Journal

Hobbeling around the house on crutches with gout again left foot this time. Feels like a car has run over it. All because I ate a coulpe of tiny schrimp in a fried rice mix.

Insomnia for the last 3 weeks.

IT SUCKS

Al

 I agree with "the people of American are, for the most part, decent, hard-working folks who just want to live thier lives with little or no intrusion from the powers that be". Every US Citizen I have ever met is a nice person !!!!
I still love the US Constitution, your Freedoms and your Liberties, I still love the stuff the founding Fathers wrote down, but how can such a divide occur between the written and known objective and the current reality. As being somene militry trained when you have an objective you "prosecute it" and make it happen. YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN. Ultimatly its up to the people the joe average Citizens to rectify the mis match. Do whatever works for you by remaining inside the law but for the rest of the worlds sake make it happen.

My post yesterday about A Veterans POV is not a US 'hate speach' as one labled it, on the contry, I Love the USA and I want the best for the entire nation. If I didn't care I would not write. If I did not care I would not share my thaughts and possible solutions. 

As for someone suggesting "Yes, our government is corrupt to the core," only those in Government know how corrupt they really are, they are the ones who have to sleep on their decisions, we are the ones who are responsible for our Govts being in power.
I dont want to lump American people in the mix but where do you suggest the buck stops and where does responsibility start and to whom is the ultimate responsibility? I beleive the responsibility still lies with the citizens and that it never has migrated to the Govt. The Citizens must keep their Govt accountable through independant media or whatever media nessecary. Yes Murdoch is in bed with Govts, yes he pumps the Govt line but the people must wrestle back control and responsibility if nessecary.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, ..."
Its this sort of ethic I think is beautiful but when I contrast this ethic with what the USA has done and has failed to do over the last 20 years I cry.

Clinton braught 250K Marines and the majority of the US Airforce Transport wing to 24 hrs notice to move when the Hutu - Tootsie Rawandan tension was about to bubble over. How do I know this because 10K Kms away in Australia we wer braught to a state of readyness too if Bill said go. They were all packed and ready to go but Bill failed to make the call. 3 million Men Women and Children were slaughtered by machetties in tit for tat killings over the next 18 months and Nations like mine the USA and France did bugger all. It could have been avoided.
USA and the Belgiuns have ignored the 5.5 million people killed in the Congo's cival war over the last decade but if you as a nation grabed hold of the beautiful values a nation like the USA and held your Polititions accountable you could make a very beneficial differance too other porer, destitute, drought stricken nations where people really suffer.

Hart I am really astounded that you as someone in Ministry hold such polarized views toward the Islamic faith and Moslms in general. Semms to me like you need to do three or four years in Saudi or Indonesia.
Use of Force for personal or national defense does not extend to coverting some other countries Oil reserves.
Hart, my cousin is Seniour Petrochemical Engineer with the fourth largest Oil and Gas driller in the world. He's their Head Eng for the whole of Europe.
After the 1991 Gulf War 5 individual ten year oil drilling research permits were issued to Oil Giants from around the world. Companies from China, Germany, France, Russia and Schlumberger Oil and Gas from the USA gained the permits. At the expiry of the ten year perion in Dec 2002 the numbers from all the drillers were in and shared. The numbers were off the scale. I was at family BBQ's when my cousin got the calls from his counterpart in Iraq. It was not just loads of distilate as previously thaught but massive amounts of high grade crude (more than the Saudies ever had and higher quality which translates to cheaper and easier to refine. Within minutes of the telecon both my cousin and I had concluded there was most certainly going to be a War waged to control this asset. Is it any wonder France China, Germany and Russia vehermantly opposed the US lead fear campaingn of weapons of mass destruction. These countries kneew the ulteria motive. Upon return to Australia my Seniour Commanders in the Gulf at the time of the invasion confirmed that it took them 24 hours in theartre to work out it was all about Oil due to their assignments. The all said the same thing. Is it any wonder then the US ignored UN Chief weapons inspectors and weapons of mass destruction experts from around the world, UK, Australia and USA who all said with one voice, "the IRAQies dont have any." Is it any wonder Bush tried to link Saddam to Al Kaida post 9/11. As far as Bush was concerned anything would do so long as he could make something stick. Within 10 months of the end of the Oil exploration contracts expiring (Nov 2002) Bush had invaided Iraq. They found now weapons of mass destruction no matter how hard they looked. Is it any wonder France, Germany and almost all who were in the Coalition of National Forces for the First Persian Gulf war in 1991 consisting of USA, Saudi Arabia, UK, Egypt, France, Syria, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, UAE, Canada, Qatar, Bangladesh, Italy, Australia, Netherlands, Niger, Sweden, Senegal, Spain, Bahrain, Belgium, Poland, South Korea CHK, Greece, Philippines, Denmark, New Zealand, Hungary and Norway only Forces from USA, UK, Australia, Turkey (manned their borders), Poland and Denmark were involved in the 2003 invasion. Almost all the other countries from the First Persian Gulf war opted out not to send troops because they each new the sham afoot. Sorry if this is news to anyone in the USA. Contrast that with the forces from 39 countries that sent forces to rebuild Iraq post the 2003 invasion, because they new the nation of opressed people had been basically raped or their control of their own resource.
The US fails because it doesn't yet see itself as an equal member of the global brotherhood of mankind. Somehow a pervasive nationalistic spirit seems to give average US citizens a notion that they and their country are superior to the rest of the nations of the world. This notion never serves nations any good, its the sort of stuff that transformed Germany twice into a problem in Europe. Again every German I have evr met is a nice person. 
National superiority is a really sad state whichever country it is. I love the USA that Dr Martin Luther King and Norman Rockwell saw. I love the USA that John Steinbeck and Harper Lee and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about. I'd like the USA to rediscover itself amongst the Global brotherhood of all free men and woman as a nation that gives more than it takes. I'd like the USA to follow the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) lead and fess up to what its been doing both internally and externally in excercising bigotry and prejudice toward mankind through whatever Government Agency or agenda so that the slate can be balanced by confession, so that the truth can be known publically and the rest of the world can extend a free forgiving further chance to the USA to regain an honerable place amongst the group of Nations, people groups, religeons that respect each other as equals, not competitors, unproslatised, poorer, second class, less important etc etc etc.
Christ said a lot about servanthood. The USA has not been servantlike toward other nations. It seems like it has been very greedy.
I'd like a really healthy, helpful, strong and generous USA. The sort of selfless USA that was around in 1940 and I think that can be rediscovered through the power of social networking when directed toward keeping your Politicians Honest and making them Accountable and you command your leaders to be really Great Leaders.

Love and Hope
Al

Rememberance day has come and gone in Australia once again.

Having been diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome in June by one of the worlds most eminant GWS researchers changes the way I feel about Rememberance day. Sure I observed the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacifice and it was my pleasure and privelage to do so with my 8 year old son Jacob as he was home sick from school but what I now know is that Nations only ever want to dine out on the romance attached with ANZAC Day and rememberance day with showey cerimonies and noble sentements but they do so to foster the marketable image to the niave and romantically impressionable youth because if you only get sick in the service of your country and dont die they dont want to know you, they wont care for you, they will discharge you medically unfit for service without properly diagnosing you on a poverty line pension without acnowlegment without apology and wish you would go away disappear or just vanish.

Remeberance day for disabled veterans who didnt lose any mates to combat is a hollow meaningless day.

The war to end all wars, my arse it was, any contempory politician will jump at the USA's bequest to throw tropps into hot spots for the USA's economic gain. As for countries like the Congo and Somalia that dont have any resource the USA covert and that have been in civil war for 30 plus then the USA "the greatest contributor to the UN", they couldn't and dont give a dam.

Perhaps USA now stands for Unethical, Selfcentered, Avorace as distinct from Universallly, Sympathetic, Ambassador which it once was prior to WWII.

Al