While You Were Busy...

Praying for Peace...

Pope Pius 12 (1939 - 1958)

Chilean Coup 1939
Peruvian Military Coup 1939
Italian Invasion of Albania 1939
Soviet-Japanese Border War 1939
Japanese Blockade of Tientsin 1939
World War II 1939-45
The Winter War 1939-40

The Katyn Massacre 1940
Stern Gang in Palestine 1940-48

Ecuadorian-Peruvian Border War 1941
New 4th Army Incident in China 1941

Internment of Japanese-Americans 1942-45
Italian Anti-Fascist Coup 1943
Nationalist Uprising in Ecuador 1944
Salvadoran Military Revolt 1944
Greek Civil War 1944-49
Guatemalan Teachers Protest 1944
Guatemalan Military Coup 1944
Latvian Partisan War 1944-49
Lithuanian Partisan War 1944-52

AD Coup in Venezuela 1945
Algerian May Day Demonstration 1945
The Setif Demonstration in Algeria 1945
Chinese Civil War 1945-46
Palestinian Mandate 1945-48
Burmese Rebellion 1945-46
Indonesian Independence 1945-50
Kurdish Mahabad Republic 1945-46

Bolivian Popular Revolt 1946
Chinese Civil War 1946-49
Haitian Military Coup 1946
Huk Rebellion in the Philippines 1946-54
French Indochina War 1946-54
Korean Occupation Rebellion 1946
Paraguayan Coup 1946
Partition of India 1946-47
Portuguese Military Coup 1946

Pakistani Annexation of Kalat 1947-48
Indian Annexation of Junagadh 1947
Ecuadorian Military Coup 1947
Kashmir War 1947-49
Madagascar Revolt 1947-48
Paraguayan Civil War 1947
Sino-Mongolian Border Clashes 1947-48
Thai Coup d'Etat Group 1947
Trieste Incident 1947-53

Communist Purge in Albania 1948-9
Deir Yasin Massacre in Palestine 1948
Israeli War of Independence 1948-49
Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi 1948
Annexation of Hyderabad 1948
Berlin Blockade 1948-9
Karen Revolt in Burma 1948-Present
The "Bogotazo" in Colombia 1948
The "Violencia" in Colombia 1948-58
Costa Rican Civil War 1948
Calderonista Invasion of Costa Rica 1948
Enmore Shootings in British Guiana 1948
Jamaican Military Coup 1948
Malayan Emergency 1948-60
Paraguayan Military Coup 1948
Peruvian Naval Mutiny 1948
Salvadoran Military Revolt 1948
Sino-Taiwanese War 1948-65
Reformers Coup in North Yemen 1948
Korean Guerrilla War 1948-9
Venezuelan Reactionary Coup 1948
Ysu Rebellion in US Occupied Korea 1948

Bolivian MNR Coup 1949
Congo War 1949-67 Libyan Revolt 1949-51
Thai Naval Revolt 1949

Attack on Blair House 1950
Anglo-American Plot: Albania 1950-2
Chinese Communist Terror 1950-58
Chinese Occupation of Tibet 1950
Delgado Assassination: Venezuela 1950
Indochina War 1950-54
Indonesian Civil War 1950-61
Korean War 1950-53
Nationalist Uprising in Puerto Rico 1950
Nepali Congress Rebellion 1950-51

Argentine Revolt 1951
Bolivian Military Coup 1951
Bulldozing Incident in Egypt 1951
Thai Naval Revolt 1951
Thai Government Coup 1951
Vice Presidential Coup in Panama 1951

Buraimi Oasis Dispute 1952-55
Bolivian MNR Revolution 1952
"Enosis" Campaign in Cyprus 1952-59
Egyptian Police Militancy 1952
Free Officers' Coup in Egypt 1952
Textile Workers' Strike in Egypt 1952
Tunisian War of Independence 1952-55
"New National Ideal" in Venezuela 1952-54
Maronite Coup in Lebanon 1952
Second Batista Coup in Cuba 1952
Thai Anti-Chinese Campaign 1952-55
Mau Mau War 1952-56

26th of July Movement in Cuba 1953
Achinese Rebellion in Indonesia 1953-7
British Intervention in Guyana 1953
Colombian Military Coup 1953
East German Uprising 1953
Loatian Rebellion 1953-87
Moroccan Rebellion 1953-55
Druse Uprising in Syria 1953-54
Anglo-American Plot: Iran 1953
Iranian Military Coup 1953

Algerian Independence 1954-62
Batdambang Massacre 1954
Nagaland Insurgency 1954-Present
Guatemalan Revolution 1954
Paraguayan Coup 1954
Pathet Lao Insurgency 1954-59
Tibetan Uprising 1954
Viet Minh Incursion: Cambodia 1954

Military Revolt in Buenos Aires 1955
Military Revolt in Argentina 1955
Buddhist Rebellion in South Vietnam 1955
Calderonista Invasion of Costa Rica 1955
Israeli Raid on Gaza 1955
Pakhtunistan Crisis 1955-57
"Black Thursday" in Singapore 1955
Student Rioting in Singapore 1955
Sudanese Civil War 1955-Present

Assassination of Anastasio Somoza 1956
Nationalization of the Suez Canal 1956
The Sinai War 1956
Cameroon Rebellion 1956-59
Castro's Revolution in Cuba 1956-59
August Uprising in Honduras 1956
Honduran Military Coup 1956
Hungarian Revolt 1956
Peronist Unrest in Argentina 1956-7
Poznan Rioting in Poland 1956
October Confrontation in Poland 1956
Sino-Burmese War 1956
Tamil-Sinhalese Unrest in Ceylon 1956
Tibetian War 1956-59
Viet Cong Insurgency 1956-65

Franco-Tunisian Border Clashes 1957
Invasion of Ifni by Moroccan Irregulars 1957-8
Iman's Revolt in Oman 1957
Syrian War 1957 Tunisian Revolt 1957-62
Turko-Syrian Border Incidents 1957
Warsaw Riot: Poland 1957



Achinese Rebellion in Indonesia 1958-9
Army Coup in Burma 1958
Colombian Civil War 1958-87
French Officers' Revolt 1958
Indonesian PRRI Revolt 1958-61
Iraqi Army Revolt 1958
Lebanese Civil War 1958
Paraguayan Exile Insurgency 1958-9
Communal Violence in Ceylon 1958
Sudanese Military Coup 1958
Thai-Cambodian Border Clash 1958
Venezuelan Military Revolt 1958

Pope John 23 (1958 - 1963)

Banadaranaike's Assassination 1959
CPT Insurgency: Thailand 1959-
Rwandan Independence 1959-61
Sieu Heng's Defection 1959
Guatemalan Rebellion 1959-74 Iraqi Pan-Arab Revolt 1959
Iraqi Antigovernment Rebellion 1959
Paraguayan State of Siege 1959-60
Tibetan Uprising 1959
USR Secession: Maldives 1959-62

Algerian Colonists' Revolt 1960
Guatemalan Army Revolt 1960
Greater Somalia Movement 1960-64
Franco-Moroccan Dispute 1960
Indo-Chinese Skirmishing 1960
Israeli Capture of Eichmann 1960
Iraqi Annexation Threat: Kuwait 1960
Katangan Secession: Congo 1960-64
Laotian Military Coup 1960
Army Coup: Congo 1960
Stanleyville Secession: Congo 1960-1
Ethiopia-Somalia: Border Clashes 1960
Imperial Guards' Coup: Ethiopia 1960
French Army Revolt: Algeria 1960
Salvadoran Military Coup 1960
Sharpeville: South Africa 1960
South Vietnamese Military Revolt 1960
Soviet Plot: Albania 1960
April 19th Students Revolution 1960
Rebel Invasion: Nicaragua 1960
The U-2 Incident 1960

Angolan War of Independence 1961-74
Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961
Berlin Wall Crisis 1961
Ecuadoran Coup 1961
Eritrean Secession: Ethiopia 1961-93
Guatemalan Civil War 1961-96
Laotian Civil War 1961-62
Nepali Congress Rebellion 1961-62
Nigerian Civil War 1961-74
Pakhtunistan Crisis 1961-63
Sandinista Insurgency 1961-78
South Korean Military Coup 1961
Syrian Revolt 1961-66
Salvadoran Young Officers' Coup 1961
Yeman War 1961-70
Iraqi Kurd Revolt 1961-63

Algerian Revolt 1962-65
Argentina's "Black Year" 1962-3
Burmese Military Coup 1962
Cameroon Rebellion 1962-71
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
Guatemalan Student Riots 1962
Guinea-Bissau Indepenence 1962-74
Insurrection in Brunei 1962
Pathet Lao Insurgency 1962-75
Dutch New Guinea Guerrillas 1962
Mozambique Independence 1962-75
Rwandan Civil War 1962-63
Sino-Indian War 1962-63
North Yemeni Civil War 1962-70
United Arab Republic Dissolution 1962

Algerian-Moroccan War 1963-64
British Honduras Crisis 1963
Cypriot Civil War 1963-64
Congolese Military Coup 1963
Ecuadoran Coup 1963
Military Coup: Dahomey 1963
Dominican Embassy Raid: Haiti 1963
Dominican-Haitian Clash 1963
Dominican Military Coup 1963
FLQ Terrorism: Canada 1963-70
Guatemalan Military Coup 1963
Haitian Rebel Invasion 1963
Honduran Military Coup 1963
Indonesia Confronts Malyasia 1963-66
South Vietnamese Military Coup 1963
Syrian Nasserite Coup 1963
Tupamaros Terrorism 1963-73
Togolese Military Coup 1963
Tutsi Massacre: Rwanda 1963

Pope Paul 6 (1963 - 1978)

Brazilian Military Revolt 1964
Dhofar Rebellion: Oman 1964-75
Maly-Chinese Violence: Singapore 1964
Panama: Anti-American Rioting 1964
Thailand War 1964-87
VP Coup: Bolivia 1964
Gulf of Tonkin Incident 1964
PRP Rebels: Congo (Zaire) 1964-97
Gbenye's Insurrection: Congo 1964
Rann of Kutch Dispute 1964-5
Syrian Urban Unrest 1964
Tanganyikan Army Mutiny 1964
Zanzibar's Revolution 1964

Bolivian Workers' Uprising 1965
Chadian Civil War 1965-90
Mobutu Coup: Congo 1965
Dominican Civil War 1965
Indonesian PKI Purge 1965
Muslim Brotherhood: Syria 1965-85
Nigerian Electoral Dispute 1965-66
First Burundian Republic 1965-66
Thai Rebellion 1965-87
Vietnam War 1965-75
Military Coup: South Vietnam 1965
Second Kashmir War 1965
South Yemeni Independence 1965-67

Black Panthers in America 1966-73
Chinese Cultural Revolution 1966-69
Central African Republic Coup 1966
Military Coup: Ghana 1966
ELN Insurgency: Colombia 1966-Present
Namibian Independence 1966-88
Nigerian Ethnic Violence 1966
Nigerian Coup 1966
N. Korean Infiltration Campaign 1966-71

Algerian-Moroccan Border Clash 1967
Biafran Secession 1967-70
Cambodian Tax Revolt 1967-70
Catavi-Siglo Massacre: Bolivia 1967
ELN Insurgency: Bolivia 1967
Cypriot Crisis 1967
Katanga Revolt: Congo 1967
Exiles Invasion: Congo 1967
Colonels Coup: Greece 1967
Honduran-Salvadoran Tension 1967
Officials' Plot: Egypt 1967
Sierra Leone 1967-71
Six Day War 1967

Basque Terrorism: Spain 1968-
FARC Insurgency: Colombia 1968-
Prague Spring 1968
Dhofar Revolt 1968-74
Malaysian Rebellion 1968-87
Northern Ireland Sectarianism: 1968-94
Panamanian Military Coup 1968
Pueblo Incident 1968
Iraqi Kurd Uprising 1968-70
Sentencing Demonstrations: Egypt 1968
Reform Demonstrations: Egypt 1968
Israeli Raid on Beirut 1968
Peruvian Military Coup 1968
Mali Military Coup 1968
NLF Insurgency: Muscat & Oman 1968
Yemeni Civil War 1968-9
Baath Party Coup: Iraq 1968

Panamanian January Coup 1969
Panamanian December Coup 1969
Sino-Soviet Border Clash 1969
Sudanese Military Coup 1969
Libyan Military Coup 1969
Shatt al Arab Dispute 1969-71
Palestinian-Lebanese Hostility 1969
Christian-Shia Violence: Beirut 1969-70
Free Papau Movement 1969-Present
FLQ Crisis: Canada 1969
Guyanan Rebellion of 1969
Sanwi Secession 1969
The Soccer War 1969
War of Attrition 1969-70

Baader-Meinhof Gang/RAF 1970-92
Bete Rebellion 1970
Cambodian Civil War 1970-75
Black September: Jordan 1970-71
Lebanese-Palestinian Clashes 1970
NPA Rebellion: Philippines 1970-99
Polish Revolt 1970
Syrian Military Coup 1970
Iranian Plot: Iraq 1970
Syrian Sponsored Terrorism 1970-86
Trinidadian Rebellion 1970

Bangladesh Independence 1971
Bolivian Rightist Revolt 1971
Corrective Revolution: Egypt 1971
Lebanese-Palestinian Violence 1971
PLF Uprising: Ceylon 1971
Monima Revolt: Madagascar 1971
Moroccan Rebellion 1971-73
Rhodesian Civil War 1971-79
Thai Government Coup 1971
Amin's Coup: Ugandan 1971

British Honduras Crisis 1972
Burundian Genocide 1972
Ecuadoran Military Coup 1972
Lithuanian Students Revolt 1972
M-19 Terrorism: Colombia 1972-91
Moro Rebellion 1972-86
North-South Yemen War 1972
Salvadoran Military Youth Coup 1972
Student Unrest: Madagascar 1972

Iraqi Kurd Uprising 1974-75
Madagascar Coup 1974
N. Korean Infiltration Campaign 1974-82
AFM Coup: Portugual 1974
Turkish Invasion: Cyprus 1974
Ethiopian Civil War 1974-91
Malian-Upper Voltan War 1974-75

Angolan Civil War 1975-91
Assassination of Ratsimandrava 1975
Belize Crisis 1975
Cambodian Refugees: Thailand 1975-95
Khmer Raids: Thailand 1975-9
Kampuchean Killing Fields 1975-9
Lebanese Civil War 1975-76
Libyan RCC Coup 1975
Mayaguez Incident: Cambodia 1975
Rightist Coup: Portugal 1975
Leftist Coup: Portugal 1975
Nigerian Military Coup 1975
Pathet Lao Occupation 1975
Panama Canal Negotiation Crisis 1975
Renamo Insurgency 1975-92
South African Rebellion 1975-87
Saharan War 1975-91
San Salvador Demonstration 1975
Syrian Revolt 1975-82
Occupation of East Timor 1975-89
Ogaden War 1975-78
UNF Coup: Comoros 1975

Argentina's "Dirty War" 1976-83
Israeli Raid on Entebbe 1976
Second Burundian Republic 1976
South African Language Rioting 1976
Thammasat Massacre: Thailand 1976
Thai Naval Coup 1976
Nigerian Coup 1976
Peace Village Incident 1976

Hmong Guerrilla War: Laos 1977-92
Bengali Military Coup 1977
Jumblat's Assassination 1977
FRG Commando Raid: Somalia 1977
Comoran Massacre: Madagascar 1977
Coal Miners Strike: Romania 1977
Cost-of-Living Strike: Colombia 1977
"Infitah" Rioting: Egypt 1977
Libyan-Egyptian War 1977
Pakistani Army Coup 1977
Panama Canal Treaty Ratification 1977
Salvadoran Electoral Protest 1977

Iranian Revolution 1978-89
Afghan Marxist Coup 1978
Dominican Electoral Intervention 1978
Drug War: Colombia 1978-
Israeli Invasion of Lebanon 1978
Jonestown, Guyana 1978
Majeerteen Coup: Somalia 1978
SSDF Insurgency: Somalia 1978-86
Mercenary Coup: Comoros 1978
Red Brigades Terrorism: Italy 1978-
Sandinista Revolution: Nicaragua 1978-9
Uganadan-Tanzanian War 1978-79
Kampuchean Intervention 1978-91
Student Riots: Madagascar 1978
Zaire Rebellion 1978-87

Pope John-Paul 2 (1978 - 2005)

US Ambassador: Afghanistan 1979
Amin's Coup: Afghanistan 1979
Dacko's Revolt: CAR 1979
Soviet Occupation: Afghanistan 1979-88
Military Youth Coup: El Salvador: 1979
Grenadan Military Coup 1979
Iran Hostage Crisis 1979-81
Libyan Invasion of Chad 1979
Y.H. Incident: South Korea 1979
Park's Assassination: South Korea 1979
Second Kurdistan Movement 1979-95
Military Coup in Ghana 1979
Sino-Vietnamese War 1979
Bakalori Protests in Nigeria 1979-80
Ugandan Rebellion 1979-87
North-South Yemen War 1979
Vietnamese Raids: Thailand 1979-88

Catalan Terrorism: Spain 1980-
Liberian Coup 1980
Libyan Army Revolt 1980
Salvadoran Civil War 1980-92
Spanish Embassy: Guatemala 1980
Student Protests in South Korea 1980
Kwangju Uprising: South Korea 1980
Honduran Rebellion 1980-87
Iran-Iraq War 1980-90
Maldivian Coup 1980
Mozambique Rebellion 1980-87 Military Coup: Guinea-Bissau 1980
Nigerian Maitatsine Rioting 1980-82
Rwandan Coup 1980
Shining Path Rebellion 1980-99
Solidarity Movement: Poland 1980-81
Surinamese Military Coup 1980
Thai-Loation Patrol Boat Incident 1980
Turkish Military Coup 1980
West Nile Terror: Uganda 1980-5
Zimbabwe Rebellion 1980-87
Ecuador-Peru Border War 1981
Contra Insurgency: Nicaragua 1981-90
Comoran Coup 1981
Honduran Leftist Insurgency 1981-90
Assassination of Sadat: Egypt 1981
Israeli Reactor Raid: Iraq 1981
Libyan Invasion of Chad 1981
Libyan Airspace Incident 1981
Marshal Law in Poland 1981-83
Mercenary Coup: Seychelles 1981
Military Coup in Bangladesh 1981
Military Coup in Ghana 1981
Spanish Military Coup 1981
War in the Bush: Uganda 1981-6

Ethiopian-Somalian Border Clash 1982
Falkland Islands War 1982
Guatemalan Military Coup 1982
Islamic Repression: Algeria 1982
Israeli Invasion of Lebanon 1982
Military Coup: Bangladesh 1982
Military Coup: CAR 1982
N. Korean Assassination Plot 1982
SNM Insurgency: Somalia 1982-88
Hindu-Muslim Violence: India 1982
Sikh Separatism: India 1982
Surinamese Unrest 1982
Thai Drug War 1982

Aquino's Assassination 1983
GAL Terrorism: Spain 1983-
Guatemalan Military Coup 1983
Invasion of Grenada 1983
Maldivian Coup 1983
Military Coup: Upper Volta 1983
Nigerian Coup 1883
PLO Terror 1983-87
Rangoon Bombing 1983
Said Ali Kemal's Plot: Comoros 1983
Shooting Down of KAL 007: 1983
Tamil Insurgency 1983-Present
Sudanese Revolt 1983-87
Cameroonian Revolt 1984
Golden Temple Massacre 1984
Indira Gandhi Assasination 1984
Kanak Rebels: New Caladonia 1984-5
Sindhi-Muhajir Conflict 1984-92
Thai-Laotion Border Clash 1984
Turk Assimilation: Bulgaria 1984-5

Agacher Strip War 1985
Comoran Military Revolt 1985
Haitian Revolution 1985-86
Israeli Raid: PLO Headquarters 1985
Nigerian Coup 1985
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior 1985
Sudanese Military Coup 1985
Thai Military Coup 1985
Ugandan Military Coup 1985

Ugandan Civil War 1986-95
American Raid on Libya 1986
Nigerian Student Protests 1986
Philippine Revolution 1986
South Yemeni Civil War 1986
Surinamese Revolt 1986-89
Nicaraguan Incursions: Honduras 1986-7

Battle at the Grand Mosque 1987
Brasov Protest: Romania 1987
Burkina Faso Rebellion 1987
Fijian Military Coup 1987
GP Violence: Comoros 1987
National Civic Crusade: Panama 1987
Student Agitation: South Korea 1987
Bombing of KAL 858 1987
Barracks Uprising: Argentina 1987
Stark Incident 1987
Third Burundian Republic 1987
Thai-Laotian Border Clash 1987-88

Algerian Antigovernment Rioting 1988
Armenian-Azerbaijani War 1988-94
Bougainville Revolt 1988-98
Burundian Pogrom 1988
Burmese Spring 1988
Haitian June Coup 1988
Haitian September Coup 1988
Kanak Separatism: New Caladonia 1988
Kashmiri Insurgency: India 1988-
Lockerbie Incident 1988
Mercenary Coup: Maldives 1988
Palestinian "Intifada" 1988
Panamanian Military Coup 1988
Strait of Hormuz Incident 1988
Venezuelan Fishermen Massacre 1988

Babri Masjid Destruction 1989-93
Casamance Secession 1989-91
Denard's Coup: Comoros 1989
Election Fraud: Madagascar 1989
Georgian April Tragedy 1989
SPM Insurgency: Somalia 1989-90
USC Insurgency: Somalia 1989-90
Romanian Revolution 1989
Liberian Civil War 1989-95
Libyan Fighters Incident 1989
Namibian Transition Crisis 1989
Panamanian Military Coup 1989
Paraguayan Military Revolt 1989
Philippine Military Revolt 1989
Senegal-Mauritania Border War 1989-91
Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989
US Invasion of Panama 1989
Venezuelan Food Riots 1989
Collapse of the Berlin War 1989-90

ANC-Inkatha Violence 1990-94
Mass Demonstrations: Albania 1990
Student Protests in Albania 1990
Mercenary Uprising: Comoros 1990
Democracy Protests: Nepal 1990
Tuareg Separatism: Mali 1990-96
Nigeria: Jukun-Tiv Violence 1990-92
Osh Riots: Kyrgyzstan 1990
Transylvanian Violence: Romania 1990
Tuareg Separatism: Niger 1990-5
Persian Gulf War 1990-91
Philippine Army Rebellion 1990
Somalian Revolution 1990-91
South Ossetian Rebellion 1990-92
Surinamese Revolt 1990-92
Syrian-Phalangist Coup: Lebanon 1990
Trinidadian Rebellion 1990
Tutsi Insurgency: Rwanda 1990-91
Walvis Bay Dispute 1990-4

August Coup: USSR 1991
Croatian Secession 1991-95
Djibouti Civil War 1991-4
Honduran Peasant Massacre 1991
Kurdish Revolt in Iraq & Turkey 1991-
Palace Massacre: Madagascar 1991
Shi'ite Rebellion: Iraq 1991
Slovenian Secession 1991
Sierra Leonean Civil War 1991-6
Somalian Civil War 1991-93
Soviet Intervention: Latvia 1991
Thai Military Coup 1991
Togolese Civil War 1991-2
Tontons Macoutes Revolt: Haiti 1991
Moldovan Civil War 1991-92
Neo-Duvalierists Revolt: Haiti 1991-94
Georgian Civil War 1991

Abkhazian Rebellion 1992-93
Algerian Civil War 1992-
Angolan Civil War 1992-
Bosnian Civil War 1992-95
Bangkok Massacre: Thailand 1992
Comoran Military Coup 1992
February Coup: Chad 1992
May Coup: Chad 1992
Hindu-Muslim Riots 1992
Khmer Rouge Insurgency 1992-8
Nigeria: Kataf-Hausa Violence 1992
Military Coup: Sierra Leone 1992
Dushanbe Demonstration 1992
Tajikistani Civil War 1992-4
Mahore's Anti-Comoran Violence 1992
Venezuelan February Coup 1992
Venezuelan November Coup 1992

Burundian Civil War 1993-4
Georgian Civil War 1993-94
Russian Communist Revolt 1993
Somalian Clan Warfare 1993-

Bajaur Insurgency 1994
Chechen Revolt: Russia 1994-6
Chiapas Rebellion: Mexico 1994
Ghana - Ethnic Violence 1994-5
Rwandan Genocide 1994

Ecuador-Peru Border War 1995
Ghana - Tribal Violence 1995
Hutu Infiltration: Burundi 1995
Zapatista Suppression 1995
LRA Insurgency: Uganda 1995-

Burundian Hutu Rebellion 1996-
Burundian Military Coup 1996
Colombian Peasant Uprising 1996
North Korean Infiltration Campaign 1996
Liberian Civil War 1996-7
Military Coup: Sierra Leone 1996
EPR Revolt Mexico 1996
Northern Ireland Sectarianism 1996

Albanian Rebellion 1997
Anjouan & Moheli Secession 1997
Cambodian Civil War 1997
Sierra Leonean Mutiny 1997
ECOWAS Intervention: 1997-8

Ethiopian-Eritrean Border War 1998
Kosovo Uprising 1998-9
Northern Ireland Sectarianism 1998
RUF Resistance: Sierra Leone 1998-
Tutsi Rebellion: Congo 1998-

Ethiopian-Eritrean Border War 1999-

What does it take to convince you that your ritual invocation to your invisible god (who isn't really there) doesn't work?

- or maybe you’re just not doing it right.

Some of those who do not neccessarily believe in this hokum, believe that religion is the only way to instill a sense of morality in those who fall on the left side of the intelligence bell curve.

I have several times encountered the "Lord of the Flies" description of atheists. You know, we must certainly be running amok with immorality without faith in Gawd and fear of Hell to keep us in line.

The question for the day is, if religion is so good at instilling morality on a small scale, why is it such a miserable failure on the larger scale? How is it that we are expected to throw the rules right out the window "For God and Country"?

As if I didn't know.

20th Century armed conflict timeline courtesy of of OnWar.com

And Now ...

A message of hope from Pope Pius 12 (1939 - 1958): "There's hope."

A message of hope from Pope John 23 (1958 - 1963): "There's hope."

A message of hope from Pope Paul 6 (1963 - 1978): "There's hope."

A message of hope from Pope John-Paul 2 (1978 - 2005): "There's hope."

A Message of hope from Pope Benedict 26: "There's hope."

Because talking about a thing is the same as doing something.

Wake Up!

"Ha, figures it'd be something like this." - Nada, in They Live

WAKE UP!

This is one of the movies in an eight-way tie for my favorite. Seems somehow apropos in light of the Pope's visit. Speaking of eight, I'm looking for eight people to put on baseball uniforms and crash a Catholic Church with me. If they can say Mass at a stadium, I think hosting a baseball game in a church is just good sportsmanship and fair play. I also need a 24-carat gold, jewel-encrusted Home Plate.

Strange, But True.

I have a new second-favorite movie! Holy Man, 1998, Jeff Goldblum, Eddie Murphy. Showing on Encore at the moment. I don't know if this movie was panned, suppressed, or what, but it never crossed my radar before now. I think mainstream America missed the sublime juxtoposition of religion and the Home Shopping Network.

Here is a review from Christian Spotlight labeling this film "offensive".

Need I say more?

I Can't Believe It!

Why would she use a paper knife? Just last week I caught her putting dish detergent in the Kitchenaid and muttering something about Derwood Kirby. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyone? Frank? Frank? I think my watch stopped.

Frank Zappa - Flakes

A prophet of our time describes the ID crowd's ideal world.

Mission

Go here.

Click here -> Expelled

You'll see why.

Scamology, Continued Yet Again.

When I started this project, I honestly did not realize it was going to take this long to explain it all. I apologize for the serialized nature of this, and promise to stop at short-story length and not turn it into a novella.

Chapter 4, Cont.


Disclaimer. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real scam artists is strictly coincidental. The sun is not 100% guaranteed to appear over the horizon tomorrow just because it did so today. That’s a kind of coincidence too. Besides, it’s always all about you, isn’t it?

At 4:00 AM, L. Jack sits bolt-upright in bed. He has just had a strange dream. He has been kept sitting in a waiting room, waiting to see Moe Horowitz of The Three Numbskulls. In the dream, Moe is a rich mogul like Horace Hughes. While he’s waiting, Harpo Sparks from the famous Sparks Brothers keeps hitting on Moe’s sexy blonde receptionist. Three men enter the office and are shown right in to see Moe.

L. Jack asks the secretary “What about me?”

She replies, “I told you it would be difficult to see Mr. Horowitz without a lawyer. That man had two.”

At this point Harpo starts counting money out on the desk. The secretary puts her hand down his pants and appears to be jerking him off. Harpo stops counting out bills and she stops moving her hand. He counts out more bills and she continues. He starts laying out bills faster and faster. L.Jack reaches for his wallet and wakes up.

The dream was his unconscious, trying to tell him something. Of that he was sure. Maybe it was several “somethings”. He gets out of bed, and ponders. The most obvious message, he says to himself, is that important men are hard to see. That’s when it hits him. He snatches a Bible off his bookshelf and turns frantically to the book of Acts, chapter 17. It was as he remembered. Paul’s attempts to establish his church are foiled as he gets ridden out of town after town by the established clergy. He winds up in Athens. Seeing a rich city-state with a population wherein all manner of god-worship is tolerated, he immediately sends for his two cohorts, Sillyas and Timmah.

It was just that simple. A prophet standing on a soap box expounding his beliefs is seen as a nutcase. A prophet sitting on a soap box, waiting for people to come to him to hear his wisdom is seen as a wise man, sight unseen, before he even opens his mouth. People aren’t likely to find you on their own, however. That takes advertising. Advertisement by converts. Advertisement by Disciples. If you can’t make disciples, buy them. It all started to come together in his head. He needed accomplices.

For his first attempt, he opens the Diuretic University of Research (DUR). This is no more successful than his earlier published attempts. He uses this as a learning experience. He learns that those who are sold do not necessarily make good salesmen. The True Believers that he is counting on to recruit more initiates are not up to the task. He also learns that he can eliminate unwanted business partners by turning them in as Kommunists. This is the period of the Kommunist witch hunts, headed by Senator “Taildriller Joe” McSorley.

The dream came back to him. The Three Numbskulls, the three Sparks Brothers, the Man with Two Lawyers, Paul, Sillyas and Timmah. He needed two cohorts, people who knew exactly what he was trying to do. He needed two con-artists like himself. After several months of cozying up, skulking about, and sounding out prospects, L. Jack has chooses two partners. To help him in the re-tooling of his scam, he selects John “Johnny Galoshes” Galliano, and Bobby-Sue Whipit. He will later marry Bobby-Sue for a combination of legal reasons and atavistic tendencies toward alpha-male egomania.

Bobby-Sue and John bring all their knowledge to bear on the problem. They tell L. Jack that the name he has chosen for his organization is too unfamiliar to allay the suspicion of curiosity-seekers. They need something that sounds familiar, with just enough of a difference to draw attention to itself. After some debate, they focus on the pseudo-scientific bent of this philosophical gambit, and select “Scientifonomy” as a name that will make this seem more modern and forthright than other religions. This opens the door to incorporating other scams into the mix, like medical quackery. They revive an old galvanic skin response detector, predecessor to one of the components of the modern lie detector, and call it an O-meter. This is an inside joke; the more they get to use it, the more the mark will owe. They have explained to L. Jack that, in the world of religion, followers are called disciples. In the larger world of tent shows, pyramid schemes, and carnival scams, they’re called marks. The only exception is the P.T. Farnum Circus, where they’re referred to as “suckers”. None of these derogatory labels are ever to be used in public of course. The illusion of respect must be maintained or the marks will take offense and go elsewhere.

John and Bobby-Sue remind L. Jack that all religions also have an origin story. Convincing marks that you have a handle on how everything works is much easier if you first convince them that you know how everything began. As the writer of the group, L. Jack is tasked with coming up with this story. He falls back on what he does best and writes a dilly of a piece of hack science-fiction.

He writes about a galaxy ruled by the Emperor Nugai. Any resemblance to Ming the Merciless of Mongo is strictly due to lack of imagination and scruples. Since no one gets to be Dictator of the Universe without being evil, Nugai is evil. One day, Nugai decides that his galaxy is too crowded. He complains to his ministers:

“The galaxy’s full of the wrong kind of creatures!
There are too many Blurgles, and Wombles, and Screechers
There are too many Nim-jums, and Tieblots and Stubbins!
Even worse than all that,
there are too many Flubgublins!”

Nugai decides to do something about this problem. Since his afterlife belief is of the reincarnation flavor, and since he didn’t become Emperor of the Galaxy without knowing things like that for sure, he couldn’t just kill them. Instead, he orders them all to hold a stick over their head (Emperor of the Galaxy, remember?) and freezes them into popsicles so the souls can’t get out. At this point, Nugai could have just dumped all these corpsicles off on a really cold planet and had done with it, but no! He doesn’t have a firm grasp of how things work, and nobody who argues with him lives very long (Emperor of the Galaxy, remember?) He builds an elaborate, energy-consuming gigantic freezer. He makes this freezer in the shape of a giant pyramid because, why not?

After about a jillion years, someone approaches Nugai with a scheme to turn his giant freezer-pyramid into upscale urban townhouses. The only problem is, what to do about the corpsicles? Whatever it was, it had to be an overly-elaborate and resource-wasting Final Solution worthy of the brain of the Emperor of the Galaxy. Nugai orders a fleet of intergalactic space ships to be built to transport the corpsicles far, far away. They end up looking just like the Douglas DC8 because wings are so very useful in space. (Lack of imagination, remember?) He also has a second fleet of ships built. More about those later. The whole operation is then flown out of Nugai’s galaxy and into ours. Since the needle of the improbability meter on this story has already flown off the gauge, it should come as no surprise that, despite odds of about 590 billion to one, they wound up here on Earth.

(to be continued)

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God is Dead!

So... Who got his gun?