Monday, August 06, 2012

Nearly 30K Without Power in Greenwich

Power should be returned by 8 p.m., according to Connecticut Light & Power


Monday, Aug 6, 2012 | Updated 2:28 PM EDT

Nearly 30K Without Power in Greenwich
A power line on fire along Sullivan Avenue in South Windsor Sunday night


Nearly 25,000 customers of Connecticut Light & Power in Greenwich are without electricity after a tree fell on a major transmission line, the company reported Monday.

Outages in Stamford were restored by Monday afternoon, but 24,594 residents of Greenwich still lacked power, the utility said. The outage occurred when a tree -- 85-feet tall and 16-inches in diameter -- was knocked onto transmission lines.

A 24-ton crane was used to clear the tree from the site Monday, the utility said.

The summer storms that blew through the region last night knocked down the tree, which was on a private property on Summit Road, said power company spokesman Frank Poirot. Power should be restored by 8 p.m., Poirot said.

Stay on top of summer storms with interactive radar.

The First Selectman in Greenwich declared a state of emergency at 10:15 a.m. Greenwich police also warn that many traffic control signals might not be operating during the power outage.

Businesses or residences that use the municipal sewer system are asked to help conserve water to the greatest extent possible to reduce the strain on the municipal sewer pump stations and treatment plant.

The Town of Greenwich opened cooling centers at noon on Monday. They include the Community Room of the Public Safety Complex, at 11 Bruce Place, and the Ben Heim Western Greenwich Civic Center, at 449 Pemberwick Road.

The cooling spots will have connections for charging personal electronic devices. There will be no food or water.

The storm also caused rail problems because the line is in close proximity to railroad tracks operated by MetroNorth and Amtrak.

Metro-North trains are currently not operating west of the Cos Cob station, according to Greenwich officials.

Metro-North warns customers to expect crowded conditions and delays of up to 30 minutes.






‘American kids grow up on culture of violence’

Sun Aug 5, 2012 1:41PM GMT



The culture of violence starts in the U.S. “with children at a very young age,” as almost all of the cartoons are “very violent”, says Saul Landau, vice chair of the Institute for Policy Studies.

“This is the culture that kids grow up on,” Landau told Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Saturday when asked where the culture of violence in the United States comes from.

He also said the U.S. past was full of violence, and the country has been involved in “a perpetual war since the end of WWII”.

For instance, he said, the U.S. bombed Iraq and Libya in the past and now it wants to bomb Iran and Syria, adding, “every time there is a problem abroad, somebody wants to go to a war”.

AT/HJ


Source

Democrats push special deal for gay illegals

Associated Press - 8/4/2012 6:05:00 AM


SAN FRANCISCO - Amid pressure from Democratic lawmakers, Homeland Security officials reiterated Friday that a foreigner's longstanding homosexual relationship with a U.S. citizen could help stave off the threat of deportation.

Friday's statement, which builds on comments Homeland Security officials made last summer, came three days after 84 lawmakers demanded the agency put its position in writing to help protect same-sex couples from deportation.

"It is significant to me because it is expressly inclusive of LGBT families," said Lavi Soloway, an immigration attorney who represents a number of same-sex couples in deportation proceedings.
However, "as long as it's not in writing it doesn't mean that much for an individual in deportation," Soloway said.

That sentiment was echoed by Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, one of the authors of a letter this week urging the federal government to recognize couples' ties in a memo or field guidance.

Binational gay couples are eligible for consideration under a federal program designed to focus resources away from low-priority deportation cases and let officials spend more time tracking down convicted criminals, said Marsha Catron, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

However, the Obama administration will not automatically shelve deportation cases or process green card applications involving foreign citizens married to same-sex American partners.

Catron said her agency will continue to comply with a 1996 law that prohibits the government from recognizing homosexual relationships, even as Homeland Security takes these relationships into consideration when evaluating possible deportation.

The Obama administration last year said it considers the 1996 law unconstitutional and would no longer defend it in court.


Source

Jewish Home MK calls for a Third Temple in Jerusalem

Zevulun Orlev advocates a Basic Law to protect project from prosecution and ‘hostile, left-wing, secular media’

By ILAN BEN ZION July 30, 2012, 10:18 pm

MK Zevulun Orlev (photo credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
MK Zevulun Orlev (photo credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

MK Zevulun Orlev of the Jewish Home party has called for massive reforms, including new Basic Laws, in order to establish a Third Temple in Jerusalem.

In an article (PDF) published in advance of the fast of Tisha B’Av in the weekly Hebrew journal Olam Katan, entitled “Internal and Legislative Reform,” Orlev wrote that the Temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem and that “fundamental changes” to Israeli society and government were necessary in order to realize the success of the project.

Besides spiritual reform and the creation of a cadre of religious experts capable of running the Temple, Orlev argued that the government — “assuming the government will choose to be democratic” — must turn back dissent surrounding the project.

“It will be necessary to defeat no-confidence motions, to overcome the hostile, left-wing, secular media, and to ignore eye-rolling economists who will say it’s a waste of public funds,” he wrote.

To forestall appeals to the High Court of Justice, Orlev advocated the legislation of a new Basic Law that would guarantee funding and manpower and protect the Third Temple from prosecution.

“The law will also protect the [Third Temple] project from accusations of discrimination, inequality of women in the Temple service, and animal cruelty in the offering of sacrifices,” Orlev continued.

Orlev acknowledged that to remove the ”religious and political impediment” to his plan, namely the presence of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount, would mean that the “billion-strong Muslim world would surely launch a world war.” However, he added, “everything political is temporary and there is no stability,” and ”Of late we’re witnessed dramatic political changed that have occurred in many Arab countries.”

Orlev recently advocated a bill to bypass the High Court of Justice and protect illegally constructed buildings in the Beit El neighborhood of Givat Ulpana that was struck down by the Knesset in June.





Two Claims of Jehovah's Witnesses Examined

This Watchtower prophecy about the majority of the 1914 generation having their lives,

"cut short by Armageddon"

has clearly failed; which is more evidence that the year 1914 has nothing to do with Christ’s return, a war in heaven, the Battle of Armageddon, or for that matter, the Truth.

The year 1914 is seldom mentioned in modern publications, but it’s an essential year. The Society’s very existence hangs upon Jesus returning in 1914. Because, if Jesus did not return in October of 1914, then there would have been no 3 & ½ year - testing period beginning in 1914 during which Christ allegedly decided to pick the Watchtower Society as God’s only channel of communication to mankind, which is the subject of our next claim.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are stuck with a foundational teaching that doesn’t make any sense, that looks bad from a historical point of view, that their own people have a hard time believing, and even their writing staff is trying to cover up.


With a track record this bad why would anyone believe in the Watchtower Society’s claim that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurred in 1914?

Let’s now turn to the Bible and look at a few passages that speak of Jesus Christ’s promised return: Jesus said,

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21: 25-27, NIV).


The Watchtower Society has striven hard to paint a picture showing that world events leading up to the year 1914 fit the model spoken of by Jesus. But, would an objective appraisal of that time period in world history really lead one to conclude that Christ’s words in the gospel of Luke were fulfilled in 1914? Probably not. After all, the world has yet to see

“the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”




What is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?


Question: "What is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?"

Answer:
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is an organization directed by the leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Watchtower Society was founded in 1886 and is currently located in Brooklyn, New York. The Watchtower possesses tremendous control over its members and has gone so far as to produce its own translation of the Bible called the New World Translation. The Society has gone through several presidents since its founding and has positioned itself as a major competitor to evangelical Christianity. While claiming to be the only legitimate followers of Jehovah God, the Watchtower denies and even opposes several of the fundamental doctrines of the historic Christian faith.

To begin with, the Watchtower gets wrong one of the most important of all religious questions: Who is Jesus Christ? The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus Christ is actually the first creation of Jehovah God, not God incarnate as the Bible clearly teaches (Titus 2:13; Colossians 2:9). In doing so, they have placed Christ in the category of creature rather than acknowledging His rightful place of Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:1-3). They have repeated the deadly error of Arianism, which was condemned as heresy by the Christian Church at the Council of Nicea and is easily refuted by a fair reading of Scripture.

Since its inception, the Watchtower has denied the biblical teaching of the triune God (one Being who exists as three co-equal, co-eternal Persons) and gone so far as to say that the God of Christianity is a satanic counterfeit. Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a former President of the Society, even referred to the Christian concept of God as, “the devil himself.” The God of the Watchtower is not the biblical God and is therefore not capable of saving people from their sins.

In an attempt to justify their doctrines through biblical exegesis, the Society produced their own translation of the Scriptures in 1961. This translation, known as the New World Translation, is regarded by the Jehovah's Witnesses as the only faithful rendering of the biblical text. The NWT is unique in that it is the first intentional systematic effort at producing a complete version of the Bible that is edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing with a group’s doctrine. Greek scholars from across the theological spectrum have repeatedly criticized the NWT as an inaccurate rendering of key biblical passages.

The late Dr. Bruce Metzger, formerly Professor of New Testament Language at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of several highly acclaimed books on textual criticism stated, “The Jehovah’s Witnesses have incorporated in their translations of the New Testament several quite erroneous renderings of the Greek.” Dr. Robert Countess, who completed his PhD dissertation in Greek on the New World Translation, is on record as saying that the Watchtower’s translation “has been sharply unsuccessful in keeping doctrinal considerations from influencing the actual translation. It must be viewed as a radically biased piece of work. At some points it is actually dishonest.”

A further reason to reject the claims of the Watchtower is their long history of engaging in false prophecy. The Watchtower Society has on numerous occasions predicted in print the end of the world, the most recent dates being in 1946, 1950, and 1975. What makes their false prophecy all the more damning is when their false predictions are seen in the light of their claim to be "the true prophetic mouthpiece for God on earth at this time." The Society's history of false prophecy stands in stark contrast to the standard for a true prophet laid out in Scripture: "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Moreover, the Watchtower continues to engage in cultic manipulation of its people through the prohibition of military service, the celebration of holidays, and the saluting of the nation's flag. The impetus for these restrictions is rooted in their false claim to be the exclusive organized collection of Jehovah's people. The Watchtower views these practices as devices of Satan to lead people away from Jehovah. The Watchtower sees the entire “world system” (any activity not connected with the Watchtower) as connected to Satan and is thus prohibited. This would include the practice of blood transfusions, which the Watchtower wrongly believes to be prohibited by Scripture. The Watchtower has stated that a blood transfusion "may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian." The Society wrongly assumes that the biblical prohibition of eating blood (Genesis 9:4; Acts 15:28-29) extends all the way to the modern practice of blood transfusions, a restriction that, in practice, has cost the very lives of many Jehovah's Witnesses and even their children.

Despite a track record of repeated false prophecies, a cultic isolation of their own people, and a flagrant mistranslation of the Bible to justify their own theology, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society continues to gain unsuspecting converts every year. It is the job of biblically faithful Christians to be prepared to refute these errors with sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). As Jude tells us, we must "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (Jude 3).







FROM THE PULPIT: A time for rest

By Monsignor John J. Oliveira
Herald News Columnist
Posted Aug 04, 2012 @ 12:23 AM


We are in the middle of summer.

In the past, the first two weeks of July were known as vacation weeks as factories closed. Vacation time now is varied and sporadic throughout the year.

Each company handles their vacation policy differently. Some services cannot close for two weeks, so a staggered work force is the best solution.

It does seem odd, but the national trend is that people do not take vacations or time off. Even if people are away from the workplace, many remain connected through technological advances. The cellphone is the prime example.

The cellphone has made us so available that it can become an intrusion on our life, or our prayer. Although we ask people in church to turn off their cellphones so as “not to disturb our time of prayer,” occasionally someone gets a call. The ringing phone penetrates the prayerful silence.

While certainly necessary, modern technological inventions have quickened the pace of life. Stress is a very common illness and the use of medicine to help people relax from the routine of work is on the increase.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines vacation as: “A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest or relaxation; especially, such a period during which a working person is exempt from work but collects his pay.”

God gave us an example of what we should do. Exodus 20:11 tells us: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” This quote not only sets aside the Sabbath as a day of the Lord, but as a day of rest. Sunday is a day of rest and prayer. As a day shared with family members, it is now rare. The obligation to honor the Lord’s Day remains as mandate from God.

The story of Creation in the bible reminds us that even God Himself, on the seventh day of creation, rested. One of the Ten Commandments reminds us of the necessity of worshiping God and keeping holy the Sabbath: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20: 8-10).

While the Jewish religion continues to keep holy the Sabbath (Saturday), the Catholic Church celebrates the day of rest and worship of God on Sunday. Sunday is the fulfillment of the Sabbath.

In No. 2190 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church — CCC — it says: “The Sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ.”

The CCC explains it in this manner: Jesus rose from the dead “on the first day of the week.” Because it is the “first day,” the day of Christ’s Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the “eighth day” following the Sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ’s Resurrection. For Christians, it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day — Sunday” (2174).

With the obligation to observe the Sabbath, we also have the command to rest. Human life has a rhythm of work and rest. Our Holy Father has said: “The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone to enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social and religious lives” (Gaudium et Spes).

Some of you may recall a built-in “vacation day” each week. Sunday was a day for church and prayer. But it also was a time to share a family meal. It was a day to visit relatives. It was a day to rest and enjoy creation and all the good things God has provided for us.

The “Sunday blue laws” assisted to the extent that stores were not open. It was easier because malls or mega grocery stores did not exist. You were allowed to get needed supplies, but you were not encouraged to spend the day shopping.

Today, shopping might be considered recreation and not work. The entire concept of no work on Sunday to keep it sacred has evaporated.

When we see where we have come, we begin to realize how the church had it all right in the first place. The rhythm of the week included, not only praise of God but also rest.

A TV celebrity was brought into the hospital with a mysterious ailment. To be on the safe side, the Sisters called the chaplain. The celebrity was taken aback when the priest came in with his stole. “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Father,” he protested. “I’m just here for a little while.”

“That’s all right,” replied the priest blandly, “we’re all here for just a little while.”

Enjoy the “little while” you are here. Rest, praise the Lord. If you go on vacation this summer, enjoy it. Leave work behind. We’re here for just a little while.

God bless you!

Monsignor John J. Oliveira is pastor at St. Mary’s Church in New Bedford.


Source


Sunday, August 05, 2012

8 Laws of Health to Live By




Beloved, I wish above all things, that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2.

Education in the divine principles of health have never been needed more than today! There have been many wonderful advances in science and technology, but there is an alarming increase in disease and sickness due to destructive habits and the over indulgences of our society. Today, habit and appetite are at war with nature. The results are seen in most of our lives as many experience some minor or major breakdown of their health.

God's promise still stands—if we incorporate His principles of health into our lives, then none of the diseases of this world will befall us. Listed below are God's 8 Laws of Health, taken from the "owner's manual". Click on a title to learn more.


  1. Fresh Air
  2. Sunshine
  3. Exercise
  4. Pure Water
  5. Temperance
  6. Proper Nutrition
  7. Adequate Rest
  8. Trust in God




Gunman, six others dead at Wisconsin Sikh temple



By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 3:03 PM EDT, Sun August 5, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: No second gunman found, police say
NEW: Investigators find six dead, plus gunman
NEW: The officer who shot and killed the gunman was wounded but expected to live


(CNN) -- At least seven people, including a gunman shot by a police officer, have been killed in an attack on worshippers at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on Sunday, police said.

The officer was wounded but "returned fire, and that shooter was put down," said Bradley Wentlandt, the police chief in nearby Greenfield, who briefed reporters. Investigators who picked through the building afterward found four bodies inside the temple and two other victims outside, plus the gunman, Wentlandt said.

Though early reports had suggested there may have been more than one attacker, he said officers had not identified any other gunmen.

The wounded officer, a 20-year veteran, was in surgery Sunday afternoon after being shot multiple times, but was expected to survive, Wentlandt said. He was sent to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, south of Milwaukee, after a 911 call about 10:25 a.m. (11:25 a.m. ET).

Carolyn Bellin, a spokeswoman for Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital, said one of three men brought there from the incident was in surgery early Sunday morning, while another was in the surgical intensive care unit. The third was being evaluated in the emergency room. All three were in critical condition.

The temple has a congregation of 250 to 400, according to its website.
"I just want to say this temple was built a number of years ago and there have never been any problems with this temple," Oak Creek Alderman Dan Jakubczyk said. "They've been a plus to this city and to my district."

CNN's Marlena Baldacci and Matt Smith contributed to this report.





Our Distinctive Sign

The banner of the third angel has inscribed upon it, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Our institutions have taken a name which sets forth the character of our faith, and of this name we are never to be ashamed. I have been shown that this name means much, and in adopting it we have followed the light given us from heaven.... The Sabbath is God’s memorial of His creative work, and it is a sign that is to be kept before the world.

There is to be no compromise with those who are worshiping an idol sabbath. We are not to spend our time in controversy with those who know the truth, and upon whom the light of truth has been shining, when they turn away their ear from the truth to turn to fables. I was told that men will employ every policy to make less prominent the difference between the faith of Seventh-day Adventists and those who observe the first day of the week. In this controversy the whole world will be engaged, and the time is short. This is no time to haul down our colors.
A company was presented before me under the name of Seventh-day Adventists, who were advising that the banner or sign which makes us a distinctive people should not be held out so strikingly; for they claimed it was not the best policy in securing success to our institutions. This distinctive banner is to be borne through the world to the close of probation. In describing the remnant people of God, John says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). This is the law and the gospel. The world and the churches are uniting in harmony in transgressing the law of God, in tearing away God’s memorial, and in exalting a sabbath that bears the signature of the man of sin. But the Sabbath of the Lord thy God is to be a sign to show the difference between the obedient and the disobedient. I saw some reaching out their hands to remove the banner, and to obscure its significance....

When the people accept and exalt a spurious sabbath, and turn souls away from obedience and loyalty to God, they will reach the point that was reached by the people in the days of Christ.... Shall anyone then choose to hide his banner, to relax his devotion? Shall the people whom God has honored and blessed and prospered, refuse to bear testimony in behalf of God’s memorial at the very time when such a testimony should be borne? Shall not the commandments of God be more highly esteemed when men pour contempt upon the law of God?—Manuscript 15, 1896.

Selected Messages, book 2, pp. 384-385.


The Poor

Some, who are poor in this world’s goods, are apt to place all the straight testimony upon the shoulders of the men of property. But they do not realize that they also have a work to do. God requires them to make a sacrifice. He requires of them to sacrifice their idols. They should lay aside such hurtful stimulants as tobacco, tea, and coffee. If they are brought into straightened circumstances while exerting themselves to do the best they can, it will be a pleasure for their wealthy brethren to help them out of trouble.

Many lack wise management and economy. They do not weigh matters well, and move cautiously. Such should not trust to their own poor judgment, but counsel with their brethren who have experience. Those who lack good judgment and economy are often unwilling to seek counsel. They generally think that they understand how to conduct their temporal business, and are unwilling to follow advice. They make bad moves, and suffer in consequence. Their brethren are grieved to see them suffer, and they help them out of difficulty. Their unwise management affects the church. It takes means from the treasury of God which should have been used to advance the cause of present truth. If these poor brethren would take an humble course, and be willing to be advised and counseled by their brethren, and then are brought into straightened places, their brethren should feel it their duty to cheerfully help them out of difficulty. But if they choose their own course, and rely upon their judgment, they should be left to feel the full consequences of their unwise course, and learn by dear experience that “in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” God’s people should be subject one to another. They should counsel with each other, that the lack of one be supplied by the sufficiency of the other. I saw that the stewards of the Lord have no duty to help those persons who persist in using tobacco, tea, and coffee.


Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4b, p.55.

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Ernesto & Florence

TC Activity

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Ernesto at sea in Caribbean; new storm forms in Atlantic


By Michael Connor
MIAMI | Sat Aug 4, 2012 3:58pm EDT


(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Ernesto kept on a westerly course in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday and will soon bulk up into a hurricane that may soak Jamaica as it passes by the island, U.S. forecasters said.

Officials in Jamaica issued a tropical storm warning as Ernesto moved in open waters at 18 miles per hour on a predicted track that should keep it at sea until a forecast landfall in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday.

With maximum sustained winds falling back to 50 mph (85 kmh), Ernesto on Saturday afternoon was 270 miles south of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and was expected to stay clear of Jamaica and Hispaniola, the mountainous island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic.

Tropical storm conditions would strike Jamaica on Sunday afternoon, while the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola will see squalls on Saturday, U.S. forecasters said.

Three to 6 inches were expected in Jamaica. Showers and thunderstorms - sometimes severe - were possible on the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire off Venezuela's northern coast.

"The center of Ernesto should pass south of Hispaniola tonight and south of Jamaica on Sunday evening," the U.S. forecasters in Miami said. "Ernesto is forecast to become a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean in a day or two."

Ernesto, which did no reported damage on Friday as it passed over the tiny island of Saint Lucia, would be deemed a hurricane if its winds reach 74 mph.

Forecasters expect Ernesto to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico by Thursday but it was too early to know whether it could disrupt oil and gas operations in the gulf.

U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasters said another tropical storm, called Florence, formed on Saturday in the eastern Atlantic and was moving west in open waters. As of late morning, forecasters said, Florence was about 415 miles (665km) west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.

With maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kmh), Florence was the sixth named storm of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, moving west at 16 mph, and was expected to track westerly before weakening next week.

August and September are usually the most active months of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

(Reporting By Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Bill Trott)




Sunday Movement Agenda Alert!

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy in 2006. (Chick-fil-A) http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-chick-fil-a-gay-20120718,0,3020372.story


The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible, yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, his servants cannot unite with them (in their cause). Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men".

The Great Controversy, pp. 588.

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Friday, August 03, 2012

It is for God to judge, not for us


11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

James 4:11,12.



♥.·´¯* BUON SABATO *¯`·.♥



Uploaded by LEILAESMERALDA on Dec 17, 2010
IL GIORNO DI RIPOSO DI DIO.

Un giorno di delizia per ricordare DIO come creatore.

La verità è che il riposo sabbatico era stato stabilito molto tempo prima che fosse istituita la legislazione cerimoniale (Ge. 2:2,3). Esso appartiene all'ordine delle cose istituito per le creature umane sin dall'inizio della Creazione.

.

Felice Sabato, Buon Sabato Amici

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

His servants cannot unite with them


"Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest in society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible, yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, his servants cannot unite with them (in their cause). Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men".

The Great Controversy, pp. 587-88.


Mike Huckabee Organizes ‘Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day’ To Defend Restaurant’s Right To Be Anti-Gay


by Jon Bershad | 12:25 pm, July 23rd, 2012



Here in America, a nation founded on the principles of fairness and equality, there is a terrible injustice going on. In our country, a country where we thought people were free, a group is being horribly oppressed. That group, of course, is fast food chicken chain Chick-fil-A. Their God-given right to oppress gay people has been totally ruined by the decision of some people to say totally mean things about them. Fortunately, Mike Huckabee is here to save the day and defend Chick-fil-A’s right to be anti-gay!

Yay!

Huckabee isn’t just saving a day, he’s creating one! “Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day!”

But, let’s back up. For those of you who don’t know why Chick-fil-A needs to be appreciated, the story is this; Chick-fil-A is actually a super religious corporation. How religious? Religious enough to always be closed on Sundays…and also give millions of dollars to anti-gay groups over the years. In case people weren’t getting the message from that, CEO Dan Cathy did a couple interviews last week in which he helpfully explained that gay people marrying the love of their life was “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.”

America responded quickly. Comedians began mocking the brand around the clock, the Mayor of Boston vowed to keep the chain out of his city, the Jim Henson Company has decided to stop making toys for their kid’s meals, and more.

As you can imagine, this is in danger of hurting Chick-fil-A’s feelings (read: “sales”). Fortunately, the good, honest people of the country can unite to protect the restaurant thanks to Mike Huckabee’s Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day!

From his Facebook event:

“I have been incensed at the vitriolic assaults on the Chick Fil-A company because the CEO, Dan Cathy, made comments recently in which he affirmed his view that the Biblical view of marriage should be upheld. The Cathy family, let by Chick Fil-A founder Truett Cathy, are a wonderful Christian family who are committed to operating the company with Biblical principles and whose story is the true American success story. Starting at age 46 Truett Cathy built Chick Fil-A into a $4 billion a year enterprise with over 1600 stores. At 91, he is still active in the company, but his son Dan runs it day to day as CEO.It’s a great American story that is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left.
I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, August 1 ‘Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day.’ No one is being asked to make signs, speeches, or openly demonstrate. The goal is simple: Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1. Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant. This effort is not being launched by the Chick Fil-A company and no one from the company or family is involved in proposing or promoting it.”

So gather ’round, good people! Eat your chicken proudly, look to the sky, and shout to the heavens, “Hello, world! In the year 2012, I still somehow believe that keeping a group of people from having the same rights as I is not bigoted! It’s Christian! Yummy yummy chicken!”




Closed-on-Sunday businesses place principle over profit

Rick Eakins, the owner of Wrench Connection, poses for a photo… (Joshua C. Cruey, Orlando…)


8:01 p.m. EST, June 16, 2012|By Greg Dawson, Orlando Sentinel

Even in an increasingly 24-7 commercial culture that worships the almighty dollar, the Almighty and the family remain the supreme bottom lines for steadfast merchants who choose not to do business on Sundays.

Central Florida businesses closed on Sunday range from large national chains such as Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby to local, one-store operations, such as Village Paint and Flooring Shoppe, Wrench Connection and Track Shack.

"I'm all about being profitable and a provider, but to me it's kind of a taboo to be open on Sunday," said Rick Eakins, 47, owner of Wrench Connection auto repair in Orlando, which also is closed on Saturdays — a promise he made to his wife, Diane, years ago.

"I want my guys to have an opportunity to be active in their faith and be present for the things they feel are important: to hug on their wife; to be dad; go to the ballgames and birthday parties; get the yardwork done," said Eakins, father of two children, 12 and 13. "The emphasis today is profit, profit, profit. I don't want to be the richest guy in the graveyard."

Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and Hobby Lobby's David Green, both active heads of retail empires, also religiously observe the never-on-Sunday principle. Begun in 1972 in Oklahoma, Hobby Lobby was open Sundays until 1998, when Green decided to sacrifice the company's highest sales-per-hour day, posting signs that read, "Closed Sundays to Allow Employees Time for Family & Worship."

Chick-fil-A is the poster business for companies eschewing Sunday profits. Cathy, who opened his first restaurant in 1946, has never done business on Sunday and is a role model for John Rivers, founder of hugely popular 4 Rivers Smokehouse. All three outlets — Winter Park, Winter Garden and Longwood — are closed on Sundays.

Rivers, 46, worked 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry before rave reviews for his recreational cooking led him to his new career. He had a chance to meet Cathy before opening his first restaurant in 2005.

"I would be remiss not to say that what Chick-fil-A did had a tremendous influence on me," Rivers said.

At one of his old companies, a publicly traded giant, Rivers, now father of two teenagers, had observed the "tremendous pressure to make sure earnings projections were met" and decided "that was not the way I wanted to run my company. I wanted to put family and God first."

The owners of Track Shack have similar feelings.

Jon and Betsy Hughes opened the running-shoe store in Orlando in 1977.

"Over the years as we raised a family, we never even considered opening on Sunday," Betsy said. "We feel if we want to have a family day and go to church, so do our employees."

Closing Sunday probably has deprived the store of greater profits.

"We've been told by numerous running-shoe stores around the country that Sunday is their second-busiest day of the week. They say we're crazy not to be open. These days we would be busy on Sunday, but that's not what it's about."

For La Familia Pawn and Jewelry, which has 12 stores in Metro Orlando, the decision to close Sunday is less the spiritual agenda of an owner than a bow to customs of its clientele as well its workers.

"Our stores are primarily in heavily Hispanic areas, and a good majority of our employees are Hispanic," said company President Lawrence Kahlden. "Sunday mornings they're in church, and it's a big day for family get-togethers in the Hispanic community. It's great for employee morale to know they will have every Sunday off."

Nor does it necessarily hurt a company's bottom line.

"Being seen as respectful of traditions important to customers can have a positive effect on some customers," said Charles Rock, economics professor at Rollins College. "So the economic trade-off may be complicated: lose some customers due to being closed but gain some others due to their affinity with the values of a business."

That's not just a theory, said Bob Aydt, owner of Village Paint and Flooring in Lake Mary. "A lot of people respect us for not being open on Sunday. They say, 'We come to you because you're not open on Sunday.' "

After opening the business in 1994, Aydt observed his big-box competitors doing robust sales on Sunday and decided to compete, opening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The experiment ended after eight months.

"It became another day on the treadmill — a nightmare," he said. "I would never go back to Sunday. As our family grew, it made sense to have that as a family day. It's not all about money."

gdawson@tribune.com or 407-420-5618




Tuesday, July 31, 2012

China Claims Report on Int'l Religious Freedom Is 'Arrogant, Ignorant'

Hillary Clinton
(Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a news conference in Beijing May 4, 2012. Clinton said on Friday that the U.S. Ambassador in Beijing had spoken to the blind Chinese rights activist Chen Guangcheng, and was encouraged by China's statement that Chen might be allowed to study abroad.


By Paul Stanley , Christian Post Reporter
July 31, 2012|3:57 pm

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued the State Department's annual report on international religious freedom on Monday, concluding that the "world is sliding backwards" in key regions of the globe. She also singled out many of the Asian countries including China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia as some of the world's most intolerant countries when it comes to the expression and freedom of religion.

The eight counties identified as "countries of particular concern" include China, Burma, Iran, Eritrea, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. China in particular, had harsh words for the findings and commented through their official Xinhua News Agency.

"The annual report, largely based on unconfirmed media reports and groundless allegations from outlawed groups and organizations with ulterior motives, is nothing but a political tool used by the U.S. government to exert pressure on other countries, mostly deemed as its rivals," it said.

China said that religious freedoms were protected under the country's constitution and claimed that only a handful of "cults" and "extremist religious organizations" were illegal.

Furthermore, China said the report was "full of prejudice, arrogance and ignorance."

Undeterred, Clinton said a country's verbal responses would not compensate for what is actually occurring within their borders.
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"We are going to judge by actions, not words," Clinton said during her remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.

The secretary of state also touched on the recent changes in Egypt and whether Islamist leaders who are now in power would implement their comments on respecting the rights of all religious minorities in the Arab country.

Early in her remarks, Clinton referenced what is known as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The language in the document applies not only to the United States or western countries where religious tolerance is more widely accepted, but to the international community too. The report reads in part:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."

The report also touched on what is termed a "global increase in anti-Semitism," more legislation that would restrict the rights of minority religions and the use of new technologies – including social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter – as tools to communicate religious expression.

As the most widely traveled secretary of state in America's history, Clinton said she has witnessed the impact of religious freedom and how it can provide developing nations a path to social and economic growth.

"I have seen firsthand how religious freedom is an element of personal freedom – and of social advancement," said Clinton.




Monday, July 30, 2012

Brotherhood of Darkness - Dr. Stanley Monteith



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Dr. Stanley Monteith reveals the true origins of the New World Order agenda, who's behind it, and it's ancient Satanic influence.

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Scalia opens door for gun-control legislation, extends slow burning debate

Published July 30, 2012FoxNews.com





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Abuse advocacy group says little changed among Catholic church leaders

Posted: Jul 30, 2012 8:45 AM EDT
Updated: Jul 30, 2012 8:45 AM EDT

A group that advocates on behalf of victims of clergy abuse is urging the Catholic church to move beyond the "smoke and mirrors."

More than 200 survivors met in Chicago over the weekend at the annual conference of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. The group says the church needs to "stop the abuse, expel the abusers, cooperate with the courts and support the victims.

SNAP director David Clohessy say Catholic officials have adopted a lot of policies, procedures and set up panels that amount to "a lot of smoke and mirrors." Clohessy says it's "ironic and tragic" that secular institutions and authorities are more likely to take actions against child abusers than are officials in the Vatican.