Today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) brings a reminder that Liberation Theology (or more accurately, Marxism) is alive and well in Central America. A Canadian firm has set up shop in Sipicapa, Guatemala, constructing a gold mine that is currently employing around 1,300 local residents and providing a much needed economic boost for the area:

Read more on Economic Development = Cancer…

News from Los Angeles:

Two homeless men were attacked with baseball bats and one of them critically injured, allegedly by teens inspired by videos of homeless people brawling that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies over the Internet.

Read more on The Violence Virus…

Pope Benedict’s highly publicized trip to Germany for this week’s World Youth Day stands as an opportunity for the event to, in the words of Kishore Jayabalan, engage “serious theological and intellectual work.” The pope’s homecoming means, “If there is a place to show how the Christian faith shaped Europe and formed heroic persons even in its darkest hours, this is it.”

Read more on Benedict and World Youth Day: Becoming Adults in Christ…

…You might be a Member of Congress:

Members of Congress want to establish a new government-backed venture capital program…

OK, but what’s the catch?

…to replace one that’s being phased out because of sizable losses.

I wonder if they’ve considered whether the Government should even be involved in the venture capital business in the first place?

Read more on If At First You Don’t Succeed……

A promising brief recognizing the critical role of civil society in Nigeria, and especially that the Christian church, from Ecumenical News International:

Nigerian president urges African churches: Play part in governance

Abuja (ENI). Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has urged African church leaders to become key players in the process of achieving good governance in the continent.

“The Church must be a critical partner in the on-going efforts at strengthening the structures of democratic governance, and bringing about sustained development in an environment of justice, equity, and fairness,” Obasanjo told leaders at a meeting of the Nairobi-based All Africa Conference of Churches.

Read more on Church and Governance in Nigeria…

There’s yet more evidence that supports my claim, “Besieged by the media and public opinion, quick-service restaurants have got the reputation for being unhealthy. But the truth of the matter is more complex. Franchises that have put an emphasis on providing healthy foods have done well…. And as usual, the service industry has responded quickly and efficiently to customer demands.”

Read more on Fa(s)t Food…

Be one of the first to book a flight to space.

In an interview with The Space Review Richard Garriott, vice-chairman of Space Adventures discusses the possibilities of space tourism and the potential market in the United States. Garriott describes Space Adventures as

Read more on Space Tourism…

In John Stossel’s article yesterday, he recounts a story that illustrates the dangers of artificial wage contols. (Davis Bacon is a federal law that requires construction workers be paid an amount determined by a bureaucratic formula instead of wages determined by market forces.)

Read more on Mmmm….Bacon…….

Two not-so-obviously related news items from today’s Marketplace midday update:

#1) Pharmaceutical company Pfizer says it’ll change the way it markets drugs to people. The company announced this morning it will educate doctors for at least 6 months about new medicines before running television or print ads. Pfizer also says it won’t advertise male impotence drugs during the Super Bowl.

Read more on More Palmeiro Questions…

In a recent post, Jordan Ballor highlighted the efforts of Mr. Armen Yousoufian, who has been seeking public disclosure of records relating to the financing of the new stadium built recently for the Seattle Seahawks largely at taxpayer expense. Mr. Yousoufian has responded to Ballor’s post with the following comment:

Read more on “They Picked on the Wrong Armenian!” Part II…