It has been reported that two weeks ago, Boko Haram used
speedboats to abduct over 100 people, mostly young men from the town of Doron
Baga, near Lake Chad. However, Nigerian soldiers have contradicted reports of
the kidnappings, saying they fought off Boko Haram’s attack on Doron Baga after
Boko Haram, in a display of bravado, warned of the attack a few days in
advance! The Nigerians say no civilians were abducted but that a few were
killed in the crossfire. But a week later, there were reports that 65 men and
22 women were rescued when soldiers from Chad became suspicious at the large
number of people in a convoy attempting to cross the Nigeria/Chad border. About
30 remain in captivity, as do many of the schoolgirls kidnapped four months
ago.
A lawyer in China who regularly defended Christians against
the Government in court has been released from prison after serving a 3 year sentence for “subversion.” He hopes
to join his family in the USA but permission has not yet been granted. He says
that his teeth are so loose he cannot eat.
A Liberian doctor who contracted Ebola while treating
patients has been given the experimental new drug that recently saved an American,
but has died anyway. Two more of his colleagues are still being treated.
An Indonesian man who was raised a Muslim but converted to
Christianity is receiving aid and medical attention from a Christian charity after four years of moving
from one place to another to avoid death threats from his family. His wife’s
family also kidnapped their daughter and made her cut off contact with her
parents. The man lost his job as a result of constant moves and his health is
now deteriorating.
Two pastors in Bhutan who were arrested in April for holding
a Christian seminar are still awaiting trial. A local source says the men are
likely to be acquitted – additional non-religious charges of attempted
financial extortion were refuted by witnesses -- but their trial is deliberately
being delayed to harass them further; they have already spent 49 days in jail
before being released on bail. One of the pastors said how encouraged he had
been to receive cards of support from concerned Westerners: “I have never
received so many cards,” he said.
In this “year of the Christian film,” two more films have
been released that are worthy of mention. “The Perfect Wave” is a love story
with an explicit Christian message; it is notable for starring former Charlie’s
Angel and lifelong Christian Cheryl Ladd. “The Giver”, starring Jeff Bridges
and Meryl Streep, is not an explicitly Christian film but is noteworthy because
it is jointly funded by the (liberal/left wing) producer Harvey Weinstein and (conservative)
Walden Media, who financed the Narnia films. Its plot features a futuristic
world where the government runs everything in a “nanny state” and secretly euthanises
non-contributors and dissenters. Such plots have been seen before in films like
“Equilibrium” and “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, but the key difference in this film
is that the dystopian futuristic world appears to be based on the current
policies of the American left wing, but implemented to extremes.
In technology news, the US Copyright Office has issued new
guidance saying that copyright cannot be owned by animals; nor can it be owned
by any “divine or supernatural being” who is purportedly the creator of a
document or image. The ruling comes in the wake of the “monkey selfie”
controversy. The British photographer whose camera was used by the monkey to
take the “selfie” has some chance of claiming copyright if he can prove that he
created the conditions in which the “monkey selfie” was taken, but it would
probably involve a long legal test case.
And finally, a Starbucks drive-through in St Petersburg,
Florida has set an unofficial record for consecutive “pay it forward” gifts. At
7:21 in the morning, a lady paid for her iced coffee and decided to pay for the
caramel macchiato ordered by the customer behind her. The staff informed the
next customer, who accepted the gift but paid for the order of the person
behind them. Throughout the day, each customer was greeted with, “Your order is
free; it has been paid for by the previous customer. Would you like to buy a
coffee for the next customer?” The “pay it forward” sequence continued until
the 458th customer in the chain arrived at 6pm, gratefully accepted
the free coffee, but declined to pay for the next customer’s drink.
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