Hearts of Darkness

It takes a special kind of savagery to burn people alive.  If you want to preserve your tranquility, do not watch this linked video.  It arrived via a Spanish friend; hence, the Spanish URL.  Translated, the headline and text read:

Video: Thus Muslims Burn Christians Alive In The Ivory Coast

(Disturbing Video)

More than 1,000 Christians were murdered this week in the Salesian Mission of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Duékoué by muslim troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara

The population in the Ivory Coast is majority Catholic and animistic, a religion that views objects and the natural world as possessing a soul.  And this, per se, is a challenge in daily life.

Noman is left without words to describe the thoughts and feelings this video provokes.  What can one call this behavior?   Barbarism?  Atrocity?  Cruelty?  Perhaps the only word that captures it all is "diabolical."  This is satanic behavior.  It perfectly reflects the devil's plan for mankind, and testifies to the name Jesus Christ gave him: the prince of this world.

St. Theresa, little flower, pray for us.

Of Military Tribunals And Humble Pie

After giving it a good think, President Obama will resume military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees, after suspending them to great fanfare just two years ago.  Does this mean he'll have to give back his Nobel Peace Prize?  The following editorial and embedded video are worth a glance.

Obama Ratifies Bush 

Also appended is a helpful interactive timeline of dates relating to Gitmo.

Guantanamo's Trials

Jimmy Carter's Second Term

Noman was struck by the irony of recent events in the Moslem world, as Hosni Mubarak fled Egypt on the 32nd anniversary of the Shah of Iran's downfall.  Barack (without the "Mu") has been pouring gasoline on the fire beneath the unpopular Egyptian strongman for the past couple of weeks with Demosthenean perorations about democracy, peaceful protesters and leaders having to listen to the will of the people.  Noman only wishes that he'd reacted similarly to the tea parties, which sprang up to protest his trillion dollar bailout of whoever got that money, his odoriferous healthcare stratagems and the like, all against the will of the people who have to pay their own bills, plus his, despite precarious economic circumstances.  In fact, the thuggish actions of pro Mubarak counter protestors the other night reminded Noman of Democratic apparatchiks who showed up to impose discipline at town hall meetings two summers back.  But, it's the Iranian protesters who in 2009 decried election theft, and oppression that Hosni Mubarak could only dream of that really come to mind.  As Noman recalls, we left the Iranian protesters to their own devices while their government ruthlessly crushed them.  No win for democracy, human rights and international norms there; no bending of the arc of history towards justice.  Noman appreciates the President's eloquent words spoken during the Egyptian crisis on behalf of noble principles such as self-determination, non-interference from foreigners (meaning us) and the like.  Nevertheless, as international events unfold in hostile, turbulent regions of the world, and chronic domestic unemployment compounds with impending global inflation, Noman says that President Barack Obama looks a lot like President Jimmy Carter, but on steroids.