Devotional: God has given us two hands...

God has given us two hands -- one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for giving.  ...Billy Graham
image by Falk Lademann

Archbishop of Canterbury: 'Why Royal family must stay Anglican’

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, raises concerns about David Cameron's plans to allow the monarch to marry a Roman Catholic.
Tim Walker. Edited by Richard Eden
05 Nov 2011

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has found common cause with the Left-wing agitators camping outside St Paul’s, but he is less enamoured of a radical move by David Cameron.

The Prime Minister announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that the Government planned to scrap “outdated” laws which ban the spouse of a Roman Catholic from taking the throne.

Now, however, Dr Williams has raised concerns that allowing a future monarch to marry a Catholic could bring into question his or her role as the supreme governor of the Church of England.

“The constitutional question, of course the tough one, is the upbringing of any heir to the throne in an Anglican environment, given that the heir to the throne will be the supreme governor, under law, of the Church of England,” says the Archbishop in an interview with Vatican Radio.  the rest

Dozens killed in Islamist attack on churches in Nigeria

by Andrew Clark
Monday, November 7, 2011

Churches are among the targets in a series of bombs attacks that have left 63 people dead in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu.

Christians are among the scores of people killed as churches were blasted. Yobe state police HQ was also among the targets hit.

The bombings follow extensive attacks against Nigerian security forces near Maiduguri City by the Islamist group Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden”.

A BBC correspondent in Lagos said people were reporting the death toll could be as high as 92, and AFP reported that hundreds are being treated in hospitals as a result of the attacks.  the rest

Nike, Microsoft, Google support striking down Defense of Marriage Act

by Christine Dhanagom
Mon Nov 07, 2011

BOSTON
 November 7, 2011

 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A lawsuit that could nullify the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has received the support of major U.S. corporations, who filed a brief opposing the law in federal court this week.

A friend-of-the-court brief filed last Thursday in the case of Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services argues that DOMA, which protects marriage as between a man and a woman in federal law, imposes crippling burdens on employers.

Seventy employers are represented in the brief, including Microsoft, Starbucks, Google, NIKE, Levi Strauss and Co., CBS, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., Time Warner Cable, Xerox, Zipcar, and Stonyfield Farm. The cities of New York, Boston, and Cambridge are also represented.

The document charges that DOMA causes “unnecessary cost and administrative complexity” for employers located in states where same-sex “marriage” is recognized by law.  the rest

Public pension pain

November 6, 2011

THE ELECTORAL map turned redder in 2010, as Republicans swept not only the U.S. House of Representatives but also statehouses across the country. But there were big exceptions: Voters in deep-blue California, Illinois and New York once again picked Democratic governors to run some of the most populous — and financially troubled — states in the union.

Republicans won by promising to restore fiscal stability — and set about taking on public-employee unions to make it happen. There was no political hesitation for them; to the contrary, in some states they relished the chance to weaken the Democratic Party’s key constituency. Democratic governors, by contrast, faced a special challenge. They would have to show that they could cut costs despite their ties to unions. And a central issue would be states’ huge public-employee pension obligations.

There’s been some progress. In Illinois, where state public-employee pension plans have a worst-in-the-nation $80 billion unfunded liability, Gov. Pat Quinn and the Democratic legislature raised the retirement age to 67 and limited the maximum salary on which pensions can be based to $106,800. But Illinois pension funds still rely on an unrealistic average 8.25 percent projected rate of return. the rest

49.1 million Americans live in poverty, new Census estimates reveal

Estimate is higher than September's official 2010 poverty rate of 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million
BY The Associated Press
Monday, November 7 2011

WASHINGTON — New census estimates show the number of Americans living in poverty is higher than previously known — reaching a new level of 49.1 million, or 16 percent.

The numbers released Monday are a new supplemental poverty measure aimed at providing a fuller picture of poverty of America. They are higher than the official 2010 poverty rate of 15.1 percent, or a record 46.2 million, that was reported in September.

Much of the increase in the new measure comes from rising everyday costs, such as out-of-pocket medical expenses, that aren't factored into the official rate. Americans 65 or older had the biggest poverty jump — 15.9 percent, versus 9 percent under the official formula.   the rest

Aborting my daughter with Down syndrome ruined my life, destroyed my marriage

by John Jalsevac
Mon Nov 07, 2011

Excerpt:
“A nurse said not aborting my baby would cause it to suffer, and she’d only become a burden on society if I went ahead,” says Marie. “She even said: ‘Ninety-nine per cent of women in your situation wouldn’t want the baby.’”

So heavy was the pressure put on the couple, that ultimately they decided to go ahead with the abortion.

Marie was given a pill to start the abortion that same day.

“I felt numb as I swallowed the tablet. This wasn’t how I imagined this pregnancy ending, but looking back, I was in shock, just operating on autopilot,” she says.

Three days later Marie gave birth to her dead daughter, and, she says, her life has never been the same since. the rest

Pope lectures German ambassador on abortion, prostitution, porn

November 07, 2011
Vatican City

(AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI received the new German ambassador to the Holy See on Monday, lecturing him about abortion, pornography and prostitution..

"Only a society which unconditionally respects and defends the dignity of each human being, from conception to natural end, can call itself a human society," Benedict told Reinhard Schweppe, the new German ambassador.

The pope then criticised discrimination and sexual exploitation of against women in Western countries like his native Germany.

"It is a critical problem which, due to materialistic and hedonistic tendencies, seems to be on the increase, above all in the Western world". the rest

A.S. Haley: Statement by Bede Parry Posted...

...Jefferts Schori Was Informed about His Past
November 7, 2011

The Website of Patrick Marker which delves into sexual misconduct (and murder!) at Conception Abbey in Missouri has posted a .pdf copy of a two-page statement signed by former priest Bede Parry on May 7 of this year. The statement sets forth a full chronology of Bede Parry's sexual misconduct with young male students at both Conception Abbey and St. John's, in Minnesota, while he was a student there. 

Of particular interest to Episcopalians, and in light of the previous posts I have put up on this topic (here, here and here), Bede Parry's statement contains this unequivocal declaration about what was communicated to the Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, when she was the Bishop of Nevada:

"Also in 2000, I considered joining the Prince of Peace monastery in Riverside, California. Prince of Peace had me undergo a series of psychological tests. After the testing, Prince of Peace’s Abbot Charles Wright informed me I was no longer a candidate. The psychological evaluation had determined that I had a proclivity to reoffend with minors. Abbot Wright called Conception Abbey’s Abbot Gregory Polan with this information."

"Abbot Polan would later share the information with Robert Stoeckig from the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas, Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the human resources department at Mercy Ambulance in Las Vegas. Bishop Daniel Walsh, Monsignor Ben Franzinelli, Bishop Joseph Pepe, Archbishop Robert Sanchez and Rev. Bob Nelson were also made aware of my previous misconduct."

the rest

Graham, America's most famous preacher, turns 93

TOM BREEN
Monday, November 7, 2011

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) — For the Rev. Billy Graham, America's most famous evangelist across a career that lasted some six decades, the prospect of old age and death was for a long time something he tried not to think about, despite his convictions about the eternity that awaits human beings.

"I fought growing old in every way," Graham, who turns 93 on Monday, writes in the newly-published "Nearing Home," a book that ranges from Scripture quotations about the end of life to basic advice on financial planning. "I faithfully exercised and was careful to pace myself as I began to feel the grasp of Old Man Time. This was not a transition that I welcomed, and I began to dread what I knew would follow."

Graham's book, his 30th, comes not only as he reaches another year, but as America's huge Baby Boom generation moves into old age, its senior members now eligible for Social Security and retirement. And although in recent years Graham has stepped away from active public ministry, his willingness to be frank about the trials as well as the pleasures of growing old may still have an effect on the millions of Americans whose lives coincided with his time as the country's most famous preacher. the rest  image

80,000 Muslims pray on the street in Moscow

Sunday, November 6, 2011

MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of Muslim men knelt shoulder-to-shoulder in prayer on the freezing streets of Moscow on Sunday to celebrate the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Estimates of the number of Muslims living or working in the Russian capital run from 2 million to as high as 5 million, but the city only has a few mosques.

Police said 170,000 people celebrated the holiday in Moscow, including 80,000 who gathered on the street outside what was once the main mosque. The 100-year-old pastel green Cathedral Mosque was torn down in September and a new mosque being built next to it is still under construction.
the rest

Transgendered Girl Scouts

Mon, Nov. 07 2011
By Chuck Colson

“What are little boys made of?” the old-fashioned rhyme asks. “Snakes and snails, and puppy-dogs’ tails.” And what are little girls made of? “Sugar and spice and everything nice.”


I know it’s not exactly scientific, and there are wide ranges of personality and interests among boys and girls. But this little ditty speaks to a basic truth that used to be taken for granted - that boys and girls are well, different.


I say “used to be taken for granted” with a heavy heart, because our morally confused culture is rapidly losing the ability to tell the difference between the sexes. And we all know who the losers will be. the rest

Anglican Unscripted Episode 17

November 7, 2011

Holy Trinity Syracuse: Ordination and Confirmations

November 6, 2011

CANA Bishop Julian Dobbs visited Church of the Holy Trinity in Syracuse today to officiate at the ordination of Deacon Christopher Paul Moellering to the priesthood and to confirm four congregants. 

Confirmation

Fr. Jeffrey Altman presents the candidate.

Prostrate during Litany for Ordination

"First to serve, and only then to lead"

Ordination

Outpost: Russian documentary film

Форпост from Yordan Vasilev on Vimeo.
November 04, 2011
Touchstone

Called the Outpost, this film, which is not in English, is free at YouTube, and even without knowing the language I found the images of community and compassion startlingly countercultural. What do the secular materialists have to say about these people who say they know a higher reality? (HT: Stuart K) I think anyone who spent a week here would be changed.

This is a Russian documentary film which has won major awards at several international film festivals.

In the name of the movie — Outpost — is its main idea: a monastery serving orphans and disabled children on the frontier between two countries, a symbol of a modern fortress of mercy and love.

Holy Ascension Monastery is located in Ukraine, a few kilometers from the border with Romania. It is perched on a hill as a strong fortress outpost. Founded in 1994 by Abbot Fr. Michael Zhar and four monks, the monastery serves 140 orphans.

The film’s protagonist is Fr. Michael, who has adopted several of the children, and who has been awarded the title “Hero of Ukraine.”  Found here

Murmuration: Nature's greatest and most fleeting phenomena.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Story: Chance Encounter Captures Stunning Phenomenon Of Starlings

Planned Parenthood Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud in Texas

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com
11/3/11

The Planned Parenthood abortion business in yet another state is facing accusations of massive Medicaid fraud related to billing for abortions and birth control — at a time when Congress is launching an investigation.

According to pro-life blogger Jill Stanek, a former employee of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has filed a whistleblower’s complaint with the Attorney General of Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice. The PPGC employee alleges that the abortion business engaged in an elaborate Medicaid fraud scheme. the rest

Contraceptive mandate designed to impact Catholics, CEO tells Congress

By Kevin J. Jones
Nov 4, 2011

The federal government’s new contraceptive and sterilization insurance coverage mandate includes a religious exemption whose language was designed specifically to counter Catholic institutions’ conscience protections, one Catholic health care leader told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee Nov. 2.

The exemption’s “highly flawed” definition originated in a California debate about a state-level contraception mandate, William J. Cox, president and CEO of the California-based Alliance of Catholic Health Care, told a Nov. 2 hearing of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

The definition was “painstakingly crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union to specifically exclude religious institutional missions like health care providers, universities and social service agencies,” Cox stated.

During the debate, the then-head of Planned Parenthood in California said the wording was designed to close the “Catholic gap” in contraceptive coverage.  the rest

The Churches of Cain and Obama

Theological differences between the two yield different understandings of the path to economic advancement.
November 4, 2011

By HARRY JACKSON When Herman Cain began singing "Amazing Grace" at the National Press Club on Monday, some believed he was trying to distract attention from the sexual harassment charges that had surfaced against him. But, as he explained, "My faith is a big part of who Herman Cain is." In fact, though he's decided to campaign on his background in business, Mr. Cain is an ordained minister and deeply religious man.

Like President Obama, Mr. Cain belongs to a mostly black congregation with a black pastor. But that is where the similarities end. Stark differences between the political philosophies of these two men may be rooted in their profoundly different theological heritages. The churches both men are (or in the case of Mr. Obama, were) longtime members of are known for liberal activism, but with notable differences in their views of scripture.

Mr. Cain's church, Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, Ga., is theologically conservative, affirming the inerrancy of scripture and historic Christian creeds as literally true. It was founded in 1877 as eight freed slaves banded together in prayer. During its 134 years, it has hosted many civil-rights activists, and today it has 14,000 members.

The Chicago church where President Obama belonged for 20 years, Trinity United Church of Christ, is theologically liberal, eschewing scriptural inerrancy and taking apostolic creeds as "testimonies" of faith, rather than literally, unchangeably true. The scriptures are seen more as "living documents" than permanent anchors and pillars of faith. the rest

#OccupyWallStreet: The Rap Sheet, So Far

by John Nolte
11/3/2011

One of the secret weapons the corrupt mainstream media uses in their never-ending quest to Palace Guard for the left is context. For example, when it came to the Tea Party, the MSM was notorious for amplifying a single incident (that was usually a lie) and using it to attempt to smear and define an entire movement. This is what you do when you want to quickly take out a political enemy.

The MSM’s contextual game changes, however, when their desire is to strengthen a movement and give it credibility and room to grow. By dutifully reporting individual incidents but not reporting on the growing scope and size of Occupy Wall Street lawlessness, the MSM is willfully covering up the violence, vandalism, and anti-Semitism that truly does define this movement...

...What I’ve collected below is far from comprehensive but still shows over 75 incidents of sexual assault, violence, vandalism, anti-Semitism, extortion, perversion, and lawlessness. the rest

Occupiers Attack Police with High-Tech Intimidation

The Lawless Heart of OWS

NRO: Is the Tide Turning for OWS?

Episcopal bishop withholds approval to form new diocese

Nov. 3, 2011

APPLETON — After consultation with diocesan leadership, the Rt. Rev. Russell E. Jacobus, bishop of Fond du Lac, has announced he will withhold his approval to form a new diocese.

Separate conventions of the Dioceses of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire, meeting in October, had mutually agreed to form a new diocese pending consent of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

Church law also requires approval by the bishop of each diocese.

The vote to junction in the Diocese of Fond du Lac is now in question.
the rest

Anglican Perspective: The Battle for Anglicanism

November 2, 2011

Biblical revisionism is threatening to engulf the Anglican Communion. The American Anglican Council is working to keep this third largest branch of Christianity faithful to the Gospel. This week, Canon Ashey talks about some of his recent work with the leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference and what he calls the "battle for the soul of the Anglican Communion." Key scripture. 2 Timothy 4

Anglican Unscripted Episode 16: 11/03/2011

Personhood For Embryos and Fetuses Vote Pending in Mississippi

Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wesley J. Smith

Next week, Mississippi voters will decide whether to convey legal personhood on human beings from inception of the embryo after the completion of fertilization. From the NPR story:

Next week Mississippi voters will decide whether to pass a constitutional amendment that redefines a person. Under the proposal, fertilized human eggs would be considered human beings, which would ban all abortions in the state. But abortion-rights activists say it would also limit contraception and threaten fertility treatments.

Well, embryos and fetuses are unquestionably human beings biologically. The real question is whether unborn lives are to be considered part of the moral community, which is the meaning of “human being” as used in the story. And I am not sure this measure would “redefine” personhood, so much as define it. the rest

Occupy protesters attempt to occupy Vancouver cathedral as attacks on Christianity mount

by Thaddeus Baklinski
Wed Nov 02, 2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) - On Sunday morning a break-away faction of the Occupy Vancouver movement tried to occupy the city’s Holy Rosary Cathedral during morning Mass.

Several dozen protesters, calling themselves ‘Occupy the Vatican’, were halted when Archbishop Michael Miller requested a police presence, and were stopped again later in the day by police and members of the Knights of Columbus.

The incident highlights a trend by some in the anti-corporate protest movement to use it as a launching pad for attacks on Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular. the rest

National Cathedral announces first event since earthquake

By Michelle Boorstein
Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday announced its first event since an earthquake rocked the prominent Episcopal church in late August, sending spires toppling hundreds of feet to the ground.

The city landmark has been closed to the public but will host a private service Sunday Nov. 12 to install a new bishop of the Washington Episcopal Diocese. The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the first woman elected to oversee the diocese, replaces John Bryson Chane.

That day’s events are private but the cathedral will be open to the public the next day, when Budde preaches her first sermon as bishop. That will be the first Sunday service there since the quake; the cathedral has been holding services at a local synagogue in the meantime.  the rest

College College Bobollege

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Joseph Knippenberg

That was the name game. Now we’re playing (and have been for quite some time) the blame game. The Occupiers, with some encouragement from Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the White House, have been blaming the financial industry for their woes.

There’s more than enough blame to go around. Consider, for example, Congress’ role in pumping air into the subprime bubble, whose bursting was one of the principal causes of our economic downturn.
But today, I want to talk about higher education, where the long and steep upward climb of tuition offers at least prima facie evidence of yet another bubble. We’ve been willing to pay more and more for our “higher” education because it was supposed to be the guarantee of a good job upon graduation (hence a good investment of time and money) and because the government’s willingness to subsidize it (thorough grants and guaranteed loans) would help insulate us from the real costs. the rest

With all this money and indebtedness floating around, it is difficult to talk about the real purposes of higher education. On the one hand are those who speak of the marketplace, which makes students consumers. This is a fundamental distortion of the teacher-student relationship and requires the illusion that students know what it is they need. At best, you get more or less sophisticated vocational education out of this. At worst, you get edutainment. On the other hand are those who would respond to these abuses by regulation, so that we educators give students what those who purport to speak for the taxpayers think they need. Again, the best possible result is more or less sophisticated vocational education. The worst is some sort of standardization and indoctrination.

A living bridge

Beautiful!

A.S. Haley: The Bede Parry Case in a Nutshell

Monday, October 31, 2011

Since there is such a raft of material on the Web about the Bede Parry case (for an introduction and links, see my earlier posts here and here), I thought I would boil the concerns down into an easily readable form. At the end of this post is a link to my straight-line chronology of the affair, which puts all of the various sources together into a single timeline. (Make sure you download the latest version, updated and corrected with more information as of 10:28 a.m. on 1 November 2011.) By perusing that chronology, a reader should be able to see that the following account sums up the matter in a nutshell (the account assumes you are familiar with the facts in the chronology):  the rest

Another study showing a strong link between abortion and mental health problems

Tuesday, 1 November 2011
by Peter Saunders

Excerpt:

• The results revealed statistically significant associations between abortion history and a wide range of mental health problems after controlling for the experience of interpersonal violence and demographic variables.

• When compared to women without a history of abortion, those who had an abortion had a 61% increased risk for Mood Disorders. Social Phobia was linked with a 61% increased risk and suicide ideation with a 59% increased risk.

• In the area of substance abuse, the increased risk for alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, drug dependence, and any substance use disorder were equal to 261%, 142%, 313%, 287%, and 280% respectively.

• Between 5.8% and 24.7% of the national prevalence of all the above disorders was determined to be related to abortion.

The forces of mainstream psychology are bent on proving that abortion is a benign psychological experience for most women. The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force report of 2008 is a classic example of this agenda (See AAPLOG critique)

This Canadian report represents the latest in a series of articles from across the globe (US, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, and South Africa) published in recent years directly contradicting the findings of the APA Task Force report.

Large scale, well-controlled studies using sophisticated data analysis methodologies consistently confirm a relationship between abortion and psychological distress that the national professional organization has dismissed. the rest

The 99%: Official list of Occupy Wall Street’s supporters, sponsors and sympathizers

More here

	Communist Party USA Sources: Communist Party USA, OWS speech, The Daily Caller
	American Nazi Party Sources: Media Matters, American Nazi Party, White Honor,  Sunshine State News
	Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran Sources: The Guardian, Tehran Times, CBS News
	Barack Obama Sources: ABC News, CBS News, ForexTV, NBC New York
	The government of North Korea Sources: Korean Central News Agency (North Korean state-controlled news)

NYC arrest records: Many Occupy Wall Street protesters live in luxury
...Among addresses for which information is available, single-family homes listed on those police intake forms have a median value of $305,000 — a far higher number than the $185,400 median value of owner-occupied housing units in the United States...

Government Has Proper Role in Ensuring Manufacture of Needed Drugs

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wesley J. Smith

President Obama has signed an executive order intended to promote sufficient supplies of neccessary, but unprofitable, medications–such as some chemotherapy drugs. That’s good. But from what I could read, the order does not get to the bottom-line cause of the problem.

From the ABC story:

Limited manufacturing, lagging production time, and lack of profits from these drugs contribute to the shortages. The production costs for some drugs can outweigh the money that companies can make from them, since many drugs now have cheaper generic alternatives. So manufacturers stop making the drugs…But while the FDA can oversee imports of drugs that are in short supply, it cannot regulate how much a company can make. In fact, manufacturers are not required to report shortages to the FDA. The amount of a drug made available within a hospital is set by an agreement between the hospital and the manufacturer.

the rest

Chaput: Ministry work could lose Catholic identity

Mary Garrigan
Saturday, October 29, 2011

Archbishop Charles Chaput painted a stark picture for the future of Catholic social ministry work in America while accepting an award from Catholic Social Services in Rapid City on Tuesday...

...Speaking to about 600 people at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Chaput delivered the same theologically conservative message that he has given numerous times before to Catholic social service agencies, hospitals and universities on the dangers of losing their Catholic identity through accommodation of government-imposed requirements on issues such as civil unions, health insurance coverage requirements and contraception.

Warning that the Obama administration is "unfriendly" to religion, he predicted that "we'll see more attempts by the state to interfere with the church's ministry." the rest

Four Legacies of Feminism

Dennis Prager
Nov 01, 2011

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan's feminist magnum opus, "The Feminine Mystique," we can have a perspective on feminism that was largely unavailable heretofore.

And that perspective doesn't make feminism look good. Yes, women have more opportunities to achieve career success; they are now members of most Jewish and Christian clergy; women's college sports teams are given huge amounts of money; and there are far more women in political positions of power. But the prices paid for these changes -- four in particular -- have been great, and they outweigh the gains for women, let alone for men and for society. the rest

In sum, thanks to feminism, very many women slept with too many men for their own happiness; posponed marriage too long to find the right man to marry; are having hired hands do much of the raising of their children; and now find they are dating boy-men because manly men are so rare.
Feminism exemplifies the truth of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for -- you may get it."

For abortion foes, an ultrasound is worth 1,000 words

By Cal Thomas
November 1, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles last Tuesday granted a request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks a provision in North Carolina's new abortion-restriction law that would require women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound image of their womb within four hours of the procedure.

In her decision to suspend this one requirement, while upholding other provisions in the law pending resolution of the lawsuit by several plaintiffs, Judge Eagles said the ultrasound requirement likely violates patients' First Amendment rights. Come again?

Various "rights groups" argued that requiring women to see what they are about to abort amounts to using women's bodies as "virtual billboards" to promote an ideology mandated by government. the rest

With studies and stats showing large numbers of women choosing to give birth after viewing an ultrasound of their baby and learning about the consequences of abortion -- along with positive alternatives -- refusing to empower women in this manner makes "pro-choicers" censors and an enemy of women, as well as the enemy of another generation of babies who are not being born. This has consequences for society and corrodes culture. It also darkens our souls and harms the common good.

Planned Parenthood completely defunded in Tennessee

by John Jalsevac
Tue Nov 01, 2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life advocates in Tennessee can breathe a sigh of relief, now that their years-long battle to defund Planned Parenthood in the state has reached its conclusion.

Late last month, Shelby County, the final county in the state where Planned Parenthood was still receiving taxpayer dollars, announced that it was awarding a nearly $400,000 contract to Christ Community Health Services (CCHS), instead of Planned Parenthood. This is reportedly the first time in 35 years where Planned Parenthood has not received the contract in the county. the rest

Algeria Detains Christians For ‘Illegal’ Worship

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
ALGIERS, ALGERIA

(BosNewsLife)-- Five Algerian Christians remained jailed in north-eastern Algeria Tuesday, November 1, after they were reportedly detained this weekend for "worshiping in an unregistered location."

Another Christian, a minor, was released and placed on probation following Saturday's raid in a village near the town of Bougous in north-eastern El Tarf province bordering Tunisia, news reports said.

International Christian Concern (ICC), an advocacy group investigating the case, told BosNewsLife that the five Christians still being held are charged with "proselytizing", a word used for evangelism,"unauthorized worship", and "insulting Islam." the rest

Egypt's Massacre of Christians: What the Media Does Not Want You To Know
Western media coverage of the recent massacre of Coptic Christians in Cairo, Egypt—in which the military killed dozens of Christians and injured some 300—was, as discussed earlier, deplorable. It merely repeated the false propaganda of the complicit state-run media, without checking facts. Since then, further proofs of the lies and brutality surrounding the massacre have emerged; they are compiled in the following report which consists of documented facts and videos from Arabic sources—many of which have not appeared in the Western media...

UK: Gay couples allowed to host civil ceremonies in church

2 November 2011

Same-sex couples are to be allowed to hold civil partnership ceremonies in churches and other places of worship in England and Wales.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said no religious group would be forced to host them, but those who wished to could apply by the end of the year. the rest

A Church of England spokesman said it had no intention of allowing civil partnerships to be registered in its churches.

Archdiocese of Baltimore welcomes new order of nuns

All Saints' Sisters of the Poor left the Episcopal Church two years ago
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun
November 1, 2011


The Archdiocese of Baltimore added a new religious order of nuns Tuesday, its first in decades and one that began as an Anglican community.

The All Saints' Sisters of the Poor left the Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic Church two years ago. By a decree from the Vatican, they are now an official diocesan priory, or order, the same designation carried by the School Sisters of Notre Dame or the Daughters of Charity.

"We feel we have broken ground," said Mother Christina Christie, leader of the community and a nun since 1966.

Yesterday, All Saints' Day, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all 10 members of the Catonsville convent individually professed perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience "for the rest of my life in this world." Then each signed her profession at the altar before nearly two dozen priests and bishops.  the rest

New social network is built for people sick of Facebook 'spying'

2nd November 2011

Social network Unthink aims to be a fresh take on social networks, freeing users from the 'spying' of sites such as Facebook - and it's certainly the angriest such launch in some time.

The site has already signed up 100,000 users in its first weeks - billing itself as an alternative for people sick of Facebook's 'spying', unnecessary redesigns and greed.

'All you greedy giants fighting over my turf - the gig is up. I am not going to live under your tyranny,' says the promotional video for the site. 
the rest

Canon Phil Ashey reports from London

October 29, 2011

In his weekly report, Canon Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council writes from London –

“Dear Friends in Christ,

I have been working this week from London in meetings of the global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), which has just opened an office here under the able leadership of Bishop Martyn Minns. Next year, there will be a conference of about 200 leaders from the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans held in London in the spring.

The theme of the gathering will be “Jesus Christ: Unique and Supreme,” based on Colossians 1:15-20 –

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:15, 18

The structures of the Anglican Communion have continued to deteriorate since the 2008 Lambeth Conference. That same year, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) took place in Jerusalem, which gave birth to the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a global movement committed to the renewal and reformation of the Anglican Communion around a common confession (The Jerusalem Declaration). GAFCON was not just a moment; it is a movement. The purpose of the 2012 leadership conference will be to gather existing and emerging FCA leaders – laity, clergy, theologians, youth, bishops, women and men – to promote the ongoing renewal and reformation of the Anglican Communion. These leaders will truly represent this global movement of Anglicans all over the world. We hope and pray this will set the stage for a larger “GAFCON II” meeting to be held in 2013.

The American Anglican Council will be helping the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans develop this conference. We are committed to supporting this global movement of biblical Anglicans and to the renewal and reformation of the Anglican Communion around a common confession. Be sure to monitor our website and emails for more news on these exciting events.  the rest

Toyota Shows Machines to Help Sick, Elderly Move

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer
November 1, 2011

Toyota unveiled its ambitions for high-tech health care Tuesday, displaying experimental robots that the auto giant says can lift disabled patients from their hospital beds or help them walk.

The company aims to commercialize products such as its "independent walk assist" device sometime after 2013 — seeking to position itself in an industry with great potential in Japan, one of the world's most rapidly aging nations. the rest

The Virtual Nurse Will See You Now

In the hectic world of a hospital, a computer-simulated nurse can be surprisingly comforting.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
By Emily Singer

Researchers at Northeastern University have developed a virtual nurse and exercise coach that are surprisingly likable and effective—even if they're not quite as affable as the medical hologram on Star Trek. In fact, patients who interacted with a virtual nurse named Elizabeth said they preferred the computer simulation to an actual doctor or nurse because they didn't feel rushed or talked down to.

A recent clinical trial of the technology found that Elizabeth also appears to have a beneficial effect on care. A month after discharge, people who interacted with the virtual nurse were more likely to know their diagnosis and to make a follow-up appointment with their primary-care doctor. The results of the study are currently under review for publication.

"We try to present something that is not just an information exchange but is a social exchange," says Timothy Bickmore, associate professor in Northeastern's College of Computer and Information Science. Bickmore led the research. "It expresses empathy if the patient is having problems, and patients seem to resonate with that."  the rest

The End of College Admissions As We Know It

Everything you’ve heard about getting in is about to go out the window.
By Kevin Carey
posted November 1, 2011

Excerpt:
As a result, the odds appear to be against Jameel, who attends a 1,600-student public high school where the large majority of children qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program and the staff of three guidance counselors was cut to two last year. Determination can take you only so far if there’s no one to help you find your way.

But Jameel’s local school system has made one recent move that might work significantly in his favor. A few days after returning from the college fair, Jameel logged on to a new Web site that is the result of a contract between the Miami-Dade County school system and a Boston-based company called ConnectEDU. The site offered Jameel loads of information about different colleges and universities, along with strategies for filling out college applications and getting scholarships and financial aid. It was also a vessel for information about Jameel himself—his grades, courses, and activities, along with short animated quizzes designed to identify his strengths and goals. There were checklists and schedules and friendly reminders, all tailored to the personal aspirations the site had gleaned from Jameel, all focused on identifying the colleges that might meet them.

This is the future of college admissions. The market for matching colleges and students is about to undergo a wholesale transformation to electronic form. When the time comes for Jameel to apply to colleges, ConnectEDU will take all of the information it has gathered and use sophisticated algorithms to find the best colleges likely to accept him—to find a match for Jameel in the same way that Amazon uses millions of sales records to advise customers about what books they might like to buy and Match.com helps the lovelorn find a compatible date. At the same time, on the other side of the looking glass, college admissions officers will be peering into ConnectEDU’s trove of data to search for the right mix of students.

This won’t just help the brightest, most driven kids. Bad matching is a problem throughout higher education, from top to bottom. Among all students who enroll in college, most will either transfer or drop out. For African American students and those whose parents never went to college, the transfer/dropout rate is closer to two-thirds. Most students don’t live in the resource-rich, intensely college-focused environment that upper-middle-class students take for granted. So they often default to whatever college is cheapest and closest to home. Tools like ConnectEDU will give them a way to find something better. the rest

Newark flight makes emergency landing in Poland

Story

NY Sen. Gillibrand bill encourages LGBT adoption

Calls on agencies not to discriminate
By Cheryl Wetzstein
Monday, October 31, 2011

For the first time in Senate history, a bill has been introduced to encourage agencies not to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples seeking to adopt.

“As more and more LGBT couples are getting married and starting families, we have a great opportunity to place children without a family into happy homes,” said Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, New York Democrat and lead sponsor of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, Monday at the Huffington Post. the rest

Part of the reason child-welfare and health associations support gay adoption is because advocates say research indicates that children raised in gay homes do as well as, or even better than, children raised by heterosexual couples.

However, a new in-depth review of 59 studies on gay parenting has concluded that such “strong assertions” about gay parenting are “not empirically warranted.”

Tenure Bedevils the University

The tenure system sustains many of the problems in contemporary higher ed.
by Matthew J. Franck
November 1, 2011

What ails the modern university? Well, where should one start to catalogue its ills? Too many colleges and universities fail to provide their students with a liberal education in any meaningful sense—that is, an education that enables them to liberate themselves from error and baseness. Too many faculty, particularly in the “softer” disciplines, pursue “research agendas” of dubious worth, and build high the silos they inhabit so that they have nothing much of interest to say to many of their colleagues, let alone to their students.

Yet alongside this extreme heterogeneity due to faculty specialization, an almost equally extreme homogeneity prevails among the faculty politically. The social sciences and humanities display more ideological conformity than one is apt to find in almost any other workforce in the economy. This ideological unity produces a range of narrow, specialized courses, too many of which ring the familiar changes of “progressive” grievances regarding race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Throw in a commitment to “diversity” that is only skin-deep, and it is increasingly hard to take university faculty—as a group—very seriously as disinterested pursuers of truth.

Turn the university to another angle, and one sees another set of problems: administrative bloat, increasing use of poorly paid adjunct faculty, and empty “mission statements” about “excellence” while instructional quality suffers. Turn it a few more degrees and see over-reliance on student evaluations, rampant grade inflation and pressure to raise graduation rates, plus appeasement of students as “customers” and fierce competition to attract them with increasingly posh residence halls, food courts, recreational facilities, and entertainment opportunities. Turn it yet again and watch costs rising much faster than inflation for those students and their parents, coupled with opaque admission and financial aid systems, and cumbersome bureaucracies that teach unintentional lessons in caprice and contradiction. One more turn to a new angle: now one glimpses the alcohol-fueled “hook-up” culture, a joyless pursuit of joy with hearts and souls in the balance while faculty and administrators ignore what’s going on under their noses, as student affairs staff piously preach a faith consisting of two moral doctrines of surpassing inadequacy, “consent” and “safe sex.” the rest

EU ruling on stem cells hailed as triumph of ethics

Tue, 1 Nov 2011

Scientists will no longer be able to patent stem cell work which involves the destruction of human embryos after a landmark ruling last month.

Commentators welcomed the ruling, with one bioethics group saying it was a “triumph of ethical standards over commercial interest”.

The decision, from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), now means scientists may be encouraged to divert their attention to adult stem cells.

Techniques involving adult stem cells do not involve the destruction of human embryos and have already been used in more than 100 treatments or clinical trials. the rest

The ECJ also looked at the concept of the human embryo and said that it “must be understood in a wide sense”.

Bandit vs. Ice

Who are these arrayed in white?

Who are these arrayed in white,

Brighter than the noon-day sun?

Foremost of the sons of light;

Nearest the eternal throne?

These are they that bore the cross,

Nobly for their Master stood;

Sufferers in His righteous cause,

Followers of the dying God.

Out of great distress they came,

Washed their robes by faith below,

In the blood of yonder Lamb,

Blood that washes white as snow:

Therefore are they next the throne,

Serve their Maker day and night:

God resides among His own,

God doth in His saints delight.

More than conquerors at last,

Here they find their trials o’er;

They have all their sufferings past,

Hunger now and thirst no more:

No excessive heat they feel

From the sun’s directer ray;

In a milder clime they dwell,

Region of eternal day.

He that on the throne doth reign,

Them the Lamb shall always feed,

With the tree of life sustain,

To the living fountains lead;

He shall all their sorrows chase,

All their wants at once remove,

Wipe the tears from every face,

Fill up every soul with love.

...Charles Wesley image

The Hard Business Problems Facing U.S. Law Faculty

By William Henderson
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
October 31, 2011

U.S. Legal Education is in the midst of a large, structural transformation. This structural shift is driven by a confluence of factors, which includes three significant trends:

1.The decline, or plateau, of the traditional time and materials legal services model
2.The politics of law school finance
3.A new generation of legal entrepenuers that are turning some aspects of law into process-driven products and services.

The trends above are going to require law schools to change. In what way? We can lower our cost structure, but that would only address some of the challenges. The only viable strategy is to retool. This entails rethinking what we teach and how we teach so that the value of the legal education--for students, employers, alumni and the public at large--is commensurate with our operating costs.

Institutional change is extraordinarily difficult. But I think it is extra hard for law schools. Law faculty have little or no experience making high stakes business decisions, yet we control curriculum and appointments, which are the areas that need major rethinking. Talk is cheap--and we specialize in talk. Like any other industry undergoing structural change, we need to objectively assess our situation and be prepared to take decisive action despite painful tradeoffs and imperfect information. For law faculty, our biggest risk factors are indecision and denial.

As I write these words, I can practically hear the skeptical sighs of my fellow professors. I am describing the world as I find it, not as I wish it to be. This is about making sound business decisions, not winning a debate. Here are the basic facts and analysis that we ignore at our peril. the rest

German Bishops caught in massive porn scandal - why didn’t they listen to the faithful?

by John-Henry Westen
Mon Oct 31, 2011

 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After ten years of being internally warned by faithful Catholics, including in a 70-page dossier sent to all of Germany’s main bishops, the scandal of the German bishops ownership of a publishing company that sells a large volume of porn has hit the mainstream media.

Last week the mainstream media outed the fact that the German bishops are 100% owners in one of the most profitable book companies in Germany. The huge company, in addition to offering many religious and other ethical books and items, also peddles 2500 porn titles and additional books highly offensive to Christian principles.

A spokesman for the bishops promised immediate corrective action. However, the false pretense of ignorance about the situation has only served to add to the scandal especially for faithful Catholics who were treated with silence and even disdain when they repeatedly attempted for years to bring the scandal to an end out of public view. the rest

Don't sleep with your smart phone nearby

By Bob Greene, CNN Contributor
Tue November 1, 2011

Excerpt:
We have learned to celebrate, even revere, the wireless gadgets we carry around and the inventors who bring them to us; the response to the death of Steve Jobs this month was emblematic of how important our do-it-all phones, our computers, our tablets and related digital devices have become. We say that the technology has changed life as we used to know it.

But how much is too much?

And, more to the point: How many of us have the nagging feeling that we are somehow unable to disconnect -- that the electronic devices we own have begun to own us?...

...So the addiction question is often one that people silently ask themselves. Shouldn't we be spending less time checking and rechecking our many screens, large and small, and more time taking part in what used to be regarded as real life? Is there something inherently wrong when people being separated from their phones, computers and tablets makes them feel nervous, irritable, tense -- in other words, when they begin to exhibit classic withdrawal symptoms?   the rest image

FCC cracks down on religious broadcasters

By BROOKS BOLIEK
10/31/11

If a church broadcasts the word of God on TV without closed captions, it risks incurring the wrath of the FCC.

Some 300 small- to medium-sized churches can expect letters from the commission within the next few days explaining why their closed captioning exemptions were lifted for TV shows like “Power in the Word” and “Producing Kingdom Citizens.”

The FCC has been mailing the letters for the past few days to churches from Maine to California, explaining that the hundreds of exemptions are now rescinded and giving the programmers 90 days to reapply.

The churches were granted FCC exemptions from the closed captioning requirement under a 2006 commission decision known as the “Anglers Order” for the Anglers for Christ Ministries program that had argued for exemption from the rules. the rest

Pope won’t take part in common prayers

Monday, October 31, 2011

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has invited Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims to a pilgrimage at the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi, but the leaders won’t take part in common prayers as they did when summoned for a daylong prayer for peace by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago.

Instead, Benedict held a pre-trip prayer service for Catholics at the Vatican on Wednesday, since Thursday’s Assisi event — unlike the 1986 edition — will only feature time for individual prayer and reflection.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger didn’t attend the 1986 event and disapproved of members of different faiths praying in the presence of one another. As a result, the 25th anniversary edition won’t involve any communal prayer: The estimated 300 participants will be given time to pray silently in individual rooms assigned to each one after lunch.
 the rest

Episcopal Church in Minn. passes resolution opposing marriage amendment

by Rose French
October 31, 2011

Members of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, which held its annual convention over the weekend in Minneapolis, passed a resolution opposing the marriage amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage.

The church is joining other denominations and non-profit organizations in signing the “Resolution against the Constitutional Amendment to Ban Marriage for Same-Sex Couples” as prepared and presented by Minnesotans United for All Families.

That group is trying to defeat the amendment set for a vote on the November 2012 ballot, which would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

“The Episcopal Church in Minnesota has always stood with the marginalized,” said Bishop Brian N. Prior, IX Bishop of Minnesota, said in a released statement. “Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender orientation or immigrant status, Episcopalians in Minnesota have always embraced both the Gospel mandate of love of neighbor and the Baptismal Covenant imperative to respect the dignity of every human being.”

Episcopalians (which number about 22,000 members in Minnesota) join other faith-based groups already gearing up for the heated political battle ahead this year. the rest