Talk To Me About Your Faith, But…

There’s an abundance of ideas that people have about the Creator. I don’t knock any of them unless they try to hard sell me that theirs are undoubtedly right and that I have to give up mine and take on the ones they have. I, on the other hand, probably have nothing to teach them since they’ve positively made up their own minds, case closed, about the nature of reality. They probably won’t be that interested in what I have to say, anyway. I’m of the opinion that if God intended to plainly reveal his plan of salvation He would have done so in such a way that there would be no doubt about who He is and what one must do to obtain deliverance.  Everywhere and at every moment there would be a complete agreement as to how the universe was created,  the plan for humankind, God’s intervention in the workings of the world and the nature of redemption. Someone may say, “Well, it’s in the Bible plain as day and quote John 3:16 but there are many different notions about the meaning of that verse among various Christian groups. The Catholic Church, for example, teaches that one must become a Catholic for one to truly understand God and that includes following the teachings of the Church. It is interesting though, that the Church teaches that one does not have to be a Catholic to be saved while many evangelical sects require adherence to their dogma to be.  So what about other faiths? Judaism does not recognize that Jesus was the promised Messiah and has very good arguments for that and its views on the nature of salvation. Hindus and Muslims have their own ideas about Jesus that seem equally valid as well. Now I believe that there is a basis for belief in some intelligent creative power that under girds all existence. I think most do but there are some that are staunch atheists that can find no evidence for it. I don’t try to argue with them about it and just state my beliefs and that’s it and they usually don’t try to impose their disbelief on me, either. Certain theists, on the other hand, having placed such an importance on the correctness of their teachings are often inclined to making a big deal out of their big God and turn off others in doing so. They actually seem to imprint their biases onto their deity with the requirement that others in turn must follow what they have uncompromisingly posited as  The Truth.

Often when I think about Jesus’ sayings, it seems like many of those that profess to follow him look amazingly like the very souls that Jesus berated in the gospels. They are self-assured, pushy, argumentative, hypocritical, self-righteous and oblivious to the haughty way they come across to those they’re preaching to and most often minimize the parts of his sermons that stress mercy, understanding and tolerance in favor of those sayings that promise an eternity in hell for those who don’t believe as they do. Besides Jews, only Hindus and Buddhists appear to have envisioned enough room in heaven for those other than themselves and though each may think their religion better, they seem to have the capacity to stress agreement over difference.

We live in a complex world where political, economic and social forces are impacting believers and non-believers alike and there may be a time coming soon when it will be risky to lay claim to faith in any one of the world religions. Society has developed a tradition of tolerance over the last few centuries in which there is a healthy degree of distance between State and Church but this may not last if we lose a large part of the civilization we have come to enjoy. Many, both in and out of religious circles have noticed a quiet consolidation of power by elites who have blatantly lied to us about many things including the real reasons for going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 9/11 attacks, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, the overthrow of democratic republics such as Mohammed Mossadegh’s Iran and many more going all the way back to World War I and beyond. What palpable silence from the pulpits of so many different faiths when their priests, rabbis, imams and pastors could have taken a prophetic stance and alerted their flock to the deception that was and is plainly evident and pervasive in high places within government and banking. Why are they still holding back now as we are being robbed before our eyes by highly placed rip-off artists in Armani suits?  Could it be that they afraid of losing their precious 501C3 tax-exempt status or some other state-sanctioned benefit?

So I’m more than glad to talk to you about your faith, just don’t pass judgement on those like me who happen to have a different point of view than your own. More often than not one can find a greater abundance of truth telling among those who choose to keep their religious beliefs to themselves than those who are most ardently trying to push the wayward sheep hurriedly into the Kingdom. As Jesus himself said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matt. 7:15)  Have you looked inside yourself to root out your own waywardness? Are you really sure you can distinguish between a sheep and a wolf just because of what you have absorbed from your spiritual leader? Rather than obsessing so as to how to convert me, wouldn’t it be better to first take out the log from your own eye before taking out the speck in mine? Then we can sit as equals and leave the saving to the will of whose Kingdom we all hope to have a share in.

Sister Peace, Brother War

From what can be observed from all we have learned about history and our own lives, all that exists is locked in tension between two unrelenting forces, death and life and the thrust of all our effort toward satisfaction in our daily undertakings is to promote one over the other. We live in a world of dualities, good and bad, sweet and sour, strong and weak, big and small, war and peace, etc. As each morning breaks, we wake with an increasing awareness of the challenges we must face that day. Some days start out well, others do not and from one moment to the next there are continual adjustments each of us must make to maintain a sense of balance. As babies we have little control over our environment and are dependent upon those that care for us but as we grow we learn the mechanics of how to survive so that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in at any particular moment we are able to rebalance body, mind and soul. As adults we care for others who benefit from the knowledge, wisdom and experience we have gained over the course of years and into our senior years, there is an even greater ability to tease out meaning from the good, the bad and all that lies in-between.

There are many aspirations people develop as they interact with their environment. Some think very big and are highly motivated with an ability to focus on whatever inspires them to achieve while others are more passive whether it be a result of nature or nurture. Some have physical or mental limitations that impose certain obstacles in their ability to exert control over their environment. Scientists, economists, politicians, auto mechanics, tool and die makers, janitors, etc. all have one thing in common. They all must live and struggle in a world of duality and come to terms with the vagaries of chance occurrence.

Expanding out from the individual there is another dynamic at play, the interaction of the group with other groups. People tend to affiliate with other like-minded individuals to obtain certain advantages they would not have access to on their own. Those affiliations become increasingly more complex as we go from the center to the periphery, from the smaller to the larger in size. Rules are created by groups to provide stability and strength to deal with the variability in human behavior so that all the components of the group benefit more or less equally. Of course, it is very human to try to get around rules since individuals tend to feel dissatisfied with their particular circumstances and decide to break the rules in order to gain some perceived advantage over others. Why is it so human to do so? It is because we live in an imperfect world of dualities where life is really not very fair.

On this planet we are bathed in a medium of both order and chaos, peace and war. When order prevails, people I think tend to fight less since they experience a lesser degree of deprivation. They find ways to cooperate. When chaos increases, social bonds tend to weaken, people become more fearful and will go out and wildly try to grab things which they think will help them survive. This is the state of war. It is a natural condition caused by factors that are both inside and outside of human control. To avoid war, people need to accept certain limits on what they can do – they need to follow rules for civilization to flourish.

So it seems that there will always be times of both peace and war. Everything and everyone is in a moment by moment fight for survival. Utopia can only exist by divine decree since heaven is by definition without duality. Heaven is in itself unity and in that state there can be none of the contrary conditions we find in the world as we know it. Every individual however, according to all the holy writings, has some of the divine nature within so it is therefore logical to assume that we can overcome the warring that exists both inside and outside persons and groups. It is impossible to do away with conflict altogether since we are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world, but we can choose to recognize that part within each of us that is unity and seek to nurture it with the help of God who is by nature, One. There really is no choice but to accept what we cannot change in our lives and so it is necessary to learn live in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. It is in the acceptance that we look to that which is completely whole, perfect and beautiful in each of us. This is something all must learn to do from moment to moment. Within that reality all must resolve themselves to live between two rivaling siblings, Sister Peace and Brother War.

“We all just seeds in god’s hands, we start the same but where we land is sometimes fertile soil and sometimes sand. We’re all just seeds in god’s hands.”

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‘Seeds’ written by Pat Alger and Ralph Murphy and performed by Kathy Mattea on the album, ‘Lonesome Standard Time.’

 http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/kathy_mattea/seeds.html

Why the Stimungulous?

The stimulus package is funded by the money-center banks who own the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The Fed then loans money to the Government that taxpayers must repay with interest back to the Fed.

Jobs must be created for people so they can survive to pay taxes. Those taxes include the interest on the money the Fed creates. No jobs and people become discontented and question their government's ability to manage the country.

The reason jobs are flying away is due to a transfer of wealth from responsible individuals and businesses to those in the highest levels of power. New financial instruments that were of supposedly low-risk were created to maximize profits for large investors. Those instruments were so complicated and inscrutable that not even the most highly regarded economists could understand them. Their creators of these and their investors assumed that assets would always appreciate but if by chance they didn't, the risk incurred by the falling values of these packaged investments would be diluted enough that investors who lost some of their money would still stay in the game. What the whiz-kid creators didn't count on was that people would actually have some backbone and get supremely ticked-off and not jump off roofs when the going got bad. They were so enamored with their self-perceived brilliance that they became over-confident with the computer models that THEY invented. As Greenspan admitted, the models were “flawed” and buggy. They did not factor in the worst-case scenario, that all the bad loans were created would come back to bite them hard.

So the Fed in concert with the government comes up with a 'Stimulus Package' designed to inject capital back into the system so that people would invest again. Trouble is, people don't have much confidence in the experts anymore after 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, the TARP bank bailouts and are questioning whether markets are really free. People are recognizing that the system is a rigged game and are rightfully upset and they know that new taxes for green energy projects are just around the corner. Al Gore will see to that.

So the government in collusion with the Fed fires up the printing presses and creates a stimulus package that doesn't help the average person but does enrich those who benefit from the political structure and in turn, benefit it with campaign contributions. So it is no wonder that the Stimulus will provide oodles of noodles to the well connected, such as those in the Defense Department who lobbied the government last month to provide multi billions of dollars for armored vehicles.[1] But why would the government so vigorously fund the MIC of all things? Because without a potent military to protect vital natural energy and other resources around the world, other countries and competing entities would jettison the dollar in favor of another currency with better backing. The dollar has value only if inspires confidence. If a competitor country like China concludes that it can run the world better than we can, they will no longer buy our Treasuries, in effect, calling in the loans they’ve made to us. That is precisely why the MIC will receive, either directly or indirectly a large share of the Stimulus money in the name of producing jobs. It is to ensure that we maintain control over the world’s natural resources that serve to collateralize the dollar. The military guards the dollar’s collateral by projecting its power throughout the world.

Now, our creditors with their growing militaries will naturally try and take advantage of the many mistakes the United States has made in the recent past. It may take fifteen or twenty years, but eventually the centers of power will relocate and we will most likely become a vassal nation. The heart of the nut here though, is that governments are not power-centers and don’t really run anything but are only the machinery by which the world’s money masters execute policy and programs.

Money-elites and their governments only have power if their peoples allow them to have it. If disenfranchised people become enraged like a stirred-up hive of wasps and rebel against what they see as blatant and pervasive corruption, they will fight back by boycotting the system in an underground economy or by deciding to cast off their masters and free themselves from them through revolt. The powers that be will use every trick and lie in the book to maintain their hold over the minds of the people. They will propagandize 24/7 though big media, they will try to cajole, intimidate and ridicule their critics. They will use divide and conquer strategies so that competing interests fight over limited resources and become unable to form coalitions and organize a resistance. Ultimately the winner of a fight is the one who has the most resolve and access to the best equipment and tactics so unless resistance movements learn to work together to accomplish specific tasks, the money masters will always beset them and have the upper hand. Historically, it has always been that exceptional individuals whether they be ethical or not, rise to the top of the food chain. I hope that the up and coming leaders of justice movements are exceptional, inspiring and wise but it is up to the people to be exceptional as well because if we choose those who only appear to be superficially ethical and are not in actuality, we will be in for many detours on the road to a better America and a saner world.

Picture Credit: http://allaboutadvocacy.com/


[1] http://www.leaderpost.com/Business/Army+idea+stimulus+package+includes+armoured+vehicle/1203524/story.html

The Fall of the U.S.A and Mr. Celente

From Russia Today - video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJ7LM3iyNg

My thoughts on Celente's prediction of immanent doom for the U.S.

Sure, Mr. Super-Doom Celente could be right in his dire forecast of the “greatest depression” but don't forget, the US dollar is backed by the biggest freakin' military the world has ever known. The creditor-nations can't really call in our debt while they are paying the U.S. cop on the beat to guard their sources of energy, food and raw materials so they have no choice but to buy our Treasuries. In a short span of, let's say, 20 years, though, while the dollar is still worth something, China will continue to use the money they’ve accumulated to build up a military equal or better than our own and they could do it alone or in an alliance with other creditor-nations.

At some point in the future then, China, with its own dominant currency, will be able to do its own world policing and won't need our dollars anymore. This is precisely why I think the U.S. maintains such a strong military presence in the around the world, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia. It is to protect the resources that back the dollar. At some point in the future there could be a military impasse resulting in an 'O.K Corral' type shootout for dominance but I don't see nation-states choosing this option unless there's a devolvement into total insanity. They would look for another alternative other than the Big Fire.

So no, Celente, in my opinion is probably not on the mark in his forecast of a near term cascading super-depression and does not make a strong case for his fear mongering. We will continue to have a global downturn of significant magnitude resulting in untold misery for billions of people. If, however, things get so out of control that the world economy begins to slide over the edge of a cliff, the creditor nations and bank holding companies will come to some sort of agreement to form a semi-dictatorial world government with a common currency. The U.S. and other debtor nations will then go into survival mode and become vassal states to that World Union.

Celente is a smart guy but I don't agree with his ultra-alarmist, immanent, econo-catastrophic scenario. He does accurately explain that economics can't be separated from party politcs, geopolitics and social movements. I also like that he views himself as a "political atheist" and views the world from a 'logical' perspective but we'll have to see if his logic is rooted in solid ground. Time will tell. In the meantime, don't panic - yet and check out Peter Schiff, head of Euro-Pacific Capital. He's not quite as upsetting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6vxM-YBlHw

Viagranomics and the Stimulus Package

Allowing the feds to goose the money supply to keep the economy from going over the edge is like playing Russian roulette, and this is what the bank holding companies have done with the consent of Congress and the other branches of the government they are in collusion with. It can be likened to a man who is sick from a lifetime of bad habits who can't get an erection but is so intent on getting himself and his partner satisfied that he takes the blue ovals even though he's well aware that he's also taking nitrates for heart failure. The interaction of these two medications is known to cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure but the man chooses to use a short-term fix anyway in order to hop up the sack action for a few moments at the risk of incurring a coronary event that could prevent him from working ever again. Of course, anyone at any time could suffer a heart attack from a variety of causes, even if one tries to stay healthy but the chances of living a long life are strongly in one’s favor if moderate lifestyle choices are made. Of course, one can be totally healthy and still need that extra push in bed that a Viagra sometimes makes happen but that is not really the issue here. (pun unintended)

Politicians have cried 'wolf' so many times, over the past eight years or so that no one on the street believes them anymore. They say that if taxpayers don't cough up another trillion in borrowed money that the economy is going to fall off a cliff and so they scare us into believing that without their indispensable help we are surely doomed to a repeat of the '30's with its bread lines and huddled masses of unemployed warming themselves by trash-can fires. Yes, there is reason to conclude that pouring vast amounts of money in the short term could revive American jobs and free up credit to businesses but what would be its effects in the long term?

Congress is debating how and where to spend those multi-billions so that they do the most good and is just now hammering out a compromise package that will assuredly have a combination of a good helping of swine fat along with a small helping of lean meat to please the more conservative and fiscally health-minded among us. We are used to putting up with those kinds of things from Washington. The problem is that we are not in a run-of-the-mill recession. We are really in a soft depression and the economy with all its dynamic energy can’t seem to ‘get it up’ this time despite all the rabbits Bernanke and Paulson (enter Geithner) through slight of hand have and are now pulling out of their top-hats. The process remains secretive with little accountablity as to where all the money is going that there is a palpable lack of confidence that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the exception of good folks such as Peter Orszag from GAO, lying prophets abound who continue to confuse and confound the American people by telling them only what they want to hear. We oh so want to believe that government largesse can fix anything but when we look at what stares back at us, the loss of jobs, the decline in personal wealth, the mounting state and local deficits, etc. our hopes turn to fear and there is trepidation when we think back on how good many of us felt listening to Obama’s inspiring pre-election “Yes, we can” rallies. So, the American ‘heart’ is in crisis and is not so young and strong as it was in its youth. Too much rich food and a lack of an economic exercise program has drained us of strength and we seek short-term economic solutions so that we can “fire it up” one more time regardless of the long-term consequences.

The great experiment of imprudent banking practices has done much damage and if we continue to allow our ‘leaders’ to reach into that same old bag of quick fixes we are likely to see our worst fears realized as the real condition of the economy becomes nakedly apparent.

No one will admit to having a magic bullet that will extricate us from what is likely to befall us but there are pebbles on the road we’ve walked that can (and must) lead us back to a sounder, healthier condition. That road back will be painful and will require the fiscal common sense the Founders had as their guide. They had pebbles of their own to follow, a sense of conscience which moved them to spend, tax and govern judiciously and that which guided them kept the ship of the nation on an even keel. Back then they made their ships strong because they knew they would have to be solid enough to withstand the storms that would inevitably follow.

Obama, I believe is right when he asks everyone to be a part of the solution and that is the very challenge that John Kennedy asked us to take on and it is incumbent for all to pitch in to get the country back on its feet. What will not work, however, is the status quo where elected and appointed bureaucrats fashion legislation that only ends up enriching the political class. Be wary of them. They will be the ones who will create and run the new civilian service programs, mostly top-down affairs and bright gems of socialistic central planning to help those who supposedly can’t help themselves. When the initiative finally launches, they will tell us where to go to work, how the job will be done, when to wake up and when to sleep. We will, in essence be their servants since they have a vested interest in staying in power and we will have no choice but to trust them to get it right, just one more time. We must insist however that they serve us. We must gather up our energy and create some of our own solutions, not as loyal party members, but as patriots who care deeply about our families, neighbors and fellow citizens, not in knee-jerk fashion where we follow legislative dictates, but where we recognize that each individual has the ability to harness their unique abilities to get the country back up and running well.

Government programs run by Viagra-crats offer us only ad-hoc solutions and a temporary relief of symptoms. Only people can help people. Cure the underlying cause of our ills with heavy doses of healthy competition, personal responsibility, courage, and liberty, where people are free to develop their own solutions with minimal government interference and we will ramp up our productivity and begin to thrive as a nation again, working together to solve its many problems.

CIRCLES OF PERCEPTION

THE MEDIA

Without a valid and sensible starting point from which to deliver and communicate information relating to world affairs, the exercise of evaluating all media and especially popular media devolves into a journey into a black vortex from which little truth can enter or escape. The major outlets furnish the contextual framework so that what is disseminated coalesces into meaning for the reader, listener or viewer and creates a paradigm of what is real and unreal from thread woven in a machine that has as its power source a pureness of purpose from a gospel of wealth. It is what inhabits this paradigm that remains mostly secret, arcane and inaccessible to the typical consumer. Consumers of media must therefore maintain their own frame of reference for everything that is made known to them as news for without the correct context it is nearly impossible to accurately select and dissect the information that is delivered to us. The wealthy and powerful wield the tools of their trade in such an exacting way that unless one has begun an initiation into the rarefied atmosphere of cultic media, there can be no real understanding of the purposes that these illusionists aspire to.

I'm a habitual news viewer that unfortunately grants me no more access to truth aside from occasional novel factoids that are available to anyone else. The experience is somewhat like observing some bad-natured corner-sitting animal that requires my perfunctory ministrations to keep it in physical balance as it sends me back information. It morphs from one day to the next, changing little. I just passively let it do its dulling work on me and I feel worn from watching it. From one day to the next I consume these displays of want and fear that are generated and packaged to catch my attention like angry teeth set in a jaw whenever I approach them and all from confident, attractive faces and voices. At once there is the tensing of nerves and muscles from disquiet as things appear to evolve from terrible to horrible with the only saving grace possibly emanating from a new Leader who promises somehow to make things better for me and the other Mr. and Ms. Averages out there. The flow is from cold to hot, hopeful to hopeless and I experience a palpable feeling of being suckered into THE intended mindset – the Network’s.

OTHER CIRCLES WE LIVE IN

The Earth is, as so many other objects and concepts in the universe are circular or at least elliptical or cylindrical like so many other shapes that have their beginnings as end points. We have circles of friends that intersect other circles of other friends and associates. Materials are recycled or “recircled” as we go about disposing and re-accumulating the things we need or those we think we need. The grocer waits for the supplier's truck to stock his or her shelves and another truck lies in wait to dispose of things that are past date which are then re-boxed with the same cardboard that served the former supply function. Planets have revolved around their suns and those suns around galaxies and in their interstellar dance have created cosmic events that ultimately caused life to appear on earth. On the microcosmic level, energy makes a transfer to particles, then back to energy and that interplay gives weight and bulk to all that is and we are aware of these transactions only to the extent that our minds allow. Existence, therefore, can be understood as being dimensionally circular.

As we observe our world through the lens of corporate-controlled media, we are invited to make assumptions about social issues, the economy, politics and other ideas that exert their gravitational forces upon us. Primetime network news, for example, usually provides the barest essentials from which to make assessments about the events of the day and each time the earth makes another spin in its circle around the sun, an infinity of causes create another infinity of effects of which we are blissfully unaware (though the propagandists would have us think otherwise.) Unless we have alternative sources of information from books or other forms that remain on the outskirts of popular culture, there remains a scant amount of clay to form the pot and the mind dwells in inertia from a lack of salient input. Metaphorically, we live apart in infinitesimally small towns with mile-high walls that let in little sunlight or most any other kind of light for that matter. Outside the town walls, very far away, lie the institutional machines within huge cities that manufacture reality for us through technology and let it be said that there will probably be no shortage of technology at least for the foreseeable future. We have little if any opportunity to input anything critical back into the system in order to make any real changes to it and due to structural factors, we are forced to accept a scant role in influencing the goings-on in the smaller, highly insulated circles of power. In essence there exists an order of circles within circles. If viewed side-on, a cone-shaped structure can be seen with the smaller, more powerful circles moving upward to its apex. This model can also be compared to the pyramidal shape with the floating eye of providence that appears on the dollar bill. The eye on the detached capstone also emanates light-rays that allude to the power at the highest levels of the social structure. There are two inscriptions: Annuit Coeptis (Approve Our Undertakings) and Novus Ordo Seclorum (A New Order of the Ages). The question I ask is, what is supposed to be the nature of that providence? Is it God, Man or the Devil or some combination of the three? Anyway, it seems logical that the base of the structure, the supporting entity, should be formed from the Intent and Will of the People, rather than the opposite where the elites control the masses.

FINDING (AND FIGHTING) OUR WAY BACK

Without an understanding of just who is who in government, industry and banking, we are relegated to taking our places in whatever circle within the many existent rings within the paradigm that has been fashioned for us and thus we are disabled by default in changing our reality. Yes, we can vote or promote any candidate we want to but it has taken a long time for the elites to build up the power structure as it now is and defeating those in the innermost circles (or at the top of the pyramid) is an extremely daunting task without the emergence of efficient and focused coalition-building. One can move further inside the circle to effect change but the deeper one goes the more vulnerable one also becomes to the corrupting influences of power.

Things are rarely what they appear to be at first glance. People look to those in authority to help them improve their lives materially. Often however, those in power are exactly those we don’t want to depend on for making our lives better. Many of our so-called leaders and elites are ripe and ready to pour out bile upon the earth in buckets. We may end up electing them, but to our last breath we must avoid cowering and acquiescing before them. In fact, we must see with clarity through all the magical tricks employed to distort our perceptions and learn to become ever more critical of what is said and done in the media. It is therefore incumbent upon all to combine forces in order to win as many battles as possible in the war against a mind-bending oligarchy by electing only ethical leaders to public office.

I believe that God is with us when we try our very best both individually and collectively. When things seem most hopeless often the fires of the human spirit burn the hottest. Ordinary people move to accept the challenge and become inspired to accomplish remarkable things. They begin to check up on those they elected and call them to task.

The meek, I believe, will ultimately inherit the earth home. Greed and depravity cannot and will not be allowed to prevail. Within the great spheres of human effort, destiny may even have fore-ordained a return to the likeness of an Eden, a place that exists simultaneously both at the beginning and at the end in our circles of perception.

Luke 18:14 …For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."

Picture Credit: http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3856/paradisosl6.jpg

Is the Middle East Ready to Explode?

With strife among Muslim militant factions increasing and the CIA in there to stir up the hornet's nest I believe we will witness an attack on Iran (and Syria possibly) very soon. High level administration officials will get the Sunni dictatorships to go along with it as it is their vested interests to do so and we may be seeing its start with the current military incursions into Shiite strongholds in Iraq targeting Muqtada Al Sadr and the Mahdi Army.
In the Palestinian Territories armed factions are in conflict despite the recent truce agreed to at Sharm El-Sheikh and it signals a gathering storm that may lead to a Shia-Sunni proxy war which the globalist puppeteers are carefully nurturing to bring about the "Clash of Civilizations." Right now in the territories Hamas and Fatah (The Palestinian Authority) are in a battle for control over Gaza which may spread to the West Bank and since the PA are recipients of U.S. money and arms there is likely to be a continuation and escalation of the internal conflicts there. Israel, recognizing the deep divisions among the competing organizations are taking advantage of the strife by conducting bombing raids over known Hamas rocket launching sites and capturing Hamas and Jihad Islami leaders.

In Lebanon there are several competing organizations among the Sunnis and most of them are funded by Syria. A new faction Fatah-Al-Islam is seeking to exploit the unstable situation there and is believed to be the perpetrators of the recent bombings in an upper-class Sunni district in Beirut and the Lebanese Army has been shelling their base of operations on their northern border with Syria. Hezbollah meanwhile, funded and trained by Iran is seeking to let these Sunni factions do the fighting for them while they re-arm and position themselves for political dominance in the Lebanese government for the coming September elections.

As far as Iraq goes, there are many groups who are vying for control of the provinces and though they are deeply divided, both the Sunni and Shia militants’ main goal is to get the coalition forces out so they can finish the battle as to how Iraq is to be governed. In this case too, the major players in the region are pulling the strings as to how to control Iraq’s future and how to divide up the country’s resources. With that, there are several major groups in Parliament who are not very willing to compromise to create a stable Iraq and are mainly there to push their own positions. Corruption is of course, rampant and much of the government’s largess is diverted to the politicians themselves and not directed to where it’s supposed to go, to those they are supposed to represent.

If there is a regional Sunni-Shia war, it will most likely be precipitated by an attack on Iran by coalition forces with the tacit support of repressive Sunni Arab states that have an interest in maintaining their power. This would forge an alliance among the fractious Muslim sub-groups who will side either with the oil sheikhs and Egypt or with Iran and Syria in a vastly wider conflict than we now see in the region. Any spark could set it ablaze with the possibility that WMD’s will be used by one side or the other, a very frightening proposition. Ron Paul, I believe is wise in advising that we disengage now from this possible scenario since it will tend to unite those militant groups now fighting amongst themselves throughout the Middle East. This is fundamentally a conflict between two rival Islamic sects and if we further inject ourselves into this fight there is no telling what we are in for. Certainly given our track record in occupying Iraq, we are likely to continue to lose more lives, treasure and respect which will pave the way for a global government and the ensuing diminution of our liberty here at home.