My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 4

When we weren’t visiting schools in Kenya, we were visiting churches. They often expressed their gratitude to us for visiting them in “such a remote part of Kenya.” I did not have the context to know it was “remote.” But it reminded me of the appreciation our rural congregations in Nevada express just for my ordinary visits. There is a blessing in having one’s presence and mission acknowledged from the outside. We felt blessed to be so welcomed.<br /><br />The first thing to impress me about the Diocese of Machakos was the number of congregations. There are 120 parishes, but a parish can include several congregations. There are about 300 congregations. The second thing to impress me is that they are growing, growing, growing. Everywhere I looked, they were building new churches for new congregations or building larger churches for congregations that had outgrown their buildings. Why is that? I suspect the very different process they use for discernment, formation, and ordination may have something to do with it.<br /><br />Evangelists. While visiting churches, I learned something fascinating about the ordination process in Kenya. While visiting the Philippines, I learned that the discernment and formation process leading to the ordination of a priest can take 8 to 10 years. Well, it is similar in Kenya, though the process is different in a fascinating way.<br /><br />The first step toward priesthood is training as an evangelist. The training is very short and simple. But the newly trained evangelist is then put to work building up the church. Only after putting in one’s time in the field as an evangelist can one begin formal training for priesthood. How long? Some had gotten a fast track – 2 years of evangelism work. Others had spent 6 to 9 years doing evangelism. <br /><br />This evangelism-first process affects the Kenyan Church in two ways. First, it insures they have people in the field with the sole job of church growth. There are 90 stipendiary priests, 30 non-stipendiary priests, and 30 evangelists at work in the Diocese of Machakos today. Second, the priests are formed as evangelists. In the U. S., we still labor under a 1960’s therapeutic model of priesthood. The emphasis is on counseling and pastoral care. That made sense when the society was already churched; but not in a place where 87% of the people have no faith connection. In Machakos, the emphasis is on sharing the gospel truth and bringing unaffiliated people into the community of faith. <br /><br />Here in the U.S., we talk a lot about division and decline. The church is making plans to retrench, to adapt to the inevitable process of shrinkage. Those who still hope to spread the gospel message are looking for ways to replace the church family with a no-demands individualistic spirituality. I call it Dollar General Christianity – sell more by cutting the cost. But Kenya has a different idea. We go about being the church in different ways to achieve different results. I understand the goal in Kenya far better than I understand whatever it is we are up to in the West.<br /><br />Exorcism. We visited one congregation where the Bishop’s specially designated team of exorcists does a lot of mano a mano combat with witchcraft, demons, and supernatural evil. I feel fairly sure Bishop Kanuku took me there with a bit of mischief in his mind. I think he figured me for a Western rationalist who would be utterly wierded out by exorcism. I was grateful for three things that had me ready for them – my experience in the charismatic renewal movement, my training in inner healing training where we learned a thing or two about these practices; and some reading I have done in cross-cultural pastoral care. I learned that what happens or is perceived to happen has a lot to do with our assumptions about what is possible, those assumptions are different in different cultures, and what happens here ain’t necessarily the way it works on the other side of the world. So I was able to have a good give and take conversation with the exorcists – a conversation in which we respected without pretending to completely understand each other. I promised to send Bishop Kanuku the prayers for blessing Holy Water I recently shared with the Nevada priests. Water blessed with this prayer will cure what ails ya, including the random demon.<br /><br />So much can get lost in translation cross culturally. A nice young man in my church in Georgia kept urging his wife to come meet me. He thought she’d like what I had to say. But the one day she finally showed up, I was away and the supply priest was from Nigeria. His sermon was a long tirade against “witchcraft.” Well the poor young woman there for the first time was a practicing tree-hugging Wiccan. The sermon did not leave her heart strangely warmed. Let me just say that the witchcraft African clergy are up against is nothing like the rituals of New Age Americans. It’s about dominating others, often hurting others. The world in which the African Church serves is different. We may not understand it. But we need to respect it. <br /><br />LGBT Issues. Speaking of respecting what we do not understand, yes I was asked about “gay marriage” (the hot button term for a number of LGBT issues). This was a question on which we simply were not going to agree, but the conversation was honest, authentic, and respectful. Again I felt grateful for prior preparation. The Indaba Group process and Bible Studies from Lambeth Conference 2008 had given me a sense of what Anglicans in Africa fear from decisions we make in the U.S. I explained, albeit only in part, our experience and the theology that influences us, but did not try to persuade them that I was right – only that a person could genuinely believe what I believe and still be a Christian. No one walked off in a huff. We discussed it, moved on, and had continuing friendly conversation about other matters. I don’t think that would have been possible a decade ago. It is today. In God’s time, things sort themselves out.

My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 4

When we weren’t visiting schools in Kenya, we were visiting churches. They often expressed their gratitude to us for visiting them in “such ...

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Library Media Specialist - New Milford High School

<strong>Library Media Specialist</strong> - New Milford High School. Date Available: tent. 8/22/2012. <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>New Milford Public Schools</strong></span> has an anticipated opening, pending budget approval, for a high school Library Media Specialist beginning with the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Candidates must hold or be eligible for Connecticut certification as a Library Media Specialist. Salary will be based on experience and degrees. An online application must be submitted which needs to include at least two letters of reference, resume, copy of Connecticut certification and copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts. <a href="http://www.applitrack.com/newmilfordps/onlineapp/JobPostings/view.asp?all=1&AppliTrackJobId=328&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail&AppliTrackViewPosting=1" target="_blank">Get more information/apply online</a>.

Library Media Specialist - New Milford High School

Library Media Specialist - New Milford High School. Date Available: tent. 8/22/2012. New Milford Public Schools has an anticipated opening...

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Library Media Specialist - Hill and Plain School, New Milford

<strong>Library Media Specialist</strong> - Hill and Plain School, New Milford. Date Available: tent. 8/22/2012. <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>New Milford Public Schools</strong></span> has an anticipated opening, pending budget approval, for an elementary Library Media Specialist beginning with the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Candidates must hold or be eligible for Connecticut certification as a Library Media Specialist. Salary will be based on experience and degrees. An online application must be submitted which needs to include at least two letters of reference, resume, copy of Connecticut certification and copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts. <a href="http://www.applitrack.com/newmilfordps/onlineapp/JobPostings/view.asp?all=1&AppliTrackJobId=327&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail&AppliTrackViewPosting=1" target="_blank">Get more information/apply online</a>.

Library Media Specialist - Hill and Plain School, New Milford

Library Media Specialist - Hill and Plain School, New Milford. Date Available: tent. 8/22/2012. New Milford Public Schools has an anticipa...

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Children’s Librarian - New Canaan Library

<strong>Children’s Librarian position</strong> - Are you creative and energetic, and do you love children? <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>New Canaan Library</strong></span> is looking for an enthusiastic person, who enjoys working with young children to develop and present storytime programs; work at the Children’s Room Information Desk, and perform other tasks for this busy suburban department. Knowledge of Children’s Literature and strong computer skill are essential. Position requires working one evening a week and some weekends. MLIS required. New Canaan Library meets CLA minimum salary guidelines. Interested applicants can send or email resume, cover letter, names and telephone numbers of three business references to Rose Marie Zaharek, Head of Children’s Services, New Canaan Library, 151 Main Street, New Canaan, CT 06840 or <a href="mailto:rzaharek@newcanaanlibrary.org">rzaharek@newcanaanlibrary.org</a>. Applications accepted until <span style="color: red;">April 30, 2012</span>.

Children’s Librarian - New Canaan Library

Children’s Librarian position - Are you creative and energetic, and do you love children? New Canaan Library is looking for an enthusiasti...

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My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 3

Cowboys, Farmers, And Schools In Kenya<br /><br />After our first Church service in Kenya and our first experience of Home Bible Church, Bishop and Mrs. Kanuku drove us to their rural home, hours away from Machakos, on a mountain top. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Kenya looking one way and Kilimanjaro looking the other. The stars are amazing. Closer at hand you look down on forested valleys. The Kanuku rural home is a work in progress, but already Bishop Kanuku has designed and implemented all manner of clever engineering devices. He has a system to divert and gather rainwater and another system to generate bio-gas which is pumped up to the house. He is a bit of a Thomas Jefferson and this is his Monticello. On the surrounding land, he keeps a few dairy cows for milk, raises a garden (another garden – there is also one at his Machakos house), and of course, plants trees, many trees! He has plans to make his home a place of service to children which he will run after his retirement from the episcopacy in a few years (which reminds me of the game plan of one of my best friends among the American bishops – “Put in a few years as Bishop, then retire and do something good for the Church.”) <br /><br />As Bishop Kanuku showed me his garden, he explained that he is of the Kamba tribe, and they are farmers. The Masai have traditionally not thought well of the Kamba and have various derogatory terms for the things they do to the soil – a Bantu equivalent of “sodbusters.” It reminded me of the range wars and other farmer-cattleman hostilities in our history – and of course the Oklahoma classic “The Cowboy And The Farmer Can Be Friends.” It's an old conflict. It goes back to Abel and Cain and persisted all through the Hebrew Scriptures.<br /><br />The next morning we began visiting schools. I honestly lost track of how many schools we visited. We had brought pens, rulers, calculators, and markers for 6 schools, but did not have enough gifts for all of them, so it was more than 6. At least 3 were the first day in the mountainous rural part of the diocese. Three were on the savannah of the Masai Mara. I think the others were closer in to Machakos or perhaps Nairobi. It blurs.<br /><br />At the first school, ACK Kyandote Bulwa, the teachers and children were assembled outside to greet us with song. We then processed up a hill to the site of the Girls Hostel (which will be a combination Rescue House for girls escaping circumcision and forced marriage, a group home for girls escaping abuse and neglect at home, and a dormitory for boarding students). There Bishop Kanuku and I dedicated the foundation stone inscribed with Linda’s and my names. Then we gathered inside for a school assembly where Linda and I spoke to the students. <br /><br />Then it was on to Maknonga where once again the children and teachers were waiting for us outside with song, dance, and a hearty welcome. Bishop Kanuku and I each planted a tree and I blessed them. Then came another assembly, where they gave us gifts. Mine was a walking stick with African wildlife carved on it.<br /><br />And so it went, school after school, where we gave gifts and spoke with students. Bishop Kanuku encouraged hard work. I held forth on God’s call to be true Kenyans, not accepting unquestioningly the ways of the West or of China, but staying rooted in the chaste, humble, and communal morality of their own land. Linda encouraged girls to achieve equal educations and professional status. <br /><br />One of the best schools we visited had a classroom named for the late wife of Fr. Lloyd Rupp. The teachers were grateful for Fr. Lloyd’s gifts of a computer (their only computer) and a photocopier. Gratitude to and affection for Fr. Lloyd was expressed at numerous schools and churches. At schools both in the Diocese of Machakos, in the Karen district outside Nairobi, and in the Masai Mara, people were also grateful for the support to individual students from Melvin Stringer and Kenya Keep. Melvin’s program is a scholarship rather than sponsorship program. They support kids who are in dire straits but they have to be more than needy. They must have the talent and the will to become leaders for a better Kenya tomorrow. <br /><br />We also visited one of five schools which had malaria bearing mosquitoes eradicated with a gift from the Diocese of Nevada.

My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 3

Cowboys, Farmers, And Schools In Kenya After our first Church service in Kenya and our first experience of Home Bible Church, Bishop and Mrs...

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Ernst Lubitsch does Noel Coward: Design for Living (1933)

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhSDqicjYJxi5nsWQTd1Y6DXxKAwRu0xoE_58tRzL4kIaB4ysvGzT3IMZFzBZREfTXF16CUldK7McsPOaMIcbc6F4ToGgsv_ozcTwSPJWJNlfy2UCI9r2oLeGxXDrLETDezXadV4ppNkm/s1600/design_for_living_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhSDqicjYJxi5nsWQTd1Y6DXxKAwRu0xoE_58tRzL4kIaB4ysvGzT3IMZFzBZREfTXF16CUldK7McsPOaMIcbc6F4ToGgsv_ozcTwSPJWJNlfy2UCI9r2oLeGxXDrLETDezXadV4ppNkm/s400/design_for_living_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fredric March was already an Oscar winner and a newly minted Hollywood star when he co-starred with Miriam Hopkins and Gary Cooper in Ernst Lubitsch’s 1933 adaptation of the Noel Coward play <i>Design for Living</i>. In 1929, when all the major studios were scouring the Broadway stage for photogenic leading men with trained and mellifluous voices, March had been recruited and signed by Paramount Pictures.  He received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his 1930 portrayal of ‘Tony Cavendish’ in <i>The Royal Family of Broadway</i><i>, </i>but it was his split-personality tour-de-force as <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde </i>in 1931 that brought Fredric March his first Academy Award and movie stardom.</span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs35tsVmI5_FkUasHW1iOMWwopAjft-qaxI7U2mDV8KNAebexdCCJ6fHQSM-gbHaLLygSJie8SsIWUL13YNWe_NtHWKcic8hQbtnt7GujBLfyBNMGf158K0HEJrgwASumE4W3YnGupWSFk/s1600/dr.+jekyll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs35tsVmI5_FkUasHW1iOMWwopAjft-qaxI7U2mDV8KNAebexdCCJ6fHQSM-gbHaLLygSJie8SsIWUL13YNWe_NtHWKcic8hQbtnt7GujBLfyBNMGf158K0HEJrgwASumE4W3YnGupWSFk/s320/dr.+jekyll.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> (1931)</td></tr></tbody></table>Playwright/actor Noel Coward wrote <i>Design for Living</i>, a comedy in three acts,<i> </i>in 1932; it debuted on Broadway in 1933 at the Ethyl Barrymore Theatre starring legends of the stage Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne and Coward himself. Because of its censoriously risqué plot, the play was not produced in London, Coward’s home ground, until 1939. His story of Gilda, Otto and Leo, a sophisticated trio involved in a romantic triangle (not to say threesome), was inspired by the personal lives and relationships of Lunt and Fontanne who were his close friends; Noel Coward would remark that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Design for Living</i> was about three people who love each other very much and that, though the play was a solid hit when it opened, no one loved it more than its three leading actors.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolDgFEzhzZhci3Y4_oh0HJij1tTxI-AItCofCN3tNXdXgndI77Oi5pGobcDV15MMNC1SYECcJVKJL0_ocp8C8lAJd2pG-wTwKdCkj5CHjdkcAfugA-bLWQUPWOjqFBrZhdacVdBDsLIS0/s1600/lunt+coward+fontanne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolDgFEzhzZhci3Y4_oh0HJij1tTxI-AItCofCN3tNXdXgndI77Oi5pGobcDV15MMNC1SYECcJVKJL0_ocp8C8lAJd2pG-wTwKdCkj5CHjdkcAfugA-bLWQUPWOjqFBrZhdacVdBDsLIS0/s400/lunt+coward+fontanne.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The play: Alfred Lunt, Noel Coward, Lynn Fontanne in </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Design for Living</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When Ernst Lubitsch set out to film Coward’s play, he had a particular cast and screenwriter in mind. Miriam Hopkins, who had starred for him in <i>The Smiling Lieutenant</i> (1931) and <i>Trouble in Paradise</i> (1932), was his first choice for the female lead.</span><span style="font-size: small;">  He was interested in Ronald Colman and Leslie Howard for the two male leads, but couldn’t afford Colman or persuade Howard. He next turned to Paramount leading man Fredric March for the role that was Coward’s Leo but became Lubitsch’s Tom, and approached Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., to portray the character that had been called Otto but would soon be George.</span><span style="font-size: small;">  But Fairbanks came down with pneumonia and the director eventually settled on popular Paramount matinee idol Gary Cooper. Of the three leads, Hopkins had the least experience on-screen, but the most experience with Lubitsch.</span><span style="font-size: small;">  She had also co-starred with March in <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde </i>and her film associations with both men helped advance her career.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe3-RGac_OeDpczmnlHUccw1nYvfLaHlSZ7hSsEqzA3qpxIFl_UfqWnuf0LgYFIS-JQNhHP3BU_DcGmeuVB2WYwQPpPuU_qTchiGW0Ng9hnaccQ9cdh1l-up0xx6OCkt2YOO4uPmhXt1P/s1600/design-on-the-set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe3-RGac_OeDpczmnlHUccw1nYvfLaHlSZ7hSsEqzA3qpxIFl_UfqWnuf0LgYFIS-JQNhHP3BU_DcGmeuVB2WYwQPpPuU_qTchiGW0Ng9hnaccQ9cdh1l-up0xx6OCkt2YOO4uPmhXt1P/s400/design-on-the-set.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lubitsch (standing), Cooper, Hopkins and March on the set</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;">Lubitsch, a writer himself, had hoped to collaborate once again with screenwriter Samson Raphaelson (<i>The Smiling Lieutenant</i>, <i>Trouble in Paradise</i>,<i> The Merry Widow</i>,<i> The Shop Around the Corner</i>) on <i>Design for Living</i>. But Raphaelson was not interested in working on “another damned sophisticated triangle” (referring to <i>The Smiling Lieutenant </i>and<i> Trouble in Paradise</i>) or in rewriting Noel Coward, and declined. Ben Hecht, an esteemed screenwriter and script doctor (<i>Nothing Sacred</i>, <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, <i>Notorious</i>) with a cynical view of the status quo, was Lubitsch’s next choice. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> But it was not an easy partnership. Lubitsch, who commented that the two “weren’t used to each other,” was most at home working closely with his writers and Hecht was comfortable writing on his own. But they managed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the end, the plot was re-engineered and the triangular situation at the heart of Coward’s play was retained. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As Leo became Tom and Otto became George, all three characters became struggling American creative types rather than the play’s free-spirited British socialites. And the situation between the three was toned down; at the beginning of the play Gilda is living with Otto and has just resumed an affair with ex-beau Leo. Lubitsch’s film would follow the amorous adventures of three young, attractive Americans in Paris, London and New York: playwright Tom Chambers (March), painter George Curtis (Cooper) and commercial artist Gilda Farrell (Hopkins). Tom and George are buddy/roommates who meet and fall in love with Gilda. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsDUF6j1sr-5PjTzG55ZXnDfqpfzPNYmmqwEwgX4fHyl2OhM2TJYKfuNIXpxvVsjRdkB_VgNtHAJwu4AG8sJV93pKcAqOq9g-X3FtwP5SDCzGdZVdcb9voL4ph5tHEGzKAoZQi3fy7k3H/s1600/miriam+hopkins+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsDUF6j1sr-5PjTzG55ZXnDfqpfzPNYmmqwEwgX4fHyl2OhM2TJYKfuNIXpxvVsjRdkB_VgNtHAJwu4AG8sJV93pKcAqOq9g-X3FtwP5SDCzGdZVdcb9voL4ph5tHEGzKAoZQi3fy7k3H/s1600/miriam+hopkins+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miriam Hopkins, pre-Code siren</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Miriam Hopkins is in her element as passionate, independent Gilda (pronounced ‘Jilda’). </span><span style="font-size: small;"> She commands the screen – and her co-stars – with easy charm and confidence. Hopkins was at the height of her delectable pre-Code heyday in 1933; the steamy and controversial <i>The Story of Temple Drake </i>was released just months before <i>Design for Living</i>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In his early films, Gary Cooper is always handsome and appealing, but he does not always convince as an actor. Cast against type in <i>Design for </i>Living he seems awkward spouting Hecht’s snappy dialogue at times and it isn’t hard to understand why Lubitsch had first turned to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. But the director was satisfied with Cooper’s performance and believed movie-goers would “…be happy to see that he is an accomplished light comedian.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fredric March, experienced in talky roles like this one, is a better fit. In a departure from the more somber roles he was better known for, he shines as dapper, jovial Tom, a character partially informed by Ben Hecht’s own background as a playwright. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Had it been released just six months later, in 1934 when the Production Code was in force, <i>Design for Living</i> would not have gotten past the censors. Not only do Tom and George love Gilda – but Gilda loves Tom <i>and</i> George.</span><span style="font-size: small;">  She cannot and will not choose between them, and so the three decide to live together platonically – for a while… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gilda is able to take what was then considered the entirely male prerogative without having to pay the on-screen price – usually death – that would soon be ordained by the Code:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gilda: “A thing happened to me that usually happens to men…a man can meet two, three or even four women and fall in love with all of them and then, by a process of interesting elimination, he is able to decide which one he prefers. But a woman must decide purely on instinct, guesswork, if she wants to be considered nice. Oh, it’s alright for her to try on a hundred hats before she picks one out, but…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tom: “That’s very fine, but which chapeau do you want, madam?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gilda: “Both”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYHU37z2EJoY7SAmx6bpN0zlcKeFB2-ysinxagM6yZZfS1dtf6TNxIbuw2FhtapmRLgapAt4GVmwJin728sR1xTDHc_gRfrduGo5KFPC-VgTiPKBJ_bhKUcfBu5TnS0W2YR66SC9opa-y/s1600/design-for-living-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYHU37z2EJoY7SAmx6bpN0zlcKeFB2-ysinxagM6yZZfS1dtf6TNxIbuw2FhtapmRLgapAt4GVmwJin728sR1xTDHc_gRfrduGo5KFPC-VgTiPKBJ_bhKUcfBu5TnS0W2YR66SC9opa-y/s400/design-for-living-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://sittinonabackyardfence.com/" style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</a> to go to </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sittin' on a Backyard Fence </i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">where Jill is hosting</span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> March-in-March, </i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> blogathon honoring the work of two-time Oscar winner (and five time nominee) Fredric March. This piece is my entry for the blogathon and also appears on Jill's blog.</span></span></span></span>

Design for Living Ernst Lubitsch Fredric March Gary Cooper March-in-March Miriam Hopkins Noel Coward Sittin' on a Backyard Fence Ernst Lubitsch does Noel Coward: Design for Living (1933)

Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March Fredric March was already an Oscar winner and a newly minted Hollywood star when he co-starred...

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PHARMAINDUSTRIE UND DAS GESCHÄFT MIT IMPFSTOFFEN

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjObj9wfeIFZs4237xGz230MUFUfFoOFM-OmvQ8CH8WXV4S9dDZsimogdEk9KcqVnseHb7UTN0a9p8FZk_1qYnrCbRZNHFzCg6lX2RTUnsO_hjt6iz-7rJ0V4c0uD3K1PSzcNsTI8XBqTT/s1600/narkolepsie_schlaf_420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjObj9wfeIFZs4237xGz230MUFUfFoOFM-OmvQ8CH8WXV4S9dDZsimogdEk9KcqVnseHb7UTN0a9p8FZk_1qYnrCbRZNHFzCg6lX2RTUnsO_hjt6iz-7rJ0V4c0uD3K1PSzcNsTI8XBqTT/s400/narkolepsie_schlaf_420.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 2;"><strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: #45818e; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: red; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">JUNGE LEBEN IN TRÜMMERN: NARKOLEPSIE DURCH SCHWEINEGRIPPE-IMPFUNG</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Von Gerhard Wisnewski</span></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Viele haben 2009 vor der Impfung gegen die so genannte Schweinegrippe gewarnt. Die offensichtlich korrupte Weltgesundheitsorganisation </span></strong><em><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">WHO</span></b></em><strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;"> schlug Alarm wegen einer angeblichen »PANDEMIE«, weltweit kauften die Regierungen »Schweinegrippe«-Impfstoff ein und drängten ihre Bürger zur Impfung. </span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Siehe: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/06/manipulative-virus.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/06/manipulative-virus.html</a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Mit – wie sich jetzt herausstellt – verheerenden Folgen. Nicht nur, dass inzwischen abgelaufener Impfstoff im Wert von vielen Millionen Euro oder Dollar vernichtet werden musste – mittlerweile erkrankten in Skandinavien Hunderte geimpfter Kinder an der Schlafkrankheit Narkolepsie.</span></strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;"></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><strong><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">»Ein kriminelles Komplott aus Politik, Medien, Medizin und Pharmaindustrie treibt Millionen von Menschen zu einer Impfung mit unsicheren Impfstoffen«, konnte man vor drei Jahren auf Alternativ Medien lesen. Eine Warnung, die sich inzwischen auf schreckliche Weise bestätigt hat.</span></strong></div><div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 16pt;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvb3dSwjch3dclbAyI9lWNef99pRSpAecBmImFhVLOFKxxkZzDuvjOVO6m_IDL4wxXx9X0YakJeDkg8xueZNm8GzrfEcutn0UTFx2_9-H2WAA5aW71GR_XoqNsPjxnfIdRU3KwF9Cf5Zou/s1600/pandemrix-390x285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvb3dSwjch3dclbAyI9lWNef99pRSpAecBmImFhVLOFKxxkZzDuvjOVO6m_IDL4wxXx9X0YakJeDkg8xueZNm8GzrfEcutn0UTFx2_9-H2WAA5aW71GR_XoqNsPjxnfIdRU3KwF9Cf5Zou/s320/pandemrix-390x285.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">»Wachen Sie auf!«, hörte im Herbst 2010 plötzlich die 17jährige schwedische Schülerin Daniela Dahl ihren Englischlehrer rufen: »Als mich die anklagenden Blicke meines Lehrers trafen, war ich sprachlos und stumm, schließlich brach ich in Tränen aus. Ich war plötzlich ganz wach – und kaputt. Plötzlich wach? Allerdings: Mitten im Englischunterricht war Daniela eingeschlafen. Auch später machten sich immer wieder Klassenkameraden über sie lustig, weil Daniela plötzlich mitten im Unterricht in tiefen Schlaf fiel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">»Ich schlief selbst auf dem Rücksitz des Autos und im Bus. In der U-Bahn verschlief ich meine Haltestelle und bekam sogar beim Klavierspielen Schlafattacken. Wahrscheinlich war ich einfach nur müde, nahm ich an, und dachte nicht mehr so viel darüber nach.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: red; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">DIAGNOSE: NARKOLEPSIE</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Erst im Frühjahr 2011 kam die schreckliche Diagnose: Narkolepsie, die »Schlafkrankheit«. Unheilbar. Und unnötig. Denn Daniela bekam die Krankheit erst nach einer Impfung gegen die so genannte Schweinegrippe. Und mit ihr weitere 168 Schweden und 121 Finnen, meistens Kinder. In beiden Ländern hatte man im Zuge der Pandemie-Panik von 2009 auf Massenimpfungen gesetzt.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Das Leben von Kindern – zerstört durch die Pharmaindustrie? Dieser Zusammenhang gilt  in den beiden skandinavischen Ländern inzwischen als naheliegend. Ja, nicht nur das: Dass zwischen dem Impfstoff <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">»Pandemrix« (<em>GLAXO SMITH KLINE</em>)</b> und Narkolepsie »ein direkter Zusammenhang besteht«, sehe die finnische Gesundheitsbehörde sogar »als erwiesen an«, schreibt die österreichische Tageszeitung <em>Die Presse</em> (Online) vom 22. Februar 2012. Inzwischen liegen die Zahlen auf dem Tisch. Während ein Impfschutz »nicht nachweisbar« gewesen sei, sei in Finnland »ein mehr als zwölfmal höheres Narkolepsierisiko bei mit Pandemrix geimpften Kindern festgestellt« worden. </span><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://diepresse.com/home/panorama/welt/734690/Der-Preis-der-Panik_Folgenreiche-Impfung-gegen-Schweinegrippe" target="_blank"><em><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #0000cc; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Die Presse</span></em></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;"> hat einige herzzerreißende Kinderschicksale zusammengetragen. </span></div><div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 16pt;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPgvvy7LvKgT5fy6-AMunpMRcEEZaFjpmW-ybQKjT3JwG4cgUAci_SStiB_C5voZRDUEsInUGfjBMQ7KeJgvHJojuF7G_EbJjbqq_BJSFR4-pKXSLGohfDKkJ-VQWQc9PrGE2_IWK2aR-/s1600/GlaxoSmithKline50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPgvvy7LvKgT5fy6-AMunpMRcEEZaFjpmW-ybQKjT3JwG4cgUAci_SStiB_C5voZRDUEsInUGfjBMQ7KeJgvHJojuF7G_EbJjbqq_BJSFR4-pKXSLGohfDKkJ-VQWQc9PrGE2_IWK2aR-/s320/GlaxoSmithKline50.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 16pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333;">Die jungen Leben lägen »in Trümmern«. Weil die Anfälle meistens im Zustand positiver oder negativer Erregung auftreten, können sich Kinder oft nicht mehr freuen, ohne durch die Narkolepsie bestraft zu werden: »Man darf nicht zu viel lachen«, sagt der neunjährige Nemo, »sonst fällt man zusammen.« – »Ich hatte nicht mal Kraft, die Weihnachtsgeschenke zu öffnen«, erzählt der 13-jährige Manfred. Sie wolle, »dass alles wieder wie früher« sei, sagt die fünfjährige Tindra, »dass mein Gehirn wieder gut wird oder dass ich ein neues bekomme«. »Ehe ich krank wurde, freute ich mich aufs Erwachsenwerden«, sagt die 17-jährige Elin. »Ich werde alles an meine Krankheit anpassen müssen«, befürchtet Filip (15).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><h3 style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: red; line-height: 16pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-size: 12pt;">»WIR WÜRDEN ES WIEDER TUN«...</span></h3><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdWYtCJKChoXl49WfbWAHaIStVIULXjbxqWmDuvUJBBvXtKqddbnAkz5RsD48ZiacU1IBjbs_xXeDonoIMJUYYfyShpFAKepS_DfqJRFEeS-RnCaQeXgvyfNGS8k0pdNKuje7j0lMGODK/s1600/WHO-Reports-Industry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdWYtCJKChoXl49WfbWAHaIStVIULXjbxqWmDuvUJBBvXtKqddbnAkz5RsD48ZiacU1IBjbs_xXeDonoIMJUYYfyShpFAKepS_DfqJRFEeS-RnCaQeXgvyfNGS8k0pdNKuje7j0lMGODK/s320/WHO-Reports-Industry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Wer nun bei den Verantwortlichen auf Reue oder Einsicht hofft, ist allerdings schief gewickelt: »Alle Arzneimittel haben Nebenwirkungen, und bei der Schweinegrippe hätten sie nur wenige getroffen«, zitiert <em>Die Presse</em> Anders Tegnell von Schwedens Sozialbehörde, die für die Durchführung der Massenimpfungen verantwortlich gewesen sei. »Es gebe also keinen Grund zu Angst, es wäre eine ›Katastrophe‹, wenn nun eine generelle Skepsis gegenüber Impfungen ausbräche.«</span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><br /></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 16.0pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Ganz im Gegenteil. In Wirklichkeit ist die so genannte Schweinegrippe ein Lehrstück über die kriminelle Zusammenarbeit von <em>WHO</em>, Politik, Pharmaindustrie und Medizin. Was bei der Schweinegrippe aufflog, dürfte auch auf anderen Gebieten funktionieren und war wohl nur die Spitze des Eisbergs. Gesundheitspolitiker sind sich natürlich keiner Schuld bewusst. So sagt die schwedische Familienministerin Maria Larsson laut <em>Die Presse:</em> »Wir haben richtig gehandelt und würden es wieder so tun«. Was man kaum anders denn als Drohung verstehen kann.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

PHARMAINDUSTRIE UND DAS GESCHÄFT MIT IMPFSTOFFEN

JUNGE LEBEN IN TRÜMMERN: NARKOLEPSIE DURCH SCHWEINEGRIPPE-IMPFUNG Von Gerhard Wisnewski Viele haben 2009 vor der Impfung gegen die so genan...

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My body has been trying to tell me something

My body has been screaming at me for several weeks that something is wrong. I would not listen, so it did something to make me pay attention. In hindsight, this is kind of funny. <br /><br />A little over three weeks ago my body attacked itself. At the time, I thought it was some strange allergic reaction. I had no idea what made this happen and had never had anything like this happen before.<br /><br />I was sitting at my desk at work, 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon about three and a half weeks ago. I hadn't eaten anything since noon, and only had water to drink . Suddenly I had a tingling in my upper lip, on the inside, right in the middle of the lip. It was a sensation I'd never experienced before. My lip started to swell up, very quickly, but only on the upper left side. Then the hives started on my upper chest. Terrible welts appeared and they itched like crazy. I looked like a freak.<br /><br />I went home and took Benadryl. I just thought it was an allergic reaction. I must have touched something at work, then touched my lip. I'm allergic to peanuts, but this was different. Peanuts make my throat close up and I can't breathe. That didn't happen.<br /><br />The Benadryl I took had absolutely no affect on me. The swelling of my upper lip continued and so did the hives. By Saturday, the hives calmed down, but my lip remained swollen until Sunday. I refused to leave the house because I looked so hideous.  <br /><br />By Monday I looked normal and put the whole thing out of my mind. Too much other stuff to worry about, can't think about it now.<br /><br />Two weeks later, same thing, same time of day, at my desk, but it was my lower right lip that started swelling and my entire body itched, with hives.. Again, I thought it was some weird allergic reaction to something at work.<br /><br />Today, five days after the last episode, it happened again! This time I was at home, 5 a.m. I hadn't eaten or drank anything yet. I had just got out of bed to go to the gym. I promised myself that I would get back on track with the exercise. As I was dressing for the gym, I started thinking about the project I'm on at work, about a particular problem and how I'm going to fix it, realizing I don't know how. Boom! The tingling in my upper lip, left side, started again, and it started to swell up! Right on queue, I break out in terrible hives on my entire upper body. This time the hives are worse than the last two times.<br /><br />Okay, I've had enough. I make an appointment for the doctor, and took the day off from work. I took pictures of my lip and my hives with my cell phone to show the doctor. By the time I got there at 3pm, I looked normal again. I showed the doctor the pictures and he was impressed--he said "this is serious". Then he asked me the question I expected, has anything changed in my diet or my personal care products. No to both. Then he asked about my life. I told him a little about my crazy, stressed-filled life. And what does he say? He tells me he is 100% certain that my problem is stress induced. The swelling up of my lips, the hives, all from stress! The prescription, first Zyrtec twice a day to stop the hives and itching, second, I need to relax.<br /><br />Wow! If that's not a wake up call, I don't know what is. It's like my body said, "hey stupid, you need to slow down and take it easy. You're killing me.". I ignored my body. Again, "hey, YOU...listen to me!". Finally today, with the worst hives so far, "HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU!". Okay, you got my attention. I hear you!<br /><br />I tried to think about what is so different in this last month from the previous five months. I handled much worse stress in those five months. I didn't get hives or a swollen lip. True, I almost had a complete mental breakdown several times, but I held it together. Then it hit me. The two things that have really changed in the last four weeks:  my diet and exercise. In spite of all the insanity during those first five months, I managed to stay pretty much on track with my eating and exercise. If I didn't go to the gym, I walked at lunch. I ate healthy foods, although sometimes too much. I got down to 173.<br /><br />Then I honestly don't know what happened, other than I felt like the worst of it was over and I had been to hell and back. Then I started eating junk, I barely exercised, maybe one or two times a week at the most. I even went a whole week a couple of times without going to the gym at all. <br /><br />My body has let me know that this is not a good thing. Eating poorly, not exercising, and my body revolted against me. It sure got my attention. My focus now, eight hours of sleep, good food, and daily exercise. These things are a must. They aren't optional. <br /><br />I can't help but wonder if this was what the outside of my body was doing, what is going on inside my body.<br /><br />I think it's kind of a miracle that our bodies are smart enough to do something like this to get our attention. I knew things were bad for me, that I wasn't handling the stress well, my eating was out of control, and my exercise was almost non-existent. I just didn't realize things were really that bad. I think I got the message loud and clear. <br /><br /><i>Postscript: I thought I'd look up the medicine they gave me for the hives before I took it. I thought the doctor said Zyrtec, which you can buy over the counter. I wasn't sure why I needed a prescription. They gave me a prescription for Ranitidine! Which is "Zantac"! Which is for heartburn, not hives. I don't have heartburn, I have hives. They gave me the wrong medicine! The script was sent in by the doctor on the computer (not my regular doctor). It wasn't a hand-written script. I just called the pharmacy and the doctor entered it in wrong. I guess hives...heartburn, Zyrtec...Zantac. Thank goodness this wasn't a serious condition or a dangerous medicine. Just makes you realize that you should always double check your prescriptions before you pop them in your mouth. </i><br /><br />

My body has been trying to tell me something

My body has been screaming at me for several weeks that something is wrong. I would not listen, so it did something to make me pay attention...

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My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 2

Cathedrals And House Churches -- Lessons Learned.<br /><br />Our week in Kenya began with worship at All Saints Cathedral where I was to give the sermon for Sunday worship. At this point you may be expecting me to marvel at the joy and enthusiasm of African worship. Actually not so much. The service was clearly designed with that in mind. At times a worship leader tried mightily to get the group energized, but frankly it fell flat. The music was intended to be lively, but the people just didn’t feel it. My sermon was well-enough-received by those who stayed awake, but some dozed on the front row. It seemed altogether like a frozen chosen assembly.<br /><br />Only later did I find out what was really afoot. It was the first day that the new Provost (similar to a Dean) was at the Cathedral. He is appointed by the Bishop – not called by the congregation. So it was his first day and he wasn’t preaching. I was. In addition, they normally worship in a quaint old English style church building – one that had been Whites-only until 1962 when the Whites exited in the wake of independence and the present congregation moved in. But now they are constructing a large modern Cathedral that will hold hundreds more people than the old building. It is far from complete. Beams and rafters are still exposed. The windows have no panes. This was their first day in the new building and they had not been warned in advance that they would be worshiping in there that day. They just arrived at Church and were directed into the new intimidatingly large unfinished structure. So: surprise! New Provost. New building. Musungu preacher. (They may have thougth I was the new Provost!) <br /><br />What I had taken for boredom was a state of shock. How many Anglicans does it take to change a diaper? You can’t change that diaper. It was given in memory of my grandfather. Same thing would have happened here. Still I felt privileged to give the inaugural sermon in the new All Souls Cathedral and the people, though discombobulated, were gracious and devout.<br /><br />After the Eucharist, we went to the Bishop’s house for Home Bible Church. This is one of the main things Fr. Lloyd had wanted me to see. It was like a house church or a cell group. It was a Bible Study with prayer and songs. The topic was the role of Godparents. People were challenged to find scriptures that informed the question of how to be a good Godparent. Generally, Kenyans have the same challenges we do in choosing and preparing Godparents. The discussion was intelligent and their ability to connect scriptures to the topic was impressive. <br /><br />This is what I took away from Home Bible Church: We need our Sunday morning worship services alright. We need public worship in God’s house, a sacred space. I could not disagree more with the Emergent Church Movement more on that point. We need that basic gathering to publicly constitute us as a community of faith. Most of us will not go deeper than what happens there. But the large scale public worship of the Church draws its life from those who do go deeper in small groups meeting to study and pray in more intimate settings, especially homes. That is where the spiritual bonds are forged; the heart of the church, strengthened. <br /><br />If a Church is medium to large, it needs several small church groups gathering at other times in other places to sustain its intimacy. But what if a congregation is already small – say 12 people gathered for Sunday morning worship? I believe even small churches need that gathering of a few to go deeper. Maybe it will only be two or three meeting to pray and study, but their gathering will provide the energy that will sustain and perhaps grow the larger group. Look back on my previous blog post about 80/20 rule in which I argue that we cannot build the church by extending its circumference; we have to grow the core within and the circumference will expand to keep the balance. Home Bible Church is a way to grow the core.<br /><br />Each church could create its own format. It can be a spiritual book club meeting at an Indian restaurant, or a Bible and Brew class engaging scripture at a bar, or it can be a meeting for contemplative prayer and spiritual story telling. The key is the small group gathering – somewhere away from the church property – to connect with each other on the basis of our common bond in Christ.

My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 2

Cathedrals And House Churches -- Lessons Learned. Our week in Kenya began with worship at All Saints Cathedral where I was to give the sermo...

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Invisible Ink-a guest blog by Herb Broda

 <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ja8AbQgYa6_o91TPyXXRHTO03Phv8CCJep2aNdSwwv2g9yvOxS4c3AMR7VL3j0_Pw1Z9sny9wZS32oaQFgVGyg0SYDPB_CeSjv7rfDrG6OZkesllpfn4FRPFFYgosQZJkMxgE4pwMZoK/s1600/GirlReadingOutside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ja8AbQgYa6_o91TPyXXRHTO03Phv8CCJep2aNdSwwv2g9yvOxS4c3AMR7VL3j0_Pw1Z9sny9wZS32oaQFgVGyg0SYDPB_CeSjv7rfDrG6OZkesllpfn4FRPFFYgosQZJkMxgE4pwMZoK/s200/GirlReadingOutside.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from the Appalachian Mountain Club's <a href="http://greatkids.outdoors.org/2012/02/outdoorsy-kids-still-have-better.html" target="_blank">Web Site</a></td></tr></tbody></table> I will often reference other blogs that are relevent to the topic of outdoor, environmental and/or wildlife education here.  It's my pleasure today to reference one of my favorite people, Herb Broda with Ashland University, and his recent post on the Children and Nature Network's Blog.  Herb looks at how changes in children's literature are unfortunately a reflection of the decline in time spent outdoors by today's youth.  Enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/Herbert%20W.%20Broda%20is%20a%20professor%20of%20education%20at%20Ashland%20University%20in%20Ohio.%20He%20is%20the%20author%20of%20%22Schoolyard-Enhanced%20Learning:%20Using%20the%20Outdoors%20as%20an%20Instructional%20Tool%22%20and%20%22Moving%20the%20Classroom%20Outdoors:%20Schoolyard-Enhanced%20Learning%20in%20Action.%22%20He%20is%20also%20a%20leader%20of%20the%20Children%20&%20Nature%20Network's%20Natural%20Teachers%20Initiative." target="_blank">Invisible Ink: Is the Natural World Disappearing from Children's Books and Education?</a><br /><br /><br /><em>Herbert W. Broda is a professor of education at Ashland University in Ohio. He is the author of "Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning: Using the Outdoors as an Instructional Tool" and "Moving the Classroom Outdoors: Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning in Action." He is also a leader of the Children & Nature Network's Natural Teachers Initiative.</em>

Invisible Ink-a guest blog by Herb Broda

 Photo from the Appalachian Mountain Club's Web Site  I will often reference other blogs that are relevent to the topic of outdoor, en...

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dressed beds

Let's talk about your bed.<br /><br />Now don't blush. I know we haven't known each other that long. But I'm interested.<br /><br />Are you a white bed person?<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1W_Gfk9Udjd6UxVh0eFVjpD8JLJS8F9LB2ghNn3EYcRNqIDY9Gl4BXBXtifN4ui1Aet_WtsWhO59jknYAV-XfIoShwtIGypc0AePDAEjYkPtNNy3JtdeFR4VRYa6EVt_VT9mgPMqIcYe/s1600/p_101201717.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1W_Gfk9Udjd6UxVh0eFVjpD8JLJS8F9LB2ghNn3EYcRNqIDY9Gl4BXBXtifN4ui1Aet_WtsWhO59jknYAV-XfIoShwtIGypc0AePDAEjYkPtNNy3JtdeFR4VRYa6EVt_VT9mgPMqIcYe/s640/p_101201717.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.bhg.com/rooms/bedroom/makeovers/editors-picks-our-favorite-bedroom-makeovers/#page=9" target="_blank">Better Homes and Gardens</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Or do you like a little color while you sleep?<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PFSOOfYgTGnY4e06nQ35Lbzag5NZ6_egAiurvvmGyZHPyGdSnZmoVpj1wmcCuPZoS41waZufxMpfkgwKo_IBvDUo183c3snCxghwiBs3yMV-5DKpHolbsszGp-2NWJGQIs58ecHoKnK3/s1600/editors-picks-our-favorite-bedroom-makeovers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PFSOOfYgTGnY4e06nQ35Lbzag5NZ6_egAiurvvmGyZHPyGdSnZmoVpj1wmcCuPZoS41waZufxMpfkgwKo_IBvDUo183c3snCxghwiBs3yMV-5DKpHolbsszGp-2NWJGQIs58ecHoKnK3/s640/editors-picks-our-favorite-bedroom-makeovers.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.bhg.com/rooms/bedroom/makeovers/editors-picks-our-favorite-bedroom-makeovers/#page=9" target="_blank">Better Homes and Gardens</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In pictures, I always seem to be drawn to a crisp, white fluffy bed.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9WSYLZ5zqeEHqazClX5wIEOpzyPXVvR_hfjmcA24H4NBcHw0ZlUhr_IdtYKKjQejeQtwOmS1R4PIYVPC_k81U6Ie0isoFxaCYgzTInDEQN2_lvkSaf6mKOnmpdM1u6wcG4myVI9OCoh4/s1600/room-of-week-all-or-nothing.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9WSYLZ5zqeEHqazClX5wIEOpzyPXVvR_hfjmcA24H4NBcHw0ZlUhr_IdtYKKjQejeQtwOmS1R4PIYVPC_k81U6Ie0isoFxaCYgzTInDEQN2_lvkSaf6mKOnmpdM1u6wcG4myVI9OCoh4/s640/room-of-week-all-or-nothing.jpeg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTAqQB82BbEOYNQ_947bmDG_wZbkZ5S-uwRuDpnCg6OC5iLIxsuNEkmW2x7z_wqP8vr2fbuDmOBxMLMHFBzcFsLJBNjKK7_SAjfP6X2foHr5BsER_Vxmarx3oBsqXEVZHexDSDUV6UFaM/s1600/193692-9-07%2520copy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTAqQB82BbEOYNQ_947bmDG_wZbkZ5S-uwRuDpnCg6OC5iLIxsuNEkmW2x7z_wqP8vr2fbuDmOBxMLMHFBzcFsLJBNjKK7_SAjfP6X2foHr5BsER_Vxmarx3oBsqXEVZHexDSDUV6UFaM/s640/193692-9-07%2520copy.jpeg" width="622" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://lonnymag.com/decorate/bedrooms" target="_blank">Lonny Magazine</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaKMhXRprDikQzuX6GpI1_DNbsSO368Nz6NaizJkAXEO3f4ISGyUYW1ER8SkuYTxQyYiDT66lDVpvJPBc4g0GQXFFJVMLEtmFkCIMTgioO0MeP6JSVdoyqWP24X9D2kRcjHeJ4kkp-Wvj/s1600/Default.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaKMhXRprDikQzuX6GpI1_DNbsSO368Nz6NaizJkAXEO3f4ISGyUYW1ER8SkuYTxQyYiDT66lDVpvJPBc4g0GQXFFJVMLEtmFkCIMTgioO0MeP6JSVdoyqWP24X9D2kRcjHeJ4kkp-Wvj/s640/Default.jpeg" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.somersetbayhome.com/Default.aspx?PageID=55&catid=&m=d&pID=132&page=&IsBed=Y" target="_blank">Somerset Bay</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />But in reality, I most often go for a bit of color (no surprise) when I pick out bedding. That<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> of course might be influenced by the reality factor. Having a dog that spends much of her day in our bed makes me think twice about investing in any luscious white bedding. (especially during the rainy spring months when I often find muddy paw prints)</span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3szqvyHx3p27bPTfaCmMDDlYT98QQveEdeduaiFWwYtGo5iF-6pi5WZYbUjRjn2evl2lx18Y4cwVMNp-jD2G_VQJ4-l-fGHkV3z8i1HMswhgFXEeZgX0xZ7mrao_rHVC2rhvAl6WHR7L/s1600/interiors-to-inspire-timeless-and.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3szqvyHx3p27bPTfaCmMDDlYT98QQveEdeduaiFWwYtGo5iF-6pi5WZYbUjRjn2evl2lx18Y4cwVMNp-jD2G_VQJ4-l-fGHkV3z8i1HMswhgFXEeZgX0xZ7mrao_rHVC2rhvAl6WHR7L/s640/interiors-to-inspire-timeless-and.jpeg" width="516" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://lookbook.elledecor.com/Bedroom-Eclectic-A-Harlem-Brownstone's-Vivid-Transformation/id15627" target="_blank">Elle Decor</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYuLXVPibjvzq1A_LvVOkDEpSviXSRu7ebEa2SEXfqWjeOVvGyQJt7a88N0-Ua5pp0t-q4EAsPsiC6q6EX-YUvF-WnKysA-Kp9XqhhfOtVtsrUSsT37awyrb8LgMCNousa5Zu-P9juRKq/s1600/search.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYuLXVPibjvzq1A_LvVOkDEpSviXSRu7ebEa2SEXfqWjeOVvGyQJt7a88N0-Ua5pp0t-q4EAsPsiC6q6EX-YUvF-WnKysA-Kp9XqhhfOtVtsrUSsT37awyrb8LgMCNousa5Zu-P9juRKq/s640/search.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.gusandlula.com/" target="_blank">Gus and Lula</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-97FrK7bxXnpOhg7mTUJ9ofHXHwmqsrr4KfnwkyNfCIrZtrFezP1rRTiqHbcD4IKFVafYQiCpSnQE6PBKj4edMHlKZOiKscZVZ5N3EJbeyqQWRjkl_x06KT4ov7JJUJC2Eo5jMk9oSjuC/s1600/Bedroom-Design.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-97FrK7bxXnpOhg7mTUJ9ofHXHwmqsrr4KfnwkyNfCIrZtrFezP1rRTiqHbcD4IKFVafYQiCpSnQE6PBKj4edMHlKZOiKscZVZ5N3EJbeyqQWRjkl_x06KT4ov7JJUJC2Eo5jMk9oSjuC/s640/Bedroom-Design.jpeg" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via Domino Magazine</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;">So which do you prefer? All white? Color and pattern? Or maybe a mix of both?</span>

dressed beds

Let's talk about your bed. Now don't blush. I know we haven't known each other that long. But I'm interested. Are you a whit...

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My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 1

“Musungu” is the Bantu word for a white person. It comes from a longer word meaning someone who travels around.<br /><br />First Surprises and Learnings.<br /><br />Thanks to the moral encouragement and financial support of Fr. Lloyd Rupp and the hospitality of Melvin Stringer (St. Tim’s/ Kenya Keep) who squired us around the country and the fellowship and grace of the Rt. Rev. Joseph Kanuku, 2nd Bishop of Machakos, we have experienced an eye-opener of an African sojourn.<br /><br /> After an arduous flight – Las Vegas to Los Angeles to Amsterdam to Nairobi – and a drive from Nairobi to Machakos, we met Bishop Kanuku and his wife Josephine. That is when the surprises began.<br /><br />Relations with Islam. <br /><br />The first surprise was the relationship between Anglicans and Muslims in Kenya. Interfaith hostility is at the heart of violence and discord along the 10th Parallel to the North – running through Nigeria in West Africa and dividing Northern and Southern Sudan in the East. (See Griswold, The 10th Parallel) Things I had heard here and there led me to believe similar tensions beset Kenya.<br /><br />So we were quite surprised to learn that Josephine Kanuku (the Bishop’s wife) teaches Christian Education as a faculty member at the Islamic School in Machakos. It turns out Bishop Kanuku and the local Imam are good friends. During times of drought, the Anglicans have come to the aid of Muslims. When I sent money for crop seed during a drought, the Anglicans shared the seed with the Muslims. Bishop Kanuku and the Imam talk about the “fundamentalist” Muslims and Christians who are each other’s enemies, each disavowing the hostility of either brand of religious intolerance. The Anglicans and most Muslims are friends. Since building bridges across the religious divide is essential to peace and prosperity in Africa (and in much of the world), I was just delighted to find that our Anglican Communion partners are at work for harmony and understanding. Well done Diocese of Machakos.<br /><br />Status of Women. <br /><br />I came away from Lambeth Conference (2008) with the impression that women are not doing well in Africa. I still know that is often true. The struggle for equality has not yet been completed in Kenya as it has not been completed here. But I was quite surprised to find how much Kenyan women have achieved both inside and outside the Church.<br /><br />Understanding the place of women in Kenyan society has to begin with Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.” A member of the Kikuyu tribe, Mrs. Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement and linked women’s rights to environmental sustainability. <br /><br />It took me awhile to figure out why Bishop Kanuku is obsessed with planting trees. He goes about doing it himself all the time. And when he meets with his clergy, he wants to know “how many trees have you planted?” The answer had better be in the thousands! I cannot count how many trees he showed me that he had planted with his own hands. He and I each planted a tree at the second school we visited. It turns out planting trees was Maathai’s signature symbolic political act as weaving cloth was Gandhi’s. So as not to sugar coat the truth, Maathai’s efforts were vehemently resisted by the single party government of Jomo Kenyata and even her own family. But her courage has opened doors to Kenyan women in politics and the economy.<br /><br />The Diocese of Machakos has been ordaining women since 1998. We met a good number of women clergy and other women in the ordination process. At meals and other times in the home and church, women often lead the prayers. Women are active participants and sometimes leaders in Bible Study. Many a school or community service project traces its beginnings to The Mothers Union.<br /><br />As important as the status of women in the Church may be, what matters more is what the Church is doing about the status of women in society. Problem one: female genital mutilation and forced marriage. In traditional Kenyan culture, girls of 12 or 13 are “circumcised” and married off to older men. The government now opposes this practice, but people still do it. I saw no evidence of Child Protective Services stepping in to protect these girls. But the church funded schools do. They operate “Rescue Houses” on the school campuses where the girls receive sanctuary. It was my privilege to dedicate the cornerstone of the ACK (Anglican Church of Kenya) Kyandote Bulwa Girls’ Hostel in a remote mountain area – where there are no foster placements, group homes, or other government facilities to protect girls from FGM and forced marriage or other abuse – but the Diocese of Machakos is building a home where they will be safe, nourished, and educated. We met rescue girls sponsored by Kenya Keep and saw several rescue houses on school campuses. Yes, we have decided to sponsor a rescue girl ourselves. It cost $250 per year and can be easily arranged through Kenya Keep in Henderson.<br /><br />Problem two: economic independence. Those engaged in economic development as part of the Millenium Development Goals have learned through experience that the key is equipping women to operate small businesses to support their families. In Kenya, 80% of the population subsists on less than $1 per day (that is in actual buying power). So this is where the rubber meets the road for MDGs. The gender factor exacerbates poverty everywhere, but it is most obvious with the Masai tribe. The Masai are the cowboys of Kenya – only they are on foot, not horseback. They are nomadic herders of sheep, goats, and cattle. But changes in agriculture and the climate have compelled Masai families to settle. The problem is that the family settles, but the dad doesn’t. Men tend to marry, father children, then just wander off on a walk-about that could be a year or a lifetime – and they do not mail back a child support check. Equipping women to earn a living for themselves and their children is essential to alleviating poverty. More on this later. For now, let me just say, the Church is in that struggle up to its elbows.<br /><br />More than anything else we did in Kenya, we visited schools. I spoke to lots of children, but the lights really turned on when Linda spoke to them. The girls were transfixed by the sight of a woman who is a lawyer, a professor, and an author. It was amazing to see how excited they were by her example. The church women were pretty taken with her as well. One young transitional deacon couldn’t get a word in edgewise in the clergy conversations – the Church is doing better than I expected, but it does have a way to go. I tried to open up space for her to speak, but it was Linda who really brought out her smile and her voice.<br /><br />Security and Stability. <br />Our trip to Kenya had been planned for last November but was delayed by a terrorist threat. So a number of folks were worried about us going now. I don’t mean to say there was nothing to worry about. The day we arrived, there was a fatal grenade incident in Nairobi. And the crime rate in the slums is bad; hence, the local habit of referring to the capital as “Nairobbery.” But on the whole, I felt safer in Kenya than in any developing nation I have visited. Kenya is the anchor of political stability in East Africa. That is why it got so much press and caused so much international concern when there were riots and ethnic violence after the contested elections in 2008. That is not the norm in Kenya. There is corruption and the politics are not what the people would hope. The rich few live behind barbed wire crowned fences protecting them from the poor. But Kenya is not a violent place. There are neighborhoods in Nairobi that it is better not to go. But outside those neighborhoods, there is not much risk from criminals – and more importantly, not much risk from the police or military who are sometimes the more serious danger in some developing nations.<br /><br />The threat in Kenya is not homegrown. It is a spill-over from the failed government in Somalia. Just as there are Somali pirates on the seas, there are gangs that adopt a political pretext for what is really just lawless hooliganism. Operating out of Somalia, they cause problems in Kenya and other neighboring countries as well. The military of several East African states is at work fighting the gang known as Al Shebab. The people in Kenya hope to see a stable government in Somalia so that the whole region can experience security.

My Life In Kenya: A Musungu Memoir -- Part 1

“Musungu” is the Bantu word for a white person. It comes from a longer word meaning someone who travels around. First Surprises and Learning...

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SYRIAN MISSILES WILL PRE-EMPT ANY MILITARY INTERVENTION

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvDWAFBrdbZskVRzsLT7ScPQOzwwEh-8ACKNTY1MTsCbr-T3k_xUgoUK0uSJdCoVtoDgNrupf8qxdqBdfZlhtt_4WBwE7GoRpAhtR67cllIQa7LvT1oSKidzv-L3Z5jW_YNWRYak6qPwl/s1600/hoffman88090543resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvDWAFBrdbZskVRzsLT7ScPQOzwwEh-8ACKNTY1MTsCbr-T3k_xUgoUK0uSJdCoVtoDgNrupf8qxdqBdfZlhtt_4WBwE7GoRpAhtR67cllIQa7LvT1oSKidzv-L3Z5jW_YNWRYak6qPwl/s400/hoffman88090543resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="color: yellow; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ASSAD TO ANAN: SYRIAN MISSILES WILL PRE-EMPT ANY MILITARY INTERVENTION </span></b></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">via DEBKA<i>file</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TALKING ABOUT WAR</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">   </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The MIDDLE EAST has unknowingly been living for ten days under threat of a regional war, which debkafile’s military sources disclose was delivered by SYRIAN president BASHAR ASSAD to UN-ARAB LEAGUE peace envoy KOFI ANNAN when they first met Saturday, March 10. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYRIA THREATENS TO UNLEASH MISSILES AGAINST ANY COUNTRY PREPARING FOR MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvli6tmJKk478k9JHlcE0iigk5MHduVXABL7274uYsnMXFzmRx-ilbxMolLlGBXhkBauqWnMY5J6tTLK875npnOuvbydxtUA1m4STWrzQGEASdiiw7HlRBqGt04tInU2TEJOnbGq1iV8mC/s1600/mid-annan&assad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvli6tmJKk478k9JHlcE0iigk5MHduVXABL7274uYsnMXFzmRx-ilbxMolLlGBXhkBauqWnMY5J6tTLK875npnOuvbydxtUA1m4STWrzQGEASdiiw7HlRBqGt04tInU2TEJOnbGq1iV8mC/s400/mid-annan&assad.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ASSAD warned him in no uncertain terms that SYRIA was ready to unleash its missiles against any country preparing for military intervention in SYRIA before they moved.<br />While not mentioning them by name, the SYRIAN ruler was referring to BRITAIN, FRANCE, NORWAY, HOLLAND AND ITALY whose navies and air forces were last week drawn up ready for action in positions in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN and bases in the MIDDLE EAST, including the Royal Air Force AKROTIRI facility in CYPRUS.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A Western military source reported to debkafile Monday night, March 19 that those EUROPEAN FORCES were standing ready to cordon off certain SYRIAN regions and cities as “security zones” off limits to SYRIAN units including its air force.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Cruising opposite the SYRIAN coast are the USS ENTERPRISE and the FRENCH CHARLES DE GAULLE, both aircraft carriers. They are part of the combat disposition the WEST has arrayed against IRAN and from their MEDITERRANEAN posts would take part in a military confrontation erupting in the PERSIAN GULF.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SWIFT BLOCKAGE FOR IRAN</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIxC4P5x4TOtRT1bFHxhEzI7XxnhTyUoLQEd1UP9WqsxfQ0iomrlo_Gw63yP8IByjK6TUqGjZ8mXZ-NDjdD0Tmq3r3S-eia87miUEjnyqHig88uGQ5yDmZJ8-GEsQYP6qomQls2s34XN8/s1600/swift_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIxC4P5x4TOtRT1bFHxhEzI7XxnhTyUoLQEd1UP9WqsxfQ0iomrlo_Gw63yP8IByjK6TUqGjZ8mXZ-NDjdD0Tmq3r3S-eia87miUEjnyqHig88uGQ5yDmZJ8-GEsQYP6qomQls2s34XN8/s400/swift_logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Recently IRAN threatened to block the STRAIT OF HORMUZ in response for being cut off from </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SWIFT, (</span></b><i><b>Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication</b></i><span class="st"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">supplying secure messaging services and interface software to wholesale financial entities)</span></b></span><span class="st"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">which caused a serious blow to its financial sector and which IRAN considers almost an act of war.</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></b></span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYRIA WILL NOT HESITATE TO ATTACK TURKEY</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">In his conversation with ANNAN, TURKEY was the only foe ASSAD named specifically as his first target for a pre-emptive missile assault. He stressed he would have no qualms about attacking TURKEY.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH Prime Minister TAYYEP ERDOGAN is due to set out next week on a visit to SEOUL where he will rendezvous with US President BARACK OBAMA, possibly on March 28,  for policy alignment on the IRANIAN nuclear threat and the year-old SYRIAN crisis. Our Washington sources report that OBAMA has set aside six hours for his conversation with ERDOGAN.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY: MEDIATOR OR WARMONGER  </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From the SOUTH KOREAN capital, the TURKISH leader is scheduled to fly straight to TEHRAN. The primary MIDDLE EAST issues, a nuclear IRAN and the SYRIAN impasse are therefore destined to reach a critical point in the coming days.<br />This may partly explain the announcement from, RUSSIAN BLACK SEA headquarters at SEVASTOPOL Monday that two RUSSIAN naval vessels had put into the SYRIAN port of TARTUS. The vessels’ mission and names were not disclosed, excepting that one carried a unit of “anti-terrorist marines” and the other was a military tanker which joined a RUSSIAN naval reconnaissance and surveillance ship already tied up in TARTUS.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SYRIA COULD LAUNCH MISSILES WITH BIOCHEMICAL WARHEADS </b></span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWAe08FiQ-ot96i9JMj6zxosHn3uLX7_sIpM3u2H-6J0uTxOR_Q0EvqOq_dlJaUzzacsAsVlBXex3w3IBf-Z2Y0u0TI8s-T0492M_EXDjvSjyB9g7oSnDCdTeTNIjQFBrDcJ8wllSLbMG/s1600/pg39.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWAe08FiQ-ot96i9JMj6zxosHn3uLX7_sIpM3u2H-6J0uTxOR_Q0EvqOq_dlJaUzzacsAsVlBXex3w3IBf-Z2Y0u0TI8s-T0492M_EXDjvSjyB9g7oSnDCdTeTNIjQFBrDcJ8wllSLbMG/s1600/pg39.gif" width="361" /></a></span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">As mentioned on 08 March 2012 in this blog , prior to KOFI ANNAN’S visit to SYRIA on the 10 March 2012, is the fact that SYRIA does possesses not only advanced missiles systems but also  a lethal arsenal of chemical and biological warheads. Thus the prospect of Syria actually launching such biochemical warheads, if pushed further into the corner, becomes increasingly likely. </span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Use of biochemical weapons obviously bear certain risks for the country  launching such warheads, but since ASSAD has nothing to lose he and his military echelons will most likely see no repercussion if launching them, be it chemical and biological contamination on their own territory due to unfavorable wind conditions, or from counter NATO missile attacks. From Assad’s point of view it is collateral damage. Interesting in this development is that ASSAD apparently did not mention ISRAEL as his prime missile target but TURKEY. </span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/strait-of-hormuz-and-syria.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/strait-of-hormuz-and-syria.html</a></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/given-fact-syria-does-possess-chemical.html"><b><i>http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/given-fact-syria-does-possess-chemical.html</i></b></a></span></div><div style="color: black;"><br /></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TURKEY, ISRAEL, CYPRUS, SYRIA: COMPLEX REGIONAL PLAYERS </b></span></div><div style="color: black;"><br /></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">In view of the looming standoff between either SYRIA and the WEST or IRAN, CYPRUS once again will play a key role for NATO forces which will use AKROTIRI ROYAL AIR FORCE Base as a forward logistic and operational base for its missions in the MIDDLE EAST and PERSIAN GULF region as well as a “host” for ISRAEL’S strategic needs and as a mediator between the ARAB world and WESTERN entities. As mentioned in a previous article on this blog, BRITAIN maintains two SOVEREIGN BASES in CYPRUS as part of the islands independence deal. </span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">(See:<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html</a>) </span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">What adds to the complex situation in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN is that CYPRUS-ISRAELI relations are influenced by developments in the region. It is of interest, therefore, to take them into account. The gradual strategic withdrawal of the UNITED STATES from the region (IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN in 2014), combined with what is happening in the ARAB world, after the changes brought about by the ARAB SPRING, is offering the two main players of the region, TURKEY and ISRAEL, more independence in their actions. TURKEY, seeking to strengthen her influence in the MIDDLE EAST and the ARAB world sided with the WEST and the ARAB LEAGUE against SYRIA’S President ASSAD, thus provoking the reaction of IRAN, whose only ally in the region is SYRIA. ISRAEL on the other hand, feeling that 2012 is a crucial year for its security, if IRAN acquires nuclear weapons, is seriously considering attacking IRAN’S nuclear sites. Whatever occurs in the region, be it armed interventions or energy related topics it will certainly have an impact on the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN and the MIDDLE EAST, including CYPRUS, TURKEY and ISRAEL. (See:<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/energy-games-in-eastern-mediterranean.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/energy-games-in-eastern-mediterranean.html</a>)</span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Within this framework, the improvement of relations between TURKEY and ISRAEL, proposed by some,(See: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/geo-strategic-dynamics-in-eastern.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/geo-strategic-dynamics-in-eastern.html</a> and <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/hostile-takeover.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/hostile-takeover.html</a>read chapter: “US outwits the EU”) is a distant possibility, especially if we take into account ISRAEL’S mistrust of TURKEY and her ambitions, as well as the instability which prevails in the region. If it happens, however, it will match the traditional friendly relations CYPRUS has with the ARAB world, which do not bother ISRAEL. What matters is that at this moment ISRAEL needs strategic depth and CYPRUS can offer it. What strengthens the relations between CYPRUS and ISRAEL is the fact that both countries have common security and energy interests which can develop into a mutually beneficial partnership of outmost importance and magnitude. </span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Parts of above article have been adopted from Dr Andrestinos Papadopoulos article “Netanyahus landmark visit to Cyprus”, published in the Cyprus Mail </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/see-no-evil-hear-no-evil.html</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In view of Israel’s concerns expressed in the article below one has to raise the question over and over again as-to why Israel suddenly changed its decade long doctrine on Syria in favor of supporting the toppling of the Syrian regime? </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span></b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/syrias-destiny-sealed.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/syrias-destiny-sealed.html</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><b>SYRIA "CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL" WEAPONS CONCERN ISRAEL </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via Montreal Gazette Agence France-Presse</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceHyzwOGob8zXJbvr9TeiQblHaY0Us_tLykHlk6tMhTzrHEAoNH5ydHf8kXP3xPkROYUASviVJlMH6HNJaXp8-uZsoTESITe4SPBVeCYLQMwuh8tllDhTWogMspx_wGeX9NlncH0EdtSv/s1600/patriot-missiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceHyzwOGob8zXJbvr9TeiQblHaY0Us_tLykHlk6tMhTzrHEAoNH5ydHf8kXP3xPkROYUASviVJlMH6HNJaXp8-uZsoTESITe4SPBVeCYLQMwuh8tllDhTWogMspx_wGeX9NlncH0EdtSv/s400/patriot-missiles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISRAEL has serious concerns about what will happen to "huge stockpiles" of chemical and biological weapons in SYRIA when the ASSAD regime collapses, a senior military official said on Tuesday.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Major-General Amir Eshel, head of the ISRAELI military's planning division, said the working assumption was the regime of President BASHAR AL-ASSAD would eventually fall.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"The question is when, not if. And the big question is what's going to come the day after," he said.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"The immediate concern is the huge stockpiles of chemicals, biologicals (weapons), strategic capabilities that are still going into Syria, mainly from EASTERN EUROPE," Eshel said.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"That's a major concern because I don't know who is going to own those the day after. Up till now, what has been transferred to HEZBOLLAH? What will be transferred to HEZBOLLAH? What will be divided between those factions inside SYRIA? What is that going to create?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"We are talking about huge stockpiles," he said.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The regime has spearheaded a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy activists seeking to overthrow ASSAD, who has vowed to remain in power, raising the spectre of civil war between SYRIA'S many religious sects if he steps down.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Eshel said the threat of civil war was a real possibility if ASSAD clung to power.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"If ASSAD will adopt this Yemenite model and leave, it might prevent a civil war," he said, referring to an agreement that saw Yemen's former president ALI ABDULLAH SALEH agree in November to leave power.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"But if he won't leave of his own will, we might get into civil war," he said. "If there will be a civil war, it might be a disaster."</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Eshel also warned that SYRIA faces bankruptcy, which could create new instability.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"I think the major challenge the SYRIANS will face in a few months, is bankruptcy. The reserves will be zero, and this is going to create, I think, internal turmoil. We can expect refugees in many countries."</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On January 10, Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz told MPs that the military was preparing for the possibility of an influx of SYRIAN refugees, particularly on the occupied GOLAN HEIGHTS.</span></span></div>

SYRIAN MISSILES WILL PRE-EMPT ANY MILITARY INTERVENTION

  ASSAD TO ANAN: SYRIAN MISSILES WILL PRE-EMPT ANY MILITARY INTERVENTION via DEBKA file TALKING ABOUT WAR    The MIDDLE EAST has unknowingl...

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