Following up on...

--The Jena 6 case: On July 31, supporters of the Jena 6 held a downtown rally and delivered a 43,000-signature petition asking that charges against Mychal Bell and the other defendants be dropped. There has been little response so far from Governor Kathleen Blanco, though media coverage of the case—which has not painted Jena in a flattering manner—has noticeably increased. In addition to the articles that Friends of Justice mentions in the above link, the BBC rightly uses the term “stealth racism” to describe the actions of District Attorney Reed Walters.

--The financial concerns surrounding Africa’s prosperity gospel movement: The Times of Zambia is straightforward in a recent editorial:

“You see of these pastors, bishops, archbishops, apostles, prophets or whatever title they call themselves driving very expensive vehicles, wearing designer's clothes and generally being extravagant while church members whom they purport to serve wallow in abject poverty…

“It is with this in mind that we agree with the counsel by Community and Social Development Minister Catherine Namugala that church leaders should be more accountable and transparent in the way they handle funds” (emphasis mine).