Reflections on the world

I haven't commented on the news lately, like I usually do. I suppose I've been busy with Life or something. I've definitely been keeping up with things, though. I miss reflecting.

From local news: Indiana is the US's top terror target? Well maybe not exactly, but this Indy Star article and this CNN article talk about a Homeland Security study of possible terror targets. The states were told to take a thorough inventory of "critical infrastructure and resources," not a list of potential terrorist sites, so Indiana came up with over 8,000 places and events- twice as many as California and 30% more than New York. Do I think this was bad on Indiana's part, to answer with so many locations? No, I think the Homeland Security people here did their jobs. It goes to show how much better every other state could have done, because, Indiana should not be at top of that list. Indiana just set the bar, I suppose.
So now that the terrorists know that Indiana has the most potential terrorist targets, am I worried that the next 9/11 will be next door? Not in the slightest.

From my weekly Sojourners email:
I'm in no way an environmentalist (I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth yet, anyway), but I do like to be at least moderately environmentally responsible. I drive a gas-efficient car. I walk to work when the weather's nice. I recycle when I have the option. That kind of thing.
Something I appreciated in this last Sojourners emails was tips on where the best place to get gas is. The organization putting the list together, Co-op for America, says there's no such thing as a "good" gas company, but that some of the companies are more socially responsible than others. I was very happy to see that BP- my favorite- was at the top of the list. I'll continue to go there, if possible.

My more serious stories of the week:
I didn't understand in the first place why it wasn't initially obvious that 'detainees' in Cuba should be treated in accord with the Geneva Convention. I mean, if we're going for winning the Mideast's 'hearts and minds', then why not at least show a little dignity to these people we've captures- who we're not even sure are heavily involved in anything. Why didn't we err on the side of mercy? Well, at least finally people are being forced to come around, as the Supreme Court ruled, and White House finally conceded, that these prisoners must be treated within the international agreed-upon standard. I hope they follow through, for what's left of our country's integrity's sake.

A war is starting in the Middle East that we can't ignore. The US, and especially this administration, is an unconditional supporter of Israel. Right now, Israel is bombing its neighbor to the north, Lebanon. Hezbollah is spurring this all on, and I think Israel is glad for the excuse. I'm a bit nervous about what this could escalate to, because the whole world constantly seems to hinge on this small country Israel, no bigger than New Jersey.