Saturday, April 20, 2013

SDA Church Dispute Heads to Court


March 17, 2013




SDA church at Matatufu

Last month leaders of the SDA church in the South Pacific Division (SPD) met again in Australia with pastors from Samoa and Samoan pastors representing Samoan churches in New Zealand and Australia. The bible conference discussed the impasse in Samoa which is detrimental to a fundamental doctrine of the SDA church where there are now two seventh-day Sabbaths, some worshipping on Saturday and the majority worshipping on Sunday.

An outcome of the meeting is the matter to be referred to the Biblical Research Committee of the South Pacific Division for further research.

But in Samoa, the local church administration has instructed the law office of Schuster-Betham-Annandale to write to the Leauva’a-uta SDA members who are worshipping on Saturday to refrain from using the church facility there. The letter dated 6th February warns that failure to comply within 7 days will result in the matter been taken to the High Court for an order regarding ownership, demolition and removal by the church of assets.



Leauvaa-uta Sabbath keepers in front of their church building.

The letter from the lawyer however states that the church does not dispute the land belongs to the title Sala (held by Fonoti Peteli). This is further confirmed in a letter from the Register of the Lands and Titles Court stating the ownership of the land known as Laumasa is with Sala Fonoti Peteli and is not being disputed. The Register however goes further advising the parties involved to seek legal advice from lawyers in regards to dividing of church assets.

The SDA Sabbath dilemma in Samoa today centers around which day is the seventh-day of the week after the IDL change in 2011, the second time Samoa has changed its location to the IDL. Is it Saturday or Sunday?

Seventh-day Adventists keep the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week which is Saturday like everywhere else in the world. Most Christian churches in Samoa however also call Sunday the Sabbath but for a different reason – to commemorate the day of Jesus’ resurrection which falls on Sunday, the first day of the week.

On the TVNZ program Tagata Pasefika last year, President of the SDA church in Samoa, Pastor Uili Solofa stated that “now in Samoa, the seventh-day falls on Sunday.” The same argument was published in the Samoa Observer 1st July issue saying, “The practical result in terms of Sabbath keeping is that Sunday not Saturday has become the seventh day of the week.”

In a document dated 29th December 2011, Pastor Uili Solofa wrote,


“The majority of church leaders, worshippers and villages (in Samoa) are not saying they are happy that Seventh-day Adventists are keeping Sunday, instead what they are saying is that – we are going to keep the Sabbath of the Seventh-day Adventist church; praise God!”

In a separate correspondence, Pastor Uili Solofa also wrote, “You have to know that all the other Christian religions in Samoa have publicly testified that they have moved to keep the seventh–day Sabbath of the Bible.”

Catholic Chancellor Ono does not appear to share that view. Asked about casinos opening on Sunday, Father Ioane says that personally, he had no problems with it. “For Catholics or any Christian for that matter, Sunday is a day of rest, a day of giving thanks and praise to the Lord. It is also a day of joy and celebration because for the Catholic Church, Sunday is the day of resurrection of Jesus.” (Samoa Observer, March 12, 2013)

Such statements by SDA leaders in Samoa and the Pacific that Sunday is the “seventh-day” in Samoa today appear to contradict the reason Christian churches worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, to commemorate the day of Jesus’ resurrection.

.

P.S. 
Samoa SDA's: Happy Sabbath, faithful Brethren!
.

Walter Veith German Conference Blacklisted




PastorBCoy

Published on Jan 23, 2013


An interview between Emilliano Richards and Johannes Kolletzki about the blacklisting of International speaker Walter Veith.

.

Earnestness Is Necessary


In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, the Lord calls for men who will be earnest and prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. The men who have spent long terms in the study of books are not revealing in their lives that earnest ministry which is essential for this last time. They do not bear a simple, straightforward testimony. Among ministers and students there is need of the infusion of the Spirit of God. The prayerful, earnest appeals that come from the heart of a whole-souled messenger will create convictions. It will not need the learned men to do this; for they depend more on their learning from books than upon their knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. All who know the only true and living God will know Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and will preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified....

Does anyone suppose that the messages of warning will not come to those whom God reproves? The ones reproved may rise up in indignation and seek to bring the law to bear upon God’s messenger, but in doing this, they are not bringing the law upon the messenger, but upon Christ, who gave the reproof and the warning. When men endanger the work and cause of God by their own wrong course of action, shall they hear no voice of reproof? If the wrongdoer only were concerned, and the work reached no farther than him, he alone should have the words of warning; but when his course of action is doing positive harm to the cause of truth, and souls are imperiled, God requires that the warning be as broad as the injury done. The testimonies will not be hindered. The words of rebuke and warning, the plain “Thus saith the Lord,” will come from God’s appointed agencies; for the words do not originate with the human instrument; they are from God, who appointed them their work. If a suit is instituted in earthly tribunals, and God suffers it to come to trial, it is that His own name may be glorified. But a woe will be upon the man who gives himself to do this work. God reads the motives, whatever they may be. I pray that the Lord will teach our brethren to be straightforward, and make no compromise in the matter. The cause of God has been bruised and wounded by any such men connecting with it, and the sooner they are separated from it, the better.... 

God calls for men of decided fidelity. He has no use in an emergency for two-sided men. He wants men who will lay their hand upon a wrong work and say, “This is not according to the will of God.”—Letter 19 1/2, 1897. 

Selected Messages, pp.152,153.
.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Did Ms. White contradict 1 Timothy 4:1-4?


In an article addressing supposed contradictions between Ellen G. White and the bible, one author gathers a quote by Ellen White that says that meat eating will eventually be done away with among God’s people. Here is how he put it:


38) WILL GOD COMMAND US TO ABSTAIN FROM MEAT IN THE LATTER DAYS?

BIBLE: No
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith ... commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving. (1 Timothy 4:1-4)

EGW: Yes
Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat eating will eventually be done away. (CDF 380)

Is Paul saying that in the latter days some will command other to abstain from flesh meats, as in pork, cow, etc? Below is a short analysis of 1 Timothy 4:1-4 taken from another article at this site with some added comments:

1 Timothy 4:1-5: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.”

Let’s examine each verse one by one:

(verse 1)
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

(verse 2)
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

(verse 3)
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Some have felt that this is speaking about the Adventist church, but note that Paul is saying that the individuals teaching to abstain from meats also teach not to marry. The Adventist church does not forbid to marriage. The Roman Catholic church does however forbid eating foods on certain of its holiday celebrations and does forbid marriage through its institutions of the nuns and priests.

Notice also that the Greek word translated “meats” in this verse is “broma” which simply means “foods.” When the bible is speaking about flesh foods, it translates it “flesh” – see for example Romans 14:21. This is not speaking about meat as food, but of non-meat foods. Further evidence of this is seen in the rest of this verse which reads… “which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving.” What did God create to be received (or eaten) with thanksgiving? It was natural foods, not flesh meat (Genesis 1:29). Flesh meat was merely “allowed” either because circumstances made it impossible to eat vegetables, like with Noah’s case after the flood when all vegetation was destroyed, or because of the ignorance of the children of Israel who complained so much that God allowed clean meats to be eating, yet with the warning that they would die, and they did (Numbers 11:33). Thayer’s Greek Definition defines “broma” as “that which is eaten, food.” Normally this word is used in general of foods (plural). But here we have added information about this broma, that God created it to be received with thanksgiving. Animals were not created to be eaten, but natural foods were.

(verse 4)
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

Notice first, that it says “creature” and not “animal” or “beasts.” There are three other Greek words that are translated “beasts” that literally mean an “animal.” These Greek words are ktenos, therion and zoon. None of these are used in this verse. According to Strong’s Greek definition, the word translated “creature” here simply means “a formation, a produce.” Thayer’s Greek Definition has two meanings for this word:

Thayers Definition:

1) thing founded
2) created thing

We learned with verse 3 that that “thing founded” that God created to be received, or eaten was natural foods, and not animal meat.

If our critics interpret this word to mean flesh, they will run into the following two problems:

(a) It will include all types of insects!

If “creature” hear means anything other then natural products of plants, they will be forced to include insects in their reasoning. But, we’re sure they wouldn’t dare say that a spider was created to be eaten; that it is “good and not to be refused.” Shall we add some worm to that plate as well?

(b) It will include them!

This word “creature” can also include human being. Notice the following verses:

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” -Mark 16:15.

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18

Would our critics suggest that Paul was advocating cannibalism?

The only logical conclusion is that Paul is talking about those who would forbid the eating of foods that God originally created for our diet.

(verse 5)
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

This word “sanctified” in the Greek means to “make holy.” Notice that it says it is sanctified by “the word of God” and by “prayer,” not just prayer. This means that the prayer will have to agree with what the word of God says in regards to that food! Where in the word of God does it teach pork can be made holy for food? Or humans for food? In other words, we are not to just pray over a, lets say, a venomous spider to then then eat it, because eating a venomous spider, mosquito or any type of forbidden insect is condemned “by the word of God” – Leviticus 11:23. Our prayer should rather be that God sanctify the “broma” of natural foods which is in accordance with the proper diet God wants us to have.

God does in fact want his people to return to the original plan he had for mankind with Adam and Eve. He wants our entire being to be changed, not just mentally, but physically as well.

Eating foods that we should not be eating has been shown to affect the mind in such a way that it can dilute even our decision making. This is why Paul says to protect the body, because it is “the temple of the Holy Spirit” -1 Cor. 3:16-17. The Holy Spirit is the one helping us make right decisions, and by mistreating our bodies with unhealthy foods, we can end up closing our understandings to truths the Spirit might want to show us. Furthermore, the bible states that all who do not go along with the Mark of the Beast will not be able to "buy or sell" -Revelation 13:17. But if one does not know how to servive on raw foods, or if he is addicted to certian medications, how will he ever be able to eat or get their medications without getting the Mark? They'll need to get the Mark of the Beast in order to "buy" the foods they have long been used to eating. This proves how serious the Health Message actually is.

Who can deny that it is more difficult for a sick person to study and rightly divide the word of God then for a healthy person? Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were children, “in whom was no blemish.” They were, “skillful in wisdom, and cussing in knowledge.” –Daniel 1:4. What did they eat? Natural foods. They refused to eat the filth upon the king’s plate, but told him to prove them for ten days as they eat only vegetables. The result? “Their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh then all the children which did eat the portion of the kings meat.” -Daniel 1:15.

Ellen White did not contradict Paul. In fact she did a good job in reminding us that God is concerned not only with our spiritual need, but also with our physical need as well.

For more on this diet that is well pleasing to both the Lord and the body, read our study The Call to Return to Eden: The Health Message.


.

Happy Sabbath


Expect No Miracle to Undo Results of Wrong Course


I look at these flowers, and every time I see them I think of Eden. They are an expression of God’s love for us. Thus He gives us in this world a little taste of Eden. He wants us to delight in the beautiful things of His creation, and to see in them an expression of what He will do for us. 

He wants us to live where we can have elbow room. His people are not to crowd into the cities. He wants them to take their families out of the cities, that they may better prepare for eternal life. In a little while they will have to leave the cities.

These cities are filled with wickedness of every kind—with strikes and murders and suicides. Satan is in them, controlling men in their work of destruction. Under his influence they kill for the sake of killing, and this they will do more and more. 

If we place ourselves under objectionable influences, can we expect God to work a miracle to undo the results of our wrong course?—No, indeed. Get out of the cities as soon as possible, and purchase a little piece of land, where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing, and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity.—The General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903. 


Selected Messages Book 2, p. 356
..

Boston remains under siege amid manhunt




By Andrew Ryan, Casey Ross, Jenn Abelson, Erin Ailworth, Meghan E. Irons and Michael B. Farrell | GLOBE STAFF

APRIL 19, 2013



JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF
A lone bicyclist made his way across the Lonfellow Bridge on Friday amid the lockdown.


Almost 1 million people in metropolitan Boston remained under siege Friday as police conducted a massive manhunt for one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

The region felt as if it had been gripped by martial law: Police armed with rifles patrolled deserted streets in Boston, Watertown, Cambridge, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, and Brookline, and residents hunkered inside, under authorities’ unprecedented order.

“It is important that folks remain indoors,” Governor Deval Patrick said this afternoon at a press conference. “Keep the doors locked and [do not] open the door unless there is a uniformed, identified law enforcement officer on the other side of it requesting to come inside.”

Authorities shut down all MBTA service, halting subways, trains, and buses. City and town halls were closed. Public works canceled trash pickup, keeping garbage trucks off streets. Courthouses kept their doors closed.



Related
MBTA shut down during hunt
Closings in Boston area today
Businesses close amid manhunt


From Dudley Square to the Seaport, Cambridge to Kenmore Square, businesses shuttered. Streets remained empty, sidewalks abandoned, entire office blocks uninhabited.

The quiet overwhelmed Kendall Square, where mayhem reignited Thursday night when an MIT police officer was shot and killed, apparently in a confrontation with the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. By this morning, there were few cars, no honking horns, and no clatter of construction trucks. The sprawling Massachusetts Institute of Technology remained closed.

“It’s a ghost town,” cab driver Jimmy Carbone said. “It’s kind of scary.”

Along Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, armed law enforcement officers in neon vests guarded almost every intersection from Back Bay to Roxbury. The eerie stillness hung over Kenmore Square, where normally clogged streets were clear and parking lots were virtually empty. Tourists walked aimlessly, unable to board trains or buses.

“What is this world coming to? ’’asked Guy Dixon, a maintenance and security worker at a rooming house for women on Charlesgate Avenue. “This is too close to home.”

The uncomfortable silence blanketed the region. In Boston’s Seaport district, gleaming office towers sat almost empty as the manhunt continued.

“It’s like Planet of the Apes down here,” said Michael Vaughan, who runs a public relations firm. “The town is just dead.”

At South Station, clusters of people stood on sidewalks, some with luggage, presumably stranded travelers. Heavily armed law-enforcement officers surrounded the transit hub and the nearby Federal Reserve building. The lobby of high-rise officer towers remained deserted.

“Buildings’ are all shut down,” a security guard in a black suit and glasses yelled as a financial analyst in blue pants tried to push his way through the locked revolving doors of 75-101 Federal Street.

The financial analyst, Harris Bradley, 25, had biked to work from the Fenway despite the manhunt.

“Financial markets don’t close just because there’s a crazy guy out there,” Bradley said, gesturing at the building before adding, “I would have been sheltered in there.”

Nearby, Digitas had closed its doors.

“No employees,” said Steve Martell, who was helping staff the lobby desk. “We’re really keeping this place buttoned down.”

So was City Hall Plaza. Dunkin’ Donuts there opened, but there were few customers. Neighborhoods remain still and almost frozen, like an emergency snow day with snow.

“It’s been almost eerily quiet the last couple of hours,” City Councilor Matt O’Malley said from his living room in Jamaica Plain. “I live on the Jamaicaway, which is usually crawling with traffic.

In Brookline, it was “Quiet. Very quiet,” said Betsy DeWitt, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen. “People who have been asked to stay in are staying in.

Armed law enforcement officers guarded the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The digital marquee outside displayed the marathon symbol and the words “Boston, You’re My Home,” a song lyric President Obama quoted Thursday at an interfaith prayer service for victims of the bombings.

“Be patient,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said at the afternoon press conference. “But I want to say as mayor of the city of Boston, we are one city . . . a city we will not let the terrorists win over.”

Equity Office Properties, the region’s largest commercial landlord with millions of square feet of office space, shuttered most of its properties. Across from City Hall at Center Plaza, tenants already inside the curved building on Cambridge Street were not permitted to leave, according to a posting on Equity Office Properties’ website. The local FBI office is in Center Plaza.

Other buildings normally teeming with thousands of employees also closed.

Steve Steinberg, a spokesman for the real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said he received an e-mail about 8 a.m. saying his building at One Post Office Square was shut.

“I was on my way in to the office, and I just turned around when I got the e-mail,” said Steinberg, who was commuting into the city on Route 1. “It was eerie. The highway was virtually empty.”

New Balance chief executive Rob DeMartini said a few people made it into the Brighton headquarters of the sneaker-maker before security sent out a robocall telling workers to stay home.

“It’s been a trying week and today is going to make it even more trying because the better part of the city on lockdown,” DeMartini said.

The company, which had employees and runners spread across the Boston Marathon, offered counseling and held town hall meetings “to acknowledge and process as people realized the city was impacted in a significant way,” DeMartini said.

He said most employees have the ability to work from home until further notice.

Matthew Kiefer, an attorney with the Boston law firm Goulston & Storrs, said his 150-attorney firm on Atlantic Avenue was shut down at 8:14 a.m. A couple of hours earlier, he said, he got an automated call from a state-operated emergency line warning him of the manhunt.

“There’s almost nobody out on the street,” Kiefer said of his Jamaica Plain neighborhood. He said he spoke to a client this morning who was at a Starbucks on Newbury Street. “I guess he was in line and they closed the door behind him and said, ‘Please get your coffee and leave.’ ”


Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com Follow him on Twitter @globeandrewryan.



Source
.

House passes revamped CISPA cybersecurity bill amidst warnings of 'digital bombs'


Fear of cyber attacks trumps privacy concerns

By Adi Robertson on April 18, 2013 01:01 pm Email @thedextriarchy





The US House of Representatives has once again passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which died in the Senate last year, by a margin of 288 to 127after two days of debate. Over several hours, House opinion on the bill boiled down to whether the redesigned CISPA successfully addressed criticism from civil libertarians, and whether the threat of cyberattacks was grave enough to justify overriding lingering concerns. Representative Candice Miller (R-MI), a CISPA supporter, painted a dire picture of North Korean hackers taking down the US power grid, and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) warned that "our nation is under attack." Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) went so far as to urge passage with a comparison to the Boston Marathon bombings: "In the case of Boston they were real bombs, in this case they're digital bombs. And these digital bombs are on their way."

"OUR NATION IS UNDER ATTACK."

Cyberwarfare is seen as a major threat by other parts of the US government. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has testified about the possibility of a major cyber attack, and the NSA has stepped up its cyberwarfare efforts with offensive and defensive teams. President Barack Obama has signed an executive cybersecurity order, and he's urged Congress to pass legislation that would broaden it. At its core, CISPA is meant to make it easier for companies to share information about online attacks between each other and the government, letting them catch hacks early and better defend themselves. But there's disagreement over whether it does so while protecting the privacy of ordinary people whose data is actually at risk of being exposed.

While both Facebook and Microsoft have backed away slightly from supporting CISPA, other major tech lobby groups have urged its passage, and only a small number of companies — including Mozilla and Reddit — have actively opposed it. Instead, organized protest has come from advocacy groups like the ACLU or EFF, who warn that the bill's provisions could supersede existing privacy agreements, letting companies share private information about their users with the government. The White House has expressed this concern as well, asking legislators to build stronger protections for users into the bill.

After the bill was marked up in committee, several amendments were brought and passed. One, which was filed the day before floor debate, designates the Department of Homeland Security as the central agency for receiving company data, after which it could be passed to other agencies. Early drafts were hailed as a way to limit the scope of government sharing, with the ACLU's Michelle Richardson telling reporters that it was "by far the biggest amendment."

"FOR ALL OF THIS FLOOR ACTION, THE BILL IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME."

Richardson now says, however, that the amendment was stripped of its teeth before being brought to the floor. It does not require companies to report only through the DHS if they want to keep their immunity, instead simply designating the department as a primary point of contact. She also didn't believe the other amendments made much different to the final result: "For all of this floor action, the bill is pretty much the same." Many of them were designed to be clarifications, making it evident that legislators don't intend CISPA to be used for surveillance or searches; unfortunately, unintended consequences or abuses are what opponents worry about.

Some legislators protested the fact that oversight amendments were shot down in committee, before the bill came to the floor. Among other things, these amendments could have set further limits to when governments would use shared information, required companies to scrub personal data from the user information they sent, or bound them to abide by privacy contracts with users. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), a particularly outspoken CISPA critic, said that the bill as written was "wide open to potential abuse," arguing that it could open the door to searching through user data. "There are absolutely no protections with regards to what is done with this information," he said.

"THE FOURTH AMENDMENT TRUMPS ALL."

Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) dismissed his concerns, saying that CISPA could not erode existing constitutional protections. "The Fourth Amendment trumps all," he said, adding that foreign cyber threats posed a bigger danger to privacy. Supporters also pointed to amendments that would govern sharing with civilian agencies, limiting it to "cybersecurity" cases. Others criticized the notion that CISPA information-sharing would authorize surveillance or allow companies to break user privacy agreements, calling the latter "misinformation."

The bill still has a long road before becoming law. CISPA initially passed in the House last year, but it wasn't taken up by the Senate. Now, it will once again be up to the Senate to craft and pass a companion bill. Whether Obama will support the bill is another matter. While the White House has said repeatedly that it will work with legislators, a statement released yesterday said the Obama Administration would veto CISPA if changes weren't made. Now, it's up to the Senate to determine what its version of the proposed law will look like — and whether it will actually make it through this time.


.

Marathon runner (Joe Berti) witnesses double disasters


Marathon runner witnesses double disasters

By AMY FORLITI | Associated Press – 9 hrs ago




Associated Press/Eric Gay - Marathon runner Joe Berti poses for a photo in Austin, Texas, Thursday, April 18, 2013. Berti had just finished the Boston Marathon seconds before two bombs exploded at the finish line. Two days later, he was in his home state of Texas when he saw a fertilizer plant explode near Waco. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

RELATED CONTENT

Marathon runner Joe Berti, rear …


View Photo
This combination photos shows, …



People keep asking Joe Berti if he feels unlucky.

A bomb exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon moments after Berti finished the race. Two days later, he was in his home state of Texas when he saw a fertilizer plant explode near Waco.

"I was just like, 'I can't believe this!'" said Berti, who said he had never witnessed an explosion before. Then he thought: "I just want to get out of here and get away from all these explosions."

But Berti, as it turns out, is far from unlucky. Instead, he feels fortunate. He left both tragedies unscathed, while members of his running group and his wife — who was closer to the Boston explosion than he was — were also unhurt.

"It's a miracle," he said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. "People keep saying, 'Don't you feel unlucky?' and I was actually the opposite — saying not only do I not feel unlucky, but I feel blessed that my wife could be 10 yards from the explosion and not have a scratch."

The bombings in Boston, which happened about 10 seconds apart at the finish line of Monday's marathon, killed three people and left more than 180 wounded. In West, Texas, which is near Waco, a fertilizer plant exploded Wednesday, killing at least five people, injuring more than 160, and leveling homes, apartments and a school.

"We're grateful that God has been merciful to us," said Berti's wife, Amy. "We are just praying for the people who were so much less fortunate than we were."

Berti's road to the Boston marathon started just a couple months ago, when he decided to run with Champions4Children, a charity that helps kids with rare or undiagnosed disorders and their families. He was one of eight Austin-area runners who ran the marathon with that group. Each ran for a sick child or "training partner," who tracked his or her runner's marathon progress from home.

During the last four miles, the 43-year-old Berti, who wore bib number 25472, felt his body shutting down, and his pace slowed. But he was running for his partner Drew, and he vowed to finish.

"I had just run to the finish line and... (moments) later I heard the first explosion, and then turned around and saw the smoke," he said. "I knew immediately that it was a bomb. ... Then the second explosion occurred and I saw a wave of people running."

At that point, he said, he was so exhausted he couldn't run anymore. He worried about getting caught in a stampede. He was concerned about members of his running group who were behind him. He also thought about his wife, whom he was unable to reach and was probably wondering where he was. He told himself she was fine, because she was supposed to be at a restaurant.

"But then, I was like, 'She never listens to me, and she may have been at the finish line,'" a thought he quickly tried to remove from his mind.

As it turns out, Amy Berti and a friend were just yards from the first explosion. She had just taken a picture of Joe, and was heading to the finish line to find him when the bomb went off. She and her friend were both hit by shrapnel. Amy was uninjured, her friend was bruised.

But a woman right next to Amy had her leg torn off from the knee down, and lost all the fingers in her left hand. Amy Berti went to get help, and once that woman was being cared for, Amy's frantic search for her husband began.

His cellphone battery died. He wasn't on the bus. He wasn't in the medical tents.

"I had just watched him cross where that bomb was, so I didn't know if he made it through and I couldn't find him," she said. "I started to freak out a little bit."

After about an hour, the couple reunited at their hotel, both of them OK. They left Boston Tuesday morning and returned to Austin, with every hope of getting back to life as normal with their two girls, ages 8 and 11.

Joe Berti went back to work. On Wednesday, he had a daylong meeting in Dallas, followed by a museum tour. He was heading home on Interstate 35 and nearing Waco Wednesday night when he saw black smoke up ahead to his left. As he drove closer, he saw — and felt — his second explosion in two days.

"You've got to be kidding!" he remembers thinking. He described the giant fireball as a massive force that shook his car. He said it looked like pictures of nuclear explosions that he has seen on television.

He didn't know what he had just witnessed — but he pulled over and took a picture.

"My next reaction was to get out of there because something fell on the top of my car — some debris or something fell from the sky," he said.

As black smoke billowed over the highway in front of him, Berti held his breath and drove through it. After a few attempts, he was able to reach his wife — sparing her another round of worry.

"I'm like, 'Honey, what is with your luck? Why are you in all of these places?" Amy Berti said. When a reporter suggested that Joe should stay home for a while, she joked, "We need to keep him moving. Maybe he just needs to stand in an open field."

___

Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti

___

Associated Press photo editor Karly Domb Sadof and Susan James at The Associated Press News and Information Research Center contributed to this report.
.
.
.
.
.
Related:

Joe Berti, Marathon Runner, Witnessed Both Boston Bombings And Texas Explosion
.
..

Waco After 20 Years: A Warning Against Unrestrained Government


Friday, 19 April 2013 00:00
Written by Thomas R. Eddlem






April 19 marks the 20th anniversary of the Waco, Texas, massacre of Branch Davidian church members at the organization's Mount Carmel compound. Some 82 Davidians (including 26 children) and four ATF agents were killed in two related episodes, a February 28 military-style assault by 100 ATF agents and an April 19 fire after a six-week stand-off provoked by the FBI.

The Waco massacre ranks among the largest mass-killing of American citizens by its own government since 19th century Indian massacres, such as Wounded Knee, the Dakota Sioux War of 1862, and the Trail of Tears.

The massacre began in a February 28 raid by AFT officials on the compound where Davidians lived. The Davidians were ready for the ATF. Four ATF agents were killed and another 16 injured, and the ATF was repulsed from the Mount Carmel Center compound. Six Davidians — a Seventh Day Adventist splinter group — were also reportedly killed in the February 28 melee.

The raid was a result of ATF allegations that the Davidian's leader David Koresh (also known by his birth name Vernon Howell) had modified legally purchased AR-15 military-style rifles to fully automatic status, a federal crime. The FBI later concluded that the Davidians had modified 48 firearms to fire in fully automatic mode, and that they also had 21 silencers and a number of “practice” hand-grenades.

Koresh had been the subject of a series of articles in the Waco Tribune-Herald beginning the day before the February 28 ATF raid. The paper quoted former Davidians who claimed firearms violations as well as polygamy and child molestation by Koresh. The series began with the following allegations:

Waco — If you are a Branch Davidian, Christ lives on a threadbare piece of land 10 miles east of here called Mount Carmel. He has dimples, claims a ninth-grade education, married his legal wife when she was 14, enjoys a beer now and then, plays a mean guitar, reportedly packs a 9mm Glock and keeps an arsenal of military assault rifles, and willingly admits that he is a sinner without equal....

An eight-month Waco Tribune-Herald investigation that involved numerous interviews with Breault and more than 20 other former cult members and a review of court records and statements to law enforcement officials revealed complaints that Howell:

• abused children physically and psychologically;

• boasted of having sex with underage girls in the cult;

• and has had at least 15 so-called “wives.”

The ATF raid was initiated in advance of anticipated annual March budget hearings in Congress, and Mike Wallace of CBS' 60 Minutes noted in a May 23, 1993 broadcast after the end of the siege that “almost all the agents we talked to said they believe the initial attack on that cult in Waco was a publicity stunt — the main goal of which was to improve ATF’s tarnished image.” Indeed, earlier in the year Wallace had aired a program alleging a culture of sexual harassment against women in the agency. The codename for the eventual February 28 military-style assault, deemed a “dynamic entry” by the ATF, was “Showtime.”

And “dynamic entry” was the ATF's first option, not its last option. The U.S. House of Representatives reported on August 2, 1996 after an investigation: “The subcommittees conclude that the ATF was predisposed to using aggressive, military tactics in an attempt to serve the arrest and search warrant. The ATF deliberately choose not to arrest Koresh outside the Davidian residence and instead determined to use a dynamic entry approach. The bias toward the use of force may in large part be explained by a culture within ATF.”

In a phone interview with CNN the evening of the initial ATF raid on February 28, Koresh claimed that the ATF agents had started the shooting:

They started firing at me. And so what happened was is that I fell back at the door, and bullets started coming through the door. And so then what happened was some of the young men with us just started firing on them. And I was already hollering, I was saying “go away.” You know, I was hollering “Go away. There's women and children here. Let's talk.”

Koresh's interview coincided with the experience of Texas law enforcement when he had a run-in with the law several years earlier. Local officials reported no difficulties talking with Koresh, or with arresting him for an alleged crime (which resulted in a hung jury). McClennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell told the Houston Chronicle on March 1, 1993: “We had no problems. We treated them like human beings rather than storm-trooping the place. They were extremely polite people. After the trial, although we didn’t agree with everything they believed or said, many of the staff were pretty sympathetic with them.”

Though the U.S. government has always claimed that the Davidians fired the first shots, even the FBI concluded in its report Project Megiddo that the ATF provoked the Davidians: “The violent tendencies of dangerous cults can be classified into two general categories — defensive violence and offensive violence. Defensive violence is utilized by cults to defend a compound or enclave that was created specifically to eliminate most contact with the dominant culture. The 1993 clash in Waco, Texas at the Branch Davidian complex is an illustration of such defensive violence. History has shown that groups that seek to withdraw from the dominant culture seldom act on their beliefs that the endtime has come unless provoked.”

The federal government clearly also violated the federal Posse Comitatus Act during the six week Waco seige, which bans the use of the military in law enforcement within the territorial United States, since they used military advisors and tanks to distribute a military-style tear-gas round called CS gas. Use of CS gas canisters was later banned even in war by the 1997 International Chemical Weapons Convention, and Davidians later blamed the fire on the use of the combustible gas canisters to end the siege.

While the official government report stressed that none of the victims of the fire was a direct result of the CS gas canisters, the failure to escape the fire may have been partially — or fully — a result of disability from the gas, which stings the eyes, throat, and skin. This may have been particularly the case for the women and children victims, who were in an enclosed area of the compound where the fumes would be slow to disperse.

The Washington Post admitted on September 4, 1999 that the White House's seven years of denying that the government had used military projectiles had proved to be a lie. “The episode has become a painful embarrassment to the FBI, largely because of the bureau's insistence until last week that no military tear gas cartridges or other potentially incendiary weapons were used during the assault.”

The Washington Post also reported of Richard M. Rogers, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team at Waco:

Rogers, the agent who gave the authorization to use the military rounds, also was the Hostage Rescue Team commander during an earlier siege against white separatist Randy Weaver in August 1992 in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in which Weaver's wife, Vicki, was shot and killed by an FBI sniper. "Rules of engagement" drafted by Rogers, which allowed agents to shoot armed suspects on sight, were later deemed illegal by a Justice Department task force. As a result of his role at Ruby Ridge, Rogers was issued a 10-day suspension in 1995 and voluntarily accepted reassignment to a non-tactical management job. He has since retired from the bureau.

Photo of April 19, 1993 fire at Mount Carmel: AP Images


.

Update: Boston bomb suspects from Russia region near Chechnya, lived in US at least 1 year



TIME


AP sources: Boston bomb suspects from Russia region near Chechnya, lived in US at least 1 year

Houston Chronicle ‎- by Nick Anderson ‎- 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — AP sources: Boston bomb suspects from Russia region near Chechnya, lived in US at least 1 year.



Update:

Details emerge on suspected Boston bombers


Law enforcement officials identified the suspect still on the loose as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was identified as the man killed during an encounter with police after an armed carjacking of a Mercedes SUV in Cambridge. Tsarnaev was believed to be in his mid-20s. 
...

Read more
.



.

Criminal Illegal Aliens to Receive Amnesty


April 19, 2013 By Michael Volpe



An obscure portion of the new immigration bill authored and negotiated by the bipartisan so-called “Gang of 8″ will allow illegal aliens with multiple misdemeanor convictions to still qualify for immediate legal status and potentially even citizenship down the road.

According to the pertinent portion of the text, those with three or more misdemeanor convictions no longer qualify for immediate legalized status under the new bill. Grounds for ineligibility status include anyone with one or more felony convictions along with three or more misdemeanor convictions. As the text states, only those with “3 or more misdemeanor offense (other than minor traffic offenses or State or local offenses for which an essential element was the alien’s immigration status or violation of this Act) if the alien was convicted on different dates for each of the 3 offenses” will be ineligible.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama (R), whose office released this portion of the text, slammed this directive stating that it will lead to criminals being able to gain legal status in a press release.

Alarmingly, the bill leaves intact the single greatest obstacle to immigration reform: the Administration’s abuse of prosecutorial discretion to prevent the enforcement of federal law. It will also provide safe harbor to those who have committed a variety of offenses—ranging from identity theft, to multiple immigration violations, and even those with criminal records.

Front Page Magazine reached out to the offices of Senators Marco Rubio and Chuck Schumer for comment as well, but no message was returned as of the publication of this article.

In December 2012, the Obama administration first reclassified the definition of a dangerous criminal illegal alien as an individual convicted of three rather than one misdemeanor. In that case, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive to all ICE agents redefined priorities for all agents to only focus on investigating individuals with at least three misdemeanor convictions.

If passed, this bill will immediately legalize all those illegal aliens who qualify, including those with two misdemeanor convictions or less. The bill further provides a pathway to citizenship which should take a minimum of ten years and presumably will include a number of triggers for border security. The bill also calls for a number of border security measures, including full implementation of the E Verify system, money to build a border fence for the Southern border, as well as extra resources to hire more border patrol agents.

While analysts have focused on the dynamic between the enforcement portions of the bill and how they will interact with the amnesty portions, most observers have assumed that dangerous illegal aliens will all be deported. This latest revelation puts that assumption into question, and that should also be considered and fully explained before any votes on this bill are taken.


.

Boston interfaith prayer service





WashingtonPost


Streamed live on Apr 18, 2013


Live video of the interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. President Obama is expected to speak at 11 a.m.

.

Boston interfaith service stresses city’s grace and strength in tragedy



Catholic News Service | April 18, 2013




Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley joins other faith leaders during the “Healing Our City” interfaith memorial service April 18 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. The April 15 bombing claimed the lives of at least three people and injured more than 170. (CNS photo/Gregory L. Tracy, The Pilot)



BOSTON (CNS) — In an April 18 interfaith prayer service, religious and political leaders emphasized the enduring strength of the people of Boston and urged them to find consolation and healing in their continued support of one another.












U.S. President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks during the “Healing Our City” interfaith memorial service April 18 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. The April 15 bombing claimed the lives of at least three people and injured more than 170. (CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters )



Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley welcomed the congregation that packed the cathedral and told them the service was offered in solidarity with those who lost their lives or were injured in the bombings at the Boston Marathon April 15.

“We must overcome the culture of death and promote a culture of life,” he said, stressing that the blueprint for doing so was found in the passage on the beatitudes read during the prayer service.

The only way for people to “repair our broken world” is not as individuals but as a community and as a family, he said, noting that the tragedy provides “a challenge and an opportunity for us to work together with a renewed spirit of determination and solidarity and with the firm conviction that love is stronger than death.”

The cardinal, who returned to Boston April 16 after a retreat in the Holy Land, said the tragic event “shakes us out of our complacency and indifference and calls us to focus on the task of building a civilization that is based on love, justice, truth and service.”

Other religious leaders from Boston who spoke at the prayer service were: the Rev. Liz Walker from Roxbury Presbyterian Church; Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Methodios; Rabbi Ronne Friedman of Temple Israel; the Rev. Nancy Taylor, minister at Old South Church; Nasser Weddady, chair of the New England Interfaith Council and director of the American Islamic Congress; Bishop John Borders III, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan; and the Rev. Roberto Miranda, pastor of Lion of Judah Congregation in Roxbury.
“God’s love will have last word. God has not forsaken Boston,” said Rev. Miranda.

Many of the religious leaders spoke of the goodness of humanity shown immediately after the bombs exploded not only in the actions of first responders, but with people helping each other and runners even going directly to hospital to give blood.

Rev. Taylor said those who helped others that day “made their own bodies sacraments of blessing.”

The leaders also spoke of the presence of evil but did not focus on it. Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Methodios said “evil reared its ugly head” the day the bombs exploded in Boston. Rev. Walker stressed that the city has always “faced darkness head on” and would use similar resolve to find healing from this tragedy.

She noted that when people ask “where was God?” amid such devastation, she does not have the answer but she does know “God is here in Boston now.”

Political leaders who addressed the congregation were Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and President Barack Obama.

Menino said Boston is a city with courage, compassion and strength that “knows no bounds” and emphasized that nothing could defeat the “heart of the city” or “tear down the city’s resilience.”

The city’s longest-serving mayor who has been in office since 1993, said the support Boston has received gives it the courage to say goodbye to those who were killed in the marathon bombings. He thanked everyone for prayers and wishes, New Yorkers in particular.

Gov. Patrick said that even though his faith tradition urges believers to always give thanks, he said he “wasn’t feeling it” the afternoon of April 15. In retrospect, he said he is thankful for the response of so many people from first responders to government leaders,

He said he is most thankful for those in Boston who “in the aftermath of such senseless violence, let their first instinct be kindness.”

“So, we will recover and repair,” the governor said. “We will grieve our losses and heal. We will rise and we will endure. We will have accountability without vengeance; vigilance without fear. And we will remember, I hope and pray, long after the buzz of Boylston Street is back and the media has turned its attention elsewhere, that the grace this tragedy exposed is the best of who we are.”

Obama said the marathon’s beauty was shattered by violence and noted that the prayer service was an opportunity to “come together to pray, and mourn, and measure our loss.”

“But we also come together today to reclaim that state of grace — to reaffirm that the spirit of this city is undaunted, and the spirit of this country shall remain undimmed.”

The president offered prayers and support for those killed in the tragedy and offered words of encouragement for the wounded telling them: “As you begin this long journey of recovery, your city is with you… We will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again.”

He said the perpetrators of senseless violence fail to see that Americans find strength and power in their faith in each other and love for each other and for their country.

That’s why a bomb can’t beat us. That’s why we don’t hunker down. That’s why we don’t cower in fear. We carry on. We race. We strive. We build, and we work, and we love,” he said.

“And this time next year, on the third Monday in April,” he added, “the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever, and to cheer even louder, for the 118th Boston Marathon.”

- – -

Contributing to this story was Carol Zimmermann in Washington.


.

One Boston Marathon suspect killed; second suspect, his brother, on loose after firefight





FBI.gov
The two marathon bombing suspects. The man in the white hat is still believed to be at large.


By Pete Williams, Richard Esposito, Michael Isikoff and Erin McClam, NBC News


With a bomb strapped to his chest, one of the Boston Marathon suspects was killed early Friday after he and his accomplice robbed a 7-Eleven, shot a police officer to death, carjacked an SUV and hurled explosives out the window in an extraordinary firefight with law enforcement, authorities told NBC News.



.
/

Transcript: Obama at Boston interfaith service


1:41 p.m. EDT April 18, 2013



(Photo: Charles Krupa, AP)


Hello, Boston. Scripture tells us to run with endurance the race that is set before us. Run with endurance the race that is set before us.

On Monday morning, the sun rose over Boston. The sunlight glistened off the State House Dome. In the commons, in the public garden, spring was in bloom. On this Patriot's Day, like so many before, fans jumped onto the T to see the Sox at Fenway. In Hopkinton, runners laced up their shoes and set out on a 26.2-mile test of dedication and grit and the human spirit.

And across this city, hundreds of thousands Bostonians lined the streets to hand the runners cups of water, to cheer them on. It was a beautiful day to be in Boston, a day that explains why a poet once wrote that this town is not just a capital, not just a place. Boston, he said, is the perfect state of grace. (Applause.)

And then, in an instant, the day's beauty was shattered. A celebration became a tragedy. And so we come together to pray and mourn and measure our loss. But we also come together today to reclaim that state of grace, to reaffirm that the spirit of this city is undaunted and the spirit of the country shall remained undimmed.

To Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino, Cardinal O'Malley and all the faith leaders who are here, governors Romney, Swift, Weld and Dukakis, members of Congress, and most of all, the people of Boston and the families who've lost a piece of your heart, we thank you for your leadership. We thank you for your courage. We thank you for your grace.

I'm here today on behalf of the American people with a simple message. Every one of us has been touched by this attack on your beloved city. Every one of us stands with you. Because, after all, it's our beloved city, too. Boston may be your hometown but we claim it, too. It's one of America's iconic cities. It's one of the world's great cities. And one of the reason(s), the world knows Boston so well is that Boston opens its heart to the world.

Over successive generations, you've welcomed again and again new arrivals to our shores; immigrants who constantly reinvigorated this city and this commonwealth and our nation. Every fall, you welcome students from all across America and all across the globe. And every spring, you graduate them back into the world -- a Boston diaspora that excels in every field of human endeavor.

Year after year, you welcome the greatest talents in the arts, in science, research. You welcome them to your concert halls and your hospitals and your laboratories to exchange ideas and insights that draw this world together.

And every third Monday in April, you welcome people from all around the world to the hub for friendship and fellowship and healthy competition -- a gathering of men and women of every race and every religion, every shape and every size -- a multitude represented by all those flags that flew over the finish line.

So whether folks come here to Boston for just a day, or they stay here for years, they leave with a piece of this town tucked firmly into their hearts. So Boston's your home town, but we claim it a little bit too. I know this -- (applause) -- I know this because there's a piece of Boston in me. You welcomed me as a young law student across the river -- welcomed Michelle too. You welcomed me -- (applause) -- you welcomed me during a convention when I was still a state senator and very few people could pronounce my name right. (Laughter.)

Like you, Michelle and I have walked these streets. Like you, we know these neighborhoods. And like you, in this moment of grief, we join you in saying: Boston, you're my home. For millions of us, what happened in Monday is personal. It's personal.

Today our prayers are with the Campbell family of Medford. They're here today. Their daughter Krystle was always smiling. Those who knew her said that with her red hair and her freckles and her ever-eager willingness to speak her mind, she was beautiful, sometimes she could be a little noisy, and everybody loved her for it. She would have turned 30 next month. As her mother said, through her tears, this doesn't make any sense.

Our prayers are with the Lu family of China, who sent their daughter Lingzi to BU so that she could experience all that this city has to offer. She was a 23-year-old student, far from home. And in the heartache of her family and friends on both sides of the great ocean, we're reminded of the humanity that we all share.

Our prayers are with the Richard family of Dorchester, to Denise and the young daughter Jane, as they fight to recover.

And our hearts are broken for 8-year-old Martin, with his big smile and bright eyes. His last hours were as perfect as an 8-year-old boy could hope for, with his family, eating ice cream at a sporting event. And we're left with two enduring images of this little boy, forever smiling for his beloved Bruins and forever expressing a wish he made on a blue poster board: No more hurting people. Peace. No more hurting people. Peace.

Our prayers are with the injured, so many wounded, some gravely. From their beds, some are surely watching us gather here today. And if you are, know this: As you begin this long journey of recovery, your city is with you. Your commonwealth is with you. Your country is with you. We will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again. (Applause.) You will run again because that's what the people of Boston are made of.

Your resolve is the greatest rebuke to whoever committed this heinous act. If they sought to intimidate us, to terrorize us, to shake us from those values that Deval described, the values that make us who we are as Americans, well, it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it. (Cheers, applause.) Not here in Boston. Not here in Boston. (Cheers and applause continue.)

You showed us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what's good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. In the face of those who would visit death upon innocents, we will choose to save and to comfort and to heal. We'll choose friendship. We'll choose love. Because Scripture teaches us God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.

And that's the spirit you've displayed in recent days. When doctors and nurses, police and firefighters and EMTs and guardsmen run towards explosions to treat the wounded, that's discipline. When exhausted runners, including our troops and veterans, who never expected to see such carnage on the streets back home, become first responders themselves, tending to the injured, that's real power. When Bostonians carry victims in their arms, deliver water and blankets, line up to give blood, open their homes to total strangers, give them rides back to reunite with their families, that's love.

That's the message we send to those who carried this out and anyone who would do harm to our people. Yes, we will find you. And yes, you will face justice. (Applause.) We will find you. We will hold you accountable. But more than that, our fidelity to our way of life, for a free and open society, will only grow stronger, for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power and love and self-discipline.

Like Bill Ifrig, 78 years old -- the runner in the orange tank top who we all saw get knocked down by the blast, we may be momentarily knocked off our feet -- (scattered laughter) -- but we'll pick ourselves up. We'll keep going. We will finish the face. (Applause.)

In the words of Dick Hoyt, who has pushed his disabled son Rick in 31 Boston marathons, we can't let something like this stop us. (Applause.) This doesn't stop us. (Applause.) And that's what you've taught us, Boston. That's what you've reminded us, to push on, to persevere, to not grow weary, to not get faint even when it hurts.

Even when our heart aches, we summon the strength that maybe we didn't even know we had, and we carry on; we finish the race. (Applause.) We finish the race, and we do that because of who we are, and we do that because we know that somewhere around the bend, a stranger has a cup of water. Around the bend, somebody's there to boost our spirits. On that toughest mile, just when we think that we've hit a wall, someone will be there to cheer us on and pick us up if we fall. We know that.

(Sustained applause.)

And that's what the perpetrators of such senseless violence, these small, stunted individuals who would destroy instead of build and think somehow that makes them important -- that's what they don't understand.

Our faith in each other, our love for each other, our love for country, our common creed that cuts across whatever superficial differences there may be, that is our power. That's our strength. That's why a bomb can't beat us. That's why we don't hunker down. That's why we don't cower in fear.

We carry on. We race. We strive. We build and we work and we love and we raise our kids to do the same. And we come together to celebrate life and to walk our cities and to cheer for our teams when the Sox, then Celtics, then Patriots or Bruins are champions again, to the chagrin of New York and Chicago fans. The crowds will gather and watch a parade go down Boylston Street. And this time next year on the third Monday in April, the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever and to cheer even louder for the 118th Boston Marathon.

(Sustained applause.)

Bet on it. (Sustained cheers, applause.)

Tomorrow the sun will rise over Boston. Tomorrow the sun will rise over the --- this country that we love, this special place, this state of grace. Scripture tells us to run with endurance the race that is set before us. As we do, may God hold close those who've been taken from us too soon, may he comfort their families and may he continue to watch over these United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)


.



Thursday, April 18, 2013

M7.2 earthquake strikes north of Japan, near Hokkaido



posted on APRIL 19, 2013 by ADAM WESTLAKE




The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck on Friday afternoon to the north of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost islands, and far east of Russia. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the quake as well, taking place at 12:05 PM local time, however Japanese authorities have confirmed there is no need for a tsunami warning.

A spokesman for authorities in Hokkaido has said there have been no reports of injuries or damages at this point, but the M7.2 quake definitely gave the locals a good shake. The USGS says the origin was fairly shallow, only 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, and at an epicenter of roughly 275 km (170 miles) northeast of the Russian-administered Kuril Islands, and 528 km (328 miles) northeast of Hokkaido’s town of Nemuro. While the area is roughly 1,500 km (930 miles) north of Tokyo, some in the Japanese capital said they felt some mild shaking.

The last week has been fairly full of earthquakes in Japan, with a M6.3 hiting western Japan in the early morning hours of April 13th. There were a number of injuries reported, however most were not serious, and nearly all were due to people tripping or falling. There was also some minor damages to local buildings and structures, but no collapses occurred. On Wednesday, April 17th, Miyake Island, located south of Tokyo, was struck by a dozen or so small earthquakes, with the JMA measuring the largest at magnitude 6.2. Thankfully there were no injuries or damages in that case either, and tsunami warning was necessary, but the shaking prompted many locals to suffer bad memories from a volcano eruption in 2000 that forced the island to evacuate.



Police: MIT Campus officer shot dead on campus



Donna Leinwand Leger and William M. Welch USA Today12:50 a.m. EDT April 19, 2013



(Photo: Matt Rourke, AP)


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • School initially posted a statement on its website saying there had been gunshots heard near the Stata building
  • MIT campus is located in Cambridge, Mass.
  • MIT website: 'Situation is considered active and extremely dangerous'



CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus police officer was shot and killed Thursday night at the school's campus outside Boston, police said.

The shooting came as the entire Boston area was on high alert following Monday's fatal bomb explosions during the Boston Marathon and as the FBI was leading a massive manhunt for suspects.

Police in Cambridge, where the school is located, issued a pair of Tweets saying that an officer reported shot around 10:30 p.m. had died.

"Police, DA Investigating Fatal Shooting of Campus Police Officer In Cambridge,'' the department Tweeted.

A Cambridge police officer confirmed the officer was shot but provided no other information.

There was a large number of Massachusetts State Police and officers from other agencies, as well as at least four fire trucks, at the scene on the campus.

Massachusetts State Police said it was assisting Cambridge and campus police in their investigation.

State police said no one had been arrested.

MIT campus police referred a caller to the campus news bureau, where no one answered calls.

State police spokesman Dave Procopio said the shooting took place about 10:30 p.m. local time outside an MIT building, the Associated Press reported. The injured officer was described as a male but no further information about him was released.

Procopio says authorities are searching for a suspect or suspects.

About 11,000 people attend the prestigious school. The MIT campus is in Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston and less than two miles from Copley Square, where two bombs exploded Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, triggering a massive manhunt for what the FBI said were two suspects.

The school posted a statement on its website saying only that there had been gunshots heard near the Stata building on campus. It said the area was cordoned off by police and urged students to stay away from the area.

"At 10:48 PM today gunshots were reported near Building 32 (Stata) which is currently surrounded by responding agencies. The area is cordoned off. Please stay clear of area until further notice. Unknown if injuries have occurred.. Although the situation is considered active and extremely dangerous, an investigation is underway. Updates will be provided at this site when more information becomes available."

The Cambridge police posted a statement on Twitter that they do not have a suspect in custody.

MIT issued a Tweet saying the investigation was continuing and warning: "Stay vigilant, stay indoors and away from Building 32/76 (Stata/Koch).''

Contributing: Melanie Eversley


.

Drug-War Homicides Spiking Under Mexican President Peña Nieto


Posted by Bill Conroy - April 14, 2013 at 7:59 pm


Mexico-based Private Security Firm’s Intelligence  

Shows Big Jump in Murders, Political Assassinations Since December 2012

The administration of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has made it a priority to divert the media’s focus from the drug war and toward his economic efforts to bring the Latin American nation in closer alignment with the international corporate agenda of assuring a cheap supply labor and nearly risk-free return on investment.

So he is much more eager to talk about the benefits of a gradual privatization of PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned energy company, than he is to discuss the realities of the ongoing, bloody drug war that was ramped up by his predecessor in Los Pinos, former Mexican President Felipe Calderón.




Toward that end, Peña Nieto has put a halt to the parade of TV-camera narco-villain perp walks popularized by Calderón and promised to address the street-level violence of the drug war as opposed to employing the military in large numbers to hunt down criminal-organization leaders.

Given Peña Nieto’s radical policy departure from the Calderon administration’s all-out war on the “cartels,” and his imperative of putting corporate trade and commerce at the tip of his policy sword, it is crucial that Peña Nieto demonstrate early success in reducing the visible violence of the drug war — which produced some 120,000 homicides in Mexico over the course of the six years Calderón held office.


.

Ebony Magazine’s ‘Cool Black Family’ Features Gay Bishop, His Partner and Adopted Child


04/03/2013 Culture



Ebony magazine, a popular African-American-oriented publication, apparently has a “coolest black family in America” series going, and has listed Rashad Burgess and the Bishop Oliver Clyde Allen III and their adopted daughter as No. 10 on the list. It’s a rather odd feature.




Ebony’s “coolest black family” list includes a gay bishop, his partner and their adopted daughter. (Photo: www.ebony.com)



To be clear, as a Christian, I believe the Bible describes any sexual relationship outside of a heterosexual, monogamous marriage as immoral and therefore sinful. Also, there is no doubt that homosexuals are capable of building a loving household with children, after all they are made in God’s image and therefore made to desire and give love — but this does not negate the first point.

That being said, I find this feature from Ebony magazine to be another example of how wide society has opened its arms to normalizing sin. It’s even more appalling that these two men call themselves Christian, and one even taking it upon himself to shepherd others while living rebelliously against God.


From Ebony:


Eleven-weeks old Caylee LaTanya Burgess-Allen coos as her father holds her. “Little missy doesn’t care that I have an interview to do. You gotta work with me a minute,” Oliver says, laughing. It’s clear that he loves every minute of his new station in life: fatherhood. The Burgess-Allens have no specific examples or true design on which to base their family construct. Nor do they have immediate mentors on which to mirror their professional choices. But when you do it anyway, it is revolutionary. Bishop Oliver Clyde Allen III and Rashad Burgess are ardent innovators.
Oliver, from Los Angeles, met Rashad at a conference in 1999. While he was initially struck by Rashad’s beauty, they didn’t become a couple until 2002. Rashad came out to his family between the ages of 18 and 21; he was six years into his liberation when he met his mate. Through his relationship with Rashad, Oliver came out to his own family. Oliver’s family wasn’t immediately accepting.
“My family is close,” Oliver says. “My mother initially didn’t know how to embrace it. After getting to know Rashad, and seeing that he was a responsible man who not only loved me but was willing to take care of me and build a life with me, she developed respect for him.”
In 2002, the two married on the shores of Hilton Head, South Carolina. “Completely private,” Oliver reminisces. “We went out to the beach around five a.m. wearing all white. We had a wooden chest with a Bible in it. We had music playing. We lit two torches on the beach and read our vows to each other. We also took communion together.”


Read the rest here.

You can read more about Bishop OC Allen at Gay Christian Movement Watch.


.