Burma (the demonstrations yesterday ended in the death of one Monk) & Gaza (eleven Palestinian ‘militants’ – usually a title bestowed upon any opposing the actions of the State of Israel – killed yesterday & today. If history has taught us anything, it’s that Israel will likely undertake a full-out assault on the Gaza Strip very very soon).

And remember that silence = complicity.

As you listen to the spin of the news – the free press that once served as a check and a challenge to the acts of a truly democratic government has now become the arm of all Sovereigns, and therefore representing all claims to self-determination as terrorist in nature – remember this following poem by, perhaps, one of the most powerful poets of our time Wislawa Szymborska.

In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself
The buzzard never says it is to blame.
The panther wouldn’t know what scruples mean.
When the piranha strikes, it feels no shame.
If snakes had hands, they’d claim their hands were clean.

A jackal doesn’t understand remorse.
Lions and lice don’t waver in their course.
Why should they, when they know they’re right?

Though hearts of killer whales may weigh a ton,
in every other way they’re light.

On this third planet of the sun
among the signs of bestiality
a clear conscience is Number One.

Aside: If the above poem is how you always magically perceive your actions, then you need to take a closer look at what you’ve become and where you’re headed.

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