መስቀሉ አበራ | እንኳን ለብርሃነ መስቀሉ በሰላም አደረሰን!

Meskel (Ge’ez: መሰቀል) is an annual religious holiday in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on the 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or on 28 September in leap years).

The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried

According to Ethiopian traditions, this Demera-procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself. The firewood is decorated with daisies prior to the celebration. Charcoal from the remains of the fire is afterwards collected and used by the faithful to mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross (compare Ash Wednesday). With Demera, some believe that it “marks the ultimate act in the cancellation of sins, while others hold that the direction of the smoke and the final collapse of the heap indicate the course of future events – just as the cloud of smoke the Lord over the Tabernacle offered guidance to the children of Israel (Exod. 40:34-38).

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Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

ne day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phone—she’s had an iPhone since she was 11—sounding as if she’d just woken up. We chatted about her favorite songs and TV shows, and I asked her what she likes to do with her friends. “We go to the mall,” she said. “Do your parents drop you off?,” I asked, recalling my own middle-school days, in the 1980s, when I’d enjoy a few parent-free hours shopping with my friends. “No—I go with my family,” she replied. “We’ll go with my mom and brothers and walk a little behind them. I just have to tell my mom where we’re going. I have to check in every hour or every 30 minutes.”

Those mall trips are infrequent—about once a month. More often, Athena and her friends spend time together on their phones, unchaperoned. Unlike the teens of my generation, who might have spent an evening tying up the family landline with gossip, they talk on Snapchat, the smartphone app that allows users to send pictures and videos that quickly disappear. They make sure to keep up their Snapstreaks, which show how many days in a row they have Snapchatted with each other. Sometimes they save screenshots of particularly ridiculous pictures of friends. “It’s good blackmail,” Athena said. (Because she’s a minor, I’m not using her real name.) She told me she’d spent most of the summer hanging out alone in her room with her phone. That’s just the way her generation is, she said. “We didn’t have a choice to know any life without iPads or iPhones. I think we like our phones more than we like actual people.”

I’ve been researching generational differences for 25 years, starting when I was a 22-year-old doctoral student in psychology. Typically, the characteristics that come to define a generation appear gradually, and along a continuum. Beliefs and behaviors that were already rising simply continue to do so. Millennials, for instance, are a highly individualistic generation, but individualism had been increasing since the Baby Boomers turned on, tuned in, and dropped out. I had grown accustomed to line graphs of trends that looked like modest hills and valleys. Then I began studying Athena’s generation.

Around 2012, I noticed abrupt shifts in teen behaviors and emotional states. The gentle slopes of the line graphs became steep mountains and sheer cliffs, and many of the distinctive characteristics of the Millennial generation began to disappear. In all my analyses of generational data—some reaching back to the 1930s—I had never seen anything like it.

Source

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የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ሐዘን የማንም የቡድን ጥቅም ማራመጃ መሆን የለበትም

በመንግሥቴ አወቀ – ሪፖርተር ጋዜጣ 12 Aug, 2016

 

ከአንድ ዓመት ተኩል በፊት እ.ኤ.አ. በኦክቶበር 2013፣ በመቶ ቤት የሚቆጠሩ ጥገኝነት ጠያቂዎችን የያዘ ጀልባ ጣሊያን ባህር ጠረፍ ማዶ ውስጥ ሰጥሞ ከ360 በላይ ሰው ሲያልቅ፣ አገሪቷ ጣሊያን የታላላቅ የመገናኛ ብዙኃን የወሬ መተረማመሻ ሆኖ ነበር፡፡

በሰሜናዊው አፍሪካ በኩል የሜዲትራንያን ባህር አቋርጦ አውሮፓ ለመግባት እንደ ጐርፍ የሚፈሰውና ቁጥሩ እያደር የሚጨምረው ፈላሽ (መጣተኛ) ቁጥር፣ እነሆ እንደ ከሳምንት በፊት በደረሰው የ900 ሰዎች እልቂት አማካይነት ከቁጥጥር የወጣ ችግር መሆኑን በግድ እያስመዘገበ መጥቷል፡፡ ከዚህ እልቂት ሁለትና ሦስት ቀናት በፊት 550 መጣተኞች (ማይግራንትስ) ከያዘ ጀልባ ውስጥ ከ400 ያላነሱ ሰምጠው ሞተዋል፡፡

በተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት የስደተኞች ከፍተኛ ኮሚሽን (UNHCR) መረጃ መሠረት፣ ሜዲትራንያን ባህርን አቋርጦ ወደ አውሮፓ የሚወስድ ዕድልና ሁኔታ እስኪመቻችላቸው ድረስ መከራ እየተቀበሉ የሚጠብቁና ሊቢያ ጠረፍ ላይ የሠፈሩ በግማሽ ሚሊዮን የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች አሉ፡፡ እ.ኤ.አ. በ2015 በተለመደው ስቃይና መከራ ውስጥ ጣሊያን የደረሱት 20 ሺሕ ያህል ብቻ ናቸው፡፡

አብዛኞቹም የግዞት ካምፕ ውስጥ ይገኛሉ፡፡ ከአፍሪካ በሜዲትራንያን ባህር በኩል ወደ አውሮፓ የሚደረገው ጉዞ ሦስት ጎዳናዎች (መንገዶች) አሉት፡፡ አንደኛው የመንገደኞች ምንጭ ከሴኔጋል፣ ጊኒ፣ ማሊ አድርጎ ከዚህም አጋብሶ ወደ ሰሜን አፍሪካ የሚያቀናው የምዕራቡ መንገድ ነው፡፡ የናይጄሪያ፣ የጋናና የኒጀርን ወጣት እያግተለተለ በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ ሽቅብ ወደ ትሪፖሊ አቅንቶ ወደ ላምፔዱዛ የተዘረጋው መንገድ ማዕከላዊ ይባላል፡፡ ከሶማሊያ፣ ከኤርትራ፣ ከኢትዮጵያና ከሱዳን (ዳርፉር) አሰባስቦ በሱዳን ካርቱም፣ ከዚያም በኩርፍ አጅዳቢያ ቤንጋዚ ወይም ትሪፖሊ በኩል ወደ ባህሩ የሚሄደው ደግሞ የእኛው ምሥራቃዊ መንገድ ነው፡፡ የገዛ ራሱ ገባር ወንዝ ያለው ይህ ሁሉና እያንዳንዱ መንገድ ራሱ የሜዲትራንያን ባህር ገባር ነው፡፡

ከመነሻው ከእያንዳንዱ ቤትና ጭስ ጀምሮ የሚያስመዘግበው መከራና ግፍ፣ ጭካኔና ዝርፊያ ደግሞ የእያንዳንዱ ስደተኛ ወይም መጣተኛ ‹‹ሕይወቴና የአገሬ ዕርምጃ›› ነው፡፡ አሁን ይህንን ስጽፍ ከአፍሪካ ወደ አውሮፓ አቋራጭና አጭሩ የሜዲትራንያን ባህር በኩል ለማለፍ ተራ ወረፋና ዕድል የሚጠብቁ ከግማሽ ሚሊዮን የበለጡ መከረኞች አሉ፡፡

ከእነዚህ መካከል ነው 900 ያህሉ በግፍ ሰምጠው የሞቱት፡፡ ከእነዚህ መካከል ነው 30ዎቹ በግፍ ታርደው የሞቱት፡፡ ሁለቱም ዓይነት ሞቶች ልዩ ልዩነት አላቸው እንጂ ከግድያና ከትራጀዲ በላይ ወንጀል ጭምር ናቸው፡፡

ዛሬ ኢትዮጵያ በ30ዎቹ አረመኔያዊ ግድያ ምክንያት ብሔራዊ ሐዘን ቁጭ ብላለች፡፡ የአውሮፓ ኅብረት ግዛቱ በገፍ በግፍ የሚሞቱ ስደተኞችና መጣተኞች መቃብር መሆኑ አሳፍሮት ይይዘው ይጨብጠው አጥቶ የመከራ ስብሰባ ላይ ነው፡፡ በዘጠኝ መቶ ሟቾች ውስጥ አጠራጣሪው ቁጥራቸው እንጂ ኢትዮጵያውያን ስለመኖራቸው አይደለም፡፡ ይህም ሌላ ያልተረዳነው ሐዘን ነው፡፡ በቅጡ ያላወቅነው መርዶ ነው፡፡

እንዲህ ያለ ሐዘን ወቅት ከሚያሳስቡን ጉዳዮች መካከል በዛሬው ጽሑፌ የማነሳቸው ሁለቱን ነው፡፡ የውጭ ጉዞና ሃይማኖት፡፡

1. ጉዳዩ ከሚያነሳው ነገሮች መካከል አንዱ የውጭ ጉዞ ነው፡፡ ወደ ዓረብ አገሮች የሚወስደውን በሰሜናዊው አፍሪካ በኩል ሜድትራንያንን አቋርጦ አውሮፓ የሚያደርሰውን፣ በምሥራቅ ኢትዮጵያ በኩል በህንድ ውቅያኖስ አድርጎ መካከለኛው ምሥራቅ የሚያስገባውን፣ በምሥራቅ አፍሪካ አድርጎ ወደ ደቡብ አፍሪካ የሚወስደውን፣ ወዘተ ይህን የውጭ ጉዞ ከነስያሜው እንኳን ገና አላወቅንበትም፡፡ አልተስማማንበትም፡፡ መንግሥትና የመንግሥት ባለሥልጣናት ራሳቸው ጭምር ሌላው ቢቀር መንግሥን ያሳጣል ብለው እንኳን ሳያጠራጥሩ ስደት ይሉታል፡፡ የመንግሥትን የፖለቲካ አጀንዳ የሚሸከም መልዕክት አክለው ማስተላለፍ ሲፈልጉ ደግሞ ሕገወጥ ስደት ይሉታል፡፡

ለነገሩ አማርኛውም በ‹‹ሬፊውጂና›› እና በ‹‹ማይግራንት›› መካከል በስያሜ ልዩነት ስለማያበጅ የመገናኛ ብዙኃን ራሳቸው ይምታታባቸዋል፡፡ ስለ “IOM” ያውሩ ስለ “UNHCR” አይታወቅም፡፡ በዚህ ረገድ በዕውቀት ላይ የተመሠረተ የሚመስል ዕርምጃ ወስዶ ያየሁትና መሰንበቻቸውን ልዩነቱ ላይ አስምሮ ተደጋግሞ የሰማሁት የአማርኛው ቪኦኤ በስደትና በፍልሰት፣ በስደተኛና በፍልሰተኛ መካከል ልዩነት አበጅቶ ሲናገር ሰምቻለሁ፡፡

እንዲህ ያለ በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ የሚሰማና የማይደበቅ ችግር በመጣ ቁጥር ተደጋግሞ የሚሰማው፣ ሙዝዝ ተብሎ የተያዘውና በሊቢያው የሚያዝያ 2007 ዓ.ም. ቁጣ ውስጥ አደባባይ  የወጣው የውጭ ጉዞ ጉዳይ፣ ‹‹አገር ውስጥ ሠርቶ መለወጥ›› ሲቻል የሚል አዝማች ያለው የመንግሥት ዜማ ነው፡፡ መንግሥትና የመንግሥት ባለሥልጣናት እንዲሁም በዚህ ጉዳይ ምክንያት መንግሥትና ፓርቲው የተነካካባቸውና የተሸነፈባቸው የሚመስላቸው ደጋፊዎች፣ እንዲህ ያለ ጉዳይ በተነሳ ቁጥር በመንግሥት የኢኮኖሚ፣ የዕድገትና የልማት ፖሊሲ ወይም በተከታታይ በሚመዘገበው የዕድገት ውጤት ላይ ተፈጥሮና ታሪክ ከመደብ ጠላት ጋር ተረባርቦ የማይካድ የግፍ ማስረጃ ያቀረበባቸው ስለሚመስላቸው፣ የውጭ ጉዞን ጨርሶ የሚያወግዝ፣ እንዲከለከል የሚያደርግ፣ ከዚህ ጋር የተያያዘውን ሁሉ ለችግሩና ለወንጀሉ ጭምር ካበረከተው አስተዋጽኦና ድርሻ በላይ የሚያወግዝ፣ የሚዝትና የሚረግም መከላከያቸውን በዘመቻና ‹‹በአስቸኳይ ጊዜ ሁኔታ›› መልክ ሲለፍፉ እናያለን፡፡

ኢትዮጵያዊ በገፍ በተለያዩ አቅጣጫዎች ወደ ውጭ የሚጎርፈው የኢሕአዴግን መንግሥት ለማሳጣት አይደለም፡፡ በኢሕአዴግ የዕድገትና የልማት ፖሊሲ ላይ የሕይወትና የአካል ማስረጃ ለማቅረብ አይደለም፡፡ ኢሕአዴግ ያስመዘገበው ባለሁለት አኃዝ ዕድገትም ሙሉ በሙሉ ለማስተባበል አይደለም፡፡

የተለያዩ ጉዳዮች እየተጋገዙ የውጭ ጉዞውን የግፊት ኃይል ሲበዛ ከፍ አድርገውታል፡፡ የመንግሥት ዲስኩርና የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ስብከት ‹‹የአገር ፍቅር ስሜት›› ቅስቀሳ የፈለገውን ቢሉም፣ ግፊቱና ፈተናው ከሚታገሱት በላይ ሆኖ በየቤቱ የአዲስ ዘመን ምኞት ቃል ማሰሪያ ሆኗል፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት መንግሥት የዚህን ችግር አተያዩን ግልጽና የጠራ ማድረግ አለበት፡፡ በተለይም ደግሞ የውጭ አገር የዜጎች ጉዞን የፖሊሲው ውድቀት ማስረጃ ሆኖ ይቀርብብኛል ብሎ እየተደናገረና እየተወናበደ የአገርን አጠቃላይ ችግር ከማየት ወደሚከለከለው ደመነፍሳዊ ራስን የመከላከል ስትራቴጂው መውጣት አለበት፡፡ እናም ኢሕአዴግ ራሱ እንደሚለው ልማት የአገር የህልውና መሠረት መሆኑን እየተገነዘበ፣ በተግባርም እያስገነዘበና እያስመዘገበ ልማቱ የሚያስመዘግበው ዕድገትና ውጤት የሥራ ሥምሪቱን እያስፋፋና እያፋፋመ መሆኑን ከማረጋገጥ ጋር፣ የውጭ ጉዞን አታንሱብኝ ከማለት አባዜው መውጣት አለበት፡፡ ‹‹በአገር ውስጥ ሠርቶ መሻሻል ሲቻል›› ማለት መፈክሩንም ‹‹የደመኛ ጠላቶቹ›› (ወደ ውጭ ሄደው በሚደርስባቸው ችግር ‹‹የሚያሳጡትን››) እና ደጋፊዎቻቸው መምቻ ከማድረግ ተራ ጨዋታ መውጣት አለበት፡፡

ኢትዮጵያና ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የደረሰው የ2007 ዓ.ም. የሊቢያ ጭፍጨፋም ሆነ ማንኛውም አጋጣሚ ደግሞ በውጭ ጉዞና በሌሎችም አርዕስቶች ላይ (ለምሳሌ አሸባሪነት፣ ሃይማኖት ወዘተ) የሚቀርቡትን አስተያየቶች ከውይይት በላይ ማድረግ የለበትም፡፡ ከውይይት በላይ የሆነ፣ አላናግርም፣ ሐሳብን መግለጽ አልፈቅድም የሚል ምንም ዓይነት የመንግሥትም ሆነ የማንም አቋምና እምነት የለም፡፡ የውጭ ጉዞው አሁን የሊቢያው ጉዳይ በቀረበበት መልክ የሚጠይቀውንና የሚያስከፍለውን የገንዘብ ወጪ እያነሱና እየጣሉ፣ ከፍተኛነቱን እያሳዩ (ይህ የቀበጡ ወይም የደላቸው ሰዎች በገዛ ራሳቸው ያመጡት ችግር ነው ዓይነት) የመንግሥትን አቋምና መከላከያ ብቻ እየወቀጡ ዜና መሥራት፣ የዚህ ተቃራኒ መከራከርያ፣ ከዚህ የተለየ ሐሳብ እንዳይቀርብ መከልከል፣ አገር ሌላው ቀርቶ የጋራ ሐዘን እንዳይኖራት የሚከለክል አለማወቅ ነው፡፡

በአጠቃላይ የውጭ ጉዞን ራሱን የዚህ ሁሉ መከራና ስቃይ ዋነኛ ምክንያት ማድረግ፣ በጉዞው ውስጥ የሚከሰከሰውን (ገና ልክና መልኩ ተዘርዝሮ ያልታወቀውን) ገንዘብ አንፃራዊ መጠን እያወሱ (ሲሉ የሰሙትን) የ‹‹ካልጠገቡ አይዘሉ፣ ካልዘለሉ አይሰበሩ›› መከራከሪያና ብያኔ መስጠት፣ በየአቅጣጫው ከኢትዮጵያ አንድ ወረዳ ወይም ዞን እስከ ሊቢያ የባህር ዳር ድረስ ያለውን የውጭ ጉዞ የደላላ መዓት ብቸኛው የወንጀል ድርጊቱ ተካፋይ አድርጎ ማሳየት፣ በሕጋዊው የውጭ ጉዞ ሰንሰለትና ፌርማታ ውስጥ በመላ መንግሥት የተዋጣለት ሥርዓት የዘረጋ ይመስል፣ መደበኛ ያልሆነውን የጉዞ መስመር ብቻ የችግራችን ምንጭ ማድረግ ሕመማችንን የሚያሳይ አካሄድ አይደለም፡፡

የውጭ ጉዞ ሲባል ሁልጊዜም የሚነሳው ይህ ዘፈኖች ሁሉ ተባብረውና ተረባርበው የሚዘምርለት፣ በጅምላ ‹‹ስደት›› የሚባለው ብቻ አይደለም፡፡ ኢትዮጵያውያን የሕክምና ባለሙያዎች ለምሳሌ ወደ ውጭ አገር የሚፈልሱት ለ‹‹ስደት›› አይደለም፡፡ በቃሉ ትክክለኛ ትርጉም አገር ወይም የፖለቲካ ሥርዓቱ አላስቆም አላስቀምጥ ብሏቸው፣ ‹‹አሳዷቸው›› አይደለም፡፡ ሲሉ እንደምንሰማው እንደ ቦትስዋና ባሉ አገሮችም በተግባር እንደሚታየው፣ የኢትዮጵያ የሕክምና ባለሙያዎች በውጭ አገር ገበያ ውስጥ ተፈላጊ ናቸው፡፡ እንደዚህ ያለና ከዚህ ዓይነት ፍላጎት የተነሳ የባለሙያ ፍልሰትም በተለይ መንግሥትን ያሳስበዋል፡፡

በዚህም የተነሳ መንግሥት ከባለሙያዎች ጋር ቢያንስ ቢያንስ የሚያሻክር፣ ከመብት ጋር አልገጥም የሚል ከከፍተኛ የትምህርት ተቋም ጀምሮ እስከ የሥራ ውል ይዘት ድረስ የማራዘም የመከላከያ ዕርምጃ ሲወስድ ይታያል፡፡ የክልከላ ዕርምጃውም፣ የዕርምጃውም ዓላማ ግን ከአገር ልማት አጠቃላይ ግብ ጋር አይጣጣምም፡፡ በርካታ ባለሙያዎች ከኢትዮጵያ ወደ ውጭ መፍለሳቸው ማስፈራትም ማሳሰብም የለበትም፡፡ ይልቁንም የኢትዮጵያ ሙያተኛ በውጭ በመፈለጉ ተደስተን በተሻለ የችሎታና የሥነ ምግባር ብቃት ገበያውን ለመሙላት፣ እንዲሁም ለማስፋፋት በአገሪቱ ውስጥ ያለውን ፍላጎትም ለመሸፈን የሚችል የሰው ኃይል በየጊዜው ማፍራት፣ ኢትዮጵያ ልትረባረብበት የሚገባ አንድ የልማት ዕቅድ መሆን አለበት፡፡

በአሪቱ ውስጥ ያለውን የባለሙያ ፍላጎት ለመሸፈን የሚችል የውስጥ የሰው ኃይል ፍላጎት ሲባል መታሰብ ያለበት የኢትዮጵያ ዜጋ ወይም የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የውስጥ ፍላጎት ብቻ አይደለም፡፡ ጥራትና ደረጃቸው ከለሙት አገሮች ጋር የተመጣጠኑ የሕክምና ወይም የመዝናኛ አገልግሎቶችን በቀላል ዋጋ ማቅረብ አንዱ የውጭ ምንዛሪ መሳቢያ ነው፡፡

የተሻለ የሥራና የገቢ ዕድል ወዳለበት አገር ሄዶ መሥራትም ነውር የለበትም፡፡ ሌሎች ከእኛ የተሻሉ አገሮችም በሥራ አጥነት ማስተንፈሻ ይጠቀሙበታል፡፡ ወደ መካከለኛም ምሥራቅ ለሥራ የሚሄዱ ኢትዮጵያውያን ጉዳይም ከዚህ የተለየ አይደለም፡፡ እዚህ ውስጥ መንግሥት ሥራውን፣ ሥራው ካልሆነው ለይቶ ማወቅ አለበት፡፡ የመንግሥት ሥራ ከውጭ የሥራ ዕድሎች ዕውቀት ጋር ባህልና ሕግ ነክ መረጃዎችና የምክር አገልግሎት ተሟልተው የሚገኙበትን ሕጋዊ መንገዶች ማመቻቸት ነው፡፡

በውጭ በሚሠሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የሚደርሱ ጥቃቶችንበአግባቡ ለመከላከልና ለመጠየቅ የሚያስችል (እዚህ አገር ቤትም ሆነ በውጭ) ሥርዓት አለመዘርጋትና ለዚህም ዝግጁና ብቁ ሆኖ አለመገኘት፣ አስጊ ወይም ጠንቀኛ ሁኔታዎች ሲኖሩም ከማሳወቅ እስከ ጉዞ ማገድና ዜጎችን እስከመጥራት የሚደርስ ዕርምጃ አለመውሰድ ማስጠየቅ አለበት፡፡

በዚህ ዘርፍ ያለው የመንግሥት ግዴታ ገና ያልተነካ መሆኑን የግል ሥራና ሠራተኛ ኤጀንሲ የሚባለው ሕግ ራሱ የተጓዘበትን ውጣ ውረድና አሁንም ድረስ የታገደ መሆኑን ማየት ብቻ ይበቃል፡፡

2. አሁን ያጋጠመው አረመኔያዊ የወንጀል ድርጊት በተፈጸመበት መልክ ‹‹በጥንቃቄ››ም ቢሆን ያነሳው የሃይማኖት ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ሃይማኖትን ከጉዳዩ ጋር ያያያዘው ደግሞ በጭራሽ የውጭ ጉዞ አይደለም፡፡ በ30ዎቹ ወገኖቻችን ላይ የተፈጸመውን የግፍ አገዳደል ወንጀል በጥንቃቄ ከሚነሳ ሃይማኖት ጋር ያገናኘው አሸባሪነት ነው፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት ይህን ጉዳይ እየፈሩና እየቸሩ ሳይሆን በግልጽና አፍታቶ መጋፈጥ ያስፈልጋል ብዬ አምናለሁ፡፡

‹‹አገር የጋራ ነው፣ ሃይማኖት የግል ነው፤›› ማለት ለረዥም ጊዜ በኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች ውስጥ የነበረ መዳከር የሌለባቸውን ሁለት መብቶች ቁልጭ አድርጎ የሚያሳይ፣ ችግሮች እንዳይፈጠሩ ሲጠብቅና ሲፈጠሩም መፍቻ ሆኖ ሲያገለግል የቆየ ቁልፍ የአብሮነት መመርያ ነው፡፡ ዛሬም ይህ መመርያ በዜጎች ግንኙነት ንቃተ ህሊና ውስጥ ያለው ዋልታነት መጠናከር አለበት፡፡ ክርስትናና እስልምና ከውጭ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በተቀዳዳሚ ጊዜ ውስጥ የገቡ መሆናቸው ይታወቃል፡፡ የሃይማኖቶች አገባብ ከኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች ጥንተ አመጣጥ ጋር የተያያዘ አይደለም፡፡ ይህ እውነት እንደተጠበቀ ሆኖ ‹‹ከትውልድ ትውልድ ሲወርድ የመጣ›› የሚለው አባባል ለሁለቱም ሃይማኖቶች ማገልገል ይችላል፡፡

ነገር ግን ኢትዮጵያን ከአንድ ሃይማኖት ጋር የማዛመድም ሆነ በአካባቢ ደረጃ ያለን የቋንቋና የሃይማኖት ሥርጭታዊ ክምችትን መሠረት በማድረግ አናሳውን እንደ ባይተዋር የመቁጠር አመለካከት፣ እንዲሁም በቅርቡ የገቡ እምነቶችን ተከባሪነት ከኦርቶዶክስ ክርስትናና ከእስልምና አሳንሶ ማሰብ የተሳሳተና የሚያሳስት ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ የክርስቲያኖች፣ የሙስሊሞች፣ የሌሎች እምነት ተከታዮችም አገር ናት፡፡

ኢትዮጵያ የጋራችን እምነት የግል

ከደርግ በፊት ክርስትና የመንግሥት ሃይማኖት ስለነበር እስልምና በ‹‹ክርስትያኗ›› ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ውሱን ሥፍራ ያለው እምነት ተደርጎ ይታሰብ ነበር፡፡ ደርግ ሃይማኖትንና መንግሥትን ከመለየት ዘሎ ሃይማኖትን የማፈንና የማዳከም ፖሊሲ ነበረው፡፡ ኢሕአዴግ ደግሞ ከደርግ በፊትና በደርግ ጊዜ የነበረውን ችግር ለማስወገድ ሞክሯል፡፡

ነገር ግን የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች ሃይማኖቶችን በደጋፊ ማሰባሰቢያነት ወይም በማስጠሊያንት ሊገለገሉባቸው መሞከራቸው ገና አልቀረም፡፡ ከአሥር ዓመት በፊት በ1997 ምርጫ ጊዜ የግል መብቶችን ያጠበቀውን ወገን በመቃረን ኢሕአዴግ ስለቡድን መብት አስፈላጊነት ሲያስረዳ፣ ከብሔር መብት ሌላ ሙስሊሙ ወገን ያገኘውን የእምነት እኩልነት ጠብቆ የማቆየትን ጉዳይ መጠቃቀሱ፣ እንዲሁም የተቃዋሚዎች ወገኖችም ኢሕአዴግ በሙስሊሙ ላይ አደረሰ የሚሉትን በደል መቁጠራቸው ይታወሳል፡፡ ይህን የመሰለ ሃይማኖቶችን ምርኩዝ ያደረጉ ግልጽና ስውር የፕሮፖጋንዳ ቅስቀሳዎች በተለይ በሥልጣን ላይ የተቀመጠውን ፓርቲ ላንዱ ወይም ለሌላው ሃይማኖት ልዩ ተቆርቋሪነት ያለው የሚያስመስል ግንዛቤ ሊያስከትሉ ይችላሉ፡፡ መንግሥት ለዚህም ሆነ ለዚያ ሃይማኖት ያደላል የሚል አስተሳሰብ እንዳይፈጠርበት ተጠንቅቆ መሥራቱ ለተስሚነቱም ሆነ ለሃይማኖቶቹ ጤናማ ግንኙነት፣ ብሎም ለአገሪቱ ሰላም መሠረታዊ ነው፡፡ አንደኛውና ሃይማኖትን የሚመለከተው አጠቃላይ ጉዳይ ይኼው ነው፡፡

ይህን የሚደግፉ ሌሎች ዝርዝር ነጥቦችም አሉ፡፡ ሃይማኖትን መስበክ መብት ቢሆንም የሌላው መብት የሚነካበትን ወሰን አበክሮ ማወቅና ማክበር ደግሞ የግድ ነው፡፡ አንድ ሰው በአንድ ሃይማኖት ውስጥ ረግቶ የሚቆየው ከሎጂክ ይልቅ በእምነት ፅናት ነው፡፡ ዛሬ ባለንበት የመቻቻልና የመከባበር ባህል ዝቅተኛነት ደረጃ የሃይማኖት ክርክር መግጠም ከጥቅሙ ጉዳቱ ሊበልጥ መቻሉን አውቆ መቆጠቡ ይመረጣል፡፡

በእምነት ተቋምም ውስጥ ሆነ በጽሑፍና በሌላ የመገናኛ ዘዴ የሌላውን እምነት እየተቹ እምነትን ማስተማር አደገኛ ትንኮሳ አለበት፡፡ አንድ ሃይማኖት ማስተማር ያለበት ለእምነቱ ምሰሶ በሆኑ በራሱ መጻሕፍት ላይ ተመሥርቶ እንጂ፣ ከሌላው የእምነት መጻሕፍት እየመዘዘ መሆን የለበትም፡፡

የትኛውም ወገን ማንኛውንም እምነት የማረምና የመተቸት መብት የለውም፡፡ እምነቴ ስህተት ነው የሚል ሃይማኖተኛ በዓለም ላይ የለም፡፡ የእኔ ሃይማኖት ልክ ነው ባይነት ግን የሌላውን ልክ ነኝ ባይነት ከማክበር ጋር መጣመር አለበት፡፡

ስለዚህም አሁንም ‹‹አገር የጋራ ነው፣ ሃይማኖት የግል ነው፤›› የሌላውን ሃይማኖት ሳያከብሩ የራስን ማስከበር ያዳግታል፡፡ ሌላም ተጨማሪ መጤን ያለበት ጉዳይ አለ፡፡ ዛሬ፣ ‹‹ሃይማኖት›› የተለያየ ፍላጎት መሸፈኛና ማራመጃ ሆኖ የሚያገለግልበት ዘመን ላይ ደርሰናል፡፡ የዘንድሮ ሌባ ሳይቀር ሃይማኖት አጥባቂ መስሎ በመቅረብ ሙሉ ለሙሉ እስኪታመን ድረስ ጠብቆ በገፍና በእጅጉ ማጭበርበር አምጥቷል፡፡

በዓለም ውስጥ የተደራጀ ቡድንን ጥቅም ለማሟላትና ፖለቲካዊ ጥላቻንና በቀልን ለመወጣት፣ ሃይማኖት ሲያገለግል ብሎም የአዕምሮ ቀውሶች መጫወቻ ሲሆን ማየት አዲስ አይደለም፡፡

በተለያዩ ጊዜያት እንደ ክርስቶስ ሞተን እንነሳለን በማለት ራሳቸውንና ተከታዮቻቸውን በመርዝ የጨረሱ ወፈፌዎች ተከስተዋል፡፡ በኡጋንዳ ውስጥ በሕዝብ ላይ ግፍ ሲውል፣ የቆየው ሎርድ ሬዚስታንስ አርሚ (LRA) ራሱን የጌታ አምላክ ሠራዊት ብሎ የሰየመና ለኦሪት ሥርዓት ቆሜያለሁ ባይ ሆኖ ነው፡፡

በእስልምናም በኩል ታሪክን ወደኋለኛው ዘመን ሊመልሱ የሚሞክሩና የሚጥሩ አሉ፡፡ በተለያዩ ቦታዎች በተለይም በቅርቡ ሊቢያ ውስጥ የተፈጸመው ወንጀል ለእስልምና እምነት ከመቆም ጋር ፊጽሞ የማይዛመድ የታመመ ተግባር ነው፡፡

እንደዚህ ዓይነት ለእምነቱ ከመገዛትም ሆነ ከመቆም ጋር ፈጽሞ የማይገናኝ ይልቁንም የሚቃረን አደጋና ጥቃት ሲያጋጥም፣ በስሙ የተነገደበት የትኛውም ሃይማኖት ተከታዮች እንደ ‹‹ተከሳሽ›› የሚቆጠሩበት ይቅርታ የመጠየቅ ያህል ለተለያዩ ሥነ ሥርዓታዊ ግርግር የሚዳረጉበት አሠራር የትም ቦታ ጤናማ አይደለም፡፡

እስካሁን ያሳነው በመንግሥት በኩል አለ ያልነውን ነው፡፡ የመንግሥት ተቃዋሚዎችም ከደሙ ንፁህ አይደሉም፡፡ አንዳንዴ ሲታሰብ የሚያስደነግጥ ነገር የሚደገስ መሆኑ ይሸታል፡፡ ሐዘን በተቀመጠች ኢትዮጵያ ‹‹ድንኳን›› ውስጥ ድንገት ከሰላሳ በላይ ሰው ሞቶ፣ ይህን ያህል ሕዝብ አልቆ በዚህም መንግሥት ቢሳጣ፣ ቢከሰስና ቢወገዝ ተብሎ ለዚህ ውጤት የሚከናወን ሥራ ያለ ይመስላል፡፡ ይህ የጤነኛ ፖለቲካ አካሄድ አይደለም፡፡ ጨርሶ ፖለቲካም አይሆንም፡፡ ፖለቲካ በሥልጣን ላይ ያለውን መንግሥት ከማውረድና ከመተካት በላይና ከዚህ የተለየ ዓላማና ግብ አለው፡፡ መንግሥትን መቃወምና ማሳጣት ወንጀልም ነውርም አይደለም፡፡ መቃወምንና ማሳጣትን በተለይም በሕዝብ ሕይወትና ደም ዋጋ፣ ዓላማና ግብ ማድረግ ግን በጭራሽ ፖለቲካ አይደለም፡፡

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White Supremacy Angers Jesus, Says Russell Moore, Calls It ‘terrorism, Satanism And Devil Worship’

Leading US evangelical and Southern Baptist Russell Moore has offered blistering critique of white supremacy following the events at Charlottesville, calling the ideology ‘terrorism, Satanism and devil worship.’

‘White supremacy angers Jesus of Nazareth. The question is: Does it anger his church?’ Moore asked yesterday, writing for the Washington Post, after incendiary white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia saw one person killed at the weekend.

Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, noted that the New Testament sees Christ often calm in times of crisis, except for very particular occasions – such as his famous clearing of the money lenders from the Jewish Temple.

The Temple story, Moore said, illustrates Jesus’ ultimate desire for ‘a house of prayer for all nations’, radically challenging a racial ideology that limits the blessings of God to only one ethnicity.

Christ reserved his strongest criticism for those who claimed to represent God, Moore said. He wrote: ‘The Scriptures show us two things that make Jesus visibly angry: religious hypocrisy and racial supremacist ideology.’

Moore said this was crucial because ‘many of those advocating for white supremacy claim to do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Some of them speak of “Christendom” — by which they mean white European cultural domination — and not of Christianity. But many others are members of churches bearing the name of Jesus Christ. Nothing could be further from the gospel.’

Moore, who has been unafraid to condemn the racist rhetoric of the Charlottesville demonstrations, concluded: ‘The church should call white supremacy what it is: terrorism, but more than terrorism. White supremacy is Satanism. Even worse, white supremacy is a devil-worship that often pretends that it is speaking for God.

‘This sort of ethnic nationalism and racial superiority ought to matter to every Christian, regardless of national, ethnic or racial background. After all, we are not our own but are part of a church — a church made up of all nations, all ethnicities, united not by blood and soil but by the shed blood and broken body of Jesus Christ.’

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‘Mark Of The Beast?’ | Microchipping Employees Raises Apocalyptic Questions

The apocalyptic “mark of the beast” prophecy in the Bible makes some wary of a Wisconsin company’s recent decision to embed microchips into the hands of willing employees.

The end times account in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation warns believers about being marked on the right hand and the forehead by the Antichrist.

But inserting rice-sized microchips under the skin of Three Square Market employees does not fulfill the prophecy, said Chris Vlachos, a New Testament professor at Wheaton College in Chicago.

“I think that this is more of a fulfillment of end times novels and movies than the Book of Revelation itself,” Vlachos said.

Earlier this week Three Square Market, the Wisconsin firm that makes cafeteria kiosks to replace vending machines, brought in a tattoo artist to embed microchips into the 40 employees that volunteered.

The chips, which are not equipped with GPS tracking abilities, replace access cards and the need to log on to corporate computers. The company sees them as a way to increase convenience, and would like to see payments go cashless.

Globalism as well as advancements in technologies, like bar codes and credit cards, periodically trigger “mark of the beast” concerns for those who take seriously the prophecy, which talks of a one government world and a cashless society.

Randall Balmer, the chair of the religion department at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, said the Book of Revelation presents a real challenge for those like evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously and often try to interpret it literally.

“A lot of evangelicals certainly take the Book of Revelation seriously. They try to understand it,” said Balmer, who is an Episcopal priest but grew up in an evangelical Christian family. “This is a source of real fascination for a lot of people, but it’s also kind of a parlor game.”

Vlachos said popular media often drives people’s views.

“The majority of people are getting their notions on this issue from movies and novels rather than the Book of Revelation and apocalyptic genre material in the Old and New Testament,” Vlachos said.

Reading the Book of Revelation is complex, said Vlachos, who teaches a class on it. The first chapter points out that some of it is meant to be taken symbolically.

But even if a believer interprets the entire text literally, Vlachos said the “mark of the beast” verses specifically mention two key details.

“Taking the mark goes hand in hand with the conscience decision of publicly pledging ones allegiance or loyalty to the beast and worshiping his image,” Vlachos said.

The mark is not a random number either. It always names the Antichrist, either numerically or alphabetically.

“I often say to my students, ‘No name, no worries,'” Vlachos said.

While he doesn’t think technologies like microchipping are a sign of end times, Vlachos doesn’t rule out that they could be one of the precursors, like birth pangs, preceding the end that Jesus talked about with his disciples. It’s fine to put them on the back burner and focus on clear issues like an allegiance to Jesus.

“I call it like an apocalyptic inoculation,” Vlachos said. “The more Christ-like, the less we’ll be duped by Antichrist.”

Balmer can see why people connect mircochipping and the prophecy.

“It may not be the ‘mark of the beast,’ but it certainly is a slippery slope,” Balmer said. “I think we should be cautious about allowing that measure of control or surveillance into our lives.”

Concerns about the “mark of the beast” in the workplace have made their way into the U.S. court system, too.

A West Virginia coal miner’s belief in the “mark of the beast” won him more than half a million dollars in a workplace discrimination case. An appeals court recently affirmed the federal court’s 2015 decision.

Beverly R. Butcher Jr., an evangelical Christian and minister, worked for decades in a mine owned by Consol Energy but was forced to retire when the company refused to accommodate his religious objection to its newly implemented biometric hand scanner, court documents say.

The scanner tracked employee attendance and hours worked by assigning a number to an image of a worker’s hand. Citing the Book of Revelation, Butcher feared the could link him to the Antichrist.

Other “mark of the beast” cases have made there way into the court system, but they’re not common, said Howard Friedman, who writes the Religion Clause blog about church and state legal issues. Religious workplace cases more often focus on employee clothing and work schedule accommodations.

Friedman, who also is an emeritus law professor at the University of Toledo, doesn’t anticipate the Wisconsin company’s microchipping effort will end up before a judge.

“As long as they continue to make this voluntary, there isn’t going to be much of a legal confrontation,” Friedman said.

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Study: Language Development May Start In Utero

Unborn babies can distinguish between different languages and may start developing language skills in utero, according to a study published in NeuroReport on July 5 by researchers at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

The project leader, Utako Minai, an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics at the university, said in a news release, “The results came out nicely, with strong statistical support. These results suggest that language development may indeed start in utero.”

“Fetuses are tuning their ears to the language they are going to acquire even before they are born, based on the speech signals available to them in utero,” said Minai. “Prenatal sensitivity to the rhythmic properties of language may provide children with one of the very first building blocks in acquiring language.”

The study tested 24 in-utero babies of 24 different American mothers who were approximately eight months pregnant. In the procedure, an English passage was played, followed by the same voice recording of another passage, either in English or Japanese.

When the unborn babies heard the passages in English, their heart rates remained consistent.  However, the unfamiliar rhythm of the Japanese provoked a change in the children’s heart rate.

Minai said that previous research has suggested that, “human language development may start really early — a few days after birth. Babies a few days old have been shown to be sensitive to the rhythmic differences between languages.”

“Previous studies have demonstrated this by measuring changes in babies’ behavior,” she said.  “[F]or example, by measuring whether babies change the rate of sucking on a pacifier when the speech changes from one language to a different language with different rhythmic properties.”

“This early discrimination led us to wonder when children’s sensitivity to the rhythmic properties of language emerges, including whether it may, in fact, emerge before birth,” Minai continued.

“Fetuses can hear things, including speech, in the womb,” she said.  “It’s muffled, like the adults talking in a ‘Peanuts’ cartoon, but the rhythm of the language should be preserved and available for the fetus to hear, even though the speech is muffled.”

While previous studies had examined the effect of language on unborn babies using an ultrasound, researchers for this study used a magnetocardiogram, which is more accurate and sensitive to change in heart rate.

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Atheists Are Less Open-Minded Than Religious People, Study Claims

Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium suggest religious believers ‘seem to better perceive and integrate diverging perspectives’

Religious people are more tolerant of different viewpoints than atheists, according to researchers at a Catholic university.

A study of 788 people in the UK, France and Spain concluded that atheists and agnostics think of themselves as more open-minded than those with faith, but are are actually less tolerant to differing opinions and ideas.

Religious believers “seem to better perceive and integrate diverging perspectives”, according to psychology researchers at the private Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Belgium’s largest French-speaking university.

Filip Uzarevic, who co-wrote the paper, said his message was that “closed-mindedness is not necessarily found only among the religious”. told Psypost:

“In our study, the relationship between religion and closed-

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The Internet And Spiritual Experience

The rabid development of information technology over the past two decades has truly brought about unexpected results, of which we could not even dream in the seventies and even eighties. The Internet, e-mail, web-based resources, social networks: they are part of our everyday life, work, science, education, art, and entertainment. The Internet has allowed us to reduce or even abolish distance. Thus, news can be transmitted through the Internet from one end of the earth to another in a couple of seconds – we have all had this experience. Conversations, sometimes even involving eye contact, now take place smoothly, regardless of distance. The only condition is that the user have Internet access. Indeed, the use of the Internet is so simple that any child or elderly person can easily use it.

In this same manner, the Word of God can be transmitted anywhere in the world. In this way, that which is happening here in Athens before an audience of 100 people can be recorded and sent to thousands or even millions of users, or even transmitted online.

But we should realize that the Word of God is not simple human speech, but bears Divine Energy, which can spiritually revive man and truly comfort him – and this can happen through the Internet. We know of many cases when various people – atheists, idolaters from India, Japan, and Nepal – have found Orthodoxy through the Internet and been reborn, because they found the truth that they were looking for in this life; they found Christ.

Not long ago the Hollywood actor Jonathan Jackson visited our monastery. I asked him how he became Orthodox. He told me that the Internet had very much helped him. On the other hand, thanks to the Internet, Christians who had departed from God have returned to Him, found themselves, and found their place in this world. There are people who had been on the verge of absolute frustration and, having listened to some talks on the Internet, found the necessary spiritual strength and hope, and are now developing spiritually.

Of course, the Orthodox Word of God is less present on the Internet compared to other words. When I speak of other words, I mean science, economics, politics, and even such phenomena as fashion, show business, or even certain corrupting resources that, unfortunately, are often visited.

It seems to me that today the Word of God must have a strong and powerful presence online. The majority of people today are disoriented, constantly falling at an impasse. In this era, only the Word of God can comfort man, inform him, and assure him of the possibility of eternal life. The Word of God transmitted through the Internet can have a healing function for man.

The creation of digital libraries with relevant content can and should be encouraged and multiplied. The heritage and wisdom of the Holy Fathers, with their remarkable texts, should be used as much as possible in the most modern and optimal way. The digitization and categorization of the Holy Fathers enables Internet users to find texts and information on topics of interest to them. Moreover, the digitization and promotion through webpages of the Word of God, especially the teachings of the Holy Fathers as well as of the Elders of the twentieth century, will bring spiritual benefit to our contemporaries.

Elder Ephraim of Katounakia said: “Oh, what it pity that it wasn’t possible to record the sayings of the Elder Joseph.” We understand that it is truly important when things are uttered by people who have experienced and gained personal experience in the unseen spiritual warfare. St. Paisios said: “Write down everything that is spiritual that you hear, as well as the experience that you have heard from others, because there will come a time when this experience will be exhausted, and you will have a spiritual deficiency.” Indeed, over the past few years there has been great growth in the publication of books of theological content, especially in Greece, but also in other Orthodox countries.

But, unfortunately, there are Orthodox who, due to language barriers, do not have access to these valuable texts. Moreover, the ordinary book, printed on paper, is now in a serious crisis. At the same time, sales of electronic books are growing. Therefore, we can say that we can make use of this trend. We can say that all this is good and God-pleasing, when everything goes correctly.

The Internet is a modern tool that promotes globalization. Those who would like to spread their ideas for global history, global economics, a global state, and a global leader know how to make use of the Internet – and, indeed, they use it at a high level. Why should not we, the Orthodox, use this instrument for promoting the global role of Orthodoxy? Why should we not use it for uniting the Orthodox and its mission in the known world?

The proper use of the Internet depends upon the user. Of course, the Internet cannot replace living contact. Of course, no one can attain a given level of spirituality through the Internet alone. Orthodoxy is person-centered. Priority also goes to the essential value of the person, to the individual person. The Internet is a tool, an instrument, that helps and benefits us – but in order for the faithful to lead an authentic spiritual life, it is required that he have personal contact with his spiritual father.

In the same way, it is essential to have communication with other brethren, in order to experience love and to participate in all the Mysteries of the Church. Of course, there are also cases in which excessive use of the Internet, even for good and spiritual purposes, can create dependence, resulting in asocial isolation and a detrimental effect on one’s personhood. Thus, the Internet can have negative results: instead of leading the user closer to Christ is can, on the contrary, lead him away from God. Therefore we bear the great responsibility of promoting and sharing the Word of God using the most creative, useful, and modern methods – but we should also inform our flock about how to use the Internet profitably, emphasizing all the negative effects that can be caused by the misuse of this technology.

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Under Pelosi and Barack Obama: 709,885 Blacks Killed by Abortion, 35.4% of All Abortions

ዋይ! ዋይ! ዋይ!

When Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was Speaker of the House for four years (2007-2010), at least 709,885 black babies were killed by abortion, which is 35.4% of all the abortions during those years, according to the Abortion Surveillance reports of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC accumulates abortion data every year and publishes the numbers by state and race and other criteria. However, not all states report abortion data to the CDC, and/or do not break it down by race or ethnicity, or do not meet reporting standards, states the CDC.

For example, in 2010, there were only 28 reporting areas; another 24 areas did not report. These included California, Florida, Illinois, Hawaii, Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts, among other states. Thus, the number of black abortions or white abortions reported by the CDC is likely much lower than the real number.

Nonetheless, the CDC’s Abortion Surveillance report for 2007, in Table 12,

shows there were 212,664 black abortions — 36.5% of the total.

• In 2008, there were 194,694 black abortions — 34.0% of the total.
• In 2009, there were 154,266 black abortions — 35.4% of the total.
• In 2010, there were 148,261 black abortions — 35.7% of the total.

In all, that equals 709,885 black abortions — 35.4% of the total — during the four years that Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House, based upon the areas that reported to the CDC.

There were a total 1,918,419 abortions during those four years.

Blacks make up 13.3% of the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau.

In 2015, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, presented then-Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) with the Margaret Sanger Award. The award is Planned Parenthood’s “highest honor” and is named for a woman who believed in breeding better humans through eugenics and even promoted her birth control philosophy to female members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

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Russian Patriarch: Soviet Persecution Was ‘hardest Page’ In Church’s History

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, paid tribute to his predecessor, Patriarch Sergius I, who governed the Church from 1925 to 1944.

Ninety years ago, Patriarch Sergius controversially declared his “absolute loyalty” to the Communist regime in an attempt to ensure the Church’s survival.

“Metropolitan Sergius took that step without violating by any means either the dogmata or canons,” his current successor said. “His did it to create prerequisites for possible development of relations with the state and for consolidating the situation of the Church in the then Soviet Union.”

Nonetheless, the Church entered “an epoch of terrible persecution” under Stalin, said Patriarch Kirill.

“It is the gravest page of our national history, the hardest page in the history of the Church,” he added, as he paid tribute to the “new martyrs and confessors, who remained faithful to Christ, did not waver in their faith and did not reject God and the Church.”

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Orthodox Christian Outrage As Film Cleared

Russian Orthodox Christians have protested against the decision to release a film depicting Nicholas II’s affair with a teenage ballerina.

Opponents of Matilda have gathered signatures against the film. Earlier this month, several hundred people gathered to outside a Moscow church, praying for the movie to be banned.

On Thursday, however, the Russian Culture Ministry finally announced that the film had received official clearance for release.

Nicholas II, Russia’s last tsar, was canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000, and is still a divisive figure in Russia 100 years after his death.

As Russia marks the centenary of the year that saw Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks get into power, the film’s trailer has shown intimate scenes involving Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II who was killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Many of the film’s critics see it as blasphemy against the emperor, who is still greatly revered by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Both the film’s defenders and its critics have appealed to the Kremlin which has not publicly entered the debate.

Vyasheslav Telnov, the head of the Russian Culture Ministry’s film department, said: “There is no censorship in Russia, and the ministry of culture stays away from any ideological views of beliefs. A feature film can’t be banned for political or ideological motives.”

Nevertheless, the Russian Orthodox Church still exercises significant pressure in Russia. It has recently played a role in the shutting down of an exhibition displaying nude photos and the cancellation of a performance of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

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