Thursday, December 27, 2012

Congress Moves Forward On Bill Without Protection From NDAA, Indefinite Detention Of Americans

Published On: Wed, Dec 19th, 2012

By Brandon Jones




Congress stripped a provision Tuesday from a defense bill that aimed to shield Americans from the possibility of being imprisoned indefinitely without trial by the military. The provision was replaced with a passage that appears to give citizens little protection from indefinite detention.



The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 was added by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), but there was no similar language in the version of the bill that passed the House, and it was dumped from the final bill released Tuesday after a conference committee from both chambers worked out a unified measure.

“I was saddened and disappointed that we could not take a step forward to ensure at the very least American citizens and legal residents could not be held in detention without charge or trial,” Feinstein said. “To me that was a no-brainer.”

It declared that “An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States apprehended in the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention.”

The provision sparked a heated debate in the Senate, but ultimately passed by a wide majority with both supporters and opponents of U.S. terrorist detention practices voting for it, citing differing interpretations.

Feinstein offered the amendment to clarify a part of the 2012 NDAA that for the first time codified the ability of the military and White House to detain terrorism suspects.

The White House had threatened to veto both the House and Senate versions over numerous other provisions included in the legislation. Among them were restrictions on the executive’s ability to transfer prisoners from the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he hoped the changes to the 2013 measure would be sufficient to win Obama’s signature.

“You’ll have to ask them, but again, I can’t predict what they will do. I think we made some significant changes, we worked very closely with Sec. Panetta and the Pentagon. It wasn’t as if we were doing all these things on our own,” McCain said.

Liberty minded groups, like the Tenth Amendment Center, continued to call for State nullification.

“A liberty minded governor and legislature would move immediately to nullify this in their State. The AG would be directed to instruct all State LEO to arrest any federal agent attempting to implement kidnapping. Sheriffs should also inform all federal agencies NDAA is illegal and perpetrators subject to arrest. Any federal operations in our Counties are subject to Sheriff approval or they must cease. That’s how it should be done,” Andrew Nappi of Florida’s Tenth Amendment said in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.


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The Old Prophet of Bethel




1 Kings 13: 1-32: 2 Kings 23: 17, 18.

Hamilton Smith.

The events recorded in the Thirteenth chapter of the First Book of Kings transpired in a day when the nation of Israel was falling into apostacy. For this reason they have special significance, and warning, for believers whose lot, as in the present day, is cast in the midst of a corrupt Christendom fast moving on to the great apostacy.

The story unfolded is mainly concerned with three persons — King Jeroboam, "a man of God out of Judah," and "an old prophet in Bethel."

Jeroboam had received a definite word from God through the prophet Ahijah, that he should reign over the ten tribes of Israel; and, he was told, that if he would hearken unto God's commands, walk in God's ways, and keep the statutes and commandments of the LORD, God would be with him and establish his house. Alas! when Jeroboam came to the throne, instead of depending upon God and His word he sought to establish his kingdom by his own devices. Having no faith in God he fell back on natural reason, and human schemes to keep the professing people of God together. So acting, he sealed the doom of his kingdom by setting up two golden calves, and saving to the people, "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kings 12: 28). One calf he set in Bethel and the other in Dan. The solemn result was the people became worshippers of these false gods, "sacrificing unto the calves;" and were thus led into apostacy. Bethel, where Jacob had set up a pillar as a witness to God's unconditional promise of blessing to the seed of Jacob, and God's unchanging faithfulness to His own word, becomes the witness to man's sin and apostacy. Through their leaders the enemy had succeeded in undermining the people's confidence in God and thus separating them from Him.

God, however, raised up a witness against this fearful evil. He sent a man of God out of Judah to Bethel to condemn the wickedness of Jeroboam. "By the word of the LORD," this man was enlightened as to the evil in Bethel. He learnt that this evil was so abhorrent to God that the day was soon coming when God would deal with it in judgment (v. 1, 2). He was directed by sign and word to witness against the evil (v. 3). He was specially warned against weakening his testimony by associating with the evil. He was to deliver his message, give his sign, and then depart. On no account was he to eat bread, or drink water, at Bethel, nor was he to turn again by the same way that he came. He was to have no fellowship with the false position of those who, while professing to be the people of God, were walking in disobedience to the word of the LORD (v. 9, 10).

With great faithfulness the man of God delivers his message and gives the sign, which comes to pass. The enraged king charges his servants to lay hold of the man of God, who is silent in the presence of threats and acts in interceding grace when God smites the man by whom he is threatened. Finally he is proof against the king's offer of rewards, and, in obedience to the word of the LORD, firmly refuses to eat or drink at Bethel.

In all these ways the man of God faithfully discharges his mission, and yet withal in a spirit of grace, while firmly refusing to be drawn into association with evil.

Passing on to the latter part of this instructive story, we find that faithfulness to the word of the LORD is put to a further and yet severer test. This portion of the story is introduced with the significant words: — "Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel" (v. 11). In the very place of the evil that the man of God was sent to denounce, and with which the LORD said he was not to have any association by eating or drinking — in this place, a brother prophet had found his dwelling. He was truly a prophet, and was aware of the evil, but, dwelling in a wrong association he not only was unable to witness against it, but actually put his sanction upon it. It is through this "brother" and "prophet" that the obedience of the man of God is put to the test. It is a severe test, for not only could this old man plead that he was a brother and a prophet, but he could plead the experience of age. Moreover, he shows much gracious hospitality to a weary and hungry brother. "Come home," he says, "with me, and eat bread." Above all he claims that an angel had given him "the word of the LORD" to bring the man of God back to his house.

To refuse such an appeal would appear to be putting a slight upon a brother prophet. It would also have the appearance of disrespect for old age, it would look like indifference to brotherly kindness that was so ready to show hospitality. Above all it would have the appearance of ignoring the direct word of the LORD by an angel. Yet the story clearly shows that behind all these specious reasons that nature might plead, there was the effort of the enemy to undermine the word of the Lord by involving the man of God in a wrong association.

How does the man of God act in the presence of this strong and subtle temptation? Alas! apparently on the plea of respect for old age, response to brotherly kindness, fellowship with a fellow-servant, and professed obedience to the word of the LORD, though this communication of the old prophet plainly invalidated and contradicted his first instructions from God, he allowed himself to be drawn into a wrong association by disobedience to them. An old prophet may alas! become a deceiver and seduce one from loyalty and obedience.

It is easy to see how serious was this disobedience to the word of God.

First, in turning back to eat and drink with the old prophet at Bethel, the man of God put his sanction on an association which God's word condemned.

Secondly, he put his sanction upon the unfaithfulness of the old prophet in living in such an association.

Thirdly, he nullified his own testimony by sanctioning the very evil against which he was sent to witness.

What, we may ask, should have kept the man of God from falling into this snare? His own word gives the answer, for he confesses, "So was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest." Evidently, then, his safe-guard against every effort to draw him into a false association was unswerving obedience to the word of God. In reference to this scene one has truly said, "Whenever God has made His will known to us, we are not to allow any after influence whatever to call it in question, even although the latter may take the form of the word of God . . . In every case our part is to obey what He has said."

If the word of God charged him not to eat and drink at Bethel, in spite of the fact that a brother prophet was dwelling there, was the man of God to turn back and eat and drink because a brother prophet was at Bethel? If his eye had been single would he not have discerned why the word of God so strictly forbad him to associate with the old prophet? How was it that, when God was denouncing evil at Bethel, He has to send a prophet from Judah, seeing there was already a prophet at Bethel? Does not this action tell us that the old prophet at Bethel was not himself separate from evil, and therefore not a vessel fit and meet for the Master's use?

Being in a false position the old prophet was ready to go to great lengths to get the man of God to sanction his unfaithfulness by associating with it. Alas! the man of God fell into the snare and destroyed his own testimony by associating with one who, while admitting the evil, yet bore with it.

Thus, as it has been truly said, of this man of God, "He is proof against temptation when presented in the form of evil, and he falls when tempted by apparent good. The voice of a brother, his standing and reputation, are honoured above the word of God. He disobeys God and accredits a lie in his brother . . . He triumphed over the opposition of the world without, and is seduced into unfaithfulness by a brother within." By abstaining from eating and drinking with the king he took God's part against the evil: by returning to eat and drink with the old prophet he took his part in associating with it.

The last part of the story (verses 20 to 32) clearly shows that God is not indifferent to the unfaithfulness of the old prophet nor the failure of the man of God. In the governmental ways of God both come under His chastening.

The old prophet is justly punished inasmuch as God compels him to expose his own duplicity by pronouncing judgment upon the man of God. As to the man of God, he has to learn that, if he regards the word of his brother more than the word of God, the very one by whom he has been drawn into disobedience will be the instrument in God's hand for exposing his sin.

The severity of the judgment that overtakes the man of God clearly shows how deeply God resented his disobedience.

The LORD had given this man of God great light as to the evil of Bethel and His abhorrence of it, and the judgment that was coming upon it. Great honour had been put upon him in being used as a witness against the evil. God had plainly warned him against being entangled in a false association. In spite of light, and privilege, and warning he allowed himself to be drawn into a false association with the result that in spite of all former faithfulness, and boldness. his career as a witness for God is closed on earth. It is no small matter to disregard the word of God and sin against the light.

Nevertheless we are permitted to see that if God, in His holiness, has to chasten His people for their failure and unfaithfulness, yet He is not unrighteous to forget any work or labour of love that has been shown toward His Name. So it comes to pass that three hundred and fifty years after these events. when Josiah carries out the word of the Lord. by the man of God, and burns the bones of the false prophets, he spares the sepulchre of the man of God who came from Judah and the old prophet of Bethel. Through their unfaithfulness, the people of God may come under His chastening: but, through the faithfulness of God they will not share in the judgment that overtakes the world (2 Kings 23: 15-18).

In seeking to apply the lessons of this striking story, we do well to remember three great facts:-

First, in the day in which we live there has been, by the grace of God, a recovery of the great truths concerning Christ and the Church as revealed in the word of God.

Secondly, in the light of the recovery of the truth many have had their eyes opened to see how far Christendom has departed from the truth. Like the man out of Judah, we see that, as it was in Israel, so in Christendom, the corrupt condition of the professing mass is leading to apostacy and judgment.

Thirdly, with our eyes opened to see the departure from the truth, we have also been enlightened as to God's mind for the individual believer in relation to the corruption of Christendom. We have learned that the knowledge of the truth on the one hand, and the corruption of Christendom on the other, demands entire separation from that which is a denial of the truth and is coming under the judgment of God.

Christendom has organized itself into a number of systems and denominations which form a religion established on earth, having a human order of priests between the people and God — a religion suited to man in the flesh. Such a religion was Judaism, and such Christendom has become. God calls this system "the Camp," and from such, true believers are exhorted "To go forth ... unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach" (Heb. 12: 13),

Moreover, we read, "Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity," and, again, we are to "purge" ourselves from vessels to dishonour, and "flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2: 19-22).

Thus the word of God makes it very clear that in a day of ruin the separation to which we are called is both ecclesiastical and personal. Alas! there may be one without the other. We may be truly separate from the ecclesiastical evil and yet fail in personal holiness. Or there may be personal separation, as in the church at Sardis where there were a few names which had not defiled their garments, but no separation from a lifeless and condemned ecclesiastical system. True separation to Christ combines both. And, as in the days of the man of God from Judah, so in ours, the power of our testimony will be in proportion to the reality of our separation.

This being so, those who have gone without the Camp unto Christ will find, as with the man of God from Judah, all the efforts of the enemy will be directed to marring their testimony by once again drawing them into associations condemned by the word of God. To gain his ends the devil employs today the same devices by which he sought to encompass the downfall of the man of God. First, he will seek to entangle us in false associations by some worldly advantage that the association may offer, even as he sought to entice the man of God into disobedience to the word of God by the King's rewards. Secondly, having failed to turn us aside by this device he will endeavour to do so by the much more subtle device of a fellow Christian in a false position.

Many, like the man of God of old, may firmly reject the first device only to fall by the second. We may see that the association is condemned by the word of God, and one, if there were no Christians in it, that we should have nothing to do with. This being so we may well ask ourselves, Are we right in going back into a false association under the plea that Christians are there? If God calls us out of the Camp, in spite of some remaining in the Camp, can it be right to return to the Camp because they are there?

Nevertheless the appeal to go back often comes with great force and under many specious pleas. Brotherly love, old friendships, the desire to help the Lord's people and strengthen the things that remain, may all be used as reasons for going back into associations condemned by the word of God. Moreover, we have the flesh in us, and at times the call to go back may flatter the vanity and self-importance of the natural heart. Nor can we shut our eyes to the fact that the brother. who seeks to draw us back, also has the flesh in him, and, as with the old prophet of Bethel, may seek to draw us into a wrong association with the low motive of seeking to justify himself in that false position.

The fact that we have left associations condemned by the word of God, is in itself a testimony against them. To go back is to annul our testimony and, in principle, build again the things we have destroyed.

Moreover, we may well ask, Does the brother by going back into a false association really help the Christians in the false position? Or, will he by so doing deliver such from a false association? It is evident that the man of God by eating and drinking at Bethel in disobedience to the word of God, neither helped the old prophet nor delivered him from his false position

Furthermore, by going back into wrong associations are we not in danger of not only destroying our testimony against the evil, but also, like the man of God from Judah, ending our career as a witness for the truth?

It is only as we walk in unswerving obedience to the word of God, that we shall escape the devices of the enemy to draw us back into the wrong position. Let us then seek that the word may have its absolute authority over our souls, and be content to take the outside path with all its obscurity, content if the Lord can say of us, "Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word and hast not denied My Name" (Rev. 3: 8). H. S.

STEM Publishing: Hamilton Smith: The Old Prophet of Bethel.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Catholic Church’s angry Christmas


WEDNESDAY, DEC 26, 2012 03:16 PM EST

After the pope denounces gay marriage, in a bizarre holiday message, the Church goes on the attack for "life"

BY MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

(Credit: AP/Shawn Pogatchnik)


For the holidays this year, the Catholic Church chose to give the world the gift of bizarre, alienating and utterly missing the point rhetoric. Oh, you shouldn’t have! We already got one of those from the NRA!

First, Pope Benedict XVI used his annual holiday message to the Vatican to denounce gay and lesbian progress as a “manipulation of nature” and an “attack” on the family. Now, Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate of all Ireland, has used the galvanizing death of a pregnant woman in a Galway hospital as an excuse to double down on anti-abortion rhetoric. Guys, maybe next year you could ask Santa for a sense of timing and a pair of ears that aren’t tone-deaf.

The harrowing, cruel experience of Savita Halappanavar, who died of septicaemia in October, has provoked unprecedented national outrage. Her widower alleges her doctors wouldn’t intervene to save her life while her fetus still had a heartbeat, on the excuse that “This is a Catholic country.” Now, following a wave of public protests and an advisory from the European Court of Human Rights, Ireland, the only European Union nation that still outlaws abortion, has begun the delicate process of loosening its restrictions. Earlier this month, Minister of Health James Reilly announced the government is introducing new laws that will permit abortion when the life of the mother is at risk. The new regulations will still be plenty restrictive – a mere risk to the mother’s health will still not be sufficient to obtain an abortion, and Reilly assures that the changes will “clarify what is legal for the professionals who must provide care while at all times taking full account of the equal right to life of the unborn child.”


Yet at a moment when a minute move toward preventing more women from dying in agony is finally on the table, Brady took the opportunity to deliver a Christmas message about “life” to the people of Ireland, urging, “No government has the right to remove that right from an innocent person.” In case you’re wondering, it’s not the innocent life of Savita Halappanavar he’s referencing here.

Nobody expects the Catholic Church to do a sudden, swift about-face on the topic of abortion. But instead of trying to whip up the masses with some phony-baloney rhetoric about honoring life, Brady – or any other Irish priest with an ounce of true courage – could have spoken out with compassion about a tragic loss. He could have extended condolences to her family. He could have mentioned that while the Church opposes abortion even to save the life of a mother – Pope Pius XI famously, chillingly declared that “However we may pity the mother whose health and even life is imperiled by the performance of her natural duty, there yet remains no sufficient reason for condoning the direct murder of the innocent” – it does however clearly insist “physicians must do everything in their power to save both the mother and the child.” In other words, you can’t just sit back and let a woman die.

In fact, even if you’re sticking strictly with the letter of Catholic law, doctors are permitted to intervene to save a mother in any ways that aren’t what is known in the Catechism of the Catholic church as “direct abortion.” If a fetus doesn’t survive as a result of a necessary procedure – for instance a lifesaving removal of a fallopian tube – that’s not contrary to doctrine. That’s why, even while the investigation into the death of Halappanavar is still going on, it’s really not difficult to imagine, in a country that valued women’s lives at least as much as it values fetuses, a situation where doctors could in good conscience have done a whole lot more to save her, even while allowing for the possibility that their actions might result in the loss of the baby.

So why aren’t the likes of Brady talking about that? Why, as their nation is inching slowing toward an acknowledgment that it’s pretty much the opposite of respecting life to let women suffer and die over a non-viable pregnancy, why isn’t Catholic leadership speaking out with, at the barest minimum, a clarification of existing doctrine? A reminder that doctors have an obligation not just toward fetuses but mothers? A message of respect toward women? Instead, Brady, in his willful, insulting abuse of a holiday message, told his flock that “Public representatives will be asked to decide whether a caring and compassionate society is defined by providing the best possible care and protection to a woman struggling to cope with an unwanted pregnancy or by the deliberate destruction of another human life.”

In a speech about life, he cravenly didn’t mention Halappanavar’s name. In a message of compassion, he ignored the lack of compassion that led to an avoidable death. Instead he said, “I hope that everyone who believes that the right to life is fundamental will make their voice heard in a reasonable, but forthright, way to their representatives.” I hope so too. And I hope when they do, they remember the name of Savita Halappanavar.




Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of "Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." Follow her on Twitter: @embeedub.



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Heated Debate on Gun Control after Connecticut Mass Shooting - Piers Morgan



hi5viralnews1

Published on Dec 18, 2012

Heated Debate on Gun Control after Connecticut Mass
shooting - Piers Morgan
"You're An Unbelievably STUPID Man Aren't You!" Piers Morgan To Pro-Gun Guest
"You're An Unbelievably STUPID Man Aren't You!" Piers Morgan To Pro-Gun Guest
CNN Piers Morgan continues his fight on gun control
...

Related:

Source: Wikipedia

Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East


Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report.



The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam Photo: ALAMY



By Edward Malnick

7:20AM GMT 23 Dec 2012




The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than any other religious group.


And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.


The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”.


It warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran and risk severe legal penalties in other countries across the Middle East.


The report, by the think tank Civitas, says: “It is generally accepted that many faith-based groups face discrimination or persecution to some degree.

"A far less widely grasped fact is that Christians are targeted more than any other body of believers.”

It cites estimates that 200 million Christians, or 10 per cent of Christians worldwide, are “socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs.”

“Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood,” says the author, Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.

He adds: “The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.”

The report, entitled Christianophobia, highlights a fear among oppressive regimes that Christianity is a “Western creed” which can be used to undermine them.

State hostility towards Christianity is particularly rife in China, where more Christians are imprisoned than in any other country in the world, according to the report.

It quotes Ma Hucheng, an advisor to the Chinese government, who claimed in an article last year that the US has backed the growth of the Protestant Church in China as a vehicle for political dissidence.

“Western powers, with America at their head, deliberately export Christianity to China and carry out all kinds of illegal evangelistic activities,” he wrote in the China Social Sciences Press.

“Their basic aim is to use Christianity to change the character of the regime...in China and overturn it,” he added.

The “lion’s share” of persecution faced by Christians arises in countries where Islam is the dominant faith, the report says, quoting estimates that between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the Middle East have left the region or been killed in the past century.

“There is now a serious risk that Christianity will disappear from its biblical heartlands,” it claims.

The report shows that “Muslim-majority” states make up 12 of the 20 countries judged to be “unfree” on the grounds of religious tolerance by Freedom House, the human rights think tank.

It catalogues hundreds of attacks on Christians by religious fanatics over recent years, focusing on seven countries: Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Burma and China.

It claims George Bush’s use of the word “crusade” after the September 11 attacks on New York created the impression for Muslims in the Middle East of a “Christian assault on the Muslim world”.

“But however the motivation for violence is measured, the early twenty-first century has seen a steady rise in the strife endured by Christians,” the report says.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq left Iraqi Christians “more vulnerable than ever”, highlighted by the 2006 beheading of a kidnapped Orthodox priest, Fr Boulos Iskander, and the kidnapping of 17 further priests and two bishops between 2006 and 2010.

“In most cases, those responsible declared that they wanted all Christians to be expelled from the country,” the report says.

In Pakistan, the murder last year of Shahbaz Bhatti, the country’s Catholic minister for minorities, “vividly reflected” religious intolerance in Pakistan.

Shortly after his death it emerged that Mr Bhatti had recorded a video in which he declared: “I am living for my community and for suffering people and I will die to defend their rights.

"I prefer to die for my principles and for the justice of my community rather than to compromise. I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given his own life for us.”

The report also warns that Christians in India have faced years of violence from Hindu extremists. In 2010 scores of attacks on Christians and church property were carried out in Karnataka, a state in south west India.

And while many people are aware of the oppression faced in Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy activists, targeted abuse of Christians in the country has been given little exposure, the report says.

In some areas of Burma the government has clamped down on Christian protesters by restricting the building of new churches.

“Openly professing Christians employed in government service find it virtually impossible to get promotion,” it adds.


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Geithner: U.S. to hit debt ceiling on Monday

No, not another 'better than expected' moment..  instead...

Just when you thought everything was as bad as it could get, everything was under control since the president is cutting short his usual Hawaiian vacation to save the nation from going over the FISCAL CLIFF; The Gman is back with another crisis to keep you awake at night: 



AMERICA'S DEBT CHALLENGE

By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney December 26, 2012: 4:59 PM ET



Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warned Congress in a letter that U.S. borrowing will hit the debt ceiling on Monday, and that Treasury will begin using 'extraordinary measures' to keep under the cap.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)


Government borrowing will hit the debt ceiling on Monday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a letter to Congress Wednesday.

As a result, the Treasury Department will soon start using what it calls "extraordinary measures" to prevent government borrowing from exceeding the legal limit.

Fiscal cliff quiz: How much will taxes go up?

Such measures include suspending the reinvestment of federal workers' retirement account contributions in short-term government bonds.

On Monday, debt subject to the limit was just $95 billion below the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling.

All told, the extraordinary measures can create about $200 billion of headroom under the limit -- normally about two months worth of borrowing.

But it's unclear how much time the extraordinary measures can buy now because there are so many unanswered questions about tax and spending policies, Geithner said, referring to the lack of any resolution of the fiscal cliff.

"If left unresolved, the expiring tax provisions and automatic spending cuts, as well as the attendant delays in filing of tax returns, would have the effect of adding some additional time to the duration of the extraordinary measures," he wrote.

After the extraordinary measures run out, Treasury won't be able to pay all the country's bills in full and on time. At that point, the United States will run the very real risk that it could default on some of its obligations.

Geithner has predicted for months that the country would hit the debt ceiling by the end of December.

But Congress, first consumed with the 2012 elections and now with the fiscal cliff, has made little effort to raise the ceiling.

Now there's a good chance the debt ceiling issue won't be resolved until the 11th hour and only after an ugly fight.

Indeed, some Republicans have been saying they view the debt ceiling as leverage in budget negotiations in early 2013 in their bid to secure spending cuts.

Before fiscal cliff legislation died last week, House Speaker John Boehner offered President Obama a one-year debt ceiling increase, but only on the condition that spending cuts and reforms exceeded the size of any increase.



The last standoff over the debt ceiling in 2011 ended badly, with Congress raising it only at the last minute. The debacle led to the downgrade of the country's AAA credit rating and caused tumult in the markets.

The Government Accountability Office has long called for Congress to come up with a smarter way to handle the debt ceiling.

"Congress should consider ways to better link decisions about the debt limit with decisions about spending and revenue to avoid potential disruptions to the Treasury market and to help inform the fiscal policy debate in a timely way," the GAO said in a recent report.

Meanwhile, a variety of fiscal and monetary experts have called for the debt ceiling to be abolished altogether.


First Published: December 26, 2012: 4:32 PM ET


Source
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Why We Can’t Stop Rampage Shooters

DEC 21, 2012

By Tom Junod at 1:29pm




Photos via Getty Images

It is now a week after the Newtown shooting and the knowledge that the "lone gunman" — that stock American character — was not really alone at all but rather part of a breed that includes Jared Loughner, James Holmes, and now Adam Lanza is all that we know of him.




poli
We do not know who he is. We do not know where he is. We know only one thing: that he is more prepared than we are. Indeed, he is preparing right now. He is buying his guns. He is accruing his arsenal. The grudges of a lifetime are coalescing into a delusion, and the delusion is articulating itself into something like a plan. In two months, or two weeks, or two days, the plan will be all that he thinks about, and the pressure will become unbearable. He likes to be alone, but his plan needs people, and before too long he will seek out a place where they gather. It might be a school, or a crowded theater. It might be Times Square.

If he lives in Queens, and if he started his journey in, say, Pakistan, we will call him a terrorist, and have a reasonable chance of stopping him before he kills anyone. If he lives in an American town instead of an American city, and started his journey in his American bedroom, we will call him a "shooter" and we have almost no chance of stopping him at all...


Read more
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9/11 Memorial Briefly Evacuated After Fire Breaks Out Nearby, Officials Say

Updated 87 secs ago
December 26, 2012 12:03pm | By Julie Shapiro, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer



LOWER MANHATTAN — The 9/11 Memorial was evacuated briefly Wednesday morning after a fire broke out nearby, sending smoke billowing over the World Trade Center site, officials and witnesses said.

The fire started in a construction trailer near the memorial just before 11:30 a.m. and soon spread to two adjacent trailers, the FDNY and Port Authority said.

Twenty-five units with 100 firefighters responded and brought the blaze under control about 12:20 p.m., the FDNY said.

No injuries were reported, officials said.

The construction trailer that caught fire served as an office for Master Mechanics, a company that greases the site's cranes, the Port Authority said. There may have been some oil or grease in the trailer, the agency said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.

The 9/11 Memorial was evacuated "as a precaution" as clouds of smoke spread across the site but reopened half an hour later, about 12:15 p.m., a memorial spokesman said.

A visitor to the memorial, @Loredo210, tweeted, "got all the way through security at 9/11 memorial - then it caught on fire and we got evacuated."

"Fire at 9/11 memorial. Eerie," tweeted @NicStone.
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In 2013, Millions Of Americans Face Obamacare Tax Hikes




Sally PipesContributor


OP/ED

12/25/2012 @ 6:39PM



(Image credit: Getty Images North America via @daylife)

As part of the negotiations over the fiscal cliff, Congress and President Obama are battling over whether to raise marginal tax rates at the very top of the income ladder.

Regardless of how these talks turn out, millions of Americans are already facing tax hikes thanks to Obamacare.

Obamacare’s authors chose to offset about half of the trillion-dollar cost of the law through higher taxes. Since the Supreme Court upheld the law’s individual mandate and allowed states to opt out of its Medicaid expansion, though, the cost estimate has swelled to $1.76 trillion between 2012 and 2021.

In 2013, a number of Obamacare’s taxes will go into effect. Each will increase the cost of health care, yield job losses, and deprive our struggling economy of investment. These are the true costs of Obamacare.


Let’s look at some of these taxes individually.

On January 1, 2013, a 2.3-percent excise tax on the total revenues of medical-device companies — regardless of whether they turn a profit or suffer a loss — will take effect. The tax will hit everything they sell, from x-ray machines and pacemakers to surgical tools and artificial hips. The levy could extract as much as $29 billion over the next 10 years.

That money will have to come from somewhere; device firms won’t simply swallow the tab. So they’ll likely raise prices for patients and slash their workforces. In fact, economists at the Manhattan Institute project that the tax could eliminate as many as 43,000 jobs — and over $3.5 billion in employee compensation.

The industry currently employs about 400,000 people and supports roughly 2 million manufacturing jobs. With unemployment — particularly in the manufacturing sector — still a national concern, it makes little sense to penalize device firms.

Because of the tax, medical-device firms will also have less money to invest in research and development. My colleague Benjamin Zycher estimates that the industry will scale back investment in new products by 10 percent through 2020. That translates to a $2-billion decrease per year.

House Republicans have been trying to repeal the tax for some time. In recent weeks, they’ve gotten some unlikely company — from Senate Democrats.

This month, 16 Democrats from the upper chamber urged President Obama to delay the tax’s implementation because of the risks it poses to the industry. In a statement, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) described it as a “job-killing tax.”

Even an 11-figure tax like the device levy will only cover a paltry share of Obamacare’s total bill. A much larger portion is scheduled to come from higher taxes on top earners.

Individuals with annual incomes higher than $200,000 and couples who make more than $250,000 a year will face two new taxes — a 0.9-percent increase in the 1.45-percent Medicare levy on earnings above those income thresholds and a new 3.8-percent tax on investment income. Together, these two taxes are expected to raise about $318 billion over the next decade — roughly half of the law’s new tax revenue.

The structure of these taxes penalizes married couples in particular. According to the New York Times, two unmarried singles who made $200,000 each would not owe any additional Medicare tax. But if they were married, they’d owe $1,350.

Meanwhile, the 3.8-percent tax on unearned income, like capital gains, dividends, and interest, will discourage saving and investment. That’s the exact opposite of what Congress should be doing now, what with the economy still stalling.

Obamacare’s tax hikes aren’t just confined to the rich. The law raises the floor for the deduction of medical expenses, from 7.5 percent of income to 10 percent. So only expenses beyond 10 percent of a person’s income will be deductible. This change could add hundreds of dollars to the tax bills of those struggling with major medical bills.

Obamacare also halves the maximum contribution to flexible spending accounts (FSAs), from $5,000 to $2,500. Many consumers use FSAs to cover routine medical expenses, like vision care, orthodontia, and prescription drugs. They won’t have nearly as much money to work with in 2013.

By neutering FSAs, Obamacare deprives patients of control over their own health care — and puts insurers and government in the driver’s seat. Instead of paying for routine care with pre-tax dollars, individuals will have to purchase expensive insurance that covers routine care. In the end, patients may end up paying more.

These are just the five taxes scheduled to kick in next year. In 2014, another multibillion-dollar round of taxes will go into effect, including an excise tax on high-value insurance plans, a levy on health insurers, and the individual mandate’s “tax” on people who remain uninsured.

The money to pay for Obamacare’s healthcare overhaul, which will be in excess of $1 trillion and probably upwards of $2.5 trillion from 2014 to 2023, has to come from somewhere. In the New Year, Americans will find that “somewhere” is their wallets.

Sally C. Pipes is President, CEO, and Taube Fellow in Health Care Studies at the Pacific Research Institute. Her latest book is The Pipes Plan: The Top Ten Ways to Dismantle and Replace Obamacare (Regnery 2012).


Source
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I will follow thee



And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.


Luke 9:57-62
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Jamaican patois Bible released – Di Gud Nyuuz bout Jiizas




Advocates view the translation as an empowering move that will affirm the indigenous tongue as a distinct language.



KINGSTON, Jamaica, Wednesday December 12, 2012 – After years of meticulous translation from the original Greek, the Bible Society in Jamaica is releasing print and audio CD versions of the first patois translation of the New Testament, or “Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment.”

The development provides vindication for English teacher Faith Linton, who was greeted with astonishment and opposition when she first proposed translating the Bible into Jamaica’s patois tongue in the late 1950s.

“There was shock at the mere suggestion,” said Linton, now an octogenarian and a longstanding board member of the Bible Society of the West Indies. “People were deeply ashamed of their mother tongue. It was always associated with illiteracy and social deprivation.”

The opposition has diminished somewhat in the intervening years, but patois in the pulpit remains a highly controversial issue.

Critics fear it will dilute Scripture and further erode the weak grasp that many poor Jamaicans are said to have on Standard English.

Advocates, on the other hand, view it as a bold, empowering move that will finally affirm the indigenous tongue as a distinct language in Jamaica.

Patois expert Hubert Devonish, a linguist who is coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit at the University of the West Indies, sees the Bible translation as a big step toward getting the state to eventually embrace the creole language.

“We’ve now produced a major body of literature in the language, whatever people may think about it one way or the other. And that is part of the process of convincing people that this thing is a serious language with a standard writing system,” Devonish said.

Reverend Courtney Stewart, general secretary of the regional Bible society, said there is a widespread conviction that Scripture is best understood in a person’s spoken tongue. He predicts many Jamaicans will be inspired to hear and read the translation.

“It’s extremely powerful for people to hear Scripture in their own language, the language they speak and think in. It goes straight to their hearts and people say they are able to visualize it in a way they’ve never experienced before,” Stewart said.

Some religious leaders and other critics nevertheless characterize Jamaican patois as a rowdy, ever-changing vernacular that is fine in informal settings but inappropriate in a place of worship.

“Patois is not potent enough to be able to carry the meaning of the Gospel effectively. It just does not have the capacity to properly reflect the word of God,” said Bishop Alvin Bailey, leader of the evangelical Holiness Christian Church in Portmore.

The New Testament translation was recently released in England, home to a large Jamaican diaspora.

In the British town of Northampton, the Reverend Dennis Hines of the New Testament Church of God said the patois Bible has been received well, especially in prisons where he works as a chaplain and inmates of Jamaican heritage are clamouring for a copy.

“Just to know that there was a Bible in their native tongue has made people feel really proud and excited,” said Hines, a Jamaican who moved to England as a boy.

The translation is a stickier subject in Jamaica, where activists are pushing for patois to be granted official status alongside English and used in classrooms.

Clive Forrester, who teaches the Jamaican tongue at Canada’s York University, said the biggest obstacle to launching a patois Bible on the island has always been a psychosocial one, not a linguistic one.

“The language can handle any concept or idea in the New Testament. It’s the average Jamaican speaker who has a hard time accepting Jamaican Creole in written contexts and especially one as formal as the Bible,” Forrester said.

The Bible has already been translated into hundreds of obscure languages and dialects, among them the Ga language of Ghana, the Mi’kmaq spoken mostly by Indians in eastern Canada, and Gullah, which is largely spoken by African-Americans in isolated coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia.

Now, the advocates of Jamaican patois are thrilled to see their time finally arrive, particularly with the island marking its 50th anniversary of independence.

With Christmas in the air, the time may be right to reflect on the depiction of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary that foretold the birth of Jesus.

The New King James Bible’s version of Luke reads, “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.”’

The patois version reads: “Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, ‘Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu aal di taim.” Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)

Source: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/jamaica_news/644279.html#ixzz2G7c6iont
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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Nigeria gunmen 'kill at least six Christians' in Yobe


25 December 2012 Last updated at 12:36 ET


Nigeria gunmen 'kill at least six Christians' in Yobe




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Gunmen in the northern Nigerian state of Yobe have shot dead at least six Christians, the army and local officials say.

They say a church in Peri village near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe, was set on fire in an attack late on Christmas Eve.

No group has so far said it carried out the attack.

The Boko Haram Islamist militant group has targeted a number of churches in the north since 2010.

It has killed hundreds in its campaign to impose Sharia law.

A series of bomb attacks carried out by the group across the country at Christmas 2011 - including two at Christmas Day church services - left almost 40 people dead and many more injured.'Savage acts of terrorism'

The head of the Network for Justice human rights group, Zakari Adamu, told the BBC that the gunmen also attacked the homes of Christians following the attack during the midnight mass service.


Boko Haram carried out a series of attacks on Christians this time last year


The AFP news agency reported that the pastor of the church - a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) - is among the dead.

Military Spokesman Eli Lazarus told the Reuters news agency that six people were killed in the violence, which happened when "unknown gunmen attempted to attack Potiskum but were repelled by troops".

"While they were fleeing, they attacked a church in a village," he said.

The attack comes on the same day that the Pope - as part of his Christmas Day address - prayed for harmony in Nigeria, lamenting what he called "savage acts of terrorism" that frequently target Christians.

The head of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Yobe, Idi Garba, told AFP that many worshippers at ECWA "are still missing".

"I have been informed that six bodies have been recovered," Mr Garba said.

He said that some worshippers who lived near the church "fled their homes during the attack and it is assumed that they are still hiding in the bush".

Correspondents says that while Yobe's population is overwhelmingly Muslim, Potiskum has a significant Christian minority. Peri is just 2km (1.24 miles) outside the city.

Boko Haram has been able to carry out so many attacks in Yobe because it borders Borno state where the insurgent group is based.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous state and its biggest oil producer. Most people in the south are Christian, whereas the north has a Muslim majority.

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Fulfillment of prophecies





christiaan vermeer

Published on Oct 29, 2012


Time to tell the world about the time of the end

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jesuits mountain view california




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Who's filling America's church pews


In Puritan New England, Protestant and Catholic churches are declining while evangelical and Pentecostal groups are rising. Why the nation's most secular region may hint at the future of religion.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Correspondent / December 23, 2012



Congregacíon León De Judá, an evangelical church in Boston.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor


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Text of Pope Benedict's Urbi et Orbi Christmas message 2012

Associated Press
Posted: 12/25/2012 06:01:35 AM PST
Updated: 12/25/2012 06:01:37 AM PST




VATICAN CITY -- Here is the official Vatican English translation of the "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas Day message read in Italian by Pope Benedict XVI Tuesday. "Urbi et Orbi" is Latin for "to the city and to the world."

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Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, a happy Christmas to you and your families!

In this Year of Faith, I express my Christmas greetings and good wishes in these words taken from one of the Psalms: "Truth has sprung out of the earth". Actually, in the text of the Psalm, these words are in the future: "Kindness and truth shall meet; / justice and peace shall kiss. / Truth shall spring out of the earth, /and justice shall look down from heaven. / The Lord himself will give his benefits; / our land shall yield its increase. / Justice shall walk before him, / and salvation, along the way of his steps" (Ps 85:11-14).

Today these prophetic words have been fulfilled! In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven. Saint Augustine explains with admirable brevity: "What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? The flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you will see that truth has sprung out of the earth . truth has been born of the Virgin Mary" (En. in Ps. 84:13). And in a Christmas sermon he says that "in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was fulfilled: 'truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven'. The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of the earth, to be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole world has sprung out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman ... The Truth which heaven cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a manger. For whose benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for his own, but for our great benefit, if we believe" (Sermones, 185, 1).

"If we believe". Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to him. Porta fidei! The door of faith! We could be frightened by this, our inverse omnipotence. This human ability to be closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which chases away this gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has sprung up! God is born! "The earth has yielded its fruits" (Ps 67:7). Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that he might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his presence in the world. This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this earth truth has sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.

Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenceless and reaps innocent victims. Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.

May peace spring up in the Land where the Redeemer was born, and may he grant Israelis and Palestinians courage to end to long years of conflict and division, and to embark resolutely on the path of negotiation.

In the countries of North Africa, which are experiencing a major transition in pursuit of a new future - and especially the beloved land of Egypt, blessed by the childhood of Jesus - may citizens work together to build societies founded on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.

May peace spring up on the vast continent of Asia. May the Child Jesus look graciously on the many peoples who dwell in those lands and, in a special way, upon all those who believe in him. May the King of Peace turn his gaze to the new leaders of the People's Republic of China for the high task which awaits them. I express my hope that, in fulfilling this task, they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in respect for each, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble People and of the whole world.

May the Birth of Christ favour the return of peace in Mali and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians. May the Redeemer bring help and comfort to the refugees from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and grant peace to Kenya, where brutal attacks have struck the civilian population and places of worship.

May the Child Jesus bless the great numbers of the faithful who celebrate him in Latin America. May he increase their human and Christian virtues, sustain all those forced to leave behind their families and their land, and confirm government leaders in their commitment to development and fighting crime.

Dear brothers and sisters! Kindness and truth, justice and peace have met; they have become incarnate in the child born of Mary in Bethlehem. That child is the Son of God; he is God appearing in history. His birth is a flowering of new life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace. Happy Christmas to all of you!

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Copyright Vatican Publishing House


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Monday, December 24, 2012

The 2012 Economy Brought Glad Tidings To Many

by MARILYN GEEWAX
December 24, 201212:05 PM


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Construction workers build a home in Palo Alto, Calif. A real turnaround seemed to take hold in the housing sector in 2012 after years of fits and starts.Paul Sakuma/AP


After years of recession and slow recovery, maybe you didn't notice. But it turns out, 2012 was a fairly good year for the U.S. economy.

The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has risen nearly 14 percent this year and the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.7 percent, the lowest point in four years. Inflation and interest rates have stayed low, allowing families to cut their debt loads.

"Consumers are feeling better now," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm. Compared with December 2007, when the Great Recession was just starting, "the burdens on consumers have eased quite a bit," he said.

Final data aren't in yet for the full year, but in the period from July through September, U.S. household net worth rose by 2.7 percent compared with the previous three months, according to the Federal Reserve. Combined with overall economic growth of 3.1 percent in that same period, the pace of improvement — both for individuals and corporations — could be described as decent, though far from robust.

Perhaps the key to the overall improvement has been the fairly steady growth in job creation. Employers have been adding an average of 151,000 jobs each month in 2012.

"Job growth was not great, but it was good enough to make people feel like things are getting better," Behravesh said.

That potent combination of greater job security, lower bill payments and rising wealth sent shoppers heading off to car dealerships, malls and restaurants for most of the year.

To be sure, the fourth quarter had big problems that likely reduced the growth rate as the year wound down. Hurricane Sandy depressed retail sales and jobs in the New York-New Jersey region, and the budget negotiations drama in Washington depressed consumer sentiment all over the country, said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist for RBC Capital Markets.

He added that the child murders in Newtown, Conn., may have discouraged some holiday trips to the mall as the mood of the country turned somber in the run-up to Christmas. As the year draws to an end, "you have a consumer moving sideways," Porcelli said.

But most economists believe the effects of those recent problems will not linger long into the new year and that when economic historians look back on 2012, they may see it as the year when the battered U.S. economy finally turned a corner.

Here are some of the glad tidings that Americans might want to celebrate.

Autos

Consumers went car shopping again, largely because their old vehicles were wearing out. As 2012 was beginning, the average age of vehicles on the road was running at nearly 11 years — a record high.

That meant millions of people were itching to get to a showroom. Sales strengthened throughout the year and by November, the industry was selling vehicles at a pace of 15.5 million a year — the best performance since February 2008.

Housing

Home construction started to tank in 2006 and its plunge pushed the country into the Great Recession five years ago this month. The number of housing starts tumbled from a pace of more than 2 million units a year at the peak of the boom to around a half million a year during the worst of the downturn in 2009.

Between 2009 and 2011, housing indicators bumped around on the bottom, with listless upturns quickly fading. But this year, a real turnaround took hold. By fall, housing starts were up to an annual rate of nearly 900,000 units — the best pace in four years.

And prices too have ticked up after the dramatic slide that started in 2006. In the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas, prices rose at an average of 0.5 percent after adjusting for inflation in the third quarter, according to a Brookings Institution economic index.

"The rise in metropolitan home prices indicates that a broadly rooted recovery may be underway in the housing market," said Alec Friedhoff, a research analyst and lead developer of the index.

Energy

The U.S. energy industry is suddenly and dramatically expanding, thanks to the new technologies and drilling techniques that are unleashing supplies of oil and gas. As a result, energy companies are gearing up to train and hire many more workers. In North Dakota, for example, hiring has been so strong in the energy sector that the state's unemployment rate has fallen to just 3.1 percent.

For the moment, big energy companies like Exxon Mobil and Shell are seeing lackluster earnings because of relatively weak prices, especially for natural gas. But for workers, the outlook keeps getting brighter as it becomes clearer that America has abundant energy resources. Studies suggest the "unconventional" oil and gas resources could lead to the creation of nearly 2 million jobs in less than two decades.

Retail

At least up until December, stores saw more customers in 2012, and did more hiring. In November, the retail sector reported 53,000 new jobs — more than a third of all the jobs created that month. That was up sharply from November 2011, when retailers added just 34,000 new jobs.

Shoppers have been particularly eager to spend money at electronics outlets and clothing stores. They have had a little more money to spend, thanks to lower gasoline prices and tame inflation in general. Overall, consumer prices rose only about 2 percent in the past year.

The National Retail Federation, a trade association, has predicted a 4.1 percent sales increase this holiday season — higher than the 3.5 percent average annual forecast for the past decade. "This is the most optimistic forecast NRF has released since the recession," Matthew Shay, the group's president, said in a statement.


Korea: Jesuit jailed over Jeju Island protest

Posted: Monday, December 24, 2012 1:06 am




FR Lee celebrates Mass for protestors



The Jesuits in Korea write: "As we look towards Christmas and the hope the birth of Jesus brought us, we remember that in Korea, a Jesuit will be spending his Christmas in prison for standing up for justice."

Korean Jesuit Fr Lee Young-chan and five other peace activists were detained by the police on 24 October. He had been protesting the excessive force used by the police in detaining a woman activist, and when the police manhandled him, they claimed his resistance amounted to violence. On 26 October, the court upheld his arrest and denied him bail. His trial is ongoing.

Fr Lee is the second Jesuit to be imprisoned this year in connection with opposition to the construction of a naval base at Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island. In April, Fr Joseph Kim Chong-uk SJ was imprisoned for opposing and attempting to hinder the construction. Fr Kim has since been released.

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Korea and the Korean Province have both issued statements calling for the immediate release of Fr Lee and the other peace activists, and the end of the authorities’ use of violence in Jeju.

The Korean Province also promised continued material and emotional support to the Jesuits engaged in the action in Jeju, saying “With the understanding that this problem is international in scope we will spread awareness of it and join in close solidarity with the Jesuits of North America and also to our own region, the Jesuits of the Asia Pacific.”

In a letter Fr Lee managed to send from prison on November 4, he cites St Paul saying: “’For to you has been granted for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him. ‘(Phi1, 27-29) I give thanks that at least in a little way I have been granted the happiness and special favour to directly experience what these words say.”

He continued: “The US and China have been faulting each other while turning NE Asia into a powder keg. They are blinded by their hegemony and nationalism and are trying to put each other down. In response, Korea and other nations must join in solidarity, not in inciting war but in ameliorating the situation and in leading toward a reduction in weapons.

“I pray that Jeju may avoid becoming a shrimp caught in a whale fight, but rather prevent the whale fight and become a place brimming with life and peace, an island spreading God’s peace for all peoples to all the world.”

The events in Jeju take place at a critical time for peace in northeast Asia. The ruling party in South Korea has taken a hard line toward North Korea and desires a stronger military to boost national security. The planned naval base on Jeju Island, opening out directly into the East China Sea, will enable increased projection of South Korean naval power. With South Korea’s close alliance with the United States, the naval base could be part of the US’ efforts to encircle China with its military might.

Opposition party lawmakers in South Korea have been critical of the planned naval base and have gained enough agreement for Congress to restrict the budget for this year’s construction. Hopes that the naval base could see a re-examination in 2013 look to be dashed with the ruling party winning the recent presidential election. Construction has been going on 24 hours a day to make up for delays caused by opposition and typhoons. During this time of rapid construction, police presence has been strengthened and their use of violence has increased.

Source: Ecology Social Justice & Ecology Korea


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Vatican works to stop Sunday shopping in Italy



Alessandro Speciale | Dec 19, 2012


VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Roman Catholic Church, trade unions and small business associations have joined forces in a bid to save Sundays.

In a bid to spur economic growth, outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti backed a new law that allows shops to stay open on the Sabbath.



In what may seem an unlikely alliance, the Catholic Church, trade unions and Italian small business associations have joined forces in a bid to save Sundays from shopping and liberalized shopping hours. RNS photo by Alessandro Speciale

But Sunday traditions are strong in the European nation, and the change provoked strong resistance from religious and secular groups.

Last month, an Italian shop owners association and the country’s Catholic bishops’ conference launched a campaign to “free up Sundays.” They aim to gather the 50,000 signatures needed to try to repeal the liberalizing shop law.

Confesercenti, the shop owners association, fears that mom-and-pop stores – the backbone of the Italian retail sector – will be squeezed by large retailers and American-style malls.

The issue extends beyond Italy. In Brussels, dozens of religious groups – including the Catholic Church – unions and business associations from 27 countries have formed the “European Sunday Alliance” to lobby the European Union to keep Sunday as a continentwide day of rest, at least in principle.

Johanna Touzel, the alliance’s spokeswoman, said that setting Sunday aside is not necessarily a religious issue, and not discriminatory towards Jews and Muslims. “We need one day when everyone can rest – this is the origin of Shabbat. And in fact, even Muslim organizations support us.”

For the Catholic Church, keeping Sundays free from shopping and work concerns is of larger consequence than the economy.

The Rev. Marco Scattolon of Camposampiero, Italy, became an instant celebrity when he labeled Sunday shopping a sin and called on his parishioners to do penance for it. Sundays, he told the Corriere del Veneto newspaper, are important “not just in the religious sense.” “They are one of the few occasions left for families to be together.”

Bishop Antonio Mattiazzo of Padua sided with Scattolon while other bishops publicly signed the Confesercenti campaign.

“The broad consensus in opposing Sunday openings shows that having a common weekly day for rest is something that benefits everyone, not just believers,” says Luca Diotallevi, a Catholic sociologist who advises Italy’s bishops on social issues. “Sunday has not just a social value but a theological one too: Man needs to have a holy day.”

Others go even further in arguing for work-free Sundays.

Mimmo Muolo, a journalist for Italy’s official Catholic newspaper Avvenire, in his recent book, “Le feste scippate” (“The Stolen Holidays”), argues that “the 24/7 retail cycle has reintroduced a system of slaves and masters.” He said that employees who have no choice but to work on Sundays – and thus have no time for family and other social activities – are “Sunday slaves.”

At least in Italy, there are signs that few businesses have taken advantage of the reform.

Before the usual Christmas shopping rush kicked in, it was difficult to find many open shops on Sundays outside the tourist areas of the city centers.

“It is pointless because people don’t have enough money to spend,” says Anna Lucentini, 35, a saleswoman on one of Rome’s busiest commercial streets.

She says that the only result of the Sunday-opening reform is that employees will have to work more at their bosses’ request. “In Italy, those who still have a job are afraid to lose it and so let themselves be exploited without complaining.”

Still, opposing the liberalization of store opening schedules is winning the church some unexpected sympathy. Lorena Vargas, 21, just learned about the bishops-backed campaign. “For once, the church is doing a good thing,” she says. “I could even start going to Mass.”

DSB/AMB END SPECIALE


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