I will try and finish this post; but, for no apparent reason I had an eye ache that led to a headache that led to me being nauseous. I felt fine all day and it hit me when I took a relative to dinner. I had to bring my dinner home and end the night early. I am feeling a little better now, just one of those things and as a result my writing may not be up to snuff.
I may just be some random blogger; but, I really take pride in knowing that people that read my blog will come away being aware of things that most people are not. I am blessed with having the time to read numerous news articles on a daily basis and pull out the one or two things that I think are the most important and might otherwise be overlooked. It is sort of like being the secretary who goes through and summarizes the news for her boss. I know secretaries can be men, mine was.
I was reading about the UN conference in South Africa that is going on. They want to declare the earth a person, I think I wrote about that over a year ago. They are also demanding an end to war because of the carbon emissions. That my dearest readers is true insanity. It means that carbon emissions are more important that human beings. Any person with any sense would like to see and end to war because of the impact to people.
Oh, they are also calling for the creation of a world court to prosecute people and nations for their impact on the environment. In other worlds a court that supersedes the courts of your country. I had stopped writing and was reading the papers and I just found an article saying that they passed the resolution.
Associated Press - Climate conference approves landmark deal
What was the top news story of the night, the Presidential debates and it is reported just like it mattered. I mean, just like a baseball game. Who's on first, What's on second, I don't know, third base. Just like the old comedy sketch.
The other story that is getting some play in limited release is the fact that the congress passed a bill that allows Americans to be detained without trial by the military in the United States. Doesn't this all sound more and more like a bad fiction novel? I mean really, first the Patriot Act, all these give away schemes by the Federal Reserve to the tune of trillions and now this nonsense. When were we taught that you didn't have a Constitutional right to a trial by your peers?
I forgot something, tens of thousands of protesters were in Russia calling for Putin to leave. As bad as the United States police have become, the ones in Russia are even worse. The Russians believe their elections were rigged and according to a former Soviet President, he thinks so too.
I forgot something else, a government contractor is seeking companies to work with it to provide medicine, food and other items should it need them to house untold numbers of American in camps. Huh? Now, I don't care what is anticipated, natural disaster because of solar flares, riots because of the collapse of the economy or some pandemic. It really does not matter to me; but, it is pretty obvious that our government is preparing for something.
BREAK IN WRITING
Sorry, had to step away mentally for a minute. I just read that there were three earthquakes in Mexico in the last day that exceeded 6 on the Richter scale. That is a lot, we should all pray for them. One of the nice things about living in the Los
Angeles area is that we made building codes that forced people to build with earthquakes in mind. We are not immune from earthquakes; but, have buildings that anticipate them. That is a good analogy for how we should live our lives.
Lost my train of thought again. Be well.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Mayor and a Letter
There is a letter circulating from Mayor Villaraigosa regarding the recent payment of $1.2 million to the ex-head of the Housing Authority. On Tuesday the L.A. Times reported that the Mayor said that he was unaware of the payment. While I may have personal doubts about that, the letter that people are now saying proves the Mayor lied was written yesterday. Now, obviously he knew about it by Thursday; therefore, the letter does not prove the Mayor knew in advance nor what he may or may not have known.
There is a blogger that I usually like named Ron Kaye and I recommend people read his writings; however, in this case I think he went to far in calling the Mayor a liar without more proof then he offered. Mr. Kaye was an editor of the L.A. Daily News and his words could certainly influence other people's opinions; therefore, I think a little more restraint is needed.
I want to talk for a minute about writing on the internet. Those who read my ramblings know a couple of things. Firstly, I attribute my sources and give links to the original articles. I do that so that people can make a decision for themselves. Secondly, I do not claim to be a reporter (and recently an internet blogger was sued and lost when she libeled someone without proof), I write my "opinions" and discuss my take on things.
The internet is a wonderful place to express ideas and exchange information; but, there is also a need to take some responsibility and give other people their due respect. I don't like the President and I didn't like the last two presidents; but, if you read my posts where I mention him I refer to him as either the President or Mr. Obama or President Obama. I do that because he deserves to be treated as such even by a lowly blogger like me.
When I was going through my divorce and afterwards I was very angry with my ex-wife; but, I have never given her name or my name on this blog. I haven't done it because it would be wrong. The readers either know me in person and what occurred or they have no idea of who she and I are. When I hear about people creating websites or posting on their blog about their ex and giving their name or address or other personal information I am in complete disagreement with them.
If blogs and twitter and facebook are going to continue being meaningful, people need to restrain themselves from using street talk insults and making accusations without firm facts to back them up. In my discussions about the pension problems I have made sure that numerous sources were quoted and have questioned many people's actions; but, I differentiate between proven allegations and speculation. Just because I believe someone is a crook does not mean that I should say that they are.
Peace.
There is a blogger that I usually like named Ron Kaye and I recommend people read his writings; however, in this case I think he went to far in calling the Mayor a liar without more proof then he offered. Mr. Kaye was an editor of the L.A. Daily News and his words could certainly influence other people's opinions; therefore, I think a little more restraint is needed.
I want to talk for a minute about writing on the internet. Those who read my ramblings know a couple of things. Firstly, I attribute my sources and give links to the original articles. I do that so that people can make a decision for themselves. Secondly, I do not claim to be a reporter (and recently an internet blogger was sued and lost when she libeled someone without proof), I write my "opinions" and discuss my take on things.
The internet is a wonderful place to express ideas and exchange information; but, there is also a need to take some responsibility and give other people their due respect. I don't like the President and I didn't like the last two presidents; but, if you read my posts where I mention him I refer to him as either the President or Mr. Obama or President Obama. I do that because he deserves to be treated as such even by a lowly blogger like me.
When I was going through my divorce and afterwards I was very angry with my ex-wife; but, I have never given her name or my name on this blog. I haven't done it because it would be wrong. The readers either know me in person and what occurred or they have no idea of who she and I are. When I hear about people creating websites or posting on their blog about their ex and giving their name or address or other personal information I am in complete disagreement with them.
If blogs and twitter and facebook are going to continue being meaningful, people need to restrain themselves from using street talk insults and making accusations without firm facts to back them up. In my discussions about the pension problems I have made sure that numerous sources were quoted and have questioned many people's actions; but, I differentiate between proven allegations and speculation. Just because I believe someone is a crook does not mean that I should say that they are.
Peace.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Housing Authority Bonus More Expensive than Occupy LA
Across the nation we were told how the Occupy movement cost $13 million in city costs. In Los Angeles we were told it might go as high as a million of a couple hundred thousand. We were told how the taxpayers were angry at the Occupiers. Here is something to be even more angry about.
LA Times - Villaraigosa didn't know about agency chief's payout, aide says
The man who headed the Housing Authority was fired and there were many complaints about money that he spent on travel. The punishment was that he was just awarded $1.2 million for leaving. That is more than what was spent on months of the Occupy LA movement to someone that just got fired and this goes on all the time for the people who are political appointees.
One might also consider the case of the rise in the costs of electricity and water at the LADWP that will result in Los Angelenos paying hundreds of millions in additional costs during a recession. These are the things that the Occupy movement were complaining about and that is why they had to be removed.
L.A. Daily News - Board backs `desperately needed' water-rate increase
Why didn't anyone tell the ex-head of the housing authority to stop whining, take a bath and get a job? Why didn't the media compare the two events? Nope, they come out and report that the Mayor was out of town and didn't know. Do you really believe that?
We don't need to agree on the solutions to the problems in government; but, we better begin agreeing on what the problems are in the government and in business and banking or nothing is going to get better. Don't call people whiners or lazy when they speak up because there is no work. Both the Tea Party and the Occupiers know what we all know, the system is rigged so that the insiders win and the rest of us get taken advantage of. It is not government employees that write the laws, it is lobbyists and your politicians, not bureaucrats, politicians and lobbyist direct the laws.
Maybe some people still don't get it. Forbes - Wiping Out Millions of Jobs is the Whole Darn Point
In short the writer for the magazine by and for millionaires asks why we should have more jobs than we need. He completely forgets about people because he doesn't care. A quote from the article, "For this is what we're actually hoping to do: destroy millions of jobs and thus get retailing done with less resources, with the use of less labour."
A couple of questions for the author Tim Worstall. Firstly, who is the "we" that you refer to that actually hope to eliminate jobs? Secondly, why do you think we created commerce and business, to give money to a few or to find productive ways to spend our time to benefit society? You are a douche bag sir. You also completely ignore why we automated, it was not to leave millions unemployed the claim was that it would give people more free time in order to pursue intellectual and spiritual purpose. Tough to do that when you are living on the street and hungry. Finally, you forget a very important lesson in history, it is about when civilizations fail. It occurs when they are the most efficient because there is no room for error and everyone eventually makes one.
According to Mr. Worstall, I find it ironic that Polly Toynbee called you a pendant. I would love to know if she was related to the great historian, Arnold Toynbee. He would disagree with you. So, what does Mr. Worstall think we should do with the excess labor, he doesn't outline how they should be treated or what they should be provided with. Do they just become excess humans, do they cease having meaning when you cannot make money off them?
The purpose of life is not to find out who can win the most toys or cheat the best. The purpose of life is to see how far we as humans can go without being genetically or technologically modified for the sake of commerce. The purpose of life is not to make things nice for a few; but, to make life better for all. To make a better world. Now that may involve people being rewarded differently; but, not the reduction in the number of people.
There is a concept called the singularity, it is about when machine surpasses man in intelligence. For many who are very wealthy, the same applies to humans. It is the point at which we don't need as many of them to remain wealthy at the top because automation can make things for us.
After the baby boom in the 40s and 50s the hippie generation of the 60s forced change. It scared the powers of the world because the hippies took charge and protested and got change. Right after the 60s, the world was terrorized with the threat of overpopulation. We were told that by the year 2,000 that the world would be out of food and clean water and a whole bunch of nonsense. Who funded these studies, while one of the biggest was the Rockefeller family. It was determined that there were too many people because they were taking charge and changing the world the way they wanted. Everything you are seeing happen in the world today was intended and planned. The term used in 1971 was "Population Stabilization" and it called for population control, restrictions on mobility and an elimination of all barriers between people.
I have linked to these reports in the past on this blog and don't feel like looking for them again, check the older posts. The links were to their own websites. Ask what you can do for society and what society can do for you. Kennedy was wrong. I could give everything for my country; but, there must be a payback unless I choose to give more freely, otherwise we benefit the wrong people. When I give my time for free it is not so that one person can benefit at the expense of everyone else. Especially not someone I don't know who is stealing from all of us. That is not why people give to charity.
If you want to understand the world you have to think about people first. We are not here for the rock that we live on, it is here for us. People matter more than rocks. Do not be blinded to the fact that we matter and are special, we are the self-awareness of the universe that is capable of understanding purpose and how this place all works. The rock that we live on cannot understand us, it is not self aware without us on it.
We all have to stop saying that "those" people don't matter, we all matter. We have to stop calling people drags on society, we have to start cherishing each other because that type of thinking is what leads to the type of thinking that only takes care of their own and takes advantage of everyone else.
LA Times - Villaraigosa didn't know about agency chief's payout, aide says
The man who headed the Housing Authority was fired and there were many complaints about money that he spent on travel. The punishment was that he was just awarded $1.2 million for leaving. That is more than what was spent on months of the Occupy LA movement to someone that just got fired and this goes on all the time for the people who are political appointees.
One might also consider the case of the rise in the costs of electricity and water at the LADWP that will result in Los Angelenos paying hundreds of millions in additional costs during a recession. These are the things that the Occupy movement were complaining about and that is why they had to be removed.
L.A. Daily News - Board backs `desperately needed' water-rate increase
Why didn't anyone tell the ex-head of the housing authority to stop whining, take a bath and get a job? Why didn't the media compare the two events? Nope, they come out and report that the Mayor was out of town and didn't know. Do you really believe that?
We don't need to agree on the solutions to the problems in government; but, we better begin agreeing on what the problems are in the government and in business and banking or nothing is going to get better. Don't call people whiners or lazy when they speak up because there is no work. Both the Tea Party and the Occupiers know what we all know, the system is rigged so that the insiders win and the rest of us get taken advantage of. It is not government employees that write the laws, it is lobbyists and your politicians, not bureaucrats, politicians and lobbyist direct the laws.
Maybe some people still don't get it. Forbes - Wiping Out Millions of Jobs is the Whole Darn Point
In short the writer for the magazine by and for millionaires asks why we should have more jobs than we need. He completely forgets about people because he doesn't care. A quote from the article, "For this is what we're actually hoping to do: destroy millions of jobs and thus get retailing done with less resources, with the use of less labour."
A couple of questions for the author Tim Worstall. Firstly, who is the "we" that you refer to that actually hope to eliminate jobs? Secondly, why do you think we created commerce and business, to give money to a few or to find productive ways to spend our time to benefit society? You are a douche bag sir. You also completely ignore why we automated, it was not to leave millions unemployed the claim was that it would give people more free time in order to pursue intellectual and spiritual purpose. Tough to do that when you are living on the street and hungry. Finally, you forget a very important lesson in history, it is about when civilizations fail. It occurs when they are the most efficient because there is no room for error and everyone eventually makes one.
According to Mr. Worstall, I find it ironic that Polly Toynbee called you a pendant. I would love to know if she was related to the great historian, Arnold Toynbee. He would disagree with you. So, what does Mr. Worstall think we should do with the excess labor, he doesn't outline how they should be treated or what they should be provided with. Do they just become excess humans, do they cease having meaning when you cannot make money off them?
The purpose of life is not to find out who can win the most toys or cheat the best. The purpose of life is to see how far we as humans can go without being genetically or technologically modified for the sake of commerce. The purpose of life is not to make things nice for a few; but, to make life better for all. To make a better world. Now that may involve people being rewarded differently; but, not the reduction in the number of people.
There is a concept called the singularity, it is about when machine surpasses man in intelligence. For many who are very wealthy, the same applies to humans. It is the point at which we don't need as many of them to remain wealthy at the top because automation can make things for us.
After the baby boom in the 40s and 50s the hippie generation of the 60s forced change. It scared the powers of the world because the hippies took charge and protested and got change. Right after the 60s, the world was terrorized with the threat of overpopulation. We were told that by the year 2,000 that the world would be out of food and clean water and a whole bunch of nonsense. Who funded these studies, while one of the biggest was the Rockefeller family. It was determined that there were too many people because they were taking charge and changing the world the way they wanted. Everything you are seeing happen in the world today was intended and planned. The term used in 1971 was "Population Stabilization" and it called for population control, restrictions on mobility and an elimination of all barriers between people.
I have linked to these reports in the past on this blog and don't feel like looking for them again, check the older posts. The links were to their own websites. Ask what you can do for society and what society can do for you. Kennedy was wrong. I could give everything for my country; but, there must be a payback unless I choose to give more freely, otherwise we benefit the wrong people. When I give my time for free it is not so that one person can benefit at the expense of everyone else. Especially not someone I don't know who is stealing from all of us. That is not why people give to charity.
If you want to understand the world you have to think about people first. We are not here for the rock that we live on, it is here for us. People matter more than rocks. Do not be blinded to the fact that we matter and are special, we are the self-awareness of the universe that is capable of understanding purpose and how this place all works. The rock that we live on cannot understand us, it is not self aware without us on it.
We all have to stop saying that "those" people don't matter, we all matter. We have to stop calling people drags on society, we have to start cherishing each other because that type of thinking is what leads to the type of thinking that only takes care of their own and takes advantage of everyone else.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Update to Post about Freedom of Assembly
Apparently, the Supreme Court has refused to take the case of the church that rented space at a New York city school. This mean that the decision by the Court of Appeals is currently the law of the land.
Fox News - Court: NYC Can Ban Churches From School Buildings
While I don't think that churches should want to meet in government owned buildings, they should at least be treated the same as any other group. What is most interesting was the courts statement that, "Bronx Household acknowledges that it excludes persons not baptized, as well as persons who have been excommunicated or who advocate the Islamic religion, from full participation in its services." The article said that the judge took acceptance that the church didn't allow Muslims or people who were not baptized in it's services.
Go back to the post about freedom of assembly and read what I wrote. This is not about religion although that is the biggest target, this is about your right to get together with people who believe as you do without allowing in people who disagree with you, the heart of freedom of association.
Fox News - Court: NYC Can Ban Churches From School Buildings
While I don't think that churches should want to meet in government owned buildings, they should at least be treated the same as any other group. What is most interesting was the courts statement that, "Bronx Household acknowledges that it excludes persons not baptized, as well as persons who have been excommunicated or who advocate the Islamic religion, from full participation in its services." The article said that the judge took acceptance that the church didn't allow Muslims or people who were not baptized in it's services.
Go back to the post about freedom of assembly and read what I wrote. This is not about religion although that is the biggest target, this is about your right to get together with people who believe as you do without allowing in people who disagree with you, the heart of freedom of association.
It is a scam - foreign currency tax
The Washington Examiner - Report: Obama, UN to tax US for Green Climate Fund
Basically the article says that the President wants to put a tax on every currency exchange. Lets say you go to England and exchange dollars for euros, you would get taxed to pay for climate change and the money would go to the United Nations. What is interesting is that this would come up now just as the Federal Reserve is flooding foreign banks with dollars, I wonder if there is a connection.
Basically the article says that the President wants to put a tax on every currency exchange. Lets say you go to England and exchange dollars for euros, you would get taxed to pay for climate change and the money would go to the United Nations. What is interesting is that this would come up now just as the Federal Reserve is flooding foreign banks with dollars, I wonder if there is a connection.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
What is True Freedom of Assembly?
Do you have the right to freedom of assembly and association? I don't like racists; but, does the Klu Klux Klan have the right to refuse to have black members? Recently, the congregation of a church in Kentucky voted to not allow interracial couples in their church. Aside from the fact that their decision violated their own by-laws and that it is stupid and unloving, shouldn't they have the right to decide for themselves who is and is not allowed in their church?
When I was a very young child we still had segregation in the United States. Restaurants and stores and other businesses used to prohibit blacks from going inside. Laws were changed and that type of segregation was outlawed. The theory used to stop businesses from discriminating was that it impinged on trade, on commerce. Lets look at a variation on this, should a Satanist store or church be allowed to keep Christians out? The flip side is should a Christian church be allowed to keep out Satanists.
It is Sunday and I am not teaching tonight. I am not teaching tonight because a group of young Christian wanted to hold a prayer vigil at the church where we rent some space. The churches response was to lock up the church doors and keep the kids out. I guess they didn't want to be "occupied" by believers.
The issue, as was explained to me, was that the kids wanted someone to preach with a more conservative voice. The church (and we are not a part of it, we just rent http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifspace) that owns the building has allowed Wiccans and Muslims an Jews to all participate in services; but, rejected conservative Christians.
We are entering a very dangerous time for Christianity and Christians. We are going to continue to see churches come under attack for taking a position on things such as abortion, homosexuality, per-marital sex and anything that is not popular. Small examples such as the one I mentioned will be used to condemn whole churches. If you read this story, you will see that the story was not as simple as it was portrayed.
Kentucky.com - Pastor of Pike Co. church calls for new vote on accepting interracial couples as members
Apparently, the denomination involved was a leader in championing the end to slavery in the 1800s. The issue itself was also apparently raised by a prior pastor at the church and not by the current pastor who sought to reverse the vote. Yet, none of that mattered to the people who reported the incident. I think I should put out a video called "Pastors Gone Wild", it would sell like hotcakes.
We are seeing the media highlight the dumbest preachers and ignore churches that are actually helping people. A small church in Kentucky did not deserve to make the international news, the issue wasn't what the church did, the issue was what rights do churches have to decide who can be a member.
I am going to link to two videos regarding the Occupy movement and explain a little more.
Youtube - Occupy Melbourne Tent Monsters
Occupy the Bronx - NYPD Wrongfully Arrested Participants of Occupy The Bronx Festivities
In the first video we see what appears to be a number of tents in Melbourne as part of the Occupy Melbourne movement. The intrepid police swoop down to remove and arrest; but, it turns out that people are wearing the tents and they just get up and start running around. The police are completely baffled and wander away.
The second video is a little more disturbing. It takes place in the bronx where some people were standing in solidarity with others who had lost a urban farm. The officer in charge told the other officers that the moment someone stopped walking they should be arrested for blocking the sidewalk.
Now there is a good chance that the members of the church in Kentucky that voted against interracial couples are probably not big supporters of the Occupy movement; but, their rights are intertwined. We either have the right to assemble and decide who we associate with or we do not.
What we are seeing across the whole world, including the "western democracies" is a clamp down on your freedom of assembly and association. It begins by making a big deal about small events that are clearly distasteful and hateful. Laws are enacted to deal with these anomalous events and then they are used against all protest.
The Occupy movement is worldwide and it is more disturbing to the people in power because when they gather it shows just how many people do feel the same way. It is disturbing to the status quo because it is leaderless and therefore cannot be easily manipulated. Many police have overreacted because they want peace and quiet, they want order. They have been brainwashed to believe that peace is more important that the constitution.
Freedom of assembly doesn't just exist for "official" organizations, it is an individual right that we all have. Not long ago a family in Orange County was fined and cited for holding church services in their home. Lets see, you cannot meet in public spaces and you cannot meet in your home, where can people meet? You have to buy or rent a space and incorporate to get any respect it seems.
When you read the newpaper or watch the news pay attention to how these assemblies are portrayed. No matter where in the western world these protests take place they are portrayed in the exact same way. The protesters are portrayed as selfish children who don't have a clear message and need to get a job. Ignore the fact that most are employed or students who are complaining that they are going to be the ones who have to pay for the corrupt system that rewards the wealthy and penalizes the average person.
Rather than worrying about whether or not people support the system, rather than worrying about whether or not you agree with any group, we better support each others right to assemble or it to will be gone.
UPDATE:
After I posted this I came across another news article. Apparently, in New York the schools are able to rent out space for meetings. They even allow you to rent space for religious groups; but, you cannot worship there. You can pray, you can sing, you can teach and you can discuss; but, you cannot worship. Well, some of the space was being used for their church services and the school and them are before the supreme court trying to get a decision.
What happens if the supreme court decides that any religious expression makes it a church? What happens then, how does that effect other laws and the right to assemble? This is no joke and has serious implications. The court might decide that the definitions were too vague and that you can only prohibit actions and not beliefs or intent. That would also be used against churches.
I do not believe that churches should have any business with government. I would not agree with a church that rents space from the government, take money from the government or attempt to effect elections. I have gotten off track.
It is our freedom of assembly and association that is under attack. It is under attack because your government fears you, it fears that you don't trust it and will not willingly do as you are told. I have said many times that I am a pacifist and I do not support mob violence; but, I support people's right to assemble, discuss and just enjoy each others presence.
Huffington Post - Bronx Household Of Faith Awaits Supreme Court Decision Over Worship Services In Public School
When I was a very young child we still had segregation in the United States. Restaurants and stores and other businesses used to prohibit blacks from going inside. Laws were changed and that type of segregation was outlawed. The theory used to stop businesses from discriminating was that it impinged on trade, on commerce. Lets look at a variation on this, should a Satanist store or church be allowed to keep Christians out? The flip side is should a Christian church be allowed to keep out Satanists.
It is Sunday and I am not teaching tonight. I am not teaching tonight because a group of young Christian wanted to hold a prayer vigil at the church where we rent some space. The churches response was to lock up the church doors and keep the kids out. I guess they didn't want to be "occupied" by believers.
The issue, as was explained to me, was that the kids wanted someone to preach with a more conservative voice. The church (and we are not a part of it, we just rent http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifspace) that owns the building has allowed Wiccans and Muslims an Jews to all participate in services; but, rejected conservative Christians.
We are entering a very dangerous time for Christianity and Christians. We are going to continue to see churches come under attack for taking a position on things such as abortion, homosexuality, per-marital sex and anything that is not popular. Small examples such as the one I mentioned will be used to condemn whole churches. If you read this story, you will see that the story was not as simple as it was portrayed.
Kentucky.com - Pastor of Pike Co. church calls for new vote on accepting interracial couples as members
Apparently, the denomination involved was a leader in championing the end to slavery in the 1800s. The issue itself was also apparently raised by a prior pastor at the church and not by the current pastor who sought to reverse the vote. Yet, none of that mattered to the people who reported the incident. I think I should put out a video called "Pastors Gone Wild", it would sell like hotcakes.
We are seeing the media highlight the dumbest preachers and ignore churches that are actually helping people. A small church in Kentucky did not deserve to make the international news, the issue wasn't what the church did, the issue was what rights do churches have to decide who can be a member.
I am going to link to two videos regarding the Occupy movement and explain a little more.
Youtube - Occupy Melbourne Tent Monsters
Occupy the Bronx - NYPD Wrongfully Arrested Participants of Occupy The Bronx Festivities
In the first video we see what appears to be a number of tents in Melbourne as part of the Occupy Melbourne movement. The intrepid police swoop down to remove and arrest; but, it turns out that people are wearing the tents and they just get up and start running around. The police are completely baffled and wander away.
The second video is a little more disturbing. It takes place in the bronx where some people were standing in solidarity with others who had lost a urban farm. The officer in charge told the other officers that the moment someone stopped walking they should be arrested for blocking the sidewalk.
Now there is a good chance that the members of the church in Kentucky that voted against interracial couples are probably not big supporters of the Occupy movement; but, their rights are intertwined. We either have the right to assemble and decide who we associate with or we do not.
What we are seeing across the whole world, including the "western democracies" is a clamp down on your freedom of assembly and association. It begins by making a big deal about small events that are clearly distasteful and hateful. Laws are enacted to deal with these anomalous events and then they are used against all protest.
The Occupy movement is worldwide and it is more disturbing to the people in power because when they gather it shows just how many people do feel the same way. It is disturbing to the status quo because it is leaderless and therefore cannot be easily manipulated. Many police have overreacted because they want peace and quiet, they want order. They have been brainwashed to believe that peace is more important that the constitution.
Freedom of assembly doesn't just exist for "official" organizations, it is an individual right that we all have. Not long ago a family in Orange County was fined and cited for holding church services in their home. Lets see, you cannot meet in public spaces and you cannot meet in your home, where can people meet? You have to buy or rent a space and incorporate to get any respect it seems.
When you read the newpaper or watch the news pay attention to how these assemblies are portrayed. No matter where in the western world these protests take place they are portrayed in the exact same way. The protesters are portrayed as selfish children who don't have a clear message and need to get a job. Ignore the fact that most are employed or students who are complaining that they are going to be the ones who have to pay for the corrupt system that rewards the wealthy and penalizes the average person.
Rather than worrying about whether or not people support the system, rather than worrying about whether or not you agree with any group, we better support each others right to assemble or it to will be gone.
UPDATE:
After I posted this I came across another news article. Apparently, in New York the schools are able to rent out space for meetings. They even allow you to rent space for religious groups; but, you cannot worship there. You can pray, you can sing, you can teach and you can discuss; but, you cannot worship. Well, some of the space was being used for their church services and the school and them are before the supreme court trying to get a decision.
What happens if the supreme court decides that any religious expression makes it a church? What happens then, how does that effect other laws and the right to assemble? This is no joke and has serious implications. The court might decide that the definitions were too vague and that you can only prohibit actions and not beliefs or intent. That would also be used against churches.
I do not believe that churches should have any business with government. I would not agree with a church that rents space from the government, take money from the government or attempt to effect elections. I have gotten off track.
It is our freedom of assembly and association that is under attack. It is under attack because your government fears you, it fears that you don't trust it and will not willingly do as you are told. I have said many times that I am a pacifist and I do not support mob violence; but, I support people's right to assemble, discuss and just enjoy each others presence.
Huffington Post - Bronx Household Of Faith Awaits Supreme Court Decision Over Worship Services In Public School
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