Well, there is a bill to go before the House and Senate, one that is supposed to rescue the American financial system. Many, including me, have severe reservations about its impact. Why?

The ethos of greed and warmongering imperialism which brought this crisis about cannot be vanquished by throwing more money into a corrupt system. What is required is a complete change in the mindset of the American people. This requires:

1. That most Americans give up their ‘me-first’ belief.

2. That most Americans give up their ‘our nation is best’ belief.

3. That most Americans give up their ‘America should rule the world’ belief.

4. That most Americans give up their ‘greed is good’ belief.

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Friends, the more I see the circus that is the U.S. Presidential Election, the more worried I get. My reasons?

1. McCain is, health-wise, a dubious quantity.

2. McCain, age-wise, is a dubious quantity.

3. McCain, politically, is a militaristic Republican just like Bush, one desperately trying to look like a Democrat (the wolf in sheep’s clothing).

4. Palin is so lightweight she needs giant lead boots to keep her from floating away.

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At the U.N., Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has claimed that the American Empire is nearing its end. Could he be right?

Given the massive debt that America has accrued combined with the over-stretching of its military and the current turbulence in its financial markets (because of lack of proper regulation and oversight and its unabated encouragement and facilitation of mega-greed), it does appear that the Land of the Stars and Stripes is showing signs of falling apart.

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I listened to a political discussion between journalists this morning and I was struck by the amount of times the language of war was used.

Words like attack dog, front line, opponent, the front foot, heavy hitters, have the numbers, got their measure, take her on, land a blow, superior skills, resolute, winning strategies, ambush, etc, were used frequently. Of course if anyone watches the Australian Parliament at Question Time, you could be excused for thinking a war was in progress. It often surprises me that the opposing members don’t actually engage in fisticuffs as they do in Japan.

It’s amazing how the conflict paradigm is so entrenched in most societies and certainly in politics. Whether it’s the Republicans and Democrats in America or the Labor and Liberal camps in both Britain and Australia, the idea of confrontation is the basis of the political system. The idea that there are two radically different camps who must forever be at war with each other is almost universal.

Of course, even in law the confrontational model is alive and kicking. And the ridiculous reality of endless war between nations has been with us for ten thousand years and, given that it is a profitable business, it shows no sign of abating.

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Friends, here, in this photograph, are those who love music and those who can play music sharing together the marvels that composers, both living and dead, have created.

The famous composers, many of whom were geniuses, heard things that we common folk busy with our little lives cannot understand. They were not men who desperately sought wealth or positions of power or who loved war. Instead they were driven to create music, grand music, moving music, the kind that brings tears to the eye and food for the spirit. Fortunately for us, they also wanted to share their music with all who would listen.

The members of the orchestra, who individually may be very talented, come together, not to big-note themselves but to join together so that the sounds created by the individual instruments can merge together to create an uplifting whole that is far, far bigger than the sum of the parts. Their goal, selflessly, is to bring to reality the dreams of the composer, to become part of it.

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Friends, stick out your chest. You as a taxpayer have helped to rescue a bloated cabal of greedy, thieving, amoral bankers, CEOs who earn millions in salaries and share options, billionaires, speculators, carpetbaggers, spivs, etc.

Yes, those who live in castles, harbourside mansions and have 100 metre motor yachts have had a hard time over the last few weeks as they watched their real estate values and share portfolios plummet. They felt cold sweats and experienced dread as they thought their cosy little niches and rapacious money-earning, planet-destroying schemes were under attack, could disappear.

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Friends, last night I saw a television program which greatly upset me. I went to bed my mind in turmoil. I felt real fear wondering what the future might hold for me.

For the first time I saw the bizarre, contradictory connection between abortion, which is the easy to obtain,  legalized killing of innocent, unborn children and the refusal by our Australian Government (and many others) to legalize euthanasia which would allowing someone who is suffering extreme pain and degrading physical trauma to end their lives in a peaceful, painless way.

The show (Q&A) detailed the death of a young woman called Angelique, who, suffering from advanced colon cancer, was vomiting up faeces and suffering terrible pain. Her video showed her begging for release from her hideous ordeal, begging authorities to legalize euthanasia so that others would not have to suffer as she was doing. A nurse from the audience then detailed cases of people in hospital who, in the late stages of diseases, bled from every orifice in their body.

Two self-righteous politicians on the panel, from both sides of the political spectrum, stoutly defended their opposition to euthanasia using the tired old argument that it might open the door to exploitation of the dying.

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Friends, over millennia people have been arguing about who are God’s Children. The Jews got in early and staked their claim. They based their claim on the Torah. In Israel now, the Jews are staking their claim using F-16s, Apache helicopters, nukes and methods that have been borrowed from the Nazis.

Of course, the Christians are another group who would claim a favoured position. They base their claim on the Bible and, more recently, achieving military superpower status. However Christians are divided into three competing groups: Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals. Little love is lost between them
(as Ireland would attest) even though they claim that their mutual God is Love. Each group believes strongly that ‘it’s their way or the highway’.

Another groups are the Muslims who base their claim on words in the Koran and, curiously, also on armed might (Pakistan has nukes). Over centuries, Christians and Muslims have had many wars. Now Muslims claim their God (Allah) will, upon their death, take them up to paradise and, for the men, make available to them 72 virgins. What the women get is unknown to me. Perhaps they are remade into virgins!

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