Doing the right thing in 'Darfur'?

Zoe's Ark, a French Humanitarian group, has been charged with kidnapping minors and fraud? As reported by NPR today, the group had orchestrated a mission to rescue Darfur-region orphans, but somehow ended up in Chad and 'rescued' what are reported to be youngsters who are not confirmed to be orphans. Much is yet to be determined about the specifics of the case, but French President Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that the charity workers were in the wrong. Today the International Herald Tribune reported that Sarkozy is working to save face for France. This is imperative, especially in light of France's leading the UN Peace Keeping Troops that will soon enter the region.

More interestingly, 3 French reporters were also arrested and charged with kidnapping and fraud. Reporters without Borders has expressed dismay at these charges and plans to travel to Chad and plead on behalf of the journalists. They are being charged as accomplices...

I wish I could go to France and Chad and find out what really is going on. We have Arche de Zoé wanting to save the lives of children, we have the president of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, speculating on international radio that the charity workers had intentions of selling the children into the sex trade or domestic servitude...then there are always the reporters who wanted to get the story...and ended up incarcerated, at least for now.

Maybe the lesson from Chad today is that there needs to be unity in our efforts to work for peace and the health and safety of children in war-torn regions of the world. Did the French humanitarians even know the cultural situations in the Chad/Darfur region? Did they know it is against Muslim Law to adopt (They had planned to have the children adopted by host families in France)? These and a slew of other cultural issues are definitely at play, and what now exists is a potential international crisis.

We've heard so much about the genocide and plight of children in Darfur and around Africa, and so little has been done. It is a tragedy that when folks finally take a step towards rectifying the situation, they land in prison...and one honestly must ask if their intentions were pure or not.

In the mean time, the children of Darfur still suffer, and diplomacy once again is making headlines, and the real issue at hand, the dignity of the human person, is buried in the upside down pyramid far below the headline.

Inside a Woman's Soul

I've been reading "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge this week. John wrote "Wild at Heart," which is a phenomenal book on the spirit and soul of a man. "Captivating," co-written by Stasi and John, is a beautiful look at the spirit and soul of a woman--at femininity and the attacks up on it.

One focus of the book is the concept of woundedness. So many women (and men, too) have been raised in broken homes by broken parents in this broken society. The wounds girls receive are sometimes subtle, sometimes direct, but can cause life-long consequences if healing is not pursued.

Stasi talks about the absent father...the man who, perhaps withdraws and is emotionally distant...or, the man who is aggressive and unaffirming--the man for whom nothing is ever good enough. They talk about the disconnected mother...the mother who is overworked and lonely, who has little left for her children.

It is simple to see how broken individuals will rear a new generation of broken people. The real need, then is to heal, to be that whole person God created you to be. Stasi talks about how women were created beautiful, and how beauty is such a gift. Yet the gift is often abused and misused, leading women to either be ashamed of their beauty or to exploit it. What a tragedy!

Women were created beautiful for a an amazing purpose--to lift hearts and minds to the beauty of creation, to inspire men to be courageous and virtuous. Beauty ought to elicit true joy!
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In the depth of a woman's heart lies her true desire: "to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty"...she wants to be captivating! If only our world would accept this truth! Men want to be affirmed, respected...they desire someone and something to fight for...they need freedom, adventure and mystery. Do you not see how brilliantly God made man for woman and woman for man? What a gift...if only we could be in a place to truly accept this joy that points toward Eternity!

The French have it RIGHT!

I renewed my membership in the hippie-yuppie-orthodox-catholic social club today! Instead of going to the theater this week, I delegated my funds to support Chicago's NPR (and received a subscriptions to a Wine Magazine and Newsweek!). Furthermore, I shopped at Trader Joe's, wore my Berkies and read the New York Times. Yet, what brought me to a new level was the discovery of Reporters sans Frontieres.

Now, this organization (Reporter without Boarders) fights for the rights of journalists and for freedom of press around the world. I have been listening to folks blab in the background on Fox News for the last hour about everything BUT NEWS! (Don't get me wrong, FOX does report well...sometimes...) Anyhow...this organization keeps tabs on violations of freedom of the press as well as arrests, murders and atrocities committed upon and against journalists. They actually have a list of the world's top perpetrators against freedom of press (check it out, some familiar folks from Iran and Cuba make the Predators List). I heard the group referred to on NPR this evening, and found out they staged a fabulous demonstration outside of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland today. Why? Because of China's hosting the 2008 Olympics! It thrilled my heart to see another organization stand up against the human rights violations in Communist China!

Moving on to yuppie news. Check out the Fly Pen. This little devise is an innovation in the 'homework' industry. The pen, when used to write upon the special 'paper,' encrypts information which is then up-loadable onto your PC. I was sad to learn the technology is not Mac compatible yet...and look forward to when it is. Can you imagine writing all your board room meeting notes with the smart pen and automatically uploading them onto your computer? True, the devise is being marketed to students right now, but it can't be long before the corporate world begins to implement the technology.

My final moment of joy for the day is the new not-for-profit Pro Publica. This 'newswire' of sorts seeks to revitalize the necessary and perhaps endangered art of investigative journalism. A great endowment coupled with brilliant minds (including Wall Street Journal Editor Paul E. Steiger) proves to be a rather bold, yet brilliant effort in renewing news media as we know it! Heck...maybe one day they'll give me a job...who knows!

If You Beleive

It is clear to me that if a person believes in something, he or she will do anything for that cause...I look back on my own life and consider where I've poured my passion, and sometimes it makes me smile with (I think totally appropriate) pride. Then I step back and look at the folks around me, and just feel joyful to know them! PEOPLE DO AMAZING THINGS often with LITTLE THANKS! Yet, when it comes from the heart...

I know a woman who is in her mid-40s. She raised 3 kids almost like a single mom, because her husband was in the military. Not only did she raise those kids, she home-schooled them for several years! Fast forward, this mom took on 2 part-time jobs to help send her son to private school. On top of this, she now is living a more modest lifestyle so she can stay home with her husband who suffers from many health issues due to his military service.

Now, when I think about the shit the lady has been through, to know that she is still married to her husband and caring for her family blows my mind. The only reason for her actions is love. She is perhaps the most sacrificial person I have ever known. She's already watched one kid graduate from college, has another kid almost done...and she herself still hasn't actualized the dream of going to college!

She doesn't give up though. No matter how low or high a day is, she is constant. She doesn't leave, doesn't do drugs to cope. She knows the meaning of commitment, and she lives it out every moment of her life. She is a real hero, because she has sacrificed so much for the entity that is so under attack in our world--family.

What keeps her going? I think it is her faith. I am telling you, there has to be so much about her I don't know...and I am in awe of what I do know. Chances are I may never find out everything, but what a story her life is! The best thing she gave her family was the gift of life and faith. The best gift she gives us every day is her love, which is centered on Christ. It may sound trite sometimes, but I think that detracts from the honest necessity of saying the words...."Thanks mom."

Miracle

Like, every moment! Today I had a meeting with a group of dedicated Hispanic Catholics about how to up the ante, incorporating respect for human dignity into the fabric of Hispanic Catholic Outreach. Most of the folks drove over an hour, on a work night, to come out to this meeting...and they all had something beautiful to contribute.

While I was in Gaming Austria this past May for the International Symposium on Theology of the Body, the most popular question was "How can we integrate Theology of the Body into the fabric of society?"

Tonight, I heard the answer...and it is all about reeducating on the concept of what it means to be a human person, a man, a woman.

By the grace of God, this can be accomplished...there is so much more to say, we could talk about this for the rest of our lives!

You can cut your PERIOD in HALF!

Alright, check out the latest in birth control: not only can you prevent pregnancy by halting ovulation and deterring other pregnancy-related biological events, but you can cut your period down to 3 DAYS--that is right ladies, according to the promos, you can give your period a half life. I am sorry, I missed the part in health class where they explained that having a menstrual cycle and fertility in general was a disease.

So, I am sitting in my lovely home on the lake, and decide I will watch the new season of Law and Order, CSI...can't find it. Turn on the latest on AMC--Mad Men: What do I get to see--a married man having sex with another woman. Cable T.V. is really into showing the 'break-away' sex moment, by the way. It is more sensual: maybe more folks can be inspired to masturbate.

It just makes me ill...so, I flick to ABC--and 'Big Shots.' What do I get? Another extra-marital sex scene...and turns out most of the 'Big Shots' on the show are facing problems due to poor sexual decisions...Then, we get the kicker line, "What kind of world do we live in where women act more like men than we do," states apparently lead actor Dylan McDermott, playing a character named Dylan, dealing with the aftermath of poor sexual decisions, including bribing a reporter with his body--which backfires on him...Now, I had a major crush on this guy when I was in middle school and first watched "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994). Highly disappointed is all I can say about this show...and every other thing I've seen on T.V. tonight. It is really sad, quite honestly: there are no morals, and it is all about sex...I don't know how many times the guys on "Big Shots" have said 'sex' in the last 45 minutes...

Then, the kicker is the commercial for the half-life period. Now, I am not a scientist, but part of my job is to know about oral contraception, and let me tell you, the way this new "Pill" is being advertised is misleading at best. Check out their website...I love the part where you read: "Most side effects of the Pill are not serious and those that are, occur infrequently. Serious risks, which can be life threatening, include blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks, and are increased if you smoke cigarettes." That sounds hopeful, huh?

Keep exploring the site, and you get to read the story of Cammie, a young woman who just broke up with her college boy friend and is so glad she can rely on Loestrin 24FE for a short period and no extra-marital pregnancy when she has extra-marital sex with her new boyfriend.

So...from 'Big Shots' we learn that women can use sex just like men: for their socio-economic advancement...and the "Half-Life Pill" (this is my own classification), lets women know they can keep having 'safe' sex (although, if you miss a pill, be sure to use a condom (though they don't tell you the condom does not prevent pregnancy 100% of the time...or that the condom cannot protect you from HPV, which leads to Cervical Cancer for many women...oh well).

So, this is where we are in the world...sex with no 'responsibility' and crap T.V.... where are the people who beleive in fidelity?? Where are the actors who respect themselves enough to be involved in good T.V.??? Please, let me know!!!