Thanksgiving Thoughts

With all the violence in the World [especially on NBA basketball courts ;-)], it may cause some people to ask, “What is there to be thankful for?”
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My daughter recently said, “Dad, you should read about something besides War.” I didn’t reply, but should have said, “I read history to gain an understanding of what brought us here. And to have a feel on what is to come.” These times are not the worst period to live in. Having read some history, one can see that we live in a great period of history. Despite our problems the Present and the Future is still a time of great expectations and promise.
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This is not your typical Thanksgiving message. And, I am thankful for the Family, Friends, etc. But, I know that there are problems to be solved, issues to be raised, a Future to be lived in, and History to be written. I am not now content to sit idly by. I have a voice and I plan to use it. And this blog is hopefully a place where my voice and other voices can sound, cheer, moan, and shape understanding. This seems to becoming my catchphrase -
. Change the Future, Get Involved.
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I remember being in a college classroom and this is the lyric that the professor shared with us - “We are peaceful gentle people. Fighting fighting for our lives …”. In many ways this lyric applies to all of us. The lyric was from a nuclear protest song. But, if we expect anything to change, then one must take a stand and fight for it.
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I am thankful to live in a great nation, where I can post my blog and know my voice will not be silenced. (I like to spice up my writing we a few quotes.) GC
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"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it.
I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against.
I'm a human being first and foremost,

and as such I am for whomever and whatever

benefits humanity as a whole."
Malcolm X

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"If you want peace, work for justice."
Pope Paul VI

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Now, a bit of history for a little perspective, read about “… a viral infectious disease, that killed some 25 million to 40 million people (possibly significantly more) world-wide. . . .”
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PS only 9 million people died in WWI. Click on the link below for the whole article.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Flu

Under Construction - Check back later

There some bugs to work out. But, check back. We can change the future. Just get involved.

America Get Involved

In the future, I'll be using italics to indicate quotes or excerpts from other sources. Also, quotation marks will be shown. I'll try to keep it informative, relevant, and fun. I welcome suggestions for future topics and will take any advice needed to improve this blog. Thanks.

PS I'll be signing my work GC or the editor.

The First Genocide of the 20th Century - Armenia

"The term Armenian Genocide (also known as the Armenian Holocaust or Armenian Massacre) refers to the deportation and murder of Armenians by the Young Turks government in 1915-1916.
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The Armenian Genocide is denied by Turkey, although the massacre of large numbers is widely, freely admitted and publically regretted."
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(Go to the link below for the balance of the article.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide
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For more on World War One - I recommend any juvenile book on World War One, just go to the children's section and see what's available. Any current adult book on World War One should have a paragraph, page or section on the Armenians. This is what I'm reading now:

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The Great WarAnd the Shaping of the 20th Century,
by Jay Winters and Blaine Baggett,
Penguin Books, NY, NY, etc.,1996,

ISBN 0-670-87119-2

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It was also a PBS TV series and videos can be checked out at most public libraries nowadays. I wouldn't let small children watch it but older children could be interested. Don't let the size of the book deter you, its quick reading and informative and there's also lots of pictures.

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Love, the editor ;-)

Never Forget - Remember. Change the Future

"Who today remembers the Armenians?” Hitler, 1942

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The Armenian Genocide of WWI is an example of why we need to remember. You can’t rewrite history. But, we can change the future.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke (1729 1797)

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Seek the truth and don’t follow blindly. Know why you believe in what you believe. Think for yourself and question those who claim to know what is best for you. Vote, don’t blame the government. Protest don’t accept injustice. The legacy of World War I is not the celebration of Veteran’s Day. Wars will probably never end. But, war should not be waged lightly. And our government is accountable for what it does. History is being written now. We are writing history with what we do and what we don’t do. Men like Arafat and Begin fought for what they believed.
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"Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool."

Plato

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The truth is we are all Brothers. And sometimes Nations wage War for the wrong reasons. Hopefully next year will have us out of Iraq. GC

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Change the Future get involved

Prime Minister Menachem Begin: Terrorist?

"On July 22, 1946, members of the Jewish underground military organization Irgun Tsvai-Leumi in the British Mandate of Palestine planted and exploded a bomb at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. The hotel was the base for the British Secretariat, the military command and a branch of the Criminal Investigation Division (police). 91 people were killed, most of them civilians: 28 British, 41 Arab, 17 Jewish, and 5 other. Around 45 people were injured.
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The attack was initially ordered by David Ben Gurion, who was in the United States, but he later changed his mind and ordered the bombing to be cancelled. But Menachem Begin, the head of Irgun, went ahead anyway. Both Ben Gurion and Begin would later become Israeli Prime Ministers. The attack was commanded by Yosef Avni and Yisrael Levi."

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(Click on the link below to read the balance of the article.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing
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Some people believe the attack of the King David Hotel was a terrorist act. GC

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"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter."

Arafat Dead at 75

One man’s terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

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This certainly could describe Yasser Arafat. The world is full of heroes or villains, depending from what point of view you have, Arafat will be either a hero or villain.
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What ever your point of view is, let’s pray for peace in the Middle East and the passing of a World leader.

THE CASE OF THE ELUSIVE ANGEL OF MONS

by Alan S. Coulson, MD, PhD. and Michael E. Hanlon, Website Editor

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"One of the abiding legends of the Great War is of an intercession by a heavenly agent -- allegedly observed by many soldiers -- during the opening action at Mons, Belgium, part of the larger action known as the Battle of the Frontiers in August 1914. In his book ANGELS A TO Z Matthew Bunson recounts, 'One of the most famous episodes of angelic intervention, [was] the supposedly widely reported descent of an angelic army in August 1914, which came to the aid of the British forces against the Germans in Mons. . . The angelic host's assistance could not have come at a more propitious moment as the British were being driven back by the relentless German advance."
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Bunson also relates one version supposedly corroborated by German prisoners describing a force of phantoms armed with bows and arrows and led by a towering figure on a shining white horse who spurred on English forces during an assault on German trenches. Another story spoke of three angelic beings seen by the British, hovering in the air over German lines, providing a source of deep inspiration for them. Aside from these beings, Bunson states that soldiers later claimed to have seen St. Michael the Archangel, the Virgin Mary, even Joan of Arc. [D See reference list at end of article.] "

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go to the following website for the complete article

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http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/angel.htm

Why November 11th? - The War to End All Wars

On the 11th of November at 11 am of the year 1918, the guns fell silent and World War I ended. This was the "War to End All Wars" and to make it easily remembered the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour was chosen. Almost 90 years later, not much has changed. Muslims vs. Christians. In WWI, it was the Muslim Ottoman Empire vs. the Christian Armenians. Ethnic people are still fighting for their own homelands. In 1914, it was the "Black Hand" a Bosnian separatist movement wanting a Free Bosnia and Bosnian homeland. Today, it's the PLO fighting for a Palestinian homeland. And Wars still continue.
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Above is an excerpt from an article, the Angel of Mons was an angelic figure that stood between the retreating British Army and the advancing German Army at the Battle of Mons in Belgium.
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Let's continue to pray for peace. And hope God and Angels protect our troops fighting over seas. Love and Peace. GC