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The voiceless victims in Iraq

14 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

John the Baptist identifies himself as "the voice of one crying out in the desert . . ." in the Sunday gospel. But the voices crying out in the desert-like climes of Iraq these days are much more likely to belong to women. Political stability in Iraq, which involved the U.S. aligning with strict Islamic tribal leaders, is leading to increased oppression and violence against women in Iraq. In their quest for stability in Iraq, U.S. officials have empowered tribal and religious leaders, Sunni and Shiite, who reject the secularism that Saddam Hussein once largely maintained. These leaders have imposed strict interpretations of Islam and enforced tribal codes female activists say limit women's freedom and encourage violence against them. "Women are being strangled by religion and tribalism," said Muna Saud, a 52-year-old activist in Basra, while Pakshan Zangana, a Kurdish lawmaker, said that "women are trapped in a moral and cultural tug of war. There are forces trying to pull women into the 21st century. Then, there are other forces pulling women backwards, to keep them as second-class citizens." Iraq's constitution states that men and women are equal under the law. But it also states that no laws can be passed that are inconsistent with Islam, allowing for ultraconservative interpretations, women's activists say. "Honor crimes"-tribal killings and burnings of women accused of engaging in premarital sex or adultery-are rarely punished, and when they are perpetrators are handed light punishments. Women who protest are often threatened with punishment, violence, or death. Source: An article by Sudarsan Raghavan for the Washington Post

women iraq muna saud pakshan zangana honor crimes

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News you hate to hear

29 Nov 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from 1 Thessalonians this Sunday begins with a prayerful wish: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all." If hate crime statistics are any indication, that wish has yet to be fully realized. Reports of hate crimes against gay people and religious groups increased sharply in 2008, according to FBI data released Monday. The overall number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 percent. These same figures show a nearly 11 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 percent increase in hate crimes based on religion. The largest category, racially motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 percent. Among all categories of hate crimes, roughly a third take the form of vandalism or property damage. About 30 percent involve intimidation of some kind, and another 30 percent include physical attacks against people. The FBI does not compare year-to-year trends in hate crimes, saying the number of agencies reporting changes too much. And in fact the bureau cautioned that the increase reported Monday might well be due to more agencies tracking such incidents. In total there were 7,783 hate crimes reported to the FBI last year, and seven murders were categorized as hate crimes. Half of all hate crimes are motivated by race, according to the FBI. One out of every five is driven by religious bias, and one out of every six is based on sexual orientation bias. Source: An article by Devlin Barrett for the Associated Press

religion hate crimes fbi sexual orientation racism

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Internet crime hard to screen out

12 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist calls upon the greatness of God’s compassion this Sunday with this request: “Wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt.” Scrubbing your computer clean of offending viruses, malware, and other malicious cybercrimes, however, is another matter, according to a new internet security report. About two-thirds of internet users globally and nearly three-quarters of Web surfers in the U.S. have been victims of online crime, according to a study released Wednesday by the internet security firm Symantec. “A clean heart create for me, O God,” the psalmist prays with confidence, but fully one-third of survey respondents who were victimized said they never fully removed the offending virus or resolved the matter. For those who were able to resolve the problem, it took an average of 28 days and cost on average $334, the report found. Computer viruses and malware are the most common types of online attacks, with 51 percent reporting being a victim of them, followed by 10 percent who have been hit by "online scams," 9 percent by email “phishing,” and 7 percent each for social network profile hacking, online credit card fraud, and sexual predation, according to the report. Source: An article by Elinor Mills for CNET News

symantec computer viruses internet crime online crime malware

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Internet crime hard to screen out

12 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist calls upon the greatness of God’s compassion this Sunday with this request: “Wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt.” Scrubbing your computer clean of offending viruses, malware, and other malicious cybercrimes, however, is another matter, according to a new internet security report. About two-thirds of internet users globally and nearly three-quarters of Web surfers in the U.S. have been victims of online crime, according to a study released Wednesday by the internet security firm Symantec. “A clean heart create for me, O God,” the psalmist prays with confidence, but fully one-third of survey respondents who were victimized said they never fully removed the offending virus or resolved the matter. For those who were able to resolve the problem, it took an average of 28 days and cost on average $334, the report found. Computer viruses and malware are the most common types of online attacks, with 51 percent reporting being a victim of them, followed by 10 percent who have been hit by "online scams," 9 percent by email “phishing,” and 7 percent each for social network profile hacking, online credit card fraud, and sexual predation, according to the report. Source: An article by Elinor Mills for CNET News

symantec computer viruses internet crime online crime malware

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Nothing is sacred in cyberspace

10 Jul 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God’s words achieve the ends for which they are spoken, this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah assures us. Sadly in this age of cyber-crime, even the most worthy of charitable causes can fall victim to deceptively worded financial messages. Just ask the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, which recently saw over $680,000 in donations to help homeless and abused persons cleaned out of its bank account by email hackers. "You kind of have to take a deep breath and you have to trust in the Lord," said Bishop Richard Pates. The Iowa heist is part of the latest wave of cyber-crime: account takeover fraud. In it crime gangs, many located in Eastern Europe, target small towns, community banks, and civic organizations which often lack high-tech defenses. The theft begins with a technique known as spear phishing: Hackers lure an organization's financial officer with an email--a note that appears to be from a friend or the Internal Revenue Service--enticing them to click on a link. That click opens the door to a malicious software infection that allows vital information, like bank passwords, to be captured. Criminal groups can then wipe out the account--ultimately transferring the cash to their own accounts in places like Russia or the Ukraine--leaving many victims high and dry. As for the Des Moines diocese, its prayers were answered when the $680,000 was covered by insurance and its bank. Sources: Articles by Armen Keteyian for CBS News, Zachary Roth for The Lookout, and a press release by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines

spear phishing diocese of des moines cyber-crime

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Former warlord sentenced to long term

03 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?” Moses asks in this Sunday’s first reading as he describes the singular event by which Israel becomes the possession of God. Judges at the first international tribunal to convict a former head of state since the end of the Second World War hailed the precedent-setting announcement Wednesday that former Liberian President Charles Taylor had been sentenced to 50 years in prison for his participation in war crimes.The ex-warlord fought his way to the presidency of Liberia during a series of interlinked civil wars in West Africa during the 1990s funded by illegal timber and diamond sales and marked by mutilations, sexual violence, and the use of child soldiers. Six years after being arrested and handed over to a U.N.-backed tribunal, Taylor was convicted for his role in supporting a rebel group fighting in neighboring Sierra Leone.The presiding judge at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague said the lengthy sentence was justified because the former Liberian president had "aided and abetted, as well as planned, some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history."The world was entering a "new era of accountability,” the judges said in announcing the ruling. Human rights advocates also hailed the sentence as an important precedent for an emerging international justice system. “It is really significant that Taylor's status as a former head of state was taken as an aggravating factor as far as his sentence was concerned,” Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch said. Sources: Articles by Randy Kreider for ABC News and Daniel Howden and Paul Peachey for The Independent (U.K.)

geraldine mattioli-zeltner international justice system war crimes charles taylor liberia special court for sierra leone

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Jump in crime a blip on the screen or a trend?

21 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord “is our help and our shield,” the psalmist affirms this Sunday. Police protection and crime prevention have returned to the national agenda after the government reported that violent crime rose unexpectedly by 18 percent last year, the first increase in nearly 20 years. Property crimes increased for the first time in a decade, up 11 percent. But academic experts said the new government data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long decline in crime.The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Wednesday that the increase in the number of violent crimes was the result of an upward swing in simple assaults, which rose 22 percent, from 4 million in 2010 to 5 million last year. The incidence of rape, sexual assault, and robbery remained largely unchanged, as did serious and violent crime involving weapons or injury.Property crimes rose from 15.4 million in 2010 to 17 million last year, according to the bureau's annual national crime victimization survey. Household burglaries rose 14 percent, from 3.2 million to 3.6 million, while the number of thefts jumped by 10 percent, from 11.6 million to 12.8 million.The statistics bureau said the percentage increases last year were so large primarily because the 2011 crime totals were compared to historically low levels of crime in 2010. Violent crime has fallen by 65 percent since 1993, from 16.8 million to 5.8 million cases last year. "2011 may be worse than 2010, but it was also the second-best in recent history," said Northeastern University criminology professor James Alan Fox. Chris Melde, assistant professor at Michigan State University's school of criminal justice, said: “I would caution against forecasting future crime trends based on a one-year fluctuation."Homily hint: “Where do we find our security?” is one of the central questions of faith. While law enforcement and common sense safety precautions are certainly called for, in a larger sense a Christian’s security only comes from the Lord. Encourage parishioners not to be swept away by fear-mongering or the abundance of security firm advertising out there. Faith calls us not to retreat behind gated walls but to actively engage with the world and address the problems at the root of violence and crime. Source: An article by Pete Yost for the Associated Press

united states chris melde james alan fox crime crime statistics bureau of justice statistics

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Jump in crime a blip on the screen or a trend?

21 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord “is our help and our shield,” the psalmist affirms this Sunday. Police protection and crime prevention have returned to the national agenda after the government reported that violent crime rose unexpectedly by 18 percent last year, the first increase in nearly 20 years. Property crimes increased for the first time in a decade, up 11 percent. But academic experts said the new government data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long decline in crime.The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Wednesday that the increase in the number of violent crimes was the result of an upward swing in simple assaults, which rose 22 percent, from 4 million in 2010 to 5 million last year. The incidence of rape, sexual assault, and robbery remained largely unchanged, as did serious and violent crime involving weapons or injury.Property crimes rose from 15.4 million in 2010 to 17 million last year, according to the bureau's annual national crime victimization survey. Household burglaries rose 14 percent, from 3.2 million to 3.6 million, while the number of thefts jumped by 10 percent, from 11.6 million to 12.8 million.The statistics bureau said the percentage increases last year were so large primarily because the 2011 crime totals were compared to historically low levels of crime in 2010. Violent crime has fallen by 65 percent since 1993, from 16.8 million to 5.8 million cases last year. "2011 may be worse than 2010, but it was also the second-best in recent history," said Northeastern University criminology professor James Alan Fox. Chris Melde, assistant professor at Michigan State University's school of criminal justice, said: “I would caution against forecasting future crime trends based on a one-year fluctuation."Homily hint: “Where do we find our security?” is one of the central questions of faith. While law enforcement and common sense safety precautions are certainly called for, in a larger sense a Christian’s security only comes from the Lord. Encourage parishioners not to be swept away by fear-mongering or the abundance of security firm advertising out there. Faith calls us not to retreat behind gated walls but to actively engage with the world and address the problems at the root of violence and crime. Source: An article by Pete Yost for the Associated Press

united states chris melde james alan fox crime crime statistics bureau of justice statistics

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Prince of peace reigns in New York—for a day, anyway

02 Dec 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s second reading exhorts us to “conduct yourselves to please God” with a prayer that “the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” New York City seems to have taken the message to heart, at least for a day. The city of more than 8 million passed a day without a single report of a person being shot, stabbed, or subject to other sorts of violent crime for the first time in recent history, police said.The rare day occurred on Monday, near the end of a year when the city's murder rate is on target to hit its lowest point since 1960, according to New York Police Department chief spokesman Paul Browne, who said it was the “first time in memory” the city's police force had experienced such a peaceful day."In a city of 8 million people, this is extremely rare," said Tom Repetto, an expert on police work. He attributed the city’s success to "proactive" police department tactics, including its controversial stop-and-frisk policy. While critics have charged that the dramatic increase in stops hasn't led to a similar rise in gun seizures, police officials have countered that proactive tactics have made criminals think twice about taking their guns out on the street.Homily hint: “As love increases, hearts are strengthened and conduct falls into line with grace,” PreparetheWord.com’s Sunday Summary tells us this week. The first Sunday of Advent provides a good opportunity to invite the gathered community to keep the season in a faith perspective, treating one another peacefully and waiting with patience and grace, both in crowded stores and streets and in our hearts. Source: An article by Chris Francescani for Reuters

new york city crime stop and frisk police paul browne tom repetto violent crime

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Prince of peace reigns in New York—for a day, anyway

02 Dec 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s second reading exhorts us to “conduct yourselves to please God” with a prayer that “the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” New York City seems to have taken the message to heart, at least for a day. The city of more than 8 million passed a day without a single report of a person being shot, stabbed, or subject to other sorts of violent crime for the first time in recent history, police said.The rare day occurred on Monday, near the end of a year when the city's murder rate is on target to hit its lowest point since 1960, according to New York Police Department chief spokesman Paul Browne, who said it was the “first time in memory” the city's police force had experienced such a peaceful day."In a city of 8 million people, this is extremely rare," said Tom Repetto, an expert on police work. He attributed the city’s success to "proactive" police department tactics, including its controversial stop-and-frisk policy. While critics have charged that the dramatic increase in stops hasn't led to a similar rise in gun seizures, police officials have countered that proactive tactics have made criminals think twice about taking their guns out on the street.Homily hint: “As love increases, hearts are strengthened and conduct falls into line with grace,” PreparetheWord.com’s Sunday Summary tells us this week. The first Sunday of Advent provides a good opportunity to invite the gathered community to keep the season in a faith perspective, treating one another peacefully and waiting with patience and grace, both in crowded stores and streets and in our hearts. Source: An article by Chris Francescani for Reuters

new york city crime stop and frisk police paul browne tom repetto violent crime

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