Want to be a pilot?

You may want to check out these airport runways before committing to being one. I wouldn't want to be a passenger on any jets landing on these runways.

The Real Saint Nicholas

On the theme of profiles, Christianity Today has a profile on the historical St. Nicholas.

Supposedly, Nicholas was born to a wealthy family in Patara, Lycia. His parents died, and he inherited a considerable sum of money, but he kept none of it. In the most famous story about his life, he threw bags of gold through the windows of three girls about to be forced into lives of prostitution. At least that's the most common version of the story; there are others, including an excessively grim one where the three girls are beheaded by an innkeeper and pickled in a tub of brine until Nicholas resurrects them.

After a couple of miracles (he's sometimes called Nicholas the Wonder-Worker) performed while he was still a boy, Nicholas was chosen by the people of Myra to be their new bishop. But it wasn't long before Diocletian and Maximian began their persecutions of Christians, and the new bishop was imprisoned.

When Constantine became emperor, Nicholas was released with countless others and returned to his preaching only to find a new threat: Arianism. According to one biographer (writing five centuries after Nicholas's death), "Thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas, the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as a death-dealing poison." Other biographers claim Nicholas attacked the heresy of Arius (who denied the full divinity of Christ) in a much more personal way?he traveled to the Council of Nicea and slapped Arius in the face! As the story goes (and this should be taken as fantasy because there are pretty good records of the council, and Nicholas isn't mentioned), the other bishops at Nicea were shocked at such rude behavior and relieved him as bishop. But then Jesus and Mary appeared next to him, and they quickly recanted.

You can read the whole profile of Christianity Today's website.

Election 2006

We don't get into partisan politics around here but here are a couple of national news websites that are covering the election.

• CBC's Election Website
• CTV's Election Website
• Globe and Mail
• Elections Canada information :: Not a news site but it has information on how to register to vote and where to vote.

From the above listed websites, you should be able to get all sorts of election coverage. The official party websites in alphabetical order are.

• Conservative Party of Canada
• Green Party of Canada
• Liberal Party of Canada
• New Democratic Party of Canada

I took a look around for some local or even Saskatchewan election coverage but I couldn't find any. If you know of anything, leave me a note in the comments.

Asia's Deadly Waves

Asia's Deadly Waves

South Asia :: A Call for Help

From World Relief

Dear Friends,
The tragedy in South Asia has quickly become one of the most serious in history. The sudden loss of life and destruction is overwhelming. I don't have to give you the details because I am certain all of you have seen the heart-wrenching scenes as they have covered our television screens for the last several days.

We have been in constant email and telephone contact with field partners in the effected countries as well as our Integral Alliance partners in Europe, US, and Hong Kong. Everything possible is being done to mobilize resources to attempt to meet the incredible needs.

Without question we need you, our Canadian partners, to pray. The extent of suffering and mourning is beyond what we can comprehend. Relief workers and volunteers are being overwhelmed physically and emotionally and desperately need God's strength. Just this past October a field officer from Stromme Foundation of Norway attended our Integral Alliance conference in Toronto. Nimo works in Sri Lanka, the hardest hit of all the countries. Although he is being called on to direct relief efforts he and his wife are suffering the loss of all of her brothers and sisters.

It is also imperative that churches and each of us as Christians, prayerfully consider giving towards the relief and rehabilitation efforts. Much of the world is rallying, with significant UN and country aid being rushed to the region. But many of our Christian partners such as EFICOR are uniquely positioned to not only meet the physical and emotional needs but also to bring the compassion and hope than can only come from Christ. Their efforts now and through the lengthy rehabilitation phase require our immediate investment.

Christians in Canada have always been so generous in meeting the call of God to respond to those in need. If ever there was a time this is it. The task is truly overwhelming. The geographical extent of this alone is beyond anything the world has faced before. The magnitude of human suffering is unprecedented.

We need the church of Jesus Christ to rise up and carry His restoration to the millions who desperately need help today.

Laurie Cook
CEO, World Relief Canada

Merry Christmas

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. - Calvin Coolidge.

Loving others

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.

Thomas Merton

Genocide in Rwanda

Several times over the last year I have mentioned the Genocide in Rwanda. Here is an overview of the genocide as documented in Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia). Not enjoyable reading but a part of western history and as well as how humanity failed nearly a million people.

Sudanese Rape Victims Find Justice Blind to Plight

Article in the Washington Post about the horrors and gencide in Sudan

To the family of Katuma, who was raped and impregnated by an Arab militia fighter five months ago in the war-torn region of Darfur, this shamanistic cure was the only form of redemption available in a situation where legal justice is elusive, officials are embarrassed to discuss rape and the chances of catching and prosecuting attackers are next to none.

While a ritual bath cannot substitute for a court of law, according to Sudanese culture it may help mitigate the negative long-term social effects of rape -- the public ostracism of the victim, her devaluation as a future bride and the lifelong stigma that will fall on any child born of the crime.

According to the United Nations and human rights groups, thousands of women have been raped by gunmen in the course of a 20-month conflict that pits African rebel groups against Sudanese troops and pro-government Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. The United Nations says more than 70,000 people have died.

In August and September, the French medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported that it had treated 123 cases of rape in South Darfur, at least 100 of which occurred during attacks on villages by armed men. Victims said they were assaulted at gunpoint and in some cases gang-raped.

Despite widespread documentation of the rapes by international groups and promises by the government to investigate and prosecute rape cases, sexual violence remains a low official priority. Sudanese society ostracizes rape victims and associates them with deep shame.

There is also little public trust in the police and the courts, because Janjaweed militiamen accused of the crimes are seen as backed by the government.

A recent report by Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, called rape "a weapon of war in Darfur," often accompanied by racial insults, whipping, undressing and public sexual acts as a form of humiliation. To the Arab Janjaweed, attacking African women is seen as a way to mortify African rebel groups, the report said.

Many women have also reported being told by rapists that they wanted to produce Arab babies and weaken African tribal lines.

Amnesty International documented hundreds of rape cases and described the horrific long-term social consequences for the women. But U.N. officials and others said international pressure had done little to make local officials address the plight of women who are victims of rape, as well as resulting health problems and pregnancies.

"The government as a whole is in denial about the scale and the severity of the problems," said Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, who visited Darfur in late September. "Cases where attempts are made by women to report to the police are disbelieved, or in any event, no further action is taken on their report."