Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Justpeace Movement Recommends Nonviolent Resistance to ISIS!

Suicidal peaceniks: they still exist!

While President Obama dithers about whether to “destroy” ISIS or “manage” them, the Christian left is urging him to engage the butchers in nonviolent, “community-level peace and reconciliation processes.”

The Catholic, Washington-based Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns recently posted a letter addressed to President Obama and other White House officials at the end of August. Signed by 53 national religious groups (including Maryknoll), academics, and ministers, the letter urged the White House to avoid warfare in Iraq by resorting to “a broader set of smart, effective nonviolent practices to engage hostile conflicts.”

The strategies are part of “a fresh way to view and analyze conflicts” offered by an emerging ecumenical paradigm called “justpeace” (a cutesy combination of justice and peace). This approach was initiated by the Faith Forum for Middle East Policy, a “network of Christian denominations and organizations working for a just peace in the Middle East.”

The signers expressed their “deep concern” not so much over “the dire plight of Iraqi civilians” being slaughtered by ISIS as “the recent escalation of U.S. military action” in response. “U.S. military action is not the answer,” they claim, sounding a pacifist note common among left-leaning Christians. “We believe that the way to address the crisis is through long-term investments in supporting inclusive governance and diplomacy, nonviolent resistance, sustainable development, and community-level peace and reconciliation processes”...

To read the article see the link below:

‘Justpeace’ movement urges nonviolent resistance to ISIS

Friday, September 5, 2014

Text Stop: A Contradiction in Terms?|




Written by  




Text stopCrossing the border into New York on the highway, I came upon a curious road sign. Everyone has seen signs for rest stops along the way to give drivers some respite and prevent accidents. This sign, however, announced something different: a text stop.

Yes, a text stop. Not just one but many along the way. The idea is that motorists will pull over to the side of the road and take care of those urgent text messages that must be immediately answered.

In this way, the highway department evidently hopes to avoid the accidents of drivers who drive and text at the same time. As if to provide further incentive, another road sign not far behind warned motorists that three text violations will lead to immediate suspension of one’s driver’s license. One can almost imagine the smile on the bureaucrat’s face who, with this simple text stop system, believed that he solved the texting-while-driving problem.

But that is not what has happened. The text stop does not go to the root of the problem. Going down the highway, I noticed not only the signs but also the fact that the text stops were not full of relieved texters and tweeters taking full advantage of the state’s generosity. In fact, the stops were eerily empty.

And it makes sense. The nature of the text is not to stop but to instantly answer anywhere at anytime. In what I call the “frenetic intemperance” of our times, the text is a preferred medium to communicate without emotions or complications. The fear of being disconnected with the digital world is so great that even the task of responsible driving can be interrupted. The text stop is a sad contradiction in terms.

One particularly tragic text stop was one that gave the driver the option of texting and enjoying a scenic view—in that order. The driver could choose between the virtual or real worlds. Alas, this stop was also empty as the hurried pace of life allows for neither a prolonged appreciation of beauty nor a pensive response to a terse e-message.

The text stop effect is not only found on the highway but also in our daily lives. Our rushed schedules are like hurried highways taking us to do the tasks of the day with little time to stop. But all the while we send off texts while conversing, eating and working.

We don’t need text stops in our lives. We need to simply stop. We need to reassess our lives and pay attention to those things linked to family, community and Faith that really matter and make life worth living.


Text Stop: A Contradiction in Terms? |

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Venezuelan Socialist Rewrites the Our Father


A member of Venezuela's Socialist Party has rolled out a variation of the "Lord's Prayer" to implore beloved late leader Hugo Chavez for protection from the evils of capitalism.

"Our Chavez who art in heaven, the earth, the sea and we delegates," red-shirted delegate Maria Estrella Uribe recited on Monday at the PSUV party Congress.

"Hallowed be your name, may your legacy come to us so we can spread it to people here and elsewhere. Give us your light to guide us every day," she said in front of an image of Chavez.

"Lead us not into the temptation of capitalism, deliver us from the evil of the oligarchy, like the crime of contraband, because ours is the homeland, the peace and life forever and ever. Amen. Viva Chavez!" she exclaimed to applause.

Though Chavez died of cancer in March 2013, he remains omnipresent in Venezuela. His photo is plastered all over capital Caracas, state TV frequently airs excerpts of his famously lengthy speeches and supporters sometimes don earrings or pendants with an artistic black-and-white rendition of his eyes.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Putin's Push in Arctic Ocean


Phyllis Schlafly sees Russian aggression in latest claim over disputed Wrangel Island

While the world’s attention was distracted by his incursions into eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin quietly made another provocative move that could lead to a direct confrontation with the United States. The Russian Navy sent a ship to remote Wrangel Island, planted a Russian naval flag on Aug. 20, and announced plans to build a naval base there for Russia’s Pacific Fleet.

Wrangel Island is a frozen, nearly uninhabited island in the Arctic Ocean, about 90 miles north of Siberia and 300 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska. It’s about the size of our two smallest states, Delaware and Rhode Island, combined.

Wrangel Island has little economic value in itself, but it is hugely important because it is the closest land to a vast swath of the Arctic Ocean, which is estimated to hold 25 percent of the world’s recoverable oil and gas. According to a European reporter, Putin has said he wants to expand Russia’s presence in the Arctic, both militarily and economically.

It’s not the first time Russia has planted a flag to claim territory in the Arctic, hoping to extend its control over that resource-rich region. In August 2007, a Russian submarine planted a Russian flag on the ocean floor at the North Pole.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Protest Blasphemous Documentary Now!

  Written by Robert Ritchie
 
On October 14 – just a few weeks from now -- Breaking Glass Pictures will begin distributing in America a documentary film that promotes the terrible blasphemous play Corpus Christi.

Listen -- this film tells about what happened when the blasphemous play was traveling around the country during the 6-year span 2005 – 2011 – when we were protesting against it.
And it portrays protestors like you and I as hate-filled bigots.
While at the same time it tries to prove that the blasphemous play itself is all about “love and compassion.”
We can’t just sit down and shut up about that!  We must peacefully protest…
…because, remember, in its original version, the play shows in graphic detail:
  • “Our Lord” passionately kissing “Apostles”
  • “Our Lord” viciously striking a female actress
  • “Our Lord performing a marriage between two homosexual men
So – will you allow me to send the following Protest Petition to Breaking Glass Pictures, in your name?
Here is the Protest:
Attention: Rich Wolff, CEO, Co-President; and Richard Ross, Co-President, Breaking Glass Pictures
I strongly protest against your distribution of the documentary which promotes the blasphemous play Corpus Christi in which a Christ-like figure reportedly has sexual relations with his apostles,
The Person of Jesus Christ is Sacred and untouchable. To portray Him as a homosexual, or even to insinuate it, is an unspeakable blasphemy which I reject with all my soul.
I ask you to immediately cancel the planned release and distribution of this documentary and to offer a public apology to Our Lord Jesus Christ and to all God fearing Americans.

That’s it, and I repeat:  we cannot just sit down and shut up.  And we cannot let the precious name of our Lord be dragged down into homosexual sin. 
That’s why I’m asking you to
Click Right Here.