Thursday, June 30, 2011

Colbert gets conditional OK on campaign finance

FEC gives conditional OK to Stephen Colbert on using TV show for political fundraising



Comedian Stephen Colbert grabs cash money from a supporter as he climbs into a vehicle to depart the Federal Election Commission in Washington, Thursday, June 30, 2011, after the FEC granted his request to form a Political Action Committee. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)


Andrew Miga, Associated Press, On Thursday June 30, 2011, 4:18 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Election Commission said Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert can use his TV show's resources to boost his political action committee, but he must disclose some major expenses as in-kind contributions from the show's corporate owners.

Colbert played it straight during his appearance before the commission, letting his attorney do most of the talking while saving his trademark quips for a crowd that gathered outside the commission building after the meeting.

"I don't accept the status quo," he told the crowd, brandishing a portable credit card processing machine. "I do accept Visa, MasterCard or American Express."

Many in the crowd handed Colbert their credit cards or dollar bills as contributions.

Asked what point he was trying to make about corporate America, Colbert did not miss a beat.

"None," he quipped. "I want their money."

Colbert, who plays a conservative TV pundit on "The Colbert Report," is forming Colbert Super PAC, a type of political action committee that will allow him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and individuals. The money will be used to support or oppose candidates in the 2012 elections through independent expenditures such as TV ads.

Colbert has not indicated what kinds of candidates he might support.

The FEC decision comes amid a broader erosion of campaign finance regulations in the wake of recent court rulings and with Republicans on the Federal Election Commission and elsewhere pushing for a rollback to give corporations and other wealthy donors stronger sway in financing campaigns.

Colbert had asked the commission for a "media exemption" to allow him to use his show's airtime, staff and other resources for his political action committee without having to publicly disclose them as in-kind contributions from Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom Inc.

In-kind contributions are given as goods or services rather than money.

Colbert has said those undisclosed contributions could include the use of his show's staff to create TV advertisements about candidates that would air as paid commercials on other shows and networks.

The commission ruled 5-1 that he would have to publicly disclose as in-kind contributions from Viacom any ads produced by the show for Colbert Super PAC that air on other shows or networks. He also would have to disclose administrative costs that his show covers for Colbert Super PAC.

The Colbert ruling eclipsed a lesser-noticed decision by the Federal Election Commission Thursday that could also have a significant impact on the 2012 elections.

The commission said candidates and party officials may solicit contributions for super PACs, but those contributions could not exceed the $5,000 limit for donations that applies to traditional political action committees.

Some campaign watchdog groups had feared the commission might permit candidates and party officials to solicit unlimited contributions, opening yet another door to big-ticket donations.

While Colbert delights in lampooning politicians on his Comedy Central show, he raised some serious issues about public disclosure of corporate campaign contributions before the Federal Election Commission.

"Stephen Colbert is a funny man, but he asked a legitimate question and received a serious answer," FEC Chairwoman Cynthia Bauerly said. "The opinion adopted today does not give him everything he asked for, but it appropriately applies the press exemption consistent with past Commission and court precedent. "

Campaign finance watchdog groups also had warned that a favorable ruling for Colbert could spur many more undisclosed contributions to political figures who are TV hosts or commentators and who could opt to create their own super PACs to take advantage of any new loopholes.

The groups cited politicians such Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum who already have traditional political action committees and are either working now, or have worked, as TV hosts or commentators.

The Campaign Legal Center, one of the watchdog groups, called the commission's ruling on Colbert "a victory for disclosure" that prevents new loopholes.

"The FEC's advisory opinion will give Mr. Colbert the freedom to engage in legitimate political commentary and comedy with the support of Viacom, but will also ensure that the public is informed about the corporate money his PAC receives," said Tara Malloy of the Campaign Legal Center.

"The Colbert Report" has used satire to shine a light on campaign finance rules following the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court that helped pave the way for super PACs. Campaign finance reform advocates complained the ruling gave wealthy donors, particularly companies and unions, considerably more sway in politics.

Super PACs can accept unlimited contributions from corporations, labor unions or individuals, unlike candidates or traditional political action committees. Super PACs cannot contribute directly to candidates, however.

Colbert has said any ads for Colbert Super PAC would not be coordinated with any candidate or party.

Source
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..Glenn Beck signs off from Fox News: ‘This show has become a movement; it doesn’t belong on TV’

By Dylan Stableford The Cutline – 4 hrs ago
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GBTV/Mercury Radio Arts

Glenn Beck began his final show on Fox News where he'll be for the foreseeable future: outside the building--and not on TV.

"We've done some amazing things together," Beck, flanked by at least one bodyguard, told viewers as he showed them the view of the set from the street, noting the bulletproof glass that was installed "for a myriad of reasons."

Beck then rolled a four-minute highlight reel of his greatest hits spanning his two-and-a-half years on the air: Acorn, the 9/12 Project, his Restoring Honor rally in Washington, D.C., last summer. (The montage also included testimonials from viewers found on the street.)

"It's been an amazing ride," he said backstage, surrounded by some of the show's familiar props, including chalk ("We buy by the case," he said). "I've made some amazing friends, namely, you."

Beck spent most of the hour looking back. "We made a lot of enemies on this program," he said, from "the president to the Republicans to George Soros."

"We have not only survived," he said. "We have thrived."

He dismissed his frequent critics, like Jon Stewart, who Beck mocked for having a team of writers to produce a six-minute monologue on "The Daily Show." Beck boasted his two-man writing team helps him craft his 42-minutes a night. "It's easy to speak from the heart," he said.

Beck also mocked the criticism itself. "I'm the first Anti-Semitic Jew lover," he said. "I don't know how that's even possible."

While his relationship with some in the News Corp. building has frayed, Beck took time out to thank Fox News chief Roger Ailes ("I won't work with a smarter person ever"), News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and primetime star Bill O'Reilly "for their trust."

Beck didn't mention Fox News' plan--announced today--to replace him with a roundtable show, "The Five." But he frequently plugged his website, GlennBeck.com, directing viewers wanting to follow his post-Fox career there. (The site redirects to GBTV.com, where Beck was due to host a webcast a half hour after his Fox News show ended.)

Beck is leaving, he said, because his show has outgrown the medium.

"This show has become a movement," Beck said. "It doesn't belong on television. It belongs in your homes, in your neighborhoods--not on TV."

Beck has been known to cry on the air with John Boehner-like frequency. But tonight, there were no tears.

"From New York," he said signing off, "Goodnight America."

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Source

Guess what lawmakers want counties to post!


The Ten Commandments once posted in County Circuit Judge Roy Moore's courtroom

By Drew Zahn
© 2011 WND

"Throughout America's rich history," asserts a Tennessee House Resolution that was passed 98-0 this week, "both the citizenry and their elected officials alike have deeply respected the Ten Commandments, its profound influence on the formation of American legal thought and its fundamental place in the history of law and government."

Therefore, H.R. 107 declares, "This body hereby urges all Tennessee counties to allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in their respective courthouses."

Rep. Todd Watson, author of the resolution, explains in its text, "It is imperative that these revered tablets continue to grace our public buildings, as reminders to this generation and the next of the vital role the Ten Commandments and its Author have played in shaping our great republic."

Coupled with the more than 90 percent of Tennessee counties that have already adopted similar resolutions acknowledging the historical significance of the Ten Commandments, H.R. 107 marks a bold fusillade in the ongoing battle over America's Christian heritage, particularly in the arena of constitutional law.

The battle became a national issue nearly a decade ago, when an Alabama judge, Roy Moore, faced pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups to remove a monument that Moore had constructed in the Alabama Supreme Court building because it featured the Ten Commandments.

Get Judge Roy Moore's classic book about his battle for liberty, "So Help Me God: The Ten Commandments, Judicial Tyranny, and the Battle for Religious Freedom."

Moore, who had previously beaten an ACLU lawsuit over posting the Commandments in his courthouse as a county circuit judge, nonetheless lost a second ACLU charge and was removed from his office as the state's chief justice over the ensuing monument controversy.

The Tennessee House's resolution urges its counties to likewise refuse to bow to similar pressure.

The full text of the resolution is as follows:

WHEREAS, in order to preserve domestic tranquility and protect the blessings of liberty, the foundation of any government must rest upon both law and morality; and

WHEREAS, the underpinnings of our system of government are rooted in a steadfast belief in Almighty God and the conviction that all morality, justice and unalienable rights derive from his gracious hand; and

WHEREAS, most of the political theorists embraced by our Founding Fathers, from Locke to Blackstone, espoused the Natural Law Theory, and as John Quincy Adams explained, "the laws of nature and of nature's God … of course presupposes the existence of a God, the moral ruler of the universe and a rule of right and wrong, or just and unjust, binding upon man, preceding all institutions of human society and of government"; and

WHEREAS, the Founders' desire to publicly acknowledge God as the source of America's strength and direction is reflected in many of our founding documents and practices, from the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence to the National Motto and Thanksgiving Day celebrations; and

WHEREAS, since our nation's birth, federal, state and local governing bodies have continued to invoke Divine guidance and celebrate the role religion has played in American life by issuing faith-based proclamations and opening each legislative session with prayer and supplication, a practice instituted by the First United States Congress and which has continued unbroken for more than two centuries; and

WHEREAS, throughout America's rich history, both the citizenry and their elected officials alike have deeply respected the Ten Commandments, its profound influence on the formation of American legal thought, and its fundamental place in the history of law and government as a whole; and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the historical importance of these sacred texts and even upheld Sunday closing laws, which originated in the Fourth Commandment's exhortation to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy; and

WHEREAS, countless depictions of Moses and the Ten Commandments can be found throughout our nation's capital as a testament to the Decalogue's undeniable role in our country's legal tradition, including the magnificent displays adorning the Supreme Court Building, the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building, the National Archives, the Department of Justice, the Ronald Reagan Building, the federal courthouse that is home to both the Court of Appeals and the District Court for the District of Columbia and the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, 88 Tennessee counties have already adopted resolutions acknowledging the historical significance of the Ten Commandments and pledging to defend their right to display them; and

WHEREAS, it is imperative that these revered tablets continue to grace our public buildings, as reminders to this generation and the next of the vital role the Ten Commandments and its Author have played in shaping our great republic; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 107th General Assembly of the state of Tennessee, that this body hereby urges all Tennessee counties to allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in their respective courthouses.

Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, is among those who celebrated the resolution's passage:

"The Ten Commandments are part of the fabric of our country and helped shape our laws," Staver said in a statement. "They are as much at home in a display about the foundations of law as stars and stripes are in the American flag. The Founding Fathers would be outraged that we are even debating the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments."


Source: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=306925#ixzz1QnrQDTtv
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A Prayer of Praise


Psalm 27

1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

5For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

6And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

7Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

9Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

10When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

11Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

12Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

13I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

14Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Billionaires and their Corporate Jets


Today, I listened momentarily to the President's question and answer session (he used a teleprompter); and what stood out the most for me was his repeated mention of Corporate Jets; Another concept that caught my attention of the President's statements was his use of a distinctive term: The Greater Good.

I wondered why all the hubbub over Jets and Billionaires?

Was he trying to justify raising taxes at such a time as this?

I searched on YouTube and found a stalwart liberal's report on the recent walk-out:


Apparently, the Prez wasn't going to let the issues die out anytime soon. Pay back, yeah, pay back you Billionaire Oil Tycoons and your Corporate Jets. No more breaks for the fat cats; that's only allowed in China, and India, and Brazil, etc. Taxes is what this country needs to get the economy growing and companies to start hiring the unemployed.

NO! I don't think so.

What's next incentives for riding rickshaws?

Is Air Force One considered a Corporate Jet?
Was taking a flight to Scandinavia to promote the Olympic Games for Chicago a National Priority?

Now back to the game, FORE!

Egyptians clash with police in Tahrir Square

By Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, CNN
June 29, 2011 7:20 a.m. EDT

Protesters throw stones at riot police during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, during the early hours of June 29.
Protesters throw stones at riot police during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, during the early hours of June 29.

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pellets early Wednesday to break up a demonstration by relatives of those killed in Egypt's revolution.
But despite the efforts of police, demonstrators maintained their positions in Cairo's Tahrir Square, growing their numbers to 2,000.

Clashes between protesters and authorities left at least 26 officers injured, according to Alla Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

"Thugs carrying swords and weapons infiltrated the protesters and attacked the Ministry of Interior with Molotov cocktails and rocks," Mahmoud said. "Nine people were arrested and we are dealing with the situation accordingly."

Dr. Mahmoud Sayeed, head of emergency affairs at al-Mouneera public hospital, told state-run Nile TV the number of the injured was at least 52. All were treated and released except for a man who was hit by a bullet and another who sustained serious head injury during the clashes, Sayeed said.

A makeshift clinic was established in a nearby mosque where dozens of people were treated for minor wounds and fatigue from inhaling tear gas. Many people were seen bleeding from their heads and had suffered bullet wounds to the chest and face.

Several thousand protesters chanted against Gen. Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The council has been running the country since President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down on February 11.
The council said the demonstrations "have no excuse but to destabilize the security and stability of Egypt."

The armed forces statement urged "the great Egyptian people... not to follow these calls... for the sake of the security and safety of Egypt in these difficult circumstances."
Ambulances streamed out of the square in the aftermath, transporting protesters to hospitals, while others were treated on the scene.

Noor Noor, the son of presidential candidate Ayman Noor, was seen bleeding with a serious injury on his eye and was later transferred to the hospital.

Police used tear gas on demonstrators well into Wednesday morning and fired on several men seen carrying swords and Molotov cocktails on side streets. A huge cloud of black smoke was seen smoldering close to the Ministry of Interior where protesters burned dozens of tires.

The protesters blocked the entrances to the square as calls were made on the Internet for more people to join the cause.

The imam of the nearby Omar Makram Mosque called via loud speaker for police to stop attacking the protesters, saying Tahrir Square belonged to "the revolutionaries." He also urged the demonstrators to go home.

The human rights group Amnesty International has estimated at least 840 people were killed and more than 6,000 wounded during the 18-day revolution that began in late January.

The military-led government that took over when Mubarak resigned has been prosecuting several former officials accused of ordering security forces to fire on protesters.

A police officer accused of killing 20 protesters during a January 28 demonstration has been sentenced to death. Former Interior Minister Habib El Adly has been sentenced to 12 years for corruption charges but still awaits the verdict for the charge of killing protesters.
Mubarak is scheduled to face the Cairo Criminal Court in August on charges of corruption and deaths of protesters.

Egypt's military rulers have set parliamentary elections for September. Protests have continued in the months since Mubarak's ouster as Egyptians have demanded speedier reforms and economic improvements.

CNN's Amir Ahmed and Journalist Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

More Phishing Scams

Windows Live Hot mail Alert!!! June 28-2011

VERIFY YOUR HOT MAIL ACCOUNT NOW TO AVOID IT CLOSED !!!

Dear Account Owner

We encountered a problem with our database and a lot of records were lost, we are restoring our database to enable us serve you better. Your Windows Live! Account details are required so as to store in our database to keep your account active. Failure to do this will lose his or her account permanently.

To update and enable us restore your account details in our data base to keep your account active, you are required to provide us the details below urgently. Click the reply button to enter details below.

* Name: .......................
* User Name: .........................
* Password:.......................
* Date of Birth: ....................................
* Country Or Territory:..............................

Make sure the details above are correct to enable us restore your account details, this will help prevent your account from been suspended.

Note: YOUR DETAILS WILL NOT BE SHARED.
Users have often told us that the more they use Windows Live! Service, the more they discover its benefits. We'll keep working on making Windows Live! the best email service around, and we appreciate your joining us for the ride.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Hot mail Team
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Faith Shared: Uniting in Prayer and Understanding



INTERFAITH SERVICE

Faith Shared: Uniting in Prayer and Understanding

SUNDAY, JUNE 26 11:15 AM


Live webcast. Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders read from their respective sacred texts in a special interfaith prayer service as part of Faith Shared: Uniting in Prayer and Understanding. Learn more »

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Who's behind all the havoc, chaos, and turmoil in the World?

Chaos in Cairo
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The Divided States of Europe


By Marko Papic | June 28, 2011

Europe continues to be engulfed by economic crisis. The global focus returns to Athens on June 28 as Greek parliamentarians debate austerity measures imposed on them by eurozone partners. If the Greeks vote down these measures, Athens will not receive its second bailout, which could create an even worse crisis in Europe and the world.

It is important to understand that the crisis is not fundamentally about Greece or even about the indebtedness of the entire currency bloc. After all, Greece represents only 2.5 percent of the eurozone’s gross domestic product (GDP), and the bloc’s fiscal numbers are not that bad when looked at in the aggregate. Its overall deficit and debt figures are in a better shape than those of the United States — the U.S. budget deficit stood at 10.6 percent of GDP in 2010, compared to 6.4 percent for the European Union — yet the focus continues to be on Europe. Read more »

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Church Leaders Laud Frontline Religious Freedom Work

Church Leaders Laud Frontline Religious Freedom Work

"We need you!" church leader tells PARL directors

The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is becoming “more and more important,” said world church president Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson during a historic gathering of some 4,000 pastors from across South America. In his address, Pastor Wilson called on pastors and administrators to support the efforts of PARL as it represents the church within many different public settings.

The meeting, held May 26 to 30 in Iguassu, Brazil, brought together pastors from the eight countries of the South American division—the first time a world church region has run a combined training event for all its pastors.

Dr. John Graz, PARL director for the Adventist Church worldwide, also addressed the ministers in a series of lectures. He said later that Pastor Wilson’s words represented “a strong message of encouragement” for the efforts of PARL around the world.

“The words of our president are a reminder that PARL is an essential frontline ministry of the Adventist Church,” said Graz. “His remarks are especially timely given our plans for next years’ 7th World Congress, which will highlight the vital work of PARL.”

The 7th International Religious Liberty World Congress will be held April 24 to 26 in the Dominican Republic’s famed Punta Cana beach resort area, and will bring together a diverse international group of PARL leaders, religious liberty scholars and practitioners, government officials, and non-governmental organizations.

Pastor Wilson’s comments come just a few days after Inter-American Division president, Pastor Israel Leito, told union PARL leaders, “We need you! You are the face of the church—the ‘storm-stoppers.’ We need you at every level of our church.”

“As we prepare for next year’s World Congress, we’re especially grateful for these strong statements of support from our world church leaders,” said Dr. Graz.

For more information about the 7th International Religious Liberty World Congress, please visit www.irla.org.



Source

Soros Says a Euro Exit Mechanism Is ‘Probably Inevitable’ Amid Debt Crisis


Billionaire investor George Soros. Photographer: Stephen Yang/Bloomberg



Billionaire investor George Soros said it’s “probably inevitable” that a mechanism will be put in place to allow weaker economies to exit the euro.

“There’s no arrangement for any countries leaving the euro, which in current circumstances is probably inevitable,” Soros, 80, said at a panel discussion in Vienna yesterday on whether liberal democracy is at risk in Europe. “We are on the verge of an economic collapse which starts, let’s say, in Greece, but it could easily spread. The financial system remains extremely vulnerable.”

Concern Greek lawmakers will fail to pass austerity measures to ensure the next installment of the nation’s bailout is roiling global markets and pushed the euro to a record-low against the Swiss franc last week. Greece is one of three euro- region members to have sought international bailouts amid the sovereign debt crisis.

“I think most of us actually agree that” Europe’s crisis “is actually centered around the euro,” said Soros. “It’s a kind of financial crisis that is really developing. It’s foreseen. Most people realize it. It’s still developing. The authorities are actually engaged in buying time. And yet time is working against them,” he said.

The euro was created in 1999, with 11 member states -- Germany,France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Austria,Portugal, Spain and Ireland. Greece was the 12th country to adopt the shared currency in 2001, while Estonia is the newest member of the euro region, joining this January.

Winning Bet

The euro erased its decline versus the dollar to trade little changed at $1.4191 as of 10:14 a.m. in London. The 17- member common currency earlier slid as much as 0.6 percent to $1.4103, the weakest since June 16.

Soros is chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC, which has about $28 billion in assets. He’s best known for reportedly making $1 billion in 1992 on a bet that the U.K. would fail to keep the pound in the European exchange-rate system that pre- dated the euro.

He also expressed concern the currency union would dissolve on Jan. 26 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said then that European policy makers must address their two- speed economy or risk the euro collapsing, though he added this was unlikely to occur.

‘Plan B’

European Union leaders have vowed to stand behind Greece as long as Prime Minister George Papandreou, who won a confidence vote last week, pushes through his 78 billion-euro ($111 billion) package of budget cuts and asset sales. Investors are concerned a default would trigger contagion that would engulf other euro-region members including Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

Europe’s leaders should look for alternative strategies to solve the debt crisis, Soros told the Vienna panel, which also included Former Belgian Premier Guy Verhofstadt.

Because the “survival of the EU is of vital interest to us all,” there’s a need for a “Plan B,” he said, explaining that this could include EU-wide taxes, a “banking system guaranteed by European institutions, not a bunch of national banking systems,” or a financial transaction tax.

“You need a Plan B and there’s no Plan B at the moment,” Soros said. Instead, “authorities are sticking to the status quo” and not “recognizing that there are fundamental flaws that need to be corrected,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in Vienna atzschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Armstrong atParmstrong10@bloomberg.net



The Department of Homeland Security steps in to help SJPD with gang violence

June 25, 2011 2:48 pm PT
Glendale Calmerin
San Jose City Buzz Examine


San Jose Police DepartmentSan Jose Police Department
Credits:
Dai Sugano/San Jose Mercury News/AP



San Jose City is dealing with its highest murder rate in 20 years and most of these murder cases are gang-related. The Department of Homeland Security is stepping in for the first time on Monday to help the San Jose Police Department decrease gang violence.

The two agents of The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are giving a helping hand as well to reduce street gangs. The police chief is assuring the people of San Jose that the ICE is not interested in people's immigration status.

“The ultimate goal is to protect the community, protect the public and try to remove those folks from the community that are there who exploit people and commit crimes,"said Shane Folden, spokes person for ICE, during an interview with ABC 7 News.

According to the San Jose Police Department, there are 100 known gangs operating in the city with a total of around 6,500 members. San Jose City has witnessed six gang-related murders in 2010 and has doubled to 14 gang-related murders this year.

“The government laying off cops isn't helping lower the crime rate,” said Brandon Swaim, a deputy.

Due to the budget cuts, the police department dealt with 100 layoffs this year.

“A lot of people don't think that cops do much for our society when in fact they do,” said Bernardo Mulingtapang, a San Jose State student, “so it's obvious, then, that cutting our support for law enforcement is going to be detrimental in homicide prevention measures.”

Mulingtapang is encouraging the community to step up and help as well by continuing to support the SJPD. He recalls the McDonalds brawl in downtown San Jose on June 10. He said that a witness called for help when the brawl occurred but assistance didn't arrive until it was too late.

Dozens of people were involved in this massive brawl that was gang related out in the parking lot of a McDonald’s near San Jose State University at around 10 p.m. Two people were stabbed and hospitalized, and three others were injured.

“I think that bringing in the Department of Homeland Security is a good thing but it just shows that the SJPD is weak, “said Andre Lopez, a college student, “ and it continues to weaken with the mayor laying off cops.”


Source: http://www.examiner.com/city-buzz-in-san-jose/the-department-of-homeland-security-steps-to-help-sjpd-with-gang-violence#ixzz1QaFgp59Q
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Monday, June 27, 2011

Evergreen Produce alfalfa sprouts possibly linked to salmonella


Originally published Monday, June 27, 2011 at 6:13 PM

Evergreen Produce alfalfa sprouts possibly linked to salmonella

Do not eat alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts under the Evergreen Produce brand. If you have them, throw them away — immediately. That word came down Monday from state health officials after the sprouts were possibly linked to 20 reported cases of salmonella, nine in Washington.

By Roberto Daza

Seattle Times staff reporter

Do not eat alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts under the Evergreen Produce brand. If you have them, throw them away — immediately.

That word came down Monday from state health officials after the sprouts were possibly linked to 20 reported cases of salmonella, nine in Washington among residents of Benton, Spokane, Whitman and Walla Walla counties. Cases have also been reported in Montana, Idaho and North Dakota.

"Anyone who has them should not eat them," said Donn Moyer, spokesman for the Washington State Department of Health. "You can cook bacteria out of food, but the best advice is not to eat them."

Evergreen Produce has not issued a recall.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, chills, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. However, there are cases that require hospitalization from severe diarrhea. Two Washington residents have been hospitalized as a result of the recent outbreak.

This is the third time sprouts have been associated with a food-poisoning outbreak in the past two months. Bean sprouts were implicated in an E. coli outbreak in Germany that killed 48 people and sickened close to 4,000 others, according to a news release from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Officials are quick to point out that the two outbreaks are unrelated. On Monday, France reported E. coli-related infections there sickened eight people.

Sprouts — alfalfa, radish and bean — are more likely to be contaminated compared with other vegetables because of the warm, humid conditions required for them to flourish. Since the mid-1990s, more than 30 reported outbreaks have been linked to foodborne illnesses associated with raw or lightly cooked sprouts, most of them caused by salmonella and E. coli, health officials say.

Infants, pregnant women, the elderly and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to become severely ill from salmonella infection. Health officials advise they avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind.

They advise others to cook sprouts thoroughly and request that raw sprouts not be added to their food. People who think they may have become sick from eating contaminated sprouts should seek medical attention.

Salmonella is a common infection; about 600 to 800 cases are reported every year in Washington.

Roberto Daza: 206-464-3195 or rdaza@seattletimes.com
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Source
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Wildfire reaches Los Alamos nuclear facility

Several thousand people have evacuated the town of Los Alamos, but officials said that all radioactive materials stored at the lab were safe from flames

Dominic Rushe
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 June 2011 03.10 BST


A wildfire rages just outside of a Los Alamos nuclear facility in Los Almos, New Mexico, on Monday June 27, 2011. Photograph: Adolphe Pierre-Louis/AP

A raging forest fire threatened the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico on Monday and led to the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents.

The fire started in Sante Fe national forest on Sunday and has so far burnt 50,000 acres, or 78 square miles. The Las Conchas blaze started a one acre "spot fire" on the sprawling property where scientists worked on the first atomic bomb 50 years ago. So far several thousand people have evacuated the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000.

According to local authorities firefighters were able to douse the the fire at the nuclear facility. Los Alamos National Laboratory officials said that all radioactive materials stored at the sprawling lab were safe from flames. The lab has been closed while firefighters monitor the blaze.

The wildfire is being driven by 60mph winds. The fire is believed to be several miles from the laboratory's essential structures. The 25,600-acre property's plutonium facility is on the northeast side of the complex, while the fire seems to be moving south and east, lab spokesman Kevin Roark told Reuters. The fire has so far destroyed properties outside of Los Alamos but has not entered the city itself.

The laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the US nuclear stockpile, was set up in 1943 as part of the Manhattan project to create the first atomic bomb and still maintains the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal.

In a 2009 report, the US department of energy said Los Alamos county firefighters weren't sufficiently trained to handle the unique fires they could face with hazardous or radioactive materials at the site.

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Chris Wallace to Michele Bachmann: "Are You a Flake?"



Uploaded by on Jun 26, 2011

Mexican attacks inflame tensions on NYC island

Mexican attacks inflame tensions on NYC island

BY CRISTIAN SALAZAR (Associated Press Writer)
Originally Published: 16 June 2010
Updated: 16. June 2010

NEW YORK (AP) — When Rodolfo Olmedo was dragged down by a group of men shouting anti-Mexican epithets and bashed over the head with a wooden stick on the street outside his home, he instinctively covered his face to keep from getting disfigured. Blood filled his mouth.

"I wanted to scream, but I couldn't because of the beating they were giving me," said the 25-year-old baker. Nearly five months later, he is still taking pain medications for his head injuries.

Recorded by a store's surveillance camera, the assault was the first of 11 suspected anti-Hispanic bias attacks in a Staten Island neighborhood, re-igniting years-old tensions between blacks and Hispanics in New York City's most remote borough.

Residents of Port Richmond — where an influx of newcomers from Latin America over the past decade has transformed the community — alternately blame the attacks on the economy, unemployment and the debate over tough new immigration law in the border state of Arizona.

And although most of the suspects were described as young black men and investigated for bias crimes, a grand jury has indicted only one of seven people arrested on a hate-crime charge.

But Isaias Lozano, a day laborer, said he knows why he was attacked and robbed in December by "morenos" — the Spanish word he uses to describe his black neighbors.

"They hate us because we're Mexicans," he said while sitting at El Centro del Inmigrante, a center for immigrant day workers. "They aren't robbing just anybody."

Across the United States, the immigration debate plays out in suspicion of outsiders and sometimes escalates into violence. Port Richmond, tucked in a corner of New York City that most visitors never see, is wrestling with the perennial question of how people from different backgrounds can live together and get along.

Some community leaders here blame the attacks on hoodlums preying on day laborers, who are perceived as easy targets because they often carry cash home from work. Others say the Arizona law is stirring up a climate of intolerance, even these thousands of miles away.

"It's a cascading effect," said the Rev. Terry Troia, a board member of El Centro del Inmigrante. "There are negative impulses being put out there both nationally and locally. People on the fringe catch a piece of that, and they are acting on it."

Some of Port Richmond's black residents assert that newcomers' presence touches a nerve. Mike Mason, 47, a teacher who works in New Jersey, said the arrival of Mexican immigrants had changed the texture of the community.

"America has got to do something as far as immigration goes," he said. "In the morning you can see the streets lined with undocumented workers ... That's always in the back of people's minds."

Staten Island is a relatively isolated, suburban-like borough of New York City. It is home to nearly 500,000 people, most of whom live in detached homes instead of apartments, need cars to get around and a ferry to get across New York Harbor to Manhattan.

Between 2000 and 2008, the number of Hispanics living on the island grew roughly 40 percent, according to Census bureau statistics analyzed by City University of New York's Latino Data Project, with much of that growth coming from the Mexican community.

Many of those began to coalesce around the Port Richmond neighborhood, which had long been predominantly black and low-income. The neighborhood's main commercial thoroughfare, once marked by empty storefronts, suddenly came alive with Mexican businesses selling pinatas, bars playing Spanish-language heavy metal, and grocers stocking chilies and tomatillos. The neighborhood developed a new nickname: "Little Mexico."

Mexicans soon began reporting that they were attacked by their black neighbors.

One organization documented 21 assaults against day laborers one summer in 2003. When a day laborer was viciously stabbed and killed two years later, neighbors quickly blamed the black community, until reputed Latin Kings gang members were charged with the man's death.

In recent months, police have deployed additional foot and mounted patrols, a command post and Mexican-born officers to distribute bilingual fliers with safety tips. The FBI joined in creating a task force to look into civil rights abuses in the neighborhood. Residents have aired grievances at numerous town hall meetings.

On a recent summer day, Nicomedes Rocha said she was afraid of being targeted by blacks while walking on the street.

"I have to watch on both sides," said the 33-year-old dishwasher at a local taqueria, who was on her way to work carrying a shoulder bag. "They think I carry money."

But some black residents said it was wrong to talk about bias as the main motive for the attacks.

David Johnson, an amateur boxer who has lived in the neighborhood for seven years, blamed the incidents on drug addicts looking to rob people for cash to feed their habits. "They would do that to anybody," he said. "To jump toward bias issues is out of whack."

Rodolfo Olmedo was beaten and robbed of his cell phone and wallet on April 5. Four suspects have been arrested and charged; police investigated it as a bias crime, but a grand jury indicted the suspects only on robbery and gang assault charges.

William Smith, a spokesman for the Staten Island district attorney's office, said the attack on Olmedo was retaliatory. The suspects, he said, believed Olmedo had been involved in an earlier altercation.

Olmedo, who was hospitalized for five days and was briefly in a coma, contends he was targeted because of his ethnicity, not because he had been involved in a related incident or because the suspects wanted to steal his belongings.

After all, Olmedo said, they didn't take an expensive watch that he was wearing.

"It was," he said in Spanish, "a hate crime."

___

Associated Press Writers Ana Azpurua and Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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Flood Challenges Nuclear Plant

Published on Jun 27, 2011 by

The nation's top nuclear power regulator says both of Nebraska's nuclear power plants have remained safe as they battle floodwaters. There is more concern about the Fort Calhoun plant because floodwaters are close. (June 27)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Gay Pride parade marches through New York City; cheers Governor Cuomo for gay marriage law

BY Michael J. Feeney and Katie Nelson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, June 26th 2011, 3:07 PM

Mariela Lombard for News
Gov Andrew Cuomo (c.) and Speaker Christine Quinn (l.) march at the gay pride parade along Fifth Ave.


"Thank you Governor Cuomo," bellowed signs at Sunday's 2011 NYC Pride March.

Two days after New York's senate voted 33-29 to legalize gay marriage, the annual parade became the epicenter for the equality celebration, embodying this year's theme: "Proud and Powerful."

Half a million people were expected to take to the streets.

PHOTOS: Gay marriage legal in New York!

"I'm proud that New York finally legalized gay marriage," said first-time marcher Nathalie Rodriguez, 20, of Corona, Queens, who identified herself as a bisexual. "It's about time."

The gathering seemed even more meaningful for those who have been batting for LGBT rights for decades.

Take David Rudykoff, of Brooklyn, who carried an American flag umbrella and a sign that read: "I'm Age 80 And Withered But a Babe to Be Wed."

For him, New York's historic bill is bittersweet.




New York Citys annual Pride March began in 1970 as a commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. (Bryan Smith for News)

"My partner passed away 11 years ago. We were together 30 years," he said while walking down Fifth Ave. amid music, floats, hoots and cheers.

"He would have probably married me," he said fondly of Quentin Maule, who was 80 when he died.

But now, Rudykoff feels it's too late for him to walk down the aisle.

"You can't find anyone like him he was one in a million," Rudykoff said. "I'm happy for people who really wanted it."

knelson@nydailynews.com


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Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Broken Blueprint

The Broken Blueprint, A Book Review by Nic Samojluk

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 @ 06:05 PM

Nic Samojluk




Introduction

When John Burden, under the direction of Ellen White, secured a place for the training of medical evangelists in what is known as Loma Linda, he was given a blueprint which required no union with unbelievers, the use of natural remedies instead of drugs, no accreditation from non-Adventist organizations, and the avoidance of costly buildings and competition with the world.
Following Ellen White’s death, Percy Magan and Arthur Daniells got rid of Burden, pushed aside the blueprint, sought the accreditation of the school, replaced the use of natural remedies with drugs, hired non-adventist teachers and physicians, incurred heavy financial indebtedness, and began the extremely expensive long journey of competition with the world.

To learn about the bitter fruits of this departure from the pioneer’s blueprint, read this book review and, if you can, read also the original document entitled “The Broken Blueprint” authored by Vance Ferrell.

The Broken BlueprintBy Vance Ferrell
Published By Harvestime Books, 2003


Source
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Read the book on line (pdf)
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Beware of Side Issues


God has not passed His people by and chosen one solitary man here and another there as the only ones worthy to be entrusted with His truth. He does not give one man new light contrary to the established faith of the body. In every reform men have arisen making this claim. . . . Let none be self-confident, as though God had given them special light above their brethren. . . .

One accepts some new and original idea which does not seem to conflict with the truth. He . . . dwells upon it until it seems to him to be clothed with beauty and importance, for Satan has power to give this false appearance. At last it becomes the all-absorbing theme, the one great point around which everything centres, and the truth is uprooted from the heart. . . .

I warn you to beware of these side issues, whose tendency is to divert the mind from the truth. Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension.--5T 291, 292 (1885).


Last Day Events, pp.90,91.
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The Latin Vulgate Unmasked At Last!!

Painting of Jerome (340-420)
by El Greco


Sodomites were expelled from the Latin Vulgate Version!!

According to the Bible, JEHOVAH created Adam and Eve . . . not Adam and Steve. In the Old Covenant, homosexuality was called SODOMY after the perverted city of Sodom that was destroyed by fire:


Then JEHOVAH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from JEHOVAH out of heaven (Genesis 19:24).


The Holy Bible has a lot to say about sodomy or homosexuality and Jesus said that the world would be just like Sodom and Gomorrah before His Second Coming:


But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17: 29-30).



JEHOVAH told Israel:



There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. (Deuteronomy 23:17).

There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of Israel. (Latin Vulgate Version).


Sodomite is changed to EFFEMINATE in the Latin Vulgate:


And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which JEHOVAH cast out before the children of Israel. (I Kings 14:24).


There were also the effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the people, whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. (Latin Vulgate Version).


And he (Jehoshaphat) took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. (I Kings 15:12).

And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made. (Latin Vulgate Version).


These changes are also found in I Kings 22:46 and 2 Kings 23:7.

Read more
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He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks:


Isaiah 33

1Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

2O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

4And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

5The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

6And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

7Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

8The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

9The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

10Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

11Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

13Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

15He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

16He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

17Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

18Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

19Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

20Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

21But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

22For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

23Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

24And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.