Since August, 1998, an estimated 2.5 million people have died in the Congo as a direct or indirect result of malnutrition and disease caused by civil war. About 350,000 have been killed by the war violence.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda claimed over 800,000 lives and as a result of that holocaust, instability was visited upon the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo. The civil war raging there has caused the loss of more life than the combined death toll of all other current wars being raged around the world. In many areas, nearly all of the females have been raped and the boys and young men have been forced into the war.

Sources:

• International Rescue Committee [link inactive]
• ABC Nightline (Heart of Darkness) [link inactive]

Muslim-Christian Violence in Nigeria

Simmering hatreds erupted into violent confrontations in northern Nigeria Friday, with the wrong answer to the question "are you a muslim or a christian" yielding the difference between life and death for many.

Since sharia, a fundamentalist doctrine / law of islam, was introduced last year, violence has broken out on multiple occasions, with this the latest in a series of outbursts in which hundreds have died. Two christian churches were burned in a predominantly muslim area in the latest uprising.

Sources:

• ABC News / AP [link inactive]
• MSNBC / AP [link inactive]
• BBC

U.S. Seeks Sudan Sanity

Over two million killed in the last 18 years in a systematic effort to enforce islam and arab values of northern Sudan upon blacks, muslims who differ with the policy, and christians in southern Sudan. Such is the nature of the ongoing civil war, with oil and slavery as well as ideology at stake.

A coalition of factions in the U.S. has recently come together to try to enforce "sanity" in Sudan, by expressing opposition to the policies of the Khartoum government.

Source:

• BBC

Kashmir Killing

A bus on the way to a picnic struck a landmine, killing a schoolgirl and injuring 20 of her classmates. Recently (August 29), 6 paramilitary police and 3 civilians were killed by a landmine in which islamic separatists claimed responsibility.

The ongoing dispute over Kashmir is a result of the responsibility for the territory being placed under India's control in 1947, followed by war over Kashmir, between Pakistan & India (in 1947-48 & 1965), along with many years of violent resistance to that decision by up to 20 islamic separatist groups, working from power bases in islamic-dominated Pakistan.

Sources:

• BBC
• BBC (Flashpoint Kashmir)

Fat Gene Discovered

Swedish scientists claim to have discovered the human fat gene via tests on transgenic mice. The human gene, FOXC2, burns fat rather than stores it.

Transgenic mice injected with the human gene have the same weight and eating patterns as their non-genetically endowed buddies, but they have three times less body fat.

The gene is more prominent in some people and less so in others, a possible explanation as to why some folks can seem to eat anything and stay skinny while others struggle with weight no matter how much they diet and exercise.

Sources:

• Ananova

If there are no supernatural beings, there's only faith in them that makes folks think they're real.

If there are supernatural beings, there's a determined and consistent and steadily reliable non-presence of them that clearly demonstrates their lack of interest in participating in a real and meaningful way in our natural world.

Furthermore, if there are supernatural beings that are so very bound and determined to structure a natural world apart from their interaction / presence, one would be hard-pressed to make a case for dealing with a natural world in a supernatural way.

In other words, a natural world yields real interactions as in

• humans curing / preventing disease,
• humans planting crops and killing animals for sustenance,
• humans constructing dams for water/electricity,
• humans forecasting tornadoes and building tornado shelters,
• humans forecasting hurricanes and evacuating areas of devastation when necessary,
• humans forecasting volcano eruptions and evacuating threatened areas when necessary,
• humans forecasting floods and evacuating low-lying areas when necessary,
• humans taking pain medications to deal with horrific pain when necessary,
• humans taking steps to search for asteroids and comets so that they can protect themselves and their children if an object is located hurtling toward earth with massive death-dealing potential (as evidenced from our natural history),
• humans ... humans ... humans ... etc.

In all that, I ask the simple logical question: In a natural world with natural dangers / threats and a most fantastic and excellent job of presenting the appearance of nonexistence, how in the name of all that is logical, sane, reasonable, and just, could supernatural beings put on a show of nonexistence that is so impressive that all humans have is faith from which to imagine they exist and do anything in a natural world and ...

... based on said faiths, hold a position that faith (the "right" faith, mind you, see your social / cultural system for details), belief in the "right" supernatural beings, slavery of a real mental and submissive nature to said beliefs, and following of so-called holy documents (the "right" ones), all of that is required for immortality in the "right" place (said place mysterious and unknown, varies based on faith, see social / cultural system for details) and ....

... if you don't follow the "right" supernatural beings (see above), you're doomed to ____ (consult social / cultural systems and your favorite [the "right" one, of course] religion for details) ...

Are you getting a bit of an uncomfortable feeling about the whole faith deal along about now? I hope so. I hope all of faith read the above very carefully and consider the _____ (fill in word here) of following a particular faith under such unworthy circumstances.

A better way?

Respect the natural world, regardless of supernatural being claims.

Recognize it's up to us, only us, to take care of one another and nurture one another on this earth, at this time, in this life.

Live a pro-human life and know that in so doing, you're maxing out everything that you can be in a natural world and whether or not supernatural beings exist, you can be proud that you have maxed out your one and only sure shot at life.

Recognize, clearly and with confidence, that no otherworldly being worth being with could construct such a non-evidential totally naturalistic system as detailed above and, with one iota of honesty / integrity / worthiness, claim that blindly following a particular faith is a requisite for immortality and not following that particular faith is cause for doom / damnation / obliteration.

Nope, not able to pull that off, not by any standards of decency you can conceive of.

Know this, in living a pro-human life in a natural world, you can be proud that you've done your best to be everything this natural construct has resulted in your being.

Know that being your best in this natural construct is something that NO entity in ANY conceptual identity with ANY heart, love, or standard of human decency could condemn you for.

Know that being your best in this natural construct is something that only an unworthy and patently anti-human entity could hold against you.

Knowing these things, LIVE FREE, LIVE LONG (forever if pleasantly possible), and prosper with a sound heart, a clear mind, and a worthy and fulfilling life.

Source:

• Pro-Humanist FREELOVER