In a manifesto published on the WordPress blogging platform, Shut the System (STS), the group that claimed credit for the action in the City that took place in January, says it is “kickstart[ing] a new phase of the climate activist movement, aiming to shut down key actors in the fossil fuel economy”.
“We vow to wage a campaign of sabotage targeting the tools, property and machinery of those most responsible for global warming, escalating until they accept our demands for an end to all support for fossil fuel expansion.”
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James Madison warned “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm” (Federalist No. 10).
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Sunday/Stoning
Today's gospel is the 'cast the first stone' gospel where Christ forgives the adulterer. It is a lynchpin in Christian thought. Christ turns Mosaic law on its head and demands not retribution for sin but its forgiveness--after showing how one can not judge another.
It has always been curious to me that the common image of Catholicism is the guilt it inflicts on its believers when its nature is the exact opposite. Forgiveness--and self-forgiveness--is a conflict in our DNA that even Freud could not solve, yet here, 2000 years ago, it was all crystalized.
Modern society hinges upon human commonness, qualities that form bonds among us, allow us to recognize ourselves in others, and, hence, create empathy. The loss of these bonds allows us to objectify others, promotes guiltless behavior, and is a rodent to the soul. Here, the accuser is asked to identify with the accused; it is no longer us against her, it is us against ourselves. And we drop our stones and walk away.
And what was Christ writing in the dirt, and why didn't anybody tell us?
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