It read "Sponsored by Jesus"

He often shows it the way it should and can be done and said. And he did it once again.

South African Archbishop Emeritus, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu launched the ‘Tutu Tester’. A mobile HIV/AIDS testing facility. South Africa has one of the highest HIV infection rates and thus such a mobile testing unit is a great way forward as it brings access to knowing if you are HIV + or not a step closer to the communities. And obviously knowing if you carry the virus or not is a crucial, first step. Cause if you don’t know, you don’t know and thus you will keep spreading the deadly virus without knowing it. You would be a killer on the loose without really knowing your deadly impact. And once you know you can adapt your attitude, sexual behaviour, and get treatment. So knowing your HIV status is vital,... especially in a country like South Africa.

So great move by Tutu. Especially from a clergy man it is highly applauded. Most of the times the Church (all of them) are very silent or conservatively ignorant about the reality of the HIV pandemic. They hide in their bunker of morals and traditional values to avoid having to cope with reality. And the reality out there, good or bad, is that people have sex. Unprotected sex. Lots of it and with multiple partners, be it at the same time are roaming from one short lived relationship to a one night stand to another short term fling. That’s the reality. So if the churches want to put their heads in the sand to avoid having to tackle the real life out there, then they are partly responsible for the ongoing spread of HIV. Culpable.

So it’s extremely welcome that religious leaders like Tutu break this bunker mentality and come out and be open about it and try to help and assist. That is real leadership. That is the moral voice that should be screamed of all rooftops. Respect!
And more good news. Another reality check that sunk in. The Brazilian Catholic Church announced it will launch its own campaign to promote AIDS-testing. It said it is still against condom use (there is the bunker mentality again) but wants to make sure people are aware of the risks of HIV and AIDS and that treatment is available once you know your status.

At least some good steps forward. And this in a very catholic country. Signs of hope that reality kicks in the door to the bunker of conservative narrow mindedness. Everybody can have their own set of principles and moral standards, but if the reality out there is a cold hard one, then let’s face it and do something about it instead of building extra doors to the bunker.

So well done to Tutu for being bold and leading the way. And well done to the Brazilian church for taking a first step to really face up to reality and help its flock.

And more good news. More great human initiative.

Nice. Very nice. When human behaviour is put to good use it can do wonders.

An 11 months old vulture that was born nearly totally blind because of cataracts has been given good eyesight. Vets in South Africa have operated on the vulture and restored his vision. It was a so called African White-backed vulture, aka Gyps Africanus. The operation was a world-first. History made.

It was still in the parent’s nest but would have been kicked out soon and that would have been the end of it. Because a young, blind vulture doesn’t survive long in the wild out there.

If the bird would not fully rehabilitate from the operation, it would stay at a vulture sanctuary and be used for educational purposes, and become an ambassador for the African White-backed vulture. Represent!

From the vulture to some off-track cultural and religious expressions.

Saw a picture of a man with a sword pierced through his tongue. Deliberately. No cruel attack by evil enemies or something like that. It was a devotee of the Jui Tui shrine in China. His mad action formed part of a street procession part of a vegetarian festival. Sounds off the wall? Yes it is! Which sane human being would stick a sword through his/her tongue for the sake of some religion or belief or to support a cause or make a point...? It’s straight forward insanity from the simple kind. Stick to your beliefs if need be, but without self-mutilation. It’s beyond sanity. In any culture or any part of the world. Sorry to say but that type of devotion only fits in a mental asylum. Case closed. Get the straight-jackets.

Same when you see Muslims from the Shia, or is it from the Shi’ite, tribe flogging themselves with metal slings with little metal balls at the end. Flogging till their backs and torsos are bleeding madly. Like medieval torture. What is this all about? Religion is one thing, delirium devotion is another thing. Mad. Ticket to the same asylum. Is there any sensible explanation for this? Suffer for your sins? Start by accepting whatever you call your sins and then change them. Self-mutilation won’t change them. Your acceptance of them, understanding of them and commitment to change your so called sins will change them. Not the blood streaming down your body. It’s a numb cocktail of blind, mindless devotion and peer pressure dressed up in tradition. The brains are put on hold. Infliction of pain upon yourself is pretty much inhuman.

Human development. Two steps forward, three steps back. Therapy requested.

Human behaviour resembles sometimes a mystery dance of fools.

Speaking of foolishness. As the US and its allies are focusing hard on Afghanistan and awaiting the November 7 runoff elections, Iraq has had its deadliest blast of the year. More than 130 people killed and hundreds maimed and wounded after suicide blasts in the centre of Baghdad. Sunday bloody Sunday.

It just shows that security remains a major challenged in Iraq. Attacks might be down. Some stability seems real. But clearly the country is still at war within. Right away fingers pointed at Al Quada but also at members of the former Baath part of dictator Saddam Hussein. Interesting mix. Before the invasion the Bush cronies were doing everything they could to link the Bin Laden clan with Saddam. It was clear to the rest of the world that there was absolutely no link between the dictator of Baghdad and the 9/11 terrorists. But Bush and co needed a link, wanted a link and fabricated an imaginary link. Bush needed to tap into the emotional anger and bloodlust of post-9/11 to be able to send America’s sons and daughters to war in Iraq. Anyway there was no link then, but those two unlinked camps might now, after all these years of death and destruction, have find a common enemy and might be joining forces. Don’t like that prospect.

The future remains uncertain in Iraq,.... as in Afghanistan.

Throw Out. And there he was. A biker with a “membership-jacket” that read “Soldiers For Jesus”. Commentary could easily follow but it could turn ugly. Easily. Let’s just say that there and then I thought about Rage Against The Machine’s kick-ass song “Killing In The Name Of”. And some days later I spot a bike parked and it had a sticker that read “Sponsored by Jesus”. How ridiculous can you get?

C-Ya

collateral – October 2009 is still moving on like a mountain stream