Cluster-bomb might as well be Cluster-F#@%

Finally, a cluster-bomb treaty has been fully developed and is being signed this week by nearly all of the countries in the United Nations.

NEARLY all.

let me quickly cite for you the description of a cluster-bomb, from the AP writer/Yahoo! News article above:

"Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles that scatter them over vast areas. Some fail to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors."

these are not happy little toys that are harmless to play with. these are bombs that scatter foreign objects throughout the human body for the explicit purpose of stopping someone dead in their tracks. they normally do just that, but to the wrong people...

"[A]ccording to the group Handicap International, 98 percent of cluster-bomb victims are civilians, and 27 percent are children."

and here's the thing about this treaty before the UN. among those nations refusing to sign it we find ruthless nations that have committed countless war crimes, censored and imprisoned their own citizens with little reason, and participated in terrorist actions around the globe.

three of these countries are as follows:

Russia
China
United State of America


...guess what? countries like Lebanon are signing this treaty. the Lebanese government knows what cluster-bombs are like and know that it doesn't want to let them float around the world freely anymore.


"Washington, Moscow and other non-signers say cluster bombs have legitimate military uses such as repelling advancing troop columns."

if you want to repel advancing troop columns, use bullets. they work, too, and don't have a possibility of delayed explosive injury.

maintaining the use of bullets as opposed to weapons such as cluster-f#@%s will not stop the U.S. from being a nation that utilizes terrorism to get what it wants. but hopefully without these shiny play-things governments like those of Russia, China, and the United States of America might actually have to grow a pair and face combat in a more courageous way, as opposed to all-out slaughter of the weak and vulnerable.

If the United States of America would like to look like a nation that honors freedom and democracy, then I simply demand that its government sign the treaty to ban cluster-bombs.

...

and i ask those of you reading, if you live in this country, try to help us look like a little less of the huge asshole we already are and demand an end to cluster-bombs, as well!

thank you.

Food Not Bombs

i just called their number that i found listed in a couple places online, and i talked to a very friendly and easy-going Desiree, who's gotten hundreds of calls, probably, as so many people have been looking for FNB apparently.

she took my email and is going to pass along that and my number to people she's in contact with where she's at in Bloomington now.

apparently they're going to be camping out in northern indiana to block the building of a mexico-canada interstate, this May.

i don't know if i can join them, but i'd love to once i learn more about the situation.

basically, this is pretty cool, just thought i'd share it since i feel like i could really get involved in some stuff now!

PAX.

high-octane

sometimes i think about how real my life is, in a way that it defies all "American Dream" reality, and rather focuses on what is truly real, namely everything that is going on outside of this country.

i am aware of the Turkish invasion of northern Iraq, to deal with the PKK rebels.

i am aware of the peace talks in Kenya, and that they are possibly getting somewhere great in the coming weeks and months.

i am aware that the Islamic Courts Union could very easily overthrow the secular Transitional Federal Government and its Ethiopian backing, in southern Somalia, after the ICU displayed its power on Sunday, by attacking military targets in Dinsoor, Somalia. (frankly, the ICU brought better stability and peace during their six months of rule, than TFG/Ethiopia has in over a year. i think ICU needs to gain power back.)

i am aware that Kosovo and Serbia may easily divide the world's powers along lines (and to extents) not seen in over 60 years or more.

i am aware that Chad, Sudan's once-peaceful neighbor (harboring so many Darfur refugees) is on the verge of failing to withstand Sudanese rebels and their attempt at a likely coup.

i am aware that Israel is threatening a full-scale invasion of the Palestinian Authority.

i am aware that the U.S. is run by war criminals and murderers, liars, torturers, weasels, and arrogant war hawks.

barely any of this is good news. Kenya may have peace. Somalia may have stability (after more bloodshed of course).

but there is the bad:

Iraq may lose its own identity as a nation, as it is divided up but foreign belligerent powers.
Kosovo may lose its identity as a nation simply for declaring it, as the rest of the world draws lines to fight over it's name.
Chad's toppling may lead to another extension of Darfur, tripling the size of the war zone and genocidal crimes.
Palestine may lose its identity as a nation, as indiscriminate [super-power-backed] genocide wipes out an entire people based on individual criminals.
the world may be crippled by whatever next move the U.S., Russia, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, and the rest of the world's most influential states carry through with.

there is a vacuum where there once was concern for human life.

the U.S. has broken nearly all its commitments to proper human rights--like the ones spelled out in the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (and others)--or simply dodged parts of memberships, commitments, or alliances that would hold them equally accountable with all other members and signers.

and they say China's not fit to host the games. our Human Rights record is far worse... just that nobody knows about it.

things have changed...

brothers and sisters... something has changed in the manner of my writing. at least the subject matter.

so the heavier subject matter, like that which i last posted. like that which is now deleted.

it's posted elsewhere under another name and the whole works. if you want to read any of my new posts on my new site, ask me individually. i'll give you the link. but please be careful. if you read my last post--that looked more like a newspaper article--then you might have a hint of the dangers involved with using real information on either side of the atlantic.

please understand if things here seem suddenly less suspenseful. hopefully my protective measures in switching over will be worth something and will help protect the authors here, and all who have commented. i'll definitely try to work on both sites, of course!

p.s. if you're willing to go slightly undercover, i'd be glad to work on this with a partner or two (or more). there are many many human rights stories to cover. the world is only so big.

PAX.

i should tell you...

...that i'm back now. to some that might be exciting, interesting, and jolly news. to others, however, it may be a drawback because Krissi's writings have been so interesting! they'll no doubt continue, but every now and then i'll be chiming in too!

Mwanza was great, but way hotter than Arusha. glad to be back to the city where i can actually sleep with a shirt and pants on inside my sleeping bag!

while there, i fell in love with Somalia.
...i forded a river south of Lake Victoria--barefoot.
...i have washed my hands in Lake Victoria, the day after Christmas.
...i have walked several kilometers barefoot through the fields between Magu and the Lake, with three Maasai warrior friends of mine (who have all killed lions)!
...i have gotten a worm and recovered miraculously in a day (as opposed to the standard week or so it should have taken. (and got to ride on the back of the pastor's motorcycle to and from the hospital! awesomeness!)
...i preached the truth of the grace of Jesus being enough in a society where good works is all that matters.
...i preached the truth that we are still sinners and no better than the non-Christians around us, in a society where distinction between "saved" and "unsaved", and titles like Uingelisti (Evangelist) are status symbols.
...i also started my own "bar ministry" with my friend Jeff across from our open-air meetings, and simply by playing pool with a bunch of the guys every night, i think they saw Jesus' real love for them.
...i was also yelled at by other members of the Church for spending time with the guys at the bar when we did, which makes me wonder if maybe we were really doing something right there!
...and (possibly the best story of all) i have been stung by a scorpion, and lived to tell the tale (even though for the first twenty seconds i thought i was a dead man, and even forgot to pray, as i was so consumed by panic!) thanks to the simple remedy of rubbing graphite into incisions cut around the sting point!

God has been good.

oh yeah, one more thing...
...i've also decided to try to make it two years single, just devoting my attention to God. so, come Christmas eve, 2009, i'll hopefully have grown so close to God that no girl can distract me. and i've also decided the only girl i want is one who brings me closer to God when we talk. i might already know who that is. i'm not sure. i'm praying. maybe she is, too. yeah, she probably is.

God has been good.
and more importantly,
God has been.

and i've come to learn that that's often more than enough!
i've gotta go write a really important letter to that girl i hinted at, above, so i'm gonna leave you with the peace of Christ. and with the grace to know that you're all he wants. not your works, your religion, or your service. no, just simply you.

PAX.
-archer

presidential elections in the USA 2008

The official year of election for America’s next president has began a few days ago.

Now every candidate tries to go out and talk to the people as often and as much as possible.

I had a closer look at the programs of some people and I found out about some stuff which I don’t really like.
I don’t really like all of their ideas. Every candidate has something he stands for, I can’t really agree with. But that’s normal when you talk about politics. You'll never find someone you can fully agree with.

For me it’s hard to stand behind one of the candidates.
So I’m some kind of happy that I won’t have and won’t be allowed to vote for the next president of the USA.
It’s difficult to decide for one person especially this year.

The last survey in December 2007 showed that 39% would vote for Hillary Clinton and 24% would give their vote to Barack Obama; both are Democrats. For the Republics, there is Rudolph Giuliani to whom 25% would give their vote and 16% would give their vote to Mike Huckabee.

There are some others on the list as well but they get 0- 15% only. So they don’t really have a huge chance to win the election except they really make a good election campaign.

Frankly I don’t like all these election campaigns. They spend too much money on it. All together they’ll spend about 1 billion $ on their election campaigns this year in the USA but this isn't only a problem of the USA, all over the world, also in Germany, they spend too much on election campaigns.

Do you have any favorite you’d vote for right now?

If I'd be allowed to vote, I would vote for Jesus... ;-)
-> have a look at Archer's blog entry "-a really controversial political/ecclesiastical blog on Hillary Clinton-"

I’ll pray for all the Americans who are allowed to vote, to make the right decision and I’ll pray for the ones who want to become the next president of the United States that they’ll follow the right aims and God's will.

God bless you
-Krissi