Sarkozy calls for troop exit from Iraq

(agencies)
Updated: 2007-08-28 10:42

PARIS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday said Iraq's road to recovery begins with a clear timetable for the pullout of foreign troops as he outlined an assertive role for France in world hotspots.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech during a conference of 180 ambassadors at the Elysee Palace in Paris August 27,2007. [AFP]

Making his first major foreign policy speech since taking office earlier this year, Sarkozy recalled that France had opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 but that it was now ready to help the international community find a political solution.>>more

Great to hear! I was concerned Sarkozy might be too tied into US policy as he's made it clear he is an ally. This is a relief!

Peruvian Disaster Relief

Help is pouring in from around the world in the wake of last week's Peruvian earthquake. There is so much news of crime, hatred, conflict and brutality in the news, it tends to make you think the very wost of human nature. So today's news is refreshing to say the least.

If you search Google News for "Peruvian Earthquake donations" there is page after page of the work groups, agencies, churches and individuals are doing to raise funds for the earthquake victims.

The United Nations has pledged a million dollars in relief funds and, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, the United States, France and Spain are among the countries sending aid, including medicine, water and food.

I know there is a Scientology Volunteer Ministers disaster relief team in the earthquake zone, and Scientology churches from all over the world are getting the word out that volunteers and help is needed.

What is it about disasters that brings out the best in people? And does it have to take a disaster for this to happen?

There were stories 3 years ago after the Indian Ocean tsunami, where warring factions in the Banda Aceh area of Indonesia suspended hostilities to work together to save survivors.

In Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health, L. Ron Hubbard describes this phenomenon. When I read that book, it was the first time I could understand what happens at times like this. But even more important, it was the first time I could understand why people aren't like that all the time.

I had the idea, as a child, that people were basically good but I had a hard time reconciling that with what I saw, not just on a social level but on a friend-to-friend, husband-to-wife bases as well. It was such a relief, when I read Dianetics to be able to figure that one out too.


^{Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of theScientology relgion}

Iraq Statistics Not a Point of Pride for Ongoing US Action

Indybay carries a story today with statistics revealing the brutal truth of the effect of 4 years of military intervention in Iraq:

"The terrible violence in Iraq has masked the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Malnutrition amongst children has dramatically increased and basic services, ruined by years of war and sanctions, cannot meet the needs of the Iraqi people." Jeremy Hobbs, director of Oxfam International

" The agencies' report " Rising to the Humanitarian Challenge in Iraq" says although the appalling security situation is the biggest problem facing most ordinary Iraqis, the government of Iraq and other influential governments should do more to meet basic needs for water, sanitation, food and shelter.

"According to the report:

• Four million Iraqis – 15% - regularly cannot buy enough to eat.
• 70% are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50% in 2003.
• 28% of children are malnourished, compared to 19% before the 2003 invasion.
• 92% of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear.
• More than two million people – mostly women and children - have been displaced inside Iraq.
• A further two million Iraqis have become refugees, mainly in Syria and Jordan.">>more

What do you suppose would happen if we concentrated on actually helping the people of Iraq: working to bring about self-sufficiency, raising the standard of living through education, programs to promote industry, better farming and food distribution, programs to provide good water, housing programs. And why can't we see that this is the real war.

It reminds me of a quote from Dianetics the Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion:

"There is no national problem in the world today which cannot be resolved by reason alone. All factors inhibiting a solution of the problem of war and weapons arbitrary factors and have no more validity than the justified explanations of a thief or murderer."

^{Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of theScientology relgion}

Darfur -- The Latest in a Long Line of Disasters

United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are launching an appeal for more than $10 million to deal with widespread floods in Sudan that have destroyed thousands of homes and inundated farmlands, towns and villages.>>more

^{Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of theScientology relgion}

Dianetics -- 57 Years Old But Reads Like it was Written Yesterday

Of course we all know how fast things change nowadays.

So it really struck me, yesterday, how interesting it is that L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics 57 years ago, because it still resonates so much with what's going on it the world today.

I guess that stands reason, though, because his research and discovery were designed to encompasses life. And even though there have been lots of technological changes, the basics of life haven't changed. We may think we're a lot more liberated, more sophisticated and savvy. But when you fight with your partner, or someone cheats on you, when a kid feels abandoned by his parents, when teachers are authoritarian and unfair, when your boss acts like a creep-- these things are still with us. And if you haven't run into this and don't get bummed out by it, then maybe you're too numb to notice.

I went to the event about a month ago where David Miscavige described the release of new editions of all the basic books, and translated versions in 16 languages, but it wasn't until I started reading them myself that I realized the magnitude of the job they did.

These books are really beautiful, so much easier to read and the glossaries are amazing -- makes them so easy to read.

I'm reading Dianetics and I am getting much more out of it this time than the last time I read it.

These new editions are the best. You can order them online here:


^{Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of theScientology relgion}

Biased Journalism in the UK

Another disturbing story out of the UK:

Prosecutors accuse Channel 4 of distorting footage of Preachers

By Jonathan Brown
Published 09 August

Channel 4 found itself engulfed in another row over an alleged fake programme last night after West Midlands Police complained to Ofcom about the editing of one of its documentaries.

Police had been asked to investigate the Dispatches film "Undercover Mosque", made by Hardcash Productions, in January because of concerns that it contained scenes that may have stirred racial hatred.

Shot at a number of mosques across Britain, including the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, it featured a preacher apparently praising the Taliban for killing a British soldier. Another was shown deriding homosexuals and non-believers. In its pre-broadcast publicity, Channel 4 described the programme as an extensive investigation revealing how a "chilling" message of "hatred and segregation" was being preached in UK mosques. But after viewing 56 hours of material, only a fraction of which made the final cut, a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) claimed the editing process had "completely distorted" what speakers were saying and advised police to drop their criminal investigation. >> more

With all the real abuses in need to exposing, what malice could motivate this kind of religious intolerance. Are the media that interested in their ratings that they would foment hatred and potentially violence by this kind of irresponsible action.

Freedom of Press should carry with it responsibility to report accurately to the best of one's ability. This is all too familiar, a la John Sweeney of Panorama infamy.


^{Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of theScientology relgion}