sentence one to death, whereas the church could condemn you to an eternity in Ghenna.
Be that as it may, the Roman institution of the rituals of confession, along with the ensuing repentance and contrition, forced ethical behaviour on a growing and uneducated population. While the tenets were borrowed piecemeal from earlier religions and redressed to suit the occasion, they were regardless, still of the highest ethical order.
This was the gift faith brought to mankind, as in various civilisations throughout time. The requirement to act rationally, and with consideration, for the sake of ones eternal soul, was one to be taken seriously.
While it was by no means followed stringently by all professing faith, it was a way of life for a sufficient number for the pattern to have become instinctive in some members of our own society today. It is today, as important a factor in our individual development, as it ever was, or ever shall be.
Perhaps in this day of technological ease, the study of ethics and their origins is thought irrelevant and anachronistic, but such study should never be underestimated in value. It is the measure of the man, the degree to which he can adapt to situational ethical dilemmas; the measure of his soul the depth to which he can be plumbed.
Now lets look at people, and their various reactions to the process of redress, that of ‘confession, repentance, and contrition’.
This set of actions, in response to any situation where ethics will render one wrong, is essential to follow if one is to justifiably say one has a sense of justice. A sense of justice is essential for one human to deal with another in any situation.
The first step is confession, and that is at least on the surface, an simple thing to define.
It is nothing more than the admission one has wronged another.
However, as in most situations in life, nothing is as simple as it looks, and this first step is where most people find themselves ‘talking the talk, and walking the line of self-justification and expedience’.
One must never be afraid to admit mistakes, to anyone. And if a wrong has been done to someone, then their ire is to be expected, and tolerated with humility.
More, concerning this, when we get to contrition.
But the beginning, is the confession aspect, wherein one goes with true intent to repair a wrong, and admits to the wronged what was done, and what part one played in it.
This should be done without false humility, and without dramatics or hysterics, but with an attitude of acceptance and regret. There should be neither currying for instant forgiveness, nor smarming or ingratiation.
It is an action that always should be presented with dignity, whether it be child to adult, adult to child, friend to friend, or antagonist to protagonist.
It is an affront to yourself, and also to the one you have wronged, to trivialise that which was done with anything less.
While the Japanese have a society so structure bound it can be stifling, there are aspects of their code of conduct which are perhaps the best examples of how to deal with others; how to coexist in relative peace. They seem to have a fine grasp on the niceties of apology, retaining dignity.
Here in the western societies where we are supposedly more ‘personally developed’, our inward-turning perspective has in some instances, made us insensitive to that which is constantly around us.
Perhaps it is because we have so much ‘space’, both figuratively and literally, that we have chosen the path leading us to insist on self-fulfilment at any cost, to ourselves, and to others.
One of the phrases common to this society is ‘well I could have done worse..’ which is meant to force the wronged party to step back, and wryly shake their head in agreement.
It’s a common ploy in emotional manipulation, to put the focus off the actual wrongdoing and onto an hypothetical situation which in effect, nobody has perpetrated. So now in the argument, we have no villain, no wrongdoer, and the need to apologise has disappeared.
Children do it all the time, to maintain the precarious place in the pecking order. They manipulate their playmates, friends, parents, shamelessly.
But as one assumes the privilege of adulthood, so one assumes the terrible responsibilities, and one of those is to cease the manipulation of others for personal gain, and admit responsibility for one’s own, actual, actions.
Thus, the absolute need for confession.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Part The First.
There have been times when all of us, regardless of age or gender, has questioned the "why’s and wherefor’s" of everyday existence.
The question of what we are doing here, while we putter through out quotidian lives, is fundamentally a good one, for it bespeaks a questioning mind, and an unsatisfied curiosity.
It’s an issue that should be pondered seriously, for the answer can define one’s patterns of behaviour throughout one’s entire life.
When addressing the issue of faith, one is constantly being drawn into a position wherein the argument will falter, for it becomes an entirely subjective matter. That which one person believes need not be anything close to that which another does.
In fact, when examining shared faiths, one can see the point at which the true ‘undefined’ belief in the deity begins to be replaced by assumptions, interpretations, and extrapolations. When two or more people agree they have the Truth, it then becomes something for them to define, and categorise. They must face compromise, and temper that which was original for the sake of expedience. Their need to share their faith, becomes more important than the faith itself, or the deity which is underlying.
Religious faith has always been a tool of a political force, and it is through man’s fear of the impending void that is death, that the wise are made foolish, and devils, saints.
It is interesting that many religions draw the emotion of ‘love’ into the equation. While it can be easily understood, the inevitable anthropomorphism of our gods renders them something less than omnipotent, and ascribing to a god the human emotions, leaves the believer in a logical cleft stick.
Is the god omnipotent, and without emotion, or is the god contradictory; all-powerful while still a slave to intangible feelings.
This ‘concern’ a god feels for his (or indeed her) creations could be seen as nothing more than an encapsulation of the eternal ‘parent figure’, the benevolent father, or all-caring mother, who will always, throughout time, be there, a source of comfort and forgiveness.
At least, for those who subscribe to a particular dogma or creed in which this genus of deity figures prominently.
There have been times when all of us, regardless of age or gender, has questioned the "why’s and wherefor’s" of everyday existence.
The question of what we are doing here, while we putter through out quotidian lives, is fundamentally a good one, for it bespeaks a questioning mind, and an unsatisfied curiosity.
It’s an issue that should be pondered seriously, for the answer can define one’s patterns of behaviour throughout one’s entire life.
When addressing the issue of faith, one is constantly being drawn into a position wherein the argument will falter, for it becomes an entirely subjective matter. That which one person believes need not be anything close to that which another does.
In fact, when examining shared faiths, one can see the point at which the true ‘undefined’ belief in the deity begins to be replaced by assumptions, interpretations, and extrapolations. When two or more people agree they have the Truth, it then becomes something for them to define, and categorise. They must face compromise, and temper that which was original for the sake of expedience. Their need to share their faith, becomes more important than the faith itself, or the deity which is underlying.
Religious faith has always been a tool of a political force, and it is through man’s fear of the impending void that is death, that the wise are made foolish, and devils, saints.
It is interesting that many religions draw the emotion of ‘love’ into the equation. While it can be easily understood, the inevitable anthropomorphism of our gods renders them something less than omnipotent, and ascribing to a god the human emotions, leaves the believer in a logical cleft stick.
Is the god omnipotent, and without emotion, or is the god contradictory; all-powerful while still a slave to intangible feelings.
This ‘concern’ a god feels for his (or indeed her) creations could be seen as nothing more than an encapsulation of the eternal ‘parent figure’, the benevolent father, or all-caring mother, who will always, throughout time, be there, a source of comfort and forgiveness.
At least, for those who subscribe to a particular dogma or creed in which this genus of deity figures prominently.
A note here concerning internet chat..
Now it's been a while since one had occasion to take part in any discussions on the Net.. but it could be said 'plus que change, plus que le meme chose'.. Inanities abound, perhaps to an even greater degree than observed some three years ago. The lack of intelligent active forums is a gap which should be filled by some server or another.. Not all who logon are there to spend their time sifting through the tripe for the occasional gem.. The Net has deteriorated, perhaps due to overcompensation on the part of those who offer chat facilities, and that is a crying shame indeed..
As for the world in general, and the overview of ongoing politics, little has effectivly changed since 2003..
We do have a new leader for both the Conservatives and the NibDems in the UK.. David Cameron may well turn the Tories around, and give that Party a chance in thenext elections..but change is slow to effect, and the voters will know this. One would expect a loss of ground for the Conservatives in the next Council Elections, and perhaps a slight gain for the LibDems.. Sir Menzies (pronounced 'Ming') Campbell has taken the reins from the hapless Charlie Kennedy, but Ming's age is in itself an obstacle to his becoming PM..
There's little doubt that Tony will step down before his term of office has expired, and it will be Gordon Brown leading the Labour Party in the next plebiscite.. and that alone might be enough to leave Labour out in the cold..
A slight digression here.. but doesn't David Cameron remind you of Brian Mulroney..?
The US and Britain continue to fumble with another foreign culture in Iraq.. what should have been a fast and easy deposition has turned into a full-time occupation..
One has to smile as Iraqi's vent their displeasure at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek's statement that Iraq itself is in a state of civil war. Hosni's simply stating the obvious, with Shi'ite and Shia blowing each other up by the score, each in turn..
It might well be time that George puts words into action, and begins the process of weaning the US, and therefor the rest of the West, from this 'addiction to oil'.. Alternatives are available, and rather than restricting the freedoms of the individual in Western Block countries, perhaps legislation should be concentrated on changing the way the Western man on the street feels towards his car, or truck, or whatever else might run on petrol.
The signs of our indifference are manifest, in the drought facing the British Isles, the massive flooding on the Continent, the disappearance of the polar icecaps and the diminution of glacial presence throughout the world..
It may well be that we are caught in a perfectly natural sequence of climate change, but it cannot be denied we're contributing to the rapidity of climate change.
Odds are though, considering the clout of lobbies in all governments committed to the status quo, that we'll see no action until there is a drastic, cataclysmic alteration of that which we have come to think of as normal. Such as a shift in the Gulf Stream, or the stratospheric wind currents..
It may well take the disappearance of Florida, the Eastern Seaboard of North America, and the lowlands of Europe, before anyone decides those elected need to commit themselves to our preservation.
Well just have to wait.. and watch.. and keep a fixed smile firmly in place when governments make promises..
We've little other choice..
Now it's been a while since one had occasion to take part in any discussions on the Net.. but it could be said 'plus que change, plus que le meme chose'.. Inanities abound, perhaps to an even greater degree than observed some three years ago. The lack of intelligent active forums is a gap which should be filled by some server or another.. Not all who logon are there to spend their time sifting through the tripe for the occasional gem.. The Net has deteriorated, perhaps due to overcompensation on the part of those who offer chat facilities, and that is a crying shame indeed..
As for the world in general, and the overview of ongoing politics, little has effectivly changed since 2003..
We do have a new leader for both the Conservatives and the NibDems in the UK.. David Cameron may well turn the Tories around, and give that Party a chance in thenext elections..but change is slow to effect, and the voters will know this. One would expect a loss of ground for the Conservatives in the next Council Elections, and perhaps a slight gain for the LibDems.. Sir Menzies (pronounced 'Ming') Campbell has taken the reins from the hapless Charlie Kennedy, but Ming's age is in itself an obstacle to his becoming PM..
There's little doubt that Tony will step down before his term of office has expired, and it will be Gordon Brown leading the Labour Party in the next plebiscite.. and that alone might be enough to leave Labour out in the cold..
A slight digression here.. but doesn't David Cameron remind you of Brian Mulroney..?
The US and Britain continue to fumble with another foreign culture in Iraq.. what should have been a fast and easy deposition has turned into a full-time occupation..
One has to smile as Iraqi's vent their displeasure at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek's statement that Iraq itself is in a state of civil war. Hosni's simply stating the obvious, with Shi'ite and Shia blowing each other up by the score, each in turn..
It might well be time that George puts words into action, and begins the process of weaning the US, and therefor the rest of the West, from this 'addiction to oil'.. Alternatives are available, and rather than restricting the freedoms of the individual in Western Block countries, perhaps legislation should be concentrated on changing the way the Western man on the street feels towards his car, or truck, or whatever else might run on petrol.
The signs of our indifference are manifest, in the drought facing the British Isles, the massive flooding on the Continent, the disappearance of the polar icecaps and the diminution of glacial presence throughout the world..
It may well be that we are caught in a perfectly natural sequence of climate change, but it cannot be denied we're contributing to the rapidity of climate change.
Odds are though, considering the clout of lobbies in all governments committed to the status quo, that we'll see no action until there is a drastic, cataclysmic alteration of that which we have come to think of as normal. Such as a shift in the Gulf Stream, or the stratospheric wind currents..
It may well take the disappearance of Florida, the Eastern Seaboard of North America, and the lowlands of Europe, before anyone decides those elected need to commit themselves to our preservation.
Well just have to wait.. and watch.. and keep a fixed smile firmly in place when governments make promises..
We've little other choice..
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Friday, October 03, 2003
Random thoughts.. too much time staring at the pieces of one particular puzzle, those already on the table, to assimilate much of the new..
But still, to catch the eye is the disturbingly 'convicted' look in Geiorges eyes, as he defends the deposition of Saddam..
Tony shares the same line, but without the almost religious zealotry Goerige seems to be both exhuding, and inspiring..
'They're there.. we'll find them..'
'It's a matter of trust'..
More noise from the Korean's.. this time the South's President Roh Moo-hyun said that last thursday's announcement from Pyongayang, that they could and probably would be putting a nuclear bomb or two into production was "a bombshell announcement".
The irony'll hit you..
Interesting note here from Saudi Arabia.. an aides patient denied treatment at a clinic, and who was literally tossed into the street, was refused transport to a hospital where he would be treated, because the Red Crescent Society refused to help move the man because it did not transport Aids patients...
Ever.
But still, to catch the eye is the disturbingly 'convicted' look in Geiorges eyes, as he defends the deposition of Saddam..
Tony shares the same line, but without the almost religious zealotry Goerige seems to be both exhuding, and inspiring..
'They're there.. we'll find them..'
'It's a matter of trust'..
More noise from the Korean's.. this time the South's President Roh Moo-hyun said that last thursday's announcement from Pyongayang, that they could and probably would be putting a nuclear bomb or two into production was "a bombshell announcement".
The irony'll hit you..
Interesting note here from Saudi Arabia.. an aides patient denied treatment at a clinic, and who was literally tossed into the street, was refused transport to a hospital where he would be treated, because the Red Crescent Society refused to help move the man because it did not transport Aids patients...
Ever.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
It's that time of year again..
Charlie Kennedy and the LibDems have just finished a week of hail fellow well met and vitriolic commentary on the doings of the government and the Official Opposition.. not much new there.. Charlie's still leading that third string group..
But tomorrow, begins the Labour Annual Conference. In the run up, Tony's defended the war on Iraq.. saying it was right to invade and he has nothing to apologise for.. adding that his domestic policies are on track thanks very much, and effectively bugger the unions who say they're not.
Now this is not a traditional Labour stance.. in fact it's about as diametrically opposed to tradition as it can possibly be.. There are some who have now dubbed Tony's government as 'almost the working-man's Conservative Party'.. and they're not far off the mark.
Mind you, one topic Tony's managed to scrape past is Iraq, for while the war will be brought up, the issue will not be one brought to ballot..
Lucky Tony.
While Pierre Trudeau, long may he rot, is credited with the quote 'polls are for dogs'.. Tony's performance in the latest across the island show him in an exceeding bad position.. and with what's facing him on the home front, his political future is in sincere doubt.. for the polls show him slipping, slipping away.
It yet remains to be seen how Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader for those not intimate with UK politics, will fare at his conference, but he'll be doing his utmost no doubt, to keep Charlie and his LibDems firmly in the background, while aiming for if not the PM's position, at least a firmer hold on the role of his party as the Opposition..
Good luck Iain..
This country's in the grip of political confusion, for the simple reason there doesn't seem to be a viable choice for leadership. Those in the States will understand perfectly.
Asked if there was anything he would have done differently in relation to Iraq, Mr Blair replied.. "Nothing. I would have done exactly the same. We did the right thing in removing Saddam Hussein. The world is a safer place without him. And I don't think we have anything to apologise for as a country. Our soldiers did a magnificent job."
Tony insists the world knew "perfectly well" Saddam had.. has weapons and programmes...and that British troops would stay in Iraq "until we get the job done".. mind you he didn't think it would be as long as five years...
Realistically, it could be six, or seven, or more..
Ahh.. but where politics fade into insignificance down at the pub, is legislation pending that will ban smoking in all public places.. even in your car..
This has the populace agitated.. for especially in this small rebellious country, this Scotland, the average man loathes enforced morality..
The SNP is smiling..
Charlie Kennedy and the LibDems have just finished a week of hail fellow well met and vitriolic commentary on the doings of the government and the Official Opposition.. not much new there.. Charlie's still leading that third string group..
But tomorrow, begins the Labour Annual Conference. In the run up, Tony's defended the war on Iraq.. saying it was right to invade and he has nothing to apologise for.. adding that his domestic policies are on track thanks very much, and effectively bugger the unions who say they're not.
Now this is not a traditional Labour stance.. in fact it's about as diametrically opposed to tradition as it can possibly be.. There are some who have now dubbed Tony's government as 'almost the working-man's Conservative Party'.. and they're not far off the mark.
Mind you, one topic Tony's managed to scrape past is Iraq, for while the war will be brought up, the issue will not be one brought to ballot..
Lucky Tony.
While Pierre Trudeau, long may he rot, is credited with the quote 'polls are for dogs'.. Tony's performance in the latest across the island show him in an exceeding bad position.. and with what's facing him on the home front, his political future is in sincere doubt.. for the polls show him slipping, slipping away.
It yet remains to be seen how Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader for those not intimate with UK politics, will fare at his conference, but he'll be doing his utmost no doubt, to keep Charlie and his LibDems firmly in the background, while aiming for if not the PM's position, at least a firmer hold on the role of his party as the Opposition..
Good luck Iain..
This country's in the grip of political confusion, for the simple reason there doesn't seem to be a viable choice for leadership. Those in the States will understand perfectly.
Asked if there was anything he would have done differently in relation to Iraq, Mr Blair replied.. "Nothing. I would have done exactly the same. We did the right thing in removing Saddam Hussein. The world is a safer place without him. And I don't think we have anything to apologise for as a country. Our soldiers did a magnificent job."
Tony insists the world knew "perfectly well" Saddam had.. has weapons and programmes...and that British troops would stay in Iraq "until we get the job done".. mind you he didn't think it would be as long as five years...
Realistically, it could be six, or seven, or more..
Ahh.. but where politics fade into insignificance down at the pub, is legislation pending that will ban smoking in all public places.. even in your car..
This has the populace agitated.. for especially in this small rebellious country, this Scotland, the average man loathes enforced morality..
The SNP is smiling..
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Ahh.. to what lengths will we go..
To allow freedom to any, means it must be allowed to those we fear.. and thus we all must see our freedoms diminish, so the asocial can be constrained, without appearing discriminated against..
There is an investigation ongoing in Britain.. Operation Ore.. It's designed to expose and prosecute those involved in internet paedophilia.. On the surface, any effort to protect children is to be applauded, as indeed this police action is designed to do. And what's more, there have been some convictions, among the hundreds of charges laid, and literally thousands of names investigated.
But among some of those investigated, are those who have had nothing to do with paedophilia whatsoever. Many of those who's names appeared on a list provided by the United States, date back to 1997, when credit card fraud on the net was a far easier proposition.. It's a slow process eliminating the wheat from the chaff, but it grinds on in defence of our children. Thus, it must be endured.
But here we have an ISP, Microsoft, announcing that three weeks from today, there will be no chat facilities provided by them. Quite a move, in that while Microsoft chat has never been a personal favourite, it has drawn some million faithful hits per month from this island alone.. Microsoft has always been one of the more heavily moderated chats as well, with rules of conduct and language strictly enforced.. much the same with AOL..
Yet how quickly Microsoft can throw away this aspect of the purpose of the net, due to their inability to successfully 'control' it.
One has said for years there should be age restrictions placed on those in chat.. for the most part, those rooms which allow complete unmonitored chat have a code of conduct of their own.. those serious on discussion do not suffer fools, or infants gladly.. and those bent on sexual cyberplay will soon find themselves ignored..
One would have to think, that rather than a throwing of hands in the air, and knee-jerking towards the cancellation of a service, anyone really concerned with the future of the net, and those who use it, would instead direct their attention towards education of the youth of this, or any country, on the proper use of chat..
It's a shame, but in this age of faster than light technological advances, children must learn when they can be 'innocent', and when they must not.. yet it would seem we've come to the point wherein 'Cynicism 101' should be taught, along with maths and spelling..
Ahh.. and while on the topic of cynicism..
It's the winding down of the Hutton Inquiry.. there have been revelations, more revelations, resignations, and recriminations, but while we've all been better entertained than we could normally have expected by our news of late, we've not had much in the way of hard answers to any of the questions. Lord Hutton will publish his decisions, his report, in about a months time.
As to what comfort it might bring to the family of Dr. Kelly, or his colleagues, or the BBC, or Downing Street, or the MoD, or the British motk..
We'll see, for while the Inquiry might end today, the machinations set in place by the events leading to the very cause of it all have yet to finish running their courses..
To allow freedom to any, means it must be allowed to those we fear.. and thus we all must see our freedoms diminish, so the asocial can be constrained, without appearing discriminated against..
There is an investigation ongoing in Britain.. Operation Ore.. It's designed to expose and prosecute those involved in internet paedophilia.. On the surface, any effort to protect children is to be applauded, as indeed this police action is designed to do. And what's more, there have been some convictions, among the hundreds of charges laid, and literally thousands of names investigated.
But among some of those investigated, are those who have had nothing to do with paedophilia whatsoever. Many of those who's names appeared on a list provided by the United States, date back to 1997, when credit card fraud on the net was a far easier proposition.. It's a slow process eliminating the wheat from the chaff, but it grinds on in defence of our children. Thus, it must be endured.
But here we have an ISP, Microsoft, announcing that three weeks from today, there will be no chat facilities provided by them. Quite a move, in that while Microsoft chat has never been a personal favourite, it has drawn some million faithful hits per month from this island alone.. Microsoft has always been one of the more heavily moderated chats as well, with rules of conduct and language strictly enforced.. much the same with AOL..
Yet how quickly Microsoft can throw away this aspect of the purpose of the net, due to their inability to successfully 'control' it.
One has said for years there should be age restrictions placed on those in chat.. for the most part, those rooms which allow complete unmonitored chat have a code of conduct of their own.. those serious on discussion do not suffer fools, or infants gladly.. and those bent on sexual cyberplay will soon find themselves ignored..
One would have to think, that rather than a throwing of hands in the air, and knee-jerking towards the cancellation of a service, anyone really concerned with the future of the net, and those who use it, would instead direct their attention towards education of the youth of this, or any country, on the proper use of chat..
It's a shame, but in this age of faster than light technological advances, children must learn when they can be 'innocent', and when they must not.. yet it would seem we've come to the point wherein 'Cynicism 101' should be taught, along with maths and spelling..
Ahh.. and while on the topic of cynicism..
It's the winding down of the Hutton Inquiry.. there have been revelations, more revelations, resignations, and recriminations, but while we've all been better entertained than we could normally have expected by our news of late, we've not had much in the way of hard answers to any of the questions. Lord Hutton will publish his decisions, his report, in about a months time.
As to what comfort it might bring to the family of Dr. Kelly, or his colleagues, or the BBC, or Downing Street, or the MoD, or the British motk..
We'll see, for while the Inquiry might end today, the machinations set in place by the events leading to the very cause of it all have yet to finish running their courses..
Monday, September 22, 2003
Ahh the games, the intrigue, the everlasting conflict between the government and the BBC, at best hidden by a thin veneer of civility, or at least such has been customary. And the lengths both would go to, to discredit the other, is frankly nothing short of amazing for the locals along the bar. Sad shakes of the head, and a somewhat embarassed avoidance of the revelations from the Hutton Inquiry..
Interesting reading.. this diary for Alastair Campbell, former chief of spin for Tony, and according to some, the power behind the throne so to speak..
David Kelly was used. by both the BBC and our esteemed government, as a pawn in the battle for discreditation..
To quote Alastair's diary.. "it would fuck" BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan if Dr Kelly was the source, because he was not "a spy or full-time MoD official".
A sacrificial offering, so to speak, was Dr. Kelly.
While one is not, these days, as firm a believer in 'justice', one can only hope the right heads will roll.
'It's a matter of trust'.
Meanwhile.. Jacques and George seem to have reached some sort of agreement on what might be done with Iraq.. at least France will not veto an American backed Security Council resolution on the future of that country..
Yet still there, the war of attrition continues. Seems American troops just can't win these days. The job's never as simple as it was initially expected to be, and not only do they have to deal with the hostility of the Iraqi's who want occupying forces gone, there is also the vocal faction at home decrying what they're laying their lives on the line for.
Rock and a hard place ain't in it..
Ahh.. and economically.. while the G7 called for market forces to set exchange rates, the weak American dollar prompted a 109 point drop in the Dow.. There are concerns, ostensibly, that the state of the buck will throw off foreign invesment in the States.. something George was originally bent on resolving before September 11th two years ago..
However, with France's sudden agreement with the US on UN involvement, coupled with yesterday's news the Iraqi government was selling off state owned businesses.. excepting oil of course.. and was about to allow a foreign banking presence in the country, one might think that a drop of a hundred, is really nothing to be too concerned with..
It was either liberate Iraq.. or legalize marijuana..
All the governments vying for a place in the industrial regeneration of a country with money to burn, desperately need this business.. from an entirely fresh market..
Recall what was mentioned some months ago, when the rise in the value of the Euro was mentioned as cause for alarm...
"Currency wobblies have hit global markets hard, as a falling dollar and a rising yen and euro tend to impact crucial export activity," said Larry Wachtel at Prudential Securities...
Bechtel might be something to look into, if you had some spare cash lying around..
Interesting reading.. this diary for Alastair Campbell, former chief of spin for Tony, and according to some, the power behind the throne so to speak..
David Kelly was used. by both the BBC and our esteemed government, as a pawn in the battle for discreditation..
To quote Alastair's diary.. "it would fuck" BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan if Dr Kelly was the source, because he was not "a spy or full-time MoD official".
A sacrificial offering, so to speak, was Dr. Kelly.
While one is not, these days, as firm a believer in 'justice', one can only hope the right heads will roll.
'It's a matter of trust'.
Meanwhile.. Jacques and George seem to have reached some sort of agreement on what might be done with Iraq.. at least France will not veto an American backed Security Council resolution on the future of that country..
Yet still there, the war of attrition continues. Seems American troops just can't win these days. The job's never as simple as it was initially expected to be, and not only do they have to deal with the hostility of the Iraqi's who want occupying forces gone, there is also the vocal faction at home decrying what they're laying their lives on the line for.
Rock and a hard place ain't in it..
Ahh.. and economically.. while the G7 called for market forces to set exchange rates, the weak American dollar prompted a 109 point drop in the Dow.. There are concerns, ostensibly, that the state of the buck will throw off foreign invesment in the States.. something George was originally bent on resolving before September 11th two years ago..
However, with France's sudden agreement with the US on UN involvement, coupled with yesterday's news the Iraqi government was selling off state owned businesses.. excepting oil of course.. and was about to allow a foreign banking presence in the country, one might think that a drop of a hundred, is really nothing to be too concerned with..
It was either liberate Iraq.. or legalize marijuana..
All the governments vying for a place in the industrial regeneration of a country with money to burn, desperately need this business.. from an entirely fresh market..
Recall what was mentioned some months ago, when the rise in the value of the Euro was mentioned as cause for alarm...
"Currency wobblies have hit global markets hard, as a falling dollar and a rising yen and euro tend to impact crucial export activity," said Larry Wachtel at Prudential Securities...
Bechtel might be something to look into, if you had some spare cash lying around..
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Not been a particularly good weekend for Tony..
Snubbed by Gerhard and Jacques at a meeting designed to encourage UN support in the stabalization if Iraq.. still the lingering indigestion of Brent East..
But then it's not been good for many of the European leaders either..
Germany's as confused politically as ever, and Gerhard's Social Democrats suffered a defeat equally as humiliating as Labour, on a far grander scale in Bavaria.. the Bavarians apparently of the mind the conservative Christian Social Union can't do a worse job.. and have put them in power... For Gerhard, this follows heavy losses in Hesse and Lower Saxony back in February.. One wonders what directions Germany and France will take, when their economies, already unstable, begin to reflect the implications of all these new members into the EU, the injection of rampantly captalistic eastern Europeans, all wanting a piece of the pie..
Interesting points of note here..
China's refusing to float the value of the Yuan.. at least not yet.. There have been complaints for decades China's currency's vastly undervalued.. and while the Bank of China agrees, it's not yet ready to take the economic upheaval that would follow, with it's work worth what the market would pay anywhere else.. The G7's made oblique references.. China's smiling..
The war of attrition continues in Iraq.. with US troops taking most of the casualties.. only to be expected for as long as there is a western presence, armed, walking the streets of an eastern town or city.
What is interesting, is the speed with which the Iraqi council, has agreed to sell off all of the formerly state-owned industries.. other than those involved with the oil sector.. This opens the door for investors, wanting a share of the multi-billion dollar reconstruction process..
It'll be a gold rush.. watch the price of firms involved in construction.. telecommunications.. food importation and processing.. and banking..
Under new bank rules, six foreign banks will be allowed "fast-track" entry into the country and will be permitted full ownership of the local banks within five years...
The World Bank says it should have a better idea of Iraq's long-term financial needs by the end of this week..
Perhaps this approach will have more success. Open wallets create more smiles than armed occupational forces, and, as in any part of the world, create far more allies..
Welcome to the west..
Snubbed by Gerhard and Jacques at a meeting designed to encourage UN support in the stabalization if Iraq.. still the lingering indigestion of Brent East..
But then it's not been good for many of the European leaders either..
Germany's as confused politically as ever, and Gerhard's Social Democrats suffered a defeat equally as humiliating as Labour, on a far grander scale in Bavaria.. the Bavarians apparently of the mind the conservative Christian Social Union can't do a worse job.. and have put them in power... For Gerhard, this follows heavy losses in Hesse and Lower Saxony back in February.. One wonders what directions Germany and France will take, when their economies, already unstable, begin to reflect the implications of all these new members into the EU, the injection of rampantly captalistic eastern Europeans, all wanting a piece of the pie..
Interesting points of note here..
China's refusing to float the value of the Yuan.. at least not yet.. There have been complaints for decades China's currency's vastly undervalued.. and while the Bank of China agrees, it's not yet ready to take the economic upheaval that would follow, with it's work worth what the market would pay anywhere else.. The G7's made oblique references.. China's smiling..
The war of attrition continues in Iraq.. with US troops taking most of the casualties.. only to be expected for as long as there is a western presence, armed, walking the streets of an eastern town or city.
What is interesting, is the speed with which the Iraqi council, has agreed to sell off all of the formerly state-owned industries.. other than those involved with the oil sector.. This opens the door for investors, wanting a share of the multi-billion dollar reconstruction process..
It'll be a gold rush.. watch the price of firms involved in construction.. telecommunications.. food importation and processing.. and banking..
Under new bank rules, six foreign banks will be allowed "fast-track" entry into the country and will be permitted full ownership of the local banks within five years...
The World Bank says it should have a better idea of Iraq's long-term financial needs by the end of this week..
Perhaps this approach will have more success. Open wallets create more smiles than armed occupational forces, and, as in any part of the world, create far more allies..
Welcome to the west..
Friday, September 19, 2003
A somewhat disturbing wakeup call for Tony yesterday..
There is a constituency, Brent East, which has for generations been staunchly Labour.. a guarranteed seat for what had traditionally been the 'working man's party'..
Even Maggie Thatcher, who during her time in office managed to sweep seats away from the opposition with ease, failed to take Brent East..
Labour lost Brent East yesterday, in a byelection necessitated by the death of the former Labour MP.. and not only did they lose, they watched 29% of their most faithful supporters, turn instead to the Liberal Democrats..
A sign to Tony, that the country is not happy. And while perhaps not ready to move completely to the other side of the coin and vote Tory, they obviously are looking for something other than that which Labour has become.
The LibDems are as close as you can get.
For those who have never heard the name before, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Charles Kennedy. It's a name one might become more familliar with in a year or so..
'It's a matter of trust'.
Ahh.. and poor Jacques.. there are problems for France looming..
Recall the Ontario Provincial Government of Bob Rae.. the first NDP government in the province's history was a knee-jerk reaction to the mammother 28 year run of the Conservatives, ending with Bill Davis..
The NDP came to power, and began a policy of uncontrolled social spending, coupled with the detemination not to raise taxes. Two years they spent and spent.. while the triple-A credit rating Ontario had always enjoyed slipped.. and the provincial deficit soared..
France is in this position now.
The problem is this. One of the foundations of membership in the EU, and tied to it, the use of the single currency, is the stipulation the various governments do not allow their deficit to exceed 3% of the GNP.. France's deficit is now over 4%, and it would seem it will still climb before coming down.
What a predicament.. is France now going to be put on probationary status within the hegemony it has dedicated itself to forming? And what does this bode for the future of the Euro, when France's economy cannot itself support it's use..
There is a constituency, Brent East, which has for generations been staunchly Labour.. a guarranteed seat for what had traditionally been the 'working man's party'..
Even Maggie Thatcher, who during her time in office managed to sweep seats away from the opposition with ease, failed to take Brent East..
Labour lost Brent East yesterday, in a byelection necessitated by the death of the former Labour MP.. and not only did they lose, they watched 29% of their most faithful supporters, turn instead to the Liberal Democrats..
A sign to Tony, that the country is not happy. And while perhaps not ready to move completely to the other side of the coin and vote Tory, they obviously are looking for something other than that which Labour has become.
The LibDems are as close as you can get.
For those who have never heard the name before, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Charles Kennedy. It's a name one might become more familliar with in a year or so..
'It's a matter of trust'.
Ahh.. and poor Jacques.. there are problems for France looming..
Recall the Ontario Provincial Government of Bob Rae.. the first NDP government in the province's history was a knee-jerk reaction to the mammother 28 year run of the Conservatives, ending with Bill Davis..
The NDP came to power, and began a policy of uncontrolled social spending, coupled with the detemination not to raise taxes. Two years they spent and spent.. while the triple-A credit rating Ontario had always enjoyed slipped.. and the provincial deficit soared..
France is in this position now.
The problem is this. One of the foundations of membership in the EU, and tied to it, the use of the single currency, is the stipulation the various governments do not allow their deficit to exceed 3% of the GNP.. France's deficit is now over 4%, and it would seem it will still climb before coming down.
What a predicament.. is France now going to be put on probationary status within the hegemony it has dedicated itself to forming? And what does this bode for the future of the Euro, when France's economy cannot itself support it's use..
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Ahh.. the sad nods of those along the pub rail says volumes.. the 'sad nod' being the step beyond the 'finger alongside the nose and the knowing look'..
It was a terrible performance from George, when questioned about Saddam's alleged connection with al Q'aeda and the bombings of 911 two years ago..
With the look of a rabbit caught in the sudden glare of headlights, he lost composure, appeared flustered, babbled for a moment about 'the guy who ordered the assassination of an American diplomat.. that, by the way a reference to a Jordanian Islamic zealot, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who's the leader of 'Ansar al-Islam', a terrorist group in Northern Iraq..
George ended the line of questioning with a defensively scornful assertion that of course, it was obvious Saddam had ties to terrorism..
Not his best performance.. Mind you he had a flight booked to get away from Washington.. and what Isabel might do to his shrubberies might have been on his mind..
And of course Tony's part in all of this is still being examined, if by proxy through the cross-examination of more of his MoD people at the Hutton Inquiry.. As this investigation progresses it is becoming apparent to even the dimmest intellect in this country, that what the government does, is often without the knowledge of the government..
It's a feeding frenzy of denouement, and reads better than Ian Fleming..
But, here is the point. What this government has done, what the American government has done, is nothing that any other has either done in the past, or has certainly had the power to do in the past. It's not the machinations of governments that have suddenly changed, become devious and twisted, for so have they always been..
It is we who have changed. We ourselves who now, privy to more and more of the pieces of the puzzle, demand public involvement in areas the public, in reality, should not even be concerned with.
We elect a government to represent us, investing in that government the power to act internationally on our behalf, because we know the common man is not equipped to deal with matters of diplomacy, foreign policy, international economics..
The common man is far too busy dealing with daily life itself, and that is as it should be..
There are many these days who have far too much time on their hands.. and while historically, the 'silent majority' has always been a ponderous presence politically, it has been silent.. Governments could go about their business, sordid or laudable, without having to really concern themselves with what the public might think until the next election approached...
Now, the masses who sit at home, who hithertofore have been stuck in a screen with their favourite soap surrogates, have this medium at their disposal.. and many of them express opinions, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
It's a development that no government is prepared for.. and truth be told it's going to be a struggle to make sense out of the noise coming from what might now be called the 'sedentary' majority..
For while they still may occupy couch space.. they now can communicate.
And they are demanding and consuming information.. faster than they used to go through a bag of Frito's..
A good thing, this superfluity of information? This new 'open administration' style of government people are looking for?
One must be carefull for what one wishes..
It was a terrible performance from George, when questioned about Saddam's alleged connection with al Q'aeda and the bombings of 911 two years ago..
With the look of a rabbit caught in the sudden glare of headlights, he lost composure, appeared flustered, babbled for a moment about 'the guy who ordered the assassination of an American diplomat.. that, by the way a reference to a Jordanian Islamic zealot, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who's the leader of 'Ansar al-Islam', a terrorist group in Northern Iraq..
George ended the line of questioning with a defensively scornful assertion that of course, it was obvious Saddam had ties to terrorism..
Not his best performance.. Mind you he had a flight booked to get away from Washington.. and what Isabel might do to his shrubberies might have been on his mind..
And of course Tony's part in all of this is still being examined, if by proxy through the cross-examination of more of his MoD people at the Hutton Inquiry.. As this investigation progresses it is becoming apparent to even the dimmest intellect in this country, that what the government does, is often without the knowledge of the government..
It's a feeding frenzy of denouement, and reads better than Ian Fleming..
But, here is the point. What this government has done, what the American government has done, is nothing that any other has either done in the past, or has certainly had the power to do in the past. It's not the machinations of governments that have suddenly changed, become devious and twisted, for so have they always been..
It is we who have changed. We ourselves who now, privy to more and more of the pieces of the puzzle, demand public involvement in areas the public, in reality, should not even be concerned with.
We elect a government to represent us, investing in that government the power to act internationally on our behalf, because we know the common man is not equipped to deal with matters of diplomacy, foreign policy, international economics..
The common man is far too busy dealing with daily life itself, and that is as it should be..
There are many these days who have far too much time on their hands.. and while historically, the 'silent majority' has always been a ponderous presence politically, it has been silent.. Governments could go about their business, sordid or laudable, without having to really concern themselves with what the public might think until the next election approached...
Now, the masses who sit at home, who hithertofore have been stuck in a screen with their favourite soap surrogates, have this medium at their disposal.. and many of them express opinions, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
It's a development that no government is prepared for.. and truth be told it's going to be a struggle to make sense out of the noise coming from what might now be called the 'sedentary' majority..
For while they still may occupy couch space.. they now can communicate.
And they are demanding and consuming information.. faster than they used to go through a bag of Frito's..
A good thing, this superfluity of information? This new 'open administration' style of government people are looking for?
One must be carefull for what one wishes..
Monday, September 15, 2003
Ahh.. what a new day Tony ushered in, with this alignment with the political goals of the West, and the alienation of those of the New World Order emerging in Europe..
Not only has the international situation solidified, not entirely to Tony's benefit, but the national picture is one which must be seen with some alarm in No.10.
The Hutton Inquiry has continued today, with a witness appearing in public, who's very identity would have been a closely guarded secret two years ago. Sir Richard Dearlove is the head of MI6, and the gist of his testimony was that the intelligence suggesting Iraq was capable of launching weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes was reliable...
He also said it was a 'case-scenario'.. and had been given far too much prominence.
This is turning into two 'trials', this Inquiry...
Both Downing Street, and the BBC, have much to answer for..
Internationally.. the dance continues.. with the focus off the economies of the world, and squarely on the Middle East.. economic policies have been somewhat lost in the dust..
Significant is the collapse of the World Trade Talks.. the main issue being the subsidies the wealthy countries provide their farmers..
Significant, because it puts a perspective on the promises of world economic growth, specifically on those who make such promises. The EU is no more going to cut it's agricultural subsidies for the benefit of say Nigeria, than it would celebrate Sweden's weekend vote.
Just not to mutual benefit.. Integral word being mutual.
Not only has the international situation solidified, not entirely to Tony's benefit, but the national picture is one which must be seen with some alarm in No.10.
The Hutton Inquiry has continued today, with a witness appearing in public, who's very identity would have been a closely guarded secret two years ago. Sir Richard Dearlove is the head of MI6, and the gist of his testimony was that the intelligence suggesting Iraq was capable of launching weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes was reliable...
He also said it was a 'case-scenario'.. and had been given far too much prominence.
This is turning into two 'trials', this Inquiry...
Both Downing Street, and the BBC, have much to answer for..
Internationally.. the dance continues.. with the focus off the economies of the world, and squarely on the Middle East.. economic policies have been somewhat lost in the dust..
Significant is the collapse of the World Trade Talks.. the main issue being the subsidies the wealthy countries provide their farmers..
Significant, because it puts a perspective on the promises of world economic growth, specifically on those who make such promises. The EU is no more going to cut it's agricultural subsidies for the benefit of say Nigeria, than it would celebrate Sweden's weekend vote.
Just not to mutual benefit.. Integral word being mutual.
Friday, September 12, 2003
There are problems in this country in particular, when presented with the necessity of taking on the powers that be...
The police.. the courts.. the media.. the division among one's own colleagues as to one's 'guilt' or 'innocence'.. the 'yellowing' that attaches itself regardless of the outcome of such a rigorous rotorooting of one's professional and personal history..
We've all done something, at sometime, we wish we'd never done.
The cost of September 11th 2001 is still being counted, for it indeed set in motion a series of events which those meagre terrorists could never have imagined in their wildest dreams.
The Homeland Security Act.
The Whitehall Witch Hunt.
The loss of confidence in, and credibility of, the two most powerful Western nations..
And the spreading of an already thin economy over half the globe, in payments for the maintenance of a military presence to combat what is essentially a religious movement. Granted, an extremist religious movement, but when it comes to the wanton killing of innocents, those who have habitually followed the doctrine of Manifest Destiny find it exceedingly difficult to back away without seeming to be abandoning the foundation upon which their own country(ies) are built.
The Chinese would say, losing face.
Interesting to note, the Chinese have spent billions of £'s over the past few days, on the latest in military hardware..
Good to have the money coming in, with most going to the US suppliers, and the lions share of the rest to the UK..
Yup.
Also of note, the assassination of Sweden's Anna Lindh. The country votes on entry into the common currency Sunday.. It's a very important movement towards the consolidation of Jaques 'United States of Europe'..
Anna Lindh was considered to be one of those who were the future of Swedish politics, and an outspoken advocate of adopting the Euro..
What is interesting now, is even the Swedes, who have almost vehemently prided themselves on their open society, have reacted with comments the likes of 'it's naive in this day to be as prominent as Anna was, and walk about a department store without a bodyguard'..
For interests sake, those who can be bothered, there are startling comparisons to be made reading either Constantinian Roman historic accounts, or Gibbons..
A final note.
This debacle in Anglo/American Intelligence has had trmendous impact on the lives of many who have worked, always anonymous, in the back rooms.. There has been a tradition, set from the times even as far back as the Napoleonic Wars, that has been tossed off with contumely by this government, or with this government's assent through it's servants.
Families have been separated, allegations made, reputations smeared by inference...
Some, others less publicized than Dr.Kelly, have taken their lives rather than face the prospect of having to prove innocence in a system which normally would have to prove guilt.
Reprehensible, is too light a word.
A reckoning will have to be reached...
'It's a matter of trust'.
The police.. the courts.. the media.. the division among one's own colleagues as to one's 'guilt' or 'innocence'.. the 'yellowing' that attaches itself regardless of the outcome of such a rigorous rotorooting of one's professional and personal history..
We've all done something, at sometime, we wish we'd never done.
The cost of September 11th 2001 is still being counted, for it indeed set in motion a series of events which those meagre terrorists could never have imagined in their wildest dreams.
The Homeland Security Act.
The Whitehall Witch Hunt.
The loss of confidence in, and credibility of, the two most powerful Western nations..
And the spreading of an already thin economy over half the globe, in payments for the maintenance of a military presence to combat what is essentially a religious movement. Granted, an extremist religious movement, but when it comes to the wanton killing of innocents, those who have habitually followed the doctrine of Manifest Destiny find it exceedingly difficult to back away without seeming to be abandoning the foundation upon which their own country(ies) are built.
The Chinese would say, losing face.
Interesting to note, the Chinese have spent billions of £'s over the past few days, on the latest in military hardware..
Good to have the money coming in, with most going to the US suppliers, and the lions share of the rest to the UK..
Yup.
Also of note, the assassination of Sweden's Anna Lindh. The country votes on entry into the common currency Sunday.. It's a very important movement towards the consolidation of Jaques 'United States of Europe'..
Anna Lindh was considered to be one of those who were the future of Swedish politics, and an outspoken advocate of adopting the Euro..
What is interesting now, is even the Swedes, who have almost vehemently prided themselves on their open society, have reacted with comments the likes of 'it's naive in this day to be as prominent as Anna was, and walk about a department store without a bodyguard'..
For interests sake, those who can be bothered, there are startling comparisons to be made reading either Constantinian Roman historic accounts, or Gibbons..
A final note.
This debacle in Anglo/American Intelligence has had trmendous impact on the lives of many who have worked, always anonymous, in the back rooms.. There has been a tradition, set from the times even as far back as the Napoleonic Wars, that has been tossed off with contumely by this government, or with this government's assent through it's servants.
Families have been separated, allegations made, reputations smeared by inference...
Some, others less publicized than Dr.Kelly, have taken their lives rather than face the prospect of having to prove innocence in a system which normally would have to prove guilt.
Reprehensible, is too light a word.
A reckoning will have to be reached...
'It's a matter of trust'.
Thursday, September 11, 2003
Two years ago today, at this hour, the world was progressing in it's natural order, as it had become over the past decade or so .. In North America people read, and watched the problems worldwide develop as indeed they had since the advent of saturation news coverage..
Suicide bombings in Israel.. Israeli reprisals on the West Bank.. threats of global terrorism from some radical Islamic group or another.. nothing new..
Problems, issues, that while certainly concerns, were not something that touched one's personal life. Or your neighbours.
People, at this hour, were still rising, making their coffees, standing in showers, sitting on commuter trains or subways as they made their way towards the same desk they'd sat at yesterday, and the day before..
Here, we had just begun discussions, oddly enough, which would have direct bearing on what would happen in the immediate months ahead, and which indeed are still ongoing today.. It was just about the time someone mentioned a lunch break might be in order, at 1:25 in fact.. that we began recieving frenzied reports.. we thought it a joke to begin with.. that someone had flown a highjacked plane into the North Tower of the WTC in New York..
We all knew people in that building..
Then, as more and more information flooded us.. at 2:03 we began hearing of a second aircraft, this time flying into the South Tower.. then 37 minutes later a third, crashing into the Pentagon..
Bedlam.
The Intelligence community reacted as though an Al Hussein missile had been the driving force behind an enema.. Think-tanks were convened.. scenario's presented on the run.. the usual suspects dragged in for whatever information might be scraped..
As this quiet panic directed most, as though by instinct, through the machinations, we watched, an hour after the first 767 slammed into the South Tower, the entire structure collapse. A moment later, while we still stood shocked by the first spectacle, the North Tower followed.
It is vivid in memory, the sight of the building, the people leaping from windows, the utter amazement that such a thing could be contemplated, let alone planned and carried out..
The shocks of that collapse reverberate even unto today..
The British ISC released it's report on the government's handling of intelligence today..
One of the ripples of 911, still damaging two years after the fact..
Suicide bombings in Israel.. Israeli reprisals on the West Bank.. threats of global terrorism from some radical Islamic group or another.. nothing new..
Problems, issues, that while certainly concerns, were not something that touched one's personal life. Or your neighbours.
People, at this hour, were still rising, making their coffees, standing in showers, sitting on commuter trains or subways as they made their way towards the same desk they'd sat at yesterday, and the day before..
Here, we had just begun discussions, oddly enough, which would have direct bearing on what would happen in the immediate months ahead, and which indeed are still ongoing today.. It was just about the time someone mentioned a lunch break might be in order, at 1:25 in fact.. that we began recieving frenzied reports.. we thought it a joke to begin with.. that someone had flown a highjacked plane into the North Tower of the WTC in New York..
We all knew people in that building..
Then, as more and more information flooded us.. at 2:03 we began hearing of a second aircraft, this time flying into the South Tower.. then 37 minutes later a third, crashing into the Pentagon..
Bedlam.
The Intelligence community reacted as though an Al Hussein missile had been the driving force behind an enema.. Think-tanks were convened.. scenario's presented on the run.. the usual suspects dragged in for whatever information might be scraped..
As this quiet panic directed most, as though by instinct, through the machinations, we watched, an hour after the first 767 slammed into the South Tower, the entire structure collapse. A moment later, while we still stood shocked by the first spectacle, the North Tower followed.
It is vivid in memory, the sight of the building, the people leaping from windows, the utter amazement that such a thing could be contemplated, let alone planned and carried out..
The shocks of that collapse reverberate even unto today..
The British ISC released it's report on the government's handling of intelligence today..
One of the ripples of 911, still damaging two years after the fact..
Monday, September 08, 2003
Parliament has begun it's fresh session, with the standard rhetoric from the standard actors..
However for Tony, these next few weeks will be the making or breaking of himself, and his Party...
It must be odd, for those not intimate with this island, it's peoples, and the standards set both for those who lead, and for those who follow, to understand the gravity of the situation this Labour government finds itself hip deep in. In throwing in our lot with the Americans once again, Tony was doing what any Prime Minister since the First World War would have done, and while certainly there were and still are those vehement in their opposition to 'modern colonialism', the country, as a whole, resigns itself to following what is inevidably found to be a just cause.
For we are a 'just' peoples, on the whole. Well used to standing up to oppression and tyranny, equally adept in recognising when we ourselves are behind opression, and in support of tyranny, and attempting reparations.
Gods know Britain has been doing it for centuries..
War is not a stranger. Governments leading us into war is not unusual.
But today, in this Britain, as throughout our history, the people do not like to have the piss taken...
We can be as patriotic as the next fool, but it had better be justifyable in the end..
'A matter of trust'.
However for Tony, these next few weeks will be the making or breaking of himself, and his Party...
It must be odd, for those not intimate with this island, it's peoples, and the standards set both for those who lead, and for those who follow, to understand the gravity of the situation this Labour government finds itself hip deep in. In throwing in our lot with the Americans once again, Tony was doing what any Prime Minister since the First World War would have done, and while certainly there were and still are those vehement in their opposition to 'modern colonialism', the country, as a whole, resigns itself to following what is inevidably found to be a just cause.
For we are a 'just' peoples, on the whole. Well used to standing up to oppression and tyranny, equally adept in recognising when we ourselves are behind opression, and in support of tyranny, and attempting reparations.
Gods know Britain has been doing it for centuries..
War is not a stranger. Governments leading us into war is not unusual.
But today, in this Britain, as throughout our history, the people do not like to have the piss taken...
We can be as patriotic as the next fool, but it had better be justifyable in the end..
'A matter of trust'.
Much has passed since last one had opportunity to sit, undisturbed or unsupervised, and merely write.. sequestration is a dreadful bore when all's said and done..
The end of the first stage of the Hutton Inquiry at an end.. now Lord Hutton's tapping the buiscuit, watching for the weevils to emerge.. It has been demonstrated adequately, one would think, that this country's ability to inspire trust in those it farms out information to, is somewhat lacking.
But then Tony knew it would come down to this, ages ago. It was a calculated toss of the dice..
An opportnity to demonstrate solidarity with an injured superpower, while seemingly doing Jaques and his New Holy Parisian Empire in the eye, would seem now to be more of a millstone around the government's neck..
More troops to be sent off to Iraq.. an announcement in just over an hour which should have some 80 thousand or so more British uniforms running about the desert sands.. so to speak..
And George, asking for $87billion US.. to help rebuild Iraq..
Now, if only it could be determined how best to get the Iraqi's to accept the help, without shoving their faces in their own squalor.
Ahh well.. we'll see what the pub philosophers have to say..
And if all else fails.. the nation can lose itself in Test Match cricket..
One note.
John Scarlett will be recalled for cross examination at the Hutton Inquiry.. this could lead to the recall of Geoff Hoon, and perhaps of Tony himself..
It would be short odds, against Hutton wishing he had the power to subpoena some of the key American actors in this drama..
The end of the first stage of the Hutton Inquiry at an end.. now Lord Hutton's tapping the buiscuit, watching for the weevils to emerge.. It has been demonstrated adequately, one would think, that this country's ability to inspire trust in those it farms out information to, is somewhat lacking.
But then Tony knew it would come down to this, ages ago. It was a calculated toss of the dice..
An opportnity to demonstrate solidarity with an injured superpower, while seemingly doing Jaques and his New Holy Parisian Empire in the eye, would seem now to be more of a millstone around the government's neck..
More troops to be sent off to Iraq.. an announcement in just over an hour which should have some 80 thousand or so more British uniforms running about the desert sands.. so to speak..
And George, asking for $87billion US.. to help rebuild Iraq..
Now, if only it could be determined how best to get the Iraqi's to accept the help, without shoving their faces in their own squalor.
Ahh well.. we'll see what the pub philosophers have to say..
And if all else fails.. the nation can lose itself in Test Match cricket..
One note.
John Scarlett will be recalled for cross examination at the Hutton Inquiry.. this could lead to the recall of Geoff Hoon, and perhaps of Tony himself..
It would be short odds, against Hutton wishing he had the power to subpoena some of the key American actors in this drama..
Friday, August 29, 2003
Tony, it must be said, handled himself well during the testimony he gave yesterday at the Hutton Inquiry. Not to be unexpected, considering the man is a barrister, and had already been offered a clear field by the sacrificial blocks offered by Geoff Hoon, and Alastair Campbell.
But those who watched the Prime Minister as he spoke, made mental note of the occasional pause, the fleeting looks to above, when certain issues were raised, the likes of his involvement with the release of Dr.Kelly's name to the media, and his assessment of the '45 minute attack' capability intelligence suggested Saddam posessed..
The media here agrees Tony's staked his political carreer on the outcome of this Inquiry..The Telegraph' noted that Tony 'took the honourable way' is accepting the buck stopped on his desk when it came to the nameing of David Kelly..
But the Times noted Tony had, at times, a 'cold and unfeeling' attitude, as though this entire scenario, emotions and gestures included, had been practiced..
'It's a matter of trust..' in Tony's words..
What's is perhaps being overlooked in all the high profile testimony and the excitement over this rare glimpse into the grey world of Whitehall, is the fact that what has emerged from this inquiry so far, is a picture of a government where key decisions have been made by groups of friends, without official notes being taken.
A government in which even a Cabinet Minister was cut out of the loop when information of the utmost importance was being 'spun'..
A government of cronies, the antithesis of what 'New Labour' proclaimed itself to be when Tony swept into power..
The star witnesse so far has not been Tony, but Geoff Hoon. His admissions will have reverberations for years. Another was John Scarlett, who's Intel Services will be raked..
Tony's performance was polished, for the most part assured, and entirely contrived.. but then we expect that, even admire a good rendition, from those we choose to govern us..
Ahh.. as a post script. Interesting the Globe and Mail, in it's morning edition, makes the claim that Dr. Kelly was a suicide..
To quote..
"Dr. Kelly, a soft-spoken scientist unaccustomed to the public glare, slit his wrist after he had appeared before two parliamentary inquiries and had been covertly identified by Ministry of Defence press officers as the mole behind the BBC stories..."
A tad presumptuous, that.
But those who watched the Prime Minister as he spoke, made mental note of the occasional pause, the fleeting looks to above, when certain issues were raised, the likes of his involvement with the release of Dr.Kelly's name to the media, and his assessment of the '45 minute attack' capability intelligence suggested Saddam posessed..
The media here agrees Tony's staked his political carreer on the outcome of this Inquiry..The Telegraph' noted that Tony 'took the honourable way' is accepting the buck stopped on his desk when it came to the nameing of David Kelly..
But the Times noted Tony had, at times, a 'cold and unfeeling' attitude, as though this entire scenario, emotions and gestures included, had been practiced..
'It's a matter of trust..' in Tony's words..
What's is perhaps being overlooked in all the high profile testimony and the excitement over this rare glimpse into the grey world of Whitehall, is the fact that what has emerged from this inquiry so far, is a picture of a government where key decisions have been made by groups of friends, without official notes being taken.
A government in which even a Cabinet Minister was cut out of the loop when information of the utmost importance was being 'spun'..
A government of cronies, the antithesis of what 'New Labour' proclaimed itself to be when Tony swept into power..
The star witnesse so far has not been Tony, but Geoff Hoon. His admissions will have reverberations for years. Another was John Scarlett, who's Intel Services will be raked..
Tony's performance was polished, for the most part assured, and entirely contrived.. but then we expect that, even admire a good rendition, from those we choose to govern us..
Ahh.. as a post script. Interesting the Globe and Mail, in it's morning edition, makes the claim that Dr. Kelly was a suicide..
To quote..
"Dr. Kelly, a soft-spoken scientist unaccustomed to the public glare, slit his wrist after he had appeared before two parliamentary inquiries and had been covertly identified by Ministry of Defence press officers as the mole behind the BBC stories..."
A tad presumptuous, that.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
One mentioned previously.. a day for anniversaries.
The last time a British Prime Minister was called before a Parliamentary Investigation was nine years ago. At that time, John Major was asked to come along and answer some rather pointed questions for the Scott Inquiry, about the British role in clandestine sales of arms to, of all places, Iraq.
John was pushed to explain how embargo's so firmly set in place, could be so easily circumvented by arms dealers working out of the Home Counties..
It was not a pleasant experience, and not long after, Tony took over at No.10..
It's Tony's turn today.
As he himself said, 'it's a matter of trust'.
One is beginning to wonder at the clout the Hutton Inquiry itself might weild.. the questions and answers from those called so far, have been low-key, and dealing for the most part with the assignation of blame, for the pressure brought to bear on D. David Kelly, which may or may not to have led to what is being called his 'apparent suicide' some 7 weeks ago.. One wonders when some questions will arise, which will call for disclosure of someone else's name, and what that denoument might have for that, or those individuals involved...
Tony's under the gun.
But still, he and his have caused most of those who work, for what was thought to be the country's interests in the back rooms, to seriously consider the safety in being involved in thinktanks..
When the hand that feeds you, bites you..
We'll continue with this..
The last time a British Prime Minister was called before a Parliamentary Investigation was nine years ago. At that time, John Major was asked to come along and answer some rather pointed questions for the Scott Inquiry, about the British role in clandestine sales of arms to, of all places, Iraq.
John was pushed to explain how embargo's so firmly set in place, could be so easily circumvented by arms dealers working out of the Home Counties..
It was not a pleasant experience, and not long after, Tony took over at No.10..
It's Tony's turn today.
As he himself said, 'it's a matter of trust'.
One is beginning to wonder at the clout the Hutton Inquiry itself might weild.. the questions and answers from those called so far, have been low-key, and dealing for the most part with the assignation of blame, for the pressure brought to bear on D. David Kelly, which may or may not to have led to what is being called his 'apparent suicide' some 7 weeks ago.. One wonders when some questions will arise, which will call for disclosure of someone else's name, and what that denoument might have for that, or those individuals involved...
Tony's under the gun.
But still, he and his have caused most of those who work, for what was thought to be the country's interests in the back rooms, to seriously consider the safety in being involved in thinktanks..
When the hand that feeds you, bites you..
We'll continue with this..
It was a hot, long summer in 1963.
President Kennedy was keeping the world awake with the serve-and-volley game with the USSR, people were still seriously looking at plans for back-yard bomb shelters, and we in Southwestern Ontario were aware that something was stirring in the States below us...
It was a decade of protests, and if one who was there was asked, perhaps they would say that this was the day, the very day, that the true American protest movement was born..
Martin Luther King, a name still not yet famous, had led a quarter of a million marchers on this day 40 years ago, to the steps of the Washington Monument, where he delivered the speech which follows..
A day for anniversaries..
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.
And so we've come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a cheque. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we've come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.
Trials and tribulations
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights: "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied and we will not be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
The dream
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning: "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that.
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
President Kennedy was keeping the world awake with the serve-and-volley game with the USSR, people were still seriously looking at plans for back-yard bomb shelters, and we in Southwestern Ontario were aware that something was stirring in the States below us...
It was a decade of protests, and if one who was there was asked, perhaps they would say that this was the day, the very day, that the true American protest movement was born..
Martin Luther King, a name still not yet famous, had led a quarter of a million marchers on this day 40 years ago, to the steps of the Washington Monument, where he delivered the speech which follows..
A day for anniversaries..
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.
And so we've come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a cheque. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we've come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.
Trials and tribulations
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights: "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied and we will not be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
The dream
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning: "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that.
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
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