Archive for the ‘World News’ Category

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities.

Here’s the link:

Driving through the town of Esit Eket, the rust-streaked signs, tarpaulins hung between trees and posters on boulders, advertise a church for every third or fourth house along the road. Such names as New Testament Assembly, Church of God Mission, Mount Zion Gospel, Glory of God, Brotherhood of the Cross, Redeemed, Apostalistic. Behind the smartly painted doors pastors make a living by ‘deliverances’ – exorcisms – for people beset by witchcraft, something seen to cause anything from divorce, disease, accidents or job losses. With so many churches it’s a competitive market, but by local standards a lucrative one

Here’s a link to a graphic video about the torture and burning of Nigerian children:

I find this story interesting on several levels…

• 1 – It highlights one individual. Usually our media highlights one individual when that individual is Israeli. It’s bittersweet to see someone with individual coverage when they are protesting Israeli apartheid and aggression. I look forward to the day when our media cover one individual Palestinian or one Palestinian family.
• 2 – Crowd control measures and anti-protest measures are not benign. I am tired of media coverage that mentions “rubber bullets” and “tear gas” as afterthoughts.
• 3 – The reason for the protest was actually mentioned… although probably not enough. “They traveled to the West Bank to rally against the Israeli-erected barrier that could cut off Palestinian villages from valuable farmland.” No mention of starvation, inequality, military occupation, etc. No mention that the land belongs to families that depend on it for food.
• 4 – There were no quotes from people that would inflame the situation even more. Usually there’s what appears to be a deliberate attempt to get emotion reactions from both sides of any conflict… to give the appearance of objectivity… but we know better. Conflict sells. And finding the most emotional, irrational, non-articulate person to speak is par for the course. It’s nice to see an article (despite tragic news) that is not hitting par.
• 5 – The comments that follow the article are disgusting… from both ends of the spectrum.

Here’s the link:

In the “Videos” section above, you can see this series of videos of US Veterans opposing the Iraq War. Here’s the link…

OK. With the amount of emails that I get swamped with every day, it is hard to really quantify what has value and what does not. I find myself increasing my filters for what I open and what I choose to delete. And, then of course, there are those emails that you open and find a list of recipients a mile long… The message has been cycled and recycled several times. With those, I usually click open and click delete almost in under one breath.

However, I might allow a certain type of email, or blog post, or Twitter tweet through my filters a little more frequently, now. And that is the boycott Israel email. This company supports them, that company is owned by a Zionist. I never know how much to trust the sources of those emails. The cynic in me imagines a corporate exec sitting in his penthouse office laughing at the Muslims for circulating untruths he started about his competitor… remember those La Muhammad emails about Coke? C’mon. Do you really believe that someone put that much thought into the logo?

Anyway, this is all one big, long-winded way of saying… good job. Jazakum Allahu khair. It appears that your/our efforts at boycotting Israeli goods and corporate sponsors is being felt. Here’s a link to someone named Tony Greenstein’s blog with words of encouragement:

And here’s a link to an excerpt from Jews sans frontieres (an anti-Zionist blog):

If this blog post is true, jazakum Allahu khair. If it is not true, jazakum Allahu khair. Either way, it’s all about your intentions to please Allah by doing your part to end suffering and injustice in the world – wherever it may be.

I don’t know… this latest Obama pick doesn’t give me the same warm and fuzzy feeling I usually get with my President. If anything, this has huge potential to mess up a timely opportunity for change in the world.

I once heard of a patient at my hospital telling his surgeon (a friend of mine) that Obama was a “post turtle”. When asked what a post turtle was, the man responded… “I don’t know. A turtle on a post. You gotta wonder, how did he get there? Someone had to put ‘im there. And then you wonder… how’s he gonna get down?” If someone really did put him on that post, then that same someone is probably pulling the strings on these appointments.

Anyway, I digress… here’s your link: Obama picks anti-Iran man for Iran post

Dennis Ross will provide Mrs. Clinton with “strategic advice and perspective on the region, offer assessments and also act to ensure effective policy integration throughout the region”

… Great… “strategic advice”, “perspective on the region”…

And how does one “ensure effective policy integration throughout the region”? Sounds like a big task, but really is just a bunch of politico-avoid-the-question speak. It almost even sounds unbiased.

These videos were posted at Palestine Think Tank in an article by Mary Rizzo. Israeli snipers fire on unarmed farmers and internationals. They keep shooting despite mega-phone announcements that they were firing on “unarmed civilians”. See for yourself…

They might claim that they were rubber bullets or something, but they are still high-speed projectile steel balls with a thin covering of rubber. They’re still deadly and the people they are shooting at are unarmed and clearly do not pose a threat. The international peace workers are even wearing fluorescent colors to stand out.

Don’t tell me that these soldiers don’t know what they are firing on.

I do not mean to inflame an already uncertain and fearful public, but when you look at history, economic decline preceded the major World Wars. Well, this article from Dr. Frederic F. Clairmont (a prominent Canadian academic and researcher) cites several factors – Arms Races, Israel and the Middle East, US-China Relations, the financial markets, and the dynamics of overproduction. When taken together, these things point to a potential for war on a large scale.

But then again, take a look at the world right now… there already is war on a large scale.

Anyway, here’s the link: Is A Major War A Possibility In 2009? The Historical Antecedents

Keep in mind though… we should not be worriers, talkers, or time-wasters. Worrying about these things, wasting time discussing world politics in our gatherings, etc… all useless. What we should be worrying about are the things we can control and the things we will be asked about on the Last Day. Financial crisis, Sino-US relations, arms races, political outcomes in Israel… I’m not going to be asked about any of those.

In fact, now that I’ve typed this… it got me thinkin’ about some of the things I will be asked about. And one of those things is my relationship with my neighbors. I’m going to invite my neighbor over for dinner… finally, after 5 years of living here. What are you going to do?

So, there clearly was fraud, but this contractor apparently defrauded the Coalition Provisional Authority (technically not the US government).

Here’s the link: Judge Overturns Verdict Against Iraq War Contractor in Fraud Case

A federal judge has overturned on a technicality a $10 million jury verdict against a military contractor accused of defrauding the U.S. government in the initial months of the Iraq war.

The verdict, awarded in March against Fairfax-based Custer Battles LLC, had been the first civil fraud verdict arising from the Iraq war. Custer Battles based most of its operations in Rhode Island.

A former Custer Battles employee filed the lawsuit under a whistleblower statute, alleging that Custer Battles used shell companies and false invoices to vastly overstate its expenses on a $3 million contract to assist in establishing a new currency to replace the old Iraqi dinar used during Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The verdict reached $10 million because the law calls for triple damages, plus penalties fines and legal costs.

But U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, in a ruling made public Friday, ruled that Custer Battles’ accusers failed to prove that the U.S. government was ever defrauded. Any fraud that occurred was perpetrated instead against the Coalition Provisional Authority, formed shortly after the war to run Iraq during the occupation until an Iraqi government was established.

Ellis ruled that the trial evidence failed to show that the U.S. government was the actual victim, even though U.S. taxpayers ultimately footed the bill.

Carleton University and the University of Ottawa have banned the posting of Israeli Apartheid Week Posters. You can read more here: Second Canadian University Suppresses Free Speech Rights and Bans Israeli Apartheid Posters

Here’s a quote from the above link on what you can do about it:

We call on student organizations, social justice groups and concerned
individuals around the world to support students at the University of Ottawa
and the broader fight for freedom of expression.

Please take the following actions:

Email/Fax/Call the President of the University of Ottawa, Allan Rock,
demanding that he immediately restore the Charter rights of students and
send a copy of your message of support to the Director of the Communications
Office, Andree Dumulon. Please send a copy of your letter to
sphr.uofo@gmail.com

Allan Rock: email president@uOttawa.ca, fax (613)562-5103, phone
(613)562-5809

Director of communications: email adumulon@uOttawa.ca, phone (613)562-5800
ext. 315

A friend of mine passed along a link that he saw highlighted (dugg) on Digg.com. Basically, someone got onto a computer, saw the links that had been clicked, and then took a screen shot. Here it is:

But which came first? The chicken or the egg? Did the media dumb us down, or is the media reflecting our dumbed-down state, or both?