On courage (5)

Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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On fear (5)

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~ Banksy ~
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RELATED:

Some footnotes . . .

● Dissenting Behaviour
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On simplicity (3)

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“If you can’t explain it to a six year old,
you don’t understand it yourself.”

~  Albert Einstein  ~
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On love (6)

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“Keep some room in your heart
for the unimaginable …”

~  Mary Oliver  ~
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On freedom (2)

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Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien

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Our ‘Rule of Law’ is a concept born from the Magna Carta — a Charter intended to protect us from the excesses of the Crown. Over time, the great Articles contained in that Charter have been whittled away to the point where, now, in our modern, Alice-in-Wonderland and upside-down world, Governments use the Rule of Law to control and subjugate us. In New Zealand statutes, for example, all that remains of the original Charter is Article 29 which I’ve outlined in the quote above. Here’s the full text:

“NO freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his freehold, or liberties, or free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed;  nor will we not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.  We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either justice or right.”

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RELATED POST:

Some notes from New Zealand . . .

● The Rule of Law
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― Three Wishes ―

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Image 2011 © Hatikwa

Simplicity.
Patience.
Compassion.
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On life (3)

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Image 2013 © Patrick O’Brien

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“O Son of Adam!
You are nothing but a number of days,
whenever each day passes
then a part of you has gone.”

~  al-Hasan al-Basri  ~
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On faith (3)

Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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On courage (4)

Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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Crime Statistics:

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‘Loss of Trust in New Zealand Police’

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“Statistics are like a bikini —
what they reveal is interesting,
but what they don’t show is vital.”

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According to a 1998 – 2000 survey by the United Nations Office of Drugs & Crime, New Zealand had the second highest rate of reported crime per capita in the world with 105.881 offences per 1000 people.

New Zealand police told us this simply reflected their high standing in the community; that people trusted them and were happy to report offences.

O-kay . . .

Let’s fast-forward a decade:

For the calendar year ending December 2012, “reported” crime in New Zealand was the lowest it’s been in 24 years.

Enough said.

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RELATED POST:

A selection of commentaries from this writer . . .

● Corruption in New Zealand Police
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John Key — Liar?

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“Great liars are also great magicians.”

~  Adolf Hitler  ~

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This is John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. John Key tells half-truths — leaving out the bits about his own involvement in any situation that goes wrong.

Mark Twain said “a half-truth is the most cowardly of lies” — which begs the question: is John Key a liar?

Starting today, I’m recording John Key’s half-truths on my Wall at Google-Plus, here:

● John Key’s half-truths
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On dissent (3)

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Image 2008 © Patrick O’Brien

“You have a voice,
a camera, and
the internet.
Use it.”

~  Unknown  ~
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RELATED POST:

Telling our stories . . .

● The Citizen Journalist
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The whistleblowers

.Image 2013 © Patrick O’Brien

Isidor Feinstein got it in three — “all Governments lie” — and we are ever more reliant on our whistleblowers to reveal the truth about our Governments, and what they do in our name. Here’s a selection of articles and references on these modern day heroes that I’ve posted to my Wall at Google-Plus:

● The Whistleblowers
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RELATED POST:

Revealing corruption in New Zealand Police . . .

● The USED Group
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Letter to a US Senator:

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The following letter was written by Captain Terry Hestilow, US Military, regarding
the Department of Homeland Security arming itself against American citizens . . .
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Image 2013 © Terry Michael Hestilow

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March 23, 2013

The Hon Senator John Cornyn,
State of Texas
United States Senate
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.  20510

Dear Senator Cornyn,

Re:  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that Agency’s
preparation for war against citizens of the United States of America.

It is with gravest concern that I write to you today concerning the recent appropriation of weapons by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can only be understood as a bold threat of war by that agency, and the Obama administration, against the citizens of the United States of America.  To date, DHS has been unwilling to provide to you, the elected representatives of the People, justification for recent purchases of almost 3,000 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armored personnel carriers, 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition (with associated weapons), and other weapons systems, when, in fact, the DHS has no war mission or war making authority within the limits of the United States of America.

On love (5)

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“The mark of a mature man is the ability to give love
and receive it joyously and without guilt.”

~  Mother Teresa  ~
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On freedom (1)

Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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On blame:

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“As I walked out the door towards the gate that would lead to my freedom,
I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

~  Nelson Mandela  ~

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Blaming others for my predicament and troubles was a useful salve for many years; by thinking others were at fault made me feel better. It also relieved me of any need to face the truth about my situation, its cause, and the self-destructive nature of my life.

As a long-term strategy for life — blaming sucked — because nothing ever changed and I remained caught-up in a cycle of reckless, dangerous behaviour headed nowhere.

Only when I looked inwards at myself, was honest with myself, did I even begin to free myself . . . Junot Díaz describes it thus: “But if these years have taught me anything it is this: you can never run away. Not ever. The only way out is in.”
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Notes to myself (2)

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“The world doesn’t owe you anything. It was here first.”

~  Samuel Clemens   ~
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On life (2)

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“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge
and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you,
you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” ~ A.A. Milne
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History of the World

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“All problems, depressions, wars, disasters, assassinations, all of them were planned, caused, instigated, and implemented by the International Bankers and their attempt to establish a central bank in every country in the world, which they have now done, thanks to corrupt politicians who have been bought and paid for. This is all you need to know about the history of the world.”

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy / US President ~
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RELATED POST:

We have been betrayed . . .

Today, New Zealand is a debtor nation — technically bankrupt — and,
in recent years, successive Governments have begun selling off our
assets and infrastructure to satisfy demands of the world’s banks.

● Jobless & Betrayed
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‘Of our children . . .’

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Dame Cooper © New Zealand Herald

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Take care of our children
Take care of what they hear
Take care of what they see
Take care of what they feel
For how the children grow
So will be the shape of Aotearoa.

. . ~  Dame Whina Cooper  ~
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RELATED POST:

● Child poverty in New Zealand
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On prayer (3)

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Image 2011 © Patrick O’Brien

You don’t have a soul.
You are a Soul.
You have a body.

~  C.S. Lewis  ~
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On loss . . .

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Image 2012 © Kris Trappenirs

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“It’s only after we’ve lost everything
that we’re free to do anything.”

~  Chuck Palahniuk  ~

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“Loss” is a sacred gift — although I’ve needed to experience it many times and in many forms before I understood this simple truth.

We associate loss with pain and for most of us the pain of our loss will feel unbearable: the loss of a loved one; our reputation or social status; our health; a career; maybe our wealth; the loss of our liberty through incarceration. Everything we know can be lost.

We feel this pain in our hearts like a deep aching wound and it’s understandable we may try to block it off. In desperation, some of us resort to medicating ourselves with drugs or alcohol, some partake in reckless and dangerous behaviour — anything, but anything, to stop the pain — and yet our hearts only become hardened by turning away.

Pain opens our hearts and allows a connection with the Divine. It is a blessing.
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On fear (4)

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….Come to the edge he said
….No! no! we are afraid
….Come to the edge he said
….So they came . . .
….He pushed them
….And they flew.

….Old French Proverb
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On love (4)

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“A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge.”

~ Thomas Carlyle  ~
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On faith (2)

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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien

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“Do not be afraid; our fate cannot
.be taken from us — it is a gift”

~ Dante ~
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Notes to myself (1)

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Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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On courage (3)

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Image 2010 © First Hand Films

―  Aung San Suu Kyi  ―

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‘Freedom from fear . . .’

EXTRACT — “Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.” ~ Aung San Suu Kyi

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FULL TEXT OF ESSAY:

● Freedom from Fear
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On peace (2)

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Image 2012 © Patrick O’Brien

“Peace begins with a smile.”

~  Mother Teresa  ~
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On simplicity (2)

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“When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

~  John Lennon  ~
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Our hopes and dreams . . .

Image 2013 Patrick O’Brien
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