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Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness- Part III: The Corruptibility of Ideology

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After having read Part I and Part II of this three part series, the reader may be under the impression that I am somehow suggesting that in order to get things back on track for the world economy, politics, society, and the environment, etc., that we must return to good-old-fashioned values, like those that our forefathers so eloquently proclaimed and sacrificed to achieve. If you've come to that conclusion, I'd say that is to be expected. After all, we are all looking for the answer to the riddle of the times, and we are all turning to what we've been conditioned by societal life to admire: namely those good-old-fashioned ideals - or at least good "new" ideals that reflect our societally established values.

For instance: the ideals propounded in the US Declaration of Independence were no less than glorious! And most Americans naturally feel great pride when reminded of them. Indeed, it's a marvelous document, complete with some of the greatest and most attractive ideals ever put to parchment. The problem isn't the beautiful Truth expressed; the problem is that it was a lie! That's right! You've been tricked, we all have, for well more than two centuries now! We were spoon-fed a fantastic truism whose exemplification was found only in the illustrious patriotism of folklore. The myth of the American Dream was predicated foremost on the promise of humankind's natural, unalienable equality and freedom. It was a Truth never delivered, paralleled in deceit only by its utter impudence.
"America began with the invasion of a populated continent, and the genocide of its people. Once entrenched, it embraced enslavement of another race. With those pillars of State in place it declared itself an independent nation in a testament that proclaimed the equality of all mankind. In that monumental act of hypocrisy, America's myth had its genesis." ~Paul F. Edwards & Lanny Cotler, ClassWarFilms
But this series of essays isn't really about the failure of the US to uphold it's founding ideals, nor is it an attempt to expound the problems caused as a result, or the solutions to those problems. I know it may seem that way with just a quick read through Part I and Part II, and what you have read here so far, but if I may rouse the reader to take a closer look, to contemplate the hard ground of what I'm getting at, you will see that what I am really saying is that our problems (not just the big ones; not just the impending global nightmare we face)
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essentially stem from our inability to distinguish Truth from our ideas - even our very best ideas. This series is about our deeply embedded attachments to the ideas and ideals that provide comfort and solace in an otherwise uncertain, unfamiliar, and thereby, disagreeable reality - enabling us to ignore the most obvious, underlying constructs of our Reality (including, but certainly not limited to, our unalienable Right to Liberty, Equality and Happiness). It's about peeling back the felicitous yet fundamentally untrue veil disguising who we really are. As such, I am not here to present you with "new" or "better" ideas to worship and identify with; I am here to burst your bubble, to show you why the ideas are unreliable to begin with - always have been, always will be.

What do I mean? Well, observe that all we have to do to have peace and harmony on Earth is to agree with each other. If we can only agree, we'll be just fine!

Now I've got you laughing good and hard, right? You see? We can't agree with one another because we all have different ideas of how things should be - irrespective of how they actually are. The world is what it is; Truth IS what it IS; it's just our ideas about the world and about Truth that are different. Unless we all have exactly the same idea, we can't seem to coincide in thought. We can agree that up is up and down is down; that the sky is blue and the grass is green, but get anymore complex than that and worlds collide. We could fill the heavens with the breath wasted on the senseless bickering originating from differing opinions both vast and subtle. Even folks who basically believe the same thing can't see eye to eye on grounds as trivial as rudimentary semantics or who's interpretation ought to be considered "official". Observe, for example, that there are roughly 38-thousand different denominations of Christianity - one idea, 38-thousand "official" ways of seeing it.

Bomb

Nigeria Bombing Near Church 'Kills 20'

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© Agence France-Presse/Aminu Abubakar
Residents speculated that the explosives were placed in a badly-mangled car.
Kano, Nigeria - A large bomb exploded near a church in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna as Easter Sunday services were being held, killing at least 20 people, a rescue official said on condition of anonymity.

"Now we have 20 dead from the twin explosions," said the official who was not authorised to speak publicly.

Residents suggested the explosion was caused by a car bomb parked outside the church, in a stark reminder of Christmas Day attacks in Nigeria that left dozens dead.

A spokesman for the national emergency management agency said most of the victims appeared to be motorcyle taxi drivers who were in the area at the time.

Police confirmed the explosion was a bomb, but did not comment further.

"We have a bomb explosion. We are trying to sort things out," police spokesman Aminu Lawal told AFP.

Pistol

2 Men Arrested in Tulsa Shootings

police sirens
© CBS News
US - Police in Tulsa, Okla., arrested two men Sunday morning in connections with shootings that left three people dead and two others wounded.

A Tulsa police spokesman, Jason Willingham, told The Associated Press that the men - 19-year-old Jake England and 32-year-old Alvin Watts - were arrested early Sunday at a house just north of Tulsa and that they would face three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill.

Mr. Willingham told The A.P. that a tip had led police to the men.

Capt. Jonathan Brooks of the Tulsa police told CNN that investigators were still trying to find a motive behind the four apparently random shootings, which occurred early Friday.

All five victims were African-American, and the two men arrested were white, Captain Brooks said.

Arrow Down

Trayvon Martin Case: NBC Fires Producer Over Edit

NBC
© NBC
US, New York - NBC News has fired a producer for editing a recording of George Zimmerman's call to police the night he shot Trayvon Martin, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The identity of the producer was not disclosed. The dismissal followed an internal investigation that led to NBC apologizing for having aired the misleading audio.

The person with knowledge of the firing spoke on the condition of anonymity. An NBC spokeswoman declined to comment.

NBC's Today show first aired the edited version of Zimmerman's call on March 27. The recording that viewers heard was trimmed to suggest that Zimmerman volunteered to police, with no prompting, that Martin was black: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."

Comment: Please read the Sott Focus: Hysterization Via Racism in the Trayvon Martin Case for a better understanding of the dynamics at play in the Trayvon Martin case.


Phoenix

12-Year-Old Girl to be Sentenced for Arson

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© CBC News
The blaze at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse in June 2011 destroyed much of the wall in the back of the centre's Olympic-sized ice arena and caused smoke, soot and water damage throughout the facility.
Canada, Yukon - The lawyer for the second of two young girls to be sentenced for setting fire to the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse last year says she should never have been charged.

Malcolm Campbell, the 12-year-old girl's lawyer, said at her sentencing hearing Thursday that prosecutors have blown the case out of proportion, and a stern warning or reprimand from a judge would have sufficed for his client.

The 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl both pleaded guilty last fall to charges of arson in relation to the fire which caused $7 million in damage to the sports facility. The girls cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Campbell's client had just turned 12 last June when she was out on a Friday night with friends. They engaged in "horseplay" with lighters and set some speed skating mats on fire.

Document

Grass Seeks to Quell Controversy Over Israel Poem as Iran Applauds

Guenter Grass
© The Associated Press/Jens Meyer
German writer and Nobel Prize laureate for literature Guenter Grass
Berlin - German Nobel literature laureate Guenter Grass, under fire for a poem that sharply criticized Israel, said he was singling out the Jewish state's government, not the country as a whole.

The poem drew sharp rebukes at home and from Israel, including accusations of being anti-Semitic, but Grass received praise from a senior Iranian official Saturday.

In the poem published in European dailies Wednesday, the 84-year-old German author criticized what he described as western hypocrisy over Israel's nuclear program and labelled the country a threat to "already fragile world peace" over its belligerent stance on Iran.

In an interview published Saturday by the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Grass said he sought foremost to single out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, whose policies "are creating ever more enemies of Israel, and are ever more increasing the country's isolation."

"The man who damages Israel the most at the moment is in my opinion Netanyahu - and I should have included that in the poem," Grass was quoted as saying.

The left-leaning Grass established himself as a leading literary figure with "The Tin Drum," published in 1959, and won the Nobel Prize in 1999. He urged fellow Germans to confront their painful Nazi history in the decades after the Second World War.

Attention

Asahi TV: "Unbelievable"- If Unit 4 pool gets a crack from quake and leaks, it would be end for Tokyo

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The end could come sooner rather than later for Japan
Most discussion of the No. 4 spent fuel pool has focused on an earthquake causing the pool to collapse. This video is different because it reveals:
  1. A crack, rather than the collapse of the pool itself, can be the end of Tokyo
  2. The quake that could put a crack in the pool and be the end of Tokyo does not have to be a large one
  3. The sense of shock when people in Japan are made aware of this information for the first time

Info

Artifacts Worth $3.2 Million Stolen from UK Museum

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© unknown
Chinese artifacts have been stolen from Durham University’s Oriental Museum.
British police say two Chinese artifacts with an estimated combined value of 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) have been stolen from Durham University's Oriental Museum.

Durham police said Saturday that two men and a woman from the West Midlands area have been arrested in connection with the theft.

The police did not further describe the artifacts, which were stolen Thursday night from the museum in northern England, but said they have not yet been recovered.

Light Saber

Poland to Completely Ban Monsanto's GM Corn

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Poland will soon implement a total ban on growing the MON810 genetically modified strain of corn made by Monsanto on its territory, according to Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki.
Poland will impose a complete ban on growing the MON810 genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto on its territory, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said Wednesday.

"The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of maize in Poland," Sawicki told reporters, adding that pollen of this strain could have a harmful effect on bees.

On March 9, seven European countries - Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland and Slovakia - blocked a proposal by the Danish EU presidency to allow the cultivation of genetically-modified plants on the continent.

Seven days after that, France imposed a temporary ban on the MON810 strain.

Talks on allowing the growing of genetically-modified plants on EU soil are now deadlocked as no majority has emerged among the 27 member states.

Attention

Helen Caldicott: If Spent Fuel Pool No. 4 collapses I am evacuating my family from Boston (VIDEO)

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