Search for "American Airlines 1800-299-7264 International Tickets Reservation Number"

That Mercenary Feeling: What the Apparently Unlimited Use of “Contractors” Says About American Empire in Afghanistan and Iraq

By Peter Laarman

…ticularly like. He quotes Frederick Barton of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who tracks our country’s growing reliance on civilian mercenaries. Barton observes that “no one really knows whether having a force made up mainly of contractors whose salaries were often triple or quadruple those of a corresponding soldier or Marine was cheaper or more expensive for the American taxpayer.” Excuse me? “No one really knows”?? I’m not a…

Aung San Suu Kyi: The Verdict is Unfair

By Juliane Schober

…l ended in long prison sentences for all of the accused, and has triggered international outrage. Senator John Webb negotiated Yettaw’s release last week. General Than Shwe reduced Aung Than Suu Kyi’s sentence to a year and a half under continued house arrest. His act of leniency prevents her from playing a role in national elections scheduled for next year. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Burma’s national martyr and founder of the armed force…

Feared Taliban Leader Killed, But Military Strategy is Not the Answer in Afghanistan

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…estroy. Like the North Vietnamese, many Afghan activists—and an increasing number of Pakistanis—are motivated to fight against the American presence because of their love of freedom. They see the US military, like the Soviet forces before them, as a foreign occupying power. The Taliban, as draconian as they may be, are seen as enemies of the enemy: us. It is the US military presence, paradoxically, that is uniting the Taliban and marshaling wide p…

God Grows Up: Robert Wright’s Evolution of God

By Robert Wright

…away with these things in the first place when you live with a very small number of people. 2) That ancient Israel was monotheistic from the get-go. I don’t think monotheism emerged until the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BCE—nearly half a millennium after King David and way, way after Moses and Abraham supposedly signed on to monotheism. 3) That Jesus said “Love your enemy” and espoused universal love. I think the emphasis on a love that c…

Conservative-Preacher-Turned-Progressive-Leader Carlton Pearson Finds a New Home, Ministry in Chicago

By Jonathan L. Walton

…ought thinkers such as Rev. Colemon and Rev. Michael Beckwith at the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. It is true that some members of Christ Universal have voiced disappointment over Pearson’s selection. The problem seems to be his Pentecostal roots coupled with his lack of New Thought training. Pearson believes his inclusionist perspective to be consistent with New Thought teachings, however. Both affirm the radical, inclusive…

Racing Toward Armageddon: The Three Great Religions and the Plot to End the World: An Excerpt

By Michael J. Baigent

…e on the stage, a “false prophet” (16:13)—the Antichrist—who will lead his international satanic army against the forces of God. All these satanic forces will be gathered together “at the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon” (16:16). Abruptly, a white horse bearing a divine warrior will appear from heaven, a warrior described as “The Word of God” (19:13), whom many interpret to be Christ; he will lead the “armies of heaven” (19:14) in a vast and bl…

Remembering Rumsfeld: The Defense Department Gospel and America’s Desert Crusade

By Nathan Schneider

…he issued his ultimatum to Iraq) had on its cover [image, left] a pair of American soldiers bent in prayer over their rifles, with a passage from Isaiah 6: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Here I am, Lord, send me.” It should go without saying that Isaiah was being called as a prophet of peace, not as a soldier. Both the cover sheets and the Islamist pictures depict 21st-century war crossing paths with ancient religion. But in each cas…

The Bible Says… and Other Myths About Scripture

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…accomplished here was to make its readers mindful of the need for a truly Americanized Bible. The American Revised Version was finally published in 1901, yet it was no more popular in the New World than the ERV was in the Old. In 1947, the Revised Standard Version (RSV) met with greater success. And here is the remarkable thing: the publication of the RSV is what finally generated a reaction that is an important part of the religious landscape in…

Catholic-Jewish Tension and the Rededication of Catholic Holocaust Memorial

By Benjamin Weiner

…-abuse scandal. Then the menorah, a replica of the one placed at the North American College in Vatican City in 1999, a symbol of improving ties between the two faith traditions, came along. A four-foot bronze structure, its six candlesticks (scaled down from the seven of the ancient Temple) are held aloft by depictions of disheveled, skeletal figures, each one representing a million murdered Jews. The Catholic-Jewish détente began with Nostra Aeta…

The New Christianity: What the Mainstream Media Has Missed

By Bill Berkowitz

…act the charismatic movement has had on Christianity and, increasingly, on American religion and politics, it also highlighted the mainstream media’s failure to inform American voters about Palin, who might now have been just a heartbeat away from the presidency. Why do you think your revelations about Palin didn’t catch on with the mainstream media? I’ve been pondering that question for several months, and I’ve come up with two related levels of…