Month: November 2005

Whose Actions?

Yesterday I learned of the four CPT people kidnapped by (Islamic?) terrorists in Iraq. My heart does indeed go out to these four and their families.

Last night I had to wonder what CPT’s reaction would have been had this happened in Israel (proper and/or “occupied”). If their (seemingly) anti-Israel track record bears here at all, they would be blaming Israel.

So what do I read just a few minutes ago on the CPT website?

We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people.

They don’t seem to blame the terrorists.

And they certainly don’t seem to accept the reality that what happened is the result of CPT actions.

Their slogan is “Christian Peacemaker Teams: committed to reducing violence by ‘Getting in the way.'”

A word to the CPT organization: Getting in the way is your choice, your action.

Accept responsibility and quit blaming someone else for your choices and actions.

I am not insensitive to nor uncaring about the four CPT folks in terrorist care.

I am saying the CPT statement and obvious political agenda are very diminishing to the four.

May the four show God’s love and grace to their captors.

And may God’s grace be able to sustain them and their families.

No Photos?

Last night Nance was executed. This morning it was Hicks:

Ohio executed the nation’s 999th person Tuesday, putting to death a man who was high on cocaine when he . . . .

There are several more executions scheduled for this week here in the States.

But my question reflects my frustration at being unable to track down any online photograph of either of Hicks’ victims: Brandy Green and Maxine Armstrong.

By the way, if Hicks was the nation’s 999th person as the AP reported, what’s your number?

Alito’s Promises

A promise is a promise, right?

So beware of what you promise. Once you have made it, you cannot qualify it. Any qualifiers must be an expressed part of the promise at the time it is made.

In my view, to try to qualify it after the fact shows moral weakness and illuminates poor judgment.

That’s why this AP story leaves me shaking my head:

Alito serves on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia and has most of his money in mutual funds. When he joined the court in 1990 he told senators he would avoid cases in which Vanguard Group was a party.

Senators questioned him about the 2002 Vanguard case, which was the subject of a conflict of interest complaint filed by the woman who lost her lawsuit. Alito withdrew after first ruling against her and the decision was reaffirmed without his participation.

Alito and the White House have offered several explanations: that a computer glitch allowed the disqualification issue to slip through undetected, that Alito’s 1990 pledge to stay out of Vanguard appeals only applied to his initial service, and that the promise was “unduly restrictive.”

“Unduly restrictive,” eh?

Amazing!

Ah, the frailties of man. (And nobody has a corner on that market!)

I wonder how soon till children start using “unduly restrictive” to explain away their failures to keep their promises.

An Ignored Humanitarian Crisis

Yesterday Mission Network News reported:

The United Nations is increasing its presence in Uganda to help over two million people displaced by the civil war.

UN reports say it’s one of the largest ignored humanitarian crises. Most of the refugees fleeing the 19-year war live in over 200 squalid and overcrowded camps and rely largely on international assistance to survive.

The tragedy, says World Vision’s Amy Parodi (par-AW-dee), is a whole generation of young adults know only war. “Rehabilitation, spiritual and psychological counseling and help are going to be absolutely vital, in addition to helping the displaced community and the unemployed community to find employment and to get themselves back on their feet. So they don’t feel like they have to resort to violence to make ends meet.”

Ignored by whom?

Me.

You?

Our churches?

UFO Cover-Up?

I don’t know if the post title fits the story or not!

I got this at Yahoo! News via Drudge:

A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics — relations with “ETs.”

By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: “UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head.”

Mr. Hellyer went on to say, “I’m so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something.”

Hellyer revealed, “The secrecy involved in all matters pertaining to the Roswell incident was unparalled. The classification was, from the outset, above top secret, so the vast majority of U.S. officials and politicians, let alone a mere allied minister of defence, were never in-the-loop.”

Hellyer warned, “The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, “The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide.”

Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation. He said, “The time has come to lift the veil of secrecy, and let the truth emerge, so there can be a real and informed debate, about one of the most important problems facing our planet today.”

OK.

I believe there are two categories of extraterrestrials: divine and angelic.

The divine category consists only of God.

In the angelic category I put God’s angels, Satan, and Satan’s demons.

So in what category do I put ETs and UFOs such as this fellow is talking about?

In the evil angels (Satan and/or demons) category.

Now I suppose I qualify as a kook in the minds of many.

Survivors Find Blessings

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search of news stories with this phrase in them: “for which to be thankful.”

I clicked the St. Petersburg Times (Florida) link with this Associated Press story:

They lost homes, neighbors and cherished communities to Hurricane Katrina. Some are uprooted, far from the only place they ever knew. Others have returned to the cities they love, to pick up the pieces and start over.

They will gather this Thanksgiving with family and friends to reflect back and look forward. But when tragedy scars the soul, what is left to be thankful for?

Blessings, it turns out. Big and small ones. A beloved city that is crippled but stands. Strangers who gave of themselves and became heroes, then friends. School, once a drag, now appreciated. A new life whose future had been uncertain.

Many who made it through the storm have a new understanding of what it means to give thanks. Here are some of their words.

What blessings can you find in your life?

What are some of your words of gratefulness?

Above all, love God!