Fallujah for Dummies or an Idiot’s Guide to Fallujah

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m8901&l=i&size=1&hd=0

Back in November of 2004 the United States government and military decided to empty out Fallujah a city of 300,000 souls in the dead of winter in order to liberate the citizens there. This undertaking was timed to occur just after the Presidential election just in case there were one or two citizens left in the United States to scream out with some degree of moral outrage. The timing proved to be inconsequential because there was not even a whimper from a Priest, or a Rabbi, or a Minister, or a Bishop, or any man or woman of the cloth to speak out about the injustice brought upon the citizens of Fallujah. It would appear that somehow Christians have forgotten Christ’s second commandment. From the Gospel of Matthew, through the Words of Jesus the Two Commandments are. Matthew 12:30 “(T)AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'

"The second is this, '(U)YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
In would appear that Jesus recognized the dummying down of the faithful which started two thousand years ago and instead of Ten Commandments He shortened these down to just Two. Today we find ourselves with Shepard’s who would rather have earthly treasures than God’s own Love and have absolutely no idea of what constitutes a neighbor and it is some distant memory of how to love your neighbor as yourself. How this occurred would fill volumes and this writing is supposed to be an “Idiots Guide to Falluja.”

Maybe what’s happened is the citizens of the United States no longer have a concept of just what 300,000 souls represent. I’m told that the math scores of my fellow citizens here in the U.S. are going down so maybe we need some examples of just what 300,000 souls equates to. Population numbers from 1990 show these cities in the United States to have a population close to 300, 0000. Miami, FL 358,548 Fresno, CA 354,202; Toledo, OH 332,943; Buffalo, NY 328,123; Wichita, KS 304,011; Santa Ana, CA 293,742; Mesa, AZ 288,091; Colorado Springs, CO; 281,140; Tampa, FL 280,015; Newark, NJ 275,221; St. Paul, MN 272,235; Louisville, KY 269,063; Anaheim, CA 266,406; Birmingham, AL 265,968; Arlington, TX 261,721; Norfolk, VA 261,229; Las Vegas, NV 258,295.

Now let’s take every person living in anyone of these cities and have them evacuate their homes in the dead of winter to go live with friends or relatives someplace else or live in tents just outside the city line. Do you and your family happen to live in one of these cities? Does your mother or father live in any of these cities? A brother or a sister perhaps? An Aunt or an Uncle? Maybe one or your cousins finds themselves having to flee their home in one of these cities. Could be just a childhood friend, you know an old neighbor who mistakenly has found themselves through no fault of their own living in a city that needs to be evacuated. If not you what do you think the chances are of your neighbor next door or the one across the street having family or friends living in one of these cities?

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[anarchy1999]

1. The book's title needs to be "Fallujah for Dummies" and it starts in

April of 2003. It's been a disaster waiting to happen and I told my husband then that before it was over "we" would ultimately wipe this town off the map. There was nothing else.

[DARE to HOPE]

3. ...Some of us Christians have been screaming in the wind...

My own banner actually got on local CBS news back in 2003:

"Thou shalt NOT KILL, Mr. Bush!
Thou shalt NOT STEAL Iraq's oil!
Thou shalt NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS to the American people!!"

My husband has preached peace and anti-war messages as much as he can, to witness to our blue collar south Chicago parish. Most of our folks voted for Kerry, far as I can tell, though we have a knot of hardliners (mostly young "tough" men who don't attend church) who have drunk all the Kool-aid.

Bush destroyed Fallujah precisely at that time to literally get away with murder. Most of us have been 24/7 trying to overturn this stolen election, ie, to undertake a change in the whole Iraq policy. Some of us have been seemingly sick unto death from our own sense of helplessness, and from all the viruses suddenly popping around.

My own faith journey: I had to give it to God. It is too big for me. Life passes so fast, and so much happens every day, I have so many hurting ones to care for as it is. Only He can see how it is the whole world turns.

But I am SICK every time I think of Fallujah, and now, the destroyed cultural treasures. Napalm in a holy city!! Bush will go down as the biggest war criminal of all time!!

Really, dear friends, if you could just understand. We Americans are a captured people, ruled by those we did not choose! We are also the victims of so much propaganda. People are not even aware that this election was really stolen, let alone that we were even IN Fallujah!

I include for anyone who is interested a Niemoeller-like dirge I wrote last fall. Prescient about Dan Rather, or, I guess, based on comments he'd made to the British press. :-/

But I DO believe that the Lord of Righteousness is breathing down their necks! And there are signs everywhere of multiple dams beginning to break. Me, I need to be in prayer, and in confession.

Peace to all.




Dirge for the 21st American century....

With a grateful nod to the Lutheran pastor the Rev Martin Niemöller, c. 1940's...


At first it was "felons" who were prevented in YR2000 from having the "right to vote," but I wasn't a felon, so I didn't speak up.

Then we heard tales that many African Americans were physically intimidated and actually prevented from voting that year, but I wasn't African American, so I did not speak up.

Then 9-11 happened, and we heard that certain people, all Muslims with Arabic, funny sounding names, were being arrested, but I wasn't a Muslim, so I didn't speak up.

Then we heard stories about even American Muslims with funny sounding names being sent to places like Gitmo and being charged and tried in secret, but I wasn't an Arab American, so I didn't speak up.

I then remember the peace marches, and hearing that some Americans were called traitors for daring to say that pre-emptive war against a country that didn't threaten us was wrong, but I wasn't sure about the WMDs, and I wasn't a peacenik, so I didn't speak up.

I then started to notice the body count of Operation Enduring Freedom was mounting, and I saw that one bereaved father, and several mothers, were blaming the President for lying to get us into war, but I wasn't the parent of a dead American soldier, so I turned away from the flag draped coffins, and again, did not speak.

I noted the many suffering joblessness in this struggling economy. I read about the lack of health care for more and more middle class, as well as poor, Americans. I noted that many with overtime working hours seemed exhausted, yet no more secure, their kids running wild in the street. But my own job was still secure, and my own kids are safe, so I saw no real need to speak up.

I heard of the upcoming election, and I heard that "liberals" and Democrats were actually "terrorists," and I saw many arrested in orange nets in NYC during the RNC convention. I saw thugs kick a female AIDS activist when she fell to the floor. I saw a grown man, a convention delegate, pull one demonstrator out by her hair! But I was at home, safe, in my living room, and I wouldn't know who to speak to anyway.

Then I saw that the criticism of the government was getting to the point where the networks were actually starting to question some of the big things. But Dan Rather was "necklaced" and the criticisms stopped. And I wasn't Dan Rather, or any kind of news person, certainly not connected with a network, or even a blog. So again, I did not speak up.

Finally, I noticed that things were quieter, fewer people were shouting, no more mass demonstrations, no more uncomfortable questions from reporters, things seemed to be running much more "smoothly"....then I heard a knock on my door. Who was left now--to speak up for ME?

--L Cecsarini 9/04

[Karenina]

5. Good glitch.

Let's read this again! :toast:

[DARE to HOPE]

2. Some of us Christians have been screaming in the wind...

My own banner actually got on local CBS news last spring:

"Thou shalt NOT KILL, Mr. Bush!
Thou shalt NOT STEAL Iraq's oil!
Thou shalt NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS to the American people!!"

My husband has preached peace and anti-war messages as much as he can, to witness to our blue collar south Chicago parish. Most of our folks voted for Kerry, far as I can tell, though we have a knot of hardliners (mostly young "tough" men who don't attend church) who have drunk all the Kool-aid.

Bush destroyed Fallujah precisely at that time to literally get away with murder. Most of us have been 24/7 trying to overturn this stolen election, ie, to undertake a change in the whole Iraq policy. Some of us have been seemingly sick unto death from our own sense of helplessness, and from all the viruses suddenly popping around.

My own faith journey: I had to give it to God. It is too big for me. Life passes so fast, and so much happens every day, I have so many hurting ones to care for as it is. Only He can see how it is the whole world turns.

But I am SICK every time I think of Fallujah, and now, the destroyed cultural treasures. Napalm in a holy city!! Bush will go down as the biggest war criminal of all time!!

Really, dear friends, if you could just understand. We Americans are a captured people, ruled by those we did not choose! We are also the victims of so much propaganda. People are not even aware that this election was really stolen, let alone that we were even IN Fallujah!

I include for anyone who is interested a Niemoeller-like dirge I wrote last fall. Prescient about Dan Rather, or, I guess, based on comments he'd made to the British press. :-/

But I DO believe that the Lord of Righteousness is breathing down their necks! And there are signs everywhere of multiple dams beginning to break. Me, I need to be in prayer, and in confession.

Peace to all.




Dirge for the 21st American century....

With a grateful nod to the Lutheran pastor the Rev Martin Niemöller, c. 1940's...


At first it was "felons" who were prevented in YR2000 from having the "right to vote," but I wasn't a felon, so I didn't speak up.

Then we heard tales that many African Americans were physically intimidated and actually prevented from voting that year, but I wasn't African American, so I did not speak up.

Then 9-11 happened, and we heard that certain people, all Muslims with Arabic, funny sounding names, were being arrested, but I wasn't a Muslim, so I didn't speak up.

Then we heard stories about even American Muslims with funny sounding names being sent to places like Gitmo and being charged and tried in secret, but I wasn't an Arab American, so I didn't speak up.

I then remember the peace marches, and hearing that some Americans were called traitors for daring to say that pre-emptive war against a country that didn't threaten us was wrong, but I wasn't sure about the WMDs, and I wasn't a peacenik, so I didn't speak up.

I then started to notice the body count of Operation Enduring Freedom was mounting, and I saw that one bereaved father, and several mothers, were blaming the President for lying to get us into war, but I wasn't the parent of a dead American soldier, so I turned away from the flag draped coffins, and again, did not speak.

I noted the many suffering joblessness in this struggling economy. I read about the lack of health care for more and more middle class, as well as poor, Americans. I noted that many with overtime working hours seemed exhausted, yet no more secure, their kids running wild in the street. But my own job was still secure, and my own kids are safe, so I saw no real need to speak up.

I heard of the upcoming election, and I heard that "liberals" and Democrats were actually "terrorists," and I saw many arrested in orange nets in NYC during the RNC convention. I saw thugs kick a female AIDS activist when she fell to the floor. I saw a grown man, a convention delegate, pull one demonstrator out by her hair! But I was at home, safe, in my living room, and I wouldn't know who to speak to anyway.

Then I saw that the criticism of the government was getting to the point where the networks were actually starting to question some of the big things. But Dan Rather was "necklaced" and the criticisms stopped. And I wasn't Dan Rather, or any kind of news person, certainly not connected with a network, or even a blog. So again, I did not speak up.

Finally, I noticed that things were quieter, fewer people were shouting, no more mass demonstrations, no more uncomfortable questions from reporters, things seemed to be running much more "smoothly"....then I heard a knock on my door. Who was left now--to speak up for ME?

--L Cecsarini 9/04

[anarchy1999]

4. A well deserved kick to the top.

n/t