HUMOR: Living the dream?

CULTURE/SOCIETY and POLITICS: Reflective Hillary Clinton urges South Africa to live up to Mandela's legacy

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — In a rare and unusually personal reflection on forgiveness and redemption, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged South African students too young to remember apartheid not to lose sight of the example their country holds for the world and for themselves.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/reflective-hillary-clinton-urges-south-africa-to-live-up-to-mandelas-legacy/2012/08/08/1088edd4-e167-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html

HUMOR and SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: Christ Kills Two, Injures Seven In Abortion-Clinic Attack

I found this from The Onion through a link from GodlessGirl on Twitter. I edited it down some. For the complete article, click here. - OlderMusicGeek

Christ Kills Two, Injures Seven In Abortion-Clinic Attack
November 25, 1998 | Issue 34•17

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Jesus Christ, son of God and noted pro-life activist, killed two and critically wounded seven others when He opened fire in the waiting room of a Huntsville abortion clinic Tuesday.

Security guards at the Women's Medical Clinic of Huntsville were able to disarm the Messiah before He could reload His weapon, a secondhand Glock 9mm pistol that authorities said He purchased legally at a Jackson, MS, sporting-goods store. "Abortion is a sin," said Christ as He was led away in handcuffs. "It is an abomination in the eyes of Me." Witnesses said the attack, which took the lives of Dr. Nelson Woodring, 51, and clinic nurse Danielle Costa, 29, came from "out of nowhere."

"He walked up to the admissions desk and asked if He could see Dr. Woodring," receptionist Iris Reid said. "The next thing I knew, He was shouting Biblical verses and opening fire on everything moving."

"It was horrible," said injured clinic nurse Jessica Combs, recovering at a local hospital with bullet wounds to the leg and abdomen. "He put his hands over Dr. Woodring's head and told him He forgave him for his sins, and then He shot him right in the face." Huntsville police officials are not certain how the Messiah was able to bypass clinic guards and proceed undetected past security cameras and into the clinic waiting room, where He produced the gun from its hiding place in the folds of His robe. Federal investigators are similarly baffled, saying that the heavily armed Christ had moved in "mysterious ways."

Speaking to reporters from His holding cell, Christ, 33, said: "What if the Virgin Mary had decided to abort me? Certainly she must have been tempted to do so. After all, it wasn't even her decision to conceive me in the first place. But in the end, she made the right decision, bringing her pregnancy to term and giving the world a Savior. Blessed is she among women." According to legal experts, if convicted, Christ could face the death penalty.

"The state of Alabama has the death penalty, and this crime is certainly the sort that would be construed as a capital offense," University of Michigan law professor Arthur Lipscomb said. "With the right judge and jury, Christ could very well be put to death yet again."

Tuesday's shooting is not Christ's first brush with the law. On April 8, 29, He was arrested in the Roman province of Judea for alleged false claims to the throne of the Kingdom of Israel. In October 1997, He was arrested for plotting to mail anthrax-laced packages to two dozen abortion doctors across the U.S. "Abortion is an abomination. It is a sin. It is murder," Christ said. "I only did what any good Christian would have done."

A link to the complete article

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION and ENTERTAINMENT: What If Someone Punched Jesus In The Face?

I found this this through GodlessGirl's blog. - OlderMusicGeek

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Mandela Celebrates 90th Birthday

This is a pretty good piece from NPR on Mandela's 90th birthday last week. I edited down a little bit, but you can read the full piece at this link. - OlderMusicGeek

Mandela Celebrates 90th Birthday
by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Morning Edition, July 18, 2008 · Nelson Mandela, one of the world's most revered elder statesmen, turned 90 on Friday.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, South Africa's first democratically elected leader, spent decades in prison, as did many others who dedicated their lives to the anti-apartheid struggle. They fought for liberation and equality in a free, democratic and non-racial South Africa.

The first time many heard Mandela's voice was in the 1960s, when he was on trial, charged with treason. In a three-hour closing argument, Mandela — a lawyer by profession — defended his actions to end white minority rule. He told the judge:

"It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized but, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die," he said.

Mandela was found guilty in 1964 and began serving what was arguably the most celebrated life sentence in history.

On Feb. 11, 1990, 27 years later, Mandela was a free man. He was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994, heading a multiracial government for five years.

Praise singers, presidents and paupers celebrated his inauguration.

But Mandela warned that tough times remained ahead for South Africans on a Long Walk to Freedom, the title of his autobiography.

"I have travelled this long road to freedom. I trust I did not falter. I made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that, after crossing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to cross," he said.

After just one term as president, Mandela handed over the reins of power. But he kept working. His compatriots thanked him for promoting racial harmony and national unity — and choosing forgiveness and reconciliation over revenge. At the grand old age of 86, after dedicating himself to children, education, eradicating poverty, and a new struggle — the fight against HIV/AIDS — Mandela had this message for South Africans and the world:

"What I've come to do here this morning is to make an appeal more than an announcement. I'm turning 86 in a few weeks' time — and that is a longer life than most people are granted. I am confident that nobody present here today will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I'm still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself."

Mandela, fondly known by his clan name, Madiba, has always said that what he missed most during his many years in jail was the sound of children's voices.

On his 90th birthday, he received tributes from all over the world and messages from many children across Africa, including this one from a young South African girl: "Dear Madiba, on your happy day, we thank you for uniting the people of our country, so that all children can grow up together, never mind what language they speak or color they may be. Happy 90th birthday."

A link to the original article

ENTERTAINMENT and POLITICS: Record Label Gives Iraq War Vets a Musical Voice

This is from Rolling Stone. I found it through my NetVibes page. I edited down for space. But here's a link to the complete article. - OlderMusicGeek

To The Fallen Records is a unique record label in that it puts out compilations of songs written and recorded by veterans of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – some even recorded in the field. On the occasion of the release of the new compilation To The Fallen Records Presents: Rock Vol. 1, Rolling Stone’s Evan Serpick took a look at the origins of the label. To read the full, in-depth exploration, click here.

In 2005, Army Sgt. First Class John Freeman III's platoon was drawn into a firefight with local insurgents in Iraq's Al-Anbar province, killing twenty-three Iraqis and suffering one casualty. Afterward, Freeman was approached by the platoon's chaplain, who encouraged him to attend church services. "I explained to him that it's kind of hard for me to go to church," says Freeman, 37. "It's hard to forgive myself when, tomorrow, I'm going to go out and do the exact same thing." Instead, Freeman sat down and wrote a song, "Don't Try and Save Me": "It's going to take more than time to wash away the pain," he sings over reverb-heavy electric guitars. "The bloodstains on my soul could never, ever come clean."

The messages range from patriotic anthems to Bush-bashing tirades. In "Sleeping Giant," metal band 10 Fold — fronted by Army Spc. Eric Conley, a Humvee gunner who patrolled the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad — lashes out at the terrorists who invoked American wrath: "Your God can't save you. . . . You'll be gone soon." Backed by the sounds of gunfire, Dirty Boi Vets — Marine Sgts. Tendaji Akil-Milele and Sugarray Henry — question their mission on "Combat Zone": "CO telling us we won't be that long/I still think we killing them for no reason."

A link to the complete article in Rolling Stone

CULTURE/SOCIETY: The Black Zodiac

A fun quiz in time for Halloween. :) Too bad the creator doesn't know how to proofread though!! - OlderMusicGeek

What sign of the Black Zodiac are you?

The Lost Soul
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