Birth Pangs of Matthew 24, Jan. 23-26, 2007

[Shammu]

Climate change seen fanning conflict and terrorism

By Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent Wed Jan 24, 11:21 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Global warming could exacerbate the world's rich-poor divide and help to radicalize populations and fan terrorism in the countries worst affected, security and climate experts said on Wednesday.

"We have to reckon with the human propensity for violence," Sir Crispin Tickell, Britain's former ambassador to the
United Nations, told a London conference on "Climate Change: the Global Security Impact."

"Violence within and between communities and between nation states, we must accept, could possibly increase, because the precedents are all around."

He cited Rwanda and Sudan's Darfur region as two examples where drought and overpopulation, relative to scarce resources, had helped to fuel deadly conflicts.

Experts at the conference hosted by the Royal United Services Institute said it was likely that global warming would create huge flows of refugees as people tried to escape areas swamped by rising sea levels or rendered uninhabitable by desertification.

Tickell said terrorists were likely to seek to exploit the tensions created.

"Those who are short of food, those who are short of water, those who can't move to countries where it looks as if everything is marvelous are going to be people who are going to adopt desperate measures to try and make their point."

BIN LADEN ON CLIMATE CHANGE

John Mitchell, chief scientist at Britain's Met Office, noted al Qaeda had already listed environmental damage among its litany of grievances against the United States.

"You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and industries," al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden wrote in a 2002 "letter to the American people."

Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at Bradford University, said any attempt by countries to build fortress walls to keep out climate change refugees -- what he called the "barbarians at the gate" mentality -- was doomed to fail.

"If you just take the example of Bangladesh, if 60 million of 140 million people could not survive in Bangladesh yet they were kept there, you would have A) gigantic human suffering and B) progressive very deep radicalization -- very, very angry people -- and that is not in anybody's security interest."

Bangladesh, with a 580 km (360 mile) coastline on the Bay of Bengal, is acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels, cyclones and droughts.

Climate scientist Mitchell said the Mediterranean and Middle East were likely to receive less rainfall as a consequence of climate change, adding to existing tensions over water.

John Ashton, special representative for climate change at Britain's Foreign Office, voiced concern that this could further destabilize a region already beset by conflict.

"Given the volatile nature of that region, given the global consequences of that volatility, yes I'm hugely worried by that," he told Reuters.

Climate change seen fanning conflict and terrorism
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now we have the excuse, "the weather made me do it."  Also if poverty causes jihad, why isn't Haiti teeming with suicide bombers?

[Shammu]

Cities see crime surge as threat to their revival
Louisville, Trenton, N.J., and other metros whose downtowns are booming once again fear nationwide jump in violent crime may hurt prosperity

By Haya El Nasser
USA TODAY

LOUISVILLE — A minister who regularly conducts prayer vigils against violence and counsels crime victims is beaten by a gang of youths. Five people are shot and wounded at a community festival. A softball player is shot and wounded at a game, in front of 100 witnesses. One person is killed and four wounded in a shooting outside a funeral home as people gather for a wake.

These crimes happened in very public settings here last year — two of them within 2 miles of the heart of this Ohio River city's downtown. Such incidents inevitably give communities the jitters, but cities are especially skittish now because the nation's violent crime rate is rising after more than a decade of decline, and the stakes are higher.

The drop in crime helped spark an urban revival that attracted thousands of residents and billions of dollars of investment to downtowns from Louisville to Miami, St. Louis and Denver. Now, city leaders across the nation are fearful that crime will kill the renaissance.

For a city such as Louisville, where downtown is flourishing, keeping crime in check is paramount. More than $1 billion has been invested in the commercial heart of the city this decade. By 2010, at least another $1 billion is expected to come in. Five hotels are set to open, and the 2000 housing units now downtown are expected to double by 2009.

Rising crime "has the potential of being damaging," says Jerry Abramson, mayor of Louisville from 1985 to 1998. He was elected again in 2002 after Louisville merged with surrounding Jefferson County; he was re-elected in 2006. "We all live day by day in terms of concern of some horrific thing happening in our central business district that would set us back."

Murders and robberies continued to rise nationwide during the first six months of 2006, according to the FBI, and violent crime overall appears headed for a second straight year of increases. Mayors and police chiefs regularly assure the public that violent crimes still are confined mostly to poorer drug- and gang-infested areas, but they are sounding alarms:

•One of the first sessions at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' winter meeting that began Wednesday in Washington tackled initiatives to fight rising crime. Mayors are calling for a federal-local partnership to stem double-digit increases in murders, assaults and robberies in some cities.

•The National League of Cities has put the surge in violent crime on its legislative agenda, calling it one of the major challenges affecting quality of life.

•Mayors and police chiefs from about 55 cities who met last fall identified many factors pushing up crime rates: gangs, drugs, truancy, a growing culture of violence among youths, a profusion of illegal guns, unemployment and a wave of more than 600,000 ex-offenders finishing their prison terms and returning to the streets every year.

Abramson and some other mayors also blame the federal government for cutting funding for crime prevention and phasing out a Clinton administration program that added 100,000 police officers nationwide. They say Washington's focus has shifted to homeland security at the expense of hometown security.

"The consensus is that the federal government walked away from that partnership," Abramson says. "Crime all of a sudden begins to ratchet up but police on the street have ratcheted significantly down. We draw a correlation."

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse disagrees. "The increase in violent crime in some areas does not appear to be related to federal spending for law enforcement," he says. "DOJ spending has never accounted for more than 4% of total spending on state and local law enforcement."

Trenton, N.J., Mayor Douglas Palmer, president of the Conference of Mayors, met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this month. He hopes cities can gain more support now that Democrats control Congress.

"Over the '90s, cities have made great strides in coming back, revitalizing neighborhoods, but we've seen an escalation of violence," Palmer says.

"We have fewer police officers in our cities now than ever, with a greater proliferation of guns on the streets. … It is of the highest priority." Signs of the trend:

•The Police Executive Research Forum, a national police advocacy group, reported in October that murder, robbery and assaults had increased substantially in a cross-section of cities. The title of its report: A Gathering Storm — Violent Crime in America.

"There was a general sense that crime for most communities had dropped to such levels that it no longer was the issue that it was in the '90s and '80s," says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the police group. "We've seen a volatility in crime that we haven't seen in the previous eight years — and not just in the inner cities."

•Preliminary FBI data released last month show that violent crime rose 2.2% nationwide in 2005, the largest annual increase in 14 years and the first since 2001. In the latest statistics available, violent crime rose 3.7% from January to June 2006 compared with the first six months of 2005. Murders went up 1.4%, felony assaults 1.2% and robberies 9.7%. Property crime dropped 2.6%.

•The FBI has directed more than 100 additional agents to help local authorities fight violent crime.

Justice Department teams visited 18 cities in November and December to determine why violent crime is spiking in some cities and not in others. They met with state and local law enforcement "to gain a better understanding of what is causing this increase and determine which efforts had been most effective in helping fight violent crime," Roehrkasse says.

•Orlando had 49 homicides last year, more than double the 22 in 2005. About 60% were linked to drugs. In Memphis, homicides rose from 118 in 2004 to 160 last year. Crime is down in Los Angeles and Chicago. In some cities, homicides are down, but robberies are up.

"We had a general rise in violent crime in not all but most cities in every region," says David Harris, professor of law and values at the University of Toledo College of Law.

Mayors find themselves in an awkward spot. On one hand, they want to publicize their crime problems to get more funding. On the other, they worry that too much crime talk will create a negative perception of cities and scare off people.

"It has a very detrimental effect on what mayors work on each and every day to try to entice businesses to come," Palmer says. "Perception is reality."

Adds Harris: "City officials are quite aware that whatever progress they've made in attracting new residents and bringing people back to live in the city would be at risk if people didn't feel safe."

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

Cities must deal with crime head-on, says urban historian Joel Kotkin, author of The City. "We all hoped that the days of relatively high crime rates had come and gone," he says. "We now know the problem is not going away."

Many cities are taking action:

•In Trenton, homicides spiked to 31 in 2005 but dropped to 18 last year. More than 70% were gang-related, Palmer says. "We took down the leadership of nine gangs," he says. "They're in jail."

The city is cracking down on truancy and providing job training while redeveloping deserted industrial areas, getting rid of 5,500 deserted properties and building 1,600 homes for working families.

"We're making our cities more livable, but it's all inextricably tied to the whole crime piece," Palmer says. "We need resources."

•In Milwaukee, 1993 saw 160 homicides, a record high. By 2004, it had a record low 88. They climbed the next year to 122, then inched down to 103 last year.

"We did see probably a 20% increase in other categories of violent crime … an increase in armed robberies and shootings," says Mayor Tom Barrett, a former congressman.

Barrett and other mayors are working to strengthen background checks of gun buyers. He launched a fatherhood initiative to address the problem of absentee dads. He cut firefighting staff to start the year with 1,970 sworn police officers, the highest number since 2000, but is struggling to fill almost 200 vacancies, he says.

Downtown is thriving. About 14,000 people live there, 10 times more than a decade ago. Waterfront high-rises are going up. Work is starting on The Brewery, a multimillion-dollar conversion of the 26-acre old Pabst brewery complex into a residential and commercial center. The site borders downtown and inner-city neighborhoods.

"Our downtown is very safe," Barrett says. "I'm concerned about violence that occurs in other parts of the city."

•In Miami, overall crime is down, but homicides are up.

"The market is literally being flooded with assault weapons coming from Eastern Europe, the old Soviet bloc countries," Police Chief John Timoney says. Guns such as AK-47 rifles are selling for $150 to $200 compared with $700 or more not long ago, he says.

"Every jerk who wants one can have one," Timoney says.

Crime, he says, is not affecting Miami's downtown, where thousands of condominiums have been built or are planned. "But I was in New York when there was an all-time record high of homicides," he says. "Three kids were killed. Tourists from Utah were killed in the subway. When you start getting untraditional killings, that's when you get people's attention."

While violent crimes in Louisville have occurred away from downtown, the city has been proactive. Security cameras were installed in high-crime areas and neighborhood watch programs strengthened. Police on horses and bicycles patrol the Fourth Street Live area of clubs, stores and restaurants. The city has razed low-income housing and built mixed-income housing.

"Downtown is one of the, if not the, safest geographic areas in our community," Abramson says.

So far, 70 homicides in 2004 (the highest since 1997 when there were 85), 64 in 2005 and 51 in 2006 have not quelled downtown's resurgence. The Muhammad Ali Center opened in recent years, the convention center was expanded, and an arena is planned. The city soon will break ground on Museum Plaza, a $465 million, 61-story skyscraper that could transform Louisville's skyline.

Police Chief Robert White has reached out to the community since he arrived four years ago. "If we're going to have a long-term effect in fighting crime, we have to get people engaged," he says.

Billboards across town advertise a 24-hour crime tip line, 574-LMPD. The first month in operation, 123 calls came in. Two years later, about 2,000 calls on average led to at least 30 arrests every month. Police credit the tip line with solving 18 homicides and shutting down three methamphetamine labs.

Donnie Morris, who lives in the high-crime West End, runs Prevention 2000 to teach children about gun safety, drugs and other threats. He and his wife, Jefferson County District Court Judge Joan Stringer, encourage churches to report anonymous crime tips they receive from their congregation.

"Areas that are most affected by crime are the ones that don't call the police, but they'll call their clergy," Morris says.

Phil and Kathy Scherer are the kind of empty nesters that many downtowns are attracting these days. The two had always been downtown boosters. After 33 years in the suburbs, they decided to "walk the walk," says Kathy, 58.

They bought a 3,000-square-foot penthouse in Preston Point, a striking modern building with a view of the river. She says she feels more comfortable being alone at night there than she did in her old suburban house.

Young people crowd the streets on their way to a skate park nearby. Joggers run by the waterfront. Mounted police trot past.

"We have always hoped that Louisville would have that 24-hour component," says Phil, 63, a city native and president of a commercial and industrial real estate firm. "I don't see crime as a deterrent."

Mayors hope it stays that way. The police executive association, however, expects the trend of rising crimes to continue this year.

"Robberies are occurring in parts of cities that didn't normally have robberies," Wexler says. "Cities are concerned."

Cities see crime surge as threat to their revival

[Shammu]

Abortion protest allowed at school

Eighth-grader settles with Shenendehowa district, can wear T-shirt, offer fliers on Roe vs. Wade anniversary
 
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, January 19, 2007

ALBANY -- A settlement reached between a 13-year-old Gowana Middle School student and Shenendehowa officials will allow him, during the school day, to protest the upcoming 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Roe vs. Wade that affirmed a woman's right to have an abortion.

This morning, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn will review the agreement that was forged just hours before oral arguments in the case were to begin.

Times Union Traffic    
"It's the right thing to have done," said Tom Marcelle, a Bethlehem resident and co-counsel in the case allied with the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., which is representing M.G., as the child is referred to in court papers.

"There is one standard of thought that school can teach you to learn to obey the rules," Marcelle said. "The other, more libertarian component says there is nothing more important than to teach kids to peacefully and civilly exercise their rights."

As part of the pending agreement, M.G. will be allowed to attend school one day wearing a T-shirt expressing his opposition to abortion, court papers said. He can hand out leaflets at tables by the school entrances. The printed material will contain a line explaining that he'll be available at a table just outside the cafeteria during lunch time, should anyone want to talk more.

The boy and his parents filed a federal lawsuit against the Clifton Park school's principal, Jill Bush, last week, claiming her handling of the student's protest in October was discriminatory and humiliating.

The eighth-grader sought a jury trial and permission to wage another silent protest and leaflet campaign on or around Jan. 22, the anniversary of the 1973 landmark decision. It was not clear on Thursday if the demonstration will be on that day, which is Monday, or another.

On Oct. 24, the boy and two friends, with 1,400 other middle and high school students, were participating in the third annual Students' Day of Silent Solidarity, organized by the Stand True ministry of Fredericksburg, Va.

The boy already had permission from his teachers to wear a piece of red tape over his mouth to symbolize aborted fetuses that have no voice. On the tape was the word "Life." He wore a personalized T-shirt and handed out fliers before school and during the beginning of first period while talking to others.

Then Bush called a halt to the activity and collected materials that she hadn't already ordered him to throw away.

Attorney Kathryn McCary, who represents Bush and the school district, declined comment.

Abortion protest allowed at school

[Shammu]

Hospitals crippled as flu epidemic continues
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 23, 2007

As the winter reaches its peak, so too is the flu epidemic which has been crippling hospitals throughout Israel. Hospital officials are warning of insufficient care due to a lack in hospital beds and equipment.

"Pillows, blankets and towels are in shortage. Intensive care units are packed forcing the hospital to put patients whose situation isn't as severe in the waiting hall," patients said.

According to Dr. Eran Segal, "There are about 800 patients who are connected to respirators, 500 of them not in the ICU. This number is very worrying."

Director of the Wolfson Hospital in Holon, Dr. Yitzhak Berlovitch, was forced to place patients, not only in the corridors but also in the dining hall, Army Radio reported.

"Despite the fact that the population grows over time, and therefore the number of patients rises as well, the health system remains stagnant. Israel has the lowest hospital beds to citizens ratio in the Western world," he said. "It's time that the government of Israel draft a plan to boost the number of hospital beds."

Hospitals crippled as flu epidemic continues

[Shammu]

Another Asteroid Collision With Earth: It's Just a Matter of Time
Ex-Astronaut Looks at Ways to Prevent Catastrophe

What are the odds an asteroid or meteoroid will hit the Earth again? Pretty good, according to some scientists.

There are millions of these "rocks" out there, and about 200,000 to 400,000 of them get close enough to be classified as celestial objects that could come within range of our home planet.

But it only takes one, as anyone who has studied the dinosaurs will tell you. Many scientists believe an asteroid impact led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart believes it is simply a matter of time before another asteroid targets Earth.

"It could be 20 years, or a hundred years, or a thousand years," he said.

Schweickart is one of the founders of the B612 Foundation, which studies how to alter the orbit of an asteroid to prevent it from hitting Earth. "It's a very infrequent occurrence — an asteroid impacting the Earth — but when it happens, it will be devastating."

Schweickart says he's frustrated because he believes this project should be led by an international organization. He contends there is no way to predict when or where an asteroid will hit the Earth, so no single government should be held responsible for asteroid avoidance.

He wants to see the United Nations set up an agency mandated to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth and has planned a series of meetings around the world to develop a comprehensive plan. Schweickart anticipates a project that would cost several hundred million dollars, a burden for any single country, but something much more practical as a combined effort.

How would you keep an asteroid form hitting the Earth? Schweickart outlined a three-step program.

Early Warning. You need to know it's coming by searching for it. NASA currently has a budget of $4.1 million to look for asteroids.

Take Action. Develop the ability to deflect an asteroid. Some technology is available now, but propulsion that doesn't exist yet will be required — nuclear reactors that could power ion-propulsion systems for interplanetary spacecraft.

Make a Decision. Some agency has to decide to do this and fund it. This isn't about ducking a bullet going past your head; this is about seeing what is coming your way decades ahead and believing in the laws of gravity.

Edward T. Lu is a NASA astronaut who has developed a plan of action for deflecting an asteroid. He and fellow astronaut Stan Love have come up with the concept of a space tug. A space tug is a rocket that would launch to the same orbit as an asteroid threatening to hit the Earth and alter the asteroid's orbit by pushing in the direction of its orbital motion.

Lu told ABC News, "You don't have to change much — one hundred thousandth of a mile an hour is enough, 10 years ahead of time, to cause an asteroid to miss the rendezvous with Earth."

NASA is taking some steps to learn more about asteroids. Chris McKay is a planetary scientist with the Ames Research Center as well as the deputy lead scientist for the Constellation Program — the project to go back to the moon and on to Mars. Orion is the vehicle that will carry the astronauts, launched with an Ares rocket. McKay is exploring ways to use Orion for other missions, like sending a crew to land on an asteroid.

"It is exciting to think about rendezvousing with an asteroid and bringing back samples," McKay said. "What we could learn about the origins of the Earth is mind-boggling."

While McKay is excited about the possibility of landing on an asteroid, he says there is currently no mandate to start deflecting asteroids. "Right now, there is nothing out there that we know of with our name on it, but if we did find something, this mission could give the knowledge to deter a disaster."

An ounce of prevention is the mantra for scientists concerned about asteroids smacking into us. Both Schweickart and McKay use the failure of the levees in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina as an example of poor planning on all levels of government.

Is getting hit by an asteroid something to lose sleep over? Probably not, said Schweickart. But he said that people should be more concerned about the government's role in watching for an asteroid.

NASA's Near Earth Object Observation Program is responsible for tracking any near-Earth asteroids larger than a kilometer in size. NASA is not responsible for preventing an asteroid that it tracks from hitting the Earth. No agency has that mandate right now.

And the lack of a plan, said Schweickart, is something that causes him to lose sleep.

Another Asteroid Collision With Earth: It's Just a Matter of Time

[Shammu]

More than 80,000 people take to the streets to defend missionaries accused of stealing
The Chattisgarh state government, which accuses missionaries of stealing the land of Tribal people in order to convert, has filed 262 cases against the Church to force it to “give back” the land. Demonstrators defend the Church and want politicians to stop manipulating the law.

Jashpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) – More than 80,000 Tribals have taken to the streets in the eastern state of Chattisgarh in defence of the Church accused by the local government of stealing lands from locals in order to convert them.

The land on which Catholic missionaries have built mission institutions “was not stolen from us, but was regularly sold to the Church by our ancestors, which now uses it to help,” said one demonstrator. “We are happy for the schools and hospitals,” which now stand on the contested land, because they “educate us and provide us with medical care”,.

The demonstration, which took place last Monday, is a response to a local court decision requiring the Sisters of the Holy Cross return to Tribals 12 acres of land on which they built a monastery and a school.

The judge motivated his decision based on local legislation 170 (b) which bans land sales in Tribal areas to non Tribals.

The state government, which is controlled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatya Janata Party, filed 262 cases alleging unlawful occupation of tribal land by Catholic missions.

“We have never asked that the land be returned,” said Tarcitius Toppo, one of the demonstrators. “It was never stolen and is not used to convert us but only to help us. The government should stop manipulating the law for its own purposes.”

More than 80,000 people take to the streets to defend missionaries accused of stealing

[Shammu]

Reid: 'Send less people to jail'
8.36, Wed Jan 24 2007

Home Secretary John Reid is under fire after he urged the courts to send only the most dangerous and persistent criminals to prison.

Mr Reid, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith have written to judges and magistrates in a bid to try to relieve some of the pressure on the UK's overcrowded jails.

The move has been branded as "outrageous" by opposition MPs, who claim sentences are being dictated by the prison capacity and not by the crime committed.

But the Home Office defended the move, saying it was a necessary stopgap measure before plans to create a further 8,000 prison places came into being in the spring.

During Prime Minister's Questions, Tory leader David Cameron compared the Government to the ship stranded off the Devon coast.

But Tony Blair said: "He was simply reminding the courts of existing sentencing policy."

Meanwhile, A-wing at HMP Norwich, which was closed at the weekend after being condemned as unfit for human habitation, has been reopened to make 150 more places available for offenders.

The move comes as the prison population of England and Wales hovers around its capacity of about 80,000 places.

The letter is understood to be the first in a series of measures designed to ease prison overcrowding over the coming weeks and months.

Mr Reid said: "It is necessary to a civilised society that those who are a danger to our society are put away.

"The public have a right to expect protection from violent and dangerous offenders. Prisons are an expensive resource that should be used to protect the public and to rehabilitate inmates and stop them re-offending.

"However, we should not be squandering taxpayers' money to monitor non-dangerous and less serious offenders."

Reid: 'Send less people to jail'

[Shammu]

Are You Afraid Yet?
By David Strom
Thursday, January 25, 2007

Are you afraid? Very afraid?

Well, if you aren’t, you should be. And if you are, you aren’t scared enough.

In just over a week, we are about to be treated to yet another Cassandra-style warning about the “fate of the earth,” this time from the International Panel on Climate Change.

It has become part of the background noise in our daily lives: the constant refrain that the world is rushing headlong into certain doom.

A doom, that is, that you will suffer unless you hand control of the economy and your daily lives over to the very elite that is warning of the impending disaster: the media, the left-leaning political class, and academics. As long as we surrender to the tender mercies of their magnanimity and good will, all might yet be well with the world.

When I was growing up, the crisis was the population bomb. The exponential growth in human population was inevitably leading us all into a bleak future of death, disease, and mass starvation. "The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate..." wrote Paul Ehrlich.

Of course the population bomb blew up in Ehrlich’s face, and now most major countries in the developed world are faced with the economic problem of population decline and increasing obesity, not mass starvation.

But being wrong hasn’t stopped the doomsayers. There is always something to be very afraid of. In the 70’s it was Global Cooling, “limits to growth,” the energy crisis, and the yellow peril of Japanese economic expansion; in the 80’s it was nuclear power, nuclear war, nuclear winter, Alar on our apples, and the conversion of the middle-class into a vast cadre of homeless people; in the 90’s we were introduced to global warming, genetically modified foods invading nature, and the “vast right-wing conspiracy.” These days worries center on global climate change, the bird flu, and peak oil.

The evidence for anthropogenic climate change (man-made global warming to you and me) is said to be “overwhelming” and “irrefutable” in the copious amount of pre-publication press the new IPCC report is garnering.

Well, count me among the skeptical few.

Are You Afraid Yet?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are bombarded with so much information today it's hard to digest it all and often we're left confused. The media, entertainment industry and politicians use fear as a tool to promote attitudes, trends and causes. No wonder people can't sleep at night! We are in a constant state of fear and stress. And I don't think God meant us to live confused and fearful. But to have our feet planted firmly on the Rock to be confident and steady.

[Shammu]

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
   

Zamboanga City, 25 Jan. (AKI) - The largest organisation of Filipino Catholic schools - Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) - is mulling to incorporate the "Inter-Religious Dialogue" (IRD) in its current education curriculum. During the four-day annual assembly of CEAP's superintendents, which concluded in Zamboanga City on Thursday, the group went through a comprehensive discussion on the topic of IRD as a Catholic teaching and cited it as a more positive approach in attaining more harmonious co-existence between Muslims and Christians.

In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI), CEAP Superintendent's Commission Chairman Monsignor Gerardo O. Santos said that the association is also "affirming its commitment for better Catholic school governance that is nuanced by the inter-religious dialogue."

"This year's assembly is anchored on the theme: "Catholic Education as Prophecy" and Inter-religious Dialogue is indeed one of those prophecies," Monsignor Santos told AKI.

Father Prisco A. Cajes of the Christ of the King College based in Calbayog City in Eastern Philippines added that the IRD curriculum in Catholic schools could be the best way to establish inter-religious co-existence in this majority Catholic nation.

"It would make our students better to their brothers and sisters with other faiths, especially towards Muslims, if they are aware of their traditions and cultures. It could set a better inter-personal relationship among individuals," he said.

Father Prisco added that different CEAP-member will prepare their own curriculum on IRD after the assembly.

In the mixed Muslim-Christian City of Zamboanga, Monsignor David Alonzo, of the Immaculate Conception Archdiocesan Schools, said IRD is very important especially for the Mindanao setting.

Mindanao is the second largest among the three main islands in the Philippines, where the four million Muslims of the Philippines, live. Over 90 percent of the country's 85 million people are Christian.

"It (IRD) would lead the populace here into a peaceful and more harmonious relationship," he told AKI.

"You could understand each other better if there is a constant dialogue, if you are willing to respect and listen to each other," shared Father Romeo Villanueva of his experience with the Muslim people. Villanueva is currently assigned at the Vicariate of Jolo in Sulu province, one of among very few Muslim dominated areas in the southern Philippine Archipelago.

Among CEAP's speakers was also Sicilian-born Father Sebastiano D'Ambra of Silsilah Dialogue Movement who shared his struggles and stories of success with different Muslim communities during his four decades of stay in the country.

Muslim representative Zenaida Lim also shared her experiences being with people of different faiths.

"Religion has never deterred us from getting into better camaraderie with people of other faiths," shared Lim, who is also a lead member of a non-government Muslim group Sarang Bangun Foundation.

Besides IRD, the assembly also tackles topics on "Education as Prophecy", "Peace, Culture, and Religion", and "Actualising Vision Statement through Curriculum," among others.

At present, CEAP has about 1200 Catholic institutions all over Philippines as its members.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

[Shammu]

Muslims complain of Hollywood "bad guy" image

By Paul Majendie Thu Jan 25, 11:51 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Western movies from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to "Aladdin" promote negative stereotypes of Muslims by casting them all too often as villains, a British Muslim pressure group said on Thursday.

"There is no such thing as a Muslim good guy," said Arzu Merali, co-author of a report by the Islamic Human Rights Commission that argued that movies played a crucial role in fostering a crude and exaggerated image.

The commission's study, based on soundings taken from almost 1,250 British Muslims, also found that 62 percent felt the media was "Islamophobic" and 14 percent called it racist.

"Cinema, both in Hollywood and Britain, has helped to demonize Muslims. They are portrayed as violent and backward. That reinforces prejudices," Merali told Reuters.

"This stretches back before the 9/11 attacks in the United States," said Merali, head of research at the campaigning body.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has commissioned studies into attitudes toward racial and religious minorities following bombings in London in 2005 when four British Islamists killed 52 people in suicide attacks on the transport network.

The government has cracked down on radical extremist preachers who, it says, inspire suicide bombers.

But critics say the government's focus on Islam could backfire if Britain's 1.8 million Muslims feel under attack.

The report pointed the finger of blame as far back as the 1981 blockbuster "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in which "the cultural stereotypes and scenarios are patently obvious" as veiled women hurry through the bazaar to snake-charming music.

The 1998 film "The Siege" starring Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington was accused of reinforcing "the monolithic stereotype of the Arab/Palestinian/Muslim being violent and ready to be martyred for their cause."

Disney's cartoon was criticized for describing Aladdin's homeland as "barbaric."

The report called for British film censors to be given greater power to cut out "objectionable material" and said media watchdogs in Britain should be more effective in ensuring "responsible coverage" of Muslims.

Muslims complain of Hollywood "bad guy" image
~~~~~~~~~~

That sad thing is, Hollywood will take notice of this. Watch for an upcoming crop of Muslim hero movies coming to a theater near you soon. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark: I thought the character of "Sallah" was not only a "good guy" but critical in his aid to Indy's quest.
Aladdin: "Aladdin" was a bad guy?

Additionally, off the top of my head:
True Lies: "Faisil" was good guy and part of the team.
The Siege: "Frank Haddad" was a good guy.
The Mummy (both movies): "Ardeth Bay" was a good guy.
Rambo III: Rambo was aided by an entire group of Muslims.
The Living Daylights: James Bond was aided by Muslims as well.

[Soldier4Christ]

Climate change seen fanning conflict and terrorism

You hit the nail square on when you used the word "excuse". Excuses for their actions. Global warming is an excuse used by the liberals to cause fear and to give them reasons to impose socialism on the people. It is an excuse given for why people are not responsible for their sins.

[Shammu]

IRAN: POPE MAY BE INVITED TO TEHRAN

Tehran, 26 Jan. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI could soon be invited to visit Iran, Iranian news agencies reported on Friday, citing foreign ministry sources. Though the Islamic Republic has not yet formally invited the pontiff, Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Javad Faridzadeh, allegedly told Benedict XVI that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, would be happy to have him as a guest in Iran in what would become the first visit ever by a pontiff to the country.

The inauguration of the church of Hazrat Maryam - the most ancient Catholic church in Iran in Isfahan, central Iran, which is currently being renovated - could provide the right occasion for the pope's visit, Iranian sources say.

Benedict made his first and only trip so far to a Muslim country since his 2005 election when he visited Turkey on 28 November-1 December.

The trip succeeded in improving the Vatican's relations with the Islamic world after a speech made by Benedict XVI during a visit to Germany in September last year drew criticism in parts of the Muslim world for what were deemed to be offensive comments directed at Islam. Benedict XVI denied he has sought to offend Muslims saying that his speech had been misinterpreted.

IRAN: POPE MAY BE INVITED TO TEHRAN

[Soldier4Christ]

But to have our feet planted firmly on the Rock to be confident and steady.

AMEN!!

[Shammu]

3 reportedly held in 'ghost bride' sale

2 hours, 12 minutes ago

BEIJING - Police in northern China have detained three men for the deaths of two women whose corpses were to be sold as "ghost brides" to accompany dead men in the afterlife, state media said.
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Authorities indicated that the killings last year were not isolated cases, the Legal Daily newspaper said on its Web site, but it did not give any details.

Yang Dongyan, 35, a farmer from Shaanxi province, said he had bought a young woman for $1,600 and planned to sell her as a bride, according to the paper.

But then he met Liu Shenghai, who told him that the woman could command a higher price as a "ghost bride," it said. The tradition, called "minghun" or afterlife marriage, is common in the Loess Plateau region of northern China, where a recently deceased woman is buried with a bachelor to keep him company after his death.

Yang killed the woman in a ditch, bagged her body, and sold her for $2,077 to Li Longsheng, an undertaker, who said he could find a buyer, the paper said.

Yang gave Liu a portion of the profits, it added.

Yang later went to the city of Yan'an and hired a prostitute he had used before, killed her and sold her for $1,000 to Li because she was "less pretty," the paper said.

The report did not give any details of how the women were killed or how the men were detained.

"I did it to earn quick money," the paper quoted Yang as saying. "If I had not been caught this early, I would've done it again."

3 reportedly held in 'ghost bride' sale
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Now this is sick....killing women and selling their bodies to be buried as "ghost brides" for men who die.