The AFP Blog – Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009

Chris Graham

– Stuarts Draft man charged with murder for hire, Thursday, 6 p.m. – Miss America 2008 to speak at JMU on eating disorders, Thursday, 5:50 p.m. – Family Foundation praises passage of marriage curriculum bill, Thursday, 5:50 p.m. – White House announces formation of faith-based partnerships office, Thursday, 5:50 p.m. – Wagner picks up several…

Jim Bishop | Have we gotten out of sorts over sports?

Jim Bishop

Dave King knows he’s juggling a “hot potato,” but he feels his message is urgent. Dave, the athletic director at Eastern Mennonite University, believes firmly in the value of sports, but is raising red flags over what he perceives as “the new American dream” of obsessing over sports and sports competition.

Dorothy Jean Weaver | Israeli-Palestinian conflict is tragic for everyone

AFP

Gaza 2009. A scene of almost incalculable tragedy. Body count: Some 1,300 Palestinians, 13 Israelis. On one side of the border massive death, brutal destruction and unceasing terror rain down from the skies on a civilian population with nowhere to flee for safety. Untold misery and despair on the ground for men, women, and children…

Lisa Schirch | The right to self-defense is not a strategy for peace

AFP

From an Israeli perspective, the cost in international outrage and Palestinian civilian lives of the current attacks on Gaza is worth the price of crushing Hamas’s firepower. The goal is seductive, and Israel will likely succeed in slowing the development of rockets by Hamas in the short term. But just like Israel’s siege of Lebanon…

The Death of Newspapers, Act I

AFP

Reading the comment section on its own website, you’d come away thinking that the most recent cost-saving measure being implemented at The News Leader is the result of its “liberal bias.” The truth is a lot more complicated, as it usually is. The paper is requiring all salaried and hourly employees to take a five-day…