Greetings from Kandahar

108 Replies to “Greetings from Kandahar”

1. new kid on the block said:
   “There is always a cost to freedom and if we are unwilling to die for anything, if there is nothing worth dying for, then what are we living for? If it’s just for our own comfort and gratification, then we’re going to die anyway, because when you lose your soul, when you lose any sense of being your brother’s/sister’s keeper, then you’re engaged in a living death, whether you are aware of it or not.” +
   Afghan orphan,[Mohammad] 10, determined to be police officer despite carnage
   Murray Brewster, Canadian Press
   Published: Friday, April 21, 2006
   …
   Conclusion:
   “I am not afraid,” he said.
   RCMP officers, who are mentoring the ill-equipped and ill-trained Afghans, thought it appropriate to induct Mohammad into the brotherhood of policing. During a recent tour of substations, they gave him a pin – a Mountie on horseback – which he proudly wears as a badge.” +
   http://www.paulding.net/bin/url.cgi/13260.12

2. Remember the “better red than dead” BS the left used to spout?Well look at their socialist heavan that Reagan rightly “called the evil empire”. A country that was and is a third world country where the ordinary citizen was exploited by the academics and politicians and held in place with the secret police.

3. StatsCan shows the majority of Canadians still claim to be Christian, yet today, I don’t think it’s paranoid to say that there exists a culture of resentment towards them.
   I recall the ceremony over the Swiss plane crash a few years ago – all religious groups were represented, however, only the Christian minister wasn’t asked, or I believe allowed to say a prayer. This order coming from Chretien, one who claims to be Catholic.
   Martin and SSM is another example of a very public figure claiming to be Christian, yet rejecting the teachings.
   It wasn’t long ago when everybody accepted that Canada was a Christian nation.
   Like the ACLU in the US, atheist activists on the radical left are to thank for this current state of ‘human rights’ bigotry and hate.
   Just another example of the tail wagging the dog I suppose. Something this country is very good at.

4. God bless you Kate for sharing this.

5. O,by the way ET, atheism is a religion.It is based on your faith in what you believe.Communism,socialism and facism were the trendy religions started in the 19th and 20th centuries.Why do you think Marx and Lenin said that religion was the opiate of the people? They knew if they wanted to introduce their religion,they had to destoy the ones in place.

6. Sad news:
   4 Cdn soldiers killed in a roadside blast.
   Apparently, Gen. Hillier has suggested the magnitude of the blast was such that the G-Wagon the troops were driving was immaterial in providing protection.
   The vipers club is alive and well. Hopefully we won’t have too many repeat misadventures.
   My condolences to all the families involved who have lost a loved. May God Bless, you will be missed.

7. No, spike 1 – your statement that ‘atheism is a religion’ is merely your opinion. It isn’t truth.
   I disagree with you. In my opinion, atheism is NOT a religion. Religion is a set of beliefs affirming metaphysical causality. Atheism is the rejection of any and all metaphysical causality.
   You seem to be implying that a belief system is a religion. I wouldn’t agree with that, for that would mean that a belief in the basic axioms of algebra, transforms algebra into a religion. That would mean that a belief in the basic principles of the chemical composition of molecules, transforms chemistry into a religion. No, it doesn’t.
   Atheism is most certainly not based on ‘my faith in what I believe’. Why – that would make a belief that ‘Vitamin C prevents colds’ – a religious belief! It is nothing of the sort.
   Communism, socialism and fascism are not religions; they do not deal with metaphysical causality. And they certainly have been around for a lot longer than the 18th, 19th centuries. They are collectivist ideologies. Indeed, the most basic and ‘primitive’ form of social organization, the hunting/gathering, has often been defined by researchers as a basic communism (no private property, no ownership, all is shared). The problem is, and the 19th century communist/socialists didn’t realize this in their utopian dreams – that such an economic and political mode can’t support large populations.
   Fascism is also a collectivist mode; it adds a type of biological essentialism, where a group is deemed to have an innate biological force that empowers it.
   With your assertion that a belief system is a faith system…is a religion, then, naturally, to you, any belief is a religion. No. And the Marx-Lenin definition of religion as opiate refers to the fact that their political regime was not open to dissent, discussion, debate. Religious axioms (in fundamentalist religions) are also not open to dissent, discussion, debate.
   But, because the communists set up their political ideology as beyond dissent and debate, does not make it also a religion (it doesn’t deal with metaphysical causality). It simply makes it a totalitarian ideology.

8. As another atheist, I support stores closing on major holidays, I don’t crumble over school kids singing Christmas songs and I’m not outraged over nativity scenes in public locations.
   I would say, that for those on the left, secular humanism, environmentalism and mindless devotion to Kyoto have formed into a religion.
   The comment(s) about BCL self-loathing and the “culture of death” are bang-on.

9. Crocodile tears/comfort for the enemy, & etc., from CP, aka MSM. Down with CP/MSM. +
   Family, friends struggle with loss
   Grief and anguish rippled through Canada’s military community Saturday as family and friends tried to deal with the deaths of four soldiers killed in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan. +
   http://www.paulding.net/bin/url.cgi/13260.16

10. Yes, Hans. God bless our fallen brothers and all their loved ones. Their supreme sacrifice is not in vain.
    Thanks to ET and Canadian Sentinel (CS) for their responses.
    ET: 1) I’m no philosopher. But, if the prints of the unicorn exist, though no one’s actually seen one, there’s the possibility of the unicorn’s existence. Now, this only works for those who discern the prints. But who can deny that they do?
    2) Yes. That was very wordy. What I meant is: Subjectivism has completely replaced the idea of any objective Truth–the basis of all religion. Which is why atheism is, indeed, a religion: It posits a Truth–there is no God–on which reality, for the atheist, rests.
    It seems, unfortunately, and “eating the hand that feeds it”, that official post-modern Canada is much more receptive to the idea of atheism than it is to Christianity, though, in my opinion, it’s precisely BECAUSE of the Judeo-Christian concept of justice, equality, and freedom that Canada used to be the great country it was, is the somewhat free country it is, and why atheists are able to believe what they wish without reprisal. (Living in a Muslim theocracy would be a distinctly unpleasant experience for an atheist who dared to admit it or live by his/her beliefs. I think, ET, you’d agree with me here.)
    Ironically, it’s Christians, not atheists or Muslims–who didn’t build this country–who are generally being targeted by the HRCs. ET, we’re altogether on the same wavelength re this travesty. Thanks for your comments. My sentiments re the Charter–of “Fights and Fiefdoms” as one person coined it–are identical to yours.
    3) Re “metaphysical causality”: I think one needs to look at the good bequeathed to the World via the Judeo-Christian dispensation–educational facilities, hospitals, democracy, capitalism (yes, all being human, they’re far from perfect),and the willingness to defer instant gratification for a greater good, etc. (These might be some of those “unicorns’ prints” I mentioned earlier.) If one’s honest, I believe one has to admit that the Judeo-Christian heritage is responsible for a far greater good than the atheistic ones, e.g., Communism. (Also, even today, please check out who donates more money and time to others: I think the evidence conclusively shows that the lion’s share is not given by atheists. Also, to which countries has there been mass immigration? The democratic ones: all built on the Judeo-Christian foundation.)
    In the same vein, CS, I believe you’re incorrect when you suggest that “Though a leftist who practices some weird, harmful stuff can be an atheist, it doesn’t follow that an atheist will be a practitioner of any of the weird stuff any more than would a Christian.” This is illogical.
    Christians have a belief system–“Love the Lord thy God . . . and love thy neighbour as thyself”–that puts God and others before the self. (Obviously, all Christians fall short. However, many try very hard to align their actions with these beliefs.) However, as atheists have no, intrinsic, similar loyalties and restrictions, it’s possible, and maybe even plausible, that, on average, their consciences may be less well formed. Of course, there are good atheists–ET seems to be one of them!–and very bad Christians. However, looking at the broad picture, I believe that the credit side of Christianity outweighs the debit. (I think the opposite of atheism.)
    Back to the military and what’s happening in our society: When Canada was an openly Christian country, in the day of my two grandfathers and my father, volunteers in WW I and WW II, there was little question as to who the enemy was and that the enemy needed to be fiercely fought and soundly defeated. There was virtually no question about who would take on this daunting, but necessry task. Things are very different today.
    The soft, self-serving moral relativism of our day–far more likely to be aligned with atheism than muscular Christianity (not the wimpy “Jesus as bearded lady” variety)–has changed all that. “Hell no, we won’t go!” was not the cry of earlier Canadians. Indifference or even outright denigration of our fighting forces was barely countenanced.
    I’ll end there: I believe that ET, CS and I are united in honouring our brave troops and praying/wishing(?) for their protection, success, and safe return to a (not) grateful (enough) country and those who love them.
    P.S. I always appreciate the interesting, well written posts of new kid on the block and usually agree. However, re bcl: She’s a great foil! Her outlandish remarks elicit some wonderful posts. And it’s such fun to drive Mack trucks through her thin as gossamer ramblings. Court jesters serve their purpose. I say, don’t get rid of her!

11. The only sane conclusion is that Socialism is a mental illness.
    A cult that worships death in all its forms . With few exceptions being, serial killers & other predators.
    Any type of self defense ,including War, for the purpose of self preservation. Babies , like the Carthaginians of old. They have to make a human sacrifice of there first born. The gods , choice, & birth control are hungry for young lives.
    Law abiding citizens must perish in accordance to ideology. Health care comes to mind. Dogma comes before lives. Than theirs good old euthanasia & “mercy killing”. More wood on the alter of the god choice. Assisted suicide. Mind warping concepts like �quality of life� that by there very definition are not quantifiable except by some other individuals fiat.
    No normal system of thought would go too such lengths of effort to cause there own peoples extinction. Excite so much self loathing. Unless it was formed in the crucible of madness.
    Liberalism & its Socialist variants except, possibly, Classical liberalism. Is an offshoot of totalitarian millennial thinking. A heaven on Earth driven fairyland fantasy. Whole faculties taken up teaching about a system of totalitarianism (communism) like it�s a viable system. The most murderous regimes in history. I always ask why not nazism as well? They where mad as well. It�s the link to Socialism that communism shares in all its perfidy. Only there killing us quietly.
    Human nature deemed of no account. Commonsense avoided because it conflicts with everyday experience& there cherished fantasies. Ideology is all. Reality nothing. Moral law held in contempt. Criminals looked upon as victims. Victims as the trouble makers. Obscene stupidity like proclaiming gay marriage more natural than Heterosexual marriage .
    All this has led to its ultimate logical conclusion. Low birth rates. Uncalculating males to be cowardly & docile In order for more political control. As a sop to feminist groups, who�s aspiration where forged in eugenics.. A lower reading rate than at the beginning of the 20th century. Dumbed down purposely, while those in control accrue benefits, Kings would have been beheaded for. All in the name of the people there fleecing. Social programs designed to create chattel out of certain groups. Hardwired to rely on handouts. Than cursed for being inferior. Always nice to have an underclass to look down on, than they don�t look at the instigators actions. It will take years to mend. For the Nation to come off the lithium.
    Now we need Men & Women of real valor to die to keep there soft minds & bodies from the cook pot of these barbarians. The insanity continues as these ingrates even bad mouth those who�s deaths have allowed them there era. Lets call it : The Decadence .
    Just my opinion.
    Ask yourselves. Is this sane behavior, In any age of mankind?

12. Kate
    P.S.
    Thanks for the information you are providing. The stories & pics are excellent.
    I know a lot of my American friends online appreciate this. The MSM media is as bad, I am told by folks there, as here. Information of this Quality is hard to come by.

13. More white feathers from CP/MSM.
    CP/MSM: The enemy within.
    Down with CP/MSM.
    Long live free Afghanistan. +
    Wake-up call to 24 Sussex underscores political hazards of military mission
    By ALEXANDER PANETTA +
    via cnews

14. lookout,
    When you credit everything good in this world to Christians – you also open the door to Christian “not so good” things.
    BTW: In all the years I coached youth baseball or my wife volunteered in school roles – we were never asked our religion … does this mean we didn’t contribute anything?

15. Two Army reservists among the four soldiers killed in action.
    CP, aka MSM, derogates their sacrifices, by labelling them “part-time soldiers” and saying their sacrifices are “grim reminders”. +
    EDMONTON (CP) – A carpenter and a postal worker were among the four Canadian troops killed in a bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan on Saturday – grim reminders of the growing role of part-time soldiers in Canada’s military operations around the world. +
    cnews
    Lest We Forget.
    John McCrae
    In Flanders fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses, row on row
    That mark our place; …
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. … +
    Greater Love
    There men often hear His voice: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life-for a friend.” John 15:13: +

16. Having done 5 tours over seas it was always nice to know that people back home cared. Canadian Soldiers have always represented their country very well including the Somolia mission. The four missions I did in Bosnia have forever changed the way I view the World and life in general. Most of my views have been for the positive with the exception of the UN tour in 94. We were ougunned and extremely exposed. Lots have been said about the ROE’S ( Rules Of Engagement) of that era but it would have made little difference if they were more agressive due to the stuation we were in. The UN had set up so called SAFE ZONES which we could not realistically protect. Thousands of Refugees poured into those areas so that the Serbs could find them easier. Of course massacres happened in my estimation courtesy of the UN. Keep in mind also it was not just Serbs commiting Atrocities as the Media would have you believe. When NATO finally entered armed to the teeth all those Pricks were sorted out in 10 minutes. I might mention the hated Americans ended that war. In other words go hard or not at all. If a NATO force had surged into Rwanda a million people would be alive today. Yeh I know about the Political crap, no oil there yada yada. People are far to Political these days. Go walk the dog or chop some wood or something. I would also like to change some terminology. Canadian Soldiers dispise ‘Peacekeeper’. So please as concerned Citizens omit that ridicules word from your vocabulary. It should not be that difficult with the stupid PC culture as we all had to change a thousand or more words so far. Also stop calling left wing granola crunchers “Do Gooders”. They must be called “No Gooders”. The only Do Gooders are in Afghanistan.

17. Lookout, that was a good point re. Christians being, on average, if they’re more or less devout and observant, less likely than atheists (with apologies to atheists) to engage in strange, unnecessary practices which only provide momentary good feelings. It is obvious that religion can indeed compel people to do or not do things that they otherwise would or wouldn’t do. But that’s the nature of religion and I see its value. Many don’t, however, and prefer to live by many of the same values even while not being “of faith”. It differs individual by individual, but faith does have a certain psychological effect, in my view.
    And I see the value of having faith in something good, regardless of the debate as to the existence of a supreme being. Nothing wrong with believing in a god. It gives many folks a sense of raison d’etre whereas they might otherwise not have any. It provides focus.
    Unfortunately, the Islamic faith has been horribly twisted by evil clerics all over the world, particularly since the last century, into something effectively harmful, claims that it’s about peace notwithstanding. Islam is used to turn human life from birth into weapons of jihad against the “unbelievers”, who are regarded in the Koran with utter contempt, which isn’t lost on those being forcibly indoctrinated by the evil, corrupt, murder-bent clerics of the Muslim world.
    I fear the Islamic world will be the architect of its own undoing, for once they make a large, deadly enough attack on the Free World, there’s no getting away with it. Pearl Harbor was the undoing, after all, of Imperial Japan, after whose unconditional surrender, the United States proceeded to impose freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights on that nation, making sure they rebuilt and still allowed them to be sovereign to this day. This is what is going to have to happen with the Islamic world in the long run, else they’ll only remain stuck in the Dark Ages, barbarians screwing around with high technology… including nuclear weapons… and they are right this very moment a grave threat to the Free World. We must treat this threat with the utmost of seriousness and be prepared for the worst.

18. ural, you misconstrue my argument. First of all, my defence of Christianity and the Judeo-Christian heritage is in the context of the moral relativism that now saturates our society and actively DISCRIMINATES AGAINST Christians. (ET seems to confirm this in his condemnation of the HRCs.) In most places these days, I deliberately leave out any references to my faith. (You’ll notice that I write here using a pseudonym.)
    In case you didn’t notice, I wrote, “Obviously, all Christians fall short [of living up to their obligations]. . . Of course, there are good atheists–ET seems to be one of them!–and very bad Christians.” You and your wife sound like good people. (But I never suggested you weren’t!)
    Re atheism (and this is a general query): I’m interested in knowing on what principles it operates.
    In the Western democracies, which, more or less, offer freedom and security to their citizens, I posit that the atheistic belief systems’s a bit like a magpie, a bird which takes over the nests of other birds: all the enjoyment and security of the earlier commitment and hard work of someone else (some other bird!) without, over the long run, putting in the commitment and hard work!
    This doesn’t mean that individual atheists can’t be very fine people. I’m sure that many of them are. But what, of substance, has their BELIEF SYSTEM contributed to society as a whole, e.g., magnificent buildings, sublime music, world-renowned universities, volunteer organizations, etc.?

19. Canadian Sentinel: Well said! Thanks for your comments.
    And it’s too bad that the barbarians aren’t only “over there”. Incrementally, as Christianity’s been relegated to the dungeon, our schools are full of self-centred, ill-mannered “barbarians” (who don’t even mean to be). They’re already inside the gates–well protected by “Charter rights” (right, Paul Martin), the Young Offenders Act, and adults too intimidated by the former to “go hard” to deal with the insurgency.
    Rick, many thanks for your eloquent words, as well as your fine service for our country so that Canadians can live in freedom. Like you, I’m sick to death of the PC conceits of this country. Sure, “peacekeeping” will protect us from fanatics with nuclear weapons. What utter poppycock! Lew McKenzie said it like it is on CBC radio news yesterday. (A credible source on CBC? I nearly swerved off the road!)
    Rick, I am deeply grateful to you and all our fighting men and women, who are putting their lives on the line for the rest of us. From a medieval carol: “The knees of my heart s’all (shall) I bow” to all who perform this difficult and dangerous service on our behalf. You’re all heroes to me.

20. Another indication we are getting through to them is this story about two boy from Afghanistan who spent time at GITMO and LUVED IT. They can now read their own language as well as English and one boy wants more schooling and to become a doctor. The meme put out that GITMO is a torture camp is another of the leftist disinformations. In fact, what has them so excercised is that some of the tactics of re-educating these kids or teaching them their own language and to read for the first time in their lives has opened their minds and they loved it! Read all about it here, and from the Gruaniad, no less:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1163436,00.html

21. Thank God that this ideological navel gazing is confined to the blogosphere and has nothing to do with the real world!

22. agitfact: “this ideological navel gazing”‘s a pretty broad term to describe the vast quantity of facts and opinions in 70 posts. Could you be a little more specific?

23. Lookout – you are making, I suggest, a serious logical fallacy. You are assuming that architecture, music, universities, volunteer work – are due only to religious causality.
    There is no proof, either empirical or logical, of such a connection. The axiom of atheism is only that there is no metaphysical cause of the universe – only physical causality. Therefore, the atheist, observing this complex adaptive network of our universe, can indeed, using REASON and EMOTION – neither of which are dependent on a metaphysical source for their existence – produce great universities, great works of art, music and thought.

24. ET – With all due respect, I didn’t suggest “that architecture, music, universities, volunteer work – are due ONLY to religious causality” (emphasis mine) To suggest that would certainly be a logical fallacy.
    I do suggest, however, that a much greater number and quality of such endeavours–let’s include medical care as well–can be attributed to Christianity versus atheism. From the facts of the last 2000 or so years, I believe that’s a fair deduction.
    Have a good day!

25. Well,ET,I believe that atheism is a religion;as well as communism and socialism.They are not the same as believing that water runs down hill or water turns to ice when it freezes or any other belief that can be proved.Atheism,communism and socialism are faith based beliefs.Communism had the teachings of Marx,Lenin and others to spread the gospel to the masses.They then ,like the vatican,in the kremlin,had their pope and cardinals(the central committee) to interpret these messages and had the power to enforce them.Not with persuasion,but with torture and the threat of death.Atheist believe,but cant prove, that there is no supreme power and no life after death.I’ve met some of these people that were smart as Hell until either they had a near death experience or received a message from a departed spouse and not at some side show.Try spending some time in a haunted house sometime and see if you come out thinking the same.

26. The concept of no life after death requires faith – the faith of the one who believes it to be there in order to observe it. Otherwise nothing cannot exist.
    A crass term American soldiers used after killing a Viet Cong (athiest) enemy – ‘Now he’s a believer.’

27. lookout – because you conclude that
    “a much greater number and quality of such endeavours–let’s include medical care as well–can be attributed to Christianity versus atheism” is a ‘fair deduction’ is neither fair nor a deduction.
    I’m removing religion as causal to the development of ‘universities, art, music, volunteer work’ – and ‘medical care’. The only thing that is causal to these is reason. In many cases, religion is hostile to these endeavours – for universities can be viewed as the site of ‘doubt’ rather than faith; and art and music as peripheral unless devoted to acclaiming the virtues of god, etc.
    You haven’t provided any proof that religion, and Christianity in particular, are largely causal of these results and that they stem from Christianity.
    I think that you assume that Christianity provides an incentive, while, according to you, atheism does not provide an incentive. Would that be an accurate reading of your view?
    My view is that reason and emotion, alone, lead to these results – both as basic cause and proximate (incentive) cause. There is no need to set up a Faith-Based Incentive; reason and emotion alone can do it.

28. Again, spike, we are going to simply have to ‘agree to disagree’. You say that atheism is a religion. I say it isn’t. Your reason for saying that it is a religion is because of what I consider your fallacious definition of religion.
    You define a religion as any system whose axioms must be believed in as a matter of faith rather than proof. I completely disagree and consider that an impoverished definition of religion, for it ignores the requirement for a metaphysical causality, and instead, focuses only on the psyche of the individual. Do you, an individual, believe in these axioms? If yes, as a matter of faith rather than proof, then..your conclusion is – that person is ‘religious’.
    Completely wrong, in my view, to define religion as a psychological phenomenon.
    Therefore, following your transformation of religion from a requirement for a metaphysical causality to a psychological experience, this would mean that any set of logical axioms can be considered a religion. After all, they operate as a set of axioms, which you either accept or do not accept.
    This would include all political systems. Democracy is, after all, a set of axioms, which you either believe or don’t believe in.
    Same with your other sociopolitical systems.
    And, that would include economic systems. Mercantilism, structuralism, free-market, Keynsian, whatever. These are also religions, according to your theory.
    And, it would include psychological systems. So, behaviourism, cognitive, ecological, etc, etc…all religions, because their axioms are ‘faith-based’.
    And so on. My point is, that you have defined religion strictly within the psyche of the individual; if they believe axioms as a matter of faith – then, those axioms are ‘a religion’ and the individual is ‘religious’.
    Sorry- but I disagree. By such an expansive generalization, you’ve distored religion and missed out its key function – that requirement for a metaphysical causality.
    And your anecdotal reports of ‘smart people’ with near death experiences..or haunted houses..etc..remain, not merely anecdotal, but have nothing to do with religion, either within my, or your, definition.

29. Irwin Daisy – sorry, but I don’t understand your post.

30. …wow, that is one empty looking countryside.

31. God bless you guys and gals, and don’t forget to keep your heads down.

32. ET, I’ve just lost my response–some computer error–to your post. (Damn!) I’ll try to remember what I said and get back to you. I’ve run out of time. Cheers.

33. Polish, Danish, German troops to go to Afghanistan.
    http://www.army.mil.pl/strona_en/facts/facts.htm
    Three Ministers of Defence of: Germany Franz Josef Jung, Denmark H. E. Soren Gade and Poland Radosław Sikorski signed an agreement on participation of the Multinational Corps Northeast in the mission in Afghanistan next year. The tripartite meeting was held in the Baltic barracks in Szczecin on 21 February 2006. As Radosław Sikorski informed NATO needs as to using the Corps in Afghanistan next year were changing, therefore you should verify earlier arrangements concerning participation of the Corps in it. � In the future the Multinational Corps will play as important role as so far, especially in the matter of integration of new partners within NATO � said Franz Josef. � To start with Romania and end with Baltic states. We agree on the fact that the Corps Headquarters should play the same role in the mission in Afghanistan, although we already know that the composite headquarters will be probably established. Chiefs of NATO states’ general staffs entered the stage of specifying this concept, therefore there is still no decision on the number and date of Polish soldiers’ departure for Afghanistan. � Cooperation between soldiers from my country and Poland and Germany has been very good for a long time, therefore I am sure that we all will make efforts to perform our duties in Afghanistan in the best way possible � stressed H. E. Soren Gade. � We all want to meet our responsibility concerning the situation there and to stabilize lives of people.
    A. Szkoda +
    After years of Marxist oppression, the Polish Army proudly returns to its Christian roots (pictures)
    A website of the Polish Army ^ | April 23, 2006 | A website of the Polish Army
    Posted on 04/23/2006 12:05:26 PM PDT by vox_PL
    There have been many significant dates and decisive events in 1,000 year old history of the Polish Armed Forces. There have been horrible defeats against hordes of Jingis Khan that plundered the whole of Europe in early medieval ages, but there have also been powerful victories over the Teutons in the biggest medieval Battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald) July 15, 1410 and over the Ottoman invasion in the Battle of Vienna, Sep.12, 1683 where Polish king John III Sobieski and his Hussars saved Europe from Islam crushing, until then, the invincible army of Kara Mustafa.
    However, it seems that for the past 100 years there has been no more significant date for the Polish Army than August 15.
    Firstly, this is the Day of Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven, while the Mother of God had been worshiped as the Spiritual Supreme Commander of the Polish Knighthood for centuries.
    Secondly, on August 15, 1920 retreating and almost beaten freshly reborn Polish Army miraculously crushed until then unstoppable offensive of the Soviet Army just 10 miles East of Warsaw. +
    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620073/posts

34. ET,
    As you say, there’s no scientific proof of Gods existence, the same goes for the athiest idea of ‘nothing’ after death. Without it being observed, there’s no scientific proof of its existence – therefore it requires faith.

35. Irwin Daisy – thanks for your clarification.
    But, atheism is not about ‘something’ versus ‘nothing’ after death. It is a rejection of metaphysical causality. So- your definition of atheism is invalid. Atheism says nothing about ‘after death’. All it affirms is the rejection of metaphysical causality.
    You are giving also a different interpretation of religion. You are, as is spike, defining religion as ‘beliefs that require faith’ rather than ‘observation’. But – that has nothing to do with religion! After all, accepting basic axioms without sensory observation is a ‘given’ in logical analysis. For example, to assert that
    All men have the capacity for reason.
    This individual is a man.
    Therefore, he has the capacity for reason.
    —is not a matter of empirical observation but is a logical conclusion, based on accepting the syllogistic set of axioms. This acceptance doesn’t make logical forms – a religion!
    As I pointed out in my answer to spike, it is an error, I feel, to define religion within the psyche, within the psychological nature. It is an error to say that if one accepts an axiom ‘on faith’ (or as a logical format)..then, this means that one is ‘being religious’.
    Your definition of religion as operating within faith-based beliefs is, I suggest, so general and ambiguous, that it ends up by asserting that ALL forms of reasoning, are religions.

36. Posted by ET at April 23, 2006 02:27 PM:
    You wrote in response to lookout’s assertion that Christianity had a great deal to do with the establishment of universities, musical and artistic ‘culcha, hospitals, etc.: “I’m removing religion as causal to the development of ‘universities, art, music, volunteer work’ – and ‘medical care’. The only thing that is causal to these is reason. In many cases, religion is hostile to these endeavours – for universities can be viewed as the site of ‘doubt’ rather than faith; and art and music as peripheral unless devoted to acclaiming the virtues of god, etc.”
    With all due respect to your professorship, ET, do your homework: Check out the origins, for instance, of all of Toronto’s hospitals and universities:
    U. of T.: Trinity College: Anglican
    Wycliffe College: Anglican
    St. Michael’s: Catholic
    Knox: Presbyterian
    University: Methodist or Presbyterian, I think, etc.
    Hospitals: Sick Children’s: Presbyterian missionaries
    St. Michaels: Catholic
    Toronto Western: Anglican nuns who started on Major Street
    Mount Sinai: Jewish
    Schools: Jarvis Collegiate: Anglican
    etc., etc.
    The list goes on and on. Each of these institutions was begun by those in a belief in the Judeo-Christian ethos. You will notice, in each case, that they were not established for those who either adhered to belief in, or practised, these faiths but for anyone who was in need of healing or an education (unlike similar institutions established by other faiths). All were/are welcome. That is the Judeo-Christian credo: “love your neighbour as yourself.” Period.
    Queen’s University did a survey about 8 or 9 years ago on volunteerism and on givings to charitible causes. They discovered–and, remember, this is a university survey, the universities largely having ignored their “religious” origins–that a full 65% of volunteers in secular charities–e.g., the United Way–were individuals who went to church or synagogue on a regular basis. They found the same thing with those who contribute monetarily: over 65% of those who gave financial contributions to secular charities went to synagogue or church on a regular basis.
    So, it’s not just wishful thinking and who contributes to the greater good of society is not based solely on “reason,” as you allege. Faith-based contributions are generous contributions to the greater good of society.

37. Correction; You will notice, in each case, that they were not established SOLELY for those who either adhered to belief in, or practised, these faiths…etc.

38. See link.
    Laying th egroundwork to oppose the mission they started
    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060416/afghanistan_debate_060423/20060423?hub=Canada
    You know they, the Liberals,dont really support the policy. It was done for cynical calculations vis a vis the Americans, as opposed to true belief.
    So which is worse or better, committing soldiers to the battlefield as a sacrifice and removing them at the first sign of trouble or keeping them there while they take fire because you believe in the mission even though it means more casualties?

39. nw kid on the block – I have done my homework on the development of universities, hospitals and etc.
    Your claim that they are linked to specific religions as causal is not enough to validate religion as the basis for care of others. I claim that the basic cause is reason and emotion. Those two qualities, are basic to our species, and far more general than ‘religion’.
    You can posit that religion is an expression of reason and emotion – but- my point is that the basic cause of ‘All men desire to know’ (Aristotle) – is reason and emotion. Not religion.
    Religion, like the other ‘social systems’ (economy, political, legal, family, education) is a human construct. But, deeper than these human constructs, is the basis for them. Reason and emotion. That – is the real causality.
    Helping others is not necessarily carried out under the rubric of ‘volunteerism’. It can be a daily action of helping people in stores, at crosswalks and so on – and not an organized activity. Volunteerism is an organized activity of helping – and therefore, would indeed be linked with other organized systems – such as religious organizations. But, we cannot conclude that helping others is confined to these organizations.
    I cannot, logically or empirically, conclude that religion leads to universities, hospitals, music, art, medical care. To suggest that mankind will not do these actions unless and until there is a religion, puzzles me – for since the religion is a human construct, then, the catalyst for the action of helping others, is basic to humans, and need not wait for the construction of a religion to be expressed.

40. Et,
    An argument for metaphysical causality.
    Einsteins general theory, proven by Hubble, caused Einsteins acceptance to ‘the necessity of a beginning” and to “the presence of a “Superior reasoning power.”
    Later, it was Hawking and others that established that space and time must also have a beginning – a beginning coincident with matter and energy.
    Given the above it’s reasonable to say that the common origin of matter, energy, space and time proves that the act(s) of creation must transcend the dimension and substance of the universe. And therefore a pretty good reason to believe in the biblical God – or as Einstein put it “A superior reasoning power.”
    Also Zipf’s language law as it applies to the (97%) uncharted human DNA. , or ‘junk’ DNA, as they like to call it.
    Harvard, Notre Dame, Stanford, Yale, etc – all founded by Christian churches/organisations.

41. While others philosophize about metaphysics and refer to the musings of Einstein and Hawking, I’d like to remind y’all that the issue at hand relates to the threat environment right here on earth.
    For me, it’s far more useful to closely examine what happens here on earth and identify patterns which allow one to make better and better predictions as to what will happen (keeping in mind the nature of the enemy, the jihadists) and to prepare for it or prevent it or preempt it.
    That’s the important thing here, and may I respectfully suggest we concentrate our intellectual efforts on the enemy and how to defeat them? After all, we’re definitely on the same side and now’s the time to pull together and… let’s roll!

42. Irwin Daisy –
    1)the necessity of a beginning does not mean a metaphysical causality. It just means a beginning to spatiotemporal bonding.
    2) a ‘superior reasoning power’ does not mean a metaphysical reasoning power, but a general, or universal, or symmetry inducing force. That’s found in all self-organized systems and is most certainly not metaphysical.
    3)No, the fact that energy exists as matter, i.e., within spatiotemporal relations of measurement, most certainly does not lead to any notion of a metaphysical creator.
    4) I don’t get your point about ‘junk DNA’, which is actually not junk but more accurately called ‘introns’ and is being shown to be vital to the process of self-organized decision-making within complex organisms. (Root-Bernstein and Dillon had a nice article on this in 1997 Journal of Theoretical Biology..and of course, there’s lots more since then.)
    But-what do introns and power-laws have to do with the notion of a metaphysical causality? The power-laws related to distributive functions – and explain, e.g., unequal energy levels. So?
    The fact that the universities were started by religious groups – what’s your point? My point is that religion is a human construct – and the basic foundation of the human species, is reason and emotion. Religion is a secondary development, not primary. And again – religion posits a metaphysical causality.
    Your argument that god exists because matter/energy exists and began at a specific time..is an old theological argument..that asserts that matter/energy must therefore have had an agent that ‘started it all up’. Sorry, I disagree. There’s no requirement for an external agent -and since the universe is isolate, it’s impossible.
    The concept of organization, i.e., the necessity for ‘general or distributed patterns-of-organization’ is due to the requirement of energy/matter for symmetry (which enables continuity). Nothing to do with a god.

43. Canadian Sentinel: Your opinion(s), please. You have contributed to this; as has SDA, & etc.
    Bin-Laden: He dead.
    The agit-prop is coming from/through Al Jazeera, et al.
    Here is Wretchard re the role of the blogosphere re cartoons which are mentioned in the latest video from “Bin-Laden”. Wretchard & others note that there is no mention of Iraq.
    The MSM & academia excluded themselves (cowards) from the cartoon stuff; the MSM & academia are irrelevant.
    Bloggers carried the day. Power to the bloggers. Onward. Destroy the Islamist terrorists. +
    Emanations from a Cave
    But if Tigerhawk was surprised by the omission of Iraq, I was doubly surprised by the inclusion of the Danish cartoons in Osama’s list of vital fronts. The Danish cartoon battle has been largely fought by the blogosphere and a handful of European newspapers; that is to say fought by the no-account, podunk, non-Pulitzer Prize winners of the world. The decision by the great flagships of modern Western thought — the newspapers, networks and towers of academia — to stay out of it has inadvertently but fortunately eliminated them from the reckoning. Their self-exclusion means that a bunch of guys with computers on TV carts, kitchens, basements, attics and in the garages have actually left a mark on Osama Bin Laden. This calls for … (glance into non-existent wine cellar) … another cup of coffee. + more…
    http://www.fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/

44. ET, not to belabour a point (nod to Canadian Sentinel) but in response to your comment that “we cannot conclude that helping others is confined to these [religious/Christian] organizations”: I NEVER SAID THAT!!
    Just because one makes the point that Christian organizations happen–HISTORICAL FACT–to have founded most of the hospitals and academic institutions not only in Toronto but nearly everywhere else (if they were allowed to), and because more Christians give $$$ to secular charities than any other group, does not mean that non-Christians can’t/don’t also contribute to doing good in our communities.
    Of course they do.
    But I’d appreciate your at least acknowledging historical fact and not being a revisionist of our history by side-stepping the indisputable contribution that religion/Christianity–not just “emotion” and “reason,” as you put it–has made to Canadian culture. Too many moonbats in academia and the MSM (the CBC being one of the worst) seem to be in the business of debunking, downplaying, and denigrating faith.
    I’m just getting tired of it. That’s all.

45. Get ’em. Put the bfghtdfs outta business.
    Deport the “friends/paypals” of AdScam Chretien/ex-PM Paul Who?.
    Kick ass, Mr. Day.
    Faster & harder, please. +
    RCMP Raids Toronto Tamil Offices
    Toronto Star ^ | April 23, 2006 | Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Shephard
    Posted on 04/23/2006 5:08:22 PM PDT by NorthOf45
    RCMP raids Toronto Tamil offices Tigers outlawed as a terrorist group
    Toronto Star Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Shephard April 23, 2006
    Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers raided the Scarborough and Toronto offices of the World Tamil Movement yesterday, sealing off the building with yellow police tape and carting off boxes of documents.
    Police hit offices at 39 Consentino Dr. in Scarborough, and later yesterday the community Tamil radio station reported a similar raid on the Toronto office on Eaton Ave., near Wellesley and Parliament Sts. in downtown Toronto. The World Tamil Movement maintains a third office here at 1231 Ellesmere Rd. in Scarborough, but it’s not known if police searched it.
    The raids come after Canada outlawed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam � popularly known as the Tamil Tigers � earlier this month and formally listed them as a terrorist group.
    The World Tamil Movement has often been called a front for the Tamil Tigers.
    A call to the World Tamil Movement office was answered by an RCMP officer, directing the Star to the police force’s Toronto spokesperson. But the RCMP’s spokesperson, Michele Paradis, said she was unable to comment on the case and that the search warrant for the WTM office remained sealed.
    A movement spokesperson had no comment on the latest developments.
    “I have nothing to say at this stage but I will comment in a few days,” said Sinnathamby Sittampalam, the 72-year-old president of Toronto’s World Tamil Movement.
    Sittampalam said he doesn’t belong to the LTTE, but to assist Tamil people, he added, he “cannot help but support the LTTE, because LTTE is the one fighting for this struggle.” +
    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620219/posts
    Liberals’ host is labelled by Ottawa as terrorist front SHAWN …
    The Justice Department lawyers said the Tamil Tigers engage in torture, … After Question Period, Mr. Martin and Ms. Minna rose with indignation to demand …
    webhome.idirect.com/~sluna/factglobe.htm – 5k – Cached – Similar pages
    Thursday, May 11, 2000 Sri Lanka protests Martin, Minna speaking …
    Sri Lanka protests Martin, Minna speaking at Tamil dinner … The Tamil Tigers have killed hundreds of civilians and politicians, sometimes with suicide …
    webhome.idirect.com/~sluna/martinprotest.htm – 5k –

46. More power to bloggers:Little Green Footballs reporting: +
    Penn State’s MSA Invited Neo-Nazi
    As we noted yesterday, Penn State University has shut down Jewish student Joshua Stulman�s art exhibit about the effects of Palestinian terrorism, saying it �did not promote cultural diversity or opportunities for democratic dialogue.�
    It should be pointed out that in 2003, Penn State paid for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) to hold an event called �Islam Awareness Week,� and the MSA used Penn State�s money to invite a blatant, long-discredited antisemite with ties to neo-Nazi groups to speak�the �Reverend� William W. Baker, former chairman of the hate group known as the Populist Party.
    UPDATE at 4/23/06 5:13:18 pm:
    LGF reader MSMediaCritic has had email communications with the university about Joshua Stulman�s exhibit, and it appears that the decision to shut it down may be reversed. +
    http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

47. new kid – I’m not in the least revising history. I’m not saying, eg, that religious systems didn’t set up universities, etc, etc.
    I’m positing that religion is not a first-level reality but a second level human construct; that the basic human nature (first level) is reason and emotion. Religion is a human construction, a second level system, requiring reason and emotion.
    You are now arguing that the MSM etc are denigrating, debunking [religious] faith…but..that’s not the point of this discussion. I’m not talking about the role of religion in a society.
    I can’t even remember how this whole diversion began – something about Canadian Sentinel equating relativism with atheism. So, I began to debunk that.
    I could equally say that I’m tired of being told by religious adherents not only that (1) atheists are amoral, relativist no-goodniks, all of whom are akin to the vapid MSM, leftist sophists and academics.., but also that (2) atheists are really, really religious, because any axiom accepted on faith is a ‘religious action’. And so on.
    It’s a two-way street.
    Maz2 – I agree with Mark Steyn – Bin Laden is dead. As Steyn says – he’s bin laden to rest. It’s interesting but we haven’t seen ‘hair nor hide’ of him for years. Just audio tapes. He’s dead.

48. Thanks new kid on the block for carrying the torch. In the response I made to ET, that I lost earlier, I made the connection between ALTRUISM and Christianity. As Christianity recedes from the consciousness of 21st century people, so does altruism. (ET, is the altruistic imperative contained at all in atheism?)
    Perhaps it’s just as well that my earlier remarks weren’t passed on to ET. Although I posted in another thread that this person is a “mature atheist”, I’m beginning to have my doubts. It seems that no amount of evidence of the verifiable fruits of Christianity–not only to believers, but to whole cultures–makes the slightest dint in this person’s closed system of thought.
    ET, your intransigence is a real stumbling block. Until now, I’ve enjoyed the thrust and parry. But if all you’re going to do is thrust, while ignoring the verifiable information presented to you in good faith, what’s the point? I’m really sorry.

49. Just above my latest post, ET wrote, “I could equally say that I’m tired of being told by religious adherents not only that (1) atheists are amoral, relativist no-goodniks, all of whom are akin to the vapid MSM, leftist sophists and academics.., but also that (2) atheists are really, really religious, because any axiom accepted on faith is a ‘religious action’. And so on.”
    In all my back and forths with ET–which I quite enjoyed at first–I never once suggested any of the above. And yet, ET wouldn’t level with me about what I actually did say. I’m sad about that because I thought we had a real dialogue going on. Silly me.

50. I noticed the “unthinking flag waving,” comment. Down here in the lower 48, we only see the libs waving the flag when it will help to break our laws…for instance illegal immigrant marches. Otherwise, they save it for burning and desecration.
    P.S. I served in Vietnam, with a Canadian and an Irishman…we stood together on a mountain top in the Central Highlands. Here’s to them and the proud Canadians serving today.
    Marty