Wednesday 21 October 2015

How Bizarre



How Bizarre - OMC

More and more black sites owned by the CIA around the globe have been uncovered.  This is...  interesting. There is evidence the sites were used for both human experimentation The CIA didn't just torture, they experimented on human beings The CIA black sites you didn't know existed

I read the Senate report on torture back at Christmas time and spend a lot of time blogging about torture and the acceptance of torture by society and how that changes us and our empathy level.

I have to say, I have almost become numb at this point.  Last year I wrote about Cindy Gladue, a sex worker who was brutally raped and murdered in a hotel room in Edmonton and whose body was further desecrated and dishonoured by having her dismembered vagina brought in for the purpose of obtaining some sick sense of "justice". Cindy Gladue Incident    Because she was a sex worker, the incident really did  not attract much attention, which just appalls me.  But as I recall I had to summon a lot of energy to get mad about that case; I see so much tragedy.

I have been accused recently of lacking empathy; that's not the case at all and I'm not sure where anyone would get that impression.  I suffer from a burden of compassion if anything.  The Great Satan has requested that I stay in Canada and apply what I know about human trafficking and fair trade and moral justice to help with the burden of the impending refugee crisis.

So I have been trying to think like a refugee, and it has been going fairly well.  I've made contact with most of the churches downtown I think, and about 95% of the shops on main street.  Understanding how trade and market influences intersect with human rights issues really takes the burden off of the equation and helps to simplify an otherwise complicated social issue.
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So yeah.  Okay.  Here goes.  Think like a refugee.  March or die I guess.







Guess Who else committed torture?

Amnesty International: Demand Justice for Torture


Kinte Kunte, Jesus Christ, and Telsa

I have a great deal of sympathy for the character of Kunte Kinte, the original main character of Roots, and that of Deanery of Game of Thrones.  I hope it shows in my abolitionism actually.

I have been exploring means of making a decent income through consulting, and that looks like it is going to mean requiring a nondisclosure form and a basic retainer whether I work pro bono or not.  I am also working on getting my security information with the GoC sorted out.  I am really quite tired of not really existing, and I am looking forward to being "official" when I deal with people professionally.

My body is in a lot of pain from my travels through Stony Plain yesterday, which is sad because Stony Plain is incredibly "walkable" for even the most disabled, other than the irregularity of the curbs in places and the missing walkway on the road from Main Street to the Legion Branch office.

I've been putting a lot of thought lately into concepts like free will, determinism, fate, spirituality, and suffering.  A lot of my friends are interestingly enough deeply spiritual and even Christian, and seem to accept me as one although I myself do not.  A lot of my interest in this subject has to do with the spiritual narrative the D'aasch are using to manipulate with. That, and coming to a better understanding of martyrdom, selflessness, piety, and compassion will result in a better interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Islam, which is going to be essential to the outcome of this war.

Realistically, for best strategic outcome, the people of Canada should be looking to find the similarities between our incredibly unequal social networks, not the differences.  The degree of Islamophobia -- not concern about Boko Haram and the D'aasch as separate terror groups which have been inflicting suffering equally on the heads of Christians and Muslims but rather focusing on the differences between Islam and Christianity and the martyrdom of Christians to the forces of the D'aash or Boko Haram as instances of international persecution -- is truly concerning, because if we as a nation wish to address radicalism, then we need to examine isolationism, extremism of any theological or philosophical basis, and how our communities are failing each other.

The reality of the situation is that we as a world have failed at combatting a scourge that is growing in every rank and file of belief around the world - violent extremism.  You need only take a quick glance at your Facebook feed to see this for yourself; simply count the number of memes making fun of bullets covered in bacon as a solution to the problem.

There are actually far more similarities between Islam and Christianity than anyone truly wishes to admit, and if they could look past their isolationism for a bit, this would become clear.

Particularly in the female narrative.  Unfortunately the female narrative of Abrahamic religions is sadly lacking in nourishment due to the patriarchal nature of the ideology.  However, the Old Testament does issue an order not to investigate the belief's of women too deeply, and Paul forbids women from both speaking in church or walking around with their hair uncovered.  In Islam women appear to hold a somewhat higher level of spiritual authority, which is one of the reasons for the modesty in their piety codes.

Oh good, my other blog site is back up.

Back to the title of this piece.  I've been reflecting on selflessness and service to other a lot recently.  Jesus Christ and other avatars are often offered up as mirrors for us to find ourselves in, and when we fail to measure to our idea of enlightened perfection, we suffer.





Inside the Birdcage - 21 October 2015 - Crossover Edition!



Well, it would appear that I am having some serious technical issues with my other blog, www.darkwingwren.com.  I will get that sorted out soon, but in the interim I thought I would use this one, since I still have it active.

The recent election has already had significant impacts on my society, with the new PM calling for Canada to pull out of Iraq and Syria, a decision that many will not support, but one that I do wholeheartedly.  Our Iraq/Syria strategy - if you can call it that - is a nightmare lacking cool foresight and creativity.

And honestly I think - and have researched it - that there are better and more effective ways of dealing with the middle east than just blowing the shit out of everything and droning future terrorists, as my other blog sort of bears out on a daily basis.

I am still aching from my day out yesterday but am doing much better than anticipated after staving off most of the inflammation with Q10 and aspirin this morning.  I really do need to find some sort of way to get to the legion without hurting myself so badly.   To be honest, if someday I ever got a Segway, I'd be okay with that.

I spent the day cleaning house and writing in my dead tree journal.  I prefer to be both transparent and discrete on my blogs, and that means that before I write anything for publishing these days I am doing Cliff notes versions on paper for tightening and editing.  Its probably a good idea for my essay writing; not everything I think needs to be written and published and it will improve the overall quality and structure of my writing.

I intend to keep pushing forward.  This election means that a lot of things both globally and personally will be changing, particularly career wise for me.  I have been looking for work and a place to stay, but the extent of my physical injuries makes it difficult for me to have a completely independent life, unfortunately.