Between the Lines

Ten Years of Freedom

South African voters elected a new national parliament and nine provincial governments in the nation's third "all-races" elections since the end of apartheid in 1994. Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu (above) applauds after casting his vote. "Often they say the first election after democracy is the last," Tutu told SABCNews. "Many countries degenerate into dictatorships. We are disproving that. We are taking it in our stride."

Counting Your Cubits

Maybe your thwarted dreams of urban development, ancient Hebrew-style, have got you down. Or you could just be pining for a reason to turn off the television. Either way, pout no more! Uberplay and Inspiration Games brings you "The Ark of the Covenant," an intriguing tile-laying game for all ages that adds biblical themes to the award-winning German game "Carcassonne." Each drawn tile adds to land, a road, a temple, or a city. Then sheep, wolves, and strategically placed followers and prophets add to the earned points of completed projects.

"The game doesn't try to teach doctrine. It just gives people an opportunity to talk about history and have fun," said Uberplay's Matt Molen. He says it's the perfect combination of collaboration and competition. (Of course, in Jesus' version the rules are reversed. You win by how much you give away.)

Sugar Rush

A 2003 report claims that the Bush administration's hydrogen economy initiative stops short of offering an affordable and efficient solution to U.S. dependence on foreign oil in the near future. David Morris, vice president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told Sojourners, "We can get to the same goal 20 years sooner at 1 percent of the cost if we embrace an ethanol strategy."

Morris' research shows that hydrogen production requires much more energy and money than ethanol implementation (from sources such as sugar), and ethanol production offers clear economic development opportunities for local communities. "Sugar refineries tend to be small-scale operations compared to oil refineries," said Morris.

• 600,000 - Estimated number of households that could hold equity in local U.S. biorefineries if each operation drew 400 investors.
• $600,000 - The cost of converting a gas station to hydrogen.
• $50,000 - The cost of converting a gas station to ethanol.
• $4-to-$8 - The current cost of hydrogen per gallon of gasoline equivalent.
• $1.50-to-$2 - The current cost of ethanol per gallon of gasoline equivalent.

Source: "A Better Way to Get From Here to There," by David Morris, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, December 2003.

I am Mordechai Vanunu

Anti-nuclear activist Mordechai Vanunu was released from an Israeli prison April 21 after completing an 18-year sentence for telling the world about Israel's previously secret nuclear weapons program. Vanunu exited Shikma Prison saying: "I am Mordechai Vanunu, the man behind The [London] Sunday Times article from October 5, 1986, the article about Israel's nuclear weapons."

The Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Riah Abu El-Assal, accompanied Vanunu, an Orthodox Jew who converted to Christianity in 1986, to the Cathedral of St. George in East Jerusalem to pray and celebrate communion with clergy from around the world. Due to concerns for his safety, El-Assal has offered Vanunu temporary sanctuary.

"I am inspired by Vanunu, who has prophetically sounded a warning to the world to end the nuclear peril," Catholic peace activist Art Laffin told Sojourners from Israel. "Having witnessed his release and meeting him for the first time after years of correspondence," Laffin said he's convinced that "Vanunu is truly a man of great faith and courage. Despite Israeli authorities placing unprecedented security restrictions on him, Vanunu's spirit is free."

For Pete's Sake

How can a Christian tick off both porn filmmakers and religious conservatives? Ask youth pastors Mike Foster and Craig Gross, who created xxxchurch.com, "the #1 Christian Porn Site" on the Internet, calling children and adults to "get in the gutter" and educate themselves about the physical and spiritual dangers of pornography.

Foster and Gross grabbed the attention of ABC, CNN, FOX News, and The Daily Show with their provocative television spot "Pete the Porno Puppet." The public service announcement - produced for free by California porn director James DiGiorgio (a Catholic who believes "adult" videos should be for adults) - warns children to be wary of pornography in locked drawers, parents' closets, and the Internet. The ad also tells parents to say "no" to pornography.

"XXXchurch is here to make you think, react, and to decide where you stand on the issues of porn," Craig Gross told Sojourners. "We're not here to sling mud, but to shove the envelope and try and do some good."

Good Medicine

The United Methodist Church has decided that its aging and medication-dependent denominational constituents can't wait until the fall presidential elections for relief from the high cost of prescription drugs. In a partnership with DestinationRx, an online service that offers savings cards redeemable at local pharmacies, the United Methodist Church now offers a prescription-drug discount card free of charge to all 8.3 million U.S. members. Each card offers discounts of up to 50 percent off regular prescription prices. Cardholders can purchase medications online or at one of 25,000 local pharmacies.

DestinationRx expects the volume of added customers to make up for the fee normally charged to enroll. "We had 30,000 people sign up in March alone," said Merle Griffith, CEO of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries. "Many people are choosing between food and groceries. I know a couple that was regularly taking half of their prescribed doses, which cost $1,200 per month," Griffith told Sojourners. "The card is saving them $342."