September/October 2001 Vol.4, No. 8 Contents The Coming Intervention in the Middle East by Darris McNeely Restoration by Darris McNeely A 20th Century Retrospective:The Shot Still Reverberating Around the World by Melvin Rhodes Partitioning Morality by Cecil E. Maranville In Brief... World News Review by Cecil Maranville, Melvin Rhodes, John Ross Schroeder and Jim Tuck This Is the Way... Just Outside My Window by Robin Webber Restoration by Darris McNeely Racism is an abhorrent evil that plagues the earth, but it will not be erased by conferences that continue to foster suspicion and mistrust. Nor will the legacy of slavery be salved by payments of money to any group historically exploited by another. Earlier this month, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held a weeklong conference in Durban, South Africa. Officially, the conference was called, "The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance." Its purpose was to discuss the deep divide in today's world caused by this scourge. Unfortunately, the conference was marred from the opening day by efforts to label Zionism in general, and Israel in particular, as racist because of Israeli treatment of Palestinians. The United States had refused to send a high level delegation because of attempts to set an agenda incompatible with American policy interests. One of the issues addressed was that of reparations to countries and peoples who suffered in the past under slavery. This is an ongoing issue that flows from German payments to Jews for atrocities committed during the Holocaust. Many African nations and human rights leaders say that those countries which promoted and benefited from slavery and colonialism should make monetary payment to atone for their abuses. While no one hesitates to condemn the practice of slavery, the issue of financial reparations is controversial. American Secretary of State Colin Powell, himself an African American, illustrated the complexities of the problem by asking, "Would I get compensation for slavery, or would I pay for it?" The former secretary-general of Amnesty International, Pierre Sané, says that a check cannot compensate for spilled blood. How true! It is a sign of our material-driven world to suggest that money could make restitution for all the human injustice caused by slavery. Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0109/restoration0109.htm Related Information on UCG Sites: Table of Contents that includes "Restoration (9/01)" Other Articles by Darris McNeely Slavery: _World News Review July 1999 _World News Review February 2004 _Keep Your Eyes on Iran _Generation Debt _The Eternal Quest for Freedom _Freedom: The Unfinished Struggle _How One of Today's 'Bad Guys' Ended the Scourge of Slavery _Christianity: Burden or Blessing to Mankind? _True Freedom _The Exodus Controversy _You Are Free! _God's Amazing Grace and Two Great Men Search Our Site Key Subjects Index General Topics Index Biblical References Index Good News Magazine Index Booklets and All Literature Index Home Page of this site