Submitted by Crusoe (as a comment on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog
You list some good ideas for the structural retransformation of Haiti [Responding to Commenter Dictionary on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog]. Each in of themselves they do not depend on improved education but do depend on improved technical training (farming etc). However, for all, the long-term success of those initiatives individually and collectively leading to a successful Haiti will certainly also depend on improved education, if as we have been informed, the literacy level is so low.
This has two implications.
Firstly, immediately after initial search, rescue, medical, temporary (short and medium term) and security issues have been addressed as priority, the early reformation must include an immediate education programme, for adult and youth, such that the transformation of Haiti can begin with the active participation of her people, not as ‘serfs’ but as active individuals and communities with an understanding of the reasoning behind the methods and the aim of the methods.
I must add, that ‘transformation’ in this context is not meant to refer to bringing Haiti to the same philosophical outlook as anyone other specific group. In this context it is meant to refer to bringing Haiti to a level of self-capability and self-determination. Now, to expect say a three or four year ‘crash course’ in education and technical skills may seem either impossible or unrealistic, but unfortunately, if this is not done as one of the foundations of the rebuilding (in the context of not only structural, but as a nation of people), than all else may eventually prove futile.
This is obviously along the lines of the old phrase of teaching a man to fish instead of giving him the fish. Merely putting up structures, farms etc may certainly alleviate some misery, but while in the short term foreign contractors etc may gain much from the aid given for this purpose, the long-term goal should be to have Haitians and not only elite, but the everyday Haitian, benefit from money flows and thus create an independent people and a vibrant economy.
It is my view therefore Caricom leaders, should address the education of Haiti, as a priority, as much a priority as any other redevelopment effort.
To reinforce a point, the initial effort must not only be to set up an improved schooling system, but implement as an interim measure, an ’emergency education programme’, with the help of international authorities and the Haitian authorities. If one wants a long-term Haiti, this is essential.
We must give thanks yet again, that Errol Barrow saw the necessity of education as a developmental tool. And, we must forever resist ANY attempts to take free education from Barbadians. Indeed, those of us who wish for an improved world, must seek the furtherance of a sound even if basic education, for all peoples, as a necessity for development.
1,421 responses to “The Reconstruction And Transformation Of Haiti: A Global-Moral Imperative”
@Technician, None, absolutely none of what Donald Neff wrote concerning the persecution inflicted on Christians by these wicked Jews, that tormented the Christian Church in Israel, surprises me at all. You know why it does not surprise me?
Because, Almighty God already spoke in His Word, the Bible, through His prophets, what would happen to Israel and the way they would profane His Name.
“Therefore, say to the house of Israel,’Thus says the lord God, “IT IS NOT FOR YOUR SAKE, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, THAT I AM ABOUT TO ACT, BUT FOR MY HOLY NAME, which YOU have profaned among the nations where I sent you.” And I WILL VINDICATE the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will KNOW that I AM the LORD,’ declares the Lord God, ‘when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I WLL take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and BRING YOU INTO YOUR OWN LAND.” (Ezekiel 36: 22-24) emphasis added.
Here Ezekiel predicts Israel’s final restoration to the land and rebirth as a nation, which became a reality in 1948, all of this regathering from the nations of the world, where they WERE SCATTERED by God, for their vile disobedience to His Covenant with them, and the way they PROFANED His Holy Name, BUT, note carefully, that Almighty God specifically SAYS:
“IT IS NOT FOR YOUR SAKE, O HOUSE OF ISRRAEL, THAT I AM ABOUT TO ACT, *BUT* FOR MY HOLY NAME…” (v.22b).
Having PROFANED Almighty God’s Holy Name among the nations, it does NOT surprise me in the least, what Neff reported on that some of the Jews in Israel did to Christians, BECAUSE they are still as a Nation, NOT converted to Christ.
BUT, the salient POINT, as emphatically STATED by God in His Word, IS, that His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendents, the Jews, Israel, IS AN *UNCONDITIONAL*
*IRREVOCABLE* Covenant, that HE will fulfill, regardless of how VILE and PROFANE they have being to His Holy Name.
Let me stress clearly though, many, many Jews have gone to Hell, and continue to DO SO, and this will continue right up until the very END, just like GENTILES who reject God’s offer of forgiveness and reconcilation through Jesus’ Atoning death, and resurrection.
The point that is NOT understood my many, is this, Almighty God’s Covenant IS with the Nation of Israel, IT IS the national identity of the *Nation* that His unconditional covenant is with, NOT with the individual Jew, so that HE sovereingly protects the NATION, because He has an eternal purpose that He is working out, and THIS little tiny Nation, Israel, a DOT among the vastness of the Arab lands,IS where The Lord Jesus Christ WILL REIGN for one thousand years, after His second return and the Battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16).
An important point to understand in the prophecy re the regathering of the Jews to their ancient home land, which clearly adds a new dimension to all of the predictions about Israel’s restoration to the land, IS this. It emphasizes that it is NOT being done because they deserve it. They are returned to the land and reborn as a Nation *BEFORE* they are cleansed and reborn spiritually.
The paragraph beginning with “THEN I WILL” clearly marks out the sequence of events. It IS ONLY after they are returned to the land that they are brought to spiritual restoration; and over many decades since their return, have a number of Jews being converted to Jesus as Saviour and Lord, though in the minority, nevertheless, it is happening. In every way, the prophecy declares that ALL of this will be DONE by sovereign, unconditional acts of God, despite the unworthiness of the Israelites. Almighty God swears an OATH that He will do all of this with SEVEN sovereign “I WILLS.”
Now, Technician, I don’t expect you to understand all of this, as usual, I expect you to rant and rave, as any ‘unsaved’ man would do, as it will NOT make any sense to you. Call me mad as much as you like, this is to be expected, after ALL, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, was called Beelzebub (Satan) so who am I to be called mad? Praise be to His Holy Name!
For Technician
you may be surprised at who is Jewish. see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8550614.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218168.stm
“I don’t expect you to understand all of this, as usual, I expect you to rant and rave…”
When the only person who rants and raves on BU accuses others of ranting and raving, then we have a mental case on our hands. Note how he writes, the only person on BU that shouts so constantly with his all caps populating his comments.
Certainly, by now you have lost all credibility, Mr/Ms Zoe. I think you should check on the advice that Technician gave you above. Right now you are a madman-at-large. You need institutionalised psychiatric care.
Sorry to say that the collection of bottles of water by the students of UWI with Alf Padmore and the Principal seems to have been a PR stunt for the UWI. It took 500+ bottles to get around the pitch. Well yes, every bit is a help, but to grand stand over 20 – 25 cases of water for Haiti seems a bit odd.
boy…anonymous….you like you want people on here to bow a gasket yuh!!
this shit real deep guy.
@ David (BU)
“We were experimenting with a feature. It is turned off now.”
+
Spoken like a true professional, its a lucky thing that we’re patient and understanding.
_______________________________________________
It’s a lucky thing we never get well heavy
It’s a lucky thing we never get too jumpy
It’s a lucky thing we never get too boomy
We nah go run go run go run
Go run from the clash
This here sound nah run from no clash
Conexión Málaga Belgique
Dub Till I Dub
Night Dub
_______________________________________________
Normal Service Will Be Resumed Shortly…
The Bible, God’s Inspired Word, contains around 8,362 predictive verses, about 737 different matters, and only a few remaining prophetic events, dealing with the cataclysmic End-time scenario are to be fulfilled!
The irrational, illogical, concept, that there is no absolute ‘truth’ had its roots in Postmodernism, which historically, refers to a period of thought that follows, and in reaction to the period called ‘modernity.’ Modernity is that period of European thought that developed out of the Renaissance (14th-17th Centuries) and flourished in the Enlightenment (17th-19th Centuries).
Cultural and moral ‘relativism’ maintain, that ‘There is no absolute truth’ which IS in itself, an ‘absolute’ statement, hence entirely self-refuting, herein, begins the utterly, illogical, *IGNORANCE* of such thought!!!
Those who deny ‘absolute, objective, truth, live in a delusional world of deceit, lies, and falsehoods, as the very ‘reality’ of our known world, abounds us, with the evidence and facts, that TRUTH, confirmed by the reality of coherent, cogent, well warranted facts, are logically present all around us.
To deny that reality IS synonymous with *truth* and truth by its very nature IS unyielding, one can choose to ignore it, scorn it, or even curse it, BUT, all to NO avail, as TRUTH, impassively STANDS its ground, in the face of the most emotional, verbal, and intellectually dishonst onslaughts, as witnessed here on BU, by the *Slanderous Satanic Snipers* the SSS clan, who continue to give vent to their ‘father’s’ LIES, subterfuge, and diabolical distortion of TRUTH and reality.
Relativism, that there is no objective, absolute truth, goes way back to at least the time of the Greek Empire, and IS in full blossom througout the civilized world, and ardently represented right here on BU,by the *SSS* who say, ‘…what’s right and wrong? After all, isn’t everything just a matter of opinion? One must respect the other persons opinion, regardless of how irrational, illogical, and down right ignorant it may be! After all, anything goes, just do it, act upon it, believe it, for there is no objective truth!
The process of ‘gradualism’ is the brainwasher’s equivalent of Darwinian evolution, except that evoltion is mental, rather than physical. The propagantists, those that believe in ‘relativism’ believe that given enouh time, just about any LIE, no matter how ludicrous, can eventually evolve into fact.
Case in point, are the psychopathic Islamists Jihadists, who have used ‘turnspeak’ repeatedly for over 60 years, in twisting, inverting the FACTS, to make Israel appear as the aggressor. These sick, wicked Islamists, begin indoctrinating their children at a very young age, to HATE the Jew, this is taught througout Arab countries, to pre-schoolers, they realize that in order to make certain that their HATEFUL, homicidal agenda becomes entrenched in a child’s mind, that child must be brainwashed BEFORE he or she has the opportunity to learn the TRUTH. Because once a person knows the truth about any subject, he/she will always know the truth, and have the rational, objective criterion to recognize the LIE!
As Thomas Paine explained in his “Rights of Man: ‘Ignorance is a peculiar nature; once dispelled, it is impossible to re-establish it. It is not originally a thing of itself, but is only the absence of knowledge; and though man may be kept ignorant, he cannot be MADE ignorant…it has never yet been discovered how to make a man unknown of knowledge.”
“And with all deceivableness of UNRIGHTNOUSNESS in them that perish; because they received NOT the love of the TRUTH, that they might be saved, And for this cause God shall send them strong DELUSION, that they should believe a LIE. That they all might be damed who believed NOT the TRUTH, but had plesure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess. 2: 10-12) emphasis added.
“Jesus saith unto him, I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6).
“Sanctify them through thy TRUTH, thy word IS TRUTH.” (John 17: 17).
Again hear Jesus: “…To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I SHOULD BEAR witness unto the TRUTH. every one that is of the TRUTH heareth My voice.”
The Truth Shall Make You Free!
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him. ‘If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you SHALL *KNOW* the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you FREE” (John. 8: 31) emphasis.
To the BU ‘Slanderous Satanic Snipers’ *SSS* you are LOOSERS, deceivers, liars, who know NOT the TRUTH! You are of your ‘father’ the DEVIL, whose work you do!
It is so amusing to read the unqualified pseudo psychiatrists diagnose a man as being mad, just because he fearlessly articulates his beliefs, while at the same time the diagnosers hold just as tenaciously to theirs. Simply hilarious.
Palestinians are not in the same category
Zoe is not another Moses
Onlookers:
It seems I need to again correct ROK (who on the record of his proud profession that he has padlocked his mind 30 years ago, needs to look in a mirror, long and hard):
I will ignore the uncivil personal attack, save to note that there seems to be a projection problem on ROK’s part, given his self-confessed closed mind.
In corrective steps for those who might be misled:
1 –> As he knows or should know (as it has been discussed and repeatedly linked), when I noted that “Truth is settled by substantiation on the merits of fact and logic,” I am discussing the point that in general arguments appeal to one or more of facts and logic, credibility of authorities, and emotions, highlighting that only the merits of material fact and logic suffice to warrant a conclusion.
2 –> The lame attempt to drive a wedge between having facts and reasoning correctly about them is just that: lame. Materiality, of course, is the issue that we need the relevant facts, which make a difference to one’s conclusion. We may not always have those, but that is what we need if we are to come to a sound conclusion. This is where open-mindedness to well justified relevant facts is an issue, e.g. cf the facts on the foundations of the Gospel, which ROK — on long track record — seems to have a problem facing.
3 –> That the material facts and correct reasoning on these ground sound conclusions is a matter of logic and the theory of knowledge [epistemology] not politics. (ROK needs to know that radical post-modernist relativism is self-referentially incoherent — if we assume it is so, then its own claims to truth are also a matter of politics and manipulation. In short, such relativism cuts its own rhetorical throat, so soon as you see that sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander.)
4 –> For instance, let us — yet again — follow Josiah Royce on WCT no 1, as the first step in worldview warranting on comparative difficulties: Error exists. If one tries to deny it, one would only give an example, so it is UNDENIABLY TRUE ON PAIN OF IMMEDIATE AND OBVIOUS SELF-CONTRADICTION. It is self-evidently true.
5 –> Consequently, we have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, that truth exists as “that which says of what is, that it is, and of what is not, that it is not.”
6 –> So also, this is a warranted credible truth, i.e a KNOWN truth, so that knowledge exists, beyond what seems true to you or me.
7 –> So also, we may properly distinguish truth (that which is accurate to reality) from knowledge (warranted, credibly true claims), from OPINION — that which one may hold based on how things seem to one. (And, we see that warrant on fact and logic is the way to move from opinion and contentions over opinion to knowledge of the credible truth.)
[ . . . ]
8 –> Now, as has been said ever so many times — often, directly to ROK (but he has stopped up his ears and eyes to correction — WCT no 1 is that we err, i.e. we must face our fallibility and finitude. So, the strawman he sets up in this part of his argument fails: Man yearn for the truth but up to now, truth still eludes man. So who are you? Truth is as relative as anything else under the sun that can be relative.
9 –> In fact, I am one who is specifically knowledgeable in logic and epistemology, to the point where I have many times, as an educator, taught these and directly related things. Just, unless one is willing to listen and learn, s/he cannot be corrected in erroneous opinions. And, that plainly is ROK’s problem. (But we who are looking on can learn from the correction of his errors, so we do not end up in the same traps.)
10 –> As to the conceit that we yearn for the truth, too often that is exactly the opposite of the truth. Too many of us seek to reinforce our opinions, regardless of corrective facts and reasoning, however patient and repeated — as, on fair comment, sadly, has been happening with ROK for several months. (For instance, he has yet to acknowledge that he is slanderously wrong to assert that Bible believing Christians worship the image of a blondy, blue eyed messiah. Similarly, he clings to long since outdated views on alleged antecedents to Biblical thought and the gospel accounts of Jesus the Messiah. Osiris and Horus were pagan polytheistic deities, and the former became king of the underworld when by magic his goddess wife Isis resuscitated his dead and dismembered body, not a risen Lord who ate with, discussed with and made breakfast for his disciples. The latter was, in the legend, the son of Osiris and Isis, conceived by magically enabled intercourse while his father, Osiris, was dead. the worldviews, sequences of action and driving forces are utterly different so that it is superficial resemblances that are being exaggerated into gross error. this is not even myth became fact, the substance of the pagan myth and the facts of the gospel events in C1 are utterly diverse.)
11 –> In short, ROK needs to hear and heed this hard but vital word from Jesus (as do we all):
A word to the wise . . .
D
PS: We — including ROK (who for months now, sadly has willfully disregarded or dismissed the linked) — need to seriously address the warranting facts and reasoning on the gospel as truth presented at 101 level here.
PPS: On the inescapable incoherence of post-/ultra- modernism, here [A course reader briefing note.]
@Dic
“For instance, he has yet to acknowledge that he is slanderously wrong to assert that Bible believing Christians worship the image of a blondy, blue eyed messiah…”
Have you taken down the paintings and the sculptures? Ask most people what image they see when they think of Christ and you will understand that it is a blonde, blue-eyed man… but I ask any reader, can you separate that image when you think of Jesus Christ?
@C Halsall, “@All…
“You might wish to consider the following before taking Zoe at his absolute word…www.skeptic.com
This website Hallsall linked, is another one of such kind, pseudo-scientist, bent on defending the lie of global-
warming.
The following article sheds much light and truth on this big LIE!
“History of Climate Gets ‘Erased’ Online”
“Scientist alters more than 5,000 Wikipedia entries to hype global-warming agenda”
By Chelsea Schilling.
“A new report reveals a British scientist and Wikipedia administrators rewrote climate history, editing more than 5,000 unique articles in the online encyclopedia to cover up traces of a medieval warming period -something Climategate scientists saw as a major roadblock in the effort to spred the global warming message.”
“Recently hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit expose a plot to eliminate the Medieval Warm Period, a 400-year era that began around A.D. 1000, the Financial Post’s Lawrence Solomon reports.”
“The warming period is said to have improved agriculture and increased life spans, but scientists at the center of the Climategate e-mail scandal believed the era undermined their goal of spreading concern about global warming as it pertains to today’s climate.”
“Solomon noted the warming period presented a dilemma long before the Climategate e-mail scandal.”
“A 1995 e-mail predating the recent Climatr Research Unit scandal was sent to geophysicist David Deming, A major climate-change researcher told Deming,’We have to get RID of this Medieval Warm Period.”
“Some scientists later expressed concern about erasing the period. One chief practitioner identified as Keith Briffa, said in Sept. 22, 1999, e-mail, ‘I know there is pressure to present a nice tidy story as regards ‘apparent unprecedented warming in a thousand years or more in the proxy data’ but in reality the situation is not quite so simple…I believe that the recent warmth was probably matched about 1,000 years ago.”
“Briffa and other scientists, with the help of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published a well-known symbol of their movement: the hockey tick chart, an illustration reproduced in textbooks, media reports and the pages of 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPPC, report.”
“However, the graph showed stable temperatures over the last 1,000 years and omitted any indication of the warming period.”
“But the U.N.’s official verdict that the Medieval Warm Period had not existed did not erase the countless schoolbooks, encyclopedia, and other scholarly sources that claimed it had.” solomon wrote. ‘Rewriting those would take decades, time they the band members didn’t have if they were to save the globe from warming.”
“Instead, the group created a website called RealClimate.org. One e-mail address criticism of the hocket stick graph and any suggestion that todays temperatures were not the hottest on record.”
“The idea is that we working climate scientists should have a place where we can mount a rapid response to supposedly ‘bombshell’ papers that are doing the rounds’ in aid of ‘combating dis-information,’ a Dec. 10, 2004, e-mail to the Climate Research Unit from Gavin Schmidt explained.”
“The RealClimate team consisted of Schmidt, Mike Mann, Eric Steig, William Connolley, Stefan Rahmstorf, Ray Bradley, Amy Clement, Rasmus Benestad and Caspar Ammann.”
“Solomon revealed that Connolley, one man in the nine member team who is a U.K, scientist, a software engineer and Green Party activist, took control of Wikipedia’s entries to see that any trace of the true climate history would be ERASED.”
“Beginning in February 2003 Connollry REWROTE Wikipedia entries on global warming, the greenhouse effect, the instramental temperature record, the urban heat island, on climate models and on global cooling, according to the report. In February, he began EDITING the Little Ice Age. By August, he began to REWRITE history without Medieval Warm Period. In October, he turned to the hockey-stick chart.”
“He REWROTE artcles on the politics of global warming and on the scientists who were skeptical of the band.” Solomon explains. ‘Richard Lindzen and Fred Singer, two of the world’s most distinguished climate scientists, were among his early TARGETS, followed by others that the band expecially hated, such as Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas of the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, authorities on the Medieval Warn Period.”
“Through his role as a Wikipedia admimistrator, Connolley is said to have created or REWRITTEN 5,428 unique Wikipedia entries.”
“When Connolley didn’t like the subject of a certain article, he REMOVED it – more than 500 articles of various descriptions DISAPPEARED at his hand.” Solomon wrote, ‘When he disapproved of the arguments that others were making, he often had them BARRED – over 2,000 Wilipedia contributors who ran afoul of him found themselves blocked from making further contributions.”
“Meanwhile, followers who adhered to Connolley’s climate views, were rewarded with Wikipedia’s blessings,” Solomon contends.”
“Through his control of the Wikipedia pages, Connolley is said to have ‘turned Wikipedia into the missionary wing of the global warming movement.”
“Facts about Medieval Warm Period and criticism of global warming were purportedly scrubbed from Wikipedia’s pages.”
“With the release of the Climategate e-mail, the disappearing trick has been exposed.” Solomon declared. ‘The glorious Medieval warm Period will remain in the history books, perhaps with as asterish to describe how a band of zealots once tried to make it disappear.”
“A Wikipedia arbitration committe has stated in the past: ‘William M. Connolley has, on a number of occasions, misused his administrator tools by acting while involved.”
“A July 31, 2006, article in the New Yorker described Connolley as a ‘victim’ of an edit war over the entry on global warming, to which he had contributed.”
“After a particularly nasty confrontation with a skeptic, who had repeatedly watered down language pertaining to the greenhouse effect, the case went into arbitration,’ the report states.”
“User William M. Connolley strongly pushes his POV [point of view] with systematic removal of any POV which does not match his own.’ his accuser charged in a written deposition. ‘His views on climate science are singular and narrow.”
“Connolley said Wikipedia ‘gives no privilege to those who know what they’re talking about.”
“On the day this article was written, Connolley continued to make EDITS in numerous Wikipedia entries, including articles titled, ‘Public opinion on climate change,’ ‘RealClimate,’ Global cooling.’ Climate change’ and the biography of scientist William M. Gray writing Gray’s views on global waerming are controversial.”
Truth, will always be vindicated over liars, and intellectually dishonest scientists!
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, is the ONLY Saviour of mankind, because of WHO He *IS* the Second Person of the Eternal Godhead, God of very God; what was the colour of His skin, hair or eyes, HAS no bearing whatsoever upon who He IS.
BTW, as I’ve already said on BU, I have NO picturs, icons, images, or anything that represents Him in my place of dwelling!
@anonymous
Why are you surprised at the story. Eventually the truth on who the real Jews are would ome out. I truly believe that the are of the black race. Moreover for the European Jews to have survived the wilderness is between slim and none. The harsh weather and especially sun light would have made it almost impossible for them to stay alive for that many years in the wilderness.
Zoe
The USA is certainly feeling the effects og global warming right now.
I hear that in usully sunny and hot Florida that for the last two months or more it has been pretty cold, by Florida standards. For the most of the rest of the country they have been having severe snow storms. It certainly isnt warmn up i the USA—-climate wise anyway.
I dont hear the BU crowd that was singing the praises of the black annointed one who became US president over a year ago. The American people not singing his praises either. LOL
Onlookers:
This is both pathetic and predictable attempt to back up a slander by one who has plainly stated in an earlier thread that he has padlocked his mind, once he set his — plainly ill-informed and erroneous — opinions in stone:
Immediately, this is a lie: the commonest Sunday school type images of Jesus [or children’s Bible picture pages] — which sensible teachers will warn are not meant to be representative of how he really looked — are of a dark brown [maybe reddish] or black haired, somewhat Mediterranean person with long hair.
The Wiki article on Jesus (first hit on a Google search) leads with a c. 500’s, dark brown haired, dark brown eyed, brown robed [more sensible than the usual white!] mosaic illustration from Ravenna, Italy [at one point capital of the W. Roman Empire], and notes just below it:
Sculptures, of course are not usually to be found in Evangelical churches [a simple cross or cross and flame are more likely, or even a lamb or a burning bush], and in Catholic ones and Anglican High Churchy ones, you most likely will see 14 stations of the cross, in bronze or maybe wood. The most likely statues in the round in Catholic contexts are of Mary and/or saints. Last time I checked, marble-white is utterly unlike either human complexion or hair.
So, while in much older European art, you may have found blond haired images of Jesus or worthies such as Daniel, these are hardly reasonably taken as representative. Indeed, last week when I was looking at multimedia Bible software, I saw an animation of David and Goliath — the most iconic of all Sunday school stories — with David looking like a lad in need of a bath a haircut and a comb-job on what looked like the original bad hair day. Reddish brown, and that fits wit the descriptions that he was of that sort of reddish complexioned description.
This line of talk from ROK is also a strawman intended to be laced with racial animosity.
Indeed, in the hands of Hopi, this same slanderous stereotype was used as the basis for calling for arson against churches — an act of violence that is next to murder, and often turns into murder because buildings like churches tend to have people in them even at odd times. Worse, this is in a region where in recent years there have been murderous attacks against churches motivated by similar animosity.
So, we should recognise how nastily loaded this bit of insistent slander is, loaded with racially rooted hostility. (As is the Osiris and Horus copycat urban myth ROK has also used.)
ROK knows better, or should know better.
A lot better.
He needs to correct his bigotry, and apologise for insistent slanders maintained in the face of repeated correction across months now, here at BU. (He is of course unlikely to do so, on sad track record. But, the standard for civil behaviour must be at least stated on the record.)
G’day
D
PS: Re TH, Above, he indulged in accusations that GP, Zoe and reh undersigned have been lambasting persons, contrasting the more or less gentlemanly conduct of ROK. Evidently he has not noticed the repeated slanders, vulgar namecalling, and the like on that worthy’s part. GP has generally been about the most gentle commenter here in recent months, and when I have thought Zoe has gne overboard with sharpness, I have corrected, including above in this thread, noting on 2 Tim 2:23 – 6. I have tried to deal with issues, not personalities, saver where serious misbehaviour needs specific highlighting and correcting, as in this comment.
PPS: Christus Ravenna
AC:
You need to learn about the y chromosome (pass down from father to son . . . . ) studies done in recent years that show very close kinship between Ashkenazi [No European] Jews, Mediterranean – Oriental Jews, Arabs from the Levant, and — perhaps most tellingly — Kurds. (I highlight these last, as they are from precisely the area of exile of the Northern 10 tribes c. 722 BC under the Assyrians. Who BTW survive as a minority, Christian population in Iraq.)
The genetic evidence on the Ashkenazim implies that circles of men settled in an area, married local girls, then the circle more or less closed, until there was a blending from one such community with other similar communities.
For instance a recent National Geographic cover story on Abraham observes — tellingly, on the penultimate page of a 40 p. article — that the biblically based, traditional claim
In short, it is fair and scientifically warranted comment to say that here was a genetic Abraham.
D
F/N: If you want my considered opinion on the Arab-Israeli disputes and the underlying spiritual issue, it is here.Similarly, my view on the significance and challenges of Islam in the Caribbean and wider world will be found here. I would appreciate it if those who are strawmannising what I have to say on the matter would read the two articles before commenting further on a caricatured projection.
Onlookers:
For quite some days now, I have simply followed the drift of this thread form one tangent tot he next.
It should now be ut5terly clear that there is no real positive focus in that drifting, as it follows the rhetorical excesses of the distraction, distortion demonisation rhetorical tactics of those whose motivation — on fair comment in light of months now of exchanges — is, plainly, to try to justify themselves in rejection of the gospel by targetting declared, Bible-believing Christians. (Note too, how, consistently, such have consistently failed to address even a first level presentation of the central warranting basis for the gospel message. That inability to address matters on the merits, and repeated attempts to reduce issues of warrant and knowledge to inherently un-resolvable disputes over opinions, is telling.)
I think it is time to return the thread to the proper focus on:
Accordingly, I now excerpt from my discussion draft proposal on Schools of Hope, Haiti (noting that he full proposal is linked through the page just linked) that was developed live above in this thread, inviting serious discussion.
For, surely, technically sophisticated and educated, strongly opinionated people as we have seen above will have something constructive to say on so important a matter for our region:
++++++++++++++++
Schools of Hope, Haiti
TKI Feb 2010
SYNOPSIS: A proposal for creating a network of 25 digitally integrated community-transforming Schools of Hope in Haiti. These schools, from primary to Associate Degree level Community Colleges, would help create a digital age education system connected to business incubation, agriculture development, balanced rural-urban development, and sustainability initiatives, starting with demonstration of low-cost sustainable construction technologies.
[ . . . . ]
INTRODUCTION: After a devastating earthquake that shattered Port- au- Prince and surrounding areas, Haiti lost 230,000+ people and a large slice of its national infrastructure. As sister Caribbean nations, as people descended from slaves whose liberation was hastened by the sacrifices of the Haitian nation from 1791 on, and in response to the recent petition of request for assistance with education and business development placed before Caricom by the leaders of Haiti’s youth, we now propose a Schools of Hope Initiative for the capital city [5 schools] and for the towns and villages of Haiti [20 schools], as a long-term commitment to help in the reconstruction and transformation of Haiti; understood as a regional and global moral imperative and a down-payment on our debt of honour.
It is intended that the schools — at primary and secondary level as appropriate — should target the urban and rural poor, and that they should serve as centres of community upliftment and transformation, through partnering with or incorporating affiliated initiatives and components such as:
* attached agriculture extension/ urban allotment gardening projects,
* micro- financing and micro- business incubation projects,
* a programme for provision of annual scholarships to regional colleges and universities
* health clinics,
* trade evening schools,
* demonstration of key renewable energy technologies,
* demonstration of sustainable construction technologies,
* participation as pilots for the global One Laptop Per Child initiative,
* community upliftment micro-power radio,
* networking as an access points for secondary and tertiary level any distance education,
* etc. as further needs, challenges and opportunities are identified by our Haitian partners, and/or by other partners from across the world
We also invite participation of partners from across the world in this initiative.
[ . . . ]
++++++++++++++++
Now, the cost to do this, per a basic estimate, is US$ 1.00/yr for 5 years, for non-Haitian Caricom citizens.
So, it is plainly feasible as a startup investment in transformation of our sister Caribbean nation. And, the lessons learned there will have much to say to the transformation of our wider region to fit us fro the global digital age that is upon us.
So, now, what say ye?
D
Lets put the next two sections into play too:
+++++++++++++++++++++
1. Background and Rationale:
From even before 1791, our Caricom sister-state Haiti has had a turbulent, unstable and painful, complex history; with much blame that could be allocated to both external and internal actors. However, in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake – one that may have cost three hundred thousands their lives, and devastated perhaps half the buildings in Port au Prince; including an estimated up to seventy five percent of school buildings — this is not the time for finger-pointing, but for rebuilding.
We the peoples of the Caribbean also have a historic debt of honour to the nation whose courageous uprising from 1791 helped to accelerate the abolition of slavery in our region by perhaps a generation. We are also ideally positioned to be bridging partners with our sister Caricom country as it sets about a rebuilding and redevelopment process; one where it will have to find a way to work with Great Powers that have historically exploited and abused the people of Haiti.
Moreover, as Haiti’s youth ambassadors made plain in a petition to the February Caricom heads of government meeting, Haiti is requesting our assistance with education and with support for economic empowerment through business formation. Thus, a Schools of Hope initiative – designed to provide education services and support for successful business formation, for a transition to sustainable construction, for sustainable agriculture, and for reforestation — are key areas in which we can make a valuable contribution, and would be an appropriate down- payment on our debt of honour to Haiti.
The key to the proposed strategy would be to establish clustered schools in which a Community College core unit has associated High School(s) and primary school(s), with the teachers being the key links in the network. So, the Community College helps build education and technical capacity, supporting and researching on the work in the affiliated schools. All, backed up by an internet technology based network using key technologies such as Moodle educational content management system, wikis [good for writing learning resources], and blogs. EPUB format e-books and the like would provide online references constituting a reference library. OLPC family XO-1 PC’s — open hardware, open software, ruggedised, low power — would then serve as a common low cost adequate bang for the buck computing platform. (NB: Opening up hard and software is perfect for building technical skills for the C21 digital age. It is also suggested that we should approach OLPC to create a student/teacher version of the XO-1 and derivatives; for use in higher levels of education. Similarly, a Single Board Computer version set up for the CAN bus would be helpful for developing industrial and agricultural controllers.)
Networked, community based education and associated upliftment and agricultural and business formation would help to reverse urban drift, and create balanced urban and rural development In particular, given the growing digital age, there are many possibilities for using networked Internet and computer based digital resources and existing or restored or new physical infrastructure to help transform Haiti’s educational system and integrate it into widely distributed community upliftment and business and agricultural development.
Modular, rapid build low cost, sustainability oriented construction technologies also offer a capacity to put in required community based infrastructure at affordable rates. in addition, use of modular, rapid-build sustainable, quake and hurricane resistant construction technologies would demonstrate and build capacity for the urgently needed post-quake rebuilding.
Multiply such prospects by strategic cash crops, agricultural co-ops and competent marketing systems that turn small plots into mini cash cows. For, with “ethical” organic crops such as coffee, in an Internet age a farming coop can market straight to global ethical, fair trade and organic markets. (So, we ask: what if such a co-op hosts a node in a regional Internet marketing system for artistic handicrafts and for strategic cash crops?)
Blend in well managed credit unions and development banking. Take village churches, schools and community centres, and augment them to include micro-campus centres, supports for business formation and development, clinics and community micro-power radio. Add to these the proved power of the business incubator. Back all of this up by a long term, university research based programme of capacity development and transformation through education and renewal .
Nothing is going to be perfect, and nobody or nothing will have no detractors and critics, but we need to ask: what works? how can we build on strengths, address challenges and compensate for weaknesses or defects?
2. Goals and Objectives:
GOAL: Through a Caricom partnership with the Government and people of Haiti, to initially implement and support a network of community-transforming Schools of Hope in Haiti.
This may be achieved across a sixty-month period through:
a] Agreement across Caricom to initiate such an effort [D + 3 mos]
b] Agreement with Gov Haiti — a Caricom member — and selected target communities across Haiti [D + 6 months]
c] Contacts with partner development agencies and supportive governments [D + 6 months]
d] Contacts with OLPC and Sugar, etc towards production and distribution of XO-1’s for schools [D + 6 months]
e] Contact & agreement with OLPC etc on creation of a student and educator version of the OLPC XO-1 etc [D + 12 months]
f] Design, construction of pilot wave of schools at 10 – 20% of selected sites [including at least one primary, one secondary, one community college/ Associate degree level], using innovative sustainable, rapid build, relatively low cost construction technologies (e.g. Moladi would be a candidate for technology) [D + 18 months]
g] Implementation of integrated, associated community uplifting efforts in collaboration with communities and partners. [D + 30 months]
h] Initial evaluations [D + 9 – D + 33 months]
i] Wave 2: next 20 – 40 % [D + 36 months]
j] Wave 3: up to 90 % [D + 48 months]
k] Wave 4: final set of schools [D + 54 months]
l] Evaluation, scaling up and dissemination in concert with partners [D + 60 months on]
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Any thoughts?
D
“Immediately, this is a lie: the commonest Sunday school type images of Jesus [or children’s Bible picture pages] — which sensible teachers will warn are not meant to be representative of how he really looked — are of a dark brown [maybe reddish] or black haired, somewhat Mediterranean person with long hair.”
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Your mind is twisted. Everybody knows who that image belongs to and what it is meant to portray.
“Onlookers” and readers, note how this man has taken what we know to turn it into something else. Is that also how he has been dealing with Biblical interpretations too? One is left to wonde4r.
In the face of the truth the man call me a liar. Well! Well! Well!
Two down, one to go ’cause this man has to be mad as hell. The saga of the BU “trilogue”.
F/N What a C1 Galilean Jew would more or less have looked like.
Onlookers:
Predictabkly, ROK rejects and twists well-merited correction [and a simople glance att he Google Imagesd pages will substnatiate my point about S/S art being moree likely to be brunette than blond, and to usually have brown eyes to go with it, so even on the “not intended to be accurate| S/S art, ROK is wrong but cannot admit it — much less the PM pic just above that is far more likely to be close], while ignoring the real issue that needs to be dealt with.
So, let us get back to a serious focus.
G’day
D
PS: Let’s put up the next sections in sequence, to help us focus:
++++++++++++++
3. Proposed Implementation:
The key stakeholders and partners would be Caricom, UWI (and other regional universities . . . perhaps the ACTI group), the Government of Haiti, Haitian community leaders and members, and international partners that have already been involved in education transformation in Haiti.
An awareness and activation forum can be used to mobilise a provisional executive team and partnership based board of governors, with attached experts and partners forming a matrix type project team structure. This working group should report to Caricom, and the council of PMs, as a major regional project, indeed a Nehemiah project. In addition, the forum should meet regularly to discuss progress, and to communicate with the Haitan, regional and international publics.
The project will also require agreement with the Haitian Government on innovations in education at all three levels: primary, secondary, community college.
This initiative should be viewed as a launch project, with an onward sustained commitment from Caricom and other partners to keep the network of schools going and growing as a viable — and in the end essentially Haitian — concern.
4. Milestones and Deliverables:
The timelined objectives above indicate the envisioned milestones and deliverables in sufficient detail for a discussion draft concept note.
5. Inputs:
The key decision-maker, technical and financial inputs are implied in the above. Drawing them out slightly, a top level working group of educators, development specialists and other key technical people will need to put in a considerable effort to get the programme going, starting from an activation conference. This group should work in partnership with key stakeholders and especially the Haitian Government and Caricom, which should help resolve permit and regulatory obstacles.
The proposed OLPC and shift to sustainable construction technologies will require appropriate technical inputs.
Beyond that, on the initial crude budget estimate below, the envisioned launch phase project would reasonably require a financial and in-kind commitment of some US$ 4/ Caricom national across five years, other than those from disaster-struck Haiti.
The project is therefore feasible per required input resources, and onward sustained efforts should also be feasible on Caricom’s general resource base.
6. Estimated Budget
For a discussion draft like this, we will make a very simple estimate: on an average of US$ 1 mn/school to build and equip it, with primary schools expected to cost on the low side, and starter Community College mini campuses on the high side:
US$ 1 mn/school x 25 US$ 25 mn
For central and network expenses US$ 5 mn
TOTAL US$ 30 mn
Some can be in kind, but US$ 30 mn / 7.5 mn non-Haitian Caricomers is ~ US$ 4/ person, across five years.
++++++++++++++++
David, sorry: in mod Thanks for passing it out..
Since we are that close, let’s finish up:
++++++++++++++++++++
7. Key Assumptions:
The project depends on political will and public support to make a major long term Caricom commitment to Haiti, and to its redevelopment and transformation. This will probably only be viable if the Haitian programme is a pilot for a regional transformation through education initiative. (Which is not a bad thing at all!)
Failing such a regional government level commitment, since the project is inherently modular and scalable, in a context where there is a long term commitment from churches, charitable organisations etc, a scaled down form would be viable through such agencies.
Thus, though regional political will is plainly a risky premise, the project concept is sufficiently viable that it will probably be adopted in some form by a cluster of partners.
8. Outcomes, Benefits and Impacts:
As the schools get in on the ground the direct beneficiaries would be students, families and communities, with long term beneficial outcomes for Haiti and the wider region. The associated agriculture, construction, business incubation and community health and radio outreaches would multiply community-level benefits. Modularity, the emergence of a growing network of centres of renewal and transformation, and associated digitalisation would enhance prospects for expansion that builds on success.
Beyond such direct benefits, the rise of an educated digitally productive generation in Haiti would have long term transformative effects on the Haitian economy and society. The participative partnership based approach will also help create a sounder governance culture for Haiti, fostering stability and sustainability. Also, as Haiti provides a demonstration and testbed, Caricom as a whole (and wider regions beyond) would also begin to benefit).
At secondary levels, a shift to sustainable construction would tend to reduce adverse environmental impacts of development, and the associated reforestation and sustainable farming initiatives would move us to an improved bio-physical environment in Haiti.
Finally, the stream of obvious benefits will begin rapidly, from the construction phase on. So, quick wins are built in, which will help silence critics and will build up support.
_______________________________
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A Schools of Hope initiative is both credibly feasible and potentially decisively beneficial for Haiti and Caricom, a credible big win all around. Such an initiative is therefore highly desirable and urgently needed. As such, the participation of Caricom, individual Governments across the region, other key Caribbean organisations, charitable groups and institutions, as well as friendly external Governments and institutions, is respectfully invited.
++++++++++++++++++++++
D
@ac, As Dictionary pointed out from recent scientific studies, ‘…that Palestinians and Israelis…[have a} common heritage is now scientific proof…'( Nat-geo).
Also, your view that ‘…the harsh weather and especially the sun light would have made it most impossible for them to stay alive for that many years in the wilderness.” Fails to take into account WHO it WAS that delivered them from Egyptian Slavery and bondage:
“So GOD led the people around the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt…God will surely visit you…And the LORD went before them by day in a PILLAR OF CLOUD to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light…He did NOT take away the pillar of CLOUD by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” (Exodus. 13: 18, 19b, 21,22) emphasis added.
Obviously Almighty God, not only used the pillar of ‘cloud’ by day to guide them, but also to protect them, as it sheltered them by day from the heat, and by night it gave them light at all times in the wilderness.
These were constant standing miracles throughout their journey, and as (v.22) states:
“He did NOT take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”
Here is a bit more info on Global-warming.
“WE’VE BEEN HAD!
“Climatolgists ‘fed us lies, engaged in scientific and academic fraud, committed criminal acts”
By Walter Williams
“For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming?” -Dr. David Gee, chaiman of the science committe of the 2008 International Geological Congress.
“A year ago, my column ‘Global warming rope-a-dope’ (Dec. 24, 2008) started out: ‘Americans have been rope-a-doped into believeing that global warming is going to destroy the planet. Scientists who have been skeptical about manmade global warming have been called trators or handmaidens of big oil.’
“New evidence proves that climatelogists and enviornmental-policy advocates have not only fed us LIES and engaged in scientific and academic FRAUD, but committed criminal acts as well.”
“In November, Russian computer hackers obtained thousands of e-mails from the Climate research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. CRU has the world’s largest temperature data set. In collaboration with scientists around the world, including the U.S., its research and mathimatical models form the basis of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 global-warmimg report.”
“The e-mails involved communication among climate researchers and policy advocates around the world who brazenly discuss both the destruction and hiding of data that does not support their global-waerming claims. They discuss criminally deleting data rather than complying with Freedom of Information Acts request. There’s also discussion of faking data for journals such as Nature, conspiring to keep opposing science out of peer-reviewd journals (of which they controlled the editorial boards), and using statistical ‘tricks’ to hide the cooling period of the last 10 years.”
“One e-mail said, ‘The fact is we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t.’ Another said, ‘It would be nice to try to ‘contain’ the putative ‘MWP,’ even if we don’t yet have a hemispheric mean reconstruction available that far back.’ MWP refers to the Medieval Warm Period (800 A.D. to 1300 A.D.) when the Earth was much warmer than it is now. This bothers the global warmers because they can’t blame the temperature increase a thousands years ago on SUVs, coal-burning power plants, incandescent bulbs and 60-inch TV screens.”
“Editors of professional journals, who are willing to publish articles that disagreed with the warmers, were forced to resign – as was the case for editors at Climate Research and Geophysical Research Letters. A flagrant example of suprssion is found in CRU Director Phil Jones’ letter to Pennsylvania State University’s Michael E. Mann that question the link between human activities and global warming deserve to make it into the IPCC report, which represents the enviornmental extremist’s view on climate science. Jones writes, ‘I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPVV report. Kevin and I will keep them out somehow – even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!”
“The fact of the matter is an increasing amount of climate research suggest a possibility of global *cooling*. Geologist Dr. Don J. Easterbrook, emeritus professor at Western Washington University, says, ‘Recent solar changes suggest that it could be fairly severe, perhaps more like the 1880 to 1915 cool cycle than more moderate 1945-1977 coll cycle. A more drastic cooling, similar to that during the Dalton and Mauder minimums, could plunge the Earth into another Little Ice Age, but only time will tell if that is likely.’
“Geologist Dr. David Gee, chairman of the science committe of the 2008 International Geological Congress, currently at Uppsala University in Sweden, ask, ‘For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is NOT warming?’
“Last year’s column closed with my speculation that if ever ‘the permafrost returns to nothern U.S., as far south as New Jersey as it once did, it’s not inconceivable that Congress, caught in the grip of global-warming zealots, would keep all the laws on the books they wrote in the name of fighting global warming. Personally, I would not put it past them to write more.”
“This is confirmed by the Obama administration’s climate czar, Carol Browner, who, despite dishonesty, fraud and criminality, says she considers the science on global warming settled.”
Walter E. Williams, Ph.D., is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and a nationally syndicated columnist.
This article exposes the kind of academic, intellectually dishonst *fraud* that is rampant in the global-warming ‘tricks’ of these pseudo scientist; which is also pervasive in other field of science, such as biology, psychology, sociology, and of course, evolutionary materialism!
Anon permalink
Zoe
The USA is certainly feeling the effects og global warming right now.
I hear that in usully sunny and hot Florida that for the last two months or more it has been pretty cold, by Florida standards. For the most of the rest of the country they have been having severe snow storms. It certainly isnt warmn up i the USA—-climate wise anyway.
I dont hear the BU crowd that was singing the praises of the black annointed one who became US president over a year ago. The American people not singing his praises either. LOL
Do you really think that Global Warming has ONLY to do with warm temperatures?
Anon….think for yourself sometimes…please!!
What does the US President have to do with any of this??
Explain yourself man!!
@Zoe
on one hand you endorsed the scientist report on the heritage of the Israelis because it supports what you might beieve.
Now when it comes to gobal warming as you have stated in one of your comments the scientist are liars.Is it because you don’t agree with what did say? My point is that it is not easily to agree with any thing you say because you seem to have tunnel visioni.e viewing things from only one side.
@Technician, Just like you can take a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink; likewise, you can take scientists, (the pseudo kind) to the evidence, but you can’t make then THINK!
The U.S., government is heavily involed in ‘politicizing science’ when government gets involved as the U.S., goverment IS in this global warming fraud, do not expect the disinterested search for the truth!
As Thomas Sowell has correctly pointed out:
“Global warming” hysteria is only the latest in this long line of notions, whose main argument is that there is no argument, because it is ‘science.’ The recently revealed destruction of raw data at the bottom of the global warming hysteria, as well as revelations of attempts to prevent critics of this hysteria from being published in leading journals, suggests that the disinterested search for truth – the hallmark of real science – has taken a back seat to a political crusade.”
Think critically man, think!
@ac, Let the evidence and facts speak, not the political agenda that drives this global warming trickery, supported by scientist who are clearly dishonest, as has being discovered and exposed.
Think critically!
@Zoe
You are not openminded in your thought process. Your opinions are very bias supported by your interpretation of the bible.Which
in itself form the very basis of your conclusion on most subjects
How can yuu reached a real conclusion if the only means is refering to the bible. God is a Spirit and his spirit lives and dwell witin man and he gave as all a brain for which we can use to discern things that are not easily explained in the Bible.
Be Openminded ! You still got a lot to learn!
@ac
You stated:- “God is a Spirit and his spirit lives and dwell witin man and he gave as all a brain for which we can use to discern things that are not easily explained in the Bible.”
*************************************************************************************************
When you say that God is a Spirit, am I to understand that you are referring to the Holy Spirit?
Am I also to understand that you are saying that we can use our brain to discern spiritual things?
@HOOd
Isn’t The brain you use to discern what you read in the Bible?
Question : What is the purpose of the brain?
@ Mr Hood,
…now why don’t you leave my ac alone?
Those are questions for Zoe and GP.
Besides are you a ‘gallows bait’?
When you go and answer your own questions you know full well that the licks will start….
:-> Eat your heart out BAFBFP … note… MY ac
@ Bush Tea
Hi BT
Ok,I’ll drop the queries to ac for now. I can see you realised where I was heading. You seem to be on the ball, BT! 🙂
Re ………….”Those are questions for Zoe and GP.” I have decided to leave the “BU trinity” to the Lord. He always gives people enough rope……………….. Follow me, BT?
@ ac
Meanwhile you may want to read 1Cor.2
@Hood
Can you or can’t you answer the question?What is the purpose of the Brain
@Bush Tea.
Don’t worry i can stand me own ground .I appreciate your concern more than i can say for the BAFBFP.You can call me my ac anytime.
@ Bush Tea
Further to my earlier comment to you above please note these verses from 1 Cor 1:25-29.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
According to the “Bu trinity” ………..a word to the “wise” should be enough. Ah Lie? 🙂
@ ac
“Can you or can’t you answer the question?What is the purpose of the Brain”
Surely, ac, don’t we all already know for what the marvelous human brain can/should be utilized? Isn’t your question a bit rhetorical?
@Hood
Do you think that God was foolish when he gave man a Brain? God knew that man’s thrist for knowledge could only be accomplished by use of the brain . Having said that when it comes to matter of a religiosity one must take that into consideration because without the use of the brain it wouldn;t matter how much Holy Spirit filed you are the ability to discern any kind of knowledge would be nil and void. Case and point a person whose brain is for any reason mentally challenged cannot reason even if they have the Holy Spirit .They are dependant on others to help them make everday decision.
@ac
So why would someone who is “mentally challenged/cannot reason” even need the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that person already a “choice” child of God? 🙂
@ ac
Maybe the “Bu trinity” would want us to believe that the reason some are “mentally challenged/cannot reason” is because those people are possessed by demons! 🙂
@Hood
Aren’t we all children of God and if so why do we need the Holy Spirit, Maybe that question that you asked me was intended for yourself.
@ac
“Aren’t we all children of God and if so why do we need the Holy Spirit,”
******************************
Ok,ac, I concede.:-)
Onlookers:
Observe the pattern overnight, in response to a posting of an actual proposal (one developed in this thread) to do something serous about Haiti.
That is probably, sadly, a window on our actual general level of seriousness.
What I will therefore say on the point is that Montserrat and Haiti are straws in the wind: our unsustainable behaviour as a region — and not all of this can be blamed on colonial overlords or other external forces — is coming home to roost. So far, in two decades, we have lost two capital cities. And others are lined up for their hits — including BTW, Bridgetown.
So, let us draw the lesson that we need to get serious about facing unpleasant realities about the trends and threats of our environment, and we need to begin to build capacity to become resilient rather than brittle, set up for a shattering blow.
A blow that may be one big quake, one cat 3 – 4 hurricane, or one tidal wave away.
(And BTW, developing an informed [as opposed to hysterical, manipulated], concerned and active public are key steps towards that.)
D
Onlookers:
Pardon my following up on one of the points of the proposal above.
You will see that I have emphasised the OLPC, one laptop per child XO-1 (and pointed to the proposed XO-3 slate PC).
This is almost certain to be opposed by two forces in our region: (i) key sectors of our education community, and (ii) techies caught up in the Wintel scheme of the world.
The former by and large do not recognise (or worse, reject the implications of) the basic fact that we are now in a digital age, and that from early childhood, the upcoming generation is being shaped by its exposure to the technologies, starting with the cell phone and the digital game. In many cases — though still a distinct minority — children also grow up with the family PC; usually a wintel machine.
The latter are caught up in the Wintel, closed PC system, and tend to be ignorant or dismissive of other technological options (even the Mac came in for a battering).
But in both cases, we can discern a pattern: the upcoming generation, by default, are being primed to be digital consumers, not digital producers.
We therefore need to move to transparent, open source software and hardware technologies, and to equip the rising generation to become digital technology producers. That way, we will be in the wealth-creating, high income side of the Digital Divide.
Haiti is in effect an ideal test bed for this.
For, its education system has taken a shattering blow, and is in urgent need of being rebuilt. Not a green-field site, but at least a brown field one. And, if something has to be rebuilt, wecan do so on a sound foundation.
Which in a digital age, is open source, transparent technology. Then, our kids will be aboe to grow up understanding the technology, creating valuable things using it, and learning how to leverage an open source foundation to make value added products that can then compete on the basis of that in-common “free” leg up. (BTW, tyhis also means that I strongly suggest we need to look at open source cell phone technologies too, e.g. the Android Operatign System build ton a Linux foundation. OLPC’s Sugar is similarly a Linux derivative, and Linux is not just on the desktop — e.g. Ubuntu –but in significant part runs the Internet through the Apache server technology.
I would also suggest extending the open source core,value added strategy.
An emerging movement clusters around the idea that we can do Industrial Civilization 2.0, based on sustainable technologies that are open source. Jakubowski’s proposal is that with maybe 1,000 people and 40+ technologies that are here or within reach, we can develop a resilient local community that would have a much lower built-in cost structure, would be better adapted tot he sustainability challenges and would be more survivable in the face of the challenging decades plainly ahead.He envisions sustainable using,heirloom strain based agriculture, renewable energy systems, digital technologies such as computerised fabricators, farm and industrial machinery that are lifetime use, low maintenance, and even an open source car and utility vehicle (UniMOS).
I do not necessarily buy into all he says, but I think we can adapt several of his ideas, and help move our region towards technological independence. For instance, what if our region’s disaster offices were to develop and use OS vehicles and equipment like a version of the Life Trac tractor? What if our engineering schools were a part of that? What if these were to pioneer renewable technologies designed to get going when the power goes down? What if both were to use the grid beam modular system for developing systems and for producing modular shippable furniture for post disaster rebuilding?
And more, much more.
We need to do some serious, productive rethinking, instead of running off yert again on familiar, well-worn fruitless rhetorical grooves
D
PS: BTW, we need to consider on why it is that both the neo-nazis and the radical afrocentrists are trying to impose on the historic Jesus the blond blue-eyed aryan grid: both alike are extremes, off balance and opposed tot he sober world of reasonable,balanced objectivity. Similarly, TH’s tangent on the Holy Spirit reflects a want of basic familiarity with the historic Christian teaching and its Biblical and life-experiential foundation [based on actually meeting God in the face of Jesus and being transformed thereby]. not to mention the reasons behind the consistent evasion of dealing with the evidence that gives the factual anchor for the historic Christian faith, as has been repeatedly linked above. (I here take the risk of a third link . . . David, if you have set your links limit at 2, that is far too restrictive. Even 3 – 4 is pretty restrictive. I suggest six or seven, if you want to restrict.)