"We want to pay tribute to each of our colleagues who died, to their commitment to serve the Afghan people. Those who have known them and seen them at work can do nothing but pay the highest tribute to them ... In some news articles, the people on this team have been described as 'saints.' This is not how they saw themselves. They were basically selfless professionals willing to spend their lives and energy in a meaningful way."
When I began hearing Christians chat about how to follow the Bible when it comes to the undocumented and illegals, I was a bit amazed both by the right and the left. This piece by Brad Hirschfield is exacting in its biblical awareness and shrewd in application: the issue is not so much about how folks got here as about whether or not they live according to the law. Does the Bible, so far as you know, ever say anything about the legality or illegality of entering a country? Does it speak about how to live once in someone else's land?
Q: Illegal immigrants are flouting U.S. laws, but does affluent America (or Arizona for that matter) have a larger moral or spiritual obligation to help illegal immigrants who are trying to better their lives? What about religious obligations to welcome the stranger? Are we our brother's keeper?The Hebrew Bible mentions obligations to so-called strangers on numerous occasions. The message is pretty much always the same and perhaps best summed up by the words of Leviticus 19:33-34, When a stranger dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him. The stranger who dwells with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt--I am the Lord, your God.But who that stranger is that deserves such equality and even love is not necessarily a parallel to the millions of people who cross our borders illegally every year. Or perhaps it is. The stranger of the Hebrew Bible is better understood as a resident alien, a non-citizen who agrees to abide by the laws of the community into which he or she has come. To that extent then, many if not most, illegal aliens in this country, would not qualify. On the other hand, there is no mention in the Bible of barriers to entry into the Israelite nation, so perhaps they do....While other biblical texts and traditions could be introduced into the debate on immigration, based on those verses bearing directly on the issue, the path forward is actually pretty clear: how one got here is largely irrelevant, though the obligations that must be assumed in order to stay are significant.Biblical "immigration policy" was not about maintaining the purity of the community or fear of withholding the benefits of membership, but it was quite clear about the obligations that needed to be met to enjoy the privileges (not rights) of such membership. It would be quite a step forward to see people actually look to that model for guidance instead of simply thumping their Bibles to prove that which they already believe anyway.
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"it shows how frightened they are of their own people, when they cannot tolerate mothers who are holding a silent vigil and want accountability."
- Hadi Ghaemi, director of the new york-based international campaign for human rights in iran, discussing the mourning mothers, an organization founded by women whose children were killed by government agents in the protests that broke out after the election in june. every saturday, the group sits quietly in a park in tehran, and according to witnesses, are then arrested by the police, and taken to prison. (Source: The New York Times)
my good friends jasmine and jeremy dean are leaving for SRI LANKA today. i've attached there latest newsletter below. it's beautiful whats going on.
[i also just finished designed the beginings of a website for them: go to liveyourlove]
NEWSLETTER:
"these practices are not just morally reprehensible, but they’re bad for the economy. When unscrupulous employers break the law, they’re robbing families of money to put food on the table, they’re robbing communities of spending power, and they’re robbing governments of vital tax revenues."
- annette bernhardt, co-director of the national employment law project and an author of a study showing that low-wage workers are routinely cheated out of overtime pay and workers' compensation, and are often paid less than the minimum wage. (Source: The New York Times)
I know of two priests who have decided to stay with their people in the so-called No-Fire Zone in northern Sri Lanka, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians are trapped in a living hell. One of those priests described the shelling that killed so many on Saturday night: All sorts of heavy weapons were used for more than 12 hours from all four directions on May 9-10, 2009. The night was a deadly night. Children, women, and elders were screaming at the peaks of their voices. It was callous, heinous and indiscriminate shelling and bombing. Words are lacking to describe [it]. … The eyes of the world are blinded. The people were the deliberate target of the attack of the Army. It was a bloodbath. People who sustained minor injuries also eventually died because no rescue mission was possible due to the incessant shelling and bombing. Even from the sea, the Navy has been using heavy weapons. People have nowhere to go and hide. The rate of killing by shelling earlier was in the hundreds and now it is in the thousands. An Internet phone connection allows us to hear the sounds of the bombs exploding in the background. Crammed into a tiny strip of coastal land, the civilians are caught — literally — in the middle of a ferocious battle between the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military. The LTTE, fighting for their very survival, is keeping them there as a bargaining chip, hoping the international community will force the government to accept a cease-fire. The government, for its part, has called them all LTTE supporters and terrorists. They are children and their parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles — members of whole villages that fled the Sri Lankan Army as it advanced north. The LTTE is outnumbered at this point, but refuses to surrender. They are clearly using the people as a human shield — they have been shooting at people who try to escape from the area. Apparently, they are banking on the international community caring enough about the civilians to stay the hand of the government. But this is not what is happening. More than 1,320 people were killed in just 48 hours last weekend. The trapped civilians can’t believe that the international community — the U.S., Britain, France, Norway, Japan, and others — is allowing the slaughter to continue. An aid worker we are talking to tells us the death toll for the day and the details of the recent ICRC shipment of food and some medicines. Conditions are grim: food, water, and medicine is scarce, and sanitation facilities nonexistent. What supplies the ships are able to bring in are far short of what is needed. People are beginning to starve. An ICRC ship got in last week, but two others were forced to turn around because of heavy fighting — without offloading supplies or taking away the 500 wounded people who were hoping to get out. That is about the only way people can escape the area. (ICRC ships have taken out some 10,000 wounded and people accompanying them). In the past the ICRC has gotten agreements from both sides to stop fighting so supplies can be landed, but this has been hard to get recently. There has been unconfirmed fighting between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Navy in the Bay of Bengal. The doctors said they were really relieved last week when some antibiotics were included in the ICRC shipment — they had been without these essential supplies for two months. They have also been without anesthesia for several months — and they still don’t have any. The government is said to have to okay everything that goes onto the ICRC ships, and anesthesia is not on the approved list. This is not an oversight on the part of the government. I can’t imagine what it is like to have a hand or a leg amputated without anesthesia. Yet I must have a hundred pictures of kids or their parents with bandaged stumps. It is, after all, a war zone.Hello friends and fellow lovers of humans everywhere.
I was praying today and God put it very strongly on my heart that I should start a day of prayer and fasting for this country before we leave on June 6th.I'm writing to you because you either lead a small group, a church or are part of a community that can join in prayer with us. How great if we could get people around the world praying all together for these people's lives. I don't know if you know the current situation in the northern part of Sri Lanka (about 5-6 hours north of us) but it is getting pretty terrible with hundreds dying daily. We really need to lift this up into the hands of God who is able to do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. (It's really gut wrenching - please read at least ONE of these articles because it will break your heart for these victims!) And no one knows what the "truth" is because they won't let any foreigners or UN into the area because it's so bad![an article from sojo]
Witness to Sri Lanka’s Onslaught
by Christina Cobourn Herman 05-14-2009
[ Scott MacKay has a great blog post up at WRNI calling on Rhode Islanders to remember their history when debating immigration: ]
In the neighborhood we call Rhode Island, every family comes from somewhere else. If any state can be said to be a laboratory of immigration, it is our tiny corner of New England.
The first white settler, Roger Williams, was a rebel and advocate of religious freedom who landed in Providence in 1636 because he was banished from the suffocating theocracy of Massachusetts.
Later, thousands of immigrants would come to Rhode Island. Some, like Williams, were fleeing tyranny. Many more were seeking jobs and a foothold in a society where they could support their families.
The Irish, running from a poor and famine plagued country, were first. They were followed by French Canadians, Scots, Swedes, Aremenians, Jews, Russians, Polish, Portuguese, Greeks, Italians and Cape Verdeans.
By 1905, 7 of every 10 Rhode Islanders were either first or second generation Americans. This ethnic ballet made Rhode Island the first state to have a Roman Catholic majority, in 1905.
Just about every immigrant group had the same experience. The first generation endured discrimination in every realm of life and at work, where they labored as maids, gardeners, maintenance workers or in the mind-numbing clatter of a textile or jewelry sweat shop.
Now, Rhode Island again is the golden door for a new stream of immigrants, fleeing an African civil war or the poverty of a dusty back road in Latin America. And once again, natives are debating how to treat them.
"For us to spend our time pitting neighbor against neighbor was a sacrilege."
- Judith Camp, a city councilwoman in Oak Point, Texas, who voted to kill the city's English-only resolution in December. Her vote is part of a trend of local lawmakers repealing or modifying heavy-handed measures against undocumented immigrants, citing such reasons as the cost of implementation and the negative publicity and racist abuses associated with such laws. (Source: USA Today)
Renewable energy
Feb 3rd 2009
From Economist.com
[thanks cuch]
America has become the world leader in wind power
IN ONE policy area, at least, there is good news for President Barack Obama: his pledge to find alternative energy sources to wean America off its dependence on foreign oil is already being put into action. Last year America ramped up wind-power capacity to 25 gigawatts (GW), overtaking the previous leader, Germany, according to new data from the Global Wind Energy Council. America added 8.4GW of installed power in 2008, more than any other country. China is also investing heavily in wind power, nearly doubling its capacity for the fourth year running. Global capacity grew by 29% last year, the highest annual increase for six years.
(click to see graph)
we are five percent of the world’s population and we have 43 percent of the world’s arms/weapons. i think that should be disturbing.
without question.
point blank.
disturbing.
a few years ago the pentagon spent $1 billion on advertising. even in american history you have leader and leader - from george washington on, saying: be careful of large standing armies. and now we are paying a substancial part of our taxes to have our military advertise to us?!
many would argue at very basic levels:
if you are a follower of Jesus and you don’t start making some noise about what is happening in our world right now — then when do you speak out? We are spending billions every month on our wars right now. at what point to we stand up and speak out about the things Jesus calls us to get loud over.
this isnt simply about u.s. wars. God is simply much bigger than we have envisioned and is calling into being a compassionate community around the world. it is our duty to find out about what’s happening in the larger world - and respond well.
john dear (not the tractor) says this -
"My point is that not only are people dying around the planet, but we have died in so many ways with them. Gandhi would say we’ve lost our souls. That was the effect on the people who first built the tools of atomic war. This was the loss of their souls. We’re facing the death of our imagination. … We can no longer even imagine a world without nuclear weapons or a world without war. And yet that is precisely what we are called to do — to imagine the end of war.”
see, from the very beginning people have struggled with this idea. think of solomon building God’s temple... he ends up using slaves. solomon forgets the kind of world he’s supposed to build.
ole RB:
“Most of the Bible is a history told by people living in lands occupied by conquering superpowers. It’s a book written from the underside of power. It’s an oppression narrative. The majority of the Bible was written by a minority people living under the rule and reign of massive, mighty empires, from the Egyptian Empire to the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Empire to the Assyrian Empire to the Roman Empire. This can make the Bible a very difficult book to understand if you are reading it as a citizen of the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.”
It’s amazing to think that a microscopic virus called HIV has transformed political policy, economies, and cultures.
In the same way, a small committed group of people, dedicated to spreading a message of hope, can bring change. Whether it’s praying, giving, or serving...
On World AIDS Day, visit the Be the Virus webpage to watch a multimedia report from Cambodia, to read how Followers of Jesus are transforming lives and communities, and most importantly, to learn about practical ways you can be involved.
"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act." Proverbs 3:27
“Black Friday” claimed it’s first victim when an employee at a Walmart store in Long Island, New York was trampled to death right as doors opened. This is disgusting and I’m feeling sick to my stomach. I’m not trying to sound righteous here. People that know me know that I love bargains. Who doesn’t but what a way to die? And all this happening in the same time of the global tragedy of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
And sadly, even a person being trampled to death by hundreds isn’t going to stop this “cultural expression.” Look for a big lawsuit and then, business as usual.
Here’s the news from NY Dail News:
A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.
The 34-year-old worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
“He was bum-rushed by 200 people,” said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too…I literally had to fight people off my back.”…
Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk’s life.
I’ve posted an entry that Eugene Cho (a friend from the Covenant) shared on Sojo last week about Buy Nothing Day. He supports Buy Nothing Day, but understands the complex nature of our world economics.
----------------------------------------------------
Eugene Cho's article on Sojo last week:
All of you who have a pulse know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the single most crazy shopping day in the United States. It is simply called “Black Friday,” and the lines to get into most places are ridunkulous. And is it just me or does it seem like there’s a lot of posts on the blogosphere recently about Buy Nothing, Make Something, or simply Do Something – so I thought I’d write something. I got in line on Black Friday once seven years ago to get a digital camera for the church in hopes of saving our church a few dollars and I will NEVER do it again. Heck, I love the church but not that much. If it was a camera for Jesus, I’d do it, but not for the church. To give you a glimpse of how crazy things can be, check out this Wal-Mart stampede clip on YouTube from a recent Black Friday.
So, I’ve been a fan of the Buy Nothing Day movement for several years but have had some recent reservations, or at least reflections. If you don’t know what BND is, it speaks to the issue of OVERCONSUMPTION:
Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. In 2007, Buy Nothing Day falls on November 23rd in North America and November 24th internationally. It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine.
The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Vancouver in September of 1992 “as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.” In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is one of the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Outside of North America, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated on the following Saturday. Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads. Soon, campaigns started appearing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations…[from wikipedia]
So in years past, I’ve attempted to do my part — not just on Buy Nothing Day but to simply consume less. I know numerous folks — friends, neighbors, churchgoers, and fellow bloggers that are supporters of Buy Nothing Day. I get it, support it, and stand with them — sort of.
Why my reservations? I’m still moved by a conversation I had with a friend a couple years ago that challenged my support for Buy Nothing Day. This friend who is African-American said some interesting stuff [paraphrasing]:
Buy Nothing Day is basically a thing of and for white folks and comfy middle class and rich folks who have had the privilege of consumption their whole life. And now, they can afford to start things like Buy Nothing Day. True, it speaks to the issue of overconsumption, but how much of it is to appease their guilty consciences? I’m also very skeptical and cynical of Christians who’ve jumped on this bandwagon — the “enlightened evangelicals” who also come from a place of privilege. Stuff like this sickens me because it has completely no idea about the plight of the poor, low-income folks, and some minorities that are just trying to survive.
The thing that got to me was the story he shared about some of his family and friends from different racial backgrounds who simply need to make many of their major purchases on that day. Specifically, he shared about his uncle and aunt. They get in line every year in the frigid cold in the Midwest hours before the retail store opens at 5 or 6 a.m. because it’s the only way they’re able to get their kids the necessary technology gear to keep up.
I’m not dismissing the cause behind Buy Nothing Day, Make Something Day, and [insert cause] Day. We need to speak to and address this because us Westerners, and particularly Americans [including me], are just plain gluttonous.
But let’s be real here.
Black Friday shopping means different things for different folks. For many of us, it’s a game, a sport, a blog topic, and an event we mark, but for others it’s a matter of necessity. This is why I have reservations about Buy Nothing Day. Perhaps the majority of us should sincerely adopt Buy Nothing Day and let those who truly need the “doorbusters” be the first in line — for a change.
| By Jamie Coomarasamy BBC News, Rhode Island |
 Arthur and Dennis worked at a food packing factory that has now closed |
Rhode Island is the smallest American State, but it has the country's highest rate of unemployment.
The latest monthly figures show that 9.3% of the Ocean State's population are out of work. Only Michigan has a comparable level of joblessness.
Michigan is, of course, home to the Big Three car companies, whose large-scale problems are well known.
Their joint - and, so far, rejected - request for a $25bn (£16.5bn) loan is dominating the Lame Duck session of Congress.
Rhode Island's problems are less well documented.
Most of the state's businesses are small and, of those, over 80% have fewer than 20 workers. They are particularly vulnerable to the knock-on effects of the current economic crisis.
So, they have been laying off workers, such as brothers Johnny and Arthur Hallam and their cousin, Dennis. All three have lost their jobs in the past year.
Cutting logs
Approaching retirement age, but finding themselves without an income, they spend their days in Johnny's house, watching the news and reminiscing about the old days - the days when they were in work.
"At first, it was like a vacation," smiled Arthur, who lost his long-time job packing food, "but then it went on and on."
 |   You feel the whole fabric of societies begin to unwind  Dean Esserman Providence police chief |
His smile turned to a frown. "To have a job, even though it's not a spectacular one, was enjoyable... To not have it, well, you don't feel worthwhile. You don't feel like a real man."
His younger brother, Johnny, drove trucks for a lumber firm for 15 years. As the orders dried up, he saw other colleagues getting laid off, but he didn't think he would be for the chop.
He has applied for other truck driving jobs, but says they go to men half his age. "I've not had one call back. Not one, he laments.
Dennis is blunt. "My unemployment benefit just about covers my mortgage. To keep warm, I take my chainsaw, go out to the woods and cut up logs. If I can go out, clean someone's yard and get a quick $20 bill, that's how I pay for my food."
Foreclosures
To the south of Providence, in the town of Peace Dale, I watched people queuing up for free Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.
Turkeys, sacks of potatoes and packets of cornbread mix all flew off the shelves at the Jonnycake Center, a food pantry providing supplies to the needy.
According to the Executive Director, Susan Gustaitis, there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of people turning to the Center.
"Last September we had an average of 261 families who were registered with us," she said. "Now we have 970."
 More people have been coming to pick up food at the Jonnycake Center |
The rising unemployment has added to the number of people losing their homes. Rhode Island now has the sixth highest foreclosure rate in the country.
On a drive through Providence, the city's police chief, Dean Esserman, told me that the abandoned properties had resulted in a 17% increase in break-ins over recent months.
"We started to see families move out overnight. You feel the whole fabric of societies begin to unwind," he said with an air of regret.
"We've got to lean on each other. We're hiring more kids in the police force and encouraging employers to take them on. But these are tough times."
Rhode Island's Republican Governor, Donald Carcieri, is also trying to encourage job creation.
At brainstorming sessions with business leaders and economists, they have discussed plans to lower state taxes and rationalise its sprawling education system.
"For the first five years we were in office, we had the best record of job creation in New England," he said, wistfully, " but we felt the recession early and severely.
"It disappoints me greatly. But all you can do are the things you can control. Families have to watch their expenditures and they want their government to do the same. We'll come out of this."
More lay-offs?
Rhode Island's businessmen and women may welcome the governor's optimism, but - in the short term - some are having to take drastic steps to keep their workforce intact.
Cheryl Merchant is CEO of Hope Global, a firm in the town of Cumberland, which makes textiles for - amongst others - car companies.
 Cheryl Merchant has put her workers on a four-day week |
She has taken advantage of a state-run scheme, which allows employers to place their workers on a four-day week and to claim unemployment benefit for the fifth.
She says it was her only option. "If we didn't have to lay people off or cut back, it'd be the last thing we'd do," she said.
"But there is no other way. The opposite to going to this four-day week, or to finding some kind of half-way measure, is just to start laying people off permanently."
But the measure is a sticking plaster. If the economic situation does not improve, she says she may be forced to place her workers on a three-day week and then, in the New Year, to begin sacking them.
President-elect Barack Obama is promising to create 2.5 million new jobs. Rhode Islanders would like just a few of them, but they would like them fast.
Thousands flee escalating violence including those who are sick, elderly women, and young children.
[if you've been reading the news in the last 24hrs]
As you may have heard, thousands of people have been forced from their homes by heavy fighting in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I urge you to join World Vision in rushing emergency supplies, including food, blankets and clean water, to children and families fleeing the violence. More than half are small children. They are caught in the crossfire of a terrible conflict, their lives in grave danger as they search for safety.
Our staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo is working around the clock to help displaced children and families who've come to us for help. "Some of the people we spoke with said they were very hungry, had not eaten any food and did not know where they were going," said Michael Arunga, World Vision's emergency communications manager. "Most said they had lost all their property, leaving it behind when fleeing from the fighting."
We thank God that He has placed World Vision in the Democratic Republic of Congo and that we have faithful supporters like you who can work together with us to be His hands and feet for such a time as this. I am grateful for your compassion and willingness to reach out to children and families in need.
As you respond, please also pray for our staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo, working so tirelessly in impossible conditions to help those who are suffering. I am humbled by the sacrifices they are making on behalf of the children we serve. Also, pray for peace in this troubled region.
Thank you, and God bless you for your faithful support.
[it's not that people don't care about the poor, it's that they don't know the poor - s claiborne]
a questions: It can be difficult to understand the plight of the powerless when we have so much, what can leaders do to help connect their communities with the heart of God for those suffering right now?
the most powerful thing we've seen is when people make a friend from outside their bubble—through a an afterchool art program, a tutoring program, a job skills training class, refugee adoption, when "the poor" has a name and a face and personality for you, everything changes.
"Gayle was serving a people that she loved, and felt God called her to be there for such a time as this. We know her life was blessed and she was a blessing to those around her. No one could have asked for a more humble daughter with a more loving heart. She died doing what she felt the Lord had called her [to] and she is definitely with him."
- Pat Williams, mother of Gayle Williams, a 34-year-old British woman who was murdered this week by the Taliban while she was walking to work in Kabul. Gayle worked for Serve Afghanistan, which helps young boys and girls who have lost limbs to land mines and bombs. (Source: The Independent)
