The latest news on the Mideast, arms control, war and rural America, Anglicans, Iraq, Iran, VP Cheney, immigration and select Op-Eds.
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Full news summary: Anglicans. Anglicans Rebuke U.S. Branch on Same-Sex Unions- “Facing a possible churchwide schism, the Anglican Communion gave its Episcopal branch in the United States less than eight months to ban blessings of same-sex unions or risk a reduced role in the world’s third-largest Christian denomination.” Anglicans seek a middle way – “Leaders of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion – deeply divided over the biblical view of homosexuality and other issues – ended a contentious six-day meeting in Tanzania with the first steps toward a set of core principles spelling out who is truly Anglican and who is not.” Anglicans tense but not split after talks – “The five-day meeting ended with a joint communique and without evidence of an immediate schism in the 77-million-member global church, which many had feared.”
Arms control. East Europeans welcome US missile shield – “The worst arms control dispute of the post-cold war era was taking shape yesterday when Poland and the Czech Republic displayed their keenness to host facilities for the Pentagon’s missile defence shield, Russia threatened to target the central Europeans, and Germany denounced the US moves as potentially destabilising.” Russian general warns against US missile bases – “In a statement reflecting the growing distrust between Moscow and the West, a top Russian general warned that Poland and the Czech Republic risk being targeted by Russian missiles if they agree to host US missile defense bases.”
Mideast. Mideast Talks Conclude With Little Result- “An American-sponsored meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders meant to start a new peace initiative after six years ended with little more concrete than a promise to meet again.” Rice’s Mideast Talks Yield Little Except a Promise to Meet Again – “Rice’s role was intended to signal her deepening commitment to helping resolve the conflict, but the talks demonstrated the difficulties ahead. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accompanied Rice when she met with reporters after more than two hours of talks.” Rice calls Mideast meeting ‘productive’ – “Olmert and Abbas reaffirmed their support of the U.S.-backed diplomatic blueprint known as the “road map” and discussed how to begin reviving it, Rice said. The plan, which lays out a step-by-step path to an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, has languished since it was unveiled in 2003 because neither side has fulfilled even initial commitments.”
Iraq. Brazen Pre-Dawn Attack on U.S. Outpost in Iraq Kills 3, Injures 17 – “A U.S. military facility north of Baghdad was targeted Monday by suicide bombers and other armed men who killed three American soldiers and wounded 17 in an unusually brazen attack.” Iraqi Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Outpost- “In a rare coordinated assault on an American combat outpost north of Baghdad, suicide bombers drove one or more cars laden with explosives into the compound, while other insurgents opened fire in the ensuing chaos,”
Iran. Russia Will Slow Work on Iran’s Nuclear Plant – “Russia contended that Iran had not made the last two $25 million monthly payments, in a dispute about whether it could pay in euros instead of dollars.” Iran ‘six months from mass uranium enrichment’ – “Iran could be as little as six months away from being able to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, having mastered the technology since last August, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned in an interview published today. However, Mohamed ElBaradei, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, stressed that Iran was still years away from developing a nuclear weapon.” Tehran seeks unconditional talks – “Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he wants talks on his nation’s nuclear programme, but only if no pre-conditions are imposed.”
VP Cheney. Cheney’s Influence Lessens in Second Term: Administration More Pragmatic in Foreign Policy, Dealing With Congress- “There is no evidence that Cheney’s close relationship with Bush has been lessened. But there is also little doubt that the causes he has championed — a tough skepticism of negotiations with dictatorships such as North Korea and the forceful exercise of presidential authority — are being rethought within the Bush administration,”
Immigrants. Debit cards for immigrants – “Aparicio applied for a special debit card created for immigrants who don’t have Social Security numbers, which are required to open savings or checking accounts. They’re also for people who just don’t trust banks. A nonprofit worker center here called New Labor, which helps immigrants learn English and find jobs, in November became the first in the nation to offer the Sigo card – combining “go” with Spanish for “yes.” The center has distributed 300 cards. The program – affiliated with MasterCard – is underway at eight other worker centers across the country,”
War and rural America. Rural America hit hard by war – “Nearly half of the more than 3,000 U.S. military fatalities in Iraq have come from towns like McKeesport, where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000. … Many of the hometowns of the war dead aren’t just small, they’re poor. The AP analysis found that nearly three-fourths of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average.”
Op-Ed. The Antiwar Rallying Point (E.J. Dionne, Washington Post) – “Two things are now abundantly clear about the future of U.S. policy toward Iraq. First, majorities in both houses of Congress have lost faith in President Bush’s approach to the war. Second, the president will do all he can to resist changing his strategy by trying to split his critics into ineffectual factions.”
posted February 28, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Regarding the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill being put forward again: The guest worker provision creates a class of indentured servants subject to exploitation and abuse, with no civil rights. The only way it would be acceptable is if it contained a provision for a path to citizenship. Conrad Steinhoff
posted March 5, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Global Warming is finally shown to be the Big Lie of the 21st Century. Check out this web page: http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/index.htm
posted March 5, 2007 at 6:58 pm
http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/index.html
posted March 12, 2007 at 8:27 pm
It’s great to see some evangelicals starting to take what could be framed as a “pro life” viewpoint in terms larger than stem cells. Global warming now… who knows what might be next – maybe health care, so that living and breathing full grown citizens don’t have to neglect their health and that of their larger than embryo children?! I would genuinely look forward to that. It would help us to move forward on fronts where you’d think a broad consensus could be reached.
posted March 12, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Sorry if I’m repeating myself – comment looked like it went through but at the top I read “Unable to save comment.” It’s great to see some evangelicals starting to take what could be framed as a “pro life” viewpoint in terms larger than stem cells. Global warming now… who knows what might be next – maybe health care, so that living and breathing full grown citizens don’t have to neglect their health and that of their larger than embryo children?! I would genuinely look forward to that. It would help us to move forward on fronts where you’d think a broad consensus could be reached.
posted March 19, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Sanctuary in churches for refugees in Canada has happened a number of times and is happening right now, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Raza family, a Pakistani Shia Muslim and a Sunni Muslim and their 6 children, two of whom are Canadian citizens, have been housed in Crescent Fort Rouge United Church since August of last year. The Canadian government is denying their refugee status despite the fact that Sunnis and Shiites in Pakistan are warring factions unlikely to receive gently a “mixed faith” couple and their westernized children. For complete details, I invite you to go to the website of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwest Ontario of the United Church of Canada: 2007/03/14 – “Samosas and Security” – the saga continues – Raza Family Sanctuary Case Update The Raza Family is still in sanctuary. http://domino-11.prominic.com/A55971/mnwo/mnwomain.nsf/0/E2CF16239412A8A8862571DC00563B85?openDocument
posted March 20, 2007 at 12:56 am
There’s a big difference between sanctuary for political safety and for economic gain. It’s disappointing to see churches siding against the working poor who are US citizens or those who have taken the legal route of immigration.
posted March 21, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Does anyone know of a site or books that will provide solid and complete background to the situation in Darfur? Im sad to say I was just recently exposed to it and I want to educate myself on it.
posted March 23, 2007 at 7:44 am
As Christians I think that it is time we face a rather nasty reality. When it comes to issues such as genocide, the skin color of the victims plays as much a role as any other factor. The American public is not as shocked upon seeing a person of color starving as they are when it is a lighter-skinned person. We tend to identify with those who resemble us. It is human nature. When a country that is majority light-skinned looks at a tragedy in which the victims are almost exclusively dark-skinned, we removes ourselves a step from the situation because they are different than us. This also happened in the aftermath of Katrina. We had far less patience with the persons of color in New Orleans than we did with the predominantly white victims of the hurricanes that hit Florida. It is just 18 months after Katrina, and you are already hearing comments about how lazy some of the folks in New Orleans are. Yet it took a similar amount of time for some areas of Florida to recover from the repeated drubbing of hurricanes, but there was no similar impatience. Race matters. Were the victims in Sudan white, the problem would have been solved some time ago with a simple economic embargo of the country and a full blockade of shipping lanes. NATO would likely have been involved in policing the blockade, and perhaps even some military action would have been taken to remove the despotic government from power. Unfortunately the victims are black and the government plays well with business.
posted April 3, 2007 at 2:05 am
please alert people to pray for Ukraine, where the president has dissolved the parliament and ordered new elections and the ruling party in parliament is disobeying… pray for peace and for a continuation of the reforms anticipated after the Orange Revolution!!! dlw
posted April 10, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I would venture to add that one of the greatest perpetrators of Biblical illiteracy are churches themselves. It s scary how some pastors in Evangelical churches have positioned themselves between their congregation and the Bible. What s even scarier is that congregations let them get away with it. Come check out an article that I have written on the subject at http://www.twoinstitutions.org
posted April 19, 2007 at 6:35 pm
President Bush mourns the lives lost at Virginia Tech. Does he mourn the lives lost in Iraq due do his unnecessary preemptive war? As great as the sorrow is in Virginia this week, far greater is the sorrow all across Iraq from the violence set off by our president’s obsession with Saddam Hussein, and our nations’ desire to avenge the deaths of 9/11. Let Mr. Bush atone for his own sins first, before leading a nation in mourning the actions of anyone else.
posted April 20, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Amen, Thomas. Throughout the reports on the “massacre” in Virginia I was struck by how rarely the mainstream media takes a critical look at the daily massacre that we the people of this country, are inflicting on Iraq. If we have the power, and this country is against this war it is time we rise up and respond. We cannot sit by and pretend we are powerless.
posted April 20, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Well said! We fight (and sometimes kill) over the rights of the unborn, and at the same time, vote for one of history’s mosr diabolical leaders as the “savior” of the free world. Hypocrite doesn’t come close to defining the two-faced, morally-confused “Bush Base”. There is only One Savior, who is neither Republican or Democrat, white, black, red, yellow, brown. Who are we kidding? Do we honestly think that Jesus believes the drivel poured out by America’s politicians for consumption by those who call themselves evangelicals? God knows all within our hearts…because we can hide behind religious rhetoric and wrap ourselves in the false idol of patriotism doesn’t mean that God doesn’t see within us. Those who selectively mourn for American dead and care not about those of any other creed,race, religion or political persuasion, take heed…God is watching through His tears. His arms are open to all who will embrace him in love and peace. He holds no patience with those who further their own dreams of power, greed and self-righteous war in His name. Peace.
posted April 22, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Don’t miss the emphasis of Robert Gates’ visit to Iraq – it strikes me as a new chord, and a hopeful one. He is pressing hard for Sunni-Shi’ite reconciliation and inclusion of Sunnis in government. Only media outlet I’ve seen mention this part of it is – strangely – Al Jazeera. I posted excerpts at Finally, some good news from Iraq.
posted April 26, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Typical Satanic leftist propaganda. If anyone thinks that late-term abortions are not murdering a child, they are as evil as Hitler. It apears that Leftists desire the blood sacrifice of innocent children the same as those worshipping Molech. I am comfortable with believing that Leftist ideology begins in a conference of demons with Satan in Hell, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York or the DNC offices country-wide.
posted May 15, 2007 at 11:49 pm
I never believed that Jerry Falwell was a representative of Christian values, and to many, he was an embarassment. Hopefully the types of prayers that he prayed will not be answered.
posted May 19, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I thought you stated this quite compassionately Jim . I showed it to a liberal who really thought it was pathetic because of the integrity and kindness you showed . Jerry Falwell certainly broguht the worse in many of us . Also did many good things also in his church . Being an Evangelical I guess the good thing is uniting voters to what is happening in our country , the bad aspect is the injuring of the dignity of so many , Reverend Falwel used to do that . As I told my Liberal friend , we all have put Christ up on that Cross , and perhaps showing Falwell some mercy at this time was the better thing to do . Anyway thanks for your comments , only part I really disagreed with was using Mel White , he went from helping Jerry Falwel to usiging the same tactics to try to counter him . And also Jim , my Pastor never starts a morning sevice addressing us at our Assembly God Church as welcome and goodmorning to the religious right . Got to get past labels used for negatives if you want to unite people , Christ taught us that at the well and with the Good Samararian .
posted June 1, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Once more I encourage you to learn of the movement begun by Fethullah Gulen in Turkey. In Turkey it is called “Hizmet” meaning service. More than 100 peace and friendship schools have been started all over Asia and eastern Europe. The goal is to educate for peace. Moderate Muslims are speaking out and working for peace and understanding. Currently there are six of these schools in Iraq. To date, no student from these schools have joined the terrorists. Their newspaper “Today’s Zaman” is published in Istanbul. It’s important to be aware of those actually working for peace as much as hearing of war’s destruction everyday.
posted June 3, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Do something: :::[Online petition - America, join the G8 Climate Deal] Read more: :::[US to sink G8 Summit climate change deal, not CO2]