Via Crave: Nikon Universcale

I listened to This American Life episode "By Proxy." Act II focuses on a former Iraqi translator for the American army. The Iraqi translators need our support because they work under such suspicion by their fellow Iraqi's. I don't know how else to support them except in prayer; because any visible assistance from the Americans just makes them and those around them a target. Over 250 interpreters have been killed. Many Iraqi imams are calling people to kill translators. Even speaking an English word is grounds enough for murder. This particular translator said he does not regret working for the Americans, because Americans are there to show a better way than under Saddam–specifically citing how they treat prisoners with respect and how they deal with crowds without the use of force.

The New York Times article about Japan's wartime sex slaves (euphemistically called comfort women) notes that upon defeat in WWII, Japan destroyed many of its incriminating documents. Yet some had survived as evidence that through the 1930's & 40's it was an officially established operation by the military:
"Between 50,000 and 200,000 women from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere were tricked or coerced into sexual slavery."

Yet Japanese revisionist efforts continue to deny or hide this history from their educational system. Certainly this would not be condoned by modern Japan, but this is a history that should not be ignored.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That’s funny . . . '" - Isaac Asimov

Let love be without hypocrisy Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. - Romans 12:9 (NASB)

No one is truly obedient to the command to hate evil if he only fears the consequence of evil. A truly good man hates evil because it is evil and he loves God. - John MacArthur

Every stimulus that can be shared or any group behavior is put forth as THE universal language. This goes for sports, music, photography, film, dance, food. If so many things are considered transcendent then are any of them really?

Song to look for: the spiritual "Amen" by Jester Hairston.

Things breaking down:
JBL stereo has stopped playing CD's. At first it was only some CD's and some skipping, but now it just makes that searching whirling sound. It must be song and sermoned out. Oh, those quality speakers not being used... though the radio & cassette player still work. The worst thing is the closest JBL repairer is in New York.

Analog camera spontaneously turns off and has white arc obscuring left side of photos.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the circumstances of this world that I forget eternity.

So often we don't see our need for God until we have no choice but to turn to God. Not that we don't recognize our need before then, but it doesn't grip us.

JAMA article on vitamin supplements concludes "Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality."

A study shows college students are getting more narcissistic.

Yellow Account
Here we go again with media/entertainment sensationalizing threats against Christianity–Gnostics Gospels, Judas Gospel, and now we have the Talpiot ossuaries, which are billed by James Cameron as evidence of Jesus Christ's remains. All these where examined by archaeologists in the past but now wannabes once again adulterate history and vomit out their conjectures as fact. James Cameron even notes his motivation as, "I don't profess to be an archaeologist or a Biblical scholar. I'm a film producer. I found it compelling"– not that he bothered to personally investigate the facts, but still he means to garner the publicity.
Please, at least show some respect.

• If Jesus was still around Jerusalem, how can 500-plus witnesses attest to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
• If the persecutors of Christians only had to point to this tomb or this ossuary sitting in Jerusalem, the Christian church wouldn't even have started.
• How could the poor carpenter family obtain a grand family tomb and why have it in Jerusalem when they were from Nazareth?
• Relatedness by DNA was only tested between the ossuaries with the name of Jesus and Mariamene (which is not even the name Mary Magdalene). The tests failed to also compare paternal relatedness. And even so, there is absolutely no proof of marriage here nor historically. Even if they are unrelated, this Mariamene could have married into the family via other males in the tomb.
  
• Joseph is not found among the ossuaries.
  
• The name of Jesus was extremely common. Consider that the name Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua. There were and are an abounding number of people named Joshua.

For Want of a ...
A friend stopped by and commented, "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk." Anyone know that children's story?

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim...

I was thinking about this while I went to Bible study and came upon the thought, "For want of a blank, the kingdom was lost. For want of a what?! For want of ....? Was it the kingdom or the war that was lost? I think it has something to do with a horse. For want of a horse the kingdom was lost? That still doesn't sound right." Though almost no one recognized giving a mouse a cookie... more gears started turning for want of a something. Is it Shakespeare?

A friend at Bible study got on Google and first found.

A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

which is from Shakespeare's Richard III. That is something but still I felt that was not it.
Then he found the elusive quote:

For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.

It is from a longer nursery rhyme–origin uncertain–likely English.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Saw Amazing Grace the movie about William Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery.

"Oh what thanks do I owe the Giver of all good for bringing me in His gracious providence to this great cause!"

It is well done. And I recommend it for all to see. This year is also the 200th anniversary of the abolition. The makers of the film also are pushing for abolition of present day slavery, directing people to International Justice Mission and World Vision.

An interesting character is Olauda Equiano a former slave.

Apple & Cisco have come to an agreement to both use the name iPhone, drop legal actions, work on interoperability (in future projects or with the iPhones?), plus some undisclosed agreements.

Personally it does not bode kindly for Apple's image. From unveiling, Apple appears to have muscled for a name knowingly owned by another. But Cisco wanted interoperability from the outset, so perhaps both parties got what they wanted. Apple could have avoided this by using their famous innovation to generate another name.

Similarly there is the hubub about Martha Stewart using Katonah trademark in her furniture line. Katonah says "No Thank You Martha," for fear of diluting the value of that name. I think Stewart has a better case since Katonah does not have trademark ownership and is already used by a variety businesses. On the flip side I don't know if she could protect the name from use by others.

Worthy Cause
Amazing Grace the movie coming out Friday, February 23, has teamed up with hundreds of churches across the US in a fight and put an end to slavery globally.

The chytrid fungus is eradicating frogs globally leading scientists to create the Amphibian Ark – an effort to preserve species in captivity (zoos). How can we stop this fungus?

Race Relations
Am I late recognize what is racism towards and even persecution of the ethnically Chinese residing in southeast Asian countries? This may not be systematic but more of an understanding of how the cultures just are – accepted as part of living there. Are there any efforts to reverse this process?

This may be why Chinese in Thailand change their names. And why else would people in Indonesia who look "too Chinese" have to hide during certain days?

golden pig
Originally uploaded by maycos60.

Happy Lunar New Year! I recently learned the animal associated with each year is also associated with some material (gold, sand, water, fire, wood) and this is the year of the golden boar, a sign the superstitious regard as lucky.

But today's headlines evince the reality of a world getting crazier.

• 28 Bombs Blast Thailand Muslim extremist may demand a separate state now, but if they're like the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines who demand a separate state, their actual goal would be eventual Muslim domination of the nation and then the world.
• Pakistan-Bound Train Bombing
• H5N1 Avian Flu Continues Africa/Eurasia Spread
• N. Korea Holds Possible 2-8 Nuclear Bombs... What seems a victory earlier last week may be concessions to a little poker player bullying the disjointed field of countries.
  

And like Rio de Janeiro celebrating Carnival amidst ongoing violence, we at least need some escape and some little victories to keep going.