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July 29, 2005
Niche Marketing and the Cowboy Church
Matt Hall has put up a really interesting post called "Niche Churches?" on his blog. I've posted a lengthy comment on with some thoughts that I'm going to be including in an upcoming article I'm writing on the whole point of missions (please stay tuned). The other night I wrote for pages and pages and pages. But I have not get covered all the points I want to, nor have I organized the thoughts in some sort of coherent way that would help the average person understand my thought process...
Posted by aaronlord at 12:54 AM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
The IRA is Disarming
After 100 years of revolution Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army are disarming and dismantling and decommissioning hidden weapons and bunkers (as well as the visible ones).
Says Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams:
There is a time to resist, to stand up and to confront the enemy by arms if necessary. In other words, unfortunately, there is a time for war. There is also a time to engage, to reach out and put war behind us. This is that time.
See this article in the Las Vegas Review Journal
Posted by aaronlord at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
Virgin Inflation
This is funny...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/sandy-frank/80-virgins_4779.html
Posted by aaronlord at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
The Current Sub-Saharan Famine
If you missed ABC News' Nightline on Monday night, go to their website and watch it right now. Currently the story is located in the right column, the third one down, called "Facing Famine." If you aren't subscribed to RealNetworks' superpass (I'm not), or don't have AOL (I don't), but have SBC Yahoo! DSL (I do), you can sign in to http://dsl.sbc.yahoo.com and click on "Video" on the upper right side of your page. Once the video panel pops up, look under "News" for "ABC News Nightline" and the "Facing Famine" episode should be right there.
If you are unable to view it, then Google for recent news headlines about it so you can learn about what's going on over there.
There is also a British story on Channel Four about the famine and the Western response (or lack of it).
Then, once you've sufficiently disturbed yourself with the images of starving children, please do what you can to help. If you donate to Worldvision (who already have people in place in Niger helping out), just $20 U.S. will be turned into $140 worth of food which can be distributed to those who need it most.
Posted by aaronlord at 12:29 AM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2005
Man, this sucks...
So I wasn't able to get up early enough to see the launch live yesterday. I thought I had my alarm set on snooze so it would go back off after 5 minutes, but I guess I didn't. I was able to view clips online and on the news later, but it's not quite the same. I might have missed my last chance ever to see the space shuttle take off. It's not looking good for the space shuttle program. According to this AP news story, the shuttle fleet is grounded until further notice because of this insulating-foam-chunks-always-breaking-off issue that apparently still haunts NASA.
Posted by aaronlord at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2005
Back in Space
I am pleased to see that the Discovery finally launched this morning. I had meant to get up early and watch it, but I overslept. I was able to watch the clips online, though. During the press conference, one reporter asked if they felt the public's faith in the program was being restored. The answer NASA gave was that the public never lost faith. People's eyes were opened about the risks and the seriousness of what they're doing, but interest in the space program has actually been growing, not waning. That's cool. He also said there are like 8 billion websites dedicated to the subject. "Back to the Moon, to Mars, and Beyond..."
Posted by aaronlord at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2005
yay!
DSL's back up!
Posted by aaronlord at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2005
The Ethics of Open Wi-Fi
I'm between DSL services at the moment. The one we had was turned off, and the new one we're getting has not been turned on yet. But lately some people have been preaching to me about the supposed unethical nature of sharing internet access with Wi-Fi. They say it's the same thing as stealing cable.
The thing is, though, it is illegal to steal cable. It's not illegal, however, to leave your Wi-Fi network open without password-protection so that others can use it. There are no laws against it; the phone company actually provides wireless routers in order to encourage Wi-Fi networking. In fact, this article on Slate goes so far as to say that if even if you do have a password for your network but you're using one that's easily guessable, then it's still not illegal because there's no law against guessing someone's password when they make it so easy. What is illegal is cracking someone's encryption and going on their hard drive (without their permission, I mean... your friends have the right to give you access to their shared files if they want to), but using their router to go online is not.
Unfortunately, there are no usable networks accessible from our apartment but our own, so it makes it a moot point. Juno was giving me about 1,000 popups a minute (okay, slight exaggeration), so I'm using a free 5-hour trial period of ad-free pre-paid Budget Dialup, which is super handy for when you're between DSL hookups. And unlike Juno and Netzero, they actually give you access to an SMTP server so you can send e-mail.
Posted by aaronlord at 12:47 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2005
Back online at 28.8 Kbps
Well, I'm back online now! Can't access the high-speed goods I've grown so accustomed too, though. Set up new phone service today with my same old number I had for a year and a half. It's going to be another week before they can get the DSL hooked up, but I just dug through a box and found my old 56K modem and plugged it in and was able to get online with Juno. Unfortunately, the connection's only 28.8 Kbps. Man... I feel like I'm the stone age...
What I don't get is why Juno has all these ads trying to get you to upgrade to "platinum service" for $10/mo. when you can get actual DSL for only $15/mo. now...
Posted by aaronlord at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2005
The Iraq-Al Qaida Connection and Muslim Skinheads
Wow, today's a big day for blogging...
Two really interesting articles came out today related to the war on terror and the London bombings. The New York Post has published an article called "It's the Terrorism" that addresses the fact that evidence is starting to suggest that the London bombings were suicide bombings. The writer says, "Save for the 9/11 attacks that leveled the World Trade Center, the United States has not had to confront the reality of suicide bombings. But for how much longer?"
I don't like that whole "Save for the 9/11 attacks" comment. Shouldn't those attacks be considered something like the mother of all suicide bombings rather than an "exception to the rule" type of thing? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say that in America almost 3,000 have died in suicide bombing attacks carried out on September 11, 2001, and that there have been none since, but we should be prepared?
Another point he makes:
Meanwhile, a compelling series in The Wall Street Journal explores radical Islam's presence in western Europe. Yesterday's installment traces it back to the 1950s, when a mosque built by ex-Nazi Muslim soldiers became an outpost for the Muslim Brotherhood — the progenitor of today's Islamist terror networks.
I have not been able to check out the WSJ article, because they're listed as "for subscribers only"... But the similarities between Nazis and Muslim jihadists is disturbing, when it comes to hatred for the Jews, genocide, and the extermination of "infidels".
The writer brings up something else that I have not seen in the news at all. He/she says: "That Saddam Hussein's Iraq was a key element in the worldwide terrorist network of which Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were the kingpins is largely now beyond dispute." Beyond dispute? That's news to me. A lot of people have said we need to stay until the job is finished, but haven't resigned themselves with the reason we went there in the first place. The 9/11 Commission's report had everyone convinced that there was no connection at all.
We all remember during the election last fall all the people who said Bush shouldn't be re-elected because there wasn't any proof of connections between Iraq and Al Qaida.
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, claims that Saddam Hussein's regime "had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden, it had nothing to do with al Qaeda." And CNN anchor Carol Costello has said, "there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein was connected in any way to al Qaeda."
But Stephen F. Hayes and Thomas Joscelyn have compiled a very convincing case for the Iraq-Al Qaida connection in an article called "The Mother of All Connections".
Whether Bush had made his case well enough before the American people prior to going in may be a big issue. But I think that peace-loving people of all sorts need to have their eyes open as to who's connected to whom in the web of terrorism.
Posted by aaronlord at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)
Shuttle launch cancelled...
Now I'm pissed! I grew up on the space shuttle. Not really on it, you know what I mean... I've been waiting 2 1/2 years for this, since the Columbia disaster. Finally they were going to go back into space, but they had to cancel the launch because somethine else was broken. What's wrong with these guys? Their goal is to restore the public's confidence in NASA and renew interest in space exploration in general. They won't even launch at night because their whole thing is all about public relations and they want people to see it. It's not the delay that bugs me, it's the fact that more things broke. If they want to restore the public's confidence, having broken stuff all the time isn't going to help...
Posted by aaronlord at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
The Moral Implications of Sneakers...
This is a follow-up to a post back in May called, "You do what you can...".
It's super, super hot outside. So hot that I was wearing my suede sneakers with no socks and my feet were still hot. So I've decided I'm going to go get some new canvas sneakers today, similar to Chuck Taylor's but not.
Regarding what I said in the previous post, and all the implications of AdBusters and similar companies such as No Sweat, I have done some thinking, and basically everyone's a hypocrite.
I. AdBusters promotes this "Blackspot Sneaker". See this great Slate article by Rob Walker, "It Oughtta Be the Shoes", where he points out that AdBusters isn't really fighting the corporate marketings schemes, but just become one more marketing corporation. It's selling out, really. Walker writes,
But rather than challenge the rules of the advertising game, Adbusters, this time around, is simply playing along. As a result, the plan for the Black Spot does not feel like a triumph for the forces of antimarketing—it feels like a capitulation. This campaign doesn't slow the momentum of the culture of branding; it's merely along for the ride.
In order to sell their $70 shoes, AdBusters is marketing them by appealing to an individual's anti-corporate, anti-label, anti-marketing sentiments, which is hypocritical.
II. The nearest alternative to non-Converse Chucks (because Converse sold out to Nike and their shoes are no longer made in the U.S., but in some sweatshop somewhere), is No Sweat. At first glance, it looks like a good idea. Their website says all their stuff is union-made, after all. Unfortunately, not only are their shoes $10 more expensive than Chucks, but they are made by Indonesian workers who only make $110 a month. That's fine if that's a living wage for Indonesia, but my problem is this: Does each worker make only two shoes a month? No, of course not! Each probably makes at least a dozen shoes a day. So where does all the money go? I could support a deal where the worker got half of what the shoe cost. There is no retail overhead because they sell them from the website, not from a store. But let's give them $10 for profit's sake. Now we have $37. In my opinion, half of this should go to the person who made the shoe, and the other half to the company to pay for factory space, materials, pensions, shipping, etc. So the worker ends up with $18.50/shoe. At this rate, they should be making $6,000/mo., not $110. Alright, so maybe you're thinking that's an absurdly high wage for an Indonesian shoemaker, and maybe you're right. But don't you think this illustration aptly represents how so much money is being wasted and/or given to the wrong people who are taking advantage of overseas poverty?
I like No Sweat's ideals as they are listed on their website. The problem is, in real life, they aren't living up to them. If it's okay to pay someone $110/mo. to make your shoes, shouldn't you be selling the shoes for like 5 bux a pair?
Okay, so I just got back from the shoe store. All of the shoes were made in China, in the whole place. Okay, there were some that were made in England, like the high-end Tred Air, Doc Marten's and Gripfast. But it's 103°F outside. Too hot for boots! Besides, the cheapest of the Made in UK shoes were $110.
So, I got some tennies that were made in China. I know it sucks, but at least I'm not supporting the corporate machine, since TUK is a small, independent, niche company. Well, at least my Docs were made in England!
Posted by aaronlord at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
July 11, 2005
British response
I want to recommend this essay by John Nichols of The Nation commenting on Fox News' handling of the London bombing and their frustration with the British response. I suppose that even though I haven't had cable in years, I would still have to consider myself a fan of Fox News to some extent. But this is still a really good, though-provoking essay.
Posted by aaronlord at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
There She Goes...
For anyone who ever finds him or herself singing along with the theme song featured so prominently in the wonderful film, So I Married an Axe Murderer (and no, Sixpence didn't write it), check out this great blog by Zach.
Posted by aaronlord at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2005
New look
(for my blog)
What do you think?
Posted by aaronlord at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)
July 08, 2005
Spiritual Warfare vs. Jihad
Although it was produced six months prior to yesterday's London attacks, this Frontline episode, Al Qaeda's New Front, does give a great deal of insight into the motivation and intended purpose of jihadists in Europe.
An interesting topic that I have not heard focused on in recent years is the idea of the revival of an Islamic Caliphate state. Jihadists like the ones who planned the attacks in Madrid last year are seeking to expand the boundaries of an Islamic empire to include the territory covered at the heigh of Islam in the 15th century, when the empire covered the entire northern half of Africa, as well as the entire Iberian peninsula in Europe (Spain and Portugal), and stretched to southern Poland in Eastern Europe, all the way east to the boundaries of China.
Regarding modern-day jihadists, German ambassador Georg Witschel has said:
There are only very few leading principles [that unify the diverse group of terror networks] as for example the hate against America, against Israel or against countries and governments supporting them. Furthermore, some rather vague ideas of revitalizing basic religious values and – in the case of Al Qaida, but also Hamas and Hisballah, the establishment of an Islamist Empire, a Taliban style Kalifat-State as a response to the perceived dominance of the ‚‘Western World’’. (http://www.rcss.org/newsletters/vol_9_no_1.pdf, 2, dl 7/8/05)
From Abdul Saleeb & Norman L. Geisler, "Understanding and Reaching Muslims", http://www.equip.org/free/DM809.htm:
Jihad is the belief that one should engage in a holy struggle to preserve Islam against non-Muslim beliefs. While orthodox Muslims consider jihad a literal, even military, struggle against unbelievers, some more liberal scholars interpret it as a spiritual struggle. Both the wording of the Qur’an and the militaristic life of Muhammad favor an emphasis on the literal understanding of it.
And also:
The targets of jihad are those who do not believe in Islam, particularly Jews and Christians. “Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture and believe not in Allah nor the last day†(Sura 9:29). Again, “O ye who believe! Take not Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends of one to another. He among you who takes them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk†(5:51).
This article also contains a great comparison/contrast between Jihad and the Crusades:
First, as already shown, jihad is consistent with the teachings of the Qur’an. The Crusades, on the other hand, were not consistent with the teachings of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said to His disciples, “Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword†(Matt. 26:52).
Biblical Christianity is nonviolent. But Christianity is also apolitical--"My kingdom is not of this world". This is not to suggest that governments don't have a responsibility to pursue justice, but only to point out that Christianity is concerned with the faith of the individual and the individual's relationship with God, and not necessarily with opposing evil empires.
That said, if a given community were truly a community of Christians, how would they conduct themselves against such opposition?
In the book of Ezra, Ezra was leading a group of exiles who were returning to Jerusalem from their Babylonian captivity. Security was indeed an issue, but Ezra chose to trust in the Lord as their protector.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. (Ezra 8:21-23, ESV)
"The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him." A key theme in Biblical warfare, when the warfare is conducted according to God's will, is that it's usually God who's doing the fighting, and not the people. "Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria" (2 Chr. 32:20-21a). This is a key picture of the difference between the "spiritual warfare" of Christianity and the jihad of Islam. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Theirs is. Christ's kingdom is "not of this world." Theirs is.
"Peace give I to thee. Not as the world gives..." Christ offers internal peace to his followers in the midst of external persecution and death. Sometimes his people are miraculously delivered, sometimes they are not. But as individuals (not as a society), he calls us to turn the other cheek, and to look to God for deliverance.
Pray for God to defend his people. Pray for the people of Europe and America, that they will truly be God's people (and therefore qualify to be recipients of his retribution) by individual faith, and not only by national religious heritage. Pray for our brothers and sisters in London, that their hearts will be open to revival during this sensitive time.
Posted by aaronlord at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2005
I've moved...
Just in case you were wondering where I've been... I've moved, and I was offline while I was waiting for my new Wi-Fi adapter to arrive... I now live in the same neighborhood as Pina, Laurel, Miguel, Jason, Jamie, Taylor, and Zayyyyne.
Posted by aaronlord at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)
