What People Say?Different people with different perspectives

One year ago, President Barak Obama gave his inaugural address to record crowds. His campaign was run on the promise of hope and change. With the anniversary of his speech upon us, it’s time to reflect on the past years events in order to take stock of where we are in our lives. What has Barak Obama done for this nation? By some estimates: nothing. But by others: everything.  What did that speech change about the lives of Americans?

The presidential inaugural address was a call to action for the American people. Obama made it clear that in our current situation it would take the help of each individual American to make a change within our nation. Obama said, “what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American” and “starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

With that call to action came a wave of response. American volunteerism surged and is still running strong. Immediately after that speech was made, food banks that were critically low began to slowly fill back up. Homeless shelters received much needed donations and charitable organizations that were nearly defunct due to high demand were given hope for tomorrow.

But, nearly a year later, some of those donations and food drives have slowed. Due to the economic recession and the war, our nation is facing times some are comparing to the Great Depression. That is why the Blanket America charitable organization was formed. The Patchwork Heritage quilt was created with the idea of uniting America under one blanket. Blanket America has come up with the perfect response to the presidential call to action.

When Obama said, “we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” Mesh Gelman and his design crew created the Patchwork Heritage quilt to benefit charity. For every quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International, one of the largest charitable organizations in America, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets to Americans in need. Their goal is to help one million Americans in need throughout the next year. To learn about how you can help, visit <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.blanketamerica.com”>America</a>.

Blanket America is about more than blankets. It is about changing the way charity and business works. For every quilt sold, Blanket America will donate a blanket to an American in need.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/obamas-inaugural-speech-inspires-change-1767924.html

The Supreme Court Campaign Finance Judgment basically says in laymens terms that Corporations can spend as much as they want on Political Ads up until the day of the election. So what does that mean to us? It means that any well financed company can get who they want in office, and ultimately, gives them almost total control regarding who gets elected in office.

Usually the Politician who has the most well financed campaign is the one who gets elected. And who controls most of the money in this country? It’s not the government itself or the politicians, it’s big business. So this ruling is in direct contradiction to the McCain & Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Law which was established to limit the amount of influence a Corporation could have in the past.

The US Supreme Court struck down this law, saying that it limited the amount of free speech Corporations could have regarding the public debate in the political process. The decision was 5 to 4 in favor of this new law. So what lies ahead. Many critics are very concerned that this will allow big business to monopolize the entire political process and think this is the very worst decision the Supreme Court has ever made.

Also of concern is an avalanche of Corporate Spending, which is a tax write off anyway, of big business. Expect to see many more TV ads, political ads in magazines on flyers and even promotional gear during future political elections. Although the people ultimately will decide who goes into office, hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising will go a long way to influence their opinions on who they should vote for.

President Obama seemed to also be opposed to the decision. He mentioned just like I said above that it helps them to continue to wield their power everyday so they can continue to drown out the voices and opinions of your average, hard working american citizen.

Let Brian Garvin & Jeff West teach you more about the Japanese Katana Sword and the Ancient Beastly Sword on our website today.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/how-will-the-supreme-court-campaign-finance-judgment-affect-us-1762803.html

Major population areas have seen a marked increase in homelessness as we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century.  Municipal programs to mitigate the problem have been drastically eroded due to reduced property tax revenue.  Even worse, cities have been passing ordinances in the past two years that frequently serve as a tool for criminalizing homelessness.   We expect the Three Year Adjustment in Adjustable Rate Mortgages, starting in 2010, to cause a marked increase in single family residence foreclosures, making it necessary for families to seek safety and shelter in urban areas. 

Frequent polls are conducted to determine the amount of homeless people in the cities throughout the United States.  At last count homelessness is predominately a major city problem with smaller suburban cities having the least amount of homeless people.  However, over thirty-five percent of those asked, gave a neighboring small city or rural area as the last place where they had adequate housing.

Communities need to take action now.  Creating a rapid re-housing plan will take a political solution.  Federal, State, County and Municipal elected officials must assume the responsibility for workable resolutions in this time of economic crisis or we are confronted with a return to the dark ages. With the US economy tanking the homeless problem will only increase.  We often think of homeless people as alcoholics or mentally challenged, which is often true, but more frequently we find whole families, with young and school age children affected.

One answer that has been presented to various state agencies, city councils, churches and civic organizations is the use of marine shipping containers for housing.  They come in twenty and forty foot models.  They are sturdy and well insulated, and renowned for temperature stability and mobility.  Over two hundred thousand forty-footers, at one to two thousand dollars each, are available nationally due to the trade imbalance.

Containers, sometimes called homes in a box will provide housing for the athletes in the Winter Olympics in British Columbia this year.  Costs for the high end design run about $150 per sq. ft. compared to $450 for conventional housing.   Constructed locally with homeless worker participation it could be done for $35 per sq. ft   On site workers can convert new and used marine containers, to units for on site offices,  workshops and secure accommodation units as well as customizing metal shipping containers to a municipalities specification. Accommodation units can be designed and converted for a wide range of purposes to suit the family needs.http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107865

A typical residential solar array for this type of residence, providing one twenty amp circuit for lighting and receptacle loads during daylight hours, is a perfect fit for this type of dwelling. By making the housing units energy efficient with solar power, we provide an opportunity to train and employ workers in Solar Energy technology.  Hands on experience with solar power installation and maintenance will be a valuable tool to anyone seeking employment in the building trades.  The family dwelling units can be easily disassembled and moved, as needed, when the crisis ends.   http://www.pugetsoundsolar.com/

Jim Flynn is active in E Commerce and likes using his experience and education as part of a problem solving team. Visit his newest site at http://www.dealease.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/put-homeless-people-in-a-box-1759178.html

The Copenhagen Climate Conference in December of last year emphasized once more that climate changes are occurring because of advancing industrialization and of compounding population growth. Continuing combustion of fossil fuels, grazing cattle, deforestation, thawing permafrost, and beetle infestations are some of the leading causes of new greenhouse gas emissions.

The media report regularly on the effects of accumulating greenhouse gases by referring to only one of its many effects; the effect of global warming. It is not incidental that they report on the most minor manifestation of atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation. During the last two centuries, average global temperatures have increased by less than one degree Celsius or less than two degrees Fahrenheit. Such a small increase is not perceptible to most humans. In fact, inhabitants of northern latitudes consider moderate warming as a most welcome benefit.

Instead, the destructive effects of greenhouse gas accumulation show themselves in several other, more convincing incarnations. Glaciers on mountains and in the Polar Regions are melting at accelerating rates and lead to worldwide sea level rises. These sea level rises are not negligible and are not trifling. Sea levels are rising much faster than predicted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) of the United Nations. Much of Florida, Manhattan, and many other large coastal areas of the world will be inundated by seawater before the end of the twenty-first century!

Climate changes are another major threat. Climatologists are not quite certain about the extent of changes that very small deviations of historic local and global temperatures will have in the future. Observations over the last several decades have established clearly that the number and the effects of violent weather in the form of heat waves, severe floods, violent windstorms, and long-lasting droughts are on the rise.

Other consequences relate to changes that are still partially hidden. It is becoming increasingly clear that modestly elevated temperatures cause local climate changes and have a pronounced and undeniable effect on the local biosphere. Animal and plant species are driven to extinction by local and regional climate changes. This effect is still moderate but seems to become more widespread.

In view of all these observations many climatologists even are concerned that other, major “tipping points” can be induced potentially by the additive effects of accumulating greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The deflection of the Gulf Stream, originating from the Gulf of Mexico and flowing towards the Arctic Ocean on the northern shores of Russia, is considered a realistic possibility. The climatic repercussions would be devastating for most of Europe.

Despite all these telling observations and despite independent, scientific computations that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will interfere with energy flows from the Sun to our Earth and with energy losses from the Earth to Outer Space, many individuals still deny the interference of greenhouse gases on global and local climates.

What can and must be done to eliminate the growing dangers of irreparable harm to ecosystems and to climate systems of planet Earth?

Unfortunately, there is only one realistic option. The world community must stop all fossil fuel burning in the very near future. Only by such drastic measures can major damages to world economies be prevented.

Early in 2010, there is nobody who knows the level of greenhouse gases that must be maintained for preventing coastal inundation and serious climate deterioration. Most likely, that level will be in the range of 300 ppm to 350 ppm carbon of dioxide in the atmosphere.

On the other hand, a sudden stoppage of fossil fuel burning will have ruinous consequences on world economies if not implemented very carefully and with much preparation and planning. It is mandatory that world economies continue their uninterrupted growth in view of growing populations. This means that plentiful and affordable replacement energies must become available before the use of fossil fuels can be halted.

Conservation measures, carbon taxes, and cap and trade measures cannot stop carbon dioxide emissions. Only the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources can accomplish that non-negotiable result. When committing suicide in a closed garage, it does not matter if one keeps a Rolls Royce or a Beetle running. Cap and trade measures can only delay but not prevent the day of reckoning.

The window of opportunity for preventing the worst consequences of an overheating Earth is closing fast. At best, world economies have fifty years left for stopping all carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. Emissions of other greenhouse gases must be halted by stopping them at the source.

There is only one other measure that may relieve greenhouse gas accumulation eventually; we must learn to retrieve carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Inventors need to be challenged and supported to develop a process for cleaning carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without using large amounts of energy.

Dr. Hemsath recently published the book CLIMATE CHANGE – GOLD RUSH OR DISASTER? For 50 years he has worked as scientist, process engineer, Director of R&D, Corporate Vice President of R&D, Company President, Chief Executive Officer, and Inventor.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/destructive-greenhouse-gases-1757230.html

This is the ninth article of the series: “The Foreigner woman in Bible versus Quran”

In the previous articles (1-8), we have seen that in Language, the “foreign” woman is the alien or the exotic or the outsider woman.  However, the Bible has another view.  As confirmed by the Bible, the “foreign” woman is the non-Israelite woman or the non-Jewish woman.

As a result, any non-Israelite or any non-Jewish woman is a “foreign” women.

This indicates that the women in the Bible are but one of two categories; they are either Legitimate (genuine) or Foreign (strange).

 

In the previous article (The Foreigner woman in Bible versus Quran-8), The Bible gives the policy of how to deal with the foreign women in the war, kill every woman who has slept with a man; but capture and save for you every girl who has never slept with a man.

 

In the present article, The Bible (Deuteronomy 2:31-35, Deuteronomy 3:3-7, Judges 21:10 1 and 1Samuel 15:2-3) gives four more examples in adopting a policy of targeted killings of the foreign women in the war.  The Bible says:

 

(1) And the Lord God said unto Moses, Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his country before you: begin to conquer and possess his land. Then Sihon came out against us, him and all his people, unto battle at Jahaz. And the Lord God delivered him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and completely destroyed every inhabited city, and we killed all men, women and children; we left no survivor; we left no one alive.  Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured.

 

(2) So Jehovah our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we took not from them; threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides the unwalled towns a great many. And we completely destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, totally destroying every inhabited city, and we killed all men, women and children. But all the cattle, all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

 

(3) And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons of valor, and command them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants.

 

(4) In addition, the Bible says: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go and strike the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but kill men and women, children, infants and suckling, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” Herein, the Lord God Love commanded to kill the infants and suckling in addition.

 

Again, it may be productive to remind the smart reader that the sword is mentioned more than 400 times in the Bible; and the sword is never ever mentioned in the entire Quran.

 

In the entire Quran, the term “foreign woman” is not mentioned therein; all women are equal in respect to their rights and responsibilities regardless of race, color, location etc. To avoid repetition, the interested reader can read the previous seven articles of this series: “The Foreigner woman in Bible versus Quran 1-7″.

 

Moses’ Wars in the Quran:

On the other hand, these Biblical tales of the wars between the Israelites and Sihon the king of Heshbon, Og the king of Bashan, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead and the Amalekites are not mentioned therein in the entire Quran.

Also, Sihon, Heshbon, Og, Bashan, Argob, Jabesh-Gilead, Jahaz, the 60 fortified cities, the unwalled towns, and the Amalekites are not mentioned therein in the entire Quran.

It should be emphasized that Moses is mentioned 124 times in the Quran while Muhammad is mentioned four times only in the whole Quran; i.e. for each 31 times Moses is mentioned in the Quran, Muhammad is mentioned once.  However, in these 124 times of Moses, the Quran does not say that Moses had wars with Sihon the king of Heshbon or Og the king of Bashan.

 

Is the Quran anti-Israelites? Once more,

Ethically speaking, if the Quran is anti-Israelites then such massacre wars and bloodbaths would have been magnified and exaggerated in the Quran and it would be said: look at these people how they behave in the wars!  But the Quran does not say anything like that.

 

Furthermore, do you smart reader believe that the Lord God Love is happy with the outcome of such reasonless wars?  

 

On the other hand, the Prophet Muhammad put strict Prohibition against Killing Women and Children in Military Expeditions.  Muhammad commanded not to kill women and children.

Also, Abu Bakr (the Muslims’ leader after Muhammad’s death) put ten ethical Commandments in War starting with: Do not kill women and children.

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The Bible (King James Version)

 

Deuteronomy 2:31-35

31And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

 

Deuteronomy 3:3-7

3So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining.

4And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.

6And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

7But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.

 

Judges 21:10

10And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

 

1 Samuel 15:2-3

2Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

3Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

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Muhammad Prohibition against Killing Women

 

The Prophet Muhammad put strict Prohibition against Killing Women and Children in Military Expeditions.  Muhammad commanded not to kill women and children.

In Hadith, Muhammad puts the Ethical law in war

In narrated Hadith, Muhammad says:

1) Allah’s Apostle disapproved the killing of women and children,

2) Allah’s Apostle forbade the killing of women and children,

3) Do not mutilate (the dead) bodies, and

4) Do not kill the children and the elders.

 

In addition, after Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr became the Muslims’ leader.

Abu Bakr and the Ten Commandments in War

Abu Bakr gave Ten ethical Commandments to his military officers before sending them to a war against the disbelievers; Abu Bakr said: “I command you ten things. Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal from the booty, and do not be cowardly.”

Professor Dr. Ibrahim Khalil,
Prof. of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Head (ex-) of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control Unit, Ain-Shams University. Cairo, Egypt
President of the Egyptian Society of Inventors, Honorary President of SPIC-Egypt (The Society of Practitioners of Infection Control – Egypt), Co-Chief Editor of the Egyptian Journal of Lab. Medicine
Member of the Egyptian union of Writers, Published 5 Books and some 60 Medical Articles, Supervisors for 79 PhD theses and111 Master Degree theses.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/in-hadith-muhammad-puts-the-ethical-law-in-war-1750732.html