April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Debra

Poppies and Peace

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poppies

From the Peace Pledge Union website

An alternative view of the British Legion inspired Remembrance
ceremonies is deeply rooted in the history of the Peace Pledge
Union. The PPU’s original pledge – I renounce war and will
never support or sanction another – was taken from an
Armistice Day sermon given in 1933 in New York by Canon
Fosdick, called The Unknown Soldier. Canon Fosdick was an
army chaplain and his sermon was an apology to the men who
had been sent to their deaths in World War One: ‘If I blame
anybody…it is men like myself who ought to have known better.
We went out to the army and explained to these valiant
men what a resplendent future they were preparing for their
children by their heroic sacrifices.’ He went on to ‘renounce
war because of what it does to our own men’ and ‘what it
compels us to do to our enemies’. ‘I renounce war for its consequences,
for the lies it lives on and propagates, for the undying
hatred it arouses, for the dictatorships it puts in the place
of democracy, for the starvation that strikes after it.’

snip

The white poppy was conceived by the Women’s Co-operative
Guild in 1933. Members of the Guild were themselves the
wives, mothers, sisters and lovers of men who had died and
been injured in World War One. They were only too well aware
of the likelihood of another war, and chose this symbol for
peace ‘as a pledge to Peace that war must not happen again’.
The PPU joined with the Guild and later took over the distribution
as Europe once again drifted to war.
The declaration of war in 1939 put a stop to Armistice Day
ceremonies. The failure of the First World War to achieve anything
of significance was too obvious. Remembering the ‘Glorious
Dead’, who gave their all to save future generations from
war, would have sounded false even to regular Armistice Day
attenders.

War affects everyone. It does not only affect those “sent to war” it affects those from whom they were sent. It affects those they were sent to kill and it effects the lives of all in the country besieged.

As Tolkien wrote in Lord of the Rings “those without swords can still die upon them”.

It has been said that the white poppy is an insult to the veterans of war, that it takes away from their sacrifice, yet it was originally a symbol of the sacrifice and grief of the families they left behind. Is their grief, and the grief of those who recently lost sons and daughters to war, disrespectful?

As we take a less romanticized view of war we recognize that while we are grateful to those that fought in the “great wars” we cannot forget that there were also great crimes. Many women were sacrificed upon the alter of victory. Women whose lives deserve to be honoured.

And while we remember the sons and daughters lost so recently in Afghanistan, let us also remember the losses of families living there.

Peace is not a four letter word. Most of those returning from the world wars spoke highly of the need for peace. Lest we forget, was the message.

Recognition of the veterans both combative and non combative, of those still being sent to war, of the families who have lost loved ones, of the women whose lives were and are so brutally and forever changed, of children from whom childhood was and is stolen, of the bloody, heart wrenching, gut wrenching, soulless enterprise that war is can and must surely exist together.

For it not to do so would be a greater insult to those who are sacrificed to war.

Rush Limbaugh is THE WATERBOY

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Limbaugh on the Democrat win;

LIMBAUGH: Now, I mentioned to you at the conclusion of the previous hour that people have been asking me how I feel all night long. And I got, “Boy, Rush, I wouldn’t want to be you tomorrow. Boy, I wouldn’t want to have to do your show. Boy, I’m so glad I’m not you.” Well, folks, I love being me. I can’t be anybody else, so I’m stuck with it. But the way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I’m just going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don’t think deserve having their water carried. Now, you might say, “Well, why have you been doing it?” Because the stakes are high. Even though the Republican Party let us down, to me they represent a far better future for my beliefs and therefore the country’s than the Democrat [sic] Party does and liberalism.

waterboy

Parading Ignorance

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The gay pride parade in Jerusalem has been cancelled due to the actions of the god fearing.

Dear god deliver me from your followers.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders agreed to the compromise proposal following a meeting held Thursday between Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco and a delegation of ultra-Orthodox leaders headed by Rabbi Yitzhak Tuvia Weiss.

The ultra-Orthodox leaders requested clarifications regarding the parameters of the demonstration, and asked Franco for assurances that the event will be held in a closed and defined area and that the participants will not display any symbol of gay pride outside of the event area.

In addition, the delegation asked that all anti-parade protesters who have been arrested in recent days be released.

According to sources in the ultra-Orthodox community, the sides have reached agreement on all issues with the exception of the release of the protesters and the dropping of all charges against them. The sources said that on that point, the understandings have yet to be finalized.

The delegation was in contact throughout the talks with Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian community in Israel, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, both of whom support reaching a compromise on the issue.

Following the compromise, the High Court of Justice on Thursday rejected the petitions calling for the parade to be cancelled, and authorized the rally. Representatives of the Open House promised the court they would not hold any form of parade.

On Thursday afternoon, ultra-Orthodox leaders in Jerusalem began dispersing leaflets throughout the city calling for an end to the public demonstrations against the march.

Nonetheless, police anticipate there will be protests as well as attempts to disrupt the rally. Far-rightists led by Baruch Marzel are planning to protest against the rally. Additionally, police some ultra-Orthodox Jews who are not followers of the rabbis involved in the compromise to protest as well.

It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It’s like disapproving of rain. ~Francis Maude

Wednesday Winners and Wackos

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(todays winners brought to you by America)

Winners:

Bernie Sanders

Hundreds of supporters chanted “Bernie! Bernie!” at a victory party that welcomed the maverick independent congressman who calls himself a “democratic socialist” into the U.S. Senate.Sanders handily beat businessman Richard Tarrant in an expensive race to succeed retiring Sen. James Jeffords, an independent.

“The people of Vermont have told America they are sick and tired of right wing extremism!” Sanders told the crowd, which punched red balloons into the air. “This election tonight may be the end of a campaign, but it is the beginning of a grassroots movement across America!”

Three wins for common sense

n a triple setback for conservatives, South Dakotans rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions, Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage and Missouri approved a measure backing stem cell research.

First woman speaker

Democrats have partially taken back control of the U.S. government from Republicans after winning enough seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to take secure a hold of one or both houses of Congress. With the change in tide Rep. Nancy Pelosi is poised to become nation’s first woman Speaker. The expected first Madam Speaker has promised a series of “discrete deliverables” in the first 100 work hours after the Democrats take control, which includes boosting minimum wages, improving fiscal discipline, research on new embryonic stem cells, improving upon the prescription of drug coverage program for seniors and many other issues.

Background on Ms. Pelosi

Wackos

and Wackiness

War on Women their REAL intent

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However, it was M.P. Belinda Stronach, (Newmarket – Aurora) who got down right rude and insulting when she stated:
The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie, has said that the organization, REAL Women, raises, interesting points that warrant close inspection. This is a group that is anti-choice, anti-gay, does not support equality for women and wants to obliterate the Department on the Status of Women. This group’s website even has links to sites that suggest that day cares do not care and homosexuality is a psychological disorder.

With budget cuts on the horizon, who is the minister listening to, Ian Brodie, the right-wing organization, REAL Women, or will she stand up and defend the rights of Canadian women?

I want to add that promoting equal rights for Canadian women is never a waste.

In response to Ms Stonach’s remarks the Conservative MPs pounded their desks and called out “hurrah for REAL women”

On September 25, 2006, the Conservative government announced long overdue cuts to a number of government departments including the Status of Women. The latter’s budget was cut by $5 million out of a budget of 23 million. It is an excellent beginning on what we hope will be the eventual elimination of the Status of Women.

This is from REAL women’s Sept/Oct. newsletter.

I’m just going to deal with this small section of it.

Belinda Stronach was rude and insulting with what she said?

She only repeated their platform. Are they embarrassed by it? (they should be)

Here is a group which supports violation of human rights, which would have us all governed by their religious beliefs, and whose members seek to force women to carry a pregnancy to term regardless of the circumstances of conception, danger to the woman’s life or psychology ability of the woman to continue on.
In response to Ms Stonach’s remarks the Conservative MPs pounded their desks and called out “hurrah for REAL women”

And we have a party fully supportive of this type of platform. Do we want our country to be known for intolerance, bigotry, sexism and denial of human rights? That’s not what my parents fought for.

The views expressed by this party and their support of a group of sexist bigots need to be repeated loudly, widely and constantly to remind people of the how the conservative government views women, gays and those who support reproductive choice.

Finally this last sentence is chilling and wraps up the conservative stance on women, and women’s rights in a nutshell;

It is an excellent beginning on what we hope will be the eventual elimination of the Status of Women.

Yes, they hope for the elimination of the Status of Women and the status for women.

These are people who would happily return to the days of Father knows best, women in the kitchen, and biology is destiny.

I am not willing to allow the Conservative Party, the fundamentalist religious wingnuts, or the fake progressive men who can talk a good game but get testicular shrinkage when asked to walk the talk, to determine what opportunities are available to my daughters and granddaughters.

We will not be silenced and we will not go back!

…did I do that?

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I suppose you can’t expect much from people who think the internet is a series of tubes

Still you would hope that a government which regularly uses THE WAR ON TERROR as their go to for every right killing bill they pass would have some sense that posting how-to manuals on chemical weapons and atomic bombs on the internet just might possibly be a bad idea.

(is it an oxymoron to use sense and republican in the same sentence? I think it might be.)

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures.