There is deep wisdom in the early desert Monsatic asceticism and the vow of poverty of centries old monastic movements and yet whenever I talked to my neighbors and homeless friends about a vow of poverty they either laugh or gave me a puzzled stare. 'Have you ever been poor?' some asked. I began to how myopic my vision was, and how narrow my language. It reeked of privilege. So i suggest we need a third way, neither the prosperity gospel nor the pover5ty gospel but the gospel of abundance rooted in a theology of enough.

And after seeing plenty of poor folks forced into economic crimes by their poverty and after seeing plenty of rich folks so content that they forget they need God or anyone else, I think we are all ready for somethign new.

The Irresistible Revolution- Shane Claiborne

China

human rights watch have a multimedia presentation giving us a glimpse of the pre olympic build up and the human rights violations in China.

After Steven Spielbergs stand (stepping down from artistic director to the bejing olympic games because of Chinas role in Darfur- which is mostly to do with oil) in full public view against china, we hope they take notice. Though they are developing fast, their standard of human rights needs to keep up!

check out the short and concise clip here:

http://china.hrw.org/

New Report on the situation in DR Congo

DR Congo death toll more than 5m
By Mark Doyle
BBC World Affairs correspondent



Life in eastern DR Congo is a daily struggle
An international aid agency reports a massive continuing death toll from war and the related humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The International Rescue Committee says 45,000 people are dying every month in the central African state - a total of 5.4 million dead over the past decade.

This death toll surpasses any conflict since World War II, it says. These shocking figures follow a scientific, nationwide survey across DR Congo's 11 provinces.

The IRC has concluded that there are 45,000 more deaths, every month, than would be expected from the average, already poor conditions in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

And because DR Congo's population is large - the country stretches across the whole of the centre of the continent - it's a worse humanitarian crisis even than that caused by other African wars.

One of the report's authors, Dr Richard Brennan, says a number of other countries like Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Angola have seen sustained elevations of mortality for a number of years after conflict.

"What is different about Congo is the scale. There are just so many more people living in Congo than there are in these other countries."

And so many more are dying there, from easily preventable conditions like malaria, pneumonia and malnutrition.

The report's authors say the Congolese government has the greatest responsibility to address the crisis, while international aid also has a vital role to play.

But the authors add that DR Congo's crisis continues to be overlooked, with funding inadequate compared to the enormity of the need.

Article found at:www.bbc.co.uk

Its not just diamonds baby!

Burma produces the vast majority of high-quality rubies on the world market. According to industry estimates, the country accounts for more than 90 percent of the trade by value. It is also the top global producer of jade. Burma’s gem mines are ruled with an iron hand by military authorities and mining companies. Deplorable conditions at the mines reportedly include rampant land confiscation, extortion, forced labor, child labor, environmental pollution and unsafe working conditions for miners. HIV/AIDS, drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis are increasingly common in mining areas.

www.hrw.org

small steps

we often hear its our small steps of changing the way we do things, think about things and respond to things. And its totally spot on, small things add to the bigger picture. This year for birhtdays and other gifts maybe change to buying fair trade products, or gifts of hope (Salvation Army) or Oxfam Unwrapped (oxfam.org.nz). A small step for better.

Thats a pretty consumer driven point ha? well its true we are consumers and we have bying power, but there is a great quote that i am yet to put my finger on (will get back to you) and the guy empasises that we are not only consumers but we are formostly citizens of our lives, communtiies, and the world. We have the right to belong, to speak out and make decisions.WE will have to deal with the consequeces of what ever decisions are made by us or the multinationals or the governments--- so get involved i say, make a informed choice about what you buy.

“The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.”
Gunter Grass (German poet, novelist, playwright, sculptor, and printmaker, 1999 Nobel Prize for Literature, b.1927)

f-a-c-t-s w-o-w

Facts that made me go WOW

7 million people are dependant on foreign Aid every day in Ethiopia.

For every dollar given to a poor country in aid, they loose two dollars to rich countries because of unfair trade.

Trade rules are unfair- for what? why not let countries develop? Our need for power and pride sux.