Friday, October 12, 2012

False Brethren

Daniel 11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries [NKJV: join with them by intrigue].

2 Corinthians 11:24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Galatians 2:3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
4 And that [NKJV: this occurred] because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
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Thursday, October 11, 2012

6.7 earthquake rocks Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku; no reports of injuries


 

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia on Friday, sending panicked people running out of their houses and buildings, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no danger of a tsunami, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a “very small possibility” for a tsunami near the epicenter.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured magnitude 6.7 and was centered 108 kilometers (67 miles) north of Dobo village, at a depth of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
Victor Siahaya, a resident in Dobo, a closest village to the epicenter said that strong earthquake shook everything at his house, forcing him and his family run.
“It was so strong... many people screaming while running in panic,” Siahaya said, “But I don’t see any damage in my neighborhood.”
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin
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Two Catholic candidates

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan clash sharply on foreign policy, economy in debate


Here's a portion of the Vice Presidential Debate Transcript October 12, 2012:

RADDATZ: I want to move on, and I want to return home for these last f ew questions. This debate is, indeed, historic. We have two Catholic candidates, first time, on a stage such as this. And I would like to ask you both to tell me what role your religion has played in your own personal views on abortion.
Please talk about how you came to that decision. Talk about how your religion played a part in that. And, please, this is such an emotional issue for so many people in this country…
RYAN: Sure.
RADDATZ: … please talk personally about this, if you could.
Congressman Ryan?
RYAN: I don’t see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith. Our faith informs us in everything we do. My faith informs me about how to take care of the vulnerable, of how to make sure that people have a chance in life.
RYAN: Now, you want to ask basically why I’m pro-life? It’s not simply because of my Catholic faith. That’s a factor, of course. But it’s also because of reason and science.
You know, I think about 10 1/2 years ago, my wife Janna and I went to Mercy Hospital in Janesville where I was born, for our seven week ultrasound for our firstborn child, and we saw that heartbeat. A little baby was in the shape of a bean. And to this day, we have nicknamed our firstborn child Liza, “Bean.” Now I believe that life begins at conception.
That’s why — those are the reasons why I’m pro-life. Now I understand this is a difficult issue, and I respect people who don’t agree with me on this, but the policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortions with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. What troubles me more is how this administration has handled all of these issues. Look at what they’re doing through Obamacare with respect to assaulting the religious liberties of this country. They’re infringing upon our first freedom, the freedom of religion, by infringing on Catholic charities, Catholic churches, Catholic hospitals.
Our church should not have to sue our federal government to maintain their religious liberties. And with respect to abortion, the Democratic Party used to say they wanted it to be safe, legal and rare. Now they support it without restriction and with taxpayer funding. Taxpayer funding in Obamacare, taxpayer funding with foreign aid. The vice president himself went to China and said that he sympathized and wouldn’t second guess their one child policy of forced abortions and sterilizations. That to me is pretty extreme.
RADDATZ: Vice President Biden?
BIDEN: My religion defines who I am, and I’ve been a practicing Catholic my whole life. And has particularly informed my social doctrine. The Catholic social doctrine talks about taking care of those who — who can’t take care of themselves, people who need help. With regard to — with regard to abortion, I accept my church’s position on abortion as a — what we call a (inaudible) doctrine. Life begins at conception in the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life.
But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews, and I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the — the congressman. I — I do not believe that we have a right to tell other people that — women they can’t control their body. It’s a decision between them and their doctor. In my view and the Supreme Court, I’m not going to interfere with that. With regard to the assault on the Catholic church, let me make it absolutely clear, no religious institution, Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic Social Services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital, none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact.
That is a fact. Now with regard to the way in which the — we differ, my friend says that he — well I guess he accepts Governor Romney’s position now, because in the past he has argued that there was — there’s rape and forcible rape. He’s argued that in the case of rape or incest, it was still — it would be a crime to engage in having an abortion. I just fundamentally disagree with my friend.
RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
RYAN: All I’m saying is, if you believe that life begins at conception, that, therefore, doesn’t change the definition of life. That’s a principle. The policy of a Romney administration is to oppose abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
Now, I’ve got to take issue with the Catholic church and religious liberty.
BIDEN: You have on the issue…
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: … why would they keep — why would they keep suing you? It’s a distinction without a difference.
RADDATZ: I want to go back to the abortion question here. If the Romney-Ryan ticket is elected, should those who believe that abortion should remain legal be worried?
RYAN: We don’t think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people through their elected representatives in reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process should make this determination.
BIDEN: The court — the next president will get one or two Supreme Court nominees. That’s how close Roe v. Wade is. Just ask yourself, with Robert Bork being the chief adviser on the court for — for Mr. Romney, who do you think he’s likely to appoint? Do you think he’s likely to appoint someone like Scalia or someone else on the court far right that would outlaw (inaudible) — outlaw abortion? I suspect that would happen.
I guarantee you, that will not happen. We picked two people. We pick people who are open-minded. They’ve been good justices. So keep an eye on the Supreme Court…
RYAN: Was there a litmus test on them?
BIDEN: There was no litmus test. We picked people who had an open mind; did not come with an agenda.
RADDATZ: I’m — I’m going to move on to this closing question because we are running out of time.


- On The Web
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Let This Be A Warning America: When the Riots Start the Government’s Response Will Be Brutal *Video*



Mac Slavo

October 8th, 2012
SHTFplan.com



That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

July 4, 1776

Last week, when hundreds of thousands of people in Madrid, Barcelona and throughout Spain protested, rioted, rebelled and called for the forced resignation of every one of their parliamentary representatives and the formation of a new government, the silence from global mainstream media was deafening.

With jobless rates for those between the ages of 20 and 35 exceeding 50%, further social spending measures promised by the government, and tens of billions in handouts being transferred to large financial institutions in the broader Euro Zone, those impoverished by the economic collapse of the last four years would not be silenced.

They took the streets in droves. They rushed their parliament building, forcing representatives to barricade themselves inside. They confronted their government head on.

And for their transgressions, they were indiscriminately fired upon, beaten, and bloodied by riot police; men, women, young, old, it mattered not to the policing arm of the global elite.

Let this be a warning, America, because these riots will soon be making their way across the Atlantic ocean to our shores.

Video compliments of Alexander Higgins (with narration by Judge Andrew Napolitano) via Above Top Secret:




The people of Europe have not yet seen the full brunt of their government’s capabilities. Neither have Americans.

We need only look to the middle east for a taste of what is to come should things really go critical. As we noted during the Egyptian uprising last year, it is best to stay home once the rioting starts (graphic video), because bullets will be flying and government enforcement officials will stop at nothing to regain control.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that police or military personnel will take the side of the American people. Some may. But history and current events suggest otherwise – of course they will fire on American citizens. And if you’re caught out in the open,you’ll be on your own.

We know the US government considers those attending any anti-government gatherings, whether they be Occupy or Tea Party protests, to be activities related to domestic terrorism. For now, the police have been subdued compared to the actions of their counterparts in Europe, but so too have America’s protesters.

But when those 100 hundred million Americans dependent on government re-distributions have their benefits cut as has been done throughout Europe recently, or prices for essential goods like food and gas reach levels that make them impossible to acquire by the majority, we can fully expect a total breakdown of law and order, especially in America’s major metropolitan areas.

What’s different about America compared to Europe, however, is that our government is actively preparing for this contingency, having introduced laws through legislative action, as well as by executive order, that are specifically designed to stifle free speech in public areas, detain indefinitely and reeducate those who act against the national interests of the United States, and eliminate permanently those who cannot be pacified.

Government plans for mass casualty events are being enacted as we speak, and domestic policing forces are stocking up on riot gear and hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition.

They know it’s coming.

Are we ready for it?

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Real-time Libya: Who knew what, when?


Posted at 09:45 AM ET, 10/11/2012


Liz Cheney on Fox News last night spoke about the Libya fiasco, zeroing in on the actions of Charlene Lamb, the State Department official who denied requested security but also followed events in Libya on 9/11/2012 in real time :

She followed minute by minute. She, and one would presume the State Department higher-ups, were then aware there was an organized assault on the consulate. My gosh, if only she had briefed Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice or gotten to the president before his Sept. 25 speech to the United Nations so many false impressions could have been prevented. There would never have been any confusion about a spontaneous film protest, right?
Seriously, something doesn’t make sense. Do we think no one else ever got the benefit of that information that mid-level bureaucrat Charlene Lamb had? This was the most urgent issue of the moment in which everyone (the White House, the public, the media) wanted to know what happened in Benghazi. So why not look at the real-time video? Why not ask Lamb what she saw and heard?
If Rice was going on five Sunday news shows to give the official account of events, wouldn’t she have had the benefit of that information? If the White House spokesman was going to come out day after day to tell what happened, wouldn’t Lamb’s real time-intelligence be the first thing he’d be told about?
You have to either assume Lamb kept this critical information under wraps or that she did send it into the stream of intelligence that was used by the secretary of state and the White House. If the latter, why did so many people, including the president, tell a story that wasn’t true?
One other incident deserves immediate, further scrutiny. On Sept. 28, not the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper but his spokesman put out a statement saying that the intelligence community had given wrong information about the attack. It read in part: “As the Intelligence Community collects and analyzes more information related to the attack, our understanding of the event continues to evolve. In the immediate aftermath, there was information that led us to assess that the attack began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in Cairo. We provided that initial assessment to Executive Branch officials and members of Congress, who used that information to discuss the attack publicly and provide updates as they became available. Throughout our investigation we continued to emphasize that information gathered was preliminary and evolving.”
Did DNI not have access to the same information that Lamb did? It was a curious statement even before Lamb testified, giving no time frame as to when DNI knew it was a terrorist attack. Lt. Col. Andrew Wood knew it was a terror attack immediately, he testified. We had intercepts between the attackers and al-Qaeda operatives within 24 hours. So why was DNI giving out information to support a theory unsupported by existing information? Maybe it is time for Clapper, not his spokesman, to come testify as well.
We are reaching that point in the course of all scandals in which the participants fall into two camps — the honest public servants and whistleblowers, on one side, and the rest, who by omission or commission have helped deceive the public. History, not to mention U.S. attorneys, are not kind to the latter, most especially when they aren’t candid under oath. So now is the time for those in the State Department and the intelligence agencies to come clean, tell us who knew what when and let the chips fall where they may. Better to tell the story than have it told by others, don’t you think?
By   |  09:45 AM ET, 10/11/2012 


Former Military Team Chief Says Security at the U.S. Consulate in Libya Was Too Weak


Published on Oct 10, 2012 by VOAvideo

The House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee has held the first congressional hearing into the September 11, 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Republicans are criticizing the Obama administration for failing to provide adequate security and Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to politicize the tragedy. VOA Congressional Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Pope warns lapsed Catholics of "spiritual desertification"

Pope Benedict XVI (C) walks to the altar as he leads a mass to open the year of faith at the Vatican October 11, 2012. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
VATICAN CITY | Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:17am EDT

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict urged lapsed and lukewarm Roman Catholics on Thursday to rediscover their Church and stop the advance of "spiritual desertification".

The pope made his comments in the homily of a Mass before tens of thousands in St Peter's Square on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, a far-reaching event in the Church's 2,000-year history.

"Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual desertification," he said, opening a worldwide "Year of Faith". "We see it all around us ... the void has spread."

The mass was attended by hundreds of Roman Catholic bishops as well as representatives of other Christian churches, such as Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The bishops are in Rome for a synod, or conference, at the Vatican aimed at building a strategy to bring lapsed Catholics back to the faith.

The Vatican has termed this effort the "new evangelization" of the developed world and it has asked Catholics, particularly those who have left the Church, to look deep into their hearts and either rekindle their relationship with God or deepen it.

Local Catholic parishes around the world will hold events such as Bible studies, retreats, special Masses, community service events and discussion groups about the sacraments.

The pope urged Catholics to use these opportunities to rediscover "the thirst for God, the ultimate meaning of life".

The Church is suffering desertions from its practicing flock in former strongholds in Europe, North America and Latin America due to sex abuse scandals, increasing secularism, rival faiths and open dissent against Church teachings on homosexuality and its ban on a female priesthood.

"NEW EVANGELISATION"

The synod's working document speaks of the need to address the divergence between Catholic values and the reality of modern life in Europe and North America, and an "educational emergency" of children no longer being taught the faith.

Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council 50 years ago to bring the Church up to date with the modern world.

During the Council, which ended in 1965, nearly 3,000 bishops from more than 100 countries wrote 16 documents on various aspects of Church life and mission and urged more "collegiality," or sharing of responsibility, between the pope and bishops.

Among its innovations was the introduction of the Mass in local languages after centuries of it being said in Latin.

The Council also encouraged dialogue with, and respect for, other religions and repudiated the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus' death, revolutionizing Catholic-Jewish relations after 2,000 years of mistrust.

But 50 years on, the Council is divisive. Liberals in the Church say Benedict, who attended the Council as a young priest, has turned back the clock on some Council reforms and moved to centralize power in the Vatican again.

Conservatives praise him for correcting what they regard as errors in applying its ideas. For example, conservatives assert that the Council's push for dialogue with other religions went too far and weakened the traditional teaching that Catholicism is the one true faith.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Robert Woodward)

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril




Jennifer Waters's Consumer Confidential

Oct. 7, 2012, 2:00 p.m. EDT · CORRECTED


It could become illegal to resell your iPhone 4, car or family antiques

By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch

This update corrects the spelling of Georgetown Law School’s Jonathan Band.

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Tucked into the U.S. Supreme Court’s agenda this fall is a little-known case that could upend your ability to resell everything from your grandmother’s antique furniture to your iPhone 4.

At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture, as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.


A Supreme Court case could limit the resale of goods made overseas but sold in America.

Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.

Put simply, though Apple Inc. /quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL +0.80% has the copyright on the iPhone and Mark Owen has it on the book “No Easy Day,” you can still sell your copies to whomever you please whenever you want without retribution.

That’s being challenged now for products that are made abroad, and if the Supreme Court upholds an appellate court ruling, it would mean that the copyright holders of anything you own that has been made in China, Japan or Europe, for example, would have to give you permission to sell it.

“It means that it’s harder for consumers to buy used products and harder for them to sell them,” said Jonathan Band, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Association for Research Libraries. “This has huge consumer impact on all consumer groups.”

Another likely result is that it would hit you financially because the copyright holder would now want a piece of that sale.

It could be your personal electronic devices or the family jewels that have been passed down from your great-grandparents who immigrated from Spain. It could be a book that was written by an American writer but printed and bound overseas, or an Italian painter’s artwork.

There are implications for a variety of wide-ranging U.S. entities, including libraries, musicians, museums and even resale juggernauts eBay Inc./quotes/zigman/76117/quotes/nls/ebay EBAY +1.17% and Craigslist. U.S. libraries, for example, carry some 200 million books from foreign publishers.

“It would be absurd to say anything manufactured abroad can’t be bought or sold here,” said Marvin Ammori, a First Amendment lawyer and Schwartz Fellow at the New American Foundation who specializes in technology issues.

The case stems from Supap Kirtsaeng’s college experience. A native of Thailand, Kirtsaeng came to America in 1997 to study at Cornell University. When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the United States.

Click to Play

Better made in the U.S.A.

While American men's brands once prized European craftsmanship or appreciated low-cost production from the Far East, some of the best fashion now is made right here in the U.S. Martin Marks talks menswear. (Photo: AP)

In August 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that anything that was manufactured overseas is not subject to the first-sale principle. Only American-made products or “copies manufactured domestically” were.

“That’s a non-free-market capitalistic idea for something that’s pretty fundamental to our modern economy,” Ammori commented.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case on Oct. 29.

Both Ammori and Band worry that a decision in favor of the lower court would lead to some strange, even absurd consequences. For example, it could become an incentive for manufacturers to have everything produced overseas because they would be able to control every resale.

It could also become a weighty issue for auto trade-ins and resales, considering about 40% of most U.S.-made cars carry technology and parts that were made overseas.

This is a particularly important decision for the likes of eBay and Craigslist, whose very business platform relies on the secondary marketplace. If sellers had to get permission to peddle their wares on the sites, they likely wouldn’t do it.

Moreover, a major manufacturer would likely go to eBay to get it to pull a for-sale item off the site than to the individual seller, Ammori added.

In its friend-of-the-court brief, eBay noted that the Second Circuit’s rule “affords copyright owners the ability to control the downstream sales of goods for which they have already been paid.” What’s more, it “allows for significant adverse consequences for trade, e-commerce, secondary markets, small businesses, consumers and jobs in the United States.”

Ammori, for one, wonders what the impact would be to individual Supreme Court justices who may buy and sell things of their own. He himself once bought an antique desk from a Supreme Court justice. “Sometimes it’s impossible to tell where things have been manufactured,” he said. “Who doesn’t buy and sell things? Millions of Americans would be affected by this.”

If the Supreme Court does rule with the appellate court, it’s likely that the matter would be brought to Congress to force a change in law. Until then, however, consumers would be stuck between a rock and a hard place when trying to resell their stuff.


Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago.

Source
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Tropical Weather Outlook

TC Activity


Atlantic - Caribbean Sea - Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Weather Outlook (en Español*)
200 PM EDT WED OCT 10 2012
Tropical Weather Discussion
205 PM EDT WED OCT 10 2012
There are no tropical cyclones at this time.
*Spanish translations courtesy of the NWS San Juan Weather Forecast Office

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
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Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook


This product is updated at approximately 2 AM, 8 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM EDT from June 1 to November 30. Special outlooks may be issued as conditions warrant.
Place your mouse cursor over areas of interest for more informationArchived Outlooks
GIS data:  .shp
ZCZC MIATWOAT ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
200 PM EDT WED OCT 10 2012

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

1. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED
ABOUT 500 MILES EAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS HAVE CHANGED LITTLE IN
ORGANIZATION TODAY. SOME GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM IS
POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS IT MOVES WEST-
NORTHWESTWARD AT AROUND 15 MPH TOWARD THE LESSER ANTILLES. THIS
SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM CHANCE...30 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT...GUSTY
WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE IN PORTIONS OF THE LESSER
ANTILLES DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. 

2. A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES EAST
OF THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS HAS BECOME A LITTLE BETTER DEFINED THIS
AFTERNOON. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE ONLY MARGIANALLY CONDUCIVE
FOR DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO BEFORE THE LOW MERGES
WITH A FRONT THURSDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW
CHANCE...10 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS AS IT MOVES LITTLE. 

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.

$$
FORECASTER CANGIALOSI
NNNN

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo_atl.shtml
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Regimini militantis Ecclesiae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Fresco of Approving of bylaw of Society of Jesus depicting Ignatius of Loyola receiving the papal bull Regimini militantis Ecclesiae from Pope Paul III. Fresco was made by Johann Christoph Handke in Church of Our Lady Of the Snow in Olomouc after 1743.


Society of Jesus



History of the Jesuits
Regimini militantis
Suppression

Jesuit Hierarchy
Superior General
Adolfo Nicolás

Ignatian Spirituality
Spiritual Exercises
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
Magis

Notable Jesuits
St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Francis Xavier
Blessed Peter Faber
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
St. Robert Bellarmine
St. Peter Canisius
St. Edmund Campion


Regimini militantis Ecclesiae (Latin for To the Government of the Church Militant) was the papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on September 27, 1540, which gave a first approval to the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, but limited the number of its members to sixty. The first group of Jesuits, then known simply as "reformed priests", proceeded then to elect Saint Ignatius of Loyola as their Superior General, against his opposition, and pledged him obedience, recognizing him as "holding the place of God" in relation to them.

Ignatius of Loyola and his companions had made their way to Rome in October 1538, to offer their priestly services to the Pope. As they were about to be dispersed by the various missions given them by the Pope, the question arose as to whether they wished to remain spiritually "one". After prayer and discussion they decided positively, as Christ had brought them together, they felt it was His will they remain united. A charter was proposed to the Pope, which was received favourably and ultimately given solemn approval in this Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae of 1540. The final approval, with the removal of the restriction on the membership number, came in the bull Exposcit debitum (en: The duty requires ...) of July 21, 1550, issued by Pope Julius III.

The papal text includes what is known as the Formula Instituti. Later on, more developed Constitutions were written and approved by the first General Chapter (called "General Congregation") of the Society of Jesus, called in 1558 to elect the successor of Ignatius of Loyola.

Full text

The full, critically edited Latin text is to be found in the Monumenta Historica Societatis Iesu (MHSI), Constitutiones, vol.1, Rome, 1934, pp. 24-32. Also in Reich, Documents, pp. 216-219, and a condensed version in Robinson, European History, ii. 161-165.


This article related to an official document of the Catholic Church is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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Number of Protestant Americans Is in Steep Decline, Study Finds




Chris Bergin for The New York Times
A cross-shaped window inside South Calvary Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Ind.



By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: October 9, 2012

For the first time since researchers began tracking the religious identity of Americans, fewer than half said they were Protestants, a steep decline from 40 years ago when Protestant churches claimed the loyalty of more than two-thirds of the population.


A new study released on Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that it was not just liberal mainline Protestants, like Methodists or Episcopalians, who abandoned their faith, but also more conservative evangelical and “born again” Protestants. The losses were among white Protestants, but not among black or minority Protestants, the study found, based on surveys conducted during the summer.

When they leave, instead of switching churches, they join the growing ranks who do not identify with any religion. Nearly one in five Americans say they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”

This is a significant jump from only five years ago, when adults who claimed “no religion” made up about 15 percent of the population. It is a seismic shift from 40 years ago, when about 7 percent of American adults said they had no religious affiliation.

Now, more than one-third of those ages 18 to 22 are religiously unaffiliated. These “younger millennials” are replacing older generations who remained far more involved with religion throughout their lives.

“We really haven’t seen anything like this before,” said Gregory A. Smith, a senior researcher with the Pew Forum. “Even when the baby boomers came of age in the early ’70s, they were half as likely to be unaffiliated as compared with young people today.”

The “Nones,” as they are called, now make up the nation’s second-largest religious grouping. The largest single faith group is Catholics, who make up about 22 percent of the population. Their numbers have held steady, mostly because an influx of immigrants has replaced the many Catholics who were raised in the church and left in the last five years, Mr. Smith said.

The rise in people who claim no religion is likely to have political consequences, said Phil Zuckerman, a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College in Southern California.

“The significant majority of the religiously unaffiliated tend to be left-leaning, tend to support the Democratic Party, support gay marriage and environmental causes,” he said.

The Pew report offers several theories to explain the rise of the religiously unaffiliated. One theory is that the young adults grew disillusioned with organized religion when evangelical Protestant and Catholic churches became so active in conservative political causes, like opposition to homosexuality and abortion.

Another theory is that the shift merely reflects a broader trend away from social and community involvement, the phenomenon dubbed “bowling alone” by Robert D. Putnam, a public policy professor at Harvard University.

Another explanation is that the United States is simply following the trend toward secularization already seen in many economically developed countries, like Australia and Canada and some in Europe.

The United States has always been the great exception to this secularizing trend, and it is not clear that Americans are necessarily moving toward the European model.

The Pew report found that even among Americans who claimed no religion, few qualified as purely secular. Two-thirds say they still believe in God, and one-fifth say they pray every day. Only 12 percent of the religiously unaffiliated group said they were atheists and 17 percent agnostic.

The Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, who has chronicled religious statistics for years as the editor of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, has observed this complexity.

She said, “There will be lots of people who read this study and go: ‘Oh no, this is terrible! What’s it doing to our culture?’ I would, as a social scientist and a pastor, urge caution.

“A lot of the younger people are very spotty in their attendance at worship, but if we have a mission project, they’re here,” said Ms. Lindner, the pastor of a Presbyterian church in New Jersey. “They run the soup kitchens, they build the houses in Habitat for Humanity.”

They may not come on Sundays, she said, but they have not abandoned their faith.


A version of this article appeared in print on October 10, 2012, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: Study Finds That the Number of Protestant Americans Is in Steep Decline.

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Andrews University Press Releases Book on Issues of Homosexuality

First major title from an Adventist publishing house on the subject (Posted September 19, 2012)

Andrews University Press has just released the first major book from a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house addressing the complex issues surrounding homosexuality and Adventist life and faith.

Niels-Erik Andreasen, president of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and chair of the Andrews University Press board, said the topic of this book is timely and needed. “Recent developments in our faith community, religious organizations, American politics, and secular society require careful thought on this sensitive subject. Andrews University is pleased to help sort out some of these issues by bringing together a range of perspectives on this subject within our church.”

Titled Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church: Biblical, Counseling, and Religious Liberty Issues, the nearly 600-page book was released in early August. It is a collection of 14 major essays on a range of topics, and an additional six personal testimonies from individuals who have struggled with homosexuality in their personal lives. The content of the book, including the testimonies, is material largely based on presentations at a conference on the same subject held at Andrews University and sponsored by various entities of the Adventist Church in October 2009.


“Much as it might like to, the church can no longer evade questions about homosexuality and same-sex marriage,” says Nicholas P. Miller, lead editor of the work, along with Roy E. Gane and H. Peter Swanson, all of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews. “Society, with increasing stridency, is forcing Christians to confront these topics,” Miller says.

Miller points to the several states whose legislatures have enacted same-sex marriage provisions, sometimes against the convictions of their own citizens. He notes that this fall at least two states, Maryland and Washington, will have referendums on election ballots, initiated by citizens seeking to overturn the same-sex marriage laws recently enacted.

“Consider the strange controversy and apparent outrage that erupted when the owner of a national fast-food chain recently expressed his support for traditional marriage,” Miller said. “It was the same position held until very recently by the president of the United States. And the media-driven reaction is an indication of how efforts are being made to shift public sentiment on this issue. Meanwhile, a film documentary affirming the gay lifestyle among Adventists is being heavily promoted by some within the church. Through all of this Adventists must have a clear understanding of all the issues at stake, and they are significant.

Ronald Knott, director of Andrews University Press, notes that along with the biblical and religious liberty issues, the book makes a passionate case for the highest level of pastoral love and support for those Christians who, he said, “may have been lured down a dangerous spiritual path by charming but false arguments from Scripture and political history, coming from outside and inside the church.”

Following a preface and general introduction, various essays and articles are divided into four sections. The first addresses the Old and New Testament biblical material on homosexuality, with articles by Gane, Richard Davidson, and Miroslav Kis, all of Andrews, and Robert A. J. Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The second section addresses legal and religious liberty issues, with essays by Miller, Alan J. Reinach from the Pacific Union Conference, Gerald Chipeur, a partner with the Canadian law firm Miller Thompson LLP, Scot Zentner from Cal State, San Bernadino, and Gary Wood from Andrews University. The counseling section features articles by Stanton Jones of Wheaton College, Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, Carlos Fayard of Loma Linda University, and Inge Anderson, founder of a ministry to homosexuals. The fourth section includes personal testimonies from several Christians who have lived and struggled with homosexuality. An appendix reproduces the various official statements relevant to homosexuality issued through the years by the Adventist Church.

In addition to his teaching responsibility as associate professor of church history at Andrews, Miller is also director of the university’s International Religious Liberty Institute. On October 6 the institute will sponsor a daylong forum on the political, religious, and social issues regarding same-sex marriage. The event will be held at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Spencerville, Maryland. The forum, planned in the context of Maryland’s ballot referendum to overturn the state’s same-sex marriage law, will draw attention to the issues and to the new book, and will feature panel discussions and a sermon on Adventists and social issues by Bill Knott, editor and executive publisher of Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines.

Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church is available through Adventist Book Centers, and online at Amazon.comand Andrews University Press.

Andrews University Press is the only regularly established academic publishing house to serve the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.

—information supplied by Andrews University

Copyright © 2012, Adventist Review

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Adventist Churches in Maryland Discuss the State’s Same-sex Marriage Initiative



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Submitted: Oct 4, 2012
By AT News Team

In November voters in the state of Maryland will be asked to vote on a measure that would permit marriage between two partners of the same sex. There are more than 40,000 members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the state, although at least 10 percent of these are likely not of voting age.
 
This Sabbath (October 5 and 6) two Adventist churches in the Washington DC area will be hosting presentations and discussions on the topic of homosexuality, according to Claude Steen, editor of an independent newsletter for pastors and educators on the needs of lesbian and gay church members. The ballot measure has sparked wide interest among Adventists.
 
The new documentary Seventh-Gay Adventists will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Capital Memorial Church in Washington DC. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with several Adventists from a variety of professions and viewpoints. The meeting is part of the regular First Friday series organized by Adventist young adults in the metropolitan area where the denomination’s world headquarters is located.
 
The question of how Adventists should respond to that ballot initiative is part of the focus of a day-long forum on Saturday at the Spencerville Church. At 11:15 a.m. Bill Knott, editor of the Adventist Review will preach and in the afternoon a panel will present the denomination’s traditional position on homosexuality. The event is being organized by Nicholas Miller, a lawyer and a faculty member in the seminary at Andrews University. He is also one of the editors of the nearly 600-page book published in August by Andrews University Press entitled Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church. The event will defend Adventist doctrine and explore the threat to religious liberty posed by changing societal attitudes towards homosexuality.
 
The weekend represents a departure for Adventist churches in that what has long been a taboo subject will be openly discussed. Daneen Akers, who with her husband Stephen Eyer, produced the film Seventh-Gay Adventists, said that the documentary “follows the stories of three gay and lesbian Adventists as they struggle to be true to themselves and their faith. This intersection of faith and sexuality is at the core of many political, religious, and family conversations today, and the film offers viewers the opportunity to experience the spiritual journey of a gay person of faith. [It] isn't about changing anyone's beliefs; it's just about listening to a demographic that is talked about and at but seldom within our church.”
 
Capitol Memorial Church is located at 3150 Chesapeake Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20008. More information on the Friday evening meeting is available on the Facebook page of Metro Area Adventist Young Adults:http://www.facebook.com/pages/MAAYA-Ministry-First-Fridays/279997310352
 
Spencerville Church is located at 16325 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905. More information about the symposium on Sabbath is at:  http://www.spencervillesda.org/

Source
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Pastor Marilyn Scott - Praying through Grief - Let's Pray




00:58:28 hrs

Losing a spouse is without a doubt one of the most difficult things any of us could ever go through. Pastor Scott shares how losing her husband quickly changed her life -- including her prayer life. And how God restored her to ministry for Him. Pastor Marilyn Scott is Associate Pastor for Children and Women's Ministries at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Tuesday, October 09, 2012

He has called them to expose the wickedness of the man of sin

 

All need wisdom carefully to search out the mystery of iniquity that figures so largely in the winding up of this earth’s history.... In the very time in which we live, the Lord has called His people and has given them a message to bear. He has called them to expose the wickedness of the man of sin who has made the Sunday law a distinctive power, who has thought to change times and laws, and to oppress the people of God who stand firmly to honor Him by keeping the only true Sabbath, the Sabbath of creation, as holy unto the Lord.

Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p.118
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Pakistani girl shot over activism in Swat valley, claims Taliban

Malala Yousafzai, 14, attacked for championing education for girls and highlighting Taliban atrocities, says group

Jon Boone in Islamabad
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 9 October 2012 09.25 EDT


Malala Yousafzai receives the National Youth Peace Prize from Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani. Photograph: EPA


A 14-year old Pakistani activist who championed education for girls has been shot in the head by a Taliban gunman.

The attack on Malala Yousafzai, who became famous for highlighting Taliban atrocities, happened as she sat in a bus preparing to leave the school grounds in Mingora, the main city in the Swat valley which was the scene of intense fighting between the army and the Taliban in 2009.

At least one other girl was also hurt in the attack on Tuesday that a Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, quickly claimed the group was responsible for.

He said the teenager's work had been an "obscenity" that needed to be stopped: "This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter."

Doctors said the gunshot wounds to her head and neck were serious and that she might have to be moved to a larger hospital in Islamabad or Peshawar.

Fazal Maula Zahid, a member of Swat Qaumi Jirga, a local anti-Taliban group working for peace in the valley, said the gunman had asked which of the girls was Malala.

One of the girls pointed to Malala, but the activist denied it was her. The gunman shot both of the girls.

"An attack on Malala in a highly secured area has sent a shiver down the spine of Swati people," Zahid said.

"It has also created doubts about the claims of the authorities that militants have been flushed out from Swat."

Malala won fame in 2009 during the Pakistani army operations to crush a Taliban insurgency that had taken hold in the Swat valley, an area popular among Pakistani tourists three hours drive from Islamabad.

As part of her campaign for girls' education she wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC about the chaos at the time, including the burning of girls' schools.

Her efforts were recognised by Pakistan's prime minister who awarded her the country's first National Peace award and a reward of around £3,300 after she missed out on winning the International Children's Peace Prize for which she was nominated in 2011.

She had also spoken of her desire to set up her own political party and a vocational institute for marginalised girls in her area.

But all the publicity displeased the Pakistani Taliban, which had put her and her family on its "hit list" for backing "the imposition of secular" government in Swat.

The attack in the army-dominated Mingora has led some to question government claims that the military has dismantled the militants' operation in Swat.

"We are holding urgent meeting of our Jirga to chalk out a future strategy," said Zahid. "We demand of the government to arrest the attackers [otherwise] the confidence of the people in the government will greatly be shaken."

Zahid Khan, another Quami Jirga activist who was attacked earlier in the year, said the authorities were not doing enough.

"More than 20 people have been killed in militant attacks after the army finished its operations but all the army does is protect itself and government buildings," he said. "It seems that innocent civilians are once again are at the mercy of miscreants."

Also on Tuesday a case before the supreme court highlighted other problems faced by women when justices ordered an investigation into the alleged barter of seven girls to settle a blood feud in a remote district in south west Pakistan.

Chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry began proceedings into the allegations, which were first reported in the local media. The alleged trade happened in the Dera Bugti district of Baluchistan province between two groups within the Bugti tribe.

A tribal council ordered the barter in early September, the district deputy commissioner, Saeed Faisal, told the court. He did not know the girls' ages but local media reported they were between four and 13.

Chaudhry ordered Faisal to make sure that all members of the tribal council appear in court on Wednesday, as well as a local lawmaker who belongs to one of the two subtribes believed involved in the incident.

The tradition of families exchanging unmarried girls to settle feuds is banned under Pakistani law but still practiced in the country's more conservative, tribal areas.


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Why we are all Catholics now


Posted at 10:55 PM ET, 02/19/2012



Beck meets the newly elevated Cardinal Timothy Dolan in the Vatican.
I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but today, I call myself a Catholic. Why? Because the state is telling the Catholic Church to violate its principles and teachings. So if you are a person of faith, you must call yourself a Catholic.
Today, the Catholic Church is defending a historic American freedom. We tend to forget that many of America’s earliest European settlers were religious refugees. Europe was not a kind place to the faithful if the state didn’t approve: Jews in Spain, Puritans in England, Protestants in France and so on. You were cast out, or worse.
Our Founding Fathers remembered this. They knew if you can’t serve God as you choose, you are not free. And so they enshrined that right in the First Amendment of the Constitution: The state “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
This is why Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House that would force church-run institutions to pay for birth control and morning-after pills, which are tantamount to abortion. The so-called compromise is no compromise – under government-approved health insurance plans that the church pays for, abortifacients would be covered. Sin by proxy – that’s the compromise.
This isn’t a fight over abortion or birth control. This is about whether the state can force someone to pay to have their religious beliefs violated.
Many people – including those who use contraception and abortion – respect those whose faith teaches them that God wants them to do or not do certain things. They recognize such faith in themselves. Some people don’t drink alcohol. Some don’t eat pork. Some people wear a hijab. Some work in soup kitchens. Some tithe 10 percent of their income. All because God tells them to.
That is what a conscience is – a belief in a higher power, greater than the state, greater than any man. That makes religious people a danger to the state – and a powerful force for change. Religious people stood against slavery. They stood against injustice. And today, they stand against a culture of death and a culture of hatred. On July 28, in Dallas, I will convene a meeting of the faithful – all faithful – to celebrate life and restore love.
Because when the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith – exotic or familiar – we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now.
This is a broad struggle. I have met many Catholic friends, including high-ranking church leaders last weekend at the Vatican. I told them this struggle is similar to the fight against anti-Semitism. They understand, and they agree. To them, this fight is everything. And there will be no compromise.
Perhaps this is a hard line. But when it comes to the separation of church and state, we need absolutes. The state needs to be free from the church, and the church from the state. The state has no right to say how much religion any American can practice. It’s our right, and it is the first one our Founding Fathers protected.
By Glenn Beck  |  10:55 PM ET, 02/19/2012 

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