Serbian Rioters attack US Embassy in Belgrade

CNN’s front page right now shows breaking news regarding the situation in Kosovo and Serbia. Since Kosovo’s declaration of independence this past Sunday, Serbians have taken to the streets to protest the international recognition the newly independent state has received. There seems to be a divide in the consensus of whether the declaration should be recognized. Whilst the United States, Britain, and many European countries have recognized Kosovo’s newly found independence Russia and China have protested the move citing it as justification for others to follow in Kosovo’s footsteps.

Rioters have taken to the streets in Belgrade to protest both the declaration by Kosovo as well as the support it has been receiving from the United States. Today, rioters attacked the US Embassy in Serbia by starting files and committing other acts of destruction. It seems Serbia intends on fighting back, reluctant to give up its hold over Kosovo and has responded by withdrawing its ambassador from the United States.

I vaguely recall the Kosovo War back in the 90’s, but between still being young at the time and not as interested in politics either it is difficult to remember a lot of the details. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the situation plays out. On one hand, I respect the cultural significance of Kosovo to the Serbians, and can understand their sentiments and anger towards losing something that must be considered quite precious to them. At the same time, the government in Kosovo seems to have unilateral support for declaration of Kosovo as its own nation. As violence flares in Belgrade and along the Kosovo-Serbia border, it seems more and more unlikely that this will end soon nor in a peaceful manner. I’m sure that many of the Kosovo Albanians still harbor ill feelings towards the Serbs from the 1999 conflict, but hopefully the two nations as well as support from the UN and the international community can resolve this with minimal violence.

I’ve collected a number of links to various news sites that have been covering the story. Much more information can be found there.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/02/21/vo.serbia.protests.turn.violent.ap

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/21/kosovo.independence/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/21/AR2008022100481.html?hpid=moreheadlines

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2087155420080221

http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=125712

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/19/2166402.htm?section=justin

The Self-Centered Christian God

Recently I've been developing an increased interest in Gnostic teachings as well as Jewish Mysticism (Kabbalah). In the process of increasing my exposure to the topic I stumbled upon an idea that I recall from the early days of my interest on the subject. While I did not pursue it with as intense passion as I find myself now, I did retain some basic understanding of it. In Gnostic teachings we are taught that the Being we call God in Christian theology is in fact evil. Now, I must admit my understanding of Gnostic teachings is still somewhat limited. So, I'm going to start off by offering my comments and thoughts on the subject. In due time as I begin to understand more about the teachings I might come back here and re-evaluate what I've said and make edits, or continue on in another post.
Now, it is questionable whether or not this God, or Demiurge, is evil in the traditional sense. I say this because we can approach it from several perspectives. On one hand, we must recognize the separation between the unknowable 'God', that Creative Force which emanates throughout our reality and is both the cause and effect of Creation. This is the pure potential energy that represents the a priori force responsible for 'reality'. It is entirely separate from our material world and exists beyond the comprehension of the vocabulary and language of our Beingness. It is not the case that we do not know 'God', but it is impossible for us to even begin to contemplate 'God'. The notion of this creative force exists beyond any sort of duality, beyond any means of comprehension. From the perspective of the Demiurge, the creator of the materialistic universe, this 'God' is also unknowable. The Force behind creation, this 'Unknowable' energy is without ego or identity. It is oblivious to and aware of itself at the both time, formulating the underlying Pulse of the universe.
That represents the ultimate nature of ourselves. The energy unleashed by this Creator permeates throughout our universe. It proceeds from its state of coalesced potential to divide into the many forms of energy as we understand it both metaphysically and scientifically. From an esoteric perspective, it represents the five elements of Wind, Fire, Earth, Water and Spirit. From a scientific perspective it is the many different frequencies of energy found on the electromagnetic spectrum. Different vocabularies and groups of language are utilized to ultimately describe the same phenomenon. The materialistic universe, is therefore, an expression of the reactions between these various forms of energy. However, it was motivated by the Demiurge, a being with significantly higher understanding of the underlying clockwork of the universe but still insufficient enough understanding to realize its own place. From this Demiurge emerges the physical universe as we see it, and from the hands of this false creator comes forth physical life. This is not Life as given to us by the Creative Force, but the imprisonment of the Divine energy inherent in each of us and bounded to the physical plane.
And thus we have a god that demands our obedience and worship, giving to us the impression that It is responsible for the entirety of reality. And while this may be misperceived as evil, and as taught in Gnostic teachings (or at least my brief exposure to it), it is not the result of some sadistic personality but rather from the property of It's own ignorance. Just as we, as humans, are subject to fallacies and failures, so is this Demiurge who is responsible for our souls. It truly believes that it is the ultimate form of energy and the apex of creation, where in fact it is far removed from that source.

I will leave you to contemplate this, as I shall continue to contemplate more as well. In due time I hope to elaborate on the topic of the Demiurge and convey greater understanding and detail, as well as clear up any misconceptions I may have introduced. I remind you that this post is more a product of my stream of consciousness and involves those words which manifest themselves first more then a product of anything else.

Anonymous Raid on Scientology

My initial impression is that the February 10th raid on Scientology by the online group known as Anonymous was quite successful. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the NYC protest as I had originally hoped to, but watching the videos of the protest is quite amusing. Now, I place enormous value on freedom of religion and religious expression. I believe each person is entitled to worship and believe as they so desire. Had Scientology provided their teachings free of charge, open up their 'wisdom' to the masses without stripping them bear of all the money they have, and had Scientology not go to such draconian measures of assaulting those who disagree with their believes I might have a much different opinion on the group. However, their legal stances and their policy of 'fair game' is perfect indication of the evils that the group perpetuates. The theft of life, money, and happiness from its members is one a most horrendous crime, crippling the psyche of those who are unfortunate to fall for the false hopes and promises that Scientology makes.

Maybe in a different world Scientology could be viewed as something profound and wonderful. Maybe in a different world the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, despite the crackpot he was, could have had a very different impact on those who seek them out. But this isn't a different world, and in this world Scientology has committed theft. Theft of life, theft of possessions, theft of happiness, and most importantly, the theft of mind. These people have lost one of the most fundamental freedoms that any of us have, the freedom to make up our own minds.

For your viewing pleasure I've added a couple links to YouTube videos of the protest in NYC. I'm sure there are plenty other amusing videos out there.

NYC Scientology raid 2/10/2008 (Part 1)

NYC Scientology raid 2/10/2008 (Part 2)

NYC Church of Scientology Protest 02/10/08

New York Scientology Raid Feb 10 2008 Part 1 of 2

New York Scientology Raid Feb 10 2008 Part 2 of 2

Info about the Anonymous campaign and Project Chanology

China’s Military Plans

The AirForceTimes posted an interesting article on possible plans of military engagement that China may use in a conflict with the US. The article details a scenario in which the US and China find themselves in a military conflict. The scenario likely involves a dispute over democratic Taiwan who is backed by the US.

The strategy posed by China, which has become public knowledge, outlines a sudden yet crippling attack on the American military, targetting in particular the Air force. By disabling US satellites, scrambling radar, and destroying American air bases in the Pacific the strategy hopes to back the US in a corner which they would have no other choice but avoid a full-scale war. The focal point of the strategy is a premptive strike that leaves the enemy dazed. Chinese military officials realize that a head-on assault against the US is a futile effort, hence the need for an early strike.

The article covers the strategy more in-depth, which seems to have a strong focus on crippling the enemy electronically. This outlines what seems to be a rising concern, one that I hope to write more about on Astral Mindscapes. WIth the rising advent of militaristic hacking and the higher focus on eletronic warfare it seems that the battlefield is changing shape once again. We already find ourselves in a situation where the conventional rules of war don’t work like they used to. The War on Terror has taught us (or at least some of us) a valuable lesson, that we must learn to recognize and adapt to new threats and modify our tactics accordingly or risk defeat.

Source: AirForce Times