The U.N. Charter not only makes war a crime, but it makes the threat of war, including the long-standing White House mantra “All options are on the table” a crime. It does something else, though. It gives the U.N. the power to impose economic sanctions. This often brutal tool has led to massive death and suffering and laid the groundwork for wars. However, the Fourth Geneva Convention — which, for whatever it’s worth, came after the U.N. Charter — bans the use of collective penalties. That law is apparently not hard to ignore, and the Geneva Conventions in general may be the most frequently ignored laws in the world.
(“real men” with important jobs who engage in same-sex relations hide their lifestyles). Some “real men” are violently prejudiced against non-real men, and may attack or rape them. (Former King Sihanouk once commented that “real men”, not minorities, are the source of violence in society).
The rest of the story is at the link. Makes the world much more interesting
The space travel veteran said in Berlin that the space research conducted over the past 60 years has shown that people face a larger task than the conquest of space: namely, preserving nature on earth.
His point of view was supported by German astronauts Sigmund Jähn and Thomas Reiter.
“If you look down from there on our beautiful planet, you are thrilled by its beauty, on the one hand. But on the other, you are frightened how vulnerable our planet is. And you become very thoughtful when you fly over these many regions where conflicts take place,” Reiter said.
“If we continue this way, we will destroy the ground for the future of the mankind,” Jähn said. “We must understand that any stupid things and crimes that we are doing with our small earth does not go unpunished. So, it is time to protect the earth!” the cosmonaut concluded.
The age of Empire ended with the decline of the Roman Empire between 400 to 700 C.E. (Common Era)
The vast trade routes of Rome extended to China, India, Africa and Europe. An Empire expands into unknown territories and the Roman Empire did so over more than a 1500 years.
“There was but one Rome: no other city, either of ancient or modern times, has ever rivaled this astonishing metropolis in the grandeur of magnitude; and not many—if we except the cities of Greece, none at all—in the grandeur of architectural display.
Among empires: the Persians, the Spanish, French and British cannot but be admired as prodigious growths out of so small a stem. There was but one Rome: no other city, as we are satisfied by the collation of many facts, either of ancient or modern times, has ever rivaled Rome. The earth had its prerogative city and that city was Rome.
Power is measured by resistance. Upon such a scale, if it were applied with skill, the relations of greatness in Rome to the greatest of all that has gone before her, and has yet come after her, would first be adequately revealed. Since that era no land, no part and parcel of the Roman empire, has ever risen into strength and opulence, except where unusual artificial industry has availed to counteract the tendencies of nature.” Thomas de Quincey
How is Your World?
Do you wonder how long it will take for the populist media to mention unemployment or under-employment? Did you receive an increase in pay from your employer during the past two years? Have you noticed how the food industry has reduced the size of the package and increased the cost of food?
When the media writes a story about food or price increases they use the term average price. Average is taking all of the prices over a time frame and dividing it. Only the median price or cost lets you see how many dollars are removed from your budget to cover the increase. It is deceit on the part of the media to leave out the details.
The Truth or Not is in the Wording
Some believe we are in an age of information made simple with electronic devices. I would agree we have improved on a rapidly moving technology. How many people look at their mobile device and think of it as a hand-held computer? Here is the result of a search for the most favored apps being used from the Google Play store.
It doesn’t appear as though many people are using a dictionary in that group. We certainly have no desire to ruin their day by teaching them to understand the meaning of words. Let’s look at another group from Google Play rated as the most used apps.
This group definitely sees no need to learn how to spell or understand composition. Say what you want to say in a myriad of characters and gain fans, friends and followers. Whatever you do keep it short and use one syllable words since very few people read or know how to read an article. The trick to raising your totals on most of these most used website apps is by posting a nude or semi-nude photo.
When you get into an argument with a know-it-all you can get rid of the person with a quick photo such as the one below. The person in this case retorted with “that’s not Moscow..!!” For over 15 years and counting Russia bolted forward while the populist media kept silent. Moscow became a financial hub bringing with it good paying employment, massive reconstruction, a space program second to no one and a rising middle class.
The sanctions placed on Russia go far beyond the Ukraine or Crimea. They were meant to slow down the billions of dollars flowing into Russia as a sound investment. There was a slight pause by investors for almost three or so months.
The Facts Please
Let’s be reasonable with the knowledge the cold war ended when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in 1989. Followed closely by the wall in Berlin the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) began to unravel. Each of the former states within the USSR, including Russia, began to feel freedom for the first time since 1917. (some countries were pulled into the Soviet sphere after WW II)
A marvelous writer wrote an article from an American perspective about the cold war. I re-blogged it a few weeks ago. As the communist Soviet Union came undone I was happy there were no longer Russian boggy men waiting to take my life. Now as the years pass I realize it was all a fabrication of lies to instill fear rather than peace in my life. For whatever reason, the US and its’ NATO allies, need an enemy to create a society for the very wealthy. As for the rest of us there are food banks, poverty, drugs and some food stamps.
We are not Equal in the Eyes of the Wealthiest
This article began by saying a few words about the Roman Empire. Seldom seen in the movies or documentaries are the lives of the slaves. We see the brave Senators while hearing the words of the largest land owners. They are in fact the same people. Rome was built on the backs of the slaves in the same way many western nations were built. A woman had no rights being considered unequal in the eyes of the men who wrote the rules. Simply read the biblical words men wrote on how a proper slave may be worthy of salvation. Why do you allow anyone to fill you with fear by placing themselves in the lofty position over you?
The media moguls should know when the cold war ended the so-called leader of the free world vanished too. Isn’t it odd the media repeats the free world lie while articles about our environment disappear? Follow the money trail whenever you read, listen to, or watch their trail of fear, lies and lack of imagination.
Enjoy Life
“The international community should have learned from the past lessons. The historical parallels in this case are undeniable. Unwillingness to join forces against Nazism in the 20th century cost us millions of lives in the bloodiest world war in human history. If they expected a nervous or hysterical reaction from us, if they wanted to see us become a danger to ourselves as much as to the world, they won’t get it. They won’t get any response meant for show or even for immediate political gain. They won’t get it..” Vladimir Putin Dec. 2, 2016
They didn’t get it nor do they understand.
Thank you for the Music – Freddie was our Friend too
Bearing The Star of Bethlehem
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
THE ANGELS.
The Angels of the Planets Seven,
Across the shining fields of heaven
The natal star we bring!
Dropping our sevenfold virtues down
As priceless jewels in the crown
Of Christ, our new-born King.
RAPHAEL.
I am the Angel of the Sun,
Whose flaming wheels began to run
When God Almighty’s breath
Said to the darkness and the Night,
Let there he light! and there was light!
I bring the gift of Faith.
ONAFIEL.
I am the Angel of the Moon,
Darkened to be rekindled soon
Beneath the azure cope!
Nearest to earth, it is my ray
That best illumes the midnight way;
I bring the gift of Hope!
ANAEL.
The Angel of the Star of Love,
The Evening Star, that shines above
The place where lovers be,
Above all happy hearths and homes,
On roofs of thatch, or golden domes,
I give him Charity!
ZOBIACHEL.
The Planet Jupiter is mine!
The mightiest star of all that shine,
Except the sun alone!
He is the High Priest of the Dove,
And sends, from his great throne above,
Justice, that shall atone!
MICHAEL.
The Planet Mercury, whose place
Is nearest to the sun in space,
Is my allotted sphere!
And with celestial ardor swift
I hear upon my hands the gift
Of heavenly Prudence here!
URIEL.
I am the Minister of Mars,
The strongest star among the stars!
My songs of power prelude
The march and battle of man’s life,
And for the suffering and the strife,
I give him Fortitude!
ORIFEL.
The Angel of the uttermost
Of all the shining, heavenly host,
From the far-off expanse
Of the Saturnian, endless space
I bring the last, the crowning grace,
The gift of Temperance!
A sudden light shines from the windows of the stable in the village below.
Image from my library – camping in a wilderness area with friends
Lesson One
We will begin with a few simple facts hidden from you by our governments. You are currently being misled into a campaign of hate by the media meant to derail honest discussions. The western media in particular have side-tracked important issues concerning our future.
Let’s get into lesson one about Propaganda
How many vehicles do you own? How many kilometers do you drive per year and what is the cost of your fuel consumption?
Developers are building what I call mini-castles as a family home. Do you need 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms? You might find room to plant a flower beside the 2 or 3 car garage.
The best calculator I was able to find is from The National Geographic website. It gives you a glance at your foot print on our planet.
Give it a try since it is one of the few things really free on the Internet. Everything else is cluttered with ways to save money by spending it called advertising.
This ends lesson one on how propaganda is used every day.
It has been some time since I wrote a letter since we have all these new technologies. There is an app for everything under the Sun yet we rarely talk face to face. I prefer the conversations over a good cup of coffee to a line of text any day of the week.
As you know I remain disconnected from the fantasy world of television. I stopped by to see Anita and she had one of those devices playing. In two hours there were twenty-two violent deaths portrayed on two of the shows. Apparently the programs are in their 9th or 10th season due to people being big fans. I’ve often wondered what the relationship to watching so much death has to being happy about war.
Later I headed over to see Nash. You remember him from years ago. He keeps his children busy playing video games or watching television. I couldn’t help myself from making a comment about the 70 inch screen being plastered with blood from the video games. Nash shrugged and talked about how is doing much better after the third divorce. He and his new spouse are expecting a baby soon. They currently have five children between nine to eighteen years old. I thought it would be prying to ask if the children get confused about the parent thing. I’ve never believed the village has any control over the wishes of a family.
The Internet remains a great place to meet people and stop for a chat. After the Bush Jr. debacle it is difficult to believe an election could be so dramatic. I always thought the person with the most votes gets to be the President. That election proved me wrong.
I pulled a short story from my daily journals started when I was nine. As children we would spend our summers at the cottage. It was a log cabin deep in the wilderness without electricity. About twenty cottages built on the shores of McKenzie Lake made summer a wonderful experience. Great fishing, swimming, chopping wood along with many other chores gave it a lively time. Evenings sitting near a fire on the sandy beach is embedded deep in my consciousness. My friends and I would talk for hours under the starlit night sky. Everyone except big Tim, age fifteen, were between ten and twelve years old. There was a radar base operated by the U.S. military nearby. The young soldiers, 18 or 19 years old, would often visit for a home cooked meal or to let us kids know the events they planned for us.
Our summer cottage at McKenzie Lake
One particular night in August one of the soldiers sat with us at the beach fire. They were always welcome to join us and tell stories. He appeared restless and asked us how fast we could get to the base. We told him it would take less than a ten minute run with Tim declaring he could run faster.
As he looked at each of us words slowly fell from his lips. “There are often problems when adults forget how to talk to one another. We have a situation where a few of them are getting angry with each other. Promise me, the next time you hear the air raid siren, you will run to the base and we will do our best to protect you.” We made a promise to him because he was cute too. Nature gave us a hot summer including her wind, rain, thunder and lightning.
When we were back in town I could hear his words as the sirens wailed daily, or more, during September and October. There was no safe place to run so Mom, my younger brother and I huddled under the basement steps. Even today I can hear the air raid sirens in my dreams. Those 13 days during October, 1962 were terrifying.
Despite all the rhetoric spread everywhere today we became friends with the people who played a major role in winning World War II. The cold war ended long ago and I am happy it did. I was re-united with family in Russia and Ukraine after the Berlin Wall came crashing down. For a brief moment I felt a very beautiful sense of peace.
I know you have an important day coming up to elect your next President. This I can promise you as a citizen of the world. I will always be your friend as will the people of Russia. We are counting on you to vote on November 6, 2016 and bring those adults into the room to talk.
I hope before I die those air raid sirens will stop messing with my dreams.
“For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” President John F. Kennedy June 1963
Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy hold nuclear peace talks
Journalism as Art 