France: Ban on Wearing Veils

France's ban on wearing veils in public went into effect today (read more here or here).  I think it's disturbing.  

The French have said that the veils are a "sign of enslavement" and therefore, aren't welcome.  I would think that the government telling you if you can practice your religious beliefs is more of an example of "enslavement" than covering one's face.  

I understand that there are probably women who do not want to cover their faces.  However, I also understand that there are a lot of these women who would be mortified to have to show their faces in public.  

It's outright religious persecution.  It's absolutely unacceptable.

What if it was turned around and suddenly it was Christianity being persecuted?  What if suddenly the government decided that people couldn't wear cross/crucifix necklaces because they could be used as a weapon?  It's ridiculous, I know.  But, so is forcing women to show their faces when it goes against their religious beliefs.  

I am not a Muslim, but if I were in France right now, I'd be right there with those ladies wearing a burqa in protest.  

We Can Know ... ?

With all of the natural disasters and the radiation leaks from Japan, I find myself wondering about the end of the world.  I know I'm not the only one.  

I don't spend every waking moment thinking about it.  It's just when I hear of something else terrible, like another earthquake or Japan dumping radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.  

Did you know that there have been 107 earthquakes since January 1, 2011 with a magnitude 6.0 or greater (you can do a search of all earthquakes here)?  There were only 60 earthquakes 6.0 magnitude or greater in the same time period in 2010.  In fact, there were only 173 total in 2010.  Going back further, there were only THIRTY-FOUR earthquakes above 6.0 in 2009 in the same time period.  And only 161 in the entire year.  This intrigued me, so I kept thinking about it.  

I went back a few years and this is what I found:

It certainly looks like we've had a lot of strong earthquakes this year.  Many, many more than in this time period in years past.   The average for the past 10 years (in this time period) is 0.462 earthquakes of 6.0 magnitude or greater per day, or one earthquake every 2.29 days.  For this year, there are 1.138 earthquakes of 6.0 magnitude or greater per day, or one earthquake every 0.879 days.  

Scary, right?  I really shouldn't think about it as much as I do.  It just intrigues me, and then I have to do some research!

Anyway, I'm not the only person "researching" about possibilities for the end of the world.  I keep seeing these "We can know" billboards all over Denver:

Basically, these people think that they can predict the rapture.  The rapture will begin on May 21, 2011 (the actual end of days will be October 21, 2011).  Do I believe them?  No.  But, funny thing, they think that the rapture will begin with a giant earthquake.  ;)

They claim that the Bible has shown them the date.  I think it's a load of crap.  But, I'm sure there are plenty of people who believe.  Otherwise, how could they afford all of the billboards?!  ;)

Anyway, I often wonder about groups like these.  I mean, this isn't the first group who have "predicted" the end of times at a specific date.  Obviously, all of the previous groups have been wrong.  So, what happens to the group?  Do they come up with some kind of excuse and continue or do they accept failure and disband?  What happens to the members?  Do they lose faith after God broke God's supposed "promise" to destroy the earth on X date?  Or do they join the next end of days prediction group?  

I don't know.  I imagine that it could be quite disappointing for members.  But, since I'm enjoying my time here on earth, I'm going to go ahead and hope that they are disappointed.  ;)

More radiation

I read an article today titled: Radioactive water from Japanese nuclear plant dumped into sea.  When I read the title, I'm sure that my jaw dropped.  Then I read the article.  I was even more shocked.

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant began releasing about 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the sea Monday evening so that it could make room in storage tanks for even more severely contaminated water.

Some 10,000 tons of the water being released into the ocean was being taken from a communal storage facility near the No. 4 reactor. Another 1,500 tons was being released from the vicinity of the No. 5 and 6 reactors — which have been less troubled than reactors Nos. 1 through 4. The amount of water being released is equivalent to more than four Olympic-size swimming pools.

Although the water being released had levels of radioactive iodine 131 more than 100 times the legal limit allowed for sea discharge, the government approved the release as an "emergency" measure so that water with 100,000 times more radiation than the water found in a normally functioning reactor can be removed from the basement of the turbine building at reactor No. 2 and stored somewhere on the site.

Is this not completely shocking to everyone else?  ONE HUNDRED TIMES the legal limit??  That really freaks me out.  I keep hearing reports about the radiation being under control and that it's not really going to pose a threat to humans.  How could that not pose a threat?  And what about the sea-life in the area.  And shouldn't it be up to more than just Japan whether or not they leak radiation into the ocean?  It's not like the water doesn't go anywhere other than Japan.  This affects the entire planet.  

It's just really frustrating to me.  I made light of it earlier and said something about Godzilla being on his way, but seriously folks, this is terrifying.  It makes me glad that I don't eat seafood (go vegetarian!).  What is this going to do to the sea-life in the area (and beyond)?

Homemade Minestrone

I love minestrone.  It's delicious.  Since Philip was sick all weekend, I made him some homemade minestrone with fresh baked bread.  He enjoyed it and soup always makes people feel better.  :)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup zucchini, chopped

3/4 cup green beans (I use frozen)

1 stalk celery (chopped into small pieces)

1/2 cup carrot, shredded

2-3 cups fresh baby spinach

3 cloves minced garlic

32 oz vegetable broth

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cans of kidney beans, drained

2 cans great northern beans, drained

1 1/2 tablespoons parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon thyme2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup red wine

3/4 cup small shell pasta

1. Saute onion, zucchini, celery, green beans, and garlic in the oil until the onions become semi-transparent.
2. Add the broth and wine and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Then add the water, tomatoes, beans, carrot, and all of the spices.
3. Bring it to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  
4. Add the spinach and stir.  
5. Add the pasta and cook for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is done. 

This goes really well with fresh baked bread.  And, it's fantastic with some parmesan cheese on top.  Yum!