First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident." - - - Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860 Whatever the evil (poison)
is, it must be presented in a mix of something good, or good for you.
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so indicate with their submission)
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To save on the amount of forced emails that consume MEGA
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the yellow brick road,
I
am reminded of Dad's special brownies. It is the same truth.
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If you want
to remain in your ignorance then take this blue pill -
01 | = | 02 | = |
03 | = | 04 | =CUFI, Is Prophecy Happening Before Your Eyes?
='Bin brother' fear over wheelie tag =1-800-FREE-411 |
05 | = | 06 | = |
07 | = | 08 | = |
09 | = | 10 | = |
11 | = | 12 | = |
13 | = | 14 | = |
15 | = | 16 | = |
17 | = | 18 | = |
19 | = | 20 | = |
21 | =Shadow Person Lurks in Brain
=House acts to require voters to prove citizenship =A view of the political and voting process in the uSA =Grimes Arrested for Helping Dying Chained Dog =Big Brother is shouting at you =Schools told it's no longer necessary to teach right from wrong =Wyoming Sheriffs Put Federal Officers On Choke-Chains =The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus =The Japanese Jesus trail |
22 | = |
23 | =U.S. study finds fear on-off switch in brain
=Where is Darwin when You Need Him? =. . . what goes around . . =Congress Considering Strip Searching Students =T-shirt a risk to air security ="I Take My Orders From England" =Air Force chief: Test weapons on testy U.S. mobs =The Loving Husband... =Desperate Catholics find Desperate Catholics find "rent-a-priests" online |
24 | |
25 | = | 26 | = |
27 | = | 28 | = |
29 | = | 30 | = |
31 | = | . | . |
http://www.cufi.com/ http://www.cufi.org/ |
Doublespeak and mis-direction, as usual of Hagee
[It is common practice for Hagee to mis-apply Scripture and mis-lead the people. The "Statement of Purpose" and "Goals" of CUFI are some examples of the deception. The danger with Hagee is that he has gained some measure of power and influence in world affairs. The matter of CUFI has prophecy fulfilling elements. What follows is an examination of their "Statement of Purpose" and "Goals". My comments are in red and brackets [ ]. The brackets allow for easy distinction for plain text printing. Being that the web sites have changed during the writing of this article, the "Statement of Purpose" page is cached at the Rockyview here (in case they change it). -- Tribble]
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of Christians United For Israel (C.U.F.I.) is to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, Para-church organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to Biblical issues.
"The Lord answered me and said: 'Write the vision, And make it plain on tablets. That he may run who reads it.'"[If you read the "statement of purpose" then the allegedly supporting verse, there is no segue. Their alleged purpose is to make an avenue for people and groups to express themselves in support of a geo-political region called "Israel". Yet the verse of Habakkuk 2:2 is referring to a man standing watch and wondering what he will say when he receives his punishment. God tells him to write his vision and that his vision is for a time in the future.
Habakkuk 2:2
Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand
upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he
will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. {tower: Heb.
fenced place} {unto me: or, in me} {when...: or, when I am argued with:
Heb. upon my reproof, or, arguing}
2 And the LORD answered me,
and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may
run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for
an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it
tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Only if Hagee and CUFI are trying to say creation of their group is, of itself, a fulfillment of prophecy, then there is no connection with hbakkuk 2:2]
Short Term Goals
Rapid Response Communication:
To develop a national Rapid Response e-mail and fax communication to Christians United for Israel members in every state and congressional district for the imperative purpose of responding immediately with broad national support in defense of Israel on biblically based issues.
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.”[Like many people, Hagee does not know who are the players, and he does not understand the timing of the prophecy.
Isaiah 62:1
Zion is another word for Jerusalem. After Jerusalem of old (at least 2000 years ago) was vacated of the last remnant of the House of Israel (12 tribes), Jerusalem ceased to exist in Scripture. When Jerusalem is mention in prophecy or in future tense, it is referring to all the places where an Israelite (NOT jew) resides. It also refers to the whole of Earth. The explanation for this is much too long for this article.
Hence, when Hagee and CUFI say "support in defense of Israel on biblically based issues", they have no clue who or what Israel is.
Israel was NEVER a country or geo-political entity and was NEVER prophesied as a country or geo-political entity. So to claim that the modern country or geo-political entity called Israel is in any way fulfilling prophecy is a mis-application of Scripture and prophecy.
The land OF Israel was only the land belonging to the people called Israel (12 tribes), but the land had NO name. The word "of" shows possession, belonging to a people called "Israel".
Many people interchange the words Israel and jew as if they are the same thing. At best, any people called "jew" could only be 1/12th of a whole people called "Israel". The promises went to a whole family called "Israel", not "jew".
Many people wrongly interpret "Israel" to mean a land and not a people. "Israel" was never a land, but was either a people called "Israel", or the name of God.
Many people refer to a people in a modern country or geo-political entity called "Israel" as "jew" and wrongly think it is the same thing as a people of 2000-4000 years ago, from the tribe of Juda, they are not the same Most of the House of Israel (about 10 of 12) was dispersed around 400BC and through time forgot their heritage through lack of practice and intermarriage (which lends itself to the saying the people are LOST), while the remainder was dispersed in parts, with the final part being dispersed in 150 AD, when Rome sent six legions of men to forcibly remove them from the area of Judea (where Jerusalem was located). Through time, these people also forgot their heritage through lack of practice and intermarriage. The Romans then gave the land to the Philistines (today called Palestines). Like the Europeans taking the land of the indigenous Indians, the Philistines acquired the land once belonging to Israel (of which a portion of the tribe of Juda remained till the end, when Rome pushed them out of the area). After 2000 years, no one had a claim to the land except those living there for 2000 years.
The "jews" of today are Khazar in heritage.
The Khazars (Heb.
sing.
"Kuzari" plur. "Kuzarim" ; Arab.;
Turk.
sing.
"Hazar" plur. Hazarlar; Greek;
Russ.
;
Tat.
sing Xäzär plur. Xäzärlär; Crimean
Tatar: sing. Hazar, plur. Hazarlar Persian
;
Latin
"Gazari" or "Cosri") were a semi-nomadicTurkic
people from Central
Asia, many of whom converted to Judaism.
The
name 'Khazar' seems to be tied to a Turkic
verb form meaning "wandering" ('gezer' in modern Turkish).
In
the 7th century
CE they founded an independent Khaganatein
the Northern Caucasus
along the Caspian
Sea,
where over time Judaism became the state
religion. At their height, they and their tributaries controlled much of
what is today southern Russia,
western
Kazakhstan,
eastern
Ukraine,
large
portions of the Caucasus (including Dagestan,
Azerbaijan,
and Georgia),
and
the Crimea.
The Khazars were important allies of the Byzantine
Empire
against the Sassanid
empire, and were a major regional power at their
height. They fought a series of successful wars against the Arab Caliphates,
probably preventing an Arab invasion of Eastern
Europe. By the end of the tenth
century, their power was broken by the
Kievan
Rus, and the Khazars largely disappeared from
history. The theoretical Khazar contribution to the bloodline of modern
Ashkenazi
Jews proposed by some historians is politically sensitive. Current genetic
studies show that Jewish Y-Chromosome
DNA seems to have originated in Middle Eastern populations, whereas studies
which take into account Mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) show no relation to middle eastern
ethnic groups. So although Khazars might have been absorbed into
the Jewish population it is unlikely that they formed a large percentage
of the ancestors of modern Ashkenazim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars
Not only that, the 1980 Jewish Almanac's' first
chapter entitled "Identity Crisis," begins with the following admission:
"Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an
ancient Israelite a 'Jew' or to call a contemporary Jew an 'Israelite'
or a 'Hebrew.'"
Here you can see a copy of the cover and page 3. And at http://missiontoisrael.org/id-crisis-pics.html.
NOTHING in Scripture, that Hagee & CUFI use, refers to modern "jews" and especially some homeland or regathering or whatever.]
Christians United for Israel Washington/Israel Summit:
To host a gathering of members of Christians United for Israel on July 18th and 19th of 2006 in our nation’s capitol for the purpose of introducing the association to Senators and Congressmen, expressing our concerns for Israel’s security and our support of Israel’s right to the land by Biblical Mandate.
“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from when you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’”[NOTHING in Scripture, that Hagee & CUFI use, refers to modern "jews" and especially some homeland or regathering or any "Biblical Mandate". The promise to Abram was for his descendents, the house of Israel, and not for any other; not for only 1/12th of the house, not for some interlopers (Khazar jews), not for christians. A people have to be of the family of Israel for Genesis 13:14-15 to apply.]
Genesis 13:14-15"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me."
Ezekiel 3:17
Christians United for Israel Annual Summit:
To host an annual gathering every fall in San Antonio at Cornerstone Church during the Feast of Tabernacles celebration. The purpose of this summit will be:
1. to focus C.U.F.I.’s purpose and goals with regard to Israel and our biblical convictions,
2. to analyze our progress,
3. to motivate the national leadership,
4. to hold a Middle East Briefing inviting prominent members of Israel’s leadership who will apprise Christians United for Israel members of the conditions in Israel and the middle east as they pertain to biblical positions regarding Israel.
“Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”[Even a broken clock is correct twice each day. Hagee & CUFI are bound to trip over the correct words from time to time, but they still do not openly understand the distinction of some terms like "Israelite" verses "jew".
1 Thessalonians 5:15“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25"Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days."
Leviticus 23:34
Then Hagee is trying to capitalize on the Feast of Tabernacles, as if that will give his agenda a measure of credibility. This comes from a man who says some "jewish" children will be happy to find a hidden piece of bread (during Passover) as they will to receive a gift at christmas. Jew & xmas?????]
National Night to Honor Israel:
To conduct a Night to Honor Israel during the Feast of Tabernacle Celebration.
“They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”[The use of the word "jew" by Paul was referring to the remaining portion of the House of Israel, which happened to be Judites, not to be confused with modern Khazar jews. Paul was simply talking in the parlance of the time, when referring to the remaining Israelites. But, we can not expect Hagee & CUFI to explain this to the flock, because once the flock begin to understand, there will be fewer sheep to fleece.]
Romans 15:27
Long Term Goals
1. To conduct a Night to Honor Israel in as many cities in America, Canada and the nations of the world as possible.
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."[Again, Genesis 12 is talking to Abram and about his descendents, the House of Israel. NOT to just the one tribe of Juda (jew) or the future Khazar jews.
Genesis 12:3
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD
had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou
shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed.
This verse set is often used by misguided christians and profiteer christians and profiteer Khazars. But the non-learned of any sect are duped by those deceivers.]
2. To continue to increase our basis of support of Israel and the Jewish people around the world through the education of the Christian Community concerning the Jewish contribution to Christianity and Israel’s biblical mandate to the land through bible teachings and pilgrimages to Israel.
“Give Instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”[NOT ANY THING was contribute by modern jews to christianity. The timing is wrong. Christianity came into existence prior to Khazar jews. If the Khazars contributed anything, it was a sense of owing the Khazars something. The phrase "Israel’s biblical mandate to the land through bible teachings and pilgrimages to Israel" has no reference in Scripture and is again using the word "Israel" as a place rather than a people. The Scripture refers to "Israel" as a people or the name of God, but NEVER refers to a land called "Israel".
Proverbs 9:9“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord form Jerusalem.’”
Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2
Wisdom is certainly in order here, but it is not forthcoming from Hagee or CUFI.
All this is from a man and group who will tell you the jews look forward to christmas presents. Huh??? Do his followers really believe what he says?
Hagee has taken the role of Esau and as any good student of Scripture knows, the long lasting battle has been between Jacob (Israel) and Esau. Esau sold his birthright and has been ever trying to regain it. But, also remember God hates Esau and Loves Jacob (Israel). It is a difficult thing for "christians" to think their "loving" god could possibly hate, but
Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.Of course, the references to Jacob and Esau extend beyond the literal brothers, to their descendents and those who embody the characteristics of the 2 boys. But, it is also interesting to note that whatever Esau builds, God will throw down.]
2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6040229,00.html |
Half a million household wheelie bins have been secretly tagged with hidden electronic "bugs", it has been reported.
The tiny devices identify each bin so that records can be kept on the waste disposal habits of its owners, and up to 500,000 bins in council districts across England are thought to have already been fitted.
The move has raised fears that some local authorities may be planning to charge residents for the weight of rubbish they collect.
The devices carry a unique serial number which can be scanned when the bin is tipped into a refuse lorry.
Some lorries carry weighing equipment which collect how much rubbish is collected and link the information to the appropriate bin.
Areas where the devices are said to be in use include Crewe, Nantwich, Peterborough, South Norfolk, Woking and Devizes in Wiltshire.
German firm Deister, which has a base in Spalding, Lincolnshire, is one of several firms selling the technology.
A similar controversy also emerged in Ryde, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, earlier this week.
Residents accused the local authority of acting like "Big Brother" after workers suddenly began fitting the devices to the rims of an estimated 90,000 bins.
The devices use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology which
have also been used to identify objects as diverse as animals, vehicles
and expensive goods.
http://www.free411.com/index.htm |
How can Free-411 afford to offer free directory assistance service? It works sort of like commercial radio or television — businesses pay to sponsor it in exchange for presenting their advertisements to customers. The funding of Free-411 is typically explained thusly:
The service is made possible by thousands of national and local businesses who sponsor this service with brief valuable audio advertisements that are played to callers who request businesses in their yellow pages category. This advertising model allows businesses to acquire new customers over the phone, cost effectively, with little or no risk. Meanwhile callers get free directory assistance, potentially saving each of them thousand of dollars per year.The way it works in practice is that a caller who requests a business number is first presented with a short (about 12 seconds) audio advertisement for a sponsor who operates a competing business in that area; the caller is then given the option of being connected to either that competitor or the business he originally requested. If no sponsor operates a local competing business, then the caller hears no advertisement at all. (In the latter case, if the caller accepts the option to connect to the desired number, the business receiving the call hears a short message at the beginning advising them that the call was placed via Free-411, and a Free-411 salesman may follow up with them a few days later to solicit them as a potential advertiser.)
(Cell phone users concerned that taking advantage of the free directory
assistance service will entail potentially giving out their cell phone
numbers to telemarketers should note that federal law already prohibits
certain types of telemarketing calls from being placed to cell phones,
and all phone users can block telemarketing calls by listing their numbers
with the national Do Not Call registry.)
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/127/116763?src=RSS_PUBLIC http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/hl_nm/science_illusion_dc_2 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14928373/ |
Stimulating a certain spot in the brain with electricity may make people feel like a shadow person is hovering nearby.
Doctors in Switzerland documented the startling sensation in a 22-year-old woman with no history of psychiatric problems.
The researchers stumbled upon the discovery while evaluating the woman for epilepsy surgery.
During the checkup, the doctors electrically stimulated the left temporoparietal junction in the woman's brain.
Out of the blue, the woman reported having "the impression that someone was behind her," write Shahar Arzy, MD, and colleagues in Nature. Arzy works at the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland.
'He Is Behind Me'
The woman described the shadow person as young, silent, and mirroring her position as she lay on her back. "He is behind me, almost at my body, but I do not feel it," she said, according to the doctors.
Next, the researchers stimulated the same spot in the woman's brain as she sat up with her arms wrapped around her knees.
Again, the woman sensed the shadow presence. This time she said the man was sitting behind her and had his arms around her.
Lastly, the woman sat up, holding a card in her right hand, for another brain test that involved stimulating the same brain area. She once more sensed the shadow person.
"He wants to take the card. He doesn't want me to read," the woman reportedly said.
Of course, there was no such person present during the tests. But the shadow person apparently seemed very real to the woman.
"The sensation of a presence, as reported by this patient, has been described by people with psychiatric and neurological disorders," the researchers write.
The left temporoparietal junction may play a role in those disorders,
judging by the woman's experience, note Arzy and colleagues.
http://www.physorg.com/news77992285.html
Olaf Blanke and colleagues at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne
say their discovery might help shed light on brain processes that contribute
to the symptoms of schizophrenia, which can include the sensation that
one's own actions are being performed by someone else.
Doctors evaluating a woman with no history of psychiatric problems found stimulation of an area of her brain called the left temporoparietal junction caused her to believe a person was standing behind her.
The patient reported that "person" adopted the same bodily positions as her, although she didn't recognize the effect as an illusion. At one point in the investigation, the patient was asked to lean forward and clasp her knees: this led to a sensation that the shadow figure was embracing her, which she described as unpleasant.
The finding could be a step towards understanding psychiatric affects such as feelings of paranoia, persecution and alien control, say neuroscientists.
The discovery is reported in a Brief Communication in this week's issue
of the journal Nature.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/pl_nm/usa_immigration_dc_1 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ar12KAOAbqHw |
In a move to crack down against illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to require Americans to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Democratic opponents said the bill would discourage eligible voters. But it passed with overwhelming support of Republicans who argued that it would prevent fraud and stop illegal immigrants from casting ballots in U.S. elections.
"Those who are in this country illegally want the same rights as United States citizens without obeying the laws of our land," Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Republican, said during the House debate. "We should not let these criminals defraud our election system by allowing them to vote."
The legislation passed on a largely party-line vote of 228-196 and although immigration issues are a hot topic in this year's congressional elections, it has little chance of winning Senate agreement before the November 7 vote.
The bill would require voters to present a photo identification to vote in federal elections in 2008. By 2010 the photo identification would also have to show the voter is a U.S. citizen.
Democrats said the bill's requirements would hurt the poor, the elderly and others unable to easily obtain the documents required. They argued that obtaining required documents can be expensive and that there was no evidence to suggest voter fraud is widespread.
"It's an imaginary problem," Rep. Charles Gonzalez (news, bio, voting record), a Texas Democrat, told reporters. "This is calculated to disenfranchise a certain segment of our society and those are minorities. The collateral damage will be seniors, the homebound, victims of disaster and members of the armed services."
But Republicans argued that requiring proof of citizenship and a photo identification would not impose a great burden on voters because identification is routinely required for other purposes.
If it were enacted it would likely face legal challenges. Judges in Missouri and Georgia recently ruled unconstitutional state laws requiring voter photo identification. Several other states do require photo or other forms of identification.
BORDER SECURITY
It is one of a number of immigration-related measures House Republicans planned to bring to a vote before the November 7 congressional elections. Last week the House authorized the construction of a 700 mile fence along parts of the 2,000 mile border with Mexico. The Senate was poised to take up the measure later this week after it cleared a procedural hurdle.
Democrats have accused majority Republicans of pushing the border security
measures weeks before the election for political reasons after they failed
to agree on a comprehensive immigration overhaul sought by
President George W. Bush. Bush wants legislation that would create
a guest worker program and that would have allowed millions of illegal
immigrants a chance to legalize their status.
Critics said the voter identification bill passed by the House on Wednesday also was part of election politics.
John Trasvina of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund accused Republicans of bringing the measure up so they could use it in campaign ads against political foes.
"It would certainly make a nice 30 second ad. Somebody's opponent saying, 'He voted against a bill that requires only U.S. citizens to vote,"' said Trasvina.
Chellie Pingree of Common Cause also denounced the bill, saying, "It's a political opportunity for them to show that they are tough on fraud. It is an anti-immigration issue."
"I think it stirs up voter fears at the polls," Pingree said.
|
Wees has it so good heres on the plantation.
Every nows and again, the masser rolls out his two favorite sons, for
us to choose one.
http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/doogie.html |
Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, was arrested September
11, 2006 for helping a dying chained dog named Doogie who could not stand
in East Freedom, Pennsylvania. Below are the details of the case, with
photo and video documentation.
Tammy's statement: "I made a hard decision; I could not have lived with myself or looked myself in the eye if I were such a coward as to leave Doogie lying there dying on the ground for fear of what would happen to me. I see this case as a travesty against justice...the true perpetrators of a crime are the people who left Doogie to lie there dying for three days without doing right by him. I am very saddened that we live in a society where people have to be afraid to do the right thing, to help those in need, whether that need be human or animal. Arrests such as mine are a pitiful statement for America, and I ask all dog lovers to stand with me to insist that all charges against me are dropped and charges of animal cruelty are instead placed against the Arnolds of East Freedom, PA. The Arnolds who left Doogie to die. This video truly speaks for itself, and for Doogie. I did what was morally right; I stand by my decision to help him and will be proud of it until my dying day. No one can take that from me." |
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For the whole story, go to the web site at http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/doogie.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405477&in_page_id=1770 contributing editor to ![]() |
Big Brother is not only watching you - now he's barking orders too.
Britain's first 'talking' CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating
bad behaviour and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly.
The system allows control room operators who spot any anti-social acts - from dropping litter to late-night brawls - to send out a verbal warning: 'We are watching you'. Middlesbrough has fitted loudspeakers on seven of its 158 cameras in an experiment already being hailed as a success. Jack Bonner, who manages the system, said: 'It is one hell of a deterrent. It's one thing to know that there are CCTV cameras about, but it's quite another when they loudly point out what you have just done wrong. 'Most people are so ashamed and embarrassed at being caught they quickly slink off without further trouble. 'There was one incident when two men started fighting outside a nightclub. One of the control room operators warned them over the loudspeakers and they looked up, startled, stopped fighting and scarpered in opposite directions. 'This isn't about keeping tabs on people, it's about making the streets safer for the law-abiding majority and helping to change the attitudes of those who cause trouble. It challenges unacceptable behaviour and makes people think twice.' The Mail on Sunday watched as a cyclist riding through a pedestrian area was ordered to stop. 'Would the young man on the bike please get off and walk as he is riding in a pedestrian area,' came the command. The surprised youth stopped, and looked about. A look of horror spread across his face as he realised the voice was referring to him. He dismounted and wheeled his bike through the crowded streets, as instructed. Law-abiding shopper Karen Margery, 40, was shocked to hear the speakers spring into action as she walked past them. Afterwards she said: 'It's quite scary to realise that your every move could be monitored - it really is like Big Brother. 'But Middlesbrough does have a big problem with anti-social behaviour, so it is very reassuring.' The scheme has been introduced by Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon, a former police superintendent who was dubbed Robocop for pioneering the zero-tolerance approach to crime. He believes the talking cameras will dramatically cut not just anti-social behaviour, but violent crime, too. And if the city centre scheme proves a success, it will be extended into residential areas. The control room operators have been given strict guidelines about what commands they can give. Yelling 'Oi you, stop that', is not permitted. Instead, their instructions make the following suggestions: 'Warning - you are being monitored by CCTV - Warning - you are in an alcohol-free zone, please refrain from drinking'; and Warning - your behaviour is being monitored by CCTV. It is being recorded and the police are attending.' Mr Bonner said: 'We always make the requests polite, and if the offender obeys, the operator adds 'thank you'. We think that's a nice finishing touch. 'It would appear that the offenders are the only ones who find the audio cameras intrusive. The vast majority of people welcome these cameras. 'Put it this way, we never have requests to remove them.' But civil rights campaigners have argued that the talking cameras are no 'magic bullet', in the fight against crime. Liberty spokesman Doug Jewell said: 'None of us likes litterbugs or yobs playing up on a Saturday night, but talking CCTV cameras are no substitute for police officers on the beat.' |
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,591-2292741,00.html |
By David Charter, Chief Political Correspondent
SCHOOLS would no longer be required to teach children the difference between right and wrong under plans to revise the core aims of the National Curriculum.
Instead, under a new wording that reflects a world of relative rather than absolute values, teachers would be asked to encourage pupils to develop “secure values and beliefs”.
The draft also purges references to promoting leadership skills and deletes the requirement to teach children about Britain’s cultural heritage.
Ministers have asked for the curriculum’s aims to be slimmed down to give schools more flexibility in the way they teach pupils aged 11 to 14.
Ken Boston, the chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), set out the proposed new aims in a letter to Ruth Kelly, when she was the Education Secretary.
The present aims for Stage 3 pupils state: “The school curriculum should pass on enduring values. It should develop principles for distinguishing between right and wrong.”
The QCA’s proposals will see these phrases replaced to simply say that pupils should “have secure values and beliefs”.
The existing aims state that the curriculum should develop children’s “ability to relate to others and work for the common good”. The proposed changes would remove all references to “the common good”.
The requirement to teach Britain’s “cultural heritage” will also be removed. The present version states: “The school curriculum should contribute to the development of pupils’ sense of identity through knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of Britain’s diverse society.”
The proposals say that individuals should be helped to “understand different cultures and traditions and have a strong sense of their own place in the world”.
References to developing leadership in pupils have also been removed. One of the present aims is to give pupils “the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capable of leadership”. This is due to be replaced by the aim of ensuring that pupils “are enterprising”.
Professor Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham’s centre for education and employment research, said: “The idea that they think it is appropriate to dispense with right and wrong is a bit alarming.”
Teachers’ leaders said that they did not need to be told to teach children to distinguish between right and wrong.
A spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers said: “Teachers always
resented being told that one of the aims of the school was to teach the
difference between right and wrong. That is inherent in the way teachers
operate. Removing it from the National Curriculum will make no difference.”
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?noframes;read=135020 contributing editor to ![]() |
County sheriffs in Wyoming are insisting that all federal law enforcement officers and personnel from federal regulatory agencies must clear all their activities in a Wyoming county with the Sheriff's Office. Speaking at a press conference following the recent US District Court decision (case No 2:96-cv-099-J) Bighorn County Sheriff Dave Mattis stated that all federal officials are forbidden to enter his county without his prior approval.
"If a sheriff doesn't want the Feds in his county he has the constitutional power and right to keep them out or ask them to leave or retain them in custody." The court decision came about after Mattis & other members of the Wyoming Sheriffs' Association brought a suit against both the BATF and the IRS in the Wyoming federal court district seeking restoration of the protections enshrined in the United States Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution. The District Court ruled in favor of the sheriffs, stating that, "Wyoming is a sovereign state and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official."
The Wyoming sheriffs are demanding access to all BATF files to verify that the agency is not violating provisions of Wyoming law that prohibit the registration of firearms or the keeping of a registry of firearm owners. The sheriffs are also demanding that federal agencies immediately cease the seizure of private property and the impoundment of private bank accounts without regard to due process in state courts.
Sheriff Mattis stated: "I am reacting to the actions of federal employees who have attempted to deprive citizens of my county of their privacy, their liberty, and their property without regard to constitutional safeguards. I hope that more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens from the illegal activities of the IRS, EPA, BATF, FBI, or any other federal agency that is operating outside the confines of constitutional law. Employees of the IRS and the EPA are no longer welcome in Bighorn County unless they intend to operate in conformance to constitutional law."
This case is evidence that the Tenth Amendment is not yet dead in the United States. It may also be interpreted to mean that political subdivisions of a State are included within the meaning of the amendment, or that the powers exercised by a sheriff are an extension of those common law powers which the Tenth Amendment explicitly reserves to the People, if they are not granted to the federal government and specifically prohibited to the States.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a387ec3ea6413.htm
(Comment: Constitutionally the sheriff is the highest and only elected law-enforcement officer in the state. Also, agencies that are part of the executive branch do not have jurisdiction outside DC. To it's ever lasting disgrace the Legislature of Mass. has abolish the Sheriffs in the state that gave us Lexington, Boston and Concord! This was totally un-constitutional and never should have happened! Without the Sheriff you have no elected law enforcement office! The State Troopers are an arm of the governor's office and have no constitutional standing.)
"Wyoming is a sovereign state and the duly elected sheriff is the highest law enforcement official and has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official."
By simply clicking the link below you will cast a vote for my site Informant
News, thank you. Joe Held
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_254163721.html |
Followers Claim Doral Man is God On Earth
Jose Luis deJesus Claims There Is No Heaven, No Hell
Followers Believe All Other Religions Must Be Destroyed
Ileana Varela,
Reporting
(CBS4 News) DORAL His name is Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda; his followers
call him everything from apostle to Dad, or simply Jesus Christ Man. De
Jesus Miranda himself believes he’s the living incarnation of “Jesus Christ
Man,” “the second coming of Christ.”
A follower of his believes “he is God, he is God.” She also lavishes him with money and gifts. "I don’t have one Rolex,” de Jesus Miranda said, “I have 3 because they want to give it to me. It's like that woman that came to Jesus with the expensive perfume and put it on his feet. He didn’t reject it, so when someone gives me a watch or a gift, I receive it. I like them too, they're nice." This self-proclaimed Son of God is a 60 year old former heroin addict and convict. The divorced father of 4 was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in South Florida with his second wife. |
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From a warehouse in Doral, near Miami, he presides over the "Creciendo en Gracia" or Growing in Grace Ministry which he also calls “God's Government On Earth.
As any other head of state, he is protected by a security detail that mimics the U.S. Secret Service.
In an interview with the self-proclaimed Messiah, CBS4’s Ileana Varela asked de Jesus if he was able to do some of the things Jesus Christ did like performing miracles, healing the sick and walking on water.
De Jesus said not necessarily. “My life is my church and what I’m doing worldwide,” he said.
What De Jesus is doing at more than 300 centers in Central and South America, Cuba and the U.S. is preaching a message of "freedom to indulge" because according to this modern messiah, there is no sin, no devil and no hell to pay.
De Jesus says, “It doesn’t exist. The devil was destroyed two thousand years ago."
It is music to the ears of his followers, mostly Hispanic men and women who believe they are God's chosen people, predestined for salvation no matter what they do on earth. They also believe all other faiths are false and must be destroyed, from Catholics to Baptists and Jehovah’s witnesses.
His followers have organized marches at which they destroy religious books and symbols. They also have a campaign aimed at disrupting other religious gatherings, sometimes with violent consequences.
“What disturbs me is that he fits into the typical mold of a cult leader,
total complete submission to his authority," FIU Religion professor, Daniel
Alvarez said.
Alvarez has a Masters Degree in Theology from Harvard Divinity School,
and is among those who fear "Creciendo en Gracia" has the makings of a
destructive cult.
“He destroyed my family,” said former member Regina Albarracin, who left the church about 5 years ago. Her husband soon followed but their son Alvaro remained to become one of the ministry's biggest financial backers, donating more than $1 million to the church. Alvaro is not alone; many others have set up businesses in de Jesus' name that pour cash into the ministry. "I know were going to be running the whole world,” de Jesus said. |
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A web entrepreneur and self made millionaire, Alvaro Albarracin left his wife and children for the man he calls Jesus. He has since remarried to another church member and rarely speaks to his parents who insist he's been brainwashed by the man "they" certainly don't call Jesus.
His mother, Regina Albarracin said, "You think he's Jesus Christ? No he’s the devil. You think he's the devil? Yes that's him."
Regina Albarracin is afraid for her son's soul, and Professor Alvarez says she should be. Most of these movements, he says, self destruct sooner or later.
"Lots of broken lives, lot of spiritual and emotional and psychological debris that will be strew on the path of the gentleman,” Alvarez said, “and the fallout will be inestimable for the lives of these people who get caught up in this kind of movement.”
Unfazed by the criticism, de Jesus continues to plan for the role he
believes he is destined to play on the world's stage. “I will be president
of the biggest government that this earth has experienced," promised de
Jesus.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5326614.stm |
A Japanese legend claims that Jesus escaped Jerusalem and made his way
to Aomori in Japan where he became a rice farmer. Christians say the story
is nonsense. However, a monument there known as the Grave of Christ attracts
curious visitors from all over the world.
To reach the Grave of Christ or Kristo no Hakka as it is known locally,
you need to head deep into the northern countryside of Japan, a place of
paddy fields and apple orchards.
Halfway up a remote mountain surrounded by a thicket of bamboo lies a mound of bare earth marked with a large wooden cross. Most visitors peer at the grave curiously and pose in front of the cross for a photograph before heading off for apple ice cream at the nearby cafe. But some pilgrims leave coins in front of the grave in thanks for answered prayers. The cross is a confusing symbol because according to the local legend, Jesus did not die at Calvary. His place was taken by one of his brothers, who for some reason is now buried by his side in Japan. The story goes that after escaping Jerusalem, Jesus made his way across Russia and Siberia to Aomori in the far north of Japan where he became a rice farmer, married, had a family and died peacefully at the age of 114. |
![]() The Grave of Christ has become an international tourist attraction |
A villager hinted that I might be able to meet one of Jesus' descendents - a Mr Sajiro Sawaguchi, who is now in his 80s.
His family owns the land on which the grave stands and his house is at the foot of the mountain.
I set off to find him but was told he was too ill to speak to me.
Jesus' descendant?
However, his grandson Junichiro Sawaguchi did agree to talk. Was I about to meet someone with a true touch of the divine?
The tubby middle-aged gentleman in glasses who spoke to me did not seem
particularly Messianic.
"Actually, my family are Buddhists not Christians," said Mr Sawaguchi.
"And I don't claim to be a descendent of Jesus although I know some people have said my grandfather is connected to the legend. However, when I was a young child, my mother drew the sign of a cross upon my forehead as a symbol of good fortune," he told me. Certainly the cross has brought good fortune to the villagers, who make money from the visitors and the media who seek out the grave. |
![]() Local legend says Mr Sawaguchi (r) is a living descendant of Jesus |
It has become the region's only internationally recognised tourist attraction.
However the legend of Jesus the rice farmer does not stretch back very far. It only began in the 1930s with the discovery of what were claimed to be ancient Hebrew documents detailing Jesus' life and death in Japan.
Those documents have now mysteriously disappeared and the grave has never been excavated. I asked a village official, Masaoki Sato, if he realised that the grave might cause offence to Christians who believe in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
"We're not saying that the story is true or what is written in the Bible is wrong," he politely explained. "All we are saying is that this is a very interesting old legend. It's up to the people who come here to decide how they interpret it."
Ritual and tradition
Many Japanese find it hard to make sense of Christianity. Schools are banned from teaching any religion and people are generally more interested in ritual and tradition than theology.
However, Christian-style weddings are enormously popular. They are often held in hotels which have special chapels, complete with crosses and stained glass windows.
Foreign students are sometimes hired to play the part of the priest, although the whole event has no official sanction from any church.
Churchy-looking buildings have other entertainment purposes too.
In the city of Nagoya, I went to a theme restaurant where diners could
choose either to have dinner in the chapel, seated on pews and surrounded
by paintings of Jesus and the saints, or on the floor below, which is decorated
like a prison, complete with metal bars around each table.
Only 1% of Japan is officially Christian. However, there are some lively
churches, such as the New Life Ministry in Tokyo.
When I arrived on Sunday afternoon it was packed with young worshippers, clapping along to songs of praise and raising their hands in joy. I met Pastor Shintaro Watanabe, who was dressed in a floral Hawaiian shirt and had an almost permanent smile on his face. |
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Wasn't he shocked by the legend of Jesus' grave? He laughed and said it was just a silly story which caused him no particular offence.
"I suppose that many Japanese people feel respect for Jesus and the Bible," said the pastor. "The legend ties in with that. Perhaps it shows that people are looking to make a connection with Jesus in some way."
His church is trying to satisfy that spiritual curiosity, just as countless missionaries to Japan have attempted before.
Yet many Christians have discovered that the Japanese view of religion
can be rather baffling - as the grave of Christ the rice farmer reveals.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/sc_nm/science_fear_dc |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. researchers said on Wednesday they had identified an "on-off" switch in the brain that controls the emotional response to fear, and said it might some day be manipulated to help patients with anxiety disorders.
The team at Columbia University Medical Center used a simple attention test and a type of real-time brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging, which can catch the brain in action.
It showed an area in the rostral cingulate or rACC region of the brain was involved in turning on or off the fear response in the amygdala -- the almond-shaped brain center where emotional responses to fear are processed.
"People are exposed to an ever-increasing amount of stimuli in our everyday lives, and so we realized that the brain must employ a processing mechanism to prioritize and refine responses -- we don't run away from every loud sound or unexpected sight," said Dr. Joy Hirsch, who led the study, published in the journal Neuron.
They used a test called the Stroop test to try to activate whatever region must be involved.
The Stroop test measures mental flexibility by forcing people to choose between a word's meaning and its color. For instance, someone may be asked to read a list of words such as "red," "yellow," or "green" in which the word "red" might be written in blue ink, "yellow" in pink ink and so on.
People usually respond more quickly if the color and word match.
Hirsch's team adapted this test, using photographs of fearful and happy faces, with "FEAR" or "HAPPY" written across the images. They gave the test to 19 healthy volunteers and ran the brain scan at the same time.
The rostral cingulate seemed to light up just before the amygdala was activated, they reported.
For instance, the amygdala activated at first if FEAR was written across a happy face, and then the rostral cingulate would activate, apparently as the image of the smiling face registered, after which the amygdala would calm down, they said.
But the amygdala stayed activated for longer, and the rostral cingulate stayed unlit longer, if a fearful face also carried the "FEAR" label.
Hirsch said it is important to have a circuit to control the fear response.
Some patients with anxiety disorders and depression may eventually be helped by the findings, said Dr. Eric Kandel, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute senior investigator and professor in brain sciences who worked on the paper.
"For example, if someone with anxiety has a disturbed functioning of
part of the amygdala or a disturbed functioning of rostral cingulate control
mechanism, and treatment could be based on the individual's specific problem,"
Kandel said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/5367432.stm |
Fish egg 'miracle' needs cracking
Biologists at the University of Manchester want help in cracking their
"miracle" discovery of three fish inside a sealed egg.
The group found the duck egg in a small pond on a field trip to the
French Alps and noticed something moving inside it.
When they cracked open the shell, three live minnows were inside. They have enlisted the help of other experts, but despite their extensive combined knowledge, the biologists admit they are "baffled". Dr Matthew Cobb, a lecturer in animal behaviour at the university, said: "As 21st century scientists rather than 17th century antiquarians we think it's unlikely this represents a hitherto unknown mode of fish reproduction. |
![]() The academics say that there were no breaks in the egg |
Predatory attack
"Perhaps the egg fell into the pond following some kind of predatory attack but we're baffled as to how the minnows got to be inside.
"Certainly, we didn't see any crack in the egg."
Dr Cobb and his colleague, Henry McGhie, head of natural sciences at the Manchester Museum, have written to the New Scientist magazine in the hope readers will help solve the mystery.
Minnows are small freshwater fish, often used as bait by anglers.
contributing editor to ![]() |
“Rome fell September 4, 476AD. It was overrun with illegal immigrants: Visigoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Lombards, Jutes and Vandals, who at first assimilated and worked as servants, but then came so fast they did not learn the Latin Language or the Roman form of government. Highly trained Roman Legions moving rapidly on their advanced road system, were strained fighting conflicts worldwide.
Rome had a trade deficit, having outsourced most of its grain production to North Africa, and when Vandals captured that area, Rome did not have the resources to retaliate. Attila the Hun was committing terrorist attacks. The city of Rome was on welfare with citizens being given free bread. One Roman commented: ‘Those who live at the expense of the public funds are more numerous than those who provide them.’
Tax collectors were ‘more terrible than the enemy.’ Gladiators provided violent entertainment in the Coliseum. There was injustice in courts, exposure of unwanted infants, infidelity, immorality and perverted bathhouses.
5th-Century historian Salvian wrote: ‘O Roman people be ashamed... Let
nobody think otherwise, the vices of our bad lives have alone conquered
us’.”
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/091806stripsearch.cfm contributing editor to ![]() |
Imagine an America in which school officials could strip search every student in their school based on the unsubstantiated tip that one of them might have a joint. Congress is voting on a bill Tuesday or Wednesday that could make these police state tactics more common.
We can stop Congress in its tracks, though. Call your representative RIGHT NOW and tell them to vote against this dangerous bill.
If you don't know who your House representative is, simply call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your address. They'll connect you directly with your representative's office. When you get a staffer on the phone, politely say something like:
"My name is [your name] and I live in [your city]. I'm calling to urge [the congressman/the congresswoman] to vote against the Student and Teacher Safety Act (HR 5295) when it comes to the floor this week. This bill would allow schools and police to invasively search large groups of innocent students based on the mere suspicion that just one of them has drugs. It strips Americans of their 4th Amendment rights. Please let me know how [the congressman/the congresswoman] votes."
MORE INFORMATION
The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) is a sloppily written bill that would require any school receiving federal funding (essentially every public school) to adopt policies allowing teachers and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every student, at any time, for essentially any reason they want. All they would have to do is say they suspect one of their students might be carrying drugs, and then they could conduct a wide scale search of every student in the building. These searches could be pat-downs, bag searches, or strip searches depending on how far school administrators wanted to go. Although courts would have the power to overturn policies that went "too far", it could take years - possibly decades - to safeguard the rights of students in every school.
Disconnecting searches from individualized suspicion is what led to the Goose Creek scandal in 2003. That South Carolina city sent a machine-gun toting SWAT team into a high school because the principal suspected one of the students might be selling marijuana. 150 terrified students were handcuffed and forced to the floor at gunpoint as drug dogs tore through their book bags. No drugs or guns were ever found.
Searching students without individualized suspicion that they have done something wrong fosters mistrust between adolescents and the adults they should feel comfortable turning to when they do have substance abuse problems. Treating groups of students as if they're guilty until proven innocent sends them the wrong message about what it means to be American citizens, and makes them less likely to seek help and guidance when they need it.
The legislation is supported by senior House Republicans and the National Education Association (NEA). It's opposed by the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the ACLU, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National School Boards Association.
The bill wasn't voted on in committee and is being fast-tracked to the floor under a procedure that requires a 2/3 vote to pass. This means there's a chance we can defeat it on the House floor.
The offending text of the legislation (which is not officially public yet) is as follows:
(a) In General- Each local educational agency shall have in effect throughout the jurisdiction of the agency policies that ensure that a search described in subsection (b) is deemed reasonable and permissible.
(b) Searches Covered- A search referred to in subsection (a) is a search
by a full-time teacher or school official, acting on any reasonable suspicion
based on professional experience and judgment, of any minor student on
the grounds of any public school, if the search is conducted to ensure
that classrooms, school buildings, school property and students remain
free from the threat of all weapons, dangerous materials, or illegal narcotics.
The measures used to conduct any search must be reasonably related to the
search's objectives, without being excessively intrusive in light of the
student's age, sex, and the nature of the offense.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/091806stripsearch.cfm contributing editor to ![]() |
By ANDREW PARKER
September 11, 2006
A TOURIST was told to turn his T-shirt inside-out at an airport — as
a picture of two guns on it was deemed a SECURITY RISK.
Dave Osborne, 21, was bound for Newark, New Jersey, when guards hauled him out of the queue for his Guns N Rollers T-shirt. They told him the two pistols on the front could constitute a security risk and upset passengers. He was ordered to turn his top inside out before boarding. The design engineer from Lichfield, Staffs, said: “I am all for extra security but this was just plain stupid.” Last night bosses at Birmingham International Airport apologised and said security guards “over-reacted”. MUSICIANS say a ban on taking instruments as hand luggage will sound the death knell for international concert tours. BBC Symphony Orchestra conductor Mark Elder said performers face “enormous difficulty”. |
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http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/091806stripsearch.cfm contributing editor to ![]() |
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These images can be saved by right clicking then follow
the yellow brick road, then you can better view them in your favorite picture
program.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/12/usaf.weapons.ap/index.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices
should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before
being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.
The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it
easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations,
said Secretary Michael Wynne.
"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press." The Air Force has paid for research into nonlethal weapons, but he said the service is unlikely to spend more money on development until injury problems are reviewed by medical experts and resolved. Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if they are hit with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also can be effective in disabling some electronic devices. |
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On another subject, Wynne said he expects to choose a new contractor for the next generation aerial refueling tankers by next summer. He said a draft request for bids will be put out next month, and there are two qualified bidders: the Boeing Co. and a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the majority owner of European jet maker Airbus SAS.
The contract is expected to be worth at least $20 billion (€15.75 billion).
Chicago, Illinois-based Boeing lost the tanker deal in 2004 amid revelations that it had hired a top Air Force acquisitions official who had given the company preferential treatment.
Wynne also said the Air Force, which is already chopping 40,000 active duty, civilian and reserves jobs, is now struggling to find new ways to slash about $1.8 billion (€1.4 billion) from its budget to cover costs from the latest round of base closings.
He said he can't cut more people, and it would not be wise to take funding from military programs that are needed to protect the country. But he said he also incurs resistance when he tries to save money on operations and maintenance by retiring aging aircraft.
"We're finding out that those are, unfortunately, prized possessions of some congressional districts," said Wynne, adding that the Air Force will have to "take some appetite suppressant pills." He said he has asked employees to look for efficiencies in their offices.
The base closings initially were expected to create savings by reducing
Air Force infrastructure by 24 percent.
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A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150." The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.
The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"
The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three
days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2378615 |
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Some are Catholics who see their church as stuck in the past. Others are believers who happen to be divorced, pregnant before marriage or gay. A few just can't find a priest when they need one.
Roman Catholics shunned by the official church are "renting" married priests in times of crisis and celebration.
They turn to http://www.rentapriest.com, a Web site with 2,500 Catholic priests in a national database known as "God's Yellow Pages."
Virtually all the priests in the database have left their official clerical ministries due to the Roman Catholic Church's mandatory celibacy rule, but they continue to conduct weddings, usually for a fee, while performing baptisms, last rites and funerals for free, in keeping with the practice of officially recognized priests.
"We are doing Jesus' work and apparently the church isn't," said Louise Haggett, director of Celibacy Is The Issue (CITI) ministries, which runs the site and helped arrange 3,000 weddings last year.
The group also is working to change the Catholic church's ban on married priests.
Haggett said the Internet is a popular source for rent-a-priests because there is a shortage. Twenty-seven percent of U.S. parishes lack a resident priest, according to a U.S. Conference of Bishops study.
Priests are aging, churches are closing and fewer priests are being ordained. The church knows there are fewer priests than decades ago but there are plenty to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful, said Ron Menty of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
"Sometimes the reason why people go to this source concerns the rules, regulations and expectations of the church," Menty said. "Sometimes a priest outside the community feels freer in providing services."
The going rate for a wedding in New York is about $500, cheaper in other states.
FAITHFUL TO JESUS, NOT RULES
Haggett founded the site in 1992 when her mother was in a nursing home
and unable to find a parish priest.
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* What does "do not drink the kool-aid" mean? [click this line] or goto this link http://www.tellme1st.net/rockyview/kool-aid/do not drink the kool-aid.html
** As the ‘Great And Powerful Oz' once said to Dorothy,
"Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain!" because appearances can
be deceiving. You HAVE TO look behind to curtain to learn the truth.
*** Red Herring. The name of this fallacy comes from the sport
of fox hunting in which a dried, smoked herring, which is red in color,
is dragged across the trail of the fox to throw the hounds off the scent.
Thus, a "red herring" argument
is one which distracts the audience from the issue in question through
the introduction of some irrelevancy. This frequently occurs during debates
when there is an at least implicit topic, yet it is easy to lose track
of it. By extension, it applies to any argument in which the
premisses
are logically irrelevant to the conclusion.
goto top .....mailto:
rockyview@tellme#&1st.net
The above addresss is NOT correct. For security reasons, the
"#&" characters must be removed to be a correct address. This
reduces the possibility of a hacker autosearching for address links.
Simply copy and paste this address in your mail program, BUT remember
to delete the "#&" characters.