U.S. Vice President Joe Biden loves the limelight. And he had a chance to bask in it during his recent high profile visit to the Middle East for the purpose of kick-starting peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. After declaring that "everone knows that there is simply no space between the United States and Israel," Biden discovered that even in tight quarters one can still suffer a sharp kick in the groin. 
          Shortly after Mr. Biden's visit ended, Israel announced that it was beginning construction on 1,600 new homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem, which has long been home to Palestinians. Such a decision put an immediate halt to the possibility of serious peace talks, and Biden was justifiably furious, issuing a sharp condemnation of the decision. It was "precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now," he said.
          The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is a throwback to Old Testament times. After the Exodus, as the Hebrews were preparing to invade the land of the Canaanites, Moses reported that God had told him, "Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enought to take possession of the [entire] land." This is exactly what appears to be happening today. While everyone talks about a "two-state solution," Israel steadily exapands its territory, expelling Palestinians "little by little" from their homes along the way. America's support for Israel has always been strong, but it is difficult to see how even pro-Israeli Christians can conceive of Israeli policy as being just. And without justice there can be no lasting peace.

          Hundreds of Nigerians, most of them Christian, have been killed this past week in ethnic violence near the city of Jos, capital of Plateau State in central Nigeria. The murders are said to be retaliation for the killing of Muslims by Christians a couple of months ago. I’ve written about this before, since both Georgia and I have personal ties there.

The truth of the matter is that these are not cases of religiously-motivated violence, as the press has been reporting. Rather, it is an ongoing struggle between two local ethnic groups for fertile land and other resources in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. I draw my own conclusions from reliable reports by the Anglican archbishop of Jos, and Caroline Duffield, a BBC correspondent in Nigeria.

The Central Plateau’s leading ethnic group is the Beromas, who are Christians. Nigeria classifies its citizens as “indigenese” (native to the land) and “settlers” (late-comers to a given area). Fulani Muslims in the area are classified as settlers, even though they have lived in and around Jos for generations and don’t even remember where they came from originally. Settlers are banned from some local government positions and the state does not pay for their children’s education. They feel discriminated against.

However, no one really knows (or perhaps they don't want to know) exactly who is formenting the current killings. But those who, in the past, have used violence to settle political and economic issues, and tribal differences, are not continuing to so, but this time under the cover of religious conflict.

          Part of the tension has religious roots, however, for Islam is steadily gaining popularity in the Central Plateau. Islamic values – communal living, clear roles for men and women, tolerance of polygamy – have much in common with traditional African life. For many Africans, it makes more sense to reject American and European secular values with its culture of individualism and half-naked women, by embracing Islam.      

          I gave up flying back in 1984, having become convinced that the cattlecar-like hassle involved just wasn’t worth it. I substituted the auto for the airplane – but that meant giving up overseas travel. I didn’t really mind that, for I was preoccupied with my inner city ministries, and the Internet made it easy for me to maintain overseas friendships.

          Of late, however, I am finding auto travel tiring, so I have been turning to the railroads. Ten months ago I made a 7,000 mile, month long, cross-country trip on Amtrak, visiting children, grandchildren and some friends. The trip was relatively inexpensive and, for the most part, easy, with seating more spacious than in airplanes, dining car service, opportunity to stroll around, etc.
          But It was also slow. It started out well enough, the New York-Washington, D.C. leg averaging 80 miles an hour. But D.C. to New Orleans averaged far less, and the New Orleans-Los Angeles leg was slower still.     
          So I have become a fan of President Obama’s commitment to upgrade America’s high-speed rail service. This is going to take a lot of work. Amtrak’s Acela express, as I noted above, averages 80 miles per hour between New York and Washington, but this is hardly better than ordinary trains were averaging this speed back in the 1960s, Compare this with the Paris-Marseilles high speed train that averages 160 miles per hour over its 500 mile distance.
          To bring America’s rail system up to snuff, Amtrak has to upgrade its track, straighten out its curves, improve the overhead electric wires, build dedicated lines so that high-speed trains are not routinely held up by freight trains, and revise a host of state and federal regulations. If this can be done – unfortunately, it is doubtful in the present economic climate – my grandchildren might witness the introduction of a second great American railway age.

          Tomorrow, March 8 (which has already arrived in some parts of the world) marks the 100^th International Women’s Day. So perhaps we might note the role that female peacekeepers are playing in today’s world.
          Female peacekeepers began participating in United Nations missions – so Doreen Carvajal, writing in the New York Times, tells us – in the 1990s, in the Balkans, and acting more like public servants than armed invaders. “When female soldiers are present, the situation is much closer to real life, and as a result the male warriors tend to behave,” says Professor Gerard DeGroot of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. “Any conflict where you have an all-male army, it’s like a holiday from reality. If you inject women into that situation, they do have a civilizing effect.”

Nigeria and India are the top contributors of female peacekeepers. And war-ravaged Liberia, in West Africa, is one of the places where women soldiers are making an impressive contribution. Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is enthusiastic about their presence. She notes that with the arrival of female peacekeepers, the number of rapes of civilian women has been cut in half.“  I came here to make peace in this country,” says Olayiwola Olanike, 50, a staff sergeant, nurse, and mother of two. “It’s like any household,” observes Brigadier General Ebiowei Awala, the officer in charge. “When the mother culture is there, people change.”

          “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” Jesus declared. Amen to that!

           


          Thirty-plus years ago China abandoned the communist economic system and committed itself to a version of free-market capitalism. As a consequence its economy has developed dramatically. At the same time, the gap between its rich and the poor has steadily widened, even as it has here in the USA over the past generation.         
          So, as reported by Beijing-based Tania Branigan in The Guardian newspaper (London), in his annual policy speech earlier this week, Premier Wen Jiabao (photo) promised to increase welfare spending, especially in the rural areas, in order to halt the growing chasm between the nation’s rich and poor. “We will not only make the pie of social wealth bigger by developing the economy [along capitalist lines], but also distribute it well” [as per socialist doctrine]. Premier Wen admitted that Chinese society was “doomed to instability” if wealth is allowed to concentrate in the hands of the few.
          In order to provide the necessary funding for China’s welfare program, the premier had previously announced a sharp reduction in the rate of military spending for the coming year. Or, as the Bible would put it, the Chinese are exchanging swords for plowshares.  Would that America could do the same.       
          The tension between rich and poor in society is no new phenomenon. James, the brother of Jesus, writing to “the twelve [Hebrew] tribes scattered among the nations,” a few years after the Christ event, asked rhetorically, “Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?” He followed this up by prophesying to the rich of his day:“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. The workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter…”
          To listen to some of my Christian colleagues, one would think that the same capitalist system that creates wealth so effectively is equally effective in distributing it. “Just leave it to the market; the market will take care of everything.” In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth, from reality. That is why a mix of capitalism and socialism will always be necessary to produce the just society. America is no exception.