'WHERE IS THE LOVE?' (Black Eyed Peas: Elephunk)

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism

But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

Now ask yourself
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)

'How Do I Love Thee?'

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

POETRY~Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
Translated into Arabic by: JUSTICE FOR ALL
'How Do I Love Thee?'

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I love you..

"If I could be anything... I would be a tear.. so I could be born in your eye.. run down your cheeks... and die on your lips"

~<3

"I wrote your name in the sky... but the wind blew it away... I wrote your name in the sand... but the waves washed it away... I wrote your name in my heart... and forever it will stay"

"Love is a portion of the soul itself, and it is of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise" ~Victor Hugo~

"The greatest happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves" ~Victor Hugo~

"Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity"
~Henry Van Dyke~

"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil,
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails" Bible
~I Corinthians 13:4-8~

"Love is friendship set to music" ~E. Joseph Crossmann~

"The sweetest joy the wildest woe is love" ~Pearl Bailey~

"Of all the earthly music that which reaches farthest into heaven is the beating of a truly loving heart" ~Henry Ward Beecher~

"There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem...
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be
the happiest and most powerful being in the world..."
~Emmet Fox~

"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house you can never tell" ~Joan Crawford~

LOVE
Translated into Arabic by: JUSTICE FOR ALL
"If I could be anything... I would be a tear.. so I could be born in your eye.. run down your cheeks... and die on your lips"

"I wrote your name in the sky... but the wind blew it away... I wrote your name in the sand... but the waves washed it away... I wrote your name in my heart... and forever it will stay"

"Love is a portion of the soul itself, and it is of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise" ~Victor Hugo~

"The greatest happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves" ~Victor Hugo~

"Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity"
~Henry Van Dyke~

"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil,
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails" Bible
~I Corinthians 13:4-8~

"Love is friendship set to music" ~E. Joseph Crossmann~

"The sweetest joy the wildest woe is love" ~Pearl Bailey~

"Of all the earthly music that which reaches farthest into heaven is the beating of a truly loving heart" ~Henry Ward Beecher~

"There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem...
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be
the happiest and most powerful being in the world..."
~Emmet Fox~

"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house you can never tell" ~Joan Crawford~

The Fight Against Modern Slavery


by Michael J. McManus

There are actually more slaves in the world today than were extracted from Africa during 300 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

When William Wilberforce persuaded the British Parliament to shut down the slave trade exactly 200 years ago, February 23, 1807, 40,000 to 50,000 slaves were carried on British ships to America each year. Perhaps 12 million slaves were forcibly captured and sold.

Currently, 700,000 to 1 million slaves are trafficked annually, and there are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today according to Kevin Bales, author of "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy."

Modern slaves are not in chains. Slavery was officially abolished worldwide at the 1927 Slavery Convention. Yet it continues to thrive thanks to the complicity of some governments and the ignorance of much of the world.

About 80 percent of these slaves are women or young girls sold for sex or labor. Most are tricked into slavery. Girls in poor countries are asked if they'd like to be waitresses in the West. They sign a contract to repay the cost of their transportation, in what is called "bonded labor." Then they are sold to pimps who rape them, steal their passports, and put them in brothels where they earn so little they can never pay off their loan. If they try to escape, they are beaten or their families are threatened with violence.

Bales reports that one of the most shocking things about modern slavery is the ease with which slave holders get new slaves and dispose of old ones. The average working life of a female sex slave is only three to five years. After that, they become sick with sexually transmitted diseases or AIDS , or simply become exhausted.

Brothel owners kick them out and the woman or girl returns to her hometown, where she is shunned by her society because they know what she was doing all those years, even if it was against her will. She ends up dying alone outside her hometown, without anybody to help her. In some cases, as in Brazil, the brothel keepers kill the girls that become ill and dump their bodies in a river.

Other slaves are forced to work on plantations or as household servants. Many are taken from one country to another where a different language is spoken. Their passports are stolen, making it very difficult to escape and go home.

One man who has done something about this horror is Gary Haugen, who was recently given the "Wilberforce Award" for creating the International Justice Mission by Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship.

"It is difficult to imagine a recipient more suited to an award given in the name of William Wilberforce than Gary Haugen," said Colson. "On temporary assignment from the U.S. Department of Justice in 1994, attorney Haugen directed the United Nations genocide investigation in Rwanda. His job was to accumulate preliminary evidence against the perpetrators. There standing in the middle of several thousand corpses in a mass grave, Haugen stared into the swollen, machete-marred face of injustice."

When he returned to America, injustice had taken on a human face, one that God would not allow him to purge from his consciousness. As Haugen read through his Bible, the theme of justice leapt off page after page. For example, Isaiah wrote:"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed." (Is 1:17).

But what could a suburban American Christian do about injustice halfway around the world? A lot. He created the International Justice Mission in 1997 that now has 300 lawyers and criminal investigators who have fought for a rule of law against trafficking in many countries.

IJM joined others, such as the National Association of Evangelicals, persuading Congress to pass a law in 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. It requires the State Department to publish an annual report on what each nation is doing to combat modern day slavery.

Its 2007 report puts 39 countries on a "Special Watch List" because they showed little progress or had an increase in the number of victims. For example, it reports Egypt has had no criminal prosecutions.

By contrast, State reports that Malawi passed relevant labor and kidnaping laws and has convicted traffickers of children. The Ministry of Labor now inspects labor practices on tobacco and tea estates, to be sure children are not employed. And a new center now helps 50 victims of sexual trafficking.

Haugen is a modern Wilberforce - whose powerful story will be told in a film, "Amazing Grace," opening this weekend across the country. See it and become inspired on how you can fight injustice.

END TXT Copyright © 2007 Michael J. McManus

Michael J. McManus
syndicated columnist
"Ethics & Religion"
President & Co-Chair
Marriage Savers
9311 Harrington Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
www.marriagesavers.org
301 469-5873

.. OR FREEDOM FIGHTER? YOU DECIDE.

FIDEL CASTRO~

Human rights record

Main article: Human rights in Cuba

"In 2001, Hallgeir Langeland , a left-wing member of the Norwegian parliament, nominated Fidel Castro for the Nobel Peace Prize for sending medical and engineering aid to developing countries.[6] <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/americas/1225789.stm>
Thousands of political opponents to the Cuban government have been executed, primarily during the first decade of his leadership;[111] however, exact numbers are not known. Some Cubans labeled "counterrevolutionaries", "fascists," or "CIA operatives" have been imprisoned in extremely poor conditions without trial.[112] Military Units to Aid Production , or UMAPs, were labor camps established in 1965 which confined "social deviants" including homosexuals and Jehovah's Witnesses in order to purge "counter-revolutionary" influences from certain segments of the population.[113] These camps were closed in 1968 in response to international outcries.[114] Professor Marifeli Pérez Stable, a former Castro supporter now living in the United States, reflected on the cost of the Cuban revolution: "[There were] thousands of executions, forty, fifty thousand political prisoners. The treatment of political prisoners, with what we today know about human rights and the international norms governing human rights ... it is legitimate to raise questions about possible crimes against humanity in Cuba."[115] Supporters of Fidel Castro respond that, as is the case with Professor Perez Stable, critics' views are often tainted by a clear allegiance to bourgeois democracy and capitalism, and thus clearly biased in their evaluation of the socialist leader and system.[116] Castro acknowledges that Cuba holds political prisoners, but argues that Cuba is justified because these prisoners are not jailed because of their political beliefs, but have been convicted of "counter-revolutionary" crimes, including bombings.[117] Moreover, he claims opposition to the Cuban government to be illegitimate, and the result of an ongoing conspiracy fostered by Cuban exiles with ties to the United States or the CIA, and with abundant representation and access to the American media. Defenders also point out that one man's "terrorist" may be another "freedom fighter", as Winston Churchill himself noted, and that the use of negative political labels is always questionable, especially when those using them have clearly traceable political agendas that stand to benefit from such characterizations. Many Castro supporters also say that Castro's measures are justified to prevent the fall of his government, demonstrably under constant economic and military pressure from the US and allies for more than half a century, whereas his opposition says he uses the United States as an excuse to justify his continuing political control".