Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
US Military Sued Over Inticing Minors With War Games
Filing these two articles under "Aged News" cause they are a coupla years old, and I stumbled upon them while looking for something else, and felt this news was important to pass around so that more people would know how bad the military industrial complex is effecting or should I say infecting our everyday lives. This is some serious stuff to think about dont you think? I do.
Now before you go saying "oh sure, look at the names in the links,...they that think Alex Jones is a wacko and the Huff-Post aint noting but a liberal rag, think about this: Its the truth-out!
http://www.infowars.net/articles/august2008/080808Recruitment2.htm
http://www.truth-out.org/article/us-military-recruits-children
Footnote: (I know they dont use footnotes anymore but hay, Im old fashioned in alot of ways.)
*Just because these articles are aged dosent mean these underhanded and detrimental practices on the part of our military (shall we say "indiscretions, at best?) arent still happening today cause they are, indeed. Just the other day I read where some group was suing a MALL somewhere cause the American Army set up a recruitment center in it and was catering to the kids! I will have to follow up on that some day to see if they had any success.
Now before you go saying "oh sure, look at the names in the links,...they that think Alex Jones is a wacko and the Huff-Post aint noting but a liberal rag, think about this: Its the truth-out!
http://www.infowars.net/articles/august2008/080808Recruitment2.htm
http://www.truth-out.org/article/us-military-recruits-children
Footnote: (I know they dont use footnotes anymore but hay, Im old fashioned in alot of ways.)
*Just because these articles are aged dosent mean these underhanded and detrimental practices on the part of our military (shall we say "indiscretions, at best?) arent still happening today cause they are, indeed. Just the other day I read where some group was suing a MALL somewhere cause the American Army set up a recruitment center in it and was catering to the kids! I will have to follow up on that some day to see if they had any success.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Ca. City Debates Ban on Circumcision
To Cut or Not to Cut? That is the big question in one California town; http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/19/male.circumcision.sf/index.html?hpt=C1
Friday, October 29, 2010
Crist Says White House Involved I Say So What?
So what? Why are they telling us this stuff? Are they TRYING to piss US off? Nothing will come of this news. They are getting away with murder these days,...these DC in-bed-with-the-Big-Corporations-and-Bank$ters Politicians;
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/28/crist-says-white-house-was-involved/
The rest of US can go to hell
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/28/crist-says-white-house-was-involved/
The rest of US can go to hell
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Dali Lama a Stinker?
http://factandtruth.wordpress.com/human-rights-of-tibet/
and according to this article also, apparently it is so,...the Dali Lama IS a stinker, of the worst kind. No wonder our country gets along with him so well...; http://factandtruth.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/tibet-imperialism-and-the-right-of-self-determination/
and according to this article also, apparently it is so,...the Dali Lama IS a stinker, of the worst kind. No wonder our country gets along with him so well...; http://factandtruth.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/tibet-imperialism-and-the-right-of-self-determination/
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Henry official rifle of BSA and a shocking relevation
http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-goldenboy-eagle-scout.cfm
and you're not going to believe this one:
Ronald McDonald House, BSA, Hosts Firearms Shooting Day for Kids; http://www.henryrepeating.com/news-macdonald-house.cfm
See also, "Hi-Impact Promo Vid,..."Change the World!" ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIukXDfd07I
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Violent & Cruel Gods
Many people are concerned about the widespread promotion of violence in society. They see numerous cultural messages seeming to encourage violent responses to problems.
The messages come from television, movies, music, video games, the Internet, and other sources. Instead of being a last resort used only in self-defense or the defense of others, violence is often portrayed as normal, favored, and entertaining conduct.
It's understandable that people are apprehensive about possible effects of violent entertainment. What's unclear is why so few are similarly troubled by the widespread promotion of violent Bible teachings. Violent religious ideas, presented as unquestionably true, are much more likely to influence people to behave violently.
The Bible's potential to instigate violence stems, in large part, from its claims that although God committed or ordered violent acts, he is perfect,[1] righteous,[2] just,[3] gracious,[4] merciful,[5] compassionate,[6] and loving.[7]
Because God is said to possess exemplary characteristics but still commits or orders violence, his followers may decide they can behave similarly and still be good people. They might even think they have a religious duty to follow his violent example.
The American patriot Thomas Paine referred to the development of such attitudes when he said, "The belief in a cruel god makes a cruel man."[8]
Violence in Basic Doctrines
God's violent tendencies are seen in some of the most fundamental and well-known Bible teachings.
The Old Testament claims that God damned the entire human race because of the acts of the first two people.[9] It also says he caused a worldwide Flood that drowned pregnant women, innocent children, and animals.[10] And it reports he killed Egyptian babies at the time of the Passover.[11]
The New Testament states that God required the torture and murder of his own son.[12] And it promises he will send to eternal torture all who do not accept Christianity.[13]
God looks no better when many of the Bible's other teachings are examined. His various methods of tormenting and killing people, and his frequent resort to those tactics, make him appear worse than any sociopathic mass murderer.
War
The biblical God is guilty of wartime atrocities. After bringing the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, he ordered them to attack King Sihon of Heshbon. So the Israelites "put to death everyone in the cities, men, women, and dependents" and "left no survivor."[14]
God then told them to do the same to King Og of Bashan. The Israelites therefore "slaughtered them and left no survivor."[15] The book of Psalms cites these massacres as proof that the Lord's "love endures for ever."[16]
In resettling the Israelites after the Egyptian sojourn, God instructed them to steal the land of seven nations. And he told them to "not leave any creature alive. You shall annihilate them. . . ."[17]
As a result, the Israelites utterly wiped out various peoples. An example is when Joshua's army attacked Jericho and "put everyone to the sword, men and women, young and old. . . ."[18] Later, the Lord told Joshua to do the same to the people of Ai.[19]
In obedience to the Lord's commands, Joshua's army did likewise to many other cities. The Israelites "put every living soul to the sword until they had destroyed every one; they did not leave alive any one that drew breath."[20]
If the accounts given in the Bible are accepted, there were millions of men, women, and children exterminated in this conquest of the Promised Land.[21]
All of the carnage was ordered by God. And the Old Testament contains other stories depicting him as acting just as horribly.
At God's command, the Israelites made war on Midian, slew all the men, and burned their cities.[22] Moses was angry, however, because they had spared the women and children.
So he ordered the soldiers to "kill every male dependent, and kill every woman who has had intercourse with a man, but spare for yourselves every woman among them who has not had intercourse."[23] Shortly thereafter, God gave Moses instructions for distributing the captive virgins among the fighting men and the community.[24]
The prophet Samuel gave Saul these instructions from the Lord: "Go now and fall upon the Amalekites and destroy them. . . . Spare no one; put them all to death, men and women, children and babes in arms, herds and flocks, camels and asses."[25]
Isaiah reports that on the day of the Lord's anger against Babylon: "All who are found will be stabbed, all who are taken will fall by the sword; their infants will be dashed to the ground before their eyes. . . ."[26]
Ezekiel claims that God appointed men to punish Jerusalem for its "abominations." The Lord told them to "kill without pity; spare no one. Kill and destroy them all, old men and young, girls, little children and women. . . ."[27]
In the book of II Chronicles, there is another report of the Lord's anger breaking out against Jerusalem. This time he "brought against them the king of the Chaldaeans, who put their young men to the sword . . . and spared neither young man nor maiden, neither the old nor the weak. . . ."[28]
Jeremiah denounces those who won't do the killings desired by the Almighty. He declares: "A curse on him who is slack in doing the Lord's work! A curse on him who withholds his sword from bloodshed!"[29]
The New Testament's depiction of God is hardly more favorable. The book of Revelation states that in the end times, heavenly power and a sword will be given to a rider on a horse. He will be allowed to make men slaughter one another.[30]
Another rider will be granted similar divine authority, including power to kill with the sword over a quarter of the earth.[31] Later, four angels and their cavalry of 200 million will go forth to slay a third of mankind.[32]
This destruction is preliminary to Christ himself coming on a white horse, leading the armies of heaven. A sharp sword will extend from his mouth to smite the nations, whose armies will be killed by the sword.[33]
These acts by Christ are consistent with his teaching that he came "not . . . to bring peace, but a sword."[34] And they show that he, like his father, supports the most extreme violence as a means of addressing problems.
Pestilence
Another punishment God frequently employs is to inflict diseases on people. After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites complained about having no meat to eat while wandering in the wilderness. Then the "Lord's anger broke out against the people and he struck them with a deadly plague."[35]
Not having learned their lesson, the people later complained about the leadership of Moses and Aaron. So God sent a plague that killed 14,700 more of them.[36]
In another instance, God used a plague to kill 24,000 Israelites because they had worshiped the gods of the Midianites. This plague was stopped only when Phinehas, after seeing an Israelite man take a Midianite woman into the man's family, put his spear through both of them together.[37] God praised Phinehas and rewarded him for the act.[38]
God used the same punishment on subsequent generations. He sent a pestilence that killed 70,000 men because King David took a census.[39]
After King Uzziah of Judah offended the Lord by burning incense in the temple, God struck him with leprosy so that "he remained a leper till the day of his death. . . ."[40]
God forewarned his prophets of similar divine retribution. He revealed to Jeremiah his intent to "strike down those who live in this city, men and cattle alike; they shall die of a great pestilence."[41]
The prophet Ezekiel said that because Jerusalem had not followed God's ways, it would be consumed "without pity" and a third of the people "shall die by pestilence."[42]
This form of punishment, however, proved to be ineffective. Through the prophet Amos, the Lord complained to his people that although he had "sent plague upon you like the plagues of Egypt," they still did not return to him.[43]
Nevertheless, the New Testament shows that God will continue the same behavior. The book of Revelation states that one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given power over a quarter of the earth, including power to kill by pestilence.[44]
And the same book reveals part of the doom God announced for Rome: the city will be struck with pestilence.[45]
Famine
God uses famines to torment and kill people. After David angered him by taking the census, God said one of the punishments David could choose was three years of famine.[46]
But David wisely chose pestilence, thinking it would be a milder punishment from God.[47] He thereby limited the Lord to killing a mere 70,000 men.[48]
On other occasions, God's people didn't get off so easy. Isaiah announces that Jerusalem has "drunk from the Lord's hand the cup of his wrath," including "havoc and ruin, famine and the sword."[49]
Jeremiah says God promised to make an end to the people of Judah by "sword, with famine and pestilence."[50] And the Lord pledged to do the same to any nation that would not submit to his "servant" Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian king.[51]
According to Ezekiel, God vowed to spend his anger on Israel by causing men to fall by sword, famine, and pestilence.[52] An annotation in The New English Bible explains that those are the three traditional scourges by which God punishes his people.[53]
Ezekiel quotes the Lord as saying about Jerusalem: "When I shoot the deadly arrows of famine against you, arrows of destruction, I will shoot to destroy you."[54]
The book of Lamentations shows that this was no idle threat. It describes one of God's famines by saying "children and infants faint in the streets . . . and cry to their mothers." We are also told "they faint like wounded things . . . gasping out their lives. . . ."[55]
Lamentations goes on to observe: "My virgins and my young men have fallen by sword and by famine; thou hast slain them in the day of thy anger, slaughtered them without pity."[56]
But famine proved no more effective than pestilence in changing people's behavior. Amos reports that God complained: "It was I who kept teeth idle in all your cities, who brought famine on all your settlements; yet you did not come back to me. This is the very word of the Lord."[57]
As was true with pestilence, though, the God of the New Testament intends to continue using this punishment. The book of Revelation claims that the third of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given divine authority to cause famine on earth.[58]
Likewise, the fourth rider will have power to inflict famine over a quarter of the world.[59] And the book says famine is another punishment God has in store for Rome.[60]
Fire
God likes to burn people. There is the story of him raining fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. By this means, he "destroyed all the Plain, with everything living there."[61]
Similar punishment was dealt to two of Aaron's sons, who presented "illicit fire" before the Lord. In response: "Fire came out from before the Lord and destroyed them; and so they died in the presence of the Lord."[62]
After several Israelites led 250 men in rebellion against Moses' authority, "fire [went] out from the Lord and burnt up the two hundred and fifty men."[63]
At Elijah's request, fire came down from heaven and consumed two companies of the king of Samaria's men.[64] And the Lord promised to use fire to punish Jerusalem,[65] Babylon,[66] Egypt,[67] and various other places.[68]
In speaking of a king favored by the Lord, the book of Psalms says God will have fire consume the king's enemies and exterminate their offspring from the earth.[69] As for the wicked in general, the same book claims that the Almighty "shall rain down red-hot coals upon the wicked; brimstone and scorching winds shall be the cup they drink. For the Lord is just. . . ."[70]
God ordered his people to use fire as a punishment. The Law of Moses states that if the daughter of a priest becomes a prostitute, she must be burnt to death.[71]
The New Testament also favors incineration. According to the book of Luke, Jesus said he came "to set fire to the earth."[72] And the book of Hebrews asserts: "our God is a devouring fire."[73]
In describing the end times, the book of Revelation reports that after an angel blows a trumpet, fire mingled with blood will be cast upon the earth. This will result in a third of the earth being burnt.[74]
The same book tells us that other angels will lead 200 million mounted troops, whose horses will spew fire, smoke, and sulfur from their mouths to kill a third of humankind.[75] Shortly thereafter, power will be given to two of the Lord's witnesses, enabling them to pour fire from their mouths and consume their enemies.[76]
Further, the book of Revelation says an angel will pour one of the "bowls of God's wrath" on the sun, and the sun will then "burn men with its flames."[77] Near the end of the book, we are informed that God will cause Rome to be burned.[78] And the book claims that when Satan's followers battle against the Lord, fire will come down from heaven and consume them.[79]
Torture
God carries his ruthlessness to infinite extremes in the New Testament by inflicting eternal torture on people. Being the firebug that he is, his preferred method of torture is to burn them.
The book of Matthew tells us that when Jesus returns to earth, he will send his angels to gather people and cast them into a furnace of fire, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.[80] And he will order people to "go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels."[81]
The book of Revelation describes this everlasting inferno as a place where people are tortured forever.[82] There, the "smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever, and there will be no respite day or night. . . ."[83]
The book of Jude claims that Sodom, Gomorrah, and the neighboring towns are already being punished in eternal fire as an example for all to see.[84]
These horrible punishments are illustrated in Jesus' story of the beggar Lazarus who went to heaven, and the rich man who was consigned to Hades. Jesus described the rich man as suffering torment in the flames.[85] Elsewhere, he indicated the same fate will befall everyone who does not accept his message.[86] This will include the vast majority of humankind.[87]
Jesus also spoke approvingly of torture in one of his parables. The story involves a king who forgave a servant's debt, but later found the same servant treating harshly a debtor of the servant. The king became angry with the servant and "condemned the man to torture until he should pay the debt in full." Jesus explained that God will do the same to people who do not forgive others.[88]
Because eternal torture is the most horrible punishment imaginable, God and Jesus have succeeded in reaching the pinnacle of viciousness and mercilessness.
Wild Animals
The Lord kills and injures people by causing wild animals to attack them. He warned the Israelites that if they disobey him, he will "send wild beasts among you; they shall tear your children from you, destroy your cattle and bring your numbers low. . . ."[89]
After the Israelites were disobedient, God vowed: "I will harry them with the fangs of wild beasts and the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust."[90] And this all-loving Heavenly Father "sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the Israelites so that many of them died."[91]
God also caused a lion to kill a prophet. This unfortunate man had been tricked by another prophet into disobeying a command of the Lord.[92]
Moreover, in one of the most cruel and nonsensical stories in the Bible, God sent two bears that killed 42 children because they were making fun of the prophet Elisha's bald head.[93]
Ezekiel quotes God as telling the people of Jerusalem: "I will unleash famine and beasts of prey upon you, and they will leave you childless."[94]
Jeremiah gives the following message from the Lord: "Beware, I am sending snakes against you, vipers, such as no man can charm, and they shall bite you. This is the very word of the Lord."[95]
The Israelites were not the only victims of this treatment. Because an Assyrian king brought people into Samaria who did not pay homage to Jehovah, "the Lord sent lions among them, and the lions preyed upon them."[96]
The God of the New Testament likewise uses animals to destroy people. The book of Revelation states that one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given power over a quarter of the earth to kill with wild beasts.[97]
The same book says the Lord will cause locusts, having the power of scorpions, to come over the earth. For five months, the locusts will torment men who did not receive the seal of God on their foreheads. The torment will be like a scorpion's sting, and the pain will be so bad that the men will long for death but not find it.[98]
Shortly thereafter, God will send riders whose horses will kill a third of mankind with fire, smoke, and sulfur coming from their mouths. The horses' tails will be like snakes and inflict injuries.[99]
Infanticide
Killing babies is another method God uses to express his anger. As already noted, babies were drowned in the worldwide Flood,[100] Egyptian babies were among the firstborn killed at the Passover,[101] and babies were killed in the wars of extermination.[102]
This divine punishment was also used after King David succeeded in having a loyal Israeli soldier, Uriah, killed in battle. David selfishly took this act in order to steal Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.
Although David was the one who committed premeditated murder, the son Bathsheba bore to him received the brunt of God's punishment. God, in his infinite wisdom and justice, punished David by killing the baby.[103]
Isaiah says a similar punishment would be used against the Babylonians. He quotes the Lord as vowing that "infants will be dashed to the ground before their eyes. . . . I will stir up against them the Medes, . . . who have no pity on little children and spare no mother's son. . . ."[104]
The book of Psalms indicates that those inflicting this punishment can enjoy it. The book says about Babylon: "Happy is he who shall seize your children and dash them against the rock."[105]
Hosea prophesizes that Samaria will receive the same treatment. He explains: "Samaria will become desolate because she has rebelled against her God; her babes will fall by the sword and be dashed to the ground, her women with child shall be ripped up."[106]
The Bible also teaches that God is willing to test people by having their offspring slaughtered. The Lord allowed Satan to kill Job's sons and daughters to see if Job would then curse God.[107]
The New Testament also contains a murderous attitude toward the young. The book of Hebrews attests to the Lord's horrible acts at the time of the Passover, but does not disapprove of them.[108]
And the book of Revelation indicates that Christ will behave similarly. As for a certain false prophetess who will lead his servants astray, the book quotes Jesus as promising to throw her on a bed of pain and strike her children dead.[109]
Then he explains: "This will teach all the churches that I am the searcher of men's hearts and thoughts, and that I will reward each one of you according to his deeds."[110] It would not have been difficult to find a humane way to convey those lessons.
Cannibalism
God causes cannibalism. According to the book of Leviticus, he promises that if the Israelites disobey him: "I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins. Instead of meat you shall eat your sons and your daughters."[111]
The Lord was true to his word. Isaiah describes a punishment of Israel: "On the right, one man eats his fill but yet is hungry; on the left, another devours but is not satisfied; each feeds on his own children's flesh, and neither spares his own brother."[112]
Jeremiah says the Lord promised to punish Jerusalem by making it "a scene of horror and contempt. . . . I will compel men to eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters; they shall devour one another's flesh in the dire straits to which their enemies and those who would kill them will reduce them in the siege."[113]
Ezekiel quotes God as saying that because of Jerusalem's disobedience: "I will execute judgment in your midst for the nations to see. . . . Therefore, O Jerusalem, fathers will eat their children and children their fathers in your midst. . . ."[114]
The author of Lamentations mourns the results of the Lord's punishment: "Those who died by the sword were more fortunate than those who died of hunger; these wasted away, deprived of the produce of the field. Tender-hearted women with their own hands boiled their own children; their children became their food in the day of my people's wounding. The Lord glutted his rage and poured forth his anger. . . ."[115]
In the New Testament, cannibalism is an integral part of Christian ritual. At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples bread to eat and told them it was his body. And he said the wine they were to drink was his blood.[116] On another occasion, he explained: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood possesses eternal life. . . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells continually in me and I dwell in him."[117]
Many say the worst pain a parent can suffer is the death of a child. But the Lord was not satisfied with producing that degree of hurt, and added to it by forcing parents to cook and eat their children. Then he required Christians to eat his own son. It's all very sick.
Executions
God is a big proponent of capital punishment. He likes it so much that he required it for trivial offenses. And he directed that the killings be done brutally.
After the Israelites found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, the Lord said, "The man must be put to death; he must be stoned by all the community. . . ."[118] God also ordered the death penalty for anyone else who works on the Sabbath.[119]
People were not to spare even their children from these barbaric slayings. God prescribed capital punishment for reviling one's father and mother.[120] And as for a son who is disobedient and out of control, the Lord directed that "all the men of the town shall stone him to death, and you will thereby rid yourselves of this wickedness."[121]
Comparable instructions were given for dealing with a person's brother, son, daughter, wife, or best friend who tries to convince the person to worship other gods. God said the person's "own hand shall be the first to be raised against him and then all the people shall follow. You shall stone him to death. . . ."[122]
God rewarded the people of Judah for vowing to put to death all who would not seek the Lord, including "young and old, men and women alike."[123]
The Law of Moses requires the death penalty for other acts, too. They include blasphemy,[124] adultery,[125] homosexuality,[126] worshipping other gods,[127] being a witch[128] or medium,[129] being a false prophet,[130] and not being a virgin on one's wedding night.[131]
Besides stoning, the Lord approved of executing people by burning,[132] hanging them on a gibbet[133] or a tree,[134] and hurling them off a mountain.[135]
Jesus supported the Old Testament's death-penalty provisions when he said he came not to abolish the Mosaic Law but to complete it.[136] He warned that anyone who sets aside even the least of the Law's demands, and teaches others to do so, will be lowest in the kingdom of heaven.[137]
According to the New Testament, Jesus was executed even though he was perfectly innocent. He and his followers should therefore have protested against capital punishment to prevent others from being subjected to the same injustice.
Mutilation
God ordered people to use mutilation in their legal system. And he sanctioned its use against a prisoner of war.
In the legal code given to the Israelites, the Lord prescribed mutilation as the punishment for a man who disfigures a fellow countryman. God said: "It shall be done to him as he has done; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury and disfigurement that he has inflicted upon another shall in turn be inflicted upon him."[138] And the Lord specified that in administering this punishment, "You shall show no mercy. . . ."[139]
He likewise required mutilation as the penalty for a woman who tries to stop a fight between her husband and another man by dragging her husband away. God said that if this peacemaking endeavor results in the wife grabbing the other man's genitals, "you shall cut off her hand and show her no mercy."[140]
For people who might speak out against these absurd commandments, God endorsed a type of mutilation that would silence them. The book of Proverbs says "the subversive tongue will be rooted out."[141]
Support for mutilating prisoners of war is contained in the book of Judges. After the Israelites made war on the Canaanites and Perizzites, they captured one of their opponents' leaders and cut off his thumbs and great toes. God did not condemn their act, and the victim attributed his fate to the punishment of the Lord.[142]
Such disfiguring and crippling are brutal and irrational. By mutilating a person as punishment for inflicting an injury on another, society can end up with two disabled persons to support instead of one. It makes more sense to keep the wrongdoer healthy and require that person to work to provide restitution for the victim. Most societies eventually learn this, but not the biblical God.
In the New Testament, Jesus supported mutilation. To avoid lusting after women, he recommended that men pluck out their own eyes.[143] To prevent masturbation, he advocated that people cut off their hands.[144] And he endorsed castration for "the sake of the kingdom of Heaven," and said to let "those accept it who can."[145]
All this chopping up of body parts is worse than in many slasher films, which some Christians denounce for violent content.
Beatings and Floggings
Under the Law of Moses, judges can sentence a wrongdoer to be flogged. The number of strokes corresponds to the gravity of the offense and can be as high as 40.[146]
In the book of Proverbs, advice is given to beat with rods one who is a "fool."[147] And the book says the same treatment should be given to children: "Do not withhold discipline from a boy; take the stick to him, and save him from death."[148] It further admonishes: "Folly is deep-rooted in the heart of a boy; a good beating will drive it right out of him."[149]
Proverbs advocates severe beatings of adults and children alike by stating: "A good beating purges the mind, and blows chasten the inmost being."[150] The book of Psalms claims that the Lord promised to set an example of this conduct by visiting his children with rod and lashes for their disobedience.[151]
The New Testament also endorses beatings. In a parable involving servants waiting for their lord to return from a wedding, Jesus taught that the servant who knew his lord's will but failed to do it "will be flogged severely." And he explained that the servant who didn't know his lord's will but "earned a beating will be flogged less severely."[152]
Moreover, the New Testament says the governing authorities (Romans or Jews) inflicted beatings on Jesus,[153] Paul,[154] Silas,[155] all the apostles,[156] and some of the other great persons of faith.[157] Jesus predicted that his followers would be flogged in synagogues.[158] Indeed, Paul reports that five times the Jews gave him the 39 lashes and three times beat him with rods.[159]
Despite numerous opportunities to denounce the wrongfulness of beatings and floggings, the New Testament does not. The writers of the Bible didn't know, as modern science does, that beatings and floggings are counterproductive.
Those methods cause the inflictors of the punishment, and persons witnessing it, to become callous toward the suffering of others. Moreover, the victims and witnesses learn to use violence in dealing with problems. The victims also become resentful, bitter, unwilling to cooperate, and eager for revenge.
Plundering
The Lord punishes people by having marauding bands loot them. Isaiah reports that God will send the Assyrians to "march against a people who rouse my wrath, to spoil and plunder at will and trample them down like mud in the streets."[160]
According to II Kings, after the Israelites disobeyed God's commandments and worshipped other gods, the "Lord rejected the whole race of Israel and punished them and gave them over to plunderers and finally flung them out of his sight."[161] Later in the book, God said about Judah: "They shall be plundered and fall a prey to all their enemies; for they have done what is wrong in my eyes and provoked my anger. . . ."[162]
Jeremiah says the Almighty will hand the people of Judah to the king of Babylon, who will take their wealth, deport them to Babylon, and put them to the sword.[163] In the same book, the Lord gloats that he "brought upon them a horde of raiders, to plunder. . . . I made the terror of invasion fall upon them all in a moment."[164]
Such actions led the Psalmist to complain: "Thou hast hurled us back before the enemy, and our foes plunder us as they will. Thou hast given us up to be butchered like sheep and hast scattered us among the nations."[165]
The Israelites weren't the only ones to receive this punishment. Jeremiah reports that the Lord ordered the Babylonians to "attack Kedar, despoil the Arabs of the east. Carry off their tents and their flocks, their tent-hangings and all their vessels, drive off their camels too, and a cry shall go up: 'Terror let loose!'"[166]
Additionally, Zephaniah claims that because Moab and Ammon insulted the Lord's people, God decreed that the "survivors of my people shall plunder them, the remnant of my nation shall possess their land."[167]
The New Testament vouches for the divine approval of plundering. It says Jesus spoke approvingly of David.[168] And it tells us God described David as "a man after my own heart."[169]
David, whom God and Jesus thought so highly of, was a plunderer and worse. The Old Testament recounts that while living in Philistine country to avoid King Saul, David raided various villages, slaughtered all the inhabitants, stole their property, and then lied to the Philistine king about what he had done.[170]
Miscellaneous Violence
The Lord supports various other forms of violence. He's quite creative in finding ways to kill and hurt people.
Woman turned into salt
Because two angels had warned Lot that God was going to destroy Sodom, Lot and his family fled the city. But contrary to the instructions given by the angels, Lot's wife looked back while the Lord was raining fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. For this act, she was turned into a pillar of salt.[171]
Defenestration
To enable Jehu to become king of Israel in place of Ahab's son Jehoram, God had Jehu kill Ahab's entire family.[172] This included having Ahab's widow, Jezebel, dispatched by throwing her out of a window.[173]
Hail
To convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, God tormented the Egyptians and their animals by raining down hail more heavily than the country had ever experienced.[174]
And when Joshua and his army were pursing and slaughtering the Amorites, "the Lord hurled great hailstones at them out of the sky," so that "more died from the hailstones than the Israelites slew by the sword."[175]
The New Testament promises that God will be hurling more hailstones. The book of Revelation describes God's judgment on the wicked as including "hail and fire mingled with blood" being cast upon the earth.[176] Later, the book says God will drop huge hailstones, weighing perhaps a hundred pounds, on men.[177]
Captivity
Deuteronomy claims that if the Lord's people disobey him, their children will be taken into captivity.[178]
We are told in II Kings that because of the Israelites' disobedience, God sent them into captivity in Assyria.[179]
Similarly, Jeremiah says the Lord banished his people from his presence and assigned some of them to captivity.[180]
According to II Chronicles, God's anger fell upon Judah and Jerusalem such that "our fathers have fallen by the sword, our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity."[181]
Poisonings
In the Old Testament, God promised to poison certain evil prophets.[182]
And the book of Revelation tells us the Lord will be poisoning people in the end times. After an angel blows a trumpet, a third of the earth's rivers and springs will be turned to wormwood, and many will die from the poisoned water.[183]
Human sacrifice
God commended Abraham for being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Fortunately for Isaac, an angel stayed Abraham's knife-wielding hand at the last second.[184]
The daughter of Jephthah was not so lucky. Jephthah sacrificed her to fulfill a vow he had made to the Lord.[185] In the New Testament, Jephthah is listed as one of the great men of faith.[186]
The New Testament God also showed support for human sacrifice by having it done to his son.[187]
Earthquakes
Isaiah says God's punishment against the city of Ariel (i.e., Jerusalem) will come with an earthquake.[188]
The book of Revelation states that in the last days, God will cause an earthquake to kill 7,000 people.[189] Later, the Almighty will produce the most violent earthquake in history, splitting the city of Rome into three parts and making other cities fall in ruin.[190]
Earth swallows people
The Old Testament reports that after certain men had rebelled against Moses' authority, God caused the earth to open and swallow them and their families.[191]
Sexual assaults
Finally, the Heavenly Father is not above causing sexual assaults. Isaiah quotes God as promising to send the Medes to attack the Chaldaeans and have "their houses rifled and their wives ravished."[192]
Thus, besides all his other violent traits, the Lord reveals himself to be on the same level as a murderer/rapist.
Violent Protagonists
In addition to the aforementioned violence, God's servants were responsible for other mayhem.
Moses murdered an Egyptian who had struck a Hebrew.[193] The murderer Moses is described in the Bible as "the man of God"[194] and "the servant of the Lord."[195]
After King David's death, his son Solomon had several antagonists killed in order to secure his royal power.[196] We are told that Solomon loved the Lord and conformed to all the precepts laid down by David.[197]
When the spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, he slaughtered 1,000 men with the jawbone of an ass.[198] And the prophet Elijah slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal.[199]
After the cities of Succoth and Penuel refused Gideon's request for food for his men, Gideon took the elders of Succoth and "disciplined those men of Succoth with desert thorns and briars." He also pulled down the castle of Penuel and put the men of the city to death.[200] Anyone who has examined a hotel Bible knows that an international Bible society is named after Gideon.
The New Testament sanctions all those acts by speaking approvingly of Moses,[201] Solomon,[202] Samson,[203] Elijah,[204] and Gideon.[205]
Conclusion
These violent, brutal, and heartless acts approved in the Bible should completely discredit it as a moral guide. Many other instances of cruelty and immorality can be found in the book to prove the same point.
No wonder Thomas Paine said: "To read the Bible without horror, we must undo everything that is tender, sympathizing and benevolent in the heart of man."[206]
Tragically, the biblical God's despicable behavior has been considered a model of goodness and justice. Throughout history, innumerable Bible-believers have followed his example and teachings by committing horrendous violence - and felt good about themselves for doing so.
Such acts led Sir James Paget to say in the nineteenth century: "I know of no book which has been a source of brutality and sadistic conduct, both public and private, that can compare with the Bible."[207]
And the Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu observed: "No kingdom has ever suffered as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ."[208]
The same conduct will continue as long as a vicious and merciless monster is worshipped as the quintessence of divine love.
Civilized societies adhere to a much higher ethical standard than the biblical God's. They know that violence does not prove who is right but only who is stronger.
They also recognize that the validity of an argument depends on the quality of the evidence and logic supporting it - not the amount of violence its proponents can inflict. In fact, a resort to violence usually means the proponents believe they cannot win with arguments.
Moreover, enlightened societies realize that gratuitous violence, when supported by society's leaders and other role models, can promote more violence. Their example sends a message to others that violence is an appropriate means of dealing with problems.
Those societies also understand that people can become desensitized to the sight of violence and thus tolerate ever-greater amounts of it.
As a result, civilized societies permit violence only for self-defense and the defense of others, and only in amounts necessary to accomplish those purposes. In all other cases, problems are to be resolved by nonviolent methods.
A huge step toward reducing violence could occur if more people realized that the biblical God is a product of a barbaric and ignorant age.
His example and teachings should be replaced with the best ideas produced by human reason, experience, and compassion.
Endnotes:
[1] Psalm. 18:30
[2] Jeremiah 9:24
[3] Isaiah 30:18
[4] Nehemiah 9:17
[5] Deuteronomy 4:31
[6] Psalm 86:15
[7] I John 4:9,16
[8] Ingersoll, Robert G., "Vindication of Thomas Paine," The Works of Ingersoll,
Vol. V (New York: Dresden, 1901), p. 483
[9] Genesis 3:16-23; Romans 5:18
[10] Genesis 7:20-23
[11] Exodus 12:29-30
[12] Romans 3:24-25
[13] Revelation 21:8
[14] Deuteronomy 2:31-34
[15] Deuteronomy 3:1-7
[16] Psalms 136:17-21
[17] Deuteronomy 7:1-6;20:16-17
[18] Joshua 6:20-21
[19] Joshua 8:1-2
[20] Joshua 11:14
[21] Mattill, Jr., A.J, The Seven Mighty Blows to Traditional Beliefs (Gordo, Alabama: The Flatwoods Free Press, 1995), p. 141
[22] Numbers 31:7-12
[23] Numbers 31:14-18
[24]] Numbers 31:25-47
[25] I Samuel 15:1-3
[26] Isaiah 13:13-20
[27] Ezekiel 9:1-7
[28] II Chronicles 36:16-17
[29] Jeremiah 48:10
[30] Revelation 6:3-4
[31] Revelation 6:7-8
[32] Revelation 9:14-16
[33] Revelation 19:11-21
[34] Matthew 10:34
[35] Numbers 11:4-6,33-34
[36] Numbers 16:41-50
[37] Numbers 25:1-9
[38] Numbers 25:10-15
[39] I Chronicles 21:1,7-15
[40] II Chronicles 26:16-21
[41] Jeremiah 21:3-7
[42] Ezekiel 5:11-12
[43] Amos 4:10
[44] Revelation 6:8
[45] Revelation 18:8 (Rome is called "Babylon" here and elsewhere in the book of Revelation.)
[46] I Chronicles 21:7-12
[47] I Chronicles 21:13
[48] I Chronicles 21:14-15
[49] Isaiah 51:17-19
[50] Jeremiah 14:12
[51] Jeremiah 27:6-8
[52] Ezekiel 6:11-12
[53] The New English Bible with the Apocrypha, Oxford Study Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 891, fn. 11.
[54] Ezekiel 5:16
[55] Lamentations 2:11-12
[56] Lamentations 2:21
[57] Amos 4:6
[58] Revelation 6:5-6
[59] Revelation 6:7-8
[60] Revelation 18:8
[61] Genesis 19:24-25
[62] Leviticus 10:1-2
[63] Numbers 16:1-2, 31-35
[64] II Kings 1:9-12
[65] Jeremiah 17:27
[66] Jeremiah 50:31-32
[67] Ezekiel 30:8
[68] Amos 1:3-15;2:1-5
[69] Psalms 21:7-10
[70] Psalms 11:5-7
[71] Leviticus 21:9
[72] Luke 12:49
[73] Hebrews 12:29
[74] Revelation 8:7
[75] Revelation 9:15-18
[76] Revelation 11:3-5
[77] Revelation 16:1,8-9
[78] Revelation 18:8
[79] Revelation 20:7-9
[80] Matthew 13:41-42
[81] Matthew 25:41
[82] Revelation 20:10-15
[83] Revelation 14:11
[84] Jude .7
[85] Luke 16:19-31
[86] Mark 16:16; Revelation 21:8
[87] Matthew 7:13-14
[88] Matthew 18:23-35
[89] Leviticus 26:21-22
[90] Deuteronomy 32:24
[91] Numbers 21:6
[92] I Kings 13:13-26
[93] II Kings 2:23-24
[94] Ezekiel 5:17
[95] Jeremiah 8:17
[96] II Kings 17:24-25
[97] Revelation 6:8
[98] Revelation 9:3-6
[99] Revelation 9:15-19
[100] Genesis 7:20-23
[101] Exodus 12:29-30
[102] E.g., Joshua 11:14
[103] II Samuel 12:7-18
[104] Isaiah 13:15-18
[105] Psalm 137:8-9
[106] Hosea 13:16
[107] Job 1:8-19
[108] Hebrews 11:28
[109] Revelation 2:20-23
[110] Revelation 2:23
[111] Leviticus 26:27-29
[112] Isaiah 9:20
[113] Jeremiah 19:8-9
[114] Ezekiel 5:8-10
[115] Lamentations 4:9-11
[116] Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25
[117] John 6:53-57
[118] Numbers 15:32-36
[119] Exodus 31:14-15
[120] Leviticus 20:9
[121] Deuteronomy 21:18-21
[122] Deuteronomy 13:6-11
[123] II Chronicles 15:12-15
[124] Leviticus 24:11-16
[125] Leviticus 20:10
[126] Leviticus 20:13
[127] Deuteronomy 17:2-5
[128] Exodus 22:18
[129] Leviticus 20:27
[130] Deuteronomy 18:20; Zechariah 13:3
[131] Deuteronomy 22:20-21
[132] Joshua 7:15; Leviticus 21:9
[133] Deuteronomy 21:22-23
[134] Joshua 8:29
[135] II Samuel 21:1-14
[136] Matthew 5:17
[137] Matthew 5:18-19
[138] Leviticus 24:19-20
[139] Deuteronomy 19:21
[140] Deuteronomy 25:11-12
[141] Proverbs 10:31
[142] Judges 1:1-7
[143] Matthew 5:28-29
[144] Matthew 5:30
[145] Matthew 19:12
[146] Deuteronomy 25:1-3
[147] Proverbs 10:13;26:3
[148] Proverbs 23:13-14 (Also see Proverbs 13:24.)
[149] Proverbs 22:15
[150] Proverbs 20:30
[151] Psalm 89:30-32
[152] Luke 12: 47-48
[153] Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:26; John 19:1
[154] Acts 16:22-23; II Corinthians 11:23-25
[155] Acts 16:22-23
[156] Acts 5:40
[157] Hebrews 11:36
[158] Mark 13:9
[159] II Corinthians 11:23-25
[160] Isaiah 10:5-6
[161] II Kings 17:19-20
[162] II Kings 21:14-15
[163] Jeremiah 20:4-5
[164] Jeremiah 15:8-9
[165] Psalms 44:10-11
[166] Jeremiah 49:28-29
[167] Zephaniah 2:8-9
[168] E.g., Matthew 12:3-4; Mark 12:36
[169] Acts 13:22
[170] I Samuel 27:7-12
[171] Genesis 19:15-26
[172] II Kings 9:6-9; 10:10-11
[173] II Kings 9:6-10, 33-37
[174] Exodus 9:23-26
[175] Joshua 10:3-12
[176] Revelation 8:7
[177] Revelation 16:21
[178] Deuteronomy 28:41
[179] II Kings 17:18-23
[180] Jeremiah 15:1-2
[181] II Chronicles 29:8-9
[182] Jeremiah 23:15
[183] Revelation 8:10-11
[184] Genesis 22:10-12
[185] Judges 11:29-40
[186] Hebrews 11:32
[187] Romans 3:24-25
[188] Isaiah 29:6-7
[189] Revelation 11:13
[190] Revelation 16:18-19
[191] Numbers 16:28-34
[192] Isaiah 13:15-19
[193] Exodus 2:11-14; Acts 7:23-29
[194] E.g., Deuteronomy 33:1; I Chronicles 23:14
[195] E.g., Joshua 11:12; II Kings 18:12; Revelation 15:3
[196] I Kings 2:22-46
[197] I Kings 3:3
[198] Judges 15:14-15
[199] I Kings 18:40
[200] Judges 8:4-17
[201] John 5:45-46; Hebrews 3:2-5;11:24-29
[202] Matthew 12:42
[203] Hebrews 11:32
[204] Matthew 17:1-5
[205] Hebrews 11:32
[206] Ingersoll, Robert G., "Vindication of Thomas Paine," The Works of Ingersoll, Vol. V (New York: Dresden, 1901), p. 482
[207] Haught, James A., 2000 Years of Disbelief (Amherst, New York: Prometheus, 1996), p. 181
[208] Id., p. 50
The messages come from television, movies, music, video games, the Internet, and other sources. Instead of being a last resort used only in self-defense or the defense of others, violence is often portrayed as normal, favored, and entertaining conduct.
It's understandable that people are apprehensive about possible effects of violent entertainment. What's unclear is why so few are similarly troubled by the widespread promotion of violent Bible teachings. Violent religious ideas, presented as unquestionably true, are much more likely to influence people to behave violently.
The Bible's potential to instigate violence stems, in large part, from its claims that although God committed or ordered violent acts, he is perfect,[1] righteous,[2] just,[3] gracious,[4] merciful,[5] compassionate,[6] and loving.[7]
Because God is said to possess exemplary characteristics but still commits or orders violence, his followers may decide they can behave similarly and still be good people. They might even think they have a religious duty to follow his violent example.
The American patriot Thomas Paine referred to the development of such attitudes when he said, "The belief in a cruel god makes a cruel man."[8]
Violence in Basic Doctrines
God's violent tendencies are seen in some of the most fundamental and well-known Bible teachings.
The Old Testament claims that God damned the entire human race because of the acts of the first two people.[9] It also says he caused a worldwide Flood that drowned pregnant women, innocent children, and animals.[10] And it reports he killed Egyptian babies at the time of the Passover.[11]
The New Testament states that God required the torture and murder of his own son.[12] And it promises he will send to eternal torture all who do not accept Christianity.[13]
God looks no better when many of the Bible's other teachings are examined. His various methods of tormenting and killing people, and his frequent resort to those tactics, make him appear worse than any sociopathic mass murderer.
War
The biblical God is guilty of wartime atrocities. After bringing the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, he ordered them to attack King Sihon of Heshbon. So the Israelites "put to death everyone in the cities, men, women, and dependents" and "left no survivor."[14]
God then told them to do the same to King Og of Bashan. The Israelites therefore "slaughtered them and left no survivor."[15] The book of Psalms cites these massacres as proof that the Lord's "love endures for ever."[16]
In resettling the Israelites after the Egyptian sojourn, God instructed them to steal the land of seven nations. And he told them to "not leave any creature alive. You shall annihilate them. . . ."[17]
As a result, the Israelites utterly wiped out various peoples. An example is when Joshua's army attacked Jericho and "put everyone to the sword, men and women, young and old. . . ."[18] Later, the Lord told Joshua to do the same to the people of Ai.[19]
In obedience to the Lord's commands, Joshua's army did likewise to many other cities. The Israelites "put every living soul to the sword until they had destroyed every one; they did not leave alive any one that drew breath."[20]
If the accounts given in the Bible are accepted, there were millions of men, women, and children exterminated in this conquest of the Promised Land.[21]
All of the carnage was ordered by God. And the Old Testament contains other stories depicting him as acting just as horribly.
At God's command, the Israelites made war on Midian, slew all the men, and burned their cities.[22] Moses was angry, however, because they had spared the women and children.
So he ordered the soldiers to "kill every male dependent, and kill every woman who has had intercourse with a man, but spare for yourselves every woman among them who has not had intercourse."[23] Shortly thereafter, God gave Moses instructions for distributing the captive virgins among the fighting men and the community.[24]
The prophet Samuel gave Saul these instructions from the Lord: "Go now and fall upon the Amalekites and destroy them. . . . Spare no one; put them all to death, men and women, children and babes in arms, herds and flocks, camels and asses."[25]
Isaiah reports that on the day of the Lord's anger against Babylon: "All who are found will be stabbed, all who are taken will fall by the sword; their infants will be dashed to the ground before their eyes. . . ."[26]
Ezekiel claims that God appointed men to punish Jerusalem for its "abominations." The Lord told them to "kill without pity; spare no one. Kill and destroy them all, old men and young, girls, little children and women. . . ."[27]
In the book of II Chronicles, there is another report of the Lord's anger breaking out against Jerusalem. This time he "brought against them the king of the Chaldaeans, who put their young men to the sword . . . and spared neither young man nor maiden, neither the old nor the weak. . . ."[28]
Jeremiah denounces those who won't do the killings desired by the Almighty. He declares: "A curse on him who is slack in doing the Lord's work! A curse on him who withholds his sword from bloodshed!"[29]
The New Testament's depiction of God is hardly more favorable. The book of Revelation states that in the end times, heavenly power and a sword will be given to a rider on a horse. He will be allowed to make men slaughter one another.[30]
Another rider will be granted similar divine authority, including power to kill with the sword over a quarter of the earth.[31] Later, four angels and their cavalry of 200 million will go forth to slay a third of mankind.[32]
This destruction is preliminary to Christ himself coming on a white horse, leading the armies of heaven. A sharp sword will extend from his mouth to smite the nations, whose armies will be killed by the sword.[33]
These acts by Christ are consistent with his teaching that he came "not . . . to bring peace, but a sword."[34] And they show that he, like his father, supports the most extreme violence as a means of addressing problems.
Pestilence
Another punishment God frequently employs is to inflict diseases on people. After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites complained about having no meat to eat while wandering in the wilderness. Then the "Lord's anger broke out against the people and he struck them with a deadly plague."[35]
Not having learned their lesson, the people later complained about the leadership of Moses and Aaron. So God sent a plague that killed 14,700 more of them.[36]
In another instance, God used a plague to kill 24,000 Israelites because they had worshiped the gods of the Midianites. This plague was stopped only when Phinehas, after seeing an Israelite man take a Midianite woman into the man's family, put his spear through both of them together.[37] God praised Phinehas and rewarded him for the act.[38]
God used the same punishment on subsequent generations. He sent a pestilence that killed 70,000 men because King David took a census.[39]
After King Uzziah of Judah offended the Lord by burning incense in the temple, God struck him with leprosy so that "he remained a leper till the day of his death. . . ."[40]
God forewarned his prophets of similar divine retribution. He revealed to Jeremiah his intent to "strike down those who live in this city, men and cattle alike; they shall die of a great pestilence."[41]
The prophet Ezekiel said that because Jerusalem had not followed God's ways, it would be consumed "without pity" and a third of the people "shall die by pestilence."[42]
This form of punishment, however, proved to be ineffective. Through the prophet Amos, the Lord complained to his people that although he had "sent plague upon you like the plagues of Egypt," they still did not return to him.[43]
Nevertheless, the New Testament shows that God will continue the same behavior. The book of Revelation states that one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given power over a quarter of the earth, including power to kill by pestilence.[44]
And the same book reveals part of the doom God announced for Rome: the city will be struck with pestilence.[45]
Famine
God uses famines to torment and kill people. After David angered him by taking the census, God said one of the punishments David could choose was three years of famine.[46]
But David wisely chose pestilence, thinking it would be a milder punishment from God.[47] He thereby limited the Lord to killing a mere 70,000 men.[48]
On other occasions, God's people didn't get off so easy. Isaiah announces that Jerusalem has "drunk from the Lord's hand the cup of his wrath," including "havoc and ruin, famine and the sword."[49]
Jeremiah says God promised to make an end to the people of Judah by "sword, with famine and pestilence."[50] And the Lord pledged to do the same to any nation that would not submit to his "servant" Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian king.[51]
According to Ezekiel, God vowed to spend his anger on Israel by causing men to fall by sword, famine, and pestilence.[52] An annotation in The New English Bible explains that those are the three traditional scourges by which God punishes his people.[53]
Ezekiel quotes the Lord as saying about Jerusalem: "When I shoot the deadly arrows of famine against you, arrows of destruction, I will shoot to destroy you."[54]
The book of Lamentations shows that this was no idle threat. It describes one of God's famines by saying "children and infants faint in the streets . . . and cry to their mothers." We are also told "they faint like wounded things . . . gasping out their lives. . . ."[55]
Lamentations goes on to observe: "My virgins and my young men have fallen by sword and by famine; thou hast slain them in the day of thy anger, slaughtered them without pity."[56]
But famine proved no more effective than pestilence in changing people's behavior. Amos reports that God complained: "It was I who kept teeth idle in all your cities, who brought famine on all your settlements; yet you did not come back to me. This is the very word of the Lord."[57]
As was true with pestilence, though, the God of the New Testament intends to continue using this punishment. The book of Revelation claims that the third of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given divine authority to cause famine on earth.[58]
Likewise, the fourth rider will have power to inflict famine over a quarter of the world.[59] And the book says famine is another punishment God has in store for Rome.[60]
Fire
God likes to burn people. There is the story of him raining fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. By this means, he "destroyed all the Plain, with everything living there."[61]
Similar punishment was dealt to two of Aaron's sons, who presented "illicit fire" before the Lord. In response: "Fire came out from before the Lord and destroyed them; and so they died in the presence of the Lord."[62]
After several Israelites led 250 men in rebellion against Moses' authority, "fire [went] out from the Lord and burnt up the two hundred and fifty men."[63]
At Elijah's request, fire came down from heaven and consumed two companies of the king of Samaria's men.[64] And the Lord promised to use fire to punish Jerusalem,[65] Babylon,[66] Egypt,[67] and various other places.[68]
In speaking of a king favored by the Lord, the book of Psalms says God will have fire consume the king's enemies and exterminate their offspring from the earth.[69] As for the wicked in general, the same book claims that the Almighty "shall rain down red-hot coals upon the wicked; brimstone and scorching winds shall be the cup they drink. For the Lord is just. . . ."[70]
God ordered his people to use fire as a punishment. The Law of Moses states that if the daughter of a priest becomes a prostitute, she must be burnt to death.[71]
The New Testament also favors incineration. According to the book of Luke, Jesus said he came "to set fire to the earth."[72] And the book of Hebrews asserts: "our God is a devouring fire."[73]
In describing the end times, the book of Revelation reports that after an angel blows a trumpet, fire mingled with blood will be cast upon the earth. This will result in a third of the earth being burnt.[74]
The same book tells us that other angels will lead 200 million mounted troops, whose horses will spew fire, smoke, and sulfur from their mouths to kill a third of humankind.[75] Shortly thereafter, power will be given to two of the Lord's witnesses, enabling them to pour fire from their mouths and consume their enemies.[76]
Further, the book of Revelation says an angel will pour one of the "bowls of God's wrath" on the sun, and the sun will then "burn men with its flames."[77] Near the end of the book, we are informed that God will cause Rome to be burned.[78] And the book claims that when Satan's followers battle against the Lord, fire will come down from heaven and consume them.[79]
Torture
God carries his ruthlessness to infinite extremes in the New Testament by inflicting eternal torture on people. Being the firebug that he is, his preferred method of torture is to burn them.
The book of Matthew tells us that when Jesus returns to earth, he will send his angels to gather people and cast them into a furnace of fire, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.[80] And he will order people to "go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels."[81]
The book of Revelation describes this everlasting inferno as a place where people are tortured forever.[82] There, the "smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever, and there will be no respite day or night. . . ."[83]
The book of Jude claims that Sodom, Gomorrah, and the neighboring towns are already being punished in eternal fire as an example for all to see.[84]
These horrible punishments are illustrated in Jesus' story of the beggar Lazarus who went to heaven, and the rich man who was consigned to Hades. Jesus described the rich man as suffering torment in the flames.[85] Elsewhere, he indicated the same fate will befall everyone who does not accept his message.[86] This will include the vast majority of humankind.[87]
Jesus also spoke approvingly of torture in one of his parables. The story involves a king who forgave a servant's debt, but later found the same servant treating harshly a debtor of the servant. The king became angry with the servant and "condemned the man to torture until he should pay the debt in full." Jesus explained that God will do the same to people who do not forgive others.[88]
Because eternal torture is the most horrible punishment imaginable, God and Jesus have succeeded in reaching the pinnacle of viciousness and mercilessness.
Wild Animals
The Lord kills and injures people by causing wild animals to attack them. He warned the Israelites that if they disobey him, he will "send wild beasts among you; they shall tear your children from you, destroy your cattle and bring your numbers low. . . ."[89]
After the Israelites were disobedient, God vowed: "I will harry them with the fangs of wild beasts and the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust."[90] And this all-loving Heavenly Father "sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the Israelites so that many of them died."[91]
God also caused a lion to kill a prophet. This unfortunate man had been tricked by another prophet into disobeying a command of the Lord.[92]
Moreover, in one of the most cruel and nonsensical stories in the Bible, God sent two bears that killed 42 children because they were making fun of the prophet Elisha's bald head.[93]
Ezekiel quotes God as telling the people of Jerusalem: "I will unleash famine and beasts of prey upon you, and they will leave you childless."[94]
Jeremiah gives the following message from the Lord: "Beware, I am sending snakes against you, vipers, such as no man can charm, and they shall bite you. This is the very word of the Lord."[95]
The Israelites were not the only victims of this treatment. Because an Assyrian king brought people into Samaria who did not pay homage to Jehovah, "the Lord sent lions among them, and the lions preyed upon them."[96]
The God of the New Testament likewise uses animals to destroy people. The book of Revelation states that one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will be given power over a quarter of the earth to kill with wild beasts.[97]
The same book says the Lord will cause locusts, having the power of scorpions, to come over the earth. For five months, the locusts will torment men who did not receive the seal of God on their foreheads. The torment will be like a scorpion's sting, and the pain will be so bad that the men will long for death but not find it.[98]
Shortly thereafter, God will send riders whose horses will kill a third of mankind with fire, smoke, and sulfur coming from their mouths. The horses' tails will be like snakes and inflict injuries.[99]
Infanticide
Killing babies is another method God uses to express his anger. As already noted, babies were drowned in the worldwide Flood,[100] Egyptian babies were among the firstborn killed at the Passover,[101] and babies were killed in the wars of extermination.[102]
This divine punishment was also used after King David succeeded in having a loyal Israeli soldier, Uriah, killed in battle. David selfishly took this act in order to steal Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.
Although David was the one who committed premeditated murder, the son Bathsheba bore to him received the brunt of God's punishment. God, in his infinite wisdom and justice, punished David by killing the baby.[103]
Isaiah says a similar punishment would be used against the Babylonians. He quotes the Lord as vowing that "infants will be dashed to the ground before their eyes. . . . I will stir up against them the Medes, . . . who have no pity on little children and spare no mother's son. . . ."[104]
The book of Psalms indicates that those inflicting this punishment can enjoy it. The book says about Babylon: "Happy is he who shall seize your children and dash them against the rock."[105]
Hosea prophesizes that Samaria will receive the same treatment. He explains: "Samaria will become desolate because she has rebelled against her God; her babes will fall by the sword and be dashed to the ground, her women with child shall be ripped up."[106]
The Bible also teaches that God is willing to test people by having their offspring slaughtered. The Lord allowed Satan to kill Job's sons and daughters to see if Job would then curse God.[107]
The New Testament also contains a murderous attitude toward the young. The book of Hebrews attests to the Lord's horrible acts at the time of the Passover, but does not disapprove of them.[108]
And the book of Revelation indicates that Christ will behave similarly. As for a certain false prophetess who will lead his servants astray, the book quotes Jesus as promising to throw her on a bed of pain and strike her children dead.[109]
Then he explains: "This will teach all the churches that I am the searcher of men's hearts and thoughts, and that I will reward each one of you according to his deeds."[110] It would not have been difficult to find a humane way to convey those lessons.
Cannibalism
God causes cannibalism. According to the book of Leviticus, he promises that if the Israelites disobey him: "I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins. Instead of meat you shall eat your sons and your daughters."[111]
The Lord was true to his word. Isaiah describes a punishment of Israel: "On the right, one man eats his fill but yet is hungry; on the left, another devours but is not satisfied; each feeds on his own children's flesh, and neither spares his own brother."[112]
Jeremiah says the Lord promised to punish Jerusalem by making it "a scene of horror and contempt. . . . I will compel men to eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters; they shall devour one another's flesh in the dire straits to which their enemies and those who would kill them will reduce them in the siege."[113]
Ezekiel quotes God as saying that because of Jerusalem's disobedience: "I will execute judgment in your midst for the nations to see. . . . Therefore, O Jerusalem, fathers will eat their children and children their fathers in your midst. . . ."[114]
The author of Lamentations mourns the results of the Lord's punishment: "Those who died by the sword were more fortunate than those who died of hunger; these wasted away, deprived of the produce of the field. Tender-hearted women with their own hands boiled their own children; their children became their food in the day of my people's wounding. The Lord glutted his rage and poured forth his anger. . . ."[115]
In the New Testament, cannibalism is an integral part of Christian ritual. At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples bread to eat and told them it was his body. And he said the wine they were to drink was his blood.[116] On another occasion, he explained: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood possesses eternal life. . . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells continually in me and I dwell in him."[117]
Many say the worst pain a parent can suffer is the death of a child. But the Lord was not satisfied with producing that degree of hurt, and added to it by forcing parents to cook and eat their children. Then he required Christians to eat his own son. It's all very sick.
Executions
God is a big proponent of capital punishment. He likes it so much that he required it for trivial offenses. And he directed that the killings be done brutally.
After the Israelites found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, the Lord said, "The man must be put to death; he must be stoned by all the community. . . ."[118] God also ordered the death penalty for anyone else who works on the Sabbath.[119]
People were not to spare even their children from these barbaric slayings. God prescribed capital punishment for reviling one's father and mother.[120] And as for a son who is disobedient and out of control, the Lord directed that "all the men of the town shall stone him to death, and you will thereby rid yourselves of this wickedness."[121]
Comparable instructions were given for dealing with a person's brother, son, daughter, wife, or best friend who tries to convince the person to worship other gods. God said the person's "own hand shall be the first to be raised against him and then all the people shall follow. You shall stone him to death. . . ."[122]
God rewarded the people of Judah for vowing to put to death all who would not seek the Lord, including "young and old, men and women alike."[123]
The Law of Moses requires the death penalty for other acts, too. They include blasphemy,[124] adultery,[125] homosexuality,[126] worshipping other gods,[127] being a witch[128] or medium,[129] being a false prophet,[130] and not being a virgin on one's wedding night.[131]
Besides stoning, the Lord approved of executing people by burning,[132] hanging them on a gibbet[133] or a tree,[134] and hurling them off a mountain.[135]
Jesus supported the Old Testament's death-penalty provisions when he said he came not to abolish the Mosaic Law but to complete it.[136] He warned that anyone who sets aside even the least of the Law's demands, and teaches others to do so, will be lowest in the kingdom of heaven.[137]
According to the New Testament, Jesus was executed even though he was perfectly innocent. He and his followers should therefore have protested against capital punishment to prevent others from being subjected to the same injustice.
Mutilation
God ordered people to use mutilation in their legal system. And he sanctioned its use against a prisoner of war.
In the legal code given to the Israelites, the Lord prescribed mutilation as the punishment for a man who disfigures a fellow countryman. God said: "It shall be done to him as he has done; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury and disfigurement that he has inflicted upon another shall in turn be inflicted upon him."[138] And the Lord specified that in administering this punishment, "You shall show no mercy. . . ."[139]
He likewise required mutilation as the penalty for a woman who tries to stop a fight between her husband and another man by dragging her husband away. God said that if this peacemaking endeavor results in the wife grabbing the other man's genitals, "you shall cut off her hand and show her no mercy."[140]
For people who might speak out against these absurd commandments, God endorsed a type of mutilation that would silence them. The book of Proverbs says "the subversive tongue will be rooted out."[141]
Support for mutilating prisoners of war is contained in the book of Judges. After the Israelites made war on the Canaanites and Perizzites, they captured one of their opponents' leaders and cut off his thumbs and great toes. God did not condemn their act, and the victim attributed his fate to the punishment of the Lord.[142]
Such disfiguring and crippling are brutal and irrational. By mutilating a person as punishment for inflicting an injury on another, society can end up with two disabled persons to support instead of one. It makes more sense to keep the wrongdoer healthy and require that person to work to provide restitution for the victim. Most societies eventually learn this, but not the biblical God.
In the New Testament, Jesus supported mutilation. To avoid lusting after women, he recommended that men pluck out their own eyes.[143] To prevent masturbation, he advocated that people cut off their hands.[144] And he endorsed castration for "the sake of the kingdom of Heaven," and said to let "those accept it who can."[145]
All this chopping up of body parts is worse than in many slasher films, which some Christians denounce for violent content.
Beatings and Floggings
Under the Law of Moses, judges can sentence a wrongdoer to be flogged. The number of strokes corresponds to the gravity of the offense and can be as high as 40.[146]
In the book of Proverbs, advice is given to beat with rods one who is a "fool."[147] And the book says the same treatment should be given to children: "Do not withhold discipline from a boy; take the stick to him, and save him from death."[148] It further admonishes: "Folly is deep-rooted in the heart of a boy; a good beating will drive it right out of him."[149]
Proverbs advocates severe beatings of adults and children alike by stating: "A good beating purges the mind, and blows chasten the inmost being."[150] The book of Psalms claims that the Lord promised to set an example of this conduct by visiting his children with rod and lashes for their disobedience.[151]
The New Testament also endorses beatings. In a parable involving servants waiting for their lord to return from a wedding, Jesus taught that the servant who knew his lord's will but failed to do it "will be flogged severely." And he explained that the servant who didn't know his lord's will but "earned a beating will be flogged less severely."[152]
Moreover, the New Testament says the governing authorities (Romans or Jews) inflicted beatings on Jesus,[153] Paul,[154] Silas,[155] all the apostles,[156] and some of the other great persons of faith.[157] Jesus predicted that his followers would be flogged in synagogues.[158] Indeed, Paul reports that five times the Jews gave him the 39 lashes and three times beat him with rods.[159]
Despite numerous opportunities to denounce the wrongfulness of beatings and floggings, the New Testament does not. The writers of the Bible didn't know, as modern science does, that beatings and floggings are counterproductive.
Those methods cause the inflictors of the punishment, and persons witnessing it, to become callous toward the suffering of others. Moreover, the victims and witnesses learn to use violence in dealing with problems. The victims also become resentful, bitter, unwilling to cooperate, and eager for revenge.
Plundering
The Lord punishes people by having marauding bands loot them. Isaiah reports that God will send the Assyrians to "march against a people who rouse my wrath, to spoil and plunder at will and trample them down like mud in the streets."[160]
According to II Kings, after the Israelites disobeyed God's commandments and worshipped other gods, the "Lord rejected the whole race of Israel and punished them and gave them over to plunderers and finally flung them out of his sight."[161] Later in the book, God said about Judah: "They shall be plundered and fall a prey to all their enemies; for they have done what is wrong in my eyes and provoked my anger. . . ."[162]
Jeremiah says the Almighty will hand the people of Judah to the king of Babylon, who will take their wealth, deport them to Babylon, and put them to the sword.[163] In the same book, the Lord gloats that he "brought upon them a horde of raiders, to plunder. . . . I made the terror of invasion fall upon them all in a moment."[164]
Such actions led the Psalmist to complain: "Thou hast hurled us back before the enemy, and our foes plunder us as they will. Thou hast given us up to be butchered like sheep and hast scattered us among the nations."[165]
The Israelites weren't the only ones to receive this punishment. Jeremiah reports that the Lord ordered the Babylonians to "attack Kedar, despoil the Arabs of the east. Carry off their tents and their flocks, their tent-hangings and all their vessels, drive off their camels too, and a cry shall go up: 'Terror let loose!'"[166]
Additionally, Zephaniah claims that because Moab and Ammon insulted the Lord's people, God decreed that the "survivors of my people shall plunder them, the remnant of my nation shall possess their land."[167]
The New Testament vouches for the divine approval of plundering. It says Jesus spoke approvingly of David.[168] And it tells us God described David as "a man after my own heart."[169]
David, whom God and Jesus thought so highly of, was a plunderer and worse. The Old Testament recounts that while living in Philistine country to avoid King Saul, David raided various villages, slaughtered all the inhabitants, stole their property, and then lied to the Philistine king about what he had done.[170]
Miscellaneous Violence
The Lord supports various other forms of violence. He's quite creative in finding ways to kill and hurt people.
Woman turned into salt
Because two angels had warned Lot that God was going to destroy Sodom, Lot and his family fled the city. But contrary to the instructions given by the angels, Lot's wife looked back while the Lord was raining fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. For this act, she was turned into a pillar of salt.[171]
Defenestration
To enable Jehu to become king of Israel in place of Ahab's son Jehoram, God had Jehu kill Ahab's entire family.[172] This included having Ahab's widow, Jezebel, dispatched by throwing her out of a window.[173]
Hail
To convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, God tormented the Egyptians and their animals by raining down hail more heavily than the country had ever experienced.[174]
And when Joshua and his army were pursing and slaughtering the Amorites, "the Lord hurled great hailstones at them out of the sky," so that "more died from the hailstones than the Israelites slew by the sword."[175]
The New Testament promises that God will be hurling more hailstones. The book of Revelation describes God's judgment on the wicked as including "hail and fire mingled with blood" being cast upon the earth.[176] Later, the book says God will drop huge hailstones, weighing perhaps a hundred pounds, on men.[177]
Captivity
Deuteronomy claims that if the Lord's people disobey him, their children will be taken into captivity.[178]
We are told in II Kings that because of the Israelites' disobedience, God sent them into captivity in Assyria.[179]
Similarly, Jeremiah says the Lord banished his people from his presence and assigned some of them to captivity.[180]
According to II Chronicles, God's anger fell upon Judah and Jerusalem such that "our fathers have fallen by the sword, our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity."[181]
Poisonings
In the Old Testament, God promised to poison certain evil prophets.[182]
And the book of Revelation tells us the Lord will be poisoning people in the end times. After an angel blows a trumpet, a third of the earth's rivers and springs will be turned to wormwood, and many will die from the poisoned water.[183]
Human sacrifice
God commended Abraham for being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Fortunately for Isaac, an angel stayed Abraham's knife-wielding hand at the last second.[184]
The daughter of Jephthah was not so lucky. Jephthah sacrificed her to fulfill a vow he had made to the Lord.[185] In the New Testament, Jephthah is listed as one of the great men of faith.[186]
The New Testament God also showed support for human sacrifice by having it done to his son.[187]
Earthquakes
Isaiah says God's punishment against the city of Ariel (i.e., Jerusalem) will come with an earthquake.[188]
The book of Revelation states that in the last days, God will cause an earthquake to kill 7,000 people.[189] Later, the Almighty will produce the most violent earthquake in history, splitting the city of Rome into three parts and making other cities fall in ruin.[190]
Earth swallows people
The Old Testament reports that after certain men had rebelled against Moses' authority, God caused the earth to open and swallow them and their families.[191]
Sexual assaults
Finally, the Heavenly Father is not above causing sexual assaults. Isaiah quotes God as promising to send the Medes to attack the Chaldaeans and have "their houses rifled and their wives ravished."[192]
Thus, besides all his other violent traits, the Lord reveals himself to be on the same level as a murderer/rapist.
Violent Protagonists
In addition to the aforementioned violence, God's servants were responsible for other mayhem.
Moses murdered an Egyptian who had struck a Hebrew.[193] The murderer Moses is described in the Bible as "the man of God"[194] and "the servant of the Lord."[195]
After King David's death, his son Solomon had several antagonists killed in order to secure his royal power.[196] We are told that Solomon loved the Lord and conformed to all the precepts laid down by David.[197]
When the spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, he slaughtered 1,000 men with the jawbone of an ass.[198] And the prophet Elijah slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal.[199]
After the cities of Succoth and Penuel refused Gideon's request for food for his men, Gideon took the elders of Succoth and "disciplined those men of Succoth with desert thorns and briars." He also pulled down the castle of Penuel and put the men of the city to death.[200] Anyone who has examined a hotel Bible knows that an international Bible society is named after Gideon.
The New Testament sanctions all those acts by speaking approvingly of Moses,[201] Solomon,[202] Samson,[203] Elijah,[204] and Gideon.[205]
Conclusion
These violent, brutal, and heartless acts approved in the Bible should completely discredit it as a moral guide. Many other instances of cruelty and immorality can be found in the book to prove the same point.
No wonder Thomas Paine said: "To read the Bible without horror, we must undo everything that is tender, sympathizing and benevolent in the heart of man."[206]
Tragically, the biblical God's despicable behavior has been considered a model of goodness and justice. Throughout history, innumerable Bible-believers have followed his example and teachings by committing horrendous violence - and felt good about themselves for doing so.
Such acts led Sir James Paget to say in the nineteenth century: "I know of no book which has been a source of brutality and sadistic conduct, both public and private, that can compare with the Bible."[207]
And the Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu observed: "No kingdom has ever suffered as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ."[208]
The same conduct will continue as long as a vicious and merciless monster is worshipped as the quintessence of divine love.
Civilized societies adhere to a much higher ethical standard than the biblical God's. They know that violence does not prove who is right but only who is stronger.
They also recognize that the validity of an argument depends on the quality of the evidence and logic supporting it - not the amount of violence its proponents can inflict. In fact, a resort to violence usually means the proponents believe they cannot win with arguments.
Moreover, enlightened societies realize that gratuitous violence, when supported by society's leaders and other role models, can promote more violence. Their example sends a message to others that violence is an appropriate means of dealing with problems.
Those societies also understand that people can become desensitized to the sight of violence and thus tolerate ever-greater amounts of it.
As a result, civilized societies permit violence only for self-defense and the defense of others, and only in amounts necessary to accomplish those purposes. In all other cases, problems are to be resolved by nonviolent methods.
A huge step toward reducing violence could occur if more people realized that the biblical God is a product of a barbaric and ignorant age.
His example and teachings should be replaced with the best ideas produced by human reason, experience, and compassion.
Endnotes:
[1] Psalm. 18:30
[2] Jeremiah 9:24
[3] Isaiah 30:18
[4] Nehemiah 9:17
[5] Deuteronomy 4:31
[6] Psalm 86:15
[7] I John 4:9,16
[8] Ingersoll, Robert G., "Vindication of Thomas Paine," The Works of Ingersoll,
Vol. V (New York: Dresden, 1901), p. 483
[9] Genesis 3:16-23; Romans 5:18
[10] Genesis 7:20-23
[11] Exodus 12:29-30
[12] Romans 3:24-25
[13] Revelation 21:8
[14] Deuteronomy 2:31-34
[15] Deuteronomy 3:1-7
[16] Psalms 136:17-21
[17] Deuteronomy 7:1-6;20:16-17
[18] Joshua 6:20-21
[19] Joshua 8:1-2
[20] Joshua 11:14
[21] Mattill, Jr., A.J, The Seven Mighty Blows to Traditional Beliefs (Gordo, Alabama: The Flatwoods Free Press, 1995), p. 141
[22] Numbers 31:7-12
[23] Numbers 31:14-18
[24]] Numbers 31:25-47
[25] I Samuel 15:1-3
[26] Isaiah 13:13-20
[27] Ezekiel 9:1-7
[28] II Chronicles 36:16-17
[29] Jeremiah 48:10
[30] Revelation 6:3-4
[31] Revelation 6:7-8
[32] Revelation 9:14-16
[33] Revelation 19:11-21
[34] Matthew 10:34
[35] Numbers 11:4-6,33-34
[36] Numbers 16:41-50
[37] Numbers 25:1-9
[38] Numbers 25:10-15
[39] I Chronicles 21:1,7-15
[40] II Chronicles 26:16-21
[41] Jeremiah 21:3-7
[42] Ezekiel 5:11-12
[43] Amos 4:10
[44] Revelation 6:8
[45] Revelation 18:8 (Rome is called "Babylon" here and elsewhere in the book of Revelation.)
[46] I Chronicles 21:7-12
[47] I Chronicles 21:13
[48] I Chronicles 21:14-15
[49] Isaiah 51:17-19
[50] Jeremiah 14:12
[51] Jeremiah 27:6-8
[52] Ezekiel 6:11-12
[53] The New English Bible with the Apocrypha, Oxford Study Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 891, fn. 11.
[54] Ezekiel 5:16
[55] Lamentations 2:11-12
[56] Lamentations 2:21
[57] Amos 4:6
[58] Revelation 6:5-6
[59] Revelation 6:7-8
[60] Revelation 18:8
[61] Genesis 19:24-25
[62] Leviticus 10:1-2
[63] Numbers 16:1-2, 31-35
[64] II Kings 1:9-12
[65] Jeremiah 17:27
[66] Jeremiah 50:31-32
[67] Ezekiel 30:8
[68] Amos 1:3-15;2:1-5
[69] Psalms 21:7-10
[70] Psalms 11:5-7
[71] Leviticus 21:9
[72] Luke 12:49
[73] Hebrews 12:29
[74] Revelation 8:7
[75] Revelation 9:15-18
[76] Revelation 11:3-5
[77] Revelation 16:1,8-9
[78] Revelation 18:8
[79] Revelation 20:7-9
[80] Matthew 13:41-42
[81] Matthew 25:41
[82] Revelation 20:10-15
[83] Revelation 14:11
[84] Jude .7
[85] Luke 16:19-31
[86] Mark 16:16; Revelation 21:8
[87] Matthew 7:13-14
[88] Matthew 18:23-35
[89] Leviticus 26:21-22
[90] Deuteronomy 32:24
[91] Numbers 21:6
[92] I Kings 13:13-26
[93] II Kings 2:23-24
[94] Ezekiel 5:17
[95] Jeremiah 8:17
[96] II Kings 17:24-25
[97] Revelation 6:8
[98] Revelation 9:3-6
[99] Revelation 9:15-19
[100] Genesis 7:20-23
[101] Exodus 12:29-30
[102] E.g., Joshua 11:14
[103] II Samuel 12:7-18
[104] Isaiah 13:15-18
[105] Psalm 137:8-9
[106] Hosea 13:16
[107] Job 1:8-19
[108] Hebrews 11:28
[109] Revelation 2:20-23
[110] Revelation 2:23
[111] Leviticus 26:27-29
[112] Isaiah 9:20
[113] Jeremiah 19:8-9
[114] Ezekiel 5:8-10
[115] Lamentations 4:9-11
[116] Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25
[117] John 6:53-57
[118] Numbers 15:32-36
[119] Exodus 31:14-15
[120] Leviticus 20:9
[121] Deuteronomy 21:18-21
[122] Deuteronomy 13:6-11
[123] II Chronicles 15:12-15
[124] Leviticus 24:11-16
[125] Leviticus 20:10
[126] Leviticus 20:13
[127] Deuteronomy 17:2-5
[128] Exodus 22:18
[129] Leviticus 20:27
[130] Deuteronomy 18:20; Zechariah 13:3
[131] Deuteronomy 22:20-21
[132] Joshua 7:15; Leviticus 21:9
[133] Deuteronomy 21:22-23
[134] Joshua 8:29
[135] II Samuel 21:1-14
[136] Matthew 5:17
[137] Matthew 5:18-19
[138] Leviticus 24:19-20
[139] Deuteronomy 19:21
[140] Deuteronomy 25:11-12
[141] Proverbs 10:31
[142] Judges 1:1-7
[143] Matthew 5:28-29
[144] Matthew 5:30
[145] Matthew 19:12
[146] Deuteronomy 25:1-3
[147] Proverbs 10:13;26:3
[148] Proverbs 23:13-14 (Also see Proverbs 13:24.)
[149] Proverbs 22:15
[150] Proverbs 20:30
[151] Psalm 89:30-32
[152] Luke 12: 47-48
[153] Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:26; John 19:1
[154] Acts 16:22-23; II Corinthians 11:23-25
[155] Acts 16:22-23
[156] Acts 5:40
[157] Hebrews 11:36
[158] Mark 13:9
[159] II Corinthians 11:23-25
[160] Isaiah 10:5-6
[161] II Kings 17:19-20
[162] II Kings 21:14-15
[163] Jeremiah 20:4-5
[164] Jeremiah 15:8-9
[165] Psalms 44:10-11
[166] Jeremiah 49:28-29
[167] Zephaniah 2:8-9
[168] E.g., Matthew 12:3-4; Mark 12:36
[169] Acts 13:22
[170] I Samuel 27:7-12
[171] Genesis 19:15-26
[172] II Kings 9:6-9; 10:10-11
[173] II Kings 9:6-10, 33-37
[174] Exodus 9:23-26
[175] Joshua 10:3-12
[176] Revelation 8:7
[177] Revelation 16:21
[178] Deuteronomy 28:41
[179] II Kings 17:18-23
[180] Jeremiah 15:1-2
[181] II Chronicles 29:8-9
[182] Jeremiah 23:15
[183] Revelation 8:10-11
[184] Genesis 22:10-12
[185] Judges 11:29-40
[186] Hebrews 11:32
[187] Romans 3:24-25
[188] Isaiah 29:6-7
[189] Revelation 11:13
[190] Revelation 16:18-19
[191] Numbers 16:28-34
[192] Isaiah 13:15-19
[193] Exodus 2:11-14; Acts 7:23-29
[194] E.g., Deuteronomy 33:1; I Chronicles 23:14
[195] E.g., Joshua 11:12; II Kings 18:12; Revelation 15:3
[196] I Kings 2:22-46
[197] I Kings 3:3
[198] Judges 15:14-15
[199] I Kings 18:40
[200] Judges 8:4-17
[201] John 5:45-46; Hebrews 3:2-5;11:24-29
[202] Matthew 12:42
[203] Hebrews 11:32
[204] Matthew 17:1-5
[205] Hebrews 11:32
[206] Ingersoll, Robert G., "Vindication of Thomas Paine," The Works of Ingersoll, Vol. V (New York: Dresden, 1901), p. 482
[207] Haught, James A., 2000 Years of Disbelief (Amherst, New York: Prometheus, 1996), p. 181
[208] Id., p. 50
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
FB Removes 9/11 Search for Truth Vid but its Back PLUS More (Posted the Missing Links (at bottom of page))
Posted this to my FB page yesterday, in honor of the memory of the victims on the 9th Anniversary of the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11;
9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH; The Story of the Families of Victims Search for Truth9/11 Video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVgnsIJH4Y
and I went to view it again to day and when I clicked on the link here is the message I got:
"...The link you are trying to visit has been reported as abusive by Facebook users. To learn more about staying safe on the internet, visit our Security Page. You can also check out the malware and phishing Wikipedia articles...."
Is this what we call self-censorship on the net? What kind of person would report the Victims Families Search for Truth as abusive? Well I have just put 9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH right the fuck back up again, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVgnsIJH4Y
....and see how long it takes the Facebook NAZI's to have FB remove it again...
Here are the Missing Links, filling in all of the blanks and answering your unanswered questions : The Definitative Truth About 9/11; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YResfXTXd1c
Hurry before they take this one down
though I see they got the other one back up
go figure
crazy world
this wild wild web
we visit
but wouldnt want to
live in
would we?
9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH; The Story of the Families of Victims Search for Truth9/11 Video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVgnsIJH4Y
and I went to view it again to day and when I clicked on the link here is the message I got:
"...The link you are trying to visit has been reported as abusive by Facebook users. To learn more about staying safe on the internet, visit our Security Page. You can also check out the malware and phishing Wikipedia articles...."
Is this what we call self-censorship on the net? What kind of person would report the Victims Families Search for Truth as abusive? Well I have just put 9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH right the fuck back up again, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVgnsIJH4Y
....and see how long it takes the Facebook NAZI's to have FB remove it again...
Here are the Missing Links, filling in all of the blanks and answering your unanswered questions : The Definitative Truth About 9/11; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YResfXTXd1c
Hurry before they take this one down
though I see they got the other one back up
go figure
crazy world
this wild wild web
we visit
but wouldnt want to
live in
would we?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Some See BRILLIANT Ploy as Craiglist Blocks Sex Ads
My Comment to the Article (below)
Of course its a ploy, and a damn good one if you ask me,... got people talking and thinkin about THE ISSUE of Freedom of Speech on the internet,....and of course (I would HOPE) Craigslist "Adult Services" Ads will come back, - if not, that will be the end of the internet as we know it....read in this article below how Self-Appointed Leader of the New "Moral Majority" of Media,.. Richard Blumenthal (Attorney General of Conneticut and the dirty politician (he is running for Chris Dodd;s seat) who lied about being a Viet Nam Vet,) ....is out shut freedom of speech on the internet down;
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/technology/06craigslist.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1SeeMore
http://www.nytimes.com/
Since blocking its “adult services” ads as the weekend began, Craigslist has refused to discuss its motivations.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Incest
From "The Bad Lawyer" Blog; http://badlawyernyc.blogspot.com/2010/07/incest.html
The Oakland (Michigan) Press reports on the sentencing of Aimee Sword (pic), the biological mother who tracked down the teenage son she placed for adoption two days after birth, and had sex with him. This is Ann Zaniewski's story:
"[The Defendant said] she was remorseful for having sex with the teenage son she gave up for adoption as a baby before being sentenced Monday to at least nine years in prison. 'I don’t understand it,' Aimee Louise Sword said, referring to her actions.
Sword, a 36-year-old Waterford Township resident, was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. In early June, she pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Sword’s son was 16 when he testified at the preliminary exam in January that Sword contacted him in May 2008 while he was living in an adoptive home in Grand Rapids. He said they met at a Grand Rapids hotel and had sex. They later had sex at the home of Sword’s brother in Waterford Township.
Sword’s son, who has a different last name than her, was 14 at the time. Sword had given her son up for adoption when he was two days old and had an open adoption arrangement in which she would receive information about him every year, said defense attorney Mitchell Ribitwer. He said Sword initially got in contact with him through the social networking site Facebook after not receiving one of the annual updates.
Assistant Prosecutor Nicki Weisberger called what Sword did a 'selfish, cowardly, despicable act' that will have a longlasting impact on the teen. She said he was going through a tough time in his life at the time the crimes occurred. 'This is going to follow him and affect him for the rest of his life,' Weisberger said.
Ribitwer told Oakland Circuit Judge Daniel O’Brien that Sword fully accepts responsibility for her behavior. He asked for a sentence that would start at the low end of her sentencing guidelines, which were 81 months to 135 months in prison. Wearing a black dress and pearls, Sword apologized to the court and her family members for what happened.
She has five other children.
After O’Brien doled out the sentence of nine years to 30 years in prison, some of Sword’s supporters left the hearing in tears. Sword was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and to comply with sex offender registration. She will have to wear a tether when she’s released from prison."
_________________________
I hate this story. I hate writing about this story. It is one of many repulsive stories of the like you can read every day at local news websites around the country usually involving biological a biological male parent with their children. Sick and disgusting and inexcusable. The only thing remarkable about this story is the oddity of a young woman placing a child for adoption then stalking the child after he was an adolescent and committing this heinous act.
Sword claims not to understand "what happened." Try, seeking for the self alone, in other words extreme narcissism. Ghastly.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
SHIGELLOSIS - USA: (PENNSYLVANIA)
*********************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Thu 24 Jun 2010
Source: ThePittsburghChannel.com [edited]
The Allegheny County Health Department is warning everyone to
remember to wash their hands to guard against a bacterial infection
known as shigellosis that has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks.
"_Shigella_ bacteria are highly contagious. It can spread very easily
from person to person or through contaminated food, water or
beverages when people are not careful about thoroughly washing after
going to the toilet, changing diapers or caring for someone who's ill
with diarrhea," said Guillermo Cole, of the Allegheny County Health Department.
_Shigella_ causes bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Symptoms can
last for several days.
There are currently 97 cases reported in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, compared to a dozen cases for all of 2008. The Health
Department has been targeting day cares in an attempt to keep
shigellosis from spreading. "What we're doing specifically with day
care centers is requiring any worker or child with diarrhea to be
excluded until they have a negative shigella test and no diarrhea for
at least 24 hours," said Cole.
The outbreak began in October [2009], but cases have spiked in recent weeks.
"You could pass it to somebody else if you don't wash your hands, and
then they get it on their hands or they handle food that they then
ingest," said Cole. The health department is offering free stickers
based on satires of famous literature such as The Wizard of Oz and
Moby Dick reminding everyone to wash their hands.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[The following is extracted from moderator LL's comments in a prior
ProMED post Shigellosis, imported sugar peas - Norway, Denmark: (ex
Kenya) susp. 20090626.2328:
"... from the US FDA (Food & Drug Administration) Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, Bad Bug Book
():
"The illness caused by shigellosis accounts for less than 10 percent
of the reported outbreaks of foodborne illness in this country.
_Shigella_ rarely occurs in animals; principally it is a disease of
humans except for other primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees. The
organism is frequently found in water polluted with human feces. The
infective dose is as few as 10 cells depending on age and condition
of host. The _Shigella_ spp. are highly infectious agents that are
transmitted by the fecal-oral route.
"Associated foods include salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and
chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and poultry.
Contamination of these foods is usually through the fecal-oral route.
Fecally contaminated water and unsanitary handling by food handlers
are the most common causes of contamination.
"Clearly unlike foodborne infections in humans due to _Salmonella_
(except for typhoid fever), _E. coli_ O157, and _Campylobacter_,
shigellosis is associated with food contamination with human, not
animal feces."
Allegheny County is in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
(). As
of the 2000 census, the population was 1 281 666. The county seat is
Pittsburgh. The state of Pennsylvania can be located in the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at:
.
- Mod.ML]
[see also:
Shigellosis, changing epidemiology - Canada: (ON) RFI 20100216.0548
2005
----
Shigellosis, retreat center - USA (OR) 20050812.2364
2003
----
Shigellosis - USA (FL) 20030929.2452
Shigellosis - USA (North Carolina) 20030713.1727
Shigellosis - USA (Texas) (02) 20030509.1156
2002
----
Shigellosis - USA (New Jersey) 20020826.5153
Shigellosis - USA (Georgia): alert 20020624.4587
2001
----
Shigellosis - USA (Iowa) 20010924.2316
Shigellosis - USA (Ohio, Kentucky) 20010815.1930
Shigellosis, toddlers - USA (Ohio) (02) 20010721.1419
1997
----
Shigellosis - Canada 19970610.1214
1996
----
Shigella, deliberate contamination? - USA (Texas) 19961119.1946]
...................ml/ejp/dk
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to
an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name
name and affiliation, it may not be posted. You may unsub-
scribe at.
For assistance from a human being, send mail to:
.
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Thu 24 Jun 2010
Source: ThePittsburghChannel.com [edited]
The Allegheny County Health Department is warning everyone to
remember to wash their hands to guard against a bacterial infection
known as shigellosis that has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks.
"_Shigella_ bacteria are highly contagious. It can spread very easily
from person to person or through contaminated food, water or
beverages when people are not careful about thoroughly washing after
going to the toilet, changing diapers or caring for someone who's ill
with diarrhea," said Guillermo Cole, of the Allegheny County Health Department.
_Shigella_ causes bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Symptoms can
last for several days.
There are currently 97 cases reported in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, compared to a dozen cases for all of 2008. The Health
Department has been targeting day cares in an attempt to keep
shigellosis from spreading. "What we're doing specifically with day
care centers is requiring any worker or child with diarrhea to be
excluded until they have a negative shigella test and no diarrhea for
at least 24 hours," said Cole.
The outbreak began in October [2009], but cases have spiked in recent weeks.
"You could pass it to somebody else if you don't wash your hands, and
then they get it on their hands or they handle food that they then
ingest," said Cole. The health department is offering free stickers
based on satires of famous literature such as The Wizard of Oz and
Moby Dick reminding everyone to wash their hands.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[The following is extracted from moderator LL's comments in a prior
ProMED post Shigellosis, imported sugar peas - Norway, Denmark: (ex
Kenya) susp. 20090626.2328:
"... from the US FDA (Food & Drug Administration) Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, Bad Bug Book
(
"The illness caused by shigellosis accounts for less than 10 percent
of the reported outbreaks of foodborne illness in this country.
_Shigella_ rarely occurs in animals; principally it is a disease of
humans except for other primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees. The
organism is frequently found in water polluted with human feces. The
infective dose is as few as 10 cells depending on age and condition
of host. The _Shigella_ spp. are highly infectious agents that are
transmitted by the fecal-oral route.
"Associated foods include salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and
chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and poultry.
Contamination of these foods is usually through the fecal-oral route.
Fecally contaminated water and unsanitary handling by food handlers
are the most common causes of contamination.
"Clearly unlike foodborne infections in humans due to _Salmonella_
(except for typhoid fever), _E. coli_ O157, and _Campylobacter_,
shigellosis is associated with food contamination with human, not
animal feces."
Allegheny County is in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
(
of the 2000 census, the population was 1 281 666. The county seat is
Pittsburgh. The state of Pennsylvania can be located in the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at:
- Mod.ML]
[see also:
Shigellosis, changing epidemiology - Canada: (ON) RFI 20100216.0548
2005
----
Shigellosis, retreat center - USA (OR) 20050812.2364
2003
----
Shigellosis - USA (FL) 20030929.2452
Shigellosis - USA (North Carolina) 20030713.1727
Shigellosis - USA (Texas) (02) 20030509.1156
2002
----
Shigellosis - USA (New Jersey) 20020826.5153
Shigellosis - USA (Georgia): alert 20020624.4587
2001
----
Shigellosis - USA (Iowa) 20010924.2316
Shigellosis - USA (Ohio, Kentucky) 20010815.1930
Shigellosis, toddlers - USA (Ohio) (02) 20010721.1419
1997
----
Shigellosis - Canada 19970610.1214
1996
----
Shigella, deliberate contamination? - USA (Texas) 19961119.1946]
...................ml/ejp/dk
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to
an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name
name and affiliation, it may not be posted. You may unsub-
scribe at
For assistance from a human being, send mail to:
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
NRA Exempts Itself from Oppressive Law and Caves in to Support It
June 16, 2010
Dear Campaign for Liberty Member,
Once again, free speech and political liberty are under attack in Congress. And this time they have a surprising (to some) assailant -- the National Rifle Association.
In a minute, I'll give you links to the sorry story and ask you to tell the NRA and your congressman you OPPOSE the freedom-killing DISCLOSE ACT, with or without the NRA's deal.
You see, if there is one thing the establishment hates, it is watching its hand-picked candidates be held accountable for their records on liberty issues.
They want their Big Government power grabs to go unnoticed.
After watching some of their favorites go down in flames in race after race these past few months and seeing their statist schemes like Cap and Tax grind to a halt as a result of a massive uprising by liberty-loving Americans, they plan to strike back.
In a move that has dire consequences for our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and for Campaign for Liberty's ability to fight for our freedoms, incumbent politicians have colluded with a super-sized establishment lobbying group, the National Rifle Association, to push H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE ACT, or as I like to call it, the "Establishment Protection Act," through the House of Representatives as soon as this week.
According to Politico, the NRA bargained for an exemption for itself and other large, established groups while trampling the rights of private citizens, new groups (like Campaign for Liberty), and small organizations.
As John Bresnahan reports, "The proposal would exempt organizations that have more than 1 million members, have been in existence for more than 10 years, have members in all 50 states and raise 15 percent or less of their funds from corporations... The NRA, with 4 million members, will not actively oppose the DISCLOSE Act, according to Democratic sources."
RedState's Erick Erickson mentions one of our Regional Conference sponsors when saying, "I support Gun Owners of America, which is a consistent and uncompromising defender of the second amendment, not a weak little girl of an organization protecting itself while throwing everyone else under the bus."
Another pro-gun organization friendly to Campaign for Liberty, the National Association for Gun Rights, said in a national email, "And frankly, this craven deal by the NRA will damage our gun rights and our free speech rights."
As we hold politicians accountable and put them on record with our issue discussion program, the Establishment Protection Act will force organizations like C4L to turn over the names of their "top" donors for exercising our First Amendment rights.
You see, they are targeting groups like Campaign for Liberty because they think their "right" to hold office is more important than your rights to privacy and free speech.
Campaign for Liberty has experienced tremendous growth this past year, and the establishment knows we are out there every day fighting back against its statist power grabs.
They watch as we inform you which candidates support the Constitution and which candidates refuse to take a stand on liberty issues.
And they know we won't play their Washington game of trading principle for power. They want to silence us once and for all by going after our donors.
Campaign for Liberty will not be silenced, and we will lead the fight against the Establishment Protection Act so you have the right to speak freely without your name and personal information being turned over to Big Brother.
Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 right away to contact your representative and INSIST they uphold your First Amendment right to free speech and vote against H.R. 5175, the Establishment Protection Act.
After you contact your representative, call the NRA headquarters at 1-800-672-3888 and their Legislative Action group at 1-800-392-8683 and let them know how you feel about their move to stab freedom organizations in the back.
Sincerely,
John Tate
President
Dear Campaign for Liberty Member,
Once again, free speech and political liberty are under attack in Congress. And this time they have a surprising (to some) assailant -- the National Rifle Association.
In a minute, I'll give you links to the sorry story and ask you to tell the NRA and your congressman you OPPOSE the freedom-killing DISCLOSE ACT, with or without the NRA's deal.
You see, if there is one thing the establishment hates, it is watching its hand-picked candidates be held accountable for their records on liberty issues.
They want their Big Government power grabs to go unnoticed.
After watching some of their favorites go down in flames in race after race these past few months and seeing their statist schemes like Cap and Tax grind to a halt as a result of a massive uprising by liberty-loving Americans, they plan to strike back.
In a move that has dire consequences for our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and for Campaign for Liberty's ability to fight for our freedoms, incumbent politicians have colluded with a super-sized establishment lobbying group, the National Rifle Association, to push H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE ACT, or as I like to call it, the "Establishment Protection Act," through the House of Representatives as soon as this week.
According to Politico, the NRA bargained for an exemption for itself and other large, established groups while trampling the rights of private citizens, new groups (like Campaign for Liberty), and small organizations.
As John Bresnahan reports, "The proposal would exempt organizations that have more than 1 million members, have been in existence for more than 10 years, have members in all 50 states and raise 15 percent or less of their funds from corporations... The NRA, with 4 million members, will not actively oppose the DISCLOSE Act, according to Democratic sources."
RedState's Erick Erickson mentions one of our Regional Conference sponsors when saying, "I support Gun Owners of America, which is a consistent and uncompromising defender of the second amendment, not a weak little girl of an organization protecting itself while throwing everyone else under the bus."
Another pro-gun organization friendly to Campaign for Liberty, the National Association for Gun Rights, said in a national email, "And frankly, this craven deal by the NRA will damage our gun rights and our free speech rights."
As we hold politicians accountable and put them on record with our issue discussion program, the Establishment Protection Act will force organizations like C4L to turn over the names of their "top" donors for exercising our First Amendment rights.
You see, they are targeting groups like Campaign for Liberty because they think their "right" to hold office is more important than your rights to privacy and free speech.
Campaign for Liberty has experienced tremendous growth this past year, and the establishment knows we are out there every day fighting back against its statist power grabs.
They watch as we inform you which candidates support the Constitution and which candidates refuse to take a stand on liberty issues.
And they know we won't play their Washington game of trading principle for power. They want to silence us once and for all by going after our donors.
Campaign for Liberty will not be silenced, and we will lead the fight against the Establishment Protection Act so you have the right to speak freely without your name and personal information being turned over to Big Brother.
Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 right away to contact your representative and INSIST they uphold your First Amendment right to free speech and vote against H.R. 5175, the Establishment Protection Act.
After you contact your representative, call the NRA headquarters at 1-800-672-3888 and their Legislative Action group at 1-800-392-8683 and let them know how you feel about their move to stab freedom organizations in the back.
Sincerely,
John Tate
President
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Price of Coffee to Rise; Leaf Rust in Colombia
LEAF RUST, COFFEE - COLOMBIA: SPREAD
************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Wed 19 May 2010
Source: Dow Jones Newswires [edited]
'Rust disease' is latest threat to Colombian coffee crop
--------------------------------------------------------
The trees here [in Narino department], normally a lush green, are
yellow and spotty, as a virulent fungus compounds the woes of
Colombia's southern coffee-growing belt. Colombia is the world's
largest grower of high-quality arabica coffee beans. The provinces
accounting for about a third of that output are being hit by one of
the worst attacks of a fungal disease the region has ever seen.
This latest outbreak in southern Narino province is tied to a string
of weather problems caused by El Nino, which has warmed the Pacific
Ocean and led to unseasonal and excess rains followed by drought.
This appearance of rust disease follows a severe drought and an
outbreak of the broca pest [coffee berry borer] in another of the
country's main coffee-growing regions. Colombia's National Federation
of Coffee Growers, or Fedecafe, recently cut its forecast for output
in the first half of 2010.
[Byline: Maja Wallengren]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[Coffee leaf rust (CLR; also called orange rust) is caused by the
fungus _Hemileia vastatrix_, one of the most feared pathogens of the
crop. Of the 2 coffee species grown commercially, _Coffea arabica_
(arabica or highland coffee) and _Coffea canephora_ (robusta or
lowland coffee), it affects only arabica varieties and has completely
destroyed coffee industries in several countries. The disease is
characterised by yellow-orange powdery lesions on the underside of
leaves, where it attacks through stomata, but rarely occurs on stems
or fruit. CLR can lead to complete defoliation with death of the host
plant. Spores are spread by wind and rain.
Disease management relies mainly on multiple fungicide applications
during the rainy season. Rust-resistant cultivars exist, but the crop
is generally of poorer quality. More than 30 races of the fungus have
been detected, making it particularly difficult to establish durable
host resistance.
In Colombia, CLR outbreaks were reported in 2009 from several
departments including Caldas, Tolima, and Antioquia, but appears to
have spread further south. It has been said that severe CLR outbreaks
were last seen in the country over 25 years ago, and the possibility
of an emerging new, more aggressive fungal strain is being
considered. Cercospora leaf spot caused by the fungus _Mycosphaerella
coffeicola_ (ProMED-mail post 20100222.0595) and coffee berry borer
(_Hypothenemus hampei_; ProMED-mail post 20091008.3490) currently
exacerbate the situation in some parts of the country.
Maps
Colombia:
and
Colombia departments:
Early worldwide spread of coffee rust (pre-1990):
Pictures
CLR symptoms:
,
, and
Cercospora leaf spot and berry blotch:
,
, and
Coffee berry borer:
Berry borer damage on coffee beans:
Links
Coffee rust information and background:
,
, and
CLR resources:
_H. vastatrix_ taxonomy:
Information on cercospora leaf spot of coffee:
and via
,
, and
Coffee berry borer:
and
Arabica coffee varieties:
. - Mod.DHA]
[see also:
Coffee & cocoa diseases - Central Africa: update 20100421.1289
Cercospora leaf spot, coffee - Colombia: (QD) alert 20100222.0595
2009
----
Leaf rust, coffee - Colombia (02) 20091008.3490
Leaf rust, coffee - Colombia: (TO, CL) 20090225.0773
2008
----
Fungal diseases, coffee - East Africa 20081226.4072
2007
----
Leaf rust & berry disease, coffee - Kenya 20071108.3631]
...................................dha/mj/lm
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################
************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Wed 19 May 2010
Source: Dow Jones Newswires [edited]
'Rust disease' is latest threat to Colombian coffee crop
--------------------------------------------------------
The trees here [in Narino department], normally a lush green, are
yellow and spotty, as a virulent fungus compounds the woes of
Colombia's southern coffee-growing belt. Colombia is the world's
largest grower of high-quality arabica coffee beans. The provinces
accounting for about a third of that output are being hit by one of
the worst attacks of a fungal disease the region has ever seen.
This latest outbreak in southern Narino province is tied to a string
of weather problems caused by El Nino, which has warmed the Pacific
Ocean and led to unseasonal and excess rains followed by drought.
This appearance of rust disease follows a severe drought and an
outbreak of the broca pest [coffee berry borer] in another of the
country's main coffee-growing regions. Colombia's National Federation
of Coffee Growers, or Fedecafe, recently cut its forecast for output
in the first half of 2010.
[Byline: Maja Wallengren]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[Coffee leaf rust (CLR; also called orange rust) is caused by the
fungus _Hemileia vastatrix_, one of the most feared pathogens of the
crop. Of the 2 coffee species grown commercially, _Coffea arabica_
(arabica or highland coffee) and _Coffea canephora_ (robusta or
lowland coffee), it affects only arabica varieties and has completely
destroyed coffee industries in several countries. The disease is
characterised by yellow-orange powdery lesions on the underside of
leaves, where it attacks through stomata, but rarely occurs on stems
or fruit. CLR can lead to complete defoliation with death of the host
plant. Spores are spread by wind and rain.
Disease management relies mainly on multiple fungicide applications
during the rainy season. Rust-resistant cultivars exist, but the crop
is generally of poorer quality. More than 30 races of the fungus have
been detected, making it particularly difficult to establish durable
host resistance.
In Colombia, CLR outbreaks were reported in 2009 from several
departments including Caldas, Tolima, and Antioquia, but appears to
have spread further south. It has been said that severe CLR outbreaks
were last seen in the country over 25 years ago, and the possibility
of an emerging new, more aggressive fungal strain is being
considered. Cercospora leaf spot caused by the fungus _Mycosphaerella
coffeicola_ (ProMED-mail post 20100222.0595) and coffee berry borer
(_Hypothenemus hampei_; ProMED-mail post 20091008.3490) currently
exacerbate the situation in some parts of the country.
Maps
Colombia:
Colombia departments:
Early worldwide spread of coffee rust (pre-1990):
Pictures
CLR symptoms:
Cercospora leaf spot and berry blotch:
Coffee berry borer:
Berry borer damage on coffee beans:
Links
Coffee rust information and background:
CLR resources:
_H. vastatrix_ taxonomy:
Information on cercospora leaf spot of coffee:
Coffee berry borer:
Arabica coffee varieties:
[see also:
Coffee & cocoa diseases - Central Africa: update 20100421.1289
Cercospora leaf spot, coffee - Colombia: (QD) alert 20100222.0595
2009
----
Leaf rust, coffee - Colombia (02) 20091008.3490
Leaf rust, coffee - Colombia: (TO, CL) 20090225.0773
2008
----
Fungal diseases, coffee - East Africa 20081226.4072
2007
----
Leaf rust & berry disease, coffee - Kenya 20071108.3631]
...................................dha/mj/lm
*##########################################################*
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
FBI Announces I Have Won a BIG Prize Frum The Bank of Englad!!!!
Found in my "spam" inbox today;
Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
Telephone Number: (206) 973-2572
Attn: Beneficiary.
This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of Ј900,000.00 GBP from the Bank of Englad Online Balloting System, which was held at the Bank of Englad Corporate Center in Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail was one of the 8 Lucky Addresses in this Year Balloting Program that won the money. Your Winnings have been approved at the Bank of Englad (Bank Address: Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH) and the Bank have been authorized to pay you via a Certified Cashier's Check drawn from the Bank of Englad.I wish to congratulate you on your winnings; your email address was among those chosen during the Bank of Englad Online balloting from the new Java-based software that randomly selects email addresses from the web from which winners were selected.
Normally, it will take up to 4 business days for a Bank of Englad Check to be cleared, cashed and remitted into your account by another local bank. We have successfully notified the banks on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from our registered bank (Bank of Englad) so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of Ј900,000.00 GBP has been deposited with our bank, Bank Of Englad in Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH.
We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the certified cashier's check into your personal account as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds is with Bank Of Englad you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Bank of England Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM. According to the directives, you are required to pay for the following -
(1) Deposit Fee's (Fee's paid to setup a new account for the beneficiary by the Bank of America)
(2) Courier Delivery Fee (Fee paid to deliver the check through UPS delivery to your designated address)
(3) Insurance Fee (This is the fee paid by bank to insure the check before been deposited at the bank to avoid any deduction)
The total amount for everything is Ј785.00GBP (Seven Hundred and Eighty-five GBP). We have tried our possible best to indicate that this 785.00GBP should be deducted from your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been insured and deposited at Bank Of Englad, Centralia,London and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the beneficiary, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent in-charge of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer Or Money Gram depending on him.
In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge (Mr.Nicholas Edward) via e-mail.
Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
Contact Agent Name: MR. NICHOLAS EDWARD (Senior Personal Banker)
Telephone Number: +4470240345542
Bank of Englad.
You will also be required to e-mail him with the following information:
FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:
ANY FORM OF IDENTITY:
You will also be required to request Western Union details on how to send the required Ј785.00GBP in order to immediately deliver your Funds of Ј900,000.00 GBP via Certified Cashier's Check drawn from Bank Of England, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify this transaction : EA2948-910.
This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation is authorizing you to pay the required Ј785.00 ONLY to Mr.Nicholas Edward via information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your winning prize of Ј900,000.00GBP we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall invite a penalty of Ј8,000 which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The Winner).
Due to the confidentiality of this matter, I decided to contact you privately to avoid imposters.
Please find below an authorized signature which has been signed by the FBI Director- Robert Mueller, also below is the FBI NSB (National Security).
ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS.
Bank of Englad
Costumer Care.
CC:FBI Director
Robert Mueller.
Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
Telephone Number: (206) 973-2572
Attn: Beneficiary.
This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of Ј900,000.00 GBP from the Bank of Englad Online Balloting System, which was held at the Bank of Englad Corporate Center in Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail was one of the 8 Lucky Addresses in this Year Balloting Program that won the money. Your Winnings have been approved at the Bank of Englad (Bank Address: Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH) and the Bank have been authorized to pay you via a Certified Cashier's Check drawn from the Bank of Englad.I wish to congratulate you on your winnings; your email address was among those chosen during the Bank of Englad Online balloting from the new Java-based software that randomly selects email addresses from the web from which winners were selected.
Normally, it will take up to 4 business days for a Bank of Englad Check to be cleared, cashed and remitted into your account by another local bank. We have successfully notified the banks on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from our registered bank (Bank of Englad) so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of Ј900,000.00 GBP has been deposited with our bank, Bank Of Englad in Threadneedle Street,London EC2R 8AH.
We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the certified cashier's check into your personal account as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds is with Bank Of Englad you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Bank of England Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM. According to the directives, you are required to pay for the following -
(1) Deposit Fee's (Fee's paid to setup a new account for the beneficiary by the Bank of America)
(2) Courier Delivery Fee (Fee paid to deliver the check through UPS delivery to your designated address)
(3) Insurance Fee (This is the fee paid by bank to insure the check before been deposited at the bank to avoid any deduction)
The total amount for everything is Ј785.00GBP (Seven Hundred and Eighty-five GBP). We have tried our possible best to indicate that this 785.00GBP should be deducted from your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been insured and deposited at Bank Of Englad, Centralia,London and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the beneficiary, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent in-charge of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer Or Money Gram depending on him.
In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge (Mr.Nicholas Edward) via e-mail.
Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
Contact Agent Name: MR. NICHOLAS EDWARD (Senior Personal Banker)
Telephone Number: +4470240345542
Bank of Englad.
You will also be required to e-mail him with the following information:
FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:
ANY FORM OF IDENTITY:
You will also be required to request Western Union details on how to send the required Ј785.00GBP in order to immediately deliver your Funds of Ј900,000.00 GBP via Certified Cashier's Check drawn from Bank Of England, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify this transaction : EA2948-910.
This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation is authorizing you to pay the required Ј785.00 ONLY to Mr.Nicholas Edward via information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your winning prize of Ј900,000.00GBP we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall invite a penalty of Ј8,000 which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The Winner).
Due to the confidentiality of this matter, I decided to contact you privately to avoid imposters.
Please find below an authorized signature which has been signed by the FBI Director- Robert Mueller, also below is the FBI NSB (National Security).
ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS.
Bank of Englad
Costumer Care.
CC:FBI Director
Robert Mueller.
Friday, May 21, 2010
NOROVIRUS, FATAL, NEONATAL UNIT - SOUTH AFRICA: (JOHANNESBURG)
*********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Fri 21 May 2010
Source: IOL (Independent Online, South Africa), The Star report [edited]
The diarrhoea that killed 6 babies at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg
Academic Hospital was caused by a norovirus, a type of
community-acquired virus [infection] that causes stomach [illness],
CEO Barney Selebano confirmed yesterday [20 May 2010]. He explained
that the babies were susceptible to the virus because of their weak
[undeveloped] immune systems. "Those babies have never been out of
the hospital," he said.
All the babies in the neonatal ward were born prematurely and weigh
less than 1 kg [2.2 lb]. At the time of the infection, there were
about 50 babies in the ward -- 15 more than the stipulated maximum of 35.
Selebano said the virus was spread to the babies by human movement in
the hospital. "People walk all around the hospital and encounter
other diseases, and then come back into the neonatal ward," he said.
He added, however, that the hospital had saved all the other babies
in the ward and no new infections had been detected. "There are
always infections in a hospital, but this one has been contained."
Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu said the investigation into the
babies' deaths would be concluded by the end of the month [May 2010].
Meanwhile, Mahlangu said the deaths of 11 babies at Natalspruit
Hospital on 11 May 2010 were ascribed to neonatal sepsis, low birth
weight, prematurity, or stillbirth, and were unrelated to the
diarrhoea that killed the 6 babies at Charlotte Maxeke.
The Star [newspaper] has established that 30 babies died at
Natalspruit between 9 and 18 May 2010. At least 3 of the 30 deaths
are understood to be under investigation.
[Byline: Solly Maphumulo, Kristen van Schie]
--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
[Premature infants in neonatal care units are vulnerable to many
infections, but norovirus infection has rarely, if ever, been
reported as a specific cause of death. A lapse in infection control
procedures, as a result of overcrowding, seems likely to be
responsible for this tragic outbreak.
Noroviruses are a group of related, single-stranded RNA,
non-enveloped viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. The
incubation period for norovirus-associated gastroenteritis in adults
is usually between 24 and 48 hours (median in outbreaks, 33 to 36
hours), but cases can occur within 12 hours of exposure. Norovirus
infection in adults usually presents as acute-onset vomiting, watery
non-bloody diarrhea with abdominal cramps, and nausea. Low-grade
fever also occasionally occurs. Diarrhea is more common than vomiting
in children. Dehydration is the most common complication, especially
among the young and elderly.
Noroviruses are transmitted primarily through the fecal-oral route,
either by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water or by
direct person-to-person spread. Environmental and fomite
contamination may also act as a source of infection. Good evidence
exists for transmission due to aerosolization of vomitus that
presumably results in droplets contaminating surfaces or entering the
oral mucosa and being swallowed. No evidence suggests that infection
occurs through the respiratory system. For further information see
.
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of South Africa at
can be used to locate Johannesburg. - Mod.CP]
...................................mpp/cp/mj/mpp
Then see about biological weapons; http://exposingfdanusda.blogspot.com/2010/02/biological-weapons-in-usa.html
Then see about: Population Control; http://publikeye.blogspot.com/2010/05/is-your-government-trying-to-kill-you.html
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Fri 21 May 2010
Source: IOL (Independent Online, South Africa), The Star report [edited]
The diarrhoea that killed 6 babies at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg
Academic Hospital was caused by a norovirus, a type of
community-acquired virus [infection] that causes stomach [illness],
CEO Barney Selebano confirmed yesterday [20 May 2010]. He explained
that the babies were susceptible to the virus because of their weak
[undeveloped] immune systems. "Those babies have never been out of
the hospital," he said.
All the babies in the neonatal ward were born prematurely and weigh
less than 1 kg [2.2 lb]. At the time of the infection, there were
about 50 babies in the ward -- 15 more than the stipulated maximum of 35.
Selebano said the virus was spread to the babies by human movement in
the hospital. "People walk all around the hospital and encounter
other diseases, and then come back into the neonatal ward," he said.
He added, however, that the hospital had saved all the other babies
in the ward and no new infections had been detected. "There are
always infections in a hospital, but this one has been contained."
Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu said the investigation into the
babies' deaths would be concluded by the end of the month [May 2010].
Meanwhile, Mahlangu said the deaths of 11 babies at Natalspruit
Hospital on 11 May 2010 were ascribed to neonatal sepsis, low birth
weight, prematurity, or stillbirth, and were unrelated to the
diarrhoea that killed the 6 babies at Charlotte Maxeke.
The Star [newspaper] has established that 30 babies died at
Natalspruit between 9 and 18 May 2010. At least 3 of the 30 deaths
are understood to be under investigation.
[Byline: Solly Maphumulo, Kristen van Schie]
--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
[Premature infants in neonatal care units are vulnerable to many
infections, but norovirus infection has rarely, if ever, been
reported as a specific cause of death. A lapse in infection control
procedures, as a result of overcrowding, seems likely to be
responsible for this tragic outbreak.
Noroviruses are a group of related, single-stranded RNA,
non-enveloped viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. The
incubation period for norovirus-associated gastroenteritis in adults
is usually between 24 and 48 hours (median in outbreaks, 33 to 36
hours), but cases can occur within 12 hours of exposure. Norovirus
infection in adults usually presents as acute-onset vomiting, watery
non-bloody diarrhea with abdominal cramps, and nausea. Low-grade
fever also occasionally occurs. Diarrhea is more common than vomiting
in children. Dehydration is the most common complication, especially
among the young and elderly.
Noroviruses are transmitted primarily through the fecal-oral route,
either by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water or by
direct person-to-person spread. Environmental and fomite
contamination may also act as a source of infection. Good evidence
exists for transmission due to aerosolization of vomitus that
presumably results in droplets contaminating surfaces or entering the
oral mucosa and being swallowed. No evidence suggests that infection
occurs through the respiratory system. For further information see
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of South Africa at
...................................mpp/cp/mj/mpp
Then see about biological weapons; http://exposingfdanusda.blogspot.com/2010/02/biological-weapons-in-usa.html
Then see about: Population Control; http://publikeye.blogspot.com/2010/05/is-your-government-trying-to-kill-you.html
Thursday, May 20, 2010
"Wang-Dong" Restaurants Coming to USA? Hell No We Say!
If there’s anything stranger than eateries serving mosquitoes, centipedes or scorpions, it must be a restaurant serving animal genitalia.
The Guolizhuang Restaurant, based in Beijing does so.
Apparently there are 4 franchises in that city itself, and it’s expanding even to the USA, to the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
The menu explains why it’s good to eat the private parts of donkeys, dogs and other four-legged mammals, totalling more than 30. (This article does not say that some of the more priceier meats on the menu are those of ENDANGERED Exotic Animal (wangs) like tigers, rare monkeys, snakes, etc.) BIG $$$ in exotics for food here, but PLEASE not in the USA!
To the left, the ox wee-wee is cut into star shapes. How cute. Apparently good for male virility.
Below, the following tube used to be attached to a yak, served with a dragon, no less.
Sheep schlangs on a stick.
Donkey wang ready to be devoured.
Apparently the schlongs are usually dipped in soy or hot sauce before being consumed.
For women especially, eating these things is supposed to be good for the skin, the best acne treatment I heard!
Bon apetit!
More on Chinas Exotic Animal Restaurants;
http://www.viceland.com/int/v10n4/htdocs/what.php
What you can do right now to help to insure that these kind of restaurants DO NOT start popping up all over the United States.
1. Call the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and let them know how you feel
Ask for George Israel, President and CEO and Board Advisor to the Georgia Dept. of Economic Development at (404) 223-2264 and/or email at: Communications@GaChamber.Com
1(a) Call the Georgia Chamber of Commerce again only this time ask for John Krueger, VP of Public Policy at (404) 223-2490 and/or email him at jkrueger@gachamber.com
2. Call the Metro-Alanta Chamber of Commerce and ask for:
Renay Blumenthal, Sr. VP of Public Policy at (404) 586-8466 or mail him at eblumenthal@macoc.com
2(a) Call the Metro-Atlanta Chamber of Commerce again but this time, ask for:
Hans Grant, Sr. VP of Economic Development at (404) 586-8456 and/or email at: Hgrant@macoc.com
3. Call the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Tiffany Fulmer Ott, Administrator & Main Contact
1608 Tarklin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37920
(404) 531-6988
E-Mail Address
tfulmer@gacce.org
also contact
The Georgia Department of Economic Development
(404) 962-4000
and also be sure to contact their "International Departments"
Bi-National Chambers of Commerce
There are currently 42 bi-national chambers of commerce actively involved in Georgia’s international business community. These organizations work to assist their members develop business contacts, and they foster, promote and develop commercial relations and exchanges between Georgia and other countries.
Georgia China Alliance
1242 South Lumpkin Street
Athens, GA 30603
Phone: (678) 334-6136
Fax: (706) 542-6594
Email: rong@georgiachina.com
Ms. Rongrong Liu, Executive Director
U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association
18 Fairfield Drive
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
Phone: (404) 292-0714
Laniwong@Comcast.net
The Guolizhuang Restaurant, based in Beijing does so.
Apparently there are 4 franchises in that city itself, and it’s expanding even to the USA, to the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
The menu explains why it’s good to eat the private parts of donkeys, dogs and other four-legged mammals, totalling more than 30. (This article does not say that some of the more priceier meats on the menu are those of ENDANGERED Exotic Animal (wangs) like tigers, rare monkeys, snakes, etc.) BIG $$$ in exotics for food here, but PLEASE not in the USA!
To the left, the ox wee-wee is cut into star shapes. How cute. Apparently good for male virility.
Below, the following tube used to be attached to a yak, served with a dragon, no less.
Sheep schlangs on a stick.
Donkey wang ready to be devoured.
Apparently the schlongs are usually dipped in soy or hot sauce before being consumed.
For women especially, eating these things is supposed to be good for the skin, the best acne treatment I heard!
Bon apetit!
More on Chinas Exotic Animal Restaurants;
http://www.viceland.com/int/v10n4/htdocs/what.php
What you can do right now to help to insure that these kind of restaurants DO NOT start popping up all over the United States.
1. Call the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and let them know how you feel
Ask for George Israel, President and CEO and Board Advisor to the Georgia Dept. of Economic Development at (404) 223-2264 and/or email at: Communications@GaChamber.Com
1(a) Call the Georgia Chamber of Commerce again only this time ask for John Krueger, VP of Public Policy at (404) 223-2490 and/or email him at jkrueger@gachamber.com
2. Call the Metro-Alanta Chamber of Commerce and ask for:
Renay Blumenthal, Sr. VP of Public Policy at (404) 586-8466 or mail him at eblumenthal@macoc.com
2(a) Call the Metro-Atlanta Chamber of Commerce again but this time, ask for:
Hans Grant, Sr. VP of Economic Development at (404) 586-8456 and/or email at: Hgrant@macoc.com
3. Call the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Tiffany Fulmer Ott, Administrator & Main Contact
1608 Tarklin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37920
(404) 531-6988
E-Mail Address
tfulmer@gacce.org
also contact
The Georgia Department of Economic Development
(404) 962-4000
and also be sure to contact their "International Departments"
Bi-National Chambers of Commerce
There are currently 42 bi-national chambers of commerce actively involved in Georgia’s international business community. These organizations work to assist their members develop business contacts, and they foster, promote and develop commercial relations and exchanges between Georgia and other countries.
Georgia China Alliance
1242 South Lumpkin Street
Athens, GA 30603
Phone: (678) 334-6136
Fax: (706) 542-6594
Email: rong@georgiachina.com
Ms. Rongrong Liu, Executive Director
U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association
18 Fairfield Drive
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
Phone: (404) 292-0714
Laniwong@Comcast.net
TELL THEM THAT YOU
SAY NO!
TO "EXOTIC ANIMAL AND/OR "WANG-DONG" (PENIS) RESTAURANTS IN THE USA!
Sign petition; http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/no-2-chinas-exotic-meat-trade-in-usa
This is how they treat the tigers;
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