I think I'll take one today. South.
I'll bring along the laptop for wi-fi opportunities.
Y'all just pray that I stay awake during Kansas. I'm already yawning just thinking about it. God bless those folks, I'm sure they like it there, and to be perfectly honest, there are some VERY nice Kansas places elsewhere besides I-35, but the view from the interstate leaves much to be desired... and it doesn't help that they make you PAY A TOLL through the majority of it. That just ensures there won't be anyplace interesting to pull over and enjoy.
It costs me five bucks of toll to drive through Kansas. They oughta be paying ME five bucks. I'd be a lot less inclined to diss them. Just a suggestion.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Today's English lesson
[from Common Errors In English]
Nauseous/Nauseated
Many people say, when sick to their stomachs, that they feel "nauseous" (pronounced "NOSH-uss" or "NOZH-uss") but traditionalists insist that this word should be used to describe something that makes you want to throw up: something nauseating. They hear you as saying that you make people want to vomit, and it tempers their sympathy for your plight. Better to say you are "nauseated," or simply that you feel like throwing up.
Examples:
WRONG: Celery makes me nauseous. (if you're the one who's nauseous, then you're the one making people want to puke... not celery)
RIGHT: Celery makes me nauseated. [or] Celery makes me want to puke.
RIGHT: The nauseous aroma of celery was enough to drive me out of the room.
Doesn't it feel good to learn new stuff?
Nauseous/Nauseated
Many people say, when sick to their stomachs, that they feel "nauseous" (pronounced "NOSH-uss" or "NOZH-uss") but traditionalists insist that this word should be used to describe something that makes you want to throw up: something nauseating. They hear you as saying that you make people want to vomit, and it tempers their sympathy for your plight. Better to say you are "nauseated," or simply that you feel like throwing up.
Examples:
WRONG: Celery makes me nauseous. (if you're the one who's nauseous, then you're the one making people want to puke... not celery)
RIGHT: Celery makes me nauseated. [or] Celery makes me want to puke.
RIGHT: The nauseous aroma of celery was enough to drive me out of the room.
Doesn't it feel good to learn new stuff?
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Nitefall On The River
Tonight I was privileged to play with Big Mike Edwards and Holdin' On Tight at the amphitheater down on the Des Moines River for the "Nitefall On The River" concert series. We opened for Kelley Hunt, who's a terrific blues pianist and vocalist out of Kansas City.
BlueFish and his family came to enjoy the music, and he took a few snapshots of the event.
Totally, totally fun. I love doing this.
BlueFish and his family came to enjoy the music, and he took a few snapshots of the event.
Totally, totally fun. I love doing this.
Obesity surgery for teens?
Gastric Bypass Might Be A Smart Move For Teens
There are a couple of avenues of thought, at least for me, where this is concerned. First, I think that surgical means are a completely acceptable and wonderful method for combating something that's been a problem for a very long time. The quote from the Katz guy about "has it come to this?" is a ridiculous one, in my estimation. "It's about time" is more appropriate... a "collective gasp from the public" is overdramatic at best. Please. There've been obese people, teens or no, for a long time. Yes, it does seem to be increasing in numbers, but I'm willing to lay odds that at some point someone's going to figure out why -- and it's not going to be laden with guilt over how we're raising our kids. There's more to the puzzle, we just haven't figured it out yet. In the meantime, here's a way we can help. Not cure, necessarily, and not for everyone, but here's one good way to help.
Having to endure adolescence as an average-sized person is bad enough. Enduring it with some obvious physical difference, whether it be misshapen teeth or severe acne or misaligned eyes, is torment. Unnecessary torment, in those cases, because we get braces and take Accutane and have eye surgery to fix those things. So somehow it's not acceptable to "fix" obesity? I don't buy that.
Surgical treatment of obesity, however, may not be the long-term fix that one would hope for. For a kid who loses the weight, becomes average-sized, and then is able to stay that way -- and there are those who will -- it's a life-saving miracle. For a kid whose results aren't quite that great, or who gains it back because they out-eat it or sidestep it... well, it's not going to help that kid.
Some of us who undergo bariatric surgery -- many of us, probably -- have a lot more psychological issues with personal appearance, food, what-have-you. There are self-destructive forces at work within us, rejection and anger and fear, things that prevent us from being able to use the surgical tool to its full effectiveness. For adolescents, however, those issues are in their formative stages and could be well-served by some good long-term counseling to help them deal with their new bodies better.
I think that bariatric surgery -- for teens and adults -- is a very good thing whose time has come, and I think it's underused. But I think that the psychology community hasn't caught up to it yet, which makes it less effective than it could be.
By MICHAEL I. SILVERMAN, ABC News Medical Unit
June 29, 2006 -- Gastric bypass is often seen as the magic bullet for those who desperately need to lose massive amounts of weight.
And while the surgery has its risks, its benefits (mainly reducing the risk of obesity-related diseases like heart attacks and diabetes) seem to outweigh the dangers, raising an important question: What about adolescents? Is teen obesity serious enough to warrant the surgery, too?
New research seems to suggest that the answer is yes. Brazilian doctors followed 42 children ages 13 to 18 for two years after they underwent gastric bypass surgery. These teens lost nearly half their body weight, and it cured those suffering from high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
The study is being presented today at a meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in San Francisco.
While this is good news, some doctors and dietitians remain cautious.
"While the surgeons are looking to show that bariatric surgery is appropriate for all age groups, the public health response should be a collective gasp: Has it come to this?" said Dr. David Katz, ABC News medical contributor. "We are so incapable of preventing obesity in our children, that we will send them to the operating room to fix it."
Doctors should be careful in recommending this surgery to obese teens before they know the long-term results of teens in a clinical trial, said Dr. Paul Shekelle, a health consultant at the RAND Corporation.
"Case reports like this are not sufficient to be the basis for a general recommendation for surgery in this population," he said.
Shekelle said he found "a less rosy picture" when he studied adults 10 years after they'd had obesity surgery. Most regained weight gradually, although they still had a significantly lower weight gain than those who did not have the surgery.
"This is not a quick-fix option," he said, noting that obese teens should not ignore the "upfront risk of the surgery and the lifelong rearrangement of the gastrointestinal system" when considering obesity surgery.
Plus, there is concern that most teens looking at surgery do not understand the long-term risks.
"The short-term gains are expected, but how are they doing long term is the question," said Madelyn Fernstrom, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center.
She and others also note that surgery alone isn't enough. There is still a lot of work to do, such as making massive dietary changes and exercising. Patients need to be wary of falling into old eating habits and regaining their weight.
"They get a 'do-over,' " said Fernstrom. "Anatomical adjustments make it easier, not easy, to lose weight."
Before surgery, Fernstrom's program requires obese teens to participate in a six-month lifestyle program.
Her medical center performs an initial screening with the teen and the teen's family to discuss their options and review what weight loss surgery can do to see if it is a good fit for the teen. After that, they undergo a complete lifestyle and medical evaluation.
"Surgery is the last step," said Fernstorm, who explains to teens that "this surgery is also for adults who have been on diets for longer than you have been alive."
There are a couple of avenues of thought, at least for me, where this is concerned. First, I think that surgical means are a completely acceptable and wonderful method for combating something that's been a problem for a very long time. The quote from the Katz guy about "has it come to this?" is a ridiculous one, in my estimation. "It's about time" is more appropriate... a "collective gasp from the public" is overdramatic at best. Please. There've been obese people, teens or no, for a long time. Yes, it does seem to be increasing in numbers, but I'm willing to lay odds that at some point someone's going to figure out why -- and it's not going to be laden with guilt over how we're raising our kids. There's more to the puzzle, we just haven't figured it out yet. In the meantime, here's a way we can help. Not cure, necessarily, and not for everyone, but here's one good way to help.
Having to endure adolescence as an average-sized person is bad enough. Enduring it with some obvious physical difference, whether it be misshapen teeth or severe acne or misaligned eyes, is torment. Unnecessary torment, in those cases, because we get braces and take Accutane and have eye surgery to fix those things. So somehow it's not acceptable to "fix" obesity? I don't buy that.
Surgical treatment of obesity, however, may not be the long-term fix that one would hope for. For a kid who loses the weight, becomes average-sized, and then is able to stay that way -- and there are those who will -- it's a life-saving miracle. For a kid whose results aren't quite that great, or who gains it back because they out-eat it or sidestep it... well, it's not going to help that kid.
Some of us who undergo bariatric surgery -- many of us, probably -- have a lot more psychological issues with personal appearance, food, what-have-you. There are self-destructive forces at work within us, rejection and anger and fear, things that prevent us from being able to use the surgical tool to its full effectiveness. For adolescents, however, those issues are in their formative stages and could be well-served by some good long-term counseling to help them deal with their new bodies better.
I think that bariatric surgery -- for teens and adults -- is a very good thing whose time has come, and I think it's underused. But I think that the psychology community hasn't caught up to it yet, which makes it less effective than it could be.
Wired: Six Trends Driving The Global Economy
According to Wired, these are the six big trends driving the global economy:
People Power
Video Unlimited
Personalize It
Carbon Killers
Buy It Now
All-Access Economy
Fascinating stuff... and on-target, I believe.
People Power
From Amazon.com to MySpace to craigslist, the most successful Web companies are building business models based on user-generated content. This is perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of the second-generation Web. The tools of production, from blogging to video-sharing, are fully democratized, and the engine for growth is the spare cycles, talent, and capacity of regular folks, who are, in aggregate, creating a distributed labor force of unprecedented scale.
Video Unlimited
Unlike the first days of online music downloads, more content on more screens now means more revenue. At a recent shareholder meeting, GE announced that NBC Universal's digital video offerings had already generated $300 million. More tantalizing still, says NBC Universal digital media president Beth Comstock, NBC has noticed that the new pipelines are actually expanding -- rather than cannibalizing -- the network's audience. "It's increasing the size of the pie," she says.
Personalize It
...Personalization remains the exception in hard goods. But it has become the rule online. Amazon.com uses your purchase and pageview histories to create a unique Web page that includes recommendations tuned to your taste. Netflix looks at past DVD rentals and suggests future choices. Apple's iTunes and Google Video are prodding radio and television out of the broadcast era and into the dawning age of individualized media.
Now the trend toward personalized products is moving into a new arena: pharmaceuticals. Allen Roses, senior VP of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline, made headlines in late 2003 when he said, "The vast majority of drugs -- more than 90 percent -- only work in 30 or 50 percent of the people." Most observers thought he was admitting failure. Actually, he was identifying a vast opportunity: the use of genetic profiles to ensure that ailing individuals receive treatments that work for them.
Carbon Killers
The global market is especially hungry for green technology. Most US multinationals do business in Europe and Asia -- regions that have accepted, and are beginning to enforce, the limits on greenhouse gases imposed by the Kyoto Protocol. Even if the US never ratifies the relatively stringent treaty, US products will soon be competing abroad in markets that are on a low-carbon diet.
Buy It Now
Think of it as R&D by M&A. Corporations are always trying to grow -- creating new products, developing new features, expanding into new markets. The old-school approach is to build a big R&D department. Put smart minds on long leashes, the thinking goes, and perhaps they'll come up with something innovative. But blue-sky research is a drag on the bottom line. Even the most pedestrian form of R&D, product development, requires dedicated staff and a fair amount of experimentation.
What a bother! Why not just buy a smaller firm that's already succeeding in a new market? Cisco long ago adopted this approach -- acquiring 107 companies over a 12-year period ending in 2005 -- and along the way became one of the most valuable tech companies in the world.
All-Access Economy
In the 1970s and '80s, front-runners like Oracle and Microsoft tried to make their proprietary technologies into de facto standards. Owning the standard made a company dominant, allowing it to dictate how customers used its products. Sure, there were drawbacks: With each new product cycle, customers had to tear out the old apps and install the new, and companies selling accessories had to scramble to update their wares. But that was how the tech game was played.
Then along came the Internet -- the apotheosis of open standards. Suddenly, apps didn't need to be written with their own idiosyncratic user interface to run locally on Windows, Mac OS, or Unix. The browser window became the default interface for all kinds of things, from commerce to network administration to stock trading to email. Once installed on a vendor's server, updates were available immediately. And the open environment encouraged competition, driving continual improvements.
Fascinating stuff... and on-target, I believe.
You have SO got to be kidding me
What kind of people would show up for something like this?!?!?
If they're weird enough, needy enough, psycho-babblish enough to actually attend one of these, um, events, I'm pretty sure I don't want to touch any of them.
If they're weird enough, needy enough, psycho-babblish enough to actually attend one of these, um, events, I'm pretty sure I don't want to touch any of them.
Today's English lesson
From Common Errors In English.
Today's error:
Accept or Except?
If you offer me Godiva [ed. -- Stam is better] chocolates I will gladly accept them -- except for the candied violet ones. Just remember that the "X" in "except" excludes things -- they tend to stand out, be different. In contrast, just look at those two cozy "C's" snuggling up together. Very accepting. And be careful; when typing "except" it often comes out "expect."
Today's non-error (or, stuff your English teacher might've fussed at you about, but isn't actually an error):
Split infinitives
For the hyper-critical, "to boldly go where no man has gone before" should be "to go boldly..." It is good to be aware that inserting one or more words between "to" and a verb is not strictly speaking an error, and is often more expressive and graceful than moving the intervening words elsewhere; but so many people are offended by split infinitives that it is better to avoid them except when the alternatives sound strained and awkward.
There now... don't you feel smarter already?
Today's error:
Accept or Except?
If you offer me Godiva [ed. -- Stam is better] chocolates I will gladly accept them -- except for the candied violet ones. Just remember that the "X" in "except" excludes things -- they tend to stand out, be different. In contrast, just look at those two cozy "C's" snuggling up together. Very accepting. And be careful; when typing "except" it often comes out "expect."
Today's non-error (or, stuff your English teacher might've fussed at you about, but isn't actually an error):
Split infinitives
For the hyper-critical, "to boldly go where no man has gone before" should be "to go boldly..." It is good to be aware that inserting one or more words between "to" and a verb is not strictly speaking an error, and is often more expressive and graceful than moving the intervening words elsewhere; but so many people are offended by split infinitives that it is better to avoid them except when the alternatives sound strained and awkward.
There now... don't you feel smarter already?
Plug for a fellow artist
Found this on Etsy and thought it sounded interesting...
Don't know if it's legit or not, but if it is, it's pretty cool.
SIZE: Aprox. 10 x 10 cm.
MEDIUM: Mixed Water-based Media on Acid-free Watercolor Paper
ORIGINAL/REPRO: Original
ABOUT THE ARTIST
You might be surprised to know that the artist, Dhanat Plewtianyingthawee, is only a little boy of 3 years and 10 months old with his special talent in art. He paints over one thousand remarkable big and small abstracts and already had his first solo art exhibition in Bangkok last April 2006.
BACKGROUND
The whole story started when he was allowed to play with his mommy's artist-grade water-soluble wax pastels in September 2005. It was a great fun for him to scratch and then paint with water using various techniques his mom taught e.g. drip, drop, splash, sprinkle, spray, and many more. To his parent's surprise, the output was far much better than they had ever expected.
SUCCESS STORY
Seeing those beautiful works, his mom cropped, cut, designed the background and assembled the original art piece to the front to make greeting cards and started selling them. Those original art greeting cards were very successful. Within a couple weeks last year, about one thousand cards were sold.
THE WORLD'S YOUNGEST ARTIST HAD SOLO ART EXHIBITION
In order to prepare building up stock for this year's greeting cards, he started creating new paintings since early January 2006 using new media and materials. Then, he surprised everyone again. This time, he had created lots of big paintings (some are the whole piece of watercolor paper as large as 50x70 cm. or 74x94 cm. with frame) which were too beautiful to be cut into small pieces.
His colorful abstract paintings impressed many people including professional artists and the Managing Director of TRSC International Lasik Center, Thailand, offered to host a solo art exhibition for him last April 2005. The show named 'Boundless Imagination'.
Don't know if it's legit or not, but if it is, it's pretty cool.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Weird phobias
I myself am afflicted with a touch of arachnophobia, or the irrational fear of spiders. The idea of having a spider touching me -- why, the very idea is making the hair on my neck stand up right now. I have, however, progressed toward reasonability in this matter. I've studied them, tried to understand them, etc. If one of the little hairy black jumping spiders got near me, I doubt I'd flinch now because I'm fairly certain they don't even recognize me as something to bite. Other spiders, though, still hold a pretty strong sway over me.
But if you think about it, there's something of a thread of logic in a fear of spiders, as there is in a fear of snakes. Some of those creatures can actually cause harm (although not many). But a fear of pickles????
Here's a fun page about phobias.
And here's an excellent web compendium on phobias. According to this site, the ten most common phobias are:
Hmmm. I would've expected fear of snakes and fear of flying on an airplane to have made the list above fear of drafts... anyway, do you have any phobias, or just fears that may not be to the "phobia" level?
But if you think about it, there's something of a thread of logic in a fear of spiders, as there is in a fear of snakes. Some of those creatures can actually cause harm (although not many). But a fear of pickles????Here's a fun page about phobias.
And here's an excellent web compendium on phobias. According to this site, the ten most common phobias are:
Agoraphobia (fear of open spaces or of crowded public places)
Claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces)
Acrophobia (fear of heights)
Mysophobia (fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs)
Xenophobia (fear of strangers or foreigners)
Necrophobia (fear of death or dead things)
Brontophobia (fear of thunder)
Carcinophobia (fear of getting cancer)
Aerophobia (fear of drafts or of breathing in noxious substances)
Arachnophobia (fear of spiders)
Hmmm. I would've expected fear of snakes and fear of flying on an airplane to have made the list above fear of drafts... anyway, do you have any phobias, or just fears that may not be to the "phobia" level?
Cowtow or Kowtow?
Kowtow, actually, according to the Common Errors In English web site.Kowtow -- it's something I hate doing, and something I've had to do a few times in my life. Actually, I don't mind doing it when it's deserved, but it chaps me REAL BAD when I have to do it even though I was NOT WRONG. There have been exactly two times in my life that will stand out forever in my memory where I've had to do that. Talk about cementing the end of a relationship... that will certainly do it.
Anyway, I love books and web sites that give a nice comprehensive listing of common errors in usage. I may do an "Corrected Error of the Day" feature along with the "Fortune Cookie" thing. It's the least I can do, as I really am an English teacher at heart.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
More North Korean abductee news
Mother visits North Korea to Meet Abductee Son WednesdayAfter a 28-year separation, a South Korean woman is scheduled to reunite with her son who was reportedly abducted by North Korea.
The reunion comes amid tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang over the fate of a Japanese woman also kidnapped by the communist state.
The South Korean abductee, Kim Young-nam, 45, is presumed to have been kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1978 when he was a teenager. He is believed to have married Megumi Yokota, an abducted Japanese woman whose case has become a focus of Japan's anger at Pyongyang for snatching its citizens.
Yokota was 13 when North Korean agents kidnapped her in 1977.
Kim's mother, Choi Kye-wol, 82, and his sisters left Tuesday for Mt. Kumgang in North Korea, where the 14th round of inter-Korean family reunions is underway, to meet Kim.
A Unification Ministry official said Kim will bring along Hyegyeong, the daughter he supposedly had with Yokota, as well as his new wife and children.
"I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. It would have been good if Young-nam's father was alive," Choi said before leaving for the North Korean mountain resort.
She took cosmetics for her granddaughter as well as a carton each of American and Japanese cigarettes for her son, saying, "I heard he likes them."
The reunion is part of a Red Cross-sponsored program to reunite separated families of the two Koreas. Choi is included in the fourth batch of some 100 South Korean families traveling to the North for the reunion sessions until June 30.
Pyongyang has said Yokota married a North Korean man in 1986 and gave birth to Hyegyeong.
It said the Japanese woman committed suicide in 1994 while being treated for depression.
The North handed over what it claimed were Yokota's remains to the Japanese government, but DNA testing on the remains indicated they belonged to someone else. Tokyo believes Yokota is still alive in the reclusive North.
Tokyo and Washington have increased pressure on North Korea to account for the abduction issue, while Seoul has pursued quiet diplomacy not to provoke the North.
Some South Korean officials expressed concerns the meeting may only help solidify the North's previous claims that Japan's DNA tests were flawed, if not manipulated.
"The North Korean side seems to have a lot to say through Kim's mouth," a ministry official at the site of family reunions told reporters.
Where's Stanley Kubrick when you need him?
Sounds like a well-worn movie plot:Tribal Curse Haunts Launch Pad
Can a launch pad be cursed? Engineers laugh -- but nervously.
An Air Force launch site called SLC-6 (pronounced "Slick-6") at Vandenberg Air Force Base has become legendary in aerospace circles for an eerie history of failed programs and botched launches.
Now on Tuesday, the Boeing Corporation will tempt fate and try to launch a new spy satellite from the unlucky site -- 40 years after the Air Force built the pad over an Indian burial ground in a rocky stretch of California desert.
"I wish them good luck and hope they have a good launch," says retired NASA astronaut Robert Crippen, who is well acquainted with the legend. "If I've got one disappointment in my career, it was I never had the chance to fly out of SLC-6."
Construction on Space Launch Complex 6 began on March 12, 1966. The site was originally intended for the Titan III launch vehicle, and was to be part of the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory, or MOL, program -- a plan to put military astronauts in orbit to keep an eye on the Soviet Union.
According to space historian Robert Ash, construction workers building the pad unearthed human remains from an ancient Chumash Indian burial ground. Members of the tribe asked the Air Force to study the area and move the remains to another location, but the military brass ignored the request and continued construction.
Naturally this angered the Chumash tribe, and, according to local legends, a tribe leader put a curse on the site.
Hey, BlogDog... wanna know how to get rid of those tomato hornworms?
Chumash 'em.
[ducking]
Potato guns don't kill people...
Woman hurt in spud-gun blastA PERTH woman has been shot in the face by a spud gun as she peered down the barrel of the homemade weapon.
The 24-year-old received serious facial injuries when hit in the face with a solid paper ball after the gun accidentally fired.
Police said she had found her boyfriend's gun, designed to fire potatoes and other projectiles at high speed, in a shipping container in their backyard.
She picked it up and looked down the barrel as she placed it on the ground.
"But the spud-gun ignition switch fired and a solid paper ball hit her in the face," a police spokesman said.
Officers are yet to interview the woman, who is being treated in Royal Perth Hospital.
Her boyfriend has been summonsed to appear in court at a later date on a charge of possessing a controlled weapon.
Umm, yeah, banning POTATO GUNS is such a huge crime deterrent. Nanny governments are so ridiculous.
They'll get my potato gun when they pry it from my... oh, wait. I don't have a potato gun. I have a PELLET GUN. Mmm, yeah, now there's some serious firepower. It's my trusty varmint gun, and I keep it safely away from the kids. Kinda sad, really, because by the time I was Martha's age, I was quite good at operating the Daisy. Maybe someday we'll move back to a more rural setting where I can teach Isaac to use it. A good, responsible kid oughta know how to use a BB gun... just not in the inner-city. [grin]
I swear, I sometimes think we really ARE the Beverly Hillbillies, eating the weeds that grow in our yard, surreptitiously doing away with the squirrels... no see-ment ponds on the property, though.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Saving lives with rice
Over at Tech Central Station I saw an article about rice that's being engineered to save lives... and the Luddites who are trying to prevent the leap forward. This kind of development is what could bring about real world change. Too bad the scaremongers and greenies can't see it for what it is.
American Idolatry
I was wondering if anyone else but me ever noticed it. Apparently the Internet Monk has. An excerpt:How did it become possible to say that to be a follower of Jesus is to be a flag-waving American? Or a flag-waving anything for that matter? The Bible doesn't have a single sentence that takes us in this direction. It's simplistic idolatry and pure invention. The Kingdom of God isn't represented by the government of the United States, no matter how superior our constitution might be to that of other nations (and I believe that, in God's common grace, it is.) Our values and way of life may be influenced by a heritage that includes Christianity, but in what delusion does America, today, inspire this "cross and flag" version of our culture? It's bizarrely idolatrous.
"God and Country" worship is common in Kentucky and the Bible Belt. The message is clear: Jesus is pro-America, and the agenda of America, American culture, American policy and American religion, are all superior to others because, as Bob Dylan said, God is on our side. One cannot be a Bible-believing Christian and not be a flag-waving American.
My own Southern Baptist convention is neck-deep in this mindset. Baptist Press is an echo chamber for the Bush Administration and Right leaning Republicans on most issues. Recently, Lifeway published Judge Roy Moore's book and heavily promoted it. It isn't a question of whether Judge Moore's views are palatable or possible. The question is why would Lifeway publish a book like this at all and promote it in its stores? Why would SBC leaders - with all their talk of "Kingdom" priorities, get involved in patriotic worship every year?
I have tended to find some reason to miss church services around July 4th every year, just because I feel very, very compromised by the whole "God & Country" stuff. Please don't get me wrong; I do love my country. But when I'm in church, I want to worship GOD, not the USA, and I fear that many people have the two inextricably intermingled. God is not a God of borders or of nations. He is not bound by the Constitution or the United Nations. If we're going to celebrate national holidays, let's do it somewhere besides a worship service, k? Just my opinion.
The Megumi Yokota story
Film on Japan abductee seeks to raise awareness
TOKYO (Reuters) - The American makers of a documentary about a Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean agents hope that telling her story will bring her plight, and those of other abductees, to a wider audience around the world.
Megumi Yokota, who disappeared on her way home from school in 1977 at the age of 13, has become the iconic face of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang's agents to help train spies during the 1970s and 1980s.
But a meeting in April between Megumi's mother, Sakie, with President Bush in Washington was barely mentioned in U.S. media, despite saturation coverage in Japan.
"We just felt that this was a story that had to be told, especially in North America, because most people in North America have never heard of it," said Chris Sheridan, who with his wife Patty Kim produced "Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story," set to be shown to the abductees' families on Tuesday.
"It's just completely shocking, and most people can't believe that that would happen. In fact, most people didn't believe that it happened."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il admitted in 2002 that 13 Japanese had been abducted. Five were repatriated in 2002 and Pyongyang says the other eight, including Yokota, are dead.
I hope this movie comes to Des Moines. I'd like to see it. I can't imagine what her mom and dad have had to endure all these years. North Korea's government is truly, truly evil. I grieve for all people trapped behind its borders.
EHHH-verybody must get stoned
Somalia's Islamists to stone rapists to death
This is a refreshing turn of events. I thought the Islamofreakazoids only stoned the victims of rape. Of course, since the women have obviously identified themselves along with their attackers, the women's brothers and fathers will probably slit their throats for them.
This is a refreshing turn of events. I thought the Islamofreakazoids only stoned the victims of rape. Of course, since the women have obviously identified themselves along with their attackers, the women's brothers and fathers will probably slit their throats for them.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
An evening of blues
Red Fish and I went over to Blues On Grand to see Louisiana Red and Honeyboy Edwards sing some seriously old-time Delta blues.
Honeyboy Edwards is three days away from being 91 years old.
Louisiana Red was born in 1932. His mom died a week after he was born, and his dad was killed by the KKK when he was only nine years old. When he sang about growing up in an orphanage home, he was singing about his own life.
Red Fish brought along her knitting, as usual.
Listening to those two old men playing their guitars and singing toothless, gravelly old blues music... listening to the living history there on the stage... that was the quietest house I've ever heard at Blues On Grand. Usually there are always people up milling around, laughing and talking... but not tonight. You could've heard a pin drop.
Listening to those two old men playing their guitars and singing toothless, gravelly old blues music... listening to the living history there on the stage... that was the quietest house I've ever heard at Blues On Grand. Usually there are always people up milling around, laughing and talking... but not tonight. You could've heard a pin drop.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Nitefall On The River
This Thursday evening, beginning at 7 PM, bring your lawn chair or your blanket and come enjoy an evening of smoov, groovy blues. Big Mike & Holdin' On Tight opens for Kelly Hunt that night, and this little blogger will be playin' and singin'. It's on the river in downtown Des Moines, at the amphitheater.Bring the family, and if you're there, make sure you come say hi to me.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Stuff I saw while walking
These are some pictures I took while on a walk a few days ago across the freeway overpass that's a block from my house.
I thought this photo looked a little like the Finland flag:
This was spraypainted onto the inside wall of the bridge's sidewalk:
Some crown vetch:
And some chicory:
There is an enormous and very old cemetery just on the other side of this freeway overpass. My next major photo-hunt is going to take place in there; there's gotta be some super-cool blog fodder in there.
I thought this photo looked a little like the Finland flag:
This was spraypainted onto the inside wall of the bridge's sidewalk:
Some crown vetch:
And some chicory:
There is an enormous and very old cemetery just on the other side of this freeway overpass. My next major photo-hunt is going to take place in there; there's gotta be some super-cool blog fodder in there.
Four planets shine in the evening
Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are all visible in the night sky right now.
Linger outside after dark and you'll be in for a treat next week. Four of our solar system's bright planets will be arranged in the western skies at the end of June. Jupiter, the brightest "star" in the sky is the easiest to see, but Mercury, Mars and Saturn are there too. The waxing crescent Moon will pass right through the region over several days, pointing the way to these other planets. The best nights to see the planets are on June 27th and 28th, about 45 minutes after sunset.
As if to celebrate the change of the seasons, four of our solar system's bright planets are putting on a parade at dusk during the last week of June. One of them -- giant Jupiter -- gleams brilliantly low in the south as it gets dark. You can't miss it; it's the brightest point of light in the sky these evenings. You might easily overlook the other three worlds -- Mercury, Mars, and Saturn -- which are much fainter and setting in the west-northwest during twilight. Thankfully the waxing crscent Moon comes to the rescue, pointing the way to the planetary trio. And your eyes are all you need to enjoy the spectacle -- no telescope required!
The best nights to watch the planet parade are Tuesday and Wednesday, June 27th and 28th. After dinner, go outside and find a spot with a clear horizon to the west-northwest, where the Sun sets at this time of year. By about 45 minutes after sundown, you should be able to spot the very thin crescent Moon to the upper left of where the Sun set. Don't look too high up; the Moon will stand low over the horizon, by no more than the width of your outstretched hand seen at arm's length.
Mars, Saturn, and Mercury form a diagonal line in the sky. During twilight on the 27th, skywatchers in North America can find Saturn by looking a few finger-widths to the upper left of the Moon, and fainter Mercury about the same distance below the Moon. Mars, which looks distinctly ruddy compared to its yellow-white neighbors, is upper left of Saturn. The darker the sky, the easier it'll be to see the planets, though they're getting lower by the minute, so if you wait too long, they'll set! Binoculars will make easier work of finding the trio, and they'll show you craters and plains on the Moon too!
On the next evening, June 28th, the diagonal line of planets starts just below the lunar crescent, which is now slightly thicker than it was the night before. If you aim your binoculars at the Moon and then lower them slightly, you'll come right to Mars. Saturn and Mercury continue the line to the lower right.
Although it looks like the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Mercury are all bunched together in space, they're not. It's just a cosmic coincidence that they're all in the same part of the sky as seen from Earth in late June. The Moon, orbiting the Earth, is about 240,000 miles away. Mercury, orbiting the Sun, is nearly 270 times more distant, about 65 million miles away. Mars, the next planet out from Earth, is several times farther still, some 215 million miles away. And remote Saturn is nearly a billion miles out!
So why does Saturn appear brighter than both Mars and Mercury? Because it's much bigger. Mercury and Mars are barely half the size of Earth, whereas Saturn is almost 10 Earths in diameter.
While you have to race against time to catch Mars, Saturn, and Mercury before they set, you can take a more leisurely approach to Jupiter these evenings, since it remains visible well into the dark of night. (Jupiter, about 11 times wider than Earth and the biggest planet in our solar system, is currently more than 400 million miles away.)
Binoculars will show as many as four faint dots in a line straddling Jupiter; these are the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. You can watch them change position from night to night as they circle the planet. If you have a telescope, you'll get a much clearer view of this miniature "solar system," and you'll see dark belts and bright zones in Jupiter's atmosphere as well. For help identifying which moon is which, see the handy JavaScript utility at Sky & Telescope.
Thank you, State 29
For saying exactly what I was thinking. Go, and read this post all the way to the end. Please.
Teenage hormones gone very, very awry
I cringed when this story first broke, and reading the followups, I can still remember my own stupid teenage years and how close I came several times to seriously screwing up my entire life.
Teen plans to marry man she met on MySpace
GAH!!! Dude, your child is about to be sucked into a MURDEROUS CULT whose proponents want you DEAD. She needs some serious, serious de-programming.
Oh, great. He has guilt. Yes, I would imagine that lack of communication has something to do with it, but non-divorced families have that problem as well. This man suffers from divorce-guilt. Get over it, man.
GIRLFRIEND!!! What do you THINK is going to happen?!? DUH! You will convert and you will become one of the hijab drones. It happens to all of them. For Pete's sake, think through this!!! But she can't, because she's in luuuuuuv.
You can bet he will. And if after a year she thinks better of it and decides she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life covered from head to toe and being a third-class human being (a daughter of infidels AND a woman... seriously low on the totem pole), he will chase her down anyway.
Another one bites the dust, I'm guessing. She's already seventeen, and it's likely to be too late.
When I was a teenager, I was very much like this girl. I'm soooo glad that the internet wasn't around then, because I can totally see myself doing something like this. I was determined, I was smart, I was headstrong, and I figured things out.
Makes me spend a lot of sleepless nights now, as a mother. [shudder]
Teen plans to marry man she met on MySpace
June 23, 2006 -- A Michigan teenager who met a man on the Internet and secretly flew to the Middle East to meet him before being captured by the FBI still plans to marry him, she says.
"I love him very much," Katherine Lester told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive television interview. "I'm definitely going to marry him."
Lester, who turned 17 on Wednesday, first met Abdullah Jimzawi, 20, seven months ago on the popular Web site MySpace.com. She said she fell in love with him, and together they devised a plan so the two could be together.
Lester lied to her parents, told them she needed a passport to go to Canada with friends, and then disappeared from her mother's home on June 5. The family was frantic.
"Please come home, Katherine," Mary Lester, Lester's sister, tearfully pleaded to cameras when the teenager disappeared. "Please. We need you."
Lester flew from Detroit to New York and then headed to Israel. The FBI tracked her flight and persuaded her to get off the plane during a layover in Amman, Jordan, on June 8. Her parents were relieved as their prayers had been answered.
"I was very excited, happy," said Terry Lester, the teenager's father. "But up until that moment I was terrified and sad and just praying every moment."
We Can't Live Without Each Other
Lester never saw Jimzawi, but ABC News found him at his home in Jericho in the West Bank.
"We can't live without each other," said Jimzawi, a delivery man who lives at home with his parents. "No one is going to stop us from loving us, you know. And she is going to be with me, and she wants me to be with her. And we won't leave each other ever because we love each other."
Lester and Jimzawi still communicate, but the Lester family now supervises her online activity. A local court took away her passport.
"My initial reaction was to isolate her and lock her up, and keep her safe here in America," Terry Lester said. "But that's unrealistic. If we were to do that, we would lose her confidence."
GAH!!! Dude, your child is about to be sucked into a MURDEROUS CULT whose proponents want you DEAD. She needs some serious, serious de-programming.
Dangers of the Internet?
Lester's story -- and separate incidents between online predators and Web users -- have placed MySpace under increased scrutiny.
"We take seriously our responsibility to provide a safe and well-lit community for all our members," MySpace.com's chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam said. "Every page of our site provides a direct link to safety tips. The Internet is a powerful tool for connecting people with one another and, at the same time, parents are learning that they must teach their teens how to be safe and smart online."
The Lesters say that they do not blame MySpace for their daughter's disappearance, and that other parents shouldn't fear the worst from the Internet.
"I blame myself," Terry Lester said. "But most importantly I blame the breakdown in communication between my family [and Katherine]."
Terry Lester is divorced from Katherine's mother, and shares joint custody of his daughter. The divorced parents partly blame the miscommunication in their separate households for the ordeal.
Oh, great. He has guilt. Yes, I would imagine that lack of communication has something to do with it, but non-divorced families have that problem as well. This man suffers from divorce-guilt. Get over it, man.
"Divorce is so prevalent right now, and we're raising kids in separate homes," said Krista Lester, Katherine's stepmother. "We need to know what's going on in each other's homes."
Taking It Slow
Lester is not accused of breaking any laws, but this week authorities asked a judge to decide whether to classify her as a runaway. If she's declared a runaway, she'll be supervised by a court until her 18th birthday.
Lester says she doesn't intend to try to meet Jimzawi in person until she is 18. She hopes he will come to the United States to marry her.
"Now that our relationship is out in the open, I feel like I don't have to go there to talk to him or to be with him," she said. "Now that this is all over with, I know that if I would have told them [my parents] about him, they would have understood my feelings for him."
Lester did not say whether she would convert to Islam to marry Jimzawi, but said she was researching the Middle East and its culture at her parents' suggestion.
GIRLFRIEND!!! What do you THINK is going to happen?!? DUH! You will convert and you will become one of the hijab drones. It happens to all of them. For Pete's sake, think through this!!! But she can't, because she's in luuuuuuv.
Jimzawi also says talking is enough for now but sooner or later they will be together.
"No one can stop us, you know," he said. "I can wait forever and ever and ever. Till the end of the world."
You can bet he will. And if after a year she thinks better of it and decides she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life covered from head to toe and being a third-class human being (a daughter of infidels AND a woman... seriously low on the totem pole), he will chase her down anyway.
Another one bites the dust, I'm guessing. She's already seventeen, and it's likely to be too late.
When I was a teenager, I was very much like this girl. I'm soooo glad that the internet wasn't around then, because I can totally see myself doing something like this. I was determined, I was smart, I was headstrong, and I figured things out.
Makes me spend a lot of sleepless nights now, as a mother. [shudder]
Whoa... dude...
Since I posted about not using your cell phone during a lightning storm... maybe you shouldn't ride a motorcycle during a lightning storm either.
Motorcyclist killed in rush-hour lightning strike
Phew. Whatta way to go.
I was always forbidden to go near motorcycles as a child. Just before I was born, my dad's very best friend Freddy was killed while riding his motorcycle. Then when I was a middle-schooler, my dad's brother was riding his motorcycle without a helmet and wrecked (probably had been consuming mind-altering substances, I dunno). He spent quite a while in a coma, I think; in fact, he was in the hospital along with his wife, who was giving birth to their third child. He survived, however, extremely physically disabled... yet he would be the first to say that God used his foolishness to get his attention, and he gave his life to Christ and things turned around a little bit.
Anyway, motorcycles were absolute anathema, and I can honestly say that I never rode one ever until this past fall, when one of the guys in the band at church took me for a brief ride on his beautiful Harley. (aside: Mom, it's okay. He went very slowly and we were only on residential streets and I survived and I haven't gone out and bought one, nor will I, so just chill, 'k? 'sall good.)
Of course, I suppose if it's your time to go, it's going to happen. The guy was probably operating his motorcycle appropriately, with helmet on and using proper procedure... and he got smoked with a lightning bolt. Wow.
Motorcyclist killed in rush-hour lightning strike
WESTMINSTER, Colorado (AP) -- A motorcyclist died after he was struck by lightning while riding in rush hour traffic between Denver and Boulder, police said.
Witnesses reported seeing a flash of light shortly before the motorcyclist struck the center divider on U.S. 36 Wednesday, police spokesman Tim Read said.
Gary Missi, 46, of Longmont was pronounced dead at the scene. (Watch where lightning gouged the asphalt -- 1:09)
A coroner's investigation was under way to determine whether the lightning bolt, the collision or something else caused his death, Read said.
The lightning blasted a 4-inch-deep hole in the highway and sent chunks of asphalt hurtling across the highway.
Phew. Whatta way to go.
I was always forbidden to go near motorcycles as a child. Just before I was born, my dad's very best friend Freddy was killed while riding his motorcycle. Then when I was a middle-schooler, my dad's brother was riding his motorcycle without a helmet and wrecked (probably had been consuming mind-altering substances, I dunno). He spent quite a while in a coma, I think; in fact, he was in the hospital along with his wife, who was giving birth to their third child. He survived, however, extremely physically disabled... yet he would be the first to say that God used his foolishness to get his attention, and he gave his life to Christ and things turned around a little bit.
Anyway, motorcycles were absolute anathema, and I can honestly say that I never rode one ever until this past fall, when one of the guys in the band at church took me for a brief ride on his beautiful Harley. (aside: Mom, it's okay. He went very slowly and we were only on residential streets and I survived and I haven't gone out and bought one, nor will I, so just chill, 'k? 'sall good.)
Of course, I suppose if it's your time to go, it's going to happen. The guy was probably operating his motorcycle appropriately, with helmet on and using proper procedure... and he got smoked with a lightning bolt. Wow.
Hey, wait a minute
Illegal immigrant students lobby for chance at financial aid
Ummm, if they're here illegally, why haven't the Feds already descended upon their homes or schools and begun deportation proceedings?
Just askin', is all. Here's the article:
There are so many problems with this, it's hard to know where to start.
Ummm, if they're here illegally, why haven't the Feds already descended upon their homes or schools and begun deportation proceedings?
Just askin', is all. Here's the article:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Like generations of citizens before them, California State University, Chico, students Alba Miranda, Hector Najera and Rene Ochoa descended on the Capitol on Monday to petition members of the Legislature.
Except the three honor students aren't citizens -- they're illegal immigrants, who under state law have a legal right to in-state tuition at California's colleges and universities, but are not eligible for financial aid.
Dozens of students like them from across California came to Sacramento to urge legislators to support a measure -- Senate Bill 160 by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles -- that would allow them to apply for such assistance.
"This legislation would just allow us to be able to fill out applications and compete for a scholarship," Ochoa said.
The measure has cleared the Senate and is scheduled to be heard Tuesday by the Assembly Higher Education Committee. Cedillo predicts it will land on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk later this summer, as immigration heats up as an election year issue.
Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Schwarzenegger supports the law that allows illegal immigrants who attended a California high school for three years and received a diploma to pay in-state tuition.
"He hasn't taken a position on (SB 160) because he hasn't seen it and it could change before it reaches his desk," Thompson said.
California is one of 10 states to allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition. But Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, and other state lawmakers have introduced bills to repeal the 3-year-old law.
"I just don't believe in rewarding those who have entered our nation in defiance of our laws and sovereignty," McClintock said. "That not only encourages illegal immigration, it's an insult to the millions of legal residents who obeyed our laws."
McClintock disagrees with the governor's support of the in-state tuition law.
"All resources are finite," McClintock said. "Giving tuition subsidies or financial aid to foreign nationals, illegally in this country, means denying that same opportunity to legal residents."
But Democrats counter that these students have spent most of their lives in the United States, and should not be punished because their parents entered illegally.
"We invest in their K-12 education, and do so because we believe that all children should be educated so that we can prepare them for the work force," Cedillo said. "Why would we then hinder them when they're admitted to our colleges and universities?"
SB 160 would require the California community college and California state university systems -- and request the University of California system -- to allow these students to apply and compete for all student aid programs.
Most of the eligible students come from low-income families, Cedillo said. Supporters say that because they are not eligible for aid many high-performing students have not been able to attend college, or have had to drop out.
During the first 2 1/2 years of the legislation, about 18,000 community college students qualified for in-state tuition under the new law.
University of California records show that about 430 undocumented immigrants who graduated from a high school in the state qualified for in-state tuition in 2004-05. The California State University system does keep tally.
Many of these youngsters, Cedillo said, are honor students who "have overcome the greatest challenges and yet perform at the highest levels."
The three Chico State students who spent Monday urging legislators to support the measure fit that profile.
They arrived in the United States from Mexico with their parents who worked as farmworkers. Najera said his mother fled with her three children after his father was murdered, fearing they would be next.
"I've worked very hard," said Najera, adding that financial aid would ease the hardship on his family. "I want to be a productive member of society, but in order to do so, I need to finish my education."
All three students said they worked in the fields with their parents, learned a new language, graduated from high school with A-averages and have been honor students in college.
Because she is not eligible for financial aid, Miranda said she has had to juggle jobs and not been able to concentrate on her studies.
"I can see this from the other side of this issue," she said. "But by helping us, you're helping us contribute to the country."
There are so many problems with this, it's hard to know where to start.
Terrorism on the home front
Official: 7 Arrested in Sears Tower plot
By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI -- Seven people were arrested Thursday in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings in the U.S., including the
FBI office here, a federal law enforcement official said.
As part of the raids tied to the arrests, FBI agents swarmed a warehouse in Miami's Liberty City area, using a blowtorch to take off a metal door. One neighbor said the suspects had been sleeping in the warehouse while running what seemed to be a "military boot camp."
The official told The Associated Press the alleged plotters were mainly Americans with no apparent ties to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist organizations. He spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt news conferences planned for Friday in Washington and Miami.
Miami U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said in a statement that more details about the probe would be released Friday.
"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations," said Richard Kolko, spokesman for FBI headquarters in Washington. He declined further comment.
FBI Director Robert Mueller, questioned about the case during an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," said he couldn't offer many details because "it's an ongoing operation."
"We are conducting a number of arrests and searches" in Miami, Mueller said, which were expected to be wrapped up Friday morning.
Managers of the Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building, said in a statement that they speak regularly with the FBI and local law enforcement about terror threats and that Thursday "was no exception."
"Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions," the statement said.
Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their apparently militaristic group.
A man calling himself Brother Corey and claiming to be a member of the group told CNN that the individuals who worship at the building call themselves the "Seas of David."
He dismissed any suggestion that the men were contemplating violence. "We are peaceful," he said. He added that the group studies the Bible and has "soldiers" in Chicago, but is not a terrorist organization.
Residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men, who appeared to be in their teens or 20s, had lived in the area about a year.
The men slept in the warehouse, said Tashawn Rose, 29. "They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard."
She talked to one of the men about a month ago: "They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah."
Rose said the men tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class. "It was weird," she said.
Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group sometimes had young children with them. At times, he added, the men "would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbans."
Xavier Smith, who attends the nearby United Christian Outreach, said the men would often come by the church and ask for water.
"They were very private," said Smith, 33. "The spoke with like an accent, sort of a Jamaican accent."
The warehouse owner declined comment. "I heard the news just like you guys," George F. Mobassaleh told the AP. "I can't talk to you."
Gov. Jeb Bush was briefed on the situation Thursday, according to his spokeswoman, Alia Faraj.
"We have great confidence in the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who are committed to keeping our country safe," Faraj said.
She added that there has been greater communication between state and federal agencies since the 2001 terror attacks.
Security at the 110-floor Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark, was ramped up after the Sept. 11 attacks, and the 103rd-floor skydeck was closed for about a month and a half.
A spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Illinois officials had been in contact with the FBI about the arrests. He would not comment further, referring additional questions to the FBI.
The FBI's headquarters in Miami sits near a residential neighborhood just east of Interstate 95.
A huge crowd -- up to 250,000 people -- was expected downtown Friday for a parade to honor the NBA champion Miami Heat. Security measures consistent with such an event were in place, city officials said, and the raids were not expected to affect it.
Several terrorism investigations have had south Florida links. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, and several plots by Cuban-Americans against Fidel Castro's government have been based in Miami.
Jose Padilla, a former resident once accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb in the U.S., is charged in Miami with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremists. Padilla's trial is set for this fall.
The BBC's site reports:
The FBI has arrested seven people in the US city of Miami who were planning to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and other targets, officials say.
The arrests were made in the poor Liberty City area of north Miami, officials said, but no weaponry or bomb-making equipment was found.
The seven, mainly Americans, had no apparent links to international terror.
Reports suggested a US agent may have infiltrated the group by posing as a member of al-Qaeda.
"In the past couple of days, the US government has taken into custody seven people who were conspiring to conduct jihad [holy war] in the United States," one official told the Reuters news agency.
"They thought they were dealing with al-Qaeda," he said, adding that they hoped to buy weapons.
Unconfirmed media reports said that five of those detained were US citizens, and the other two were foreigners, including one Haitian.
'Brainwashed'
Neighbours in the Liberty City area spoke cautiously of the men, who were described as Muslims and apparently slept in a warehouse where they were arrested.
One told the Associated Press that the men ran a "military boot camp" from the building.
"They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard," said Tashawn Rose.
"They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah," she added.
Targets
As well as the 435-metre (1,450-foot) Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US, the group were planning to target a federal building in Miami, and some FBI buildings, officials said.
But the seven were not posing any immediate danger, according to the FBI.
"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area," said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
There were a large number of law enforcement officials involved in the operation, one local businessman told AP.
"There is a ton of guys in uniforms moving around, blocking the streets," said Cedric Thomas.
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is due to give more details of the raids at a news conference later on Friday.
It will be interesting to see where this leads...
Mad Cow Disease epidemic isn't even close to being overwith yet
Human mad cow epidemic may be underestimated
So basically this means there could be LOTS more people with mad cow disease and won't know it for years to come. Ewwww.
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - People could be infected with the human form of mad cow disease for more than 50 years without developing the illness, which means the size of a potential epidemic may be underestimated, UK scientists said on Friday.
So far about 160 people have been diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Cases of the fatal disease have also been reported in France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan and the United States.
Estimates have varied widely of how many people are likely to develop the brain illness caused by eating meat products contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
It has been difficult to predict due to the long incubation period, which scientists had thought could be up to 20 years.
But Professor John Collinge and researchers at University College, London believe it could be longer and that an eventual epidemic could be bigger.
"Recent estimates of the size of the vCJD epidemic ... could be substantial underestimations," he said in a report in The Lancet medical journal.
The scientists' findings are based on a study of another human disease called kuru, which like vCJD is caused by a mutated prion brain protein.
Kuru reached epidemic proportions in some parts of Papua New Guinea where cannibalism had been practised up to the 1950s in a ritual where natives ate dead relatives as a mark of respect.
Collinge and his team calculated the minimum incubation period for kuru based on when cannibalism was stopped and the year of birth of the last recorded patient.
According to their calculations, the minimum incubation time ranged from 34-41 years but in men rose to more than 50 years.
They suspect it could be longer for vCJD because the infection was transmitted between species, from cows to humans, which usually takes longer than within the same species.
They also identified a genetic variation in the kuru patients that was linked with extended incubation and resistance to prion disease.
Patients already diagnosed with vCJD could represent a distinct genetic sub group of the population with an unusually short incubation period, according to Collinge.
The Lancet described the study in an editorial as a innovative piece of research.
"Any belief that vCJD incidence has peaked and that we are through the worst of this sinister disease must now be treated with extreme scepticism," it said.
So basically this means there could be LOTS more people with mad cow disease and won't know it for years to come. Ewwww.
When NOT to use your cell phone
Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike riskLONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by lightning, doctors said on Friday.
They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her phone in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was revived, she suffered persistent health problems and was using a wheelchair a year after the accident.
"This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from lighting strike injuries," said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at Northwick Park Hospital in England.
Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to the British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash over the body in what is known as a flashover.
But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries and death.
The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking people while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in China, South Korea and Malaysia.
"The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm," Esprit added.
A foodie's answer to MacGyver
Snacksby is a site where you can list what's in your pantry or fridge and it will tell you what you can make with those items. For those of us who struggle in this area, it's truly revolutionary.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Riiiiiiight
Why does anyone anywhere take Kofi Annan seriously anymore?
Annan: Iran Taking Nuclear Offer Seriously
Kofi Annan has pretty much NO credibility, and neither does anyone from the Iranian government. The Iranians, as Muslims, have no religioius or moral obligation to be truthful to an infidel. Kofi Annan wants to keep his fat salary and his self-importance. Useless windbags. Makes me mad that my tax dollars fund the UN at all.
Annan: Iran Taking Nuclear Offer Seriously
GENEVA - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday that he believes Tehran is taking "very seriously" an offer of incentives to roll back its disputed nuclear program.
"I hope it will give its official answer before too long," Annan said, adding that it might come after the Group of Eight summit conference starting June 29 in Moscow.
But Iran's president said Wednesday his country would take until mid-August to respond to the incentives package, prompting President Bush to accuse Tehran of dragging its feet.
The United States wants a fast response to the offer it made with the four other permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. The partners are holding open the option of seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution against Iran if they find its response unacceptable.
Annan said his talks with Mottaki were "very useful."
"Iran maintains that its interest in nuclear energy is purely for peaceful purposes, and I have stressed to Iranian leaders, including Mr. Mottaki, that it is very much in their interest to convince the world of that by cooperating fully with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Annan told reporters.
Kofi Annan has pretty much NO credibility, and neither does anyone from the Iranian government. The Iranians, as Muslims, have no religioius or moral obligation to be truthful to an infidel. Kofi Annan wants to keep his fat salary and his self-importance. Useless windbags. Makes me mad that my tax dollars fund the UN at all.
What I'm famous for
Yesterday I found out what I'm famous for, at least in the eyes of my kids and my friends' kids.
As I said yesterday, I took my three and my best friend's three to a waterpark. For supper, I took them to CiCi's Pizza. On the way over there, the discussion among the kids was whether or not your molars are baby-teeth that get loose and come out. "Some of them do, but the last couple of molars are permanent and don't come out," I informed them. "The last ones don't even come in until you're a little older."
"Do I have all my molars?" asked Benjamin.
"I don't know, honey. I haven't looked into your mouth to see."
"Are you a dentist?" he joked.
I smiled, but then nearly choked and ran off the road when Nathaniel quipped, "No, but she's a great head-lice checker!"
As I said yesterday, I took my three and my best friend's three to a waterpark. For supper, I took them to CiCi's Pizza. On the way over there, the discussion among the kids was whether or not your molars are baby-teeth that get loose and come out. "Some of them do, but the last couple of molars are permanent and don't come out," I informed them. "The last ones don't even come in until you're a little older."
"Do I have all my molars?" asked Benjamin.
"I don't know, honey. I haven't looked into your mouth to see."
"Are you a dentist?" he joked.
I smiled, but then nearly choked and ran off the road when Nathaniel quipped, "No, but she's a great head-lice checker!"
Yummy weeds
Behold, the humble pokeweed:
This volunteer weed pops up in our backyard every summer. It also grows prolifically in Texas and Oklahoma, where I grew up, and there I used to eat it cooked as greens. The smaller, tenderer leaves are best, and you want to avoid the berries. Granddad says that when he was a kid in southern Oklahoma during the Depression, they also sliced up the stems and fried them like okra. Poke sallet (as I always heard it referred to) has a strong flavor, stronger than collards, and needs to be boiled in a couple of waters to be best. Cooked with salt pork and served with pinto beans and cornbread, there's nothing more completely humble and down-home and just plain good.
This volunteer weed pops up in our backyard every summer. It also grows prolifically in Texas and Oklahoma, where I grew up, and there I used to eat it cooked as greens. The smaller, tenderer leaves are best, and you want to avoid the berries. Granddad says that when he was a kid in southern Oklahoma during the Depression, they also sliced up the stems and fried them like okra. Poke sallet (as I always heard it referred to) has a strong flavor, stronger than collards, and needs to be boiled in a couple of waters to be best. Cooked with salt pork and served with pinto beans and cornbread, there's nothing more completely humble and down-home and just plain good.
Just a thought for today
Sensibility would seem to exclude passion. Since I tend to throw myself passionately into everything I choose to do, I've never really been sensible in my life (that I know of, anyway). One of the first things Rick ever noticed about me was this very thing -- that once I've been convinced of a truth, or once I've made up my mind to do something, I fling myself wholly into it, headlong, with enthusiasm and fervor and fearlessness.
I think it's why I have such a hard time understanding people who never DO anything but safe things. I just can't be that way. Speak the truth, do what you believe, never look back. No fear (other than fear itself), no regrets (other than that which you didn't attempt). I want to be able to look into the mirror and know who's looking back at me, without denial, without shame.
Sensible? No way, man.
Even the monkeys think Beckham is hot
Baboons steal England flagsA safari park is warning visitors to remove England flags from their cars after a group of baboons began stealing them.
The animals have built up a huge collection of flags in the monkey enclosure at Knowsley safari park in Merseyside.
Keepers at the park say the 120-strong troop of baboons have been known to help themselves to windscreen wipers but have now turned their attentions to the World Cup flags.
Safari Park general manager David Ross told the Liverpool Echo: "Many people are wisely removing the flags before they set off on the safari drive.
"But if they forget, the baboons usually take them and they've now built up quite a collection."
He got... juju eyeball
Ecuador uses witch doctor against EnglandThe Ecuador World Cup squad have their own witch doctor -- and he's reportedly put a spell on the England team.
Tzamarenda Naychapi is an Ecuadorian Indian who uses magic for controlling events, according to the Sun.
England insiders roared with laughter when told of the South American team's juju tactics yesterday.
A source said: "They'll need more than a witch doctor to stop us."
The Ecuador players have also been given a book by their coach telling the story of a family motivated by the murder of their cow.
Coach Luis Suarez inspires his players before a game by telling them: "It's time to kill your cow."
Or, according to John Lennon:
Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please
He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me
He bag production he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me
He roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me
I'm detecting a "catastrophe" theme here today
South San Andreas fault set for huge quake: studyBy Deena Beasley and Jeremy Lovell
LOS ANGELES/LONDON (Reuters) - The southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles, which has not had a major rupture for more than 300 years, is under immense stress and could produce a massive earthquake, a new study said on Wednesday.
But exactly when that quake will take place cannot be predicted, the scientist who conducted the study published in the British journal Nature said in an interview with Reuters.
"The fault is accumulating stress at a high rate, but this does not suggest that a rupture is imminent," said Yuri Fialko, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at La Jolla, California. "When the quake will happen nobody knows."
His study found that, given average annual movement rates in other areas of the fault, there could be enough pent-up energy in the southern end to trigger a cataclysmic jolt of up to 10 meters (33 feet).
"This is new evidence that tells us the same story that we have known for a while," said Scott Brandenberg, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles school of engineering. "It's a reminder that we need to be ready for it when it happens."
Fialko said his data taken by satellite is more complete than previous studies because measurements were taken every 20 meters (66 feet) instead of at ground stations 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) apart.
"The observed strain rates confirm that the southern section of the San Andreas fault may be approaching the end of the interseismic phase of the earthquake cycle," he wrote in the science journal Nature.
A sudden lateral movement of seven to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) would be among the largest ever recorded.
'BIG ONE'
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 was produced by a sudden movement of the northern end of the fault of up to 21 feet.
Fialko said there had been no recorded movement at the southern end of the fault -- the 800-mile--long geological meeting point of the Pacific and the North American tectonic plates -- since the dawn of European settlement in the area.
He said this lack of movement correlated with the predicted gaps between major earthquakes at the southern end of the fault of between 200 and 300 years.
"The longer you wait, the higher the likelihood of rupture," the Scripps scientist said.
Ken Hudnut, a scientist at the USGS, said experts have known since 1988 that the southern section of the San Andreas fault is the most likely source of a "Big One."
"We think recurrence is on a level of a few hundred years and the last one was a few hundred years ago, but we don't understand earthquakes well enough to predict when they will happen," he said.
Fialko's study found that elsewhere on the fault there were average slippage rates up to a couple of centimeters (0.8 inch) a year that prevented the build-up of explosive pressure deep underground.
When these became blocked and then suddenly broke free they produced tremors or earthquakes of varying intensity depending on the movement that had taken place before and the duration of the blockage.
Yesterday I had lunch with an artist friend from my church, and we laughed together about all kinds of things. She and her husband lived in southern California for a while several years ago, and when they moved back to the Des Moines area, they attended a church whose building was on the southern edge of the city's airport. She said that whenever she'd be sitting in church on a Sunday morning and a jet would take off, it had the same sound and feel that occurred when an earthquake was starting, and she would automatically clench her buttcheeks together in preparation.
I have done a zillion tornadoes and even a hurricane (Hurricane Allen, 1980), but I have never experienced an earthquake, even though I have visited LA and SanFran several times. I suppose that's probably something I should be thankful for, but I'm the kind of person who likes to have experiences. I'll even get myself lost somewhere on purpose just so I can find my way out and know my way around... or get myself in trouble, just to know what it felt like to do the thing I wasn't supposed to do. [grin] Dunno what that means; either I'm too stupid to rely on others' experiences, or I just have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Probably a bit of both.
Empedocles
Massive underwater volcano discovered off SicilyBy Phil Stewart
ROME (Reuters) - An underwater volcano with a base larger than Washington D.C. has been discovered just off the shores of Sicily, a scientist with Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said on Thursday.
The volcanic structure, which incorporates peaks previously thought to be separate volcanoes, was named Empedocles after the Greek philosopher who named the four classic elements of earth, air, fire and water.
Legend has it that the philosopher died by throwing himself into Mount Etna, the nearby Sicilian volcano.
Giovanni Lanzafame, who works at the institute and led the research, said Empedocles was at least 400 meters (1,300 feet) high -- taller than the Eiffel Tower.
He said the base of the structure was 30 km (18.6 miles) long and 25 km wide, spanning an area larger than the U.S. capital and making it Italy's largest underwater volcano.
But Lanzafame said Sicilians did not need to worry about the sleeping Empedocles. "At this point, there's no imminent danger of an eruption," he told Reuters.
Lanzafame and another official said the volcano had numerous fumaroles, openings in the Earth's crust that emit steam and gases, like the ones at Yellowstone National Park in the United States. But they described it as largely inactive.
The identification of Empedocles came during research into the submerged volcanic island of Ferdinandea just off Sicily's southern coast. Often held to be the tip of a small volcano, Lanzafame said it was just a part of Empedocles.
Volcanic activity has raised the island out of the sea several times in recorded history, with underwater eruptions first described during the first Punic War of 264-241 B.C.
Its emergence in 1831 caused months of international wrangling, with several nations making territorial claims before it submerged again. It is now about 7 meters below the surface of the water.
Cesare Corselli, president of the National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Science, which helped with the research, said previously the volcanic centers had been seen as separate.
"People used to think that there were small centers of emission, distant from each other," he said.
"The hypothesis made by Mr. Lanzafame is that this is a singular volcano that, like alongside Etna as an example, can have a central eruption or a series of lateral eruptions."
Lanzafame said he had been working on the theory about the Empedocles's existence for more than a year before being able to confirm it with new survey equipment.
Wordplay
Crossword puzzle fans get their own movieBy Arthur Spiegelman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Every Sunday morning, a nice, middle-aged man with a soothing voice drives listeners of a radio program heard across the United States to wonder if they are nuts or just stupid.
He is Will Shortz, crossword puzzle editor of The New York Times, a puzzle fanatic since about the age of 9, and the holder of the only known Ph.D. in enigmalogy (the study of puzzles). He is also "Puzzle Master" of National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, in which he and host Liane Hansen conduct deviously clever word games with listeners.
Now the 53-year-old Shortz, one of a select few to make a living out of concocting crossword puzzles and word games, is about to become a movie star thanks to a new documentary called "Wordplay," which is built around him and a few others who have made crossword puzzle solving their life's work.
The film, which opens nationally on Friday, centers on Shortz and a tense little yearly contest he created, called the American Crossword Puzzle tournament.
On NPR, Shortz drives his listeners to distraction with old-fashioned word games because even he has not figured out how to do a radio crossword.
Typically he will ask something like: "Think of a phrase of the form blank and blank. The initials of the two words in the blanks are R and F. Change the first letter of the second word from an F to a V, and the two new words will be synonyms."
"What are they?" asks straight woman Hansen, and Shortz answers, "Well, the phrase is rank and file, which becomes rank and vile."
PLAY ON WORDS
Then he and Hansen pepper a contestant with questions like, "All right, Janice, every answer today is a familiar two-word phrase with the initials W P, as in Word Play. For example, if the clue were something that comes up on the Internet, you would say Web page."
Soon the airwaves are full of phrases like wet paint, waxed paper, Warsaw Pact, wall plug, whipping post, Winter Palace and wolf pack.
"More people know me from the radio show than from the Times," Shortz said the other day in a phone interview for the film, which should make him even better known.
"We appear on 600 stations with an audience of 2 1/2 million. At the Times I edit the puzzles but usually don't write them. On NPR I write them."
His puzzles at the Times are famous for their clever pop-culture references, sly clues and gradual increase in difficulty designed to make you feel like a superhero if you can get the Saturday one done in pen in two minutes or under.
"It is not hard to make a puzzle hard -- all you have to do is use two obscure words. The challenge is to make it fair so that it can be solved. I think the Times puzzle is gold standard of puzzles," he said.
One of the most famous crosswords ever published in the paper is closely examined in the film. It is a puzzle that appeared the day before the 1996 presidential election and asked the question "lead story in tomorrow's newspaper?"
The puzzle, created by Jeremiah Farrell, had two correct answers "Bob Dole Elected" and "Clinton Elected" and hung on a clue to another word that also could go two ways -- bat or cat for black Halloween animal.
Shortz lives, eats and breathes puzzles except for a few hours a day when for fun -- yes fun -- he plays table tennis. "For 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day I am oblivious to everything. It's wonderful."
Persecution.com, June 20th
Here are a few things going on in the rest of the world while we Americans b*tch and moan about this and that.
CHINA (China Aid Association)
CAA learned that a well-known disabled Chinese House church pastor was formally arrested May 26, 2006. Pastor Wang Zaiqing, 43, was accused of illegally printing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature. On May 26, Pastor Wang's wife, Zhang Hongyan, received a formal arrest warrant which stated Pastor Wang was suspected of "being involved in illegal business practices." He had been printing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature to fellow believers free of charge to meet the rapid growth of believers. Legal experts say this is the third such case in which the Chinese government used a criminal business related charge against a house church pastor. "It's totally unacceptable for the Chinese authorities to arrest this pious crippled pastor simply for printing Bibles," said Rev. Bob Fu of CAA. Last April, Pastor Wang's house was searched twice and a number of items confiscated, including Christian literature, hymnals, bank cards and an electronic piano. Pastor Wang, crippled since the age of five, became a Christian in 1993 and later became a very well-known house church planter and preacher in several provinces. Since April 28, Pastor Wang was taken from his home and declared under 'criminal detention' by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Huainan City.
INDONESIA (VOM Canada)
In 2000, Abraham Bentar, a Muslim, came to faith in Jesus Christ. When he was baptized three years later, he told his pastor that he wanted to evangelize Muslims. Since then, Abraham has been actively involved in evangelism to Muslims in Tasikmalaya, West Java through his clothing business. According to sources in Indonesia, Abraham was talking to his Muslim brothers on March 7 when three men burst into his home and assaulted him. He was dragged out of his home where a mob joined in, severely beating him until police intervened. Abraham was then charged with attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. In May, Abraham appeared in court. His brothers were among those who testified that he had tried to convert them to Christianity. The judge sentenced him to four and a half years in prison. When contacts spoke with Abraham's wife, Kristowati, she asked for three Bibles for her husband so that he could share them with his six cellmates.
KAZAKHSTAN (Forum 18)
Baptist Pastor Yaroslav Senyushkevich was fined $856 U.S. on May 18 for leading unregistered religious activity. This is three times the average monthly salary in Kazakhstan. Pastor Senyushkevich, who leads a congregation in the capital Astana, was tried by the capital's inter-district administrative court and fined. The Council of Baptist Churches objected to official demands that they register their congregations with the government. Baptists claim the registration applications in some regions of Kazakhstan require extensive information, such as details of members' ethnicity, family status, religious education of congregational leaders, age, type of work and "the most acute problems worrying parishioners", as well as details of members' political affiliation. "Such registration is a web it's almost impossible to break free of," the Council said.
INDIA (Compass Direct)
The body of Prem Kumar, a 67-year-old preacher from the Church of South India, was found on June 8 in a forest in Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh state. Local authorities denied any religious motive in his death, saying personal rivalry was the most likely reason for the murder. Kumar's son, however, said his father had no enemies and strongly suspected Hindu extremists. A young man had approached Pastor Kumar early that morning and requested he hold a prayer meeting in Rampur Thanda village the same day. Though suspicious, Kumar agreed. When he arrived at the pick-up point, strangers were waiting. Kumar phoned his son and asked him to call frequently. Kumar's cell phone went dead at about 11 a.m. When Kumar's body was discovered, his head was crushed beyond recognition, apparently with heavy stones, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported. A sub-inspector of the Kotagiri police station said the body was identified based on the description of the clothes worn by the preacher. Andhra Pradesh state is ruled by the Congress Party, with Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian, as the chief minister. Religious tensions have been high in the state, with Hindu extremists accusing Reddy of giving a free hand to Christian missionaries.
LAOS/NORTH KOREA (Compass Direct)
The 10 North Korean refugees and two South Korean activists arrested in Laos in May were released into the hands of South Korean embassy staff on Saturday, June 10. The communist authorities in Laos had arrested the 12 on May 31 as they attempted to reach safety in neighboring Thailand. Leaving North Korea without official permission is a serious crime. Those who return with a Bible or admit having contact with Christians in China face certain torture and imprisonment, and, in some extreme cases, execution.
What was the score on that Ghana-USA World Cup game again?
CHINA (China Aid Association)
CAA learned that a well-known disabled Chinese House church pastor was formally arrested May 26, 2006. Pastor Wang Zaiqing, 43, was accused of illegally printing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature. On May 26, Pastor Wang's wife, Zhang Hongyan, received a formal arrest warrant which stated Pastor Wang was suspected of "being involved in illegal business practices." He had been printing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature to fellow believers free of charge to meet the rapid growth of believers. Legal experts say this is the third such case in which the Chinese government used a criminal business related charge against a house church pastor. "It's totally unacceptable for the Chinese authorities to arrest this pious crippled pastor simply for printing Bibles," said Rev. Bob Fu of CAA. Last April, Pastor Wang's house was searched twice and a number of items confiscated, including Christian literature, hymnals, bank cards and an electronic piano. Pastor Wang, crippled since the age of five, became a Christian in 1993 and later became a very well-known house church planter and preacher in several provinces. Since April 28, Pastor Wang was taken from his home and declared under 'criminal detention' by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Huainan City.
INDONESIA (VOM Canada)
In 2000, Abraham Bentar, a Muslim, came to faith in Jesus Christ. When he was baptized three years later, he told his pastor that he wanted to evangelize Muslims. Since then, Abraham has been actively involved in evangelism to Muslims in Tasikmalaya, West Java through his clothing business. According to sources in Indonesia, Abraham was talking to his Muslim brothers on March 7 when three men burst into his home and assaulted him. He was dragged out of his home where a mob joined in, severely beating him until police intervened. Abraham was then charged with attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. In May, Abraham appeared in court. His brothers were among those who testified that he had tried to convert them to Christianity. The judge sentenced him to four and a half years in prison. When contacts spoke with Abraham's wife, Kristowati, she asked for three Bibles for her husband so that he could share them with his six cellmates.
KAZAKHSTAN (Forum 18)
Baptist Pastor Yaroslav Senyushkevich was fined $856 U.S. on May 18 for leading unregistered religious activity. This is three times the average monthly salary in Kazakhstan. Pastor Senyushkevich, who leads a congregation in the capital Astana, was tried by the capital's inter-district administrative court and fined. The Council of Baptist Churches objected to official demands that they register their congregations with the government. Baptists claim the registration applications in some regions of Kazakhstan require extensive information, such as details of members' ethnicity, family status, religious education of congregational leaders, age, type of work and "the most acute problems worrying parishioners", as well as details of members' political affiliation. "Such registration is a web it's almost impossible to break free of," the Council said.
INDIA (Compass Direct)
The body of Prem Kumar, a 67-year-old preacher from the Church of South India, was found on June 8 in a forest in Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh state. Local authorities denied any religious motive in his death, saying personal rivalry was the most likely reason for the murder. Kumar's son, however, said his father had no enemies and strongly suspected Hindu extremists. A young man had approached Pastor Kumar early that morning and requested he hold a prayer meeting in Rampur Thanda village the same day. Though suspicious, Kumar agreed. When he arrived at the pick-up point, strangers were waiting. Kumar phoned his son and asked him to call frequently. Kumar's cell phone went dead at about 11 a.m. When Kumar's body was discovered, his head was crushed beyond recognition, apparently with heavy stones, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported. A sub-inspector of the Kotagiri police station said the body was identified based on the description of the clothes worn by the preacher. Andhra Pradesh state is ruled by the Congress Party, with Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian, as the chief minister. Religious tensions have been high in the state, with Hindu extremists accusing Reddy of giving a free hand to Christian missionaries.
LAOS/NORTH KOREA (Compass Direct)
The 10 North Korean refugees and two South Korean activists arrested in Laos in May were released into the hands of South Korean embassy staff on Saturday, June 10. The communist authorities in Laos had arrested the 12 on May 31 as they attempted to reach safety in neighboring Thailand. Leaving North Korea without official permission is a serious crime. Those who return with a Bible or admit having contact with Christians in China face certain torture and imprisonment, and, in some extreme cases, execution.
What was the score on that Ghana-USA World Cup game again?
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