The MSN box pops up with the question, "Is Gwyneth too pretty too hate?". Please. Isn't life a little to short to waste time on this? What is with us? In my in box there's a report from Christian Peacemaker Teams. They have a presence in Iraq--doing peacework, accompanying people to see detained relatives, documenting the war. Here's what they deal with:

"Gish, Brunk and Milne [CPT members] visited the home of Ibrahim Al Ethawi in Al Daura.His brother, elderly and frail, remains detained in camp Bucca,the primary detention facility for the Multinational Force (MNF.) The wife ofthe detainee showed the team where U.S. military had broken doors andfurniture in a night raid. A nephew told of soldiers beating him andbreaking his nose. MNF soldiers detained other family members and later released them. Children of one of Ibrahim's nephews are fearful everytime he leaves the house, thinking he may be imprisoned again. Ibrahim said conditions are getting worse, with imprisoned farmers' families unable to plant and harvest crops. Date farmers' trees are damaged by fires the military set along the roadways. Farmers cannot fly helicopters to spray their diseased trees. Ibrahim described his family as "all Iraqis," pointing to the Shia, Sunniand Kurds in the room. Western media exaggerate divisions, he said."

Or how about this, homeside:

"You can't even find like one piece of furniture," said Virginia Tyson, whose Pensacola home was destroyed. "There isn't a couch. There isn't a chair. Nothing is intact at all."

I go to a church conference and hear about divisions within the membership--questions of interpretation and point of view--things that are tearing churches apart. Can't we all just relax a little, love our neighbor and quit judging? (She says this, realizing that her finger should point at her own self first.)