NEWS: Energy: Russia floats gas OPEC idea

Rome, 21 April (AKI) - Russia on Monday proposed creating a group of gas-exporting countries along the lines of oil exporters' cartel OPEC.

The Russian proposal was circulated among delegates from gas producing countries attending the 11th International Energy Forum in Rome, Italy.

The document, believed to have been drafted by Russia's deputy energy minister, is said to read like the charter of a future gas OPEC.

It will be discussed later this month during a summit of the 15 gas producing countries taking place in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on 28 April.

Future gas pipelines and a joint pricing and production policy will be among the objectives of such a gas exporters' cartel.

Russia, the world's largest natural gas producer is counting on the support of Iran, which holds the world's second largest gas reserves. Not all gas producing countries are in favour of setting up a formal, OPEC-style cartel, however.

The United States and the European Union have repeatedly warned that creating a gas OPEC would pose a serious danger to global energy security and allow price manipulation.

NEWS: Afghanistan: Pakistani Ambassador missing

Afghanistan: Pakistani ambassador missing

Khaiber Agency, 11 Feb. (AKI) - Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, disappeared on Monday, near the Afghan border while driving through on of Pakistan's tribal areas.

According to media reports, the diplomat along with his driver and security guard were on their way to the Afghan capital Kabul, but went missing near the town of Jamrud, where Taliban militants have been operating recently.

Pakistan's Foreign Office confirming the report, has expressed fear that Azizuddin was abducted.

Media reports said that four Pakistani employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) went missing on 2 February in the same area.

Earlier on Monday, a senior Afghan Taliban leader, Mansour Dadullah, was reported to have been seriously injured in an attack by security forces in southwest Pakistan.

Anglican archbishop and Islam in England

Top Anglican Seeks a Role for Islamic Law in Britain

LONDON — The archbishop of Canterbury called Thursday for Britain to adopt aspects of Islamic Shariah law alongside the existing legal system....

Serve God, Save the Planet (part one)

Written by J. Matthew Sleeth, a former ER doctor, Serve God, Save the Planet is Christian call to action. I think Francis Shaeffer put it best, "If I am going to be in the right relationship with God, I should treat the things he has made in the same way he treats them."

I'll be honest, this book is a personal challenge for me. I tend to disregard large portions of the global warming argument, and find myself frustrated that the concern is more for creatures and less for humans. However, I am concerned about the environment, and would like to be a more contentious consumer who contributes positively to the world (socially, politically, spiritually and environmentally). So, reading this book is me easing my way into a more informed position and life style.

Right off the bat, page 1 of the forward Rev. Richard Cizik sets the tone and position for the rest of the book. "The earth is on the verge of ecological collapse, and we are the cause." I know that this is a hotly contested issue, potentially the dividing line between two opposing groups. I tend to be one to disagree, that we are not the sole cause of this pending ecological collapse, however that does not negate our role in being better stewards of the planet.

In Chapter 1 Sleeth describes the things he and his family have done to live a less materialistic, more environmentally friendly life. They sold their big house and downsized, instead of leaving 2 barrels of trash every week, they now leave 1 bag every few weeks, they hang their clothes out to dry, and grow a vegetable garden. Sleeth wrote, "Because of these changes we have more time for God. Our spiritual concerns have filled the void left by material ones."

Caring for the environment as the responsibility of each and every individual is something I can get on board with! "...as those who consider themselves people of faith-grow in their understanding that God holds people accountable for care of his creation, we will begin to see positive changes on an unprecedented scale."

It is time that we begin to care and think critically about the consequences of our choices.

Sharia law in Britain

Through out Britain there are dozens of sharia courts or councils established in mosques, Islamic centers and schools. These courts have no basis in British law and hold no legal binding; however, with the growing number of British Muslims wishing to follow Islam the need for and use of these councils are growing.
For example, an Islamic marriage is not recognised by British law and therefore many couples will have two ceremonies - civil for the state, and Islamic for their faith. "Dr Hasan, who has been presiding over sharia courts in Britain for more than 25 years, argues that British law would benefit from integrating aspects of Islamic personal law into the civil system, so that divorces could be rubber-stamped in the same way, for example, that Jewish couples who go to the Beth Din court have their divorce recognised in secular courts."
I generally am opposed to the idea of of sharia courts or the establishment of any court outside of a countries national laws. However, in the area of personal law, I can see how beneficial it may be.
The article makes an interesting distinction between the various aspects of sharia law, worship, personal law and penal law. "Penal law is the duty of the Muslim state - it is not in the hands of any public institution like us to handle it. Only a Muslim government that believes in Islam is going to implement it. So there is no question of asking for penal law to be introduced here in the UK - that is out of the question."
The question remains for me, how far? How much leeway should the sharia courts have in British society? And what of Dhimmitude, the relationship of Muslims and non-Muslims at the theological, social, political and economical levels?

Freedom to die

Religionclause.blogspot.com posted an article about a young Jehovah's Wittness who passed away after a battle with Leukemia.

Judge Says 14-Year Old Can Refuse Transfusion; Boy Dies

"In Seattle, Washington on Wednesday, Skagit County Superior Court Judge John Meyer ruled that a 14-year old boy was mature enough to decide to refuse a blood transfusion on religious grounds. A few hours later, Dennis Lindberg, a Jehovah's Witness who suffered from leukemia, died. The AP reports that doctors believed there was a 70% chance that a transfusion which would permit additional chemotherapy could have led to survival for five years. Lindberg's aunt had custody of him, and Lindberg's birth parents, who attended the hearing, believe that the boy was unduly influenced by his Jehovah's Witness aunt in making his decision. However they did not appeal after doctors said the boy had already likely suffered brain damage."

I am impressed that the judge allowed the boy the free choice to decide if he wanted to die or not. I think back to the Terri Shaivo case, and all the entanglements that were involved. Maybe that case would have gone differently if she herself had been able to choose. One of the comments to the post pointed out that "Jehovah's Witnesses elders will investigate and disfellowship any Jehovah Witness who takes a blood transfusion,to say the issue is a 'personal conscience matter' is subterfuge to keep the Watchtower out of lawsuits."

The religious element adds an interesting twist to the case. Faith is such a key element of how we make life choices, it defines our entire world-view. But does it leave us actually able to make free choice? Does it predetermine our choices? I think there is a fine line between faith and religion. For example, the catholic church (pre-Luther) dictated to the people what they should believe, and how they should behave. Islam does this now, the prescription of belief is so dogmatic this is little room for personal conviction and choice. If you sway from the proscribed tenets the result is stoning, hanging, dishonoring your family. This is what I see with the JW's. The belief that blood is SO sacred that they would rather their follower's die than receive life giving treatments, doesn't leave much personal choice.

Is it possible for religion to further enhance and actually benefit our lives in a holistic sense? Can it give us freedom rather than box us in with rules?

Somalia worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, UN says

Somalia worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, UN says
11/20/2007
by Jeffrey Gettleman

AFGOOYE, Somalia: The worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, several United Nations officials said, may not be unfolding in Darfur, but here, along a 20-mile strip of busted-up asphalt.

A year ago, the road between the market town of Afgooye and the capital of Mogadishu was just another typical Somali byway, lined with overgrown cactuses and the occasional bullet-riddled building. Now it is a corridor teeming with misery, with 200,000 recently displaced people crammed into swelling camps that are rapidly running out of food.

Natheefa Ali, who trudged up this road a week ago to escape the blood bath that Mogadishu has turned into, said Monday that her 10-month-old baby was so malnourished she can't swallow.

"Look," Natheefa said, pointing to her daughter's splotchy legs, "her skin is falling off, too."

United Nations officials said that Somalia has higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed and many fewer aid workers than Darfur, which is often publicized as the world's most pressing humanitarian crisis and has taken clear priority in terms of getting United Nations-backed peacekeepers.

The relentless urban combat in Mogadishu, between an unpopular transitional government , installed partially with American help , and a determined Islamist insurgency, has driven waves of desperate people up the Afgooye road, where more than 70 camps of twigs and plastic have popped up seemingly overnight.

The people here are hungry, exposed, sick and dying. And the few aid organizations willing to brave a lawless, notoriously dangerous environment cannot keep up with their needs, like providing milk to the thousands of babies with fading heartbeats and bulging eyes.

United Nations officials working on Somalia are trying to draw more attention to the country's plight, which they feel has fallen into Darfur's shadow. They have recently organized several trips, including one on Monday, for journalists to see for themselves.

"The situation in Somalia is the worst on the continent," said Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the top United Nations official for Somalia.

"Many of these kids are going to die," said Eric Laroche, the head of United Nations humanitarian operations in Somalia. "We don't have the capacity to reach them."

He added: "If this were happening in Darfur, there would be a big fuss. But Somalia has been a forgotten emergency for years."

That emergency has included floods, droughts and locusts, as well as suicide and roadside bombs, and near-daily assassinations.

United Nations officials say the recent round of plagues, natural and man-made, coupled with the residual chaos that has consumed Somalia for more than a decade, have put the country on the brink of a famine. In the worst hit areas, like Afgooye, recent surveys indicate the malnutrition rate is 19 percent, compared with about 13 percent in Darfur, with 15 percent being the emergency threshold.

But unlike Darfur, where the suffering is eased by a billion-dollar aid operation and more than 10,000 aid workers, Somalia is still considered mostly a no-go zone. Just last week, two people were shot to death at an aid distribution center in Afgooye. United Nations officials estimate that total emergency aid is less than $200 million, partly because it is so difficult just getting food into the country.

Pirates lurking off the coast of Somalia have attacked more than 20 ships this year, including two carrying United Nations food. The militias that rule the streets , typically teenage gunmen in wraparound shades and flip-flops , have jacked up roadblock taxes to $400 per truck. To make matters worse, the transitional government last month jailed a senior official of the United Nations food program in Somalia, accusing him of being a terrorist, though he was eventually released.

United Nations officials now concede that the country was in better shape during the brief reign of Somalia's Islamist movement last year. "It was more peaceful," Laroche said. "And much easier for us to work. The Islamists didn't cause us any problems.

Ould-Abdallah called those six months, which were essentially the only epoch of peace most Somalis have tasted for years, Somalia's "golden era."

Somalia's ills have always come in waves, starting in 1991 when clan-based militias overthrew the central government and the country plunged into anarchy. That fighting, like the fighting today, disrupted markets, kept out aid shipments and led to rapid inflation of food prices. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people starved.

The United States tried to come to the rescue in 1992 and sent thousands of soldiers to Somalia to assist with humanitarian operations