"Peace" by Sara Teasdale

Film/Music Premiere: 33 Miners (Mision Cumplida Chile)

I put together this film with scenes from the Chile mine rescue, set to music created in honor of the event by Woodrow Williams.

An original song written by Woodrow Williams, dedicated to the 33 miners of Chile and the people who rescued them.

33 Miners (Mission Completed Chile) [English translation]
A song and poem by Woodrow Williams
Film by Jude Nagurney Camwell

33 miners lost underground
All hope lost in the Chilean town
Loved ones and members of their little town
would not give up until they were found

so they started to dig
until they were found

They dug and they dug
they hoped and they prayed
they found the miners
two months in the grave

then one by one they rose from the ground
spirits they raised - spirits around
and the world joined in and they helped where they could
spirits they rise for the better and good of mankind

33 miners lost underground
now join their families above the ground
and the world rejoices for the lives that they found
and everyone loves along with our small Chilean town.

_____________________

Butterfly (photo)

Butterfly
photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Protect Insurance Companies PSA (Will Ferrell)

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

5th Annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting Begins Today

Former President Bill Clinton, whose calling to something greater than himself has put him back on the world stage as a major player in philanthropy, inspires others to join him in his vision of the good that can be for every person, regardless of their birthplace or social standing. The fifth annual annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting kicks off today in New York with President Obama as a speaker.

Clinton Global Initiative meeting, 2008
photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

This year’s meeting, which begins today at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, has drawn political and business leaders such as Goldman, Sachs & Co. Chairman Lloyd Blankfein and World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick. President Barack Obama will address the opening session. The new theme added to the 2009 meeting is investing in women and girls to narrow the gender gap.

“In all the world there is only one strategy which clearly slows population growth, raises income and promotes more social stability that is supported across all religious and cultural lines,” Clinton, 63, said in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters. “And that is putting all the girls in school and giving all the young women access to the labor market.”

The summit attracts an eclectic mix of world leaders, public-policy experts and artists. Participants this year will include more than 60 former and current heads of state; former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman Jamie Dimon; Grameen Bank founder and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus; musicians Alicia Keys and Quincy Jones; and actors Brad Pitt, Demi Moore and Julia Ormond.

~ Bloomberg News

Colorful Wares - Who Will Buy? [photos]

all photos by Jude Nagurney Camwell ©

Going Places [photo]

I couldn't help but notice [and capture] an ironic juxtaposition between the sign at the gas pump at which I was standing in the workaday world and the mention of the faith-filled gift implied within the very name of the modest "Gift of Love Ministry" directly across the street.

One sign involves a place where your contribution is welcomed in exchange for the promise of reaching a heavenly destination.

The other sign offers the same. ;)

photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Silence Touching Souls [photo]

"See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls."
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Sunset at Lake Norman [photo]

Sunset at Lake Norman N.C.
photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Chicks [photo]

Chicks
photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Heron Catches a Fish [photo]

This heron seemed to have wanted to show off a fish he'd just caught.
Poor fish! ;)
photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

"Worth the Fight" [Obama-Clinton 08]

The strip below was inspired by a story I'd read at Kansas City.com (Be sure to use the arrow at the right)
~ Jude

Tsunami by Jude Nagurney Camwell [poem]

I'm just beginning to enjoy the pleasure of sharing some of my writing with others at Scribd. This is a poem I'd written just after the great tsunami of late 2004. It's hard to believe that it's been almost four years since the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and deadly tsunami. My prayers go out to all souls who were lost or who'd lost loved ones.

Tsunami by Jude Nagurney Camwell [Poem]

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Poetry Literature poetry Tsunami

Chuck Hagel Visits "Charlotte Talks" WFAE

Senator Chuck Hagel was a guest of Mike Collins' Charlotte Talks radio show this morning on WFAE [FM]. Here are a few of his statements:



Speaking about the need for the next President to be more open to diplomatic talks:
"Every challenge we face in the world today is connected to our alliances.
We need to engage."

Regarding negativity in this Presidential race:

"It's not new. It's just become more sophisticated."
[Reminding listeners of 19th century political vilification of Abe Lincoln when he was cast as an ape.]







About his wife Lilibet's October 7th endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for POTUS, which was played for the listening audience:

"I'm very proud of her. She wrote it herself. She didn't show it to me.
I think what she says is accurate."
[Explaining that he didn't plan to expend political capital in order to make an endorsement himself.]

Youtube version of Mrs. Hagel's endorsement statement in Alexandria, Virginia:

American Blues Vol. 1 by Pete Yorn

Pete Yorn wrote this song on the 4th of July after reading the morning paper and feeling, as so many of us have been feeling, the persistent emotional weight of negativity as each day in America has unfolded only to have a new crisis revealed. A friend of Pete's with an unwavering faith in America decided to make a video and craft the video as a message for people to get out and vote for a change in the direction of the country.

American Blues Vol. 1
Music and lyrics by Pete Yorn

Even those in The Optimists Club
Have a hard time staying in love
18 members of a dying breed
We know what color we bleed
Book drive for the school children
Independence day flag distribution
The general level of pessimism
the worst in almost 30 years
$4-a-gallon gas as jobs get slashed
You love your house?
Now give it back.

Keep beaming through the pledge of allegiance - you aint dead yet
Just disgusted and scared
Living through this mess
This year we are not so sure
Battered and bruised
Young and old
Stable or stone?
Stable or stoned?

It’s happening everywhere we look
Everything’s rehearsed
Should be better
Life’s getting better while the people feel worse
Everyone needs someone to blame
When things don’t go their way

Life’s getting better while the people feel worse
Everyone’s rehearsed
Something new, someone new
People need someone to blame when things don’t go their way
Maybe the price has to be paid
Model American
Take us by the hand
Live through this depression

Zogby Poll: Catholics Not One-Issue Voters

A recent Zogby Poll shows that most Catholic Americans are not concerned solely with the abortion issue although, if you were to look through media reports, you'd be misled into thinking it was so. What surprised me about the poll results was that, out of only 22% of Catholics who believe abortion should never be permitted, 43% of that group would be willing to vote for a candidate who disagrees with them.

It's disappointing for me, personally, to understand that a majority of Catholics fail to grasp the meaning of the Church's social justice teaching. Only 38% of my fellow Catholics go beyond what I believe is primarily self-interest in order to support governmental policies that would take the poorest of us into consideration. Whether or not Democratic progressives want to hear the truth, the "Joe the Plumber" attitude toward economic policy seems to prevail in the minds of a majority of Catholic swing-voters.

I suppose these poll numbers prove that many Catholics believe, especially in these hard times, that it isn't the "American way" to care so much about the poor in our society and to care/understand enough about faith-based social justice that they will vocally support US government anti-poverty programs.

As someone who supported the anti-poverty platform of John Edwards, who was criticised by many in the American press once he'd put the issue front-and-center in his Presidential campaign, I'm beginning to see what an uphill battle he was fighting.

Another major disappointment for me is seeing that 54% of my fellow Catholics [who attend services at least once each week] are still selfish [in my way of thinking] when it comes to narrowly defining marriage as man-woman only. Then there are the 59% who, in my opinion, are still in the dark ages when it comes to end-of-life issues and say that one who believes that euthanasia should be a legal end-of-life option is a "bad Catholic." Anyone who's seen a loved one suffering with a cancer that has taken its final toll after a long, courageous battle might understand how, years from now, we'll be looking back and asking this about the way we treated end-of-life issues, "What were they thinking?"

Interestingly, the less these Catholics who were polled attended services, the more they leaned toward pro-social justice issues. It causes me to wonder what is missing in the Mass today that would cause so many to feel the way they do about certain political issues.

Love, justice, and mercy were not created by religion, but I've always personally believed that my faith teachings led me to understand the fullness of love, justice, and mercy.

When it comes to the poor and to the suffering, it's quite sobering for me, with my committed hope for finding and supporting political, private, and non-profit solutions to end poverty and suffering at home and around the globe, to realize how few of my fellow Catholics seem to take these teachings to their hearts. I see this as a major opportunity for change in an ever-increasingly interdependent world.

Syracuse, NY - Catholics have been identified by many analysts as a key "swing vote" in the 2008 presidential election. As the candidates spend the final week of the campaign focused on encouraging turnout, the Le Moyne College/Zogby International Contemporary Catholic Trends (CCT) project polled a sample of U.S. Catholics to find out what motivates their voting decisions.

The prevalence of news stories about the Catholic vote and abortion suggests that this issue trumps all others for Catholics. The latest Le Moyne/Zogby CCT poll does not support this perception, as 29% of Catholics say they would be unlikely to vote for a candidate who disagrees with them on abortion rights, but with whom they agreed "on all issues except for abortion." [..]

Asked about personal abortion attitudes, 22% of respondents say abortion should never be permitted, and of this group 57% say they would be unlikely to vote for a candidate who disagrees with them. 18% of Catholics say abortion should be allowed "as a matter of personal choice," and of these Catholics 21% say they would be unlikely to vote for a candidate who disagrees with them. According to Dr. Matt Loveland, Le Moyne sociologist and CCT Principal Investigator, "In essence, less than a third of Catholic voters appear to vote solely on abortion attitudes, but those who do tend to favor 'pro-life' candidates. Abortion attitudes point to important identity issues for some Catholics. Some would say a 'real' Catholic could never vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights." Addressing this question, the poll found that 44% of Catholics believe "a good Catholic" could not vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights, but that 53% say a good Catholic could.

What other issues matter to Catholics?

A key Catholic social teaching is the Preferential Option for the Poor, which holds that a just society is one that privileges the poor over those who are better off economically. U.S. politicians, however, take pains to demonstrate their concern for the 'middle class.' How well do these potentially competing positions play with American Catholics? In the October Le Moyne/Zogby CCT survey, 38% of Catholics agree, somewhat or strongly, that government policies should privilege the interests of the poorest Americans over those in the middle and upper classes, but 4% are undecided and 58% disagree. "Church teaching on this issue seems to run counter to recent popular sentiment against 'spreading the wealth,' but it looks like many lay Catholics agree with 'Joe the Plumber' on this issue," said Dr. Loveland.

The poll also covered other issues about which the U.S. Bishops have written, asking about them in the context of what it means to be "a good Catholic." Majorities agree that good Catholics can vote for candidates who support embryonic stem cell research (60%), the death penalty (55%), and can vote for a divorced candidate (77%). On the other hand, majorities say that good Catholics should not vote for candidates who support same-sex marriage (54%), euthanasia (59%), and human cloning (76%). Interestingly, those who attend Mass at least weekly differ from those who attend less frequently on each of these issues - they are less likely to agree that "good Catholics" can vote for such candidates.

An Obama Landslide Victory?

"Should all signs on Tuesday point to an Obama landslide, news directors say they will have no choice but to report the obvious."
- From a Reuters/NYT article "U.S. Media Ready For Possible Early Election Outcome " October 28, 2008

Edwards & Gore on Iraq at Current.com (Current comes to Converge South)

Former VP Al Gore and 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards have made videos for Current.com where they've expressed their opinions about the Iraq War.


Related:

Current.com comes to Greensboro, N.C.



Saskia Wilson Brown of Current.com




Current's Brandon Gross (on right) with co-panelist Jason McHugh (CrapTV)


Saskia Wilson-Brown and Brandon Gross of Current.com appeared at the 2007 Converge South conference held at North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro this past weekend. Photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell (Iddybud).



My set of photos from Converge South
Go to the link to see larger versions of the photos below.

ConvergeSouth 2007 Flickr Group
Technorati Results for ConvergeSouth2007
Anthology of Converge South postings [by David Beckwith]
Posted at Current.com by Saskia Wilson-Brown