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I found this at <a href="http://www.humanbeams.com/">HumanBeams Magazine</a> and thought you might like it: <br> Article: Newsy Bits - Darfur Investment, Ancient Impersonations, Pope a Crusader? By: Nanette <br> <p>Just things that have caught my eye, some of which should probably be developed into articles, eventually. </p> <p> From the BBC </p> <p> <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5358342.stm">Sudan calls for Darfur investment</A> </p> <blockquote><p>The Sudanese government has said war-torn Darfur needs investment rather than United Nations peacekeepers. </p> <p> The Sudanese finance minister said Darfur had a “development problem”, requiring humanitarian aid and investment in basic infrastructure. </p> <p> At least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than two million been displaced during the three-year conflict in the northern region. </p> <p> The government, accused of stoking the conflict, has rejected UN intervention. </p> <p> [...] </p> <p> Sudanese Finance Minister Lual Deng.... </p> <p> He said the UN should spend its money on meeting Darfur’s basic social and economic problems rather than launching a peacekeeping mission. </p> <p> “What Darfur needs most is resources for water, resources for schools, for hospitals,” he said. </p> <p> “These resources, if they could be used in order to develop Darfur, it would be much better.” </p></blockquote> <p> This actually makes sense, in a way. I think they need both. From my (very imperfect) understanding of the ongoing conflict, beyond the issue of ethnicity, there is the matter competition for resources… water and so on. If people have food, water, security, and all that stuff… well I won’t say that they won’t go to war (just look at the US, the UK, and other quite well fed, well watered and secure Western nations).. but at least there are fewer issues to fight over. </p> <p> I have to do more reading on this again, but places such as <A HREF="http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/">Sudan Watch</A> have lots of information on not only current matters but background if you want to learn more. </p> <p> Also from the BBC… heh. </p> <p> <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5355546.stm">Art student caught disguised among terracotta warriors <br /> </A> </p> <blockquote><p>A German art student briefly fooled police by posing as one of China’s terracotta warriors at the heritage site in the ancient capital, Xian. </p> <p> Pablo Wendel, made up like an ancient warrior, jumped into a pit showcasing the 2,200-year-old pottery soldiers and stood motionless for several minutes. </p> <p> The 26-year-old was eventually spotted by police and removed from the scene. </p> <p> Unearthed in 1974, the statues are said to be one of the 20th Century’s greatest archaeological finds. </p> <p> The ancient clay soldiers were created to protect the nearby tomb of the legendary Emperor Qinshihuang who united China over 2,200 years ago. <br /> </p></blockquote> <p> They have a great photo of the soldiers at the BBC site. </p> <p> From the Guardian.co.uk </p> <p> Well, it was only a matter of time… </p> <p> <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1875734,00.html">Pope has joined US crusade, says Iran</A> </p> <blockquote><p>Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday accused the Pope of committing the world’s biggest Christian church to what he claimed was a “crusade” launched by President Bush against Islam. </p> <p> The Iranian leader’s words represented a setback to more than 25 years of Vatican diplomacy aimed at distancing Roman Catholicism from the west many Muslims regard as hostile and decadent. In his first comment on remarks on Islam made by Pope Benedict last week, the Ayatollah said they formed “the latest link in the chain of a crusade against Islam started by America’s Bush”.</p></blockquote> <p> I’m more of the “a pox on both their houses” mind… the Pope really needs someone to write/edit his speeches. What an absolutely inane thing to say and to think there would be no complaint. For people of Muslim religion it must be something akin to water torture… drip, drip, drip from all sides - suspect because of who you worship, suspect because of your skin tone, your religion reviled right and left, and now to have the head of the largest(?) Christian denomination say this… the media of course concentrating on the people in the streets so that they drown out everyone else saying things quite calmly and sensibly. </p> <p> Oh well. I think probably everyone involved (at the head of things) was trying to play things in one way or another. The Pope for his flock, and whatever it was he was trying to tell them, and then the heads of these pretty oppressive governments (including the ones that are well tied to the West) pretty much promoting outrage… again, I believe, for some sort of benefit they gain from having people irate… concentrating on one thing so they don’t notice another, maybe? </p> <p> More next time. </p> <br> <a href="http://www.humanbeams.com/index.php/hbcommunity/comments/newsy_bits_darfur_investment_ancient_impersonations_pope_a_crusader/">Read the article here...</a>