08.30.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:03 am by Administrator
This morning’s news claimed that some of the wildfires have been contained, but others like the one closer to our area has “tripled” in size. Ack! About a 1,000 more homes have been evacuated in places much closer to us than in previous fires–Glendale, Pasadena, and Altadena, yikes!!!! So I ran out to the front to take a look because yesterday we could see the smoke from our street. I even took a picture, and this is what it looked like yesterday from our block. The winds seemed to have been blowing in our favor as we weren’t getting smoked out as evidenced by the still visible blue sky and the Hollywood Hills sign is still visible. I circled in yellow the sign as it’s hard to see in this pic.
This morning it seems we have more smoke out in front as the sky looks more hazy at the moment, so I’m not going outside for now as I prefer not to inhale any unnecessary smoke, ugh. So far in here we don’t smell anything noticeable.
Here’s what the fire along the 10 eastbound looked like yesterday passing by downtown L.A. The tall glass building off to the right of the fire plume is the new Marriott and Ritz Carlton buildings.
The sky actually was still nice, unlike last year’s fire in Oct., which had our skies terribly brown and hazy in all directions. We were headed over to a friend’s house out in Azusa where they had a fire nearby, too, but as of this morning, that fire appears to be contained. Here’s one of this morning’s articles on the fires update for more details: SoCal Wildfires Surge in Size, Threatens Thousands. A friend of ours sent me an email this AM, too asking me what I wanted/needed to pack with me in case of evacuation. . . He said better fill up a chest for a quick grab, yikes! I know just the other day I was thinking that all I wanted was my family and my yarn, hehehe, but in actuality (and more careful thought), there really are a lot more “sentimental” things I would want to take like personal gifts and pictures. I’ve tended to think that I don’t have too many personal belongs that I’m tied to, but looking around me here I realize that I may be more materialistic than I had imagined myself to be. . . Shame on me! And speaking of “yarn,” just yesterday I heard Suss Designs was having a yarn sale. As I was driving home from the market, I saw a small crowd of ladies in front of the store waiting for it to open. . . and I had to stop. . . I held myself back from over indulging, but I did pick up a few items. Here’s what I got.
I guess this would be a little more to add to my “fire escape” chest. . . And to think that they still weren’t finished putting out all their sale items, I’m tempted to go back as I was hoping to see what they had on cones which wasn’t out yet. Since I had to go somewhere, I didn’t have time to wait around for them to put out the rest of their stuff and just escaped with these for now. If ever I get around to working the kit up, I’ll try to post on here as I think the purse design is so cute. But, that’s for another day.
Toodles for now and hope everyone is safe and healthy. Happy would be nice, too.
Marlakins
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08.28.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:29 pm by Administrator
Another fiery day in Los Angeles. . . Well, actually, not quite in Los Angeles proper, but around us. It seems like every year we have fires due to all the dry brush and stuff around this area. Once I saw a guy wearing a “tourist” T-shirt of California, which listed the “Seasons of California” as Earthquake season, Flood season (along the coast), Drought season, and Fire season. Eh, I guess we’re currently in the fire and drought season. . . Last year we had fire all around us from San Diego to the South of us, Santa Monica Mountains to the west of us, Santa Barbara to the north of us, and the San Bernardino county to the east of us. And boy oh boy was our air quality the pits. The sky was also gloomy and smokey looking and we even had ashes drifting down on our homes and yards. This year we’ve already had fires, and right now there are about three fires burning. This morning I read that about 1,200 people were evacuated from Pacific Palisades, about 800 or some from La Canada Flintridge (IIRC), and then there was fire in the Angeles National Forest, which was the first one that broke out, to my knowledge. I saw one of the fires from the freeway yesterday, so today knowing that I was heading back that way, I took my camera along to see if I could take any pictures while driving. This is the first one I took from the 10 eastbound.
Yikes! Obviously I wasn’t aiming in the right direction (I don’t usually drive on the freeway and take pics at the same time. . .) a bit on the high side! But at least some of the brown smoke can be seen on the bottom half of the picture. . . Since I noticed that didn’t turn out too well, I tried another shot. . .
Eh, heheheheh, ha ha! Strange angle, but again some of the brown smoke can be seen beyond the trees. See the brown hazy stuff below the blue sky? Course I didn’t like either of those shots, but by then I was passed the area and not able to try another shot. I’m guessing this fire was the one near Pacific Palisades.
Driving along I saw that there “another” fire off in the distance. I think this one was the one near La Canada Flintridge. It was taken while still on the 10 E bound just before Downtown Los Angeles. See the big billow of smoke just beyond the trees.
Then while I was still zipping along to get to my friend, I saw yet “another” fire off of the San Bernardino freeway eastbound.
Cripes poor people who have to evacuate their homes. . . And boy is it a HOT, HOT day today! I don’t know what the temp was, but I was a sweatin’.
Then on my way home this afternoon in Los Angeles just about 4 miles or so from my house going northbound this is what the smoke looked like. I’m guessing this is the one near Pacific Palisades.
Ahhh, all that brown smoke filled with fire retardant and all those other noxious chemicals burning from buildings wafting through our air. . . just makes me feel like taking nice deep breaths. . . Breathe in. . . Breathe out. . . Breathe in. . .
Okay, so back to seriousness. . . whenever these fires strike and other disasters which cause people to lose their homes, I think about what if it were us? Would I be prepared to leave my house? Would I take anything? Oh my gosh! All my yarn! I better organize so that I can make a quick “grab” of my precious. . . Other than that, I suppose as long as I got my kiddies and my hubby out with me, all should be well. Although we do have a book collection that I would be sore to miss. . .
For now I count my blessings and thank God for another day.
Marlakins
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08.25.09
Posted in Book Reviews, History, Uncategorized at 12:13 pm by Administrator
Before I move on to commenting on other books, I wanted to finish off my comments on Me Against My Brother. The last portion is on Rwanda. Again, Peterson shed a lot more light regarding the conflicts and subsequent 1994 Rwandan genocide and beyond. Evidently, the tensions leading to the 1994 genocide had been brewing for a long time. Many warning signs that something big was going to happen were ignored. It’s understandable, as Peterson writes, that the U.S. wanted to remain hands-off especially coming from the heels of the Somali disaster in late 1993, but I think that it is inexcusable that the U.S. went further to pressure other nations to remain hands off.
Some of the additional things I learned from Peterson’s book regarding Rwanda is that the French government was involved with allowing and even encouraging the 1994 genocide (which only makes sense because the massive scale by which the genocide took place had to have been helped along. Apparently it took “years” of planning for it to come to fruition). Before all hell broke loose, there were already incidences of kidnappings and murders. The bodies were disposed of in mass graves located right in the backyards of some government officials’ homes. The Catholic church were even aware of the dangerously escalating tension, yet did nothing and even encouraged it. I had known that the primary communications source to the murderers was the use of radio–RTLM, but I did not know that it was tied to the Rwandan president, Habyarimana’s own house. Peterson wrote that when he arrived in Rwanda some Hutus could be seen “walking to work(killings)” with machetes and other instruments. Once they even “waved” at him thinking that he was “French.” They were obviously friendly to the French as they were considered their allies in this massacre.
While from the first I had learned of the 1994 Rwandan genocide I was appalled at the shear numbers and methods by which the massacres took place, Peterson helps to put it into perspective as he writes:
“Beyond Alex Bizimungu’s neighborhood–indeed throughout the maze of roads that spread weblike across the steep hills of Kigali, and onto every corner of Rwanda–the killing was massive and unprecedented in scale and speed. The genocide that afflicted Rwanda for three months in 1994 was the bloodiest episode recorded in modern African history, and was more ruthlessly efficient in causing death than were Nazi Germany’s gas chambers. Some 800,000 died, most of them in the first month of the bloodletting, though some estimate the death toll at greater than 1 million. The nature of the killing, with so many thrown into pit latrines or buried and dissolving in dank mass graves, makes an accurate count impossible. They were murdered eyeball to eyeball by friends and neighbors. Often the only difference between killer and victim was the tribal distinction marked upon their identity cards.
A mathematical calculation of Rwanda’s national suicide makes the speed of any other recorded catastrophe or single act of war pale by comparison. The two atomic bombs dropped upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed 200,000 people. The toll of the entire four-year war between Serbs, Croats, and Muslims in the former Yugoslavia during the early 1990s also just topped 200,000.
Previous genocides and mass killings this century–of Armenians by the young Turks of the Ottoman Empire in 1915, against 6 million European Jews by Germany’s Third Reich in the 1930s and 1940s, and by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 1970s–though in the end taking far more lives than Rwanda’s killing, proceeded at a slower burn for several years. The mammoth death toll of 20 million Soviets achieved by Stalin stretched over two decades.
No system of genocide ever devised has been more efficient: the daily kill rate was five times that of the Nazi death camps. Extremist Hutu officials, army commanders, and militia thugs conspired to eliminate all Tutsis and moderate Hutus and to draw every Hutu into complicity. For years they had prepared for this moment of genocide, organized for it, and manipulated a political system that required total, unquestioning obedience to authority. So throughout the country, the heat of anti-Tutsi propaganda turned participation into a life-or death imperative. Hutus were programmed to kill.
And the result was specifically Rwandan, or “very Swiss,” as the French historian Gerard Prunier, notes: “Anarchy, rape, arson, and murder were all carried out according to plan and under supervised authority. People were throwing repression to the winds,; yet at the same time even the Apocalypse had to be in accordance with official guidelines.”
The daily death rate averaged well more than 11,500 for two months, with surges as high as 45,000. During this peak, one murder was committed every 2 seconds of every minute, of every hour, for days: and affliction befitting the Apocalypse. Transfixed and aghast, the rest of the world watched, fiddled, then hid its eyes and did nothing.
Unless you had been a very close observer of Rwanda before the genocide, in those first days it was not clear what was happening, nor how organized it was. . .”
Peterson goes on to reveal more details regarding the Rwandan genocide including the aftermath wherein the Hutu were forced to flee to refugee camps when the Tutsis started to get the upper hand. At this time, foreign involvement began to make their appearance to the dismay of the Tutsi, who felt that the U.S. wanted to now take the credit for their success after months of “hands-off” policy. At those refugee camps, the Hutu were feed and cared for with foreign aid. The murderers were actually unwittingly supported and cared for with humanitarian aid. . . Within the refugee camps, among the true refugees/victims, hid the Hutu murders who continued to threaten the Tutsi. In turn the Tutsi took matters into their own hands knowing that justice would not be carried out. Thus murders continued as Tutsis exacted revenge. Hutus disappeared and were likely murdered. Many more people continued to die long after the 1994 genocide reached the ears and eyes of the West. To this day many of the perpetrators have not been tried, and likely full justice is just impossible to attain.
On a quick side note, the effectiveness of radio propaganda was striking. To think that ordinary citizens were whipped into such a frenzy that they were not only willing to commit murder, but actually did it. It’s worrying to me when I see our current media where alarmists are spewing forth seeds of fear and dissension such as threats of “death panels,” “socialist takeovers,” or the most worrying is seeing the hints of racial unrest. We live in perilous times, with very impressionistic people who lack truth and lack the will to seek it out. I find people like Rush Limbaugh dangerous. And to think I used to listen to that man. . . I understand that we need to protect our freedoms and rights, but we need to do it responsibly, not carelessly by reactionary personalities.
But back to Me Against My Brother, I definitely give it a two thumbs up. I know I seem to give most of my book comments two thumbs up, likely because the only books I’m inclined to write about are the ones that I found interesting. This one is definitely enlightening, and I hope to be able to read more of the books or topics that it referenced.
Marlakins
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08.22.09
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 9:02 pm by Administrator
I’ve been trying to keep up with the currently proposed universal health care issue. While I am concerned about it because I personally prefer less government involvement, if possible, I understand the argument that as our health care system stands today, changes sure could be helpful. Being that I’ve personally experienced a life-threatening disease, I know how expensive medical payments are and can be. It’s not unheard of for people to lose all their life’s savings even while having medical insurance coverage. I will never forget receiving a bill for a three weeks’ supply of Desferal totaling $8,000 because my medical insurance claimed that they did not cover the pharmacy that was supplying the drug. That was only a fraction of my medical expenditures. Fortunately for me, that would have been a “temporary” situation, but I know there are many, many others who are blood transfusion dependent for life who will require life-long treatment of Desferal or Exjade or other iron chelating agents in addition to blood transfusions and other medical assistance. How can they afford this without help? I recall one of my relatives in the Philippines needing a blood transfusion while hospitalized and since their medical system is different from ours (people there generally pay out of pocket if they are fortunate enough to be able to do so), my cousins had to “buy” the blood “first” before they could transfuse my aunt. And I know that a unit of blood can be quite costly, not to mention a unit of platelets, immunoglobulins (I know of a patient who used this and told me they billed her insurance $40,000 for one bag of IVIG), and other blood products.
At the same time, I try to pay attention to the other side of the argument even to the extremes such as comparing Obama to Hitler because of his support for health care reform. Personally, I think that’s going way overboard. First of all, it’s not like all countries who have gone the way of universal health care or some form of it have gone the way of Hitler. I recall watching Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko, and I did think he brought of up some good points. I knew that not only Canada and the UK has nationalized health care, but also France and Italy. It made me wonder what other countries have universal health care. A Google search brought me to this article dated July 5, 2007 titled What Countries Have Universal Health Care? Below is a map from that article which shows in blue which countries currently have universal health care or some form of it. The countries listed are: Afghanistan*, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq*, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Click onto the map to enlarge.
So I ask myself, have all these countries gone to hell in a hand basket because of this socialized program? I have heard people claim that people from all over the world come to the United States for advanced treatments for various illnesses. But didn’t Farrah Fawcett go to Germany looking for alternative treatments for her anal cancer? Evidently, she did not find what she was looking for here in the U.S. and sought care elsewhere. Notice that Germany is on the list who practice some form of universal health care. Obviously there is more to consider here.
So in light of these arguments and to settle in my mind whether the Obama/Hitler comparison has any merit, I have reserved a copy of his book, Audacity of Hope. I know that before Hitler’s rise to power he already had ideas of a superior race. I have never heard Obama claim such a thing. The issue of superior race is the hallmark of Hitler’s notoriety. How about euthanasia? My understanding is that euthanasia was practiced here in the U.S. before Germany did so. Thus I want to read Obama’s book to see if he has any references to that. I have seen some YouTube videos trying to insinuate that Obama is a racist, but from the quotes given, I did not see them that way. I think reading those quotes in their proper texts might shed more light on Obama’s intent with those comments. Just merely stating that there are noticeable differences between ethnic groups isn’t racist, but merely stating an observation. It’s quite different to claim differences, than to claim that those differences mean that one group has the right to dominate another group or that one group has the right to eliminate another group based on there inherent racial qualities. So we’ll see.
Regarding Obama’s stance on abortion, personally, I don’t agree with it. However his argument that he wouldn’t want his daughters to carry a child resulting from rape was the very argument one of our good, Christian friends had. Not to mention names, but this Christian is one of the very few who we feel have an understanding of the Bible close to ours. He did not outright say that he was for abortion, but rather found it extremely difficult to know if he would or could stand the idea that his daughter would have to carry and give birth to a child resulting from rape. And this is from a good Christian man whom I greatly respect. Of all our Christian friends, he is one that I am sure of his salvation and has an extremely good and kind heart and a good grasp of the Bible. Yet, he falters on this issue. So I am reluctant to believe, solely on that example, that Obama is an evil man because of his stance on a very touchy aspect of the abortion debate. I would need to know more.
So while I am cautiously watching the progress of this health reform (because I think Big Pharma is really screwing us as the system currently stands, but I’m not one to fully trust my health care on the government either), that’s a little more of my 2 cents for now on the health care issue. I’m sure there will be more to follow later. . .
Marlakins
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08.19.09
Posted in Uncategorized, knitting and crocheting at 12:03 am by Administrator
Well, it’s about that time to update my yarn progress. I finally finished Matty’s gansey about two weeks ago. It took me a while because I ran out of one color, so I had to put it aside for a while. I was trying to use up some left over yarn, but ended up running short by 4 rows, ack! So I had to order the proper color (cognac heather). This is how far I got before I had to wait until I got more yarn.
Here it is completed.
After I finished that one, I started working on the February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman. Here it is in progress.
I used Paton’s Kroy Sock Yarn for this pattern. The color is called stripes. I used both 2 US and 5 US needles. Here’s the completed sweater. I had a little left over yarn, so I made a pair of socks, and a little flower clip. I didn’t have enough for a hat.
As usual, I have to share these buttons. I love shopping for buttons, even though I don’t particularly like sewing them on! I chose two different kinds because I just thought it looked better that way for this particular sweater. Here’s a close up of the two styles of buttons. One has a little birdie hatching out of its shell, and the other is a little elephant with a bib.
After I finished that project, I had a chance to start on my Babette Blanket. Here’s the stack of squares I have so far.
I still have a lot more squares to make to equal a full blanket. Here’s how they look like laid out. Andrew says they look funky to him in a sort of Dr. Seuss sort of way. . . I’ll take that as a compliment because that Dr. Seuss quality is what I like about this blanket, heheheh.
These are just some colors I happen to have on hand, so it’s not like I’m completely loving the color combos. So I think the next one I do I will select the colors ahead of time and work them up. At least this is giving me some practice while at the same time making my stash yarn useful. I hope when it comes time to sew all these squares together they fit all right and I don’t go crazy, ha!
And that’s it for my yarnie escapades for now. . .
Marlakins
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08.17.09
Posted in Movie commentary, Uncategorized at 4:50 pm by Administrator
My boys and I just watched District 9. Now that movie combines the types of themes that interest me–social issues (such as class struggles), government issues (such as secret programs and weapons development), personal relationships, alien sci-fi, action with a lot of boom boom, and even a touch of humor. But before I recommend this movie to anyone, I will say there is a “lot” of violence and foul language. There is also a lot of logistical problems–i.e. why the aliens got there, why they didn’t put the humans in their place (so-to-speak) given their superior weaponry and strength, but as far as I’m concerned those problems are not the story, so I’m okay with ignoring those problems. The story was the interaction between the humans and the aliens when they are forced to live with each other. My son, Andrew, pointed out that his studies on Africa really helped him to appreciate this movie more. I couldn’t agree more. I think that’s why I also appreciated the movie because it just fit right in there with my readings on Africa, early colonialization, and racism. The way I saw it was a story of intolerance and misunderstandings resulting in unfortunate circumstances. The rest of the movie was dressed up with sci-fi and action. Essentially, I saw District 9 as a modern-day version of The Watermelon Man, but dealing with a larger scope of beings (aliens and humans) on hyper-drive testosterone.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers on this one, so I’ll just say that I give it two thumbs up “provided” the blood and gore and foul language isn’t an issue for the viewer. I think the story was innovative and used actual concepts of how there is often more than two opposing sides (I was reminded of the warlords in Africa and even China and how there’s always some who will take advantage of the weak). Often there is a web of complications and levels of struggle, and District 9 was an excellent reminder of how in real life things aren’t always so clear as black and white. Today, just as in times past, the answers or solutions to our life’s struggles are not so simple as black and white, but rather are entangled in all sorts of shades in between. Much like our current political system we so loosely refer to as right and left (Republican and Democrat, liberal or conservative), we must realize that there is so much in between.
Marlakins
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08.15.09
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 8:08 pm by Administrator
The other night I dreamed I was trying to figure out what was going on with the national health care proposals. The funny thing was that I knew it was a dream while I was dreaming it. I was going over points and thinking, “Well, that part seems okay. Or, I can see a problem with that part. . . “ And at the same time I was telling myself, “Marla, you have to wake up and do a proper search and read what the actual proposals are instead of trying to weigh the value of the health care proposals from your head/imagination.” Then I woke up and realized I’m likely being bombarded with so much news that I’m now dreaming about it, while at the same time finding it particularly difficult to figure out what’s true or not despite all the crazy news we’ve been getting.
I’ve been trying to listen to both sides of the health care reform argument. I can see pros and cons to both sides, and while the big issue these days seems to be “rationing” health care, I’m concerned about being “over treated.” I can appreciate that people want and need health care coverage, but at the same time, there are a few of us out here who don’t want to be forced to take vaccines or mammograms, or other so-called “preventive” measures (because I personally don’t believe in them), nor do I want any social service “visits.” It’s one thing to say that you’ll have medical coverage “if” you need it, but another thing to insist on “well-doctor check ups” or enforce “mandatory” health care coverage. It would be nice if there was an option for levels of treatment like for accidents vs. disease care. If I were to contract a disease, I want to have the option of going to a naturopath or other alternative doctors and practitioners even if it means paying out-of-pocket. What I haven’t heard discussed so far is whether any of this health reform will affect our ability to seek out alternative practitioners. Will our “choices” of health care be limited? And can people who choose not be be insured continue to be uninsured if they so choose without being penalized for it?
One thing that seems unnerving to me is that the health care reform bill is 1000 pages long. What that seems to indicate is that there is much more involved than just who flips the bill. And while I cringe at the “death panel” debate (because I do think that it’s a good idea to have end-of-life “discussions to know what the patient and family want, and not as intent to pull the plug on grandma), there obviously will have to be some decisions regarding what is covered and what is not. If I want a filling, will is be a mercury amalgam or another material? Do I have a choice?
Another angle being discussed is reforming the actual health care, not just the availability of drugs. Easier access to doctors doesn’t necessarily translate to better health, but rather just makes it easier access to drugs and medical procedures. If we are truly interested in “health,” then we need to reform our understanding of what health is, how to maintain good health, and how to naturally regain health if it starts to fail. We need better access to better quality foods, cleaner environment, better working conditions.
I’m not completely against “some” government intervention because I realize that there are people out there who really do need some help, and what is government for but to help advocate for the needy. There are situations wherein some people need real help such as accident victims who become disabled by paralysis or children born with handicaps such as mental retardation or other physical disabilities. I do feel that it would be good to have some government assistance in those respects, “if” needed (some people have enough funds to take care of their own). However, I like Ronald Reagan’s suggestion about government assistance for health care. That is, he suggested that the federal government could allot a certain amount of money for each state, and then from there let each state decide how to distribute the funds. That way there would be more options for people. More heads getting together to make these decisions and if one state decision is not acceptable, then a person can appeal to another state. This would give more opportunity for checks and balances. I dislike the way people are screaming socialism because it’s so much more complicated than that. Our fire department, library services, police force, and even military are social programs. Our roads and dams are a result of social programs. It’s the infringements into our personal lives that are where lines need to be drawn on social programs, not just all social programs.
I know there’s so much more to consider about this new health care bill, so may add more of my 2 cents later on. There was portion on the bill that mentioned all doctors were to be paid the same. . . wow, that sounds a bit too communistic to me. . . although it might help to ensure that those who seek work in the medical profession really are interested in helping with health care and not just going into the field for money. Still, that just doesn’t sit right with me at the moment.
Marlakins
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08.08.09
Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized at 5:10 pm by Administrator
The second portion of Me Against My Brother is on Sudan. Like Somalia, the Sudanese have also been embroiled in warfare, which has resulted in the displacement of civilians and thus massive starvation. However, according Scott Peterson, author of Me Against My Brother, the warfare in Sudan appears to be more religious in nature, than clan clashes as in Somalia. Some claim that the Sudanese warfare is more nationalistic than religious, but since there is no separation of religion and government there, it would be wrong to say there isn’t a strong religious component to their civil conflicts. Basically, the northern hard-line Muslim Sudanese are fighting against the southern Moderate Muslims (Sufis) and the Christians. Or as Peterson writes,
“Sudan’s conflict today is a modern extension of the Crusades, of the collision between Islam and Christianity. As it was then, this war is still wholly primitive in its disregard for civilians. This is a battle in which there are no prisoners of war. And of course, these days it carries on with 20th-century weapons. Not every northern fighter is a bearded Muslim zealot swinging a sword for God’s will. And not every southern rebel is a Christian soldier marching as to war. In fact, when the civil war first began more than 45 yeas ago, religion was hardly a factor. But over time, religious aspects have turned into red lines, even a casus belli. In the past decade, the war has been transformed that way.”
Peterson includes part of his interview with the sister and mother of Al-Fateh Omar Hussein, a young Sudanese martyr. His sister explains to Peterson how there is no separation of church and state in Islam so “what is seen as nationalism in a Western sense, here it is seen in religious terms.” She goes on to explain the conflict to Islamic doctrine as she states,”
“The aim is not to bring Islam to the people of the south, but to use religion [to fight] the war”. . . “Before this regime had re-energized the civil war, ‘generals ordered to the south would take off their epaulets’ and refuse to go.”
“Religion in this war is not the core subject,” says Hussein’s sister. “But when they say it is a jihad to defend your family, your government and your people, fighters will be motivated by the religious reward. For human nature, killing is very hard, and it is not acceptable unless there is a very high reward. Today, the reward is very high.”
Apparently, not only does their government use religion as a motivator for some of the people to fight, they also compensate families of the martyrs. Peterson writes that, “Families of martyrs are well-cared for, school fees are paid by the regime, and streets and even PDF brigades are named after those who embrace Allah’s will. I found that interesting because here in the U.S. the thing we commonly hear is that those radicals Muslims fight so that they can go to heaven and find scores of virgins waiting for them. Obviously we aren’t shown the whole truth. Supposedly in Sudan there are more “Sufi Muslims who believe that the Koran rejects “compulsion in religion”–that is, imposing Islam upon non-believers. It also delivers a message of tolerance of Christians and Jews, whom Muslims consider to be People of the Book who simply follow different prophets. But in practice in Sudan, these precepts have proved to be little protection for non-Muslims.”
Another thing I learned from the Sudan portion of Me Against My Brother is that famine and starvation in this area is not necessarily caused by over population, but due in large part to warfare. I recall reading an article on “Plumpy Nut” months ago, which described a product developed to help feed the starving people in parts of Africa. I read the comments below where all sorts of people made assertions regarding areas hit by famine in Africa. Some such comments were regarding over population suggesting that they should control their reproduction because their numbers are outgrowing the ability of the land to sustain them. While I had heard that those claims are erroneous, reading Me Against My Brother confirmed to me that that assertion is incorrect. Over population is not the primary cause of their famines and starvation, but rather it’s all the civil warfare which has been regularly displacing the people and where warriors/soldiers raid and destroy the food supplies of the civilians that results in the lack of food and shelter.
To complicate matters, the wars in Sudan are not simple north and south issues. Aside from the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), the National Islam Front (NIF), and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), there are factions within groups such as the Nuer and the Dinka tribes who have traditions and myths that seem to perpetually have these tribes warring against one another. Other organizations are also involved such as Maoist backing and then other foreign aid groups, which presents the dilemma of how to really aid the civilians when all these warring factions use foreign aid intended for the starving civilians to bolster their soldiers to fight more. It’s a conundrum that is quite obvious to the Sudanese themselves as Peterson writes how the Sudanese “joke” about their situation:
“There was an Egyptian who was blind and begging.
God appeared and said: “What can I do for you?”
The Egyptian, of course, replied: “please open my eyes.”
There was a Lebanese who was deaf and dumb.
And God appeared and said: “What can I do for you?”
The Lebanese replied, “Please give me the power of speech.”
And there was a Sudanese, who was crippled and paralyzed,
God appeared and said: “What can I do for you?”
The Sudanese answered: “Please give me a wheelchair, but make it an automatic, so that I can beg more and more.”
Oftentimes foreign aid is used by the warring factions which keeps them strong enough to fight another day. Not only are they fed, but at times clothed as well. . . At the Lobonok base, Peterson writes about the great poverty in that region. Some of the SPLA soldiers have uniforms, but everyone else wears T-shirts and rags that often are sent from church collections from America and Europe to the poor in Africa. The Sudanese wear an array of US high school sports teams and advertisements/mementos from places such as Disneyland to Lapland. Peterson writes that, “Many young warriors marched into battle clad in wildly incongruous outfits: bright children’s ski jackets with crude designs; polyester powder-blue flare-bottom trousers, thrown away by some American in the late 1970’s, when Saturday Night Fever style quietly gave way to Levi’s 501 jean; flannel pyjamas with childlike teddy bears and sometimes even bathroom slippers. The handouts were worn until they became threadbare, until shoulders and knees wore away and the last fibers disintegrated. ‘It’s exceedingly primitive,’ one foreign visitor said. ‘You get the impression they could have been doing the same thing for the past 100 years and could still be at it for the next century.’” Peterson goes on to write about their crude attire and weapons “sacks.” It seems almost humorous in a weird way, but mostly sad that this instinct to fight causes so much suffering and renders “aid” for the needy more of aid to more fighting and suffering. I am again reminded of the Bible that without love, we are nothing. Can these wars end without men learning Christ’s love? People often fight and kill one another in the name of God, but the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:20:
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
In the meantime, how do we help these people? Do we continue to send foreign aid? How can we not? But somehow it needs to be more controlled. There must be more accountability to the aid being sent.
As usual, there is much more to mull over regarding Sudan, but I’ll stop here. I have finished reading Me Against My Brother, but will comment on the last section on Rwanda another time. I have found Peterson’s book enlightening, so definitely would recommend this book to anyone interested in African history and world affairs. Although I should warn that it is disturbing in places because war is disturbing and anyone who isn’t disturbed by the atrocities of war must have their consciences seared somehow. But I do give Peterson’s book two thumbs up as it helps to give a better understanding of the issues faced in parts of Africa, namely Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda. I find it helps me to be less quick to judge and more thoughtful.
Marlakins
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08.04.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:39 pm by Administrator
We had meant to get together to celebrate months ago, but didn’t do it until just yesterday. Better late than never. . .
Actually, our luncheon was just an informal combined celebration for the awards my sisters and my boys (Brian and Andrew) are holding. Brian got his shiatsu certificate, Andrew got his AA diploma (magna cum laude 
), my sis on the left is holding a crystal plaque for Nurse of the year 2009, and my other sis on the right renewed her broker’s license. We like to find any excuse to get together, and a quadruple celebration definitely fit the bill!
Here’s a close up of my sister’s nursing award.
And I definitely agree that she’s a “great” nurse! When I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia back in 1999, she took great care of me and came to help me almost every day during my transfusion dependent days. She even started some of my IV’s when the nurses were having trouble accessing my veins. My other sister worked on co-ordinating all my blood donors and making sure there was always blood on hand for me. She called me every morning while on her way to work. I still remember her telling me, “I just want to hear your voice. . . “ There is no doubt that I have the “BEST” sisters!!!
Congrats, guys, for your successes!
And for a little trivia. . . While we were waiting for my sister to get ready for lunch, I spyed one of their “samples” on their conference table. They do remodeling work as well as retrofitting and seismic work. So I’ve known about how California has certain earthquake standards for construction, one of them being that certain buildings are required to be built with “rollers” to help make them more flexible during earthquakes. Aside from that, I never knew what or how those rollers looked. Well, I finally saw a sample. Here’s what the bottom layer looks like.
I tried to push the front, left ball to show how the platform is a bit concave. However, in this picture it’s hard to see the ball moving, although it was in actuality. This is a model of what the bottom rollers on a building looks like. Then the next layer goes on top of the rollers. The second layer looks like this when on top of the bottom rollers.
The rollers still have some room to roll this way. Then the third layer is placed on top of this, which looks like this and is the platform for the building.
This base construction/design gives the building some flexibility during an earthquake. The building will sway rather than crack due to rigidity. Here’s a pic of the three layers being pushed aside and still rolling along the rollers.
This is the reason I have been told that when in a tall high rise and I feel the sensation of “movement,” there really is movement. And that’s my trivia for the day!
Oh! While I didn’t have a “certificate” or “award” to show off, I did acquire something that I spyed in a little Japanese store after lunch and thought was too cute to pass up. . . Aren’t these adorable? Eeeeee!
I had to take them home. Here’s the side view of them.
As soon as I got home, I threw my new fat cat bowls in the dishwasher. I’ve been enjoying my meals today in them, heheheh. I should have looked around more to see if they had matching mugs. Oh well, maybe next time.
Marlakins
P.S. Funny to have this post titled “Yesterday’s Luncheon,” but not have any mention or pictures of our lunch! Ha! Well, it was Japanese food, and we were chatting so much that I forgot to take pictures of the food!
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08.02.09
Posted in Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, Uncategorized at 10:57 am by Administrator
It seems like there has been so much going on lately that I’m not focused on blogging these days. Now that we’re headed toward the last stretch of summer, I hope I’ll get more organized again. I was going to do another book review/comments on Me Against My Brother, but Brian handed me the August issue of Voices of the Martyrs and pointed out an article called, To Call Jesus “Messiah”. The article exposes persecution some Messianic Jews are experiencing in Israel from some ultra-Orthodox Jewish organizations including Yad L’Achim.
Messianic Jews are Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah and who follow the teachings of both the Old and New Testaments. Ultra-Orthodox Jews do not adhere to that and apparently can be hostile to those ideas and beliefs. Voices of the Martyrs mentions a few examples of Christian persecution in Israel and the West Bank as follows:
~May 15, 2008: Residents of Or Yehuda publicly burned hundreds of New Testaments in front of a synagogue while students danced around the burning books.
~May 1, 2008: Two chief Rabbis cancelled their International Jewish Bible Quiz after they learned a 15-year-old finalist was a Messianic Jew.
~March 2, 2008: Ami Ortiz– a dual American-Israeli citizen and son of a Messianic Jewish pastor–was seriously injured when a bomb exploded in his home in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. This bomb was left on his doorstep as a package for his dad. Months before, an unknown group circulated fliers in several Jewish cities. The fliers warned the public to be wary of missionaries who try to “steal souls.” They also contained pictures, names and the addresses of Messianic Jews. It is likely whoever left the bomb for the Ortiz family identified them though that flyer.
~November 8, 2007: A group of Austrian bishops were barred from the Western Wall, because they refused to remove crosses they wore. The Chief Rabbi said the crosses were “insulting and provacative.”
~October 23, 2007: Arsonists firebombed a church in West Jerusalem shared by Baptists and Messianic Jews.
When I read this article, I thought of Luke 21:12
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
Deliver us up to the “synagogues?” I think Christians need to understand this better. The reason I think this is because I remember during the elections when Palin stated something to the effect that she (or we Christian Americans) was friends with Israel. Well actually all the candidates claimed that they were friends of Israel. However, I single out Palin because she claims to be a Bible-believing Christian. And from her “generalized” statement, I was left to wonder how much she (and many of us Christians) really understands about Israel and the Jews. I understand that our Christian faith has ties to Israel’s history and founding, which gives many of us Christians respect for the nation of Israel, but does she (and many of us) know that there are different types of Jews and that some persecute other Jews for their belief in Jesus as the Messiah? Does she know that there are Jews who hate gentiles, which include us Christians? And that they have a perjorative term for us non-Jews–”goy?” Often we are inundated with the radical Muslim idea of wiping out the “infidel.” This idea tends to rile up the masses to fight in the middle east. We are incensed that we would be thought of as the “infidel” worthy only of death. Yet, we don’t hear much about the ultra-Orthodox Jews who likewise would like to rid their areas of us “goys,” aka gentiles or non-Jews or essentially, infidels. If we aren’t to be completely removed, then our only value would be to use us for labor such as work that they would prefer not to do or for work that needs to be done on the Sabbaths when they are not allowed to work because of their religious beliefs. So really, to both the radical Muslim and the ultra-Orthodox Jew, we Christians are the outsiders. I find it interesting that we would favor one over the other, or villanize one over the other when both despise us. And while Muslims don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah, at least they have a respect for Jesus in that they claim Jesus was a prophet. The Orthodox Jews do not afford Jesus that much respect, if any at all. To the Orthodox Jew, Jesus is neither the Messiah nor a prophet of God. It’s not only the Palestinians that some Orthodox Jews want out of Israel, but also all the Christians. Why then would any Bible-believing Christian claim “unconditionally” that they are “friends” of Israel? Respect, yes, but “friends?” when they persecute our brothers and sisters? Were the pharisees friends of Jesus? Did Jesus claim He was friends with the pharisees?
Marlakins
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