Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Schedule for Mountain Media Ministries Spring Seminar trip


Upcoming Events

In December of 2007 we presented Country Living Seminars at four SDA churches in California (Hillcrest, Placerville, Hollister, and Fontana).Then in February and March of 2008 we took another trip where we presented these seminars at three SDA churches (Sacramento Central, Templeton Hills, and Placerville again). Then in the spring of 2008 we visited the Huntington and Point Pleasant SDA churches in WV; Manhattan SDA Church (NYC); Rainsville SDA Church in AL; Greater Atlanta SDA Church in GA; Talge Hall Chapel, Southern Adventist University; and South Orlando SDA Chruch in FL; as well as other locations that were arranged in North Carolina and Michigan.In August of 2008 we presented these seminars at the Pasadena SDA Church, the Lake Tahoe Campmeeting, and the Mountain View Japanese SDA Church (all in California).

Then the fall/winter of 2008, we presented seminars at the Sulphur SDA Church (OK), Evansville West Side SDA Church (IN), Nashville First SDA Church (TN), Portsmouth SDA Church (OH), Mt. Pisgah SDA Church (Kennesaw, GA), Piedmont SDA Church (AL), Cedar Ridge SDA Church (Georgetown, TN), McDonald Road SDA Church (Collegedale, TN),Palmetto SDA Church (FL), West Columbia SDA Church (SC), Pisgah SDA Church (Bryan's Road, MD), Ebenezer SDA Church (Brooklyn, NY), and the Johnston SDA Church (RI).

In the spring of 2009, we presented Country Living Seminars at Mt. Shasta SDA Church (CA), Magalia SDA Church (CA), Thunderbird SDA Church (Scottsdale, AZ), Casa Grande SDA Church (AZ), Glendale SDA Church (AZ), S. Orlando SDA Church (FL) again, Dalton SDA Church (GA), Floral Crest SDA Church (AL), Wheaton SDA Church (MD), CPC SDA Church (Alexandria, VA), Woodbury SDA Church (NJ), & Liberty SDA Church (Baltimore, MD).

During the fall of 2009, we presented Country Living Seminars at Roseburg SDA Church (OR), Sacramento Central SDA Church (again), Leoni Meadows Camp (N. CA), Prescott SDA Church (AZ), Arbuckle View SDA Church (OK), Willow Springs, MO, Middletown SDA Church (NY), Seabrook SDA Church (MD), Fort Walton Beach SDA Church (FL), Pompano Beach SDA Church (FL), Raleigh SDA Church (Memphis, TN), McDonald Road SDA Church (Collegedale, TN - again), and Wimbish Road SDA Church (Macon, GA).

Below you will find information about upcoming events where we will be speaking. Many of these events will deal with practical country living and end-time topics. Please note that some may not be sponsored by Mountain Media Ministries.

SPRING 2010 TRIP - We are scheduling our upcoming trip for the spring of 2010. Please contact us ASAP If you or your church/group are interested in having us conduct seminars in your area.

.

Jesus cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple


12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?


Matthew 21: 12-16.

.

The Church's Great Need


[ARTICLE APPEARING IN APPENDIX TO FIRST EDITION
OF CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT OMITTED
FOR MECHANICAL REASONS FROM THE SECOND
RESET EDITION.--COMPILERS.]



A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer. While the people are so destitute of God's Holy spirit, they cannot appreciate the preaching of the Word; but when the Spirit's power touches their hearts, then the discourses given will not be without effect. Guided by the teachings of God's Word, with the manifestation of His Spirit, in the exercise of sound discretion, those who attend our meetings will gain a precious experience, and returning home, will be prepared to exert a healthful influence.

The old standard bearers knew what it was to wrestle with God in prayer, and to enjoy the outpouring of His Spirit. But these are passing off from the stage of action; and who are coming up to fill their places? How is it with the rising generation? Are they converted to God? Are we awake to the work that is going on in the heavenly sanctuary, or are we waiting for some compelling power to come upon the church before we shall arouse? Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come.

There are persons in the church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually. We must pray more, and talk less. Iniquity abounds, and the people must be taught not to be satisfied with a form of godliness without the spirit and power. If we are intent upon searching our own hearts, putting away our sins, and correcting our evil tendencies, our souls will not be lifted up unto vanity; we shall be distrustful of ourselves, having an abiding sense that our sufficiency is of God.

We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world. Unbelievers have a right to expect that those who profess to be keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will do more than any other class to promote and honor, by their consistent lives, by their godly example and their active influence, the cause which they represent. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan's devices.


Selected Messages Book 1 (1958), E. G. White, pp.121-122.
.

Monday, February 22, 2010

But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers


1Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

2Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

4If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

5I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?


6But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

7Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

8Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

12All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

13Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

14And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

15Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

16What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

18Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.


1 Corinthians 6 (King James Version)

Church Signs Come Down


02/16/10 - McNairy County

Church Signs Come Down
By: Mallory Cooke
mccoke@wbbjtv.com
6:05 p.m.

A long standing feud between A Creation Seventh Day and Adventist Church and the worldwide Seventh Day Adventist reached a breaking point Tuesday. Protestors could only watch as crews dismantled signs linking the church in Guys to the Seventh Day Adventist denomination.

Protesters watched as one by one pieces of sign fell off A Creation Seventh Day and Adventist Church. "They are coming out here to take our church apart basically, strip us of our faith, strip us of our name, and strip us of our identity," said Lucan Chartier, a church member.

A federal judge said the church in Guys violated the trademark of the worldwide Seventh Day Adventist denomination, which allowed workers to tear down anything linking them to the international organization. "We are here carrying out the injunction order taking down some signage material that violated the order," said Joel Galanter, attorney representing the General Conference Corporation of Seventh-Day Adventists.

The church in Guys refuses to change its name. "That is a name God gave us and it is a name he wants us to use, so we cannot take another name," said Jody Mueller, a protester.

Mueller flew all the way from California. She said A Creation Seventh Day and Adventist represents more than just a name. "It is our banner. It is our banner that we were told to hold until Jesus comes back," said Mueller.

In addition to taking down signs outside, lawyers also plan to confiscate business cards, signs, and books because they have the name Seventh Day Adventist on them.

Members planned to stand their ground. "We are going to continue preaching as we can, whenever we can," said Chartier.

Members admitted for now the future of the church looks cloudy. "We will have to pray, take it to God and see what he instructs us to do," said Chartier.

Chartier said he will not comply with a request from the court for information, which means he could face jail time. It is a consequence he said he is willing to take.
.

.

Why Christ Delays His Coming


But this I say, brethren, the time is short. 1 Cor. 7:29a *


The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me. It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional. {Mar 61.1}

God had committed to His people a work to be accomplished on earth. The third angel's message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault before Him at His coming. {Mar 61.2}

Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, . . .the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward. {Mar 61.3}

But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. . . . {Mar 61.4}

For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years. {Mar 61.5}
.

Maranatha, E. G. White, p.61.

* Replaced Goodspeed with King James Version (KJV) .

.

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness


1Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

3But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

9(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

21Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Ephesians 5:1-21.
.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Letting Roman Catholics Off the Hook




Letting Roman Catholics Off the Hook
Posted January 4th, 2010 by Loren Seibold

Editor's Note: This is a preview article that appears on page 22 of our brand-new winter 2010 print issue being delivered to our subscribers this month. not yet a subscriber? Click here to purchase at the promotional rate of only $19.50/year. Note: A free PDF file of this feature article is also attached below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Loren Seibold

For over a century, even before the publication of The Great Controversy, we Adventists have regarded the Roman Catholic Church leadership, typified in the first beast of Revelation 13, as our arch-nemesis, our bête noire, the enemy that takes the evil part in the apocalyptic scenario against God's remnant.

Here are seven reasons why it may be time to question them in that role.

1. More than a hundred years have passed since our prophet approved these prophetic applications. Ellen White expected Jesus to return long before this.1 We're not sure why that hasn't happened. But isn't it possible that some details of the apocalyptic scenario set out in the 1890s may have changed by the 2010s? It happened to Israel. Not all of the original Old Testament prophecies about them and their role came to pass. We call it "conditional prophecy."

2. Principles might be more diagnostic than players. That we oppose those who would legislate matters that should be left to an individual's conscience is a principle I value, and I'm proud of Seventh-day Adventist efforts to protect religious liberty. But if it should happen that someone other than the Roman Catholic Church begins to act like the beast of Revelation 13, we will be more ready to respond if we are watching for a violation of the principle than if waiting for one specific group to offend.

3. Ellen White fingered Catholicism in a very different world. Historians have shown that 19th-century American anti-Catholicism grew out of a general anti-immigrant nativism.2 In an era when we have had and could again have a liberty-loving Roman Catholic president, when Catholic immigrants have become our young work force, why can't we preach the gospel without identifying Roman Catholicism as Satan's exclusive tool?

4. The Roman Catholic Church of today is a much different institution than it was during Ellen White's time. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (1962-1965) radically altered that denomination's theology and practices. Vatican II declared the gospel central to church theology, made worship accessible, denied that Roman Catholics only can be saved, encouraged lay Bible study, and affirmed religious liberty. While not quite a Protestant Reformation, today's Catholic Church is not the same Catholic Church referenced in our 19th-century eschatological studies. Among other things, the Second Ecumenical Council weakened Vatican authority over world Catholics-as evidenced by the 78 percent of American Catholics who oppose their church's ban on contraception.3

5. By focusing on Roman Catholicism, we may miss more dangerous anti-Christian opponents. Far more Christians have been killed, persecuted, or denied their religious liberty by Communism, military Fascism, and Islamist extremism in the past century than by Roman Catholics; we've let these pass with minimal comment (in the case of Naziism, even offering some pusillanimous cooperation) as we continued to warn against the pope. Today religious liberty still has more dangerous enemies than Catholicism–in the United States, perhaps even some of our fellow conservative Protestants.

6. God has given us time to become a world church, and that changes the cast of characters in our eschatology. The "antichrists"-opposers of Christ–to many of today's world Christians are radical imams or cruel dictators. One site of Christian persecution right now is northern Nigeria, where Muslims burn churches and kill Christians.4 An eschatology that expects only Roman Catholics to initiate religious oppression, only in the United States, and only around the Sabbath question, may fail to speak prophetically should apocalyptic markers appear elsewhere.

7. Religious liberty has arguably improved in countries where Catholicism has influence. During my lifetime, the papacy has frequently been a force for peace and freedom. Pope John Paul II opened the first breach in the Iron Curtain, and Catholics have been more forthright in speaking against violence and oppression than many of our fellow conservative Protestants. Consider the irony that our evangelists are employing anti-Catholic teachings for soul winning in countries where the papacy helped win them that freedom! (And the even greater irony that some of us still think that calling the Pope the Antichrist is necessary to win souls to Christ.)

Of course, we don't give the Roman Catholic church a free pass; we subject it to the same Biblical scrutiny we would any other influential world power. (And while we're at it, we'd do well always to scrutinize ourselves by the same metrics we use on others–which is Jesus' advice, not mine.5)

But perhaps we needn't single out Roman Catholicism any longer. Ellen White, who was often more flexible than her followers, wrote: "God wants us all to have common sense, and He wants us to reason from common sense. Circumstances alter conditions. Circumstances change the relation of things."6

Roman Catholicism has served us well as an enemy: provocative enough to keep us energized, yet doing minimal actual damage to us. Such an important enemy made us feel significant, "in the know," and in control, while not really disturbing our lives.

Opposing current enemies might thrust us into prophetic roles that take more commitment and action. My friend Bert B. Beach, speaking of Adventist eschatology, once said to me: "I'm suspicious when people are constantly focused on what's going to happen in the future. I think they're trying to avoid dealing with what's going on right now."

I think Bert is on to something. Could we become as enthusiastic in taking on the religious persecution that's happening to Christians right now, in places like Nigeria, as we've been in accusing Roman Catholicism of planning to someday persecute us here?


.
1 She wasn't alone; the apostles expected Jesus in their lifetimes, too (see Matt. 24:34, Heb. 1:1-2, 2 Thess. 1:6-10).
2 See Ernest Tuveson's Redeemer Nation and John Higham's Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism, 1860-1925.
3 http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050418/18american.htm
4 And sometimes, sadly, vice versa.
5 "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matt. 7:2, NIV).
6 Selected Messages, Vol. 3, p. 217.

Attachment
Size
Feature Article - Winter 2010.pdf
110.03 KB

..

America's most miserable cities

High unemployment, crime and corruption can make these cities downright depressing. Did your hometown make the list?

By Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes



Cleveland has had a colorful history. The Cuyahoga River, which runs through the city, famously caught fire in 1969 thanks to rampant pollution, and it wasn't the first time. In 1978, it became the first U.S. city to default on its debts since the Great Depression. Cleveland sports fans have had to endure more anguish than those in any other city. The city has been dubbed with a less than endearing nickname: the Mistake by the Lake.

This year Cleveland takes the top spot in our third annual ranking of America's Most Miserable Cities. Cleveland secured the position thanks to its high unemployment, high taxes, lousy weather, corruption by public officials and crummy sports teams (Cavaliers of the NBA excepted).

Misery was on the rise around the country last year. Sure, the stock market was up big, but so were unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy filings. Meanwhile housing prices, the U.S. dollar and approval ratings for Congress continued their downward spiral.

Slide show: America's top 10 most miserable cities

The widely tracked Misery Index initiated by economist Arthur Okun, which combines unemployment and inflation rates, started 2009 at 7.3 and rose to 12.7 by the end of the year thanks to soaring joblessness. That is the highest level since 1983.

MSN Health: Find depression symptoms, treatments and causes

Our Misery Measure takes into account unemployment, as well as eight other issues that cause people anguish. The metrics include taxes (both sales and income), commute times, violent crime and how its pro sports teams have fared over the past two years. We also factored in two indexes put together by Portland, Ore., researcher Bert Sperling that gauge weather and Superfund pollution sites. Lastly, we considered corruption based on convictions of public officials in each area as tracked by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.
We expanded the list of cities under consideration this year to include the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas (in years past, we've examined 150), which led to a shuffling in the ranks. Any area with a population of more than 245,000 was eligible.

Cleveland nabbed the top spot as a result of poor ratings across the board. It was the only city that fell in the bottom half of the rankings in all nine categories. Many residents are heading for greener pastures; there has been a net migration out of the Cleveland metro area of 71,000 people over the past five years. Population for the city itself has been on a steady decline and is now less than half of it what it was 50 years ago.

Cleveland ranked near the bottom when looking at corruption. Northern Ohio has seen 309 public officials convicted of crimes over the past 10 years according to the Justice Department. A current FBI investigation of public officials in Cuyahoga Country (where Cleveland is located) has ensnared more than two dozen government employees and businessmen on charges including bribery, fraud and tax evasion.

Bing: Search & decide
Check crime statistics in your area
Find your state’s misery index
Find the best places to live

On the housing front, Cleveland is dealing with thousands of abandoned homes. The city contributed to its foreclosure problem by providing down payments to many people who could not afford homes through the federally funded Afford-A-Home program. Cleveland, led by Mayor Frank Jackson, sued 21 large investment banks in 2008 that he thought were complicit in the subprime and foreclosure crisis that hit Cleveland hard. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year, but the city is appealing the ruling.

A 19% decline in foreclosures last year is possibly a glimmer of hope that the housing situation is starting to improve, although Cleveland still ranks in the top third of all metros for foreclosure rates, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed property. Cleveland and Cuyahoga County were awarded $41 million last month from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This money will go toward demolition of homes, foreclosure prevention and the rehabilitation of homes.

There are certainly bright spots in Cleveland. Downtown has experienced a revival over the past 15 years, helped in part by the construction of three new sports venues for the city's NFL, NBA and baseball teams. The Cleveland Clinic is one of the top medical centers in the U.S. and the largest employer in northeast Ohio.

Find foreclosures in your area
Jackson's chief of staff, Ken Silliman, calls 2010 a very exciting year for Cleveland. He points to three projects in development for the city. The first is the Cleveland Medical Mart, which is a convention center that targets the medical and health care industries. Next is a casino plan. In November, Ohio voters approved casinos in four cities, and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is leading a group that hopes to have a Cleveland casino up and running in three years. Lastly is the Flats East Bank project, which ran into funding issues during the financial crisis. The waterfront development will include an office tower, hotel and space for retail and dining.

"Clevelanders over the years have developed a tenacity to deal with these kinds of situations, and we are very aggressive in attempting to solve our problems rather than awaiting someone else's solutions," says Silliman.

Other cities on the list include Memphis, which came in third thanks to the second-worst rate of violent crime in the U.S. and an alarming rate of convicted public officials. Detroit, ravaged by the ailing auto industry was fourth. Flint, Mich., was fifth. Also on the list? Chicago (No. 10) and New York City (No. 16). Torturous commute times and nosebleed-inducing taxes are the high prices locals pay for the cultural opportunities and corporate headquarters located there.

Facebook users: Become a fan of MSN Real Estate
Our most miserable city last year, Stockton, Calif., nabbed the second spot on this year's list. Unemployment and crime continue to be major issues. Stockton ranked seventh-worst in both of these areas. Stockton residents have average commutes that are among the highest in the country and, like all Californians, they suffer from onerous sales and income taxes.

Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston says the city is working to fix its problems. It has seen a reduction in crime in recent months as it targets troubled areas with an increased police presence. On the economic front, the city recently expanded the Port of Stockton, which it hopes will attract new companies. Stockton is an agricultural community, but the mayor says the city is working to diversify its economic base and echoes Silliman's comments about Cleveland. "We're an All-American city," says Johnston. "And it's not because we sit on our hands and do nothing. It's because we recognize our problems and work to solve them."
The top 10 most miserable cities
.

Salvation Army Reaches Settlement in Church-State Suit


SocietyThu, Feb. 18 2010 12:36 PM EDT


Salvation Army Reaches Settlement in Church-State Suit


By Audrey BarrickChristian Post Reporter

The Salvation Army and the New York Civil Liberties Union have reached a settlement in a longstanding suit that sought to prevent the evangelical organization from violating church-state separation when providing social services.

In the settlement, which was approved Tuesday by a federal judge, numerous city, state and federal government agencies named in the lawsuit agreed to monitor The Salvation Army for two years to ensure that it does not impose its beliefs on recipients of its government-funded services.

"This agreement protects the religious freedom of all New Yorkers who rely on faith-based organizations for crucial government-funded social services," NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement Wednesday.

"Our taxpayer money shouldn’t support religious indoctrination of anyone – particularly children. And no one should be subject to proselytizing because they need foster care, adoption, child care or HIV services," she added. "This settlement ensures that religious organizations may not preach to people who receive government-funded social services or discriminate against them based on their religious beliefs."

The Salvation Army on Thursday declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004 on behalf of 18 former and current employees of The Salvation Army. They were challenging a policy requiring social workers and other employees in its government-funded social services programs to identify their church affiliation, the frequency of their church attendance, and to sign an endorsement of The Salvation Army's mission to "preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Anne Lown, who worked for the charity for more than two decades, commented, "I do not think my religious beliefs nor the religious beliefs of the 800 employees in Social Services for Children are any business of the Salvation Army."

The suit also alleges proselytizing, such as prayers offered with snacks in a day care program.

Jonathan Pines, the attorney representing the city in the litigation, told The New York Times that the Administration for Children’s Services could not confirm allegations of proselytizing.

“While there was no evidence of any problems in the delivery of services by The Salvation Army under its various contracts with the relevant City agencies and no allegation by plaintiffs that the City engaged in any wrongdoing, we believe that the settlement is an appropriate resolution of the issues," Pines stated to the local newspaper.

According to the NYCLU, The Salvation Army previously had a secular mission statement for its government-funded social services agency. But a "reorganization plan" in 2003 directed the organization to narrow the gap between the ecclesiastical Salvation Army and the social services component. The plan included requiring social service employees to acknowledge and adhere to its mission of providing social services only in a manner consistent with its religious principles.

The goal was that "[t]here should be one Salvation army with a single Mission Statement, driven by the vision of one leader."

The organization's current mission statement reads: "Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination."

Since the "reorganization plan" efforts began, plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege that "manifestations of Christian faith have appeared in the workplace, including recitation of prayers at staff meetings and functions [and] frequent depositing of religious publications in employee mailboxes."

When announcing the lawsuit, Lieberman made clear, "This case is not about the right of The Salvation Army to practice or promote its religion. They have every right to do so, but not with government money. The Salvation Army cannot use taxpayer money to practice religious discrimination against its social services employees."

In 2005, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein dismissed claims that the Christian organization and the government agencies had engaged in impermissible employment discrimination by requiring employees in the government-funded programs to disclose their religious beliefs and practices and to uphold the mission of the Salvation Army. But Stein did not dismiss the charge that government agencies had unconstitutionally used public money to advance the Salvation Army’s religious work.

As part of the settlement, the NYCLU will receive regular reports from the government agencies on The Salvation Army’s compliance with the agreement. A federal court will maintain jurisdiction over the agreement for two years to ensure that it is enforced.

The Greater New York Division of The Salvation Army operates over 140 programs out of 39 corps community centers. In addition to Corps-based programs, the local division administers a wide variety of social services through contracts with government agencies such as the New York City Department of Homeless Services and the New York City Administration for Children’s Services.
.

.

At Pope's Trip to Rome Synagogue, Press Misses the Story

Posted: 01/18/10


ROME -- Just as the massive TV trucks parked around Rome's synagogue obscured the sight of one of the city's most beautiful buildings, so too have news reports obscured the real importance of the pope's visit to the Jewish community here.

Late Sunday afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI made the short trip across the Tiber River to the Great Synagogue of Rome, located on the site of the former Jewish ghetto. The weather was chilly, but the greetings just the opposite.

Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, and Riccardo Pacifici, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, welcomed the pope on the steps of the synagogue amid thunderous cheers of "Viva il Papa!" Benedict was accompanied by Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Archbishop Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio in Israel, to underscore his encouragement of inter-religious relations by drawing Rome and Israel closer together.

Despite the trite headlines about the "Pope's Controversial Visit," there was no real controversy; the chief rabbi had extended the invitation to Benedict in 2006 and the Roman Jewish community pulled out all the stops for this event. This was Benedict's third visit to a Jewish place of worship (after stops at the synagogues of Cologne in 2005 and New York in 2008). Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit the Roman synagogue in April 1986, and Benedict, following in his predecessor's footsteps, has now created a double precedent. Future popes will now be expected to visit the synagogue, just as they do the mayor's office, Parliament and the local parishes.

As with the pope's Holy Land trip, this visit began with an acknowledgment of the suffering of the Jewish community through the Holocaust and other violence. Benedict first placed red roses before the memorial tablets that record the roundup and deportation of 1,022 Jews on Oct. 16, 1943; he then laid a wreath beneath the plaque commemorating the Oct. 9, 1982, terrorist attack on the synagogue, which killed a 2-year-old child, Stefano Tache.

More than merely remembering hostilities by outsiders, however, Benedict took the occasion to acknowledge the turbulent history between Christian Rome and its Jewish denizens. He chose a special date for the visit, the feast of Mo'ed di Piombo, which recalls the miraculous event of 1793 when an unexpected rainstorm put out a fire set by the Roman populace in the Jewish ghetto. Jan. 17 is also dedicated to the Study and Development of Dialogue between Catholics and Jews, celebrating its 21st anniversary this year.

The real spirit of the Benedict's visit and his encounter with the chief Rabbi was not one of recrimination but of furthering dialogue, though most major news outlets were too busy waving the red flag of WWII and Pope Pius XII to see that.

So, despite all satellite feeds streaming from the place of worship yesterday, there was no hostility, just singing and praying amid an ecstatic crowd of Muslims, Jews and Christians, all brought together in peace.

Benedict not only visited the sacred space of the synagogue but also the recently restored Jewish Museum, where numerous artifacts testify to the 2,000-year-old history and culture of the Jewish community in Rome.

For their part, officials of the Jewish Museum put together a spectacular exhibition for their visitor. Despite numerous hardships, the Jewish community managed to conserve 14 panels dating from the 18th century, made to celebrate the investiture ceremony of the popes. Curator Daniela di Castro, who accompanied the pope on his tour of the unique exhibits, noted that Benedict "is the first pontiff to visit a Jewish museum, just as the Jewish Museum of Rome is the first Jewish museum to be visited by a pope. . . . Hence, it is an immense honor for our museum."

Despite all the makings of an upbeat story amid news of natural and diplomatic disasters, most journalistic accounts focused on tensions caused by Pope Pius XII's so-called "guilty silence" regarding the Holocaust, and Pope Benedict's recent recognition of the heroic virtues of this same pope, who is on his way to sainthood.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, gave marching orders to the world press when he expressed disapproval of Benedict's support of Pius XII in an interview with Italy's Sky TG24 television last week. While the rabbi's distaste for Pius XII is a matter of public record, his historical memory has been known to be a bit foggy. He has denounced the pontiff for silence over the violence of Kristallnacht, despite the fact that Pius was not yet pope when the event took place in 1938. He also seems to have forgotten that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir commented on death of Pius XII in 1958 by writing: "We share in the grief of humanity at the passing away of His Holiness. . . . When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the pope was raised for its victims. . . . We mourn a great servant of peace."

Rabbi Lau's weak mastery of history seems to be shared by Pacifici, the president of the Jewish Community of Rome. Pacifici participated pleasantly enough in Sunday's festivities, but couldn't resist a dig -- undoubtedly prompted by the multitude of TV cameras -- when he referred to the supposed silence of Pope Pius XII as a "missed opportunity."

Pius XII's actions are known to have spoken louder than his words. Gary Krupp, the Jewish founder of the Pave the Way Foundation, has dedicated the last eight years to collecting video testimony and archival evidence that demonstrate the direct action of Pope Pius XII in saving hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives by issuing false baptismal certificates, obtaining visas for refugees and ordering religious houses and parishes to hide Jews. Pacifici is the first to thank the religious sisters of St. Marta in Florence, who saved him during the war, but he doesn't recognize that they, like hundreds of other convents in Italy and Germany, were acting under Pius' direct orders.

Emilio Zolli, the chief rabbi of Rome during the German occupation, however, knew well of Pius' role. After the war, Zolli converted to Catholicism and took Pius' baptismal name, Eugenio. In his biography, "Before the Dawn," Zolli wrote: "No hero in all of history was more militant, more fought against, none more heroic, than Pius XII in pursuing the works of true charity."

Simple enough information for any journalist to research, but in this case, the press maintained a guilty silence of its own. The New York Times even forgot its own history. On Dec. 25, 1942, it published an editorial saying, "The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe. . . . He is about the only ruler left on the Continent of Europe who dares to raise his voice at all."

Instead of puzzling over whether Pius XII could have done more for the Jews, maybe we should be asking who did more?
.

Christian (Catholic)-Jewish Dialogue Day Focuses on Sabbath


ZE10011710 - 2010-01-17


Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-28079?l=english

Christian-Jewish Dialogue Day Focuses on Sabbath


Italian Event Following Program on Ten Commandments


ROME, JAN. 17, 2010 (Zenit.org).- As Benedict XVI was visiting the Synagogue of Rome, the 21st day dedicated to deepening and developing Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Italy was held.

The annual Jan. 17 event began in 1990 sponsored by the Italian bishops' conference and Jewish leaders.

Beginning in 2005, a 10-year program of themes was taken up, focused on the Ten Commandments.

Following the Jewish numbering, this year dialogue focused on "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day" (Exodus 20:8).

This year’s guide for the day of dialogue was prepared by Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni-Narni-Amelia, president of the bishops' Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue, and by Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president of the Rabbinical Tribunal of Milan and Northern Italy.

“The Sabbath,” the guide states, “is a time for divine repose and leisure. In this way it becomes an excellent occasion for sociability in a larger sense since it permits us to open our ear and open our heart to those voices of solidarity toward our neighbor, that the racket and toil of the week sometimes keep us from hearing.”

According to the guide, “the Sabbath means the presence of God, his loving and merciful relationship with man; it is therefore a time imbued with sanctity, in which the Covenant (Exodus 31:16) and the remembrance of the paschal redemption (Deuteronomy 5:15) are re-proposed.”

“Thus, this day,” the document adds, “is also filled with messianic expectation and hope for a future fullness, represented by the image of the Sabbath as queen and as bride.”

U.S. Ambassador pledges continued cooperation between USA and Vatican in global AIDS battle


Vatican City, Dec 1, 2009 / 09:14 pm (CNA).- Dr. Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, calls the cooperation of the United States and the Church in the fight against AIDS "one of the most relevant in the global fight against the virus." This collaboration is credited with being able "to reach even poorest and most isolated areas of the planet."

In a letter published on the Italian Episcopal Conference's Avvenire news agency website, Diaz recognized the "great steps" that have been made in the world's struggle against the HIV epidemic in the last 25 years. He cited World Health Organization estimates that put the figure at 4 million people, the number of individuals in developing countries currently with access to anti-retroviral drug treatments.

Cooperation with the Catholic Church and its extensive network of sanitary assistance has been instrumental in reaching these people, he wrote.

Collaboration between the Holy See and the U.S. government extends beyond “fieldwork.” In November of this year, the Church and the American Consulate teamed up to educate other “partners” on the issue of pediatric AIDS in an international conference designed to "encourage greater collaboration between governments, NGOs, and religious organizations to prevent mother-child HIV transmission."

"We've already begun to see positive outcomes of the conference and we're expecting more concrete results shortly," said Diaz, who was appointed to his position in May by President Obama.

The ambassador added that the United States pledges "to continue working together with its world partners, among them the Holy See and the many organizations tied to it, to break through the many barriers that are still in our path."

"On this World AIDS Day, the United States is glad to recognize its collaboration with the catholic organizations in the global effort to combat AIDS."

Under the Obama administration, the Vatican and the U.S. have found themselves at odds over AIDS prevention.

Related articles:
Actions taken by the Bishops of the United States
.

.

Message to the church of the Laodiceans


14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 3:14-22.

.

The Third Angel's Message


CHAPTER 28


The Third Angel's Message

As the ministration of Jesus closed in the Holy place, and he passed into the Holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, he sent another mighty angel to earth with the third message. He placed a parchment in the angel's hand, and as he descended to earth in majesty and power, he proclaimed a fearful warning, the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, and show them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to remain steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, yet they must hold fast the truth. The third angel closes his message with these words, Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. As he repeated these words he pointed to the heavenly Sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the Most Holy place where Jesus stands before the ark, making his final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers, and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. Jesus makes an atonement for those who died, not receiving the light upon God's commandments, who sinned ignorantly.
After Jesus opened the door of the Most Holy the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were to be tested and proved, as God proved the children of Israel anciently, to see if they would keep his law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the Holiest of the heavenly Sanctuary. They followed Jesus by faith into the Most Holy. Again they have found Jesus, and joy and hope spring up anew. I saw them looking back reviewing the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through their travels to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third angel has lighted up the past, present and future, and they know that God has indeed led them by his mysterious providence.

It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the Most Holy place, and beheld the ark, and the mercy-seat, and were captivated with their glory. Jesus raised the cover of the ark, and behold! the tables of stone, with the ten commandments written upon them. They trace down the lively oracles; but they start back with trembling when they see the fourth commandment living among the ten holy precepts, while a brighter light shines upon it than upon the other nine, and a halo of glory is all around it. They find nothing there informing them that the Sabbath has been abolished, or changed to the first day of the week. It reads as when spoken by the mouth of God in solemn and awful grandeur upon the mount, while the lightnings flashed and the thunders rolled, and when written with his own holy finger in the tables of stone. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. They are amazed as they behold the care taken of the ten commandments. They see them placed close by Jehovah, overshadowed and protected by his holiness. They see that they have been trampling upon the fourth commandment of the decalogue, and have observed a day handed down by the heathen and papists, instead of the day sanctified by Jehovah. They humble themselves before God, and mourn over their past transgressions.

I saw the incense in the censer smoke as Jesus offered their confessions and prayers to his Father. And as it ascended, a bright light rested upon Jesus, and upon the mercy-seat; and the earnest, praying ones, who were troubled because they had discovered themselves to be transgressors of God's law, were blest, and their countenances lighted up with hope and joy. They joined in the work of the third angel, and raised their voices and proclaimed the solemn warning. But few at first received the message, yet they continued with energy to proclaim the warning. Then I saw many embrace the message of the third angel, and unite their voices with those who had first proclaimed the warning, and they exalted God and magnified him by observing his sanctified Rest-day.

Many who embraced the third message had not an experience in the two former messages. Satan understood this, and his evil eye was upon them to overthrow them; but the third angel was pointing them to the Most Holy place, and those who had an experience in the past messages were pointing them the way to the heavenly Sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels' messages, and gladly received it. They embraced them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly Sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to hold the body. And as individuals receive and understand them, they are shielded against the many delusions of Satan.

After the great disappointment in 1844, Satan and his angels were busily engaged in laying snares to unsettle the faith of the body. He was affecting the minds of individuals who had a personal experience in these things. They had an appearance of humility. They changed the first and second messages, and pointed to the future for their fulfilment, while others pointed far back in the past, declaring that they had been there fulfilled. These individuals were drawing the minds of the inexperienced away, and unsettling their faith. Some were searching the Bible to try to build up a faith of their own, independent of the body. Satan exulted in all this; for he knew that those who broke loose from the anchor, he could affect by different errors and drive about with winds of doctrine. Many who had led in the first and second messages, denied them, and division and scattering was throughout the body. I then saw Wm. Miller. He looked perplexed, and was bowed with sorrow and distress for his people. He saw the company who were united and loving in 1844, losing their love for each other, and opposing one another. He saw them fall back into a cold, backslidden state. Grief wasted his strength. I saw leading men watching Wm. Miller, and fearing lest he should embrace the third angel's message and the commandments of God. And as he would lean towards the light from heaven, these men would lay some plan to draw his mind away. I saw a human influence exerted to keep his mind in darkness, and to retain his influence among them. At length Wm. Miller raised his voice against the light from heaven. He failed in not receiving the message which would have fully explained his disappointment, and cast a light and glory on the past, which would have revived his exhausted energies, brightened up his hope, and led him to glorify God. But he leaned to human wisdom instead of divine, and being broken with arduous labor in his Master's cause, and by age, he was not as accountable as those who kept him from the truth. They are responsible, and the sin rests upon them. If Wm. Miller could have seen the light of the third message, many things which looked dark and mysterious to him would have been explained. His brethren professed such deep love and interest for him, he thought he could not tear away from them. His heart would incline towards the truth; but then he looked at his brethren. They opposed it. Could he tear away from those who had stood side and shoulder with him in proclaiming Jesus' coming? He thought they surely would not lead him astray.

God suffered him to come under the power of Satan, and death to have dominion over him. He hid him in the grave, away from those who were constantly drawing him from God. Moses erred just as he was about to enter the promised land. So also, I saw that Wm. Miller erred as he was soon to enter the heavenly Canaan, in suffering his influence to go against the truth. Others led him to this. Others must account for it. But angels watch the precious dust of this servant of God, and he will come forth at the sound of the last trump.


See Exodus 20:1-17, 31:18; 1Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 14:9-12.



The Great Controversy
Between
Christ and His Angels
and
Satan and His Angels

1858 Edition

Friday, February 19, 2010

“New Dawn” in Iraq

Pentagon

Justin Fishel

“New Dawn” in Iraq

February 19, 2010 - 11:38 AM by: Justin Fishel



At the request of Gen. Raymond Odierno (top general in Iraq), Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has approved changing the name of the mission in Iraq from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to "Operation New Dawn", a senior defense official tells Fox.

According to a memo signed by Secretary Gates this new name better fits with the Security Agreement the US has with Iraq. "Aligning the name change with the change of mission sends a strong signal that Operation Iraqi Freedom has ended and our forces are operating under a new mission", Gates wrote.

The name change takes effect on Sep 1 2010.
.
Source: http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/19/new-dawn-in-iraq/?test=latestnews
.

Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit


Class-action suit alleges schools remotely activate Webcams on school-issued notebooks
By Gregg Keizer
February 18, 2010 02:40 PM ET

Computerworld - A suburban Philadelphia school district remotely activates the cameras in school-provided laptops to spy on students in their homes, a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleged.

According to the lawsuit filed by a high school student and his parents, the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, Pa. has spied on students and families by "indiscriminate use of and ability to remotely activate the Webcams incorporated into each laptop issued to students by the School District."

Approximately 1,800 students at the district's two high schools have been given laptops as part of a state- and federally-funded "one-to-one" student-to-laptop initiative.

Michael and Holly Robbins of Penn Valley, Pa., said they first found out about the alleged spying last November after their son Blake was accused by a Harriton High School official of "improper behavior in his home" and shown a photograph taken by his laptop.

An assistant principal at Harriton later confirmed that the district could remotely activate the Webcam in students' laptops. "Michael Robbins thereafter verified, through [Assistant Principal] Ms. Matsko, that the school district in fact has the ability to remotely activate the Webcam contained in a student's personal laptop computer issued by the school district at any time it chose and to view and capture whatever images were in front of the Webcam, all without the knowledge, permission or authorization of any persons then and there using the laptop computer," the lawsuit stated.

The Robbins claimed that the district did not tell them beforehand that their son's laptop Webcam could be activated remotely, and added that there was no mention of the functionality in any of the documentation they received or on the district's Web site.

And the privacy of non-students has been violated, the Robbins said. "By virtue of the fact that the Webcam can be remotely activated at any time by the School District, the Webcam will capture anything happening in the room in which the laptop computer is located, regardless of whether the student is sitting at the computer and using it," the lawsuit charged.

The suit accuses the school district of violating the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and other federal and state statues, including the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act.

Mark Haltzman of the law firm Lamm Rubenstone, and the Robbins' attorney, did not return a call for comment. A spokesman for the Lower Merion School District said early Thursday that the district had only found out about the suit hours before, and so was not able to immediately comment on the case.

If the lawsuit is granted class-action status, other students in the district and their families would be able to join the action.

The Robbins family has asked for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and demanded that the court issue an injunction barring the district from activating students' laptop cameras.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com.


Read more about privacy in Computerworld's Privacy Knowledge Center.

.


.

Feds push for tracking cell phones

February 11, 2010 4:00 AM PST
Feds push for tracking cell phones
by Declan McCullagh


Two years ago, when the FBI was stymied by a band of armed robbers known as the "Scarecrow Bandits" that had robbed more than 20 Texas banks, it came up with a novel method of locating the thieves.

FBI agents obtained logs from mobile phone companies corresponding to what their cellular towers had recorded at the time of a dozen different bank robberies in the Dallas area. The voluminous records showed that two phones had made calls around the time of all 12 heists, and that those phones belonged to men named Tony Hewitt and Corey Duffey. A jury eventually convicted the duo of multiple bank robbery and weapons charges.

Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous at best. On Friday, the first federal appeals court to consider the topic will hear oral arguments (PDF) in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices.

In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

Those claims have alarmed the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, which have opposed the Justice Department's request and plan to tell the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that Americans' privacy deserves more protection and judicial oversight than what the administration has proposed.

"This is a critical question for privacy in the 21st century," says Kevin Bankston, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who will be arguing on Friday. "If the courts do side with the government, that means that everywhere we go, in the real world and online, will be an open book to the government unprotected by the Fourth Amendment."

Not long ago, the concept of tracking cell phones would have been the stuff of spy movies. In 1998's "Enemy of the State," Gene Hackman warned that the National Security Agency has "been in bed with the entire telecommunications industry since the '40s--they've infected everything." After a decade of appearances in "24" and "Live Free or Die Hard," location-tracking has become such a trope that it was satirized in a scene with Seth Rogen from "Pineapple Express" (2008).

Once a Hollywood plot, now 'commonplace'
Whether state and federal police have been paying attention to Hollywood, or whether it was the other way around, cell phone tracking has become a regular feature in criminal investigations. It comes in two forms: police obtaining retrospective data kept by mobile providers for their own billing purposes that may not be very detailed, or prospective data that reveals the minute-by-minute location of a handset or mobile device.

Obtaining location details is now "commonplace," says Al Gidari, a partner in the Seattle offices of Perkins Coie who represents wireless carriers. "It's in every pen register order these days."

Gidari says that the Third Circuit case could have a significant impact on police investigations within the court's jurisdiction, namely Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; it could be persuasive beyond those states. But, he cautions, "if the privacy groups win, the case won't be over. It will certainly be appealed."

CNET was the first to report on prospective tracking in a 2005 news article. In a subsequent Arizona case, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration tracked a tractor trailer with a drug shipment through a GPS-equipped Nextel phone owned by the suspect. Texas DEA agents have used cell site information in real time to locate a Chrysler 300M driving from Rio Grande City to a ranch about 50 miles away. Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile logs showing the location of mobile phones at the time calls became evidence in a Los Angeles murder trial.

And a mobile phone's fleeting connection with a remote cell tower operated by Edge Wireless is what led searchers to the family of the late James Kim, a CNET employee who died in the Oregon wilderness in 2006 after leaving a snowbound car to seek help.


"This is a critical question for privacy in the 21st century. If the courts do side with the government, that means that everywhere we go, in the real world and online, will be an open book to the government unprotected by the Fourth Amendment."
--Kevin Bankston, attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
The way tracking works is simple: mobile phones are miniature radio transmitters and receivers. A cellular tower knows the general direction of a mobile phone (many cell sites have three antennas pointing in different directions), and if the phone is talking to multiple towers, triangulation yields a rough location fix. With this method, accuracy depends in part on the density of cell sites.

The Federal Communications Commission's "Enhanced 911" (E911) requirements allowed rough estimates to be transformed into precise coordinates. Wireless carriers using CDMA networks, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel, tend to use embedded GPS technology to fulfill E911 requirements. AT&T and T-Mobile comply with E911 regulations using network-based technology that computes a phone's location using signal analysis and triangulation between towers.

T-Mobile, for instance, uses a GSM technology called Uplink Time Difference of Arrival, or U-TDOA, which calculates a position based on precisely how long it takes signals to reach towers. A company called TruePosition, which provides U-TDOA services to T-Mobile, boasts of "accuracy to under 50 meters" that's available "for start-of-call, midcall, or when idle."

A 2008 court order to T-Mobile in a criminal investigation of a marriage fraud scheme, which was originally sealed and later made public, says: "T-Mobile shall disclose at such intervals and times as directed by (the Department of Homeland Security), latitude and longitude data that establishes the approximate positions of the Subject Wireless Telephone, by unobtrusively initiating a signal on its network that will enable it to determine the locations of the Subject Wireless Telephone."

'No reasonable expectation of privacy'
In the case that's before the Third Circuit on Friday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, said it needed historical (meaning stored, not future) phone location information because a set of suspects "use their wireless telephones to arrange meetings and transactions in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Lenihan in Pennsylvania denied the Justice Department's attempt to obtain stored location data without a search warrant; prosecutors had invoked a different legal procedure. Lenihan's ruling, in effect, would require police to obtain a search warrant based on probable cause--a more privacy-protective standard.

Lenihan's opinion (PDF)--which, in an unusual show of solidarity, was signed by four other magistrate judges--noted that location information can reveal sensitive information such as health treatments, financial difficulties, marital counseling, and extra-marital affairs.

In its appeal to the Third Circuit, the Justice Department claims that Lenihan's opinion "contains, and relies upon, numerous errors" and should be overruled. In addition to a search warrant not being necessary, prosecutors said, because location "records provide only a very general indication of a user's whereabouts at certain times in the past, the requested cell-site records do not implicate a Fourth Amendment privacy interest."

The Obama administration is not alone in making this argument. U.S. District Judge William Pauley, a Clinton appointee in New York, wrote in a 2009 opinion that a defendant in a drug trafficking case, Jose Navas, "did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the cell phone" location. That's because Navas only used the cell phone "on public thoroughfares en route from California to New York" and "if Navas intended to keep the cell phone's location private, he simply could have turned it off."

(Most cases have involved the ground rules for tracking cell phone users prospectively, and judges have disagreed over what legal rules apply. Only a minority has sided with the Justice Department, however.)

Cellular providers tend not to retain moment-by-moment logs of when each mobile device contacts the tower, in part because there's no business reason to store the data, and in part because the storage costs would be prohibitive. They do, however, keep records of what tower is in use when a call is initiated or answered--and those records are generally stored for six months to a year, depending on the company.

Verizon Wireless keeps "phone records including cell site location for 12 months," Drew Arena, Verizon's vice president and associate general counsel for law enforcement compliance, said at a federal task force meeting in Washington, D.C. last week. Arena said the company keeps "phone bills without cell site location for seven years," and stores SMS text messages for only a very brief time.

Gidari, the Seattle attorney, said that wireless carriers have recently extended how long they store this information. "Prior to a year or two ago when location-based services became more common, if it were 30 days it would be surprising," he said.

The ACLU, EFF, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and University of San Francisco law professor Susan Freiwald argue that the wording of the federal privacy law in question allows judges to require the level of proof required for a search warrant "before authorizing the disclosure of particularly novel or invasive types of information." In addition, they say, Americans do not "knowingly expose their location information and thereby surrender Fourth Amendment protection whenever they turn on or use their cell phones."

"The biggest issue at stake is whether or not courts are going to accept the government's minimal view of what is protected by the Fourth Amendment," says EFF's Bankston. "The government is arguing that based on precedents from the 1970s, any record held by a third party about us, no matter how invasively collected, is not protected by the Fourth Amendment."

Update 10:37 a.m. PT: A source inside the U.S. Attorney's Office for the northern district of Texas, which prosecuted the Scarecrow Bandits mentioned in the above article, tells me that this was the first and the only time that the FBI has used the location-data-mining technique to nab bank robbers. It's also worth noting that the leader of this gang, Corey Duffey, was sentenced last month to 354 years (not months, but years) in prison. Another member is facing 140 years in prison.


Declan McCullagh is a contributor to CNET News and a correspondent for CBSNews.com who has covered the intersection of politics and technology for over a decade. Declan writes a regular feature called Taking Liberties, focused on individual and economic rights; you can bookmark his CBS News Taking Liberties site, or subscribe to the RSS feed. You can e-mail Declan at declan@cbsnews.com.

.

'Mystery worshippers' go online

Danny Westneat

'Mystery worshippers' go online





Danny Westneat

Seattle Times staff columnist


The help-wanted ad going live this week on Craigslist might raise some eyebrows. If not tempers.

"Need people who aren't Christians to review church service," it says.

It goes on. "Who: Age 20-35. Do not currently believe Jesus Christ is God. Not mad at Christians.

"What: Attend a church service (anonymously) and complete a survey."

The pay for this odd job? $50. To go, once, to the Sunday service at North Sound Church in Edmonds and rate it on everything from whether the music is tedious to if the sermon seems sincere.

It's the inspiration of Jim Henderson, a Seattle evangelical Christian, former pastor and self-described "spiritual anthropologist" who says it's past time Christians found out "what our true customers really think."

He came up with the Craigslist ad. As well as a Web site for ranking houses of worship, called ChurchRater.com.

"We say it's our mission to reach out, including to nonbelievers," Henderson, 62, says. "So why would we not want them to tell us what they think of our efforts to influence, change or even convert them?"

One reason might be that it can be brutal.

His Web site is free and open to believers and doubters alike, to say whatever they want. You can post reviews and one- to five-star ratings of churches, much as Yelp or Urban Spoon rank restaurants.

A church in Everett got one star because someone found the pastor too self-absorbed.

"All his stories are centered around his perfect life," it says, citing a "perfect blonde wife" and Hallmark kids. "And if we sign up for Jesus, we'll be perfect, too. Uhhhh ... is this really what Jesus told you to do?"

About a Kirkland church: "The service feels like a late night talk show gone bad."

And at a Seattle church, a whiff of scandal: "Moved my family when pastor and his wife had marital problems, which divided the church. Church fell apart."

The vast majority of reviews are positive — glowing, even. Still, the magazine Christianity Today wondered in a headline about the site: "Church Rater or Church Hater?"

Henderson had to take the site offline for a time because of "slanderous stuff about some pastors." He relaunched a few months ago with more stringent monitoring.

You can't muzzle the crowd, he says. Not in the digital age. Plus there are other church-rating sites (the most popular is Ship of Fools, the British "magazine of Christian unrest," with its cheeky reports by anonymous "mystery worshippers.")

"When people go to church they go out to lunch afterward and they dish about the sermon, the music, whether the pastor was boring that day," Henderson said. "We're just a vehicle to let people do in public what they already do in private."

Barry Crane, lead pastor at North Sound Church, says he's using the service because Christianity has a brand problem.

"It's terrible to say, especially coming from me, but a lot of people these days don't trust Christians. This isn't to turn us into some supermarket of religious goods and services. It's to open ourselves up, to see if we can regain some lost trust."

So far only 40 churches in Washington have been rated on the Web site, not enough for it to reach a critical mass. Henderson says 30 more have expressed interest in his paid ratings services, which can range from $250 (for two visits by raters plus a written report) on up to $2,950 (for a weekend-long focus group between "outsiders" and church members, moderated by him).

What's fascinating about all this is the way the Web and consumer culture are altering even the most traditional, cloistered institutions. Everything now gets polled, ranked, exposed, debated. I suppose Henderson is right — you either go with it or get passed by.

Henderson likes to quote Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric. It was Welch's business philosophy to ruthlessly question the premise of every company product, from light bulbs to jet engines.

"Nothing is sacred," he liked to say.

Not even churches.

Danny Westneat's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach him at 206-464-2086 or dwestneat@seattletimes.com.
.
.
.