On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the United Nations that the world currently faces a hard choice… stand with the people of Syria, or be complicit in the brutal violence against them.  Since the start of the government crackdown last month, Bashar al-Assad’s regime is responsible for over 5,400 deaths and more than a hundred in the past few days.

Last month the people Syria began anti-government protests in an effort to become more involved in the direction of their nation.  Al-Assad has run Syria since the death of his father Hasef al-Assad, who was in power for 29 years.  

Syria is the latest country involved in what last year became known as the “Arab Spring” movement, which saw political protests all over the Arab World with results ranging from brutal crackdowns as in Syria to the
collapse of long standing dictatorial regimes as in Egypt.

While Clinton’s remarks were for the world in general, they were particularly targeted at Russia, who, as a member of the UN Security Council has veto power and can block any UN resolutions against Syria… a country with whom
they have strong economic ties… upwards of $24 billion.

J.T. Gaskins, a Michigan teen who has survived a bout with leukemia, has decided to grow out his hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love, an organization which helps to make realistic wigs for patients who have lost their hair during cancer treatments.  Gaskins’ high school, The Madison Academy, is concerned with his shaggy appearance and has suspended the teen because his hair currently violates the school’s dress code policy.

Gaskins has been quoted saying, “I fought cancer my entire life.  I’m going to keep fighting this.  I’m not going to not give back just because my schools says no.” Gaskins understands the dress code policy, however he feels that because of the situation, the school should offer some sort of compromise… something the school has yet to do.  

Over the past few months there have been a number of news stories concerning the separation of Church and State, with particular attention being paid to issues relating to public schools.  The most obvious of which, the so-called “prayer banner” from Cranston West High School has received national attention.  Junior Jessica Alquist has challenged the constitutionality of having the banner in a public school… recently a federal judge has ordered Cranston West to remove the banner.  Thus far, the school has covered up the banner and plans to appeal the
decision.

This past week in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked to reverse a court ruling which barred religious groups from holding meetings inside public school buildings. These meetings, all of which take place
after school hours and are in no way affiliated with the school, have traditionally been held in public schools because it is a cheap option in terms of rental fees, and school facilities often have larger rooms to accommodate
more people.  Thus far Mayor Bloomberg has remained silent on the issue.

Last year, here at Pilgrim, I helped to organize a small conference with religious leaders from our community to discuss issues of racism, stereotyping, and how to peacefully coexist with people who have  differing views.  Included on our panel of guest speakers were leaders from the Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, and Islamic faiths… and while these men did not preach religion, they did preach acceptance of each other, and offered insight on how people can learn from each other’s differences.

I had planned on organizing a similar even for this spring, however in light of the current climate, I wonder if such an event would be welcomed in the same way it was last year. Perhaps if I include someone representing Atheism? The purpose of the conference is not religion, it is peaceful coexistence…

What do you think?

Wednesday afternoon, a video was posted on YouTube showing four combat Marines urinating on the bodies of three dead Afghani men.  The video shows the four U.S. Marines, in full combat gear, standing in a semi-circle over three bodies and one or two of them can clearly be seen urinating on the corpses.

The Marines have not been identified by name, but have been confirmed to be part of the Lejeune, N.C. sniper unit which was deployed until August of 2011. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group in the United States, has condemned the actions saying, “Any guilty parties must be punished to the full extent allowed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice...”

In an official statement the Marine Corp had this to say…  "The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps.

In something out of the film Accepted, Kenneth Shong, a lifelong con man, has been charged with fraud after a complex, interstate-international criminal enterprise was discovered.  Shong, along with people in Wisconsin, Alabama, and even as far away as London, have been charged with collecting tuition money for a phony college.

Shong set up an elaborate system in which “Carlingford University” was made to look like an accredited online college, which was able to grant degrees in a variety of fields and specializations.

The scheme was uncovered after several “students” claimed that they did not get their grades back in a timely manner, and that school officials failed to return phone calls or emails in a timely manner.

Shong set up a website, complete with course listings and professional-looking articles about the college, payment plans, programs of study, and everything else needed in order to appear to be a real online college.

Shong now faces a $10,000 fine and up to six years in prison.

A twenty-five year old man from the former Yugoslavia has been charged with planning an act of terror against several targets in Florida.  His plan included using car bombs and an assault rifle (and perhaps other explosives).

Sami Osmakac was arrested after attempting to purchase explosives from an undercover operative. Shortly before his arrest, Osmakac made a video of himself explaining his motives and his goals in the attack. On January 1, he told undercover FBI agents he wanted to hit the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, night clubs, and parked cars. 
His plan included setting up multiple bombs which could be remotely detonated simultaneously, while he would attack with an AK-47 during the panic which would result after the explosions.

2011 seemed to have a never ending supply of stories of mass cheating from around the country, and 2012 seems to be starting off the same way. 

Students in Newport Beach California have been caught cheating on their exams by purchasing answers to the tests from Amazon.com.  According to reports, ten sophomores at Corona del Mar high school bought the teacher’s edition of their text book in order to get copies of the mid-term exams.  

While the teacher’s edition was purchased legally, the school’s principal, Tim Bryan, said, “If you have the test
questions in advance, you’re cheating… they altered the conditions of the test.  It’s a really big issue.” Normally teacher editions are blocked and can only be purchased by educators with special codes to unlock the item online… but in this case, that didn’t hold true. It’s unclear as to what will happen to the students… some of whom tried to make some money by selling the test answers.

 …And just in case you are getting any clever ideas… remember…we don’t use text books in this class…so happy
hunting!!!

Police in Oklahoma are calling the New Year’s Eve death of Justin Martin a justified act as he was in the process of breaking into the home of 18-year-old Sarah McKinley.  When McKinley heard two men attempting to break into her house, she immediately grabbed a shot-gun and a pistol, then called 911.

On the phone with the 911 dispatcher McKinley explained that she was alone in the house with her 3-month old baby… her husband had died of cancer only a week before.  McKinley asked the 911 dispatcher if she was allowed to kill the men as they were breaking in… the dispatcher told her that she could not tell her it was okay to kill anyone, but to do whatever it took to protect her baby.

A few moments later when Justin Martin kicked in the door, McKinley shot and killed him, the other man fled the scene.  Police and prosecutors will not pursue any charges against the young mother as it was determined she used justifiable force in the defense of herself and her baby.

The conversation and the shooting were all recorded by 911 dispatch.  

At this time of year it becomes popular to identify the areas in our lives which may need a little improvement... we call these changes, "New Year's Resolutions."

The idea of the resolution goes all the way back to Ancient Rome and the God Janus, after whom we get the name of the first month of our year.  Janus was the God of New Beginnings, and as such he had the power to look both forwards and backwards; people would often pray to Janus for help in enacting positive changes in their lives. 

Though we no longer pray to Janus, we still do practice this custom of proclaiming what we would like to improve upon... thus for the first blog of 2012 I ask you what, if any, resolutions you have made for the coming year?