This quote is attributed to John Cohen of the London Observer. Made in 1965, it contains one incredible little nugget of food for thought.

"The man who first abused his fellows with swear words instead of bashing their brains out with a club should be counted among those who laid the foundations of civilization."

The Answer Is Education

An article titled The Eight Commandments" appears in the July 7th issue of "The Economist". It asks the question why isn't poverty history and looks for answers by examining the Millenium Development Goals. They are as follows:

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Drawn up in September 2000 at the UN's New York headquarters, they were meant to be reached by 2015. The sketchy progress made to date does not bode well for the targeted achievement of these goals.
The article quotes Kevin Watkins, lead author of the UN's early Human Development Report, as worrying that the promises made by the UN to make poverty history will become "debased currency". The situation in Africa alone is more than enough to cause the result Watkins fears.
The first goal, to eradicate extreme poverty should not be misunderstood. It is not meant to say that poverty will really become history. It does mean that, if achieved, this goal will see the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day halved. Looking at the methods used to track progress toward this goal illustrates one of the barriers faced, since only 57 out of 163 developing countries have counted their poor more than once since 1990. Apparently, ninety-two of those countries have not counted the poor at all. How can the UN know if the proportion is indeed halved when the governments of these countries either consider the poverty-stricken as unworthy of a head count and/or lack the infrastructure to do the counting?
The article spends time looking at Mali as an example of hope. Described as a land-locked country straddling the Sahel region and the Sahara desert, this country is headed up by Amadou Toumani Touré, a man who provides another part of the answer. Touré is a man who has a conscience, not one controlled by greed. He does not use foreign aid dollars given to his country in corrupt ways to feather his own nest. He has been so committed to his "Struggle Against Poverty" that Malians have just elected him for a second term in office. The corruption surrounding foreign aid has and will continue to be a big part of the reason why aid dollars are not accomplishing more in the fight to make poverty history.
Another reason, perhaps the very biggest one, would be addressed by goal number two. Ignorance is powerful. It can trap the unwitting in endless cycles of poverty and disease. The only way to combat it is with universal education and that is a goal that so many oppose. Think of the Taliban and others like them who oppose the teaching of anything other than religion and the techniques of terror to boys, while they oppose all teaching for girls. The article gives more than one mind-boggling example of the incredible weight of ignorance under which so many of the poor struggle. Their lack of education can prevent them from accepting the help which they need.
In Bangladesh, for instance, villagers think a labour of three or even four days is the norm for a first pregnancy. Health workers attempting to advise young mothers of the need for proper nutrition are met with resistance because village elders tell them an empty stomach gives the baby room to grow. mUntrained idwives who provide the care for expectant mothers often provide them as well with the likelihood of an otherwise preventable death. One traditional method to speed up the delivery is for the midwife to kick the labouring mother in the waist. Education is desperately needed here.
In India, the need for sanitary toileting was a hard sell to many of the villagers the governemtn sought to help. A sanitation campaign by the government saw the widespread construction of toilets with a brick cubicle, a squatting slab and two pits. As the only concrete structure in many homes, too many villagers saw the toilets instead as a good place to store grain or keep their hens. They continued to defecate under a nearby tree or in the river where they also washed and drew their drinking water. Education was desperately needed here.
The Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata set about to provide some of this education by staging a little demostration. Pouring some water into a glass they would then add some fecal matter to the water and offer it to the people watching. When the proferred drink was refused, the mission "would point out that they imbibed such water every day from ponds and rivers where some people defecated, even as others bathed their bodies and rinsed their mouths." The fact that these people needed to have that explained to them does not mean they are stupid. It does mean that they are sadly uneducated. The need is indeed desperate.
Lest anyone indulge in a smug feeling of superiority to those struggling with the onerous burden of a lack of education, they need only remind themselves that the western world was in that same spot not so very long ago.
The "Big Stink" of 1858 - 59 in London, England for instance, led to the installation of new sewers that carried the city's effluent to the Thames, the very river from which it drew its drinking water. No less a luminary than Queem Victoria herself was so excited by the new sewer tunnels that she ordered construction of a small rail line to tranport people through the sewer. Quite the location to excite the head of state of the empire on which the sun never set.
Victoria and her thrill over the tours of sewers may be history, but the problem with doctors and nurses not being properly cautious about sanitation in hospitals is ongoing today, in many a major city of the western world. You'd think we'd know better, wouldn't you? Looking down on those less educated than ourselves is not the answer. Education is.
Without education, the problems besetting the world will never be solved. The goals of the UN will never be met unless the people of the Third World are empowered through education. Goal Two should be moved up to the primary position of importance. It should be focused on in every country on this globe. It needs to be financed right now by the wealthy countries, so that the ignorance does not come to their shores as it did in the attack of 9/11. It should be financed by those countries so that they never have to ask for whom the bell tolls. It should be financed and pushed now, so that the lives of the impoverished can be made better. They need to be made better, but not by the donated gifts of sometimes open-handed donors. They need to be empowered so that they can better their own lives. It should be regarded as the right of every person born to live a long life of health and comfort.
The goals of the UN need to be made reality. The power that is education can help bring them to fruition.

Hats Off to the Grand Mufti

While I despise those who openly demean my gender, I also respect those who act in their capacity to stop the mistreatment. Kudos to the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, one of the highest ranking clerics in the Sunni Muslim world. He has gone on record before to prove that he has an intellect and would like others to strive for the same. He has denounced extremists as khawerig, outsiders who fail to follow true Islamic law.
In July he spoke out again, this time against the practise of female genital mutilation. Speaking to the television cameras, he repeated his words three times, for emphasis and, obviously, to give any dummies in the audience a chance to register his words. He averred that female circumcision is forbidden.
Although Gomaa has made some less than forward-thinking calls in his time, like his fatwa against sculpture, his denunciation of the barbaric practise of female circumcision does deserve acknowledgment.
Two questions arise from his statement, for me. One is, will anyone listen? The other is, how long before someone assassinates Gomaa because they see him as an outsider?

The Mark of Repression

Earlier this week, a friend and I were driving down a main street here in Toronto when we saw a sight that raised the hackles on both of us. What we saw was a mother walking along the sidewalk, pushing a stroller with an infant in it. Skipping along beside her was a little girl, perhaps five or six years old. The girl was smiling as she danced along beside her mother. Her long hair was tied back at the nape of her neck and her shorts and t-shirt were a bright pink that provided a stark contrast to her mother's attire. The woman pushing her little one was clad from head to foot in black. The robe trailed down over the hands propelling the stroller along. Her feet were only half visible when she took a step and the robe moved with her momentum. Even her face was completely covered. Looking at her as she made her way past us, we both tried to make out the slit in front of her eyes. That was all there could have been for her to view the world through, because we could not distinguish any break in the sombre fabric.
Although we did not actually see a face, we still know it was a woman. No man is ever compelled to cover himself in such a fashion. Watching her pass as we waited for the light to change gave us both pause for thought. We commiserated with the little girl skipping her way along beside her oppressed mother. The little one is blissfully ignorant of the darkness waiting to prey on her. In all likelihood, that darkness will engulf her with the onset of menarche, when she is forced to disappear under a burka of her own.
We also bristled at what that woman represented. She is walking proof that those who wish to spread intolerance and the misogynistic oppression of women are here in our country. If they bring their poison here, who can say they will not spread it?
I feel sorrow for my sister, trapped under the burka, held down under the thumb of some egotistical woman-hater who would be happy, I am sure, to see all the women of Toronto thus imprisoned in burkas. I feel antagonism toward those who have placed her under that veil.
When will such oppression cease to exist? When will it be yanked out from under its sanctimonious cover-up of piety and seen as the abusive repression it truly is? When will my sisters throw away their burkas and step out into the sunlight?

Ookie Found Jesus, Did He?

I would be really curious to hear the explanation given by those who support Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick as to how it is OK for him or anyone else to involve themselves in the vicious "sport" that Vick financed for the past several years.
In case you weren't aware, Vick is awaiting sentencing by Judge Henry E. Hudson after admitting his guilt and entering into a plea agreement between himself and the Unites States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.
What was he guilty of? "(T)ravelling in interstate commerce and using the mail or any facility in interstate commerce with intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, and carrying on of an unlawful activity ... knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture ... knowingly buying, transporting, delivering, and receiving any dog for purposes of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture..."
This good ol' boy and his accomplices started up the Bad Newz Kennels in 2001 and maintained it until April 2007. It was indeed bad newz for any of the dogs he brought there because the kennels' sole purpose was to stage fights to the death between dogs, while cruel, vicious-minded types like Vick stood, watching and cheering on the four-footed combatant on whom they had placed their bets.
At the end of the plea agreement document, (viewable as a PDF) Vick attached his signature to the following paragraph: "After consulting with my attorney and pursuant to the plea agreement entered into this date between the defendant MICHAEL VICK and the United States, I hereby stipulate that the above Statement of Facts are true and accurate, and that had the matter proceeded to trial, the United States could prove these facts beyond a reasonable doubt."
The NFL reacted promptly to Vick's admission of enjoyment in facilitating the deaths of the dogs. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely and wrote a letter to the bloodthirsty quarterback stating: "Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible."
One of the activities engaged in at the Bad Newz Kennels was the testing of dogs to determine their fighting ability. I am guessing that none of the cowards involved actually got into the ring with the animals to carry on the tests in personal combat with the dogs. The animals were rated and dealt with depending on their passing or failing the test. Apparently, Vick and his fellow creeps felt that death by hanging or drowning was the appropriate consequence for a dog who failed its test. After all, they wouldn't want to lose money by placing bets on an animal that was anything less then a killing machine. Vick says that he did not personally kill any of the animals but that he did play a "collective" role in the deaths.
Pardon my asking, but what the hell is a collective role? Does that mean they took turns hoisting the dogs up by ropes around their necks? What exactly does it mean? It can not be anything less than a total disregard for the sanctity of life, a criminal willingness to deal out arbitrary death, simply because they were able to.
Vick has agreed to charges that he financed the bloodsport but is claiming that he did not receive "any of the proceeds from the purses" accruing from bets placed.
Bullshit.
Vick's admission of guilt was played out before the media cameras after weeks of lying to the Falcons owner, the NFL commissioner and all his fans. When he did decide to 'fess up, he used his most penitent tone to tell the audience, "I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God."
More bullshit.
Heartfelt apologies to the public have become the flavour of the week for malfeasants, quick fixes to the problem of their tarnished reps. They carry as much a ring of sincerity as would a statement of regret by one of the 9/11 terrorists. Words on their own are empty vessels. They mean very little unless the person uttering them fills them up with actions. What action is Vick going to take to prove that he does indeed regret his part in dealing out death to life forms unable to defend themselves against him?
Said Vick, "(W)hat I did was very immature, so that means I need to grow up. I hope every young kid out there ... will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions." Working to make himself a better example to those young kids is not going to succeed if it doesn't take the form of some highly visible efforts to better the quality of life for wronged individuals. Since the defenceless victims Ookie preyed on were dogs, maybe he could show those kids out there how to be a better person by campaigning against something like the puppy mills where dogs regularly suffer deprivation and death all in the name of the mill owner's profit margin. Vick could take some of the millions from his QB earnings and put them to use in a public education campaign against the bloodsport he used to finance. He could start a public-speaking tour, visiting schools and talking about how he stopped victimizing those less powerful than himself. Maybe he might reach a school bully or two and help them to turn away from their vicious ways, just as he claims he has done.
I won't believe Vick has found Jesus or any other deity unless he puts his money and his time where his mouth is.

Design to Improve Life

INDEX is a global non-profit network organization that awards designs judged as able to substantially improve important aspects of human life, worldwide. The INDEX Award, the biggest design award in the world, is presented biannually in Copenhagen to the winners elected by a jury of leading designers, design researchers, design writers and design thinkers from Europe. Past winners have included the Apple Design Team's Apple iTunes. I'm not exactly sure, however, that this one is in the same category as some of the other winners, like this year's "Mobility for Each One".
The iPod can allow you a choice of what you want to listen to, but Mobility for Each One can allow you to find employment, potentially the difference between life and death. For those unfortunates in developing countries who have stepped on a land mine - an estimated 40 people a day - losing a limb to the explosion can mean losing their abillity to hold a job.
Montreal industrial designer, 29-year-old Sebastien Dubois was moved by the plight of landmine victims who are reduced to begging. The prosthetic he designed replicates natural leg movement but does not copy human anatomy like most prostheses attempt to. It does make walking easier and even allows its users to run and play sports with it.
Most prostheses with the return of energy function typically cost from $1,200. to $4,000., prohibitive figures for the Third World, so Dubois set out to design a prosthetic foot that could be manufactured cheaply and easily in developing countries. He came up with his "Mobility for Each One" the award winning design that can be made for less than $10.00.
Dubois has since given his design to Handicap International, an organization that supports the needs of disabled people in countries affected by poverty and conflict, and the 1997 co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

American Foreign Policy One-Oh-One

If this weren't so totally accurate, it would be hilariously funny. Take a look and see whether you feel more like laughing out loud or quietly shaking your head in disbelief. If you go with shaking your head, you'll be in the company of Republican Senator John Warner, among others. Warner suggested last week that the troops need to be brought home from Iraq has put him on George W.'s list of nasty-wasties that he doesn't want to play with, anymore. Warner, instead of towing the line when Bush put on his best pouty look, went on NBC's "Meet the Press" to make it clear that the general population is losing patience with the administration's so-called strategy in Iraq, and that significant change is needed.

Throw Out the Antibacterial Soap

You've seen the ads, I'm sure - the ones that suggest you're a smarter mom; dad; consumer if you have antibacterial soap in your bathroom. What the companies promoting their soaps don't tell you about those soaps is something you might want to know, however.
Allison Aiello has no problem with talking about those soaps and she has some interesting data to divulge. Aiello is a public health professor at the University of Michigan where she led a team in a comprehensive analysis of the performance of antibacterial soaps compared to plain soaps.
Aiello and her team examined 27 studies conducted between 1980 and 2006 and found antibacterial soaps to work no better than plain soaps do at preventing the spread of infectious illnesses. Nor did they remove any more bacteria from washed hands than plain soaps did. They did, however, seem to show a tendency in lab tests to acclimatize e-coli bacteria to triclosan, the main active ingredient used in many antibacterial soaps. So what, you say? Well, the reason you want to rethink your use of those soaps in light of this little revelation is that e-coli bacteria are the ones found in fecal matter.
If you're filling your bathroom soap dispenser with an antibacterial formulation, you may actually be helping you and your family to become sick, rather than protecting them from illness. Once these bacteria have been exposed to triclosan and had the opportunity to mutate, they can become resistant to some commonly used drugs, such as amoxicillin.
Naysayers (read, the companies that want you to buy their soap) will declare that these changes have not been found at the population level. What they might more honestly say, is that they have not been found, yet. The e-coli bacteria exhibited the resistance after exposure to as little as 0.1 per cent wt/vol triclosan soap. The manufacturers should tell their customers that means the e-coli were able to survive in the concentrations of triclosan used in consumer formulated antibacterial soap. Higher concentrations are used in hospitals and may be more effective at reducing illness, but the antibacterial soap sitting on your bathroom counter right now is anything but effective at doing what you bought it for.
Even the title given to Aiello's study results could give you reason to pause. Published by the University of Chicago Press in the August edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases and titled "Consumer Antibacterial Soaps: Effective or Just Risky?" the paper states "the lack of an additional health benefit associated with the use of triclosan-containing consumer soaps over regular soap, coupled with ... a potential risk, warrants further evaluation by governmental regulators..."
Kinda' makes you want to toss the stuff out the bathroom window and run out to get a little of the good ol'-fashioned "plain" soap, doesn't it?

A Cup of Joe That Changes the World

It's so tempting to take refuge behind the old smoke screen when someone comes at you about fair trade and making a difference, I know. "I'm just one person, what could I do?" can really help to quiet any niggling inner voice and let you feel like you're off the hook. That argument, however, is no more effective at holding the truth than a sieve would be at holding your morning cup of joe. If you can take pen in hand to write a letter; if you can move your fingers across the keys to type an e-mail, then you can indeed change the world.
Think about it. No-one has ever changed the entire world in one fell swoop. It always takes small parts being put together to make the whole. Just look at how many sayings folk wisdom has accumulated to make that very point. You know - to reach the top of Mount Everest you have to take that first step at the bottom - the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You know the ones I mean, and they're all out there to tell you and me that we can do it. We can achieve even the most difficult goal if we just take it one step at a time.
Now, let's get back to your morning hit of caffeine. When you're sipping your morning wake-up, the impoverished coffee workers in Brazil and Kenya seem so far away, so impossibly difficult to help. After all, in 2006 coffee imports in the U.S. alone reached $3.3 billion. Your latte cost what fraction of that?
Actually, that latte could add up to one very significant fraction if you followed the example of the regulars who frequent Zabar's, the New York City delicatessen. Since it's described as a "giant", you might not think that a few letters would pack enough punch to dictate how owner Saul Zabar conducts his business, but think again. Last month, Mr. Zabar's delicatessen began selling fair trade coffee "in response to letters and requests from groups and customers in its Westside Manhattan neighbourhood."
Obviously, enough "just one person" individuals took a few minutes to voice their concern. There were enough people who stepped out from behind that comfy smokescreen long enough to change the world. They took that first step on the journey toward sharing the wealth and caring about their international brothers and sisters. Now think of the incredible potential if we all did the same with our favourite purveyors of the coffee bean. When we all take more steps like that, reaching the summit of Mount Everest will become old hat.
When are you going to take a step to become a world-changing force?

Quick, Pass the Bathroom Tissue!

I wrote an entry earlier to express my loathing for Benny Hinn, he of the pay-me-or-I-won't-pray-for-you ministry. Today, I wandered over to the keyboard to look in on my blog and saw a little touch of irony there, to do with the aforementioned slimeball. I have "Ads by Google" on my site and I suppose the machination involved therein picked up the creep's name. Functioning just as it is supposed to, it set an ad connected to something I had written about on my site. That meant it actually provided a link for people to connect to the very ministry I was earlier disparaging.
My first reaction was disgust. I wanted it out of my sight. Then I realized, since I regard the man as little better than a fresh, steaming pile of excrement, all I had to do was race to the john, grab a length of toilet paper, and drape it across the offending ad until I signed off.
Problem solved.

Guluwalk Day 2007

Last year, over 30,000 people in 15 countries around the world walked in solidarity with the children of northern Uganda. The 2006 event was focused on telling the story of these courageous children and creating a mass movement for peace. The event grew into a global fundraising event that collected almost $600,000 for education, rehabilitation and youth support projects in northern Uganda.

Last year was only the beginning.

GuluWalk 2007 is set for Saturday, October 20, and will take place in over 100 cities around the world. GuluWalk is not just an innovative fundraising event. It is a global awareness event and a strong voice for locally led peace.

“With increased security and peace talks that are making progress, there is real reason for optimism in northern Uganda,” explained GuluWalk founder Adrian Bradbury. “That being said, this is no time to relax. Now, more than ever, our voices need to be heard and our attention must not waver from the impact this conflict continues to have on a generation of children who have never known peace.”

Click here to sign up for this year's event, and join the growing list of icons walking for the children of northern Uganda. There is no fundraising requirement.
Below is a complete list of all of the GuluWalk cities with event locations confirmed for this year, with the list expected to grow in the days and weeks to come:

Canada
Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton
British Columbia: Fort St. John, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria
Manitoba: Winnipeg
New Brunswick: Fredericton
Nova Scotia: Halifax
Ontario: Burlington, Guelph, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Oshawa, Ottawa, Timmins, Toronto, Windsor
Quebec: Montreal

United States
Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson
California: Los Angeles, San Diego, Visalia
Colorado: Boulder
District of Columbia: Washington
Georgia: Atlanta
Iowa: Cedar Rapids, Iowa City
Massachusetts: Boston
Michigan: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids
Missouri: Kansas City
New York: New York
North Carolina: Charlotte, Greenville
Ohio: Dayton
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Rhode Island: Providence
Texas: Houston
Utah: Salt Lake City
Virginia: Abingdon, Norfolk
Washington: Seattle
Wisconsin: LaCrosse

International
Australia: Melbourne, Perth, Tweed Heads
Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou
China: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai
England: Birmingham, Exeter, London
Netherlands: Amsterdam
New Zealand: Dunedin, Wellington
Togo: Lome
Uganda: Gulu, Kampala
Wales: Cardiff

Not a Story At All

On Saturday August 18 Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison became Canada's first federal politician to marry his same-sex partner in a ceremony in Cheverie, a thriving metropolis of 200 souls. Some of the inhabitants of the aforementioned town were puzzled by the media hype. Paul, who works at the auto body shop in Cheverie, summarized the townfolks' lack of concern over the wedding with his succinct, "It's not the 1800's anymore." Coverage on CTV.ca quotes Brison's neighbour Joanne Lake as saying, "I think it's silly that there's so much publicity over it. If he were straight, would there be quite so much publicity over his wedding?" That's a good question.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin was among the wedding guests. Martin's government passed Bill C-38 through the House of Commons in 2005, making Canada the third country in the world, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to officially recognize same-sex marriage. That day in the House of Commons is history now. It's water under the bridge. Why is it still regarded as so newsworthy that an MP said, "I do."?
When Brison first became engaged to his partner Maxime St. Pierre, he said it all when he declared, "I'm looking forward to the day when the idea of a gay or lesbian politician getting married is not a story at all."

Benny Hinn's Gospel of Personal Prosperity

Benny Hinn was in Toronto this past weekend for three shows at the ACC, preaching his gospel of greed. Admission to his shows are always free, but money buckets are circulated through the audience at every show without exception, to collect the expected "donations". Those donations add to a yearly income for Hinn that is estimated to reach a total of $250 million. As a licensed minister Hinn is not required by United States law to divulge his salary or accept being held to any accountability for his finances.
Pastor Benny, great proponent of the Prosperity Gospel that he is, takes this exemption from accounting for himself very seriously. Other big-name evangelists like Pat Robertson and Billy Graham have enough respect for the people to whom they minister to become members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and adhere to the seven standards of accountability set forth by it. There are in fact over 1,100 members, but Toufik Benedictus Hinn is not among that number.
According to this greedy little televangelist, if a member of the faithful expresses that faith by giving money to him, God will reward the believer with the health and/or wealth they desire. Remember those donation buckets? Hinn's passing around of those buckets is timed with all the expertise of a sideshow charlatan. Sent out just before the "healing" part of the sideshow is staged, they are preceded by Hinn's admonition to keep in mind that those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully. "Sowing monetary seed into the ministry" is Hinn's euphemism for "gimme, gimme gimme". Hinn relies on the gullible, the easily duped and the desperate to continue "donating" to his gimme ministry in the numbers necessary for him to maintain the lifestyle he currently enjoys.
Reporter Bob McKeown of TV's Fifth Estate obtained confidential financial records from inside the Gospel of Prosperity's ministry and went over them with Roddy Allen, a forensic accountant from the firm of Kroll Linquist Avey. Allen's declaration after poring over the records was that, "it would be hard to persuade me that you had to incur that kind of expense in order to accomplish a business objective."
What kind of inexcusable expense could Allen possibly be talking about, especially in light of the pastor's assurances that he keeps not a penny for himself and spends only what he needs to in order to do God's work? You don't think it could perhaps be anything like that one night stay at London's prestigious Lanesborough Hotel in 2003, do you? It's true that if you go to the hotel's website, you will find that it has a five-star rating and is described as "London's most luxurious hotel ... flawlessly maintained with 1820's (handcrafted period) furnishings concealing 21st century technology." but Hinn insists such stopover locations are necessary for the security they offer. The question of why Hinn doesn't simply trust to the Almighty to watch over him occurs to me.
A copy of the bill for that one particular stay can be viewed online as a PDF. If you look at it, you'll see that the hotel cash register rang up a bill of £3,347.67, (approximately $6,695 US) for God's avaricious apostle that night. Hinn surely did a powerful lot of proselytizing for that amount, don't you think? The spirit must have moved through him to a boogie beat for that many pretty pennies.
This supposed man of God, with his avowals of keeping not one penny for himself, turning every cent instead back into the ministry, nonetheless drives a luxury vehicle valued at $80,000.00 and relaxes at home by playing on his own golf course at his mansion home. It might seem an incongruous lifestyle for someone who claims to follow in the footsteps of the humble Jesus, but a man who channels the healing of God to those sufficiently moved to give the right amount of cash must indeed have an incredible need for something to help him cope with the load.
Hinn's ministry has been investigated for fraud, but no evidence has been found so far, and that's only as it should be. After all, how could anyone charge such an honest man as Hinn with malfeasance? If you need proof of his innocence, you need only look to the transcript of one airing of Larry King Live, when Hinn was describing his own suffering from a head cold. He told King that just at the moment when he couldn't get a single breath of air past the snot clogging his nose, he happened to see an airing of his own TV show coming right at him over the healing airwaves. The televised Hinn intoned his usual routine about reaching out to the TV. The head cold Hinn had only a moment to think how stupid it would be for him to touch himself on the TV before the Almighty himself whispered in his ear that the man on the screen was indeed one of his chosen ones. Lo! Hinn reached out and was healed. Now, if you're still standing; if you haven't been overcome with emotional response to this story; let me hit you with the coup de grace. Hinn didn't even send himself a bill. That's right. He did not solicit from himself even one penny in the form of a seed sown into the ministry.
Jesus lived a life of self-denial. There were no opulent living quarters for him; no luxury vehicles to take him to those to whom he ministered. Jesus lived a simple lifestyle and those who claim to serve him step out over a theological abyss when they indulge in opulence while pretending virtuosity. U2 says it well in one of their songs when they declare, "The god I believe in ain't short of cash, mister." They could have been speaking directly to Hinn himself.
If Toufik Benedictus wants to put to rest all criticism of himself as a self-aggrandizing charlatan, he could do no better than to sell his mansion and his car tonight. Shutting down his BHM and going on the road instead to minister to the needy where he finds them and sharing their lifestyle would prove to everyone his sincerity when he says he wants to channel the presence of god to those who seek it. He should donate his wardrobe to the Salvation Army immediately and begin wearing homespun. Gandhi, the Great Soul, clad himself in the humble dhoti while he preached his words of peace. Pictures of him thus attired have become synonymous with caring for all of humankind, not only those who give large enough donations.
What is Hinn's picture synonymous with, other than the dollar bill?

Mon Dieu! Comment Stupide!

The citizens of the vieille ville like to think of Montreal as Canada's sexiest city, but recent numbers suggest it's also in the running for the title of Canada's stupidest. Apparently, gonorrhea is making a major comeback in the town. In 2006, approximately three in Quebec's every four cases of the STD were reported in Montreal, a jump of 65% in the past five years. The numbers get even worse when 30% of those cases prove themselves to be antibiotic-resistant. Since antibiotics have been the conventional treatment, the question is, que vous attendez-vous à ce que le docteur fasse? Maybe a brain transplant would be in order for those morons who fail to encase their pride and joy in a condom before leaping into the breach. The same goes for the women who allow their partners to be terminally stupid avant des rapports sexuels. "Terminal" is possibly just the right word to use, too, since there is a definite correlation between the prevalence of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis and the incidence of AIDS and HIV.
Comment stupide!

A Man Without a Price Tag

I'm sure you're familiar with the scene - the villain of the movie face-to-face with the good guy, telling him that everyone has their price; insisting that everyone can be bought. There needs to be a new movie made now, one that will show 36-year-old Jeffrey Lee confronting the villain, in this case Areva, the French energy giant. Areva wants to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium from the Koongarra deposit, sitting on land surrounded by Australia's Kakadu National Park,which is listed as a heritage site under the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
As the sole surviving member of the Djok Clan, Lee is regarded as the one traditional owner of the land holding the deposit, and the government has declared that no new mines would be allowed without the approval of the traditional owners. Lee does not approve. He wants to see the land incorporated into the Park so that it would be forever protected from those who see it only as a place to make megabucks, rather than as a place of great beauty and sacred sites, like Lee was taught to do by his grandmother.
Lee had decided to request the land's inclusion in the park so that it can never be mined because he regards it as his duty to look after the sacred sites, burial sites and other special places the land holds. Says Lee, "I'm not interested in white people offering me this or that … it doesn't mean a thing. I'm not interested in money."
Lee is a man who should be introduced in classrooms all across the world as a man to respect and emulate, a man our children would do well to think of as a role model. This man of ideals truly is a man without a price tag.

Back to School Kits

It's that time of year again when the Mennonite Central Committee issues its appeal for school kits. If you'd like to help a schoolchild in a developing country or an area hit by a natural disaster, you can buy the supplies for a kit or two and visit their site to learn where to drop them off. The kits are taken to places like Bosnia and Iraq, Haiti and Liberia, among others. They are also distributed to poorly funded schools in the States and Canada.
The kits are not terribly expensive. If you're taking one of your own kids to buy their school supplies and you can spare a little cash, your minor outlay could provide a major lift to a needy recipient. The MCC specifies the following:


(NEW items only)

4 spiral or perforated notebooks (about 21.5cm x 27cm / 8.5" x 10.5" and 70-80 sheets U.S. / 140-160 pages in Canada, more info)
4 unsharpened pencils
1 ruler (flat, flexible plastic; indicating both 30cm and 12")
12 colored pencils (in packaging)
1 large pencil eraser

You can see from the above list that one kit wouldn't wallop your wallet. In fact, it could be a good idea for your kids to spend a little of their allowance, matching your donation by purchasing the items for one of the kits as well.
If you feel so inclined, and you own either a serger or a regular sewing machine, you can also obtain the exact instructions for making school kit bags. I've done this before and had a lot of fun with the shopping because I bought the brightest, most beautiful fabrics I could find and visualized the smiles on the faces of schoolchildren receiving my handiwork. They're not at all difficult to make and could be a great project for a group endeavour, like a church group or the Guides.
Please give it a thought.

Cool Green!

In keeping with the green theme I've been writing entries on lately, I found some totally cool "green" merchandise I just have to tell you about.

If you're heading off to school soon, you'll want to know about the solar backpack. The bag features an integrated solar panel providing up to 2.5 watts of power. As well as being ergonomic, with its padded waist belt and shoulder straps among other features, this little number will allow you to recharge cell phones, PDA's GPS units, iPods and MP3 players. Be the first in your school to have one!

When you're filling your solar backpack with eco-friendly school supplies, you'll want to include some biodegradable corn pens, of course. The ink refill aside, the corn pen is made from a material derived from cornstarch, meaning that it will disintegrate in about 12 months, unlike conventional plastic that could still be here when the parousia finally takes place.
If you're an older student, a teacher or a prof, you might be tempted by the new corn mugs available for your morning jolt of caffeine. Referred to as eco-travel mugs, they'll deliver the soothing knowledge about the renewable material they're made from to your conscience at the same time as they deliver your cup of joe to your nervous system.
If any of this is grabbing your interest, click here to visit "Grassroots" and browse their green product line-up.

Green Plates on Your Green Cars?

The government of Ontario, if re-elected, is getting ready to offer incentives such as free parking, and unrestricted access to carpool lanes to inspire more people to purchase eco-friendly cars like the Smart Car and the Prius. The Ministry of Transportation has said it would consult with the automotive sector and various environmental groups such as Greenpeace to set the standards for cars that would qualify for the program. There are a few wrinkles, however, still to be ironed out in the plan, (as well as getting themselves back into the driver's seat at the provincial legislature) and one of them is the proposed license plate.
The government plan is to issue green plates to drivers purchasing the approved cars. The plates would mark them here in Ontario as those who qualify for the offered perks, but the problem is that they might very well end up marking them in some parts of the States as sex offenders. State legislators in Ohio, Wisconsin and Alabama are currently seeking to have green license plates used as a way to identify registered sex offenders. Pity any meek and mild Ontarian proudly sporting his green plate who wanders down into Alabama, for instance, a state known for its open-minded, forward-thinking citizens. There could be a lynch party going on before the poor misunderstood Canajun could get a word in edgewise.
The Ontario Ministry is seeking discussion with U.S. officials to facilitate the two working together in order to avoid the green confusion and resultant dead Ontario drivers who wander south of the 49th parallel.


Further to the question of who would qualify for the planned program in Ontario is the problem of the price tag involved on those new environmentally-friendly rides. If by any chance you're a green warrior who's just a little strapped for cash but loaded with DIY inspiration, there is an alternative to that new car smell. Brian Friedman's company, Lovecraft Bio-Fuels, can sell you a kit that will let you convert your current diesel-guzzler to an environment saver that runs on 100% pure vegetable oil.
If you're interested, you'll be among big-name company since people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mandy Moore have already visited Friedman to have their vehicles converted to the straight and narrow. Apparently, Al Gore has been calling Friedman too. If you take the step, your days of pulling into the gas station for a fill-up would be history. When the fuel tank is reading low, you'll need a quick trip to the local grocery store instead, where you can buy veggie oil in bulk for a little further saving.
Some people who have seen the light, as it shines from Friedman's shop, are visiting restaurants and driving away with used oil from the fryer (think McDonald's) and filtering it before using it. You just need to be sure it's not hydrogenated or shortening-based. Some enterprising types are setting up money-making concerns selling this filtered oil to other green-minded drivers who have also converted their rides. You are advised, however, to give your car a little time before you fill up with used oil. The advice given at Lovecraft is as follows, "After a conversion, your fuel tank will be shedding sludge from years of dirty diesel, so we recommend that you run your car on new vegetable oil for the first 600 miles"
So of you live in Ontario, think fried food instead of new car smell, contact the Ministry of Transportation to inquire about a green license plate, and take a virtual trip to Lovecraft Bio-Fuels for your conversion kit.

Someone answer me this - why is Nadeem Jiwah, the man who murdered York Region police Detective Constable Rob Plunkett, still breathing? There is simply no question about who did the deed. There were multiple witnesses to the murder, among them the officers who rammed Jiwah's vehicle to stop him from dragging the injured constable any further.
Go through the formality of a trial, sure, but it should be nothing more than a formality. There is no question he is guilty, there is no doubt. He showed himself in front of so many to have absolutely no regard for human life. I can not see any reason for the leniency I know the Canadian justice system will afford him. He will serve some amount of time behind bars and then be free to go his way. Plunkett's widow will never again have the freedom Jiwah stole from her; the freedom to love her husband and be loved in return by him; the freedom to grow old with him. Plunkett's children will never again have the freedom Jiwah stole from them, the freedom to have a living father there to love them and guide them through their growing-up years; the freedom to have him there as they marry and have their own children.
Jiwah stole so much from Plunkett's family. He does not deserve the freedom to draw even one more breath. I have said it before and I will say it again. Jiwah and his ilk should be marched right out back out of the courthouse as soon as the trial is ended. They should be stood up against the wall and shot. Period.

Make Peace Your Target

"By acting together, we can be the spark that transforms international neglect into the leadership needed for lasting peace in northern Uganda. With this in mind, Resolve Uganda was created to translate our individual conviction and concern into collective action for a long overdue end to the war.
Recognizing and believing that a better world is possible, we are taking aim.
Our target is peace."
The above quote is a part of the introduction you'll read on the "Resolve Uganda" site, where their peaceful aim is to help end the war that has displaced so many and left countless children vulnerable. Please, follow the link and click on "Act" for some great suggestions on ways you can get involved. It won't take much time out of your day, but it could make the difference of a lifetime to one of our brothers and sisters in Uganda.

A Greener, Cleaner Toronto?

While the greening of our city still seems to be an impossible dream, there are one or two hopeful signs on the horizon. One is Toronto council's look at banning the use of leaf blowers by 2010.
According to Keith Stewart of the World Wildlife Fund, the two-stroke-engine noise makers "pollute at almost 500 times the rate of a car, so running your leaf blower for an hour (is) like driving your car for a couple of days." They have actually been identified by city officials as one of Toronto's primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The study conducted in 2001 showed that one hour of operating a commercial leaf blower with a two-stroke gasoline powered engine will create 498 times as much hydrocarbons, 49 times as much particulate matter and 26 times as much carbon monoxide as the average auto will. Breathe deep, folks!
It's not as though Toronto the Timid would have to strike out on their own into unknown territory with such a ban. Twenty cities in California have already blazed the trail for them. A recent survey conducted in those cities revealed that the law enforcement personnel involved regard the bans as 90 to 95% per cent effective, and report that the number of infractions decrease over time. Neither do they report the enforcement of the ban as a major burden on them. There have also been no recorded instances of gardeners in the cities being forced out of business because of having to cope with the ban. That would seem to leave little room for objections.
Nonetheless, naysayers are doing their usually short-sighted whining about the "burden" such a ban would impose on homeowners who have to clean up the leaves and other matter that fall from the deciduous trees on large lots. Some are actually trying to suggest that the leaf blowers are a boon since they remove the spore-bearing dead leaves that can create such problems for allergy sufferers. Those people need to give their heads a good shake. Does it not occur to them that those noisy wind machines are blowing those very spores up into the air we all breathe? Do they not realize that the blowers blow indiscriminately? The machines make no difference between leaves and the fecal matter and pesticides in and among the leaves. It all gets blown around.
In March of this year, Toronto council voted down a complete ban on these monstrosities, but hopefully they'll take another look at the idea. At the moment, they do ban their use during certain hours but only because of the noise pollution they create. The pollution makers need to be banned entirely and replaced with rakes. Yup, good old-fashioned rakes.
Some council members lament the plight of those unable to rake their lawns themselves. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Some of the "unable" need simply to rethink their priorities. An hour spent outdoors exerting the energy necessary to power the rake is a far more wisely spent hour than one spent vegetating in front of yet another episode of Survivor. If they want to survive their own allotted span of years in reasonably good health, they need to invest a little effort in helping that to happen.
For those truly unable to do the work, the situation presents a great opportunity for a multi-problem solution. The city needs to get all leaf blowers out of their collection of equipment too, and then spend a little money in order to save a lot. Toronto is now looking for a way to address the issue of increased gun violence among its youth, especially. Give more kids a job, a chance to have something gainful to do with their time and a pay cheque to show for it. Hire them to man those rakes, both on public property and on the lawns of those physically challenged. That way you save money on some of the police hours needed for gun safety and the man hours lost to gun-related injuries and deaths. You save on man hours lost to smog-alert days when those with respiratory problems are unsafe to venture out of their homes. You'd help to save on the burden added to the health care system if there were fewer asthmatics wheezing their way through deadly attacks in hospital emergency wards.
You could help to save the environment too. Correct me if I'm wrong on this one, but even the idiots currently saying we should keep leaf blowers around like to inhale and I'm not sure what they think they're going to fill their lungs with if the rest of us have nothing left but smog.
Please, Toronto council, pass that ban. Do it for the sake of your own lungs if you don't care about anyone else's. You'll save, save, save by getting rid of leaf blowers.