John Perkins

Click here to listen to a conversation with John Perkins via the Project on Lived Theology.

Make Poverty Personal

Shameless self-promotion: My latest book review is up at Adventist Today--Make Poverty Personal.

I believe this is an important book, so I hope you'll check out the review.

Janitor in Pakistan Saves Female Students

I found this article to be noteworthy, and I'm sure it's getting plenty of coverage:

Christian janitor died saving Muslim students (Ivan Watson, CNN.com, 11 Nov 2009)

Justice, Truth & Peace

Quote found on pg 34 of W. Swartley's Covenant of Peace:

"By three things the world is preserved, by justice, by truth, and by peace, and these three are one: if justice has been accomplished, so has truth, and so has peace" (JT Ta'anith 4.2).

Saturday Potpourri

Two sets of randomness today:

First, this past week in Peace Colloquium, we were introduced to the following resources:

• Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century (Jonathan Zimmerman, 2008)
• Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty (Roger Thurow & Scott Kilman, 2009)
• Famine: A Short History (Cormac Ó Gráda, 2009)
• Ending Africa's Hunger (Raj Patel, Eric Holt-Gimenez & Annie Shattuck, The Nation, 21 Sep 09)
• Naomi Klein in Conversation With Michael Moore (The Nation, 23 Sep 09)
• Cornucopia Blues (Brent Cunningham, The Nation, 21 Sep 09)

Second, these random articles interest me:

• Web Roundup (Adventist Activism, 8 Oct 09)
• Monday Potpourri (Pack Light, 5 Oct 09)
  
• Two Voices on Michael Moore's "Capitalism" (Jared Wright, Spectrum, 9 Oct 09)
• Repent! For the Kingdom of God is Near (Sarah Lynne, Jesus Manifesto, 9 Oct 09)
• The Death of Progress (Joshua Dbau III, Jesus Manifesto, 6 Oct 09)
• Greed, America, and the Rich Young Ruler (Mark Van Steenwyk, Jesus Manifesto, 6 Oct 09)
• Adventures in seeking God’s love and justice (smh00a, Jesus Manifesto, 25 Sep 09)
• Tables scraps or the One Whole Loaf (Loren McGrail, Jesus Manifesto, 7 Sep 09)
• The Health Care Question (Travis Mamone, Jesus Manifesto, 7 Sep 09)
• 911 Campaign: Lament Violence, Invest in Peace (Shane Claiborne & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Jesus Manifesto, 27 Aug 09)
• Critics on Our Left, Meet the Critics on Our Right (Ryan Rodrick Beiler, Sojourners, 9 Oct 09)
• Video: Colbert on Conservapedia’s Bible Translation Project (Ryan Rodrick Beiler, Sojourners, 9 Oct 09)
• A Faith Declaration for Health-Care Reform (Jim Wallis, Sojourners, 8 Oct 09)
• Scripture and History Remind Us That We Are All Immigrants (Lynne Hybels, Sojourners, 8 Oct 09)
• Smashing Economic Idols (Julie Clawson, Sojourners, 8 Oct 09)
• David vs. Oil-iath (Elizabeth Palmberg, Sojourners, 6 Oct 09)
• Listening to Poor People ‘Offstage’ (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Sojourners, 5 Oct 09)
• Five Benefits of Common Security Clubs’ Economic Solidarity (Chuck Collins, Sojourners, 2 Oct 09)
• Singing and Praying Justice, Part 2 (Jeremy Del Rio & Louis Carlo, Sojourners, 2 Oct 09)
• Proclaiming Jubilee in the Midst of Foreclosures (Mark Van Steenwyk, Sojourners, 28 Sep 09)
• “In the world…” (Robert Martin, Young Anabaptist Radicals, 5 Oct 09)

Israel & Palestine

Today in Peace Colloquium, a student reported on her work/internship at Mar Elias school in I'billin, Israel, which was started by the Arab Palestinian Christian priest, Elias Chacour. The student body is composed of both Muslim and Christian students. While there are no Jewish students (if I heard correctly), there are a number of Jewish teachers and professors. Classes don't meet on Fridays or Sundays, but they are on Shabbat.

If you are interested in this unique school, you can learn more here:

• Mar Elias Educational Institutions
• Blood Brothers (Elias Chacour)
  

She said tourists can stay at the school for ~$35-40 a day, which includes room and board. In return, travelers spend half the day volunteering at the school and the rest of the time sight-seeing.

We were asked to watch this CBS clip before attending the presentation--Is Peace Out of Reach?

Four of the many resources she had on display:

• THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF TWO YEARS OF BLOCKADE ON THE GAZA STRIP (Report by OCHAOPT)
• Encounter Point (film, 2006)
• Until when... (film, 2004)
• Waltz with Bashir (film, 2008)

Marcelo Rivera & El Salvador

Jamie Moffett (Another World is Possible) is following up his first documentary, The Ordinary Radicals, with a new film looking at the civil war in El Salvador that ended 17 years ago, Return to El Salvador. While filming for this project, he came across the story of Macelo Rivera, a teacher and activist who was killed, presumably, because of his work to stop mining in the area. Take a look:



Learn more here:

• Down the Well (I. Thompson, Philadelphia City Paper, 29 July '09)
• El Salvador: The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera (C. Mychalejko, Upside Down World, 6 Aug '09)

Sign a petition here.