Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east.
The Three Kings (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) represented Europe, Arabia and Africa respectively.
They came from afar, searching for Baby Jesus and brought them presents: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
These valuable items were standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil.
Story behind the song
There is so much mystery surrounding the story of the Three Kings. Who were they? Where did they come from? What relation did they have to each other? We only really know what (or Who) they were after.
Their only guides were ancient scripture and a bright star. They would not give up until they found the Savior of the world, no matter the cost.
Our arrangement of this traditional Christmas song “We Three Kings” is a tribute to them, their tenacity, and their Noble Purpose.
The three Kings (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) represented Europe, Arabia and Africa respectively.
Hundreds of years ago, roast lamb was traditionally served at Epiphany in honor of Christ and the three Kings’ visit.
Whoever finds the small statue of a baby Jesus hidden inside their slice of the Rosca de Reyes throws a party on Candlemas in February.
In some European countries, children leave their shoes out the night before to be filled with gifts, while others leave straw for the three Kings’ horses.
According to Greek Orthodox Church’s traditions, a priest will bless the waters by throwing a cross into it as worshipers try to retrieve it.
In Bulgaria too, Eastern Orthodox priests throw a cross in the sea and the men dive in – competing to get to it first.
In Venice a traditional regatta that started as a joke in the late 1970’s has been incorporated in the celebrations of Epiphany Day.
In Prague, there is a traditional Three Kings swim to commemorate Epiphany Day at the Vltava River.
In New York, El Museo del Barrio has celebrated and promoted the Three Kings’ Day tradition with an annual parade for more than three decades. Thousands take part in the procession featuring camels, colorful puppets and floats.
The day’s activities involve singing holiday carols called aguinaldos.
“All You Need Is Love” is a song by the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
~~Wikipedia~~
PARTIAL LYRICS
There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It’s easy
Nothing you can make that can’t be made
No one you can save that can’t be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It’s easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need …
I got tears in my eyes as I watched and listened and the message is so simple,
“All You Need Is Love.”
I love the Beatles and this song and I have to ask the question, when are we going to love our children and our neighbors more than, our wars, or things, our technology, our ideologies, religions, political ideas, material goods, profits and wealth! Stop the waste, the hate and the greed, LOVE!
It just takes one candle to cruse the darkness, be one of them.
I was away from home when Cecil the Lion was killed.
I remember the news coming over my social media stream.
I remember the feelings I felt about this event.
There were many who considered that too much coverage and importance was given to the death of a lion.
I think that many wanted this to simply go away. There were the true believers in this injustice, there were the fanatics and there were the true souls who felt the pain of this loss.
I also became aware of the hunting trade, the trophy hunt, the business behind this industry and realized that it wasn’t going away any time soon.
Airlines place new rules about transporting animal trophies, protests were planned and conducted, death threats and violence were a fact.
Yet, still the facts of it all, to me, is that humans are decimating this planet.
I don’t see any major change in spite of organizations trying to conserve, preserve and care for these precious creatures. So many species are slowly but steadily disappearing.
I have shared several posts about this topic … yet I fail to see a change.
Cecil was wounded with an arrow by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game hunter, was then tracked, and on 1 July 2015, allegedly killed with a rifle approximately 40 hours later.
The trophy hunting industry in Africa received new attention as Zimbabwe officials called for the extradition of the American dentist who recently admitted to killing Cecil the lion, sparking worldwide outrage.
Though there is intense interest in Cecil’s killing in particular, wildlife and conservation officials say hundreds of lions and other big-game animals – some of them endangered -are hunted, killed and brought back as trophies to the U.S. every year.
Trophy hunting expert Peter LaFontaine, who works as a campaigns officer for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), spoke to ABC News to explain the basics of trophy hunting and the ongoing controversies about the industry beyond the killing of Cecil the lion.
What is trophy hunting?
Trophy hunting is the legal practice of selectively hunting wild game animals, usually larger animals and usually to take back home taxidermied parts of the animal such as the head or carcass for display as a “trophy,” LaFontaine told ABC News. Poaching, on the other hand, is the illegal version of killing wild game.
“Trophy hunters usually bring back the skin, head, tusks or fur for display and to brag about to fellow hunting buddies,” LaFontaine said.
“Trophy hunters are typically not going to be your average white-tailed deer hunter,” LaFontaine said. “Most of the folks who do this are men from a wealthier subset. These are people who, for vacation, go to an African country and pay up to tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to kill a lion, rhino or elephant that they can bring back home.”
With the heartbreak, outrage and uproar about Cecil the lion, a few things need to be addressed …
When are we going to have the courage to ask ourselves why we don’t cry out for the billions of animals who are slaughtered every year? The 300 million animals that we kill every single day?
World Rhino Day is on September 22 and celebrates all five species of rhino: Black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos.
World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010. The following year, World Rhino Day grew into an international success, encompassing both African and Asian rhino species, thanks to the efforts of two determined women …
It all started with an email.
In mid-2011, Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe was already planning ahead for World Rhino Day. She searched online for ideas and potential collaborators, and found Rhishja’s blog. Lisa Jane sent Rhishja an email, and the two found they shared a common goal of making World Rhino Day a day of celebration for all five species of rhino.
In the months that followed, they worked together to make World Rhino Day 2011 an international success, both online and offline.
World Rhino Day has since grown to become a global phenomenon, uniting NGOs, zoos, cause-related organizations, businesses, and concerned individuals from nearly every corner of the world!
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
This Woman Protects Endangered Species by Hunting Poachers
The news has been full lately with stories about animals-wild and domestic alike, bringing attention to the consciousness of non-human species and their rights.
Right in sync with this trend a group of retired US veterans who are bringing their courage and expertise to Africa to help defend wild animals in a most unusual way. This special team of US veterans are trained and armed to hunt poachers.
Poaching presents serious problems for already vulnerable wild animal species across the globe and this is especially true in Africa,where many of world’s most rare and amazing species reside and originate. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, rhinos, elephants, and other types of African wildlife may go extinct in our lifetime. An example is the Black Rhino who’s natural population has decreased by a very disturbing 97.6% just since 1960. Some pretty drastic paradigm changes and conscious action must be taken to change the course of our current route on the planet.
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One such effort is a non-profit project is called VETPAW (Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife). VETPAW activists enlist retired veterans to invest theiryears of training and experience by locating themselves in Africa to protectwildlife from poachers who seek to hunt and capture these creatures for avariety of reasons.
Grabbing headlines right away for VETPAW with a powerfully intense vibe and stature is Kinessa Johnson, a US Army veteran whose 4 years of service in Afghanistan equipped her well to serve wildlife through the nonprofit.
Kinessa is part of a team who arrived in March and she says “We’re going over there to do some anti-poaching, kill some bad guys, and do some good.”
On March 26th Johnson and the team arrived in Tanzania, launching immediately into action. The team reports that they have already seen a decrease in poaching because of the presence and reputation of the team. The team’s primary focus is to providetraining to the park rangers and to join them in patrolling the premises.
It is reported that park staff are in great need of help.
Johnson explains, “they lost about 187 guys last year over trying to save rhinos and elephants.” Johnson and the team will be training the rangers in marksmanship, field, medicine, and counter-intelligence, among other useful skills.
Johnson, like others on the team, joined with the VETPAW team as an expression of her love for animals and because of the obvious need for help in Africa in particular as it is the continent experiencing the highest rates of poaching across the world, leaving endangered and other species vulnerable to illegal human predation.
The political side of poaching in Africa is equally as dark and tangles as much of the capital gained from the black market trade of illegal endangered animal parts winds up funding war and terrorist activity in Africa. Helping to manage the poaching activity is hoped to bring decrease to conflict across the board.
Johnson says, “After the first obvious priority of enforcing existing poaching laws, educating the locals on protecting their country’s natural resources is most important overall.”
Using social media as a platform, Kinessa Johnson also supports the cause by raising awareness and funds does so through her large and well deserved Facebook and Instagram following which amounts to more than 44,000 people. On her profiles she shares beautiful and amazing photos of African wildlife as well as updates on the activity of her team.
Afghanistan veteran Kinessa Johnson leaves US to hunt endangered species killers
~Published on Apr 6, 2015~
A US Army officer has left the armed forces and is using her military skills to help train park rangers as an advisor and fight against wildlife poachers in East Africa, according to a Daily Mail report.
Kinessa Johnson, a Washington native who served four years in the army as a weapons instructor and mechanic in Afghanistan, decided to join Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife, or VETPAW, a nonprofit an anti-poaching organization last November.
The nonprofit organization’s website says its mission is to help end the poaching of endangered African wildlife by taking advantage of the skills of US veterans and getting them to help train park rangers.
Majority Female Ranger Unit from South Africa Wins Top UN Environmental Prize
The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, a South African and majority-women ranger group, has been announced as one of the winners of the United Nation’s top environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth award.
With this award, in the Inspiration and Action category, UNEP is recognizing the rapid and impressive impact The Black Mamba Unit has made in combating poaching and the courage required to accomplish it.
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “Community-led initiatives are crucial to combatting the illegal wildlife trade and the Black Mambas highlight the importance and effectiveness of local knowledge and commitment.”
“Their many successes are a result of their impressive courage and determination to make a difference in their community. The Black Mambas are an inspiration not only locally, but across the world to all those working to eliminate the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade.”
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Since being founded in 2013, the 26-member unit has also helped arrest six poachers, reduced snaring by 76 per cent, removed over 1,000 snares and put 5 poachers’ camps and 2 bush meat kitchens out of action.
The area that they protect, the Balule Private Game Reserve, is home to an abundance of wildlife – including not only rhino but leopards, lions, elephants, cheetahs and hippos. It is part of the Greater Kruger National Park, a network of over 2 million hectares of protected areas that is home to thousands of birds, impalas, giraffes, wildebeest, buffalos, antelopes, hyenas, crocodiles, fish and zebras.
Protecting the rhino is vital in South Africa, where 1,215 rhinos were killed in 2014 alone. This is an increase of over 12,000 percent since 2004 and symptomatic of a devastating epidemic that has pushed the rhino closer to the edge of extinction.
Leitah Mkhabela, a member of the Black Mamba rangers, said:
“I am not afraid, I know what I am doing and I know why I am doing it. If you see the poachers you tell them not to try, tell them we are here and it is they who are in danger.”
“Animals deserve to live they have a right to live.
Do your part.
When demand ends, the killing will end.
Say yes to life.
Say no to illegal rhino horn and elephant ivory.”
Their difficult, intense and dangerous work both within and outside the park fundamentally undermines the international poaching syndicates that threaten to wipe out populations of rhino and elephant in the wild.
The award, to be presented in New York on the 27 September 2015, is in acknowledgment of this fierce, practical courage.
~UN Says Anti-Poaching Group Are Champions Of The Earth~
~Published on Sep 10, 2015~
The Black Mamba anti-poaching group in Africa just received the UN’s Champions of the Earth Award for Inspiration and Action. The group, composed mostly of women, patrols the Balule Private Game Reserve in South Africa, dissembling snares, looking for poachers and avoiding wildlife.
Today we celebrate the life of the elephants that continue to bless Africa’s landscapes in their gentle and empathetic ways.
As we work tirelessly with our partners and local communities we find hope in the knowledge that, with your support, elephant births continue to exceed deaths in northern Kenya!
It Is What It Is 