News

Once, while I was waiting to watch the news, I remember several ads that were playing. There was nothing remarkable in this, by itself; ads are part of the daily bombardment of modern society. What got my attention this time, however, was that one ad was about a video game, and the narrator mentioned right from the start: “Rated for Teenagers.” I then saw image after image of men in body armor shooting other men in body armor, of explosion after explosion.

All day, every day, our “inner voice” chatters away at us in an internal monologue we have with ourselves. This “discussion” can be positive or negative, and it greatly impacts our lives in many ways we might not often think about.

On Thursday, May 5th, in Syria’s war-torn Homs province, beautiful music temporarily drowned out the echoes of bombs and gunshots. On a stage where Islamic State militants once murdered their victims and destroyed ancient artifacts, a Russian symphony orchestra played familiar classics. What prompted this brief interlude of peace and normalcy amid the ongoing terror?

“Human life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg, scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the astonishing ‘fireworks’ on film.

“Sweltering temperatures and a severe water crisis have claimed more than 300 lives in India. Officials have banned daytime cooking in some parts of the country to prevent accidental fires that have killed 80 more people… temperatures since the start of April have reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit)” (Deutsche Welle, May 1, 2016). “The water crisis is very bad here. Wells have dried up in almost every household.