US Journal: In the Solitude of Virginia, Why So Many Crucifixes and Churches?

More than 2000 years ago on the Appian Way leading to Rome, Pompey the Great left human markers hung on a crucifix every few hundred yards. While I'm not certain if each martyr cried, “I’m Spartacus” as Pompey and Crassus rode by, but as I drove the Virginia backroads, I was tempted to yell that referenceevery two or three minutes --- there were so many crucifixes.

We passed Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and churches of other Protestant denominations so often that we quickly lost count. Occasionally, we saw three churches within 200 yards of each other. The McDonald’s, KFC, and Subway signs, the normal companions on a US drive, had been replaced by God's advertising. (Or rather a certain type of God's advertising --- we did see one church for Jehovah’s Witnesses but there was not one mosque, synagogue or Hindu temple. Instead, markers setting out the Ten Commandments were frequently set up in corners of fields.)

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Washington Blocks the UN and the Palestinians

On Friday, the UN General Assembly voted to hold a summit for the 10th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism, also known as the Durban Conference.

In 2001, the declaration from Durban singled out Israel for criticism, likening Zionism to racism and referring to "the plight of the Palestinians." In April 2009, there was a follow-up conference, but the US, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Australia did not participate. The conference report had no language accusing Israel of racism and no reference to the recent Gaza War. 

Washington continues its opposition to any gathering. US Ambassador Susan Rice said Washington voted against Friday's resolution "because the Durban declaration process has included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism, and we do not want to see that commemorated".

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