A Fresh Opinion

U.S. Special Forces Blog Tells of Hard-Working Scientology Volunteers

2010-02-08T03:52:29-05:00

U.S. Special Forces Blog Tells of Hard-Working Scientology Volunteers:

My team and I are preparing for another launch into Haiti. The work is tiring, hours are long, but probably some of the most rewarding I have ever been involved with. As I previously wrote, the act of kindness and selfless service are abundant in Haiti. Everyday men and women working countless hours to aid the Haitian people and bring a level of humanity to this inhuman situation. Amazing to witness…
I want to shed some light to a group that is often ridiculed and mostly miss-understood. As my team and I worked to secure the University of Miami field hospital (in Port of Prince), we were approached by a group (no less than 20) of young people, all donning bright yellow t-shirts. Their shirts displayed their church affiliation. No, not a Baptist church, not a Catholic church, not even a Christian organization but instead they were all members of the Church of Scientology.
Yes, the same Scientology that seems to be the latest in celebrity fads and so laughed by those of us whom have more “conventional” backgrounds when it comes to religion. After me and the other pipe-hitters joked a bit, it became apparent that these young people were here to assist us and render aid to the suffering. We were asked by the hospital administrator to employ these volunteers in yellow; and like any good Special Forces troop, we found work for our newest grunts. Immediately we had theses young believers of a different power cleaning bed-pans, escorting patients between wards, stacking the endless ocean of relief surplus and simply doing some really tough work. With a smile on their faces and a warmth for the suffering, these young people executed each task in a manner all of us as Americans would be proud.
Day after day they entered the camp (0700 hrs), yellow shirts fading daily from the previous day’s work but they never stopped or even slowed. Never a mal-word, never questioning our request (ok, sometimes our requests sounded like orders being barked) but always doing whatever was required to assist the people of Haiti. My team and I had the opportunity to talk with many of the Scientologist volunteers. Of course there were a few jokes, (SF-types always like to pick-fun at folks different from us) and to be honest they could dish it out as well as they receive it; but what a group of people! Religious beliefs aside (Hell, I really have no clue on what they believe in; only what I have read or heard about through media channels) these guy and girls are OK by me. They lived the selfless service motto; never questioning, always doing for others. Day after demanding day.
We all have differing values, beliefs and ethos we live by. I may not understand the Scientology church (if it is even referred to as a church) but I can attest to the fact that theses volunteers in once bright and now fading yellow shirts are a credit to whatever affiliation they serve. Their higher power has directed these young people to serve, just as my team and thousands continue to do in this terrible environment. It was my pleasure to meet and serve alongside the volunteers for the Scientology Church. Different beliefs / All American!

Today Show Features Scientology Volunteer Ministers and John Travolta Relief Work In Haiti

2010-02-04T00:57:45-05:00

It was mentioned early in the video that Scientology Volunteer Ministers were at Ground Zero and at Katrina. What wasn't mentioned was the Scientology Volunteer Ministers were in Indonesia in great numbers helping tsunami victims. They were in California helping the fire fighters fight the horrendous forest fires, they were at...well, the list is way too long to go on. Oh, when there were riots in LA, the Scientologists were there helping to keep the peace.

And when there's a major calamity on this planet, who is one of the first groups the Red Cross calls for help?

Okay, I know that was a tough question.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

Are We Immune?

2009-11-21T19:25:22-05:00

I'm in a Borders' Bookstore, enjoying a Javakula, which is like a Frappacino, which is a blended cold drink with some coffee in it. Anyway, I hear a baby screeching over to my right and I look to see what's happening. The little one seems okay; she's with her mom and the mom doesn't appear too concerned.

Now this baby was making quite a bit of noise there and after checking out the kid, I looked around at the folks in the cafe. Not one even noticed a baby was cryin' it's head off. I guess some or all of them heard the baby crying, but not a one looked up or in the direction of the tyke.

That reminded me of being in an office in midtown Manhattan a few years ago. I was on the second floor. It seemed every 20 or 30 minutes a very loud siren would pass by. I guess they could've been police, firemen or rescue/emergency personnel. But if I recall correctly, no one in the room noticed the siren.

Hmm.

If you live in an area where sirens are going off so often, I imagine it's easy to become immune to them. Maybe even to the point of not hearing them. That would be a bit tough for me. Each one of those sirens represents something non-optimum. If someone's being chased for going through a red light, that's one thing. But another siren may mean a person's hurt, perhaps dying. Or someone's house or place of work is on fire.

Okay, I realize I sound like a bit of a softy here. And if I lived in an urban area for years and years, then the sound of a siren may very well not reach me other than, "I wish that loud sound would stop so I could hear myself think."

But I think there's a significant amount of life that comes around and then passes us by without our noticing. And I think we've become, to a degree, immune to certain pieces of life. Maybe that's good and allows us to handle the rest of life more easily. And maybe the more we confront all of the many components of life, the more easily we'll be able to handle the "rest."

Well, that's what I've got for now. Just a bit of musing from a Borders' cafe.

Cold / Flu Remedy

2009-10-22T10:46:38-04:00

In the last 8 months or so, if I wake up with even the slightest cold or flu symptom: scratchy throat, sniffles, cough, I head to the kitchen and make a tea.

Two tea items: Pau D'Arco (I like Alvita's version) and a tea from Triple Leaf Tea called "Cold and Flu Time." Both of these steeped together in very hot water for 5 minutes or so and voila: ALL SYMPTOMS GONE. I haven't had any flu or cold take hold during that entire time (actually much longer) and these two teas have been great.

Side Effects of Psychiatric Drugs

2009-10-03T12:44:16-04:00

Here's a two-minute video describing the side effects of various psychiatric drugs. This is more than you'll get from the commercials on TV...

For more information, go to: www.cchrint.org

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The BLINDING Power of Ideology

2009-09-03T23:23:09-04:00

The U.S. political scene has become more and more polarized. The last time I remember it being this highly-charged was during the latter years of the Vietnam War.

If you talk to an ardent supporter of liberal ideology, you'll hear certain viewpoints being communicated over and over.

Hard-core conservatives have their list of subjects they are quite passionate about.

But there is a HUGE shortcoming connected with these ideologies. With any ideology.

The more one adheres to a political ideology, the more one loses his powers of observation.

Let me explain in terms of my overall approach to politics:

I believe government is there to protect us (from attacks, terrorism, crime, etc.) and therefore should be strong enough to achieve this.
I believe government exists to help put an infrastructure there (roads, bridges, etc.)
I believe in less government, not more. Much less actually.
I believe a free market economy is vastly superior to one that has government involvement or intrusion.
I believe that if you reward production, you get more of it. If you reward non-production, you get more of that. I believe governments should follow this principle.
I believe people will go to great lengths to solve their own problems (financial, social, familial, etc.) and attempts by government to solve everyone's problems results in eroding personal initiative.

Those are some of my basic political beliefs. But I'm not glued to them. For example: I do not believe in a free-market economy so blindly that I don't want any government involvement. When monopolies existed and crushed competition; when work conditions were horrific; when airplanes were flying around without any central control, then I want a group of relatively sane people to pass legislation to put some order into things.

But I don't want our government squeezing their way into ownership of our nation's banks, major auto manufacturers, etc.

How about the environment? This subject produces very heated "debates." The word debate is in quotes because far too often they don't remotely resemble a debate. One side of the discussion is certain the environment is in such bad shape we need to take drastic measures right now, right now and if we don't, then our planet will cease to exist in the very near future. The other side of the discussion believes many efforts to make improvements to the environment are based on whacko theories or come from full time tree-huggers.

Viewpoint A considers Viewpoint B to be stuck in corporate greed, uncaring and unwilling to listen; Viewpoint B considers Viewpoint A to be hysterical, too caring about things not ultimately important and unwilling to listen. Yes, there are many shades of grey to this discussion, but far too often we are presented with very polarized viewpoints, neither of which get the job done.

First things first: we DO all live on planet Earth. So, if there is a problem with the sustainability of our planet, then every single one of us needs to be concerned.

And secondly: we need to be incredibly intelligent and practical about WHAT we do to ensure our planet's health and longevity. We cannot knee-jerk to solve one problem which then causes a new problem to manifest.

When a politician has to adhere to a party ideology, they are right then and there incapable of genuine OBSERVATION. They are not able or willing to look at all of the possible solutions. They are filtering information through an ideological set of blinders. How important is unfettered observation? The less able one is to simply observe, the less able one is in solving problems.

Ideology has the power to blind. Don't let it happen to you.

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Pfizer Pharmaceutical to Pay 2.38 BILLION DOLLARS in Fines

2009-09-02T14:25:10-04:00

Yes, that is a correct figure. This $2.38 billion dollar fine includes the largest ever criminal fine of $1.2 billion dollars.

Think about this for a few seconds. How much wrong-doing must have been present for a fine of over TWO BILLION DOLLARS? I realize in this day and age of government over-spending, even the word "trillion" has lost its meaning and impact. But a company being fined 2.38 billion dollars definitely communicates to me.

Click here for more detailed information on this.

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An Insider's Look at Psychiatric Drugs

2009-08-12T20:04:15-04:00

You know those commercials for various anti-depressants, the ones that promise a return to "normalcy" and "happiness"? Have you ever wondered why the section on the negative side-effects is longer than the section promoting the drug?

Shane Ellison has a masters degree in organic chemistry and is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his studies in biochemistry and physiology. He previously worked for both Array BioPharma and Eli Lilly.

In this video, Shane discusses the manufacture and marketing of psychiatric drugs and the fact that the psycho/pharma industry is well aware their drugs do not cure anyone.

For more details on Shane's discoveries, click here.

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The Human Spirit Knows No Bounds...

2009-02-12T22:37:28-05:00

This one speaks for itself!

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It's About Dancing...

2009-02-01T01:38:35-05:00

I just couldn't pass this one up.

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