I was thinking of a Biblical verse for this column. The closest was the story of the Good Samaritan (from Samaria, not Samar) who saw a wounded victim of thieves, whom others had passed by without helping, and he stopped, bandaged his wounds, and brought him to an inn, telling the innkeeper to care for him and he would repay him when he returned. Luke 10:29-37

.    But the verse didn’t seem appropriate because the wounded man was not an illegal alien, the Samaritan brought him to Jericho, not America, he did it because of compassion not for private gain, and Jericho had no Immigration and Nationality Act

Section 274(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides for criminal penalties for any person who, “knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation.” Any person who engages in a conspiracy to commit, or aids or abets the commission of, the offense is also subject to criminal penalties. Section 274(a)(1)(A)(v)(I) and (II).

The penalties include death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life and fine, depending on whether the purpose is for commercial advantage or private financial gain, and on whether serious bodily injury or death resulted. Section 274(a)(1)(B). In addition, any conveyance, including any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft and any property traceable to such conveyance or proceeds of such violation, shall be seized and subject to forfeiture. Section 274(b)(1).

AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE ARE ENDOWED WITH FREEDOM OF CHOICE, AND WE CAN’T SHUFFLE OFF OUR RESPONSIBILITY UPON THE SHOULDERS OF GOD OR NATURE. WE MUST SHOULDER IT OURSELVES.  IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY.

UNIVERSE.  Young, massive stars have been caught setting off ripples through a giant space cloud in the same way that wind drives waves on the ocean.  The intermittent ripples were seen in a molecular cloud associated with the Orion nebula, a well-known stellar nursery within the constellation Orion.  A new study led by Leiden University in Netherlands found that intense radiation emitted by nearby stars more massive than our sun was at the root of the process.

WORLD.  Hindus have sent early greetings to Muslim communities world over for the festival of "Id al-Fitr" on the breaking of the fast of Ramadan, the blessed ninth month of the Islamic year. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a release in the USA this week, expressed warmest greetings on the upcoming Id festival wishing that it brought joy, happiness and cheer to all the Muslims. Islam and Hinduism are the second and third largest religions of the world respectively.

“There is no first amendment right to defame.” Maxon v. Ottawa Publishing Co

Somebody sent me a unanimous letter criticizing me. I will not rest until I find that unanimous coward," exclaimed an angry school principal during a Monday morning flag raising ceremony.

"We will help you find that anonymous coward, sir," a student shouted, in a gallant and subtle effort to correct the principal's misplay of words.

The internet is the latest medium for making anonymous critical remarks. " Many people don't realize that their anonymous blogging or comments can be traced back to them. . . Even if you conceal your IP address, it is still possible to be traced." "Blog is short for 'web log,' a running on line commentary about one's life or about the issues of the day." The Future of Reputation, Daniel J. Solove.

THE END IS NEVER AS SATISFYING AS THE JOURNEY TO HAVE ACHIEVED EVERYTHING. BUT TO HAVE DONE SO WITHOUT INTEGRITY AND EXCITEMENT IS TO HAVE ACHIEVED NOTHING.

UNIVERSE.  By putting their home computers to work when they would otherwise be idle, three "citizen scientists" have discovered a rare astronomical object. The unusual find is called a "dis-rupted binary pulsar". The discoverers, from the US and Germany, found the object with the help of the Einstein@Home project. It asks users to donate time on their computers, allowing them to be used for searching through scientific data.  This type is known as "distributed computing".

WORLD.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week urged the world to speed up aid to Pakistan after devastating floods have affected 20 million people.  Ban arrived in the flood-ravaged nation to boost relief efforts for flood-affected Pakistan.  Survivors fought over food being handed out from a relief’s vehicle close to the trown of Sindh, ripping at each other’s clothes, and causing such chaos that the distribution had to be abandoned.