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Crossing the line?

08 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Because God acquits us, Saint Paul asks in this Sunday's reading from the Letter to the Romans, who will condemn? Latino activists in Arizona, and their supporters nationwide, are concerned that allegedly heavy-handed arrest tactics used by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to counteract illegal immigration amount to racial profiling. Thousands of protesters marched through Phoenix last Saturday. The march in Phoenix also attracted about 150 Arpaio supporters. Marchers called for comprehensive immigration reform and a stop to what they say are abuses of 287(g), shorthand for a section of a 1996 law used to allow local police officers to be deputized as immigration officials. It was intended to be a tool for finding and deporting serious criminals in the country illegally, but opponents argue it is being used to question anyone who happens to look Latino. Arpaio operates the largest 287(g) program in Arizona with 160 trained deputies. He held a news conference after the demonstration last Saturday and vowed to continue the program. "We're not backing down," he said. A report by the Government Accountability Office released Wednesday says the government has failed to determine how many of the thousands of people deported under the 287(g) program were the violent felons it was devised to root out. Some law enforcement agencies had used the program to deport immigrants "who have committed minor crimes," the report said, and at least four agencies referred minor traffic offenders for deportation. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered a review of the program. A top official at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency was set to testify on the program at a Congressional hearing Wednesday afternoon. Source: Articles by the Arizona Republic, Susan Gamboa for the Associated Press, and Randal C. Archibold for the New York Times

maricopa county janet napolitano deportation government accountability office 287g protests phoenix racial profiling illegal immigration heriff joe arpaio immigration and customs enforcement agency
Protesting students teach Iranian authorities a cyber-lesson

13 Dec 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord turned away Israel's enemies, the reading from the Book of Zephaniah this Sunday tells us. Even though Iranian officials turned away foreign journalists, slowed Internet service to a crawl, and took other measures to suppress coverage of student protests Monday, footage of violent clashes with authorities quickly flooded the Web. Government news agencies, which initially didn't mention the protests, were forced to acknowledge them by Monday afternoon. Violence erupted at and around university campuses across Iran as demonstrators took to the streets during the regime-sanctioned Student Day, but used the occasion to press their months-long protest against the government. Students chanted "death to the dictator" and anti-regime slogans and set fire to pictures of Iran's Islamic leaders and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, according to eyewitness accounts and videos posted on the Internet. The opposition planned what they called a "green traffic" tactic for 5 p.m. today, at the height of rush hour in Tehran. Supporters were asked to bring their cars to a standstill, making it difficult for security forces to navigate through the city. Iran's leadership, however, has been striking back across national borders. In an effort to stamp out dissent worldwide, authorities have threatened to punish relatives of Iranians living abroad who protest the regime. Part of the effort involves tracking the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube activity of Iranians around the world and sending threatening e-mails to anyone who expresses dissent. As protests were reported online Monday, Iranian state TV was broadcasting a round-table discussion about how loyal students are to the system. Source: Articles by Farnaz Fassihi for the Wall Street Journal, Hannah Allam for McClatchy Newspapers, and BBC News

internet protests iran mahmud ahmadinejad student day students
Thai political protest comes to violent end

23 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Peace be with you," Jesus says to his disciples in this Sunday's gospel option from John 20. Hopes were dashed Wednesday for a peaceful end to Thailand's two-month old political standoff between government forces and "Red Shirt" protesters. Violence spread through the Thai capital of Bangkok in the wake of a deadly crackdown by security forces to end the occupation by anti-government demonstrators of the city's upscale commercial district. At least 40 have died in the conflict, including bystanders and several journalists. As they retreated from government forces, some protesters set fire to the country's stock exchange and a number of other buildings including a major shopping mall, two banks, a movie theater, and a television station. The government ordered a curfew Wednesday night, the subway system remained shut, and embassies told their citizens living across the sprawling metropolis of about 15 million people to stay indoors. Leaders of the protest movement who had entered Bangkok on March 12 demanding fresh elections and calling for "true democracy" for the country surrendered to the police on Wednesday afternoon to spare further bloodshed, they said. "We cannot resist against these savages anymore," Jatuporn Prompan, one of the leaders, said on a stage inside the protest zone before turning himself in. He was booed by protesters who wanted to defiantly carry on. "Please listen to me!" he pleaded to the crowd. "Brothers and sisters, I will use the word 'beg.' I beg you. We have to end this for now." One protester who fled said she felt let down by the leaders of the movement. "Everyone feels that our leaders betrayed us," said Wanpamas Boonpun, 39, a restaurant owner. "We want democracy. True democracy, free democracy. Why is it so hard, why?" Source: Articles by Chris Hogg for BBC, Thomas Fuller, Seth Mydans, and Kirk Semple for the New York Times, and VOA News

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Libyan protestors want Gadhafi gone

27 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples they must choose a master wisely because they cannot serve more than one. After 41 years under the rule of Moammar Gadhafi, many of the Libyan people have chosen to rise up. Protestors took control of the eastern half of the country Wednesday and were massing in Tripoli as well. As Gadhafi’s hold on power appeared to be slipping, his supporters and mercenary fighters have responded with unprecedented violence in the capital, leaving many hundreds dead. The week-old uprising that had been sweeping the country now appeared headed for a decisive stage, with Qaddafi fortifying his bastion in Tripoli and opponents in the capital saying they were making plans for their first coordinated protest. One protestor said that Qaddafi’s menacing speech to the country on Tuesday had increased their determination “100 percent.” The signs of a looming confrontation came as a growing number of Libyan military officers and officials said Wednesday that they had broken with Qaddafi over his intentions to bomb and kill Libyan civilians challenging his four decades of rule. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters in Rome he feared an immigrant exodus on a "biblical scale" if Gaddafi were toppled, predicting up to 300,000 Libyans could flee. Gaddafi is also facing increased internal and international diplomatic pressure. The U.N. Security Council demanded an end to the violence on Tuesday, while the Arab League suspended Libya. The African Union condemned the "disproportionate use of force against civilians" in Libya, while the U.S. said it was considering sanctions and other means to pressure Gadhafi's regime to halt the violent crackdown. President Barack Obama planned to speak publicly about the situation later Wednesday. Source: Articles by Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick for the New York Times, Frank Gardner for BBC News, and Matthew Lee for the Associated Press

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Syrian uprising takes more violent turn

12 Jun 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Twice in this Sunday’s Pentecost Day gospel the risen Lord wishes his disciples peace. What had been largely a peaceful protest movement against the Syrian government became decidedly more violent this week when an estimated 120 people, including up to 80 security-force members, were killed in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. Government and opposition representatives offered conflicting accounts of what transpired. State television said on Monday the policemen were killed by "armed gangs" of protestors. But activists on the scene and a statement on Facebook signed the "residents of Jisr al-Shughur" said "the deaths among soldiers and police were the consequence of defections in the army" when the security forces were shot by government troops after they refused to open fire on civilians. Syrians who first took to the streets peacefully in mid-March initially demanded democratic reform. But as the government has responded to the swelling demonstrations with escalating force, the leaderless and largely spontaneous protest movement has rallied around calls for the outright toppling of the regime. "As the death toll in Syria reaches staggering new heights, it is imperative that the U.N. Security Council--which has so far been silent on this issue--votes to condemn the killings," said Philip Luther of Amnesty International. "It must also take decisive action and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court," he said. Such a resolution is reportedly in the works. Sources: Articles by Liz Sly for the Washington Post, Danica Kirkafor the Associated Press, and Agence France Presse

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Protesters have their backs against the wall

09 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Book of Isaiah this Sunday promises that the Lord will provide a rich feast for all peoples. Many Americans are upset that powerful corporate and financial executives seem to be the only ones enjoying a feast during this time of economic want. “Occupy Wall Street” protests that started several weeks ago with a few dozen camped-out protesters have spread nationwide in a growing demonstration of that anger and frustration. Publicity surrounding last week’s arrests of hundreds of demonstrators in New York City near Wall Street and on the Brooklyn Bridge energized the campaign. This week new rallies and in some cases urban encampments are taking place in cities as disparate as Memphis, Tennessee; Hilo, Hawaii; Minneapolis; Baltimore; and McAllen, Texas, according to Occupy Together, an unofficial website hub for the protests that lists dozens of coming demonstrations, including some in Europe and Japan. In the nation’s capital an Occupy D.C. movement began last Saturday, with plans to join forces on Thursday with a similar anticorporate and antiwar group, "October 2011," for an encampment in a park near the White House. Protesters have also camped out in Los Angeles near city hall, assembled before the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, and marched through downtown Boston to rally against corporate greed, unemployment, and the role of financial institutions in the economic crisis. With little organization and a reliance on social networks for communication, the Occupy Wall Street campaign has clearly tapped into a deep vein of anger, experts in social movements said, bringing long-time crusaders against globalization and professional anarchists together with younger people frustrated by poor job prospects. “Rants based on discontents are the first stage of any movement,” said Michael Kazin, a professor of history at Georgetown University. But he said it was unclear if the current protests would lead to a lasting movement, which would require developing some structure and focused goals. Sources: Articles by Erik Eckholm and Timothy Williams for the New York Timesand Deepti Hajela and Verena Dobnik for the Associated Press

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Protests occupy attention worldwide

23 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Exodus, the Lord has some strong words for those with power and influence who abuse the poor, the powerless, and the outsider for economic gain. What started in a park near Wall Street a month ago as a small protest against financial abuse and inequality has now spread to four continents. Protestors in some places have vowed to stay on the streets “for as long as it takes” to right the perceived injustices. Over the weekend protestors camped out from Hong Kong to London, while in Rome a peaceful rally was hijacked by violent extremists. Meanwhile, police in New York and Chicago arrested more than 250 people in all. Sydney, Toronto, and other cities also saw demonstrations in support of the incipient movement, which organizers say represents the "99 percent,” a reference to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz’s study showing that 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of U.S. wealth. Scores of anti-corporate demonstrators occupied London's historic St. Paul's Cathedral last Sunday, but police who tried to stop them were told to leave by church officials. The protesters were welcomed into the 17th-century cathedral and Sunday services went on uninterrupted. The protesters have been camped out in the shadows of St. Paul's all week. The cathedral is on the edge of the city’s financial district. There has purposefully been no individual face to the Occupy Wall Street protests. By design the grassroots movement is leaderless and it welcomes all comers and all grievances with the powers that be. That has helped the protests grow, but the absence of leaders and a clear course of action may also prove to be the movement’s undoing, some observers predict. But others contend that the inclusive nature of the movement is what gives it strength. “Everyone is here for very separate reasons, and that’s one of the reasons that this movement works,” said Sam Agger, an Occupy Tucson participant. A protester in Washington, D.C. agreed the movement’s strength is based on the fact that its goals aren’t clearly defined: “We are not going to make demands. We are not going to become a political party,” said Sonia Silbert, a longtime political activist who was at the Occupy DC encampment a few blocks from the White House last Sunday. “The second we start making demands we start splintering, and we are no longer the 99 percent.” Sources: Articles by Karen Eeuwens, Esmé E. Deprez, and Frederik Balfour for Bloomberg,Marc Lacey for the New York Times, Brad Tuttle for TIME, and Ecumenical News International

protests occupy wall street 99 percent
Protestors find new way to give power to the people

06 Nov 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The wise virgins described in this Sunday’s gospel made sure they had enough oil to keep their lamps lit. With their gas generators labeled a fire hazard and confiscated by authorities, Occupy Wall Street protestors in New York City’s Zuccotti Park have found a creative way to keep the lights on and laptops humming: bicycle pedal power. Keegan Stephan, a bike mechanic and environmentalist at the park site, has been pedaling a stationary bike to provide energy for the protesters' encampment. "People get really excited when they see these bikes," said George Pingeon, a bike tour guide involved with the effort. The bike is attached to a flywheel which in turn connects to a dynamo that creates energy that flows through a motor and a one-way diode to charge a battery. When fully charged--after about 6 hours of pedaling--the battery might provide power for around 100 hours, Stephan estimated. Protesters will drawn on this energy to run laptops, cell phones, and other devices. Stephan said he had made the machine over a year ago and had utilized it to operate the refrigerator in his apartment. He brought it to Zuccotti Park a few weeks ago to offer an example of how people might create their own power. Last Friday New York City police took away the gas-powered generators that the protesters--some of whom have slept in the park for more than a month--had been using. The Fire Department has said that storing large amounts of fuel in the park violates fire codes. Since then several other bikes have been added to the effort. "I'm going to ask the tourists if they want to help pedal," Pingeon said. Source: A blog post by Zachary Roth for The Lookout (Yahoo! News)

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Egypt protestors: Boot the military and reboot the revolution

27 Nov 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways?” grieves the prophet in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah. Egyptian citizens, deeply suspicious that the military is trying to hold onto the power it has held since mass protests unseated President Hosni Mubarak in February, have taken to the streets this week to express their frustration that the Egyptian revolution has wandered from its original purposes. Tuesday, seeking to defuse the street protests that have left at least 37 dead, Egypt's army chief promised a swifter handover to civilian rule but failed to convince thousands of hardcore demonstrators, some of whom battled police through the night. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 76, who has run the ruling military council since February, made a faltering televised address Tuesday in which he promised a civilian president would be elected in June, about six months sooner than planned. Confirming that Egypt's first free parliamentary election in decades will start next Monday, the council also accepted the resignation of the civilian prime minister and his cabinet, who had incensed democrats with a short-lived proposal that the army remain beyond civilian control under any new constitution. Tantawi was hanged in effigy in Tahrir Square in an echo of Mubarak's final days but seems intent on preserving the armed forces' vast business interests built up over six decades of effective military rule, said observers. “Leave! Leave!” came the chants in Cairo and, reminiscent of February's chorus: “The people want to topple the marshal.” Police have denied using live ammunition, but most of the dead have had bullet wounds, medics said, and demonstrators have shown cartridge casings they said come from weapons authorities use. Using a computer analogy, protester Abdullah Galal said: “There are many viruses in the system. It needs to be cleaned out entirely. We want to delete, reformat, and reinstall . . . . We need to change the regime like they did in Tunisia and Libya.” Source: An article by Patrick Werr and Alastair Macdonald for Reuters

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Time to praise the protester

25 Dec 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Christmas Day reading from the Book of Isaiah has nothing but praise for “the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news.” Those who took to the streets of nations around the world this year did so not to praise but to protest the state of affairs in their respective countries.From the Arab spring to the Occupy movement, this year’s newly energized protestor was named “person of the year” by TIME magazine. “No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square in a town barely on a map, he would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain,” said the article in TIME. “Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans to occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy.” Protests have now occurred in countries whose populations total at least 3 billion people, reported TIME. People dissented and demanded, but perhaps most significantly “they did not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets. They literally embodied the idea that individual action can bring collective, colossal change. “Everywhere this year, people have complained about the failure of traditional leadership and the fecklessness of institutions,” commented TIME. “Politicians cannot look beyond the next election, and they refuse to make hard choices. . . . But leadership has come from the bottom of the pyramid, not the top. “For capturing and highlighting a global sense of restless promise, for upending governments and conventional wisdom, for combining the oldest of techniques with the newest of technologies to shine a light on human dignity, and, finally, for steering the planet on a more democratic though sometimes more dangerous path for the 21st century, the Protester is TIME's 2011 Person of the Year,” the magazine said. Source: Article by Rick Stengel for TIME

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