Friday, January 31, 2014

Attacks by Extremists Kill at Least 99 Nigerians

Suspected Islamic extremists used explosives and heavy guns to attack a village and worshippers during a Christian church service in Nigeria's northeast, killing at least 99 people and razing hundreds of homes, officials and witnesses said Monday.

The attacks in Borno and Adamawa states resulted in one of the highest death tolls in recent attacks by militants who are defying an 8-month old military state of emergency in three states in northern Nigeria designed to halt an Islamic uprising there.

Attackers set off several explosions in Kawuri village in Borno state after launching their assault near the weekly market as vendors were packing up on Sunday night, the security official said.

He said 52 people died and the entire village was burned down, including 300 homes. He also said two improvised explosive devices thet were left behind went off Monday morning, narrowly missing security personnel who were collecting bodies in Kawuri. The official blamed suspected Boko Haram militants for the attack.

A police official who evacuated wounded victims confirmed at least 52 people were killed and 16 wounded. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to reporters.

Ari Kolomi, who fled from his village, which is 70 kilometers (45 miles) outside Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, said, "No house was left standing" by the more than 50 extremists who attacked, armed with explosives and guns. Kolomi was searching for relatives in the village to make sure they had survived the attack.

State Police Commissioner Lawan Tanko confirmed the attack but said he was awaiting details on the casualties.

Also on Sunday, suspected militants in Adamawa state, south of Borno, stormed a Roman Catholic church during a Sunday morning service in Wada Chakawa village. They fired guns into the church, set off explosives and took people hostage during a five-hour siege, residents said. The Rev. Raymond Danbouye, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Yola, said dozens of people were killed.

Local Chairman Maina Ularamu said officials recovered 45 bodies including those of two police officers. He urged calm, saying: "I believe security operatives are on top of the situation."

Villager Moses Apogu said, "They used explosives during the attack on worshippers, and many people lost their lives." Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said some of the people taken away were later killed.

Brig. Gen. Rogers Nicholas, commander of a local brigade said officials were still tallying the death toll and that troops were deployed to track the attackers.

Nearly 200 people have been killed this month in attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist network in the area around Maiduguri. The city is the birthplace of the group, whose name in the local Hausa language means "Western education is forbidden."

A Jan. 14 car bomb exploded in Maiduguri, killing about 70 people. Officials blamed Boko Haram, though the state governor suggested it was the work of political opponents.

Other attacks have forced the flight of hundreds of villagers in about 30 farming communities around Maiduguri. Some of the displaced are camping on the outskirts of the state capital. More than 5,000 refugees from the violence have fled to Cameroon and Niger this month, the U.N. said last week.


MAIDUGURI, Nigeria January 27, 2014 (AP), By HARUNA UMAR Associated Press

Pelican 1120 Watch Case

Watch case made from a Pelican 1120 housing:
2012 Seiko Superior Automatic SSA003
1984 Seiko Analog Quartz 8122-7039 A1 with 1986 GU class ring
2013 Seiko Solar Diver SNE107
Bergeon 6767-F Springbar Tool





3/8' thick polyethylene foam pipe insulation for 3/4" copper pipes (@ $2 for 12') is doubled over itself and used as a cushioned filler inside the watch band:


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Thrivent’s Funding of Abortion Organizations: By the Numbers

The cost of a typical abortion, according to Planned Parenthood, ranges from $400 to $600 depending on circumstance. Assuming an average cost of $500 per abortion, Thrivent enabled just short of 34 abortions between 2006 and 2012. Given the now prevalent use of medical abortions via abortifacient medications, and the significantly lower average cost of these types of abortions, the number of abortions funded by Thrivent is likely significantly higher.

Here is a breakdown of Thrivent giving, per-year, per-organization, per match, as I was able to find in my research:

2012 ($2700 total): Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $150, $525, $100; Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $100, $30, $223, $370, $432, $370, $400

2011 ($1373 total): Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $300, $60, $200; Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $50, $100, $133, $100, $120, $50, $100; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – $85; NARAL Pro-Choice Foundation of Minnesota – $75

2010 ($1521 total): Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $150; Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $150, $200, $786, $150; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – $85

2009 ($830 total): Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $400, $250, $100; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – $80

2008 ($450 total): Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $100, $100, $250

2007 ($800 total): Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $105; Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $330, $225; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – $80; Planned Parenthood (location unnamed) – $25; Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice – $35

2006 ($810 total): Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $100; Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota – $380, $100, $125; Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio – $25; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – $80

Thrivent Foundation 2006 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2007 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2008 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2009 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2010 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2011 IRS 990PF
Thrivent Foundation 2012 IRS 990PF

http://daringlutheran.net/2014/01/29/thrivents-funding-of-abortion-organizations-by-the-numbers/

Monday, January 27, 2014

Message decoded, again: 3,000-year-old text may prove biblical tale of King Solomon

A few characters scratched into the side of an ancient earthenware jug have archaeologists scrambling for their dictionaries -- and wondering if it corroborates the Bible's stories of King Solomon.

The Ophel inscription -- 3,000-year-old characters found in Israel in July -- is the earliest alphabetical written text ever found in Jerusalem. It proves the real basis behind the parables and stories in the world’s most famous book, said Gershon Galil, a professor of ancient history and biblical studies at the University of Haifa.

"We are dealing here with real kings, and the kingdom of David and Solomon was a real fact," Galil told FoxNews.com, in a phone call from Israel.

But the world's leading archaeologists are still hotly debating the meaning of the inscription. Gershon offers what he calls the "only reasonable translation," noting at the same time that the very existence of the text is as important as its meaning.

"The most important thing this tells us is that somebody during this time knew how to write something," he said.

Three letters of the inscription are incomplete, and Galil translates them to read, "yah-yin chah-lak," which is Hebrew for "inferior wine." The first half of the text indicates the twentieth or thirtieth year of Solomon's reign -- making the entire inscription a label of sorts for the jug's contents.

He explains that the text must be written in an early form of southern Hebrew because it is the only language of the time to use two yods (Hebrew letters) to spell the word wine. Galil also suggests that the "inferior wine" was probably given to laborers who were helping to build the burgeoning city of Jerusalem.

If Hebrew as a written language did exist during the time of the inscription, it places the ancient Israelites in Jerusalem earlier than previously believed, under a time the Bible indicates was King Solomon's rule.

According to Galil's understanding of the text, the writing ability demonstrated by the inscription proves the existence of a fully functioning administration that collected taxes, prepared storage jars and performed other duties as early as the second half of the 10th century BC.

"The Bible claims that Solomon built the temple and that he was the man that enlarged the city," explained Galil. Outside of biblical texts, there has not been any evidence that Solomon in the mid-10th century ordered the building of the First Temple, the ancient Israelites' place of worship where the Dome of the Rock currently stands.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/01/27/message-decoded-again-3000-year-old-text-may-prove-biblical-tale-king-solomon/?intcmp=features

Kacey Musgraves: "Blowin' Smoke"


Merry Go Round cover by Abby and Trevor


Kacey Musgraves - "The Trailer Song" Live at the Grand Ole Opry


Royals - Cover By Sarah Stone (Cup Song Version)


Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Met


I-29 closed in all of ND, I-94 closed from Bismarck to Alexandria; Hwy 10 from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes

FARGO – Transportation officials have shut down Interstate 29 from the Canadian border to the South Dakota border, and Interstate 94 is closed from Bismarck to Alexandria, as blizzard conditions have worsened.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol closed Interstate 94 between Bismarck and Fargo due to zero visibility and multiple accidents, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Minnesota's DOT closed I-94 from Moorhead to Alexandria. It also closed Highway 10 from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes and Highway 210 from Fergus Falls to Breckenridge.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has issued a no travel advisory for southeast North Dakota due to blowing and drifting snow causing zero visibility.

Cities in the no travel advisory include Fargo, Wahpeton and surrounding areas.

read more at: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/424754/

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Seiko Superior Automatic SSA003

Seiko Superior Automatic SSA003K1 SSA003 SSA003K Mens Watch



Stainless Steel Case
Stainless Steel Bracelet
Automatic Movement
Caliber: 4R37
Hardlex Crystal
Black Dial
Luminous Hands and Hour Markers
Date Display at 4 O'clock Position
Screw Down Case Back
Crown at 4 O'clock Position
Fold Over Clasp and push Button Release
100 Meter Water Resistant

Case Diameter: 44mm (Excluding Crown)
Case Thickness: 13mm
Lug Width: 22mm

See Alice vs Cialis



But seriously - I believe there is a very Biblical message embedded there about love, respect, and seeing your wife blameless and pure...

Millennials in the Workplace - Training Video


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Bachmann: Obama's Legacy Is 'Establishment Of Lawlessness In United States'

Because he did not enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and now unilaterally adjusts the Obamacare law as it unfolds, President Barack Obama is sending a signal to liberal federal judges to mirror him and, as a result, the president's long-term legacy will be "the establishment of lawlessness in the United States," said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).

Bachmann also compared Obama's actions to those of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi -- "whatever he said was law."


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Killings of Christians by Islamists Doubled in 2013



According to Open Doors, a non-denominational group that supports persecuted Christians worldwide, the official number of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013, compared to 2012. According to the annual survey, the number of Christians killed in Syria in 2013 comes to more than the whole global total of 2012. Approximately 13 percent of the Syrian population is made up of Christians.

In the list of nations with the highest number of killings of Christians, Syria was followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, and Egypt. In its 2014 World Watch List, Somalia comes in at the top of the list— moving from fifth to second place— followed by Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Iran and Yemen.

read more at: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/killings-of-christians-by-islamists-doubled-in-2013/

Muslims training with US Army attempt kidnapping of 12-year-old girl in Missouri, Authorities drop the charges

Kidnapping and attacking infidel girls is a growing phenomenon in Western countries. Wherever there is large Muslim immigration (i.e., the hundreds of Muslim child sex trafficking gangs in the UK), attacks on native girls and women spike (i.e., Sweden, Norway etc.). But what is striking about this story is that we are training Muslim soldiers on home soil and the authorities let these savages go. They are sending them back to their countries, where they are free to kidnap and attack non-Muslim girls there. Monstrous.
These men were sought to enjoy the sex slaves allowed by the Qur’an (men may
enjoy “what your right hands own,” 4:3) and Islamic law from among unbelieving women (here).
At this risk of being repetitive, once again, no media on this story. This story happened in October; why are we only hearing about it now?
Screen Shot 2014-01-19 at 3.09.14 PM
“Muslims training with US Army attempt kidnapping of 12 yr old girl in Missouri,” Missouri Today, January 18, 2014 (thanks to Bob D)
WAYNESVILLE, Mo. • Pulaski County authorities have dropped charges against two foreign military officers who were training at Fort Leonard Wood when they were arrested.
The Rolla Daily News reports that Mohammed Mahmoud Omar Mefleh, of Jordan, and Antoine Chlela, of Lebanon, were charged in October with enticement of a child and harassment. Court records say the men allegedly approached a 12-year-old girl at a bus stop and asked her to enter their vehicle.
Pulaski County prosecutor Kevin Hillman said Friday that the charges were dropped as part of an agreement that includes the men paying the cost of their incarceration. Hillman says they were taken by Fort Leonard Wood officials, and he expects them to be out of the U.S. by Monday. Under terms of the plea, they will not be allowed to return to the country.
The men were taking courses at Fort Leonard Wood when they were arrested.


Read more: http://pamelageller.com/atlas_shrugs/2014/01/muslims-training-with-us-army-attempt-kidnapping-of-12-yr-old-girl-in-missouri.html/#ixzz2quc87geK
Follow us: @Atlasshrugs on Twitter | pamelageller on Facebook

Whose baptism is it?

Sermon preached for the Baptism of Our Lord, Sunday, January 12, 2014.

The waters of the Jordan churned with life and death. Jesus came to the waters with His life and came out wearing our death~ We go in as the dying to die there under the waters so that God might bring forth new life in us. Today the waters of . baptism are as filled with life and death as the waters of the Jordan Jesus encountered when He was baptized by John.

The waters of baptism are not without controversy then and now. Jesus arose from those waters to face the skepticism of John's crew of followers and the nearly universal rejection of those whom He came to save. Churches still refuse to see in this water what Christ has placed in it and the truth of baptism continues to be rejected out of hand by too many Christians.

Not long ago I was approached by someone upset that Lutherans baptized infants. How can infants be baptized without faith? He asked me. Why do they need to be baptized since only willful sins condemn us? He was adamant that what counts is not baptism but reading and agreeing with the Bible and making a conscious decision to follow Jesus and to live a holy and obedient life. I guess we are often confused about whose baptism it is and ever tempted to make baptism fit us instead of meeting Christ there in the water.

Whose baptism is it? That is the worthy question. When we make who is baptized and how that baptism happens the center, we miss completely the gift that God has hidden in the water.  When we turn baptism on what we do, we turn gift into burden.  As Norman Nagel loves to say, it is all in who is running the verbs.  If we run the verbs in baptism, it is a dead end.  Only if Christ runs the verbs does it lead somewhere.  Baptism is an event, a fact in time and space, but it is not merely that. We Christians do not claim that we were baptized but that we ARE baptized. God gave us a new identity. The old one that came to the font is dead and gone. A new identity is born.

As rich as baptism's symbolism may be, it is not merely a sign or symbol. Instead it is the promise that delivers what it says and bestows what it promises. This is why St. Peter can say baptism saves you. It is not an obedient act fulfilling the law of Christ but a sacramental encounter with Christ; it is Gospel.  So the death and life of baptism are not merely in the mind of the beholder but hidden there in the water itself. We are not our own. The one who came to the waters is gone and a new person has arisen in righteousness from those baptismal waters. It happened to Jesus, too. He was baptized into our sin; He who knew no sin became sin for us. Like a clean person who bathes in dirty water, Jesus went down pure but came out covered in our dirt. Just the opposite of you and me. We came as dirty as death but we came out of that water not only clean but holy and righteous in the eyes of God. Who we were died and who we are in Christ now lives never to die again. We are not who we were.

Christ is not only for us but in us. His is the new life we now wear . We are not on our own but live in Christ who lives in us. We are not individuals who make a choice but those who have been called with the great invitation of the Word, brought to the water, and been reborn into the family of God, the Church.

Each Sunday we walk by the font as a reminder that baptism is not only our past but our present and future. The water is sign and symbol of this new: life but also the agent and instrument of that new life. Christ came to the waters for us and now we come to the waters to meet Him and be reborn in Him.

Feelings are wonderful. Choice and decision are good. Knowledge and understanding are great. But this is not what we build, our hope, our life, and our future upon. They come and go. Baptism remains. Who are you? You are the baptized. That is your identity. Don't ever forget it.

You are not above Christ. It is not your baptism to make of what you think. Christ's commands us to meet Him in the water because there He comes to us, there we die and are raised with Christ to new and everlasting life. There in the great exchange we surrender our sin and its death and Christ gives us His holiness, righteousness, and eternal life. This baptism is Christ,'s and He is here in the water to give it its power to save.


  - See more at: http://pastoralmeanderings.blogspot.com/#sthash.RKj7pNQj.dpuf

Barack Obama's/Barry Sotoro's High School Friend Speaks Up


Academics in Wonderland

The study of any philosophy is doomed eventually to the solipsism of the idea as the real world falls away and is replaced by the construct of the world. When Buckley favored being governed by the first 2,000 people in the Manhattan phone book than the faculty at Harvard, he was on solid ground.

The first 2,000 people in the phone book, good or bad, are more likely to live in the real world than in some strange construct of the real world. And that experience will endow them with some sense of how things actually work. Some of the faculty of Harvard may live in Manhattan, but it is an imaginary Manhattan whose social and economic laws differ drastically from those of the world.

Academics are good at theory, not just the theory of riding a bicycle as opposed to the physical act of riding one, but of inhabiting a universe entirely based on that theory. An academic can create a theory in which bicycles cannot be ridden or in which cars have no mass and exist indefinitely in that world. If his theory is trendy enough, if he recruits enough students who become faculty who recruit more students into his peculiar world, the theory will spill over into the real world and begin to affect it.

Some insane obsessions that  can exist only in academia stay there. The taxpayers finance them, but they rarely have to hear about them except when a tabloid looking for a few inches of column outrage reveals how many millions are being spent on studies on why lesbians drink too much or a professor who has spent his entire career writing papers on the gay subtext of Sears catalogs from the 1950s.

Others don't stay there. Our modern obsession with racial subtext is largely the work of academics. Sociology has done more damage to American society than crack cocaine, economists who make a living telling government officials that money can be printed infinitely are a political disease and anything to do with the climate has been so thoroughly contaminated with bad motives and bad science that it might as well involve JFK assassination or moon landing conspiracy theories.

Americans got used to the idea that academia was an eccentric place full of wacky professors who occasionally came up with brilliant ideas. This was a convenient myth to cultivate because it obscured the more problematic fact that outside the sciences, the professors were rarely brilliant and their eccentricity wasn't an individual habit, but a collective political reality distortion field.

Even setting aside the influence of the left, the fields that were meant to serve as storehouses of knowledge and learning instead became wonderlands of strange theories that came to life and took them over until the fields no longer studied anything real, but only found ways to sort facts from the real world into their theory world.

American Studies, now on the receiving end of a good deal of unexpected attention after its clumsy boycott of Israel, has very little to do with studying America and a great deal to do with academics studying a world made out of their own theories that has as much in common with America as Wonderland had with Dodgson's Oxford.

Academia has become an alternate world where human relations exist in a mechanical universe governed entirely by identity politics, where the world is always on the verge of a Green Apocalypse and the only way to make anything work is to route it through the foundational theories of existence. This magical world continually changes in response to new theories bubbling up from trendy publications. The very laws of the universe can be gendered and every historical event can be rewritten by viewing it through the lens of class.

Academia is a magical world where nothing is truly fixed and everything exists on belief. Change the belief and you change the reality. It's a meta-world that has a certain fanciful appeal for intellectuals, but little relevance to the real world where things do not change because the theory does and where outcomes are hard and real and the consequences of a bad theory can mean lives lost.


read more: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2014/01/academics-in-wonderland.html

Saturday, January 18, 2014

41 Years of Roe v Wade


Federal Court: Bloggers have First Amendment Protections





A federal appeals court ruled Friday that bloggers and the public have the same First Amendment protections as journalists when sued for defamation: If the issue is of public concern, plaintiffs have to prove negligence to win damages.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in a defamation lawsuit brought by an Oregon bankruptcy trustee against a Montana blogger who wrote online that the court-appointed trustee criminally mishandled a bankruptcy case.

The appeals court ruled that the trustee was not a public figure, which could have invoked an even higher standard of showing the writer acted with malice, but the issue was of public concern, so the negligence standard applied.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/18/bloggers-have-first-amendment-protections-federal-court-rules/

Evan Sayet’s Unified Field Theory of Modern Liberalism

No one grasps the essence of moonbattery like Evan Sayet, who understands that a moonbat will
“invariably and inevitably side with evil over good, wrong over right, the lesser over the better, the ugly over the beautiful, the profane over the profound, and the behaviors that lead to failure over those that lead to success.”
This isn’t an accident; this preference is baked right into liberal ideology, as Sayet explains:





http://moonbattery.com/?p=41335

Thursday, January 16, 2014

World's greatest hacker calls Healthcare.gov security 'shameful'


Security expert -- and once the world's most-wanted cyber criminal -- Kevin Mitnick submitted a scathing criticism to a House panel Thursday of ObamaCare's Healthcare.gov website, calling the protections built into the site "shameful" and "minimal."

In a letter submitted as testimony to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Mitnick wrote: "It's shameful the team that built the Healthcare.gov site implemented minimal, if any, security best practices to mitigate the significant risk of a system compromise."

Mitnick's letter, submitted to panel Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, held comments from several leading security experts.

Mitnick concluded that, "After reading the documents provided by David Kennedy that detailed numerous security vulnerabilities associated with the Healthcare.gov Website, it's clear that the management team did not consider security as a priority."

His comments were backed up by testimony by Kennedy, who is CEO and founder of TrustedSec LLC and a self-described "white hat hacker," meaning someone who hacks in order to fix security flaws and not commit cybercrime. In November, Kennedy and other experts testified before the same panel about security issues on Healthcare.gov.


http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/16/world-greatest-hacker-calls-healthcaregov-security-shameful/

Eliot Spitzer - Still Classy after all these Years

Eliot Spitzer threw himself a drunken divorce party hours before he and long-suffering wife Silda Wall filed paperwork in Manhattan to end their 26-year marriage.

Spitzer, with his new girlfriend, former Bill de Blasio flack Lis Smith, and six other friends were seen knocking back bourbon and a tower of beer at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ on Eighth Avenue late Monday, after attending the Knicks game.

Eliot and Silda quietly filed for a contested ­divorce on Tuesday, under the name Anonymous v. Anonymous, after their lawyers were apparently not able to reach a private agreement on terms. It is believed that Spitzer’s huge real estate empire, developed by his father, Bernard Spitzer, could be a key battleground in the divorce.

But despite this, Spitzer was in a jovial mood on Monday and was keen to celebrate his upcoming newfound freedom. Witnesses said the former Love Gov and his pals arrived at Brother Jimmy’s just after 11 p.m., and one spy said, “The whole group seemed pretty excited and giddy. When the server came, the ordering was chaotic; they were shouting out ‘sliders,’ ‘wings,’ and each time an order was submitted they were cheering and high-fiving each other. They seemed already drunk and ordered vodka, a margarita, and a beer tower, which is four pitchers in one container.”

Sunday, January 12, 2014

We Fight by Free Market America



http://www.freemarketamerica.org/

Free Market Flashpoints

Anti-free market forces are running campaigns of unchecked misinformation to influence government decisions and public opinion. Worse still, they're masking their radical ideology behind environmental rhetoric. As our nation's economy continues to struggle, these extremists are growing bolder and our cause is growing more urgent.

Their targets include some of America's oldest and most essential businesses. From farmers and energy entrepreneurs to miners and builders, environmental extremists are prosecuting a relentless legal and regulatory campaign against everything from stable energy sources to stable food supplies.

Even when they lose, they cost jobs, cause delays and sow uncertainty. Anti-free market forces often raise major obstacles to worthwhile projects. That's because their agenda isn't sound economic or environmental policy — their agenda is halting economic growth of any kind, anywhere. Unfortunately, even when they lose in court, they cause costly delays and greater economic uncertainty. For these fringe groups, the cost to delay and disrupt such projects is minimal, and they know that the cost, delays and uncertainty they create can often kill major projects and any economic benefits they may bring. The damage to America's business climate can be extraordinary.

Worse still, they're sending you the bill. The cost for so-called "environmental" interests to wage such court battles is often negligible to them, since the bill is regularly picked up by taxpayers. That's right. Even when they lose in federal court, environmental groups are often compensated for attorneys fees — by taxpayers.

We're here to take them on. Too often, anti-free market agendas are masked as "environmental" causes. However, responsible, scientifically-sound environmentalism has been sidelined by many of these groups. Free Market America monitors "Free Market Flashpoints." We're not afraid to get involved on behalf of local communities or business groups that are besieged by anti-free market forces. We make our case to the policymakers, the press, and most importantly, directly to the people.

We want to hear from you. Where is environmental extremism undermining economic freedom? Let us know by sending an email to speakout@freemarketamerica.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

There is nothing so intolerant as a liberal preaching tolerance!

Ravi Zacharias was spot on when he wrote in the introduction to his book Jesus Among Other Gods,”The difficulty has not been in knowing what to say, but in knowing what not to say. We are living in a time when sensitivities are at the surface, often vented with cutting words. Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you don’t claim it to be true. Morally you can practice anything so long as you do not claim it is a better way, Religiously you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ into it. If an idea is eastern it is granted critical immunity; if it is western it is thoroughly criticized. Ths a journalist can walk into a church and mock its carryings on, but he or she dare not do the same if the ceremony is from the eastern fold. Such is the mood at the end of the twentieth century.

A mood can be a dangerous sate of mind, because it can crush reason under the weight of feeling. But that is precisely what I feel postmodernism represents – a mood”

Liberals in the post modern world are hooked on a feeling! There is no reason in them, and when reason or logic are applied to their arguments, you are homophobic, Islamaphobic, racist or bigoted. You call always tell when you are winning an argument with a liberal as those slurs get trotted out! You are a “hater” and full of “negative energy,” when you expose the truth.

What they mean by tolerant is,”You must agree with everything I agree with and disagree with everything I disagree with,” Logic and reason be damned! The reason everything is morally, philosophically, and religiously relative is then the truth can be bent to suit their mood and feelings! And God forbid you should hurt someone’s feelings! That is the mortal sin in this Godless religion described best by Ann Coulter in Godless: The Church of Liberalism.


read more at: http://gospelofbarney.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/there-is-nothing-so-intolerant-as-a-liberal-preaching-tolerance/

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Biscuits & Gravy & Auld Lang Syne- Intellectual Froglegs S2E18


Kabul Afghanistan 1972 to 2012

unnamed-vi

Shy Boy and his Friend Shock the Audience with The Prayer



More Jonathon Antoine and Charlotte Jaconelli:


The Innocence of Liberals

When Charles Woods, the father of Tyrone Woods, one of the Navy SEALS who died fighting in Benghazi, met with Hillary Clinton, she assured him that, “We’re going to have that person arrested and prosecuted that did the video.” And they got him, officially on charges of violating parole, unofficially on charges of violently offending violent Muslims.


The woman whose policy had overthrown the Libyan government and then placed a barely defended diplomatic facility in the middle of a city of terrorists, did not promise the grieving father that his son's killers would pay. She promised him that the man who offended his son's killers would pay.

Not only would his son be the first casualty of that appeasement policy, but the Constitution that his son had sworn to support and defend would be the second casualty.

Mark Basseley Youssef is not the first filmmaker sent to prison by a Democrat in the White House for making the wrong kind of movie that interfered with his foreign policy. The first man was Robert Goldstein whose movie, the The Spirit of '76, about the American Revolution, came at a time when Woodrow Wilson was trying to get Americans deeper into aiding the British in World War I.

Wilson's Justice Department directed Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent Metellus Lucullus Cicero Funkhouser to confiscate The Spirit of '76 and Goldstein spent three years in prison and eventually died in a Nazi concentration camp. Youssef and Goldstein made bad movies that were politically inconvenient.

The Spirit of '76 was not welcome in 1917 and unlike the stream of hundred million dollar movies recreating September 11 with robots, space aliens and evil government agents, the origin of Muslim violence is not an appropriate subject for a movie in the present day. "History is history and fact is fact", Judge Bledsoe conceded and convicted Goldstein anyway.

Goldstein's Federal trial took place in the Southern District of California. Mark Basseley Youssef's trial took place in the Central District of California. Goldstein was convicted of creating a movie calculated to arouse antagonism and enmity. That is the unofficial charge brought against Youssef. Goldstein was convicted of reminding Americans of the origin of their country and Youssef is guilty of reminding them of the origin of Islam.

Using Chicago politics and California courtrooms to cover up a progressive president's policies has a certain resonance a century later. Youssef and his video trailer made a convenient scapegoat so that progressive politicians could avoid talking about the collapse of Libya after their regime change operation into roving bands of Islamist militias.

After Obama denounced Youssef in every forum from 60 Minutes to the United Nations to Pakistani television, he was arrested to protect the Innocence of Muslims and the Innocence of Obama. Now the New York Times has gotten back into the game, once again blaming the YouTube trailer made by a Coptic Christian for a wave of Muslim terrorism.

read more at: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-innocence-of-liberals.html

Nigeria: Muslims storm Christian village, open fire on residents, torch dozens of homes, murder 30 people


And the Muslim war on Christians in Nigeria is brutal, bloody and relentless. If Nigeria falls to Muslim supremacists, the whole of Africa is in jeopardy.
nigerian-gunmen.jpg?w=730&h=379.jpg
Shhh! “Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims.” — Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, February 8, 2013
“Gunmen kill 30 in central Nigerian village attack,” from Reuters, January 6 (thanks to Lookmann):
JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen killed 30 people in a village in central Nigeria on Monday, officials said, in a religiously-mixed region with a long history of ethnic and communal violence.Violence in central Nigeria is frequently fuelled by long-running land disputes between semi-nomadic communities like the Muslim Fulani and farming settlers including mainly Christian Berom, both often armed with automatic weapons.
Gunmen stormed the majority-Berom Shonong village in the Riyom local government area in the early hours, opening fire on residents and torching dozens of houses to the ground, a member of the state house of assembly Daniel Dem told Reuters.
A spokesman for the local military confirmed the attack, but said it was too early to give a death toll.
Thousands have been killed in the last three years in tit-for-tat clashes between rival ethnic groups in the “Middle Belt”, where the largely Christian south meets the mostly Muslim north in Africa’s most populous nation.
Such battles, far from economic centers or oilfields in Africa’s second-biggest economy and top oil producer, are largely ignored by central government, rights groups say.


Read more: http://pamelageller.com/nigeria-muslims-storm-christian-village-open-fire-on-residents-torch-dozens-of-homes-murder-30-people/#ixzz2q7OYZKoM

Don’t Be Nice; Be Helpful

Ron* was up next. As a senior analyst in this investment firm — and a good one — he knew a lot about the company he was about to pitch to the management committee.
 
He paused for a minute as he sorted through the pages of numbers in front of him and then he began to present his case.
 
Even though Ron described himself as a numbers guy, he seemed to really enjoy this part of his job. He was meticulous in presenting his ideas and took pride in the depth of his analysis.
 
Twenty minutes later, as the meeting ended, Laurie, the head of the firm, thanked him for his work, specifically remarking on his exhaustive research. He smiled and thanked her.
 
Everyone filed out except Laurie and me. I asked her how she thought the meeting went.
 
“Oh my goodness,” she said, “What’s the best way to handle an analyst who drones on and on?”
 
“Who?” I asked. “Ron?”
 
“He’s a great analyst, a smart investor, and a really nice guy. But he talks too much.”
 
“But you told him he did a great job!”
 
“His analysis was great. But his presentation . . .” She trailed off with a chuckle.
 
“Have you told him?”
 
“I’ve hinted but no, not specifically.”
 
“Why not?”
 
“I probably should.”
 
But she hasn’t. And the reason is simple: Laurie is nice.
 
I know her socially and she’s a delight. I’ve never seen her do anything that could be remotely construed as mean or rude. And to tell someone that they drone on feels both mean and rude.
 
But it’s neither. It’s compassionate.
 
If we don’t provide each other with feedback, we won’t become aware of our blind spots. Which means that Ron will continue to drone on and, without ever understanding why, lose his audience and his impact.
 
Giving people feedback is an act of trust and confidence. It shows that you believe in their ability to change. That you believe they will use the information to become better. And that you have faith in their potential. It’s also a sign of commitment to the team and to the larger purpose and goals of the organization. Because, ultimately, we’re all responsible for our collective success.
 
Laurie knows this. And yet even for Laurie — a competent and courageous CEO — it’s hard to give someone critical feedback because it still feels aggressive and confrontational. Should you really tell people they talk too much? Or dress poorly? Or appear insincere? Or walk all over others?
 
Without question, you should.
 
And not just if you’re the CEO. Everyone should offer feedback to everyone else, regardless of position. Because as long as what you say comes from your care and support for the other person — not your sympathy (which feels patronizing) or your power (which feels humiliating) or your anger (which feels abusive) — choosing to offer a critical insight to another is a deeply considerate act.
 
That doesn’t mean that accepting criticism is easy. In How to Handle Surprise Criticism I shared my own struggles with accepting criticism and offered some tips to being open to learning from critical feedback from others.
 
But even though it may be difficult, letting someone know what everyone else already knows is the opposite of aggressive. Aggressive is not giving people feedback and then talking about them and their issues when they aren’t around. Aggressive is watching them fail and not helping.
 
Ironically, when we avoid sharing feedback, it usually comes out at some point anyway, as gossip or in a burst of anger or sarcasm or blame directed at the person. And that’s aggressive. Passive-aggressive.
 
To avoid that kind of ugliness, it’s critical not to delay.
 
On the other hand, if we all strutted around willy-nilly tossing criticisms at each other, things would deteriorate quickly. So how should we do this?

First, ask permission. As in: “I noticed something I’d like to share with you. Are you interested in hearing it?” Or simply, “Can I share some feedback with you?” Once they say “yes” — and who wouldn’t? — it evens out the power dynamic, makes it easier for you to speak, and prepares the other person to accept the feedback more openly.

Second, don’t hedge. When we are uncomfortable criticizing, we try to reduce the impact by reducing the criticism. Sometimes we sandwich the criticism between two compliments. But hedging dilutes and confuses the message. Instead, be clear, be concise, use a simple example, make it about the behavior, not the person, and don’t be afraid of silence.

Third, do it often. That’s how you create a culture in which people are open and honest for each other’s benefit. If you only offer feedback once in a while, it feels out of character and more negative.
Of course, not all feedback needs to be critical. Positive feedback is excellent at reinforcing people’s productive behavior, encouraging them to use their strengths more effectively and abundantly. Offer it frequently. Just do so at a different time than you share the critical feedback.
 
“May I offer you a thought?” I asked Laurie as we finished up our conversation.
 
“Please do,” she responded.
 
“Not telling Ron that he drones on is hurting him, you, and the business. I know you feel badly sharing the criticism but in this particular case, choosing not to share this feedback is a selfish behavior. You’re hurting him in order to avoid your own discomfort. He needs — deserves — to know, don’t you think?”
 
Silence. It was an awkward moment.
 
Which, it turns out, is a useful catalyst to action. Laurie thought for a moment and then picked up her blackberry and emailed Ron, asking him to meet later that day.
 
*Names and some details changed

by: Peter Bregman is a strategic advisor to CEOs and their leadership teams. His latest book is 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Survey: Reported Christian "martyr" deaths doubled in 2013

LONDON -- Reported cases of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012, according to an annual survey.

Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 "martyr" killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said.

"This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm," said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.

The Open Doors report placed North Korea at the top of its list of 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, a position it has held since the annual survey began 12 years ago. Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan were the next four in line.

The United States-based group reported increasing violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list.


"Islamist extremism is the worst persecutor of the worldwide church," it said.

Christianity is the largest and most widely spread faith in the world, with 2.2 billion followers, or 32 percent of the world population, according to a survey by the U.S.-based Pew Forum on religion and Public Life.

It faces restrictions and hostility in 111 countries, ahead of the 90 countries limiting or harassing the second-largest faith, Islam, another Pew survey has reported.


read more at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/survey-reported-christian-martyr-deaths-double-in-2013/

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Eliot Spitzer, Client Number 9, Disgusts Hotel Guests With Raunchy Display

Sleazy Eliot Spitzer turned a resort hot tub into a steamy love cauldron over the weekend — kissing and sucking the toes of his topless mistress, Lis Smith, in front of families with children, mortified witnesses told The Post.

The still-married former Love Gov and Smith, Mayor de Blasio’s ex-mouthpiece, were spied frolicking near the family pool at around 4 p.m. Sunday at the Half Moon family resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“It was gross,” said a hotel witness, who was vacationing with her family. “She had her top off.”

The disgraced Spitzer — infamous for wearing his signature black knee socks while having sex with hookers — appears to have a bit of a foot fetish as well, according to onlookers. …

A 10-year-old boy who saw Smith topless in the pool ran back to his parents and shouted, “Mom there’s an old guy in the Jacuzzi with this girl and she’s topless and she’s got her legs wrapped around him,” sources said.

The boy’s cries — “He’s sucking on her toes!” alerted other guests, who walked over to catch an eyeful.

Thrivent Choice Controversy – An Overview

from: http://daringlutheran.net/thrivent-choice-controversy/


On or about December 17th, 2013, it was discovered that Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota had appeared in the Thrivent Choice database. Thrivent Choice is a member-directed grant program funded by Thrivent Financial, “a faith-based, not-for-profit membership organization nearly 2.5 million members strong.”
Much controversy erupted, with large protests online directed against Thrivent and asking them to immediately remove Planned Parenthood from the list of approved Thrivent Choice organizations, and to setup a moral criteria for organizations allowed in the Thrivent Choice program.
This page is intended to provide an overview of the events and related links pertaining to the controversy. Please provide any additional links that should be included.
December 17th, 2013
December 18th, 2013
December 19th, 2013
  • The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod issues a statement on the matter.
  • The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod Reporter published a more detailed news story.
  • The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod also issues a statement.
December 20th, 2013
  • Thrivent issues a statement officially responding to the controversy. In their response, they remove Planned Parenthood from the list of eligible Thrivent Choice organizations.
  • At the same time, Thrivent also temporarily removes all pro-life organizations from the program. (Thrivent’s Statement)
  • My article “Thrivent’s Statement” is republished at LifeNews.com.
  • The LCMS responds to Thrivent statement with a statement of their own.
  • The LCMS Reporter publishes a follow-up news story.
  • A list of the “temporarily suspended” organizations is published. (Download PDF)
  • Christianity Today publishes a short story on the controversy.
  • Christian Life Resources issues a statement on the controversy.
Ongoing
  • Issues, Etc. has a half-hour open-lines discussion of the controversy. (12/20/13)
  • Rev. Todd Wilken posts some thoughts about Thrivent’s resolution. (12/21/13)

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Seiko Caliber, Reference, and Serial Numbers

Calibre, reference and serial numbers Since we are still waiting for the delivery of our Seikos, now is the time to talk about a very important subject: the watch numbers. Again, while we're focusing here on Seiko watches, there are similarities with other brands so please pay attention. There are 4 lots of numbers which are important for proper identification.  1. The first number is the movement caliber:
    Seiko movement calibre This number can be found on the watch mechanism itself. Here, it is engraved on the rotor bridge: 6119 C. The letter after numbers indicates version (A, B, C etc) Calibre number is essential when ordering MOVEMENT parts.
2. The second number is dial reference number:
    7S26 Seiko dial reference number It is located ON THE WATCH DIAL underneath the 6 o'clock position. Very fine print, you need an eye glass to read it. Seiko movement calibre 6119 dial set 6020 S style This one is 6119-6020S. What does it mean? During the watch production, each movement can be fitted with practically an unlimited number of dials. Black, white, silver, gold, different height, day/date or date only etc. And each dial would have corresponding calendar wheels and set of hands. Therefore 6119-6020S means that dial set is 6020 S style (black dial, silver hands with luminous material, silver hour markers etc) and it is married to movement calibre 6119. This number is essential for ordering dial parts.
3. Watch model reference number (red) is located on the case back:
    Seiko 7S26 case back model reference number Again, it starts with the calibre number followed by the case style number: 6119-6023 The case style describes the physical case properties:
    steel, gold, gold plated, dimension, water resistance, type of winding crown, bracelet, crystal, bezel and many other external components. However some components are both movement and case related - like the stem.
4. The fourth number is the watch serial number (green). It is located on the case back (for solid metal backs) or printed on the glass (for see-through case backs). It is usually a 6 digit number.
    My watch is no. 4D3410. DIY Seiko 7S26 Project The first digit on the case back represents the LAST digit of manufacturing year decade. If you know the decade of production (70s, 80s, 90s) then you can figure out when your watch was manufactured. The second number/letter is the month. 1=Jan 2=Feb etc 9=Sept 0= Oct *note this is 0 not letter O N=Nov and D=Dec So my watch was produced in December ???4. As you can see, the number alone is not sufficient to determine the actuall age of the watch (unless you have a new-ish one) but based on the movement calibre and style, I would guess that most likely it was made in December 1974. The rest of the digits present is actually the serial number 3410. It was a #3410 of reference [6119-6023] produced in month of December. Finally the letter F (yellow) is country code - while the case back is stamped JAPAN the watch could still have been produced in Seiko's overseas factory. Obviously, it is absolutely crucial to know the calibre, dial number and model reference number when referring to your watch or when ordering spare parts. It is always a good idea to quote ALL numbers to your spare parts supplier: "I need [this part] for Seiko caliber 6119 C (note C!) dial number 6119-6020S and case number 6119-6023."


    http://www.clockmaker.com.au/diy_seiko_7s26/chapter3.html

Men’s Winter Jacket Infographic

Mens-Jacket-Coats-Inforgraphic-RMRS-1000


from: http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/mens-coats-visual-guide/

Raising a Thin Skinned Generation. . .

Let me say at the start I do not condone racism, I do not excuse bullying, and I do not accept bigotry.  That said, however, I wonder at times if we have not gotten to be a nation of thin skinned people in search of reasons to be outraged.  I could cite a host of examples.  In politics, those who disagree with the President are labelled racist.  In society, those who disagree with same sex marriage are bigots.  In religion, Christianity remains the only group that you can insult with impunity.

As much as I am offended by the abuse, I do not think we gain anything by becoming a thin skinned society, always the victim, always filled with (self) righteous indignation, and always politically correct.  We have moved to an extreme in the opposite direction of our more overtly racist, bigoted, and divisive past.  In the process we are not less divided but more divided.  We are constantly outraged by things we ought to be able to shrug off and, in the process, we have no indignation left for that which rightfully deserves our outage. I fear for the children we raise with such constraints upon our speech and with such a penchant for being the victim.

This is not merely a debate going on outside the Church; it has entered the conversation of Christians as well.  I have personally been accused of being a misogynist for refusing the ordination of women.  I have had people tear up and claim offense because I do not approve of same sex marriage.  I have had people stomp out of my office because I mentioned that their cohabitation was not the same as marriage.  All of this happened not in the arena of culture and society but within the Church.

It seems we have forgotten everything Jesus said about turning the other cheek or how Luther explained the eighth commandment (put the best construction on everything).  Instead we divert the focus away from the real wrongs and place it instead upon imaginary wrongs -- someone has the nerve to disagree with me.  As I have posted before, we are called to speak the truth in love.  That still means to speak the truth.  I am not advocating here for personal opinion as truth but for THE truth -- the doctrine and formulations of the Church from Scripture, through tradition, down to the present moment.

In the end we have adopted a new form of Pharisaism in which moral outrage and indignation are the cover for the log in our eyes while we pick at the speck in the eyes of others.  We have learned the audacity of shifting the uncomfortable spotlight of God's Law away from us by searching for the cracks in others, especially those who speak God's Word to us.  In the end, however, being thin skinned and carrying our outrage as very public baggage, we will still be held accountable but the only One whose judgment counts.

We serve a faux Gospel that does not really offer forgiveness because we will admit none of our sins.  We have a faux church because we have no creed for belonging and no requirements of membership.  We speak only in the language of affirmation -- even though what we affirm is a temporary truth sure to change as the years come and go and sure to need adjustment as we discover more of what we like about ourselves and dislike about others.

What have we gained by
  • schools in which everyone passes and no distinction is made about grades, 
  • sports in which everyone gets to play and no score is kept except fouls, 
  • language in which disagreement is itself the worst offense, and 
  • morality in which each person gets to set their own compass -- so long as it does not in any way judge, affect, or offend others?
And what have we lost by it all? - See more at: http://pastoralmeanderings.blogspot.com/#sthash.b59mLYER.dpuf

Sunday, January 5, 2014

How to Adjust a Metal Watch Band by Removing Links and Pins




How to Use and Maintain your Automatic Watch


Religion in America’s States and Counties

Religion in America’s states and counties, in 6 maps

It goes without saying that religion is big in America. It played a starring role in the founding of the nation and continues to be the source of policy fights. Just this week, a group of Satanists launched a donation drive to erect a monument on Oklahoma’s Capitol grounds, in what some see as a test of the nation’s religious freedoms.
But religion influences local governments in less sensational ways. Some 21 states, for example, are requiring insurers under the federal health-care law to provide exemptions from contraception coverage for employers that object on religious or other grounds, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. And 13 states in recent years have banned abortions past 20 weeks, a move influenced at least in part by religious views of when life begins. (Albuquerque, N.M., recently defeated a similar effort.)
With what is arguably the most widely observed holiday of the nation’s most popular religion right around the corner, now seems as good a time as any to look at the state of religion in America’s states and counties. All six of the maps and data below—which depict religious popularity, diversity and adherents—come from the “2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study,” an every-decade research effort sponsored by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, which gathers statistics for religious groups or scholars interested in such.

Most popular religion, by county

The Catholic church (blue) and Southern Baptists (red) dominate the map below, which marks the religion with the largest number of adherents in every American county. Blanketed red, the Bible Belt is alive and well. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in orange can lay claim to a smattering of Midwestern and Western counties, while Mormonism (gray) is, unsurprisingly, the largest religion in every Utah county and in chunks of Utah’s neighboring states.



read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/12/religion-in-americas-states-and-counties-in-6-maps/

Saturday, January 4, 2014

NDSU Bison Win Third Straight FCS Title



FRISCO, Texas – The stage on the north side of Toyota Stadium has become home for North Dakota State. For the third straight year, that is where the Bison finished the afternoon with a trophy in their hands.

The top-ranked Bison scored 28 unanswered points to power to a historic 35-7 victory against Towson University for a third consecutive Division I FCS national championship at Toyota Stadium before an announced attendance of 19,802. An estimated 17,000 were Bison fans.

“We’ve got a special group of guys, a special group of men,” said Bison senior defensive tackle Ryan Drevlow, who is from Gwinner, N.D.

“You don’t do the things that we’ve done the past few years without sacrifice,” added Bison senior quarterback Brock Jensen, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “It’s a team effort.”

The numbers are impressive.

NDSU (15-0) capped a perfect season, becoming only the third FCS team to go undefeated en route to a national title. The Bison are just the second FCS team to three-peat, and also tied the division’s record with 24 consecutive wins. The 15 wins in a season are a school record.

NDSU has a 43-2 record over the past three seasons, including three wins over Division I FBS teams.

“I think we stamped our mark in history,” said Bison junior safety Colten Heagle. “Our goals this year were very simple. We were going to go undefeated and win it all again and win three in row.”

Read more at: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/422757/

NDSU Pep Fest in Frisco Draws 10,000


imageFRISCO, Texas - Just when you thought the following for North Dakota State football couldn’t get any crazier, here’s something to twitter to any fans of a major college team: A ticket to attend Friday night’s Bison pep fest was actually harder to find than a ticket for today’s FCS Championship game.

“That just blows me away,” said Sherri Schmidt of the NDSU Alumni Association, which put together a pep rally to knock the socks off of all pep rallies Friday night at Dr Pepper Ballpark.

More than 10,000 green-and-yellow-clad Bison fanatics crammed into this minor league baseball park accustomed to holding 7,000 fans during the summer months. The limit of 10,000 tickets was sold out as of New Year’s Day.

That prompted many Bison fans to scramble to find a ticket for the pep fest, which included live music from the Fargo band 32 Below, a live buffalo stationed outside the front entrance, rah-rah speeches from NDSU President Dean Bresciani and athletic director Gene Taylor and a tribute to former Bison football players.

There were reports of some fans scalping tickets outside Dr Pepper Ballpark and some fans trying to sell them on Stub Hub or Craigslist.

What in the “Wide World of Sports” has the infatuation with Bison football come to? Just how much bigger can this get?

“I think we could easily sell as many tickets as we do for the game … if not at least 75 percent,” Schmidt said.

There are a couple of reasons why ticket demand for the pep fast exceeded the game.

First, NDSU’s football team will be playing for its third straight national championship today. That, and the notion that this could be the last time a Bison team could make it to the championship game in a while, has drawn more Bison fans to Texas than ever.

Second, tickets for the game were still available as the Bison fans partied Friday night.

“Bison fans,” blared the public address announcer during the pep fest. “If you still need tickets for tomorrow’s game, you can go to NDSUAlumni.com.”

Tickets are available mostly because NDSU is not playing Sam Houston State again – a school only three hours from Frisco. Instead, NDSU’s opponent – Towson University of Maryland – is expected to bring only 1,000 or so fans.

As many as 90 percent of the 21,000 seats at Toyota Stadium could be filled with Bison fans today.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Tanzania Christmas Without Murdered Youth Leader

By BosNewsLife Africa Service

DODOMA, TANZANIA (BosNewsLife)– Grieving family members observed their first Christmas in northern Tanzania without devoted Christian youth leader Elias Lunyamila Meshack, after he was hacked to death by suspected Islamic militants.

Meshack, 35, was killed on October 22 in what Christians called “a brutal machete attack” while leading an all-night worship service at Gilgal Christian Worship Center in the Ilemela district of Mwanza Region, near Lake Victoria.

Two other Christians were also attacked, but survived, according to church officials.

“I don’t think this was robbery because the aim of robbers is to steal money and other items, yet nothing was stolen here,” Bishop Eliabu Sentozi, the church leader, said in published remarks.

More than two months later, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

ISLAMIC MILITANTS

However Christian rights investigators said Islamic militants from the separatist group Uamsho, or ”the awakening”, have been linked to the violence. Uamsho wants the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar to become independent from the mainland, and militants demand that Christians leave the islands.

Meshack’s widow, Marry, reportedly said that the couple had been “receiving threats for more than six months.” Though they reported “the intimidation” to local police, “no action was taken”, she reportedly said.

Police officials did not immediately comment.

Besides Marry, the youth worker leaves behind the couple’s two children, nine-year-old Prosper and Prisca, who is nine months old, said Christians, who urged prayers for the family and a successful police investigation.

MORE ATTACKS

The murder resembled an attack against Pastor Mathayo Kachili, of the Assemblies of God church who was hacked to death on February 2 in Geita region, on the southern shores of Lake Victoria, whole trying to intervene in a dispute between villagers of the slaughter of an animal.

Several other attacks followed, including on September 2 when an elderly Catholic priest, was seriously injured in an acid attack by militant Muslims, after leaving an Internet cafe in Zanzibar’s historic Stone Town, Christians said.

On June 2, the pastor of the Evangelical Assemblies of God Church, Robert Ngai, was reportedly injured in a machete attack after a Muslim mob attacked his home in Tanzania’s northeastern Geita town. Another pastor in Geita, identified as Daudi Nzumbi, was also targeted two nights earlier, but assailants were scared off by barking dogs, Christians said.

Analysts and activists say that impoverished areas in Tanzania have proved fertile ground for recruitment of Islamic militants, who also operate in other parts of East Africa. Tanzania ranks 24th on the annual World Watch Monitor list of 50 countries with the “worst persecution” of Christians, according to its publisher advocacy group Open Doors.

(BosNewsLife, the first truly independent news agency covering persecuted Christians, is ‘Breaking the News for Compassionate Professionals’ since 2004).

from: http://juicyecumenism.com/2014/01/02/persecution-of-the-church-in-tanzania/

Sticks and Stones

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. This phrase, spoken at those who intend to demean or humiliate another, are meant to say that the person verbally assaulted is secure enough to see themselves as they are, rather than as the hurtful words spoken against them. In this new enlightened age words are judged to be just as violent as the actions taken to cause actual physical harm against another. Say what you will. Those that feel the need to belittle someone else in order to make themselves feel superior does not bother the vast majority of their targets in the least. Unfortunately, those few that are actually offended and especially those that take umbrage for other “protected” classes, drive society’s attitudes. The word police are out in force as more and more words are added to the list of “hate speech” as society creates more and more protected classes. With all the “haters” that are branded by our evermore intolerant culture, it is a wonder that humanity can coexist at all. But, it is even more telling as to who, and why someone can become labeled as a “hater”. Phil Robertson, patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” reality TV show family, really stuck his foot in his mouth, according to those more enlightened than I.

Seems that stating a personal conviction, based upon his Christian faith, upholding the authority of Scripture by quoting the Apostle Paul, was beyond the pale of acceptable behavior and speech today. As our society accepts an ever expanding list of what was previously unacceptable and aberrant conduct, it casts its’ aspersions in an unrelenting wave of skepticism against those they view as naive and gullible enough to profess faith in the Risen Christ. Those enlightened in our society look at Christians as judgmental, homophobic, exclusionary, hypocritical and hateful as they stand in judgment of those who dare to hold an opinion contrary to their own. While, we as Christians, stand convicted, we have a Savior who took our sins upon His shoulders, endured our punishment upon that cross, and now sits upon the throne, advocating for us to our Father. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

read more: http://commonsenseforasenslessworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/sticks-and-stones.html