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Disaffirming Resolution 1325
by Jessica Lee
"We who face death" is how Zakia Hakki, an Iraqi judge, describes the women of Iraq. While she was speaking at a panel during the 51st Commission on the Status of women, she herself was recovering from a knee injury, resulting from an assassination attempt.1
Since the 2003 U.S. invasion Iraqi women are suffering from a deteriorating infrastructure, social conservatism, and gender-based violence. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 affirms that armed conflict disproportionately affects civilian women and children, and that there exists the need to protect their rights. 2 The United States maintains that Resolution 1325 was implemented in the strategies for Iraq, yet the situation for Iraqi women has become dire. In his December 2005 speech, President Bush discussed "our efforts to help the Iraqi people build a lasting democracy in the heart of the Middle East"—efforts which would "protect the interests of all Iraqi people."3 Unfortunately, the U.S. intervention in overthrowing the Ba'ath regime has not democratized Iraq, but instead has instigated a civil war. As Zachia Hakki says, "There's no longer one Saddam, but hundreds of 'Saddams.'"4
How has the U.S. government failed? Women in Iraq are victims of sectarian violence. They are subjected to Islamist militants' strict mandates on dress and conduct. They are unemployed and displaced. They are dying at the hand of their families in honor killings. As Aida Ussayaran, of the Council of Representatives says, "This is the worst time ever in Iraqi women's lives." 5
Disaffirming Resolution 1325
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 acknowledges that women and children make up the overwhelming majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict. The Security Council therefore addresses the necessity for parties involved in armed conflict to protect the rights of women and children. Further more, Resolution 1325 calls for an increased representation of women in the decision-making level for peace-building. The violations against Iraqi women demonstrate that the United States as an occupying force has failed to implement 1325.
"The Security Council calls on measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary."6
The Iraqi Governing Council assembled in the summer of 2003. "There is a pronounced sectarian hue to the opinions of the IGC," wrote Raad Alkadiri and Chris Toensing in 2003, as religious leaders who were repressed under the Ba'ath government gained prominence.7 The first democratic elections in Iraq were held in January 2005. The new governmental system was formulated by U.S. allocated seats in parliament according to religious and ethnic groups. The result was the Shiite list winning almost half of the vote.8 The two prominent political parties in Iraq have become the Islamic Dawa Party and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Thus in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion a more Islamic state emerged.
Sharia, the Islamic code for living, has gained influence in Iraqi governance. Isobel Coleman, Director of the Women and U.S. Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the implications of Sharia in Iraq's new Constitution. Article 14 of Iraq's new constitution, states that Iraqis are equal before the law regardless of sex. But the constitution also states that no law can be passed that contradicts the "established rulings" of Islam. 9 Ambiguities arise, such as in personal law, which concerns inheritance, divorce, and marriage issues. How should the Koran's law of inheritance be applied to women in modern day? And who decides on which interpretations of sharia to implement? Critics fear that Iraq's new constitution will compromise women's rights. Yanar Mohammed, head of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, worries that sharia has resulted in "a constitution that traded women's rights for cooperation from Islamist political parties." 10
Just months after the U.S. invasion, extremists touting "Islamic law" began threatening Iraqi women who did not conform to their rigid rules of dress or behavior. As right-wing Islamist propaganda began to circulate in Iraqi cities after spring 2003, women were forced under hijaab. Mithul Alusi, an Iraqi legislator states, "These attempts to intimidate women are attempts to terrorize society." 11 Subjugation of women appears to be the initial step undertaken by religious extremists to push their political agenda for a theocratic government. Yanar Mohammad describes the forced veiling of women as a symbol of conquest, "When a political party gains control over an area, it puts its flag everywhere…The veil on women is like a flag now."12 MADRE's 2007 report describes the emergence of "misery gangs" and "punishment committees": Islamist groups, associated with the Badr Brigade of the U.S. funded SCIRI Party, who are enforcing "Islamic law."13 The U.S. government envisions a democratic government in Iraq, but it is funding a theocracy and fueling a civil war.
According to Iraq Body Count, Iraq's civilian death toll totals above 60,000 and is continually climbing.14 A 2006 study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates 654,965 casualties in Iraq between March 2003 and July 2006.15 24,865 Iraqi civilian deaths were reported during the first two years of occupation. Almost 20% of these casualties were women and children. Among the victims under the age of 18, 22.7% were female.16 A UN study, based on figures provided by the Baghdad Medico-Legal Institute and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, estimates 34,452 Iraqi civilian deaths for 2006.17 Female casualties have been under-reported.
"The Security Council calls upon all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse…"18
Jihad Mazarweh, a psychoanalyst, states in an interview in Die Zeit, "It would be a mistake to interpret lack of public discussion of many sexual issues in the Middle East as indicative of a lack of problems. Rather, the silence only reflects the strength of taboo."19 More than 400 women were abducted and assaulted during the first four months of the U.S. occupation. Prior to the U.S. invasion, abduction of women was rare, but since then it has increased and even trafficking of women from Baghdad and other Iraqi cities into nearby Gulf countries has been reported.20 Much of this violence against women was initially attributed to social disintegration and a crumbling infrastructure following the fall of the Ba'ath regime.21 The Bush Administration attributes the majority of the violence against women to Sunni and other anti-U.S. groups. But it soon became apparent that Islamist groups affiliated with U.S. backed political parties had almost equal participation in the violence against women.22
The Los Angeles Times identifies the BadrBrigade and the Mahdi Army as the "most deadly Shiite militias" in sectarian violence.23 Evidence gathered by the Iraqi Women's Network and the Organization for Iraqi Women's Freedom suggest that rape is being used as a weapon in sectarian war to dishonor families. Besmia Khatib of the Iraqi Women's Network calls it "collateral rape."24 Rape victims often remain silent because of the stigma it carries. Victims of rape and sexual violence are often posed as the wrongdoer, therefore most rapes go unreported. But just this year, victims have publicly come forward about their attacks. A 20-year-old Sunni woman on February 19 accused three Iraqi policemen of raping her after she was detained during a search of her house in Baghdad. Ahmed Mukhtar, a school headmaster in Mosul states, "The Iraqi police are following the example of those who trained them."25 On February 22 another Sunni woman accused four Iraqi soldiers of raping her and attempting to rape her two daughters.26
Women in Detention
Yanar Mohammed, an Iraqi women's rights activist, states, "In our culture, if a woman has been to prison, it's as though she has been violated."27 Unfortunately, the humiliation goes further for Iraqi women in detention. The exact number of detention facilities is unknown. In 2004 Hajj Ali, director of the Organization for the Defense of Detainees in Occupation Jails, said, "Under Saddam there were 13 prisons. Now there are 36 run by the government and 200 run by the militias. All these have the approval of the American government."28 Since then, the report of the U.S. State Department's Democracy and Human Rights Bureau in 2006, states that there are 450 detention centers in Iraq.
According to Newsweek, common criminals are being interrogated like terrorists. Women are being detained on the basis of their religion, but mainly as "bargaining chips" to coerce male relatives to surrender. 29 Reports of violence against Iraqi women perpetrated by U.S. coalition forces and U.S. contractors have recently become public. In 2004, a letter signed "Noor", a female detainee at Abu Ghraib, recounted the situation. Noor states that U.S. soldiers in Abu Ghraib were systematically raping female detainees, and that several of them were now pregnant.30 Huda Hafez Amad, a female detainee at Abu Ghraib states that U.S. guards struck her in the face and forced her stand for twelve hours after interrogation. Another detainee recounts seeing a woman with electric burns on her body, after she reportedly gave the interrogators wrong information.31 Major General Antonio Taguba's 2004 report on the inquiry into Abu Ghraib confirms that a military policeman had raped at least one woman detained at Abu Ghraib. 32 Taguba further reported that Cpl. Charles Graner Jr. ordered a young woman to pull her shirt up to her neck and that guards had photographed and videotaped naked female prisoners.33 The violence against detainees at Abu Ghraib gained widespread attention, but according to Amal Kadhim Swadi, an Iraqi lawyer, U.S. coalition forces may be perpetrating sexual violence against Iraqi women across the country.34 Women detainees once released are often stigmatized. Society and even their families ostracize them for bringing dishonor.
"Honor Killing"
"Honor killings" are murders perpetrated by male relatives against women to restore family honor, which has been lost by a women's impropriety. In the north 239 suspected "honor killings" were reported in the first eight months of 2006. 35 Dr. Huda al-Nuaimi, a professor at Baghdad University volunteering with Amnesty International, describes a case of a female detainee who was a victim of rape and possibly pregnant as a result. When she was released the girl's family wanted to kill her, but the mosque and neighbors intervened. When Dr. Nuaimi later went for a follow up visit, the girl and her family had moved. "I wonder whether this girl is still alive…given this local custom, it would be very difficult for her to stay alive." 36 As Yifat Susskind discusses, "honor killing" inverts the relationship between victim and perpetrator in the ethical and legal framework of international human rights law. The perpetrator is seen as the victim of dishonor, while the woman and anyone who comes to her defense are seen as the guilty party.37 In a suspected honor killing case, a student was publicly hanged in Baghdad by armed militia and her brother was fatally shot when he tried to rescue her.38 According to Yifat Susskind, the increase of honor killings under the U.S. occupation indicates that—like other human right violations—broader social forces are moving between the private and public spheres.39
Right-wing Islamists say that "honor killing" is a religious obligation, yet it is not condoned in any Islamic texts. Instead, they are rooted in customary laws of family honor that pre-dates Islam and Christianity. The notion of family honor is upheld by Islamists, such as the Badr militia, because it embodies their social vision. "Honor killings" maintain preferable gender roles; women are kept silent and in the private sphere, while men are vocal and active in the public sphere.
Female Genital Mutilation
Iraqi Kurdistan has a distinct history from central and southern Iraq. Presently Kurdish women are somewhat isolated from the violence that women in central and southern Iraq are facing. Coalition forces have a minimal presence in Kurdistan and Kurdish Sulaimaniyah is currently reported as the safest city in Iraq.40 Nevertheless, Kurdish women, particularly living in rural regions, face high rates of honor killings, forced marriages, and recently reported—female genital mutilation.41
According to the Iraq Civil Society Program, 20 percent of the female population in northern Iraq has been circumcised.42 A startling study by WADI, an Iraqi Civil Society Organization, reports that 60 percent of interviewed rural Kurdish women have been mutilated by Sunna circumcision.43 The World Health Organization and UNICEF define female genital mutilation as "the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons."44 Recent research indicates that FGM in the Middle East is a growing issue and must be combated as a human rights violation.
In rural communities FGM is a long standing tradition. The practice in northern Iraq is viewed as a religious and cultural phenomenon derived from social codes of sexuality and morality. 45 Almost all interviewed women believe men prefer women who are circumcised and voice concerns about being unable to marry unless circumcised.46 Interestingly, men view female circumcision as "a female practice," performed and perpetuated by women.47 Regardless of the reasons, female genital mutilation has considerable consequences and must be addressed. In Kurdistan, FGM is performed on young girls between the ages of four and twelve. Relatives, midwives, or neighbors perform FGM without anesthesia or sterile tools48 Many girls experience infection, profuse blood loss, and post traumatic stress syndrome. FGM sometimes results in death. Mutilated girls often suffer from chronic pain and infertility as adults.49 Today WADI, and various women's organizations are combating FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan through advocacy and education workshops.
"The Security Council expresses concern that civilians, particularly women and children, account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and internally displaced persons…"50
Iraq has a history of displacement under Saddam Hussein's rule during which time Shiites and Kurds were forcibly displaced. This "legacy of displacement" has intensified after the end of the Ba'ath regime in 2003.51 It is speculated that the refugee crisis in Iraq will become the most severe of all countries worldwide.53 An estimated two million Iraqis have been internally displaced since 2003. Another two million Iraqi refugees are fleeing to neighboring states, such as Jordan and Syria. According to the UNHCR, approximately 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis are displaced each month, and the numbers are steadily rising. The highest number of displaced Iraqis is in al-Anbar province, where fighting and killing is occurring most heavily since late 2003.54 Tens of thousands of families from the al-Anbar province have fled to refugee camps, as fighting between the U.S. forces and the insurgency continues. Time magazine calls the al-Anbar province "the most dangerous place in Iraq."55
The insecurity in Iraq has caused crises for all citizens, especially pertaining to health and resources. Unexploded ordinances are littered throughout Iraq, posing a constant threat to citizens. Unexploded ordinances, such as cluster bombs, are especially dangerous for children, who are killed or injured on a daily basis from coming in contact with an unexploded ordinance. 56 Soil and water systems contaminated with uranium will affect Iraqis for years to come. Iraqi doctors reported increases in babies born with deformities, especially in the south in April 2005. The prevalence of pulmonary infections and diarrhea has increased amongst the young and the elderly.57 According to UNICEF, 270,000 children born after the U.S. invasion did not receive immunizations, as routine immunization services were disrupted until June 2006. UNICEF reports that acute malnutrition in Iraqi children, caused by the food shortage and the body's inability to retain nutrition, doubled since 2003.58
Only about 30 percent of Iraq's population has access to potable water, and only 20 percent of the country's population has sewage access. Housing has deteriorated, while the costs have peaked. 59 Zachia Hakki described the electricity shortage in Baghdad, where citizens were getting about two hours of electricity per day.60 Experts are anticipating internal displacement to become a permanent problem for an estimated 13 percent of Iraq's population.61 Women are struggling to survive and because of this many are not aware of the politics in their newly "liberated" country. As an Iraqi blogger writes, "When your city is under fire and you've been displaced with your family to some Red Crescent tent in the middle of the desert, the last thing you worry about is a constitution." 62
"The Security Council urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional, and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict."63
The U.S Department of State's Office of International Women's Issues claims that Iraqi women were at "the forefront of the formation of a democratic government" in the elections of 2005. The statistics provided by the Office of International Women's Issues suggest successful implementation of Resolution 1325. The Office's fact sheet states that over 2000 women ran for office in the 2005 parliamentary elections and that 31 percent of the seats eventually went to women.64 Yet, Zachia Hakki, appointed as Iraq's first female judge in 1959, describes somber circumstances for women at the decision-making level after the U.S. invasion. She has received numerous death threats. She has experienced an assassination attempt, where sixty bullets were fired at her as she got into a vehicle. She has lost family members, who were abducted by militia groups.65 Female candidates for Parliamentary seats received such heavy threats, that many were deterred from campaigning. Campaign posters showing a woman's face were vandalized and denounced; some candidates refrained from circulating any campaign materials at all.66 The guarantee that 25 percent of Parliament members are to be women does not necessarily translate into governance that will enable women's rights.
The ministry of state for women's affairs formed in July 2004 under the former interim Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi. Since then Iraq's first permanent government has neglected the women's affairs ministry. Saweba Nasraddin, the ministry's executive director-general, stated that the department received $1,000 a month in 2005 and $2,000 a month in 2006—a paltry allocation compared to other ministries, which had budgets totaling upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars.67 Coalition forces also neglected to increase women's participation in reconstruction efforts. The Women's Initiatives program sought to allocate funds to women contractors, but in February 2006, the program director reported that out of the 260,000 reconstruction contracts awarded, less than 1,000 went to women.68 Lt. Col. Carl E. Mundy, responsible for reconstruction operations in southern Iraq stated, "We didn't give special considerations to engaging the women…My concern was not stepping where I shouldn't step, or dragging a woman in there that would anger the local men." 69 Resolution 1325's emphasis on women's participation in the decision-making process of conflict resolution is not a reality in Iraq.
As Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh writes in the Financial Times, Iraqi women "are the first to suffer from lack of education and employment."70 National unemployment figures have risen steeply since the occupation of the country by US-led forces three years ago. IRIN news estimates that approximately 70 percent of Iraqi women are unemployed today.71 Educated women are being forced to quit their professions due to violence and instability. Local NGOs report that an increasing number of female professionals are being driven to work as domestic servants. According to Mayada Zuhair, vice-president of the Women's Rights Association of Iraq, "you find doctors working as hairdressers, dentists working as chefs and engineers working in Laundromats."72 According to CodePink, the U.S. introduction of "free market reform" has attributed to the rising unemployment rates. Businesses are being privatized, jobs are being sent overseas, and public sector jobs are diminishing.73 Islamist groups are going to extreme measures to keep women out of leadership positions and out of jobs that they deem improper. Zachia Hakki recounted the tragedy of one of her friends, an Iraqi woman who was a gynecologist and political activist. Islamist militia members targeted her for working in opposition of their goals, and ultimately decapitated her in front of her children.74
Unemployment especially affects widowed women, who because of their social status, are often ostracized. 75 Many Islamists follow one interpretation of sharia, where widowed women are not permitted to have contact with the outside world and must remain in the home. Widowed women have a difficult time finding employment. Domestic positions become the only available work for most. Other widows, for whom domestic work is not possible, resort to mutaa. This "temporary marriage" or "pleasure marriage" is sanctioned by Shiite Muslims.76 Formerly under the old code, mutaa was discouraged. But since right-wing Islamist clerics hold more power after the end of the Ba'ath regime, mutaa becomes permissible. Thus temporary marriages are on the rise. 77
The "Brain Drain"
Unemployment is being perpetuated by waning education. Iraq is experiencing a "brain drain," as academics are fleeing the country.78 Higher education has been compromised and the number of girls attending school has diminished. In 2005, a college picnic in Basra ended in tragedy as members of Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr's Mehdi militia attacked students at the event. Approximately 20-40 militia members charged into the park where over 500 students were gathered. They beat students, fired shots, and even abducted several people. Osama Adnan, a student who witnessed the event, stated that the militia men targeted the women, "They were beating them viciously. Without any discrimination."79 Sheik Ahmed Al-Basri, an Al-Sadr follower said, "We beat them because we are authorized by [God] to do so, and that is our duty."80
According to a report by Save the Children, 818,000 primary school students no longer attend school. This figure accounts for 22 percent of Iraq's student population. Of the students not attending school, 74 percent are female. Thousands of Iraqi parents do not send their daughters to school because of the country's insecurity. Researchers surmise that schools and universities are likely to continue emptying throughout 2007 unless displacement and insecurity issues are resolved.81 Zachia Hakki expressed her concerns for Iraq's future, "We [women] suffer, but we have no choice. We need to make a change for our children".82 Security Council Resolution 1325 recognizes that without women's representation in decision-making processes, peace and reconciliation will not be sustainable. The rights of Iraqi women and girls to safely work, attend school, and hold office must be protected.
Peter Beaumont argues that the violence against women in Iraq "would not be possible without a wider, permissive brutalizing of women's lives: one that permeates the 'new Iraq' in its entirety."83 President Bush identified Iraq's enemies as "rejectionists and Saddamists and terrorists."84 But, it is obvious that Iraqi women are facing many more adversaries. The worsening status of women in Iraq represents the failure of the Bush Administration to uphold resolution 1325 in the efforts to "democratize" the Iraqi government. UN Security Council 1325 must be implemented for sustainable peace to become a reality in Iraq.
End Notes
White House News release, "President Discuses War on Terror and Upcoming Iraqi Elections," December 12, 2005, at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051212-4.html].
Aida Ussarayan, former Deputy Human Rights Minister and currently a member of the Council of Representatives. In Peter Beaumont, "Hidden Victims of a Brutal Conflict: Iraq's Women."
Raad Alkadiri and Chris Toensing, "The Iraqi Governing Council's Sectarian Hue." Middle East Report, 228, August 20, 2003, at [http://www.merip.org/mero/mero082003.html]
"Shiite Garners Biggest Win in Iraqi Election," People's Daily Online, February 14, 2005, at [http://english.people.com.cn/200502/14/eng20050214_173587.html]
Isobel Coleman, "Women, Islam, and the New Iraq," Council on Foreign Affairs, January/February 2006.
Yanar Mohammed, head of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and editor of the newspaper Equality, quoted in Yifat Susskind, "Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy," MADRE, 2007.
Mithal Alusi was one of thirty legislators in Iraq who promoted women's rights in 2006. Quoted in Yifat Susskind, "Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy." MADRE 2007.
Iraq Body Count. "The minimum number of civilians killed is 60,411 and the maximum is 66,280," at [www.iraqbodycount.org]
Johns Hopkins. Bloomberg School of Public Health, "Updated Iraq Survey Affirms Earlier Mortality Estimates," Public Health News Center; October 11, 2006, at [http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/press_releases/2006/burnham_iraq_2006.html]
UN News Center, "Over 34,000 civilians killed in Iraq in 2006, says UN report on rights violations," January 2007, at [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21241&Cr=iraq&Cr1]
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
UN News Center. "Over 34,000 civilians killed in Iraq in 2006, says UN report on rights violations," January 2007, at [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21241&Cr=iraq&Cr1]
Solomon Moore, "The Conflict in Iraq: Killings by Shiite Muslims Detailed," The Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2006.
Besmia Khatib, of the Iraqi Women's Network, quoted in Peter Beaumont, "Hidden Victims of Brutal Conflict: Iraq's Women."
Dahr Jamail, "Iraq Rape Cases Emerge From the Shadows," Inter Press Service at [http://www.antiwar.com/jamail/?articleid=10609]
Allison Stevens. "Rights Group Lashes U.S. on Status of Iraq Women," ZNET, March 07, 2007, at [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=12279]
Yanar Mohammed, quoted in Annia Ciezadlo, "For Iraqi Women, Abu Ghraib's Taint," The Christian Science Monitor, May 28, 2004, at [http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0528/p01s02-woiq.html]
Haifa Zangana, "The Height of Humiliation," Middle East Online, June 26, 2006, at [http://www.middle-east-online.com/English/?id=16823]
Julie Scelfo and Rod Nordland, "Beneath the Hoods: Many of the Tortured at Abu Ghraib were common criminals, not terrorists," Newsweek, July 19, 2004.
Rory Carroll, "U.S. Accused of seizing Iraqi Women to Force Fugitive Relatives to Give Up," The Guardian, April 11, 2005, at [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1456727,00.html]
Julie Scelfo and Rod Nordland, "Beneath the Hoods: Many of the Tortured at Abu Ghraib were common criminals, not terrorists," Newsweek, July 19, 2004.
Amal Kadhim Swadi, Iraqi lawyer representing women detainees at Abu Ghraib, quoted in Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Dr. Huda al-Nuaimi had been interviewing female prisoners for Amnesty International. She is quoted in Annia Ciezadlo, "For Iraqi Women, Abu Ghraib's Taint," The Christian Science Monitor, May 28, 2004, at [http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0528/p01s02-woiq.html]
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
USAID|Iraq, "Iraqi Civil Society Advocates Against Harmful Practices," Iraq Civil Society Program, 2006.
WADI reports that 907 out of 1544 interviewed women have been circumcised. Thomas von der Osten-Sacken and Thomas Uwer, "Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?" Middle East Quarterly, Vol. XIV:1, 2007.
World Health Organization, "Female Genital Mutilation— new knowledge spurs optimism," Progress in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research, No. 72, 2006.
Golnaz Esfandiari, "Iraq: Study Says Female Genital Mutilation Widespread in North," Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Friday January 21, 2005, at [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/01/5c740d58-641a-4f32-b375-5c731a811634.html]
Sandra Strobel and Thomas von der Osten-Sacken, English Translation of Presentation at the conference: 1ère Journée Humanitaire sur la Santé des Femmes dans le Monde, Near East News, KWRW, 2006.
Rhoda Margesson, Jeremy M. Sharp, and Andorra Bruno, "Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: A Deepening Humanitarian Crisis?" Congressional Research Service Report, The Library of Congress, March 23, 2007.
Greenall, Robert. "Iraq's catalogue of death." BBC News. Tuesday, 19 July 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4694123.stm
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Riverbend, an Iraqi blogger in Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
U.S. Support for Women in Iraq, Fact Sheet, Office of International Women's Issues; U.S. Department of State, May 15, 2006.
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Saweba Nasraddin, Executive Director-General of the Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, in "Iraq: Women's Rights in Iraq Compromised," The Middle East Times, July 30, 2006.
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa, "Iraq's Excluded Women," Foreign Policy, July/August 2004, in Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
IRIN, "Iraq: Unemployment Forces Female Professionals Into Domestic Work," July 25, 2006, at [http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=59876]
IRIN, "Iraq: Unemployment Forces Female Professionals Into Domestic Work," July 25, 2006, at [http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=59876]
Marjorie P. Lasky, "Iraqi Women Under Siege." A report by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
IRIN, "Iraq: Killings Drive Women to Become Suicide Bombers," March 8, 2007, at [http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70582]
Nancy Trejos, "Temporary 'Enjoyment Marriages' In Vogue Again With Some Iraqis," Washington Post, January 20, 2007; p. A01.
Chris Shumway, "Rise of Extremism, Islamic Law Threaten Iraqi Women," The New Standard, March 30, 2005, at [http://newstandardnes.net/content/index.cfm/items/1600]
IRIN, "Iraq: Children's Education Gravely Affected By Conflict," at [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70697]


text:
press release
Kinshasa — The Head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler, strongly condemned the attack carried by Mayi Mayi Cheka against Pinga, 80 kilometers northeast of Walikale, North Kivu province, on the evening of Monday, 13 January.
The FARDC retaliated and chased the armed group from the village after a 30 minutes gunfight.
According to the latest MONUSCO figures, four government soldiers were killed and three civilians injured during the confrontation.
"I present my condolences to the families of the victims and to the Congolese people. This latest incident proves that there cannot be any cohabitation nor negotiations with armed groups. MONUSCO will use all its might to consolidate the recent military gains" said Martin Kobler.
Around 1000 civilians took refuge near the MONUSCO base in Pinga during the attack.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
FOR YEARS, astronomers have been weighing the evidence for and against the existence of black holes. With only information about an object's density to go on, they worried whether what appear to be black holes could be something else altogether. In the past year or two, however, the debate has changed dramatically. Instead of worrying about whether black holes really are out there, astronomers have begun to find objects that do what only black holes can do.
"We have located collapsed objects without a hard surface. These things answer to the description of black holes, and they can't be anything else we know about," says Astronomer Royal Martin Rees based at Cambridge University. Astronomers have discovered objects that suck in gas which then disappears from the Universe for good, and they are even studying the matter teetering on the brink of this ultimate abyss.
There are at least two species ...
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text:
The hornet's nest was ruffled when one of Nigeria's most gifted footballers, Osaze Odemwinge was left out of the 32 man preliminary list for the 2013 Afcon camp in Faro, Portugal. Osaze was not alone as other names like Obafemi Martins, Obinna Nsofor, Taye Taiwo, Uche Okechukwu, Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi among others were also not in Keshi's list.
In the face of this, Keshi has shown maturity, pleading for understanding, saying that there were a lot of competitions ahead. "I can't take everybody to the Nations Cup," the coach said. "We still have the World Cup and a host of other competitions."
But former Green Eagles player, Okey Isima says Keshi's decision to drop Osaze was wrong. "He should have accommodated Osaze in the team," Isima insisted, in a chat with Saturday Vanguard Sports. "If it was based on current form and experience, I feel Osaze should have been among the first set of invitees."
Isima would have none of the argument that the player may have been ignored because of his antecedents and poor relationship with other players in camp. "Keshi should have found a way to manage him. Despite the stories we have been hearing about him and former national team coaches, Osaze has been a consistent performer under them," Isima argued, pointing out that, "everybody is taking his best to the Nations Cup and Osaze, to me is good enough and Obafemi Martins too is tested. They should have been in Keshi's team to South Africa."
He wrote off Eagles' chances in South Africa because, "a lot of countries are going with experienced teams that have been campaigning in the Nations Cup. Countries like Cote d'ivoire, Ghana, Zambia have better chances than the Super Eagles.
"Keshi is taking a young team with very talented players to the tournament but there is a limit to what they can achieve because they are yet to blend as a team."


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DEPENDING on your point of view, it's either a neat ruse to help keep genetically modified crops out of Europe, or an unfair barrier to farmers who want to benefit from GM technology.
Denmark last week became the first country in Europe to tax farmers who grow GM crops. The money collected, around €13 per hectare, will be used to compensate organic or conventional farmers who can't sell produce at its usual price because of contamination from a GM farm nearby. Crops with a GM content above 0.9 per cent cannot be labelled GM free.
"What's good is that the GM farmers are paying, otherwise they'd have no incentive to prevent contamination happening," says Gundula Azeez of the Soil Association, which represents organic farmers in the UK. "It's based on the polluter-pays principle." The biotech industry, meanwhile, regards the tax as arbitrary and unfair.
The European Commission authorised the scheme ...
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Barcelona defender Marc Muniesa is set to be sidelined for six months after damaging knee ligaments during the club's opening pre-season friendly against Hamburg last night.
The Spain U-21 international suffered the injury at the start of the second half of the 2-1 victory and tests today have confirmed that he has snapped the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
It will be decided in the next few days when the 20-year-old will undergo surgery but he is expected to be out of action for six months, Barça announced on their website.


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HomeHealth InfoWISE EARS!®WISE EARS!® in the NewsWISE EARS! Timeline of Progress--2004
On this page:
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center has annual "Ears, Hearing, and Beyond" conference at the University of Washington Campus.
The Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) conducts its Course Director Workshop in Philadelphia, Pa.
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Indicator Report - Fair/Poor Health
Why Is This Important?Self-rated health (SRH) has been collected for many years on National Center for Health Statistics surveys and since 1993 on the state-based BRFSS. SRH is an independent predictor of important health outcomes including mortality, morbidity, and functional status. It is considered to be a reliable indicator of a person's perceived health and is a good global assessment of a person's well being.
Data NotesAge-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Data SourcesUtah Data: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Office of Public Health Assessment, Utah Department of Health.
Other Views
DefinitionPercentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported fair or poor general health.
How We Calculated the Rates
Page Content Updated On 11/11/2014, Published on 12/09/2014


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Redskins Training Camp
July 28th Sportstalk
Alex Parker and Monica McNutt take viewers calls on their views as to which player will emerge as a superstar this season for the Redskins. Plus, a 90th birthday surprise.
July 29th Sportstalk with Darrel Young
Alex Parker is joined by Darrel Young and Niles Paul to discuss the mood of this years Redskins training camp after 5 days. Plus, who bears the responsibility in the decision to start RGIII in 2013?
Stark contrasts for RG3 as Redskins open training camp
July 21st Sportstalk with Moises Lenare
Telemundo's Moises Lenare joins Alex Parker to the D.C. United, US Soccer, and the recent World Cup. Plus, the other football, and the Redskins. Then, CGW's Dave Lucas ponders whether Tiger Woods will ever win another major tournement.
Georgia Poole celebrates at Redskins training camp
Georgia Poole is taking in Redskins training camp and celebrating a big birthday a bit early.
Redskins training camp: First practice in Richmond
It's a perfect day for Redskins fans to head to Richmond to catch the team's first training camp practice. It's the first chance for fans to check out the new world-class Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center.
A Royal Baby Is Born; Training Camp Preview; Nats' Losing StreakComment
On today's NewsTalk:
Redskins training camp deal approved by Richmond councilComment
Richmond's city council has approved a resolution to build a nearly $9 million training camp facility for the Washington Redskins.
Where should the Redskins have their training camp?Comment
The Redskins now train in Ashburn, Va. and play in Prince George's County. Where do you think they should have their new training camp?
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Heliports: 3 (2000 est.)See Also
Definition: This entry gives the total number of established helicopter takeoff and landing sites (which may or may not have fuel or other services).
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of April 17, 2001
© 2007 IndexMundi. All rights reserved.


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Let The Church Say Amen
President Obama ruffled some predictable feathers this past month when he took to the airwaves to announce his support for same-sex marriage. Liberals – like yours truly – cheered the idea, conservatives booed and made really inappropriate unfunny joke. But lost among the reactions of the go-to constituents and talking heads was the response of arguably his strongest base. Not Occupy Wall Street; not the legions of the unemployed, underemployed or those forced into government indentured servitude by student loan debt, not even George Clooney. But regular, run-of-the-mill black people.
Now, there is an idea that in the minds of certain folks out there – mostly right wingers and if they're honest with themselves, also a lot of middle class white people – that Obama can do no wrong in the eyes of Black folks. For the most part they're right, if we (and I'm using the Royal/Universal Black WE) bother to vote, it's definitely going to be for him. The reasons range from honestly feeling he is the perfect candidate for the job with our best interests at heart to – and, let's be truthful now – our skin tones match and here's a chance to stick it to whitey for another four years. Yeah, the ugly secret is out: Some of us did actually only vote for him because he was black. When you look at us as a monolithic group we're kind of predictable that way. But this whole gay thing threw some of us for a loop.
Because here's another secret, Black people are social conservatives. No, I'm serious. Your average Black person is like Rick Santorum cranked up to 11. But no one knows it unless you pay attention. 87% of African Americans identify themselves as belonging to a religion, the predominant one being some form of evangelical Christianity. 55% of them believe the Bible is the literal word of God compared with 33% for the rest of the general population. 53% say abortion should be illegal and 63% say homosexuality should be discouraged. While these figures don't exactly toe the party line, 76% identify as Democrats.
So if they're voting for the correct side, what's the problem? The problem is, these views still matter. Even if they're not voting them into action.
#NoHomo Culture is alive and well in the pews on Sunday morning. No Homo is the ugly phrase echoed by the petrified and the ignorant. It is tacked onto the back of sentences so that the speaker can quickly disavow any gay tendencies or implications. It is a slur, neither unique nor new and it is based in the twin conservative principles of fear and anger. We can trace it back, at least partially, to the minstrel show that is hip hop "artist" Lil' Wayne but he doesn't bear the full responsibility. He is, like so many Blacks, a product of the culture that created him and for Black people, the church is a mammoth cultural authority.
Most of your Black friends, or if not them, their parents, will tell you the Black church brought us through slavery. It gave us a place to congregate, to reconnect with each other as well as the divine, it gave us the promise of a future beyond slavery, beyond Jim Crow, beyond the Civil Rights turbulence. They will tell you church isn't just intrinsic to our culture but to our existence as a people. What they won't tell you is how the Black church has held us back; limited our choices; kept us bound by rigid structure; left us isolated, ignorant, self-obsessed and content to focus on the rewards of the afterlife rather than striving for them here. To be fair, that's my problem with nearly all organized religion. But I think it's especially damaging in the black church.
In the black church the gay person, mostly the gay man is a spectre of fear. No one exactly admits to knowing one because to know is to associate and to associate is to congregate and to congregate is to be implicated and to be implicated means that you are a secret dyke or fag. It could be anybody. It could be everybody. Because so many men are diverted into the down low lifestyle or ostracized if they do come out its difficult to get accurate numbers. They can direct your choir, they can color your hair. they can be your co-worker, your neighbor, your doctor and your mechanic but they had better repent come Sunday.
Donnie McClurkin (who campaigned for Obama in 2008) the pastor and gospel singer considers himself to be an ex-gay who was liberated from the "curse of homosexuality" A vocal idiot he has in the past compared being gay to having diabetes, "I'm a diabetic now and I don't eat sugar, but it doesn't mean that I don't want sugar. The more I don't eat the sugar, the more I lose the taste for sugar and the more my diet starts to change permanently – I can't stand a regular soda now because it's too much sugar. So, the more I don't intake the sugar, the more it leaves out of my desire."
McClurkin is an active opponent to the gay rights movement. He's never shyed away from linking the sexual molestation he experienced as a child to the "perversion" of homosexuality. He's a proponent of the popular ex-gay or reorientation movement which is about as scientifically sound as alchemy or phrenology. As always with closet cases and bigots the hatred extends far beyond the self. When once fellow now ex-gospel singer Tonex came out of the closet McClurkin called him a "perversion". This can of course be added to the countless other slurs the homosexual-in-denial-McClurkin has said in regards to the gay community. Some of the more popular gems include, vampires and evil. Tonex incidentally left gospel music, rebranded himself as B. Slade is rocking a glam rock image and seems to be doing quite well for himself.
Then there's the curious case of Atlanta Bishop Eddie Long. Senior pastor at the New Birth Ministry Baptist mega-church which boast a membership of upwards of 25,000. Like McClurkin Long was/is also a believer in the so-called reorientation programs meant to turn out legions of ex-gays all cured up and ready to marry. The Southern Poverty Law Council dubbed Long "one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement." With statements like "Homosexuality and lesbianism are spiritual abortions," and (regarding women in the military) "The woman gets perverted to turn towards woman … and everybody knows it's dangerous to enter an exit! You deserve death!" it's not difficult to see why.
So, surprise, surprise when in 2010 at least five young men came forward claiming to have had a relationship with Long. The men stated that Long had purchased them gifts and cars among other things and one even claimed that they were essentially united in a "covenant ceremony". As icing on the cake one of the accusers even provided cell phone pictures sent from Long to him that show the good Bishop posing proudly in his best salmon colored muscle tee. The lawsuits were all eventually settled out of court to the tune of 24 million dollars and despite a leave of absence Long continues to minister at New Birth and is still according to the church's website "driven by a strong call to minister to young boys".
One of Long's longtime parishioners was Bernice King, daughter of the late Martin Luther King, and both a minister and homophobe in her own right. In 2004 she lead an anti-gay march called "Stop The Silence" that ended at her father's gravesite. Adamant about her support for and the need for the black church to support a constitutional marriage amendment she is well known in the LGBT community for her anti-gay views.
Which leads to King's adversarial role in the struggle for gay rights. While this is an article on hypocrisy it's not meant to focus just on the ex-gay movement or the down low preacher. It runs much deeper than that, all the way back to the civil rights movement. If you want to really piss off any black conservative just begin by likening the gay rights movement to the civil rights movement. King has been quoted as saying, "I know in my sanctified soul that he did not take a bullet for same-sex marriage."
Of course, the problem is Bernice King was 5 years old when her father was assassinated and she conveniently ignored her mother Coretta Scott King who arguably was much closer to knowing the intent of her husband's dedication to civil rights.
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people." — Reuters (31 March 1998)
This logical, moral and truly Christian opinion is maligned by your average bible-believing, church-going black person.
A recent article on Black Enterprise website stated the old line that "to equate gay rights with Civil Rights should be an insult not only to the Black community; but also to all who sacrificed for Blacks to gain the Civil Rights that Blacks were already due."
With all due respect that such a statement deserves…it's just plain idiocy and indicative of the sad truth that too many Black people feel they have an exclusive claim to the term "civil rights". I've seen earnest statements by people who truly feel any attempt by other groups to use said term is "stealing". But then again people will go to any lengths to support their own bias and maintain their exclusivity. On top of that, it plays into something at which black folks excel: what writer Pam Spaulding terms the "Oppression Olympics". Unlike the Olympic Olympics the Oppression Olympics do not come around just every four years. In fact, they're constant. And we always win. We'll play them against anybody and everybody (except of course the Jews) because your average White person – when faced with natural hair and neck swerving and shouts of "this country was built off the backs of my people!" – tends to back down. In other words, when stripped of their bible-backed discrimination, the argument ultimately boils down to one preposterous idea: I've suffered more, lost more and been through more. Ergo, I win.
But some of us are actively boycotting the Oppression Olympics and calling to the woodshed those who would stand up for such gross monopolization of an inclusive philosophy. We are, on one hand, as kindly as possible suggesting they educate themselves on the true definition of social justice, and on the other hand suggesting that, in the meantime, they move the hell out of the way.
If people don't see the correlations between respecting and championing the rights of gays (or any other segment of society for that matter) to marry, to live freely, to educate their children, to worship, to congregate, to celebrate without fear of repercussions or retribution, with the black civil rights movement, then its really because they don't want to see it. If you willingly remain deaf, blind and dumb to this issue you bring shame on what the US Civil Rights movements and all similar movements in the past have striven to accomplish.
This isn't about saving the Black vote. That's in the bag, no matter what suddenly disenfranchized pastors like Reverend Dr. Emmet Burns and others may say. If he and others wish to tell his people to stay home from the polls; if he wants to be the worst of the one issue voters; if he would sacrifice the good of his community and the country for an issue that he and his parishioners are ass-backwards on, then I wish him good day. He and they will ultimately have to deal with the moral repercussions of their decisions. While most Black leaders won't openly oppose him politically, they will still preach their hatred from the pulpit. And therein lies the problem.
The stranglehold the church holds on the Black community is evident in the fact that a few hours after making his announcement, Obama phoned about eight black pastors to explain his decision. (Conservatives were so terribly upset at the photo's of Obama bowing Saudi king, China's president and the Japanese emperor while I'm personally much more concerned about this.) He owes Black pastors no apology; he owes them no explanation. We have to wrest control of Black minds and Black culture out of the hands of the Black church. We must stop putting our stamp of approval on bigotry and oppression. We must realize that, we too, need to get involved in the It Get's Better movement. We have to stop spreading religiously endorsed nonsense to our children. And we must stop exporting it overseas like so many cheap cigarettes.
Every Time you buy "The Purpose Driven Life" you're supporting someone who is linked to Martin Ssempa the "brains" behind Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill. Every time you say "no homo", every time you say "pause", every time you laugh at a joke about someone hypothetically stabbing their gay son to death, every time you sit in church on Sunday morning, listening to an ignorant preacher proselytize about the evils of homosexuality, you are actively participating in the destruction and degradation of a group whose civil rights have been diminished. Often a member of that group is sitting in the next pew. As Michael Eric Dyson writes, ""One of the most painful scenarios of black church life is repeated Sunday after Sunday with little notice or collective outrage. A black minister will preach a sermon railing against sexual ills, especially homosexuality. At the close of the sermon, a soloist, who everybody knows is gay, will rise to perform a moving number, as the preacher extends an invitation to visitors to join the church."
If you witness this and don't stand up, you are culpable. If you don't try and change it, you are guilty. And if, upon failing to change it, you don't leave…you are reprobate. That is why this isn't about the vote count in November. It is about real morality, true Christian love and it's about saving souls. Because, make no mistake, what these ministers are advocating is putting your soul in jeopardy.
Fair warning though: Taking a stand might not be so easy. Bigots don't like to be called out. Roland Martin is a hateful, homophobic little troll, Sophia Nelson is a hypocrite and Pastor Jamal Bryant has a wildly unchecked ego. So when Dyson, who admittedly is a pot stirrer with whom I don't often agree, recently called those in the Black community who oppose equal rights for gays "sexual rednecks," they took offense.
Dyson apologized. But he didn't back down from his stance. Personally, I didn't think an apology necessary. I don't care, I see no reason to tiptoe around the bigot, to apologize to the homophobic and coax him through his idiocy. To them, I say: Evolve or get out of the way. If you use the bible as a tool of oppression, then your interpretation of God's word is flawed.
With the aforementioned pastors and many others with similar campaigns against the gay community we must, as in all things, simply follow the money. That money which came rolling in in the early 2000's in part due to Former President Bush's Faith based Initiative. Courting pastors with millions of dollars, the Republicans played into the natural prejudices of black religious leaders and even got a few switchover votes for their trouble. But to imply this is strictly an opinion that has been bought and paid for, is I think a misstep. These people believe what they're saying, its just convenient that they're now getting paid for it and all the more dangerous because 0f the bedfellows they've made.
The truth is the Black church needs to grow the fuck up. If it refuses to change beliefs that are based on willful ignorance, phobias and childishness then it should be abandoned to be rebuilt anew. Homophobia is immature; it is intellectually vacuous; it is spiritual bankruptcy and attempts to support homophobia with history or the bible are exercises in hate and ignorance.
What the President said about gay equality was a long time coming because the truth is he's had some rather unsavory ties – Rick Warren and Mcclurkin to name a few – not to mention his ambiguous hemming, hawing and dodging of the issue. But, as usual, he's come through and better late than never. I for one don't believe he's "evolved" on the issue at all. I think he's smart enough to know that certain sections of the country needed time so they could warm to the issue.
He wasn't catching up to us, he was waiting for some of us to catch up to him.
But we cannot and should not wait for people forever. Just this morning, May 20th Black bigots found themselves on notice. The NAACP officially came out in support of gay rights as a civil right. On the heels of their opposition the the NC constitutional amendment they announced "Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP's support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people."
The question now: Will the Black church admit culpability and change its tune? Or is it willing to remain on the wrong side of history?


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Nothing perks up the itching ears of Romophobic Protestants faster than the specter of Eucharistic sacrifice. Calling what happens in Holy Communion a sacrifice is the surest and fastest way to get yourself tarred as a crypto-papist. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the rest repeatedly refer to the doctrine of the sacrifice of the Mass as an abomination. It represented to them everything that was wrong with the medieval Roman Catholic Church – the abuse of power, the selling of salvation, and especially the removal of Christ and His cross from the center of the Christian faith.
Anglicanism is alone amongst the Reformation traditions in retaining the historic Christian teaching that the Eucharist is a sacrifice. Our prayer book is bold in its proclamation of this truth. Nevertheless, the way in which we understand what this means is very different from the understanding of the medieval Roman Catholic Church. While the Roman understanding lead away from the cross and towards the power of the priest, the Anglican teaching is centered entirely on Christ's work of atonement and our reception of His saving grace. As John Bramhall wrote against a Roman interlocutor while in exile in 1653, "You say we have renounced your Sacrifice of the Mass. If the Sacrifice of the Mass be the same with the Sacrifice of the Cross, we attribute more unto it than yourselves; we place our whole hope of salvation in it."
Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Prayer Book
The Book of Common Prayer makes use of three images of sacrifice in the celebration of the Eucharist. The first and most important is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross through which He "made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world." Through our celebration of the Eucharist, we keep "a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again." In this sense, the Eucharistic sacrifice does nothing new. It is a memorial that calls to mind what Jesus has already done and finished. But it does more than simply call it to mind. It also allows us to receive the merits of Christ's sacrifice as we ask the Father to grant that "we receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood." As Jeremy Taylor put it, "As it is a Commemoration and Representation of Christ's death, so it is a Commemorative Sacrifice. As we receive the symbols and the mystery, so it is a Sacrament. In both capacities, the benefit is next to infinite."
Our Sacrifice Comes From His
While the central act of sacrifice in the Eucharist is the once for all sacrifice of Christ that we receive, the second and third kinds of sacrifice in the Eucharist are about us and what we offer to God. The postcommunion prayer, which made its way into the body of the actual Eucharistic prayer in the Scottish and American prayer books, pleads for God to "accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving." In fulfilling the Lord's command that we celebrate His Supper, we offer Him our praises and our thanksgiving for all that He's done for us, which is in fact how the Supper becomes truly eucharistic since Eucharist means thanksgiving. Furthermore, we offer God not only our praise and thanks, but also "ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto [Him]." It is particularly significant that at this point in the service we refer to our souls and bodies as "holy." In this prayer's original placement, this makes sense for us to say since we have just received Christ's Body and Blood which have made our sinful bodies "clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood."
These other modes of sacrifice are important in that they spring forth from our reception of the primary sacrifice, that of Christ Himself. Our sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, or even of our souls and bodies, are not meant in any way to be propitiatory. We do not offer these things in the hopes that God will save us more than He already has. We count His finished work on the Cross to be perfectly sufficient to save our souls. Nevertheless, because He has redeemed us, we are filled with His grace and love, which makes us want to praise Him and give ourselves completely to Him. We make our sacrifice without hoping to incur favor with Him, but simply out of love for Him, a love which would not be possible for us to have were it not for the Holy Spirit opening us to receive it.
Where Rome Went Wrong
The title of this post is meant to be taken mostly tongue-in-cheek. It is not actually all that important whether we call the service Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, the Divine Liturgy, or the Mass. The titles are roughly equivalent. The word Mass itself comes from the Latin Missa est which is simply a dismissal prayer said at the end of the old Latin rite. The problem with the medieval Roman understanding of the Mass was not its name but the theological implications with which that particular designation for the Supper came to be associated. The third canon of the twenty second session of the Council of Trent states explicitly, "If any one saith, that the sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving; or, that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice… let him be anathema." Each Mass is an "unbloody sacrifice" in which Christ Himself is sacrificed anew by the priest on the altar for the sake of "appeasing" the Lord that He might grant us mercy. All of this classical Anglicanism explicitly rejects because it cheapens Christ's work on the cross and expresses a surprising lack of faith in the actual sacrificial power of the Holy Eucharist, not as a new sacrifice but as a participation in the old one.
Why We Need a Doctrine of Eucharistic Sacrifice
All of this may seem like wordplay, but in fact it is essential that we understand the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, because if we do not, we will eventually fail to see the Eucharist as important at all. There are twin errors at work in the way that most of western Christianity has approached the notion of Eucharistic sacrifice for the past five hundred years. For Rome, the error has been to make the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ into a repeatable event, thereby asserting that the sacrifice that He made on the cross was insufficient for the forgiveness of all sins for all time. For Protestants, however, the error has been to see in the Supper no sacrifice at all and to lose track thereby of the fact that it is in our receiving of the Supper that we truly receive Christ, not just His Body and Blood in some sort of crude sense, but also the healing grace that comes through that Blood. As Bramhall said, the Eucharist is an "applicative sacrifice, an application of His Merits unto our souls." Failure to see this reality, even amongst the Lutherans who generally uphold the doctrine of the Real Presence, leads inevitably to a sense that the Supper does not really matter. Sure, we receive Christ in the Eucharist, but it's not like we're saved by it. Except, we are saved by it. That is the whole point. The blood that spilled on Calvary is the only sacrifice that we need, the only one that saves us, but without stepping into the moment of that sacrifice, we have no way of receiving its grace. The commemorative sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist places us at the foot of the cross. Quite simply, it is what makes the wafer placed in our hands at the Altar Rail not just Christ's Body but the Bread of Life.


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On the Menu: Week of June 30
Here is what's happening at the Beard House:
Monday, June 30, 7:00 P.M
Savoring Sicily and Apulia
The Momofuku Group's Jordan Frosolone assembled a team of renowned chefs—who have mentored him on his way to becoming the corporate chef for one of the country's most innovative and successful restaurant empires—for this unique Italian-inspired dinner.
Tuesday, July 1, 7:00 P.M
Boston Softshell Crab Blowout
For our annual softshell crab dinner, we've enlisted some of Boston's brightest stars to pay homage to the crave-worthy crustacean, which is available only a few months a year. Join us for this scrumptious Beard House feast, which will feature the fleeting delicacy in each savory course.
Ingredient Spotlight: Green Strawberries
When strawberries arrive at markets in spring, brightening folding tables like rescue flares, they affirm the mantra of the seasonal eater: good things come to those who wait. But some chefs have intercepted the fruits before peak ripeness, and now green strawberries, more tart and acidic than their red elders, are showing up on menus at the Beard House and at high-end restaurants around the country.
Whether it signals a new, more subtle shading on the palate of seasonality, or a more elastic idea of what's edible, the trend itself has been developing for a while: in the first season of The Mind of a Chef, aired in 2012, René Redzepi improvised a dish of raw scallops, pea juice, and raw green strawberry slices for David Chang.
... Read more >
Eat This Word: Marcona Almonds
WHAT? Prized around the world, Marcona almonds are round, flat, and tan, and the trees on which they grow require tender, loving care. Marconas, which come from Spain, are typically eaten peeled, fried in olive oil, and salted. Spanish cuisine may have more uses for almonds than any other cuisine in the world. Although we once read that almonds "exert a relaxing effect and enhance intellectual activity," we suspect the real reason the Spanish eat so many of them is simpler—taste. It's no wonder they have been called the "queen of almonds."
WHERE? Bay Area Brasserie
WHEN? June 20, 2014
HOW? Crispy Quail Quarters with Fig–Balsamic Sauce, Marcona Almonds, and Piment d'Espelette
On the Menu: Week of June 8
Here's what's on the Beard House calendar for next week:
Sunday, June 8, 5:30 P.M
Friends of James Beard Benefit Dinner: Washington, D.C
For reservations or more information, please contact Evelyn Hawkins at firstname.lastname@example.com or 301.347.3491.
Monday, June 9, 6:00 P.M
Friend of James Beard Benefit Dinner: Bend, OR
Host Chef Joe Kim
5 Fusion and Sushi Bar, Bend, OR
For reservations, please call 541.323.2328.
Monday, June 9, 7:00 P.M
Louisiana Heirloom
Louisiana transplant Molly McCook of Ellerbe Fine Foods has earned national acclaim (including a spot on Bon Appétit's list of 10 Best New Restaurants) for her gracious farmhouse cooking. At this dinner McCook will pay... Read more >
On the Menu: Week of June 2
Here's what's on the Beard House calendar next week:
Tuesday, June 3, 7:00 P.M
Foraged Along the Way
Forget about grocery stores—this group of talented chefs will be gathering ingredients for their Beard House dinner along the drive to NYC from Florida. Diners at this one-of-a-kind event will sit down to a meal prepared with the sustainable and artisanal edibles procured during the chefs' East Coast excursion.
Wednesday, June 4, 7:00 P.M
Duck, Duck, Duck
In his three-star review of Blue Duck Tavern in the Washington Post, Tom Sietsema raved about classically trained chef Sebastien Archambault's hearth-inspired American food, describing it playfully as "James Beard channeling Martha Stewart." In homage to the restaurant's name, Archambault will be preparing a... Read more >
On the Menu: Week of May 26
Here's what's on the Beard House calendar this week:
Wednesday, May 28, 7:00 P.M.
Back by popular demand, lamb shepherd Craig Rogers and oysterman Travis Croxton are reviving their storied feast at the Beard House. This can't-miss event will mimic the pair's annual party during which chefs gather to feast on lamb, shellfish, and moonshine, this time with the help of some talented friends and colleagues, and outstanding Virginia wine and beer.
Thursday, May 29, 6:00 P.M.
Celebrity Chef Tour: Nashville
The Celebrity Chef Tour began in 2004 as a way to bring the unique experience of dining at New York City's historic James Beard House to cities around the country. At each Celebrity Chef Tour dinner, some of the nation's top chefs come together to create a fantastic multiple course... Read more >
JBF to Participate in First-Ever Minority Chef Summit
The brainchild of pastry chef, chocolatier, and instructor Erika Davis, the inaugural Minority Chef Summit is taking place in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, May 1 through Sunday, May 4. Themed "Celebrating Cuisine In Paradise," chef Davis and participants aim to inspire and build community networks among culinary leaders, professionals, and aspirants. Proceeds will be donated to the College of the Bahamas culinary program, where Chef Davis has served as a teacher and mentor.
The Minority Chef Summit will address several aspects of food culture through panels like "What Does Every Ethnic Cuisine Have in Common," moderated by JBF staffer Colleen Vincent; "Vegan, Just a Trend?" with famed vegan chef and author Bryant Terry; and "What Is a Celebrity Chef?," a discussion about the industry's overlooked diversity, featuring Top Chef contestant Ron Duprat and Food Network personality Jeff Henderson.
... Read more >
The JBF Greens Launch Party
In case you missed the news, we've launched a new membership category for all of the young food lovers out there. If you're under 40 and fancy yourself some fine food and drink, then a JBF Greens membership has your name on it.
Last week we officially inaugurated the JBF Greens at a launch party at Bar 75 at the Andaz Wall Street hotel. Attended by nearly 100 freshly minted Greens members and other special guests, this kick-off event featured savory and sweet bites by Andaz chef Victor Cruz, as well as charcuterie, local cheeses, and freshly shucked oysters. Guests also enjoyed Punzoné Vodka and Arvero Limoncello cocktails, Stella Artois beers, Vias Imports wines, and music courtesy of El Media Group. A selection of photos from the party are below.
For our next JBF Greens event, we're teaming up with Jazz at Lincoln Center's own under-40 group, Hang Set, for a spectacular evening of delicious food, stunning views, and great music. Get more details and purchase tickets... Read more >
On the Menu: Week of December 8
Here's what the James Beard Foundation is up to next week:
Sunday, December 8, 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
The 12th Annual JBF Greens Holiday Party
Join the James Beard Foundation Greens (foodies under 40) when we celebrate the holidays at our annual holiday party. Don't miss this chance to explore our muse's home and sample culinary delights from some of the city's most exciting chefs. A selection of fine wines from the Seeker, cocktails by Junior Merino, and beers from Stella Artois will be served to keep everyone in good spirits. A goodie bag and heaps of holiday cheer are guaranteed.
Monday, December 9, 7:00 P.M.
The intoxicating aroma of black truffles will perfume the air at this extravagant event. Diners will be... Read more >
On the Menu: Week of December 1
Here's what the James Beard Foundation is up to next week:
Tuesday, December 3, 7:00 P.M.
Got a case of the winter blues? We've got just the cure: cozy up at the Beard House with an indulgent, stick-to-your-ribs seasonal feast. Back by popular demand, Angelo Elia and his talented team will present an opulent menu of masterfully prepared fare that's sure to satisfy.
Wednesday, December 4, 12:00 noon
Think about Southern cooking: you're probably picturing fried chicken, barbecued ribs, and greens that play a supporting role to bacon. By recasting vegetables as the headlining act in their new book, The Southern Vegetarian: 100 Down-Home... Read more >
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Alabama poultry inspectors raise concern over new guidelines
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Proposed changes to poultry slaughter inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) might lead to potentially more risky chicken meat, federal poultry inspectors in north Alabama warn.
The state is the third largest producer of chicken meat in the United States, with more than one billion chickens being produced on an annual basis. Alabama poultry inspectors are concerned that if the changes, known as HIMP, are approved, this could mean reduced control over the quality of the meat. The USDA proposes that the current number of four federal inspectors who examine poultry carcasses on the conveyor belts is cut to just one, while the maximum allowed speed for the conveyor belts should be increased to 175 birds per minute. In addition, changes will also affect the way processing companies test for bacteria, as the USDA plans to introduce new guidelines.
The main purpose of introducing HIMP is ensuring safety and reducing costs. According to advocates of the changes, they would not only make the entire process cheaper for both poultry processing companies and consumers, but would also make products safer because of increased bacteria testing. The USDA argues that inspectors are currently spending too much time examining the dead birds for cosmetic flaws, such as bruises and bumps, and that this part of the examination could be handed over to the companies themselves. The department has still not set a time frame within which the changes would be put in place nationwide, but the new guidelines have been tested at 20 plants in different states, including four in Alabama, the Gadsden Times reported.
Earlier this year Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary, said that improvements to the inspection system would lead to better protection of public health, reduce spending and make inspections more efficient. The focus of inspectors'' activity will be shifted onto testing for foodborne illness risks in order to promote food safety, he explained. The USDA estimates that the changes will save taxpayers more than $90 million over a three-year period and bring production costs down by at least $256.6 million per year.
However, inspectors who have seen the proposed changes in action at the processing plants in Alabama claim that a fourfold reduction of the number of inspectors involved in the monitoring cannot mean safer products. On the contrary — conveyor belts move at a rate of three birds per second and one inspector will be required to test birds for diseases in a third of a second, Phyllis McKelvey, a retired federal inspector from Albertville, told the Gadsden Times.
Concerns have also been raised by consumer rights group Food & Water Watch, which warned in a statement that delegating monitoring duties to processing plant employees might prove risky, as they have not been trained to protect public health the way USDA inspectors have. Food & Water Watch recently researched a pilot program and found an alarming amount of poultry contaminated with feces, bile and feathers, which inspection had overlooked, the statement said.


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The Skinny on Onions
I bought a bag of 80 onion sets (little bulbs up to 3/4" across) at a big box store last fall. For $1.49 I figured it was a good bet. I hadn't done my homework and didn't know what to look for. In October I planted two rows for green onions, where the sets were spaced less than an inch apart and 2 inches deep. Then I planted one row for table onions where the sets were spaced 3 inches apart and just below the surface.
These instructions, provided on the package, worked well. For months, I picked the outside leaves of the green onion rows to use in salads and cooking. At the end of April, I started pulling up the green onions, one-by-one as needed. I finally got to the table onion row in the middle of June and continued to pull onions one-by-one as needed. I hadn't harvested any of their leaves, because they needed all their sugar produced by photosynthesis to build their bulbs. Most of the sets in this row did produce two to three-inch bulbs, but a few did not. The leaves are more pungent this late in the season and some of the leaves have now completely withered. This is when you're supposed to pull out the onions, braid what's left of their leaves, and hang them on a rafter to dry out. I don't have many left by now, so I'll continue to work my way through the rest of the row and plan better for next year. There was a lot I didn't know.
Long-Day and Short-Day Onions
The bulbing onions (Allium
cepa) fit into three categories:
2)Intermediate-day (or day-neutral): These varieties that need 12 to 14 hours of daylight to start producing a bulb.
3) Long-day: These varieties require 14-16 hours of daylight to form onion bulbs. These are good for more northerly areas where the summer days are much longer and where the bulbs can't be left in the ground over the winter.
When it gets hot (like now), any of these varieties will stop growing--if I'd left mine in the ground, they'd start to grow again in the fall and produce a flower. I still have the label from my onions, so I was curious what kind I'd lucked into. There's no indication: The label says, "Onion Bulbs (Yellow)". The fine print on the back says they came from Arcadia, FL. So that was hopeful--I've learned that bulbs from Holland or Holland, MI may not do well here. Upon doing some more research I found that onion sets are produced only for short-day onions. So by dumb luck, I planted the right type of bulb and the positive results prove that out. This fall, I plan to be better organized about my onions and will plant onions sequentially once a month or so during the winter so that our harvest might be a little more spread out.
Variety is the Spice of Life
Today there are hundreds of onion cultivars, differing in day-length requirement, skin color (white, brown, yellow, red, or purple), size, shape (globe-shaped, flattened, or spindle-shaped), pungency and sweetness. The chemical characteristics of the soil determine much of the pungency and sweetness of the crop. Some short-day cultivars are Excel, Yellow Bermuda, Granex, and Texas Grano, White Granex, and Tropicana Red.
Vidalia onions are sweet, non-pungent short-day onions, usually Granex or Texas Grano that are grown near the town of Vidalia, GA. Onion farmers there have purchased the exclusive right to use that name.
Bunching Onions
Bunching onions (A. fistulosum)
are non-bulbaceous perennials that you can keep going with that
mathematical oxymoron--multiply by dividing. When you need
some onions, dig up a bunch, but leave some in the ground, so new
bunches can form. Bury them two or three inches deep if you
want the stems to be white. Spring onions or green onions,
immature bulbing onions, are often used in place of the true bunching
onions. This how I used my two rows of green onions and I'll
probably do that again, but I'm going to try some true bunching
onions next year, too. I'll let you know how they do.
Ginny Stibolt would like to hear from readers who have suggestions and questions. After all, there are more than a few transplanted gardeners here in northeast Florida trying to figure out what works and what doesn't in planting zone 8/9. She's in the process of writing a book, "Sustainable Gardening for Florida," to be published by University Press of Florida.


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Read more: Click here to read the original, longer version of this story
FIND a purple planet, and you may have spotted alien life. Some of the first Earthlings were purple bacteria that ruled the planet about 3 billion years ago. If any Earth-like exoplanets host similar microbes, their distinctive hue will be visible from space.
We are more likely to find microbial aliens than other kinds, because these life forms thrived on Earth aeons ago, and will survive long after complex life dies out. Esther Sanromá of the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands and her colleagues wondered if the types of microbes that existed in our planet's past would give off a unique signature, detectable on distant worlds.
They created a model of an exoplanet similar to very early Earth and then considered several scenarios such as distribution of continents, cloud cover and whether life thrives on land or at sea (arxiv.org/abs/1311.1145).
They found that if the microbes flourish on land or along coasts, they produce a telltale signal in the total light reflected by the planet. If they live only in oceans, the colour is harder to see.
"A world overrun by purple bacteria could show us a very interesting spectral fingerprint," says Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
The James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch in 2018, could measure this signal, as long as the planet orbits a small, nearby star that won't outshine it. Otherwise we will have to wait for the next generation of telescopes, which will be more sensitive and may be able to filter out the glare from brighter stars.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Forget little green men, aliens might well be purple"
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text:
Member since Nov 2012
2 Curated Comments,
3 Total
Could you please explain how the "immense number of STEM graduates who are foreign born" is evidence of a shortage?
Funny. …
I would like to see more women at the top too. However, please do not confuse men as a group …
"The biggest loser is of course women..."
Are you sure?
Petraeus lost his job. Kubasik (Lockheed-Martin CEO-elect) lost his job. Mark Hurd …


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Photo by Scott Peterson
YIELD: Makes 8 to 10 servings
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place cherries in bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.
Cut bottom crust and short ends off bread; discard. Cut remaining bread with crust into 1-inch cubes (10 cups loosely packed). Place in large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss. Spread out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Return to same large bowl.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add next 4 ingredients. sauté until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Mix in parsley and cherries. DO AHEAD Bread cubes and vegetable mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature. Chill vegetables.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Stir vegetables and nuts into bread cubes. Add hot broth, tossing to coat. Mix in cheese. Transfer to dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake until heated through, about 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is brown, about 25 minutes longer, and serve.


text:
Questions on Drip Ceradyn
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Ask Your Own QuestionBack to the product page
Katadyn - Drip Ceradyn
Quick OverviewEffortless filtering for large quantities
- Description
Free-standing gravity filter with 3 ceramic filters and a 10 liter water container for large quantities of water. Filters without effort. With 3 ceramic filters for maximum capacity.
- Specifications
Manufacturer Katadyn Weight 7.32 lbs. Color White Mfg Sku/Part Number 2110070 Treatment Type Gravity Filter Other Features Output: 1 gal per hour
0.2 micron ceramic depth filter (cleanable)
- Product Reviews
- Product Reviews
- Questions and Answers


text:
The lightweight and compact Coccoro convertible car seat is compatible with smaller vehicles. Three Coccoro seats can be installed in the rear seat of many small, fuel-efficient vehicles. A 5-point harness with padding, Tru-Safe® Buckle, forward and rear-facing lock-offs, energy absorbing EPS foam and 4 position height adjustments make for a safe and comfortable ride for your child. Adjustable infant insert can accommodate infants starting at 3 lbs. and position your child at the recommended 45 degree angle. Single-pull adjustable harness system, shoulder belt retainers and washable seat cushion.
Need help deciding which car seat is right for you and your baby? Use Target's car seat buying guide.
Features: EPS Safety Foam, Removable Seat Pad, Adjustable Harness, Adjustable Height
Includes: Car Seat, Car Seat Base
Converts to: Forward-facing Seat
Safety and Security Features: Front or Rear Facing, 5-Point Harness
Care and Cleaning: Machine Wash
Rear Facing:Minimum Weight: 3 Lb.; Maximum Weight: 33 Lb. Maximum Height: 40 "
Forward Facing: Minimum Weight: 20 Lb., Maximum Weight: 40 Lb., 19 "; Maximum Height: 40 "
Material: Plastic
Dimensions: 17.0 " H x 14.65 " W x 28.25 " D
Weight: 11.75 Lb.
Certifications: Meets ASTM Standards
other Info.
- Imported


text:
Directions to Eagles Nest B&BAddress: Cullion, Lettermacaward, Donegal, Ireland
Average rating: 0%
Rooms from: US$ 161.70
Directions to Eagles Nest B&B
Corr Point Cullion Road Lettermacaward, County Donegal, Ireland Route description from Sligo You take the N15 to Bundoran and Ballyshannon to the direction Donegal City Now you take the N 56. You can follow now this very beautiful road to the Gweebarra Bridge. After you pass the bridge you take immediately the next road to the left and follow the street mark 'Eagle's Nest Bed & Breakfast' or 'An Cullion' and after 1.5 km you the the house on the right hand side nestled in a small forest. If you wanna safe a lot of kilometers, you take after you passed Mountcharlesthe road to Frosses/Glenties After a while you come again to the N56


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This profile for Custom Built Homes is located in Williamsport, PA. Custom Built Homes industry is listed as Single-Family House Construction. There are no officers listed for this company.
Max Dell served as the Owner
Key roles for Custom Built Homes
Max Dell
Comprehensive Insight Plus Report
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