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Ok, thanks to the trip to New York I have another book under my belt. I just finished Jeff Ott's "Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Real War On Terror". Finished would be a slight exaggeration considering the amount of times that I skipped paragraphs and pages.
Here is my view of the book. I think that Jeff Ott isn't a very good writer, but he does have some decent points. The basis of the book is that the meaning of "Terrorism" can be applied to anything that induces violence on something else. He focuses on terrorism in our own community such as domestic violence and even cigarettes. His main point is that we are so scared of the middle east when realistically, in the year that 9/11 happened terrorism took one third of the amount of lives suicide did (which was less than 1/10 of what cigarettes did).
Because I have different views on MANY of the subjects Jeff Ott wrote about, I skipped over several rants. My number one problem with the book is that Jeff Ott is so concerned with the amount of death in our nation, but he is unbelievably pro-choice. What? In the chart that he made himself, the biggest killer in our nation is heart disease which took over 440,000 lives in 2001. The chart didn't include abortion which, according to abort73, took 1.21 million lives in 2002. That doesn't really make sense to me.
One small note, I didn't put a link to abort73 because although their information is accurate and I appreciate what they do. I think the shock value that they use is very unnecessary.
My Mom just went on missions trip to Haiti two weeks ago, and gave me this book to read while she's there. Mountains Beyond Mountains, is written about Dr. Paul Farmer, an incredible man that has worked his entire adult life (20+ years) helping people in Haiti, and receiving nothing in return.
Farmer worked in Haiti, as a doctor for those who could never have doctors. He started his own medical facility, where he treated everyone for anything. He made sure that one of the poorest nations in the world would get some of the greatest health care. He funded this facility through grants, private donors, and himself.
He worked at a highly respected Boston medical facility and at a US university making very good money. He hired an accountant that would handle all the expenses of the facility. She took all of his paychecks and (after paying his mother's monthly mortgage) sent the rest down to Haiti to pay the employees and purchase more medical supplies. He made sure that everyone was getting the treatment they deserved, regardless if they had the money to pay for it or not.
If you're looking for a book to read right now you should check out this one. I love stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
"So I can't show you how, exactly, health care is a basic human right. But what I can argue is that no one should have to die of a disease that is treatable." - Dr. Paul Farmer
I am not a crazy reader, although I would like to be. With how crazy life is right now I'm averaging a book a month when I wish I was averaging a book a week.
Last week I was given a copy of Gary A. Haugen's "Terrify No More". Haugen is not an author, he is the founder and president of the International Justice Mission. An organization founded to free individuals from the slave trade in poverty stricken countries. Which in our little world may seem like a minuscule need, but there are more slaves in the world today than during the 400 hundred years of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The organization was created to stop sex-trafficking by simply (not that simple) getting the countries to enforce their own laws. I've just begun the book, so I have only read several (I'm sure there's many more) accounts of child rape and prostitution. But unlike other organizations IJM doesn't just investigate and then try and spread the word of the need of these girls. They actually do something about it. So far every case that they've stated, every girl has not only been freed from the brothel; they are taken to an IJM recovery facility for medical treatment, schooling and preparation for life after these tragedies.
Even more interesting, IJM in iteslf is an incredible organization. I know from reading through their employment information, that every day is started with 30 minutes of silence and prayer to focus on their purpose. Even more impressive, you can go on IJM's website and view all of their tax documents, so you know exactly where you're donations are going. The website openly displays, the president and founder, Gary Haugen's salary. How many other organizations can you say that about?
I've already told Foreknown that he gets my copy after I'm finished. But because it was given to me, and it will be given to him, contact him and he'll give it to you when he's finished (as long as you promise to read it and pass it on).
Gary Haugen says it best, "...in the moral universe engineered by a holy God, knowledge carries responsibility."
