Roman Catholic Hypocrisy

Regarding the tiff over Obama's honorary doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

Every good Catholic knows that the church is strictly opposed to capital punishment. Since Bush set records for carrying out death sentences when he was governor of Texas, you would think that the same guardians of virtue that are protesting Obama, who has never personally signed an abortion certificate, would have been out in force for a man who presided over 152 executions. But there was nary a peep. There were no bishops signing petitions opposing Bush’s appearance. There were no protests on campus. There were no students refusing to participate in graduation ceremonies. And there were no cameras from national news networks circling like buzzards.

If these Catholic Crusaders are truly interested in demonstrating their piety without prejudice, they should immediately call for Notre Dame to revoke Bush’s honorary degree. If the press is honestly endeavoring to be objective, they should pose this question to the protesters.

THE GUNS OF AUGUST

Been searching the last few days and found some good analysis on the Georgia-Russia conflict.

OBSOLETE [Another war in the silly season.]

Atrocities have undoubtedly been committed by both sides. Craig Murray calls Georgia's actions lawful, but by the survivor accounts we have heard they were certainly being completely indiscriminate in both shelling and sniping. Russia's response has also clearly gone beyond the realms of defending citizens that both they and it regard as subjectively their own; the raids on Gori, attacks on Tbilisi airport and the targeting of economic as well as military installations further confirms this.
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There are, to repeat, no good guys here. Russia, as if it needed to be mentioned, is hardly acquiescent when it comes to regions which want to break away from it, such as Chechnya, subjected to horrific conflict throughout the 90s and into the 00s, with the destruction which Grozny suffered an reminder of what Georgia might yet be in store for. Georgia however, and its desire to be seen as the victim, are equally as false and facile. What must urgently be rejected is the tendency to see this either as a resurrection of the cold war or as a great opportunity for the old Russiaphobia to once again take hold, something which CiF seems to be trying to achieve. All of the historical precedents which have been sited, whether they be 1938, 1956 or 1968, are not yet applicable, nor does it seem they will become so. It also undoubtedly punctures another hole in the fatuous idea of Thomas Friedman's that countries that have McDonald's don't go to war with each other. The key now is ensuring that this war is ended before any McDonald's themselves are destroyed.

korova in MoA [South Ossetia Through the Looking Glass]

Whilst it appears to have been forgotten by much of the media, it was Georgia that instigated the recent violence. Keen to recover the kind of popularity he received at the instigation of the Rose Revolution, Saakashavili has seen his approval rating plummet from around 86% when entering office to around 16% at the end of 2007. Given the problems in South Ossetia, an attempt to unify Georgia would surely boost approval ratings. All that was needed was the support of the US and other Western allies to ensure that it could go ahead without getting in the way of Georgia's broader ambitions (EU, NATO etc). Given the strategic significance of the region for the US (particularly in light of the missile defence program), there was no way that the US would stand in the way. In fact, there has been some evidence that the US had been actively involved in the assault on South Ossetia.
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The fact that Georgia had increased it's military spending from $30 million to $1 billion, and that the US was giving massive military aid, indicates that the Georgian government were preparing for open conflict. Furthermore, the US has further worsened the situation in South Ossetia by airlifting Georgian troops from Iraq into Georgia in an attempt to aid the Georgian government. Bush's finger prints are all over this one. Clearly they have pushed the boat out to aid a fellow economic liberal in yet another disastrous foreign intervention. Much like the situation in Lebanon in 2006, the US's actions will only lead to a strengthening of the power they were seeking to undermine. The 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon led to the strengthening of Hezbollah and Iran. There is no doubt that this current conflict will lead to the strengthening of Russia within the region.

UNBATHED

Of course, it’s all part of international diplomacy to hand out these honours like candy, but it I think it undermines the whole point of having them in the first place. Ceaucescu did not suddenly become a vile dictator (he already was one) when he was honoured as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. That knighthood was taken back by the Queen later on. Emperor Hirohito of Japan was removed from the Garter rolls, and his shield removed, during WWII. He received it back during a state visit in 1971. This week Queen Elizabeth II (on the advice of a very hypocritical British government) has revoked the Order of Bath given to Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe.

There’s nothing honourable about these honours, especially since the Queen has named Abdullah II of Jordan and Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Media attention is now on elections in Zimbabwe and Mugabe as dictator of the moment, but the two Abdullahs are monarchs of decidedly undemocratic lands. You won't read MSM calls for democratic elections in their countries, and don’t expect them to be thrown out of the bath any time soon, either.

THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN IN VERMONT? - SECOND VERMONT REPUBLIC EXPOSED BY THE SPLC

Crossposted at Five Before Chaos, Docudharma, iBrattleboro and Green Mountain Daily.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a well-known organization known for tracking hate groups and/or hate crimes around America. Many of you may remember the recent controversy regarding the Second Vermont Republic (SVR), Vermont's secessionist movement. John Odum of Green Mountain Daily pointed out SVR's ties to groups and individuals being tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center and as a result, SVR came under greater scrutiny. Now the SPLC released their much anticipated report on the Second Vermont Republic and the report includes a revealing anecdote on former SVR board member and local impeachment hero, Dan DeWalt.

The authors write:

"... playing footsie with neo-Confederates has cost SVR, as several members have left the group or distanced themselves from it in recent years. Former executive director Jane Dwinel quit the group in 2006, telling the Report later that she had had sharp disagreements with Naylor. John McClaughry, a supporter of decentralization, told the Report that SVR has "shaded over to hating America." According to the Vermont Secession blog, Dan Dewalt, a former SVR advisory member, was dismissed from the group for merely raising irksome questions about Naylor's connection to groups including the league.

Even many of those who remain Naylor's colleagues are worried by SVR's new Southern friends. "You've got to watch whose conference you go to. There's no doubt about it," SVR advisor Frank Bryan told the Report. Added longtime SVR ally Jim Hogue, "If [Naylor] was very flattering toward the League of the South, and they're racist, that was probably a bad idea."

In the face of these criticisms, Naylor remains defiant. "I don't give a shit what you write," he told the Report. "If someone tells me that I shouldn't associate with the League of the South, it guarantees that I will associate with the League of the South."

STUDENTS FREE SPEECH IN A VERMONT SCHOOL CHALLENGED

“Insist upon yourself. Be original.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Jesus statue project was primarily conceived by Helms, who asked Olivetti to help out. Helms, 18, says he was connecting to themes in the play, "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," which was on the AP course reading list. The play examines, among other things, the 19th century writer Henry David Thoreau's act of civil disobedience in refusing to pay taxes to the U.S. government while it waged what he viewed as an immoral war in Mexico.

Thoreau was trying to point out hypocrisy by the U.S. government, Helms said, and the student in turn wanted to point out what he views as hypocrisy at Mount Abraham with regard to the constitutional separation of church and state.

The school asks students to say the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and has a permanent mural displaying Apollo, an ancient Greek God, Helms said. Yet it wouldn't allow him to display the Jesus statue. "My thesis was that the government and the administration of our school is often hypocritical in what they allow and what they do not allow."