[Kudsman]

Ah yes, could it be the classic Marx inspired mantra of class warfare? Capitalists of the World take note.

[MEG33]

Go to Iraq.Ask them how great it was under Saddam.Don't ask the Baathists..They ate well.

[DB]

The "poor" around the world are better off now than they have ever been throughout history. A simple fact.

The writer of this article is an ignorant fool.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I'm starting to believe that a worldwide war could be presently happening around us. What makes it so hard to recognize?

Well, everyone always looks for one big defining event, when in actuality it's several smaller events that always lead to worldwide conflict. THAT'S why it's hard to recognize...

[pierrem15]

when there are so many people suffering in Iraq due to the invasion.

Yeah, right. YAPM (yet another pinko moron).

[Cold Heat]

While reading this crap my thoughts strayed to the fact that if there was a world war and WMD was used, only the strong would survive it.

The sucker who wrote this would not have a chance.

[Arpege92]

How do you think the Iraqi's would react if you asked them to be more forgiving of Saddam and his evil twins?

[microgood]

Yes, we can be victorious if we open our ears to hear the messages of kindness, compassion and unconditional forgiveness.

Unconditional forgiveness. I know a lot of despots who could get some real mileage from this. I nominate this article for useful idiot of the year award.

[Redcloak]

Just after the tragic events of 9/11, my son asked me if this was the beginning of World War III.

No, it's WWIV. WWIII was the Cold War. Any more questions?

[arasina]

From further on in the article, he says: I have a friend who admitted how, sometimes, she feels almost troubled that she is blessed with such abundance, when there are so many people suffering in Iraq due to the invasion.

She almost wishes in some way, she could go there and share in their burden of pain.

So almost go already!

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Ron VanNostrand writes his liberal viewpoint each Monday in The Citizen.

How refreshing to see such a disclaimer in a newspaper.

[William Terrell]

The whole article

---

Apocalypse... now?

By Ron VanNostrand

Just after the tragic events of 9/11, my son asked me if this was the beginning of World War III.

I assured him that the perpetrators of that tragedy were a small group of angry people.

I told him that before a world war began, there would be many alliances formed and great powers would divide into opposite sides, each brandishing their own weapons of mass destruction. With the daily headlines reporting little but doom and gloom, I may have been wrong in my assessment.

Recently, at a breakfast table discussion, my spouse and I discussed this same subject.

She took the stance I had with my son about the need for a division of power before such an event could take place.

I'm starting to believe that a worldwide war could be presently happening around us. What makes it so hard to recognize is the fact this conflict is not between great powers, but between the "haves" with the best military capabilities that their money can buy and the "have nots," who have so little, they've nothing left to lose.

One side is made up of the industrial military complex that Dwight Eisenhower warned everyone of so long ago, the other is composed of religious and cultural groups and the economically under privileged fighting to hold on to the last of their dignity, their land or their customs.

I have a friend who admitted how, sometimes, she feels almost troubled that she is blessed with such abundance, when there are so many people suffering in Iraq due to the invasion.

She almost wishes in some way, she could go there and share in their burden of pain.

Perhaps I was being cynical when I told her it would soon be unnecessary to travel far. If the disparity between the richest few and the impoverished masses widen, while food and energy prices continue to escalate and programs for the neediest are cut, we're sure to see more domestic unrest on our soil.

So, although I am saddened by the warriors killing each other all over the globe, I'm powerless to make them stop.

The road of violence is their choice, but will not lead to a decisive battleground where the continuation of our species will be determined.

No, the final battle will be and is being fought in our individual hearts and minds.

Yes, we can be victorious if we open our ears to hear the messages of kindness, compassion and unconditional forgiveness.

Otherwise, can you spell Apocalypse?

---

[boris]

"I have a friend who admitted how, sometimes, she feels almost troubled that she is blessed with such abundance, when there are so many people suffering in Iraq due to the invasion.

She almost wishes in some way, she could go there and share in their burden of pain."

I'll buy her a ticket.

"Perhaps I was being cynical when I told her it would soon be unnecessary to travel far. If the disparity between the richest few and the impoverished masses widen, while food and energy prices continue to escalate and programs for the neediest are cut, we're sure to see more domestic unrest on our soil."

When this idiot bankrupts himself and gives all his posessions to the poor, then he will have the moral authority to lecture the rest of us on our insufficient compassion--as measured in dollars--toward the poor.

The U.S. is rich because it (once) embraced the ideas of Liberty, Capitalism, and individual rights. The "poor" are poor because they failed to. The wealth of the U.S. is a badge of honor...and we are also the most generous (overgenerous) nation on Earth, both in 'supporting' our home-grown poor, illegal immigrant poor, and "foreign aid."

--Boris So, although I am saddened