Global Nation Organization

Please forgive me for posting others works for now. I will be traveling for the next few months and will not have the time or resources to write much. I will post things I find from others that are relevant to the message of securing the future.

Thank you for taking the time to read. ~ Sara

==================================

Ways to Defeat Islamic Jihadism

By: Amil Imani
Jan 12, 2008 - 01:54 AM

This is an urgent call to all free people to rise and defeat the Islamic Jihadists who are marching under the banner of the Qur’an to subdue all non-Muslims.

It is imperative that the values and the way of life of civilized people be protected against the assault of Jihadists’ savagery born from a primitive culture of long ago Arabia. There is nothing to negotiate here. Nothing to compromise, for the Jihadists are on a non-negotiable campaign of Allah. The goal of this mission from Allah is the eradication of just about everything that falls under the rubric of human rights.

It takes every free human to do his or her share in defeating Jihadism. Below is a partial list of what can be done.

* You don’t have to take up arms and go around killing the Jihadists. That’s the Jihadists’ way of dealing with us and anyone they don’t approve of. Decent humans value life, even the life of a Jihadist. By contrast, the Jihadists have no compunctions at amputating limbs, stoning, beheading and hanging people even en mass. The brutal mullahs ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomed the new-year by hanging thirteen people, one of them the mother of two young children. We need to dry up their sources of support and beat them in the battle of ideas. We need to show them the fallacy and danger of their pathological belief.

* Fight to end the deadly practice of political correctness. Truth, only naked truth, can set us free. And freedom is our greatest gift of life. Life without freedom is death disguised as life. Remember Patrick Henry’s cry: Give me liberty or give me death. We must fight for life, for liberty and freedom.

* Demand that politicians, Islamic apologists, and paid-for media do not abuse freedom by lying about Islam. When these people portray Islam as a religion of peace, they are lying through their teeth. Just take a quick look at Islam’s history as well as what is happening today in the Islamic lands. Islam is not a religion of peace and it has never been. Islam is violent, oppressive, racist, and irrational at its very core. It is treachery for people to present it as otherwise, either out of ignorance or because of their own personal reasons.

* Challenge your leftist professors who may be retained by Islamic front organizations to trumpet Islam’s virtues. Demand transparency from hired lobbyists and the liberal mainstream media. Sadly, a percentage of people in Western Democracies are born alienated. These people seem to a have congenital hatred of their own societies; they ally themselves with any and all people and forces that aim to destroy our cherished way of life, and they live by the motto: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They eagerly join forces with the Saddam Husseins and Hugo Chavezes of the world.

* Demand that Islamic literature, including the hate and violence manual called the Qur’an, be purged of all violent and hate spewed toward non-Muslims. Is it too much to ask that non-Muslims not be targeted for hate by the so-called sacred religious text? What kind of religion is this? Religion is supposed to bring people together, and not put them at each others’ throats. The Muslims must be made to understand that and they must reciprocate the tolerance that the non-Muslims voluntarily afford them.

* Do not allow any special privileges whatsoever granted to Muslims. Demand that all Muslims have their first and foremost loyalty to the United States and its Constitution and not to the Islamic Ummeh, the Qur’an, and the shariah law. Europe is rapidly buckling under the pressure of Islamism. Just a couple of examples: Germany has legalized polygamy to placate Muslim men, Italy is forced to plan separate beaches for Muslim women.

* Demand that none of the barbaric provisions of Islamic sharia be practiced. Just because a woman is born into a Muslim family, that shouldn’t force her to lead a subservient life to a man, for example. All family matters and disputes, without exceptions, must be adjudicated according to the civil laws of the country.

* A Muslim is, first and foremost, an Ummehist, a citizen of international Islam. So, when a Muslim takes the United States’ Pledge of Allegiance, he is either ignorant of the implications of his pledge or is lying willfully. Sadly enough, taqqiyeh (lying, or dissimulation) is not only condoned, it is recommended to the Muslims in their scripture. Hence, a Muslim can and would lie without any compunctions, whenever it is expedient.

* Require that the large number of recent arrival Muslims be carefully vetted for their terrorism and Jihadists backgrounds and beliefs. Many recent arrivals from places such as Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan come as refugees and bring with them their pathological anti-American system of belief. It is criminal to admit these refugees without demanding that they completely renounce their allegiance to the hate dogma of Islam. Those diehard devotees of Islam should make any of the eighteen or so Islamic countries home, rather than invade the secular societies and aim to subvert them.

* Demand that Muslims, without the least reservation, adhere to the provisions of the human rights. Muslims, by belief and practice, are the most blatant violators of human rights. We hardly need to detail here Muslims’ systemic cruel treatment of the unbelievers, women of all persuasions, and any and all minorities across the board. To Muslims, human rights have a different meaning, and its protective provisions are reserved strictly, primarily for Muslim men.

* Go and talk to Muslims, particularly the young and the better educated, about the horror and the fallacy of a primitive belief that has been handed down to them through an accident of birth. Show them the magnificence of freedom, in all its forms; the indispensability of tolerance for all; and, the futility of clinging to an obsolete hodge-podge of delusional ideology. The onus is clearly on the Muslims to prove the validity, utility, and sanctity of the belief they intend to impose on all of us.

* As for democracy, our cherished way of life, Muslims have no use for it at all. Muslims believe that Allah’s rule must govern the world in the form of Caliphate: a theocracy. Making mockery of democracy, subverting its working, and ignoring its provisions is a Muslim’s way of falsifying what he already believes to be a sinful and false system of governance invented by the infidels. Reason, if you can, with the Muslims that their belief is an outright rejection of the greatest gift of life: Freedom.

* Support financially and in every other legal way those individuals and organizations that are fighting the Jihadists’ relentless encroachment. Many European countries are already on the verge of capitulation to the Islamists. The Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, confidently proclaimed recently that Europe will be Islamic in a dozen years. He has good reason to say that. Muslims are forming states within states in much of European towns and cities. In Britain, for instance, non-Muslims are in serious danger entering Muslim neighborhoods

In conclusion: Folks, get off your duff. Stop saying, “let George do it.” Neither George the President, nor the “other guy” George can do it by themselves. This is a battle for survival that every one of us can help wage. Let’s get on with it before, if not you, then your children and grandchildren end up under the barbaric rule of the Jihadists.

Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American citizen and pro-democracy activist residing in the United States of America. Imani is a columnist, literary translator, novelist and an essayist, who has been writing and speaking out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran. He maintains a website at Amil Imani.

(c) 2007 by Faith Freedom International

I am already sick of hearing the word “change”. As if, any candidate running for President of the United States would NOT represent change. Please, unless George Bush was cloned at birth (and even then, the clone could not have experienced Bush’s entire life in total) no one would be just like him. Moreover, anyone who wins the Presidency will be hell bent on making his or her own mark on the nation. The last thing the new president will want to be is a Bush clone, regardless of whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. Their ego will demand they create their own legacy, for good or bad. They will want to be their own man or woman. So PLEASE stop crying about change.

To the voters, think very carefully, of what it is you want to change and not just be caught up in the mantra of the word “change”. Think about who is most likely to surpass their weaknesses and build on their strengths. In business, we would do a SWOTT analysis – examining our corporate or individual Strength’s, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and Trends.

So think long term. Think strategically. Do not think in the moment. Think into a distant tomorrow. Think beyond a single person’s lifetime because the actions we take today affect life far into the future.

Good luck America! To get you started here is a video on the Philosophy of Liberty based on Ken Schoolland’s The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey

I am not sure how much people understand the problem that is being posed by China’s cavalier attitude to product and environmental safety. If you think the toys your children are playing with are the only threat for toxicity you are wrong. Hidden problems exist.

Exactly what do you think is being done with the millions of tons of toys being recalled from lead and other heavy metal contaminants? I can tell you it will be one of two things. First, the toys will get distributed into countries with no standards for toxicity. Second, the products will be recycled. Now that may sound like a good option, but truthfully, it is not. The recycle process will separate and segregate the various parts for reprocessing. Metal pins and rods will get melted down and reformed. The plastic will get be reground and put back into the raw material supply chain.

The lead in these parts will not disappear by reheating and remolding into a new product.

On the plastic side, it is possible some of the regrind will be used for seemingly inert products, like dimensional plastic lumber. But others will be sold to plastic producers who will make who knows what with them. Most likely a lot of it will get molded into black plastic parts. Why black? Because black is the only color that will mask ALL other colors. I know this because I’m a plastic manufacturer. Internally, we reuse our scrap by regrinding and introducing small amounts back into the production process on certain parts. When making black parts we’ll increase the use of regrind. Because we are selective on the parts we will use our regrind on, we don’t use as much scrap as we make and sell it on the open market. So trust me, this is happening in China too.

The potential for toxicity is still very high and will require even more diligence on companies who are purchasing the finished products to test for heavy metal additives. There are lead test kits that home-owners can purchase, but what about all the other heavy metals such as Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, and Mercury.

Again this goes back to survival strategy. How will China’s disregard for human and environmental safety affect your personal survival, let alone the human species? This is something each of us needs to address on an individual level before contamination spirals out of control.

I know a lot of you are wondering how we at Global Nation Organization can support democracy, but rail against Islam. Simple: Islam is not a religion, but a totalitarian ideology masked as a religion. It is no different from Communism or Fascism. 

Tonight I spent most of the night looking over the American Congress For Truth website. I became intrigued by Brigitte Gabriel. Some where along the line I came across her video’s on YouTube. I realize it will take time for people to watch all seven of the videos recorded by The Heritage Foundation, but really…you must. Our freedoms are imperiled by Islamofascim, so please watch the videos. You can thank me later.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Video 7

For the past five years the world has been consumed with news from Iraq. Daily, we receive the latest death tally. Daily, we are bombarded with Arab and more objective media reports on the U.S. invasion on Iraq, referring to U.S. presence there as an occupation. I do not particularly care for the use of that word. It resonates with fascism. I am sure that is the objective of those who use it; hoping to shape our thinking on the U.S. involvement. And truthfully, that is all it is, a long drawn-out involvement.

Instead of just invading Iraq to remove a tyrant who threatened local and global relations and then leaving once the job was done, the U.S. chose to stay. Further engaging in an internal struggle for control of a region whose name for the past 69 years has been IRAQ.

Unfortunately for the American military personnel, as well as the Iraqi people, George Bush did not quite understand how Middle Easterners think. He seemed to believe the Iraqi people were waiting around for someone to come liberate them. And once liberated they would become a free and active democratic nation. No, not possible. Not at that time. What do Iraqi’s know of democracy? No other Muslim nation in the Middle East is democratic, so where is their role model?

Now I cannot fault Bush entirely, he wanted to show the Iraqi’s how to govern with fairness and trust. Perhaps thinking they would model their free nation, on a properous western-styled republic. In the end though, the Iraqi war has demonstrated, Might is Right. Unfortunately, it took George Bush five years to understand that concept. Five years and thousands of lives later the troop deployment is nearly sufficient to controll the anarchy. George Bush is finally playing by Muslim rules, Might is Right. What choice does he have?

My hope is still that the U.S. will leave Iraq immediately. Leave them to manage their own mess. Leave them to choose whether they want to slaughter each other or hammer out an agreement to establish a nation with common values; even if that choice is to separate into three new countries. Truth be told, they are stronger as one nation, with three states, than three nations that might then fracture even further.

Let Fate or Insufficiency provide
Mean ends for men who what they are would be:
Penned in their narrow day no change they see
Save one which strikes the blow to brutes and pride.
Our faith is ours and comes not on a tide:
And whether Earth's great offspring, by decree,
Must rot if they abjure rapacity,
Not argument but effort shall decide.
They number many heads in that hard flock:
Trim swordsmen they push forth: yet try thy steel.
Thou, fighting for poor humankind, wilt feel
The strength of Roland in thy wrist to hew
A chasm sheer into the barrier rock,
And bring the army of the faithful through.
– George Meredith

$5000.00 for every new baby born in America 

They heard your promise and they will come in droves 

With pregnant underbelly and ovens warm 

They will come to collect their share of our wealth 

The ignorant and unskilled 

The poor and the down trodden 

The uneducated migrant working masses 

An invasion is inevitable 

America is for sale 

If we elect Hillary Clinton 

2007 © T Sheridan 

It was forty-eight years ago when my family immigrated to the United States. I was only two, so I do not remember any of it, but my brothers have told a dramatic story of sailing into New York harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty.

My parents knew a little English, my brothers and I none. Wishing to be part of American society we all set out learning the language. For my parents it was a little more difficult with their time being consumed by raising a family and work, but they did learn English quite well. Within a few years we all applied for citizenship. I remember them giving me a booklet with information on American history, the government and the Constitution as a study guide. At seven my mother took me into Manhattan. I sat in a government office, my examiner sat at his desk across from me. He started asking me questions. I was so nervous, but I must have passed because soon after that I received my naturalization certificate.

On September 27, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officially completed a redesign of the citizenship exam to “create a more standardized, fair, and meaningful naturalization process.” The new exam was designed to better test Civics and American History in the hope it will offer new citizens an opportunity to show they clearly understand American democracy, as well as the “rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”

The citizenship exam questions are drawn from a pool of 100 questions. Below are those questions and their answers. Even if you were born in the U.S., or lived here for dozens of years, this is a good refresher on the basics of American governance, American History and Civics.

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

A: Principles of American Democracy
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
▪ the Constitution
2. What does the Constitution do?
▪ sets up the government
▪ defines the government
▪ protects basic rights of Americans
3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
▪ We the People
4. What is an amendment?
▪ a change (to the Constitution)
▪ an addition (to the Constitution)
5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
▪ the Bill of Rights
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
▪ speech
▪ religion
▪ assembly
▪ press
▪ petition the government
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
▪ twenty-seven (27)
8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
▪ announced our independence (from Great Britain)
▪ declared our independence (from Great Britain)
▪ said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence? ▪ life
▪ liberty
▪ pursuit of happiness
10. What is freedom of religion?
▪ You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.
11. What is the economic system in the United States?* ▪ capitalist economy
▪ market economy
12. What is the “rule of law”?
▪ Everyone must follow the law.
▪ Leaders must obey the law.
▪ Government must obey the law.
▪ No one is above the law.

B: System of Government

13. Name one branch or part of the government.*
▪ Congress
▪ legislative
▪ President
▪ executive
▪ the courts
▪ judicial
14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
▪ checks and balances
▪ separation of powers
15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
▪ the President
16. Who makes federal laws?
▪ Congress
▪ Senate and House (of Representatives)
▪ (U.S. or national) legislature
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?* ▪ the Senate and House (of Representatives)- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
▪ one hundred (100)
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
▪ six (6)
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?*
Answers will vary. [For District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories, the answer is that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
▪ four hundred thirty-five (435)
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
▪ two (2)
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
▪ Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
▪ all people of the state
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states? ▪ (because of) the state’s population
▪ (because) they have more people
▪ (because) some states have more people
26. We elect a President for how many years? ▪ four (4)
27. In what month do we vote for President?*
▪ November
28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?*
▪ George W. Bush
▪ George Bush
▪ Bush
29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now? ▪ Richard Cheney
▪ Dick Cheney
▪ Cheney
30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
▪ the Vice President
31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
▪ the Speaker of the House
32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
▪ the President- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk. www.uscis.gov
33. Who signs bills to become laws?
▪ the President
34. Who vetoes bills? ▪ the President
35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
▪ advises the President
36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
▪ Secretary of Agriculture
▪ Secretary of Commerce
▪ Secretary of Defense
▪ Secretary of Education
▪ Secretary of Energy
▪ Secretary of Health and Human Services
▪ Secretary of Homeland Security
▪ Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
▪ Secretary of Interior
▪ Secretary of State
▪ Secretary of Transportation
▪ Secretary of Treasury
▪ Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs
▪ Secretary of Labor
▪ Attorney General
37. What does the judicial branch do?
▪ reviews laws
▪ explains laws
▪ resolves disputes (disagreements)
▪ decides if a law goes against the Constitution
38. What is the highest court in the United States?
▪ the Supreme Court
39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court? ▪ nine (9)
40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
▪ John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)
41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
▪ to print money
▪ to declare war
▪ to create an army
▪ to make treaties- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states? ▪ provide schooling and education
▪ provide protection (police)
▪ provide safety (fire departments)
▪ give a driver’s license
▪ approve zoning and land use
43. Who is the Governor of your state?
▪ Answers will vary. [Residents of the District of Columbia and U.S. territories without a Governor should say “we don’t have a Governor.”]
44. What is the capital of your state?*
▪ Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]
45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*
▪ Democratic and Republican
46. What is the political party of the President now? ▪ Republican (Party)
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
▪ (Nancy) Pelosi

C: Rights and Responsibilities
48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
▪ Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
▪ You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
▪ Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
▪ A male citizen of any race (can vote).
49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
▪ serve on a jury
▪ vote
50. What are two rights only for United States citizens?
▪ apply for a federal job
▪ vote
▪ run for office
▪ carry a U.S. passport
51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
▪ freedom of expression
▪ freedom of speech
▪ freedom of assembly
▪ freedom to petition the government
▪ freedom of worship
▪ the right to bear arms- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? ▪ the United States
▪ the flag
53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
▪ give up loyalty to other countries
▪ defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
▪ obey the laws of the United States
▪ serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
▪ serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
▪ be loyal to the United States
54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
▪ eighteen (18) and older
55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy? ▪ vote
▪ join a political party
▪ help with a campaign
▪ join a civic group
▪ join a community group
▪ give an elected official your opinion on an issue
▪ call Senators and Representatives
▪ publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
▪ run for office
▪ write to a newspaper
56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?* ▪ April 15
57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
▪ at age eighteen (18)
▪ between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

AMERICAN HISTORY

A: Colonial Period and Independence
58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
▪ freedom
▪ political liberty
▪ religious freedom
▪ economic opportunity
▪ practice their religion
▪ escape persecution- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
▪ Native Americans
▪ American Indians
60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
▪ Africans
▪ people from Africa
61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
▪ because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
▪ because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
▪ because they didn’t have self-government
62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
▪ (Thomas) Jefferson
63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
▪ July 4, 1776
64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
▪ New Hampshire
▪ Massachusetts
▪ Rhode Island
▪ Connecticut
▪ New York
▪ New Jersey
▪ Pennsylvania
▪ Delaware
▪ Maryland
▪ Virginia
▪ North Carolina
▪ South Carolina
▪ Georgia
65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
▪ The Constitution was written.
▪ The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.
66. When was the Constitution written?
▪ 1787
67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
▪ (James) Madison
▪ (Alexander) Hamilton
▪ (John) Jay
▪ Publius- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
▪ U.S. diplomat
▪ oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
▪ first Postmaster General of the United States
▪ writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
▪ started the first free libraries
69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
▪ (George) Washington
70. Who was the first President?*
▪ (George) Washington
B: 1800s
71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
▪ the Louisiana Territory
▪ Louisiana
72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
▪ War of 1812
▪ Mexican-American War
▪ Civil War
▪ Spanish-American War
73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
▪ the Civil War
▪ the War between the States
74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
▪ slavery
▪ economic reasons
▪ states’ rights
75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*
▪ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
▪ saved (or preserved) the Union
▪ led the United States during the Civil War
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
▪ freed the slaves
▪ freed slaves in the Confederacy
▪ freed slaves in the Confederate states
▪ freed slaves in most Southern states
77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
▪ fought for women’s rights
▪ fought for civil rights- - * If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
▪ World War I
▪ World War II
▪ Korean War
▪ Vietnam War
▪ (Persian) Gulf War
79. Who was President during World War I?
▪ (Woodrow) Wilson
80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
▪ (Franklin) Roosevelt
81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
▪ Japan, Germany, and Italy
82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
▪ World War II
83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
▪ Communism
84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
▪ civil rights (movement)
85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*
▪ fought for civil rights
▪ worked for equality for all Americans
86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?
▪ Terrorists attacked the United States.
87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
[Adjudicators will be supplied with a complete list.]
▪ Cherokee
▪ Navajo
▪ Sioux
▪ Chippewa
▪ Choctaw
▪ Pueblo
▪ Apache
▪ Iroquois
▪ Creek
▪ Blackfeet
▪ Seminole
▪ Cheyenne
▪ Arawak
▪ Shawnee
▪ Mohegan
▪ Huron-0-
▪ Oneida
▪ Lakota
▪ Crow
▪ Teton
▪ Hopi
▪ Inuit

INTEGRATED CIVICS

A: Geography
88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
▪ Missouri (River)
▪ Mississippi (River)
89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
▪ Pacific (Ocean)
90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
▪ Atlantic (Ocean)
91. Name one U.S. territory.
▪ Puerto Rico
▪ U.S. Virgin Islands
▪ American Samoa
▪ Northern Mariana Islands
▪ Guam
92. Name one state that borders Canada.
▪ Maine
▪ New Hampshire
▪ Vermont
▪ New York
▪ Pennsylvania
▪ Ohio
▪ Michigan
▪ Minnesota
▪ North Dakota
▪ Montana
▪ Idaho
▪ Washington
▪ Alaska
93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
▪ California
▪ Arizona
▪ New Mexico
▪ Texas

* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk. www.uscis.gov

This article is about electronic dating, but even more so about the meaning of identity. What has this got to do with Frankenstein, Stalin, the Internet and the search for the ideal partner?

Wikipedia. Org writes, quote: “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, is an 1818 novel written by Mary Shelley at the age of 19, first published anonymously in London, but more often known by the revised third edition of 1831 under her own name. It is a novel infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement. The title refers to a scientist who learns how to reanimate flesh and creates a being in the likeness of man out of body parts taken from the dead. In modern popular culture, people have tended to refer to Frankenstein’s monster as “Frankenstein” (especially in films since 1930). It was also a warning against the “over-reaching” of modern man and the Industrial Revolution, alluded to in the novel’s subtitle, The Modern Prometheus. The story has had an influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories and films. Unquote”
Well stated. Human beings seem to have the inherent tendency to shape the world according to their wishes, and, more often, desires. And there remains the question, what identity is about, in the first place. As always, there is a field of different opinions.
One of the most radical ideas expressed about identity is the one by Russia’s dictator Stalin. He came, some eighty years ago, to the conclusion that the individuum is the spot, “where certain qualities and influences come together.” It meant that human beings could be generated and molded at will – to create the ideal communist cross-bread. Great stuff. Accordingly, he had military vehicles built for the standard, average soldiers. There was no button to shift the seat. One year, there was a shortage of food in the country. It motivated the dictator to kill the (excess) folks, who couldn’t be fed. Wikipedio. Org writes, quote:
“ Confiscations of grain and other food by the Soviet authorities under his orders contributed to a famine between 1932 and 1934, especially in the key agricultural regions of the Soviet Union, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and North Caucasus that resulted in millions of deaths. Many peasants resisted collectivization and grain confiscations, but were repressed, most notably well-off peasants deemed “kulaks“.” unquote.
The other extreme is the ideal of the loner, fully in control of him- or herself, a integrated cosmos of mind, wishes, beliefs, only resonsible to himself, and far away from the rest. Some kind of egomaniac Howard Hughes, I presume.
I believe there are at least three levels of identity:
1.     The so-called physical identity, documented by passport, identity card, fingerprint, driving license, eye color, body parameters;
2.     An emotional identity – the outer world one is connected to – families, clans, husbands, wives, pets, parishes, political parties, sokker clubs etc. It could be compared to a ring of mushrooms – sticking out off the ground alone, but connected by rootlets in the topsoil.
3.     A spiritual level. Affinities here are difficult to define, and may transcend our current notion of time and space.
Not surprisingly, human beings have come up with different concepts of happiness. On one hand lies the happiness of the loner, who’s in control of everything.  The other extreme exemplifies the happiness of giving up and becoming member of a larger entity, which saves precious mental brainpower, and lets emotions run wild.
Others again give up the physical realm and dwell in spiritual spheres.
Assuming we don’t get spiritually ballistic or indulge in perfect loneliness, one wishes to have a partner. But how to find the right one? Electronic dating suggests to tie up with a large database, and combine the elements of desire according to one’s past experiences of happiness. This means assembling elements and aspects of long-gone temporary happiness into something new and hopefully rewarding – kind of a Hollywood remake. It’s a looking-backwards approach, that blocks possibilities of a genuine new experience, and what life really has got to offer. It also means carving out “the ideal” partner personality from reality – by ignoring such vital elements as family, and emotional identity.
In brief, electronic dating is a mix of Stalin, Frankenstein, Howard Hughes and other approaches. Congratulations! Push the orange button and you’re going to meet your Ms. or Mr.  Frankenstein.
© 2007 by Franz L Kessler
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As we approach the sixth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack on the United States of America, I want to write very briefly about all the 9/11 conspiracy websites, blogs and protesters, that claim Muslim terrorists did not plan and execute the plane hijackings into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. What the conspiracy theorists want people to believe instead is that 9/11 was an inside job, created and carried out by the US government and even our president. I want to especially call attention to how groups like the various ‘truth’ movements claim 9/11 was created by our president as a pretext to war in Iraq. I am going to show you in one simple step how wrong you all are.

I won’t waste time debunking all the 9/11 myths, Popular Mechanics has done a terrific job proving none of you are engineers, but are fairly good disseminating propaganda. Anyway, I am digressing so let me get to it.

The US government, especially George Bush and Dick Cheney, did not conspire to fly two commercial airliners into the World Trade Center, a third into the Pentagon and fourth one that failed to crash at its intended target, flying instead into an empty field in Pennsylvania. The reason I can say this so conclusively, even without reading a single debunk article (even though I have read them) is this: How can the US so perfectly pull off a job like 9/11 yet fail to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

If 9/11 were a pretext to a war in Iraq, then surely George Bush and company could have figured out a way to plant nuclear weapons around Iraq.

‘Nuff said!

Madonna — Get Together

What have loans, obesity, and cheap clothing have to do with each other? What could unite such different categories? Nothing, on a first glance. But wait. Wasn’t there the story in the IHT about the mortgage loan crisis, published on 8/28/2007? Quote:

” Other documents from the sub prime unit also show that Countrywide was willing to underwrite loans that left little disposable income for borrowers’ food, clothing and other living expenses.”
 
When I came to Malaysia in 2004, there weren’t many fat people. People were driving mainly old cars, and renting simple houses. Now they are driving big cars, there’s a building boom, and people are getting obese. But salaries didn’t rise that much, neither in middle-class Malaysia, nor in middle-class America. 
 
Where does this apparent wealth come from? It all has to do with loans. Recently, banks started to hand out loans for cars, houses, fridges etc., and down payments are often waved. It triggered an enormous boom in building. There are now many proud home and car owners, but there is a darker side. Like stated in the IHT quote above, credit taking became very easy, and people simply pushed their limits too far. There isn’t enough money and time left for a decent home-cooked good meal, decent clothing, good shoes and a visit to the movie theatre – mortgage and other loans have led to a financial monthly hemorrhage.
 
Instead, as a colleague told me, “people now work a lot harder; there is little time left, such as for home-cooking, what means that one quickly buys some frozen food, which is quickly fried and served.”
 
Or, as described in a recent article of the German newspaper “Der Spiegel,” poor people turn to cheap and fried food, as it provides a lot of calories for little money. Not surprisingly, diabetes II and cancer are on the rise everywhere.
 
If unchecked, whereto will this trend lead? We’ll see many people getting broke, there will be blood on the street, and health maintenance cost and mortality will go up.
 
It’s the bitter price for an unsustainable show-off life style.
 
As a kid, Grandma told me an important lesson. “If you want to buy something, you wait until you can pay for it. Otherwise, it means that you have to work harder all the time, and you’re going to loose your freedom.”
 
Right she was.
 
 
Picture: Statistics showing the fattening of America. It compares the America of 1991 with the America of 2006(from: Der Spiegel). Blue means: less than 20 % obesity in the population. Orange means: above 20 % obese people. Mississipi is the most obese state, with obesity beyond 30 %
 
© 2007 by Franz L. Kessler