—Why?!

Revelation 12
¹²…But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.

Everybody already knows the answer. Hatred, exclusion, isolation, slights, insults, injuries, injustices—real or imagined—reprisal, revenge, violence, poverty, genocide….and that monster lurks outside, growing more desperate by the hour, waiting for the right moment, a weak place to enter, exactly the right person, place, and moment to bring Hell to Earth.
I don’t even have to check the news to see what goes on in other peoples’ minds, just drive down the street. Humans weren’t built to move a mile-a-minute, and the first thing we give up when we’re trying to cope is our pretense to civilization.
All these things haunt the edges of my consciousness, too, and possibly worse—ideas that might make all of this look like it works until it’s too late to escape. But I know these things won’t defeat me, nor any of those other evils see the light of day, because God Promised:

John 16
³³I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

As evil as current events have become, they are likely to get far worse, as the imminent end of evil’s time drives it to greater outrages, more psychotic destruction, more perversion of law and justice and truth in its desperate, mindless last frantic attempt to avoid a defeat that was completed before any of us were born.
There is a Way off the road to Hell, an end to evil and a pathway to real justice, the complete Truth, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and peace beyond mere human comprehension.

Romans 8
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But the “time is short”.

—Gunmen Kill At Least 32 at Virginia Tech

Incomprehensible

My Way News – Gunman Kills 21 on Virginia Tech Campus
The death toll from at least two separate gunmen at Virginia Tech is rising faster than the news services’ web components can keep up—at least 32 dead so far. There was a news conference, but as far as I know, nobody has proposed any sort of motive, or even definitive proof that the two incidents are actually related—not that a technical “explanation” is going to make this hellishness any more comprehensible.
This death toll—according to a Wikipedia news entry— has surpassed Charles Whitman’s sniper killing toll from the University of Texas Tower (15) and the Columbine shootings in 1999 (13) put together—making it the worst school mass shooting incident in American history.
[Reports now indicate that officials believe that only one individual committed all the murders--- somehow escaping from the first shootings at the dormitory building and proceeding to a classroom building to shoot and kill more students a couple of hours later.]

—Iraqi Parliament, Tigris Bridge Attacked

FOXNews.com [AP]- Two Lawmakers Killed in Bomb Attack on Iraq’s Parliament
Building
In a serious setback for anyone who still holds any hope that Iraq can have peace and stability, a suicide attacker detonated himself in the cafeteria of the Iraqi Parliament building within the Allied “Green Zone”. The dead (up to 3 at last notice) and wounded included Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish victims, making the attack all the more incomprehensible.
It seems nearly inconceivable that such an attack could have been made without complicity of security forces in the Zone.

My Way News [AP]- 10 Killed in Baghdad Suicide Bombing
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/photoessay_1635_images/0412070623_M_041207_baghdad_bridge.jpg
Earlier today, yet another idiot blew up himself and a truck laden with explosives on one of the major bridges over the Tigris River. At least 10 are dead, with others missing after their vehicles fell into the river.
Demonstrating an apparent Wile E. Coyote understanding of gravity, the early AP accounts concluded that the bridge must have been attacked by two bombers simultaneously, since the span was broken in more than one place.

—The New Passover

Luke 22
14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

There is that word again, πληρόω “complete, fullfill”, this time in the passive subjunctive—through Him, the Passover is to “be completed”. In the Passover, God intended to “paint us a picture” of a purpose so vitally important that He ordained a yearly commemoration of it that persists to this day. Now Jesus completes the picture for us, and ordains a commemoration of the Passover of the New Covenant:

Luke 22
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

As the Passover commemorates God’s deliverance through Moses of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, so the “Lord’s Supper”, as we usually call it, commemorates God’s greatest deliverance through Jesus Christ of all of His children from slavery to sin and death.
Our Church’s celebration of the Holy Week again this year included a demonstration by Jewish members of our congregation of some of the elements of the traditional Seder observance, to remind us of this connection between the Old and the New.

—So…Tired…

FOXNews.com – House Democrats Offer Plan to Ban Use of ‘Global War on Terror’
Too…much…material…coming in….too…fast….
Too…tired…to….blog…anymore…(—gasp—wheeze—)

—British Sailors Freed?

My Way News [AP]- Iran Says 15 British Captives Free
What really demoralizes me about this whole situation is….we’ve had almost 40 years of this Iranian revolutionary regime, and Hell’s own sock-puppets still can’t write decent material….

–The Speaker-Empress and the Murdering Terrorist Tyrant

[Ok, as kids' bedtime stories go, it probably won't catch on. "They can't all be gems."]

My Way News [AP] – Pelosi Meets Syrian President
War is all Hell, and one of the greatest evils of human civilization. There are greater evils, however. They must be considered to include betrayal, treachery, and treason, particularly when conducted for such motives as self-aggrandizement, naked avarice, and person gain.
Oh…back to the news story…
Having bored herself with trampling on the seniority of U.S. House committe heads from her own political party, Speaker-Empress Madame Pelosi is meeting with Bashar Assad, having apparently determined that her personal Legislative Branch of the American government should usurp diplomatic powers from the Executive. From the context of the AP report, we may conclude that the Speaker-Empress is now negotiating the return of the Golan by Israel, and anything else that might keep the region in a state of chaos as long the opposing party is in the White House.

My Way News [AP]- Clashes in Pakistan Kill 60 Near Border
The Speaker-Empress Pelosi might want to get the lead out, however, as the tide may be threatening to turn in some places. Pakistani tribesmen in South Waziristan, apparently resentful of repression and murder at the hands of foreign militants, teamed up successfully last month to fight Uzbeki insurgents.

—The 357 MPH Train

FOXNews.com – French Train Hits 357 MPH Breaking World Speed Record
[Yeah, I know...it should be reported in KPH...but I think I've sufferred enough for one day.]
They got close to the absolute train speed record on this trip, currently held by a Japanese maglev. The train had oversized wheels, a 25,000 HP motor, and heavier overhead cables delivering higher than normal voltage. It remains to be seen whether the effort will be reflected in regular train service in the near future.
I am reminded of our train travel during our recent European vacation, particularly the trip on a high-speed train from Paris to Rouen. I have video shot from the back window of the train at full speed, if I can figure out how to embed it in a weblog. It should give a pretty realistic sensation of the speeds involved, although I never found out exactly how fast we were going.

—Unusual Places…

According to Sitemeter, some of the strange places where S.U. has been read in the last month or so include:

Curitiba, Brazil
Alexandria, Egypt
Le Moulin, France
Hamburg, Germany
New Delhi, India
Istanbul, Turkey
Rome, Italy
Tokyo, Japan
Amman, Jordan
Amersfoort, Netherlands
Madrid, Spain
Stockholm, Sweden
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

—Disastrous Tsunami in the Solomons

My Way News – Tsunami Devastates Western Solomons
A strong earthquake hurled a tsunami into the Solomon Islands this morning (per U.S. CDT). There have been a lot of strong aftershocks. At least 13 dead, many missing, and the death toll very likely to climb as communications are restored.
Solomon Islands – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CIA – The World Factbook — Solomon Islands
My awareness of the Solomons seems to be limited to their pivotal role in the Pacific Theater in World War II, especially the historic Battle of Guadalcanal. The Solomons’ efforts at self-rule since then have been plagued by corruption and unrest involving violent ethnic militias, culminating in the intervention of an Australian-led police force and an international assistance mission (RAMSI). Political and social unrest continue, and the inhabitants can ill afford today’s catastrophe. Prayer is indicated.