Knocked down and out

I'm finally feeling human after a really bad bout of either a stomach bug or something I ate.<br /><br />I haven't been that ill since I drank rum and cokes at college party, and never touched them again. It makes me gag to even think about it, and it was over forty years ago.<br /><br />It hit me suddenly at 11 a.m., starting with the room spinning out of control and me throwing up almost non-stop for three hours. Which was really awful because the only thing in my stomach was a nectarine. I drank water just to avoid the dry heaves, which just about killed me.<br /><br />I even thought about having my husband take me to the emergency room, but I couldn't stand the thought of getting in a car or sitting in the ER for hours. <br /><br />That was an awful experience. It seems like lately it's always something with me. Broken wrist,sleep issues, and now a stomach thing. For someone that tries to be healthy, I'm sure sick a lot. I'm getting kind of tired of it.

Knocked down and out

I'm finally feeling human after a really bad bout of either a stomach bug or something I ate.I haven't been that ill since I drank rum and cokes at college party, and never touched them again. It makes me gag to even think about it, and it was over f…

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Live From Quito 3

Denver is 5,200 ft above sea level. Visitors to Denver are warned to take various precautions about the altitude. Quito is 9,200 ft above sea level -- 4,000 ft farther into the sky. That takes a little getting used to. I am over my illness now and have moved on to the altitude issue.<br /><br />Given my marginal health, I did not go on the field trip to the Colombia border on Saturday. It was 11.5 hrs on a bus. The people in Tucan were grateful for the visit of those bishops and spouses who made the journey. But I passed.<br /><br />My Saturday began congenially. I had breakfast with the music leader for the House of Bishops, Dent Davison. He is at the Cathedral in Chicago these days, but it turns out he grew up in Hawaii. We talked about our plans in Nevada for Filipino/ Pacific Islander Ministries, and he told me about a wonderful resource of traditional Christian music from the Pacific. The day ended with a dinner outing of the Province 8 bishops and spouses/partners. As providence would have it, I sat across the table from the bishop of Hawaii, who serves all the way to Guam. So we did more brainstorming about how to connect with our new mission field, Pacific Islanders living in the desert. In between, I caught up on paper work and church e mails. A very productive day! <br /><br />This morning was the most important thing we have done so far. We went to Church! That is always the most important thing to do, but today it was even more so. The Diocese of Ecuador Central has a history of big time trouble. In March, the Standing Committee in one fell swoop ousted the bishop. Since then there have been threats of violence -- conflict like we do not see in USA church life. Bishop Katharine and her staff have been negotiating a resolution to the crisis. Today both sides celebrated Holy Communion together. Bishop Katharine preached a wise, calm, faithful sermon directly into the conflict. The antagonists met at the same altar because we were here. What Woody Allen said about life is definitely true about episcopacy. "90 per cent is just showing up."

Live From Quito 3

Denver is 5,200 ft above sea level. Visitors to Denver are warned to take various precautions about the altitude. Quito is 9,200 ft above sea level -- 4,000 ft farther into the sky. That takes a little getting used to. I am over my illness now and ha…

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MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – QUEST FOR NATURAL RESOURCES

<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE “ORTHODOX” CONNECTION</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Aside of the US, EU eco - financial crises, which is about to reshuffle the geopolitical landscape profoundly in</span><span style="font-size: large;">  the not too distant future, there seems to be increase in activities around the globe in search for natural resource, which trigger tension between countries that usually live in peaceful coexistence.</span><span style="font-size: large;">  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The current dispute between TURKEY and ISRAEL in reality is about gas and possible oil extraction in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. What is interesting in this dispute is the constellation of the key players. On the one hand there is CYPRUS and GREECE who have strong ties to RUSSIA, not on only because of their common CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX faith, but also because of economic ties. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">ISRAEL on the other hand has a large number of RUSSIAN immigrants, which subsequently lead to stronger economic ties with RUSSIA. Subsequently ISRAEL and CYPRUS agreed to cooperate in gas and oil exploration activities which angered TURKEY that increasingly strengthens its ties with ARAB countries such as oil giant, SAUDI ARABIA which is facing its own share of problems when it comes to natural resources, namely that of water, or for the </span><span style="font-size: large;"> lack of it.</span><span style="font-size: large;">  </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">SAUDI ARABIA’S water needs are eating into oil wealth. See <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/us-saudi-water-idUSTRE7885ZX20110909">http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/us-saudi-water-idUSTRE7885ZX20110909</a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>WATER, GOLD OF THE FUTURE</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thus growing demand for water in the region could trigger further tension in an already fragile political environment. Not so long ago TURKEY and SYRIA were at the brink of war because of a water dispute over the Tigris and Euphrates River water distribution. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> The pending GOLAN HEIGHT (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_heights">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_heights</a> ) dispute between SYRIA and ISRAEL is not only about strategic advantages but to a large extend about water. See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Looking at all these aspects and the current natural resource dispute in the region it becomes imminent that TURKEY wants to increase its stakes in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN and maybe even provide SAUDI ARABIA with water from the Tigris and Euphrates River <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrates">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrates</a>, which could cause a further rift between SYRIA and TURKEY.</span><span style="font-size: large;">   </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oil and Gas findings in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, water shortage in the entire region and</span><span style="font-size: large;">  complex geopolitical constellations of TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA,</span><span style="font-size: large;">  and other</span><span style="font-size: large;">  SUNNI ARAB STATES</span><span style="font-size: large;">  on the one side and</span><span style="font-size: large;">  GREECE, CYPRUS, ISRAEL and in a supportive role RUSSIA and CHINA, on the other side, with the USA and EUROPE unable to mediate due to their precarious eco - political situation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>POLITICAL CHESS</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The significance of the recent gas and oil findings in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin are showcased in the intense political activities between GREECE, ISRAEL, CYPRUS and RUSSIA. For the first time in decades a GREEK Defense Minister visited his Israeli counterpart to sign a Cooperation Memorandum in the security sector between GREECE and ISRAEL. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SOUTHERN CONE</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2sbT99golENgdkTWtZK_0_JZJ_WxCh5YZQD76x7UvIscigGQ1DxnaNep3Ar-LVnNUvCmL-rUkD_e8GtkAWmMw_A0dbEZKac8HjSie5Ux2C6xkUKWjS-GOmAmgA-SM92zG8_yWMk9akni/s1600/FalklandFOGL1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2sbT99golENgdkTWtZK_0_JZJ_WxCh5YZQD76x7UvIscigGQ1DxnaNep3Ar-LVnNUvCmL-rUkD_e8GtkAWmMw_A0dbEZKac8HjSie5Ux2C6xkUKWjS-GOmAmgA-SM92zG8_yWMk9akni/s320/FalklandFOGL1.gif" width="320" /></a>Not only on the northern hemisphere are natural resources disputes looming. The conflict between ARGENTINA and the UNITED KINGDOM regarding the MALVINAS (Falklands) Islands is about to take up momentum after oil exploration along the eastern part of the southern cone indicated the possibility of large oil reserve findings, which prompted the UK to conduct drilling activities in the disputed area. This prompted ARGENTINA to step up its claim over the legitimate sovereignty of the islands.</span><span style="font-size: large;">    CHINA, in response to its close economic ties with ARGENTINA immediately reiterated its position in support for ARGENTINES legitimate sovereignty claim over the MALVINAS Islands. </span></div>

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – QUEST FOR NATURAL RESOURCES

THE “ORTHODOX” CONNECTIONAside of the US, EU eco - financial crises, which is about to reshuffle the geopolitical landscape profoundly in  the not too distant future, there seems to be increase in activities around the globe in search for natural res…

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