Recruited

Anis Henneghien was a teenager growing up in Belgium. In 2014, he "began going to a new mosque, praying up to five times a day, and arguing with his father over sections of the Quran. Then, in January 2014, he left."

At age 18 he had been recruited to join Islamic State. 

His mother Geraldine says that he once phoned to ask for a plane ticket home. Two hours later he called again to say that he would never come back. She thinks they kept him there. About a year later she was informed that he had died.

"I hate the recruiters," says Henneghien in tears. "Because they don't have the courage to go there. But they have the courage to send the young people there."

Density

7.4 billion people live on earth. This graphic shows where half of them live - in the light spots. The other half lives on the rest of the land, spread out all over the dark parts.

The map uses NASA's "gridded population data." It has 28 million cells, each representing nine square miles. Every cell which is populated by 8,000 people is colored yellow. 

Half of the people on earth live on 1% of its land. 

Go here to see close-ups of India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Europe, Africa or the United States.

Discovery

A freshman started college with no interest in STEM subjects. But he took an introductory course and found himself majoring in math and voluntarily helping other students. Because he was a genius? Because the math was easy? 

He says, "No. I’d fallen in love with the discipline, realized what it had to offer, and decided to take it as far as I could." To fall "in love with the discipline" (subject) and "take it as far as" you can is about the best thing that can happen to you as a college student.

The article is "5 Things I Wish I'd Known as an Incoming STEM Major." Here's one of the five things:

"I found that asking questions—both in class and at study sessions—is really important! It let me vocalize and process my thoughts, and let my instructors know that I was engaged during class."

Connectivity

"Can cell phones fight poverty better than aid? Entrepreneur Iqbal Quadir would say so. He believes the secret lies behind technology and innovation."

Mr. Quadir got the insight that connectivity among the poor of his native country would increase their wealth. Why? It's not obvious at first, so he tells a story. 

One day in Bangladesh, he walked ten miles to get medicine for his family, only to find that the medicine man was gone. So he walked ten miles back home, an all-day round trip. His entire day was a waste of time and energy which could have been invested in productive work. So now it's obvious - a phone would have enabled him to make that trip when the medicine was available. 

His insight led him to start a phone company to serve the poor of Bangladesh. "This one company…is raising the GNP of the country much more than the aid this country receives."

So surprised

The article "Foreigners share what they find most surprising about America" summarizes answers of people who've come to America and made paradigm-bursting discoveries:

• "Foreigners cannot believe how vast the United States is. . . my Italian relatives come here thinking they can visit me in Seattle, plus also see New York City, Miami, the Grand Canyon and Hollywood all in a week--by car."
• "Food portion sizes which are ridiculous to my view. "
• "The typical supermarket has at least a hundred varieties of frozen pizza, 50 brands of trail mix, etc. I was just astounded by the different kinds of products available even at small gas station convenience stores." 
• “I was aghast at the amount of stuff people wasted every single day."
• "None of my friends back in India believed me when I told them that you can literally buy anything, including food, and return it within ninety days for a full refund "
• "Nicest people in the world, even in New York which is supposed to be one of the rudest cities in the world." 

Backstory

“I know that death can come for me or other Christians at any moment," says this young man still living in northern Syria. "A life of war and terror is not what [he] envisioned for himself as a young man in his twenties."

You know that Syria has been engulfed in war about four years. You may not know how it started but you can learn about the incident (involving children) here. When Islamic State (IS) entered the conflict, Christians organized their own defense against Kurdish Marxists, IS, and other radical Muslims. "They are, quite literally, surrounded by enemies."

According to this young man (unnamed), "Immigration is not the answer because immigration is not the problem; it is a symptom of a problem, namely, that the international community allows ISIS savages to roam freely."

Destroyed

"More than 100 churches and monasteries have been razed to the ground . ." around Mosul, Iraq, and surrounding villages. This is what Islamic State (IS) does when it takes control. 

St. Elijah's Monastery was built around 600 A.D., the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq. Now satellite images confirm that it was destroyed in 2014. 

Islamists have have a long history of trying to drive out and/or kill Christians for over a thousand years in the Middle East.  "In 1743, [St. Elijah's] monks were given an ultimatum by Persian forces to convert to Islam. They refused and as many as 150 were massacred."

On the brink

Venezuela was in trouble last year, this year some think that bankruptcy or default is almost inevitable. The country is in "economic meltdown."

Last year it took 175 bolivars (their currency) to trade for one U.S. dollar, but now the number is 865 bolivars. Nearly worthless currency means barter, black market, and empty store shelves.

A "centrally planned economy" is standard socialism. For the socialist government of Venezuela, the plan was oil. Just a couple years ago, oil was sold on the global market for $100 per barrel. With the price for that barrel now being about $30, and with a weak un-diversified economy, the plan has failed.

Venezuelans are hungry. They're mad, too, so look for political news out of Venezuela this year.

Not hopeless

Anielka (Munkel) Olson, originally from the "developing" country of Nicaragua, has had an influential career as professor, government advisor, project manager, and much more. She wants to correct the image we may have of people in the developing world.

She says they don't want to be known as hopeless individuals who wait "for a solution to come from the sky."



"We don't need another U.N. plan for poverty or a celebrity campaign . . what we need is a change in mind-set to recognize the dignity and creative capacity of their brothers and sisters in the developing nations, and support their own initiatives . . opportunity to create wealth for themselves."

Transformed

Bishop Hannington of Uganda attended a conference in Kampala where God inspired him with the beauty of the "grace of giving." Back home in Bundibugyo, he communicated the vision of heartfelt generosity to his people. 

Then their town was destroyed by violence. After living miserably in refugee camps for two years, the devastated people went back to Bundibugyo and put generosity to work.

"Slowly and steadily, transformation happened. Churches and schools were rebuilt, generosity continued to spread, skills and resources were shared and invested, wealth was created, and the community began to revive."

"No longer waiting for outside relief, the grace of giving replaced a welfare mentality and an entire town was rebuilt." "Giving is transformational," says Bishop Harrington. 

Concussion #2

"Concussion" was a post topic last week, but we're going back to the subject because I've learned something interesting about Dr. Bennet Omalu (played in the movie by Will Smith). An immigrant from Nigeria to America, he brought his Christian faith with him.

Curiosity and persistence kept him searching for the reason professional football players sometimes seemed to die prematurely. His discovery threatened the game of football at every level, so the NFL used its power to attack his personal integrity and professional career.

Prayer and scripture strengthened his resolve. He cites the Bible parable of the lost sheep as an inspiration.

Incentives

Running the welfare program of New York City for six years taught Robert Doar something important. He says "it taught me that employment is central to the well-being of families and the economy."

That lesson, he thinks, now explains why the U.K. has done a little better for their low-income families during the economic turndown that started in 2008. The key is that their welfare system has more incentives to work, and our American welfare system has fewer incentives to work.

"[T]he British experience shows that proper reforms of the safety net can help individuals return to work—which is crucial for lifting them and their families out of poverty." Examples of those reforms are here.

Green Texas

Decline in the price of oil - and therefore in the price of gasoline - has given millions of families more money in their pockets and and a bit of an uptick in their standard of living. The price of a barrel of oil even went briefly below $30 yesterday for the first time since 2003.  

The state of Texas is a huge producer of oil, of course, and also of natural gas. Since they have an abundance of cheap fossil fuels, Texas wouldn't need to produce much wind or solar power, right? Yet it does. "Texas is easily the No. 1 state in wind, with more than twice the capacity of California."

Solar power hasn't been used as much, but is positioned to grow about 600% in 2016. There's lots of sunshine in Texas and a growing population, but the key must be economics because . . "prices for solar panels have fallen over 80 percent since 2009." That's really big.

Summon

(cont'd)

Market demand for electric vehicles is driven by the hope that they will some day be cost-effective and eco-friendly. Innovation also plays a part by generating excitement.

Tesla was the first to put a 17-inch computer screen on the dash board. A breakdown in the electronics, as Craig Venter discovered, can be corrected online over night by factory engineers. And Tesla is considered a front runner in the most exciting innovation, self-driving cars. 

In a recent software update, Tesla announced "its Model S and Model X vehicles [now have] the ability to open your garage door, enter, park and shut down." 

This  feature ("summon")  is "laying the groundwork for much bigger plans however. Tesla boss Elon Musk said that within two years, people would be able to call their vehicle to drive itself from your home to meet you anywhere in the country – and charge itself along the way."

EV expensive

A very rational Washington Post editorial writer has been betting against electric cars. He bet that the U.S. president's goal of "1 million plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars on the road in the United States by 2015" would not happen, and he won that bet.

His simple rationale is that EV's are still an expensive choice - that even with a government tax credit of $7500, gas savings can't offset the higher price. As an example, it would take 14 years for the 2016 Chevy Volt (EV) to deliver a price advantage over a similar Mazda 3.

Nevertheless, EV company Tesla Motors continues to expand. They promised and delivered 50,000 Model S sedans in 2015.  Their mass-market model (price about $35k) is on schedule to be revealed in March of this year. 

(cont'd tomorrow)

Aspiration

Last week's theme was the creativity of human beings - we create art or music or a business, and so much more. They might not be conscious of it, but I think all people long to express their giftedness in some accomplishment of their own choosing.

Dato Kim Tan says that all of us aspire to dignity and independence - in this video.

Dato Kim Tan on Learning from the Asian Tigers
"Growing up in Asia, [I saw] the Asian tiger economies—that thirty, forty years ago had a lower GDP than Uganda or Kenya—transform themselves through enterprise, not through aid, not through philanthropy." - Kim Tan, SpringHill Management (Malaysia and UK)
Posted by PovertyCure on Thursday, April 7, 2011

Raqqa

IS (Islamic State) uses civilians as a shield to protect themselves in their stronghold city of Raqqa, Syria. IS fighters are quartered in city hall and other buildings with civilians. Since America prohibits the bombing of civilian targets, America's bombing strategy against IS has "little impact," according to one man who got his family out.

Severed heads on poles and crucified bodies of unbelievers in public tell you what it's like to live there now. The city is controlled by savages. Western journalists are kept out. A young Syrian woman journalist, Ruqia Hassan, was recently executed for reporting about "life under IS rule."

"She seemed to sense that one day she would pay with her life for her words and prayers. She was right."

Genocide

Christians and other religious minorities have been targeted by Islamic State for "deliberate and systematic extermination." In 2014 when IS took the city of Mosul, Iraq, Christians were given the choice to be killed, to leave, or to pay a price (tax) for the right to exist there without public presence. In other localities, there was no choice given - they were enslaved or murdered.

Politicians of both parties are calling for the American government to call genocide by its name. The House of Representatives (including both parties) sent a letter to the president for this purpose, noting that "communities are being erased and . . families are being slaughtered because of their faith,”

Christianity took hold in the Middle East right from the start, so Christians have been there for 2,000 years. But now many are saying that it's pretty much over. 

Drought ending

Four difficult years of drought in California may be approaching an end. This year's "El Nino" is predicted to generate relief in snow and rain from January through March.

Rain (above) will come in amounts above average, but maybe even more significant is forecasted snowfall. Could be ten feet of it this week in the Sierra Nevada mountain range - which feeds the water reservoirs.

Great news for the people of California, and good news for the rest of us who buy California produce.

Concussion

I had the impression that risk of concussion among professional football players was controversial. If I can trust the accuracy of the movie "Concussion," there's no doubt of it: the risk is real and very dangerous.

Will Smith plays the part of Dr. Bennet Omalu, immigrant from Nigeria and very smart doctor. From his experience dealing with the premature deaths of some pro-football players, especially in Pittsburgh, he concludes that the many hits they take to the head lead to serious brain injury. 

Smith's performance in yet another very different sort of role for him is a pleasure to watch.

Imagine

(last of this week's "Imago Dei" theme)

We as humans imagine possibilities that don't exist yet.  It's the basis of all creation - the starting point to build anything worthwhile.  Before the physical or mental work, the imagination pictures it (the art, music, achievement, the structure, the improvement).

Christianity gives a plausible explanation for this ubiquitous human trait:  the One who created us included in our nature something of His own nature - in Latin  the term is "imago dei," the image of God.  He imagined and He then created,  as recorded in Genesis.

Sometimes the imagination is suppressed, with bad results.  We were created to imagine.  When we're not allowed to imagine and to create, grief follows.  

The supernatural, personal God is real and designed you to imagine and create.  What kind of future are you imagining today?