Dave, I am not trying to lure you over to the dark side. I am trying to leave a trail of cake crumbs so that you may stumble over things for yourself. If you will forgive my condescension, I think that's what Jesus was trying to do to some extent.

Here's a video of David Ray Griffin, renowned American theologian:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3538037502590699697

David's latest book:

http://www.wjkbooks.com/Details.asp?BookID=0664231179

Who or what is behind the "new fascism" is concealed behind our own religious and cultural biases, which we must all dispense with if we are to move on. Either we do it all together (ALL), or not at all. This has nothing to do with us all becoming mono-atheistic nor atheistic. It means having the humility to be deaf to the Rodent's dog-whistles for long enough to confront a certain problem that has dogged us for the last hundred years or so:

The corporate and economic necessity for war - there is our nemesis.

Truth seekers will be glad to know that Aaron Russo's long awaited documentary "America: Freedom to Fascism" is available - download from this direct link (somewhat illegally) - (733 mB avi file):

http://www.pumpitout.com/movie/Aaron_Russo_America_Freedom_To_Fascism.avi

It starts out as just another moan about income tax, but then the plot thickens as Russo discovers the moneymen behind the curtain.

See you after the show...

BD,

I have never flat out denied the existance of terrorism, Islamic terrorist traing camps or the like.

My main points have been that

a) The threat of terrorism in western nations has been massively exagerated. Statistically our chances of being killed by a terrorist are very low, and from a military point of view no islamic nation or peoples pose a significant threat to us, our military capabilities and economic supremacy don't allow them to.

b) There are far greater threats in this world than terrorism, including monoploy control of resources and global warming.

c) There are very basic quesitons about 9/11 that have not been answered. e.g, how did WTC7 collapse, where is the confiscated footage of the pentagon attack, where was the US airforce, etc etc.

That people think so naively is sickening.

It's not the Government that creates the fear of terrorism, it's Islamic leaders who praise Hezbollah, the murderous cowards who hide behind their own children when they launch missiles at Israeli civilians.

It is the rabid leftist set in the west that these people listen to, with the regular mention of the Chomsky's or the Pilger's in their firery sermons.

The fear is from the LEADER of Australia's Islamic community, Sheik Hilali, saying that 9/11 was "God's work", and how no Muslims have ever held protests to have this bigot removed, or all the other bigots, of which there are very many, for their racist comments.

Politics of fear? Let me see....anyone remember the leftist nutters who, after Howard introduced the anti-terrorism laws, said that journalists would be imprisoned for dissent?

These "shock jocks" use slogans, not logic, in their arguments, and use fear that the "ethnic other" is being victimised.

The left view all non-whites as victims, they're thinking is truly religious in nature, almost as dogmatic as the Islamists they align themselves with, despite being homosexuals, feminists, and those who believe in equality.

It's the Pilgers, the Chomsky's that promote fear, by ignoring context. The west armed Saddam Hussein they say, so what? Do you not realise the entire region is full of bigoted maniacs? Iran was worse than Iraq so you back Iran. Do you think of the world in such narrow terms?

The Politics of Fear.....it would be a comedy act if people weren't dying.

"the Muslim population have to be more tolerant of mainstream Australians and accept that we have the right to our lifestyles and beliefs also"
Doesn't that sound as if WE have migrated to live in THEIR country instead of the other way round?
The muslims are the newcomers, it is they who must fit in here, not us. We are the host country and it is OUR laws, OUR traditions and OUR lifestyles that are paramount.
It must be laid out that these are the rules for incoming migrants, and if those rules are unacceptable, migrants CANNOT stay.
That must be made very clear.

The 1 million Australians sucking off the tits of hundreds of other countries world wide will be pleased to know that they are so special they don't need to integrate but others have to integrate here.

Some 10,000 refugees who came from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq were deliberately denied English classes and others are only allowed 6 months English training. How then are they supposed to learn?

How many Australians in Afghanistan speak Pashtu or Dari, how many in Iraq speak arabic? Come on know alls.

Haaretz is reporting some stuff today worth a read.
1. Gideon Levy reports in graphic detail the murders in Gaza.
2. Ze'ev Schiff reports that Hezbollah rocket launchers were buried in the mountains and therefore not homes.
3. Olmert is under criminal investigation for giving people jobs in a criminal fashion.

It's interesting that our values are so special yet it is we who blew up Afghanistan, Iraq and cheer lead when Israel bombed Lebanon back 20 years on the same old lies we used to blow up the former.

We are the terrorists to the 26 million Afghans, 27 million Iraqis and 6 million Lebanese and Palestinians.

Marilyn, your hatred towards the west for some reason has led you to make some comments I cannot believe that you really mean.

Even in the United States, those who opposed the invasion of Iraq supported the invasion of Afghanistan. Removing the Taliban was a fundamentally moral and just act and as a woman, you cannot have possibly supported a regime that treated women the way the Taliban treated women.

Perhaps instead of complaining about the west you can get involved in some organizations trying to make a difference in places like Afghanistan. If you want to offer some practical help, let me know, and I will pass on the names of a couple of organizations.

It's easy to rant Marilyn, but it is more constructive to help people.