Soul and Spirit

Food Fight (and More)!

In Hong Kong:

A transatlantic row on food aid boiled over and anti-globalisation protesters clashed with police on Tuesday as troubled trade talks got under way in Hong Kong.

Tension between the United States and the 25-nation European Union burst into the open as the meeting got under way, with European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson calling for “radical reform” to the U.S. system of food aid for developing nations.

Meanwhile, another marriage chapter begins to open in the US and Canada (and elsewhere also, no doubt:

“Polygamy rights is the next civil rights battle.” So goes the motto of a Christian pro-polygamy organization that has been watching the battle over homosexual “marriage” rights with keen interest.

Oh, and speaking of marriage, here’s a story from Northern Africa somewhere:

Four American women — a missionary named Molly*, a journeyman named Susan* and two volunteers — sit among a dozen or so African prostitutes in a circle of mismatched chairs and a couch. They all listen intently as the Old Testament story of Joseph and Potiphar plays from a cassette. From the hall outside comes the sound of Molly’s toddler, Joshua*, playing with African friends.

In a home across town, Molly’s husband, Mike*, pulls dishes from the cabinet and sets out two pans of lasagna to thaw, getting ready for the evening’s house church. Christopher*, the couple’s 3-year-old, throws a ball outside with a neighbor.

And while we’re focused on family, some public school parents may have had a rude awakening in Hillsboro County, Florida:

In a districtwide survey, nearly half of high school students and one in five middle school students said they have had sexual intercourse, and a higher percentage of high school boys than girls reported being physically hurt by their “significant others.”

Before we leave Florida, there’s this from West Palm Beach:

They could be called the other “anti-abortion” photographs, if photographer J. Scott Kelly could stomach those words for only a moment.

Instead of trying to persuade people not to do something with what he describes as gruesome “shock and awe” pictures plastered on buses and the like, Kelly decided last spring that he wanted to sway expectant mothers from abortion by exhibiting the tenderness of parenthood in poster-sized black-and-white studio portraits.

North Carolina is (back?) in the ACLU crosshairs:

In an effort to end the Bible’s monopoly on the swearing-in procedure in the courtroom, the American Civil Liberties Union is now suing the state of North Carolina.

A lawsuit has been filed in Superior Court in Wake County, N.C., on behalf of the organization’s statewide membership of approximately 8,000 individuals of many different faiths, including Islam and Judaism.

And in a Florida courtroom:

For a third time, a court dismissed claims in a lawsuit against Jews for Jesus prompted by a woman who complained she was defamed when the group called her a “Jewish believer” in its newsletter.

This time, Florida State Circuit Court Judge Edward Fine in West Palm Beach dismissed the entire $1 million suit with prejudice, meaning none of the claims can be re-filed.

And in a courtroom in San Diego:

A federal judge on Monday lifted the final legal barrier to completing a border fence meant to thwart illegal immigrants in the southwestern corner of the U.S. The project comprises 14 miles of additional fencing in San Diego.

And in El Paso, Texas, today . . . .

Two national presidents set off an explosion that diverted the Rio Grande, reshaping the U.S.-Mexican border and ending a century-old dispute. President Johnson and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz. In 1964.

Further away (I assume), in Adwar, Iraq . . .

Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole — two years ago today.

And in Los Angeles, Tookie Williams finished his 26 years (or so) in prison. He left San Quentin a little over seven hours ago. Lying down. In plain sight of a few people. I wonder what he is learning wherever he arrived after that.


“Laughed as he told his friends
how the victim gurgled as he lay dying”

I spent way, way, way too much time at this! 🙁

Other Body Counts

I got to thinking about this when the American media was heralding the 1000th US execution since executions were reinstated in 1976.

I remembered the media’s heralding of the 1000th American soldier to die in Iraq. And the 2000th. And the gradually-ticking-upward toll.

What other body counts could the American media track?

I have five suggestions for now:

Why should the media be bothered?

Oh, I don’t know. I suppose most people don’t care to be bothered with more body counts and statistics. (I know I don’t want to be bothered.) But it might convey at least the appearance of some balance to the media’s reporting.

Maybe instead of body counts they could substitute some un(der)reported good news. Some uplifting, life-brightening, positive stuff. Ever hear of such a notion?!

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.

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.

Above all, love God!