The U.S. Tells Turkey to Get Out of Iraq

Oh, I couldn’t possibly ignore this one.

So… Turkey goes in and raids northern Iraq because these Kurdish guerrillas are basing attacks out of the area. Apparently they’ve been trying to make a little Kurdish homeland across the border in Turkey for decades.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says, “It’s very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave, and to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty.”

Better yet, he says, “Military activity alone will not solve this terrorist problem for Turkey.”

He says they need to offer economic and social support as well. I suppose we are doing that. Or we are supposed to be doing that. But then, they aren’t exactly on our border and attacking us regularly. Seriously, I don’t know the whole story, so I shouldn’t judge, but hilarious statements nonetheless.

Easter Facts: March 23, 2008

An interesting tidbit about Easter Sunday March 23, 2008

• Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (March 20).
• This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
• Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives!

Here are the facts:

• The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now).
• The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
• The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

New Community of Sisters in STL

My mom sent me the following, and I thought it was cool.

Raised a conservative Jew, well-known Catholic author, speaker and apologist Rosalind Moss spent 18 years as an evangelical Protestant before becoming a Catholic in 1995. On February 13 she announced that with the permission of Archbishop Raymond L. Burke she is starting a new community of sisters in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

She said that this new group will be called the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, and that it will be an evangelistic teaching community following in the spiritual tradition of St. Francis de Sales, whose writings and sermons inspired many to convert to Catholicism. She is working now on designing a full-length habit, along with a basket to hold religious articles which sisters will distribute in all areas of the city, the richest as well as the poorest.

The purpose of this religious community is to flood the world with holy habits as signs to God,” and she said she intends to go into the streets with a team of joy-filled sisters and share the good news. She will be moving to St. Louis shortly and notes that she already has a few women who plan to join her.

Seed Vault

I dig this.

“A vast underground vault storing millions of seeds from around the world opened Tuesday in a mountain on a remote island near the Arctic Ocean.

“Dubbed the “Doomsday Vault,” the seed bank is considered the ultimate safety net for the world’s seed collections, protecting them from a wide range of threats including war, natural disasters, lack of funding or simply poor agricultural management.

“Norwegian musicians performed Tuesday as part of an elaborate opening ceremony marking the opening of the vault, located 130 meters (427 feet) inside a frozen mountain. Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, placed the first seeds inside the vault, followed by other dignitaries.”

**Purple

Purple is the color of Lent.

It signifies great solemnity. It is the color of mourning and so anticipates the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. But purple is also the color of royalty.

Jesus, the king of the Jews, wore a purple robe only once. As the soldiers mocked and tormented him, the Scriptures record that they placed on him a “purple garment” in order to ridicule him and belittle the claim that he was a king.

Therefore, purple is used during this penitential season of Lent as a vivid reminder of the disrespect and ridicule he endured and the subsequent sacrifice he made for our salvation.

Reality Check

The milk I just bought is dated two days after I leave.

17 days is 2 1/2 weeks. Have I mentioned in like the last six hours that this seems a bit surreal?

I’ve got some good lists going on, and I now have some luggage to start putting things in. I have traveled abroad on four major trips plus Hawaii. But pooling thoughts with someone who is organized enough to have a list and has traveled more recently is good. I think it has been four and a half years since I left the country.

I have a plane ticket, a place to stay, pickup from the airport, people to associate with, someone to stay at my apartment and take care of my cat…

Let’s think outside the box here. Anything? I don’t need a Visa or any shots. I’ve got my passport, which is good until 2011. (Though my hair is seriously short in the picture. The shortest it ever was I think. Funny.) Obviousy I need to make sure my bills are paid before I leave. And there’s quite a few work things I need to make sure are done. Anything, anything?

All right anyway. I need to go to bed.