God's Politics Blog » Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net A Blog by Jim Wallis and Friends Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:53:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Biden vs. Cheney on Afghanistan, the Unpopularity of Lamentation, and Shutter Island http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/biden-vs-cheney-on-afghanistan-the-unpopularity-of-lamentation-and-shutter-island/ http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/biden-vs-cheney-on-afghanistan-the-unpopularity-of-lamentation-and-shutter-island/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:57:40 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=16093 Joe Biden appeared on the Sunday morning talk shows last week to defend the Obama administration from Dick Cheney’s disgraceful attacks, which appear to suggest his earlier bloodlust has not yet been satisfied, despite everything his time in the White…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/biden-vs-cheney-on-afghanistan-the-unpopularity-of-lamentation-and-shutter-island/feed/ 7 Why Clint Eastwood Can be Trusted with Mandela (and Why Glenn Beck Can’t be Trusted with MLK) http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/30/why-clint-eastwood-can-be-trusted-with-mandela-and-why-glenn-beck-cant-be-trusted-with-mlk/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/30/why-clint-eastwood-can-be-trusted-with-mandela-and-why-glenn-beck-cant-be-trusted-with-mlk/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:00:33 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12957 091030-invictusIt’s that time of year again — you know, when Clint Eastwood releases a trailer for a movie that looks fascinating and completely different from the last thing he did, and your trio of reactions run something like this: 1)…

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]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/20/a-pre-emptive-peace-prize/feed/ 12 Roman Polanski and the Politics of Remembering http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/30/roman-polanski-and-the-politics-of-remembering/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/30/roman-polanski-and-the-politics-of-remembering/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:20:26 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12082 I’m reluctant to comment regarding film-maker Roman Polanski’s arrest and the attempt to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges stemming from his admitted sex offence against a 13 year old girl in 1977, because the issues are complex…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/30/roman-polanski-and-the-politics-of-remembering/feed/ 30 My Experience of U.S. Health Care as a Recent Immigrant (Part II) http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/12/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant-part-ii/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/12/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant-part-ii/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:00:37 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10863 I have friends in the UK who are doctors, men and women who work in intense, busy careers.  Like many salaried positions, things get exponentially better the longer you’re in the system.  And, like their counterparts in the U.S., UK…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/12/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant-part-ii/feed/ 10 My Experience of U.S. Health Care as a Recent Immigrant (Part I) http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/10/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/10/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:00:20 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10784 Regular readers will know that in the past year, I embarked on a genuinely life-altering journey.  I emigrated to the United States, got married, and now make my home in North Carolina.  I love this country – its culture, its…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/10/my-experience-of-us-health-care-as-a-recent-immigrant/feed/ 11 The Hurt Locker and the Cause of War http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/04/10647/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/04/10647/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:00:35 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10647 Let’s get one thing straight: I have no idea what war is really like.  I’ve seen ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Thin Red Line,’ I grew up in a place colonized by a long-running civil conflict, and I’ve been to…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/04/10647/feed/ 5 Health Care in the UK: An Astonishing Example of Communitarian Justice http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/14/health-care-in-the-uk-an-astonishing-example-of-communitarian-justice/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/14/health-care-in-the-uk-an-astonishing-example-of-communitarian-justice/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:30:30 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10074 Sometime in the spring of 1974, my world was somewhat disturbed by the event of my conception, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.   When this became obvious to my parents, they went to see a doctor, employed by the UK National Health…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/14/health-care-in-the-uk-an-astonishing-example-of-communitarian-justice/feed/ 15 Abortion: Conversations, Not Killings http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/02/abortion-conversations-not-killings/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/02/abortion-conversations-not-killings/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:00:07 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9067 Yesterday on The Huffington Post, former religious-right leader Frank Schaeffer made a significant response to the murder of Dr. George Tiller, acknowledging his part in the blame for creating the sparks that too easily turn into wildfires:

The reason this issue will…

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]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/28/8965/feed/ 18 Fox ‘News’ on ‘Obama’s Apology Tour’ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/11/fox-news-on-obamas-apology-tour/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/11/fox-news-on-obamas-apology-tour/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 15:00:04 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=8511 Yesterday, under the headline ‘Obama’s Apology Tour’, FoxNews.com, in typical sneering style, published the following story [alas, they did not opt to print my not always entirely serious commentary alongside, which I have included below in parentheses for God's Politics readers]:

During…

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]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/13/watchmen-a-clone-without-a-soul/feed/ 5 New Violence Takes Aim at Northern Ireland’s Hard-Won Peace http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/09/new-violence-threatens-northern-irelands-hard-won-peace/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/09/new-violence-threatens-northern-irelands-hard-won-peace/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:00:16 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=6837 On Saturday night, two young soldiers preparing to go to Afghanistan were murdered in Antrim, Northern Ireland.  Four other people, including two men delivering pizzas, were injured.  The people who carried out the attack — members of a group that…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/09/new-violence-threatens-northern-irelands-hard-won-peace/feed/ 0 Audio: Gearing up for the Oscars with Great Films from 2008 http://blog.sojo.net/2009/02/02/audio-gearing-up-for-the-oscars-with-great-films-from-2008/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/02/02/audio-gearing-up-for-the-oscars-with-great-films-from-2008/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:15:13 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://blog.sojo.net/?p=5842 With the bad economy leaving people without a lot of extra money, many of us have been hunkering down at home with a movie and homemade popcorn. Also, the Oscars are coming up, so I thought it would be a…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/02/02/audio-gearing-up-for-the-oscars-with-great-films-from-2008/feed/ 0 A Controversial Approach to Healing Northern Ireland’s Violent Past http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/29/a-controversial-approach-to-healing-northern-irelands-violent-past/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/29/a-controversial-approach-to-healing-northern-irelands-violent-past/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:34:40 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=5749 It’s a significant week in Northern Ireland, with the latest development in the long-running peace process.  The report of the Consultative Group on the Past – established to recommend how we might find ways to deal with the legacy of…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/29/a-controversial-approach-to-healing-northern-irelands-violent-past/feed/ 3 The Futility of Violence: Eastwood’s Gran Torino http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/12/the-futility-of-violence-eastwoods-gran-torino/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/12/the-futility-of-violence-eastwoods-gran-torino/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:30:43 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=5202 090112-gran-torinoThe other day I heard a 78-year-old man sing, through a cracked voice, one of the most moving and gentle jazz melodies, as the iconic image of a fetishized sports car being driven into the sunset was projected. And, not…

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]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2008/12/22/2008-cinema-in-review/feed/ 7 Bill Maher’s Religulous: Polemic Based on Cynical Preconceptions http://blog.sojo.net/2008/10/13/bill-mahers-religulous-an-infuriating-attack-based-on-cynical-preconceptions/ http://blog.sojo.net/2008/10/13/bill-mahers-religulous-an-infuriating-attack-based-on-cynical-preconceptions/#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:58:26 +0000 Gareth Higgins http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=2854 Bill Maher is that rare thing: a media figure unafraid to say what he really thinks.  When he intervened in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, suggesting that it’s better to deal intelligently with terrorism than to indulge in absurdist name-calling,…

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