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Current Events, Perspective,

Inside the Republic sit-in

From the NY Times: Even Workers Surprised by Success of Factory Sit-In

By the time their six-day sit-in ended on Wednesday night, the 240 laid-off workers at this previously anonymous 125,000-square-foot plant had become national symbols of worker discontent amid the layoffs sweeping the country. Civil rights workers compared them to Rosa Parks. But all the workers wanted, they said, was what they deserved under the law: 60 days of severance pay and earned vacation time.

And to their surprise, their drastic action worked. Late Wednesday, two major banks agreed to lend the company enough money to give the workers what they asked for….

The article gives the inside story on the sit-in and the workers’ victory. The way the business owner, Richard Gillman, steadily manuverded behind the workers’ backs is a sad testament to the way he ran his business. A new corporation, a new location, disappearing equipment, non-union workers, not a word, then blame it all on the banks. Sure they had their part, but Mr. Gillman selfishly tried to milk the whole process for personal gain. His lasting memorial will state: ‘Sure, give the workers their due, but give Gillman a Mercedes too.‘

It is too bad for Mr. Gillman. He ignored and undercut the ‘dark skinned, ethnic, Union workers’ because he probably figured they couldn’t help his business. Too bad for him, with their enthusiasm, courage, knowledge, and dedication they likely would have saved it.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Media, Perspective, Political

My rights are greater than your rights…

From ChristianNewsWire: In God We Trust’ to Oppose Attempt to Place Atheist Sign in Washington D.C.

The national advocacy group In God We Trust today pledged to fight any attempt to place a controversial atheist sign in Washington, D.C. The sign attacks religion and that is now on display in Olympia, Washington, Madison, Wisconsin and Springfield, Illinois.

The signs from the Freedom from Religion Foundation reads:

“At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.
There is only our natural world.
Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

“In God We Trust will oppose any effort to place these signs in any state capital or in any government location in Washington, D.C.,” promises Bishop Council Nedd, the organization’s chairman. “These signs have nothing in common with a menorah, a nativity scene or a Christmas tree. They are an attempt by anti-religious bigots to equate a belief in God with enslavement and to ridicule the majority of Americans who believe in God.”

“Why do these zealots have the right to post signs on public property attacking their countrymen?” Nedd asks…

Besides the errors in logic in this group’s argument, there is the issue of hypocrisy. Weren’t these the same folks who advocated, all but a few short months ago, regarding pastors’ rights to direct voting from the pulpit, to say whatever they please from the pulpit without government constraint? Groups like this one advocate free speech when it suits their purpose but are quick to quash others rights. Bishop Council Nedd asks, “Why do these zealots have a right…?” For exactly the same reasons you claim to have a right.

Now, do I agree with the “Freedom from Religion” folks? Not at all! At the same time I fully support their right to say whatever they wish, on equal footing with other groups. The Young Fogey often points to the difference between living in a secular state versus a secularist state as in this post. The government is doing as it should – it is treating all groups as equitably as possible. The ‘Freedom from Religion’ folks are secularist, and they have every right to that message.

I am confident enough in my faith and in our Lord and Savior so as to know that His message will prevail. I do not need the government nor ‘In God We Trust’ to defend me, or the message of the Gospel. I do not need to classify rights based on faith because my rights come from my faith. Faith is Christian witness. The victories of the world are fleeting. We await heavenly victory.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, PNCC, , ,

Workers’ rights, workers’ victory

From Interfaith Worker Justice:

Interfaith Worker Justice congratulates the United Electrical Workers Local 1110 for a historic victory that ended a six-day occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago. Last night, the company’s workers voted to accept a $1.75 million settlement.

“Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the rights of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked”
Psalm 82:3-4

The Republic workers would have been forgotten if they hadn’t stood up — by sitting down and occupying their factory. They captured the attention and the support of people of faith, and sent shock waves through corporate board rooms across the nation.

solidarnoscAbsolutely true. The workers would have been caught up in court wrangling (something they couldn’t afford) and government bureaucracy in an attempt to obtain the wages they had earned. They faced a Federal government that has all but given up on wage and hour enforcement under the Bush Administration, the white tie and tails folks. The workers only choice was to stand up by sitting down — much like Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Walęsa did in the dawning days of Solidarity.

This is a victory to be celebrated by the thousands of people who stood in solidarity with the workers: people like you who took the time to send messages to Bank of America and rallied at banks across the country.

The Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, an IWJ affiliate, has been working closely with Local 1110 since day one. On Tuesday of this week, IWJ members from around the country rallied alongside Chicago Interfaith Committee in supporting workers.

Both the Republic Windows victory and this week’s news of Wal-Mart’s $54 million settlement of a class-action suit over unpaid wages highlight wage theft, a national crisis on which IWJ and its national network of workers centers are playing a leading role in tackling.

IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo has written the first book to deal with this issue. In a happy coincidence, her Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid – And What We Can Do About It, was published this week, during the Republic sit-in.

While we celebrate the Republic victory, we are going to see hundreds of factory closings in the coming months, and the question is: will workers be paid what they’re owed? And while the Wal-Mart settlement is welcome news, 60 additional wage theft lawsuits remain pending, cases involving billions of dollars that have been stolen from and are owed to millions of workers.

Workers should never be ashamed of expressing their rights and their demands. That is their bargaining strength. We all assume that we have some measure of control, saying: ‘I work for who I choose.” Unfortunately the benefits of our labor, be it physical or intellectual, rarely inure to our benefit in proportion to our sacrifice. If we demand that we be compensated equitably we are seen as pariahs. The government, press, and many of our fellow workers look at us with disdain. ‘So you didn’t get paid — just quit, move on. So they took advantage of you, that’s just life.’

As people of faith we cannot move on, get over it, and most especially we cannot accept a life based on one-upmanship. I am a member and a deacon of the PNCC, a Church whose founder, Bishop Hodur, stood up for workers’ rights. I live in a Church, founded by immigrants and laborers, who from its beginning championed the dignity and rights of those immigrants and workers. I see the extent of abuse that goes on to this day (and people think the days of sweat shops, slave labor, and child labor are long gone – they’re not!), I can say that one must stand up, whether through advocacy, preaching, teaching, or sitting-in. People of faith must witness against inequality based on advantage and power.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, ,

Eternal rest grant onto him

On Friday the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II passed on to eternal life. May the perpetual light shine upon him.

Like Russia he was an enigma, and because he lived during these moments in history he was more so.

I think we, as Americans, fail to perceive the complexities of life in other countries, and especially in countries we perceive as threats. We tend to view things as black and white especially when the media and government feed us “acceptable perspectives.” Think back to communism in the Soviet Union and that imposed by Russia upon the states that were sold off by their British and American allies (yes, our leaders sold people into slavery and death). We think of intellectual oppression, gulags, and a lack of toilet paper and shoes. Of course things on the ground, day-to-day life, relationships between families and friends were far more complex.

A funny story. When I was in Poland for the first time I marveled at the fact that people knew and appreciated all sorts of American and British music from the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s — Paul Anka, the Beatles. I was indoctrinated to think that people sat in apartment blocks, poorly built buildings, shivering in small apartments filled with at least 10 bodies, weeping over their misfortune, longing for democracy. I thought that the music they were referencing was verboten. In retrospect it was silly, but I needed that encounter. I needed to hear their stories before I could truly understand the reality, the positives and negatives of the system.

Right now some of Poland’s former leaders are on trial. Here’s a reference to: Poland’s former leader on trial from the BBC.

Poland’s last communist leader, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, has gone on trial accused of committing a crime by imposing martial law in 1981.

I sincerely doubt that these were great or brave men in the majority of their actions. Rather, they were weak and selfish in many rights, using the system to their benefit, accommodating base principals. The real tragedy is that happens in every system, including the good old U. S. of A. It is one of the reasons I sincerely dislike the process of lustration. Men and women will take advantage regardless of the system. These folks will not be the protesters, the ones who stand behind barricades fighting to change the system. Those actions are for the poor and disenfranchised. These folks — the ex-communist businessmen, the oligarchs — just morph into the proper role for the times. The system has changed, but in name only; only in its methods of exploitation.

So this was the environment for Alexy, for the clergy subject under these systems. Did they make unfortunate choices, did they make errors, were they less than absolutely perfect? Certainly. Will they do so under the current system? For sure, just look to the sins of religious leaders in the United States. Before we judge, or throw stones, or expect absolute perfection, let’s take a moment to understand, to talk, and to encounter. We will find that nothing is black and white, nothing is perfect, nothing is as we have been led to believe.

What does matter is that all of us, like Alexy II, are on that road to God. Climbing the ladder to that ultimate union includes the discovery that perfection exists in God alone. Our love for Him, our desire for life in Him, are the impulses that grow as we grow closer to Him. If we focus ourselves on our climb and the rooting out of our imperfections, then we will have made real progress.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective

Advent or death

A PNCC Pastor asks: “Is this what getting ready for Christmas has come to mean?” in light of death of a Wal-Mart employee in a mad rush on so called “black Friday.” The NY Times article: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death describes the carnage that occurred at a Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, N.Y. Some excerpts from the article:

Fists banged and shoulders pressed on the sliding-glass double doors, which bowed in with the weight of the assault.

Suddenly, witnesses and the police said, the doors shattered, and the shrieking mob surged through in a blind rush for holiday bargains. One worker, Jdimytai Damour, 34, was thrown back onto the black linoleum tiles and trampled in the stampede that streamed over and around him.

Some workers who saw what was happening fought their way through the surge to get to Mr. Damour, but he had been fatally injured, the police said.

Four other people, including a 28-year-old woman who was described as eight months pregnant, were treated at the hospital for minor injuries.

Detective Lt. Michael Fleming… called the scene —utter chaos— and said the —crowd was out of control.— … —I’ve heard other people call this an accident, but it is not,— he said. —Certainly it was a foreseeable act.—

Some shoppers who had seen the stampede said they were shocked. One of them, Kimberly Cribbs of Queens, said the crowd had acted like —savages.— Shoppers behaved badly even as the store was being cleared, she recalled.

—When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, ‘I’ve been on line since yesterday morning,’ — Ms. Cribbs told The Associated Press. —They kept shopping.—

I agree with the Lieutenant, “Certainly it was a foreseeable act.” But isn’t that statement utterly hopeless? Isn’t it is an admission of our failure as people who should be placing compassion and love ahead of material desire? Sadly, we, who call ourselves Christian, are unable to keep to the spirit of Advent preparation. It is an admission of our sinfulness — a sinfulness on steroids. While the Church cannot predict particular results from our sinfulness, it does tell us that sin has consequences, and as scripture tells us, the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:16).

The Church teaches that we, as Christians, should be involved in continual preparation for Christ’s coming. A one day shopping orgy is not a part of that preparation or the anticipation we should be holding to. A day spent in piling on debt, in serving other masters, is not a valid exercise in preparation for the celebration of incarnation of Christ.

I’m not one for the either/or neither/nor point of view on Advent. Can we shop? Certainly. Can we prepare for the coming celebration with eager anticipation and joy? Yes, but each in proper proportion to our focus on Advent preparation and expectation. Our preparation involves the state of our souls. Our expectation is focused on our joy at the incarnation in light of the fulness of the Kingdom to come. Our earthly preparation and our heavenly preparation are united and in balance if they reflect a life centered on Christ, a life of Christian preparation and anticipation, of Christian repentance, renewal, and joy. Of Advent.

It really is about Christ, about our Advent preparation of fasting and penance. If Advent is focused on proper preparation and joyful anticipation of that time to come, then Advent opposes death. If our Advent is a time of renewal then our joy will be a fuller joy, our giving and sharing will be more joyous, and we will be properly focused.

The folks at Wal-Mart and other retail outlets, most especially the executives who perpetuate false consumerism, the politicians who encourage us to spend, pile on debt, and live beyond our means, and those alleged Christians standing on-line at so many stores bear a share of responsibility for this death and for the death that goes beyond bodily death. It really is Advent or death and the choice is ours. Advent or death – I’ll take AdventXref. Eddie Izzard’s “Cake or Death” comedy routine.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Irena Sendler projects

Four years ago, I first began filming Irena Sendler in Warsaw where she lives in a medical home. At 94, she still remembered how she and her friends in the Polish resistance risked torture and death to resue thousands of Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto. This is their story — Mary Skinner, Producer and Director of “In the Name of Their Mothers.”

In the Name of Their Mothers is the film chronicling the work of Irena and her compatriots in Żegota. An advance screening of the film was held on Wednesday, November 12th at CREEES – Stanford University.

To learn more about the film and to view clips visit the film’s website.

More information about Irena is available at Life in a Jar:

In the fall of 1999, a rural Kansas teacher encouraged four students to work on a year long National History Day project which would among other things; extend the boundaries of the classroom to families in the community, contribute to history learning, teach respect and tolerance, and meet our classroom motto, —He who changes one person, changes the world entire—.

Students from rural Kansas, discover a Catholic woman, who saved Jewish children. Few had heard of Irena Sendlerowa in 1999, now after 250 presentations of Life in a Jar, a web site with huge usage and world-wide media attention, Irena is known to the world. How did this beautiful story develop?/blockquote>

Current Events, ,

Bridging the Achievement Gap Using Art with Technology

The New York State Alliance for Arts Education, in partnership with Partners for Arts, Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County Education, Southern Tier Arts in Education Roundtable (STARR), and TST BOCES will present a day-long conference in Corning, NY: Bridging the Achievement Gap Using Art with Technology — A day-long conference for teaching artists and educators on Tuesday November 18, 2008 , 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Radisson-Corning, NY.

Addressing the achievement gap continues to be a high priority in our schools. Knowing that students are entering the classroom from varying demographic backgrounds, teachers and other school personnel are adjusting their instruction and the tools they use to try and meet the learning needs of their students. Technology is increasingly becoming part of the creative process both in and out of the classroom.

During this conference you will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of workshops discussing Media art and education. Facilitators include area professional artists, art educators and educators who have had extensive experience working in the Arts In Education field, and will provide a conceptual framework for integrating the arts using technology across the curriculum for all learners!

Discover how using media art in your classroom can be an effective and dynamic tool for teaching and learning in the classroom!

Should you wish to attend a PDF registration form is available for download.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, Political

For Bishops and Church leaders pushing Mr. McCain

Miguel José Ernst-Sandoval at Philadelphia Roamin’ Catholic quotes from an editorial by Chuck Baldwin (a presidential candidate for the Constitution Party) in Pro-which? An excerpted version follows:

Once again, “pro-life” Christians are doing back flips to try and justify their compromise of the life issue by trying to convince everyone (including themselves) that John McCain is truly pro-life. However, these same people know in their hearts that John McCain shares no fidelity to the life issue in any significant or meaningful way. Like many in the Republican Party, McCain’s commitment to life is about as deep as a mud puddle.

Dare I remind everyone that the “pro-life” GOP controlled the entire federal government from 2000 to 2006 and nothing was done to overturn Roe v. Wade or end legal abortion-on-demand? When George W. Bush took the oath of office in January of 2001, over one million innocent unborn babies were being murdered in the wombs of their mothers every year via legal abortions in this countryNot technically correct. The CDC’s Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2004, the latest volume published in November 2007, indicates that abortions have been steadily declining since 1990. A total of 839,226 “legal” abortions were performed in 2004 – horribly sinful, but accurate.. And when George W. Bush leaves office in January of 2009, over one million innocent unborn babies would still be murdered in the wombs of their mothers every year via legal abortions in this countryibid.. Eight years of a “pro-life” President and six years of the “pro-life” GOP in charge of the entire federal government and not one unborn baby’s life has been saved. Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, and abortion-on-demand is still legal in America.

Had John McCain and his fellow Republicans truly wanted to end legal abortion, they could have passed Congressman Ron Paul’s Sanctity of Life Act. Year after year, Dr. Paul introduced this bill, and year after year, it sat and collected dust in the document room on Capitol Hill.

…

How can John McCain, and his fellow Republicans in Washington, D.C., look pro-life Christians and conservatives in the eye in 2008 and expect that we take them seriously when they say that they are “pro-life”? If the GOP had truly wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade and end legal abortion-on-demand, they could have already done it. They controlled the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives for six long years, for goodness sake. The reason they did not do it is because they did not want to do it. They merely want to use “pro-life” rhetoric as a campaign tool to dupe gullible Christian voters every election year. And the disgusting thing about it is–it works.

The vast majority of notable “pro-life” leaders in the country are now trumpeting the candidacy of John McCain…

John McCain openly embraces embryonic stem cell research. In 2000, he boldly said he did not favor the overturn of Roe v. Wade. John McCain was a member of the infamous “Gang of 14” senators from both parties whose purpose was to oppose pro-life, strict constructionist judges.

Speaking of judges, John McCain voted for the pro-abortion justice, Stephen Breyer, and the radical, pro-abortion, ACLU attorney, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So much for the argument that we need John McCain for the sake of appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court. For that matter, Republican appointments dominated the Court that gave us Roe v. Wade and the one that later gave us Doe v. Bolton. Proving, once again, that the Republican Party, as a whole, has no real commitment to the life issue.

John McCain also gave us McCain-Feingold. This is the law that keeps pro-life or pro-Second Amendment organizations from broadcasting ads that mention a candidate by name 30 days before a primary election or 60 days before a general election. This proves that John McCain believes neither in the right to life nor the right to keep and bear arms. (This is one reason why the Gun Owners of America gives McCain a grade of F.)

In a debate with George W. Bush in May of 2000, John McCain attacked Bush’s support for the pro-life plank in the Republican Party. Still today, John McCain believes that babies who are conceived via rape or incest should be murdered. I remind readers, however, that there are no “exceptions” in the womb, only babies.

If all of the above is not enough, as a senator, John McCain has repeatedly voted to fund pro-abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood with federal tax dollars. In fact, McCain has voted to use federal tax dollars to support abortion providers at home and overseas. Yes, this “pro-life” senator (along with “pro-life” President, George W. Bush) has significantly increased federal spending for abortion providers to levels eclipsing even the appropriations authorized by President Bill Clinton and his fellow Democrats.

…

Tell me again, Mr. Christian Leader, how “pro-life” John McCain is. What a joke!

Bishops and their clergy should make bold statements, about the Gospel. Preach and teach. Catechize. Do not embroil yourselves in earthly politics, but proclaim the heavenly kingdom. Learn from history. Tying oneself to the fortunes and foibles of political leaders is a sure road to hell. Tie yourself to humanity, to the salvation of souls, to lifting up the sinful… Instead of encouraging the vote, ask the faithful to spend that hour or two helping in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Heaven knows, those will proliferate as the global economy continues to sour. Get into gear and touch others with the love of Christ rather than the seeds of division.

For all the Roman Catholic bishops, priests, and Evangelical leaders out there making bold political statements, and a specific bishop doing radio ads discouraging votes for the other major party candidate, believers might as well put their feet up and stay home. You haven’t done the simplest research on these candidates, but selected one as “better” than the other? Really?!?

I previously pointed out Mr. McCain’s horrid track record on life issues. As the Young Fogey repeatedly points out – don’t get played. No one running is a champion of moral courage on life issues. They are simply using issues to corral votes. It really is about money and power for its own sake. If you are voting for a platform based on promises, or based on a bishop’s choice of candidate, as you can see from the editorial above, that and about $2 will get you a Starbucks – and you can enjoy that in less than 4 years.

Current Events, Perspective, Political, ,

Does this scare anyone?

From Fox News (I know…): U.S. Army Says Blogging Site ‘Twitter’ Could Become Terrorist Tool. The emphasis is mine.

The U.S. Army is flagging the popular blogging service Twitter as a potential terrorist tool, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported Sunday.

A recently released report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion contains a chapter entitled “Potential for Terrorist Use of Twitter,” which expresses concern over the increasing use of Twitter by political and religious groups, the AFP reported.

“Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,” according to the report.

“Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the Army report said.

The blogging service and social networking site has previously sent out messages known as “tweets” faster than news organizations during such major news events as the July Los Angeles earthquake and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

“Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the U.S. as an operation tool,” the Army report said.

Let’s analyze this. Twitter is a communication tool. Like any tool, it can be used by anyone. It’s sort of like water. Think about that. What if the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion had said something like this:

A recently released report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion contains a chapter entitled “Potential for Terrorist Use of Water,” which expresses concern over the increasing use of water by political and religious groups.

“Water has also become a tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others,” according to the report.

“Water is already used by some members “to further extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the Army report said.

Water has previously been used in blessings and baptisms – which are a form of indoctrination. It has also been used for drinking and washing during such major news events as the July Los Angeles earthquake and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

“Terrorists could theoretically use water as an operation tool,” the Army report said.

Twitter Anarchy

I think that a report (which we as taxpayers funded) highlighting things that are self evident can only have one purpose – to scare people. Do you see that dark skinned man with the fez Twittering there in the corner – I wonder what he’s up to…

What’s really disturbing is that the report makes a direct connection between religious groups and terrorism. Further, it bunches together all sorts of groups that might challenge conventional, government approved ideologies. It is an attempt to instill fear in anyone who might challenge the status-quo, who might be labeled as having extremist ideologies and perspectives (a hugely undefined category – the government can make it out to be whatever it chooses).

By definition we, as Christians, hold extremist views. The Gospel is not about the status-quo. It challenges us personally and as a society, and in its totality it demands justice. We cannot close our eyes to the sins of the world and act apart from the world. We must meet every sin, personal and societal, with a demand for repentance and reform.

I wonder — if someone is in a religious community that is vegetarian and supports human rights — will they be the first to be interred?

Maybe, just to be funny, we should all vote for one of those nondescript parties at the bottom of the ballot. Would that officially label us as extremists? In New York our choices include the Socialist Workers Party and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Current Events, Perspective, Political

Hey, President Nixon umm Bush

From The Guardian: US forces kill eight in helicopter raid on Syria

American helicopters flying from Iraq landed inside Syria yesterday and dropped special forces who killed eight people, the Damascus government said last night, as Washington admitted it had targeted “foreign fighters.”

Syria warned that it held the US “wholly responsible for this act of aggression and all its repercussions”.

It described the dead as Syrian civilians, five of them members of the same family. Syrian state television reported that the attack was against a farm near Abu Kamal, five miles from the Iraqi border. Doctors in nearby al-Sukkariya said another seven people were taken to hospital with bullet wounds.

The incident threatened to unleash a new wave of anti-American feeling in Syria and across the Middle East at a time when President Bashar al-Assad, already being courted by Europe, is looking forward to improved relations with Washington after the November 4 presidential election. News of the attack led bulletins across the Arab world last night – suggesting it will have wide resonance.

Syria summoned the US charge d’affaires in Damascus to explain the incident. It also called on the Iraqi government to prevent its airspace being used in this way in future.

Eyewitness accounts said eight US soldiers landed in two helicopters and that the dead were building workers. A senior Syrian source quoted by the official Sana news agency, said four helicopters violated Syrian airspace and described the target as a “civilian building under construction”.

In Washington an unnamed military official told the Associated Press the raid had targeted elements of a “foreign fighter logistics network”, and that, due to Syrian inaction, the US was “taking matters into our own hands”. It was the first known American attack on Syrian soil…

Reminiscent of President Nixon opening another front in Cambodia, which interestingly started with such raids. I wonder if a Christmas Day B-52 raid over Damascus is in the offing. That’s the problem with megalomaniacs. If they’re hunkered down on two fronts, they open a third.

Syria will draw closer to Iran, Hezbollah will be unleashed, Israel will get drawn into another conflict where civilians deaths will far outnumber combatant casualties, and all this on top of an already tense political-economic situation. The problem for folks like President Bush is that this will not unleash the Second Coming, it will only destroy more of God’s children.

God have mercy on us.

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