we see the same actions very differently depending on who does them.

Today, out boy Cannon will meet with Ghadafi to express outrage over Libya's welcome to the Lockerbie bomber who was recently released from a British prison. Canadians in general almost certainly applaud this move.

In 1976, an Air Cubana jet was bombed, killing some 73 passengers and crew.  In the same period, there were other terrorist acts, including bombing in resort hotels in Cuba. Several men were arrested and tried in Venezuela. Most were on record as CIA operatives, and were trained at Fort Benning in Georgia.

One got off, largely on technicalities, went to the US, and is now living as a hero in Miami. One was able to fell to the US where he was arrested for illegal entry. All attempts to extradite him were denied. Bush senior pardoned him, and he, too now lives a hero in florida.

There are thousands of entries on this in google, so it isn't hard to check. Interestingly, very few are from the mainstream north american press. Some are from questionable sources- but others are quite sound, and there is no reason to doubt the essential elements.

Can you even imagine our Mr. Cannon threatening to give a dressing down to a US president over this? Can you or I really see the Lockerbie and the Air Cubana incidents as being much the same? Can we really summon up the same anger at both?

I knew atrocities were going to happen at the start of the Afghan conflict when Bush declared himself and the U.S. as outside the rules of the Geneva Accord and not subject to War Crimes prosecution.

While I supported military action in Afghanistan, I believe now that Canada should have reviewed their contribution to the war at that point - but it was actually impossible, as the U.S. would have taken vengance against us.

you may very well be right. And that's surely the logic that Chretien was following. Sometimes, realities are a tremendous block to ideals.

well, this thread isn't going to work. What I was trying to get at is this. We don't see the world as Christians would. We see it as Canadians, as partners in a western alliance. Our Christianity gets all mixed up in that, and ceases to be Christianity at all.

And under cover of that mixture, we have drifted into an age of unprecedented brutality. Far from shaping our response, Christianity has become something that deepens our prejudices and fears to make us all the more accepting of brutality and all the more ready to justify it.

We have somehow lost the capacity to see the rest of the world as Christians would, or even to see it as human like us.

So what are you doing to prevent all this war ..... from your chair that is ?

Didn't you know, jesouhaite777, from time immemorial, there has been a big business in WAR CHAIRS.

You should've seen the Barcaloungers...they were SWEET!

Just a Self-writing poem,

Inannawhimsey

I don't see anyone as evil, but rather their acts often are. Once we see certain people as being evil, it becomes all to easy to project all  evil on the other, and leave the "goodness" with ourselves. (Jesus warned against this way of thinking when he talked of paying attention to the speck in your brother's eye while we have a log in our own eye.)

I saw a disturbing programme on t.v. about how easy it is to follow orders when asked by those in authority to commit atrocities. Twenty people were told they would be taking part in a science project led by a prominent scientist. Basically, they each had to ask a series of questions to a subject. Everytime the subject gave a wrong answer they had to give him an electric shock of escalating intensity. They were clearly told it would eventually be enough to kill the subject. The subject's "distress" could clearly be heard.

Only three out of the twenty refused to continue with the experiment when met with the distress of the subject. I was horrified to see that all women co-operated to the point of "death". The point being that when they heard  the subject scream out they all turned to the white coated "scientist", and said tentatively "is it okay to continue?" When told it was necessary, and they were helping science, they simply followed the orders of the "scientist".

Personally, like a lot of women, I was raised to be  a "good" girl. In reality, this often meant to follow authority figures, particularly my parents. After seeing this documentary, I've resolved to follow my own will in future.

Well Jes, he sure as hell speaks out on issues. Which is a lot more than some people do.

THE WAR CHAIR!

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

Mostly dead issues .......

Most people are brain dead and can't think for themselves so of course they would listen to someone in charge ....

We don't see the world as Christians would.

That is laughable Christians would not have behaved any differently if they were asked to follow a Hitler or a Stalin they would have been just as cowardly .... turn the other cheek that is what they do.

I saw a disturbing programme on t.v. was it The Stanford prison experiment ?

One of the most famous experiments done

No. It was part of a UK documentary called "The Truth About Violence."