Global Relief Foundation, Holy Land Foundation, and so many others, and now yet another Islamic charity is shut down for funding jihad terrorism. One would think that since this keeps happening, someone would get a clue -- this charitable support comes from people who believe that by paying zakat to aid jihad, they are discharging their religious duty. But this aspect of the Islamic charity phenomenon never seems to come into consideration. "US cracks down on Islamic charity," by Jeannine Aversa for AP, November 12 (thanks to Louis):
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration acted Wednesday against an Islamic charity suspected of helping to bankroll Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that the United States considers an international terrorist organization.The Treasury Department's action against the Union of Good means that any bank accounts or other financial assets belonging to the charity found in the United States will be frozen. Americans also are barred from making donations to the group, which the U.S. government alleged was created by leaders of Hamas to transfer money to Hamas....
The department alleged that the Union of Good "acts as a broker for Hamas" by facilitating money transfers among a web of charitable organizations — some of which the United States has already put on its blacklist of terrorist financiers — and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza.
"Some of the funds transferred by the Union of Good have compensated Hamas terrorists by providing payments to the families of suicide bombers," Treasury alleged.
The Union of Good facilitates "the transfer of tens of millions of dollars a year to Hamas-managed associations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," the department said.
I doubt, as you probably also do, that the Obama administration has the inclination or will to cut off the zakat pipeline funding jihad. And we will all be less safe and secure, especially Jews in Israel and everywhere else.
Fer cryin' out loud, the Obamanauts have already made contacts and overtures to HAMAS, and also, it seems, FARC and every other blasted outfit of killers, destroyers, and haters. All sub rosa and deniable liasons, mind you.
NEWSFLASH to all those Kool-Aid drinkers, (quasi-religious) peyote smokers, and Kumbaya-crowd who think that Obama means Peace--you chose Dishonor, not Peace Now; you will have WAR later.
That's some commercial for islam.
No, it doesn't appear to come into consideration but it should and it must be addressed directly as related to funding violent jihad - especially now with the obvious push towards sharia compliant financial instruments.
From the article:
"The Union of Good facilitates "the transfer of tens of millions of dollars a year to Hamas-managed associations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip...".
Well, first, we need to rewrite that a little - for 'in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip', write 'in Muslim-dominated Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip'.
But now, let's take that fact - that Hamas is receiving tens of millions of dollars a year from just one source (and there would be others, I am sure) - and another fact, that the border between Gaza and Egypt is riddled with tunnels through which they seem to be able to smuggle vast quantities of weapons, ammo and explosives, etc - and set it alongside *this* little pity party from the UN and the Poooor Palestinians [TM], as dutifully reported by somebody (no Reuters/ AP/ AFP tag on it) and repeated unquestioningly by Australia's ABC on 12 November:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/12/2417927.htm?section=justin
"The United Nations says Israel's week-long blockade of the territory is shameful, and almost 800,000 people will be out of food in two days, unless fresh supplies are allowed in.'
"Israel allowed partial resumption of the fuel supply yesterday, after pleas from the international Middle East envoy Tony Blair."
How much food and fuel would 'tens of millions of dollars' buy? And if they've got all those tunnels, and they're bringing in weapons, ammo and HE, what's stopping them smuggling in food?
(And everybody studiously ignores the fact that, if one looks carefully at the maps, one sees that the 'Gaza Strip' contains farmland and grazing land as well as urban areas - so are the inhabitants *really* totally, utterly dependent on imports, like a Manhattan apartment-dweller? Are there no chooks? No goats? No fruit trees, not even one? Not a single melon patch or pumpkin patch? ).
All the assets of this and other such organizations should be seized and used to ameliorate the financial crisis.
With Obama's sympathies or at least alliances with Islamists and extreme leftists, it is hard to believe that anything will improve under Obama. Of course, it is possible that he may feel the need to prove his critics wrong. It is possible that he may find cover with his leftist street cred to take on leftists and their Islamist quasi-allies. It is possible that he might pull a "only Nixon could go to China." It is possible, but it is doubtful.
The following is good news, perhaps. Maybe CAIR is undergoing an internal combustion. On the other hand, this hydra-headed organization has plenty of fanatics to draw from to replace its troubled top-level administration. Also, CAIR has a decentralized structure, so some of the CAIR chapters, like the Chicago chapter, are thriving and successfully engaging in more and more legal jihad and dissemination of Wahhabi propaganda, even if the leadership of the whole entity may be in trouble.
"Within the last year and a half, the staff of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has dwindled tremendously. The latest casualty is that of CAIR-Miami’s Communications Director and Hamas-defender, Omer Subhani. The causes for the drop-off, including that of scandal, vary as much as the excuses given."
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=A14A9D58-574D-4225-B6DF-0517329E694F
OT folks,
...but I have to say, while things are going quite well for me personally, I'm concerned as hell over the economy.
Consumer spending has dropped off the table....massive lay-offs are on their way....it seems that every corporation in America is begging uncle Sam for a handout....our deficit is about to explode to stratospheric levels...the USA as a country is about to have its credit rating reduced from AAA, with all the attendant repercussions...
The entire philosophy of free enterprise is under siege right now.
Can anyone offer up some CREDIBLE words of encouragement?
Can anyone offer up some CREDIBLE words of encouragement?
Posted by: Cornelius
The most credible word about the economy that I can come up with is 'GULP'...
Sorry know that's not very encouraging...
The 'Union of Good' gets caught 'doing bad'.
The 'Holy Land' Foundation is 'not so Holy'.
CAIR really does not care.
The Religion of Peace...Ain't.
Cornelius,
how about, "it's always darkest before the dawn"?
Sorry, that is about as much encouragement as I can muster as I agree that things are looking pretty bleak.
Credible words of encouragement...yes I believe I can.
"I see before me a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny.
You come here as free men, and free men you are.
What will you do without freedom?
Will you fight?
No, we will run and we will live.
Aye, fight and you may die.
Run, and you'll live, a while longer.
And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this one to that, for one chance, JUST ONE CHANCE to come back here and tell our enemies, they may take our lives, BUT THEY'LL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM."
The politics are against us. The media is against us. Our new president is against us. All the odds are against us, but any time I hear that crap I think back and can't remember for the life of me Colonial Americans asking the British if it was okay for them to demand, and then take, their independence. I don't remember Charles Martel, Queen Isabella of Spain, Jean Parisot de la Valette, Don Juan of Austria or Jan Sobieski asking the Muslims if it was okay for them to keep what was rightfully theirs.
Frank Gaffney said last week at the Coalition Against Sharia conference that our response must be violent. He did not mean we should hurt people with violence, like Muslims do as they lie and hide behind their victim status, but that we must be determined and swift to crush Sharia financing with no mercy. We must let the enemy know the measure of our resolve.
Perhaps we are disorganized. Perhaps we aren't sure we can do it. Perhaps we've bought the hype that America is down the tubes. I haven't though. This disturbing and deceptive election has steeled my resolve. I know that I will stand against this because it is what I was born to do. I don't know if I will live through it or if my that I love so much will still be standing when it's all over. But God gave me a brain and a heart, and courage and there are others coming after me. I was fortunate enough to be at a dinner Saturday night where I met Jeffrey Imm ( what a great guy) and he reminded us not to be fatalistic because he said that we who fight against this foe and support the values that made this country great are a precious commodity. Did you guys get that? We are a precious commodity and worth saving. We will need to be around when the dust settles. So we can give up. We've got to pray and think and scheme and fight because we are precious and our country and culture our precious and we have the something the Muslims don't have, minds and a country of our own.
God bless all here.
That's, we CAN'T give up. 'Sorry, I get sloppy when I get tired.
One would think that since this keeps happening, someone would get a clue -- this charitable support comes from people who believe that by paying zakat to aid jihad, they are discharging their religious duty. But this aspect of the Islamic charity phenomenon never seems to come into consideration.
...................
I've said this before, but it bears repeating--early on I thought sending money to aid terrorists through charities, as reprehensible as that was, was simple money-laundering. I believed that most people sent in their money in good faith, sure that it would build schools or help sick kids.
Gradually I began to realize that I was wrong. In most cases, aiding the terrorists (early on I wasn't aware of the concept of "Jihad") *was* the charity. "Zakat" is often simply translated as "charity"--but not charity in the sense that we in the West use the term.
Oh, I'm sure that there are a few who give money in good faith, but I believe they are a tiny minority.
We give a certain amount of money to charity--the American Red Cross, the local Library's literacy programs, local church groups that feed the hungry, as well as contribute relief to specific crises, such as the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
We do try to vet the charities we give to. If we found that one of these groups was, say, funneling money to violent white supremasists or neo-Nazi groups, we would be *horrified*--and would be very vocal in our condemnation.
Where is the outrage by people who gave money to outfits like the "Union of Good"? Any outrage is very, very quiet. I think it should be obvious by now that by far the majority of those who have given to the Holy Land Foundation, Global Relief Foundation, and the Union of Good (God, what a name!) knew exactly what they are doing.
They are funding Jihad--and, God help us--they consider it a *virtue*, indeed, an obligation. In these circumstances, Islamic charities will resemble the hydra--cut off one head, and several more will pop up in its place.
The true meaning of Zakat...
For the Ayatollahs...Limo's, pepsi's, decent food, fancy cloths, great houses, tv's, computers, four wives, servants, a large camel herd, and lots of tents.
For the recipients of 'charity'...A yearly falafel allowance, a tent, one box of matches, one porta potty, an AK47, a suicide belt, and and one camel.
They know what they're doing. That money can't pass through non-Muslim hands. There are legitimate Islamic charities. There never have been. There never can be because Muslims don't believe in charity. They believe that whatever Allah doles out is what one deserves. So they donate to the Ikhwan in one way or another, and they thereby fund stealth jihad and HAMAS. It's pretty easy to do since 99% of the mosques in North America and Western Europe are owned by the Ikhwan. Or they give it to ISNA, NAIT, or the MSU. Same end result. That's why it's not unfair to characterize all Muslims as terrorists. They all fund jihad, therefore they are all terrorists. 2.5% of their income of $1725 annually. All of them.
Yet another reason why Islam is intolerable and inherently seditious.
Yet another reason why Islam is intolerable and inherently seditious.
Posted by: jdamn
How do you manage to be right on the money so often?
Because, unfortunately, cynicism is usually the most correct perspective when it comes to Islam. It's awful, but whatever your worst suspicion is, that what it always turns out to be, if not worse. Then you find some codification of whatever abberant behavior it happens to be in Islamic texts. I started examining Islam because I was sure that my worst fears and preconceptions just had to be the result of my own ignorance. What I found was so much worse than anything I could have ever imagined. Even what we see on TV about the Taliban is still a whitewashed version of Islam. You don't see the pedophilia, the sexual abuse, the beating, the animal abuse, the forced marriage, etc., etc. And you get the impression that it's not like that in every Islamic paradise...until you find out that it is.
jdamn -
I concur completely with your posting of 12.40 am:
The experience of finding out what is inside Islam is rather like the experience of reading Dante's 'Inferno': what you encounter gets worse, and worse, and worse, as you go down, and down, and down. (Ever read Charles Williams' marvellously poetic 'take' on Dante, 'The Figure of Beatrice'? - if you read the section where he discusses the Inferno, you'll understand what I mean - the Inferno is an anatomy, a psychology, of the process of corruption of the soul and of society, if that soul or that society refuses to turn back).
Here, from this thread
http://jihadwatch.org/archives/012373.php
on jihadwatch, two years ago,
is an exchange between Mr Fitzgerald and another poster, which was so arresting that I copied and kept it.
I reproduce it here for those who may not want to click the link and rummage around in the comments field:
"Yes Hugh - we can read all that [Hugh’s ‘History Boys’ essay, listing the sources and the scholars].
'Or we can merely get one casual email post in our overflowing email boxes saying – “Hey! Did you know that the prophet Muhammad (whom Muslims worship as the most perfect man) was actually a mass-murderer? A thief? A rapist? A slave trader? A pedophile?”
'And we "rubes" can think to our ignorant "rube" selves - no bloody way!
" And then do about 2 hours of homework (1 solid day max for the skeptical) and confirm to ourselves -
"oh hell yes effing way!"
'And in several short hours (OK- a an entire day for the skeptical) put 2 and 2 together - what the Koran says + what the likes of UBL and Hamas and Hezbollah say + the massive obfuscation coming from the likes of CAIR and Tariq Ramadan and the MSA say
'(a 5 minute lesson in the meaning of taqiyya takes care of that ambiguity)
+ what a rapid perusal of world history would confirm (OK - to be fair - give that a whole extra day) -
'and one readily goes from "no way in hell!" to - "Holy s**t! This is for real!"
'It ain't rocket science. And seriously, infidels (both westerners and easterners) ought not to insult their dignity and intelligence by pretending it is.
'Old Hans Christian Anderson will no doubt live on as the wisest sage the west has ever known where Islam is concerned...
'Which is my blunt way of saying that by all means, those so inclined should read Schacht, and Hurgronje and Tisdall.
'But also to point out that some of us won't. Some of us would just as soon look at the noses on the end of our faces and have no doubt whatsoever about what Islam is all about.
'In the end, one need only look at Islam's source - Muhammad - and confirm just a few facts about the man himself (and those facts are easily confirmed for those who are willing to look) - and all the rest just falls easily into place. '
- Posted by: Caroline at July 25, 2006 9:48 PM
HUGH:
'You are right.
'Whatever manages to supply enough of the truth, and to allow one to convey that truth convincingly to others so they begin to comprehend the nature of the belief-system (try not to call it a "religion") of Islam, surely does not require all kinds of study.
'But such study, when one has the time, merely deepens one's horrified convictions.
'Ordinarily, as you read more about something, you more and more see the thing in its complexity, and shades of gray, and are more and more hesitant to pass judgment.
'With Islam, the more you find out about what it teaches,
'the more you find out about the example of Muhammad,
'the more you find out about what Islam does to its adherents,
'
the more you find out about Jihad in time and space,
'the more you find out about the fate of non-Muslims under Muslim rule,
'the more horrified you become.
'But it isn't all necessary.
'Sometimes a single thing will do it.
'Here's the single thing about Iran that often does it: the fact that when he came to power, one of Khomeini's very first acts (perhaps the first) was to lower the marriageable age of girls to nine.
'Tell that to people you know. And then tell them why."
- Posted by: Hugh at July 25, 2006 10:41 PM
I'll repeat Hugh's statement, because anyone who has ever been a scholar and really gotten into a subject, knows exactly what he means:
"Ordinarily, as you read more about something, you more and more see the thing in its complexity, and shades of gray, and are more and more hesitant to pass judgment."
"With Islam, the more you find out...the more horrified you become."
The clock keeps ticking until Dec 4th or 15th when the Electoral votes are counted. The process goes forward to either approval of this Islamic President-elect, or denial since his country of birth is still in limbo. He can get a pass, and with that one action our Constitution will be dead in the water. Do we live as a free nation with Law, not men, or in a dictatorship of the worst kind?
There is only one thing we can do, must do, and that is to fight. Surrender, hell! Not an option.
The clock keeps ticking until Dec 4th or 15th when the Electoral votes are counted. The process goes forward to either approval of this Islamic President-elect, or denial since his country of birth is still in limbo. He can get a pass, and with that one action our Constitution will be dead in the water. Do we live as a free nation with Law, not men, or in a dictatorship of the worst kind?
There is only one thing we can do, must do, and that is to fight. Surrender, hell! Not an option.
The clock keeps ticking until Dec 4th or 15th when the Electoral votes are counted. The process goes forward to either approval of this Islamic President-elect, or denial since his country of birth is still in limbo. He can get a pass, and with that one action our Constitution will be dead in the water. Do we live as a free nation with Law, not men, or in a dictatorship of the worst kind?
There is only one thing we can do, must do, and that is to fight. Surrender, hell! Not an option.
Isabellathecrusader,
I see you've quoted Mel Gibson's poignant words in his portrayal of William Wallace in the film Braveheart. However much has changed.
Firstly, William Wallace had the backing of the Scottish People, albeit apart from the odd Scottish Lairds who fought for the Longshanks.
Secondly when William united people and there were none of his own ready to serve him up on a plate to the English. Sure, he was eventually betrayed but they still got in quite a few battles and sacked York.
Thirdly, the only people that William Wallace and the Scots were fighting against were the English. They were not in fact fighting against their own people as such. However, later on the Scots did fight amongst themselves at the time of the Jacobites in the 18th Century.
Fourthly, there were no Police or secret services following his every move then as there would be today. Had he been alive today, he'd be in the nick for inciting racial and religious hatred.
I believe there are many William Wallaces all over Europe(forgive me, European friends, you can change William Wallace for your own folk heroes), ready to rise up and strike a blow for freedom, but many are wary and many have been arrested for trying to do so.
At the time of William Wallace, they knew who the enemy were, here they are all around us, we don't know if the person we're speaking to is true patriot or a government/police spy ready to grass us up. How many times have you seen programmes where the police and the media have 'moles' pretending to be freedom fighters?
The situation is grim because in order to unite the public we have to speak to them and let them know just what is going on. However, any attempt at doing so, whether it be a small meeting or a large one, the police will be there to arrest for 'Inciting Religious Hatred" as passed in their 2005 legislation bill in Parliament to protect Muslims. Any speaking against Islam and you'll be arrested. Look at what happened to Nick Griffin when he called Islam a "wicked faith"? Look at what happened to the British blogger Lionheart(no relation) who put up a website to warn people of Islam?
The government knows what it's doing. It knows how the people feel. It's milking the system as much as it can and trying to drastically change our culture and establishments(education systems, police, army) in order to combat the anger that the public will reap on them and it's trying to do this ever so fast.
If only it were that easy to stand up and make that speech in the UK, I'd be doing it now. My only problem is that if I did, not only would every radical Muslim be baying for my blood(not a problem, but they'd hurt me through my family) the police would be also, issuing a warrant for my arrest.
The situation is exceptionally hard and the government is shutting every conceivable air hole to keep us trapped under the ice.
I wrote an essay on Zakat, named Generosity is good, Zakat is bad. The essay is partly based on Timur Kuran's excellent book Islam and Mammon, which anyone interested in the subject should read. It's brief (
Thanks for trying folks.
I'm just trying to remember that during the recession of 1974-75 - when I was a teen - things looked similarly bleak, and we came through it.
Same as the recessions of '79-'82 and '90-'91...
...but this one has a different feel. The unemployment rate is still comparatively low (that's about to change), but it's the number of bank and corporate failures that seem so cataclysmic.
I have a buddy who is a stock-broker. We've been talking on the phone and I've been trying to buck him up, telling him things will turn around.
He scoffs at me...as if he knows something I don't.
It's worrisome.
Cornelius,
The current unemployment figures in the UK(I presume you are from the UK or else you're up very late in the USA, or very early) are 1.825million. Predicted forecasts put the UK's unemployment rate to be 3-4 million by 2010. In today's papers, the government has stated that had they forecast a recession five years ago(they were warned) they'd not have gone for the Olympics.
The figure is going to get much worse and there will be a lot of anger. They also say that it's the middle classes who are going to be most hit. All I can really say to that is GOOD. Although middle class myself, this will wake up many people to the current problems in the UK. They will no longer have the selfish attitude of "It's not affecting me so I'm not interested".
Too many selfish people in the UK now, thinking only for themselves and family and they have forgotten that to live in a society, which really is a larger community and many joined together, they all have to get along and help one another.
I think by 2010, I'll be out of the UK so I'll be happy, but then it's going to be the wakeup call Britain needs.
Consumer spending has dropped off the table....massive lay-offs are on their way....it seems that every corporation in America is begging uncle Sam for a handout....
Cornelius
Sorry, but no enouraging words here. 2 mil home foreclosures done, 4 mil pending, and 15 mil more now not able to keep up with payments. GM, Chrysler, don't have cars that market wants due to fuel consumtion worries by consumer, Ford has same problem and getting weaker plus the same union contracts that Japanese mfrs. don't have. Even Japanese auto Mfrs. are weak. Politicians blowing about high mileage cars that cannot be produced yet, and the consumer is hunkered down waiting for that politician's dream green car with dream green energy supplies that they are peddling but don't really exist now or any time soon. Even used car sales are down 40% and getting weaker as there are fewer used cars becoming available. (Service shops doing very well though.)
How to fix this? Stop mortgage foreclosures and provide immediate reliable long term cheap energy. Our economic expansion over the last 100 years was possible due to our manufacturing and the availability of cheap fuel. We need to get our manufacturing back but we may be at the end of the cheap fuel era. The best chance is for government to help Boone Pickins and others like him and not to throw away good dollars after bad as they are doing now.
There is only one thing worse than a high percentage of our population going broke and that is for our government to go broke or lose their AAA rating. If they go broke we all go broke. Just wait until January - June when all the states see their revenues fall off the cliff. Feds will have the same experience. Hold on to your wallets. Sorry again for bearing bad news.
Richard,
No, I'm a yank. But I am aware that Europe's unemployment rate is habitually higher than here (with the possible exception of Ireland, the by-product of its remarkably low tax-rates).
I guess things stand to get very bad on both sides of the pond.
Spot on,
"...provide immediate reliable long term cheap energy"
...sounds easier said than done old friend.
As for Slim Pickens, wind and solar are not going to cut it. In my mind, it's nuclear for electricity...and liquefied natural gas for transportation (we are the Saudis of LNG, having trillions of cubic meters underground).
The latter can be implemented swiftly; the former will take time to construct.
Spot on,
Your post summing up the way things are in our economy, and where they are apt to go, is very good.
The only encouraging words I have are cliche, but true: "Adversity builds character". In this case, we aren't talking so much about individual Americans, as we are the US government, banks, and large corporations.
I believe that, when the major auto manufacturers realize they are going under, they will dig into their cash stashes, and get to work developing that new engine we need--the one that doesn't use gasoline. I just hope they don't gouge potential consumers, when it's ready to market. The same goes for the gas and coal fueling our electricity.
Personally, I'm scared of nuclear energy, but that's probably a stone age fear, and the result of having seen "The China Syndrome" one time too many. ;)
Now, where the banks are concerned, my outlook is less than optimistic. The banks have gotten used to begging. It's been successful before, it's successful now, and I'm sure they think it will be a viable option for the future. They may find this not to be the case. I hope it won't.
It might be time to quietly remove any money you have in savings, and, if you think you can stand it, to close your checking account. I qualify this with "if you think you can stand it", because I'm not so sure I can. Checking is convenient.
Will adversity build character, in our government, itself? Who can say? My guess is that it won't. The government is too big. Most of the muckety-mucks in it are too greedy. Unless citizens become vocal and visible--and troublesome, we'll get our bones picked.
Reminds me of the Civil War--there are always unscrupulous people, ready to profit from other people's losses.
To those who are demanding America's demise, and cheer at each obstacle we encounter, take note: When America folds, we'll have no use for the crap you sell, other than petroleum. I think we well probably go back to making some things, ourselves. When the US goes down, nearly everyone else will fall with us.
Be gentle with me, if you disagree, okay? I'm just another tired and angry American, who hasn't had the benifit of much education, and who only started to pay attention, in the last seven years or so...
Take heart, Cornelius--
Poverty sucks. It's the way I grew up, and I still live from paycheck to paycheck.
Yet another cliche, "Necessity is the mother of invention", applies here. Having money isn't the only way to survive. There's also barter, for goods and services. Who knows what the individual, left to his own devices, will find that he or she can do?
The first time I was laid off from my job, I found out that I could (gasp!) actually make wearable clothes. It's no cheaper to do so, these days, if you must have new fabrics. It's easier to buy that blouse made in Pakistan, and forget about it. However, if you have remnants in a "rag bag" as my great-grandmother used to call it, you might be surprised at what you can whip up.
Grandmother also saved every button that ever came with a garment. She had use for them, too, though some still remain in the old round box I used to play with, when I was a little girl.
Among the posters here are potential farmers, gardeners, weavers, knitters, spinners, dyers, mechanics, inventors, novelists (yes, even writers have something to sell, even if it's self-published), carpenters,--the list is a long one. Now is the perfect time to grab an idea, and experiment. When you find the right one, run with it!
Let's not forget--the Renaissance had its roots in the "Dark Ages".
Poverty sucks. It's hard, at first. But it also gets interesting, after a while. Every thing old is new, creativity is awakened, satisfaction is gained, by the work of one's hands.
Cornelius:
In response, I paraphrase from Bram Stoker's character Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula: "...we must pass through bitter waters before we reach the sweet waters..."
As for all these "charities", well, hasn't enough billions of dollars been spent in the Middle East just by the US alone buying thier oil? And what of the other billions sent as "foreign aid"? I'll be honest, I watch those Save the Children commercials (why hosted by a somewhat overweight formr US actress?) and feel no sympathy. I get the catalgoues from the various charities featuring some celebrity on the cover excoriating me to give (more) and I just toss 'em into the recycling bin. I think about why ask me for money when so many billion, trillions have been given over the decades and has any problem resolved? I actively support both in personal action and money local animal rescue charities where I can see exactly where my money and efforts go and are used and appreciated. Let OBama and his supportes and the $600 million he raised help some of thes folks out. Leave me alone.
All right you guys, I know how you are feeling and I understand standing on the edge of despair. But we've got to get over this and buck up. We are better than this. We are better than the diabolical machinations of the looming Obama debacle.
Richard, I understand all the things you said in your post of 6:49am but you know what? That speech by Mel (I love him...you can never have enough Mel in your life) is not for just the right times. It is for all times, for all peoples. God gave us freedom, i.e., free will and the freedom to be who we want to be. And if God gave it to me then I know it is rightfully mine and like Sir Thomas More says in A Man for All Seasons about his life being in his own hands, I'll keep a good grip on it.
There are too many stories, too many precedents for people who came before who faced terrible atrocities, walked through hell and came out the other side to live full lives. I will not give up or give in. I may have to now live my life covertly, pretend to spout the party line while undermining the enemy behind the scenes (who does that remind us of?) and never stop.
Just because Obama was elected and it looks like Europe is about to cave to the Muslims we've got to remember that God isn't dead. Many times in European history when it looked like all was lost people got on their knees and asked God to help them. And He did!!!
Think Battle of Lepanto. Think about the battle of Malta. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-466818/Historys-bloodiest-siege-used-human-heads-cannonballs.html No one answered the call for help in Malta. None of the princes of Europe would send help. So Jean Parisot de la Valette prayed his brains out, encouraged his men and fought like the Christian warrior that he was. His situation looked hopeless and yet he didn't despair.
Anytime I start to feel like I can't do it I go back and read that article and then I know I can go on. Plus the guy is a relative of mine (I went back and found him in the family tree and sure enough he and I are kin) and that makes me cognizant of the fact that I've got his blood running through my veins and that counts for something. Believe me, I hope I don't ever have to shed it. I'm more of a sit around, watch a good movie, eat a bowl of popcorn and paint my toenails kind of gal than someone who will be out trawling for a war. But I am a free woman, through and through, and I value my freedom more than my life and when someone threatens it I can get pretty pissed off and that catapults me into action.
I don't want to die an awful death, but I might because I cannot sit by and watch my country go down the tubes just because people think there is nothing we can do about it. To paraphrase Jim Caveziel's character Johann in "I am David", if you are alive you can change things; if you're dead you can't.
Everybody needs to get out the motivational movies. My favorites when I need reminding of how other people overcame incredible odds:
1) John Adams with Paul Giamatti - "While I live let me have a country of my own"
2) Braveheart - "Every man dies; not every man really lives"
3) The Patriot - "You have done nothing for which you should feel ashamed," "I have done nothing and for that I am ashamed"
4) Drums Along the Mohawk with Henry Fonda
5) A Tale of Two Cities with Ronald Coleman
6) Amazing Grace with Ioan Gruffudd
7) A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe
8) The Scarlet & the Black with Gregory Peck
9) Spy Games with Robert Redford
10)or even Gone With the Wind
You guys, I love you and you matter to me. Don't let the unforeseen future take away your hope. We have everything to live for and many of us here will do amazing things in the coming years. We will probably have to do them underground. We may have to be deceptive and we may not get to live the lives we have lived, but as long as we are here and have the will to make this place better, even if it's just for a few people around us, we can make the difference. If anyone doubts this, where do you think Robert came from?
Abscedere,
You evaluation of the economy looks right on. I was thinking this morning if we have to worry about our government taking our savings, retirement funds, etc.
As greedy and corrupt as these politicians have shown us they are, I wouldn't put anything past them.
Can you imagine how much inflation of the currency is going on. Its scarey and the Government thinks it is necessary to avoid deflation. If the economy ever comes back we are really going to get inflation big time.
Cornelius,
Pickens can keep his windmills. I was mainly thinking of the LNG. As you pointed out, LNG is the real answer and it could be implemented fairly quick.
The problem is that John-Q-Public has no real technical background and is becoming real scared. Solar and windmills sound good to them but these are pie-in-the-sky ideas for now. We need more power plants before we can use electric cars in any quantity. Our politicians are screwing everything and everybody up. Pickens is the only one so far to step forward to offer something that will work. (I believe he added the windmills just to get liberal support and money.)
I drive a diesel SUV (24 MPG) and I have been known to joke about battery/gasoline hybrids but I have changed my tune. For city driving these would be fine. A few weeks ago I was passed in the wink of an eye by a Toyota Prius on the interstate. The Prius was going at least 80 MPH. I am certain that Toyota has some pretty good patents on that car. They have a 20 week backlog in delivering them to customers. Possibly the Toyota patents are why our American Mfrs. are having a hard time moving forward.
Cornelius wrote:
Can anyone offer up some CREDIBLE words of encouragement?
.................
Cornelius, like you I am very concerned about the current financial crisis. That both parties were so quick to rush to "planned economy" bailouts (with more in the works) is also extremely disturbing.
But remember--a free market--and the American economy is the closest in the world to a truly free market--is the greatest engine for wealth creation in the history of the world. That hasn't changed.
I was more and more troubled by the growing reliance on credit--especially sub-prime loans. We bought our house ten years ago, and had very well-meaning friends urge us to go for an adjustable mortgage, but I knew this could not be sustainable. We also bought a house we could afford, rather than a "McMansion". We hoped the property would appreciate, but realized that there was no guarantee that it would--nor should there be.
Now, credit is an essential element, and is indispensable for buy a home, a new car, or starting or expanding a business. But there is no doubt that credit was being roundly abused, both by big business and the average credit card holder carrying a massive balance.
In the early days of the financial meltdown, it was often cited that many companies regularly borrowed money to make payroll. This is insane! Unless a company is a start-up, or going through a large expansion, then using borrowed money to pay one's employees is unsustainable. That this was standard operating procedure for so many companies was a very bad sign.
More people are returning to that old standby, layaway, rather than running up credit card bills. This can be seen as a sign of desperation, but I think it's a good sign.
We need to be more self-reliant, especially when it comes to energy. There are at least some signs that there is now bi-partisan interest in becoming energy independent (or at least moving tin that direction).
This "does not" mean that I am sanguine about the state of thing--I am deeply concerned about growing unemployment, especially as I have a lot of relatives in construction and engineering, two industries especially hard-hit by the real estate melt-down. I also have a number of relatives who are ready to retire, and the losses in retirement funds and IRAs are quite devastating. In addition, I am deeply concerned that government policies--bailouts and "soft-socialist" schemes especially--will prolong or worsen the crisis. In addition, I'm concerned--in Europe and the UK especially--that Islamic entities, such as Saudi Arabia and Dubai, will be allowed to buy up Western assets in the guise of a "bail out".
Still, even though he was much reviled for it, I think that John McCain was right when he said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong. I think there are some reasons to think that not only will we come out of this crisis, but we will come out it stronger.
Great responses folks; Abscadere's was particularly inspirational and Isabelle's very heart-felt, but each one of you made very valid statements.
Having read these responses, I'd say yes, I feel better today than I felt yesterday...(can't say the same for the Dow).
I guess we're just going to have to keep the faith in the face of adversity...faith in the morality and utility of the free market...faith in the tender mercies of a higher power....faith in ourselves...and in each other.
Hang tough guys...and thanks for the encouragement.
Retraction: Dow was down 400+ at 2:00...closed up 500+...interesting times we're living in, eh?
Cornelius -
building on what Abscedere said:
if you have a yard, and it's big enough - plant a long-lived fruit or nut tree, and if you don't already have a vegie patch, make one. We're fighting a death cult? - right, then let's make sure we actively affirm LIFE, in every possible way.
All those of us, wherever we are in the world, who have access to earth that gets a reasonable amount of sun per day, can grow at least some of our own food; more if we have to. I've been eating fresh native raspberries (i.e. 2 wild species native to Australia) for four months, without having had to do anything except establish the plants. I've got more berry bushes coming along; and am just about to harvest a large hand of bananas.
OK, there's unemployment, hard times ahead? - Our grandparents and great-grandparents got through the Great Depression by growing their own food; and during WWII in Britain, people turned lawns and ornamental gardens into food-growing areas.
The less far the food has to travel from the field to the table, the better it tastes anyway - and the less fuel has to be burned to transport it, which cuts down, yet again, on the amount of revenue going to the Enemy.
Gardens that produce medicinal herbs, culinary herbs, fruit and vegies can also be established, if people have the will and the imagination, in the grounds of primary schools and churches; that way, people who live in flats and don't have ground of their own, can put in some work and be provided for.
There are community gardens in many places, and I think allotment gardens still exist in some parts of Britain. Involvement in such things helps to build civil society.
Dumbledoresarmy,
Good stuff. I've always found a certain spirituality in gardening.
Thanks again to everyone who put in their two cents; your collective wisdom is cause for hope.
Cornelius and everyone else here, many thanks to you all.I really enjoyed reading all your comments. It made my day.
One more thing that ties in what Dumbledore and Abscedere said, if you plant veggies you will probably share some with your neighbors. Anyone who's ever grown zucchini knows what I'm talking about.
Could this danger, mess, whatever you want to call it, be facing us so that we will go back to being kind and considerate to our neighbor and think less of ourselves? It's harder to screw people over if you have to go into survival mode and still have a working conscience.
I would argue that this is absolutely necessary. We need this in order to scale back. We need smaller government, lower taxes, and fewer Democrat policies. We need to stop spending money on crap that doesn't help anyone, like rebuilding Iraq. Even Gordon Brown is agreeing with me on all of the above, which proves how true it is.
If money were tighter we would have more incentive to build zero-emissions cars. We would have more incentive to make people more accountable. I would argue for a complete overhaul of our entire system, starting with taking the vote away from non-taxpayers, shutting down the public school system, decimating government, decimating taxes, doing away with tax breaks on behalf of dependents, and then increasing them 100% for each and every dependent. We also need to stop immigrantion from every country that is not in the top 50 of the HDI, with exceptions for Indians, who would be if not for the 15% Muslim population. Immigrants should contribute to our society, not parasitize it. PAY TO PLAY. If we just stopped enabling parasites, be they immigrants, prostitute tapeworm housewives, or companies looking for handouts, then companies would want to stay in America. But that's not Barack Obama's America. That's Larry Elder's America. He's an actual black guy, an actual American, and he got where he is legitimately, not through shady 5th-column connections. He knows what's right and what's wrong with America. So do my parents, who both came from nothing, my mother an immigrant from post-war Italy, and they made amazing lives for themselves. They've seen what's happened to America over the years and they don't like it. My children will not have it better than I did unless we change everything. So let's do it.
Just remember, kufr boys and babes, mixing cucumbers and tomatoes is strictly haram!
Dumbledore, Those gardens of which you speak were called Victory Gardens during WWII. Sounds like a great idea.