A lot of people ask what the point of Twitter is, a web application that allows anyone to write short sentences about anything at any time that others can follow. Some of you will also be asking what Twitter has to do with humanitarian issues since I am writing about it here… you’ll see. The question of the usefulness of Twitter was something that I asked for a while, but I signed up anyway. I [...]

After campaigning for a number of years now, many activists will be taking delight in the first executive order signed by the newly inauguarated President Obama. His first executive order was no less than to set in place the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba within one year, a prison that has been known as the bastion and symbol of the Bush era’s war on terror. It embodied a poor outworking of [...]

This article is a departure from the norm of this site, but I found the images in this article at www.smashingmagazine.com so moving and inspiring that I had to share them. I love looking at design and imagery. By far the more gritty stuff captures my attention and imagination the most. Often we think of beauty in terms of cleanliness; stuff that is sanitized and “non offensive”. Beauty is often defined by clean lines and [...]

The leaders of New Zealand churches are deeply concerned about the dire situation in Gaza and support the call for an immediate ceasefire in the region The escalation of violence and associated increase in civilian casualties is intolerable. It is time for concerted action to end the suffering of the 1.5 million people trapped within the 360 square kilometers of Gaza with little food, water and medicine, and under almost continuous attack from the land, [...]

This review also appears at Filmguide. Northern Uganda is an area ripped apart by war. The children of this area have been subject to atrocities many of us couldn’t even imagine. The directors of War Dance, Sean Fines and Andrea Nix Fine, traveled to the area with the intention of making a film about the problems of Northern Uganda and found the children of Acholi, the tribe most affected by the strife. The film follows [...]

AS the death toll in the Gaza war nears 1000, Kiwis have responded quickly by giving to TEAR Fund’s Gaza appeal. TEAR Fund is on target to raise NZ$30,000 and anticipates raising more than NZ$50,000 TEAR Fund executive director Stephen Tollestrup said he is pleased that Kiwis are seeing past the politics of the situation.

In private conversations and in various places online where the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been discussed, I have voiced my personal support for the Arab peace initiative that was adopted by the Arab League at the annual Arab summit in Beirut in 2002. Many people have expressed little awareness about what it actually is, so I thought I would put the English translation of the initiative here.

Yesterday, Ten teenagers set out from four different locations in the North Island for an outdoor adventure that will not only test their mettle, it promises to literally be a `traffick stopper’. To celebrate 25 years of providing life-changing experiences for young people, Adventure Specialties Trust has invited 40 teenagers to undertake the Sea2summit Four Corners Journey. At the same time, they are raising funds for New Zealand aid and development agency TEAR Fund, to [...]

With reports saying that 46% of Palestinian deaths in this assault on Gaza are women and children and the humanitarian crisis there now being seen as a catastrophe, I would urge you to consider supporting this appeal. TEAR Fund New Zealand has launched an emergency appeal for Gaza in the wake of mounting civilian casualties and internal displacement caused by Israel’s response to Hamas’ rocket attacks. Executive Director of TEAR Fund, Stephen Tollestrup said: “The [...]

I have decided to write this after my latest post about the Israel/Palestinian conflict led to a conversation that probably needs me to fill out some of my theological/biblical studies thoughts a little more. This is a very long article (over 4500 words) so feel free to not bother reading it if this stuff doesn’t interest you. If it is something you are interested in, happy reading.