Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Iraqi Catholic leader asks West: 'If they kill us all, will you do something then?' | National Catholic Reporter

The drum beat of war is getting louder and louder and..... Panetta: 'Strong possibility' Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations in spring - U.s. - Catholic Online

And now the war chant begin to build to a casus belli, the opening movement of a symphony that will climax with the kettle drums of war. I wonder how many people understand what's happening: that they are being seduced by a siren song that will lead again to spilled blood and coin , leaving both they and us weaker whether we win or lose? We almost participated in this dance once before to our regret when the US tried to convince us to join in the invasion of Iraq. We indirectly assisted the US by taking up their legitimate enemy in Afghanistan, freeing their forces for Iraq. Do we honestly believe that we will enjoy this performance any more than the last time if we join the US into another Middle Eastern country? Just because we label it as a war against terrorism doesn't mean that we should all dance off to war against other countries. Neither Iran nor Syria have done anything to threaten Canada. Unless they do, we have no grounds to wage war against them. Yet, the signs a...

The drumbeat of war is getting louder. If Noam Chomsky is correct, we might see the start of hostilities between Iran and the West within months. I believe it was he who postulated that when a nation's media starts to pay up another country as a threat, it puts into process a series of events that usually leads to armed conflict within a year. It is a process that is marked by a steady drumbeat of more and louder voices making the argument that force is the only effective option to 'protect ourselves'. Somehow they convince the majority to actually buy into an argument that essentially concludes that 'war is the best tactic to prevent war'. After suitable noise has been made demanding steps Iran must take to change its ways (allowing inspections etc.) along with the establishment of deadlines that ultimately Iran will either ignore or fail to comply with, Chomsky would predict that the West will go to war again in the next phase of a battle to control the earth'...

This story is part of an unsettling trend where the 'drums of war' are becoming more and more insistent. It has been posited that whenever governments decide that war 'needs to' be waged, they start 6-12 months in advance to prepare their population with a slow and steady increase in 'propaganda' designed to bring them on side in preparation for conflict. I've noted such an increase over the past few weeks of media stories which seem to be aimed at just such a process. I really, really hope that I am wrong, but I fear that I may be correct. If I am correct, we are in for some difficult times in the months ahead. Iran's escalating conflict with Gulf neighbours increases risk of war | News | National Post

In tribute to my American friends who today honor those who serve in the Military, I offer this article from Catholic Online. Memorial Day: A Catholic Understanding of Freedom and its Cost - U.s. - Catholic Online

Cristina Alarcon, a Vancouver pharmacist (and frequent participant in the comment threads of this blog - thank you Cristina!!) has produced an excellent editorial that was published in THE PROVINCE newspaper in B.C. In it she raises a series of issues related to the conviction of Capt. Robert Semrau of conduct unbecoming an officer when he killed a severely wounded Taliban soldier on the grounds that it was the most 'merciful' action he could offer. Capt. Semrau was found not guilty of the more severe charge of murder. Given the exigencies of war (where the 'rubber' REALLY hits the road!) it is an article well worth reading for anyone who is concerned about is the issues of war and justice. There have also been a number of posts on this subject that can be found on the National Post's Religion blog, 'The Holy Post'. Check them out and join the conversation! The end can never really justify the means

One hope's that there is no connection between this story on North Korea's soccer thumping and this one . It's been a bad day for Kim Jong Il and when these two stories are read in conjunction with this analysis, perhaps we have reason to be concerned. I'm just saying.... Portugal turns on the style - The Globe and Mail

March 29, 2010 12:00 P.M. Spreading the Big Lie:   Why did the Washington Post choose Palm Sunday to publish an ignorant and malicious piece by Sinead O’Connor on abuse in the Catholic Church? I f Irish singer Sinead O’Connor wishes to denounce her mother publicly as an abusive parent, that is her privilege. If Ms. O’Connor wishes to shred a photograph of Pope John Paul II on stage, as she did almost two decades ago, she is, one supposes, within the boundaries of “performance art.” If Ms. O’Connor wishes to  “separate” the God she believes in from the Catholic Church in which she was raised, as she put it in a March 28 article in the “Outlook” section of the Washington Post , she is free to do so. What Sinead O’Connor is not free to do is to misrepresent the teaching and law of the Catholic Church in the Post in order to buttress her claim that the Church is an “abusive organization” and that the Church threate...

The NTY carries in today's web edition a story about how social media have become the conduit for bringing hundreds of people together almost instantaneously for "snowball fights, "pillow fights" and just plain old "fights". We also know that the dissidents in Iran and other movements have been using Twitter and Facebook to spread the news of various events about to take place. What I propose in my Call to Arms is that people of faith should make use of these same instruments in the furtherance of evangelical mission. For example, imagine the comments that could be generated within the threads of these types of news stories if any number of apologists and Christian activists could be immediately informed so as to be able to mount a defense of our beliefs. We know that every story that touches upon the subject of the Roman Catholic Church is going to generate a large response from our opponents. Why not join the battle in attempting to argue our case as...

This is well worth the time to read and listen to get some perspective in these troubled times.