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Thursday, March 31, 2016

United Kingdom (Kind of) Keeps the Fourth Commandment





MARCH 11, 2016

British politicians preserve limits on Sunday shopping.

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra


Stewart Chambers / Flickr

Church attendance may be in free fall in the United Kingdom. But longer shopping sprees at big box stores won't be filling those hours.

British evangelicals are praising the UK’s decision to preserve limits on Sunday shopping.

The House of Commons voted that large stores in England and Wales can only be open a maximum of six continuous hours between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The stores must also close on Easter and Christmas.

Smaller stores—those that are 3,000 square feet or less—can be open all day.

The Evangelical Alliance UK supported the limits, noting that “local shops will continue to be protected against large chains and workers will have the freedom to have a set day off.”

The reason wasn’t a strict interpretation of the Fourth Commandment on remembering the Sabbath.

“This is a victory for family life,” stated Dave Landrum, director of advocacy. The EAUK, which asked its constituents to contact their local member of parliament (MP) before the vote, reasoned that restrictions “protect workers, local businesses, and a vision that we’re more than our ability to consume.”

The government’s proposal aimed to allow local governments to determine shopping hours for their area. While some MPs said the relaxation could lead to a 9 percent increase in employment and an added £1.4 billion (US $2 billion) over the next 10 years, a letter to theTelegraph from church leaders stated that “a recent study by Oxford Economics forecasts no net gain to the economy—only a loss of market share for smaller shops.”

Sunday shopping laws protect “the common leisure time essential for family life and shared social activities” as well as “protect small stores from near-monopolies,” stated the letter, which included signatories from the Church of England and Church in Wales.

“Most fundamentally, however, we are concerned that the further deregulation of Sunday trading laws is likely to disrupt the rhythms of community life that are so integral to the common good,” they wrote. “In a world of increasing commodification the space for shared time and activities, central to human flourishing, is becoming increasingly rare. Needlessly extending Sunday opening hours will only exacerbate this trend.”

This wasn’t the first time the House of Commons approached the idea. Last fall, a vote was dropped when the government realized the scale of opposition to the proposition.

“I hear so many MPs say, ‘I want to keep my Sunday special. Why should shop workers be any different?” said MP Edward Leigh. He noted, “[F]rankly, even God took a rest on the seventh day.”

CT’s coverage of keeping the Sabbath includes who it is really for and why rest works.

[Photo courtesy of Stewart Chambers - Flickr]



Girl Reacts to Learning Her Father Is Transgender




Published on Mar 31, 2016

The girl says to the camera, “Daddy, I love you so much even though you’re a her.”

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The Truth About "WISE AS SERPENTS" & "DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE" Double Feature!





Published on Feb 27, 2014

DOUBLE FEATURE! Two False Doctrines corrected. Correcting "WISE AS SERPENTS" & "MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE" False Doctrines corrected. DOUBLE FEATURE!
See also "Purge Occult Secret Teachings" and "Know Your Enemy DEBUNKED

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The Herodian Mind (Part 1) ~ by Walter Veith




Published on Feb 20, 2016

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

What does it mean to have a Herodian Mind ?
Watch as professor Walter Veith dissects the gods and figures of the past and present that wield authority over our laws.
How can we reconcile the worldly laws and impulses with God’s law ?

http://amazingdiscoveries.org/


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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

First-graders’ apparent plot to kill classmate with poisoned lunch foiled by teacher



Education



By Peter Holley March 30 at 12:43 PM

First graders plot to kill classmate by poisoning lunch

Play Video3:07


Officials at an elementary school in Anchorage said they uncovered a plot among three first-grade students to kill a classmate using poison, according to news reports. (Mallory Peebles / KTUU.com)

Officials at an elementary school in Anchorage said they uncovered a plot among three first-grade students to kill a classmate using poison, according to news reports.

The conspiracy was foiled when another student overheard the alleged plotters discussing their plan and alerted a teacher, Anchorage School District spokeswoman Heidi Embleytold CBS affiliate KTVA.

“The age is one of the things that is most surprising to people who were hearing about this,” Embley told the Alaska Dispatch News. “The kids are at such a young age,” she said. “Without revealing any information as to what occurred during the investigation, there are a lot of conversations to get an understanding of what actually happened, how the students were feeling.”

Given the students’ age, she told KTVA, officials aren’t sure whether they knew what they were doing.

The nefarious plan, school officials say, involved using silica gel — a substance commonly found inside sealed food bags that is designed to reduce spoilage — to poison their classmate, according to the Dispatch News. Details of the plan were not immediately available, but it appears that the students had overlooked one detail: Silica gel is not toxic.

“The students had taken some plastic packets that are inside of a sealed food bag, meant for preservation of the food and say “do not consume” on the packaging, and brought them to school with the intent of putting them in another student’s lunch,” Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro told KTVA.

“The students had thought the packets contained poison,” she added. “The plot was not actually carried out.”

The station reported that the Anchorage Police Department became involved in the case when the plot was reported to the elementary school’s resource officer. Officials said the officer spoke with all three students and declined to file charges.


Anchorage school officials announced that they discovered a plot among first-graders to kill a classmate using poison at Winterberry Charter School. The students were suspended. (Photo courtesy of Q 13 Fox)

Embley told KTVA that the students faced disciplinary action, but she declined to divulge details of their punishment. NBC affiliate KTUU reported that the children faced suspension and were expected to return to school after their punishment was completed.

Embley noted that a letter to parents was sent out the same day the plot was discovered. She said safety is the school’s “top priority” and added that the school district takes all threats to student safety “very seriously.”


“It is important for parents to talk with their children about speaking up when they learn of something that could potentially harm others,” Castro told KTVA. “We are thankful for the student that said something to a trusted authority when they learned of the potentially harmful situation to another student.”


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Mississippi Moves Toward Allowing Armed Guards in Churches



MAR 30 2016, 5:25 PM ET



by JON SCHUPPE




Mississippi Closer to Legalizing Guns In Church 1:21


A Mississippi proposal to make it easier for people to carry guns in churches is moving through the state legislature.

Dubbed "The Church Protection Act," the bill allows houses of worship to designate members as security guards, who could obtain permits to carry concealed weapons to protect congregants from attacks. Those security guards would be immune from lawsuits stemming from responding to a threat. They could also use their work in defense of the church as a defense against criminal charges.

The bill's supporters said the measure could help prevent an attack similar to the June 2015 massacre in a Charleston, South Carolina, church that left nine members dead.

One opponent of the bill, State Sen. Hillman Frazier, pulled out a sword during a debate in the Mississippi Capitol on Tuesday, citing a biblical story about a disciple cutting off a servant's ear.

"We don't need to pimp out the church for political purposes," Frazier said, according to local NBC affiliate WLBT. "If you want to pass laws to liberalize gun laws, do that. But don't use the church to do that."

Sen. Sean Tindell, a supporter, said the bill would only give churches the option to create a security force.

"Gives members of the church, if they so choose, a greater ability to protect themselves and their families and their church," he said, WLBT reported.

The Mississippi Senate voted 36-14 in favor of the measure, which now heads to the House.

The bill would also broaden concealed carry rights.

A gun-control advocacy group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said the bill defies the will of a vast majority of Mississippi voters who don't see concealed carry permits as a priority.

The National Rifle Association praised the Mississippi lawmakers for defying the gun control activists, saying the measure "ensures that each Mississippian has the right to carry their firearm in the manner that best suits them."




JON SCHUPPE



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Beach-Ferrara reads at White House Easter prayer event




Mark Barrett, mbarrett@citizen-times.com

40 minutes ago




Jarrad Henderson / USAT

The Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of Southern Equality and an LGBT minister, walks to the podium to read Scripture during the Easter Prayer Breakfast Wednesday at The White House.



Local LGBT rights activist and politician the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara had a cameo on the national stage Wednesday, reading from the Bible at the annual White House Easter prayer breakfast in Washington.

She read the Beatitudes, a section of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus said "those who mourn," "the meek," "the merciful," "the peacemakers" and others will be blessed.

Beach-Ferrara is executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, an Asheville-based LGBT rights group that is part of the battle against HB2. She recently won the Democratic nomination for Buncombe County commissioner representing District 1, which includes most of Asheville.

She told the crowd of religious leaders from around the country
she brought "greetings from Asheville, North Carolina, and also from the LGBT community of North Carolina, which I'm proud to be a part of and honored to serve through my ministry."

The passage she read from the Book of Matthew includes the verses, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Beach-Ferrara said in a telephone interview afterwards that the Beatitudes have special significance now given the debate over HB2, which the state General Assembly adopted March 30 to prevent local governments from adopting ordinances banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or sexual identity.

But, she said, the verses apply more generally to the United States' situation today and have a timeless meaning for Christians.

"It goes beyond House Bill 2" and speaks to "the kind of people we'll be, the kind of country we'll be," she said.

"Those passages from Matthew 5, I feel like, strike right at the core of Christ's teaching. ... Those are passages that I go back to again and again and again to be reminded what it means to live a life of faith," Beach-Ferrara said.

Beach-Ferrara said she doesn't know whether the White House invitation for her to read was intended as a subtle commentary on HB2 or any other political issue.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest issued a statement Monday saying the Obama administration is "concerned about the potential harmful impact of this law, especially on transgender youth, and believe it is mean-spirited and sends the wrong message.”

In his remarks at the prayer breakfast Wednesday, Obama talked about what the prayers of those attending have meant to him during his presidency – "They have kept us going," he said – and how Christian beliefs relate to worries about terrorism and refugees.



Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

President Barack Obama pauses in front of a painting of Abraham Lincoln as he more

Recent "horrific attacks" in Belgium and Pakistan "can foment fear and division. They can tempt us to cast out the stranger, strike out against those who don't look like us, or pray exactly as we do," Obama said.

"They can lead us to turn our backs on those who are most in need of help and refuge. That's the intent of the terrorists, is to weaken our faith, to weaken our best impulses," he said.

But Obama said: "If Easter means anything, it's that you don't have to be afraid. We drown out darkness with light, and we heal hatred with love, and we hold on to hope."



Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Vice President Joe Biden jokes with President Barack Obama as the president speaks Wednesday during the Easter Prayer Breakfast in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.




Presidential Easter Prayer Breakfast 2016



PRESIDENT OBAMA HOSTS AN EASTER PRAYER BREAKFAST | MARCH 30, 2016



Published on Mar 30, 2016

President Obama is hosting his last annual Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House on Wednesday, where he will be joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Christian leaders from around the U.S.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were nostalgic as they hosted their final Easter prayer breakfast at the White House Wednesday morning, an event they also used to offer prayers for victims of recent terrorist attacks.

"Around the world we have seen horrific acts of terrorism, most recently Brussels, as well as what happened in Pakistan," Obama said. "Innocent families, mostly women and children, Christians and Muslims. So our prayers are with the victims, their families, the survivors of these cowardly attacks."

"This is one of our favorite events and it's an honor to be with so many faith leaders and lay faithful for one last time," Biden told the gathering. "It's been an honor."

Obama thanked the audience for its support of him and his family.

"It's a little bittersweet, my final Easter prayer breakfast as president, so I want to begin by thanking all of you for all of your prayers over the years; I know they have kept us going," Obama said, calling the annual Easter event a "cherished tradition."

_______________________

P.S.

Easter > Istar

What are we all Catholics now? Speaking of Religious Tests? 

Rev. Obama preaching and rhyming from the bully pulpit Easter as national beliefs.

What ever happened to The Establishment Clause?
Separation of Church and State? 

POTUS promoting and endorsing Rev. Wesley and Pope Francis as if our nation were a THEOCRACY? 

BTW: Sunday holy-ness was also condoned...

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The nun who started a television network



CBS NEWS

Mar 28, 2016 5:54 PM EDT





"Cloistered nuns in television is, without question, one of the most ridiculous things that could have ever happened." That's what Mother Mary Angelica, who died on Easter Sunday at 92, told 60 Minutes with a laugh in 1985. Yet Mother Angelica ran a global religious media empire for nearly 20 years. How did it all begin? "It just evolved," she said.

As correspondent Morley Safer explains (full story in the video player above), Mother Angelica was the abbess of Our Lady of the Angels monastery near Birmingham, Alabama, home then to 14 Franciscan nuns. They passed their days in prayer and contemplation -- except for three nights each week, when Mother Angelica took to the airwaves as the host of Mother Angelica Live, a popular television program on the Eternal Word Television Network, which she founded.

info


CBS News

Mother Angelica told Safer she was first inspired by a visit to Channel 38 in Chicago. "I walked in that little, tiny, tiny studio. I had never seen a studio, a TV studio before," she said. "But I remember standing in the doorway, and saying, 'It doesn't take much to reach the masses,' and I said, 'Lord, I've got to have one of these.'" So she had a studio built on the monastery grounds.

At the time she appeared on 60 Minutes, in 1985, her homegrown network reached nine million homes in 37 states during primetime hours, seven days a week. Now known as the EWTN Global Catholic Network, its 24-hour programming reaches more than 264 million households in 144 countries, according to the network. It also operates satellite and internet radio channels, a newspaper and a publishing company.

Learning about television took some time, she told Safer. "Most people didn't give us six months," she said. But she took pleasure in her new role, interpreting the bible, hosting guests and dispensing folksy advice to people who called in. "I just want people to know that their God is a loving God, that He sometimes must laugh at the things we do, and I think He does have a sense of humor," she said.

Sometimes her work turned serious, with people calling in for advice on their darkest sins and secrets. "I just want them to know God loves them and God cares," she said. "We care. There are times we have given solutions to some people's problems and answered the same problem for hundreds of other people."

Of course, running a television network doesn't come cheap. "I don't believe in budgets," Mother Angelica replied when asked how much it cost each month. Her estimate -- $290,000-$350,000 - was scraped together each month, from donations and from leasing satellite and studio time.

And what about ratings, that all-important measure of television success? "Your bible is the Bible, but there's a secondary bible in television called ratings," Safer pointed out.

"Well, that's your problem," Mother Angelica laughed. "I never let it be my problem. I don't know what my ratings are. I just don't think the Lord went around counting heads."

 © 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

'Leuren Moret' - GLOBAL CHAOS AGENDA...



'Leuren Moret' - GLOBAL CHAOS AGENDA : Jesuits,Trump,Pope,Cartels,Drugs,War,Mexican Border + More


Published on Feb 19, 2016


Female Scientist : ""Leuren Moret"" : GLOBAL CHAOS AGENDA – Jesuits, Trump, Pope, DOPE INC & Mexican Border, Nuking of USA Population ?, DHS Urban Warfare Against Americans, Neutron Bomb by USA Against Syrian Civilians, Econominc Agenda for Petro dollar Crash, Health and School Systems, Miltary, Politics, World Control AND MORE !

By Alfred Lambremont Webre
https://newsinsideout.com/2016/02/2836/

Alfred Lambremont Webre - Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCdK...
Google+ Page https://plus.google.com/b/10738036562...

Video not for profit Posted under the "Fair Use Act."
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing..No copyright infringement intended. FAIR USE ACT: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in a effort to advance the understanding of Political, Environmental, Emergency preparedness and Health issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for Political, Research and educational purposes.


Illuminati Bloodlines, the Pope, and Russia’s Rising Influence with Leuren Moret





Published on Dec 4, 2015


Trace the bloodlines of the Illuminati from the ancient Persians, to the modern Jesuits and learn how the Pope might be the final step in the New World Order, with author Leuren Moret. From the Aldebrondinis, to Vladimir Putin (who happens to be the new Tsar)--we uncover how power has shifted to the East, but managed to stay in the hands of the select few. Nuclear poisoning, HAARP weaponry, and false flags being utilized to manipulate the globe, plus the silencing and stealing of Nikola Tesla’s innovation are all explored in this Buzzsaw interview, hosted by Sean Stone.

GUEST BIO:
Leuren Moret is an internationally recognized Geoscientist and specialist on the environmental and biological effects of ionizing radiation.
After graduating from UC Davis in 1968, she collaborated with famous Paleobotanist Dr. Daniel I. Axelrod for 16 years, conducting yearly Paleobotanical expeditions and investigations around the World. That experience led to collaboration at the British Museum with Dr. Lewis Leakey, identifying paleobotanical specimens from East Africa and reconstructing hominid environments. She also conducted research at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences at Cambridge University, for Dr. Christopher Jeans, son of the well known astronomer Sir James Jeans.
After living in Iran and traveling around Europe and the Middle East, she returned to UC Berkeley and graduated in 1978 with an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies and the equivalent of a Masters degree in Wildlife Studies. After working at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab 1989-1991 as a geochemist on the WIPP and Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage projects, she became a Federal Whistleblower on nuclear weapons lab science fraud, graft, and corruption.
Her research led to a chance meeting in 2000 with Marion Fulk, the Manhattan Project scientist who solved the difficult problems on the Hydrogen Bomb for the US Government, and made it work. With this research came a new and perhaps as important field of knowledge, the new global Weapon of Mass Destruction based on Tesla technology known as HAARP. It was secretly co-developed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union at Livermore nuclear weapons lab and in Russia.
After visiting 50 countries educating the public, media, Parliaments and Congress, and making 20 speaking tours in Japan from 2000-2010, she has become a self-described “messenger warning the Global Community about the horrific dangers of HAARP and nuclear technologies.”

ADD’L LINKS:
http://leurenmoret.info/
http://thelip.tv/
http://thelip.tv/show/buzzsaw/
https://www.youtube.com/c/Buzzsawwith...
Buzzsaw Full Episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WfqK...
Buzzsaw Interview Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLZIJ...
More Buzzsaw Interview Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpVpd...
https://www.facebook.com/EnterTheBuzz...
https://www.facebook.com/thelip.tv
http://www.youtube.com/theliptv
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC25k...

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
00:01 Welcoming Leuren Moret to Buzzsaw.
00:51 The bloodlines of Iran that run from Babylon to today.
05:58 Bank influence, the real reason for the Vietnam.
09:20 Mini-nukes at the World Trade Center and a cruise missile at the pentagon.
13:11 Depleted uranium residue at the scene of false flag events.
16:05 Skull and Bones, secret societies, and the Borgias.
20:54 Ancient Iranian bloodlines, the vatican and the true illuminati.
25:06 The Aldobrandinis, Alessandro Farnese, and ancient, preserved power across Europe.
28:45 From Alexander the Great, to the Roman legacy of power.
30:18 The game of empire shifts to the East, away from America.
34:48 Putin as the new tsar, America and Russia’s fake conflict, and alliance on HAARP & Nuclear technology.
39:00 HAARP, Nikola Tesla, and modern energy weaponry.
44:50 The pope as the final step in the New World Order, and the descendants of ancient Persian bloodlines.
49:39 Finding out more information.

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Is DAVID BOWIE in HEAVEN Now? The TRUTH May SHOCK You!


        
 
Published on Mar 13, 2016
 
On January 10, 2015, Rock legend David Bowie died after battling liver cancer. Two days before passing away, in a music video entitled, "Lazarus", he sang, "Look up here, I'm in Heaven." Is David Bowie really in Heaven now? Furthermore, does the Bible teach that we go to Heaven when we die? Watch this video to find out!

Follow Mark Fox on:

➤YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/AmazingProphecies-...
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Support Forever Free Ministries @ http://bibleprophecy.info/product/mak...


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A new organization would be established


The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result?


The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work.


The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it.


Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.


Selected Messages, Vol. I, pp.204,205.

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Unions Win Fee Victory as Supreme Court Ties 4-4





Demonstrators supporting Rebecca Friedrichs, a plaintiff in the case, outside the Supreme Court in January.
MARK WILSON / GETTY IMAGES

By ADAM LIPTAK
MARCH 29, 2016


WASHINGTON — A case that seemed poised to deal a major blow to public unions ended in a 4-4 tie on Tuesday at the Supreme Court, effectively delivering a big victory to the unions.

When the case was argued in January, the court’s conservative majority seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they had declined to join violates the First Amendment.

But the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February changed the balance of power in the case, which was brought by California public schoolteachers who chose not to join unions and objected to paying for the unions’ collective bargaining activities on their behalf.

A ruling in the teachers’ favor would have affected millions of government workers and weakened public-sector unions, which stood to lose fees from both workers who objected to the positions the unions take and those who simply chose not to join while benefiting from the unions’ efforts on their behalf.

Under California law, public employees who choose not to join unions must pay a “fair share service fee,” also known as an “agency fee,” typically equivalent to members’ dues. The fees, the law says, are meant to pay for collective bargaining activities, including “the cost of lobbying activities.” More than 20 states have similar laws.

Government workers who are not members of unions have long been able to obtain refunds for the political activities of unions like campaign spending. The case,Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, No. 14-915, asked whether such workers must continue to pay for any union activities, including negotiating for better wages and benefits. A majority of the justices seemed inclined to say no.

Relying on a 1977 Supreme Court precedent, the appeals court in the case upheld the requirement that the objecting teachers pay fees. Tuesday’s announcement, saying only that “the judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court,” affirmed that ruling and set no new precedent.




Monday, March 28, 2016

Mass surveillance silences minority opinions, according to study



The Switch


By Karen Turner March 28 at 11:15 AM



(Damian Dovarganes/AP)

A new study shows that knowledge of government surveillance causes people to self-censor their dissenting opinions online. The research offers a sobering look at the oft-touted"democratizing" effect of social media and Internet access that bolsters minority opinion.

The study, published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, studied the effects of subtle reminders of mass surveillance on its subjects. The majority of participants reacted by suppressing opinions that they perceived to be in the minority. This research illustrates the silencing effect of participants’ dissenting opinions in the wake of widespread knowledge of government surveillance, as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

The “spiral of silence” is a well-researched phenomenon in which people suppress unpopular opinions to fit in and avoid social isolation. It has been looked at in the context of social media and the echo-chamber effect, in which we tailor our opinions to fit the online activity of our Facebook and Twitter friends. But this study adds a new layer by explicitly examining how government surveillance affects self-censorship.

Participants in the study were first surveyed about their political beliefs, personality traits and online activity, to create a psychological profile for each person. A random sample group was then subtly reminded of government surveillance, followed by everyone in the study being shown a neutral, fictional headline stating that U.S. airstrikes had targeted the Islamic State in Iraq. Subjects were then asked a series of questions about their attitudes toward the hypothetical news event, such as how they think most Americans would feel about it and whether they would publicly voice their opinion on the topic. The majority of those primed with surveillance information were less likely to speak out about their more nonconformist ideas, including those assessed as less likely to self-censor based on their psychological profile.

Elizabeth Stoycheff, lead researcher of the study and assistant professor at Wayne State University, is disturbed by her findings.


Keep Reading vv

“So many people I've talked with say they don't care about online surveillance because they don't break any laws and don't have anything to hide. And I find these rationales deeply troubling,” she said.

She said that participants who shared the “nothing to hide” belief, those who tended to support mass surveillance as necessary for national security, were the most likely to silence their minority opinions.

“The fact that the 'nothing to hide' individuals experience a significant chilling effect speaks to how online privacy is much bigger than the mere lawfulness of one's actions. It's about a fundamental human right to have control over one's self-presentation and image, in private, and now, in search histories and metadata,” she said.

Stoycheff is also concerned about the quietly oppressive behavior of self-censorship.

“It concerns me that surveillance seems to be enabling a culture of self-censorship because it further disenfranchises minority groups. And it is difficult to protect and extend the rights of these vulnerable populations when their voices aren't part of the discussion. Democracy thrives on a diversity of ideas, and self-censorship starves it,” she said. “Shifting this discussion so Americans understand that civil liberties are just as fundamental to the country's long-term well-being as thwarting very rare terrorist attacks is a necessary move.”

Stoycheff has written about the capacity of online sharing tools to inspire democratic change. But the results of this study have caused her views to change. "The adoption of surveillance techniques, by both the government and private sectors, undermines the Internet's ability to serve as a neutral platform for honest and open deliberation. It begins to strip away the Internet's ability to serve as a venue for all voices, instead catering only to the most dominant," she said. She received no outside funding for the research or publication of this study, she said.

The Snowden files decoded
Play Video
6:11


Journalists from The Washington Post shed light on how and why they reported on Edward Snowden blowing the whistle on massive NSA surveillance programs. (The Washington Post)

Karen Turner is a freelance journalist covering tech for The Washington Post.


Source

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The Scriptures Our Safeguard



03-28_The Scriptures Our Safeguard - Maranatha (1976) Ellen G. White


Published on Jun 13, 2015


Regarding the author, "In brief, she [Ellen G. White] was a woman of remarkable spiritual gifts who lived most of her life during the nineteenth century (1827-1915), yet through her writings she is still making a revolutionary impact on millions of people around the world. During her lifetime she wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books; but today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Her writings cover a broad range of subjects, including religion, education, social relationships, evangelism, prophecy, publishing, nutrition, and management. Her life-changing masterpiece on successful Christian living, Steps to Christ, has been published in more than 140 languages. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was more than a gifted writer; they believe she was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world's attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ's second advent. From the time she was 17 years old until she died 70 years later, God gave her approximately 2,000 visions and dreams. The visions varied in length from less than a minute to nearly four hours. The knowledge and counsel received through these revelations she wrote out to be shared with others. Thus her special writings are accepted by Seventh-day Adventists as inspired, and their exceptional quality is recognized even by casual readers. As stated in Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , “The writings of Ellen White are not a substitute for Scripture. They cannot be placed on the same level. The Holy Scriptures stand alone, the unique standard by which her and all other writings must be judged and to which they must be subject” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Washington D.C., 1988, p. 227). Yet, as Ellen White herself noted, “The fact that God has revealed His will to men through His Word, has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Saviour to open the Word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings” (The Great Controversy, p. vii). The following is a more detailed account of the life and work of this remarkable woman who, meeting all the tests of a true prophet as set forth in the Holy Scriptures, helped found the Seventh-day Adventist church." (http://www.whiteestate.org/about/egwb...)

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*LINKS*
http://bibletools.info/Gen_1.1
http://library.ellenwhite.org/
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https://egwwritings.org/singleframe.php
http://ellenwhiteaudio.org/
https://archive.org/details/sourceboo...
http://timeline.biblehistory.com/home
http://www.bibleuniverse.com/
http://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/re...
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Bible
http://documents.adventistarchives.or...
http://www.andrews.edu/library/car/ca...
http://www.andrews.edu/library/car/ca...
http://mediaset.sdasofia.org/MEDIA%20...
http://adventpioneerbooks.com/Free_Pr...
http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/books/...
http://adventaudio.org/
http://www.pastorbilllehman.org/
http://www.godslastwarning.com/audiob...
http://biblelight.info/Sources/Christ... (Rome's Challenge)
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Chr...)
http://romeschallenge.com/
https://archive.org/details/texts

FREE AUDIO: "Foxe's Book Of Martyrs" https://archive.org/details/FoxesBook...
"Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" https://archive.org/details/Decline_a...


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Teammates, immortals back Bulldogs star Will Hopoate’s decision to not play on Sundays



MARCH 28, 201611:40AM


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Hopoate won't play Sundays



PHIL ROTHFIELD
The Daily Telegraph


CANTERBURY Bulldogs star Will Hopoate will not play or train on Sundays because of his staunch devotion to his Mormon faith - a move backed by his coach, teammates and commentators.

The Sunday Telegraph yesterday revealed Hopoate will sit out three straight Sunday games in rounds 10, 11 and 12 against the Wests Tigers, Roosters and Canberra Raiders and is unsure whether he will play in the grand final if the Bulldogs go through to the decider.

The NSW State of Origin star has the full backing of coach Des Hasler and his teammates, whom he informed of his decision at a team meeting at Belmore this week.

The response from Bulldogs fans has been mixed but those within the game appear at ease with Hopoate’s decision.

Bulldogs teammate David Klemmer said he had no issue with Hopoate missing games to stay true to his faith.

“That is something he believes in and the club and him have worked together on that,” Klemmer told Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.

“The club has backed him all the way and I’m happy to be in environment and with a club that stands behind him like that.”

Rugby league immortal Andrew Johns said Hopoate deserved everyone’s respect.

“Full credit to Hoppa, it shows how strong his faith is (and) I stand and applaud. It shows what sort of person he is and what it means to him,” Johns told Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.



Bulldog Will Hopoate told coach Des Hasler of his decision late last year. Picture: Gregg PorteousSource:News Corp Australia

“The strength of the decision, it is amazing. He gave up the game for two years ... it is pretty cool when you think about it.”

Hopoate has revealed he told Hasler of how his commitment and loyalty to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would stop him from playing Sundays when the pair were negotiating his contract at the Bulldogs late last year.

Hasler kept it a secret until his fullback had the opportunity to explain it to the players. Only chief executive Raelene Castle, his manager Tyrone Smith and Hopoate’s family knew.

“This was another big draw card in me wanting to come to Canterbury,” Hopoate told the Sunday Telegraph.

“I understand that Des or the club could have said no without hesitation. But for him to understand and he’s told me this, that he recognises this is what gets me going, what makes me happy — living my beliefs. I’m very grateful for that.”



NRL star Will Hopoate enjoys the Sans Souci shore with his wife Jimicina.Source:News Corp Australia

Hasler said the Bulldogs would always stand by Hopoate and his beliefs.

“This is what makes Will so special,” Hasler said. “His beliefs distinguish him. This is what makes him tick. We are very proud to have such a person within our walls.

“To deny something that is so fundamental to a person is to deny that person the right to be who they are.”

Hopoate quit rugby league in 2012 for two years, turning his back on $1 million in contract earnings to embark on his religious mission.

He returned to the Parramatta Eels before joining the Bulldogs at the beginning of the season.

As for playing in a grand final if the Bulldogs make it to the October long weekend, it is something ­Hopoate will discuss with ­Hasler at the time.



Bulldog Will Hopoate takes on the defence in round three. Picture: Gregg PorteousSource:News Corp Australia

The 23-year-old said he chose not to play on Sundays because of the church’s belief that Sunday is the Lord’s day.

“A day set apart each week for rest and worship,” he said. “It’s a holy day reserved for holy ­activities like attending church and studying the scriptures. Also, where possible, we abstain from work and recreation.”

Hopoate added he made the decision late last year with his wife and family.

He is hoping Bulldogs supporters accept his decision.


Originally published as Teammates, immortals back Hoppa’s Sunday rest



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U.S. Capitol Police officer wounded in shooting



REBECCA SHABAD
CBS NEWS


Last Updated Mar 28, 2016 3:26 PM EDT

info


MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images


Emergency crews are responding to the Capitol after a shooting on the east side.


One U.S. Capitol Police officer has been shot, but not seriously, and a shooter is down, a U.S. Capitol Police source told WUSA. The Associated Press reports that the shooter is in custody. No other injuries have been reported at this time.

The U.S. Capitol and the White House are on lockdown. U.S. Capitol Police said they were locking down the entire Capitol complex in Washington due to a potential security threat. The lockdown at the White House, however, was precautionary. There is no specific threat or imminent danger to the White House, according to a law enforcement official.

An advisory was sent out to staffers warning that no one will be allowed to enter or exit any buildings. People are able to move about within buildings and underground between buildings, and if people are outside, they should seek cover.

A police officer told CBS News' Walt Cronkite that this is not part of a drill. The Senate and House are out on recess this week.

CBS News' Mark Knoller and Arden Farhi contributed to this report. © 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



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Former Brethren Worst Persecutors



Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Matt. 24:10.

As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.

The season of distress before God's people will call for a faith that will not falter. His children must make it manifest that He is the only object of their worship, and that no consideration, not even that of life itself, can induce them to make the least concession to false worship.

At that time the gold will be separated from the dross. . . . Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ's righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness.

Among earth's inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night, these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. . . . In the hour of deepest apostasy, when Satan's supreme effort is made to cause "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive, under penalty of death, the sign of allegiance to a false rest day, these faithful ones . . . will "shine as lights in the world." . . . Philippians 2:15. The darker the night, the more brilliantly will they shine.

Maranatha, p. 196.

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Fidel Castro blasts Obama’s trip to Cuba in harsh letter


ADAM EDELMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Today, 12:02 PM ET


So much for solidarity.

Just days after President Obama's historic trip to Cuba, Fidel Castro ripped the warming of relations between his nation and the U.S., angrily stating that "we don't need the empire to give us any presents."

In a 1,500-word bristling letter titled "Brother Obama," published Monday in Cuban state media, Castro, who did not meet with Obama during the visit, recounted decades of U.S. aggression against his country and told Obama to stay out of Cuba's affairs.


GOOGLE PLANS TO BRING HIGH SPEED INTERNET, OTHER TECH PRODUCTS TO CUBA

"My modest suggestion is that he reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics," the 89-year-old Castro wrote. "No one should pretend that the people of this noble and selfless country will renounce its glory and its rights."



ALEX CASTRO/AP

The 1,500-word bristling letter, titled "Brother Obama," was published Monday in Cuban state media and was the former dictator's first response to Obama's three-day visit to Cuba last week.

"We are capable of producing the food and material wealth that we need with work and intelligence of our people," Castro added.

Quoting Obama's declaration during his visit last week that "it is time, now, for us to leave the past behind," Castro added that, "I imagine that any one of us ran the risk of having a heart attack on hearing these words from the President of the United States."

CUBAN MAN WANTS OBAMAS VISIT TO LEAD TO DEMOCRACY

Castro also used his letter to rebut Obama's speech during his visit line-by-line, engaging in an ex-post-facto dialogue with pointed critiques of perceived slights and insults, including Obama's failure to give credit to indigenous Cubans and Castro's prohibition of racial segregation after coming to power in 1959.



President Obama's historic trip to Cuba

View gallery

Castro also discussed decades of U.S. aggression against Cuba, describing in detail the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against the island, the 1961 Bay of Pigs attack and the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner backed by exiles who took refuge in the U.S.

ANGRY FAN CHUCKS BEER CAN INTO RAY'S DUGOUT IN CUBA PROTEST

The aggressive note marked the former dictator's first response to Obama's three-day visit last week, in which the American president said he had come to bury the two countries' history of Cold War hostility.

Obama did not meet with Fidel Castro during his visit, choosing instead to sit down with Castro's brother Raul, who took over as Cuba's leader in 2008.



JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
President Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro shake hands during their first meeting on the second day of Obama's visit to Cuba.

THE OBAMA'S DANCE THE TANGO AT ARGENTINE STATE DINNER

His trip, the first to Cuba by an American president in nearly 90 years, was intended to build momentum behind his opening with the island nation and to convince the Cuban people and the Cuban government that a half-century of U.S. attempts to overthrow the Communist government had ended, allowing Cuba to reform its economy and political system without the threat of U.S. interference.

With News Wire Services


Source

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Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sibel Edmonds Shines A Light on the Brussels Attacks





Published on Mar 25, 2016


Support the Newsbud.com Kickstarter: kck.st/1WkQuTe

SHOW NOTES AND MP3: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=18217

Sibel Edmonds of Newsbud.com joins us to discuss the Brussels attacks. We discuss Belgium's central role as the base of NATO/EU/Gladio headquarters and how the script of this event follows the script of previous false flags almost precisely. We also talk about the public's reaction to these events and how both the mainstream and alternative media are being divided and conquered to keep people from questioning the true roots of these events.

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Fundamentalism, Apologies, and Trump! ~ by Bill Hughes




Published on Mar 27, 2016

An important sermon !
by pastor Bill Hughes.
Author of the Secret Terrorists & The Enemy Unmasked.

Please write to him:
Box 1417
Eustis, FL 32727

The Secret Terrorists (pdf)
http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/Con...

The Enemy Unmasked (pdf)
http://www.theunhivedmind.com/wordpre...

Prophecy Arise - by Bill Hughes (playlist)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Bill Hughes (Sermons)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...


THE GREAT CONTROVERSY (pdf)
http://www.earlysda.com/books/english...

The Mark of the Beast 666 - Third Angel's Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmRd8...

Sunday Law is coming - LRLTV Special Report׃ April 3rd, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyadZ...

See HOW the Sunday Law is being Pushed Today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tua5e...

Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen Wants SUNDAY LAWS !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uu_...

The Mark Of The Beast Is NOT A Microchip! (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgHoVZ...

RE: The Mark Of The Beast Is NOT A Microchip! [PART 2] (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADqnak...

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At private schools, a surge of Chinese students






DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF

Twins Wendy and Mary Wu from China who are students in a math class at The Newman School in the Back Bay.


By Laura Krantz and Jessica Meyers

GLOBE STAFF MARCH 27, 2016



EVERETT — Pope John XXIII High School once epitomized the parochial school experience, a concrete building where hundreds of poor Catholic children from Irish and Italian immigrant families sought a new future. For decades, a student from farther away than Malden or Chelsea stood out. ​

Walk through the same doors now, and the tones of Mandarin Chinese bounce off the lockers. International flags fly between stained glass windows in a chapel-turned-dining hall. In one classroom, a crucifix hangs over a bookshelf with a Chinese dictionary — a reminder that almost half the school’s population hails from abroad. Three-quarters of those students come from China.

Chinese students have flocked to US universities for nearly 40 years. But as that country’s middle class balloons and competition for college acceptance rises, some families aim to jump-start the process by sending children abroad as early as junior high. This influx has spurred a side industry ripe for exploitation and shifted the makeup of secondary schools nationwide, particularly in private-school hubs like New England.

Elite boarding schools have found the surge so great that many are attempting to maintain a balance by accepting fewer Chinese. But many day schools, faced with financial pressures, have seized on the opportunity to enroll full-tuition students through partnerships with recruitment agencies, new dorms, and rejiggered curriculums.

“This school is not the school that was here in the 1980s,” said Tom Ryan, head of school at Pope John XXIII.

Chinese made up 35 percent of the 92,000 foreign secondary school students in the United States in 2015, according to the US Department of Homeland Security, by far the largest group studying here. The number of international students in New England alone rose from more than 9,000 in 2010 to nearly 14,000 last year.

International enrollment at the Newman School in the Back Bay shot up from 29 percent to 36 percent in the past five years, with 70 percent of those Chinese. The MacDuffie School in Granby has more than doubled its international population in the past four years, to 160 out of 297 students total.

Lexington Christian Academy recently acquired a dormitory, largely for international students who pay $61,860 a year for tuition and housing. In 2011, Pope John XXIII officials converted the school’s fifth-floor convent into a dormitory for foreign students. Tuition there is $9,500 annually, plus about $30,000 for room and board.

This new wave of Chinese students, even as they seek educational opportunity, is also more vulnerable because they leave their families at a young age, travel halfway across the world, and juggle the insecurities of teenage years in a country they don’t understand.

Some of these so-called parachute kids sink, but many do master a system of teaching much different than they knew, improve their English, diversify traditionally monochrome campuses, and better situate themselves to attend a US university. And yet the transition can feel jarring.

“The first day I arrived at my host family’s, I shut the door all day and stayed in my room,” said Ran Yixin, who entered George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine, as a hesitant 17-year-old sophomore.

Then the south China native started watching football games with her host father, joined the cheerleading squad, volunteered at a local church, and became a discerning lobster eater. She graduated last year and now attends Bunker Hill Community College.

“You need to be versatile; you can’t be only good at studying,” said Ran, who like many international students, bounced between host families.

The desire to attend a US college often drives families, but, like Ran, many also seek to avoid the rigidity of the Chinese education system.

Most public school students in China focus their academic career on passing a single test, the national college entrance exam, which is taken in their senior year. Students study long hours, and their score on this test, called the gaokao, determines where they go to college and what majors they pursue.

This method, while prized for its rigor, leaves little time for hobbies or self-examination.

“The education system in China is quite harmful for personal interest,” said Ran’s father, Ran Qihui, who paid about $46,000 a year for the US private high school.

Some Chinese parents worry the American approach, which emphasizes extracurriculars and encourages students to follow their passions, fails to instill the same level of academic skills as the Chinese model.

Unless parents can afford to accompany their children, it also tears families apart at the child’s most formative age.

“It’s like they start college four years earlier,” said Tracy Ren, a Beijing mother whose son went to Choate Rosemary Hall, the same Connecticut boarding school President John F. Kennedy attended. “If you want to send [your kids abroad] at 14, they’re gone.”





DAVID L RYAN/GLOBE STAFF

Ali Fu from China with Priscila Forgione from Lynn work together at Pope John XXIII High School in Everett.


The 7th Day Sabbath and Sunday Rest in Laudato Si



71. Although “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Gen 6:5) and the Lord “was sorry that he had made man on the earth” (Gen 6:6), nonetheless, through Noah, who remained innocent and just, God decided to open a path of salvation. In this way he gave humanity the chance of a new beginning. All it takes is one good person to restore hope! The biblical tradition clearly shows that this renewal entails recovering and respecting the rhythms inscribed in nature by the hand of the Creator. We see this, for example, in the law of the Sabbath. On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. He commanded Israel to set aside each seventh day as a day of rest, a Sabbath, (cf. Gen 2:2-3; Ex16:23; 20:10). Similarly, every seven years, a sabbatical year was set aside for Israel, a complete rest for the land (cf. Lev 25:1-4), when sowing was forbidden and one reaped only what was necessary to live on and to feed one’s household (cf. Lev 25:4-6). Finally, after seven weeks of years, which is to say forty-nine years, the Jubilee was celebrated as a year of general forgiveness and “liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants” (cf.Lev 25:10). This law came about as an attempt to ensure balance and fairness in their relationships with others and with the land on which they lived and worked. At the same time, it was an acknowledgment that the gift of the earth with its fruits belongs to everyone. Those who tilled and kept the land were obliged to share its fruits, especially with the poor, with widows, orphans and foreigners in their midst: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after the harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner” (Lev 19:9-10).


237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”.168 In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity. We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity. Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else. The law of weekly rest forbade work on the seventh day, “so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed” (Ex 23:12). Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.


Resources:


Why the pope tried to halt the Rolling Stones concert in Cuba



Pope Francis is helping to open Cuba to the outside world, but that could change the influence of the Catholic Church in the long-isolated island nation.

Christian Science Monitor By Lucy Schouten 18 hours ago



At Cuba's first major rock-n-roll concert Friday night, the Rolling Stones played to an estimated 500,000 Cubans, many of whom were lifelong fans.

Some of these Cubans once risked re-education on a work brigade for secretly listening to pirated vinyls when the Communist government banned such music.

"To me, this is a consecration," Juan Carlos Leon, age 57, told Reuters. "I've waited my whole life for this. The Stones are the greatest."

Recommended: How much do you know about Cuba? Take our quiz!

One major institution in Cuba expressed reticence about the performance, however. The Vatican contacted the band directly and asked them not to play on Good Friday, suggesting a midnight start time instead, Britain's Mirror newspaper reported. The Rolling Stones appreciated the the personal letter but respectfully replied that other global events were occurring on the holy day.

The Catholic Church is certainly not asking Cuba to continue its isolationist policies – Pope Francis hosted Cuban and US officials last year to pave the way for a historic visit by President Obama this week – but it does want to maintain its influence within the island nation.

"I think we’ll see continuity on the church's role in human rights, and also its important charity work as well," says R. Andrew Chesnut, the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of Latin American history.

Unless the regime's politics begin to change more substantively than Raul Castro has indicated thus far, the church's political role will remain significant.

“Outside the government, the [Roman Catholic] Church is the most important institution in Cuba,” Javier Figueroa, a retired Cuban history professor at the University of Puerto Rico, told the Atlantic.

While the Communist government's repression severely weakened its influence, Catholic leaders in Cuba gradually created a space for the church inside the once-"atheist" country by offering social and economic services the government desperately needed and moderating its politics, Jason Berry wrote for the Atlantic.

Initially banned by Fidel Castro, the Catholic Church became one of the few institutions to gain a foothold in the Communist state after the Soviet Union fell in 1989, wrote Whitney Eulich for The Christian Science Monitor. From its position as the gateway to needed social services, the Catholic Church could lobby the government from within. It was a strategy church leadership preferred over open hostility to the Communist revolution, which had resulted in the government closing religious schools, exiling priests, and banning Catholic literature.

Now that its multi-lateral strategy for moving Cuba back into the world circle is bearing fruit in the form of a US presidential visit and rock gigs, the Catholic Church may shift its tactics and perhaps its focus. It is a shift for which outspoken Catholic dissidents have been calling for years.

The Ladies in White, a mostly Catholic women's group that has protested since 2003 on behalf of political prisoners were arrested for protests about the pope's Cuba visit in September. Although Catholic leaders had helped them pressure the government to free many political prisoners, the Ladies in White and others like them criticized the church for a too-close relationship with a repressive government.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the leadership, particularly Cardinal Ortega, doesn't become a bit bolder," Dr. Chesnut says.

Such difficulties are nothing new for the Catholic Church in Latin America, as Catholic leaders – including Argentine Pope Francis – are accustomed to spending a little time on the wrong side of the region's ever-shifting regimes and revolutions. The church's bigger challenge is to rebuild its former strength – only 8 to 9 percent of Cubans are practicing Catholics – in time to stop Cuba from going the same route as much of Latin America, where Catholic strongholds are losing membership to enthusiastic evangelism from other Christians and rising secularity.

"I predict that that’s the reason we have our first Latin American pope is to stop that hemorrhaging," Chesnut says. "I think when we actually do see political opening and liberalization [in Cuba], it actually won’t bode well for the Catholic Church because it will be competition."



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