The South African governement had adopted a "willing buyer, willing seller" approach to land redistribution since 1994 . They have paid market prices for land that white owners were prepared to sell, and then distributing it to landless blacks.
Things are about to change. There are many angry people in South Africa who do not think that land redistribution is moving fast enough. They count among their numbers new Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. She thinks that the pace of redistribution should be sped up, to match neighboring Zimbabwe, where most white-owned land has been seized by the state. Her actual quote was"There needs to be a bit of oomph. That's why we may need the skills of Zimbabwe to help us."
Asking for Zimbabwe's help on land redistribution is like asking Eichmann and Mengele to head up a human rights commission. Let us not forget that one of the results of Zimbabwe's "redistribution" is that 50% of its population now has no food. Zambia, on the other hand, who took many displaced Zimbabwean farmers in has enough to feed its citizens and still some left to export. South Africa wants help from Mugabe's government? The same Mugabe who is banned from Europe and the USA? The same Mugabe who flattens settlements when people don't vote for him in a "democratic" election? The same Mugabe who blames his country's economic problems on a Western plot to remove him from power?
Much can be said about someone based on who their friends are, and I don't like what this says about South Africa.
9/23/2005
9/18/2005
The Postmodern Church
The following text is from the website of a large church very close to where I live. It tells me all I need to know about the focus of the church. It also helps me understand the size of its membership.
The ________ Church Praise and Music Teams are some of the most gifted and talented performers! Their music ministers to and entertains over __________ people each weekend.
When did worship become about entertaining the congregation? Perhaps some of you out there know the actual date. Sadly, this statement is probably not the exception in western Christian circles.
The postmodern, me-centered church is alive and well in America. Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church sold 900,000 copies. Warren's Purpose Driven Life has sold almost 30,000,000 copies. People are, according to Warren's book sales, three times more interested in the subject matter when it is about them than they are when it is about the church.
But any of us could have predicted those sales trends.
Maybe if the church were less about entertaining people and more about reaching them with the life changing truth of the gospel we would be more effective in our evangelical efforts.
May God have mercy on us all.
The ________ Church Praise and Music Teams are some of the most gifted and talented performers! Their music ministers to and entertains over __________ people each weekend.
When did worship become about entertaining the congregation? Perhaps some of you out there know the actual date. Sadly, this statement is probably not the exception in western Christian circles.
The postmodern, me-centered church is alive and well in America. Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church sold 900,000 copies. Warren's Purpose Driven Life has sold almost 30,000,000 copies. People are, according to Warren's book sales, three times more interested in the subject matter when it is about them than they are when it is about the church.
But any of us could have predicted those sales trends.
Maybe if the church were less about entertaining people and more about reaching them with the life changing truth of the gospel we would be more effective in our evangelical efforts.
May God have mercy on us all.
9/10/2005
40,000 volunteers needed
According to the BBC The American Red Cross says it needs 40,000 extra volunteers to help deal with Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
If this is true, and I assume that it is, why have I heard so many "The Red Cross told me they don't need any volunteers when I tried to volunteer" stories?
If this is true, and I assume that it is, why have I heard so many "The Red Cross told me they don't need any volunteers when I tried to volunteer" stories?
9/06/2005
What a sobering weekend
We (Partners in Hope) split our 30 voluteers between Irving Bible Church and the DFW Lakes Hilton on Labor Day weekend. Who would have thought two weeks ago that we would have almost 600 refugees in the Hilton in Grapevine? For that matter who ever thought we would have American refugees in the United States? Most of us never did.
I was pleased to see the amount of volunteers who came out to help. I sincerley hope that the volunteers are still out in force three weeks from now.
I would like to share about an incredible lady I met on Sunday morning. Phyllis is 72 years old and I met her whilen helping refugees check their e-mail, sign up for assistance etc. I sat next to her and read the e-mail from her husband (who refused to leave New Orleans) saying that he was hospitalized in Lake Charles, LA and that he was doing fine. She shared that she heard that he was alive after praying all night for his safety. Hers was sadly one of the few happy stories from the weekend.
I helped a man whose eyes were glazed over and who seemed to be in shock. So much so that he could not remember his address. He apologized to me and checked his drivers lisence for the correct information.
Phyllis, even during this moment of tragedy in her life was able to put things into perspective for me. She said that God had been faithful to her all of her life and that He had not forgotten her now either. All of her family members were alive and that was all that mattered.
What a lady.
I was pleased to see the amount of volunteers who came out to help. I sincerley hope that the volunteers are still out in force three weeks from now.
I would like to share about an incredible lady I met on Sunday morning. Phyllis is 72 years old and I met her whilen helping refugees check their e-mail, sign up for assistance etc. I sat next to her and read the e-mail from her husband (who refused to leave New Orleans) saying that he was hospitalized in Lake Charles, LA and that he was doing fine. She shared that she heard that he was alive after praying all night for his safety. Hers was sadly one of the few happy stories from the weekend.
I helped a man whose eyes were glazed over and who seemed to be in shock. So much so that he could not remember his address. He apologized to me and checked his drivers lisence for the correct information.
Phyllis, even during this moment of tragedy in her life was able to put things into perspective for me. She said that God had been faithful to her all of her life and that He had not forgotten her now either. All of her family members were alive and that was all that mattered.
What a lady.
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