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Pedaling to Shangri-La

“What would possess you to do such a thing?”

This is a question Claire and I get from Americans when they hear of our tandem bicycle travels in third-world countries and our perseverance in spite of difficult conditions. Of… Read the rest

“Same Same” (but different)

A knock off, a fake, a facsimile. Piracy in Vietnam floods the streets like monsoon rains. Street vendors of old Saigon sling armloads of poor representations of original art, music, movies and books.

Wrapped in plastic as carefully as… Read the rest

The New China

After the tumultuous years of the opium wars and near the end of Great Britain’s quasi control of much of eastern China, the British wisely determined to keep one portion that would be the easiest for them to defend… Read the rest

Good Christian Americans

If you thought that Bible-thumping, holy rollin’, Confederate flag waving, southern-fried, “come to Jesus” religion was a thing of the past, think again.

If you haven’t seen it recently, rent the DVD of “Inherit the Wind,” starring… Read the rest

Is Intelligent Design science?

Few topics get my dander up more than the assertion that Intelligent Design (ID) should be taught in the public schools as a scientific theory. There is too much evidence to indicate that ID is not science, although Gregory… Read the rest

Who are the Uyghurs?

Editor’s Note: Events of recent weeks in far western China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region, prompted this submission from someone who has been there, and who must – for now – remain anonymous.

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Urumqi, Xinjiang is a fascinating… Read the rest

The Language Barrier

When my husband retired from the Foreign Service and the United Nations, we decided to visit our children, Jeffrey and Leslie, who were attending the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. It didn’t take long before we… Read the rest

The God Delusion

“The genie of religious fanaticism is rampant in present-day America, and the Founding Fathers would have been horrified,” so reports Richard Dawkins early on in his best-selling book, The God Delusion.

He also shares the following 1981 quote from… Read the rest

The New Homeless

The dark blue late model Buick pulled carefully into a parking spot in the back lot of a Wal-Mart store. Powerful lights cast a harsh light, displacing the final glow of a weak March twilight as it faded from… Read the rest

Doing God's will – American style

Is America really a Christian nation? Can we say that we are truly favored by God over all other countries? While you’re coming up with answers to those questions, try this answering this one with a… Read the rest

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